A Fine Choice of Wood Screws

As you can tell from my posts lately, I'm very disillusioned with the direction our country is going and with 62% of Americans agreeing with me, I'm in the majority...except that I seriously doubt we'd agree on the solutions.

Ever since Obama started pushing health care reform and all those on the rabid right started waving tea bags and absurd socialism signs, I've been having some fantasies. If only that man could wave that magic wand and instantly create some more socialism, above and beyond what we've already got (and upon which, the rabid right is heavily dependent).

I'm not as anti-capitalism and free enterprise as my anger lately would indicate. I rather like having a choice when it comes to the food I put in my mouth and the products I use to clean my teeth and hair. Pickles come to mind. Even when it comes to roasted peanuts, I swear I can tell a difference between the Emerald label and my local HEB label. I prefer the local HEB label, and for all I know they come off the same assembly line. I do, however, have major issues with corporate giants gobbling up small producers under their umbrella, all in the name of market share, corporate profits, and pleasing their shareholders.

I think we would could stand to benefit from breaking a few old habits and doing some taste tests and perhaps we could start to wean ourselves away from branded items owned by the likes of P&G, Kraft, PepsiCo, Unilever, and others that are "too big to fail." You know, the shit you think is the best only because you've seen it advertised on television six thousand times vs. the store brand which might cost 20% less but you've never seen it advertised, and therefore it doesn't have that cache of a major corporate label behind it.

As much as I love having choices, there are clearly situations where I have them and honestly don't give a shit. I'm not sure I need 35 different olive oil choices, but since it is a food item, I sure wouldn't want to deprive another person of their personal joy. And besides, some of those labels are small producers, not corporate behemoths, and we need more of those.

When was the last time you went to buy nails at Home Depot and were confronted with a choice between 6 or 7 different manufacturers? And did that lack of selection bother you? Nails are important, as are wood screws. They kinda sorta hold our houses together. But you don't see ads in magazines, or on TV, for either nails or wood screws. And what's out there must be pretty damn good because I've never taken either purchase back for a refund, or driven around to see if Ace sells the same brand as Home Depot. Nor has my house caved in on me. Or the last house, for that matter. Most of us don't much care, nor should we. If it's a quality product, we're happy. If it's not, word will soon spread and another manufacturer will step in to fill the gap.

Another area where I honestly could care less is in the fuel industry. I think we'd be better off if the state owned oil & gas production in the country. Aside from when I was young and using my dad's Conoco credit card, I've never sought out a particular brand of fuel. I've used it all: Exxon/Mobile (before the gay boycott thing started), Texaco, Chevron, BP, Phillips 66, Valero, you name it, I've used it. And you know what? Despite all the pissing contests between them with boasts of Techron, and other bullshit, I can't tell a difference, and I drive a performance sports sedan. I've driven a Honda Civic and I've driven a beat up Toyota Corolla. And not once have I ever said, "Ummm, I'm running on empty but I'm going to pass on that Texaco because there's a Chevron six miles up the road and my baby is jonesin' for some Techron."

I do not care what I put in my car. Call it Amerigo, make it a state-owned monopoly, and you won't get anything but a loud cheer from me. The wasted money on advertising, the corporate executives and shareholders of one fuel company trying to gain market share over another, the mergers and acquisitions in an effort to be numero uno, would all disappear. And good riddance to it. If my car runs, I'm happy. And I think it's safe to say, after the BP disaster, not only do we need to move away from that source sooner rather than later, their interests in alternatives are purely self-serving.

Another area I wouldn't be the least bit sorry to see disappear is the competition in the cell phone arena. Good fucking grief! I remember when I came back from London in 1984 and suddenly the telecommunications industry had been deregulated. I needed to call my parents from a pay phone and had to make a choice of which corporate carrier was going to handle my long-distance call. I didn't give a flying fuck then, and I sure as shit don't give a flying fuck now. "You're using Sprint? Uggh, dude, AT&T is the only way to go...more bars in more places you know?"

Fuck that noise. I have AT&T on my cell phones here in Austin. I keep it because I have my mother on my plan and she lives in southeast Arkansas. I used to have Virgin Mobile and on a trip to my mom's back about 8 or 9 years ago, I didn't have phone service for like 500 miles, including the entire time I was at her house.

Sheldon took his phone to North Dakota this month and had spotty service at best. Maybe Verizon would be better up there. But maybe down here in this valley where we live, Verizon wouldn't work at all, and maybe at my mom's house it would be the best of all. Who knows and who cares, and who wants to spend the time and money trying to figure out which provider is going to handle you best in all the places you need to visit.

Honestly, when I'm on the phone with someone, not once have I ever been able to figure out whether they are using Sprint, Verizon, AT&T or whatever. It doesn't matter! What we want is good service, good bars, and access across the nation. And maybe Canada. The state can seize that industry for all I care, invest in one universal comprehensive area of coverage, we're all on the same network, all one big Amerizon family plan. Easy. Less choices to stress about. Less advertising and competition and pissing contests and unhappy shareholders and executives shitting their britches over market share after dropping from #2 to #3.

And let's throw the banking industry in here while we're at it. Give me one national bank owned by the government with decent interest rates and tellers who are happy because they are paid well since they aren't competing with shareholders demanding dividends and rising stock prices, and have free government health care. Better yet, give me that option and the option to stay with my credit union. Credit unions vs. a national state-owned bank. Fair enough. Stop the gouging with check fees and ATM fees. A check is a check and it moves through the system with ease regardless of whether it's a Chase, Bank of America, or Wells Fargo check. At the very least, regulate the banks, break the behemoths up into regional banks.

I could live without a choice of airlines as well. But then I never fly so I'll spare you my diatribe on that industry. If I needed to fly from Austin to Little Rock, I'd be stopping in either Dallas or Houston regardless of whether I chose Delta, Continental, American, or Southwest, and the fares and taxes are all about the same, so why do I care? It's competitive clutter. Take some of those profits and bonuses going to executives and share it with the underpaid pilots and stewards! How 'bout that?

In my utopian dreamworld of the Evil Socialist Obama, I would drool at the prospect of eliminating the corporations that control our television, radio and newspapers. Allowing corporate conglomerates to monopolize the local media was one of the biggest mistakes ever perpetrated upon an ignorant populace. Why did we stand for this? Why does Clear Channel, based in San Antonio, need to own six radio stations in Memphis and another 850 stations elsewhere? (They also own six stations in the small market of Bismarck, North Dakota!) Oh, stupid me: money for executives and shareholders, and the ease of production-line programming so they can inflict the same stinking pile of overplayed songs on EVERYBODY. Sorry, I took a momentary leave of my senses. Who cares what people in Bismarck or Memphis want to hear? Feed them what they think they need and they'll never know the difference. Most of them are too young to remember real rebel radio anyway. You know, stations with DJs who could get a wild hare up their ass and decide to play Thick as a Brick in its entirety. That was back when radio was actually exciting and unpredictable.

I just get so annoyed with the ridiculous portrayals by the right of President Obama and his "road to socialism." I could show them what a real socialist looks like.

[Insert Descriptive Post Title Here]

A long-time blog buddy (yes, four years is a long time in blogworld!) and Facebook friend took issue with my use of the word "slavery" in yesterday's post title. This morning he wrote in a Facebook message:

Sorry, it doesn't work even as hyperbole. It's an absurd word choice, and it makes me cranky as hell when someone uses it in an anti-corporatist rant. There are many things wrong with our society and its relationship to corporations, but we are all quite free to choose to live differently.

