I have no idea... Whitney Houston...

Broccoli Kitten LOVES Broccoli

The George Bush Presidential Library

I couldn't find an original posting of this, so I just plopped it in here. Not sure who I stole it from, officially. Anyway, kind of amusing.

Dear Fellow Constituent:

The George W. Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages
and accepting donations.

The Library will include:

1. The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
2. The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won't be able to remember anything.
3. The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't even have to show up.
4. The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they don't let you in.
5. The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they don't let you out.
6. The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room, which no one has been able to find.
7. The National Debt Room, which is huge and has no ceiling.
8. The Tax Cut Room, with entry only to the wealthy.
9. The Economy Room, which is in the toilet.
10. The Iraq War Room. (After you complete your first visit, they make you go back for a second, third, fourth, and sometimes fifth visit.)
11. The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shooting gallery.
12. The Environmental Conservation Room, still empty.
13. The Supreme Gift Shop, where you can buy an election.
14. The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.
15. The Decider Room, complete with dart board, magic 8-ball, Ouija board, dice, coins, and straws.

Note: The library will feature an electron microscope to help you locate and view the President's accomplishments.

The library will also include many famous Quotes by George W. Bush:

• 'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
• 'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
• 'Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.'
• 'No senior citizen should ever have to choose between prescription drugs and medicine.'
• 'I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.'
• 'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
• 'Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.'
• 'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
• 'The future will be better tomorrow.'
• 'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world..'
• 'One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.' (during an education photo-op)
• 'Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.'
• 'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
• 'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
• 'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'...George W. Bush to Sam Donaldson
  

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY!

Sincerely,


Jack Abramoff, Co-Chair
G.W. Bush Library Board of Directors

Keith Olbermann on the passage of Prop 8

Keith Olbermann beautifully states my thoughts on this issue. I'm so glad that he was able to stand on his soapbox to vocalize his (my) view.



Thanks for taking a stand, Olbermann.

"You Really Got a Hold on Me" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

This song sang to me, today. Lame, but it made me laugh, both at the song and myself, so...:



I don't like you
But I love you
See that I'm always
thinking of you
Oh, oh, oh,
you treat me badly
I love you madly
You've really
got a hold on me
You've really got a hold on me, baby

I don't want you,
but I need you
Don't want to kiss you
but I need you
Oh, oh, oh
you do me wring now
my love is strong now
You've really got a hold
on me
You've really got a hold on me, baby

I love you and all I want
you to do
is just hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me

I want to leave you
don't want to stay here
Don't want to spend
another day here
Oh, oh, oh, I want to split now
I just can quit now
You've really
got a hold on me
You've really got a hold on me, baby

I love you and
all I want you to do
is just hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me

You've really got a hold on me
You've really got a hold on me

GO VOTE

So... It's November 4, 2008... Polls open at 7am and close at 8pm (in Minnesota - it's different, elsewhere). While in all likelihood, most people reading my blog are already going to vote and vote for Barack Obama for President, make sure you do! Get out and vote and tell everyone you know to do the same!

The Vet Who Did Not Vet: A Cautionary Tale

Amusing video

Seriously, "31 Today" by Aimee Mann is... ridiculous (not the song, but the video). To be frank, the song doesn't really do it for me, that much, but the video made me giggle. So...:

"The Golden State" by John Doe

I don't know why, but the lyrics to this song just get to me. :)

You are the hole in my head
I am the pain in your neck
You are the lump in my throat
I am the aching in your heart
We are tangled, we are stolen
We are living with things that are hidden

You are something in my eye
And I am the shiver down your spine
And you are the lick of my lips
I am on the tip of your tongue
We are tangled, we are stolen
We are buried up to our necks in sand

We are luck, we are fate
We are the feeling you get in the Golden State
We are love, we are hate
We are the feeling I get when you walk away
Walk away

You are the dream in my nightmare
I am that falling sensation
You are my needles and pins
I am your hangover morning
We are tangled, we are stolen
We are living with things that are hidden

We are luck, we are fate
We are the feeling you get in the Golden State
We are love, we are hate
We are the feeling I get when you walk away
Walk away, walk away

You are the hole in my head
You are the pain in my neck
You are the lump in my throat
I am the aching in your heart

"The Golden State" by John Doe

Toilet seat down, cupboard doors open

Semi-personal but not so much verbal jaunt, since no one has missed my blog, anyway:

So I should preface with the fact that I have two roommates: one male, one female. Both are great fun.

