Saturday, December 30, 2006

Stollen

My mom is making stollen now. Yes, I mean NOW - at
2:30 am. She was going to make it days ago, but has
been sick. (I just hope she's not developing that
god-awful hacking cough I had a while ago. I've been
pestering her to go to the doctor.)

So, I guess since she's feeling slightly better and
has spent all her time resting, she must have felt
that it would be okay to bake like six of these
freaking things off at this time of night/morning.

The house does smell good though. Rich and buttery and
fruity. Stollen is kinda fruitcakey ingredient-wise,
but whereas I would not touch fruitcake, I will eat a
piece of this. Possibly "tomorrow" with my tea at
breakfast.

Friday, December 29, 2006

Controversial opinions and tea

So Saddam is to be executed soon. In a weird way, I feel bad for the dude. But that's not to say I think he's a good guy - no, he most definitely isn't (ask the Kurds or Kuwaitis). HOWEVER, he was, like much of the Mideast is, treated like a pawn by our government. If you ask my opinion, they should also be hanging Rummy right alongside him. Anyone remember the smiling picture of Rumsfield shaking hands with Saddam? Um yeah. That's because at the time, our illustrious government thought it would be great to arm Saddam to use him against the Ayatollah. So now, after having first created the criminal (or at the least arming him up the wazoo) we feel free to kill and dispose of him. Very convenient.

We should have left well enough alone EVERY country in the Middle East. Because now, after having played just about every country there against each other, we're screwed.

In other, less political news, I got an IngenuiTEA, mug and some teas from Adagio. If you're seeing this post on Blogger, the background is in fact from Adagio Teas. Dude, I am so impressed with my little IngenuiTEA! And I'm still very much (surprisingly) in love with the Earl Grey Brava. The Kuicha green tea however? Ugh. Not to my liking.

Reminisce

I probably spelled that wrong, but I'll go back and fix later.
 
God. I am finally - LONG overdue - reviewing the photo books I am trying to make of my August/September trip to Ireland the UK. Shutterfly is having a big discount sale and I need to get these things developed!
 
I am finalizing my Scottish photobook. It was nice to have some time away from it - I have been able to go back and cut out some photos that really weren't all that good and to redo layouts.
 
I am taking some of my saved paper information and inputting it into the captions.
 
The effect of all this has been making me absolutely heartsick. I want to go back SO BAD. Especially to the Isle of Skye. I wasn't all that impressed with the tour I took - - it was good for being short on time, but the things we absolutely ran through without time to enjoy them were shameful. I could spend days on certain trails. I have been backhunting information on some of the places we hit and GOD! The things we could have done if there'd only been time (and money). If I were rich, I would spend every damn summer doing something different. A hike here, a climb there...

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

I can't stand it

I am so fucking bored. Companies should just GIVE us the time off between Christmas and New Year's. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's not like anything is getting done. There is only one other person here besides me right now. Only five other people came in for my department today. Four of whom have already left for the day. I am leaving at 4:10pm on the dot. I didn't take a lunch, so I'll still get in my eight hours today.
 
GOD, I wish I'd had enough vacation left over so I didn't have to be here. I'll be here tomorrow, but not Friday, thank god.
 
Fifteen more excruciating minutes. Then I'm gone. Home to get my gym bag, then a quick trip to the mall to return a gift perhaps, and then most definitely the gym to burn off my crazed energy. No yoga tonight - I definitely don't have the attention span for it tonight.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Home made candies

I got the latest (75th anniversary) edition of The Joy of Cooking and am having a little crazy fun.
I made turtle candies. Eat your hearts out bizatches!

Looks rather like something a turtle shat out, but ... really, it's tasty. I MADE the caramel. From scratch.
122406_17341.jpg

Friday, December 22, 2006

Friday before Christmas

I'm at work. And it's dead. There are like four people in my department here. Maybe five?
 
I have brought in my crocheting and damn if I won't just sit here on my ass - until they hopefully let us out at 2pm - until the day is done.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Anglophilia

I really am getting to be a disgusting Anglophile and "Britphile". I'm about to drop a ridiculous amount of money on Ireland / England / London / Scotland / Wales calendars.
 
I was already a calendar freak to begin with. There's just something about the New Year and "time to get a new calendar!"

HOLY FRIJOLES!

Some people at work got together and got me a $100 gift certificate for the YOGA STUDIO!!
 
*is amazed*
 
Ok, I'm having second thoughts about leaving this admin gig for the christmas crap alone.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Wah wah wah fuck Laura Bush

Let me take a moment here to say how much I DON'T give
a rat's ass that poor little Laura Bush had skin
cancer? She's from a family of rich thugs currently
living a parasitic existence off the backs of the
wretched and stooped - us. All while debasing our
rights.

She's got access to the best medical care. Who gives a
FUCK.

I say it's too bad Georgie poo didn't get it himself!
He already IS a cancer. A cancer on the face of the
earth.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Email cleanup

I had a ridiculous number of emails that needed to be cleared out. Over 300 - - now I am down to a tidy 76. I should be working on my goals and growth planning documents at work. Bleh. So booooring!
 
It's remarkable how chipper I am now that I know I am getting out of the secretarial gig. I just hope it's not a "out of the frying pan and into the fire" thing, because well...that would just suck. 10.5% pay raise wouldn't be worth hell on earth.
 
More on that gig later...
 
Also: made Alton Brown's peanut brittle recipe last night. Holeee Shiiit. It's good and I'm not even a peanut brittle fan. I made people at work little goodie cartons (out of chinese take out boxes I bought at Michael's Craft stores) and put some of the brittle in them. Spicy!

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Cookies

I have cookies and you don't.

I also have a killer backache you wouldn't want from
bending over and wielding a rolling pin all fucking
afternoon.

I have made so far: chocolate macaroons, peanut
blossoms (they look like boobs), sugar cookies, and
poinsettia cookies (what a pain in the ass).

I am maybe half way through the doughs I made.
cookies.JPG



cookies2.JPG

This is a pic of my mom's tree she finally put up.


momstree.JPG


And some ornaments on it...

morna.JPG


And this garland she has of cats carrying puddings cracks me up.


puddincats.JPG

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Job

I got the job! (well, one of three that I'd seriously applied for.)
 
Here's hoping it doesn't suck!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

'Devin Can't Wait' a reel football classic

Devin Hester is the sickest kick returner...EVER. I cannot believe the man!!

December 12, 2006

BY JAY MARIOTTI Sun-Times Columnist ST. LOUIS -- If a game could be reduced to watching Devin Hester nodding and talking to himself, bobbing his head while awaiting a kick that he can deliver to the house any time whatsoever, you'd have no worries. We are witnessing maybe the greatest returner ever, the most pulsating No. 23 in Chicago since You Know Who, and I am tempted to place him in a cocoon and forget about the rest of the Bears, including Rex Grossman.

''It looks like the gates of heaven just opening up for me,'' said Heaven Devin.

Call him unfriggin'believable. Call him the freak of freaks. Call him Gale Sayers, Deion Sanders, a miracle in stick-on eye black. Give him a nickname, too, like Billy (White Shoes) Johnson. All you need to know about Hester, as he returned two more kicks for touchdowns Monday night and blew away the NFL single-season record and every St. Louis ghost in his path, is that the normally humdrum Lovie Smith was boogeying down the sideline after his 96-yard sprint in the fourth quarter.

And talking, at long last, about maximizing the rookie's sizzle by playing him on offense. I mean, duhhhhh. Get Hester as many touches as possible. Be creative and wild. Because you are watching football's most exciting player, a dizzier blur than Reggie Bush and Vince Young, a kid who made hair grow on Tony Kornheiser's head during a 42-27 victory that temporarily eased Bears angst everywhere.

A shout-out to Neon Deion''It's about time we start looking at him as an offensive player,'' Smith volunteered late in the night. ''Devin has made as much impact as any rookie. He's made so many big plays.''

So many, in fact, that he evoked images of Neon Deion, the flamboyant flash who has spent time teaching Hester the return trade. Aren't you the new Neon Deion, kid, doing those Sanders dances as America lapped it up? ''That was a little shout-out to him,'' Hester said. ''I was thanking him for the time I spent with him and for him being my mentor.''

Chicago thanks him, too. For Hester is saving a season. Like Sanders, Heaven Devin wants to be the most feared guy in the league, and with a 94-yard kickoff return in the first half and his crowning blow late, can anyone dispute the claim? With a Band-Aid placed on the Grossman issue, we can better appreciate the miracle of Hester, who now has six kick return for scores. Think of all the electric return men through time, and it's stunning to think he has more TD returns after 13 games than Deion, White Shoes or anyone else put together over a season. With the Bears trailing 6-0 and begging for an early jolt, Hester provided it, whipping around the left side, flipping on the turbochargers and high-stepping into the end zone. He saves his best work for national audiences, fueling the Arizona comeback with an 83-yard punt return for a score and defining the victory over the Giants with his 108-yard return of a missed field goal.

Why, oh, why do other teams even kick to him?

''It's the NFL,'' Hester said. ''Teams aren't going to bow down to one player. One player can't beat the other team.''

Wanna bet?

I cannot write entirely after Hester, not after Grossman answered a call to either play like a legit NFL quarterback or get out of our lives. What we've always liked about the guy is his poise, and if it wobbled like a weeble the last two months, he recovered it in time to restore some measure of faith he might not collapse in the playoffs. It would be dumb to make any rash proclamations, but for now, until the next game, a quarterback who had committed more turnovers since Oct. 15 than 31 NFL teams -- only Pittsburgh was worse than Rex, 22-18 -- needn't worry about trading his job for a backwards cap.

Rex did not choke. Not only did his passer rating soar from 1.3 into double digits, it climbed to 114.4, which should stop the newspapers from splashing his name across the front page like a civic epidemic and calm down amateur shrinks trying to psychoanalyze his entire being.

