Just a note of mourning...

I just felt like adding my voice to the clamor regarding Benazir Bhutto. I am much saddened, and dismayed, by her passing. I fear what this will mean for her country, the region, the rest of the world. Such a damned shame.

So, now what? What happens after the January elections? Will there still be elections? Will they even matter?

I feel as if our chances for sanity and peace are flying from us, one by one, and ever faster.

Nothing much else to say, I guess. Hope is such a flickering candle, sometimes.

Candle In The Wind, Elton John

I believe...

Thanks to a dear friend for reminding me to give it a listen.

I believe in the sand beneath my toes
The beach gives a feeling, an earthy feeling
I believe in the faith that grows
And the four right chords can make me cry
When I'm with you I feel like I could die
And that would be all right, all right.

It's four in the morning, and I'm sitting here, grinning like an idiot, just like I used to in that old Sentra. :)

Cheers, and many blessings.

Well,

it's not pneumonia. Severe bronchitis, but not pneumonia. w00t! So, yeah, rest relaxation, and pharmaceuticals appear to be the order of the day.

Good thing Urgent Care was cheap. Gotta figure out what to do about this whole health insurance thing. Can't afford it, can't afford not to have it.

Anyway, more updates may, or may not follow. Never can tell.

Many blessings

Nice.

I think I have pneumonia. Damn. Gotta love the lack of health insurance.

On a cheerier note, I believe it's Sam's birthday. If that means anything to you, consider giving him a shout out.

Think happy thoughts for my lungs. Nothing else seems to have helped, so, hey, it's worth a shot.

...for the rest of us

'tis the season, and all that crap. The Grievance Clearinghouse is open again. Stop by and bitch, if you are so inclined.

Cheers.

Ladybugs & Crickets

I can't tell you how happy I am. So many blessings to you two. And many thanks for allowing me to be part of such a special day.

The ceremony was beautiful. Weather was supposed to be spotty, but it was absolutely perfect. I think your vows are the most loving words I've ever heard spoken. And, though I'm a bit biased, I thought the wedding party looked pretty damn good. Can't wait to see the pictures and video.

The reception was a piece of work, too. I can't remember the last time so many of us were together. Did you notice how happy everyone was? Meeting some new people was great. I can't wait to go see your dad's shop, and I'm really hoping that your brother and I continue to cross paths, T. You have a great family.

I'll post some pics as soon as I can, but for now, just a couple of dedications.

Here Comes My Girl, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Here Comes Your Man, The Pixies

I love you both so much.

p.s. I'm back.

Back In Black, AC/DC

Break

I am on hiatus, here and at Sam's. I can be found at the kollective, or you may feel free to contact me via email. I will probably still be around at Sam's during the shows.

That is all.

(Update, 6-2-07, 21:15)

Just a note to observe the passing of a good man. Steve Gilliard will be sorely missed.

---

Also, hiatus applies to this site only. I am on strike, as far as Sam's place goes.

h/t air-ono for the inspiration to do so.

No rest for the wicked

God fucking dammit. I cannot catch a break.

Lydia broke down tonight. Well, not quite broke, but close enough. She'll have to be towed to Shorty's, and have a new block installed.

Woo fucking hoo.

So, yeah, got a feeling I'm about to be extremely strapped for cash.

Dammit. I need some rest, and a way to lower my anxiety level quite a bit.

Soon.

Whadaya gonna do?

Eh, having a lot of fun lately, but nothing comes without conflict, I guess.  Maybe I just need to get out a bit more.  Good times and good people can be hard to come by.  Wish it wasn't so.  The friends and neighbors wrinkle isn't helping, either.

Oh, well.

Don't worry, there's a good chance most of the above won't mean much the next time I bother reading it.  Just bitching.  Circumstances (unfortunately) don't exist in a vacuum, and that's that.

Hope anyone reading had a good night, too.  Mine was a blast, as is par for course over the last week and a half or so.

Later

Charlie Foxtrot

A month like this is bound to have a day like the one I just had.


: |


Mulligan, please?


On a cheery note, I am commencing my belated birthday drunk. One bottle each of the following: Cantillon's Classic Gueuze; Avery/Russian River Breweries' Collaboration, Not Litigation Ale; Stone Brewery's Stone Imperial Russian Stout; Brewery De Ranke's Guldenberg; Echt Kriekenbier.


Good night.

A note to everyone

If you have transcript info, or know where I can find audio archives of the Lionel Show, please leave it in the comments, or send me an email. I have work to do.

This'll be a new twist on Stark's Calling All Wingnuts gig.

So...

