Denise's Al Gore event report

From Renee: Denise posted this in the comments late Thursday night. On Friday morning, it occurred to me that it really should be frontpaged, but I was running late. I created this guest blogger thread, complete with comment link first thing Friday morning, but the day was so crazy I never got around to telling anyone I'd done that. But I had a lovely retreat when all was said and done. Without further ado, Denise's report...

I flew through the hotel with my business colleague in tow behind my conference manager, who was SO COOL to do this for me. Plug for the Westin St. Francis - great place for a real SF experience.

We're in the back of the house and opens up the curtain and seats me three rows behind Barbara, Bonnie and Jackson - as well as Barbara's family. I don't know who is who, but if she has a son, he was very nice. I had a chat with him in the elevator earlier but had no idea who he was at the time. I'm not sure if the grandbaby was his daughter. There were two other young women around who could have been her daughters.

So Barbara, in her very chic red suit, gets up on her literal soapbox (more like a veggie crate) to reach the mic. After her welcome talk, which was really very short, she introduced Bonnie and Jackson, as well as two other singers who were excellent. They harmonized really well on "World in Motion", the song I was listening to them rehearse earlier in the day. That was kind of fun, too. Bonnie spied me in the hallway, smiled and I asked her if they wanted privacy as the hallway was filling up. She said yes, so I shut the doors. Just can't leave the job behind...sigh.

The next song they did was "I'm a Patriot", composed by Steven van Zandt. You can see him performing it here.

Then Bonnnie did my most favorite song, the John Prine tune "Angel from Montgomery." I'm a huge Prine fan, and her version always makes me tear up. She dedicated it to the women around the world that are "still having a tough time of it." Darn she has pretty hair! I took a few pix on my cell phone. She was playing with the kids sitting around her as Barbara took the stage again to introduce Al.

He took the stage in a really smart charcoal suit, looking really, really good. My business colleague was freaking out. I was just enjoying the moment. I won't go into what he spoke about in detail, as we all know what he cares about most these days. And he told some stories about the so called scientists who write to him to basically tell him he's full of it. (My words, not his). He talked about Darfur and how we could have prevented it, and still could, if we had our priorities straight. He didn't mention Burma, but he only spoke about 10 minutes. Ice caps, healthcare, a few jabs at the Bushies, but not by any particular name. Class act all the way.

Barbara came back on stage and related the story about when Gore was in front of the Senate and the whole thing with Inhofe. It was sweet how she motioned with the mic as if it was the gavel when she said "elections have consequences." And then the guy I think was her son ran on stage and gave her a campaign pin (Boxer 2010) with those words on it. I was able to snag a couple for me and one of my friends. I'm wearing it now.
...
Oh yeah almost forgot....the whole room erupted in a long chant of Run Al Run. Boxer didn't try to stop it :)

One more story to share - sorry it's hard to remember it all in detail. He talked about the cities in Italy that have walls around them because they used to be at war, like Florence and Siena. And how absurd that seems to s now. Or how weird it is to think that, at one time, Germany invaded France - and he gave a nod to the Senior Citizens in the audience and thanked them for their perserverance during WWII. He took a moment then to give a shout out for our troops. Then he said that we can prevent another world disaster if we just band together and take the step to make things better - TOGETHER.

Coverage of the event from tonight's Chronicle

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Open Thread

Here's a new thread, since the old one has gotten pretty long.

Update: Something new I learned on retreat this weekend:

In Celtic and other folklore the otter is often characterised as a friendly and helpful creature, and is given the name 'water dog', alluding to these qualities. In the Irish story The Voyage of Maelduin, otters on the Island of Otter bring the sailors salmon to eat, and the Voyage of Brendan tells of how an otter performed this service for a hermit, even collecting firewood for him! St. Cuthbert is the patron saint of otters, and after standing waist-deep in the North Sea during his nightly prayer vigils, two otters would come and warm his feet with their breath and dry them with their fur.

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Gore, U.N. body win Nobel Peace Prize

Via Yahoo News:

Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and lay the foundations for counteracting it.

"I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize," Gore said. "We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."

More here.

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Hillary doesn't like being questioned

Found this via skippy...

in a rare departure from her tightly scripted remarks, the former first lady lashed out at an audience member steamed at her senate vote to declare iran's revolutionary guard a terrorist organization.

randall rolph, of nashua, iowa, compared the vote to the one clinton cast for the iraq war resolution, asking, "why should i support your candidacy . . . if it appears you haven't learned from your past mistakes?"

clinton hit back hard, saying, "the premise of the question is wrong, and i'll be happy to explain that to you."

then she suggested rolph was a plant, saying his question was based on something "somebody obviously sent you."

she soon backed down, telling him, "i apologize. it's just that i've been asked the very same question in three other places."

Well, Hills, it's an obvious question. Given that you feel that you can't admit your Iraq vote was a mistake, all we can hope for is some evidence that you've learned from that experience. And, yeah, we're going to find it a tad disheartening if you can't even give us that.

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Open Thread

I've added a few new shared items here.


Found the Harvest Moon pic via Stumbleupon.

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Bless all creatures here below

Daughter sang with the children's choir today, and, since this is the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Francis, the hymns centered around that. The opening hymn was one I'd never heard before, and it was *adorable*.

Today we celebrate a feast,
A holiday for man and beast.
We think of every friend who speaks,
barks and purrs and roars and squeaks.
As we sing we keep in mind
beings of a different kind.

Bless all creatures here below,
Lord, from whom all blessings flow.

We think of squirrels in the park
at play from morning light 'til dark,
and birds that sing on leafy boughs
in green fields with the sheep and cows
Dear that in the forest leap,
whales that swim the ocean deep.

Bless all creatures here below,
Lord, from whom all blessings flow.

Together with our pets we meet
friends with whiskers, tails that greet.
Muzzles wet beside our cheek
show us love they cannot speak.
Hold them tight so they will know
where we are they too will go.

Bless all creatures here below,
Lord, from whom all blessings flow.

There were three more verses. The last line, though, is what made me well up:

When at last we come to you, let our creatures be there too

Our creatures have just got to be there. If they're not, how could it be heaven?

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Ads that suck

This afternoon I went out to run an errand, and the car's engine died on me. As I mentioned in the comments earlier, at least I was in town, and wouldn't have to wait too long for Demetrius to come rescue me. But I still had a good half hour of waiting by the side of the road, which was more than enough time to contemplate one of my un-favorite billboards, seeing as it was staring me right in the face.

