He read my mind.

"I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," [retired General Wesley] Clark said on CBS.

I wonder.

Why is it that Kerry's two tours (four years) of active service in Vietnam is discounted and so easily dismissed as inconsequential by many, yet McCain's not even one year of service in the Vietnam theater before getting shot down (and then five years in a POW camp) is somehow seen as credible service, qualifying him for the Oval office?

I'm not dissing McCain's substantial suffering and patriotism and courage.

No, I'm not.

I'm just wondering why McCain's heroism counts more than Kerry's? Because he suffered more?

Yeah, and also because he didn't protest the war afterwards. After all, patriotism wasn't defined as including the right to dissent in the 70s... or the 00s...

Hmm.

Monday morning haiku

Time to celebrate
the democratic ideals
of this great nation.

And as hokey as that sounds, I mean it. We cannot allow political spin and rhethoric and loose use of words such as "democratic ideals" rob them of their real meaning.

(Can you tell I'm getting a little sick of the election season and the partisan bickering?)

Blast from the past, literally

Channel-surfing today. Landed on War Games. "Shall we play a game?"

I remember that movie from when it first came out. What fun to see the outdated technology and ancient computers (taking up entire rooms).

And Matthew Broderick so young!

Hard to believe that movie was 25 years ago. 1983.

Man, I feel old.

Women for Fair Politics

Talk about hypocrites. Here's their welcome message:

We are a grassroots organization that is reacting to the terrible treatment that Hillary Clinton has received during her historic run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. We invite you to peruse this website, join in the conversation, add your suggestions, sign our petitions, and otherwise participate in our community and make it your own. It is only by banding together will we get the word out that the treatment of Senator Clinton by the media and the Democratic party is completely unacceptable. Together we will find a remedy so that NO ONE will have to face what Hillary has endured.

And yeah, they're doing everything they can to support McCain. Supposedly because they don't like the way the Democratic party treated Hillary.

Whoa. How do you get from not liking how Hillary was treated to supporting McCain? That's one hell of a leap of logic.

I agree that Hillary was subjected to the most base, sexist and disgusting treatment in the media. And by pundits. I was appalled by how the media acted and that they got away with it, without question. If similarly degrading remarks had been made about Obama's race, there is NO question that folks would have been fired. But not when it comes to sexism. It's still okay in this country to treat women like second-class citizens and make jokes about ironing shirts or shrill voices, etc.

I, too, am disappointed that Obama did nothing to call out the media and punditry for their incredibly sexist behavior. He allowed it to work in his favor, and that's all disgusting. Obama could have demonstrated some, any leadership. Any at all! He has a wife and daughters. Would he allow the media to treat them as they did HIllary? Is he only willing to speak up about an issue when it works in his favor? I dunno, and that's certainly a concern I have about him as our next president.

But is he responsible for how the media treated Hillary? No. A little culpable maybe, but not responsible. Is the Democratic party responsible? Again, no. A little culpable maybe (even less than Obama, arguably), but not responsible.

Does it help the feminist agenda, women's issues or progressive politics to blame Obama? No. Or the Democratic party? No. It only helps McCain, which is exactly their goal.

But what does helping McCain do to advance their cause of trying to remove sexism from politics? Um, nothing. It's only a punitive, vindictive, big ol' F-you to the Democratic party.

And nothing else. Just vindictive.

And, if WFP really, really wanted to promote equality for women in all spheres, why the freak would they support a man who called his WIFE the c-word and a trollop in the company of others????? WTF? (And when asked about it in a town hall meeting, McCain didn't deny it.) I can't think of a more humiliating and degrading way to be addressed by your husband. I would have divorced him.

But not the women in WFP. No siree. They don't see the irony in pushing an agenda that is respectful for women by trying to elect a prick who calls his wife the c-word.

Nope, no problem for them.

Hypocrites. Or else, they have another reason for trying to prevent Obama from getting to the White House.

I'm a very bad girl... yes, I am.

Apparently, M&M is now in the business of making ice cream. I know this because folks were handing out promotional freebies near the place where I get my lunch during the lunch hour today. Two college kids in their M&M garb and a huge crowd around them as they gave away "ice cream treats" from a truck on the street.

I got two.

And I ate one of them. Before my lunch.

It was good. Especially for being free.