True, it wasn't a great choice of words, particularly if you interpret it literally in the context of American history. We aren't literally owned and sold like chattel at an auction. We still have our constitutional rights, more or less. We are free to pack up and move where we want, provided we have the means, and to pursue an education and any employment for which we are qualified.

However, I was at a loss for words in attempting to convey my rage at the level of influence held by corporations, and I still struggle to find a better word. Beholden? Nah, definitely not strong enough and still conveys some of that slavery essence. And I certainly didn't want to venture into deeper waters by suggesting that we are being raped by corporations, or resorting to disturbing visuals and crass bluntness by saying corporations are fucking us up the ass. I mean, come on! This is a quality, family blog!

Yes, we are all "free to choose to live differently" which differentiates the situation from actual slavery. And therein lies the problem, and I alluded to this in yesterday's post, that "we" aren't making that choice, either due to ignorance, or indifference. A whole bunch of us seem ok with the invasive corporate cancer, preferring instead to whine about it, and blaming our political leaders while clinging to the two-party pendulum as it swings back and forth, gathering millions of corporate dollars along the way which, ironically, we are helping fund each time we choose to do a business transaction with them.

We are free to choose to take corporate power away by making a personal decision to buy local and support small businesses. Absolutely true, but not a very realistic solution on which to hang a hat. That relies on trusting our fellow Americans, at least 80% of them in order to have a loud and meaningful impact, to be astute and make major changes in their purchasing habits. At least those fortunate enough to live in an area where there are choices, and have the ways and the means to do so, have that possibility.

In the thousands of small towns which have been decimated by the presence of Wal-Mart, the choices are extremely limited.

We are also free to throw our support behind any candidate and any political party we choose. Sounds good in theory but the best possible scenario never seems to pan out. Special interest groups with corporate funding can and do toss enough money behind their preferred candidate to drown out any alternatives. And why anyone would decide to vote for candidate A vs. candidate B based on a 30-second radio or television advertisement is beyond my comprehension, but it happens.

Despite all this freedom, and the power we have to radically change our politics, it's rather hard to accomplish when we can't even manage to get 40% of registered voters to turn out in mid-term elections, and a 55% turnout in presidential elections is considered a pretty good year, not that it matters if all those extra voters will vote no differently than the ones who bother to show up routinely.

Our energy policy and dependence on oil is another good example. To say we are slaves to oil might not be true either. We are free to break away from that dependence. Some of us take steps to reduce our consumption, others are able but choose not to, and another segment of society simply cannot do it for financial reasons.

This is precisely why we need government to devise a plan which inflicts pain and cost (yes, there is going to be some of both, so get ready) as fairly as possible in reaching the desired outcome of reduced dependence in the short-term, and green replacements in the long-term. This is not something we can sit around and wait on the private sector to do, nor does it make any sense to have individual states working independently of one another in this endeavor.

Call it what you wish, but we are under an oppressive thumb with the objective being to squeeze us dry to benefit the obscenely wealthy, and some of us are, strangely enough, shaking our pom-poms in fervent support for those groups.

***

(Off-topic blog note: The Echo comment system is misbehaving badly. FYI.)
***

We Are All Slaves to Corporations

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

For the last few days I've been in one of my pessimistic dark blue funks which have me just wanting to give the hell up on just about everything. Clearly, I'd be better off if I'd just stop watching Michael Moore films because they definitely trigger these feelings of despair. However you may critique his work, his delivery, his attempts to make a citizen's arrest at AIG, or whatever, the bottom line is that he is correct in identifying a huge problem we have in this country which ultimately will lead to our downfall. And if you disagree with that, well, you might be part of the huge problem we have.

I suppose it's very easy for most of us to ignore what's going on, and just ride the awesome wave of life, getting our gravy from whatever work we can find, buying fun shit to distract us, and just observing passively all the things going wrong here, perhaps hoping someone will fix it eventually, and hoping it never directly impacts us in a negative way.

Sometimes I desperately wish I could just turn off and ignore.

I'm at the point where I don't even want to write about politics, whether it's a politician talking out of both sides of their mouth, a Supreme Court ruling, or even a little piece of positive news, rare as that is these days.

As I sit here watching President Obama's approval rating dropping like a stone from the level of 15 months ago, I keep wondering what will happen in the 2010 mid-terms and in the 2012 election. And then I see a poll such as this one, and I simply get bewildered.

Nine in 10 Americans -- including a majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents alike -- think U.S. energy policy either needs fundamental changes or to be completely rebuilt, a new CBS/ New York Times poll shows.

Just 6 percent think only minor changes are needed to the nation's energy policy, according to the poll, conducted June 16 - June 20.

That sounds like good news, right? Isn't this what most of us wanted in the 2008 election, change? The kind of fundamental wholesale changes necessary to get us back on a sound track, and even completely rebuilding what is clearly broken. And it's not just energy policy. Most of us who voted for Obama expected that, as well as a repeal of DADT, the enactment of a strong ENDA bill, an exit from two reprehensible wars, closing Guantanamo, campaign finance reform, comprehensive health care reform including a public option, etc. I could go on but I think you get my point.

Had Barack Obama's campaign slogan been "incremental change you can believe in," I doubt there would have been as much hoopla surrounding his candidacy. "Hope" only goes so far...about as far as praying for campaign finance reform. Go ahead; knock yourselves out, but it's not going to change a damn thing until we change. And "we" don't seem to want to change. I mean, think about it. Obama supporters wanted all this change, and we didn't get it, and now there's a real chance Republicans are going to pick up a few dozen seats in Congress come November. I'm not going to write-off the White House to them yet, but you know damn well it's a possibility in 2012.

This really isn't a problem per se with Obama, or any other elected official. This is a problem with the American people and our expectations, coupled with an ignorance of how politics works, and who really has their grimy little paws on the strings of this absurd puppet show.

Campaigns and all their fancy slogans are nothing more than elaborate advertising campaigns and we are all too easily seduced by the promises of whiter whites, crispier chicken parts, easier housecleaning, and more bars with fewer dropped calls. The reality is that someone is usually taking us for a ride, and we're paying their expenses. Maybe we should just sell naming rights to the White House and all the monuments in DC to the highest bidding corporation and be done with it.

But back to that CBS poll I linked to earlier. Here's our other problem, and until we can come to terms with it, we are never going to experience the kind of change we expect and demand.

Moreover, nearly half of Americans -- 45 percent -- would support an increased tax on gasoline to support the exploration of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. But most people -- 51 percent -- oppose such a tax.

So, 51% of us want all this change, but we think it needs to come without a price and without any effort on our part. A majority of us -- slim as it is -- don't want the inconvenience which is often necessary for progress. I can't help but wonder if these are the people who want all taxes removed from fuel and everything else.

Go ahead, drive your cars with untaxed fuel until the roads and bridges start to crumble. I don't want to hear your complaints when a bridge falls into a river. I don't want to hear a peep from you when you hit a pothole and you spill hot Starbucks on your crotch. Eventually, a corporately-managed toll road will come to your rescue. Enjoy your ride.

And I'm going to stop wasting my time on hope until that other half gets their fucking shit together.

To those of you who voted for "hope" and "change" and are dissatisfied right now with the direction of the country, and you think swinging back to the Republican Party is going to make it all better, you either have a short memory or you're incredibly stupid naive, or both. Stop believing in slogans. Life is more complicated than that and requires a hell of a lot more effort to find the truth. And when you find the truth, you ain't gonna like it very much because the system is not going to be fixed by putting an X next to a name in a voting booth or on an absentee ballot; it's going to take an uncomfortable revolution to fix it. And frankly, I'm not sure when 51% of us are going to have the cojones for it.

