Author: fifteenkey (Page 44 of 96)

…for her “concession speech.” Is anyone surprised? Now NBC’s Ron Allen explains, “She’s always running late.” Ron Allen is one of a few people of color (how come that’s PC, but “colored people” isn’t?) suddenly brightening TV news. Some of my favorites are Allen, John Ridley from NBC, and the opposites, Amy Holmes and Donna Brazile of CNN. I did search for a FauxNews representative, and Juan Williams was the lone beacon in their sea of white lies.

I wonder if the election of Barack Obama will open more doors for non-Caucasians.? Speaking of colored people, John McCain is so white, he’s gray. I mean, he is a man completely devoid of hue. He’s also absent alignment with the majority of Americans, but I digress…

Today’s speech, and more pointedly, the “walk” of the talk between now and November will determine the legacy of Hillary Clinton. My hope for her, my daughters and my grand-daughters is that it’s a brilliant one.

Yesterday my #1 fan commented, “Does it ever make you mad that no one comments?” Well, that’s really not true, is it my girl? Oh, you mean “other people…” No, not really. People lead busy lives and I’m grateful that 15-20 people a day read this often digital drool.

Hey, speaking of drool, Jeff and I were IM’ing the other day and briefly exchanged views on the imperviousness of babies to drool. It’s everywhere and they just don’t care. Happy birthday to Nathan and Zachery Copetas who hit the big one this week.

• “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” Records is a great name for a label.

Top 3 Sunburns…

• Memorial Day 1976 at Hampton Beach, NH – From cracker to lobster kicking off the bi-centennial summer.
• Gila River (AZ) Raft Trip 1981 – Laying in an inflated tire for 5 hours drinking beer sounded like a good idea.
• July 4, 1982 – Mission Beach, San Diego – When you choose the back of a station wagon alone vs. a sleeping bag on the beach with your girlfriend, it’s not a tan.

‘If Jesus was around today the Republicans would call him soft on terror and part of the “cut and run” crowd.’ – DJ Hugely on “Real Time with Bill Maher.

Focus
Reading an article about focus while climbing stairs, listening to music and occasionally glancing at the TV may seem fuzzy, but it all works together like rats rummaging tin garbage cans in the alley of a French Bistro. One line from a commenter stood out: “The more attention you put on something the bigger it becomes.” Yeah, like an ex-girlfriend.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Imagine, you meet a smart, sexy woman and she’s got a great career, moonlights as a superhero, plus she breaks your bed with you in it. Cool, right? Well, super skills aside, she turns out to be a needy, neurotic mess who puts this song into the soundtrack while she burns “Dick” into your forehead with x-ray eyes… Cute premise for a movie and the few bits I caught while the Mars lander allowed the dust to clear were chuckle inducing. .

Mission to Mars
I’ve been fascinated by the space program since watching Gemini and Apollo missions in the 60’s and 70’s, but in 2008, I think $520M could buy a lot of progress toward energy independence instead of ice on Mars. Still, it’s a great achievement for the Phoenix mission team at the University of Arizona.

The liberal press and nuts like me make ourselves feel better about the mess we’re in by proclaiming Dubya will burrow under the lair of losers to his rightful spot at the bottom of the worst Presidents ever. But is he really? Yesterday oil fetched $139 a barrel; we all know where gas prices are going, and Mr. Bush’s oil friends are realizing historic profits. From the secret “energy policy” meetings held by the ever-appropriately named Dick Cheney, to a long destabilizing war, this seven year reign of error has made it happen. As Robin Hood was a hero to the poor, George W. Bush is a serviceable lackey to the rich.

I can’t end there… 40 years ago this week as this then nine year old got ready for school, the man on the radio told me Robert F. Kennedy had been killed. What I haven’t known for forty years was that as he lay dying, he was conscious and asked, “Is everybody all right?” Those were his last words.

Scanning those quad decade events, I read about a rumor that the Stones were recording “Beggar’s Banquet” at the time and that a lyric in “Sympathy for the Devil” was changed from “I shouted out, who killed John Kennedy?” to “I shouted out, who killed the Kennedy’s?”