''I was able to relax. It was easy,'' Grossman said. ''There was a lot of pressure on me to do that -- I had to do it. Efficient, decisive, got the ball out of my hand, went to the right guy, played with a sense of rhythm and efficiency. Obviously, I wanted to respond the way the coaches were backing me.''

His leash just grew a little longer, as Smith was only happy to rub in our faces afterward. ''Rex Grossman went through a lot. His game has been dissected by everyone who knows football,'' he said. ''There was a lot of pressure on him, and he stepped up to the plate.''

Who couldn't appreciate the joy in Grossman's step as he raced off the field after the Muhammad score, raising his arms? Who didn't notice Griese patting him on the helmet after Berrian's TD? The idea now is to maintain the vibe and momentum and transport it to the playoffs.

Rex responds. Again, in the volatile world of Rexdom, it's just one good performance, giving him three in his last eight games. Batting .375 might win a batting title, but it's not going to win you a Super Bowl. Let's see what happens in the winter blur of Soldier Field two of the final three regular-season games before declaring, once and for all, that he's a better postseason idea on January lakefront weekends than Griese. But you have to like how Grossman responded when an entire football nation was waiting for him to bomb out.

It helps when he has a weapon like Hester, who would help the quarterback immensely. With Nathan Vasher's absence, Hester was filling in at cornerback and beaten on an early touchdown pass. But you know he's a special talent when he responds with an instant TD. It has reached the giddy point where Bears fans, numbering in the thousands, let out a chagrined ''awwwwwww'' when Hester called for fair catches as a punt returner.

''It's just vision,'' he said.

Can his eyes see Miami, his old college town, host of Super Bowl XLI?

Jay Mariotti is a regular on ''Around the Horn'' at 4 p.m. on ESPN. Send e-mail to inbox@suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytime phone number (letters run Sunday).

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Super Hero Weekend

I've had Superman Returns and Batman Begins on,
non-stop practically, this weekend.

Background ambience for while I struggle to finish my
semester crap. I am writing up one last final for that
god awful community college course. I just can't be
bothered. It was a retarded course! I don't want to
write a damn fucking thing.

But, back to hot men in tights and other form-fitting
apparel...

I love contrasting Batman and Superman in these two
movies. One is so dark and gothic - the other so light
and hopeful. I really need to go and splurge on the
TPBs of Bruce Wayne: Muderer? and Fugitive . I got all
the single issues back in the day, but never bought
the TPBs. I've gotten rid of the single issues. And
WTF? His bodyguard ended up an OMAC? Jay-sus.

I live and dream in the hope that I will one day
witness a Batman/Superman movie with both Bale and
Routh. Gaaaah, eye-caaaaaandyyyyy! "Hawt"!

And a congrats to the <a
href=http://redrighthand.net>Shin-Kickee</a> for
finally making it to California...

Friday, December 01, 2006

New xmas stocking (#2)

Second time around, I finally got it right. Had to start from the bottom up as opposed to top down. But it looks great! The main color is "paprika" - a lovely red color. I have granny sqaures in brown, a cream w/ brown threading, and a tricolor mix yarn that's green/cream/sparkly.


Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Yoga

Oh my goodness. I went to Total Body Yoga for the first time this evening.

Absolutely wonderful! The first class for new people is free. It was so relaxing and calming. Not that I don't love my video, but it's nice to have an actual instructor(s), that will walk around and correct your posture when needed.

Also funny? One of my high school classmates is an assistant instructor. I was like "hey!" And also got an impromptu quick neck massage with something that smelled fantastic. Whatever it was is apparently from the Bath and Body Works.


I signed up for a ten class pack. I really want to go as much as I can so I can learn to do more. I asked my mom to get me another pack of classes for Christmas. Yaaaah!

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Xmas ornaments

I think I got the Irish dancer as a present from one of my friends.




This is one of the ornaments I purchased while over in England (last Christmas time). I probably got it at the gift shop next to Westminster. I'm now regretting that I didn't buy other ornaments while I was there in September. Damnit! My set of Henry VIII and his six wives are now my favorite ornaments. (But I've had them since 1999, I think.)




Friday, November 24, 2006

Cookie Recipes - My Favorites

Spreading holiday cheer and fat hips everywhere. Have
fun jogging. And for the love of god, don't ever let
me catch anyone using imitation almond or vanilla
flavoring.

If you're in a hurry like I usually am, you can chill
doughs in the freezer in a third of the time normally
required.


This is the Pillsbury Recipe my mom has had forever.

MAKE-AHEAD COOKIE MIX

1 1/2 cups Butter, softened
1 Tblspn Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
6 cups All Purpose Flour

In very large bowl, combine butter, salt and baking
powder; using electric mixer, blend well. Lightly
spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. (Do NOT
scoop or sift flour.) Add flour to butter mixture;
blend until fine crumbs form, scraping bowl often.
Store tightly covered in refrigerator up to 4 weeks.
YIELD: 8 CUPS MIX.

There are about 10 different cookies you can make out
of this, but we always made the almond butter sticks
and peanut blossoms since they were the most popular.

ALMOND BUTTER STICKS

3/4 cup Sugar
2 tsp Almond Extract
1/3 cup + 1 Tblspn Butter, softened
6 oz cream cheese
2 cups MIX
1 egg, separated (reserve white for glazing)
1/4 cup sliced Almonds (I typically use more)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a cookie sheet (long
rectangle works best). In small bowl, stir together
sugar and almond flaoring; cover and set aside. In
medium bowl, combine 1/3 cup butter, cream cheese, and
egg yolk; blend until smooth. (Dip measuring cup into
cookie mix; level off.) Stir in mix. Knead on floured
surface about 25 strokes until pliable. Roll or press
out to a 12x12 inch square. Spread with 1 tablespoon
butter. Cut dough in half*; place one half on greased
cookie sheet. Spoon sugar mixture to within 1/2 inch
of dough edges. Place remaining dough half, buttered
side down, over sugar. Press edges tightly to seal.
Brush with slightly beaten egg white; sprinkle with
almonds.

Bake 22 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool at least
30 minutes, remove from cookie sheet.

Cut pastry in half lengthwise and in 1/2 inch strips
crosswise. 48 cookies.

* My mom and I never cut the dough in half. We just
make sure to cover half with sugar, then fold the
unsugared half over and seal down: similar to calzone
or empanada. Less to fuss with this way.

PEANUT BUTTER (and PEANUT BLOSSOM)

2 cups Mix
1 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Solid Shortening
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Egg

Preheat oven to 375F. (Dip measuring cup into cookie
mix; level off.) In large bowl, combine all
ingredients; blend until smooth. Shape dough into 1
inch balls; place on ungreased cookie sheets and
flatten with fork crisscross fashion. Bake 7-11
minutes until edges are golden brown. Cool slightly;
remove from cookie sheet. About 4 dozen.

PEANUT BLOSSOMS: Roll balls in sugar; place on
ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes until light
golden brown. Remove from oven; immediately top each
cookie with a HERSHEY'S KISS, pressing down firmly so
cookie cracks around edge. About 4 dozen, which will
disappear quickly...

*****end of Pilsbury Mix*****

SUGAR COOKIES
1 Cup Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Confectioners Sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

Mix thoroughly butter, egg, sugar and flavorings.
Blend in flour, soda and cream of tartar. Refrigerate
2-3 hours. Heat oven to 375F. Roll dough to 1/8 inch
thick and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased
cookie sheets for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown at
edges.

I like to eat the raw dough. My mom said it would kill
me. I'm still alive, so there.

CANDY CANES (for Tania)

These are a pain to make. MAKE SURE THE DOUGH IS
CHILLED or forget it. Work very quickly with the dough
or your hands will warm it too much (run your hands
under cold water and then pat dry to keep them cool).
Also, I have never been able to make just one teaspoon
stretch into a four inch rope without it ripping.

1 cup butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
dash salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp red food coloring
peppermint glaze (optional, recipe follows)

In a large mixer bowl beat butter till softened. Add
powdered sugar and beat till fluffy. Add egg, vanilla,
peppermint extract and salt. Beat well. Add flour and
beat till well mixed. Divide dough in half. Stir food
coloring into one half. Cover each half and chill
about 30 minutes or till easy to handle.

For each cookie, on a lightly floured surface shape a
teaspoonful of plain dough into a 4 inch rope. Repeat
with a teaspoonful of red dough. Place ropes side by
side and twist together. Pinch ends to seal. Form
twisted ropes into a cane. Place canes 2 inches apart
on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 375F oven for 8-10 minutes or till done.
Remove and cool. If desired, brush with Peppermint
Glaze. Makes 48.

PEPPERMINT GLAZE: Stir together 1 cup sifted powdered
sugar, 1/4 tsp peppermint extract, and enough water
(4-5 tsp) to make of brushing consistency.

GINGERBREAD TEDDY BEARS

Good for stress relief. Pretend they're someone who's
ticking you off: bite off their heads. I think using
molasses gives a more interesting flavor.

1 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup dark corn syrup, light corn syrup OR molasses
4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
miniature chocolate chip pieces
decorating icing (optional)

In a saucepan combine butter, brown sugar, and corn
syrup or molasses. Cook and stir over medium heat till
butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Pour into a
large mixing bowl and cool 5 minutes. Meanwhile,
combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, soda and cloves.

Add egg and vanilla to butter mixture and mix well.
Add the flour mixture and beat till well mixed. Divide
the dough in half. Cover and chill at least two hours
or overnight.