One of those extremely common complaints by women of men is that the man/men in their households won't put the toilet seat down. Well, my male roommate is astonishingly good about this. I have only once or twice gone to the toilet to find it in its "Standing" position. I, for one, have been quite pleased with this, and so long as he does his dishes in a relatively timely fashion and gets out of the bathroom in time, in the morning, I'm good.

My female roommate, however, has a different sort of complaint. We have discovered that, despite his excellent care in keeping the toilet seat down for us ladies, he simply *cannot* for the life of him close the cupboard doors in the kitchen. Female roommate is always exclaiming, "It's like the frickin' Sixth Sense, in here!" And it's true. It's not unusual to find three or four cupboards ajar or wide open.

My theory: Putting the toilet seat down and closing cupboard doors are mutually exclusive talents for men (or for this particular man who shares my apartment). Seat down, cupboard open. Amusement for me, frustration for my dear female roommate.

Sorry, that was completely random, but something made me feel like sharing.

---

Also, completely unrelated, but I really enjoyed the flick The Wedding Date, as it is amusing and rather quotable.
Love the following line: "I would rather fight with you than make love with anyone else."

I'm addicted to this song...

I've been addicted to this cover of Fleet Foxes' song "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" by a young sister duo from Stockholm! They're called First Aid Kit. Enjoy!



Hat tip to Simon via Meghan

Being Gay is Okay! (except when the RNC is in town)

So nevermind what I think about Sarah Palin being McCain's choice for VP.

I think the following video is hilarious and horrible at once:



I mean, what are they worried about? Sen. Larry Craig thought the MSP International Airport was an okay place to feel around for some homosexual lovin', so I mean... you'd think they would be warmly open to the idea of gay couples in the Twin Cities, right? ::cough:: Oh, that's right he's not gay, never has been gay. So... all you gays of Minneapolis St Paul, MN, behave while the Republicans are in town, and disguise yourselves!

Sheesh.

Hat tip

Obama/Biden '08

Obama sent me a text probably not at such an ungodly hour as when I received it (3:45AM), but... it looks like we have an Obama/Biden ticket to look forward to! I, for one, am pretty pleased with it. My only complaint is that it doesn't quite roll off the tongue as nicely as I would like. Somehow, though, I think I'll survive :-)

So looking forward to what's to come!

Please wear your helmet

If I've learned anything in the past 18 hours, it's that one should always wear a helmet when riding on a 2 wheeled vehicle. I was on my bike, last night, and I got hit by a negligent car. My helmet probably saved me from brain damage, if it didn't save my life on the whole... So yeah, please wear your helmet and bike safely. (And yes, I'm okay, just bruised in the shoulder and my head's a little sore).

Oh jeez... McCain, really?

Everyone, get out your limbo sticks! How low. can you go. How low... can you go?! C'mon now! How low... can you go?


Oh, didja hear? According to the New York Times, among others, I'm sure, McCain says Obama's playing the race card! Now, forgive me, but sooner or later, they're just going to start saying the "McCain is playing the "Obama's playing the Race Card" Card, again."

The perfect body?

Check out this article. It really puts things in perspective. Women really have a different view. Granted, this is a British survey, but... there's got to be some sort of parallel.

Free Obama button from MoveOn

So I got this in an email thingy. Obama fans, why not, eh?

Hey,

Want a free Obama button? MoveOn's giving them away totally free--no string's attached. I just got mine, and wanted to share the opportunity with you.

Click this link to get a free Obama button:

http://pol.moveon.org/obamabuttons/?id=-9575380-3iHaVJx

Thanks!

"Don't have sex...

or you will get pregnant...
and die..." - Mean Girls



How familiar does one have to be? Viagra vs. birth control... hmm...





McCain really needs to wise up about women's health.

Golf - see George Carlin

From the Daily Kos, this was just too good not to paste in. Note: I don't like golf...

And let's not forget how boring golf is. Have you ever watched it on television? It's like watching flies fuck. A completely mindless game. I should think it takes a fairly low intellect to draw pleasure from the following activity: hitting a ball with a crooked stick...and then walking after it! And then...hitting it again! I say 'Pick it up, asshole, you're lucky you found the fuckin' thing. Put it in your pocket and go the fuck home!'

I say let these rich cocksuckers play miniature golf. Let them fuck with a windmill for an hour and a half. I wanna see if there's any real skill among these people.
- George Carlin, RIP

Ummm... Crazy exploding-freeze-tip hunting knife...

Bad idea?