I called Sam's show today, and let fly with a rant. Fun stuff. May have even started a meme. I hope so. This Lionel crap is a fucking insult.

Anyway, life is starting to approach some sort of normalcy. 'bout time. House is in order, work's just about caught up. Oughta be able to catch a few real days off in the next few weeks. Sweet.

May is looking up. Some good shows to see, a possible rafting trip. Have to apply for my passport pretty quick, I think Cathy and I are gonna try to make it to Japan in July or August. No details yet, but I'll bet we'd have a blast. Not sure if I'll do Europe this year or next, but I'd like to make it in November or December, even if it's only a short trip.


So what else...?

I cut my hair off about two weeks ago. Hadn't so much as trimmed it in two and a half years, and now I've got about 3/4 of an inch of fuzz. Different. Was time to quit mourning, though. Get busy living or get busy dying, all that rot. I feel more upbeat, I guess, but I miss being able to wear pigtails.

I think that's all I've got for now.

Many blessings.

Pissed the fuck off

I'm reposting a rant I left at SEDER's joint. And some pissed off music.

SUCH UNMITIGATED HORSESHIT!

This is the network's show that: appeals to the youngest demographic; interfaces with, and features members of left blogistan; has some of the best guests; has some of the best interaction with it's listeners and bloggers; has some of the best commentary on current events; has the most current news and discussion topics (based, in large part, on it's interaction with the blogging community).

And the Green's have decided to cancel it.

I'll be listening on Sundays, but I want to take a moment to offer some thoughts for now.

Fuck you, Scott Elberg. Cutting the budget wasn't enough, eh fucker? You're hemorrhaging cash, why not start losing listeners. You stupid twat.

Fuck you, Mark Green. You had a golden opportunity to help secure AAR's place in radio, and opted instead for "less substance". I've had enough infotainment, and if that's the direction you're taking AAR, allow me to add, "rot in hell", to my, "fuck you".

Fuck you to every single one of the ignorant assholes that helped poison the well at AAR. Winstead, Chuck D, Maron, Garofalo, Malloy, Seder. What the fuck is the matter with you? I'd trade ten Frankens for any one of those people.

Fuck you, Evan Cohen, Danny Goldberg, and Ed Schultz, for everything that you are, and every thing that you stand for.

FUCK

/rant

From Mme. Chew:

Break Stuff,. Limp Bizkit


And from me:

Killing In The Name Of, Rage Against The Machine

Guerrilla Radio, Rage Against The Machine

Bulls On Parade, Rage Against The Machine

Superbeast, Rob Zombie

More Human Than Human, White Zombie

Remix of More Human Than Human, White Zombie

Wow

I'm 27.

Yay.

This week sucks. My landlord is making life a pain in the ass, and I have a ridiculous amount of work to get done by Thursday.

(sigh)
One of these days I'll catch a break.

Since my birthday plans have been shot to shit, I'll have to postpone.

I am gonna be one drunk motherfucker this weekend.

: /

Inactivity

I am a kossack.

My distinctiveness and individuality have been added to the kollective.

Resistance is futile.

---

Occasional posts will still occur.

That is all.

A lesson unexpected

Tonight, I went downtown with some of the boys. We saw Mike's band, and then left to catch a bite at Dante's Pizza. On the way back into to Chinatown, a homeless man in a wheelchair asked for help. He was trying to put one of his shoes on, and just couldn't seem to do it. Said he was paralyzed. It was rainy, and cold, and there was no way I could say no. I grabbed his shoe, and helped him put it on, then went on my way.

About a block later, someone pointed out that we had somehow acquired a scent not unlike urine.

See where this is going?

Apparently, the gentleman was not just soaking wet from the rain, and he wasn't lying about being paralyzed. Yech.

I was mad at first. Couldn't believe it. Figured it was just my fucking luck for being nice. Decided I'd pass if the opportunity to assist in similar circumstances occurred again. And then I thought about it some more. No matter how ghastly it was for me, that moment was merely one in an endless succession for him. I'm mad because I got piss on me, but I wonder how it
must be for him. He had to have been soaked in it, cold, maybe hungry. Add to that the fact that he was upset at his own inability to even put on his shoes.

I take so much for granted.

Big Lips

A story:

My step brother once dared me to suck a cup onto my face for ten minutes. The result lasted three days. I spent my entire weekend at the coast worried it was permanent.

Enjoy.











This is not a photoshopped picture.

Testing the new Blogger

Well, there it is. Lord Google now owns another little piece of my soul.

Sorry for the lack of posts, it's really been a ridiculous couple of months. Getting quite a bit better, though.