To make each teddy bear, shape dough into one 1 inch
ball, one 3/4 inch ball, six 1/2 inch balls, and five
1/4 inch balls. On an ungreased cookie sheet, flatten
the 1 inch ball to 1/2 inch for body. Attach the 3/4
inch ball for head and flatten to 1/2 inch. Attach the
1/2 inch balls for arms, legs and ears. Place one of
the 1/4 inch balls on head for nose. Arrange remaining
1/4 inch balls atop ends of arms and legs for paws.
Use miniature chocolate pieces for eyes and navel.

Bake in a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes or till done.
Carefully remove and cool. If desired, pipe on bow
ties with Decorating icing. Makes 16.

DECORATING ICING: Combine 1/2 cup sifted powdered
sugar and enough milk or light cream (about 2 tsp) to
make of piping consistency. Tint with one or two drops
food coloring.

MERINGUE TURTLEDOVES

People with think you're a freaking genius, but it's
easy. If your store has them, buy a jar of just egg
whites. Better and easier than cracking a whole bunch
of eggs and not knowing what to do with the yolks.

2 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
miniature semisweet chocolate pieces

Line a large cookie sheet with brown paper, parchment,
or foil. In a small mixer bowl beat egg whites,
vanilla and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Put egg white mixture in a decorating bag fitted with
a 1/2 inch round tip, filling bag half full. Beginning
at head end, squeeze bag gently, moving tip in a
clockwise direction to form a question mark with egg
white mixture. For lower body/wing, continue squeezing
as you move tip about 2 1/2 inches to the right, back
left, then right again, releasing pressure as you pull
up tip. Repeat with remaining mixture. Place miniature
chocolate pieces on head for eye and beak.

Bake in a 300F oven about 15 minutes or till done -
EDGES SHOULD BARELY BE BROWN. Turn off oven and let
cookies dry in the oven with the door closed about 30
minutes. Makes about 24.

Sick of making doves? Just pipe big rounds and bake as
usual. Better: Pipe a bit, stick in some chocolate
pieces, pipe over. Chocolate meringue surprise.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Little Known Fact

When I was in ballet, I was cast as Happy in our recital production of Snow White & the Seven Dwarves.
 
What a miscast. I should have been Grumpy.
 
If they'd had "Bitchy, Fuck the World", I should have been that, too.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Can't sleep

I've been sleeping like crap lately. My brain is too
full. And I don't want to go to work tomorrow. I hate
it. I hate my team. It's going nowhere, our project is
dead in the water (even if others refuse to see it),
and our so-called leader...isn't.

And my co-worker and fellow admin got a promotion to
another department while I got turned down. I feel
trapped. Every time I've thought about it this
weekend, I've wanted to burst into tears and
hyperventilate. I haven't felt this bad about work
since I used to work at WaMu back in 02-03.

I have utterly no desire to do the admin gig anymore -
not even until next August when I'll student teach.
Who in their right mind wants to stay and admin
assistant? It's a dead end mindless job. I am far too
smart for it; and that's not meant as a boast. Just
statement of fact: I'm bored out of my fucking mind
and hate picking up other people's stupid shit.
Baby-sitting for adults.

And school is just depressing the hell out of me right
now as well. Two dumb classes this semester. I pray
next semester is better, but I have to figure some way
of passing this one first. Once I found out I was
going to be ridiculously bored this semester, my brain
tuned out and I haven't learned a damn thing.

I've been watching an episode and Prime Suspect and
then Wooster & Jeeves. Send me to England, please.

I am going to finish this teacher program and then
some how, some way I am clawing my way into a teaching
position overseas.

Last night

Close up of a tree in Deerfield Commons.


111806_20252.jpg

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Turkey and Po-Tay-Toes

Turkey Time is almost upon us all. Last night I asked my mom what the plan is for next week.
 
The dreaded response: going over to my brother's. Gaaah. My sister-in-law cannot cook. Well, she can, it's just not up to my standards. About ten minutes after being told this, I whined: ARE YOU MAKING THE STUFFING? to my mom. Her response: I don't know. Me: *desperate intonation* YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS???
 
I can cope with whatever turkey my SIL makes - the turkey doesn't really matter to me. I don't eat too much of it. Besides which, my mom is going to be helping her make most of it anywya.
 
I may have to sneak in and do a covert mashed potatoes rescue operation. That's another thing that amazes me, my SIL makes mashed potatoes that are the separated at birth twin to Elmers Glue. Disgusting. And my brother likes them too. Mashed potatoes are supposed to be FLUFFY!
 
But then again, they also like Republicans. Republicans=Gluey Mashed Potatoes, Gluey Mashed Potatoes=Republicans. I see a depravity correlation, don't you? It's so obvious.
 
My mom, or me probably, will also be making the pies because we always do. SIL doesn't even make those at all - she usually winds up with a pie from the Jewel. Blech.
 
Yes, I am being a food snob. But it's THANKSGIVING. One of two times per American calendar year where if you're going to pig out, it should be on really good food. Embrace your inner food snob.
 
SO:
 
Stuffing must be made by the mom.
Pies: me or the mom.
Mashed taters: sneak save by moi.
Red wine: ME
Roasted parsnips and carrots (seriously so good): me
and maybe some of Giada's Green Beans: me
 
Those who bring that damned green bean casserole with the onion thingies MUST DIE.

Money money money (I don't got any)

I have just paid off my Target credit card. The evilness is no more! I couldn't schedule it online though - it kept giving me an error because it hadn't fully processed the one payment I made the other day. I had to call up account services and schedule it over the phone.
 
The good news is that, since I got it scheduled today, I don't have to pay a finance charge. Woot.
 
Of course this means I am broke for the week, but...NO MORE FINANCE CHARGE!
 
Now I just need to tackle the BoA loan. The finance charges on that piece of shit are ridiculous. I just got my new statement online today and it slapped back on a ridiculous amount of money in financing. I hate not getting to spend it on something fun, but this makes me more determined than ever to use my profit-sharing check from work against this in a couple weeks. That will knock out a little more than half the outstanding balance and kill a good bit of that financing.
 
CAN'T I STILL WIN THE LOTTO?

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Mac

I want a new Mac! Damnit.

Monday, November 13, 2006

I heard choirs of angels while reading this. For real.

There are just some damn funny bits in this write up. My favs in bold.

IN OTHER NEWS: I migrated to the beta version. NOW they tell me I can't post comments on non-migrated blogs. Thanks jackasses.

Bears have horses to win in slop

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- At least there should have been mud. It could have flown up from behind the shoes of rookie Bears kick returner Devin Hester like pixie dust from the hooves of a Kentucky Derby winner.


Hester's 108-yard hesitation touchdown return of Giants kicker Jay Feely's missed field goal in the fourth quarter made the score of this huge game 31-20 Bears, and it stunned the Giants into submission.


The final score would be 38-20 as the Giants had nothing left.


''They're supposed to be the best team in the NFC, according to some people,'' said Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, speaking snarkily of the Giants. ''I guess we are now.'' [OOh, I think Brian is feeling testy.]


No kidding.

On this nasty night with diehard fans at Giants Stadium wearing everything from winter parkas to garbage bags to ward off hypothermia, the erratic early play by both teams would have gone better with muck.


But there was Hester, catching the field-goal attempt at the back of the end zone, then standing like a statue for one terrifying beat, then two beats, messing with the Giants' minds, scaring Bears observers half to death, looking indecisive and innocent, then setting sail up the right sideline, riding a tidal wave of Bears blockers to the house. [No shit. I was watching and going 'WTF is he doing?']


''I probably wouldn't have done it if I saw them coming after me,'' said Hester, meaning the lulled-to-sleep Giants field-goal blockers.


''He had to stay there a while to set up his blocks, he told me,'' is how coach Lovie Smith put it.


''No! Absolutely not!'' said Bears general manager Jeranted Hester to run out of the end zone rather than safely down the ball. ''When he got to the 50, oh, yeah, I was all behind him.''

The 7-1 Bears were in a showdown with the 6-2 Giants, and everybody knew this was serious.


The big injuries have started to occur for all NFL teams, the halfway point is past and people would like to know who has actual Super Bowl aspirations.


Maybe it was the odd footing on the fiber-and-rubber-pellet turf here in the Meadowlands that made the Bears look so feeble at the start.


The cold rain came down sporadically, and there were fumbles all night long.


But the Bears moved for one whole yard on their first series, before quarterback Rex Grossman was intercepted by Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who ran the ball back to the Bears' 1.

This looked like Wrong Rex all over again.

Right Rex, the quarterback who sparkled in five of the Bears' seven previous wins, seemed nowhere to be found.

The Grossman who had stunk it up against the Cardinals and Dolphins, who looked weak in the win against the Vikings in Week 3, seemed back for a permanent stay.

But ''we weathered the storm,'' noted Grossman, who finished with 246 net passing yards, three touchdowns and a 105.7 passer rating.

At the start, the Bears' ground game was absent, as well.

In that first quarter, running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson combined for a grand total of one yard.

If there had been mud, it could have partially obscured the fact that after Jones gained 13 yards on the first three carries, he and Benson went backward 12 yards on the next four carries.

When the Giants moved ahead 13-3 with a little over two minutes left in the half, it seemed the Bears, who have a lot fewer injured starters than the Giants, were done.

Without a running game, and without a quarterback who can produce points in bad weather, how is any Bears team supposed to flourish?

The seven wins had come against teams that had losing records as of last week.

The first eight games may have been nice for the Bears, said the Sunday New York Times, but this contest ''is their true unveiling.''

Forgive New Yorkers for thinking everything is about them, that nothing matters until it's done on their stage. [Blah, blah, blah New York New Schmork. We've got better pizza, too.]

But why not go along with the sentiment?

With less than two minutes to go in the first half, Grossman abruptly shed his ugly suit and put his victory clothes back on.

He hit wide receiver Mark Bradley with a two-yard touchdown pass to cut the Giants' lead to 13-10, and after that he and his mates were smoking in the rain.

