arse poetica

Doctor Recalls Abortion Complications Before Roe v. Wade

ae — 2008-06-02T21:33:00-04:00

Caveat: The truth hurts. I gasped reading this essay, and I know this history all too well (from study). A woman's body and physical sovereignty are hers. End of f*cking story.

Doctor Recalls Abortion Complications Before Roe v. Wade.

With the Supreme Court becoming more conservative, many people who support women’s right to choose an abortion fear that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that gave them that right, is in danger of being swept aside.

When such fears arise, we often hear about the pre-Roe “bad old days.” Yet there are few physicians today who can relate to them from personal experience. I can.

I am a retired gynecologist, in my mid-80s. My early formal training in my specialty was spent in New York City, from 1948 to 1953, in two of the city’s large municipal hospitals.

There I saw and treated almost every complication of illegal abortion that one could conjure, done either by the patient herself or by an abortionist — often unknowing, unskilled and probably uncaring. Yet the patient never told us who did the work, or where and under what conditions it was performed. She was in dire need of our help to complete the process or, as frequently was the case, to correct what damage might have been done.

The patient also did not explain why she had attempted the abortion, and we did not ask. This was a decision she made for herself, and the reasons were hers alone. Yet this much was clear: The woman had put herself at total risk, and literally did not know whether she would live or die.

This, too, was clear: Her desperate need to terminate a pregnancy was the driving force behind the selection of any method available.

The familiar symbol of illegal abortion is the infamous “coat hanger” — which may be the symbol, but is in no way a myth. In my years in New York, several women arrived with a hanger still in place. Whoever put it in — perhaps the patient herself — found it trapped in the cervix and could not remove it.

We did not have ultrasound, CT scans or any of the now accepted radiology techniques. The woman was placed under anesthesia, and as we removed the metal piece we held our breath, because we could not tell whether the hanger had gone through the uterus into the abdominal cavity. Fortunately, in the cases I saw, it had not.

However, not simply coat hangers were used.

Almost any implement you can imagine had been and was used to start an abortion — darning needles, crochet hooks, cut-glass salt shakers, soda bottles, sometimes intact, sometimes with the top broken off.

Another method that I did not encounter, but heard about from colleagues in other hospitals, was a soap solution forced through the cervical canal with a syringe. This could cause almost immediate death if a bubble in the solution entered a blood vessel and was transported to the heart.

The worst case I saw, and one I hope no one else will ever have to face, was that of a nurse who was admitted with what looked like a partly delivered umbilical cord. Yet as soon as we examined her, we realized that what we thought was the cord was in fact part of her intestine, which had been hooked and torn by whatever implement had been used in the abortion. It took six hours of surgery to remove the infected uterus and ovaries and repair the part of the bowel that was still functional.

It is important to remember that Roe v. Wade did not mean that abortions could be performed. They have always been done, dating from ancient Greek days.

What Roe said was that ending a pregnancy could be carried out by medical personnel, in a medically accepted setting, thus conferring on women, finally, the full rights of first-class citizens — and freeing their doctors to treat them as such.

Waldo L. Fielding was an obstetrician and gynecologist in Boston for 38 years. He is the author of “Pregnancy: The Best State of the Union” (Thomas Y. Crowell, 1971).

I've copied the whole thing because I don't want to lose it. Thank you, Dr. Fielding, for your witness.

Can Obama Repel 'Swift Boat'-Style Attacks?

ae — 2008-05-01T10:35:05-04:00

I'm delighted (thrilled!) to hear that the Obama camp has a few rapid-response tactics up their sleeves, but I really wanted to post this, because this is such a cute picture of him. /shallowness

Can Obama Repel 'Swift Boat'-Style Attacks?

David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, tells NEWSWEEK that the Illinois senator won't let himself be "Swift Boated" like John Kerry in 2004. "He's not going to sit there and sing 'Kumbaya' as the missiles are raining in," Axelrod said. "I don't think people should mistake civility for a willingness to deal with the challenges to come."

We Could All Use a Snuggle

ae — 2008-04-26T20:38:38-04:00

What utter loves. The cuteness was so overwhelming that I took about 1,200 pictures of this from every conceivable angle. This one will do. Love how Kate's front leg and paw look so big. Ha.

