My sentiments, exactll.

FREAKIN' ADORABLE

...here's the link to S & L's blog while they are in Colombia.

Picture of the Day

Wow. This blog is dead.

I'm not sure what happened, exactll. The blog was alive and kickin' not so long ago. And, it's not even a year old! Who knew it was so easy for a blog to curl up and die. It's sad. I guess I sort of blame the holidays. Well, and the election. Both took up WAY too much of our time. And J and I were discussing just today (at work via gmail chat) that Facebook also has distracted us. And apparently so has gmail chat! *sigh* I don't know... it's not like there's nothing to write about.

1. New niece
2. P and I are going to Colombia to meet her for the first time (my very first international trip -- other than Canada)
3. The Harry Potter Exhibition is coming to Chicago
4. Trip planned to NY for my dad's 60th birthday
5. Trip planned to Denver to see J and to visit Mesa Verde for the first time.

You'd think that'd spark some posts, huh? Maybe it's the winter blahs. Or the tax season blahs. But I don't think the taxes have much to do with it. I see them all day every day, so I'm sort of used to them. And my taxes are simple. The most difficult thing I have is a rollover. How do you know it's time to end a rambling blog post? When you start talking about taxes (not to mention rollovers). Oy vey.

All the single ladies...

For those not as obsessed with Beyoncé as me, here's the real video to one of her latest singles. As you must know by now, I love videos with lots of synchronized dancing, so you can imagine how I feel about this.

The SNL parody is equally as entertaining.

Mi Sobrina Nueva

I can't believe it's taken me THIS long to announce to our millions of blog readers that P and I are tíos! Mi hermano y nuestra cuñada are adopting a baby from Colombia, and we couldn't be more excited. S & L leave for Colombia very soon to pick up little Carmen Elizabeth. P and I are hoping to visit them while they are in Colombia. More details on that as they are available. In the meantime, I have two things to share with you. The first is a picture.



Second, Carmen asked me to help her with something. Turns out she absolutely loves Shakira. In honor of that, she's created this video to share. She's super excited about her trip to the States, and hopes to tour very soon. With that, I give you Shakira (feat. Carmen Elizabeth).

Cancer Panic, redux

So. Our loyal readers will remember that a few months back, I had a mole removed. My dermatologist was anything but pleasant, so I switched to someone new. This last weekend (and while in the shower), I convinced myself that two moles on my abdomen had changed in size. Needless to say, cancer panic set in. I was originally scheduled for a follow-up visit in March, but I called first thing Monday morning to change my appointment to 1/9/09.

Problems with my own hypochondria aside, there was a night and day difference in my visit. The dermatologist was (1) pleasant, (2) caring and (3) could read me like a book. He calmed me down and even offered to remove the moles -- even though he felt like they were just ordinary moles -- if I wanted. I wanted. I am writing to you with two fewer moles, and a lot calmer than I was this morning. And the best part is, I don't have to go for another appointment for a whole year, AND I can get the results over the phone! A-Hole dermatologist, take note. This is how one practices good bedside manner.

What Not to Wear, J Edition

Below is the actual text of my email to TLC's "What Not to Wear" nominating J for a complete makeover. Please note that many of the buzzwords from my email (i.e. "fashion diaster", etc.) were required to nominate someone. I'm not THAT mean. Well, maybe I am a bit... catty:

from: D
to: WhatNotToWear@bbcnyproduction.com
date: Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 1:12 PM
subject: nomination!

Name: J
Location: Denver, CO
Age: 34
Size: 8-10
Height: 5' 6"
Occupation: program manager
Married
No Children
Personality: J is hysterical and lovable. She is always making others laugh. Her style? Well... a style of convenience would probably best describe it. She loves free and she loves cheap. She also LOVES (capitalization intentional) comfort. She is a disaster for several reasons. In a previous career, she was a lawyer. She would wear VERY unprofessional attire (examples: fleece pants and pilly sweaters). She rarely does anything with her hair. Make-up? What is make-up?? She wears next to nothing in the make-up department.
Upcoming event: J's 35th birthday is in June, and her husband turns 40 in October.
Photos: I am including two examples illustrating J's "fashion sense". The first is her sitting on a barrel (she's the one of the far left of the photo). The second is of her (2nd from right) with three female friends. This photo illustrates how she stands out compared to others.

