ObamaLlama Ding Dongs

Another glimpse into what's become Hillary's base. 

Obama's Lama Problem

Of Obama, Duser said: "I'm not crazy about voting for a colored guy, but that's not why I don't support Obama. I'm not prejudiced. I just like Hillary."

A couple tables over, Jean Fetterman, a foster grandparent, said of Clinton: "Oh, I love her. She's a very intelligent person, and she has her husband who went through this."

She scoffs at the idea of voting for Obama: "I don't want to be a Muslim!" She looks dubious when told Obama is Christian. "Then why did he go see what's-his-name over in Iraq, that Lama?"

Sigh. But there you have it– this is now Clinton’s base. This is why the Clinton campaign has been making such strange and credibility-destroying arguments in the past couple of weeks: because those arguments are "credibility-destroying" only among high-information voters. Here, by contrast, are the firewall voters; these are the people the campaign is talking to and depending on. People who might be convinced that Barack Arrogant Obama wasn’t really a real law professor like he says he was. People who can be convinced that Obama thugs are trying to prevent them from voting and participating in our great American democracy. People who think Hussein Obama X is Muslim and that Jeremiah Wright will burn this mother to the ground. And, not least, people who fear that Obama will turn them into a llama.

These people scare me. Shouldn't they be voting for the Republican? (Oh yeah, they are kinda. Right?)

The Finger Is Back!

In which the purple-faced former finger wagger in chief lets fly another volley of venom.

Bill Clinton's tirade stunned some delegates
It was as if someone pulled the pin from a grenade.

"Five times to my face (Richardson) said that he would never do that," a red-faced, finger-pointing Clinton erupted.

The former president then went on a tirade that ran from the media's unfair treatment of Hillary to questions about the fairness of the votes in state caucuses that voted for Obama. It ended with him asking delegates to imagine what the reaction would be if Obama was trailing by just 1 percent and people were telling him to drop out.

"It was very, very intense," said one attendee. "Not at all like the Bill of earlier campaigns."

Hillary Drops Out

Wow! She finally saw the writing on the wall and decided to drop out. Now we can get on to the real fight. (Though, in a bizarre, twisted way, I'll kind of miss the death march now that's it's ended.)

Oh, by the way: April Fool's Day!

James Benjamin Altemus 1928–2004

In honor of my father, Jim, who died four years ago today. I miss you, dad.  

Express Yourself

Gross out alert! Don't read if eating.

Another great thing about today: As I mentioned in the previous post, Akiva, Bella, and I went on a hike earlier. While on the trail Bella kept squatting like she needed to poop but nothing came out. I was a little concerned, but Akiva mentioned that dogs will do that sometimes if they need to evacuate their anal sacs. 

Well.

Anyway, I mentioned this to Annie when we got home from dinner and she suggested doing some online research. Half a minute later, and not only had I found more info about it than I'd ever want, but one of the first links listed was a how-to video explaining how to "express" (not expel, not evacuate—express) your dog's anal glands. 

It was so absurd I laughed for what felt like five minutes. A video on how to squeeze reluctant discharge out of your dog's ass—done with a clinical deadpan. And there it was in all it's scatological glory just a few clicks away. 

I suppose if we can bring ourselves to do it, we can save on the vet bill.…

I can't bring myself to embed the video, but if you're curious, here's the link. Because you never know when your dog may need you to help express herself. 

This Is The Life

So, I'm sitting here in my living room enjoying some chill electronica and a raging fire, while getting ready to work on some AnnieMac poster designs, when I thought back on what a sweet little day today was.

It started badly—I still felt sick and got up too late to meet the guys for breakfast. But after a nice hot shower, it got better fast. I spent a couple of hours with a double cappucino blogging and working on a new ad for the Soul Reminders. Then in late afternoon, I went for a long hike with my good friend, Akiva, and Bella. Early evening I grabbed dinner with Annie, then we came home for a relaxing evening. She lit a fire and took a shower and is now in her office working on lyrics, while I hang out in the living room working. 

Anyway, at one point, I looked up and saw Bella, Finn, and Henry napping around the fire—a perfect little scene. And I think, wow, how lucky am I?

Pangea Day

Is May 10 of this year.

What is Pangea Day?

Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion while uniting millions of people to build a better future.

In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that - to help people see themselves in others - through the power of film.

On May 10, 2008 - Pangea Day - sites in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro will be linked live to produce a program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music.

The program will be broadcast live to the world through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones.

Of course, movies alone can't change the world. But the people who watch them can. So following May 10, 2008, Pangea Day organizers will facilitate community-building activities around the world by connecting inspired viewers with numerous organizations which are already doing groundbreaking work.

Go to the website for more info.

My Stroke Of Insight

This video has been sent to me three times within the past week, so I figured it was time to share it. It's a talk given by a brain scientist who's had a stroke and subsequently studies the experience and shares her insights. It's an incredible story. Do yourself a favor and watch it. 

Also, I recommend checking out the website the video comes from: TED (Technology. Entertainment. Design). It's a great site whose mission is to give "millions of knowledge-seekers around the globe direct access to the world's greatest thinkers and teachers" via video clips of their talks.

h/t: Rick McKinney & Don Dammann

Strindber + helium

These little animated vid clips are as brilliant as they are bizarre.

Tuzla-Gate VII

Here's an excerpt from an account Clinton gave of her Tuzla trip back in 1999:

"You know, I went to Bosnia shortly after the peace accords were signed, when it was safe enough to go to our base in Tuzla, but not very safe to go anywhere else. I couldn't get into Sarajevo. But I was able to fly out of Tuzla into two base camps -- Camp Alicia and Camp Bedrock -- to visit with the men and women who were there on the front lines of Americas peace-keeping efforts."

Tuzla-Gate VI

Aren't you supposed to quit digging when you're in a hole?

Tetrific!

Human Tetris!

Tuzla-Gate V

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I'm beginning to think this story could be a mortal wound to Clinton's candidacy. Here's an exclusive interview with the pilot of the plane:

Col2
by krs601

Tuzla-Gate IV

The gift that keeps on giving.

