November 2, 2007 archive

Nov 02 2007

An apology and a promise to my unborn child

As some of you already know, the missus and I are expecting a clammyc junior (or juniorette) in a few months, and I have been excited as can be about this.  Of course, with the complete immersion in the events of the world and this country that I am involved in, it is also a bit scary and disconcerting to think of the world that he/she will be entering in a few short months.


Over the past few days, I have been thinking of a diary around the theme of “undoing the damage” – damage on a world stage, damage to America’s reputation, damage to our collective psyche, damage to, well, pretty much everything I can think of.  Some of this is a long term decline, while a lot of it was over the past 7-10 years. 


And while, of course, I am not apologetic for bringing another life into my family or this world, I do want to make an apology and a promise up front.  Who knows when I’ll be able to share this with him/her, or when it will even be understood.  You see, I was lucky to avoid trauma and upheaval in my life until my late 20’s when I had a few very trying years as I watched my (former) marriage and job (and employer) crumble all around the time that 9/11 happened and turned this country on its head.

Nov 02 2007

Edwards vs Clinton on the Politics of Parsing

The Clinton Campaign put out a Youtube on the Politics of the Pile-on to garner some sympathy from supporters

The Edwards Campaign has responded with a Youtube ad on the Politics of Parsing

From Political Wire

A new television ad from John Edwards very effectively uses video clips from the recent Democratic debate to accuse Sen. Hillary Clinton of “double-speak.” It’s quite devastating actually.

What are your thoughts???  Is this a good strategy???

Nov 02 2007

Thought bubbles and writing tip discussion

Having a hard time putting together an essay?  Looking for ways to grow as a writer?  One exercise that I constantly return to is Thought Bubbles.  Take a piece of paper, consider your topic, then begin unloading charged words by writing important ones down in random places on the page, then think about descriptives, atmosphere, etc.  When you have your page filled with various bubbles, begin linking them, some of your words won’t relate to the others but most will.  Once you’ve linked all of them in a pattern that makes sense to you begin writing.

I think you’ll be surprised by the results if you haven’t tried this method before.  This method will bring you closer to your subconscious and give you some power and control associated with it.  There are websites that use this bubble concept to organize the web, perhaps you have stumbled across them.  You’ll see patterns emerging as you cluster certain bubbles together which is indeed a learning experience.

Nov 02 2007

Pony Party, a teen millionaire

Just your standard, basic human interest story from Yahoo!’s “People of the Web” column…

This is Ashley Qualls.  She is 17 years old, and the CEO of a million-dollar business she started herself 3 years ago.

She started a website, whateverlife.com, to provide backgrounds and themes that personalize a MySpace page.  The site attracted a lot of traffic, which attracted advertisers, which attracted dollars. 

Ashley has been able to move her family (herself, her single mother, and a sister) from a one-bedroom apartment into a 4-bedroom house.  She has made her mother, Linda LaBrecque, the business’ manager.

Nov 02 2007

Docudharma Times Friday Nov. 2

This is an Open Thread: I can hear what your saying.



USA

Industries Paid for Top Regulators’ Travel

Two Heads of Product Safety Agency Accepted Trips From Manufacturer Groups


By Elizabeth Williamson

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, November 2, 2007; Page A01


The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children’s furniture industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained by The Washington Post. Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards.


The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency’s acting chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, that were paid for in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers of products ranging from space heaters to disinfectants. The airfares, hotels and meals totaled nearly $60,000, and the destinations included China, Spain, San Francisco, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Nov 02 2007

Quote for Discussion: I’m Older Now edition

So, during the last week, at an undisclosed time and place, I turned 31.

Things I’ve learned since turning 31: Who fucking cares?  Thirty-one is a dull signpost.  None of the sentimentality of turning 30.  None of the whatever I expected being in my thirties would mean when I was younger.  I met a girl who had been on The Real World this week, and she told me that I looked like I was her age.  I have no idea how old she is, but that was quickly forgotten when she got pissed that I had no idea who she was, having not watched MTV in something like a decade.  I can remember discovering The Afghan Whigs when I saw the video for “Conjure Me” on 120 Minutes in high school.  See, I can date myself.