Then there was a paragraph including my contact information, which I'm not sharing with all of the people on these Internets. What pictures did I include, you ask? Well:





Admittedly, not THE most offensive pictures of J, but still.

What Not to Wear

Happy New Year!

Sometime over the holidays David offered to nominate me for WNTW. I wanted to post my avatar for his use in his quest to get me some fine clothes and a trip to NYC.

Oh SNL short videos

SNL hasn't been at it's best for a few years but occasionally they still have some hilarious stuff.

Happy freakin' holidays!

So it's not even Christmas day and I can officially say that this is the worst Christmas ever. And I blame that in general on working in healthcare and specifically on the current situation where I work. I got the un-luck of the draw and have to not only work Christmas day but the entire week of and weekend after. Seven days straight. AND we were supposed to go to Omaha for a 3-day weekend last weekend to celebrate Christmas with my family. We were supposed to go leave Thursday night. But after sitting at the airport for 4 freakin' hours our flight (and all flights) to Omaha was cancelled due to an ice storm. So we had to rebook for Friday afternoon. And because of the same storm hitting Chicago, that flight was 1.5 hours late. Then our flight home on Sunday night was delayed by 2.5 hours. It's AWFUL trying to travel in the midwest in winter.

So now I need some help coming up with new career paths that will forever get me out of working holidays. And weekends / evenings to boot. Here is my list of good choices so far:

1. Photographer for National Geographic. Sure, I have no training in photography. And I've barely left the U.S. But I think I take some pretty decent pictures AND I'm a quick learner. And I like to travel. Isn't that all I should need? (Not to demean those of our loyal readers that are NG photographers...there must be a few in our vast legion of follower [intentional omission of plurality]... I'm sure it's a challenging career).

2. Work as an aid worker in Africa for the Clinton Global Initiative. I have a background in HIV / AIDS so that should help. Plus see #1... I like to travel. And I'm open minded and money would be no object if I loved what I was doing and felt as though I were helping people in Africa. So I'd like to ask those of you with connections to the Clintons to hook me up, please.

(Ya know technically for both of these jobs I would probably end up working evenings and weekends... but I wouldn't care).

3. Professional cat wrangler. Hell, we have a dog whisperer so why not a cat whisperer? Qualifications: I have two cats who are both a handful. 'Nuff said.

4. Personal shopper. I have good taste AND I like to shop. And I would be very thorough... just ask D & J about our trip to Urban Outfitters in Boulder a few years ago... how long did it take me to pick out some T's?

Any other suggestions? And is anyone willing to help me put my CV in order to get one of these jobs? It would take just a tad bit of creativity...

In honor of the holidays (note the PC title)

Steven Colbert + Dance Off = Hilarity

It took a while for SC to grow on me, but that man is FUNNY.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Rain Dance-Off

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

OMFG

This is one of the many things I would worry about if I had a child. GOOD GOD.

Oh, the Obama Obsession will NEVER end!

Bonjour! and Merci! and bon... jour...

Dave and I went to Montreal! Above is a picture I took while helping Dave navigate our way back to the interstate, back to the states. As you can plainly see, I was not completely to blame for misleading directions.

Dave and I make an annual trek to Dave's hometown of Coventry, CT every year (well, okay, for the past THREE years now) after Christmas. This year, we decided to switch it up a bit and go for Thanksgiving. Plus, Dave had a high school reunion that weekend.

The thing about Canada is, I never expect it to be that different from the States. But it is--as soon as you cross the border, things are just a bit different.