When There's Trust There'll Be Treats

"Overcome"—Tricky

Hillary And The VRWC

Last post aside, it looks like Clinton's doing her dead-level best to alienate what few blogospheric defenders remain. Just today, after days of demuring and saying she'd not discuss it, she took a pot shot at Obama in re: his pastor Rev. Wright. Well, anything to deflect from the truly damaging Tuzla-Gate story, I guess. Thing is, her using Wright to hit Obama isn't the surprising or alienating thing, one would expect that of her at this point. No, the surprise was the venue in which she chose to do so: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 

This is the rag that's owned by none other than reclusive conservative crank Richard Mellon-Scaife. You'll remember Scaife as the shadowy financier of the so-called VRWC (Vast Right Wing Conspiracy). During the nineties, he gave scads of cash (several millions) to right wing magazines and smear merchants to find dirt on or create the impression of dirt around the Clintons. Dirt like calling Vince Foster's suicide into question, claiming that as governor Clinton was a drug kingpin, claiming they were murderers, etc., etc.

Anyway, I'd been hearing reports of some sort of weird détente between him and the Clintons, and today's interview lends credence to them. Chalk it up to politics and bedfellows and all that, but it's still weird since there appeared to be so much genuine animosity between them. 

Whatev, here she is with old Dick himself:

Setting The Record Straight

In a previous post I commented on Hillary's apparent arrogance when she made this statement: 

Occasionally, I am a human being like everybody else...

Well, it seems the transcript left out an important indication of a stammer. Later this afternoon, I heard audiotape of the statement, and I think that this is one of those cases where she did misspeak. There was clearly a pause in between "occasionally" and "I", as though she were going to say one thing (like "Occasionally, I fuck up," but then took a different course and said "I am a human being like everyone else. This happens to me all of the time and under far less stressful situations, so fair's fair, I thought I should correct the record.

God knows, she says enough that deserves legitimate criticism. I'm not going to pile on when it's not deserved.

Cursive Is Necessary

Turns out that handwriting, while a dying art, is not passé or something that we should cavalierly discard.

The Writing On The Wall
Good penmanship is more than just a quaint skill. A new study shows that it's a key part of learning.

Handwriting is important because research shows that when children are taught how to do it, they are also being taught how to learn and how to express themselves. A new study to be released this month by Vanderbilt University professor Steve Graham finds that a majority of primary-school teachers believe that students with fluent handwriting produced written assignments that were superior in quantity and quality and resulted in higher grades—aside from being easier to read.
[…]
All this matters, educators say, because evidence is growing that handwriting fluency is a fundamental building block of learning. Emily Knapton, director of program development at Handwriting Without Tears, believes that "when kids struggle with handwriting, it filters into all their academics. Spelling becomes a problem; math becomes a problem because they reverse their numbers. All of these subjects would be much easier for these kids to learn if handwriting was an automatic process."

Tuzla-Gate? III

Hillary's explanation for her inexplicable Tuzla exaggeration: 

I was sleep-deprived. Occasionally, I am a human being like everybody else... For the first time in 12 or so years I misspoke.

But just, you know, occasionally. Talk about your Freudian slip. Yeesh. Oh, and about that sleep-deprived misspeaking? Must be a chronic problem. Here she is on Feb. 29, 2008 in Waco, TX:

Here's Sully's take:

Occasionally, I am a human being like everybody else. This is close to clinical delusions of grandeur. Does she really think that most of the time she is above being human? Do you know any human being who hasn't mispoken in the last twelve years once? Or would ever claim such a thing? I sure couldn't. And this from a candidate whose most famous campaign ad rests on her ability to make national security judgments at 3 am!

Bill Safire was right: she is and has for a long time been a congenital liar. I don't mean by that that she deliberately and pre-meditatedly decides to deceive people. I mean she has long since forgotten the difference between truth and untruth (enabling addicts can do that to people). I mean that by seeking power and self-advancement for so many years, at the expense of any other human values, she has lost all sense of what the difference between truth and falsehood is, who she is, what really matters or any fundamental sense of perspective.

Once, I believe, she was motivated by good intentions and even now, I don't think she believes she is advancing anything but the common good. But she can never believe that her interests and the common good could ever be in conflict, which is to say, she has lost a moral compass beyond narcissism. That is sad in a human being and we are all prey to it. But in a potential president, it is very dangerous.

 And she has so long excused all her moral transgressions by the fact that her foes must always be worse (yes, for Wolfson, who has long internalized the socipathy of the Clintons, even Obama is Ken Starr to her), she has long lost the ability to ask herself, deep down, who she really is any more. She is a lost and dangerous soul, as her husband still is. She is, in my view, unfit to be president. Truly, deeply unfit. And at some point, someone in the Democratic party has to take her aside and tell her the damage she is doing to herself, her party and her country is enough.

Mea Culpa

I once defended this twat.

Your Voice Can Change The World

The guy is like kryptonite to my cynicism. 

Bullet. Head. Now. Please!

Fucking Twin Peaks weird.

It's A Good Day

Thanks to Betty and friends.



h/t: Chesty In Furs

Crazy Aunt Tessie

In re: Ferraro, Wright, Steinhem, et al., Dahlia Lithwick—another XX Factor writer—has a thoughtful take on the negative transformation of a previous generation's heroes:

Sorry to be late to Obamapalooza, but I didn’t get to watch his speech until late last night. Isn’t it fascinating to hear Obama apologizing for Rev. Wright in almost the same terms we at XX have used to apologize/make excuses for Gloria Steinem, Robin Morgan, and some of the other second-wave feminist heroines who now seem frozen into some rictus of '60s outrage? One of the ways Obama tried to humanize his pastor was by describing what Wright saw and experienced before the demise of legal segregation. It was that experience that, according to Obama, made it impossible for Wright to imagine change, just as Morgan, et al., can’t seem to conceive of a world that isn't consumed by perpetual gender warfare.