How to Win the War on Global Warming

ae — 2008-04-26T14:58:00-04:00

Instead of crawling under the bed w/ a bottle of the strongest stuff I can find and bemoaning the utter horrible destructive insane waste of the last 8+ years, I'm ready to look ahead to a time when we might have a president w/ a brain, some integrity, and a vision of positive government. It could happen.

Considering the looming environmental crisis, we've got to get serious fast.

How to Win the War on Global Warming.

[F]or a country that rightly cites patriotism as one of its core values, we're taking a pass on what might be the most patriotic struggle of all. It's hard to imagine a bigger fight than one for the survival of the country's coasts and farms, the health of its people and the stability of its economy—and for those of the world at large as well.

The rub is, if the vast majority of people increasingly agree that climate change is a global emergency, there's far less consensus on how to fix it. Industry offers its plans, which too often would fix little. Environmentalists offer theirs, which too often amount to naive wish lists that could cripple America's growth. But let's assume that those interested parties and others will always be at the table and will always—sensibly—demand that their voices be heard and that their needs be addressed. What would an aggressive, ambitious, effective plan look like—one that would leave us both environmentally safe and economically sound?

Forget precedents like the Manhattan Project, which developed the atom bomb, or the Apollo program that put men on the moon—single-focus programs both, however hard they were to pull off. Think instead of the overnight conversion of the World War II�era industrial sector into a vast machine capable of churning out 60,000 tanks and 300,000 planes, an effort that not only didn't bankrupt the nation but instead made it rich and powerful beyond its imagining and—oh, yes—won the war in the process.

Halting climate change will be far harder than even that. One of the more conservative plans for addressing the problem, by Robert Socolow and Stephen Pacala of Princeton University, calls for a reduction of 25 billion tons of carbon emissions over the next 50 years—the equivalent of erasing nearly four years of global emissions at today's rates. And yet by devising a coherent strategy that mixes short-term solutions with farsighted goals, combines government activism with private-sector enterprise and blends pragmatism with ambition, the U.S. can, without major damage to the economy, help halt the worst effects of climate change and ensure the survival of our way of life for future generations. Money will get us part of the way there, but what's needed most is will. "I'm not saying the challenge isn't almost overwhelming," says Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund and co-author of the new book Earth: The Sequel. "But this is America, and America has risen to these challenges before."

Read further for recommendations. Share with friends. I really think that this is one of those issues on which Americans can find common ground. I've given up on the apocalypse-loving weirdos and the intractable capitalists, but it's possible that we could reach even them. Hopefully that pull-together spirit hasn't completely left us (though, to be honest, I do despair).

Maybe this will help: How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic.

Worst.President.Ever.

ae — 2008-04-10T21:41:00-04:00

Harper’s: “Worst. President. Ever.”

“It would be difficult to identify a President who, facing major international and domestic crises, has failed in both as clearly as President Bush,” concluded one respondent. “His domestic policies,” another noted, “have had the cumulative effect of shoring up a semi-permanent aristocracy of capital that dwarfs the aristocracy of land against which the founding fathers rebelled; of encouraging a mindless retreat from science and rationalism; and of crippling the nation’s economic base.”

[snip]

“No individual president can compare to the second Bush,” wrote one. “Glib, contemptuous, ignorant, incurious, a dupe of anyone who humors his deluded belief in his heroic self, he has bankrupted the country with his disastrous war and his tax breaks for the rich, trampled on the Bill of Rights, appointed foxes in every henhouse, compounded the terrorist threat, turned a blind eye to torture and corruption and a looming ecological disaster, and squandered the rest of the world’s goodwill. In short, no other president’s faults have had so deleterious an effect on not only the country but the world at large.”

“With his unprovoked and disastrous war of aggression in Iraq and his monstrous deficits, Bush has set this country on a course that will take decades to correct,” said another historian. “When future historians look back to identify the moment at which the United States began to lose its position of world leadership, they will point—rightly—to the Bush presidency. Thanks to his policies, it is now easy to see America losing out to its competitors in any number of areas: China is rapidly becoming the manufacturing powerhouse of the
next century, India the high tech and services leader, and Europe the region with the best quality of life.”

I don't even know who to shake my fist at first.