After MILES of flat farmland, you suddenly see Montreal across the river. It's a wonderful city. Of course, IT instantly feels different because of all the French everywhere. And, for all those little differences. For example, KFC is PFC in Montreal:










We stayed at the Omni, which is a 5 star hotel (Dave got a us a rocking deal) and is in the central shopping district. It was perfect. Here is a picture of one of the must-see sights we saw in our 24 hours in the city: Notre Dame. It is spectacular!


Here we are taking our own picture there:

We then spent the next night at a family friend's beach resort on the coast in Maine. I fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves. Here we are on the beach:

The rest of our time was spent in Coventry, which if you haven't been is quite a cool little town. At least the way Dave gives the tour.

Back to Canada: Dave and I decided Canadians are extraordinarily nice. Even the angry callers to the talk show we listened to on our way back to the States were extremely polite in their arguments and then took forever to thank the host and say goodbye. It's remarkable.

Hate

I posted a slideshow from Picasa on another blog with the tag "Obama". Suddenly, it seems, many of the pictures that pop up are hate-based. I plan on clicking on all of the pictures and tagging them for hate. You can, too--if you see a picture on the slideshow you want to tag, click on it and it should show up on the poster's picasa site. In the right column at the bottom there is a link to tag it.

See, for example this one.

In the spirit of the season...

Have a listen.

I find the comments at the bottom of the page fascinating. This goes back to J's post on comments. Seriously? This is offensive to you? Because "Italian" is mentioned? Really? That must be so sad for you. You must really be broken up about italian dressing.

OMFG

P is at work, which means I have a bit more freedom to watch all the "crap" (as he would call it) I want on TV.  Presently, I am watching a show called "17 Kids and Counting" on TLC.  The family pictured above is REAL.  And the mom either just had or is about to have her 18th child!  As you can tell from their hair and clothes, they are uber religious -- "be fruitful and multiply" and all that.  They live in what looks like a metal barn and have several sets of appliances.  I just saw their laundry room and it has at least 4 sets of washers/driers.  It seems to me that by the time she's done, her "parts" are going to fall right out.  There doesn't appear to be an end to how many kids they will have.

They just got into a discussion about the "evils of porn on the Internet".  In case you're wondering (and you're probably not), the oldest sisters and mom will sometimes go to the Library to "go on the Internet", but they don't have online access at home.  I would ask how people used to live without the Internet, but that's pretty obvious just from the few minutes I've watched of this show.  

Mammaries...

We had one of these when I was growing up, and it was one of my favorite Christmas decorations:

I know... ugly, right?  But it's one of my favorite Christmas decorating memories.  That's why I've been asking Mom to send it to me since moving away from home.  She hasn't been able to find it, which means she did not have the same emotional attachment to it that I did.  This is when I'm glad for ebay* -- I was able to find the lovely plastic monster you see above for $12.99.  The funny part: it shipped from West Seneca, NY which is very close to my parents' house.  I wonder if the woman who sold it bought it from my Mom's yard sale?  

*Yes, even though the CEO was a McCain campaign advisor.

Also, I thought I would take this opportunity to show everyone P's and my Christmas tree.  I am including two photos below.  The first is blurry, but I find it funny because Sheila is staring at the camera.  She won't do that normally -- only when you are trying to get a picture of something you don't want her in.  

From both photos, you can tell the cats like to play on the tree skirt.  And you can see Cole in the back.  He's the black lump.

Cheers!

Goth v. Vampire

This one is for P, especially. I caught this clip, then watched the full episode. I am guessing it mark Peter Murphy's comeback with a new hit "Burning Down Hot Topic"

Over the Line

I SOMEHOW found this website selling a children's book titled "Mama Voted for Obama". While I had high hopes, it looks really dumb. (it's a rhyming book, not a version of history for kids)

The seller also has a book called Why Mommy is a Democrat. In my humble opinion, it overreaches. Excerpt below. Notice the guy selling drugs in the background. "Democrats are tolerant of drug use." hahahaha

The big 3-1

Happy birthday to... you...
Happy birthday... to you...
Happy birth... day... Mr. President...
Happy birth... day... to... you...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAUL!