Things Are Only Going To Get Better

Or worse. Depending on how you view it. And how you view it is about to change.

Sorry, no links. This is philosophical theory at work.

But make no mistake, I am pissed off. And I'm about to lay it all out there.

Give me a few days to assemble my weaponry.

In the meantime, keep an eye on the Quote of the Day to the left. It's where I'm going.

RIP Senator Robert Byrd

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd has died at 92. He served in the United States Senate longer than I've been alive. Amazing. And thankfully, at the time of his death, he was not the man he was in the 50s and 60s.

Mr. Byrd’s perspective on the world changed over the years. He filibustered against the 1964 Civil Rights Act and supported the Vietnam War only to come to back civil rights measures and criticize the Iraq war. Rating his voting record in 1964, Americans for Democratic Action, the liberal lobbying group, found that his views and the organization’s were aligned only 16 percent of the time. In 2005, he got an A.D.A. rating of 95.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out politically, as I can't imagine a more inopportune time for Democrats to be losing seats.

In the polarized atmosphere of Washington, President Obama’s agenda seemed to hinge on Mr. Byrd’s health.

Friday Pussy Blog: Disembodied Felines Edition

I anticipate a busy day at work so I'm getting the pussies posted early. The last thing I want to feel at the end of the day is pressure to blog.

Identify the feline based on disembodied "parts." :-) I should dedicate this post to you-know-who...but I won't.

Happy Friday!

Being Broke Might Make You Gay

I stumbled upon a video that just had me mesmerized for the comical value.

It was part of a Broke Straight Boys series in which straight dudes are so broke they will do "gay stuff" for money while being filmed, of course.

In the one I saw this week, the dude needed money for rent, and he claimed he even told his girlfriend and his landlord about his job for the day. And he made it a point to say he was "totally straight." And yet, during the pre-suck interview he could not stop tugging at his crotch, as if the anticipation was driving him mad. Maybe he just wanted to be sure he was of impressive size when it came time to drop the jeans to the floor.

This isn't the first one I've seen (and I swear to you, dear reader, I stumble upon them totally by accident!) and in each case the other instance, the guy also claimed to be "totally straight" and yet, when I see these in both of them my gaydar went off like a Kansas tornado siren.

The landlord could perhaps care less. Someone better tell the girlfriend. Or maybe she's just cool with it. I can't help but wonder if the girlfriend (and perhaps, the landlord) want to watch the video. It's a wild world out there.

Better living through technology. Or at the very least, more interesting.

Hurry Up and Wait

I seriously have a love/hate relationship with airlines. And when you factor in things like the TSA it really tilts in the direction of hate. But at least I'm not dealing with that tonight.

I'm just sitting around waiting for txrad's flight to get off the ground in Denver so I'll know for sure when I need to leave here to pick him up. He should have already been airborne by now but the flight is delayed 65 minutes due to a "mechanical" issue.

As I was typing that sentence, txrad called my cellphone to say the scheduled departure is now 9:20 Denver time instead of 9:10.

At least I can sit here at home and be tired and grumpy... waiting. Poor txrad already was facing a long layover which has now amounted to about 4 hours in the Denver airport. That's equal to a round-trip flight between Denver and Austin.

What a waste of time. I guess that's one reason airports have lots of bars.

UPDATE: Oh for fuck's sake! The flight is now delayed another half hour and will not depart until 9:40 Denver time. Cancel the damn flight already!

Assuming it leaves then, I won't need to be at the airport until 1 AM.

Question of the Day

Have you ever referred to your spouse/partner as "honey bunny?"

If so, don't answer this question because I don't want to know about it. Too freaky.

I can't think of any pet names I've had for txrad other than to occasionally refer to him as "my boy."

And to those of you who would be brazen enough to ask me if this is the best post I can do on a Monday, I can only think of one thing to say:

Any of you fucking pricks move.. and I'll execute every last motherfucking one of you!

Yes, Monday took a toll on me emotionally. LOL!

A Weekend of Chores

I'm not sure I could document everything I did around the house this weekend but I'll try.

Saturday: Gathered up some books, VHS tapes, clothing, a 5-disc CD changer, and a portable DVD player for Goodwill. Hauled enough crap out of the house to fill the dumpster. I cleaned the kitchen and did several loads of clothes, and watered all the outside plants. I cleaned litter boxes and gave the tub/shower a once-over cleaning prior to taking a shower. Then I took the stuff to Goodwill and stopped at the liquor store to give the manager some cherry tomatoes I had picked from the garden.

I came home and organized all the Tupperware in the cabinet prior to making dinner (but not prior to getting a wee bit drunk).

Sunday: I wasn't sure I'd be able to get motivated two days in a row to do anything, but I did. I had to run to Home Depot this morning around 9:00 to get a string cartridge for the weeder. I then trimmed a much-needed path through the tall grass out to the garden. After that, I gathered up all the bathroom rugs and two kitchen rugs for washing. Then I starting running the vacuum. And I vacuumed thoroughly. Most pieces of furniture got moved so I could vacuum under and around them. Good and thorough. I did two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two hallways, the den, living room, kitchen, office and lastly the utility room.

The living room was the most time-consuming with two big chairs and a sofa to move as well as three tables. In the end, I rearranged the furniture just a bit: swapped out the positions of two chairs, moved a table and repositioned the sofa about two feet further back in the room away from the TV.

I took out one houseplant which looked like crap, cut off dead stalks and re-potted the one healthy part of the plant. Hopefully it will survive. Then I decided to go back to Home Depot and pick up another houseplant. I ended up buying six. One of those has already been re-potted and is sitting in its new home in the living room. It's the one you see on the right.

I want a few plants in the office after I get done cleaning and organizing in here. Incidentally, that was my primary project for this weekend -- and I did get some done in here; it just wasn't my primary focus. I figured I should focus on the rest of the house during the weekend, and I can work on the office during breaks throughout my workday since I'll be sitting here anyway.

The Tot is already trying to dirty the coffee table. I need to get over the notion that it is possible to have a spotlessly clean house when there are four animals living in it: two cats and two humans.

Those 3 on the green bench were already here and are doing OK. I won't show you the sickly one.


The next 3 pictures are the other plants I picked up. What a great surprise for Sheldon... maybe. Hopefully he won't have internet access while on his trip and check the blog. And maybe it won't be much of a surprise either way since he takes care of the plants!

SURPRISE! Six new babies!

I'll try to be nice and get a few more of them re-potted before he gets home Tuesday night.

Friday Pussy Blog: Hot Pussy Edition

FRIDAY at last!!

With a high today of 94, Sweet Pea needed some shade.

Poor Tiger is finally showing his ancient age. Just in the past 2-3 weeks he has started getting wobbly when he walks. I'll be amazed if he's still with us by the end of summer. I need to cut some of his fur off so he can enjoy some comfort during what may be his last summer. Poor boy...

The Tot just waits patiently for the evening kitchen festivities to begin, starting with the feeding which is about due.

I have no idea where Sissy is right now. She's not in her usual position on the bed and I have searched all through the house. I know she didn't get out because I haven't left any doors open in this heat. So she doesn't get a photo on the blog this week.

Tried and True

With txrad being gone for a week, I'm having to be on my own again with meal preparation. And I would prefer to avoid the frozen entree route, or getting take-out, as much as possible. This is difficult when you work all day and then have to go out to the store after work for ingredients.