Message sent''It was a strange game,'' Grossman said of the slow start, strong finish, frequent turnovers. ''But the weather being what it was, the level of intensity, the promotion -- all that was part of it.''

It's possible the Giants, who lost star offensive tackle Luke Petitgout to a broken leg during the game, were already minus so many key players that this was an unfair match from the start.

But young Eli Manning looked far less competent than young Grossman, and, as far as we know, there was nothing wrong with Eli's body. [Young? YOUNG? Eli looks like he's twelve and his teeth are fucking atrocious. As someone commented to me: you have a bajillion dollars and you can't go to a DENTIST?]

Grossman ran some plays from the shotgun, and it seemed he might want to put the thing in his mouth and pull the trigger because the Bears looked out of sync in that formation. [Ouch. True dat.]

But the Hester return -- so reminiscent of Nate Vasher's 108-yard, wait-a-moment-then-run-for-a-TD return from last season -- was the explosion that put New York and everyone else on notice.

Injuries are part of this brutal game.

The Bears will get their share, and more.

But at 8-1, the Bears are for real, for sure.

And clean as can be.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

DA BEARS!

THAT'S MY BOOOOOOY!!! HESTER AND VASHAR! WE OWN YOUR MOTHERFUCKING LONG ASS RETURNS FOR 108 A PIECE, BITCHES!

OMG, now it's like we can do no fucking wrong. It's like two different Bears teams took the field, 1st half vs 2nd....fucking hell.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Oedipus Rex Redux

Patti Davis: Bush’s Father Issues - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com

Duh Factor (out of 10): 11 (a la Spinal Tap)

I knew this a long time ago. Many others did. Where have you been? Junior has always been trying to prove his pee-pee is bigger than Daddy's.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

WOD: Subpoena

Subpoena is a sexy word, isn't it? I can just imagine it strutting in to a room, untz-untz music thumping, wearing a garter belt and black fishnet pantyhose (the kind with the black line up the back), and then proceeding to whip the shit out of evil GOoPers. Of course, half of them are probably secretly into the whole S&M thing and they might actually like having to be dominated by Mistress Subpoena.

*cough*

Election leaves Bush to bob on blue wave - Politics - MSNBC.com: "More troubling for the White House is that with control of the House, Democrats will now be in control of the committees with oversight of its operations, a function they accused Republican chairmen of abdicating. Those committees will be led by some of the most senior Democrats hailing from the party’s liberal wing, and they will have subpoena power."

Today's word "Subpoena"! Brought to you by the letters "S" and "M" and partially funded by Latex.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Vaya Con Dios

This? Is Fucking HYSTERICAL. If you're not laughing with the tears streaming down your face at "Turn over a new page", you should be dead and buried. Because that is satire GOLD.




*Cough*

Democrats, Number One with a Bullet.

Na na na naaaa, na na na naaaa, hey hey heeeey good bye!

NY TIMES: There was only one explanation for the crazy-quilt combination of victories around the country that gave the Democrats control of the House of Representatives last night: an angry shout of repudiation of the Bush White House and the abysmal way the Republican majority has run Congress.

Like many of my friends (and fellow Americans), I am ECSTATIC at the election results. Absolutely ECSTATIC. It even looks like we will have a slim majority in the Senate. I don't believe Virginia has officially been called for Webb, but it's looking better and better. IT'S OFFICIAL: VIRGINNY IS OURS, BAYBEE! AND SO IS THE SENATE!

The media coverage is right: this vote was a repudiation and punishment of the radical right and especially Bush. I haven't looked at voter turnout numbers, but my gut tells me that Bush and his cronies finally pushed moderate Americans too far. Far enough so that we had a high turnout.

Let's face it: American voters are lazy. If *anything* good could be considered to come out of Bush's hateful tenure, it's that people might have finally woken up to the fact that if you don't participate in democracy, it dies - horribly - and that leaves you vulnerable to being steamrolled by a corrupt cabal. PEOPLE, VOTE. This is your right and people have died, and continue to die, for that right.

NY TIMES: The Republicans created their defeat by focusing obsessively on the right-wing “base,” ostracizing not only the Democrats but their own party’s more moderate legislators. The conflict between the extremist House and the conservative Senate created a phony center, far to the right of the general public’s idea of where the middle ought to be. Yesterday, moderate Republicans in heavily Democratic states were done in by their party’s excesses. In Rhode Island, more than 60 percent of the voters told pollsters that they liked their Republican senator, Lincoln Chafee. But he was soundly defeated anyway....

Low turnout by the average, middle of the road American, is the only explanation (other than YES, I still believe the GOP stole and lied heavily in the last major election) I have for how such a small, angry and out of touch group of so-called religious extremists managed to vote in these Republican psychos. Too bad those people are finding out that their officials only played them for fools. Those officials weren't interested in being religious or morally upstanding. They just wanted power. This is why you keep religion and the state separate: because it is all too easily corruptable and alienates the rights of countless others.

What else? Rumsfeld resigns. HA HA HA. Not that I feel sorry for the bastard, but he's being made into a scapegoat. I bet Bush is thinking if he sacrifices Rummy, the heat will be off of him. WRONG. Bush is still responsible.

Also: Bush now talking "bipartisanship" and "cooperation"? Give me a fucking break. If you were so interested in bipartisanship, you would have been working with Dems when you first started! You're only doing it now because you got spanked by the American voting public, YOU GODDAMNED FUCKING USELESS TWIT. Jackass. You've ignored the wishes of the public - the public you are supposed to be a SERVANT of - because you wanted your own little dictatorship. Bush is still a hypocrite and a lying sack of shit. Georgie, this is what you call a "reality check". Welcome to it, jackass!

I'm excited for "Madame" Speaker Pelosi. It's about damn time for the ladies. However, I disagree with her heartily about: any effort to impeach the president "is off the table," she assured the nation before TV cameras, but she also said American voters "spoke for change and they spoke for a new direction for all Americans." Madame, this man is a criminal who has broken nearly every law we have. He has spit upon the Constitution. He should be tried for treason.

If Madame Pelosi and the Democrats can take power without "rancor" as she put it, and work with the GOP...more power to them. I just wouldn't trust those bastards any further than I could throw them. Remember, these are the same assholes who held power for 12 years through treachery and deceit, who laughed at you and the American public in the open. Twelve long years of making this nation the hated laughing stock of the entire world. It's going to be hard to win people's trust again.

Someone posted Dear Dismayed Conservatives over at DU.

I think I can agree with nearly every one of those statements. (With the exception of "respecting [certain] beliefs". As someone pointed out in a reply, I sure as hell wouldn't respect someone spouting racist or sexist beliefs, for example.) Sure, I want to rub people's noses in it a little (after TWELVE LONG YEARS OF BULLSHIT, who can blame me?), but come on. WE are not the enemy. We never have been. We're Americans as well. Those idiot politicians played us off eachother for their own personal benefit.

I just want clean government. I want to be able to live my life as I see fit, without government needlessly getting involved. I sincerely hope the Democrats act better with power than these sorry elephant's asses ever did.

You can call me a "bleeding heart liberal" if you like, but guess what: at least that means I have a heart.

I'm so BLUUUUUUUUE!

*screams happily* DEMS WON THE HOUSE! DEMS WON THE HOUSE!
 
I would be happier if Duckworth had beaten that shit Roskam, and Seals had beaten Kirk (?).
 
Apparently, we're doing a recount in Montana for the Senate? We may yet win that one, but we'd still need Virginia and I haven't heard about that state.
 
To my Euro friends: guess what? We may actually have some brains left in this country!! *screams and dances again*
 
I saw one post of a Brit newspaper: damning verdict on Bush. You damn right. Bush SUCKS ASS. But I knew that before it became the popular thing to hate Bush.
 
I am so freakin happy.
 
I am "amused" (in the bloodthirsty way) at how Bush is now calling for Democrats and Republicans to work together. Yearh right, you fucking meglomaniac bastard. Where was cooperation for the past EIGHT YEARS from Republicans since the GOoPers took control of the houses in 94? It's always been "me me me!" I highly doubt they'll change. THey'll probably be MORE babyish and evil than ever...

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

In the "AWESOME DITTY CATEGORY": Daily Kos: Voting Experiences Open Thread #6

Daily Kos: Voting Experiences Open Thread #6: "A short Ode to Karl 'Guy' Rove (1+ / 0-)
Remember remember the 7th of November,
Voter suppresion and plot.
I see no reason why voter suppresion
should ever be forgot...
I know, I know I've posted this before, but I think this should be our mantra come tomorrow even if the Dems take the House and Senate by a landslide.
by londubh on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 01:23:08 PM PST
[ Reply to This |Recommend ]"

Taking a break from the serious...

Report: Britney Spears files for divorce - Celebrity News - MSNBC.com

Well, took her long enough.

Hughes for America - Ohio once again fails its voters

Hughes for America - Ohio once again fails its voters

Ohio, Ohio. Goddamn Republicans.

GET OUT THE VOTE!

What are you doing reading my blog?

GO OUT AND VOTE, DAMNIT! DEMOCRACY NEEDS YOU!

In other news: more of the same old shit. Republicans are acting like thugs, par for the course, in an attempt to suppress the vote. If we don't boot them now, fight them tooth and nail, we'll probably wind up having to right-hand-salute like the Nazis. (Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it, after all.)

GET RID OF THE RETHUGS!

Monday, November 06, 2006

SAVE THE COUNTRY: VOTE DEMOCRAT TOMORROW

Sick of the lying, the thieving, the deception...the murdering and mayhem brought on by Bush Co? THEN VOTE DEMOCRAT TUESDAY!

And if you're living in an area that's getting "robocalled" : REPORT IT! Here's how: STOP ROBO CALLING BY THE RNCC. This is voter suppression! Make em do the perp walk!

