Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
GOP Spotlight
because someone needs to shine a light on the cockroaches currently infesting our government.
Ambition this shall tempt to rise, And moody Madness laughing wild Amid severest woe. -from Thomas Gray's "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College"
2/28/2005
2/25/2005
Flip-flopping like a GOPpy
Caught on Tape is where you can go to see Republicans in the House who have publically declared their support for Social Security flip-flopping, on tape.
I am represented in Congress by the excellent John Larson, but my mother is in Rob Simmons district, and currently, Social Security is the only thing keeping her going.* I don't know if anyone reading (or if anyone *is* reading, but that's a whole other post) lives in Connecticut, but Mr. Simmons is a Republican who has had to get a whole lot more moderate than I believe he actually is, to stay in office. He was challenged by Kevin Sullivan in November, and it was a very close election (lots of attack ads funded by out-of-state GOPers didn't help, but Sullivan did great considering the many disadvantages a challenger has).
I'm not his constituent, but I will be contacting him to let him know how I feel about his flip-flop.
*Did I tell you, if you are out there, that my father is in jail? No? I'll have to talk about that at some point.
I am represented in Congress by the excellent John Larson, but my mother is in Rob Simmons district, and currently, Social Security is the only thing keeping her going.* I don't know if anyone reading (or if anyone *is* reading, but that's a whole other post) lives in Connecticut, but Mr. Simmons is a Republican who has had to get a whole lot more moderate than I believe he actually is, to stay in office. He was challenged by Kevin Sullivan in November, and it was a very close election (lots of attack ads funded by out-of-state GOPers didn't help, but Sullivan did great considering the many disadvantages a challenger has).
I'm not his constituent, but I will be contacting him to let him know how I feel about his flip-flop.
*Did I tell you, if you are out there, that my father is in jail? No? I'll have to talk about that at some point.
I5BOTD 2/25/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Marching Orders
Well written, good graphics, from a California blogger.
Marching Orders
Well written, good graphics, from a California blogger.
2/24/2005
I'm doing it
I'm getting my hip replaced.
Ever since I stopped taking naproxen, my daily pain index has gone up dramatically. I'm walking with a cane all the time, I can't shop anymore (especially grocery shopping), my range of motion has decreased, and last night, (and here's some TMI, for those with sensitive minds), Loki and I could not enjoy our favorite sexual position because I couldn't do it - we are essentially down to boring old man on top, and I'm a gal who needs some variety in her life.
So I called the doctor and made an appointment. Now I need to lose about 30 lbs. (Although I have cut way back on my caloric intake, my exercise level has dropped, so I've gained about 15 lbs.), and I should probably get some dental work done prior to having the surgery, since dental infections can seed infections of artificial joints. As much as the idea of surgery scares me, going to the dentist is about 1000 times worse.
Oh, and I need to save about $2000, too, because I don't have short-term disability at my job, so I will have to take some unpaid time off from work.
I am both terrified and excited, which usually means I'm doing the right thing.
Ever since I stopped taking naproxen, my daily pain index has gone up dramatically. I'm walking with a cane all the time, I can't shop anymore (especially grocery shopping), my range of motion has decreased, and last night, (and here's some TMI, for those with sensitive minds), Loki and I could not enjoy our favorite sexual position because I couldn't do it - we are essentially down to boring old man on top, and I'm a gal who needs some variety in her life.
So I called the doctor and made an appointment. Now I need to lose about 30 lbs. (Although I have cut way back on my caloric intake, my exercise level has dropped, so I've gained about 15 lbs.), and I should probably get some dental work done prior to having the surgery, since dental infections can seed infections of artificial joints. As much as the idea of surgery scares me, going to the dentist is about 1000 times worse.
Oh, and I need to save about $2000, too, because I don't have short-term disability at my job, so I will have to take some unpaid time off from work.
I am both terrified and excited, which usually means I'm doing the right thing.
