This is not a knitting vlog, really.

Okay this video is long and may not be worth nine minutes of your life you'll never have again, but hey, I'm knitting, and if you don't like it, read my coffee mug.



Other blogs mentioned in this video:

Crooks and Liars
Omnipotent Poobah
Knitting Curmudgeon
Yarn Harlot, who's also knitting a sock, go figure.


Salon is tonight 9 Eastern and I won't knit, I'll type. Download Skype here and it's just typing in live chat no special equipment needed.

Blue Gal's Salon -- link is here. See you then.

Funniest thing I didn't read all summer.

If you've ever worked with adolescents, had an adolescent in your home, been an adolescent, and especially if any of the adolescents mentioned here ever, ever, ever went through a "poetry stage," you just have to read this Shouts and Murmurs from the July 23 New Yorker. I'm still catching up with that reading, yeah, but this one had me falling off my chair, which just happens to be in the bathroom, okay too much information.

Something I made for The Aristocrats

Been musing on the whole David Broder thing and here's the vote, according to Google Blog Search:

F word as David Broder's middle name: 6

F word as David Broder's first name: 2*

So I guess by a three to one margin it's David F. Broder.

And he says:

that nearly 75 percent of those who are likely to vote in the coming Republican caucuses and primaries are still loyal supporters of the administration.

All of this suggests that this winter, one of [the GOP candidates] may face an interesting dilemma. How do you reposition yourself after hugging Bush and Cheney for a solid year? What do you do to become suddenly the candidate of change?

I dunno, why not ask Joe Lieberman?

*all references to "f-ing David Broder" made by the National Review Online staff have been eliminated because they use the f word as a standard verb rather than a perjorative in those instances, as in, "I hope I don't have to wait too long in line for my chance at f-ing David Broder."

Connect the dots.

Um. Not that Barney.

The deal is that a Dubai-owned firm has purchased Barney's New York.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the country that is too

Arab

foreign

non-American

to own and operate a port inside the United States. Our friend Frist and others "feared giving a state-owned Arab company control of U.S. port terminals would threaten national security."

But I guess it's perfectly okay if "potential terrorists" dress the cast from the Sex and the City Movie.

A Quaker Post

I had an interesting exchange with Forrest of A Quaker Watering Hole about this post. I, in my pushy/helpful way, offered to help set up some kind of discussion/Skype group on "taking back Jesus" for Quakers and perhaps other lefty Christian seekers. He responded that "Back at the old blog, we're already getting rowdy on the old one-post-at-a-time system, which I'd expect to lend itself better to reflective comments."

My response:

I think in terms of reflective comments you may be right. It's the difference between sitting in a meeting and just talking, or, having only those who write a prepared statement ahead of time be allowed to speak. The prepared statements will definitely be more reflective but not everyone will participate. Those of us who have been blogging for a number of years sometimes pull our hair out over "lurkers," those who read but never comment.

Were the comments at the interest group meeting at Pacific Yearly Conference less reflective than if everyone there had written an article on the subject of "taking Jesus back" for Friends Journal?

Reflection need not be swapped for spontaneity in all cases: one of many reasons I go to Meeting.

He replied:

All right, I play go on dragongoserver.net and I don't necessarily think any longer about those moves than if I were playing a real-time game.

And thinking a long time is certainly no guarantee that the Spirit is being consulted in the process.

Neither I nor John have a copyright on the idea of "Taking Back Jesus." I asked him for permission to use his statement, because I had that opportunity, but my sense was that he didn't mind anyone reprinting it.

The real difference I see in a real-time game is that it ties me to the computer for the duration, keeps me there responding timely to the other guy's moves.

So if you start such a discussion, I'd like you to invite participants to also read & comment on 'my' site, but I don't see the advantage to joining in myself, under that time-constraint. Enjoy!

So this thread is for those who want to discuss the whole "blog post" versus "chat" dynamic, and also for those who want to join a Skype discussion on "taking back Jesus." Or you can just email me see sidebar. Thanks, Forrest, for your willingness to let me post this stuff.

Blue Gal's Saturday Song - Carbon Leaf, Life Less Ordinary

I post a song a weekend just for fun. I've posted a live version of this one before but I love it. And this version has some nice photos and you can actually hear the words.

How the General's manhood measures up.

Thank you for the linky love, honey. I am your loyal soldier, General Sir.

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for August 10...

goes to FOBG D-Cup of Politits for her lovely post:

Bring on The Class Warfare: A Rant That Covers Anal Sex, Solid Gold Strap-Ons and Sean Hannity's Masturbation Habits

Yes ma hunnies the title alone is award-worthy but the whole post is worth reading. Leave comments over there, please.

And correcting two major oversights Politits is now on the blogroll and previous winner DeRosaWorld will be getting his prize sent out the same time as D-Cup's. Sorry 'bout that.

I knew there was a reason I love these guys.

A few days ago I posted a youtube with a folk version of "Baby's got Back" sung by Jonathan Coulton with back-up by a couple guys named Paul and Storm.

Paul and Storm sing a song called "Opening Band" which opines that as an opening band they don't get panties thrown at them on the stage. So their fans have a habit of doing just that. Here's a picture of them with the winner of the "largest pair ever tossed at them" prize:



But that's not enough. Paul and Storm have a Flickr page of their panties collection that you can view as a slide show. And in true geek fashion (and I say that like it's a good thing because it is) they catalog the venue where the panties were tossed. So far they only have nineteen panties but boys I think, just like Dennis Kucinich, you're at the tipping point of greater things to come.

You're also one of us, gentlemen. Welcome to the party.

Want your Jesus back?

Go read Joe Bageant. Very inspiring.

I'd tell you to leave comments over there but he doesn't allow comments so consider this an open thread on that letter. Thanks.