The ad is for a radio station. It features a closeup of a busty young Caucasian female, wearing a t-shirt. I can't say "blonde" or "redhead" or whatever, because they don't show her face. She's not a person, after all, but an object. The billboard instructs the viewer to listen to The Blitz 99.7 and "Pray for rain".

Ohhh! I get it! I mean, it's a little subtle, but I *think* this is what they were going for...

Yaaaaay! Clap, clap, clap! If it rain, we see lady's nipples!

Also, crops not die.

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Open Thread

Just thought I'd put up a new thread before taking Daughter to choir practice.

Oh--in case anyone remembers that I had a picture of Daughter's cat Stevie in a Quaker-style hat with an empty talk balloon, and was wondering what words to put in the balloon. Here's what I ended up doing.

Updated shared items here.

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It's Kitten Time!

It's Friday night, time to relax with our friends at The Daily Kitten. Kittens are good for what ails you!

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My Evening with Al Gore and his Slide Show Presentation

by Linda*in*SFNM ~ 4th October 2007



As many of you know, last night was Rio Rancho's Al Gore Live Presentation with his slide show, "An Inconvenient Truth." Besides the important information about the Climate Crisis, our desire to show support for Mr. Gore to be our President was in full swing.

We arrived at the Santa Ana Star Center over an hour before the event was scheduled to start. Unfortunately the police said they were given orders no signs be on property. Given so many expected this to be "the place" to be, we had many other candidates, Presidential and Senate, present that were pushed to the sidelines as well. We stood on the sidewalk facing the entrance armed with buttons, fliers and displaying our banner. I don't know if Mr. Gore had a chance to see us, but the people sure did. It was great to hear-pretty much everyone wanting a Gore Presidency. Almost everyone we asked if they wanted a button was thrilled to put one on. Of course we weren't getting many walking by us, being we weren't in front of the door, so I sent Bruce with a bag of them to pass out in front of the entrance. He walked back within minutes that they were gone instantly 3 times.

The people were very excited about Gore for President. And the only one person who displayed skepticism that he would run and didn't want a button, came up to me after the presentation to say "I changed my mind, can I still have a button?" But people who were not even part of the "official Draft Gore" were still all on the same page and were doing their own individual part. It was so exciting. I had a couple with their daughter coming up with signs and petitions to join the Kyoto Treaty. And another couple inside painted R U N down their shirts. And yet another couple in front of us were too from Santa Fe and excited to hear there was a movement. And because the buttons we made have the website's address, www.algore.org on it, it is easy for them to officially get involved.

After arriving at our seats and realizing there was an opportunity to hit the folks up sitting in the front of the stage that Mr. Gore would be speaking on, I walked over to ask if anyone wanted buttons. If they weren't already wearing them (as we saw them on the chests everywhere we looked) more asked for them. Then the folks on the side that saw and heard I had buttons all started yelling out that they wanted some and I started getting "we need 5 over here." I had to excuse myself to return with them as I ran out. When I returned with more buttons, the people asked if they could shake my hand to thank me for my work, and one man yelled out "I love you."

Mr. Gore was absolutely incredible. He was so energetic, passionate, strong and funny. He opened up with some humor, before giving the facts. But he carefully alleviates the tension from the intense information he is sharing, with a slight break of humor every once in a while. The information and facts he shares, just rolls off effortlessly with intense passion being displayed when the news gets deep. The standing ovations he received when entering paled in comparison to when he finished his presentation. I don't think any of us wanted to sit down.

The information Mr. Gore shared in his presentation was updated with current information. So I must say how disturbing it was, after thinking I saw and heard the information before from the movie, to see and hear the latest news, including the fact that he highlighted information for our state. Most troubling was the fact that with everything happening, we are indeed running out of time. As he clearly stated, we are speeding up the warming at an alarming rate. We went from 100 years time to act, down to 50. Then after the long awaited study, it showed so much damage that we had as little as 34 years. Last month new information came out saying the rate is advancing so much with the melting of arctic ice, that we now had only 23 years before the tipping point. Well, after last weeks news that twice the size of England melted and then the size of Florida disappeared, Mr. Gore just received word the day prior that our tipping point may be as early as in 7 years. 7 years. I started to cry.

Mr. Gore said he believes we can solve this still, but we need to act with urgency and he is asking for citizenry activism. Get involved. Go online and find out what we can do to help. He also made clear that we must restore our democracy.

The evening ended when he was to take questions from the audience. At this point I figured if I got kicked out, it would have been worth it, so I took my banner, opened it up and dropped it hanging from our legs. I know it was seen, because Fran saw it sitting on the opposite side of the Center, and I noticed people in their seats pointing to the banner giving a "thumbs up." I can only hope a pause from Mr. Gore was him having a glimpse of it. Because, after all, it is time, Time for a COOL change with Mr. Gore.

The final questions of the evening were of a young girl and boy, ages 12 and 13. They both wanted to know if this would be solved, by whom and, "Do I and my children have a chance?" That pretty much said it all, what is on the mind of their generation. Then the little girl added "Good luck in winning the Nobel Peace Prize." Mr. Gore bowed his head with that and then responded that it is our responsibility to solve this for them and their children. And he hopes they will ask the question of how we managed to solve this. I do too.

Upon leaving from the very emotion filled presentation, I had the chance to find that little girl and give her a button. I hope that will help give some added hope that we will solve this crisis for her.

Thank you Al Gore.

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Saint Francis

Today is the Feast of St. Francis.

What have you done lately for the birds and the other creatures of the Earth?

Why Francis is the Patron of Ecology

- listener

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Howard Dean on Bush's SCHIP Veto

This morning, President Bush rejected health care for children. Now it's time for Democrats to reject President Bush.

If we can get 2/3 of Congress to stand up to President Bush, we can overturn his veto on the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- a program that provides health insurance for millions of kids.

We need your help to get those votes.

We've set up a simple tool that will allow you to write a letter and send it to your members of Congress instantly. Send your Senators and Representative a message telling them to stand up to George Bush:

http://www.democrats.org/FightForKids

George Bush made a cold political calculation this morning. He could have signed this bi-partisan bill into law, or he could have pandered to conservatives who didn't want to see the Children's Health Insurance Program get the funding it needs.

He decided to pander -- and millions of kids will suffer for it.

What makes this veto worse is that George Bush will spend billions of dollars in Iraq, some of it on contractors like Blackwater and Halliburton, while denying millions of children needed doctors' visits or medicine here at home.

On top of that, all of the Republican candidates for president support his veto.