I put the other one in the freezer for later, if it's still there (I hid it, but...).

Jones soda has always had interesting marketing ideas...

They print their labels with photo contest winners (yay Eryn!) to make themselves seem less of a large manufacturer and more of the friendly-company-next-door.

And it works.

Now, they're using the presidential campaign as their latest advertising gimmick. "Campaign Cola" it's called. You can vote for your candidate by buying the soda with him (or her 'cuz Hillary is still available) on the label. And, oh, a six-pack is a mere $15. That's $2.50 per bottle, all for the priviledge of sucking down one with Obama's, Clinton's or McCain's face on it.

Yeah... dunno about that. They also have links about the candidates and election info, etc. on the website, so I guess it's not just a marketing ploy but also an attempt to raise public awareness about the candidates and foster civic involvement.

Or, it might just be a marketing ploy.

But then again, the bottles will probably be collectible in a decade or so. So, if you have extra space in your garage or basement to fill with crap to hang onto for another 20 years in the hopes that someone will pay more than $2.50 per bottle, go for it!

Without googling or looking things up online...

This is a little game we'll play when bored. Can you name TV shows (not movies) with numbers in them?

Here's what I remember:

1. One Day at a Time
2. My Two Dads; Two and a Half Men; Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place
3. Three's Company; My Three Sons; Third Rock from the Sun
4.
5. Nine to Five; Party of Five; Hawaii 5-0
6. Six Million Dollar Man
7. Seventh Heaven
8. Eight is Enough; Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter
9. Nine to Five
10.

Other numbers:
James at 16
Beverly Hills 90210
227
24
30 Rock
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
60 Minutes
48 Hours
Space 1999
Adam-12
Route 66
30 Days (I was watching this show... that's what me started on this post.)

Can you tell what I spent my childhood and adolescence doing? And if you can add to the list or fill in the blanks, please do!

Smirkworthy

Saw this tag at the end of an email: Politics is like driving. To go backwards, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D.

Heh.

Sounds like a class action lawsuit to me.

Auditors Say Justice Dept. Improperly Screened for Political Ties

Definitely a violation of personnel practices, even if it's not covered under Title VII.

Where do I sign up?

For your consideration...

The other.

Announced here:

And see here, too.

I'm jest sayin'.

To quote Yoda, "There is another... mmm..."

(geek!)

The Pudge Report

Stasis.

I suck.

Email exchange with SM about the Veep-stakes this morning...

On 6/23/08, SM wrote:
Subject: short list

I found the article I remembered that said there were 20 names on the list. Those the reporter had gleaned included:

Senators: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Webb
Former Senators: Edwards, Mitchell, Nunn, Daschle
Governors: Bredesen, Sebelius, Kaine, Napolitano, Richardson
Generals: Jones, Clark

I don't know how real this is, but it's creeping close to 20.

-----
From: She says
To: SM

Subject: Re: short list

More like 8, the way I see it. Some have already taken themselves outta this. He's not going to choose a woman, and Richardson can't keep it in his pants (not to mention the general belief that a black and a Latino would be "too much" change...)

Kaine or Webb seem to be front-runners, although Webb has baggage. Mitchell and Nunn are too old, don't you think?

Senators: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Webb
Former Senators: Edwards, Mitchell, Nunn, Daschle
Governors: Bredesen, Sebelius, Kaine, Napolitano, Richardson
Generals: Jones, Clark

-----
On 6/23/08, SM wrote:

I think old is definitely a cancel-out. Dodd got a sketchy mortgage and is prob out. Webb should be out but has too many positives to eliminate straight out. And I think Obama really likes Sebelius, so I'm inclined to keep her in the mix.

That leaves Webb, Daschle, Bredesen, Kaine, Clark, Sebelius.

I still think Clark is the best of this group…

-----
From: She says 

To: SM

Subject: Re: short list

Yeah, but Sebelius gave a pathetic response speech, and everyone knows it. The dems aren't going to be so excited about her lackluster performance, especially if it seems like the only reason he chose her was because she's a woman.

Daschle is impressive, but he couldn't even win his own state. I think you're right that Clark is a good one. So is Webb, but I wonder if he'd be too bombastic for Obama? Kaine may be too low-key. Plus, isn't he pro-life?