As our economy unravels and all but the rich are at risk of unemployment, inflation and a devaluing of our currency as a nation, my hope is that our next President shares the sentiment, “Is everybody all right?”

Maybe it’s the part of me that enjoyed the Yankees losing almost equally to the Red Sox winning. Now I don’t really give a shit. Well, maybe a little, but last night, I wanted concession with my victory and I didn’t get it. No white flag. No graceful exit. No class, but talk of “respect.”

I don’t know what this “respect” means now from someone who has no respect for the process, the rules, her opponent, and most importantly, the truth. In the hotly contested elections of 2000 and 2004, I’m certain neither Al Gore nor John Kerry wanted to concede to Dubya, but both did with dignity. Last night the Titanic sank and “she who shall not be named” sat in a lifeboat like Bruce Ismay, pretending it didn’t happen.

Last night as I read the comments of thousands in the blogosphere, this one tickled me. The writer said the whole thing reminded him of a scene from “Waynes World.”

Stacy: “You know Wayne, if you’re not careful, you’re going to lose me.”
Wayne: “I lost you 2 months ago. We broke up. Are you mental? Get the net!”

Democratic voters helped Barack Obama make history.

Some other thoughts on the general election:

• It wouldn’t surprise me if John McCain isn’t the Republican Presidential candidate on November 4, 2008. They cannot win with this guy. Hey, Karl Rove & Co. smeared him out of the running in 2000. Anything’s possible.
• Barack Obama needs to keep accentuating the positive and back off the corporate bashing. Even the oil companies need to be part of the solution if we’re to have real change.
• Michelle Obama is going to get savaged by the right-wing pitbulls of hate like Michelle Malkin. Her husband won’t be spared either. They’ll probably link him with OJ Simpson before it’s all over.
• When are the Republicans going to get John McCain into Toastmasters? Seriously. That lackluster speech tonight in front of those rented cardboard cutouts was pathetic.
• I almost welled a tear tonight seeing footage of Barack Obama shaking hands with hard working Americans… Black Americans. The pride in their faces was touching.
• It looks like millions of Democratic voters are going to be held hostage until they are “respected.” Whatever that means. Their choice now is to vote for the Democrat or screw themselves with apathy or a vote for John McCain. That’s not much leverage for a group that supposedly wants to do what’s best for America.

Sunday’s handy self-help post really inspired me to crank out another…

With gas approaching 4 bucks a gallon, I’m looking for ways to squeeze more miles out of each polluting one of them. It’s easy really:

1. Don’t drag race unless you’re a man dressed as a woman – Hitting the pedal and quickly accelerating might make you feel like Milton Berle (in more ways than one…), but it’s damn wasteful on petrol. Edmunds reports this alone can save you 30% of your precious fuel.

2. Sammy can’t drive 55, but you can – The closer you drive to 55, the better, with a potential 14% savings.

3. Take a Cruise – Using cruise control can save 14%.

Now you can’t add these all up and expect 58% savings because your mix of driving will determine overall savings, but employing these tips is working for me in the real world… Well, my world. Prior to last week, the long term mileage calculated over tens of thousands of miles on my trip computer was 19.1mpg. Not bad for a 1996 Volvo with 227,000 miles, right? Well, for the last tank of gas with a kindler, gentler driver, the score reads 24.1mpg, a 26.2% improvement! Over my 20,000 annual miles at $4/gal., the savings is North of $850! When I calculated mileage the old fashioned way, it was even better:

Those are the numbers for a car that had an EPA sticker stating City 17 / Highway 24 / Average 19mpg when it was new…

4. Bonus tip – Get the body out of your trunk – Seriously, why am I carrying 2 gallons (14lb) of water and golf clubs I use twice a year?