Democrats are in the majority for a reason. Send a message to your Senators and Representative and let them know why that is:

http://www.democrats.org/FightForKids

This past week, Graeme Frost, a 12 year old from Baltimore, Maryland, delivered this week's Democratic Radio Address.

Graeme is a brave young man. Three years ago, his family was in a serious car accident. Graeme was in a coma for a week, suffered severe brain trauma, and had to re-learn how to eat and walk.

Graeme is alive today because of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. As he said last weekend:

"My parents work really hard and always make sure my sister and I have everything we need, but the hospital bills were huge. We got the help we needed because we had health insurance for us through the CHIP program.

"I don't know why President Bush wants to stop kids who really need help from getting CHIP. All I know is I have some really good doctors. They took great care of me when I was sick, and I'm glad I could see them because of the Children's Health Program."

Families like the Frosts need your help. You can hear Graeme talk about his experience and send a message to your Senators and Representative right here:

http://www.democrats.org/FightForKids

As a doctor, I've seen our country's health care crisis first-hand.

I've seen parents that have to wait for their kids to get dangerously sick before they could take them to a doctor. I've seen parents struggle over important medical care decisions because they didn't know how to pay for it. And I've seen parents left in poverty because they had no other choice.

But you don't have to be a doctor to understand the importance of health insurance for our nation's kids. Just ask any mother or father whose child has been sick, and they'll all tell you the same thing: that there's nothing more important to them than making sure their kids are healthy.

As governor of Vermont, 96% of the children in my state had health insurance. That's the sort of commitment our country needs -- and the sort of commitment President Bush doesn't have.

The American people elected a Democratic majority last fall to stand up to President Bush's misguided priorities. Remind your Senators and Representative just what the American people stand for.

http://www.democrats.org/FightForKids

Sincerely,
Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.

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Just Hanging Out Together, Thinking Green

- Photo by listener

Lucy: Make the scene with green.

Snoopy: Hang loose with chartreuse!

And, in the immortal words of Kermit The Frog: It's not easy being green.

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Open Thread

Talk amongst yourselves...

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Drowning in "sleep debt"

Originally posted at My Left Wing

Well, this is a timely subject for me to be covering with my introductory psychology students.

Each of us has a specific daily sleep requirement. The average sleep requirement for college students is well over eight hours, and the majority of students would fall within the range of this value plus or minus one hour. If this amount is not obtained, a sleep debt is created. All lost sleep accumulates progressively as a larger and larger sleep indebtedness. Furthermore, your sleep debt does not go away or spontaneously decrease. The only way to reduce your individual sleep debt is by obtaining extra sleep over and above your daily requirement.

So, here I am, up to my eyeballs in sleep debt. How am I supposed to get out of debt? By sleeping, one would presume. Except that I get into this ironic-sounding but very real state of "overtired" and I can't. But now, at least I have something new to worry about during those sleepless hours.

Like, if I can't get sleep on my own, and I have to pay off this sleep debt, what options do I have? Go to the sleep bank to take out a loan? Maybe my credit isn't good, and I'd be forced to go to a sleep loan shark. What do they do if you can't pay on time. Instead of breaking your legs, maybe they burn your mattress...

Sleep researcher William Dement--who wrote the article I excerpted above--has said that a large sleep debt "makes you stupid". At very least, as evidenced above, it is making my jokes stupid.

Jokes aside, though, this has been on my mind a lot lately. I think we hear these things about how much sleep we need, and how unhealthy it is to rack up a huge sleep debt, many of us are inclined to nod seriously, but then file that away with all the other "shoulds" that most of us ignore. And I wonder if there's something in the Western, "rugged individualist" mindset that tells us we're supposed to be able to "conquer the natural world", even when it comes to our own biological needs. I can't say exactly where, but I picked up an idea like that somewhere along the line. The idea that I should be able to "overcome" tiredness by sheer force of will. Or the idea that, if my schedule is packed and I can't fit everything in, sleep is an area where I can cut some corners.

I'm coming to realize that I can't, and that I need to listen to what my body is telling me.

Anyway, as I said in a comment that's attached to the My Left Wing essay, the upshot of all of this of all of this is that, when I take a realistic look at where I have to "cut corners", I realize that blogging is one area where I need to do that. Along with following political and news stories and getting outraged about them. Hopefully I can work some of that back into my life once I regain some "balance".

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Talk Like a Quaker Day is October 24

Via jeanne_d_arc's Livejournal

In the same vein as International Talk Like a Pirate Day and National Quaker Week in the UK, I have decided to declare October (Tenth Month) 24 (which just so happens to be United Nations Day and William Penn's birthday) as International Talk Like a Quaker Day.

Participants can use such sentences as:
"Mind the Light!"
"Friend, I'm afraid I must elder thee for what thee said on First Day."
"Today is the 24th day of Tenth Month, 2007."
"Walk cheerfully all over the Earth."
"George, thy foreign policy is not in keeping with the Peace Testimony."

If you are thinking that most modern-day Quakers don't talk like that, just keep in mind that most modern-day pirates don't talk the way a celebrant of International Talk Like a Pirate Day would. Indeed, most pirates today sail the waters near Indonesia (and may not even speak English) or create bootleg software and illegal copies of movies (and therefore use techno jargon).

Please spread the word! If someone feels Led to create a website for the day, so much the better.

Okay, the blog isn't much to look at so far, but I can purty it up later. :) Maybe I can persuade Demetrius to create a graphic for it.

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Updated Shared Items

I've added a number of stories to my shared items.

Talk amongst yourselves.

Update from Renee--I just changed the image that accompanies this thread. It's still the same thread as yesterday. Will get something new up later today.

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Another open thread

Greetings from my zombie alter ego...




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Open Thread

Seen in the international foods aisle at a local grocery store...

By the way, Demetrius has been working on some new designs. And "Stephen Colbear" has a few things to say...

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The Maharishi Effect

The Maharishi Effect is the phenomenon of the rise of coherence in the collective consciousness of any community. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that when one per cent of the population of a city or town practices Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation Programme, the crime rate significantly decreases. Similarly, when groups of individuals practicing Maharishi’s TM-Sidhi programme with Yogic Flying equal at least the square root of one per cent of a population, there is a significant reduction of crime and accidents, as well as an increase in stock prices, decreased pollution, decreased unemployment, and decreased hostilities between nations.

When I first signed on with The Heart Coherence Team, I was wondering how we were going to get 10% of the world's population hooked up to Gizmo. That's about 700 million units, and a daunting task for any relatively unknown corporate venture, and an impossibly lofty goal for a humble street musician. However, the square root of 1% of Earth's population is about 7000. Now THAT'S a manageable short term goal!