We got a recipe from Food Network way back around 2003 or 2004 which was whipped up by Sara Moulton on her show. It's an easy casserole, and doesn't exactly constitute "cooking" since all you do is dump a bunch of things into a bowl to make a sauce and then layer it between cheese, chips and sour cream, and then bake it.

We lived on this once or twice a week for several years until we burned out and moved on to something else.

I decided to go back to this recipe tonight and cut it in half so that it's a meal for one with leftovers for one... that will be Friday's lunch.

You know how sometimes when you cut a recipe in half, it completely changes the texture, flavor, and whatever, and turns out to be a shit meal? That was my concern when I got this thing assembled.

It appeared that I had gone too heavy on the layer of tortilla chips and too light on the tomato sauce. So in the end, before going in the oven, I poured some Stubb's BBQ sauce over the top....something we had never done in the past.

I sliced up an avocado to accompany this casserole, except you can't really save leftover avocado very easily, so I ate the whole thing. I guess it was pretty good and exceeded my early expectations.

A Week of Liberation

Every two years, txrad takes a trip up to North Dakota to visit family and today is his travel day. Because this travel is so infrequent I tend to forget how anxious I get in the hours leading up to his departure.

Yesterday was packing day and it was as if he was half gone already. As I sat here trying to concentrate on my work, he was busy gathering essentials for his trip, charging the cellphone, packing toiletries into 3-ounce bottles, and other tasks associated with travel.

The alarm clock, which we never use, went off at 3:30 this morning. As added insurance, we had two clocks set to go off at 3:30. One corded electric clock, and one battery-powered atomic clock. You never know when a power outage might happen, even when there is no inclement weather present, so it's nice to have that added level of certainty.

txrad set the atomic clock's alarm yesterday but it didn't go off this morning. He even put in fresh batteries yesterday. (Did I mention we like to plan for certainty?) Assuming the clock was probably made in China, I told him to blame the Chinese.

We hit the road as planned at 4:15 for the trip to the airport. There were very few cars on the highway at that time of the morning and by 4:35 we were at the terminal. He let out a big sigh, kissed me on the lips, and seconds later I was alone as I will be for the next week. By 4:59 I was back at home brewing coffee for one.

As I sit here typing at 5:58 AM, I'm thinking about the weirdness of air travel. Delivering txrad to the airport 90 minutes ahead of departure seems like such a waste of time. While he's technically "gone," he's still out there at the airport, having "gone" nowhere. And yet, by the time I log in for work this morning he will already be in Denver. Strange how that happens. And shortly after I'm done eating lunch, he will be driving a rental car through western North Dakota.

There is something very liberating about dropping off a spouse at the airport and knowing that you will have to assume 100% responsibility for everything while that person is gone. Yesterday I was riddled with anxiety and depression related to his journey, and this morning I feel a calming sense of relief, "unfettered and alive," to quote Joni Mitchell.

There is no 50/50 anything. There is no sharing and no compromise to make. There is just me and I can choose to deviate from my normal routine in any way I choose. I have the dishwasher running at 6:08. I will bake muffins before work. I can clean the refrigerator and throw out anything I choose. I make take a bunch of stuff to Goodwill. In theory, I could even paint the office.

I am responsible for feeding myself. I haven't been involved in meal preparation in a few months. This will be fun!

The plane is departing right now as I post this.

Oh, and I figured out why the alarm didn't go off on the atomic clock. While setting the time, txrad managed to change the time zone from Central to Pacific. Can't blame the Chinese for that.

I Hate To Say This

But we might need to start thinking about a challenger to President Barack Obama in 2012..from the true left.

That address to the nation tonight just about sealed the deal for me.

But thankfully, most of us are engaged in Mafia Wars, and Farmville, and SocialCity, and we don't need to be concerned with reality in the least.

Come the fuck on, people! Are we gonna sit around planting virtual crops and harvesting a perfect bouquet, or are we gonna change some shit?

Just curious.

The Mowing

The overdue mowing has finally begun. It's been about 2 years at least since I have mowed any of the yard out front. I think it was summer of 2008 when I started having troubles with the mower and never could get it running. I gave up in the fall and winter. In April and May of 2009 I tried again, with the help of my neighbors. We got things disassembled after realizing that fuel wasn't flowing to the engine, and assumed it was the fuel pump so we got that removed. (I say "we" but it was "they." I watched though!)

The local John Deere dealer didn't have any in stock so we had to wait about a week. By that time it was late May, early June, and the weather was not conducive to outside mechanical work. Couple that with the fact that I am not the least bit mechanically inclined and it's not hard to understand why I blew it off for another summer and into the winter and spring.

Finally, I decided to call the local mower maintenance guy to come by and put Humpty Dumpty back together again. He determined that the problem was the fuel hose which had begun decomposing. Got that replaced and got the fuel pump put back on, and all was well... except for the battery.

After unsuccessfully trying to charge it for a couple of days late this week I went out and bought a new one this morning. Got the mower started and proceeded to drive out to the front yard and mow. Then I couldn't get the mower blades to start up.

I drove back out to the street and around to our garage to troubleshoot. After cursing the mower for the 1,734th time, I realized there was a shift lever behind the steering wheel which engages the blades! It's been so long since I've been able to mow I forgot how to use the thing!

Oh, heavenly bliss. I still have some trimming up to do but it's a huge improvement.

The front yard had become a wildlife habitat and I stirred up a nest of bunnies. I had to mow very slowly to give them all time to hop to safety. They are very young so they don't run very fast.

There is also a big section off in the distance which still needs to be mowed. I always have to be careful in that area because there are some huge rocks to mow around.

I only mowed a trail out to the street so you can get a sense of before and after. I am thrilled to be able to get back on this project after much too long. Plus it feels great to do something genuinely productive rather than sitting in the air-conditioned house playing around on Facebook.

Friday Pussy Blog: Sprawling Pussy Edition

Sweet Pea had a nice sprawling pose on the patio to stay cool.

Tot Loaf!

Sissy is in a restful mood today. (Yeah, that's unusual, right?)

And.. our new welcoming door mat which hopefully will not turn into a cat bed. I think getting cat hair off those coarse fibers would be a huge pain in the butt. Anyway, it's pretty and clean today!

Happy Friday!

Addendum: In the time it took me to snap these pictures, resize them and get them posted (which wasn't long -- maybe 12 minutes), the Tot has migrated to the kitchen table and assumed the loaf position again.

The boy ain't dumb. He knows that's where the action is about to happen!

Today In Woman Hatin'

Shakesville's Melissa, in her eternal quest for exposing misogyny, stumbled upon a really insidious piece of work today! I shift shit you not!

So, I guess we're meant to understand that an essentially disembodied woman's torso is also a Philips accessory that can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime...? Swell.

Too bad. I had a Philips television I really liked that I may have replaced with another one. But I guess they don't want my business. Fair enough. I'll take it elsewhere.

Hit the play button and her legs move!

There's a word for it... um, I think it's a woman doing yoga, an active health-conscious woman on the go, but always ready to answer an email, or Tweet. But she's essentially reduced to a disembodied torso. Oh, the horror!

You know, if that's all it took for me to get upset enough to rid myself of possessions and wage a boycott, I probably would be living in an empty house.

If that Phillips ad sets the standard for misogyny these days, you'd think violence and discrimination against women simply don't happen in any kind of blatant way.

But what do I know. This fine example of boycott-worthy advertising would have flown by me completely unnoticed had I not been alerted.

That is all. You may now resume your other daily activities.