Hanna, you once made this same point about watching the video of “Germaine Greer and the rest of the feminist street poets take on Norman Mailer in that 1971 town hall”—that these women were sexy and ferocious and inspiring but also, in today’s terms, a little hysterical and cartoonish. Greer and Wright were on the front lines, and, as Obama explained yesterday, there is honor in having endured what they did, surviving it, and hacking down the barriers for those of us who came after. But Obama was also reminding us that we can be deeply grateful to that generation and also acknowledge that their stark language and relentless, perhaps terminal, anger also created massive divisions that need to be healed.

I find it fascinating at this new turn in the conversation—where we have to publicly apologize for our civil rights and feminist icons because, at least rhetorically, they’ve turned into Crazy Aunt Tessie, who gets drunk and drools all over the ottoman. I didn’t see it coming.

I don't think any of us did.

Snarky Fun

Hannah Rosen, one of the fun, incisive writers over at Slate's XX Factor, comments on Ferraro's response to Obama's speech on racism last week: 

Sex v. Race Part X

Here is Geraldine Ferraro defending herself against Barack Obama's accusations. His base is African-Americans? What is it with this generation of American feminists? All she left out was "articulate."

Snarky fun aside, I have an answer to her question. It's the inevitable sclerosis that sets in when any ideology stops adapting to new information and begins to rigidify. What's left is a fossilized mindset which, when combined with someone emotionally attached to it, gives us the kind of train wrecks that Ferraro has so wonderfully illustrated. 

Tuzla-Gate? II

More on Hillary's um...misstatements, from TPM:

More On Tuzla
As the Clinton campaign now concedes, Sen. Clinton's claims about running from their military aircraft to evade sniper fire are not borne out by the video of the events in question. Now still others have come forward to dispute her account. And there's even more. Sen. Clinton has said on a number of occasions that she was "the first, you know, high- profile American to go into Bosnia after the peace accords were signed because we wanted to show that the United States was 100 percent behind the agreement."

But this also seems to incorrect.

According to some quick research we did, it turns out that Madeleine Albright, then UN Ambassador, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs John Shalikashvili, then-Sec Def Bill Perry, various members of Congress and President Clinton himself had all visited Tuzla a few months earlier. […]

I think the real story here though is the big picture. People have faulty memories. Things get dramatized in people's recollections. And despite what happened on the ground, they did do one of those evasive 'cork-screw' descents [see update below] meant to guard against taking incoming fire, a relatively routine measure in conflict and post-conflict settings but one that I'm sure made everyone on board feel palpably that this wasn't some flight to Paris or Madrid. But this is an anecdote that's become something close to a staple of her foreign policy experience resume. And it's pretty clearly false. And it comes in the context of a whole slew of exaggerations -- some minor, some major -- that she's used to puff up her Commander-in-Chief resume. […]

And here's more damning video from CBS:

Mooo, Laddie!

She Stood By Her Husband

I just heard a snippet of an NPR piece on last-minute Democratic registration drives in PA. They interviewed both an Obama and a Clinton supporter. The Obama supporter gave as reasons for her support his ability to inspire, his judgment, and his positions. Clinton's supporter said something along these lines (quoting from memory so not verbatim): "I haven't been following the race closely. She's been around. She stood by her husband. She got that experience." I wish I could remember exactly what she said, but it doesn't matter because it basically amounted to a multi-syllabic version of "mrghathhr." 

It was all I could do to keep from screaming at the radio. What the hell kind of thought process is that?!? Are you aware that you have a brain fully capable of critical thinking?Um...right!?!? What the fuck!?!?!  

Well, whatever. Pennsylvania's going to go for Clinton anyway, though I think Obama will make it a much closer race than expected. At any rate, it seems that the trends from previous states are holding: Obama's getting the people who pay attention, the smarter sorts, and Clinton's getting the dimmer bulbs. 

Now before you Clintonites out there (do any actually read this?) jump down my throat, I'm not saying that all who support Clinton are dim—that's clearly not the case, as I know some very smart people who support her. (Why do smart people do dumb things is a topic for another post....Just kidding!!!) I am saying that all who are dim vote for Clinton, however.

Turns out that despite the tired old stereotype of liberals being egg-headed intellectuals, there are Blue dummies out there just as there are Red ones (hopefully not as many, though)...and all of the exit polls show that they prefer Hillary. Go figure. 

Tuzla-Gate?

Looks like this story, which broke a few days ago, might have some legs. 

Here's NBC's Andrea Mitchell—who was on the plane with her for that trip—discussing the story with Bob Shrum:

And CNN's Jack Cafferty chimes in:


And Sheryl Attkinson, another reporter who was on the trip, has this to say: Not The Safest Trip, But No Sniper Fire

Signs Your Campaign Is In Trouble

Someone snapped this shot from a LaGuardia Airport gift shop.

The Human Stain

Well, I did suggest earlier that Obama supporters and bloggers start reminding the country of the 90s Clinton Chronicles, so I suppose I should be glad to see this blog post from an overenthusiastic Obama surrogate in Iowa:

"When Joe McCarthy questioned others' patriotism, McCarthy (1) actually believed, at least aparently (sic), the questions were genuine, and (2) he did so in order to build up, not tear down, his own party, the GOP. Bill Clinton cannot possibly seriously believe Obama is not a patriot, and cannot possibly be said to be helping -- instead he is hurting -- his own party. B. Clinton should never be forgiven. Period. This is a stain on his legacy, much worse, much deeper, than the one on Monica's blue dress."

Ka-Bam! Read the whole article for context and for the authors apology here.

It's dubious whether this kind of thing actually helps Obama. But that aside, and though the politics demand that he apologize, how exactly is he wrong? Watching the Clinton campaign since January has left me with the queasy feeling of regret one gets the day after a particularly disgusting one-night stand. You can't wait to get home, shower, and wash the sticky remnants out of your clothes. (Except in this case, the one-night stand keeps calling and calling...)

Yipes!

Craigslist Hell

This absolutely sucks. Can you imagine? I hope that they can track down whoever posted the ad and throw the book at them.