I think so...

If the internet didn't post about articles about deadly freeze knives, maybe the kinds of people who would use them for hunting a different breed of game wouldn't find out they exist? Or is that just wishful thinking? Reminds me of Van Pelt of Jumanji (film version)... Also seems like some sort of super-villain kind of weapon... Not, however, like Dr. Horrible. Exploding-freeze-tip knives are a bit violent for him, I feel.

Pickles, the Guiding Light

PZ Myers aptly said of the video:

Christianity is like sticking a fork in your face and your rectum and plugging them into a wall socket. Your insides will smoke and sizzle, you'll glow, sparks will shoot out of you, and you'll become a cooked vegetable.

At the end, he says, "don't try to do this at home, because it can be very dangerous". That's the honest part of his example. Kids, don't do religion! It's very, very bad for you!

Mind you, this is now right up there among my favorite quotes.

title h/t to Herra Efahyggja

~ live life balanced ~

Thanks, Meghan.

This image sparks a lot of thoughts. I've always thought balance in life was hugely important. Balance in relationships, between things like work and play-- even little things like heat and cold (Hey, I'm a Minnesotan, what do you expect?!), politics... It brings me back to the idea of moderation. While my politics may not be exactly moderate at all... I have always recognized concept that without balance, we fall. Relationships can collapse in some form or another, if there is an imbalance in the power or sexual or emotional aspect/s (I would link, but there are too many cheesy articles that annoy me that come up at the top, and if you're reading this, you probably can figure out the Google search). Work and play - achieving the work-life balance is a constant issue for people. Like I said, one needs the balance between heat and cold, even! I mean, think about it... why do people eat ice cream when it's hot?

But no, really, the point is simply that finding that balance, that equilibrium in all aspects of life is so important. Age old concept (note Yin and Yang, the Tridosha system, etc.).The tricky part is doing it, and doing it right. Aaand, maybe at some point, I'll come up with a better way to present this theme. Mostly, I wanted to show the picture, since it relates closely to a tattoo idea I had of the Tree of Life (an idea that is constantly evolving, which is sort of unfortunate, since it's to be a tattoo, which is... permanent). Anyway. Neat picture, live and love life, find the balance. Yeah. :)

And my apologies to people who actually went to the links provided, since I'm pretty sure they sucked...

Oh, it's tiiiime for some campaaaaaaigning!

McCain mowing people down with his tank, Obama flitting through the forest, Hillary beating Bill over the head with a frying pan... Yeah, I think this video pretty much sums things up... lol

It's gonna be a wild stretch to November!

H/t to MNPublius :)

Read this article - Happiness

Please read this. It's a great thought process on the pursuit of happiness. Actively pursue your happiness, so that you are happy in the now, rather than looking forward to what happiness you may have in the future.

Doesn't he look like a happy cat? Or at least peaceful.
See this guy and more, here

Helen Fisher- The brain in love

I <3 my bicycle

h/t Meghan

Seriously, though. This whole biking thing... I can't believe I went for so long without! Good exercise, good fun... :)

<3 the bike

Spiders in my bedroom!

What's the best thing you can think of for a welcome home after you've been out of town for a few days? Maybe... the house isn't a total disaster (check). Maybe... the kitchen's clean (check). Maybe... there are lots of tiny spiders living in your lampshade.....

NO! You do NOT want that, do you?

Well, I didn't, either! Damned tiny, near transparent little beasties crawling around right next to my bed. Seriously... I got rid of at least 5. One of them was even crawling on my hand!

Damn near makes me want to hop a flight away from here, again. ::sigh::
No, I suppose I'm glad to be back (from San Francisco/ Silicon Valley)... but that is NOT the welcome I was looking for! Damn you, spiders!

Whispering

What is it about whispering? People do it with the intent to make less noise, in an attempt not to bother people... but it's also one way to pass along a secret... Thus, when people whisper, it tends to make people more curious about what's being said! Maybe I'm just nosy... but I hate when people whisper, since I want to be in on the secret. I'm that curious cat, I guess, and it'll probably get me in trouble. Hopefully, there are other people who are worse than I am in the "Hey, guys! What're we talking about?" situations. Feels obnoxious, but... the curiosity cannot be contained! So if you would rather people not want to know what you're saying, it would behoove you to speak in normal voice at a normal or vaguely sub-normal volume, and people just won't care enough. Whispering suggests there's something to hide. Granted, if one does speak in a normal voice, one risks being overheard... But I still maintain that the things kept best hidden are those hidden in plain sight.