Guys who are going to wait a while. A long while.

Republic of Dogs has been combing the Craig's List personals so I don't have to. Not that I would, but still:

I want a cute petite girl who dont mind moving right in with a man after a few weeks of dating. I hate going out and looking for woman so I figured I would try this.

Yeah, "looking for woman" is such a pain in the butt. They're always out of them at AutoZone.

and this one:

Hi, Matt from Wilmington. Im looking to get a BJ and like twice or three times a week with the same person. I’m clean and disease free so should you. No prostitutes please. I’m just looking for a normal girl who loves roses, who is laid back and up for doing this about 2 or 3 times a week. Thanks Matt.

If your serious, please send a few photos and your stats.

Oh yeah, you had me until you asked for "normal." And not knowing the difference between your and you're is an automatic disqualification, anyway.

I've been reading a few "self-help/relationship" books this year and gotta say there's a real proclivity, even among male Ph.D. authors, to portray men as having absolutely no emotional needs apart from sex. I don't support that, in spite of the above.

By the way, you two Craig's List guys: "proclivity" is not a sapphic or even gynocentric term--oh nevermind.

Carrying the torch...

From the Save Darfur Coalition:

"One year from today, the Summer Olympic Games will begin in Beijing, China.

To mark this date, Save Darfur Coalition partner Dream for Darfur is launching its own Olympic torch relay in Chad, across the border from Darfur. The torch will tour the world, including sites of other genocides and many U.S. cities, until it reaches China's doorstep in December.

China is more than Sudan's largest trading partner, foreign investor, and arms provider. China has also consistently defended Sudan on the world stage, even fighting to weaken last week's UN Security Council resolution that authorized the deployment of peacekeepers to Darfur.

Thankfully, global pressure is mounting, and ultimately helped force China to vote for the resolution.

You can sign an online petition here to tell China to live up to the Olympic dream and help end the violence in Darfur."

Great night for Dennis the K.

Apparently this is Jello Biafra. Image from here.

Although if Special K couldn't do well with a fecking UNION audience, he might as well hang it up.

I'm so sick of the media and others saying he can't win so don't vote for him. This isn't American Idol. It's our country, dammit. The Republicans have won and won and won because they convinced a lot of sheep that if they supported the GOP they would be "voting their values." Why can't we Democrats do the same?

You're against this war? Vote Kucinich.

You hate that our health care system is run by insurance and pharmaceutical conglomerates? Vote Kucinich.

You think American workers should be able to have that old fashioned thing called "collective bargaining" and the "right to strike"?

Geez Louise. Is that an issue of debate in 2007? Hanging my head here.

Manila? You're kidding about missing Mike Gravel at that thing, aren't you?

UPDATE: GOTTA include this. Gotta.

It's about time something like this happened!

Can I get this band to show up the next time I go to the MOVIES? Here's one guy who will never answer his cell phone during a public performance again. And that's a start.

Baby names

Having sent two thirds of my offspring off to their first day of school this morning, thought I'd combine these stories:

Recently the UK Daily Telegraph reported that, "Mohammed, and its most common alternative spelling Muhammad, are now more popular babies' names in England and Wales than George." Apparently Mohammed is the number one baby boy's name in many European cities. Let's not get all John Gibson here about how white women need to be more like white-baby PEZ dispensers or European civilization will end.

Apparently white affluent women are way too busy freaking out about naming their firstborn to have any more. From News of the Weird:

Some parents feel "unprecedented levels of angst" to pick cool enough names for their kids, with some even hiring consultants, according to a June Wall Street Journal report. Baby-book authors charge clients $50 for a list of "special" names, and half-hour phone consultations go for $95. Another adviser charges $350 for three calls plus a comprehensive linguistic history of the selected name, and one California mother paid $475 to a numerologist to "test" the name Leah Marie for "positive associations." The Journal blames the problem on too much information about names (from the Internet), as well as parents' fear of dooming their child for life by insufficiently distinguishing their kid from others. [Wall Street Journal, 6-22-07]

Aw hell, they should just name her Mohammed.

You think we've got it bad here.

There's lots of reasons I can't imagine living in the Middle East but I never really gave Israeli bureaucracy much thought until I read this post by my buddy Yossi Gurvitz, whose brand spankin' new English blog, Friends of George (Orwell) is a late addition to the blogroll:

About a week ago a smiling young girl knocked on my door. She wore a very unique shirt, showing the logos of the Katz courier company and of the Home Front Command. She wanted the gas mask, God only knows where it is. It turns out that the Home Front Command wants it back, and threatens not to issue me a replacement in case of emergency, unless I provide it with the old mask. To perform the operation, just as it privatized the sirens, it also privatized the collection of the masks.

I'll betcha Michael Chertoff is totally jealous right this minute.

He doesn't look a day over 19.

Happy Birthday Mark Hoback of The Aristocrats xoxoxo. Leave greetings over there.

Damn right we need to watch this again.

OR you could go Tivo "Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge" with Vanilla Ice and Leif Garrett.



Some youtube genius put a Fox News scroller at the bottom of part of this, as if we needed it.

Song for those of us blessed with butts.

So last night at Salon I suggested I should post a poll as to which should be BG's personal theme song, "Baby's Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot or "Fat Bottomed Girls Make the Rockin' World Go Round" by Queen. They're both great songs for those of us who celebrate our breeder-hips but folks this cover of the first one had me on the floor. I love it love it love it.



Update: No I didn't forget Big Bottom by Spinal Tap I just don't want it for my theme song. Thanks.

Get well soon, Captain

Cap'n Dyke is under the weather and couldn't stay to co-host salon last night.

Hope this photo cheers you up, Cap'n.

Send good wishes to capndyke@aol.com or visit her blog.