Big Hope Is Alive

First, let me say I'm not thrilled at the prospect of having to pull for Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln in November after her victory last night in the runoff election against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. But, the voters have spoken and made their choice. I wish Senator Lincoln the best of luck against Republican John Boozman come November. She's going to need the best and lots of it.

I am much more thrilled and excited by the outcome in the race for the 2nd Congressional District which covers central Arkansas.

State Sen. Joyce Elliott of Little Rock defeated state Rep. Robbie Wills of Conway in Tuesday’s race for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder in central Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District.

[...]

Elliott, widely regarded as part of the political left, and Wills, who has called Elliott “extreme” in her views, led a five-way Democratic race May 18, Elliott getting 30,370 votes to Wills’ 21,290, according to the uncertified results. Again, he led in seven of the eight counties, but she bested him strongly in the most populous one, Pulaski.

This race is critical because the winner will be replacing the "left-leaning" Vic Snyder. Needless to say, Elliott's Republican opponent in November calls himself a "conservative" who will be the "polar opposite" of Snyder.

Pass on that.

BadDecision 2010

This is an open thread to vent your frustrations with today's elections. I will expect to see 100+ comments by morning.

I am most interested in the Arkansas Democratic runoff for the Senate seat held by Blanche (Douchebag) Lincoln. And then we're going to have another issue come November. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

There's crazy shit going on out there, people. And I'm starting to think voters view this as some sort of virtual game as opposed to what it is.

Career Opportunities

I'm always curious about how people land in their lifelong career, for those lucky enough to have one, and assuming you would consider it lucky.

Many follow in the footsteps of a parent. Doctors begat doctors; lawyers begat lawyers, etc. Others follow some childhood dream. Some just stumble into something that makes sense for them. I fall into the latter category.

My dad was an inactive farmer, meaning that he owned farmland but someone else farmed it and we got a cut. He had various and sundry other jobs -- worked for the postal service I think, for awhile, did some housemoving, whatever. He could do just about anything. But I never remember him having anything like a traditional "career."

Nevertheless, I followed in his footsteps until I was 30, doing this and that, or nothing at all in many cases. My college studies impacted me more in my political philosophy than anything else. College certainly didn't have much of an influence at all in my current career.

I finally got into television and radio advertising and it was a perfect fit for me. As a child and a teenager, I was obsessed with geography, numbers, and broadcasting. It didn't take long after I got a job with an ad agency back in 1990 to realize that I had landed at a place where I could plant my feet and be happy.

What do you do for a living? Is it a match made in heaven? And what made you choose it, or did it just happen?

If I hadn't been fortunate enough to end up doing what I do, I can't imagine what the alternative would have been. The only other thing I would have wanted to do is something like this:

When Babies Grow Up

Life is full of surprises. My favorites are when you learn something rather special about someone you knew long ago...just one of those simple "oh, wow!" moments.

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend on Facebook about the school we attended in the early 70s. I dug out some old photos from the era and sent them to her. She then relayed an interesting tidbit.

The woman you see pictured below on the left was one of my teachers in junior high. I took that picture of her in May of 1974. Two years earlier she had given birth to the woman on the right.

The daughter's name is Laura Day, and it seems she went on to make quite a life for herself, including a national television debut as a designer on Trading Spaces.

Laura's journey from Southeast Arkansas to Manhattan has been filled with interesting twists and turns. She was born on August 28, 1972 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and was raised in nearby Dumas (farm country of the Arkansas Delta), later moving to Little Rock. Growing up, she rode horses and spent most of her time outdoors. Laura has traveled extensively through Europe and Asia and lived in many U.S cities like San Francisco, New Orleans, Martha's Vineyard and, of course, New York City. You'll find traces of the places she loves in her colorful and unusual takes on design.

Very cool.

By the way, that triangular arm you see on the left happens to be attached to my mother.

Saturday 俳句

Use a ticking clock
to measure stillness of time...
doesn't make much sense

Friday Pussy Blog: Stare-Down Edition

The TOT!

Sissy waiting on me to come join her for a nap.

That sounds like a mighty fine idea since I'm not working today.

Happy Friday!

Want To Leave The Matrix?

Yes, but I don't trust any former government spy to teach me how.

How about we just give peace a chance?

Two Noteworthy Items of Interest

Gee. As if we don't have enough to be concerned about already, the tea-bagger mantra, "I want my country back," has some added relevance for all of us.

#1

In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.

And #2

Want to invoke your right to remain silent? You'll have to speak up.

In a narrowly split decision, the Supreme Court's conservative majority expanded its limits on the famous Miranda rights for criminal suspects on Tuesday – over the dissent of new Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who said the ruling turned Americans' rights of protection from police abuse "upside down."

[...]

This decision means that police can keep shooting questions at a suspect who refuses to talk as long as they want in hopes that the person will crack and give them some information, said Richard Friedman, a University of Michigan law professor.

The long arm of the law is getting longer.

How 'Bout That Projection System!

Well done, Sabrina!

Icanhasinternets has a list up with 25 Horribly Sexist Ads. I'm not sure I would categorize the Sabrina ad as "horribly" sexist. And I'll confess: it took me about 5 or 6 seconds to get the "joke" because my gay eyes didn't zoom instantly to her perky breasts. I just saw a woman and proceeded to read the text, expecting to find blatant sexism there. And when it finally hit me, I laughed. So sue me.

But any of you would have to admit it's more humorous than most of the others. Some of them are truly horrible, even disgusting. This one actually makes me angry.

"Woe be unto you!"??? What the fuck?

As I stare at this, I just want to see her get up and smack that asshole in the back of the head with the heel of her shoe. Several times. And being vintage doesn't cut this ad any slack whatsoever.

I wonder if the man or men who created this ad were amused with their "creative brilliance," chortling and backslapping each other for a job well done. I wonder if this was common behavior in their own homes, to treat their wives like dogs who peed on the new carpet.

Everything about this ad creeps me the hell out, right down to the dude's suspenders and argyle socks. Bleahh. I think I'm most bothered because this attitude and behavior isn't vintage. Domestic violence is an ongoing daily problem.

Check out the rest of the 25 Horribly Sexist Vintage Ads if you feel so inclined.

At least Sabrina genuinely seemed to enjoy her work.

Monday Morning Musings

I'm not sure when I started obsessing about life and how quickly it seems to pass as I get older. It has definitely been a bigger blip on my radar since I turned 40.

When you are 20, you feel immortal and the world awaits you. Yet, if you can manage to make it through four consecutive average cat life cycles from that point, you are indeed lucky.

The unfortunate event on March 1st when I broke a number of bones in my face, the resulting surgery a bit more than 2 weeks later, and then my 50th birthday a month later, have all had an impact on how I view life. It seems so much more fragile now than it ever has before. The reality is that any of our seemingly stable lives can be turned upside down in the blink of an eye. Moreover, it is inevitable. The older we get, the greater the odds that we are on the cusp of a shattering event.

This understanding, which bears down upon me without my approval, is truly maddening sometimes. I see other people carrying on with their happy lives in what appears to be blissful ignorance of reality. I wish I could be like them. But are they all really unaware? Do they just have a more effective method of dealing with it and suppressing the associated emotions and anxiety?

We spend our lives gathering stuff: material possessions, friendships, and memories. We stuff our brains full of music, films, books, travels, sports scores, work experiences, Excel spreadsheet functions, HTML code, user IDs, passwords, credit card numbers, and expiration dates.