Sorry - random thought spurred by people whispering in the office. Now, I just want to know what they were talking about!

Pretty Obama cake - hehe

Isn't that just special... :P

I'm a sandal snob

So this morning, I was feeling a little awkward and self conscious about my choice of footwear, today, considering I'm wearing pin-striped pants with sandals remarkably like the ones shown below, but ever-so-slightly less orthopedic-friendly in nature (and thus ever-so-slightly less matronly). I don't like looking remotely matronly, so this bothered me a bit.
I was absently pondering my predicament in the bathroom, when I glanced at the feet in the stall next to me. I immediately felt better about my own choice, when I saw her feet clad in the following hideous footwear:


Should I be more open-minded about amphibious footwear? Maybe. Will I? Probably not. I actually feel this is as good a time as any to sully my blog by assailing the brand Keen in its near entirety. Hideous footwear, all of it! Sorry, folks... I don't care how good they are for your feet, nor how comfy...

Now that you're all put off by my absurd and perhaps ill-founded snobbish distaste for stupid footwear, I'll quit. Have a nice day :)

George Carlin, RIP

What a cool fuckin' dude. He'll be missed. But hey, he left some great comedy behind. What an awesome old fuck. :)

Oh, and the other parts of It's Bad for Ya are available on Youtube.

Browsing the net: Meditative?

So I was just reading this thing on how meditation is healthy and can alter brain structure, and stuff. And it's a bit silly, but the thought crossed my mind that there might be a reason that I think of web browsing as being almost meditative. I mean... it's not, and I know that, since I definitely have my brain buzzing away at all different sorts of things, but... I think I find it so more than a lot of people. My stepmom always tells me how after staring at a computer all day, she just... can't even look at a screen, once the work-day ends. Even a television feels like a stretch for her. And don't get me wrong, my eyes are strained, too, but... I definitely stare at a computer all day, and then go home and feel perfectly inclined to just... stare at a computer screen some more. Obviously it's not for the screen, but what it's showing me, but yeah. Different perceptions. I can come home and kick back and just... glaze through my design blog feeds, here and there, and it's relaxing. I need to remind myself that reading books is also a good way to do that. But I get caught up in stuff... I have too many RSS feed subscriptions... I wonder if they have FeedReaders Anonymous... But yeah, it's almost meditative, since I can just get lost in it all...

Now you should read the article on meditation which has absolutely nothing to do with my post, but it's interesting and made for a nice springboard for my babble :)

Blogopticon :)

Vanity Fair Blogopticon

cool.

me making it a simple link is boring, but... oh well.

story here.

The leader of our nation needs to [be able to] use a computer. This is not a choice.

(Huffington Post)

I'm sorry, but... I really can't see it being a good idea to have a President who cannot use, or won't bother to use the most important and prolific tool available in our nation... especially when kids half my own age are just as good, if not twice as good at using it as I am! So basically, he's just being ignorant. This is an information age, and I don't care how good the old ways seem to work. We've moved on. Oh, and "he's old" isn't even an excuse! My coworker's 94 year-old grandmother can use a computer, has an email address (that she uses, regularly!). So there.

Bike commute!

It's official. I have *finally* dragged myself out of bed early enough, on a nice day, to start riding my new bike to work. I am no cyclist, and my legs feel like jelly, but... it's a start. :) And I solicit no back pats. I'm just patting *myself* on the back. I shall now start saving gas money! Woot! This means I will be saving energy that comes from the ground, and instead using my own... Well, at least mine's renewable. And it better damn well stop raining!

Okay, I'm done.

Oh, Bill O. - The F-bomb Remix

Careful with this one, at work... But... quite funny...

friends

ever feel like you have, at once, many friends and none?

yeah... annoying feeling...

sorry, that's way emo of me...


more cat pictures

E-mail forwards

Why is it that those obnoxious e-mail forwards with the 'feel good' message - the ones where bad things will happen if you don't pass it along - always have Christian undertones? For me, they're just plain annoying, to begin with, but I would imagine they would irritate Christians, too, simply for sticking the Christian brand on worthless SPAM.

But I was amused by the fact that one of these forwards had the following message to try to get people to keep passing it along:

The Lotus Touts must leave your hands in 6 MINUTES. Otherwise you will get a very unpleasant surprise. This is true, even if you are not superstitious, agnostic, or otherwise faith impaired.