Oregon man's property ransacked after Craigslist hoax
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. -- A pair of hoax ads on Craigslist cost an Oregon man much of what he owned.

The ads popped up Saturday afternoon, saying the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to leave the area suddenly and his belongings, including a horse, were free for the taking, said Jackson County sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan.

But Robert Salisbury had no plans to leave. The independent contractor was at Emigrant Lake when he got a call from a woman who had stopped by his house to claim his horse.

On his way home he stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater.

"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."

The driver sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings.

Once home he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch. 

[…]

No Greeting Ceremony

Has she never heard of videotape? Or fact checkers? Is she congenitally unable to just be real with people?

Update: The Clinton campaign responds to the flap:

"She misspoke about the exit from the plane," —Howard Wolfson

Update II: Me on Wolfson's response: Retch.

Update III: Sullivan on Wolfson's response: 

That word "misspoke" is such a weasel Clinton word. You can say you genuinely forgot, or got muddled up. But Clinton cannot ever admit a mistake or confess a deliberate exaggeration. It was the same way in which Bill Clinton could never actually say that anything he did was ever wrong. At most it was always "inappropriate."

In this respect alone, in their pathological incapacity to actually concede error - real error - the Clintons really are running for a third Bush term.

Reductio Ad Absurdum

Josh on Clinton's "shifting goalpost" strategy.

Choice cut:

I don't know where it was. It think it may have been a reader blog at TPMCafe. Wherever it was it was a post that ran down something like ten different ways of counting the popular vote, all to the end of showing that Barack's popular vote lead wasn't nearly so great and may not exist at all. There was the count with and without Michigan and Florida, with one but not the other, including caucuses and not including caucuses.

There were other options that seemed to go even further down the rabbit hole. But it did lead me to have a kind of epiphany about just where the Clinton side is at this point -- gaming out different retroactive rule changes to see who would have won the popular vote if the nomination process were operating under a different set of rules. I imagine playing poker around a table with friends. Player A has a Straight Flush; Player B has four of a kind. Then B says well, sure, if you're counting straights, but if we were adding up the numbers rather than going by straights winning, I'd have won.

How well would that go over? I remember, when I was a little kid playing chess with my dad (who unlike some dads never saw the point of throwing games in my favor) and sometimes when I lost I'd toss out some version of ... well, but if my rook could move diagonally, then ... You get the idea.
[…]

I Can't Quit You, Babe

An interesting insight from a reader at TPM: 

Just a random and probably not very helpful observation... But isn't a big part of what's going on in this lumbering undead primary race that the media -- and even the voters at large -- are actually having a hard time letting go of the Clintons just because they're more fun? Love them or hate them -- and I've done both -- they always give us a good show.

Barack gives you passion and inspiration and a sense of belonging to something important -- but there's a big problem. It's okay to love him, but what if you hate him? (I use "hate" here more in the sense of an audience's experience of a fictional character: simultaneous self recognition, contempt, judgment, catharsis). Can you hate Barack without feeling racist? It's not easy. But with Hillary it is. You can hate her without feeling sexist, because she's a Clinton.

It feels like Obama is stealing the "fun part" of politics from us. Every third attack on him triggers a new spasm of soul searching about the lingering stains of wretched racism on our national psyche. Which of course is important. But it's way less fun.

I'll be the first to admit: I'm a political junkie largely because I'm addicted to the show. And who doesn't crave the distraction in times like these, with wars and recession and whatnot. That's why television entertainment (where I work) is considered recession proof. We offer escape. Like politics used to. But the "sideshows" don't play like they used to. For that, we need characters we're free to love to hate.

Funny (And Scary) Because It's True

Barack Obama-sistible

Surely, if Dante were alive today and revising The Divine Comedy, he'd have to create another circle of Hell specifically for the creators of fan-generated, YouTube distributed campaign vids.

Rock on, Detroit Octane, rock on! And because you absolutely have to get a peek behind the scenes, there's this.

A Lesson You Can Use

Thoughts on "The Shocker" from Boinkology. Careful, NSFW (not safe for work).

Way Too Cute

Best. Website. Ever.

Hulu.com

Always Aroused Girl

Another fun blog, a la One D At A Time. This one's called Always Aroused Girl. Where were these women when I was 22? 

Figures, Doesn't It?

This tidbit from LiveScience should come as no surprise, I suppose:

Clueless Guys Can't Read Women
More often than not, guys interpret even friendly cues, such as a subtle smile from a gal, as a sexual come-on, and a new study discovers why: Guys are clueless. "Young men just find it difficult to tell the difference between women who are being friendly and women who are interested in something more," said lead researcher Coreen Farris of Indiana University's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.[…]

The study, to be detailed in the April issue of the journal Psychological Science, also found that it goes both ways for guys - they mistake females' sexual signals as friendly ones. The researchers suggest guys have trouble noticing and interpreting the subtleties of non-verbal cues, in either direction.

Ezra Klein is rightfully frustrated:

This article detailing research that found men misinterpret sexual gestures as friendly and friendly cues as sexual would be a whole lot more useful if the author bothered to give some examples of which were which.

My interest in this is, of course, solely to evaluate the study's methodology.

Ha. Thank god for alcohol.

Present Reality

Hear, hear. 

"The clash between science and religion has not shown that religion is false and science is true. It has shown that all systems of definition are relative to various purposes, and that none of them actually 'grasps' reality ... All the various definitions of the universe have had ulterior motives, being concerned with the future rather than the present. Religion wants to assure the future beyond death, and science wants to assure it until death, and to postpone death. But tomorrow and plans for tomorrow can have no significance at all unless you are in full contact with the reality of the present, since it is in the present and only in the present that you live.

There is no other reality than present reality, so that, even if one were to live for endless ages, to live for the future would be to miss the point everlastingly," - Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom Of Insecurity.