Here are some quotes which speak to me now that I’m 31.

Nov 02 2007

Friday Philosophy: Love

Sometimes, in order to stretch the boundaries of who I am, I give myself a mission.  I force myself to write a poem about some subject in order to see what I really think about it.  Or I try to write an essay.

Several weeks back, I assigned myself such a task.  Having written about death and fear, pain and struggle, I needed to write something about love…no matter how much it hurts me to do so.

It is not an easy subject for me.  I have experience to draw upon.  Love hurts.  Or can do so.

I suppose I have partially given the issue wide birth in an attempt to not write about my marriage of 24 years.  Was there love there and then?  After several years of therapy, I honestly don’t know.  I know there was manipulation.  I know there was co-dependency:  the worst case my therapist said he had ever seen.

Maybe I think I know love when I see it.  Or maybe I’m just full of it.

Nov 02 2007

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

The muses are ancient.  The inspirations for our stories were said to be born from them.  Muses of song and dance, or poetry and prose, of comedy and tragedy, of the inward and the outward.  In one version they are Calliope, Euterpe and Terpsichore, Erato and Clio, Thalia and Melpomene, Polyhymnia and Urania.

It has also been traditional to name a tenth muse.  Plato declared Sappho to be the tenth muse, the muse of women poets.  Others have been suggested throughout the centuries.  I don’t have a name for one, but I do think there should be a muse for the graphical arts.  And maybe there should be many more.

Please join us inside to celebrate our various muses…

Nov 02 2007

Kucinich “Privileged Resolution” to force vote on Cheney Impeachment

In a Press Release dated Nov. 2, Dennis Kucinich announces…

that he will offer a privileged resolution on the House floor next week that will bring articles of impeachment against Vice President, Richard B. Cheney.

Check it out at Kucinich’s government web site. 
Call Speaker Pelosi and thank her in advance for allowing it to come to the floor.
Call your local Congressperson.
And call or email your friends and family to do the same.

Toll free lines to Congress:  1-800-828-0498
  1-800-614-2803
  1-866-340-9281

Nov 02 2007

Dear Al, Kiss My Ass.

“You talkin’ to me?”

Yeah, you, Mr. Gore.

Kiss my ass.

I’ve had it with you. You’re nothing but a cock-teaser.  Your shit is bogus, and you are dead to me now.

You just sent me your last “Dear Tom” letter.  I just hit the “unsubscribe” button.

Nov 02 2007

The Stars Hollow Gazette

Now we get to the part of the year where it starts to get really dark.

Not only is the light flatter, but it streams in where there used to be leaves and just screws with your body clock.  Saturday we fall back into what is a routine of depression for me where time is out of joint and I am always SAD.  The fact that it’s election season does not improve my mood.

I’ve been accosted by well meaning Thugs outside my grocery store and there was a point where I would listen to their blandishments.  As bad as their party was, here in Stars Hollow is was the anti-development party.

I can no longer do that.  Among other things they have changed, taken over by the same wing nut Theocrat/Plutocrat alliance that dominates the national debate.  24% dead enders and prattling dittoheads it’s all I can do to keep from spitting at them as I brush them aside.

Ho, ho, ho.

We’ll have a new voting system here this year.  Fill in the dot SAT cards after levers all my life.  The handle that opened and closed the curtain made a satisfying ca-ching as it recorded your vote.

Stars Hollow has “non-partisan” positions, offices mandated for x amount of Thugs and x amount of Democrats.  I used to vote for them all, now I’ll be damned if a Thug gets a flip of the finger from me unless it’s the middle one.

Please remember to vote, and get out the vote, even for your local elections.  We must tear these people out root and branch.  Only time I ever missed voting since I was eligible I had a car accident rushing to the polls.

Nov 02 2007

Day One–Embarking on the Quest for the Novel

And so it begins…

Welcome to NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month) and Day One.

I spent a healthy chunk of the midnight hour punching out the first bits of what will hopefully be a 50,000 word novel.

And so here’s my first paragraph:

A while ago a friend told me about how he and his buddies would get together and tell outrageous combat stories. He said that the big ones always seemed to start with “So there I was”…and they’d go from there.

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