I'm "faith impaired"! How stellar is that? I can't decide if they were trying to be politically correct or if they wanted to offend us non-believers. I'm fairly sure that I'm one of many who don't feel a deficit or handicap for not believing in a supreme being. Granted, I would imagine there are some who focus more on the doubt, and they may indeed feel discomfort in their state.

I hadn't really thought about it, recently, but it is really interesting how there seems to be a similar sense of peace in actively believing and actively disbelieving. It's the ones who aren't sure if they believe who seem to struggle. Once you sit down and open yourself to what you really do believe, then you're good - be it that there is indeed a God (and maybe a savior) or not. Cool deal.

Note: Also, that little block of text doesn't really make sense, if one observes the syntactical rules of the English language, but... oh well...

Antenna!

So for the past several months (since sometime in the early winter, I think...?), I have not had an antenna for my car. This has made it very difficult to listen to clear streaming radio, and I've been limited to listening to 89.3 The Current (indie jams, mainly - public radio), 91.1 KNOW (M/NPR), and 92.5 KQRS (Classic Rock) - all of these with wavering signals... I felt slightly better, while I was borrowing my stepmom's car when mine was in the shop, and I was able to enjoy a broad range of stations. I probably should have gotten a new one, sooner, but... yeah...

Well, after months of diddling around, I have finally gotten myself to purchase a new antenna. Yeah... About damn time... Anyway, finally, I will be able to listen to all the local radio stations. I've very much missed being able to listen to all the aforementioned stations without regular static and disturbance, but most of all, it'll be great to be able to listen to 770 Radio K, again! ::sigh:: I didn't realize how much I missed it until I had to give back my stepmom's car...

Although... I've only ordered the antenna... Once it arrives, I'll still have to take my car to get the antenna installed... But hey! It's a start!

Also, I finally am preparing my teeny tiny Obama t-shirt (think of those Obama Girl videos for reference on how the shirt fit me) for exchange and preparing my Acuvue rebate form. Know why companies can have huge rebates and still make bank? Because of people like me. But not this time! Oh no. I will get an Obama shirt that *fits*, and I will get cash back for my contact lenses. AND I'll have radio!

Okay, sorry, that was absurd.

Honor our Veterans

Veet-burned Natalie relates to Nair kitteh

more cat pictures

I had a bad run-in (allergic reaction, that is) whilst attempting to use the supposedly miraculous Veet... Not so grate aktually...

Al's On Your Side Tour

I has a bike!

It's fun, but it's so tiny that it can't fit real fenders!

And... if you hate on the fact that it's not a fixed gear, I'll hate back on you for having a fixed gear :)

So there. :-P

Go see the film Reprise!

Reprise, a Norwegian film originally released in 2006, recently released, here, in the US, is currently playing at the Uptown Theater. And it's well worth watching. I don't know enough about film to do a good job reviewing, but if you like the same sorts of film I like, you'll probably like this one. :)

Doodle 4 Google is done!

And one of the ones I voted for totally won! See, um, Google. :)

But I really dig this one finalist:

21 Accents

This is just so so cool!

Seriously...

h/t Peter

Tonight's primaries

So I know they're still counting votes for Oregon 'n all, but it's interesting to see all the news about the Kentucky and Oregon primaries, as they come in. It's sort of... surreal, like it's already been determined, and we're just going through the motions. It's like Hillary's in denial.

But I'm glad Obama didn't go declaring victory, tonight. I mean, a) it would have been kind of asinine, what with her kicking his ass in KY, and b) it also showed that he respects her role in the race. I don't know. It's weird how this is going. Aaaand this is coming off more reflective than I'd intended, but... oh well. I just feel bad for Hillary... I feel like she's.... dug herself into a hole with all the "I'll never quit" stuff, so now, when she has to back down, in the end... she's going to look silly. And she's a dignified woman. I wish she'd held on to more of it. I don't like her, but I have a lot of respect for how far she's come. She's an amazing woman, to be sure.

I just hope all the good democrats who aren't like me and the people like me (politiwhores) will still rank and file behind the nominee. Not that that's never been said before...

Okay, enough. Sorry. Pointless, I know. I'll do better, next time. Have a nice night :)

Update: This line from Obama's speech, tonight - snagged from dkos - is pretty sweet:

Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and yours will come of age.

So that is totally what I was getting at :) Thanks, Hillary, for making the future brighter for us!