In positive news, I finally have a bed (thanks Julia Bean!), and a decent computer (again, thanks to J.B. and company). My mother is making progress as a human being (peel my jaw off the floor), and my brother is letting me borrow a mountain bike. Hoo fucking ray for everyone showering me with the karma, I'll pass it on to the next one.

What else...

I'm shooting for the Coachella festival this year. We'll see whether or no that happens. I'd love to see Rage and Placebo. There's about a dozen other bands I wanna check out, and a bunch I've never heard of. Sounds like a good way to spend a few days.

Busy year, looks like. Coachella, Vegas in July, Kyoto and Belgium in the fall(-ish), and I'd like to make it to the coast for a weekend or three. Unfortunately, all this play means a lot of work. I have a feeling I'm gonna be hopping for the next few months, at least. : ) There are worse problems to have, I suppose.

Anyway, it's late/early, and this boy's tired. Hope all is right in your neck of the woods!

Many blessings

Taking the red pill

Someone else thinks the youth are waking up.



Via Poputonian, at Hulabaloo

Me Doth Protest, A Little



by poputonian



Not many commenters picked up on one of the points I was angling for in the prior post, which is no doubt a reflection of my writing skill more than anything else. But aimai and carolyn13, along with a couple of others, did accentuate the impact made on society by the changes in communication technology. It seems no small thing that the medium for protest itself has undergone a massive paradigm shift. The current 100 million streams per day on YouTube and google video far exceed the numbers who view the old style 'teevee', and though much of what is being viewed over the net is entertainment, there is also a growing body of news and protest video. Think of the taser video of the UCLA student that spread organically and virally across the ether. Ditto for the video of Saddam's hanging, which circled the globe before the corporate press could get their fat 401k asses out of bed, or Bush strumming a guitar during the destruction of New Orleans, an image that propagated from person to person and surely had some influence on media coverage and public opinion.

*snip*

Both my teenagers asked a dozen questions about Vietnam and the street protests after watching Going Upriver, a documentary that revealed a true American anti-war hero in John Kerry. Watching Kerry, their eyes welled up with tears, as did mine. They later watched the bumbling press conferences of President Bush and hold him in contempt, and speak out against him. They pledge to vote against him and others like him whenever given the opportunity. My daughter pointed me to When The President Talks To God, the protest song by twenty-something indy-rocker, Bright Eyes. That song, which Bright Eyes made free to anyone who wants it, has now been heard by millions. The video of him performing the song on Leno has been viewed by hundreds of thousands, if not millions. My daughter ended a friendship with someone who became radically opposed to gays because of what that person's fundie parents had taught her. The culture battles are playing out in the schools and I believe the side of reason has the edge. Though it might not hold the visual drama of a street protest, per se, it is the rejection of bad ideas and beliefs.



So, I admit to being optimistic about the younger generation, what with their sensibilities and the new uses of technology. Having information spoon-fed by the monolithic media empire is being replaced by consumer-selected information sources. Print circulation is dropping and the networks are laying off staff as the MSM is out-flanked by the emerging, wired community. It's the wired community where you can find the bee-line to the truth, if you want it. As I see it, protest is still there, but it's perhaps a bit more efficient, subtle, and less obvious to those we're protesting against. Hopefully, this way leads to a greater gathering of numbers, and more sustainability as the precision-memory of digital reporting, coupled with smart governance, leads to a better world. I think the kids will figure it out.

That said, I have an appointment with a bottle and a blunt.



: )

Hmm... apparently, this is me.

You are the Hanged Man

Self-sacrifice, Sacrifice, Devotion, Bound.

With the Hanged man there is often a sense of fatalism, waiting for something to happen. Or fear of

loss from a situation, rather than gain.

The Hanged Man is perhaps the most fascinating card in the deck. It reflects the story of Odin who offered himself as a sacrifice in order to gain knowledge. Hanging from the world tree, wounded by a spear, given no bread or mead, he hung for nine days. On the last day, he saw on the ground runes that had fallen from the tree, understood their meaning, and, coming down, scooped them up for his own. All knowledge is to be found in these runes.

The Hanged Man, in similar fashion, is a card about suspension, not life or death. sacrifice prophecy. You and in doing so, gain illumination. You the world differently, with mystical insights.

What Tarot Card are You?

Take the Test to Find Out.

A few quick thoughts

Absolutely loved the snow we got today, even though it makes driving a pain in the ass. Everything seems a bit off, not bad or good, just different. For instance, while I was making dinner, I heard something strike my front window with a decent amount of force. My cat jumped off of the sill, all her hair standing up, and ran off. I looked outside, and there was a coyote. Apparently, he saw the cat in the sill, and decided he'd have a go at getting through. He just stood there in the snow for a minute, looking at me. Then, he walked off. Weird.