If only we could clue in the Dobsons and Dawkins of the world. 

h/t: Daily Dish

Battlestar DaVinci

This year will bring us the fourth and final season of the surprisingly adult update of the 1970s cheesy sci-fi series Battlestar Gallactica. The contemporary series is much darker and claustrophobic than the original and thanks to some excellent writing and great acting has a gritty sense of reality to it. Apparently, the photo below—in addition to be a beautifully stark twist on The Last Supper—contains clues to narrative arc of the upcoming season. I can't wait.

How My Peeps?

Remember those sickly sweet marshmallow bunnies called Peeps? Well, people have been getting creative with them in recent years. The Washington Post has a slideshow of 37 dioramas that contestants have submitted here. Two examples:

Happy Eostre!

All praise the bunny of fertility!

The Easter Bunny is a mythological rabbit who brings gifts and candy to children on the Easter holiday, most likely based on pre-Christian customs honoring the fertility goddess Eostre. […]

Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of extreme antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.

As for rabbits laying eggs, several explanations have been proposed.

In English, the etymology of the word "Easter" comes from an ancient pagan goddess of the spring named Eostre, related to German Ostara. According to popular folklore, Eostre once saved a bird whose wings had frozen during the winter by turning it into a rabbit. Because the rabbit had once been a bird, it could still lay eggs, and that rabbit became the modern Easter Bunny.[2]

And while millions of kids across the country were searching their backyards for beautiful eggs like these…

Annie and I were busy in our backyard: 

searching for Bella's poop.

Obama Visits Southern Oregon

Well, hallelujah! I was one of the lucky few to get tickets to see Obama in Medford this morning. Thanks to the diligence of my lovely wife, Annie, scads of luck, and possibly some divine intervention, I was able to get a ticket about five minutes before they stopped distributing them. In fact, by the time I e-mailed the link to all y'all, they were already gone.

Obama was slated to speak at 9:30 a.m. and the doors of the venue opened at 7:30. William Machado and I decided to carpool and he, having learned that volunteers were being asked to arrive at 6 a.m., suggested we leave before six. Fearing the very real possibility of not getting in to the main room (which we were warned was a distinct possibility), I agreed. Fully prepared to park half a mile or more away, we left Ashland at 5:50 a.m. After a quick coffee stop at Human Bean, we hit the highway.

As it turned out, though, the parking situation wasn't that bad. We managed to find a spot a mere block away from the auditorium. A volunteer guided us around the outside of the building to the end of the line. There were already a few hundred people there, split into two lines: one for those of us with tix, one for those without. 

The already-ticketed line had only 200 or so people in it before we joined it, so we did alright. It was bone-chillingly cold out, but both of us were layered and the only part of me that felt the cold at all was my feet. Time passed surprisingly quickly as we talked to each other and fellow Obama fans. 

The feeling of the crowd was a muted excitement. Muted because it was goddamn early and fucking cold. A volunteer used his bull horn in an attempt to fire us up with campaign slogans (Fired Up? Ready To Go!), but most of us were only half-hearted in our replying chants. Again, not because anyone wasn't into it (to the contrary), but merely because it was so damn early and so damn cold. 

At about 7:45 or so the line began moving. It was slow, but steady movement, really well organized. We had to pass through metal detectors and gauntlets of security teams to enter the building. Think the airport but without having to take off your shoes and more agents. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been so happy to see so many cops, sheriffs, TSA, and Secret Service because, let's face it, there are still plenty of crazies out there who'd love to take out a black presidential candidate. (I'd heard that security was pretty lax in Dallas earlier this month and damn near hit the roof. This is not the time to be fucking around.)

Anyway, the energy was much higher once everyone was inside and warm. By the time Obama finally came out, we were all fairly amped. There was a surge of electricity in the room as he entered. The guy's definitely got charisma. I've never had the experience of actually feeling drawn to push through a crowd to shake a celebrity's hand or be closer to them, but today I felt it. (I didn't push through, of course, it would have been a futile effort.) 

After thanking the local pols and asking a retired general who's traveling with him to speak briefly, he got into the speech, which was his standard stump speech, one I've seen online, oh about 75 times now. But then, his standard stump speech is 100x better than the average one, so I didn't mind. Upon finishing the speech, he spent roughly 45 minutes answering questions from the audience. Then he ran out of time, thanked us and ended, shaking hands on his way out. 

Though there were another several hundred people outside the arena, leaving was nearly as easy as getting in. We had to go a bit out of our way to get to the car since the fastest route was blocked off for his motorcade, but it was no big deal. Then it was an easy couple of blocks to the main drag and back to the highway. (Thanks for driving, William!)  

All in all a fucking brilliant way to spend the morning. I just witnessed a piece of history up close and personal.

I'm now sitting at the Rogue Valley Roasting Company processing the experience. I've just finished cropping and editing some photos that I took. Here they are:

Shockingly, no one noticed that David Crosby was in the crowd—or is that Wilfred Brimley? (See arrow.)

Update: Click here for more on Obama in Medford. The page has great links to pics, vids, stories, and a local interview.

Oh. My. God.

Well, it looks like Hillary is not only losing the nomination, she's now being beat in the worst-fan-made video contest. I barely believed it was possible to out-suck that last one...until I saw this:

I hope you can forgive me for posting it.

Black Guy Asks Nation For Change

Funny.

CHICAGO—According to witnesses, a loud black man approached a crowd of some 4,000 strangers in downtown Chicago Tuesday and made repeated demands for change.

"The time for change is now," said the black guy, yelling at everyone within earshot for 20 straight minutes, practically begging America for change. "The need for change is stronger and more urgent than ever before. And only you—the people standing here today, and indeed all the people of this great nation—only you can deliver this change."
…

"I've already seen this guy four times today," Chicago-area ad salesman Blake Gordon said. "Every time, it's the same exact spiel. 'I need change.' 'I want change.' Why's he so eager for all this change? What's he going to do with it, anyway?"

…"I'm a hardworking American who pays his taxes, and the last thing I need is some guy on the street demanding change from me," said William Overkamp, a Springfield, IL gun-shop owner.

He added, "What he really needs is a job."