I want a shiba inu!

OMG, the puppies in this video are what I want for Christmas...

M. Night Shyamalan, you owe me 201 minutes I can never get back

Like everyone, I was taken in by The Sixth Sense several years ago.  Yes, I remember jumping out of my seat several times in the theater.  And countless dumbasses played off variations of "I see dead people..." for way past its prime and we had a pop culture phenomenon on our hands.  Then Signs was a decent movie with several good scares and it was before most people realized how much of a mega douche Mel Gibson is.  But then it started to go downhill fast.  I believe I saw Unbreakable (yes, I'm being smart...) and then it started to seem like maybe M. Night had just gotten lucky.  The Village was just bad and I for one started to wonder if the director / "actor" / writer / producer really thought moviegoers would let him get away with over-wrought movies based on a twist.  

Then came The Lady In the Water.  That was just about THE WORST movie I have EVER seen and that is saying something...I was also just recently made to watch Xanadu.   The dialogue was horrible.  The story was cheesy as hell.  And the acting was marginal at best.  I feel obligated to mention at this point that D made me rent this.  (Speaking of which...I am now blogging so as to not have to pay attention to D's current selection Alvin & The Chipmunks.)  The last straw came just the other night with The Happening.  Another completely stupid premise and the trademark heavy-handed attempt at social and/or environmental commentary.  I found myself laughing at scenes that I'm sure were mean to be horrifying.  For example, I was laughing out loud when the construction workers were throwing themselves off of buildings and crashing to the ground all around their mortified friends.  

I probably wouldn't be so hard on M. Night were it not for the fact that he seems to be SO full of himself.  He takes himself and his movies way too seriously.  And appearing in your own movies?  I'm sorry, but you are NO Alfred Hitchcock.  

So please figure out how to give me back that lost 201 minutes.  Hey, that's a bargain...I'm not charging you for The Village or Unbreakable.  

  

I want to puke

This article was reprinted in the Red Eye today.  I know there are a lot of assholes out there but they are teaching their children to hate and that is the epitome of disgusting.  I am hopeful for the future of this country but we apparently have a long way to go.  Considering these people can't get along with those that are different with them I think Obama's first executive order should be shipping them off to an island where they have to survive (without guns) while being reprogrammed to love and respect those that are different than them.  Or here's an idea:  ship them to Gitmo, which Obama has said he'd shut down with another executive order.  Like killing two (racist) birds with one stone! 

Happy Holidays from the Obamas

I know it's a little early, but I couldn't wait to share:

Comments

I think I have commented on this before, but I find it ASTOUNDING what people will comment on and the nature of their comments.

Today's Example: I checked the weather forecast on the local news channel: 9news.com

The forecast is told in narrative form, but pretty much says there will be a winter weather advisory for the mountains, Denver could see light snow and cold. Mmm kay. Got it.

Then I scrolled down and there are PAGES (7, apparently) of comments. To a short story about tomorrow's weather. The likes of which I have excerpted here:

kamcakes wrote:
YAY for snow!!! It's about time!! I can't wait until Thanksgiving and Christmas!!

(um... no one cares)

User Image
HIYA1 wrote:
denver2008 wrote:
Snow? I really do not think it is nearly cold enough to snow. Now, this makes the 6th time it was SUPPOSE to snow in the Denver Metro area. Please....can you guys predict the weather more accurately?
-------------------------------------------------------------
It is called a PREDICTION for a reason... they can't control the weather; only guess as to what they have going on and what would be more likely to happen... no way of telling if the winds will change etc. Bet you couldn't do any better.

(Yikes...)


denver2008 wrote:
HIYA1....your damn straight I could not do any better. However, I did not go to school for that, nor is that what I do for a living. If I did my job, like these guys do theirs....you better believe I would be fired. Predicting snow 6 times and not one time is right....well, I guess that is all I need to say.

