Fun with YouTube

Here's the deal, Senator Craig. You don't have to declare that you are quote, NOT GAY. Seriously. We don't care about teh gay, we care about teh hypocrite. Lookie here. We live in a country, God bless America, where a national travel agency can make a 30 second spot like this:



Memo to Craig: If you made one of these guys a "family values" GOP Senator, would they be heading to the airport washroom?

Signed up

So I just joined my local Save Darfur group which now has 110 members. Who wants to bet me five bucks the organizers are in my Quaker meeting? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Which is why I'm home there, anyhoo. (I'll keep you posted on that.)

I am completely geeking out here.

Didja know you can make your own Rubik's Cube out of dice, magnets, and a huge table drill? Don't forget to vacuum up the shards of dice left behind or my three year old will think they're Crystal Light drink mix and try to "make it" herself. Watch the Video

Defining Hell

We Quakers don't go much for the whole hell thang, and actually I didn't go for it before I became a convinced Quaker, but I just found out Christopher Hitchens is going to be on BookTV for three hours this Sunday. Okay, you got me there.

And then I forced myself to read this entire transcript of a Glenn Beck show. The one where he says

(a) rebuilding NOLA is a waste of money, but
(b) we should arm all its citizens, and
(c) while we're at it let's take care of the "nutjob" in Iran, and we can be happy that "Iran will be stopped one way or another before Bush leaves office." (And Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough "think" {oh I use the term very loosely} that The American People (tm) will support that big time.)

There are days I'm convinced that the only thing worse than an eternity with Satan would be having cable in my house. Seriously.

9/30/07 Day of the Disappeared

I wrote on this for Crooks to post this afternoon but I didn't mean to disappear my own self! This whole house is getting a run through (literally) with a tummy bug and it's slowing me down, as in, when I don't have it, I have a kid with it, so it's still mommy's problem.

Back in full swing tomorrow.

Katrina Anniversary

Suspect Device posted this terrific image to commemorate today (and Bush's visit to NOLA, heh.) h/t Online Blogintegrity.

Anyone in this entire country and those in particular who type "everything's fine here" are liars. And Republicans who apologize to their constituents for admitting their guilt are demoted two more levels in Dante's hell, imho.

Oh shoot now I'm in a bad mood. Better go knit.

"Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises." --Elizabeth Zimmermann, 1910-1999. She wrote that during the Watergate hearings, which, I hear, was really good knitting time.

By the way...

It looks like I'm staying on at the little blog across the street.

There are no stupid questions, right?

I just want to know what it is with Republican "values" politicians who happen to have a little penchant for homosexual experimentation that makes them go look for it in a PUBLIC BATHROOM?

Is it the "danger" element that turns them on?

Haven't they heard of escort services? Or are they too cheap or worried about blackmail or what?

Yeah, yeah, you can be anonymous there but then you can also get arrested by a plainclothes cop, too. I don't get it.

Update: Oh, good. I'm not the only one asking.

Salon Link

"We won't change your hair, but we may change your mind..."

Salon is here. See you at 9 Eastern.

If you haven't been before, you will need to download skype here. It's just typing. You don't need any special equipment.

Monday Vlog: Blue Gal THUMPS her Bible!

Blue Gal celebrates the Gonzo resignation by thumping her Bible and talks about Richard Dawkins. (10 minutes, I promise it's not ALL Bible thumpin' ha.) Here's a link to Dawkins' announcement about the debate I discuss here.
Skype salon tonight 9 Eastern it's typing not calling...no special equipment needed. Link provided later today.

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for August 26

It goes to FOBG Alicia at Last Left Turn Before Hooterville for her lovely post:

Shut Up, Newt. Just Shut Up. Please, For the Love of God, STFU.

It's from a few, okay, ten days ago, but still worth reading every sweet word. Love on ya, Alicia. (Leave comments over there as usual with the Don't Sugarcoat Its.)

For Drifty

Drifty has written a couple posts about blogging here and here, and it inspired me to revise something I wrote last April.