E-Spleen Venting

Speaking of catty behavior, you know what I can't stand? People who get all fucking uptight about including their e-mail address in with others in the main address field instead of the bcc field. I mean, I generally try to respect the unwritten rule of bcc'ing addresses for large e-mailings. But every once in a while I screw up. 

And when I do, you better believe I hear about it. 

The thing is—and I hate to break it to these privacy freaks, but apparently I must—if you've got an e-mail address, it's public information. Anyone who can use Google can find it. Easily. It's not like I've just spilled state secrets here. So back the fuck off, cyber-cranks, and stop the damn scolding. 

A Considerable Slight

In criticizing W's bizarrely cavalier mein of late, Maureen Dowd began a recent column like this:

Soft Shoe in Hard Times
Everyone here is flummoxed about why the president is in such a fine mood. The dollar’s crumpling, the recession’s thundering, the Dow’s bungee-jumping and the world’s disapproving, yet George Bush has turned into Gene Kelly, tap dancing and singing in a one-man review called “The Most Happy Fella.”

To which Gene Kelly's wife responded:

I Knew Gene Kelly. The President Is No Gene Kelly.
Surely it must have been a slip for Maureen Dowd to align the artistry of my late husband, Gene Kelly, with the president’s clumsy performances. To suggest that “George Bush has turned into Gene Kelly” represents not only an implausible transformation but a considerable slight. If Gene were in a grave, he would have turned over in it.

When Gene was compared to the grace and agility of Jack Dempsey, Wayne Gretzky and Willie Mays, he was delighted. But to be linked with a clunker — particularly one he would consider inept and demoralizing — would have sent him reeling. […]

For George Bush to become Gene Kelly would require impossible leaps in creativity, erudition and humility.

Patricia Ward Kelly

Zing.

I'm Not Going To Vote With My Vagina

Marianne Williamson fends off the stupid sisterhood betrayal charge and explains her support for Obama.

h/t: Daily Dish

Puddleblog

A puddle. A blog. Puddleblog.


puddleblog action shot from bantic on Vimeo.

Tame That Pussy

Who'd a thunk? Turns out cats are trainable.

The Cat Whisperer
Will she be the next TV star animal trainer? She certainly had the right diagnosis for my cat Thompson, a biter. 

Mieshelle Nagelschneider is a cat behaviorist who is in no way affiliated with Cesar Millan, the trainer-star of the television phenomenon "The Dog Whisperer." Nagelschneider is, however, working with a major television network to develop an upcoming cat behavior show of her own. She can't reveal too much about it yet, since the network people are still hashing out the details. Alas, it probably won't be called "The Cat Whisperer." But given that there are 13 million more pet cats than pet dogs in this country, she may very well be poised for Cesar Millan-style fame and glory.

…
In their study, Driscoll and O'Brien concluded that domestic cats evolved from the wildcat Felis silvestris in the Near East, probably around 10,000 years ago. The way they see it, cats domesticated themselves. Wandering humans were settling down in the Fertile Crescent and establishing agriculture. Cats were drawn to the settlements to feed on mice that had shacked up in the grain stores. Natural selection favored the tamer cats, which could take better advantage of the spoils produced by our budding society. "They chose humans at the right time and the right place," O'Brien said.
…
So now I know what I'm up against: a solitary hunter who doesn't play nicely with others, and who, for thousands of years, has been evolving a skill set designed to take advantage of me. But at least my foe is predictable. According to Nagelschneider, most cat behavior problems fall into one of a handful of predictable categories. Not surprisingly, some of her most frequent complaints involve cats that take issue with the litter box. (When Nagelschneider mentioned the cat that urinated at night on his sleeping owner's face, Thompson's problems suddenly seemed very minor indeed.) In any event, aggression is also fairly common, and Nagelschneider has turned around her fair share of violent cats. She was optimistic that Thompson could be fixed.

Which will come in handy should this kind of thing be a problem.

At Least I Got To Have Sex

Hey, I just discovered a fun new blog called One D At a Time. (Hell, look at the url when you mouse over the blog link.) Sample post titles are Peru Perv, Got My Swerve On with A Curved One, Porn Again, If Nothing Else, At Least I Got To Have Sex On New Year's Eve, and my favorite, a weekly feature called Pot Psychology, where the blogger answers your most personal and burning questions…while stoned. I'd embed the vid, but it won't let me. You'll just have to go over there and see for yourself.

Oh, if you want to pick up a chocolate pussy or prick making kit, go here.

Enjoy.

Lo-Fi

I had read once several years ago that only 3% of mammals are monogamous—and thought, Christ, what's wrong with that 3%? ;-) Well, now we know that that figure is probably high. Here's Broadsheet's take: 

Screw all this, I'm marrying a flatworm
The other day, for lack of a hairshirt to wear, I watched Larry King. "Why do men cheat?" he barked at the camera, shifting back and forth in his chair. (Have you ever noticed that, at any given moment, there are approximately 100% more Larry King shows than there should be?) […]

"Sexual promiscuity is rampant throughout nature," writes Natalie Angier, "and true faithfulness a fond fantasy."

In fact, monogamy is so rare that we get this tidbit: The only 100% monogamous species is a flatworm called the Diplozoon paradoxum. "Males and females meet each other as adolescents, and their bodies literally fuse together, whereupon they remain faithful until death."

So, pffft, monogamy. So, pffft, cheating spouses. These are the days I wish I were some sophisticated Galoise-smoking Frenchwomen who is SO OVER all these naive fantasies about men and women. I suspect, however, I would still mist up watching March of the Penguins.

Sully On Obama

I have never felt more convinced that this man's candidacy - not this man, his candidacy - and what he can bring us to achieve - is an historic opportunity. This was a testing; and he did not merely pass it by uttering safe bromides. He addressed the intimate, painful love he has for an imperfect and sometimes embittered man. And how that love enables him to see that man's faults and pain as well as his promise. This is what my faith is about. It is what the Gospels are about. This is a candidate who does not merely speak as a Christian. He acts like a Christian.

Bill Clinton once said that everything bad in America can be rectified by what is good in America. He was right - and Obama takes that to a new level. And does it with the deepest darkest wound in this country's history.