2/23/2005
Frustrated
Okay, I'm trying to add Steve Gilliard to my blogroll. I've looked at it about 50 times now, pasted it back in again, copied another blogger who is on my blogroll and pasted in Steve's information, and no matter what I do, he is not showing up.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
I5BOTD 2/23/05, now with more estrogen
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Gia's Blog
Chosen specifically because it's authored by a woman.
I was over on Political Animal and Kevin Drum asked the quarterly question, "Where are the women political bloggers?" A lot of the women who have already answered this question several times over, jumping up and down screaming "I'm right here!" got kind of pissed off that no one paid attention the last time they answered this question, and this brought out the inner misogynist of the moderate Democratic male in the comments thread.
I think one of the main reasons that the women (myself included) were pissed off was that the reason that the men believe women don't have political blogs is because the women don't like the vicious, down and dirty fighting that politics brings with it. And then, when the women were showing how they were not above a good political fight, the men got dismissive and obnoxious, talking about hormones and bitches and hysteria. It was ugly.
I'm not a really confrontational person. Growing up with an abusive alcoholic father, I developed sensitivity to and accommodation of bad moods and anger as a survival tactic (if daddy was cranky, it was time to be the good daughter, otherwise I might get punched in the face). Then I married a guy who thought I was going insane when I fought the way my parents fought, and I had to learn how to control my temper so we could actually have productive arguments, that usually result in resolution of the conflict.
But the internet actually makes it much easier for me to have a political debate, because I have time to make my argument, to think about how I feel and what I want to say. I went back to Kevin's blog this morning after thinking about the subject of woman bloggers, and maybe the comment thread is no longer active, but I had my say. I think the political blogosphere can only benefit from the diversity of viewpoints that are out there, including women and black people and Asian people and Hispanic people. I'd like to see the big liberal bloggers take a more active role in increasing the diversity of the political blogosphere, because they actually have the power to do something about it.
I think it is shameful that the liberal/lefy side of the blogosphere has so many outstanding female voices that are not highlighted and promoted. Like I said over at Kevin's blog, Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin are the most popular female political bloggers on the TLB's ecosystem, and I think that's awful. How about some of the big bloggers (who happen to be almost entirely male) give the lesser known bloggers (many of whom are women) a hand up that ladder?
Gia's Blog
Chosen specifically because it's authored by a woman.
I was over on Political Animal and Kevin Drum asked the quarterly question, "Where are the women political bloggers?" A lot of the women who have already answered this question several times over, jumping up and down screaming "I'm right here!" got kind of pissed off that no one paid attention the last time they answered this question, and this brought out the inner misogynist of the moderate Democratic male in the comments thread.
I think one of the main reasons that the women (myself included) were pissed off was that the reason that the men believe women don't have political blogs is because the women don't like the vicious, down and dirty fighting that politics brings with it. And then, when the women were showing how they were not above a good political fight, the men got dismissive and obnoxious, talking about hormones and bitches and hysteria. It was ugly.
I'm not a really confrontational person. Growing up with an abusive alcoholic father, I developed sensitivity to and accommodation of bad moods and anger as a survival tactic (if daddy was cranky, it was time to be the good daughter, otherwise I might get punched in the face). Then I married a guy who thought I was going insane when I fought the way my parents fought, and I had to learn how to control my temper so we could actually have productive arguments, that usually result in resolution of the conflict.
But the internet actually makes it much easier for me to have a political debate, because I have time to make my argument, to think about how I feel and what I want to say. I went back to Kevin's blog this morning after thinking about the subject of woman bloggers, and maybe the comment thread is no longer active, but I had my say. I think the political blogosphere can only benefit from the diversity of viewpoints that are out there, including women and black people and Asian people and Hispanic people. I'd like to see the big liberal bloggers take a more active role in increasing the diversity of the political blogosphere, because they actually have the power to do something about it.