Our closets are packed with clothing and boxes in which stuff was delivered. Most people can't even use their garages because they are overflowing with possessions. And this is a relatively new phenomenon. My mother still remembers a time when she only had what was truly needed. She remembers her father telling the story of the first time he ever saw a motor car. He was so frightened he hid in a ditch. Running water and electricity inside the home were new luxuries, and still out of reach for many.

In that short span of time we have evolved into a people who have been born into such luxuries and take them for granted. We no longer need to hunt and gather for survival. Millions of us sit in a chair each day, tapping our fingers on plastic to manipulate data. And millions of us are paid well for it. But not in cash.

Someone else is tapping their fingers on plastic buttons to transfer "money" from one place to another place. When my place receives this transfer, I can then tap my fingers to move it from my place to the place which owns my house. Never having to lay eyes upon currency is a luxury.

I buy my food by swiping a piece of plastic through a chunk of plastic. That's how I get my groceries, my housewares, and fuel for my car so I can drive around and buy all this stuff. Quite amazing.

I don't even need to leave my house for a lot of the stuff I get. Tap tap tap on the plastic, select something you desire on a screen, type in a few numbers which gives instructions to computers to transfer a bunch of numbers from one place to another, and voila! A few days later, stuff comes to your door in a brown truck. And all of this is achieved by data passing through the air, or wires, at the speed of light.

Even in my lifetime, I remember how labor-intensive it was to gather information. I actually had to get up, get in the car, and drive to another building which housed thousands of books. I had to flip through drawers packed with thousands of little cards that contained directions to find the book which would contain the information I needed. And that was all well and good as long as someone else hadn't borrowed the book. There was even a human there to help you, if you needed it. Free of charge!

Now it is possible to gather data on a little chunk of plastic that you can carry with you, and tap on, or so I've read on this big piece of plastic I'm staring at as I tap these thoughts on my plastic buttons -- soon to be available for reading by anyone in the world fortunate enough to have a similar plastic device and viewing screen. You can even do this while you are driving around, buying shit you don't need, and swiping plastic to pay for it. Amazing!

What a world we live in, however briefly against the longer timeline of existence.

In this world of wonder and achievement, I am truly baffled that I can be so depressed. I don't just see the beauty and the wonder; I see everything. While this world in which we live would be unrecognizable to my grandparents in their youth, a few things haven't changed at all. Things like greed.

If we were truly immortal, or even if we could live 500 years, or 300 years, I could understand the concept of greed more easily than I can from my perspective of life at 50.

I am truly aghast that greed remains as pervasive and unevolved as it is. Greed is what compels us to do absurd things like drilling a mile deep -- underwater -- for fuel to power these moving boxes of steel we need in order to drive to a bigger, fixed-position box and punch plastic all day so that we can acquire a bunch of other (much smaller) numbers which get shifted around in the ether. After accruing enough of these numbers we call our own, we can drive around and buy stuff.

Greed is what allowed us to come here, take this land, and call it ours. Greed made us establish arbitrary and artificial boundaries, staking poles in the ground, adorned with absolutely meaningless pieces of patterned cloth in order to have what is essentially a meaningless and hollow identity.

Now that we have that, greed is driving us to destroy it. And we're no longer content to take advantage of people from outside our artificial boundaries with identifies different from our own; we seem eager to screw the life out of anything and everything we get our hands on in order to get more personal numbers stacked in our favor, whether it's our neighbors, the fields which grow the food to keep us alive, the water we need to quench our thirst, or the air we breathe.

We seem to have become completely uninterested in the numbers of our brothers and sisters who have had their equally short and fragile lives ended sooner than necessary by greed.

If nothing else, life is about adjusting and adapting to changes. Life is about caring and understanding. Life is about overcoming selfishness and greed. Life is about understanding that we are of the world and not vice-versa, and behaving accordingly. Failure to comprehend these simple facts is criminal. And we seem to be a nation and a world of criminals.

I have my own issues with comprehension. I cannot comprehend how, in this wondrous short time of bounty and achievement, so many of us cannot be content and enjoy our own personal experiences. Instead, we feel a necessity to exploit and control others, and often to focus on the most asinine of restrictions, while allowing all manner of other profligate atrocities to run rampant. I cannot comprehend how this path of greed we have chosen can be sustained much longer, nor can I comprehend how those of us who never ponder the ramifications of our enormous footprint will deal with the reality when it finally does deliver the ultimate smackdown.

On this day, arbitrarily set aside by some authority, in which we are asked to remember those who have fallen (some of whom still were not even allowed to be open and honest about who they were), and as I also include those who gave up a portion of their life, perhaps the best portion of it (and in many cases, a limb or two, if not their entire life), in their gift of service to this relatively recent nation of artificial boundaries conceived of, and awash in, greed, I have to ask myself if it was a truly necessary and noble cause, or simply a more short-sighted exploitation to fulfill a craven lust before casting them aside like spent fuel rods.

Sorry. I know I can come across as a major downer sometimes. But I think a lot. And I will honor our veterans today by saying we need to do everything in our power to stop creating so many of them for unjust causes. Those numbers (a trillion or two) piled up in someone's account which were used to fund the recent and ongoing wars could have been better transferred elsewhere in our relentless pursuit of stuff.

Live and let live, gently, and with responsible awareness and compassion.

RIP Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper died on Saturday at age 74.

I was obsessed with his bizarre roles throughout the 1980s. And he had quite a few of them. Obviously Easy Rider is near the top of the drug-induced heap. But for my money, Blue Velvet was the one placing him on the Pedestal of Weirdness.

I can't even remember how many times I saw that film when it was running in theaters. I have a copy on DVD. And to this day, I still quote lines from the film, spoken by Frank Booth, the character played rather convincingly by Hopper.

I can't even see a Heineken without hearing "FUCK that shit. PABST BLUE RIBBON!" playing on a continuous loop in my head.

Mr. Hopper, who said he stopped drinking and using drugs in the mid-1980s, followed that change with a tireless phase of his career in which he claimed to have turned down no parts. His credits include no fewer than six films released in 2008 and at least 25 over the past 10 years.

Thank you, Dennis. Rest in peace. You were a rebel without a pause.

1975 Farrah Fawcett Flashback

Check out the "full array of instruments," and Saturday bonus pussy for your enjoyment.

Sumptuous!

Friday Pussy Blog: Floral Pussy Edition

Tiger is just stunning behind the bougainvillea.

The Tot admiring the yard cameraman from the bedroom window with a flowering sage backdrop.

That reminds me, I need to go out there and get that screen firmly attached to the window. I went out a few weeks ago to put the screen up and there was a pesky wasp hovering. I didn't get to finish the job and then forgot about it.

What's everyone doing for the long weekend? Any big plans?

As for me, I'm just going to be hanging around. May try to clean and organize the office in preparation for painting the room.

DADT Is Getting Tossed (Sooner or Later) and Rightly So

The US House of Representatives voted 234 to 194 on Thursday night to repeal DADT. The geography of the vote didn't look much different from the highly-emotional vote on health care reform.

While there were legitimate pros and cons to the health care legislation, a repeal of DADT is at least a decade overdue, and the repeal should have been supported by all but the most zealous of wingnuts.

Umm, wait. It was! Sorry, I keep forgetting that our Congress is about evenly split between rational people and irrational lying manipulators who are hellbent on the continued oppression of anyone not like them.

Spacebook Suckin'

Here: read it, in case you didn't see it on the news today or you think it's just another konagod stream-of-consciousness moment.

Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the FRC, Peter Sprigg, told reporters that his study on "homosexual assault" in the military was based on analysis of public documents with the help of former US military officers. He said that in 2009, 8.2% of sexual assaults in the military were perpetrated by gays. The most common type of gay attack, according to Sprigg, is "one in which the offender fondles or performs oral sex on a sleeping victim."

8.2%. Wow, the dude is real precise with his measurements. Or is he just having a fantasy?

The Religion of Politics

Never discuss politics or religion if you want a civil discussion. That is probably good advice. Never the less, after reading and watching Glenn Beck’s animated, and perhaps chalk dust induced ramblings on the founding fathers I felt I had to had to put forth an opinion. It seems to me, that although most of the founding fathers would have counted themselves as Christians, there were wildly varying degrees to which their faith, or even lack of faith affected their actions in the founding ot the United States. I focused on the first five presidents, and on Thomas Paine. After reading The Age of Reason by Paine, I was particularly struck on how this book, if written today by a politician or political advisor would have him branded a heretic, and probably precluded him from any political influence, except perhaps in the same vein as Reverend Wright, i.e. negative. He actually advocated the tolerance of all religious beliefs, and even though he was a Christian, he had an equal disdain for organized religion, in particular the Catholic Church.

Like self described “rodeo clown” Beck, I too think many of the founding fathers would have been appalled at state of politics in the country they fought to give birth to, The fact that a candidate’s religion, or suspicion thereof was used by many as a reason to suggesting precluding him from office would have been viewed with disgust by the likes of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. The abuses of the constitution under Presidents GW Bush and Barack Obama, the pandering to the Christians (Moral Majority) by Reagan, and all the other mixing of politics and religion over the past 50 years would have disappointed many of the folks who fought and sacrificed to create a nation that had a strong and meaningful constitution and did not just give lip service to the separation of church and state.

The following quotes, I think may surprise some people. I’ve done my best to make sure they are not taken out of context, and I have given the sources from where they were derived.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.
-- Thomas Paine, (1737-1809), The Age of Reason, pt. 1, "The Author's Profession of Faith" (1794),

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression.
-- Thomas Paine, Dissertations on First Principles of Government (July 7, 1795)

Ecclesiastical establishments tend to great ignorance and corruption, all of which facilitate the execution of mischievous projects.
-- James Madison, letter to Bradford, January 1774

We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition ... In this enlightened Age and in this Land of equal liberty it is our boast, that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the Laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining and holding the highest Offices that are known in the United States.
-- George Washington, letter to the members of the New Church in Baltimore, January 27, 1793

As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?
-- John Adams, letter to FA Van der Kamp, December 27, 1816

The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature.... [In] the formation of the American governments ... it will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of heaven.... These governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses.
-- John Adams, A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1788,

As the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen [Muslims] ... it is declared ... that no pretext arising from religious opinion shall ever product an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries....
"The United States is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Jewish or a Mohammedan nation."
-- Treaty of Tripoli (1797

I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved -- the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced!
-- John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson,

Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the common law.
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814

I Just Can't Shake My Frustration

Melissa at Shakesville has this post up today with photos of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a visit to China, including this one (via Getty Images) which caught my attention.

When I first started reading Melissa's post, I felt a swell of pleasure, pride, and emotion at seeing Secretary of State Clinton meeting with women activists in China. And I will confess to having a few seconds where I wished she was President Hillary Clinton. Perhaps these photos would have been of Secretary of State Obama while President Clinton was home in the US getting some shit done!

It was a lovely fantasy. Then I clicked below the fold and was astonished by the change of direction, and I suppose the post title, Today in Trailblazing and Misogyny: Photos of the Day, should have given me a clue. I was about to be shaken from my trailblazing fantasy.

The "misogyny" springs from this Getty Image:

Yes, I shit you not. But then, maybe my definition of misogyny is outside the norm.

Thus begins Melissa's rant.

Aside from invoking other memorable "Look—disembodied ladyfeetz!" images like this one, are you fucking kidding me with the phallic boom mic inserted between two women's lower halves?!

[...]

I don't for a moment believe that there wasn't a single person along the path from photographer to photo editor to publisher, at either photo agency, who didn't notice the unfortunate implications of the above image.

Yeah, it's a "little thing," but it is the pervasive, ubiquitous, inescapable "little stuff" that creates the foundation of a sexist culture on which the big stuff is dependent for its survival. It's the little things, the constant drumbeat of inequality and objectification, that inure us to increasingly horrible acts and attitudes toward women.

As Melissa accurately points out elsewhere in her post, the Getty photographers do seem to have a "thing" for photographing boom mics. Maybe it's a weird fetish. Maybe it's an inside joke, or a bizarre tradition, within photographic circles. Who knows.

I, with my little pea-sized manbrain and insufficiently feminist credentials, am clearly unable to discern the blatant conspiracy at work here to reinforce the sexist foundations of our culture, simply because I only see a nothing-to-write-home-about photograph of a boom mic with blurry ladypartz in the background. And it's not like someone staged the photo in order to have the boom mic appear to be shoved up in some asshole's crotch! (Gee, thanks for that one, Getty!)

Rather than walk away from that post with a President Clinton fantasy, and a momentary positive feel-good distraction from all the truly heinous shit going on in the world right now, I left feeling anger. It was not anger directed at any perceived or real misogyny, but anger at the blatant attempt to manipulate me into agreeing with a premise and to accept that as a fact without question, while my dumb mangut tells me it is a crock of reeking feces.

And in questioning the validity of Melissa's assumptions about such boom mic photography being representative of misogynistic foundations, I am therefore, by default, incapable of seeing the reality. I think the expectation is that I should be having an "oh wow" moment: Of course it's misogyny at work. How could I not have seen it? And then of course I should accept that I have so much more to learn from my great teacher. I should throw my teacher some praise and support, and maybe a few bucks.

It's a damn good thing my commenting privileges were revoked at that blog many months ago. If they hadn't been, they would be today. Because I do question Melissa's points, as do others, I would be disregarded as a concern troll. And I'm still being far nicer than some have been.

I guess that's what I get for going below the fold. I should have just wallowed in my Clinton-as-President fantasy, admired her for representing the United States so well while overseas, and moved on along, blissfully ignorant of boom mic photography and the dark evil undercurrents thereof.

It is an event which has rendered me with little desire to visit that blog again. And the irony is that the post didn't even come with a trigger warning.

The Spider That Got Pissed Off

A story by James Thurber konagod.

"Is it Friday yet?," the old drunk yelled while observing various insects on the patio. "I need my Thurber Friday."

"See the firefly?," said txrad, lovingly.

"Yes, I can grab it. No wait, that's a moth. Oh, I see the firefly! And look, there's a spider," said the old drunk.

The old drunk proceeded to move his finger in the direction of the spider, but above it to avoid disturbance. Then he touched the web, by accident of course. The spider was not amused, and poised itself as to attack the next human who intervened.

Meanwhile, the cat was shitting behind the television.

The Power of Twitter (and Irony)

After spending more than a few minutes this past weekend and yesterday playing around with Twitter, I still wasn't seeing the allure. I understand how it can be used for networking as you can put in keywords such as "microbiologist" which brought up 5 tweets from just within the past 2 hours. Useful. But I wasn't seeing the real power of Twitter.

After taking yesterday off from work, I arrived at my desk this morning and started checking office emails. One was marked urgent.

I am in the television and radio advertising business, and many of you know. And there's a wee bit of irony in the fact that I handle a network that is no friend of the left, and I'm about as left as you get.