I love this country. I don't remember loving it or hoping more from it than today.

The Wright Speech

Well, here's the full speech that is reference in the post below. It's 40 goddamn minutes and not his most rousing speech, so you may want to skip it. But if you've got the patience and inclination it's worth watching. 

As usual, he was forceful and straightforward. He distanced himself from the remarks he's taking heat for without throwing his pastor under the bus, as they say in politics. In my view he succeeded in putting the issue to bed—indeed, he upped the ante and broadened the scope beyond his pastor's remarks to reinforce his larger message of commonality, unity and moving forward. I think he's not only going to survive this teapot tempest, but that it will strengthen him as a candidate.  

Black Is The New President, Bitch

The Blind Men And The Elephant

I was thinking about stories the other day and how they affect and inform our lives. I know I have several that had great impact on how I view the world and how I live my life. But I'd have to say that the one that most informs my life, the one that I reflexively reference more than any other, is the ancient parable of the blind men and the elephant.

For those unfamiliar with the tale, here's Wikipedia's short description:

In various versions of the tale, a group of blind men (or blindfolded men) touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each one touches a different part, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then compare notes on what they felt, and learn they are in complete disagreement. The story is used to indicate that reality may be viewed differently depending upon one's perspective, suggesting that what seems an absolute truth may be relative due to the deceptive nature of half-truths.

For the full story (Jain version), click here. Read it, it's quick and worthwhile.

On a related note, I believe that the spiritual cores of the world's major religions have much more in common with other religions' cores than they do with the rigid orthodoxies of their nominal counterparts. That, combined with the elephant story is why, despite sometimes great difficulty, I do my best to respect others' beliefs, even when I find those beliefs peculiar, risible, or utterly asinine.

I bring the same basic principle to the world of politics, which partly explains my affection for the Tory-conservative Andrew Sullivan's blog, The Daily Dish. Even though Sullivan and I come from diametrically opposed political viewpoints, I always find him worth reading. In fact, he's become my favorite blogger. There's little reflexive or dogmatic about his writing. He's thoughtful and intellectually honest and willing to examine and re-examine his cherished beliefs without completely jettisoning core principles. He describes himself as a conservative of doubt. And it's because of his temperamental humility as much as his intellect that I continue to read him. He might feel the tail, while I feel the trunk, but he knows he's one of the blind men and writes accordingly.

All of which is a very roundabout way of introducing this post, which examines Obama's pastor issue and his impending speech to address it. It's entries like this one that exemplify what I'm talking about. I'm posting the whole thing for the full flavor.

The Testing Of Obama
Today will be a crucial day. It will be a day when we will discover if America's racial environment - and the emotions and feelings and anger and fears that it entails - can allow for a black man - with all that entails - to become president. Can a man like Obama both relate and belong to a congregation like Trinity UCC and be inspired by a man like Jeremiah Wright and still reach beyond race to white and Latino and Jewish and Muslim and other Americans who may find the specific racial context as impossible to understand as it is absurd to excuse? This is the argument that will come flying back at him:

If John McCain had spent twenty years hanging with Pat Robertson, describing him as his mentor, attending Robertson's church, having his kids baptized by Robertson, having Robertson officiate at his wedding, giving him the inspiration for the title of his career-making autobiography, collaborating with him in political organizing, and then tried to dismiss criticism by calling Robertson his lovable uncle who sometimes goes too far, there is no way on God's green earth Yglesias or his crowd would call this "trumped up."

Much of Wright's worldview I find repugnant. But some of it I also find inspiring. And in trying to understand it in its totality, I do try to think about the racial context and history of America. And so there is a difference, pace Jonah, between a white charlatan like Robertson who chooses to demonize minorities in the name of Jesus and a pastor like Wright who vents rage against a majority that has, in the not-so-distant past, given African-Americans every reason to be angry. And there is a difference between a white politician (like Bush) who seeks to enjoy the support of a Robertson without ever challenging his ugly dimensions and a black politician who, while remaining in a congregation like Wright's, nonetheless has written and spoken as movingly as anyone in my lifetime about the need for racial reconciliation and understanding.

Maybe this is a bridge too far. But in thinking about Obama for this past year, and reading the subtle critique of, say, Shelby Steele, as well as the palpable racial discomfort of some white conservatives, I have to say that it is precisely the wide span of Obama's bridge that makes me admire him. He has refused to disown Wright, while also refusing to endorse all of his message. You can call that opportunistic or expedient or cynical. You can also call it intelligent and brave and principled. Obama could have chosen the Shelby Steele route or even the Alan Keyes or Condi Rice path. He could equally have chosen the Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton path. But what is unique about Obama is that he tried and is trying to do much more than any of them have - to express all of these racial strategies and to transcend them. While being human. He isn't a saint or a savior. But he is trying.

I think this is part of his appeal to the next generation. And maybe it's appropriate for me at this point to express how he has inspired me as a gay man to keep trying to maintain the bridge over the gulfs of my own various identities rather than to burn it. It is possible in American public life to be defined as a gay person and to embrace every aspect of gay culture - the good, the bad and the ugly. It is also possible to be closeted or semi-closeted so that these questions do not easily arise. And it is possible to be a gay man completely divorced from gay culture, and to buy access to power and influence by simply adopting a relationship to the gay world that is indistinguishable from many straight people. I don't think there's any perfect solution to this terrible dilemma of identity - of belonging and transcending, of empathizing and maintaining a proper distance.

I don't blame any gay man or woman for failing to make all this work. We live in many worlds and not all of them fit. And there have been times in my life when the roughest edges of a gay subculture I do not want to disown and have been a full part of reach out and target me again. Whether it be an embarrassing online personal ad or sexual mishaps or a long night at the Black Party, I know that part of the straight world stands poised to attack and condemn, pigeon-hole and dismiss. So be it. I have no desire to disown much of gay culture that the straight world finds abhorrent. At the same time, I also know that not all of this subculture is healthy or good and I have an obligation to address and engage and reform those parts of it. That I have also tried to do - with uneven success. And I know, as I watch Obama, that these strains are not easy and those who have never had to walk this path do not fully know how hard it can be.