Come, Armageddon, Come

ae — 2008-04-08T11:35:00-04:00

Is Murkan culture is sustainable? It perpetuates the lone (male) hero myth, normalizes adolescent obsessions, and at least representationally subjugates all who do not fit in prior categories. Can it possibly bear out in our collective experience that the only honorable brave intelligent dedicated folks among us are lone white guys? It's so tired. I'm done.

"In a new subplot added by the filmmakers, the mayor of Whoville has 96 daughters. He has one son. Guess who gets all his attention? Guess who saves the day? Go ahead, think about it, I'll wait ... Boys get to save the world, and girls get to stand there and say, I knew you could do it. How did they know he could do it? Maybe because they watched every other movie ever made?"

--Peter Sagal, father of three daughters and host of National Public Radio’s “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me,” in a commentary on NPR about the new big-screen adaptation of “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”

Peter Sagal is my new BFF of all time.

[via Broadsheet]

DO.NOT.GET.ME.STARTED.

ae — 2008-04-05T23:46:00-04:00

Why do I keep thinking one day I will wake up in a world that does not obsess over women and their wanting to assert control over their own lives and bodies?

Health Database Was Set Up to Ignore ‘Abortion’.

Johns Hopkins University said Friday that it had programmed its computers to ignore the word “abortion” in searches of a large, publicly financed database of information on reproductive health after federal officials raised questions about two articles in the database. The dean of the Public Health School lifted the restrictions after learning of them.

[snip]

Mr. Parsons said the development agency had expressed concern after finding “two articles about abortion advocacy” in the database. The articles, he said, did not fit database criteria and were removed.

Quoi? What f*cking criteria would that be? Suffocating fetishist godbag mania to control women? Oh yeah, that.

Employees who manage the database instructed their computers to ignore the word “abortion” as a search term.

After learning of the restrictions on Friday, the dean, Dr. Michael J. Klag, said: “I could not disagree more strongly with this decision, and I have directed that the Popline administrators restore ‘abortion’ as a search term immediately. I will also launch an inquiry to determine why this change occurred.”

[snip]

Dr. Klag said the school was “dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge, and not its restriction.”

Ted Miller, a spokesman for Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, said: “The public has a right to know why someone would censor relevant medical information. The Bush administration has politicized science as part of an ideological agenda. So it’s important to know if that occurred here.”

Let me save you some trouble, NARAL (and why the F does the NYT insist on not capitalizing its acronyms?): The Bush administration politicized science as part of an ideological agenda serving hysterical fetishist godbags who seek at every turn to impose their pathetic controlling fantasies on the bodies of all women. Not to put too fine a point on it.

RIP, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

ae — 2008-04-04T10:01:03-04:00

The Last Days of Martin Luther King Photo Essay.

Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

Heckuva Job, Bushie

ae — 2008-04-03T23:58:00-04:00

81% in Poll Say Nation Is Headed on the Wrong Track.

Americans are more dissatisfied with the country’s direction than at any time since the New York Times/CBS News poll began asking about the subject in the early 1990s, according to the latest poll.

In the poll, 81 percent of respondents said they believed “things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track,” up from 69 percent a year ago and 35 percent in early 2002.

Although the public mood has been darkening since the early days of the war in Iraq, it has taken a new turn for the worse in the last few months, as the economy has seemed to slip into recession. There is now nearly a national consensus that the country faces significant problems.

A majority of nearly every demographic and political group — Democrats and Republicans, men and women, residents of cities and rural areas, college graduates and those who finished only high school — say the United States is headed in the wrong direction. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said the country was worse off than five years ago; just 4 percent said it was better off.

It was not reported if that 4% worked at Halliburton and its subsidiaries.

Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

ae — 2008-04-03T00:17:54-04:00

This level of observation and whimsy just makes me want to hug the whole world.

[via]

Sidewalk Psychiatry

ae — 2008-04-02T17:18:00-04:00

Candy Chang - Public Art - Sidewalk Psychiatry.

A routine trip can prompt reflections on everything from future goals to last night’s dinner conversation. As people sacrifice personal time for hectic schedules, these casual occasions for reflection become all the more important.

Sidewalk Psychiatry encourages self-evaluation in transit by posing critical questions on the pavements of New York City. Now your daily ponderings and emotional problems can be prodded and treated on the go - and, best of all, it's free of charge!