I had placed an ad campaign to start yesterday on that network. As is usually the case, I was given a list of networks on which to place a buy, along with the time period. I immediately recognized the time period as being a program which is ridiculed on an on-going basis for being extreme. I made a mental note to check with the account manager to see if she wanted to reconsider, and then promptly forgot.

The urgent email I received this morning was asking me to "get out" of said program. Apparently the client was getting bombarded with emails protesting their sponsorship of the program, and the Twitter was abuzz with noisy tweets after a blogger who specializes in protesting sponsors of this show had posted about it.

[I apologize for being intentionally vague about the specifics here but that link should shed some light on all this.]

My questions about the usefulness of Twitter, and its power, were answered.

While I was in the process of relocating the client's ads to other programming, I noticed another client which had been placed in the same time period yesterday by my backup. (This was an "oh shit!" kind of morning!) That campaign wasn't scheduled to start running until May 31. So I got that one moved out as well. I learn fast!

Much to my surprise, this additional client was also listed on that blog under the tab labeled "Remaining Sponsors." Since the television ad hasn't even started yet, I couldn't figure out why that client was on the list. I emailed the blog owner -- very discreetly using my konagod address -- to inquire.

Shame on me for being so focused on what I do -- primarily television advertising -- that I forget this guy also has a radio show and a website, both of which are being sponsored by this 2nd client. Kudos to the blogger for being as good and thorough as Maude Lebowski's doctor. But as I don't have anything to do with radio endorsements or website banners, I've done all I can to protect client #2 from the wrath of tweets.

Twitter suddenly has my respect and attention.

I'll Take Breaking News, Please!

This past weekend I decided to give Twitter another shot. Installed the Tweetdeck which makes the experience a bit more fun. Just not sure about the column of Tweetdeck recommendations to follow. For now, we'll see how Breaking News works out. Pass on that other option.

But I swear to you, if Breaking News tweets crap like this, I'll be unfollowing:

Question of the Day: If you could follow only one band or artist on Twitter, who would you choose?

I actually haven't given it much thought. I am currently following only one band: Radiohead.

By The Time You See This, The Tomato Will Be Gone

Because we just ate it.

The first tomato from the garden this season! Small, but flavorful.

YUM!

Secure the Border Sing-Along

You know, we're overdue for a few normal weeks in which absurdity is out of the picture for awhile. But, I guess this isn't the week. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has removed any hope of that happening.

This Blog Is 4...Only 4?

How old is that in blog years?

Honestly, I feel like I've been maintaining this thing for something like 10 years. That's not to suggest I don't enjoy it. As with life, there are days and weeks when I've been very excited about it, and other stretches of time when I'm so busy and uninspired creatively that I can't do a post for days.

It has been an important and much-needed outlet for me to get things off my chest from time to time as well as to share some humor, and express a little creativity from time to time. Entering the world of blogs as I did in early 2006 was also a great step which enabled me to get to know a lot of truly wonderful people. I must give credit to two blogs for inspiring me to start mine: Shakespeare's Sister and Pam's House Blend. Shakespeare's Sister (which has since evolved into the blog "Shakesville") particularly could be considered my inspiration point and the place where I met the bulk of my circle of virtual friends, starting with those who were contributors to that blog at the time, and many Shakers in comment threads.

That flash point of excitement for me seemed to stretch for a decade. And yet, the reality is that it lasted maybe 20 months before all kinds of shit started to hit the fan. But I value the friends I have made far more than I can adequately express.

Other highlights for me during this span of time include being asked by Pam Spaulding to guest blog with a few other Blenders during a time when Pam was out covering a political event, if I recall. Honestly, I was nervous as hell having the keys to the coffeehouse and hoped I'd do a great job and not let her down.

It was also a tremendous honor being asked by Melissa McEwan if I wanted to be a contributor to the Big Brass Blog. And I was blown away by the support I received from many after being nominated two years in a row for a Weblog Award. Never won in voting, and knew I wouldn't, but it was a memorable blast!

All of this happened within the first year of my starting this blog. But by 2007 I was going through a major job change after not being able to keep my own business operational. I had to focus a huge amount of energy that year on an overwhelming workload and responsibility with the new job.

By the end of 2007, I was unemployed again after a major client moved their advertising to another shop. It wasn't until the summer of 2008 that I landed back on my feet and the time between then and now has been a blur. Maybe that's why my four years of blogging seems like so much longer: there's been a lot happen and a lot going on during that time! In some ways, I feel like the 12-year-old child actor who got one starring role in a film, and got caught up in the excitement and the attention, and then it vaporized. The real world requirements trumped the superficial newness and glamor very quickly. However, I still get a feeling of excitement whenever I'm linked to by Crooks & Liars!

Gone are the days of Weblog Award nominations; gone are the days when I thought I was trying to build a major blog, or even a minor one. (Also gone --as in deceased-- are a few bloggers with whom I had the pleasure of working.) This blog is simply a personal diary now for the most part. But if you want to stay along for the ride, be my guest.

I am looking forward to year #5 and I promise, next year, I won't eat most of the cake before I post it.

Raising Plenty of Hell

I am thrilled to have appeared in his presence in San Antonio (where he pissed on the Alamo).

Kona's High School Reunion

My high school reunion is today. For me and my graduating classmates, it marks 32 years. Hard to fucking believe.

I almost wish I was there. Especially if it could be like this.

Somehow, I suspect it would be way less glamorous.

And a tad fake with a lot of effort...

But if I really wanted to make it like 1978 never was...

I'm kinda glad I stayed home.

Tell kona all about your high school reunion horror stories!

And You Thought Your Day Was Bad?

This came to me from a friend of mine. I had asked her, in so many words, how she was doing. And this is what I got. She told me I could "clean it up" for grammar and whatnot, but as this is a blog headed by a guy with bad grammar, great spelling and a strong propensity for typos, I'll just leave brilliance as is.

today a client is ranting and raving about socialism, communism, bill clinton, insurance companies, etc. then griped his medicare didn't cover his heart attack bills, then complained that the monkey in the white house is letting all the Mexicans take the country over. That's when I politely asked him to leave and said you have said enough. He went over to another agency and asked to be transferred after we had "words". This is after he told me the story of how upset he got in Walmart about some Chinese shoes that were no good, they had to calll a store manager and he threatened to hit him between the eyes with the 100% satisfaction sign if he didn't get some new shoes. He said call whoever you want, I've been in the CIA and went to 'Nam. Ain't nobody gonna do nothing to me.
ahhhhh what a day.

I started to get lost at "monkey."

Friday Pussy Blog: Reclining Pussy Edition

I've never been happier to see the arrival of a Friday, so I'm putting up the whole family for your enjoyment!

Sweet Pea has been limping around for a few days. Still he manages to get up on the table so maybe it's not too serious.

Sissy is preparing for a long morning nap on the bed.

Tater Tot is preparing for a long morning of office supervision.

Tiger is the guardian of the water bowl.

Friday Isopod Blogging

You Oughta Know

OK. Here we go. My brother was born damn nearly 13 years before me. And then I was a "surprise" baby. (A mistake, some would say.) Now here's my question. How did my parents in the 50s avoid having more children (and not intending to have more than one, and I have to commend them on that)? They weren't exactly what you'd call birth control fanatics (assuming that was an option in the 50s on SE Arkansas), and I would stake my stock market holdings on the fact that my mother never would have had abortions, so how did they do this? Did he pull out a lot or did they just not have sex?

Come on, I need to hear from my peeps about how this shit works!

Thursday Sloth Blogging

This gets the Cute Award for 2010 I think! I'm lovin' me some sloth!

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Borrowed from blueberry.