The ease of pure victimology is as phony as the release of complete assimilation. For an intelligent and principled person, the struggle lies in the interstices. What I have come to despise about much of the Republican party is its refusal even to empathize with this difficulty - or, worse, to choose to exploit these struggles for easy, cheap and callow political gain. And as I have grown older and felt the tug of all these identities more strongly, and understood more deeply the immense difficulty of resolving all of them, I can see few role models older than I am - and more, mercifully more, younger than I am.

But I see Obama as a pioneer on this path - a brave and principled pioneer. I would think much, much less of him if he disowned a spiritual guide because of that man's explicable if inexcusable resort to paranoia and racial separatism and anger. And I would think much, much less of Obama if he had never opened himself to this subculture and its fears, hopes and resentments. That he has done all this - while still attempting to reform and explain it - is a remarkable achievement. Did he overlook too much? Did his white guilt prevent him from protesting black extremism? It's hard for me to know, because this kind of judgment is very personal. I don't think I would have been as passive as Obama confronted with some of this stuff. But he did not merely sit back; he also dedicated his career to racial integration and understanding. It was a wide bridge, perhaps too wide for the weight it is bearing. And maybe America is not ready for this bridge, for these contradictions, for this complexity. But the promise of Obama is that his campaign appears poised to show that America is ready for this - and the immense healing it would bring.

And so we are suspended between the old politics and the new, between a Clinton who believes in her heart that America is not ready and may never be ready for this leap and should therefore adopt a politics that assumes the ineradicability of this gulf and the need to disguise it and play cynical defense - and an Obama who offers all of us a chance to see that sometimes authentic identity requires an element of contradiction, a bridging of the resentful, angry past and a more complex, integrated future.

He may fail; and the Clintons may be proven right. But he may also succeed - and what a mighty success that would be. These things are never easy; and we were lulled perhaps into an illusion that they could be. So now the real struggle starts. And it will not end with an Obama presidency; it ends with a shift from below that makes an Obama presidency possible.

Or to put it in a phrase that is as true as it is wilfully misunderstood: We are the change we have been waiting for. And the waiting is now over.

What Matters Is What We've Actually Done

The Man Behind The Green Beer

One more article about St. Patrick before forgetting about him for another year.

St. Patrick Revealed
Today we raise a glass of warm green beer to a fine fellow, the Irishman who didn't rid the land of snakes, didn't compare the Trinity to the shamrock, and wasn't even Irish. St. Patrick, who died 1,507, 1,539, or 1,540 years ago today—depending on which unreliable source you want to believe—has been adorned with centuries of Irish blarney. Innumerable folk tales recount how he faced down kings, negotiated with God, tricked and slaughtered Ireland's reptiles.

The Legs Of Me Wife

A St. Patty's Day joke:

John O’Reilly hoisted his beer and said, “Here’s to spending the rest of me life, between the legs of me wife!” That won him the top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night!

He went home and told his wife, Mary, “I won the prize for the Best toast of the night”

She said, “Aye, did ye now. And what was your toast?”

John said, “Here’s to spending the rest of me life, sitting in church beside me wife.”

“Oh, that is very nice indeed, John!” Mary said.

The next day, Mary ran into one of John’s drinking buddies on the street corner.

The man chuckled leeringly and said, “John won the prize the other night at the pub with a toast about you, Mary”.

She said, “Aye, he told me, and I was a bit surprised myself.”

“You know, he’s only been there twice in the last four years. Once he fell asleep, and the other time I had to pull him by the ears to make him come.”

h/t: 2parse/blog

They're Magically Delicious!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A brief history of the holiday:

The First Parade. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17—his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for thousands of years.

On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the U.S. Iris

h soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

And a little background on old Patrick himself:

Saint Patrick (Latin: Patricius[2], Irish: Naomh Pádraig) was a Roman Britain-born Christian missionary and is the patron saint of Ireland along with Brigid of Kildare and Columba. When he was about 16 he was captured by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. He entered the church, as his father and grandfather had before him, becoming a deacon and a bishop. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary in the north and west of the island, but little is known about the places where he worked and no link can be made between Patrick and any church. By the eighth century he had become the patron saint of Ireland.

Just for fun, here's Lucky's back story:

The Leprechaun. The original Irish name for these figures of folklore is lobaircin, meaning "small-bodied fellow." Belief in leprechauns probably stems from Celtic belief in fairies, tiny men and women who could use their magical powers to serve good or evil. In Celtic folktales, leprechauns were cranky souls, responsible for mending the shoes of the other fairies. Though only minor figures in Celtic folklore, leprechauns were known for their trickery, which they often used to protect their much-fabled treasure.

Leprechauns had nothing to do with St. Patrick or the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, a Catholic holy day. In 1959, Walt Disney released a film called Darby O'Gill & the Little People, which introduced America to a very different sort of leprechaun than the cantankerous little man of Irish folklore.

This cheerful, friendly leprechaun is a purely American invention, but has quickly evolved into an easily recognizable symbol of both St. Patrick's Day and Ireland in general.

Oh, yeah, we can't leave out the shamrock:

The shamrock, which was also called the seamroy by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. By the 17th century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.

A toast for tonight: As you slide down the banisters of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way. Slainte!

Sambadrome

These gorgeous shots are from Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome parade. Click the link for the complete slide show. It's stunning.




.

Antique Slideshow

Look at what I found rummaging around my grandfather's attic:

The Seas Of Cheese

It's Sunday, and you know what that means—a double dose of The Seas of Cheese. Ever wonder what melismaniac Christina Aguilera was saying in "Ain't No Other Man"? (Yeah, me neither.) Well, wonder no more. Some YouTuber figured it out for us. 

 

Actual lyrics here. 

The Seas Of Cheese

This installment of space funk brought to you by Earth, Wind, & Fire.

God Bless Your Brand

Product not selling like you'd like it to? Try Christvertising.