(oh! denver2008 actually SAW the response to their comment and thought they should comment AGAIN. Interesting...)



HIYA1 wrote:

DENVER, I am assuming then that your job is not pending on nature...sht even a doc can predict that chemo would work or a med would work, but doesn't mean that it will... plus they predicted snow in the mountains, which they got. And have you calculated the percentage of correct over incorrect? I bet you have had errors in your job as well.



HIYA1 wrote:

and denver, read sirpukealot's comment- I believe that is directed at you- someone who does such a good job and can't get your/you're correct



Wow. It's THE WEATHER, people!

A Plug for Green produce Bags

Kelly bought these for me as a gift. They're grrrrrreat!

Keith Olbermann talks good

What he said.

Apparently THIS is one reason why people have kids...

So they don't end up living alone, with their dead siblings in the other room.  

GOOD.  LORD.

Inside look at the night

THANK. GOD.

P's post pretty much sums it up.  The only thing I'll add is that one of my favorite parts was walking back to the bus.  People in buildings were looking down at us and waving excitedly.  I'm with P, I had no idea how many people would be so excited about this.

This was going to be my concession post should the election have gone the other way.  

"Dear Loyal Readers,

As you are reading this blog, P and I are on our way to Montreal, Canada.  We've packed up the cats and our most precious belongings, and are sending for the rest of our things.  It has been a good run here in the States (like how I already know the lingo, eh?), and we were really hoping things would work out in this election.  The good news is, we'll have free health care (have I mentioned I'm a hypochondriac?  Yes?  Oh... right), and you'll have a new place to visit!  And to my dear family, I'll be much closer to home now!  We can meet at Clarkson hockey games!  

P and I aren't sure that Canucks have the internet, but assuming they do, we'll be back shortly!  All our posts will be in french and english, and our vocab may get a bit strange, but P and I will write at you soon!  

Yours in being hosers, 

D & P

P.S. Good luck with that whole "Palin" thing."

One word: relief

I feel like the weight of years of anxiety has been lifted off of my shoulders. November 4th, 2008 turned out to be one of the happiest days of my life. David and I were also there to witness history. Yes, we were in Grant Park for the election night rally. We missed getting tickets from the campaign by hours (if only I had been able to check my e-mail all day!) so we had to go to the overflow area north of the rally and watch coverage on a jumbotron. They played CNN all night. I was on edge all night but started to feel relief when they called Pennsylvania for Obama. Then for the next few hours, I was still on pins & needles. Actually, more accurately, I was on goose shit and other people's feet. Grant Park is COVERED in goose shit and it was unavoidable. So I can say that I sat in goose shit for Obama to witness history.

More relief came when they called Ohio. CNN's John King had the difficult job of still keeping his cool and trying to see a path for McCain and everyone in the park laughed when he made an off the cuff comment about how hard it was.

While we waited for more of the battlegrounds to be called (WHY was it taking so long for Virginia and Indiana to be called!?), I had a chance to soak it all in. It was a very young crowd for the most part but the one thing that amazed me most was how diverse the throngs of people were. Black, white, Asian, Hispanic...children, teens, young adults, middle aged and elderly...gay, straight. And TONS of Obama t-shirts, buttons, signs.

About 10pm central time, as the polls were about to close on the west coast, they called Virginia for Obama. It seemed to go very quickly from there and when they called the election shortly after, people were screaming and crying and hugging and dancing. I almost lost it and was choking back tears.

It was amazing how peaceful the rally was and how orderly and easy getting home was. The CTA actually did something right. And did it fairly smoothly. David and I were on a bus within minutes and home within 45 minutes.