Most amusing t-shirt

Sierra and I were just talking about tattoos, yesterday - we discussed where we'd put one (and where I have mine), as well as how we'd never get our lovers' name tattooed on us... ever... So when I saw this, I couldn't resist sharing.
If'n ya dig, go here!

quick quote

"Sex is emotion in motion."
- Mae West

Lesson: How to pronouce Medvedev

hehe...

40 THINGS YOU’D LOVE TO SAY OUT LOUD AT WORK:

The bold ones definitely would be fun to say in my job. Asterisks added to some for emphasis. Enjoy seeing how many apply to your workplace!

1. I can see your point, but I still think you’re full of shit.*
2. I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce.*
3. How about never? Is never good for you?
4. I see you’ve set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
5. I’m really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way.
6. I’ll try being nicer if you’ll try being smarter.
7. I’m out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.
8. I don’t work here. I’m a consultant.
9. It sounds like English, but I can’t understand a damn word you’re saying.
10. Ahhhh .. I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.*
11. I like you. You remind me of myself when I was young and stupid.
12. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
13. I have plenty of talent and vision; I just don’t give a damn.
14. I’m already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.*
15. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
16. Thank you. We’re all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
17. The fact that no one understands you doesn’t mean you’re an artist.
18. Any connections between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.*
19. What am I? Flypaper for freaks?!
20. I’m not being rude. You’re just insignificant.
21. It’s a thankless job, but I’ve got a lot of Karma to burn off
22. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
23. And your crybaby whiny-assed opinion would be?
24. Do I look like a people person?
25. This isn’t an office. It’s Hell with fluorescent lighting.
26. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.
27. Sarcasm is just one service we offer.
28. If I throw a stick, will you leave?*
29. Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.
30. Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.*
31. I’m trying to imagine you with a personality.
32. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.
33. Can I trade this job for what’s behind door #1?
34. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.
35. Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?
36. Chaos, panic and disorder…my work here is done.
37. How do I set a laser printer to stun?
38. I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted a salary.
39. Who lit the fuse on your tampon?
40. Oh, I get it…like humor…but different.

This was originally posted at: rjdohnert, and h/t to Meghan.

Non-personal plug: StumbleUpon

Racism in America

Totally worth watching through to the end.



h/t Greg Laden

Senators say whether they'd agree to be vice president

I spent way too much time, today, giggling over this not to post it.
So great!

Doodle 4 Google

So apparently Google has set up a competition among US school children (clustered into four age groups and 10 national regions) to design the new Google logo. It seems they also were asked to include a "What if..." question. It's pretty neat, and there sure are a lot of really talented kids out there!

Go here to vote!

My favorites (well, I have multiple favorites, but these are the ones I selected):

Not NOM... LOVE bite.

moar funny pictures

Things Younger than John McCain

There are lots of things younger than John McCain...

I don't care how much you love or hate the man, this page is hilarious! Srsly.

Woot and h/t to Margaret :)

Near post-college bliss - explained

"Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything."
Floyd Dell

This totally puts to words the wonder of being done with college and coming home from work without having to do more work. Freedom to do whatever the hell you want. So great. Which reminds me that I need to find more hobbies. And I need to go bike shopping. Seriously.

Maddy, you are going to have a great summer!

Now, this isn't to say that I have no intention of becoming a slave to my education, again. Because I definitely do...

Platypus genetic code "unraveled"

Neat! And weird! And cute!
Yeah BBC!

CampaignWatch - What's really happening

This is clearly what's really happening inside Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Tom Waits... is spehshul?

PEHDTSCKJMBA!



h/t Greg Laden

Various brief musings

Part 1:
Woot on Obama taking charge in North Carolina! I guess it's just a matter of time before things are squared away... I think I'm now okay with Hillary waiting to drop out. As it's been said, Obama's likely to be beat badly in WV and KY, whether or not Hillary stays in the game - so... better that she be in it so he's not losing to her "ghost" (a la McCain losing wayyy too many votes to Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Romney than is respectable of the presumptive nominee - less than 80% in both Indiana and North Carolina?!). Guess we just sit back and watch how it plays out...

Part 2:
How awesome is it that Ellen Page is going to be playing Jane Eyre? It'll be really interesting to see how she goes about it, since it'd be a very different role from Juno. Anyway, I think it's exciting.

Part 3:
What with gas prices as they are, not to mention the whole... saving resources thing..., you'd think people would stop "going for a drive." Alas, coworker *Trudy announced at noon, "I'm going to go for a drive." And she's an Obama fan! Yet she makes a very minimal conservation effort. (She prints everything she possibly can, rather than simply keeping a computer file). ::sigh:: Oh well.