-----
On 6/23/08, SM wrote:

Kaine is pseudo prolife. He says he believes in obeying the law, even though he doesn't personally believe in abortion. (same reason he accepts the death penalty)

You're right on Sebelius and the lackluster performance…

The other negative on Webb is that Obama won't want someone who could drown him out. That's webb. I think low-key is a feature they want.

That leads us to Daschle, Clark, Bredesen (gov-tn).

-----
From: She says
To: SM

Subject: Re: short list

I agree, especially on Webb. And while I like Daschle a lot, I go back to the "he can't even win his own state" argument.

Clark and Bredesen.



-----
That’s our thinking on the Veep-stakes… for now. We'll see.

Monday morning haiku

Summer has arrived...
tourist groups, humidity
descend on DC.

I admit it.

I got nuthin'.

Worse than being too busy

is having nothing to do and feeling useless.

I am completely at loose ends today with nothing productive to engage me. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, ugggh.

I only wish I could balance the crazy with days like today.

The Pudge Report

Wrong direction again. 16.5 TG.

Crap.

Monday morning haiku

My stomach hurts me
so I called in sick today.
So very tired.

I called in and left a message for my boss. Then I turned over and went back to sleep. And woke up at 2:00 in the afternoon. Oh my.

Happy Father's Day

SM is the daddy in our house. To Gidget, of course. And I am very grateful for him. And appreciative too of my father.

So, to anyone who has been called "Daddy" or teased as "Pop" or, in my case when I was just learning to talk, "Da-da-o"... best wishes for a wonderful father's day.

Ooooouch!

I have to go to New York City tomorrow morning for a meeting. The meeting is at 10:00 am.

Which means we're hitting the road at 5:00 am.

Which means I have to get up even earlier than that.

It just plain hurts. Hurts, I tell ya'.

So. very. sad.

As my colleague noted, the level of discourse just plummeted.



Tim Russert, 1950-2008.

Is it terribly tacky of me

to check out my online wedding registries to see what's been bought?

If so, I guess I'm terribly tacky... because I am. And it's so much fun!

Why Americans are fat.

Because we eat too much.

Check out these two quizzes. Portion sizes now and 20 years ago.

I wonder if it's actually 20 -- or more like 35 years ago?

Grump.

I'm cranky today. Anyone got any good news, weird stories or salicious gossip to distract me?

The Pudge Report

H>------------------------------*-------------->G

I'm officially down 30 today or 14.5 TG. I've crossed over this mark several times, but this is the first time I've landed on it on a weigh-in date (I think).

Yay. I hope only to see this weight in hindsight from now on (no jokes about my rear view, though...).

And the asshole award goes to...

Someone who was invited to my wedding reception (invitations sent out over a month ago) has scheduled an event directly in conflict with it. Same date, same time, different location.

He was fucking invited to my reception -- and has now created another event that will create conflicts for about a dozen or so guests, who, ordinarily, would have liked to attend both. Dick.

To add insult to injury... my dad used to be the chair of the organization that is putting on this event. And I have also helped them in innumerable ways. So, not only is my invited guest giving us the big F-U by scheduling the conflict, but he is also personally disrespecting my family.

Unfucking real. All he had to do was schedule his event a few hours later, and all would have been fine.

Can you tell I'm beyond pissed?

UPDATE: I emailed him today with something to the effect of "I guess this means you won't be attending... Too bad about the conflict." I didn't want to be a complete jerk in writing that, but I also wanted to let him know that I knew. He wrote back and said that they may be changing the date of the event because there are a number of conflicts. So, we'll see. But I still stand by assessment of his asshole-ocity.

Monday morning haiku

Gonna hit 90
Heat index of 100...
But it's only June!

Help me, I'm melting! It's just plain gross here in DC.

This speaks for itself.

Bah-ha-ha-ha!

For anyone else planning to get legal anytime soon...

More wedding disaster stories.

They're actually kinda amusing. It's all about how you handle it. I don't expect any from our ceremony or reception, but you can bet your sweet sushi that I'll brag blog about it if there is anything noteworthy!

Is this some kind of message or something?

Well, if so, I'm ignoring it.

First, REI screwed up our registry -- and then never bothered to get back to us about what they were doing to fix it. Never. Despite calling/email. Not happy with REI. Shocked at their lousy customer service. We still only have a half-assed registry with them, but I'm not going to invest any more time into that.