We are artists.
We all are.
All of us.
And spiritual enlightenment
comes from connecting
with the creativity God has sent us to do.
You can be brave
and do it
or you can watch American Idol, chew on numb mindless shit all the live-long day,
pretend that a paid-off mortgage and a circular drive are the main goals and hey, you've already met those, (congratulations) and then you thought you were invited to the cocktail party of success and they don't speak to you or even pat you on the back.
And still you shut out the work you've been sent here to DO, turn it off, kill it.
so many people shut it out, some even succeed in burying the pain that comes when you connect.
Pain? ah yes.
Connecting to THAT so often requires disconnect from what we thought was feeding us.
We think we'll starve.
Someone said I'm channeling John Coltrane when I talk like this.
So many never, ever, don't connect,
Avoid connection in the belief that to be an artist is irresponsible.
Ha. It's the only responsibility we have.
And when you connect,
the Angels rejoice.
the Angels rejoice.
And we're fed until we're full. Full. Full.

Clarification...

On the whole "Condi is the most eligible batchelorette in DC" story. Matty Boy at Sparklepony, whose comments are often almost as funny as the actual blog (sorry Petey I tried to contain myself) points out:

She's the most eligible by default now that Merv Griffin and Liberace are dead.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Maybe (probably) you've seen this but I had not. So clever.

Stuff we already knew.

You Are More Like Angelina Jolie

Deep, brainy girl with a passionate heart of gold. You are smart, sexy, and deeply committed to making the world a better place. Children first, save the world second, men third. Not that he minds.

Are You More Like Jennifer or Angelina?

Ha. Ceptin' I never had the Billy Bob tattoo or the removal, thank you.

Saturday Song: Oingo Boingo

Just Another Day from their farewell concert (when?). A far cry from their Gong Show appearance, but I love it all the same. BTW, we're too old for the mosh pit, my friends.

Wherein I predict the future....

I predict that this will be the most emailed article in the New York F-in Times today, and that your houseguests will borrow your computer to read it.

I predict that several YOU DECIDE! emails will reach my inbox in spite of the very good Gmail filter I've set up to auto-delete them.

I predict that grocery shopping this morning will take longer than I hope or expect.


Oh gotta tell you what 5yo said in the car on the way to school. BTW she's not known as "Princess" anymore she's Frieda. Because she is an ARTIST.

"Okay, I want to tell everyone in the car about my dream. [Screams at her brother to listen to her and her alone. Restarts "dream" several times.] Once upon a time there were two children who ripped all the cushions off the sofa. Then they got afraid that their mom would find out and be mad, so they covered the cushions with a sheet so she wouldn't find out. The end."

Funny I had that exact same dream yesterday afternoon right after we got back from carpool.

I hate to trash my "home" state...

Yeah I'm not going to testify about this story on the grounds that it may incriminate me.

But hey, Alabamians don't need sex toys, because they get off on executions!

In 2005, Alabama sentenced more people to death than Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee, combined," according to John Carroll, dean of the Cumberland School of Law [in Birmingham].

Alabama is the only state that does not provide indigent Death Row inmates with counsel. Alabama does not use the technology that could assist the accused, as in the case of recently executed Darrell Grayson, chairman of Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty, in whose case DNA testing could have provided exculpatory evidence.

Alabama has refused to make its lethal injection protocol public. Prejudiced Alabama lawyers handle cases largely comprised of poor racial minorities. The prosecuting attorney referred to Death Row inmate Luther Williams as a "little black rat," according to trial transcripts examined by the board of Holman prison.

Alabama is scheduled to execute Williams today. Despite the fact Williams turned 20 when still in the ninth grade and had been placed on anti-psychotic drugs, there was no money provided for psychological testing.

Seriously Forbes, WTF?

They've got a list of the (ooh!) "best cities for singles;" Washington DC is number 6. I know people from Washington. No where in their survey is the "number of single males who are gay." But nevermind, this is their advice about DC...



Must be a typo. No way are they number 20 on the drunk scale if she's the most eligible bachelorette.

Because I'd rather Bill Frist made NO decisions for me. At all. Ever.

One of my New Year's resolutions (okay it's August now, so?) is to get a living will/advanced healthcare directive written and witnessed, etc. I picked up the paperwork at a local hospital yesterday. You can download the form for your state for free here.