One of the things that Gizmo does, is it quantifies the meditation process in individual and group settings. Meditation produces internal coherence and, according to scientific studies of the Maharishi Effect, also tends bring coherence to surrounding systems, including the collective consciousness. Excerpt:

Just as a radio transmitter can create waves in the electromagnetic field, individuals constantly create influences on all parts of creation simply because consciousness permeates every aspect of the material universe. To illustrate, if a stone is thrown into a pond, waves are produced that travel throughout the pond. Each wave produces some effect in every part of the pond. Similarly, the wave of individual life, through its activity, produces an influence in all parts of the cosmos.

On the basis of this same principle, the direct experience of self-referral consciousness influences every aspect of the universe, enlivening it with the perfect order and harmony inherent within self-referral consciousness. For this reason, groups of individuals can create very powerful effects in the environment...through their self-referral practice, they enliven every aspect of the universe by stimulating its most fundamental constituent, consciousness, and they especially enliven the collective consciousness of the city or province or nation in which they are located.

I found this Iowa experiment very interesting:

Another researcher found in 1990 that a significant decline in crime rate, traffic fatality rate, and unemployment (also combined in an index) in the state of Iowa, USA, as a result of the coherence creating group at Maharishi International University (p’s < .05 for each variable). This researcher employed Box-Jenkins time series transfer function analysis of the effect of group size on quality of life.

Effects on National Life

A number of studies have demonstrated significant effects on the quality of life in an entire nation from a coherence creating group. These include decreased crime and accident rates in Holland during three intervention periods (all p’s < .025); increase in the British stock market index (1983); using Box-Jenkins time series impact assessment analysis, researchers in the U.S.A. found a decrease (p = .005) in traffic fatalities when a coherence creating group in Iowa exceeded the square root of one per cent of the nation’s population (1984).

So over the course of a still undetermined amount of time, "Team Gizmo" will place 7000 units worldwide and gather them into the Global Heartlink. (We are currently at about the square root of 1% of the population of Holland.) My guess is that along the way we will be conducting experiments in what the focused intent of a group is capable of in real time. That should be fascinating!

The Astral Technician

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Open Thread

Last swim of the season--with doggies.

Here's a picture of our golden retriever mix, Winnie, meeting a new friend.

This event was actually supposed to take place two weeks earlier, but was cancelled due to rain early in the afternoon. Once the rain had cleared, Daughter and I put Winnie in the car and headed up to the pool. When we arrived, there had only been a few cars there--belonging to other disappointed dog owners who were discovering that the "Doggie Paddle" had been cancelled.

The next week, I was pleased to learn that the event had been rescheduled, and as we pulled up to the pool yesterday, we were met with a decidedly full parking lot. And a quick look inside the park revealed lots of dogs having a good time. I couldn't help thinking of the scene at the end of Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman (who Daughter in Ohio used to call A. B. Beastman).

A dog party!
A big dog party!
Big dogs, little dogs,
red dogs, blue dogs,
yellow dogs, green dogs,
black dogs, and white dogs
are all at a dog party!
What a dog party!

Of course, the dogs at the pool were just the ordinary dog colors, and they weren't partying at the top of a tree, but it was definitely a dog party. And a good, wet, time was had by all.

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By Their Fruits

This week the Senate voted on an amendment popularly known as the MoveOn Amendment. It's statement of purpose reads:

To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.

It passed with a vote of 72 to 25 (3 senators not voting). Below is a list of the Democrats who voted for the amendment:

Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea

Both Massachusetts senators voted against.

I am disappointed, more that the Senate wasted time on this silly, symbolic vote than on the results. They have more important things to do. Yet, this amendment hardly comes as a surprise. The Republicans take every oppertunity - manufacture oppertunities - to flont their support for the troops. I don't understand why the Democrats listed above went along with this cheap bit of windowdressing, but that they did shouldn't distract us from the facts.

In every vote in recent years that has actually mattered, such as appropriations for the VA (to provide for those troops who have been wounded and must go through the remainder of their lives with devastating physical and/or psychological injuries), the Republicans form a solid bloc voting "No," while the Democrats form a solid bloc voting "Yes."

Our Lord said, "By their fruits shall ye know them." The MoveOn vote is a silly, childish distraction. Yes, the numver of Democrats who voted in favor annoys any sensible person. But, it is a distraction. Is it more important that these senators voted for this amendment or that they consistently vote for measures that actually support the troops, as well as the rest of the American populus?

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The Jena Six

You'll note that I've added a new banner to the left sidebar. I added it after seeing this post by field negro at My Left Wing. Apparently the big blogs are ignoring this story. Posting the link here doesn't exactly compensate for that, nor can I write much of a stirring entreaty, since I have just barely begun to learn the details of the story myself. But I figured I should at least give it what small bit of additional exposure I can offer.

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Friday Open Thread

Today is the International Day of Peace



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Thursday Open Thread

Dale Chihuly, born September 20, 1941

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Wednesday Open Thread

Today be Talk Like a Pirate Day. Are ye ready t' celebrate?

Ye can find more pirate fun here, includin' th' translator I used t' write this post!

'n look--Stephen Colbear has even gotten into th' holiday spirit!

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Tuesday Open Thread

Lance Armstrong, born September 18, 1971:

"At the end of the day, if there was indeed some Body or presence standing there to judge me, I hoped I would be judged on whether I had lived a true life, not on whether I believed in a certain book, or whether I'd been baptized. If there was indeed a God at the end of my days, I hoped he didn't say, "But you were never a Christian, so you're going the other way from heaven." If so, I was going to reply, "You know what? You're right. Fine."

Oh, and on this date in 1895, Daniel David Palmer gave the first chiropractic adjustment.

Shared items here.

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Monday Open Thread

Hildegard of Bingen, died September 17, 1179

Read more about her here.

Today is also Constitution Day.

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A Gathering of Gizmos

This week I begin a new challenge. I will attempt to locate all of the Gizmos in the world and do a follow up on what is currently being done with them. Starting with their Yahoo User Group, and then seeking further information from the inventor. I want to seek out individual stories, but I also want to locate folks who are using Gizmo in clinical research, and gather their work into a database that all the users can learn from.

From there, I'll begin to gather those who own these units into the Harmonic Module chat room to conduct real time experiments on linking hearts in various locations around the world.A member of the team named Marc will be tweaking the Module controls (which make my eyes glaze over) so that there will be push button sign up similar to Yahoo Messenger, and he's even talking about adding a "Second Life" type of game platform in the future.