The next day it was like the world changed. I know I live in a liberal, Democratic bubble here in Chicago. It also doesn't hurt that I work and associate with the "highly educated" (who broke overwhelmingly for Obama as 58% of those with a postgraduate education voted for him). Still, I couldn't believe it. Maybe it was my own good mood but I felt like everyone was smiling and more friendly. On the train, I saw people tearing up at the newspaper covers (which sold out in minutes and were impossible to find). When I got to work, I was amazed at how many people were not only talking about the historic victory but were at the rally AND how many had tickets. SO MANY! And despite the fact that we got home at almost 1 am, I wasn't tired at all. (Although it did help that I had a small, private Obama celebration of my own by treating myself to one of Starbuck's new holiday treats, the espresso truffle. OMG, good.)

Here is an attempt to show you how exciting the moment that night was (BTW, in the begging you see a building lit up with USA in the background. Yeah, ,that's only a little bit further back than we were):

Does this help?

Talk me down

I'm not even joking: two nights this week I've woken up from nightmares in which McCain won the election. Ridiculous I know but I can't handle the prospect of McCain and (especially) Palin in the White House...picking judges, making other appointments, proposing health care plans, vetoing Democratic legislation, keeping us in Iraq forever...the list goes on. (Yes, I know, a McCain presidency would be very tough at best given the fact that there will be even stronger Democratic majorities in both houses of congress but still...) I know things look good for Obama but I still think McCain and the Republicans will try to steal another election.

"Don't Speak for Me Sarah Palin" to the tune of "Evita"

Awesome.

*pee pants*

This was my favorite part of the concert.  Vogue.  The picture above was taken by P.  The video below was not.  I should point out that she has had time to practice since starting her tour in Europe.  The singing was WAY better than this.  That, or it was so loud you couldn't tell... 

Don't interrupt...RUDE!

I haven't laughed this hard in a while.

We're so gay...

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

P.S. The back of my t-shirt said "Get stupid...McCain...Get stupid...Palin". I'm so controversial!

Another celebrity endorsement

So you may have heard that we went to see Madonna on Sunday. But as you would expect from Madonna, she gave us her two cents worth on a number of issues via her background videos, especially this one that played during a costume change. Not only did it feature the above picture of Obama (which prompted, I might add, loud, unanimous cheers) but in the first half of the video (what I like to call the "Get Stupid" portion), pictures of McCain, Bush, Romney, etc were flashed on the screen with the words "get stupid" (from her song "Give It 2 Me"). Obama was part of what I call the "The Time Is Now" portion.

Oh, the thrill of seeing celebrities come together for a common cause

HA especially @ "I lika Bone-o"

More pics

Oh, heck--just view my pics online

Another historic event with Barack

I hope I'm not getting too braggy about this stuff.

Once again, living in Denver pays off. Yesterday Dave convinced me we should volunteer for the Obama rally today. I didn't want to. I wanted to camp out and end up right behind him and on tv (and mouth the words "I am so right, MOM!")

But Dave and I went to the volunteer training and as soon as we got out of the car, I was swept up in something bigger than myself. People poured into Manuel High School from all directions. We entered the gymnasium to see 1,200 volunteers. All sitting quietly, waiting for instructions. We immediately saw several friends from different groups.

The assembly started with a story told by one of Colorado's lead volunteer organizers. Very early on in his candidacy, he got to spend the day with Barack Obama. He spent the entire day before trying to think of questions he wanted to ask the Senator. But as soon as he introduced himself, and for the entire day, Mr. Obama asked all the questions ("Where are you from?" "What do your parents do?" "What are your issues?" etc.) He said that the character of this campaign comes from the boss himself--a genuine interest in serving one's community. Indeed, the motto posted in all of the campaign offices is "Respect. Empower. Include."

So, as if they didn't have me THEN, they made a more direct appeal: Barack Obama NEEDS our help.

Our training: Smile. A lot. Be friendly. Be helpful. Don't yell. Don't run.

And then some details, but those are the instructions that stuck with me.

As you have probably heard, the number of people who came to the rally in my hometown broke not only all local records, but national records for attendance at a political rally. As Dave pointed out, this is not about politics: this is about a movement for change.

As a side note, Dave and I being the hams we chatted with the people waiting in line, encouraging them to vote early and to volunteer. Dave told them, "You are the change we've been waiting for!" Loudest laughter: mine.