I think it is shameful that the liberal/lefy side of the blogosphere has so many outstanding female voices that are not highlighted and promoted. Like I said over at Kevin's blog, Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin are the most popular female political bloggers on the TLB's ecosystem, and I think that's awful. How about some of the big bloggers (who happen to be almost entirely male) give the lesser known bloggers (many of whom are women) a hand up that ladder?
2/22/2005
Pain and suffering, viva la vida!
I don't have time to get into it right now, but I want to link to this post at American Street because the topic resonates with me. Read it, think about it, we can talk about it later, okay?
Opera stories
I was just over at Bitch, PhD (which I will also add to the blogroll if I can ever figure out what's going on with it), and she posted about how her son PK (Psuedonymous Kid) made her stop and listen to La Boheme because it was beautiful.
I've never given opera a fair chance - I think the music is often incredibly beautiful, but the voices are not always appealing to me. However, I know a few opera singers through my church gig, and in person they all have tremendous voices.
When I first started singing with the choir, we had a tenor section leader who was literally and metaphorically larger than life - a mythological character writ human. Matthew was about 6'6" tall, and looked like he could have been Thor, or a Hell's Angel - long blonde hair, dressed in black leather, with piercings and tattoos. He had 4 older sisters and 4 younger sisters, and he was born on February 29th. And his voice was extraordinary...probably not the perfection that a lot of opera fans seem to go for, but rough from cigarette smoking, touched by some heavy drinking and hard living, and imbued with a tremendous sense of humor. Despite the Hell's Angels appearance, he was a working opera singer, and he's traveled around the world a couple of times, often playing Pinkerton in M. Butterfly.
He was married to a lovely and gracious soprano. (I don't think they are married anymore because Matthew, like many dynamic and interesting men, had trouble keeping his penis between him and his wife - he couldn't stop himself from sharing it with another woman. I love Matthew, but like all the rest of us humans, he's far from perfect.)
Anyway, one year for our pops concert, Matthew and his gorgeous wife sang the Clock duet from Die Fledermaus. Monkey was sitting in the front row, and as soon as the first note came out of Matthew's mouth, Monkey's hands clamped over her ears. She has never recovered from her first experience with opera, which she declared to be "too loud".
Oh well, maybe someday.
I've never given opera a fair chance - I think the music is often incredibly beautiful, but the voices are not always appealing to me. However, I know a few opera singers through my church gig, and in person they all have tremendous voices.
When I first started singing with the choir, we had a tenor section leader who was literally and metaphorically larger than life - a mythological character writ human. Matthew was about 6'6" tall, and looked like he could have been Thor, or a Hell's Angel - long blonde hair, dressed in black leather, with piercings and tattoos. He had 4 older sisters and 4 younger sisters, and he was born on February 29th. And his voice was extraordinary...probably not the perfection that a lot of opera fans seem to go for, but rough from cigarette smoking, touched by some heavy drinking and hard living, and imbued with a tremendous sense of humor. Despite the Hell's Angels appearance, he was a working opera singer, and he's traveled around the world a couple of times, often playing Pinkerton in M. Butterfly.
He was married to a lovely and gracious soprano. (I don't think they are married anymore because Matthew, like many dynamic and interesting men, had trouble keeping his penis between him and his wife - he couldn't stop himself from sharing it with another woman. I love Matthew, but like all the rest of us humans, he's far from perfect.)
Anyway, one year for our pops concert, Matthew and his gorgeous wife sang the Clock duet from Die Fledermaus. Monkey was sitting in the front row, and as soon as the first note came out of Matthew's mouth, Monkey's hands clamped over her ears. She has never recovered from her first experience with opera, which she declared to be "too loud".
Oh well, maybe someday.
I should have done this months ago
Steve Gilliard has been added to my blogroll. I think Jeanne D'Arc, Digby and Steve are the three best writers of any kind of blog.
eta: And yet, he is still not showing up on the blogroll, despite the fact he is in my template, which I republished. I'm working on it, it's right behind fixing the links to World O'Crap and What She Said.
eta: And yet, he is still not showing up on the blogroll, despite the fact he is in my template, which I republished. I'm working on it, it's right behind fixing the links to World O'Crap and What She Said.