This all should keep me busy well into October, as I prepare for my final Holiday Extravaganza. My life is changing so quickly, and I'm really looking forward to what's on the other side of the changes.

Namaste,

The Astral Technician

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Headline: Spy Master Admits Error

From the comments last night, Demetrius posted this link:

Spy Master Admits Error

Intel czar Mike McConnell told Congress a new law helped bring down a terror plot. The facts say otherwise.

Sept. 12, 2007 - In a new embarrassment for the Bush administration's top spymaster, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell is withdrawing an assertion he made to Congress this week that a recently passed electronic-surveillance law helped U.S. authorities foil a major terror plot in Germany.

More here.

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Bits and pieces

Some new shared items

Looking past Talk Like a Pirate Day,

we've been working on our Halloween section.

Want to hide a web page from search engines? Neck-breaker of a segue there, I know, but I did call this post "bits and pieces" for a reason. Anyway, I've been looking into the issue recently, and thought I'd pass the link along in case anyone might find it useful.

As I've mentioned in the comments, I'm busy familiarizing myself with new textbooks for the community college courses I will be teaching starting next week. This is why I'm not blogging much these days. It's also why, when I do post links, they might end up being more psychology-related than in the past. Our new intro textbook is by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who was one of the principal investigators in the Stanford Prison Experiment. Just found a new article about that experiment, titled, intriguingly, "Are you evil?"

Back in March, Dr. Zimbardo was on The Daily Show to discuss his book The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, and I transcribed that appearance here. I just found out that he will be coming to speak about that book here in Columbus next month, so that should be interesting.

Well, back to my school work now. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

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Charlie's High Springs Herald Guest Column

From the comments:

Does anyone know how to show people a High Springs Herald column? I can go to it at this page.

Thanks for the tip, Alachuan Monk!
Guest Column by Charlie Grapski: Look past headline to core of what I fight for

What does it take to have a democracy?

It takes citizens. But what does it mean to be a citizen?

Readers of The Herald have been able to follow my continuing struggles with those who run the city of Alachua.

But in the sensationalism of my being banished and banned, trespassed and charged, prosecuted and jailed, it is easy to lose sight of the more fundamental theme of my pursuits.

Click here for the rest.

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Open Thread

Son in Ohio told us about this video--we thought it was pretty funny.

Updated shared items yesterday, and will add a few more later today.

Talk Like a Pirate Day is almost here.

Talk amongst yourselves.

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Back to School Open Thread

I went to campus today to pick up the textbooks and supplemental resources for the two psych courses I'll be teaching starting next Wednesday. When I got home, I set the stack on the table in front of the couch, intending to start going through them later today. On his way to pick up Daughter in Ohio from the bus, Demetrius said I should come take a look at my cat.

He said it looked like she was "holding court". We find this behavior amusing in that it is so predictable. "Mommy brought home something new and important looking--I must perch on it!"

By the way, I feel compelled to note that Cat Girl *does* actually have eyes. It's just that the flash on my phone's camera is pretty weak, so her eyes don't quite show up in this picture.

Talk amongst yourselves.

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Remembering Alex

When I returned from a quick run to the library earlier this evening, Demetrius told me the news that Alex the African Grey Parrot had died. I was stunned by the news, and the fact that he died suddenly, without having shown any signs of illness, brought back memories of our own African Grey's sudden death. So I suppose that's part of why this has hit me rather hard, but there's more to it than that. On the web site of The Alex Foundation, there is a tribute by Elaine Hutchison (PDF) that touches on some of what I'm thinking and feeling...

I never met Alex, but the world is a different place for me now that he is gone. Life seems duller, flatter…and less open to possibilities. But thinking about limited possibilities negates all that he accomplished in his life, and all that he will mean to future generations of parrots, people and animals in general.

Alex taught us many, many things about how the avian brain works. In doing so, he helped define the bonds between human animals and the rest of creation, illuminating a commonality that was unimagined before he showed us his truth. Alex opened the door into his mind—a mind that was so similar to ours that it seemed like coming home, and yet so different that it opened a thousand different doors to the universe.

He was both magical and miraculous. In his home, Alex filled the air with his watch-me-see-mehear-me personality. Alternately cajoling his parrot partners in their learning, and shouting out orders that sent lab assistants scurrying about his room, the atmosphere Alex created was charming and challenging and undeniable. His stupendous presence was a magical experience for those lucky enough to have known him.

For those of us who never knew him, we still felt the miraculous wonder of his being. Alex reached across what we thought was an impenetrable barrier---the barrier between human consciousness and avian consciousness. He reached out to us and let us know him. That is the miracle that was Alex.

His going will leave a huge empty space in the world of science. What he might have accomplished is dismaying in its semantics—the eternal unknowing of what might have been. But we can be grateful for what he was and what he gave to us.

This evening I discovered an article about Alex, based on an interview The Edge did with Dr. Irene Pepperberg. The ending of the piece made me smile, so I thought I'd share that tonight as well.

There are some things that the birds do that, colloquially speaking, "just blow us away." We were training Alex to sound out phonemes, not because we want him to read as humans do, but we want to see if he understands that his labels are made up of sounds that can be combined in different ways to make up new words; that is, to demonstrate evidence for segmentation. He babbles at dusk, producing strings like "green, cheen, bean, keen", so we have some evidence for this behavior, but we need more solid data.

Thus we are trying to get him to sound out refrigerator letters, the same way one would train children on phonics. We were doing demos at the Media Lab for our corporate sponsors; we had a very small amount of time scheduled and the visitors wanted to see Alex work. So we put a number of differently colored letters on the tray that we use, put the tray in front of Alex, and asked, "Alex, what sound is blue?" He answers, "Ssss." It was an "s", so we say "Good birdie" and he replies, "Want a nut."

Well, I don't want him sitting there using our limited amount of time to eat a nut, so I tell him to wait, and I ask, "What sound is green?" Alex answers, "Ssshh." He's right, it's "sh," and we go through the routine again: "Good parrot." "Want a nut." "Alex, wait. What sound is orange?" "ch." "Good bird!" "Want a nut." We're going on and on and Alex is clearly getting more and more frustrated. He finally gets very slitty-eyed and he looks at me and states, "Want a nut. Nnn, uh, tuh."

Not only could you imagine him thinking, "Hey, stupid, do I have to spell it for you?" but the point was that he had leaped over where we were and had begun sounding out the letters of the words for us. This was in a sense his way of saying to us, "I know where you're headed! Let's get on with it," which gave us the feeling that we were on the right track with what we were doing. These kinds of things don't happen in the lab on a daily basis, but when they do, they make you realize there's a lot more going on inside these little walnut-sized brains than you might at first imagine.