Not much new is happening. I've got some tapes and a book that MAT and Husbot loaned me. They are supposed to be the equivalent to a two year Japanese language study. Stoked on that, hafta see if I can start socking enough away to make it over there this year.

I'm tired a lot. Being sick for so long seems to have left me tired for right now. I guess it's better than being sick.

That's all for now, I suppose.

Many blessings

Mrs. Majority writes a letter

ToUSA Today

SubjectAsk your mother!

MessageI am a mother. War is my worst nightmare. For now, my child is too young to be thrust into the black and bleeding heart of a civil war America can't win. But too many are not too young. President Bush's escalation plan, which would send thousands more of America’s children to Iraq, is unconscionable and immoral because he knows it will fail. We all know it will fail. It is opposed by top military leaders, the Iraq Study Group, foreign policy experts, and the American people. President Bush's plan is shameful because it is nothing more than an effort to salvage lagging poll numbers by s! howing us that he's trying something new. But this is not new. This is just "stay the course" with more of America's children lined up at death's door. We citizens of this democratic nation must urge Congress to exercise its Constitutional authority to hold the president accountable for a change of course that allows for our troops to come home. We must do this for all of America’s children whom he intends to needlessly send to war. And we must do it for the even younger children, so that if, God forbid, they ever find themselves with a President as irresponsible as this one, that future President will remember when American citizens stood up and demanded that their wishes be heeded. President Bush is just rolling over all of us mothers and fathers and all of our children as if we had no power. We must not let him do this. And Congress is our power to stop him.

you can write one too, here's help.



via Sam Seder

Digby on those awful, partisan Dems.

Digby is much more eloquent than I am. Like that's any big surprise, eh? This meme that the Dems are responsible for all the partisan hackery, and that the only way they can govern is to do so by meeting the Repubs halfway, well, I usually stick with "Fuck. That. Shit."

Which is why I now present Digby's thoughts on the subject.

As regular readers know, I've been pondering this infuriating fixation on bipartisanship and moderation for the last couple of weeks and watching aghast as the press does the wingnuts' bidding, setting up the Dems as failing to fulfill their promise to the American people that they would be moderate and bipartisan if they won the election. This was simply not on the agenda during the election, other than that the House Democrats would restore some sort of fairness to the rules and pass anti-corruption legislation. In fact, the entire election was about the Democrats taking power to provide some needed checks and balance on the Republicans.

Oddly, however, in the last couple of weeks, the media has been obsessing that the election reflected a desire among the American people for the congress to stop fighting and work together, which makes no sense. The Republican congress didn't fight --- the Democrats just caterwauled ineffectually from the sidelines, while the Republicans did what they wanted. There was no gridlock, they passed virtually every piece of legislation they wanted and the congress was perfectly in sync with the president. If comity was what people were concerned about they obviously would have kept undivided government.

The American people voted for the Democrats because they wanted them to stop the Republican juggernaut. Look at the poll numbers. Look at the election results.

So, where is this coming from? First, it's obviously coming from the Republicans who have much to gain by whining incessantly about being trod upon by the horrible Democrats who are betraying the citizens who voted for them by being big old meanies. No surprise there. They make their money and derive their power among their mouthbreathing base by portraying themselves as being victimized --- whether in power or out, the liberals are always keeping them down.

As far as I can tell, the Democratic Party was overwhelming elected to be an opposition party, particularly with regard to the war, and the President's usurpation of powers. I'm okay with bipartisanship, but you don't split some things down the middle. Period.

And if you have some idea that the Repubs are just itching to work together with the Dems to change the tone in D.C., allow me to disabuse you of that notion. The R's had a lock on passing just about any legislation they wanted for the last six years. There was no talk of bipartisanship. Questioning the Congress or Junior was likely to have you branded coward or traitor.

"Elections have consequences." He proceeded from that election as if he had a mandate, instead of a slim fucking majority.

How should we proceed when we took the majority by a landslide?

What day is it? Shit, what year is it?

Hmm...



Sorry I've been away for a bit.



I've been decidedly unwell, but I think I'm back in the swing of things. Lots of catch up to be done at work, and around the house. (sigh) Sometimes the aftermath of being sick is as much a pain in the ass as the illness.



I think December wins last year's worst month award. Crap, from start to finish.



January is starting off well enough. I'm cautiously optimistic. A bit lonely and overwhelming form time to time, but I think I'll manage.



Not much else to say for now, but I'll be back later in the week.



Many blessings