Looking for reasons to vote DEM? Visit: Democratic Underground.

When a party or person is so caught up with absolute power that they will lie and cheat their way through an election (oh hell, it's plural elections by this point), it is time for them to go [to jail]!

"Stay the Course"? Bush and his cronies don't give a damn what real people care about. They just want power. Kick them out. Our country can be so much better!

I continue to love Keith Olbermann at MSNBC.


Olbermann: Where are the checks, balances?

Bush has been 'making it up' for too long, and the people have let him

Updated: 10:02 p.m. MT Nov 6, 2006

We are, as every generation, inseparable from our own time.

Thus is our perspective, inevitably that of the explorer looking into the wrong end of the telescope.

But even accounting for our myopia, it’s hard to imagine there have been many elections more important than this one, certainly not in non-presidential years.

And so we look at the verdict in the trial of Saddam Hussein yesterday, and, with the very phrase “October, or November, Surprise” now a part of our vernacular, and the chest-thumping coming from so many of the Republican campaigners today, each of us must wonder about the convenience of the timing of his conviction and sentencing.

But let us give history and coincidence the benefit of the doubt—let’s say it’s just “happened” that way—and for a moment not look into the wrong end of the telescope.

Let’s perceive instead the bigger picture:

Saddam Hussein, found guilty in an Iraqi court.

Who can argue against that?

He is officially, what the world always knew he was: a war criminal.

Mr. Bush, was this imprimatur, worth the cost of 2,832 American lives, and thousands more American lives yet to be lost?

Is the conviction of Saddam Hussein the reason you went to war in Iraq?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because of the weapons of mass destruction that did not exist?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because of the connection between Iraq and al-Qaida that did not exist?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to break the bonds of tyranny there, while installing the mechanisms of tyranny here?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because you felt the need to wreak vengeance against somebody, anybody?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to contain a rogue state which, months earlier, your own administration had declared had been fully contained by sanctions?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to keep gas prices down?

How startling it was, sir, to hear you introduce oil to your stump speeches over the weekend.

Not four years removed from the most dismissive, the most condescending, the most ridiculing denials of the very hint at, as Mr. Rumsfeld put it, this “nonsense.”

There you were, campaigning in Colorado, in Nebraska, in Florida, in Kansas -- suddenly turning this ‘unpatriotic idea’ into a platform plank.

"You can imagine a world in which these extremists and radicals got control of energy resources," you told us. "And then you can imagine them saying, 'We're going to pull a bunch of oil off the market to run your price of oil up unless you do the following.'"

Having frightened us, having bullied us, having lied to us, having ignored and rewritten the Constitution under our noses, having stayed the course, having denied you’ve stayed the course, having belittled us about "timelines" but instead extolled "benchmarks," you’ve now resorted, sir, to this?

We must stay in Iraq to save the $2 gallon of gas?

Mr. President, there is no other conclusion we can draw as we go to the polls tomorrow.

Sir, you have been making this up as you went along.

This country was founded to prevent anybody from making it up as they went along.

Those vaunted Founding Fathers of ours have been so quoted up, that they appear as marble statues: like the chiseled guards of China, or the faces on Mount Rushmore. But in fact they were practical people and the thing they obviously feared most was a government of men and not laws.

They provided the checks and balances for a reason.

No one man could run the government the way he saw fit -- unless he, at the least, took into consideration what those he governed saw.

A House of Representatives would be the people's eyes.

A Senate would be the corrective force on that House.

An executive would do the work, and hold the Constitution to his chest like his child.

A Supreme Court would oversee it all.

Checks and balances.

Where did that go, Mr. Bush?

And what price did we pay because we have let it go?

Saddam Hussein will get out of Iraq the same way 2,832 Americans have and thousands more.

He’ll get out faster than we will.

And if nothing changes tomorrow, you, sir, will be out of the White House long before the rest of us can say we are out of Iraq.

And whose fault is this?

Not truly yours. You took advantage of those of us who were afraid, and those of us who believed unity and nation took precedence over all else.

But we let you take that advantage.

And so we let you go to war in Iraq to oust Saddam or find non-existant weapons or avenge 9/11 or fight terrorists who only got there after we did or as cover to change the fabric of our Constitution or for lower prices at The Texaco or…?

There are still a few hours left before the polls open, sir. There are many rationalizations still untried.

And whatever your motives of the moment, we the people have, in true good faith and with the genuine patriotism of self-sacrifice (of which you have shown you know nothing), we have let you go on making it up as you went along.

Unchecked and unbalanced.

Vote.


GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

London

You'd think in one of my past lives that I lived in London, for how much I fucking love it, but so far no word on that!

I'm finally going through my shutterfly account and trying to organize a photo book. God, looking through those pictures makes me feel so nostalgic. I adore London. I was looking through the pictures saying SEND ME BACK!!

*sigh*

British Mum, I miss you!

Friday, November 03, 2006

A lesson for the Right Wingers out there...

With all the noble and virtous right wingers out there dropping like flies, I feel now is a good time to make a suggestion.

Perhaps we should send them all a copy of a play by Moliere that points out the definition of hypocrisy.


Moliere's Tartuffe:

"CLEANTE
That is the usual strain of all your kind;
They must have every one as blind as they.
They call you atheist if you have good eyes;
And if you don't adore their vain grimaces,
You've neither faith nor care for sacred things.
No, no; such talk can't frighten me; I know
What I am saying; heaven sees my heart.
We're not the dupes of all your canting mummers;
There are false heroes--and false devotees;
And as true heroes never are the ones
Who make much noise about their deeds of honour,
Just so true devotees, whom we should follow,
Are not the ones who make so much vain show.

What! Will you find no difference between
Hypocrisy and genuine devoutness?
And will you treat them both alike, and pay
The self-same honour both to masks and faces
Set artifice beside sincerity,
Confuse the semblance with reality,
Esteem a phantom like a living person,
And counterfeit as good as honest coin?
Men, for the most part, are strange creatures, truly!
You never find them keep the golden mean;
The limits of good sense, too narrow for them,
Must always be passed by, in each direction;
They often spoil the noblest things, because
They go too far, and push them to extremes.
I merely say this by the way, good brother."

IF

If I had a fucking DOLLAR for every time I saw the Repukelicans use the following in their ads against Democrats:
 
"Will raise taxes!!!"
 
"Is soft on terror!!"
 
Jesus Christ. These asswipes really don't get it, do they?
 
I'm sorry, who are the assholes spending billions of dollars on a farce of a war - one we have to moral justification for? And who have no fucking plan to end it? No bid contracts for Halliburton, etc., etc., etc.?! Who impedes investigations of corruption even now?
 
Who said "Mission Accomplished" THREE YEARS AGO? Nothing has been accomplished, unless you count Iraq spiraling into civil war and creating a terrorist recruitment hotbed an "accomplishment"?
 
Who are the ones who still haven't found Osama Bin Laden -- years after our fearless leader said "wanted dead or alive"? Yeah, we've been super focused on that.
 
Who are the ones who verbally attack and malign respected war veterans and fucking cripples who dare question their absolute immoral "authority"? Who dodged service while advocating war (i.e., chickenhawking) Yeah, that's right: Republicans. (And for those of you who think Kerry was mocking the troops, get real. He was mocking the President.)
 
Who are the biggest self-hating closet homosexuals ever? Ha ha, those would be Republicans, too. See, if people would just mind their own bedroom business and/or admit they like a little assfucking every now and then, I really think the world would be a happier place.
 
*drum roll*
 
Thank you, I'll be here through November 7th...and beyond.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Money (changes everything)

I love figuring out bills on payday...NOT. At least I've got most of my shit sorted and dated for the month.
 
I finally picked a new mobile phone for my "new every 2" plan with Verizon. I got a RAZR phone for free (my company gets a discount on plans as well). Schweet. Looks like I can even get a plan with 50 more minutes at the same price of my current plan.
 
Our company profit sharing statements came out today. We don't actually get the money until December 7th, which is stupid if you ask me. Most people use that for holiday gifts; it should come out the week before Thanksgiving so people can use it on the mega-sales. I thought I wasn't going to do as well as last year, but our profit percentage was up and I forgot that I had a full year in whereas last year I did not. (Gets determined from Oct-Oct, not Jan-Jan.) It seems like a nice chunk of change...until you realize the fucking rethug government has yet to take out their 40%. FUCKING BASTARDS.
 
If I actually received what is on my statement, I would have booked my next trip to England and it would have been swank. Now, I'm so disheartened I will just pay down one loan I have.
 
Did a tarot reading for myself last night about whether or not I have a shot at that other job as a document specialist. Keep your fingers crossed, that's all I'm saying.
 
And your toes.

Keith Olberman For Prez

Crooks and Liars » Olbermann’s Special Comment : There is no line this President has not crossed — nor will not cross — to keep one political party, in power.

Oh my god. Seriously, Keith Olberman? I think I love him. This should be shouted from every rooftop. And every rabid right winger should be shown this non-stop until they finally get some sort of clue of how evil Bush Co is, and how they are partly to blame for following him like a pack of bitches.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Silly, silly Cheeseheads

Clark developing into one of NFL's top tight ends - Chicago Bears: "Packer backer: Green Bay receiver Donald Driver told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Packers (3-4) still can make up a four-game deficit in the NFC North and catch the first-place Bears (7-0), who he believes were exposed two weeks ago in a one-point Monday night victory over the Cardinals.
“It’s never over,” Driver said. “(The only team) really playing well is Chicago and I think Arizona showed they're not that good of a team, either. It's a battle. But sooner or later if we have to meet them again, that's the last game of the season, that's Chicago, so we're hoping by that time they lose five or six games and we're right in the hunt with them.”"