I hope Alex is somewhere cool. Eating lots of nuts. :)

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Peace

Today seems like as good a day as any to draw your attention to the link in the upper left hand corner of this page. If you click it, it goes to a page about the International Day of Peace (September 21).

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Happy birthday, listener!

Hope it was a happy one!

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More on B.R.E.A.D., Payday Lending, and Ohio Representatives

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post about Doing Justice in Ohio. The following excerpt comes from my church's September newsletter:

At that Nehemiah Action Assembly, Senator Ray Miller pledged to introduce legislation in the state house to curb PayDay Lending. You may have seen recent articles in the Columbus Dispatch and elsewhere in which this issue and its abuses have been well documented. Though B.R.E.A.D. is mentioned, it is rarely given the credit for having moved this issue to the forefront.

Behind the scenes B.R.E.A.D. has been working with Senator Miller, a Democrat, and Representative Bill Batchelder, a Republican, to sponsor the same legislation in the House and in the Senate. This kind of strong bi-partisan cooperation will benecessary to pass a bill. At the August 24 meeting, B.R.E.A.D. was reminded that it will take phone calls, e-mails, and letter to state lawmakers to get this bill passed. PayDay Lenders have a well funded lobby and have doubled their spending in the legislature since 2006. Be prepared for some requests from your B.R.E.A.D. team to write, call, e-mail those who represent you in the statehouse!

About that bipartisan support--that is apparently the reason Ohio House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty has been hesitant to support the legislation. From the Other Paper article I linked yesterday...

Several state lawmakers of both parties have agreed to take on the cause. While others surely have their reservations, Beatty is one of the only legislators to openly criticize the effort, brushing off the proposed reforms as shortsighted and politically motivated.

Using her influence as the minority leader, Beatty has discouraged Democrats from working with Republican state Rep. Bill Batchelder of Medina, whom advocates have asked to sponsor the legislation in the House.

Known as an arch conservative, Batchelder has been against high-interest loan centers dating back to the 1990s, when he opposed legislation that led to the proliferation of payday lending shops. However, Beatty has repeatedly suggested Batchelder is using the issue to advance his aspirations to be speaker of the House next session.

“I will not support any legislative agenda that I feel is solely for someone’s political gain,” Beatty wrote in an op-ed column published last month in the Akron Beacon Journal.

That’s a problem because legislation will require bipartisan support, and Beatty is known for her ability to keep her caucus in line.

“It’s already damaged the prospects for getting the bill passed,” said Miller.

“I think we’ve laid out a good strategy, we’re fortunate to have bipartisan leadership on this with Rep. Batchelder and myself,” he added. “At the present time, our biggest challenge is the opposition from Rep. Beatty and her work to encourage members of her caucus to be neutral or opposed.”

I have a hard time understanding how a powerful Democrat in the Ohio House would want to delay implementing measures to protect our most vulnerable citizens from predatory lending practices for basically political reasons. Still, she did say I will not support any legislative agenda that I feel is solely for someone’s political gain, and has said that she is willing to hear from her constituents on this matter. Maybe even polite letters from people who are not her constituents, but are able to clearly express why this is not solely for someone's political gain.

The bill (I've been searching for a bill number and an official link, and will update if/when I find that) only proposes the same safeguards against predatory lending that military personnel are now granted via the Nelson Talent Amendment.

The proposed bill would cap interest rates on short-term loans at 36 percent. Currently, the rate on these loans can reach nearly 400 percent when calculated over a year. The bill also would call for financial incentives and tax credits for traditional lenders to encourage them to offer short-term, low-interest loans.

So we're talking about reasonable limits on the interest rates that can be charged, not shutting these places down, as Rep. Beatty seems to suggest here:

House Democratic Leader Joyce Beatty, who represents some of the same citizens as Miller, said she has talked to people in line waiting to get payday loans.

"People said to me, ‘Rep. Beatty, these folks will at least cash my check.’ One lady told me she couldn’t get her check cashed in any bank in the city," Beatty said.

"I have not had anybody call me and say, ‘I go to a payday lending establishment, and I think you should close them down.’ "

That quote is from an article that was published on July 23. Hopefully by this point, people have clarified to Representative Beatty that no one associated with this proposed bill is suggesting that payday lending establishments should be shut down Still, since she is in a position to either help or hurt the passage of a bill that could offer even some minimal protection to Ohio's most vulnerable citizens, I think it couldn't hurt to politely help see to it that she does understand what this is really about.

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Open Thread

More new designs here.

Talk amongst yourselves...

Update: I've added a few stories to my shared items. Once again, the newer things aren't showing up in the sidebar, but you can find them here.


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Doing justice in Ohio

I just found out about this at church. Tiny bit of background: the pastor of my church is currently one of the co-presidents of B.R.E.A.D. (which stands for Building Responsibility Equality and Dignity, and works with lawmakers to advance achievable goals in the area of social justice.) The goal B.R.E.A.D. is currently working towards is getting legislation passed to put some reasonable restraints on the payday lending industry. You can read here about the action meeting that took place in May.

Anyway, George announced that B.R.E.A.D. has a meeting scheduled with Representative Joyce Beatty this coming Wednesday. He noted that Rep. Beatty has opposed the legislation in the past, but has said that she is interested in hearing from her constituents. He directed our attention to an article that appears in the current edition of The Other Paper. In a nutshell, Rep. Beatty is the Ohio House Minority Leader, and is in a position, not only to oppose the bill herself, but to sway other Democrats to oppose the legislation or remain neutral. And her reasons for opposing the legislation appear to be...you know, I'm not even going to try to come up with the right words to describe what I think of it. Please read the article and come to your own conclusions. I'll try to write more about this a little later.

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Happy birthday, Daughter in Ohio!

It's hard to believe my little girl is almost a teenager, and old enough to sing solos in church. So proud of you, and hope you have an amazingly happy birthday!

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Ribbons are pretty!

I can't seem to recall when the first yellow ribbon bumper stickers started showing up on cars. The original ones said "Support Our Troops" though, right? As time went on, different messages started showing up, like autism awareness, breast cancer awareness/find a cure messages, and the like. And they came in colors other than yellow. I guess maybe the common element was that they were designed to raise public awareness about some issue that might be in need attention, funding, legislation...okay, I'm kinda grasping at straws here trying to see the common thread. But you knew that, if you saw the ribbon shape on a car, closer inspection would reveal a message about some serious issue.