Downtown Denver Vote Early Rally

Laura Dern spoke, then introduced her husband, Ben Harper, who sounded AWESOME!!

Tax Savings

My tax savings under Senator Obama's plan: $250.

And yours?

http://taxcut.barackobama.com/

*exasperated*

I find it fascinating that the people asking others to vote "Yes" on Prop 8 in CA are so passionate about it.  I guess I understand your having such a strong opinion relative to your children if you think homosexuality is immoral.  Obviously I don't agree with that view.  But the 18 and 19 year old?  Where did they come from?

Picture Essay

I loved that he cleaned up after himself before leaving an ice cream shop in Wapello, Iowa. He didn't have to. The event was over and the press had left. He is used to taking care of things himself and I think this is one of the qualities that makes Obama different from so many other political candidates I've encountered. Nov. 7, 2007.

See more photos here.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Ron Howard, my new hero, plugs Barack Obama by doing sketches with his former co-stars, Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Probably the Funniest Video I have EVER seen

Especially for David: a dance-off between the candidates!

Hate to Bring it Down, But...

This is Bobo, a 6 year old Yorkie who was burned by his owner. He died today after really, truly valiant efforts to save him. Read the story here.

You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover

Are candidate bumper stickers as prevalent in other parts of the country? Time spent in the late summer on the Western Slope of Colorado, I didn't notice many, but there are, as you might expect, a bunch in Denver. I am often surprised by the types of vehicles sporting Obama stickers. This morning: a beat up gray pick up hiked up on big tires. I just would not have expected them to be an Obama supporter. But, then again, I just read this post on another blog:

Ben Smith received an interesting e-mail. It's from an Obama canvasser in Southern Ohio and deserves repeating.

In the first house I visited, a huge Confederate flag that completely filled my field of view was tacked to the living room wall. Couldn't take my eyes off it as I launched into my standard Obama talk. The guy stopped me mid-sentence, "We're with Obama. He's the only one for the working man. Most of us around here are GM and GM is with Obama."

His neighbor was a postal worker. I almost missed the ceramic black lawn jockey on his porch, a relic of bygone days in many other parts of the state, but what was unmistakable was the household's political allegiance: a "Postal Workers Back Obama" yard sign was planted on the front lawn.

Easing P's Fears

Dave sent Megan the following to help ease her near-constant anxiety about fluxuating poll numbers:

Two words: We're okay

Attached is the poll comparing 2008 to the previous two races, along with the most recent electoral college graph (read about the state-to-state details here)

This graph shows the poll numbers for each of the Democratic candidates leading up to Election Day, 2000, 2004, and 2008. For Gore and Kerry, the Xs show the actual percentage after votes were counted (or not, as the case may be).


Obviously, Barack Obama's lead is unprecedented among Democratic candidates.

Feel better?

Obama rally in Grant Park on election night!

So in the Red Eye this morning (the free daily put out by the Chicago Tribune) they mentioned that Obama is planning a rally in Grant Park on election night. They are planning the event now with huge needs for security, etc. They are expecting 100,000 people but I'll bet there will be even more. I HAVE TO BE THERE!

Now that I'm saying this, being the superstitious pessimist that I am, I now believe that I have jinxed the Obama campaign. No one wants to be too cocky and...*other cliches*

BUT I do have to say if I were John McCain and Sarah Palin, I'd be pretty worried right now. With only 12 days to go, here's how MSNBC's Chuck Todd breaks down the polls in swing states:

Those for Obama: Indiana (51- 41%), Iowa (52-39%), Michigan (58-36%), Minnesota (57-38%), Ohio (53-41% - remember 2004?!?), Pennsylvania (52-41%), Wisconsin (53-40%), Nevada (51-46%), North Carolina (51-47%), Virginia (56-44%).

McCain's only lead in a "swing state" (I put it in quotations to indicate that West Virginia hasn't been in this position in the last 2 election cycles but it did go Democratic in '88, '92, and '96): West Virginia (44-53%).