Someone's brains have got more holes than Swiss CHEESE.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Work

Is for the birds.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me get that document specialist position. PLEASE. Because I cannot stand the admin gig anymore.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Scum

While I was waiting to get my coffee this morning, I glanced over at the newspapers for sale, specifically the NY Times.
 
What do Republicans do when faced with pissed off people and dismal polls? Never fear, it's time to smear the queer!!
 
One of the front page stories: "G.O.P. Moves Fast to Reignite Issue of Gay Marriage".
 
President Bush and Republicans across the country tried to use a court ruling in New Jersey to rally dispirited conservatives to the polls.
 
Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic, and par for the course. Instead of the "Redcoats are coming, the Redcoats are coming!" it's the "gays are coming, the gays are coming!" *cough* *cough*. Sorry about the really bad pun, but I am trying to make a serious point. (I'm glad someone is coming, I know I haven't seen any action in a damn long time.)
 
The GOP doesn't rule by managing the real and crucial problems facing our country: poverty, terrorism, education, constitutional rights. NO, they rule by divisiveness, hate and bigotry. If gay bashing is seriously the only way the GOP can hope to cling to power, PATHETIC.
 
I don't care who the hell gets married. It wasn't even a ruling on "marriage" per se. What the court in NJ ruled was that gay couples cannot be denied equal rights and treatment that a married couple receive such as: right to visit spouse in hospital, tax/medical benefits, etc. AND I THINK THAT IS CORRECT FOR THEM TO HAVE THESE RIGHTS. They're not second class citizens. They pay taxes and do everything we do. "They" are "us". Humans.
 
It just pisses me off to no end. You freako right-wingers, worry about your own damn marriages and mind your own business and let others take care of their own. If the basis of your vote is going to be repressing a group with different sexual orientation when we are facing much more important issues - issues the GOP and Bush have failed dismally at addressing TIME AND TIME AGAIN - then you are too stupid to have a damn vote.
 
!!
 

Thursday, October 26, 2006

More Republican Lies (That's All They Know How to Do!)

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Lynn Sweet :: McSweeney's cheap shot: "2006
BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Columnist

Republican David McSweeney, challenging Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), started running a new television ad on Monday evening. It's misleading when it comes to portraying Bean's position on Social Security and a cheap shot when the spot talks about her not protecting "our values."
A spokesman for AARP, David Sloane, said McSweeney "twisted" Bean's response to an AARP election questionnaire and said McSweeney's spot amounted to a "scare tactic." Sloane said the AARP was mailing a letter to all of its members in the north suburban 8th Congressional District --some tens of thousands -- to "make clear" the McSweeney spot was a "mischaracterization."

McSweeney's new spot is kick-in-the-gut tough. Bean has her share of hard-hitting ads. The issue here is when it comes to Social Security; McSweeney's ad is not accurate.

The ad states that Bean "supports raising Social Security taxes and cutting Social Security benefits." The attribution for that statement, the McSweeney campaign says, comes from the AARP Voters' Guide.

Republicans helping other GOP House candidates have been running ads against Democrats based on the same AARP Voters Guide.

The Annenberg Political Fact Check has analyzed these other claims -- not specifically McSweeney's -- and concluded, "Republicans misleadingly accuse Democrat House candidates of aiming to shrink benefit checks."

FactCheck -- at www.factcheck.org -- is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania and is a nonpartisan center that "aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics."

Social Security faces a solvency crisis in the future. When and how severe an emergency was a matter of much debate between Republicans and Democrats in 2005, when Social Security reform was taken up in the House.

President Bush confused the discussion in 2005 by linking any change in Social Security to a plan to create voluntary retirement investment accounts. The accounts would be funded by diverting a small amount of Social Security payroll withholding dollars into these private investments.

The president criss-crossed the country to try to drum up support for his private investment accounts. But he never was able to gain much traction and Social Security faded as an issue. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert simply moved on to other legislative items rather than fight for proposals where there was disagreement even among his own GOP members.

Enter the closing days of the 2006 midterm elections. The battle over Bean's 8th Congressional District is one of the biggest in the country.

AARP asked two questions: "Would you support or oppose a balanced Social Security plan to continue the program's guaranteed benefits for future generations? Will you support or oppose using Social Security taxes to fund private accounts?"

Bean answered support to the first and oppose to the second.

AARP presented its own position to candidates at the time it asked for answers to its questions:

"AARP believes that a bipartisan plan that balances additional contributions from higher income workers with modest adjustments in future benefits can maintain guaranteed Social Security benefits for future generations." AARP is also against private accounts.

So lets dissect this: There is no one around who seriously advocates cutting benefits. That's political suicide. At issue in the overall Social Security debate is the pace at which future benefits should grow. AARP has never suggested rolling back benefits -- even adjusted for inflation.

On taxes: At present, a worker has 6.2 percent of wages deducted for Social Security, up to $90,000 of earnings. AARP is open to raising the cap -- but not the rate. What is Bean's position on this? Her answer is silent on this point.

"David McSweeney has insulted AARP and our seniors by refusing to respond to their questions, manipulating their voter guide and misrepresenting my position on Social Security," Bean said. "Clearly my opponent is so incapable of independent thinking, even his lies are dictated by his party."

McSweeney told me he did not answer the AARP questions because the way they were asked was "loaded." He said it was an "honest deduction" to summarize Bean's position based on the AARP survey.

"I don't think it was misleading," McSweeney said of his spot. "I stand by it 100 percent."

Monday, October 23, 2006

(And a child shall lead them) Killings reignite gun control debate - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

Killings reignite gun control debate - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

Don't look now, but the emperor has no clothes!!

I love the kids.

"At a hastily arranged White House Conference on School Safety on Oct. 10, panelists covered topics ranging from metal detectors and school bullies to the value of religious beliefs and good communication between parents and schools.

But the word “gun” was not mentioned until a plucky teenager pointed out to a panel moderated by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that the common factor was easy access to high-powered firearms. President George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush attended separate parts of the conference but avoided mention of guns."

I fucking hate Bush. I fucking hate the NRA AND I fucking hate rabid right-wingers.

ABC News: Electronic Voting Machines Could Skew Elections

ABC News: Electronic Voting Machines Could Skew Elections

Shit like this infuriates me to the point of speechlessness.

So much for American "democracy". If you're going to vote, vote by absentee ballot! I certainly am going to.

Give me a break. This is exactly how Bush Co. STOLE the 2004 election.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Merry olde...

I just remembered that Nigella Lawson's show is on
today at noon. I just saw the commercials for it.

*happy sigh*

I love her voice and accent. It makes me
think...ENGLAND.

Send me back...PLEASE?? I feel "homesick"!

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Travel Channel

Aaaahhh. They're doing their special on Australia.

All I can think about is cute Trent the Aussie that was on the same tour of Scotland as I was this summer. I smile.

Listen up!

Cute Trent, whose last name I do not know, if you are for some reason Googling yourself and find this page: LEAVE A COMMENT!

Google options?

Trent

Haggis Tours

Radical Tours

Cricket

Scotland

Skye High Tour

Go Baby Go!

Friday, October 20, 2006

Note to Co-Workers

You who send me stupid, complex last minute meetings for the beginning of next week AT FOUR PM ON A FRIDAY need to be shot.
 
Thank you

Lunch and Sunflower Orphans

I had, possibly, the worst excuse for chicken parmigiana at my work cafteria. ZERO flavor. And the carrots and noodles that I had as sides weren't much better. I ate maybe half of the sides, then went and got my cottage cheese.
 
The chocolate chip cookie I had was good though.
 
Back a while, I entered a shutterfly photo contest. I can't believe the lame ass picture that won. It's a frikkin SUNFLOWER. The number 2 photo (orphans in Africa) was better than that!
 
A picture of my ass would have been better than the stupid sunflower photo. Give me a break.
 
What photos were chosen as winners in the Travel Adventures photo
contest?

Find out now and see the winning photos for yourself by clicking on the
link below.
http://photocontest.shutterfly.com/action/photocontest/winner?contestId=761
(If you can't click on this link, please copy and paste it into your
web browser.)

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

1,001 Nights of Snowfall

Yes, dearhearts, it's true:
 
1,001 Nights of Snowfall is all that AND a bag of chips.
 
Go get it NOW before it's sold out. You'll thank me later.
 
Poor Flycatcher!!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Denny, Shut Up

OK, so I'm still in shock that the Bears somehow won when they clearly didn't deserve it, BUT I still take umbrage at Denny's comments:
 
"The Bears are who we thought they were!” he said, yelling at the top of his lungs and pounding on the podium at his postgame press conference. “Now, if you want to crown them, then crown their asses! But they are who they thought they were! And we let them off the hook!"
 
Admittedly, it was hilarious to see Mike Tomasulo of the WGN morning news peer out from behind and under his desk after the airing of that tirade and saying: "Is it safe to come out yet?"
 
I digress. Back to Denny: STFU. I admit we did not deserve to win this game, but whose fault is that? Oh, that's right: yours and the Cardinals'. You have the team that choked. At the end of the day that is your guys' fault. ALSO, the fact that you beat us in the pre-season means two things only: "jack" and "shit".
 
Pre-season means NOTHING. Those games don't count. Lord, if I could count the times the Bears and or the Cubs have rocked the pre-season, only to disintegrate into meaningless drivel...
 
Let's face it - we don't have a Pre-Season Superbowl for a reason. What you saw then does not guarantee anything you will see in a real live (TM) game that is during the actual season. We are not necessarily what you thought we were. Yes, we sucked, but we were also fucking lucky and have Brian "Hammer of the Gods II" Urlacher. (I say "II" because the original would have to be Butkus.)
 
Rant against Denny aside, I really wish Lovie hadn't refered to us as a "team of destiny". Save that shit for if/after you win a Superbowl. You can't make comparisons to the 85-86 Bears. That was one team whose likes will never be seen again.
 