The first time I realized that the rules had changed, was when I saw this ribbon on a car.

I saw the pawprints and thought maybe it was an anti-puppy mill message, or something promoting spay/neuter. Maybe even that important reminder that pets are not disposable. But no. It read, "I adopted my cat."

As opposed to what? Giving birth to him or her? I mean, I know that pet overpopulation is a serious issue, but I'm pretty sure it's not caused by humans having too many kittens instead of opting to adopt.

Had it said, "I rescued my cat", sure. "I adopted a homeless cat", or a rescue cat, or a shelter cat...yeah, I could see that. But, "I adopted my cat"? That's pretty much a given, isn't it? It's not even "I love my cat". It's pretty much just, "I have a cat".

Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just a little mental adjustment I need to make. Now when I see that ribbon shape on the back of a car, I know that it's just another shape bumper stickers can come in. Some of them still say, "This is an issue about which I care deeply". But others pretty much tell the world, "I like ribbons--they're pretty!"

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Pavarotti on YouTube

In the previous thread's comments, I posted a link to Crooks and Liars' Late Night Music Club With Luciano Pavarotti. Bluegal writes

Pavarotti, as part of his “Pavarotti and friends” series, sang with everyone from Bono to Barry White. Since we’ve already done the honorable thing and posted Nessun Dorma, let’s show him at his happiest, singing “Viva Forever” with The Spice Girls in 1998. It’s not as bad as I expected it to be, and the guy looks genuinely happy

I was going to post a video here, but couldn't choose one. So here's a link to the Pavarotti videos that can be found on YouTube.

Also, I was just checking out his page on Wikipedia, and wanted to share the section on his humanitarian work...

Pavarotti annually hosted the "Pavarotti and Friends" charity concerts in his home town of Modena in Italy, joining with singers from all parts of the music industry to raise money for several UN causes. Concerts were held for War Child, and victims of war and civil unrest in Bosnia, Guatemala, Kosovo and Iraq. After the war in Bosnia, he financed and established the Pavarotti Music Center in the southern city of Mostar to offer Bosnia's artists the opportunity to develop their skills. For these contributions, the city of Sarajevo named him an honorary citizen in 2006.

He performed at benefit concerts to raise money for victims of tragedies such as an earthquake in December 1988 that killed 25,000 people in northern Armenia.

He was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales. They raised money for the elimination of land mines worldwide. He was invited to sing at her funeral service, but declined, as he felt he could not sing well "with his grief in his throat".

In 1998, he was appointed the United Nation's Messenger of Peace, using his fame to raise awareness of UN issues, including the Millennium Development Goals, HIV/AIDS, child rights, urban slums and poverty.

In 2001, Pavarotti received the Nansen Medal from the UN High Commission for Refugees for his efforts raising money on behalf of refugees worldwide. Through benefit concerts and volunteer work, he has raised more than US$1.5 million, more than any other individual.

Other awards he received for charity work include the Freedom of London Award and The Red Cross Award for Services to Humanity, for his work in raising money for that organization, and the 1998 MusiCares Person Of The Year, given to humanitarian heroes by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

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Updated Shared Items

Yep, I'm posting just to tell you I've updated my Google Reader shared items. For anyone who's not familiar with how that works, I log into Google Reader, find out what other bloggers have written about important issues of the day, and click "share". You can see the most recent linked blog entries on the left hand side of this page, or click here to see the older items as well.

Correction: Google Reader, or possibly Blogger, is determined to make a liar out of me, and the links you see in the left sidebar are NOT the most recent ones I've added. Click the links in this post to see the newest entries.

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Zombie Open Thread

Seems like we need a new thread, but I really don't want to talk politics, and I'm not in the mood for cute, so yer gettin zombies. At least they're funny zombies.

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Those wascawwy wabbits!

I have mentioned recently that a book called The Glory Field was part of Son in Ohio's summer reading. He's had a hard time getting through the book for a number of reasons--not the least of which being that he objects to the whole idea of summer homework in the first place. Anyway, at some point, Son asked me if I would read some of it aloud to him, and I agreed. It turned out to be a decent way of helping keep him engaged in the story.

Ultimately, I finished the whole book myself while he was at school--he hasn't finished it himself yet, but is in the home stretch. The book follows five generations of one African-American family from Africa to a South Carolina plantation through the Civil War, the end of segregation and beyond, to a moving finale, when a young drug-addicted cousin is brought home to the glory field for a day of reunion and renewal.

Most recently, I was helping him get through the 1964 section, which deals with the end of segregation. One of the White characters misquotes Martin Luther King as saying that he wants to see "little White girls and little Black boys playing together." It is, of course, telling, that he would remember the quote that way, because, apparently that is the most threatening form of "race mixing" to many people.

And, reading this section, I was reminded that some people were so bent out of shape at the very idea of race mixing that they could project a diabolical pro-miscegenation agenda onto a pair of rabbits in a children's book...

It seems incredible that any sober adult could scent in this fuzzy cottontale for children the overtones of Karl Marx or even of Martin Luther King. But last week in Florida, Columnist Henry Balch thundered in the Orlando Sentinel (circ. 100,000): "As soon as you pick up the book, you realize these rabbits are integrated. One of the techniques of brainwashing is conditioning minds to accept what the brainwashers want accepted." In Alabama, State Senator E. O. Eddins agreed: "This book should be taken off the shelves and burned."

Wow. And people think Bugs Bunny is "wascawwy". He's got nothing on these two!

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Open Thread

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Update: There's a current front page post at Street Prophets you might all be interested in
Howard Dean Tells Muslims To Run For Office

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Don't you just LOVE surprises?

Bush is paying another "surprise visit" to Iraq today, so that he can say how well the surge is going.

Somebody even made a (mmph--giggle) "action" figure commemorating one of Bush's "surprise" visits.



Off to add some stories to the shared items, and then to the pool.

Happy Labor Day!

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From my favorite book

Chapter 40

Jesus teaches the magians. Explains the Silence and how to enter it. Kaspar extols the wisdom of Jesus. Jesus teaches in the groves of Cyrus.