So now that I'm putting these numbers up here, I feel sick. Because I don't want to get too hopeful. As perhaps I did in 2004. I woke up the morning after that election night and had myself a good cry as I "looked forward to" another 4 years of W. I won't stop feeling anxious until it's all over after Nov. 4th. We all know that Republicans have gotten quite good at stealing elections.

Yes We Carve

I tell ya... people are clever and talented. I will not be attempting any of these as I threaten to cut myself everytime I chop vegetables.

Also, if you're like me and plan to redecorate your entire house in an Obama theme (kidding!...or AM I...), you can download and print really creative posters here.

Because I never (ever) get sick of it...

Just in case you are as intimately familiar with the real video, you can see it here. Click Madonna looking at the camera in a similar pink outfit.

*giggle*

Guess what happens this weekend!

This.

The only bad thing is, I was planning on taking the Monday after the concert off.  Turns out, I have an all day meeting that I have to be at on Monday morning.  *groan*

This is Sand

Have you heard about this website?

If you click on the square in the upper left of the screen, it gives you directions, but the gist is this: if you double-click, sand starts falling from the cursor. To change the color, type "c" and click on the color you'd like. You end up making art out of the sand that falls to the bottom of your screen. It's quite zen, really...

Scared of the Dark

That's right, I'm scared of the dark. I have always been scared of the dark. I believe it all started with "Howard the Duck" when I was a little boy. But that's for another post.

Recently, P went to Omaha to visit his parents. I wanted to post this then, but was afraid someone would see I was home alone and come attack me in my sleep. This is how my nights go when I'm home alone:

1. I turn each and every light on in the house.

2. I sit on the couch so that I have a strategic advantage. I can look down the entire length of the apartment. I find myself looking down the hall CONSTANTLY.

3. I stay up as late as possible for two reasons - first, that way I make myself super tired so I can fall right to sleep. Second, I don't have to face trying to fall asleep until I absolutely have to.

4. When I finally DO go to bed, I leave at least one light on all night. That way I can make out any shadow monsters on the walls and get the hell out of there.

5. I am super grumpy due to lack of sleep. I also have bloodshot eyes.

I should point out that I'm much less scared of someone breaking in than I am of some sort of ghost-like thing showing up. I lock the apartment up nice and tight even when I'm NOT home alone (thanks to my father for that sickness). And, I have one cat that I'm convinced will go for the jugular of a real person who is stupid enough to break in.

Matters certainly aren't helped by my watching shows like "Ghost Hunters" on SciFi. That is one of my favorite shows of all time. But you KNOW I'm scared when I cannot even watch that when I'm home alone. And P wonders why I can't watch "The Strangers"... my worst nightmare on film.

Well, time for bed. But first I need to check behind the shower curtain to make sure no one is ready to pounce. Wish me luck!

Watching the Elk

Here is a pic I took of the elk in Estes Park a couple of weeks ago:

The Stock Market

I cannot bring myself to look at my retirement account statements. I am one of those people that obediently put my money away, but was never very sure of whether I was well-invested in the right stocks and whathaveyou.

But it's hard to avoid some information and it's enough to scare the bejeezus out of me--someone who has another 30+ years until retirement. I cannot imagine how anyone in their 50s or 60s who planned well feels right now.

As an example of what I am referring to (assuming you're like me and have avoided the financial stories out of confusion, fear and avoidance of feeling completely ignorant):

GM stock is down from $40/sh last year to $5.50 today.
Last year, Apple was at $167. Today: $89.

Today's chart for Citibank stock looks like this:


*GULP*

People are so Clever

Oh, Tina Fey... J'Adore

7-Election

Some pretty interesting results via the 7-11 7-Election campaign.  I just got mine, and might I suggest the pumpkin spice latte?  *sip*

Obama's Constructive Criticism Ad

This is funny. I didn't know The Onion had videos!



Obama Runs Constructive Criticism Ad Against McCain