Now, our registry at Macy's is not on their website. WTF? Did the whole thing get pulled down or deleted? What is going on here? I called the WeddingChannel.com (who administers their online registry), and they said it was still on their site. Thank goodness it hadn't been deleted. But they too could not pull it up on the Macy's website. So they will contact Macy's and see what the glitch is.

Silly little annoying things to add to my stress.

But nothing can change the fact that it's Friday. Yay!

Update on our ceiling on the floor

Preliminary conversations with our insurance lead me to believe that they are NOT going to cover this. We need to get a general contractor in there to assess the situation and see if s/he can determine the cause of the implosion. However, if it's workmanship, defective materials or just general expansion/contraction from the aging of the house, we are SOL. Bugger.

So now that demo isn't an issue, we're thinking that we'll probably put in some recessed lighting when we install the new ceiling. Maybe a few other upgrades too. Of course, with the wedding coming, our cash is tight, so we may just have a giant hole for the next six months.

Lovely.

I guess we'll add "new living room ceiling" to our wedding registry...?

The sky is falling... they sky is falling...!

Or, in our case, fell.

As of 7:45 PM today, this is our livingroom:






A ton of plaster and plaster dust everywhere. Pretty much the entire ceiling came down, except for about a foot and a half near the walls -- which was good because that protected what was on the walls. Fortunately, my masks don't seem to have been damaged. So far, the only real casualty was a cheap lamp... hopefully nothing more.

Let's hope it wasn't asbestos, because this was clearly the original ceiling.

Guess what we'll be doing this weekend? D'oh!

I learned a new word today

Used by a judge in a motion warning the parties to play nice with each other and stating that no contumacious conduct will be countenanced.

I had never heard that word before and had to look it up. Which is kinda fun.

Things affecting my mood today...

* The grass we planted in the side yard is starting to come in -- it's green and cheery and looks much better than the dirt spots. So that cheers me.

* Hillary is de jure done (even though she was de facto done months ago), so I'm a bit sad about the fact that we won't have a female nominee. I'm even sadder that this campaign season has reinforced my belief that Americans will not elect a woman as president.

* Obama is going. to. be. our next president. That's cool and happy.

* I just got my period, so I'm crampy and grumpy and generally don't feel great.

* I'm at work. Bleh.

* But my boss is gone all morning, so that's happy.

* SM's heinous bitch of a renter is mouthing off again and threatening him. She's the worst kind of bully. That makes me nauseous and angry.

* We have a crack in our livingroom ceiling. In the past few weeks, it has grown. This morning, it cracked through, and now there is a piece of plaster hanging down. FUCK. We need to get that fixed, and I don't know if there's a structural issue. Augh.

* I haven't had my coffee yet this morning because I woke up late. I need. me. some. joe.

* Gonna get some now. :)

So you can see, there's more stuff stressing me out than making me happy. I need some more happy right now. Got any?

Another meme from Scooter

This time it's about monkeys. I think he made this one up. It's kinda weird. He must be bored or something.

Well, since I was born in the year of the monkey (as was he -- we're both 40 this year), I decided to do it.

Here goes...

Name a Monkey
The name of a monkey or a kind of a monkey? How about rhesus monkey (not to be confused with a Reese's monkey)? Ain't they cute?

What's a Humanzee?
A person who drives a Camaro. Oh wait, that's an Iroc-Z.

Sock monkey - love 'em, or hate 'em?
They're creepy, dude.

Anatomically correct sock monkey (perhaps NSFW) - love 'em, or hate 'em? Literally?
Wouldn't even know about them but for Scooter. Yeah, thanks for the education. I could have lived my entire life without seeing sock monkey testicles and been just fine. Oh, the humanity!

Favorite monkey movie?
I don't have favorites.

Lancelot Link. Have you ever even heard of it?
Secret chimp? Sure thing. I grew up watching TV.

Evolution or Creationism?
They don't even belong in the same train of thought. Don't get me started.

Monkey testing?
What a horrible thought, let alone practice. So, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Monkeys in space?
Why? Only if it's a new sit-com or a Mel Brooks' movie.

Helper monkeys?
Kinda creepy, but if they can help someone live more functionally, then okay.

100 Monkey Theory? Believe it?
Don't even know what that is. (I just googled it, and even though it's based on Japanese research, I still didn't know about it.)