I guess that's all, for now.


*Name changed for protection of self and coworker

Texting Your Way to Love

Ridiculously hilarious... and accurate.


Teh link to Texting Your Way To Love

wow Boubacar Traoré

atheist at confirmation (of faith)

so i know my sexual frustration post probably is a lot less relevant to anything or anyone (not that anyone is reading this, anyway). but i've gotta say, it's really a strange experience to be atheist and be asked by your little sister to go to her confirmation of faith ceremony. seriously weird. and frustrating. i love my sister very much, so there was no question that i would go and support her. i'm proud of her - it's so great to watch her grow up, to watch her become a beautiful and smart young woman. but... it's really hard for me to stand up with her as someone says "dear lord stir up in [...] mara blah blah blah" when it's not something i believe, something i support. but the whole thing... it was just... weird.

another weird thing about the experience: one of the confirmation group leaders was really excited about a spear he'd gotten as a gift from some... tribe... somewhere... and he had it up front with him, and he was waving it around... and he was likening his students to the head of the spear - they go in first. it was weird and kind of creepy. i was vaguely hoping he would touch the spear on both shoulders of each student, in the fashion of knighting. that would have been hilarious and awesome. sadly, no.

oh, and it should be noted that women should probably not sing josh groban's "you raise me up" without transposing to a [significantly] lower key... holy crap was that painful. i mean, she wasn't that bad, but a) it was way too high and she wasn't hitting her notes, and b) she was doing the groove with the spirit jam-style singing which just makes me laugh inside (and sometimes outside). after having heard the original, i just... was not impressed.

good things that came of the day: whether or not i agree with the specific connotation of "confirmation," i do agree with the concept of acknowledging the "coming of age" of young adults. well... adolescents, really. but still. and it was also kinda neat that both sides of my sister's very divided family were able to come together for this.

okay. done, now. :)

more signs of sexual frustration

okay, so it's getting worse. every day, it gets worse. and this has been building for like... 2 or 3 weeks, now... this blows. every ice cube that goes in my mouth gets crunched (this has to stop, or i'll have dentist bills i would rather not pay), every paper or foil gets flattened and elaborately folded, cans get crunched and reshaped, fingers and/or feet constantly tapping... this is absurd.



gawd.

make it stop!

::sigh::

Swimming kitty is sooo cute!

Pawlenty's poo-pooing of a new sex ed bill - ridiculous

So there's a new bill for a sex ed requirement moving through the Capitol for approval... and I am appalled (if not surprised) that Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) would go so far as to say that the bill is "unacceptable"and that the status quo of sex ed in Minnesota schools is perfectly fine, as it is. This "abstinence-only" bullshit does nothing to educate kids on how to be safe, and unfortunately a) I don't trust all parents to fill in the gaping abyss left by the lacking current system, and b) telling kids not to have sex doesn't stop them from doing it. Period. And studies show that having comprehensive sexual education classes actually prevents kids from getting sexually involved at such a young age. Obviously, this varies, but... I mean, come on. My sister's 14, and she's hardly had any education on how to be safe. I'm sorry, but I don't think a child who is pubescent/post-pubescent adolescent should be ignorant to the facts about sex. Kids should know how the parts work, they should know the consequences of engaging in sexual activities, and yes, abstinence should most definitely be encouraged. But that doesn't mean that the class shouldn't bother to teach about contraceptives like condoms or the pill.

It should be noted that I learned more in sex ed when I was in elementary school than in high school because suddenly, they changed the laws to allow each district to define the program... And parents seem to support it, too! I'm sorry, I don't care if you think you're helping by saying ignorance is bliss... we should still be teaching children that there are more ways to avoid STDs/STIs and pregnancy than abstinence. My class did not talk about those. In fact, we were not able to watch a movie because it mentioned condoms, diaphragms, and oral contraceptives. Heck, this same class had the health teacher so concerned about not bringing controversial topics into the classroom that I wasn't allowed to do my health report on euthanasia. It was too controversial. Now, that has nothing to do with sex ed, that was just the myopic nature of our particular school (district?)'s policies on education...