1. Now, in the early morning Jesus came again to teach and heal. A light not comprehended shown about, as though some mighty spirit overshadowed him.
2. A magus noted this and asked him privately to tell from whence his wisdom came, and what the meaning of the light.
3. And Jesus said, There is a Silence where the soul may meet its God, and there the fount of wisdom is, and all who enter are immersed in light, and filled with wisdom, love and power.
4. The magus said, Tell me about this Silence and this light, that I may go and there abide.
5. And Jesus said, The Silence is not circumscribed; is not a place closed in with wall, or rocky steeps, nor guarded by the sword of man.
6. Men carry with them all the time the secret place where they might meet their God.
7. It matters not where men abide, on mountain top, in deepest vale, in marts of trade, or in the quiet home; they may at once, at any time, fling wide the door, and find the Silence, find the house of God; it is within the soul.
8. One may not be so much disturbed by noise of business, and the words and thoughts of men if he goes all alone into the valley or the mountain pass.
9. And when life's heavy load is pressing hard, it is far better to go out and seek a quiet place to pray and meditate.
10. The Silence is the kingdom of the soul which is not seen by human eyes.
11. When in the Silence, phantom forms mat flit before the mind; but they are all subservient to the will; the master soul may speak and they are gone.
12. If you would find this Silence of the soul you must yourself prepare the way. None but the pure in heart may enter here.
13. And you must lay aside all tenseness of the mind, all business cares, all fears, all doubts and troubled thoughts.
14. Your human will must be absorbed by the divine; then you will come into a consciousness of holiness.
15. You are in the Holy Place, and you will see upon a living shrine the candle of the Lord aflame.
16. And when you see it burning there, look deep into the temple of your brain, and you will see it all aglow.
17. In every part, from head to foot. are candles all in place, just waiting to be lighted by the flaming torch of love.
18. And when you see the candles all aflame, just look, and you will see, with eyes of soul, the waters of the fount of wisdom rushing on; and you may drink, and there abide.
19. And then the curtains part, and you are in the Holiest of All, where rests the Arc of God, whose covering is the Mercy Seat.
20. Fear not to lift the sacred board; the Tables of the Law are in the Ark concealed.
21. Take them and read them well; for they contain all precepts and commands that men will ever need.
22. And in the Ark, the magic wand of prophecy lies waiting for your hand; it is the key to all the hidden meanings of the present, future, past.
23. And then, behold, the manna there, the hidden bread of life; and he who eats shall never die.
24. The cherubim have guarded well for every soul this treasure box, and whosoever will enter in and find his own.
25. Now Kaspar heard the Hebrew master speak and he exclaimed, Behold, the wisdom of the gods has come to men!
26. And Jesus went his way, and in the sacred groves of Cyrus, where the multitudes were met, he taught and healed the sick.

Namaste

The Astral Technician

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Blessing

It's outrageous to line your pockets off the misery of the poor.
Outrageous the crime some human beings must endure.
It's a blessing to wash your face in the summer solstice rain
It's outrageous a man like me stand here and complain.
From Paul Simon's "Outrageous"

I've got the beginnings of a post about "the blessing of animals" in my head--meaning, the way we are blessed *by* them. But Daughter is singing in church this morning, so I need to take off. Will come back to it...

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Candidates' respond to "rogue primary states"

This was good go hear...

Barack Obama and John Edwards on Saturday joined three other Democrats planning to skip states that break party rules by holding early primaries. Their pledge leaves front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton alone in planning to compete in Florida and Michigan.

Obama's and Edwards' pledge came a day after Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden said they wouldn't campaign in such states.

"As I have campaigned across America over the last six months, it's become clear that Governor Dean and the Democratic National Committee have put together a presidential nomination process that's in the best interests of our party and our nation," Obama said in a written statement.

Read more here.

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Open Thread

Looking at Cap'n Wacky's Unfortunate Halloween Cards, and thought Subway might appreciate the comment that accompanied this one...



Oh, it started innocently enough: using "merry" in front of Halloween, a lot of red and green. This is the kind of crap that led to Christmas displays in the department stores in August.

Beware the slippery slope, people.

Happy weekend, everyone.

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NOLA Two years later

The three minute YouTube video reveals the devastating reality of hurricane survivors still struggling to rebuild their lives and the amazing hope they maintain about the future.

When The Saints Go Marching In launched today and can be seen at WhenTheSaints.org. The video is spreading rapidly across the internet with the help of partner groups like Plenty, ColorOfChange.org, and Think New Orleans. When The Saints Go Marching In includes footage of NOLA residents working to make the city home again, and ends with a call to action for viewers to urge the Senate to pass Senator Chris Dodd's (D-CT) Gulf Coast Recovery Bill (S. 1668).

More here.

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Happy blogiversary, HEP

Today marks two years since this blog began. Happy blogiversary, everyone!

Yeah, it's the same birthday cake I usually use, but you all know it's been a busy week at Chez in Ohio.

Also, a happy 15th "hatchday" to our Zoe bird. :)

Finally, I've added a few links to the shared items, and will add some more later today.

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Open Thread

You know the drill...

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Gonzales resigns

Via Firedoglake, Bush is holding a press conference at 11:50.

Update: Click here for the text of Bush's speech. It is as delusional and bass-ackwards as we have come to expect.

After months of unfair treatment, that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to resign his position and I accept his decision.

It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeding from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.

The one positive note is that Bush seems to indicate that he will not try to make a recess appointment.

I've asked Solicitor General Paul Clement to serve as acting attorney general upon Alberto Gonzales' departure and until a nominee has been confirmed by the Senate.

He's agreed to do so.

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I *hate* it when this happens...

I haven't played The Sims for a while, but decided I could use the diversion last night. So I've got this Sim named Vicki--she's the one with the yellowish diamond, called a "plumbob" over her head. It is a way of indicating which is the "active" Sim, or which one you are currently controlling.

Having just moved into the neighborhood, she's chatting up someone she's just met, trying to make friends. Steps away to order a pizza--because it's not good to let your guests to hungry--only to discover that her visitor has disappeared. At first, I thought maybe she had gone home when I wasn't paying attention. But then I realize that Vicki has a hot tub in her back yard, and that's probably where her guest is right now.

I check the back yard, only to discover that her neighbor has burst into flames

That's a new "feature" with Sims 2 Seasons expansion pack. Sims can get too hot or too cold. And when they say "get too hot", they're not kidding--they actually burst into flames.

Don't you hate it when your visitors spontaneously combust?

If I hadn't been so caught off guard by the whole thing, apparently I could have had Vicki extinguish the fire. But, since I just sat there going "WTF?!", we ended up with a visit from the Grim Reaper. So I went to exit the game, and was prompted, "Do you want to save before quitting?"

Hell, no!

Okay, now *that* part would be nice in real life--if, when you screw up, you could choose not to save this version, and start over again at a pre-screwup point in time.

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