12 Monkeys?
Nope. Never saw it.

Gorillas in the Mist or Every Which Way But Loose?
I studied anthropology as an undergrad, so I'll take Sigourney Weaver over Clint Eastwood.

Funniest Ape/Monkey related moment?
Hey, how did you hear about last Saturday night??? Oh, um, you mean the movies? Or TV? In that case, I got nuthin'.

Posts in which I mention apes?
None? I'll have to check. [answer: 0]

Posts in which I mention monkey?
Many, because I was born in the year of the monkey. Again, I'll have to check. [answer: 6]

Monkeys or apes?
Monkeys. (Because it's just not as cool to walk arm in arm and sing, "Hey, hey, I'm an ape.")

War Games?
Huh? As in "Shall we play a game?"? I don't get what that has to do with monkeys.

Name another ape.
Do you mean a "Magilla Gorilla" answer or something along the lines of "orangutan"?

Most peculiar monkey/ape page you can find?
Simian Crease listed on IMDB as a person. Ummm... maybe a joke, ya' think??

The Pudge Report

Okay, I admit it. I chickened out again last week. I didn't weigh-in. It was right after the long weekend, over which was my engagement BBQ, and a week of pigging out. I just didn't want to get on that scale. Big, fat (emphasis on the fat) chicken.

But there's only two months until the wedding, and I've been in this holding pattern since January. Yes, five months in a holding pattern. Perhaps that means I won't lose anymore? Perhaps. But I am going to make one final try.

I know, I know. You've heard it all before. Well, at least I've started with the exercise. A 4-mile walk yesterday, and I am planning another 2 or 3 mile walk tomorrow. (All this in addition to the usual 1.5 miles I walk for my commute.) So, that's a start at least. And I started back on the NS plan in earnest yesterday. And I was pretty good about it. So now I just need to stick with it.

And also report out my numbers. And stop being a big, fat chicken (emphasis on the fat).

So here we go.

H>-----------------------------*--------------->G

I am 15.5 TG, which is -29#s, which is a number I've crossed back and forth over many, many times. I think my lowest was -30#s, so I am doing relatively well, all things considered. But I don't want to keep revisiting the same numbers. I want to venture into new territory.

I'd really like to break the -30 and stay there. Haven't done that yet, but that's my next goal.

A 7 bunny walk... or 3.5 bunnies per mile

I had a small errand to do tonight. I had to drop off something about 2 miles away. So rather than drive, we decided to take a family walk. SM, Gidget and I walked there. About 2-something miles each way.

On the walk there, I saw 7 bunny rabbits. It wasn't even like I was trying to spot them. They just were all around. Must be that time of year. Bunnies springing up and hopping all over. Very cute. Only one on the way back, but it was getting dark, so I couldn't see well. I think the one I saw was a repeat bunny anyway.

It was a very nice walk. Towards the end of the return trip, the sun was basically down, and the bugs were out. That was uggy.

But, hey, I got my exercise in for the day. 4 miles round trip plus the 1.5 miles I do everyday to commute. A good start for my new resolve to eat well and exercise.

And we saved approximately 67 cents of gas! Woo-hoo!

If it happens in nature, does that mean it's natural?

If so... then, same sex coupling/parenting is natural. According to this article, "nearly one-third of the 125 pairs [of the albatross in a colony under observation] consisted of two unrelated females, and half of these stayed together for the duration of the study."

Of course, this study says nothing about the sexual desire of the birds, if birds even have sexual desire. It just says that it's perfectly natural for two females to form a bonded relationship and co-parent.

Whodda' thunk it?

That a white woman married to a former president would be seen as the champion of the working class while a black man who worked as an advocate in the inner-city would be slapped with the label "elitist"...?

Just goes to show the power of the spin cycle.

It must be that time of year

because all of the wedding-related articles are starting to appear in the media.

Our plans are fairly simple, but probably not even as simple as I had originally envisioned. My stepsister has taken the decorations to a whole new level. It's a bit mind-boggling.

But, rest assured -- no doves being released (although she wants to release balloons!), no throwing of the rice/birdseed, and no bubbles. Just good food, good friends and family, and (hopefully) good fun.

Monday morning haiku

June resolution:
Diet, exercise, eat well.
I am serious.

(Two months to the wedding... oh my!)