But doesn't it make the most sense to have well-educated youths who know how to protect themselves? who can confront issues more adeptly because they understand what's going on? We cannot simply base the education of our children on the idealist concept that kids with automatically know what to do, when confronted with sexuality; that they'll understand that as our society becomes more and more sexualized, they simply need to abstain. It's not that simple. Kids are reaching puberty at younger ages, sex is everywhere (look at Miley Cyrus ::rolls eyes::), and there should be a requirement that they get the facts. Sorry, I don't believe the church youth group is going to teach them about anatomy and contraceptives. Sorry, I don't think the kids most at risk are going to get a "birds & bees" talk from their folks that tells them how to be safe.

Damn it, Pawlenty. Just vote for the flipping change. It's important, and it hurts kids by not making this necessary change to the law.

Oh, and in future posts, I'll be better about documentation and organization, but it's been a while since I've written a paper, and this is also a bit of a rant. So. There.

STOP IGNORANCE!

Help Bush help the Polar Bears?

TNR likes polar bears. I do too! Go look! Preserve the polar bears!

Symptoms of sexual frustration

Chewing ice? Check.
Peeling labels? Check.
Incessantly folding napkins and the like? Check.

Verdict?

I am sexually frustrated.

Is this bad?

I don't really know. ::sigh::

Surely, it will pass...

Among the cutest baby bears, ever!

See the adorable dozing bear!

.

The Edwards endorsement?

You may or may not have seen this:



At this point, Obama would definitely give John Edwards a jetski for his presidential endorsement.

Update: M&Ms should be organized by color, but...!

My boss went home, last weekend and told his wife of my M&M habit... the OCD color-coding one... She said, apparently, that we're a perfect match.

And now I cannot shake the squickies.

I really want this table for my apartment. Holy wow.

The Most Amazing Table Ever Bro! - video powered by Metacafe
Freshome is sweet!

Interesting...

Very interesting statement on atheism - worth the listen, in my opinion (whether or not you agree).
(h/t, Aaron)

Well, I'm going to assume this won't make any of my Christian friends feel any better about my posthumus soul, but I feel that it really makes sense and, for me, speaks well to my own beliefs. Incidentally, the speaker Kate Lovelady also makes interesting points on the afterlife, toward the end.

So. I'm atheist and agnostic, and a humanist. Oh, and I'm also, like the speaker, agnostic about the weather.

Definitions here:
Atheism
Agnosticism

moar funny pictures

NoooOOo Im not a NOM!

the original location
see more cute dogs and puppies

So cute, but way better if you Mute

Except the purring is super adorable. But I could hardly stand the chick talking.

Oh gosh... another sweets blog

So I was just horribly frightened...

I decided to buy some M&Ms as an afternoon snack... and I just happen to have one little OCD habit. I organize M&Ms into a pretty little triangle by color. And I organize my closet by color. And my bureau. That's it. I guess there are a few other things, but that's the really obvious one. So... here I am, minding my own business, eating my triangularly organized M&Ms, and my boss walks over and says, "You have no idea... I have so much respect for that. I do that, too. I mean, is there any other way to eat them?"

I said, "Well, I do sometimes just eat them straight out of the bag."

He said, "Do you organize your clothes in your closet by color, too?"

Oh gawd...

I am not meant to eat ice cream

While I should probably have some fabulous kick-off posting...

this is more important.

I am not meant to eat ice cream.

Okay, so generally whenever anyone talks about their vices and they say "chocolate," I say, "Oh, me too!" but if they say, "ice cream," I say, "Oh, I'm not really a big ice cream fan. Sorbet is alright." Well, the other day, thanks to some peer pressure (okay, not really) when my roommate was buying ice cream, I decided to get some Häagen-Dazs Reserve Amazon Valley Chocolate ice cream. Shockingly, I really enjoyed it. ::rolls eyes:: Okay, that's not the point.

The point is that last night, I was eating some of that delightful ice cream, and it was my second bite, and the entire dollop of ice cream slid right off my spoon and into my cleavage. I sounded like a hilarious sound bite on a loop. "Oh my gosh! Oooh! Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" Ice cream does not belong in a girl's cleavage. Certainly not mine, anyway. At least not without someone there especially for cleanup duty (eh hem). And then, and then!, this afternoon I was eating a bit of strawberry sorbet, and I nearly did the exact same thing, again! It almost went right into my cleavage. So. I don't think I should be allowed to eat ice cream. It's not safe.

* * * * * *

Do I think future posts will be cooler than this one? Man, I hope so. Main reason for starting this blog: Too often whilst reading blogs and articles in my Google Reader, I would want to share something and have a comment to explain why I felt the need to share. Some things don't explain themselves (especially considering my natural propensity for cognitive leaps), so I feel I should.