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Jay Mariotti :: Curb your enthusiasm: Lucky Bears far cry from '85

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Jay Mariotti :: Curb your enthusiasm: Lucky Bears far cry from '85

Harsh, but true. We had absolutely no business winning that game. I still can't friggin believe it.

Someone send the Cardinals kicker a fruit basket. (And their coach blood pressure medicine. He like nuclear imploded in the interview!)

Friday, October 13, 2006

Snow White

I brought a fro-din (frozen dinner), but I kinda want soup. Panera sounds really good right now.
 
It was so fucking cold this morning. I had on my hat, scarf and new gloves. Last winter I swear I lost four pairs of gloves. I had to keep buying new ones: the cheapo $2.99 microfleece since I'd better not be spending more than that when I keep losing em.
 
At least I'm not in Buffalo NY, though. Could you imagine TWO FEET OF SNOW? IN EARLY OCTOBER? God, I'd scream my lungs out.
 
Last night I went to the Kwando class at Bally's. My shoulders are absolutely killing me now. After class, I went to Target to get stuff (besides the gloves just mentioned). I wound up buying some hair color. I got Clairol's Natural Instincts (the semi-permanent stuff). My hair is now "midnight neutral black". Holy shit, that stuff is <i>dark</i>. I look a little Snow White-ish. Oh well, it's not permanent. It should work for my Zatanna outfit at Halloween.
 
Work sucks. I'm bored and people SUCK.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

It's weird to be awake

It is a normal thing, every weekday, for me to moan and mutter as I start my car: "God, I'm so tired!"
 
I didn't today. Yesterday was it; I was dog tired and couldn't take it anymore. Every now and then I get in these funks where I can't sleep worth crap or I just don't go to bed at a decent hour. Yesterday, I got home a little before 6, ate some food, and then crashed in my bed by 6:30pm. I woke up a little bit around 1am, but fell back asleep until my alarm went off this (frigid) morning at just before 6am. (To WGN 720 discussing the tragedy that is Cory Lidle. Dude, that sucks. And that's about all that can be said.)
 
And now...I am awake. It's a little trippy. I am not, I stress, "chipper" - just less grumpy and very alert. Chipper is for weird ass perky blonde types with cup size A boobs (unless of course they've had the silicone). I may have had nigh on eleven hours of sleep, but I still hate people who try to blow sunshine up your ass.
 
I'll keep my sphincters to myself, thank you very much.
 
Oh, but the morning was beautiful albeit cold. The clouds were all dark and brooding, piled upon eachother in great big circular globs in the east. At the Starbucks, the sun had come up enough behind them so that it set all the edges on fire. The clouds looked like they were gilt-edged. It made me smile.
 
I ran into one of my cousin's husband at the Starbucks, too - Jim. He can be a bit of an ass and usually gets on my nerves. He kept stepping in my way - you know when two people are trying to pass and can't decide which way to go to avoid the oncoming person? When I looked up and figured out it was him, I smacked him in the chest. Then we talked for a bit. I guess my other cousin Jackie went through her divorce*. (*) because she got her first marriage annulled. Not had too much success in that department. From what little I have heard, that whole situation sounds weirder and weirder. Her ex has the daughter and she lives on her own in an apartment. Hmmm. That's not the typical situation. I think from what I heard that it was she who wanted out...but man, think of the hurt that would do to the kid to have the mother not be there. I'm not trying to downplay the significance the father plays, but the mother - come on, this is the person that gave birth to you and brought you forth to the world. To have that person removed significantly from your life is harsh...
 
*sigh* That's enough for this morning. Gots to fill out my dental forms. Going to the oral surgeon today for a preliminary visit. My wisdom teeth may have to be leaving...

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Blog Conversations - Slightly Kerouackian?

I haven't had a good "is she drunk, no she's sober" post to Sullivan in a while.

Does severe lack of sleep and a loathing of my job count towards a state of unsobriety? It also smells yeasty around here. I blame the guy in the office next to me.

Anyhoo...SO what is your position on VM so far? Last night I wanted to beat bully boy up. She makes enemies awfully quick - - I wonder how the whole sorority thing will play out in the long term.

I should have bought Pride of Baghdad today - but I didn't. When it comes out in softcover, sure. BUT NEXT WEEK: Fables 1,001 Nights of Snowfall - wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I want I want I want.

Have you moved to California yet or is that still in the works?

Halloween partying is afoot this year. I am reminded of the most excellent Buffy parties and all the glorious swag.

I need coffee. Or sleep. Preferably the latter. But I'll take a lottery win. I'd take care of the money better than Spike. And was something mentioned to Dorian about his chatter? He's been strangely (blessedly) non-chattery since that time. I would feel guilty, but the quiet is too nice. Today I went in and some guy was acting like an ass, trying to get Charlie to buy his crap. He was short money for the month and kept whining: "What are you going to give me? Come on, give me $150!" I wanted to smack him upside the head. I walked outside and his car was next to mine. The whole back of his old Caddy was filled with comic boxes and other stuff.

Newest Fables

Dudes. Hansel is an evil bastard.
 
And what will happen to Kevin Thorne! He's about to get more mixed up in Fabletown than he wants...!

i hate my job

Today is one of those days where it's painfully obvious how working in corporate American is a mindless, soul-sucking thing to do.
 
You try to plan some stupid fucking team-building activity - do something NICE - and people bitch. "It's not good enough!" "So and so got to do this, why can't we?" Except when you don't do anything at all, they bitch about that, too.
 
You know what, people? Go fuck yourselves. Why aren't we doing what Team X did? Hmm, could it be because they have a much larger product on market and budget than we do? POSSIBLY.
 
So people keep telling me to change this fucking activity, which I have been trying to plan "ahead of schedule"...only to have it dragged back behind schedule.
 
I give up. I fucking give up. This team sucks anyway.  

NBC5.com - Education - Suburban Ordinance Criminalizes Cutting School

NBC5.com - Education - Suburban Ordinance Criminalizes Cutting School

Weird. Ok - that was my high school.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Brevity is the Soul of Wit (Ain't Got No Soul)

Intelligent speech & writing should aim at using few words. This proverb comes the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.
 
Yesterday was another excruciating exercise in the development of my Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. Instead of going to Linguistics on time, I camped out on a comfy chair in the reading lounge and took a nap. If I hadn't, last night would have been even uglier.

The second half of Linguistics went fine. It was that damn Community College course that nearly turned me into a raging maniac. More chapter presentations. This is a graduate (or supposed to be) level course. PEOPLE, you need to learn how to present information. I am sorry, but giving out a TEN FUCKING PAGE hand out is EIGHT PAGES TOO MUCH, and then reading it out - word for word - IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! It's called SUMMARIZATION, people! LEARN TO DO IT! No one was paying attention by page three. And then the professor, as he is wont to do, kept interrupting. It took TWO HOURS to get through that. TWO HOURS. I have presented entire books in less than that time in far more challenging graduate courses!
 
When the professor asked if we should keep doing things as we were, I had to bite my tongue. Obviously my opinion is NO, but I was in no condition to be airing my opinion (politely) at that point.
 
And the stupid delivery man here is whistling and being disruptive.
 
I am surrounded by cretins. When I am Supreme Ruler of All and have the ability to vaporize people with the power of my mind and intense gaze, my first task will be to significantly cull the herd.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

3 or 4 sec death of guinness



I was finally emailed this! Excitement! This is Popey (first time Steven, I think) - a guy on the same tour I did in Ireland. This was his third try at speed-drinking a Guinness. It's like his throat opened up....behold the majesty.

Sorry, it is sideways.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Grey's Anatomy

I can't help it; I love this show. I missed the first two eps, but saw last night's.

Dude, Sandra Oh OWNS that show. She cracks me up to no end. And that guy playing Alex....raawr. He can be such a complete jerk and then he'll suddenly pull his head out of his butt and it makes him all cuddly.
 
But seriously? Meredith needs to go with Finn. Screw "McDreamy" - he never told you he was married when everything started!
 
And that guy Allison is boinking? Wow. Hot in an evil sort of way. He actually looks like the real life version of Doctor Strange.
 
I am a geek.

Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers - New York Times

Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers - New York Times

Hmmm, maybe it's because you all tend to be freaks, but most importantly HYPOCRITES of the first degree?!

"we're pro life! save them fetuses! now go kill us some heathen iraquis!"

Rule NUMERO UNO: RELIGION AND POLITICS SHOULD NOT MIX. I think the Republicans are starting to feel that bite in the ass...

Thursday, October 05, 2006

New York Daily News - Home - Stanley Crouch: Foley circus may wake up elephants

New York Daily News - Home - Stanley Crouch: Foley circus may wake up elephants

It could prove to be the backbreaking straw that wakes up the party's rank-and-file voters to the fact that, despite claims by the elephant leaders that they are the party of virtue, they are, in fact, just as damnably human as the Democrats.

In fact, grosser than damnably human.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Let's Impeach the President

I've been listening to this gem a lot in the past two days given yet more Republican hoopla...Why just the President? Let's impeach half the Senate and Congress too!
 
 
Let’s impeach the president for lying
And leading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door
He’s the man who hired all the criminals
The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors
And bend the facts to fit with their new stories
Of why we have to send our men to war
Let’s impeach the president for spying
On citizens inside their own homes
Breaking every law in the country
By tapping our computers and telephones
What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees
Would New Orleans have been safer that way
Sheltered by our government’s protection
Or was someone just not home that day?
Let’s impeach the president
For hijacking our religion and using it to get elected
Dividing our country into colors
And still leaving black people neglected
Thank god he’s cracking down on steroids
Since he sold his old baseball team
There’s lot of people looking at big trouble
But of course the president is clean
Thank God

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Costuming

My costume is mostly done. I got better shorts (they are actually workout shorts which are very short and close fitting), a magic wand which is glow in the dark (fabuuulous).