I5BOTD 2/22/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is a slight change of pace, because it's not really a lesser known blogger, it's a well-known and really excellent blog, authored by someone who has perfected the rant:
The Rude Pundit
Chosen because it's a great blog, and he has a nice tribute up to Hunter S. Thompson, which tells of his encounter with the gonzo journalist himself.
The Rude Pundit
Chosen because it's a great blog, and he has a nice tribute up to Hunter S. Thompson, which tells of his encounter with the gonzo journalist himself.
2/21/2005
A real day off
I didn't have to go to work today, thanks to Washington and Lincoln, and I had the most "off" day I've had in a long time.
I am still, at 8:15pm, in my pajamas. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair, but I didn't bother to take a shower. I finished Good Omens (which was excellent, very funny, and I'm pleased that Terry Gilliam is slated to direct the movie), replied to an e-mail from my old friend Greg, who I wrote about in a previous post (I tracked him down by remembering his siblings names, and then finding that one of them had a website with an e-mail on it - I e-mailed him, he e-mailed Greg, and voila!), Monkey's best friend J came over for a couple of hours while J's mom went grocery shopping, and when she picked up J she took Monkey over her house for a few hours, we played with the dog*, surfed the web, watched the tube, came back and surfed the web some more, made some dinner, and now I'm back here again. This is the laziest day I've had in while - I can't remember the last time that I was healthy and didn't leave the house at all.
*On the subject of the dog....our guy is a Basset Hound, which I highly recommend for temperament (he's very sweet, good natured, not the least bit destructive), but must discourage for training (so hard to train...we basically take one steps forward and three steps back). After about 3 months of Cooge reliably doing all his business outside, he suddenly won't defecate outside anymore -- well, he will, but he saves some for inside. He doesn't do this while we're out of the house, when he is confined to the kitchen, but only when we're at home. He doesn't seem to get that we don't want him to do this, because today he just squatted down and did it right in front of Sio. Advice is welcome.
I am still, at 8:15pm, in my pajamas. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair, but I didn't bother to take a shower. I finished Good Omens (which was excellent, very funny, and I'm pleased that Terry Gilliam is slated to direct the movie), replied to an e-mail from my old friend Greg, who I wrote about in a previous post (I tracked him down by remembering his siblings names, and then finding that one of them had a website with an e-mail on it - I e-mailed him, he e-mailed Greg, and voila!), Monkey's best friend J came over for a couple of hours while J's mom went grocery shopping, and when she picked up J she took Monkey over her house for a few hours, we played with the dog*, surfed the web, watched the tube, came back and surfed the web some more, made some dinner, and now I'm back here again. This is the laziest day I've had in while - I can't remember the last time that I was healthy and didn't leave the house at all.
*On the subject of the dog....our guy is a Basset Hound, which I highly recommend for temperament (he's very sweet, good natured, not the least bit destructive), but must discourage for training (so hard to train...we basically take one steps forward and three steps back). After about 3 months of Cooge reliably doing all his business outside, he suddenly won't defecate outside anymore -- well, he will, but he saves some for inside. He doesn't do this while we're out of the house, when he is confined to the kitchen, but only when we're at home. He doesn't seem to get that we don't want him to do this, because today he just squatted down and did it right in front of Sio. Advice is welcome.
I5BOTD 2/21/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Backup Brain
I enjoy reading their college search posts. Even though Sio is only a sophomore, she is already on the college hunt. Her guidance counselor helped her come up with a list of colleges that she should consider based on her grades, test scores, and her career plans, and it looks like the author of this blog has a child who is considering some of the same schools.
Backup Brain
I enjoy reading their college search posts. Even though Sio is only a sophomore, she is already on the college hunt. Her guidance counselor helped her come up with a list of colleges that she should consider based on her grades, test scores, and her career plans, and it looks like the author of this blog has a child who is considering some of the same schools.