I can’t believe I missed it. The Digg headline was irresistible, and the ecollegetimes.com photo priceless, so with one click of my battery-powered mouse, I read that May was “National Masturbation Month.” OK. Stop. I want to use my imagination on this post and not just lazily pick from this comprehensive list of pud pulling puns. Not that “you know,” is limited to the male population, but unlike it being a “lifestyle” for men, women engage out of necessity, since most men approach making love with a woman like a ferocious game of Whack-a-Mole, present company excluded, of course.

My research soon turned up the Masturbation Hall of Fame and songs dedicated to the handy hobby including the Who’s “Pictures of Lily,” Green Day’s “Longview,” and the Divinyls classic, “I Touch Myself.” The Hall of Fame cited several pop culture references including Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham enjoying hand made pleasure in the shower in “American Beauty” as his voiceover intones, “This is the high point of my day.”

My favorite cultural reference to self-satisfaction is, “The Contest,” a “Seinfeld” stroke of genius written by Larry David. Here’s the opening few minutes…

In spite of its universality among male and female, the subject still comes with a touch of taboo, although I’m sure Republicans would agree Democrats do quite a bit of jerking off and Democrats wish the Republicans would at least once in a while. Of course, it’s still a little embarrassing to be associated with the she-bop, as the family of this spelling bee winner might attest…

Still, you never know what might set your fingers fumbling, and you’ve got to be careful where you bone the bat (Oh, go ahead. Click it.). One poor guy ended up in a Craigslist post and then got his very own youtube vid. Check it out. It’s only 1:39 and then you can, you know, do whatever.

Seems like this fun show is a local phenomena now, but I can see Night At the Rock Opera coming soon to a slick Vegas venue…

In other news, Sloan has a new record coming out June 10th and a local date eight days later at T.T. The Bear’s. Check out some new cuts on the bands myspace page.

Jeff, I’m going…

File under Serendipity… The band also has a show at Chicago’s Double Door June 23rd… I’m there for a conference the 22-24. Sweet!

I’m pretty fatigued at this Democratic primary process that’s now lurching, wheezing and sputtering toward the finish line like the last event of a senior’s decathlon. However, the awards ceremony, or in this case, selection of a nominee, could not be completed until some rules were changed to favor one participant.

Before we get to yesterday’s action, let’s look at how we got here:

• Aug. 19, 2006 – The Democratic National Committee schedules Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina caucus/primaries and rules that other states cannot hold their contests before Feb. 5, 2008, and offending states delegates would not count in the nominating process.
• May 21, 2007 – Florida officially moves their presidential primary to Jan. 29, 2008.
• Aug. 25, 2007 – The DNC strips Florida of its 210 presidential convention delegates.
• Aug. 31 – Sept. 1, 2007 – Democratic presidential candidates including Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama sign a pledge not to campaign in states that hold early nominating contests in violation of party rules.
• Sept. 4, 2007 – Michigan officially moves their presidential primary to Jan. 15, 2008.
• Oct. 9, 2007 – Democratic presidential candidates including Barack Obama withdraw from the Michigan ballot. Hillary Clinton says her name will remain on the ballots.
• Dec. 1, 2007 – The DNC strips Michigan its 156 delegates.
• Jan. 15 & Jan. 29, 2008 – Hillary Clinton wins Michigan and Florida primaries.
• Since then… Barack Obama wins 9 straight contests and takes the delegate lead. Hillary Clinton begins to talk about the “disenfranchised” voters of Michigan and Florida.

May 31, 2008 – The DNC Rules Committee meets to determine the fate of the Michigan and Florida delegations, in spite of the fact that fate was already decided and agreed to by both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama. The Clinton side wanted each delegation to be seated fully and the votes to represent those on the Jan. 15 & Jan. 29 primaries, even though Barack Obama wasn’t even on the ballot in Michigan. After the public hearing bullied throughout by Clinton supporters, the committee ruled to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan with half a vote each. The compromise gifted Mrs. Clinton a net gain of 24 delegates, but fell far short of what she needs to overcome a now insurmountable Obama lead. Some of her supporters didn’t take the news well:

This ugly contest has been soiled with charges of racism and sexism, and the actual vote counts show overwhelming support of Sen. Clinton by white women and of Sen. Obama by African-Americans. Between now and November, those fissures get healed or the Democrats wake up November 5th wondering what the hell happened. Could “hell hath no fury” cost Barack Obama the White House? Only if most Clinton supporters are like Sister Christian above, and I don’t think they are.