I need to find a deep burgundy vest and pocket square if possible. I also need a white stuffed bunny (plush or taxidermied, I don't much care!) to put in my hat!

I thought for about five minutes about switching my fishnet stockings out for a garter belt and thigh high fishnets. Then my upper thighs said "not so much".

Harumph.

Yeah, I'll be at that Bally's powerflex course twice a week for a while now, even though it makes sitting down a bitch.

P.S. Daaaaaaaa Bears!!

Friday, September 29, 2006

Absolute power corrupts absolutely...

Is anyone else "amused" at how our esteemed government berates a military coup in Thailand and imposes sanctions against the country because they ousted a controversial, corrupt and unliked man as leader?
 
So far, I haven't seen anything yet that makes me scream "oh noes!" about the military leader. Sure, it's definitely a precarious position, but the guy and the military managed to <i>peacefully</i> pull of a coup. Obviously have to see if a new civil leader comes and manages to stay and the military retreats.
 
But yeah. Our idiot government likes to yark on and on about promoting freedom and democracy.
 
Bullshit. Just bullshit.
 
Whenever a country tries to do so, they can smacked down by us. And our rights are being eroded and raped at a prodigious rate by this evil regime. Worse? The stupid jesus freaks think it's all good. Whatever. These are the same morons who believe in the "rapture". (To which I say, hurry up and happen so all these fucknuts can leave the rest of us in peace and to clean up their fucking hypocritical mess.)
 
Why does Bush regime not like Thailand now?
 
Could it be because they see in themselves an uncomfortable resemblance to the ousted? One wonders.
 

Thursday, September 28, 2006

in less politically horrifying news...

Guess what (more appropriately, WHO) I am for Halloween? (One part of my ensemble, tuxedo coat with tails, is not ready yet as I am attempting to spray paint it black.)


Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

V for Vendetta or Franz Kafka, Take Your Pick

People, this is a call to arms. Get your telephone in
hand and start making phone calls to the spineless
bastards (shame on you, democrats who won't stand up!)
who won't say "no" to this travesty, this absolute
raping of our rights.

This gives Bush the power to say WHO is a terrorist,
to "disappear" them and give them no due process
whatsoever - even if you are an American citizen.
(Hell, he suddenly gets to determine WHO an American
citizen is.) You can't know the evidence against you,
nor will you go to trial.

This? Is Franz Kafka's <i>The Trial</i> in horrific
detail.

<a
href=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/28/1445259>House
OKs Controversial Detainee Treatment, Trial Bill</a>

The Bush administration’s controversial military
commissions and detainee treatment bill is one step
closer to being signed into law. On Wednesday, the
House approved its version of the measure, leaving it
to a vote in the Senate today. Under the new bill,
detainees would be prevented from challenging their
imprisonment and denied access to evidence used
against them. Critics of the bill say it also gives
too broad a definition of who can be ruled an
“unlawful enemy combatant”; and provides little
protection against detainee mistreatment. The
administration was forced to come up with new
procedures following a Supreme Court ruling in the
case of Guantanamo detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan. On
Wednesday, Hamdan’s lawyer, U.S. Navy Lieutenant
Commander Charlie Swift, said the new bill could again
be ruled illegal.

U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Charlie Swift: "They're
basically recreating, almost identically, the same
trial the Supreme Court struck down that said they
violated Common Article 3 and also violated the UCMJ
at that time, and just basically didn't provide
fundamental, what we call due process, for a fair
trial. And no amount of saying that it's a fair trial
makes it a fair trial and that seems to be the bill's
biggest thing. We claim it's a fair trial but we
haven't really changed any of the things the Supreme
Court found substantively problematic."

Just one in five Democrats voted with Republicans in
the House Wednesday. <i>But Democrats say they won’t
challenge the bill because they do not want to appear
weak on terror ahead of the November elections.</i> In
an editorial today, the New York Times writes:
"Americans of the future won't remember the pragmatic
arguments for caving in to the administration.
<b>They'll know that in 2006, Congress passed a
tyrannical law that will be ranked with the low points
in American democracy, our generation's version of the
Alien and Sedition Acts."</b>

Daily Kos has a list of the idiot democrats supporting
this shit <a
href=http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/9/28/195456/183>available
here</a>. Call these people up and STOP THIS SHIT.

On the question do you favor (1) allowing the
President to define torture, (2) strip the court of
judicial review via habeas corpus (even though the
constitution does not allow you to except in cases of
invasion or Rebellion), and (3) allowing the President
to jail American citizens arbitrarily and without
court review?

Gutless Democrats saying Aye:
Tom Carper (Del.)
Tim Johnson (S.D.)
Mary Landrieu (La.)
Frank Lautenberg (N.J.)
Bob Menendez (N.J)
Bill Nelson (Fla.)
Ben Nelson (Neb.)
Pryor (Ark.)
Jay Rockefeller (W. Va.)
Ken Salazar (Co.)
Debbie Stabenow (Mich.)

Gutless Connecticut for Liebermans saying Aye:
Joe Lieberman (Conn.)

History will not absolve you.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Latin

I'm finally getting somewhere with Latin. It's not going to be quite as intensive as I had thought, but it's still got quite a lot of work. I won't need to get a degree, per se, although a masters in Classical Studies would be sweet ( and $$$ ). I wasn't really getting anywhere with UIC, so I kept pursuing Loyola.
 
I mean, hello - LOYOLA. That name does carry some freaking weight. I feel proud saying it. Sure, it's a buncha Jesuits and I'm not the poster child for Catholicism, but they're not stupid. I digress...
 
I talked with the department chair of the Classics Program. Dude is cool. He talked with me on the phone forever and answered whatever questions he could. THAT is how you get people to want to come to your school.

There are two options for me to be qualified to teach a foreign language under current ISBE standards. The quickest and most viable one for me, since I will already have my main teaching endorsement, is to have 20 semester hours in the target language + pass the content area exam. SCHWEET. That's like 7 courses. You figure two per semester and it's two years - less if I bust through some courses in the summer. The trick is, these classes are undergrad and that means they probably won't be offered at times convenient for me. Ugh. The department chair said there is precedent at the school for offering correspondence courses (and it is something the current administration is interested in reviving).
 
He's going to see if anyone would be willing to offer me a correspondence course that runs parallel with a Latin course they'd already be offering in the spring. *fingers crossed* That would be great. I could probably get into a Latin 102 course. I'm reviewing the Wheelock's Latin book, but it has been over 10 years since I was actually studying the language. Seriously, the guy is awesome. He totally wants to promote the study of Latin and we were geeking out for a bit and shooting the shit a little bit. He thought I'd be a great teacher candidate with both English and Latin in my arsenal. And I didn't even tell him I was probably going to get endorsed in Poli Sci and History as well! I could teach everything but math and science, Geek Team Represent.
 
I called the admissions office and they told me to apply as a non-degree undergrad. One page form. EASY. No fee? Even better! So I already filled it out and submitted it. Theoretically, I could take a class as soon as spring. How much?
 
*gulp* No idea. I just hope it's not insane. Loyola is private, though...
 
Gah. I'll worry about that later.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Classes

If only I wrote more about my sometimes tragic education.
 
So, that class about Community Colleges that I thought would be so intriguing? Totally mindless. Last night I about jumped out of my seat and screamed. This is supposed to be a grad class. The teacher needs to stop with the hand holding! My partner and I were presenting three chapters from our really stupid class book. IT TOOK TWO FUCKING HOURS. That is ridiculous. He kept interrupting us. It like listen, asshole, if you are going to be that way, then why the fuck do you want us to present the chapters? Because you're not letting us talk!
 
To top it off, my partner wasn't exactly brilliant at presenting her first half. She was pretty much reading from the text book itself. *rolls eyes* Once she was finally done, I tried to jump right in and go through my points as concisely as possible. Nope. He kept interrupting. I kept fidgeting, blatantly checking my watch, and rolling my eyes. Seriously. Wanted. To. Kill. Him.
 
THEN, at the end of class, he proceeds to micromanage us about some upcoming interview projects we have. Again, this is already work in progress, you DO NOT change the rules, purpose or scope of the assignment once it has already been let loose for no apparent reason, other than the fact that you are an anal retentive moron. The other two people in my group project were similarly annoyed. We all agreed that we, as grad students, did not need to be baby-sat. Ugh.
 
FRUSTRATION!!
 
Before classes started yesterday, I picked up my transcript from the college of education. I had a woman there do a preliminary review to see what I am eligible to be endorsed in for teaching. Obviously, I have my major in secondary (high school) English. I am also eligible for middle school endorsements in social science, language arts, and Spanish (which is absolutely hysterical). Not too shabby.
 
The other good stuff is: I can be endorsed for secondary political science if I take and pass the subject area test in that AND if I take one more history course + the subject area test, I can also be endorsed for secondary history! Sweet! I could be a triple threat in high school!
 
Conveniently enough, the spring course booklet was released online yesterday. There is a survey of Jane Austen course that I am positively dying to take, but I can't. I have to take another linguistics course to fulfill my final elective obligation. The second slot needs to be taken by a history course, and I'm not really stoked about the history offerings next term at all. Alas, it must be done.
 
Next semester looks like:
 
Tuesdays
History 371 - 19th & 20th Century Africa 4:15pm-6:50pm
Linguistics 410 - Techniques of Teaching English as a 2nd Lang 7:05pm - 9:55pm
 
Enrollment starts late October.
 
I won't have to take any courses in the summer, but I may take another linguistics. Possibly, I may get this Latin shit sorted out and perhaps I'll take a class at Loyola or something. (That'll be $$$.) Shit, I'd better look at the test dates for the content area exams. I have to do that soon.