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Dean's Twitter Feed

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:24:00 +0000

Follow Dean on Twitter

The Days are Getting Longer

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:18:00 +0000

Bump It Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:25:00 +0000

Thanks to Sarah vS for this lil' slice o heaven.

Bite on a Pencil and Stare at This

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:01:00 +0000

Thanks to Lifehacker for the graphic

Cruelty

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:54:00 +0000

This is what emotion looks like.

Don't Settle For Walkin

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:36:00 +0000

Yes

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:23:00 +0000

Nightmare over.

Gaming Palin

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 04:58:00 +0000

Two French Canadians (read: FOREIGNERS, probably SOCIALISTS) punking Gov Palin:

Context:

November 01, 2008
Le Rouge À Lèvres Sur Un Cochon

by hilzoy

You may, by now, have heard about the prank call made to Sarah Palin by two Canadian comics pretending to be Nicholas Sarkozy. If not, here it is:

And here's the Palin campaign's response:

"Gov. Palin received a phone call on Saturday from a French Canadian talk show host claiming to be French President Nicholas Sarkozy," emailed spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. "Gov. Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy, and other celebrities in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie."

Now: I do not want to make fun of Sarah Palin over this. (I would be prepared to make fun of whomever it is who screens her calls, but that's different.) After I first heard this, I tried to imagine being in her position -- wondering what on earth was going on, not wanting to say "huh?" to someone who might, after all, be Sarkozy, etc. And sometime around the point at which the non-Sarkozy says" "I love the documentary they made on your life -- you know, Hustler's "Nailin' Paylin"?", it seemed pretty clear to me that she had caught on. (That said, I do think she should have known the name of the Prime Minister of Canada.)

What I want to do is footnote the call, because it's funny. (This was definitely a moment when it would have been good to speak French: she would have caught on a lot quicker. I was in stitches.) Here are the bits I've figured out:

"My special American advisor, Johnny Hallyday": Johnny Hallyday was an established rock star back when I was in junior high. During the Ford Nixon administration. I believe that Jimi Hendrix played his first concert opening for Johnny Hallyday. This YouTube is kind of funny, both for the alarming 60s-esqueness and for the little "Waoww!" bits on the bridge, which for some reason reduced me to hysterics.

Hunting: "Like we say in French, on peut tuer des bébé phoques" -- trans.: we could kill some baby seals.

"The Prime Minister of Canada, Stef Carse": this one I only know because Politico flagged it (though I did know that whatever the comedian said, it wasn't "Stephen Harper".) This YouTube is definitely worth checking out: it's his French version of 'Achy Breaky Heart'.

I don't know who the comedian says is the Prime Minister of Quebec, but it's not Jean Charest.

The song Carla allegedly wrote for Palin: "Le Rouge À Lèvres Sur Un Cochon", or: Lipstick on a pig.

Anyone else catch other funny bits?

***

Spot the Difference (but don't get cocky)

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:49:00 +0000

10.29.2004

10.29.2008

Thanks to electoral-vote.com.

Know Your Onion

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:23:00 +0000

The Onion.com is producing very high-quality material these days. Two examples:

First Openly Gay Racehorse To Compete Sunday

Cindy McCain Claims She's Just Like Any Other Female Human

Gimme Gimme Octopus

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:54:00 +0000

I was made aware of this video series years ago by online dementor, Jack Brummet. Hard to escape the weighty truths in this one...

Such a sweet and tender tale. Timeless.

Hard-hitting journalism

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:21:00 +0000

I'm feeling pretty good about my plainspoken populistness:

Back in the Saddle

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:45:00 +0000

So, here is a heartwarming personal tale.

I pay a visit to the YMCA on Sunday afternoon, hoping to play a little basketball before going to watch Declan's soccer game. I played a couple of pickup games with some surprisingly hardcore gym-rats. Not un-fun; a pretty good workout. In the last game I went up for a rebound and landed "funny." The noise I heard was similar to a deck of cards being dropped on a table. Immediately I knew something was very wrong.

I've had back problems in the last 20 years. On and off. Sometimes very painful, but never as the direct result of physical activity. Usually it's sleeping in a soft bed, or some other minor aggravation.

After a very unflattering dance and the screaming of profanities I was able to get myself onto the ground. This is where I laid for about two hours. Every ten minutes or so I'd get a wave of tightness that caused my back to seize-up again, prompting more profanities to be yelled.

I figured that if I could just get some strong muscle relaxants I could get out of there. The trick was getting those prescribed and getting access to them. I thought that my back would start to loosen up over time, but just the opposite was happening - the cramping contractions were hitting every five minutes or so. I was stuck.