After weeks of anticipation, last night Megan headed into Boston with 3 (natch) girlfriends to see “Sex in the City.” The clickety-clack sound of her heels on the hardwood floors told me she was just about ready. After all, it is a show about shoes, right? I think that’s why guys, well, straight ones anyway, aren’t into the show. I can only speak for myself, but my shallow self rarely gets to the shoes. What I’ve discovered is that women know this, and the shoes aren’t for us. They buy the shoes to impress their girlfriends. As I sat getting a haircut yesterday, Kristie confirmed as she cut. Yeah, she’s a sample of 1, but I’m pressed for time here…

I also don’t know where I’m going with this. I tease Megan about her being “Carrie,” but aside from her physical character portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker, I don’t really know anything about her (see shallow, above). Time for Wikipedia wisdom…

OK, so Carrie Bradshaw has a shoe fetish and a tendency to dress like a gourmet, pot-luck supper for lunch or cosmo’s with her girls, and is “at heart, old-fashioned and deeply romantic. She is on an endless search for true love, and refuses to settle for, as she puts it, ‘anything less than butterflies.’” Let’s look at her pals…

• Charlotte York “is the most conservative and traditional…”
• Miranda Hobbes has “extremely cynical views on relationships and men…”
• Samantha Jones is “a seductress who avoids emotional involvement at all costs…”

While most women of any complexity probably wear pieces of each character like gold from a jewelry box, my Megan does most resemble the glittering Carrie. She also has the hope of Charlotte and hopefully will never wear the cynicism of Miranda. Of course she’s never had sex, so Samantha… Uhhh… Can I just take a pass on that part? I’ll go with she’s got most of the good and maybe some of the bad of each imperfect character. That makes her beautifully unique.

And don’t ever settle for anything less than butterflies…

Tami Silicio’s photo of flag-draped coffin
By WeMeantDemocracy on Flickr
© All Rights Reserved.

This long weekend is brought to you by the thousands of American men and women who died carrying out the policy of their government. Policy they neither formulated nor necessarily endorsed. They deserve our acknowledgment and respect. This week I received the following email from a guy I greatly respect:

As we all know Memorial Day is coming this weekend. This is a time when we should remember all who lost their life while serving their country. As has been my custom for the past few years, I go with a few others and place new flags at each Veterans headstone at the cemetery here in Medfield. After we have finished, it’s quite humbling as we look across the cemetery and see so many flags waving in the breeze.

This year you might notice some changes if you attend a Memorial Day parade or ceremony. The President signed into law this past January a slight change in the code of conduct for Veterans as well as active duty service men. It is now proper for all veterans and active duty servicemen to salute the flag while dressed in civilian clothes. You might notice this occurring now.

Another effort that is being promoted is for Veterans to proudly and openly show pride in having served in the Military. They are being encouraged to wear their Medals on their hat, shirt pocket, lapel or jacket on Memorial Day as well as Veterans Day. You may also begin to notice others who will choose one of their medals and wear it daily or on special occasions.

If you can, find the time to attend a Memorial Day Ceremony near you. Attending a ceremony is one way of assuring the perseverance of the true reason this holiday is observed.

I admire Ron’s intent and know it’s genuine. What irks me is the subtle war promotion driven by the chicken hawk Bush administration in the middle two paragraphs. It’s pretty much a subliminal way of manipulating those who sacrificed into promoting the neocon militarism that’s sinking our country. This is Memorial Day, a solemn occasion, not a Soviet style Victory Day of promoting military might.

Rant over. Here’s a list of Massachusetts events honoring those who died following orders.

Memorial Day 2007
Memorial Day 2005