2/18/2005
Visa? No, I'll pay with my sense of how much I'm worth
Nice catch of Allan "Objectivist" Greenspan's idea of how to fix social security over at Sadly, No!.
Apparently, giving people the sense that they might have some wealth, which will make them feel wealthy, is just what the doctor ordered, even if in actuality they have squat.
Greenspan's a smart guy who knows that people pay attention to what he says, so I don't think he used such weaselly language without a damn good reason. And I suspect that reason is that the fix that Bush hasn't quite come out and told us about is going to do bugger all to insure that people in this country don't retire into poverty.
Apparently, giving people the sense that they might have some wealth, which will make them feel wealthy, is just what the doctor ordered, even if in actuality they have squat.
Greenspan's a smart guy who knows that people pay attention to what he says, so I don't think he used such weaselly language without a damn good reason. And I suspect that reason is that the fix that Bush hasn't quite come out and told us about is going to do bugger all to insure that people in this country don't retire into poverty.
Happy Birthday, Molls
Today is my niece Molly's 4th birthday. She's sort of my de facto godchild, even though we didn't go through any religious ceremony or anything, but SIL gave her my name as a middle name.
Molls is a special kid. She's an enigma wrapped within a conundrum and all that. My theory is that she is almost entirely left-brained - she lives in an almost entirely imaginary world, where she is a horse or a cat or a dog, and my friends, Molls is a method actor when it comes to her playing. When she's a dog, she's not a dog who talks - she's a dog who eats out of bowls on the floor and pants and tries to scratch her ears with her feet. She would probably try to pee and poop outside if SIL would let her.
Anyway, Happy 4th birthday, Molls!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since we're celebrating birthdays, a huge happy 33rd birthday to Atrios, who I just realized is not on my blogroll, and I can't imagine why.
Molls is a special kid. She's an enigma wrapped within a conundrum and all that. My theory is that she is almost entirely left-brained - she lives in an almost entirely imaginary world, where she is a horse or a cat or a dog, and my friends, Molls is a method actor when it comes to her playing. When she's a dog, she's not a dog who talks - she's a dog who eats out of bowls on the floor and pants and tries to scratch her ears with her feet. She would probably try to pee and poop outside if SIL would let her.
Anyway, Happy 4th birthday, Molls!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since we're celebrating birthdays, a huge happy 33rd birthday to Atrios, who I just realized is not on my blogroll, and I can't imagine why.
I5BOTD 2/18/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Mockingbird's Medley
I was just randomly clicking on blogs to find one to highlight, and this one already had a post up for today's date, with a nice story about a baby hippo that survived the tsunami and has now bonded with a very old tortoise. There's a cute picture of the two animals together.
Mockingbird's Medley
I was just randomly clicking on blogs to find one to highlight, and this one already had a post up for today's date, with a nice story about a baby hippo that survived the tsunami and has now bonded with a very old tortoise. There's a cute picture of the two animals together.
2/17/2005
I5BOTD 2/17/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
IN THE DARK
written by a journalism professor. I hope the link works - last night I had no problem accessing his blog, but today, on a different machine, his screen goes black after a few seconds. If you get to read it, it's interesting and a topic of much interest these days.
Also, just a quick note that I'm super busy today, so this may be all you hear from me today. I'm sure you will survive, if not thrive, without me.
IN THE DARK
written by a journalism professor. I hope the link works - last night I had no problem accessing his blog, but today, on a different machine, his screen goes black after a few seconds. If you get to read it, it's interesting and a topic of much interest these days.
Also, just a quick note that I'm super busy today, so this may be all you hear from me today. I'm sure you will survive, if not thrive, without me.
2/16/2005
ColbertKilledAPanda.com
Beautiful bit on The Daily Show tonight. Stephen Colbert, er, Ted Hitler mentioned DailyKos, Americablog and Atrios.
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