So I called 911 .

They got me onto a backboard, which might have been the most painful thing of all. The ambulance took me to Ballard Swedish hospital. The bumpy ride into ER set off some cramping so I was swearing like a sailor ... and the EMT sternly cautioned, "please keep your voice down, you're scaring the other patients..."

At this point, all I want is a pain killer. Generally I don't like codeine drugs, but in this case I would have robbed a Wallgreens to get them. For some reason the hospital staff didn't think this was a high priority ... they're checking my vital signs and basically lolligagging.

Just then I had a huge cramp that made me scream. The doc and nurse went to work setting up an I.V., into which they put some kind of horse tranquilizer that made life more bearable.

Since that time I've been in bed, nodding in and out of consciousness (fyi: I'm conscious now).

What if This Were Happening in a Mosque?

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:41:00 +0000

Honestly, watch this - fast forwarding to the seventh minute if you like - and let me know what you think:

Do you think that an American VP candidate involved in the healing anointment of the Islamic faith would be given a free pass? Can you imagine? Stats point to a 1-in-3 shot of Senator McCain dying during his term. I wish no harm on McCain, or any of the people involved in this insane political theater ... it just amazes me how people form their opinions about who should run our weird country.

She got a passport last year.

That's pretty cool.

Sam Harris on Gov Palin

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Newsweek lets Sam Harris hold court every once in a while, and his analysis of the Palin phenomena is worth reading in its entirety; en excerpt:

"We have endured eight years of an administration that seemed touched by religious ideology. Bush's claim to Bob Woodward that he consulted a "higher Father" before going to war in Iraq got many of us sitting upright, before our attention wandered again to less ethereal signs of his incompetence. For all my concern about Bush's religious beliefs, and about his merely average grasp of terrestrial reality, I have never once thought that he was an over-the-brink, Rapture-ready extremist. Palin seems as though she might be the real McCoy. With the McCain team leading her around like a pet pony between now and Election Day, she can be expected to conceal her religious extremism until it is too late to do anything about it. Her supporters know that while she cannot afford to "talk the talk" between now and Nov. 4, if elected, she can be trusted to "walk the walk" until the Day of Judgment."

Thanks to Mssr G Delaney for sending this my way.

Interesting Perspective from Mr Damon

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:47:00 +0000

Proof God Real

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:59:00 +0000

Thanks Ray, they're going to love you up there.

Walk this Way

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:07:00 +0000

Brilliant and inspiring video (do yourself a favor and get healed):

The Renewed Mind is the Key

Thanks to my pals in Athens, GA for this one

This Explains So Much

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:12:00 +0000

Form your own conclusions:

Thanks to the beautiful people at Grist.org for bringing this video into my consciousness.

The City of Angels

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:27:00 +0000

SteveA sends in a substantial dispatch from L.A.. This sums it up:

It's a Bird Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:33:00 +0000

This blog is not degenerating into one of those irritating internet oddity sites. Except for this post.

Thanks to Mayor Carol for this one...

Somewhere this is considered normal

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:52:00 +0000

When TimG sends you something, it must be blogged immediately. This is no exception...

He Is Risen

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:15:00 +0000

h/t to Trina, who can honestly say "I Found It".

Meet Olive

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:13:00 +0000

Last Monday we added an eight week/old kitten to our household. Her name is Olive, and she is certifiably frisky. We like her a lot.

Love It or Leave It (or just Endure It)

noreply@blogger.com (Dean Ericksen) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:40:00 +0000

Despite the threat of mediocre weather, throngs of patriots managed to have a good time at our 4th of July party. We've done about five of these in the past, and this one might have been the best - a good mix of people, kids, food, drink, music, and (gulp) explosions.

Special props go to Tanya Comerford for capturing the magic digitally (see below) and to Teo/Kristin who drove up with two frosty kegs of beer (one of them "root"), delivered out of the back of their van. Thanks also to the bringers of food and those that helped clean-up - you shall inherit the earth.

Visual evidence:

Max and Will show what they think of the paparazzi.

Matt and Jean were among the most attractive guests.

Augie and Beau, mugging it up.

Tom and Clarke, before their fistfight.

Mackenzie - future Wildcat.

Top-notch neighbors.

Steve, muzzling the youth of America (specifically, Xavier).

European supermodels.

Christopher and Lori: as always, runway perfect.

Is that tree flowering? No, it's just Jean and Mary, looking radiant.

Known thugs.

Random blogger trying to charm.