[via Wooster Collective]

The Sun is Still Sunny

ae — 2008-03-06T12:51:17-05:00

Dave reminded me about the wonder and the glory that is Les Concerts a Emporter.

Screen capture from the Dean and Britta post. Mmm.

Throwing my Sun Salutation all up in ya face!

ae — 2008-03-04T10:23:13-05:00

Hoo, I needed that.

Dirt Under My Nails » I’m so gonna downward-dog your ass!.

When it comes to yoga, honey, I’m one Ashtanga crazy beyatch throwing my Sun Salutation all up in ya face.

Don’t you come in here posin’ because up in this Y, we yoga tough. This ain’t your mamma’s yoga, this is extreme yoga.

Monkey pose … bam! Flying Crow pose … bam! That’s right. I’m not even spilling my latte. You scared now? You should be.

Uh oh … Upward Facing Dog … bam! That’s right. I’m doing the dog. Uh oh … did you hurt yourself? Why don’t you take a break and see how the big girls play.

Why don’t you sit there and watch me reach a state of perfect peace? Check it out … Bam! Peace! Right there. Just reached it. I reach inner peace faster than any of these chumps circular breathing in here. I got so much inner peace it’s shooting out my nose. But I’m not done yet … oh no. Lotus pose … bam! Headstand pose … bam!

Check it out ... Bam! Peace! Right there. Bwaha! I want to be a peace badass, too. Must do more yoga.

Sometimes I Cannot Believe What We Have Allowed to be Done in Our Name

ae — 2008-03-03T09:34:00-05:00

For about 12 minutes db and I tried to watch "24." We like spy-type shows (too bad "24" isn't produced by the BBC; then I'd probably watch it), and it'd been recommended countless times by many folks, so we tuned in. Good lord, that is a load of tripe! Firstly, it's completely nonsensical, which can be OK in a mind-numbing teevee kind of way--but if that's all it is, it needs to be a lot funnier for me to stick w/ it.

"24" is not so funny--not intentionally anyway--it's superficial and posturing and underwritten and had, for the short time we watched it, this odd macho, right-wingish thing working, and I simply have no time for fictionalized versions of that when our current gubmint is replete with multiple redundant examples of disastrous macho posturing.

We cannot see the backs of these criminals fast enough. If there is any justice on earth, they will have to answer for their crimes. And I don't just mean the Bush madministration. Journalists, j'accuse!

How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the (Ticking) Bomb

I discovered that when I gave interviews to major media on this subject, any time I used the word “torture” with reference to these techniques, the interview passage would not be used. At one point I was informed by a cable news network that “we put this on international, because we can’t use that word on the domestic feed.” “That word” was torture. I was coached or told that the words “coercive interrogation technique” were fine, but “torture” was a red light. Why? The Administration objected vehemently to the use of this word. After all, President Bush has gone before the cameras and stated more than three dozen times “We do not torture.” By using the T-word, I was told, I was challenging the honesty of the president. You just couldn’t do that.

In early 2005, I took a bit of time to go through one newspaper—The New York Times—to examine its use of the word “torture”. I found that the word “torture” was regularly used to described a neighbor who played his stereo too loud, or some similar minor nuisance. Also the word “torture” could be used routinely to describe techniques used by foreign powers which were hostile to the United States. But the style rule seemed very clear: it could not be used in reporting associated with anything the Bush Administration was doing.

So yeah, Scott Horton found that what used to be the tool of the enemy--that is, torture--is now the tool of Jack Bauer. This he finds troubling, as do I.

We should start with a frank question: has “24” been created with an overtly political agenda, namely, to create a more receptive public audience for the Bush Administration’s torture policies? I think the answer to that question is now very clear. The answer is “yes.” In “Whatever It Takes,” Jane Mayer has waded through the sheaf of contacts between the show’s producer, Joel Surnow, and Vice President Cheney and figures right around him. There is little ambiguity about this point, namely, if the torture system introduced after 9/11 can be traced back to a single person, it is Vice President Cheney. He pushed relentlessly for use of the tools of the “dark side,” and he ruthlessly took out everyone who stood in his way. He also worked feverishly to disguise or cloak his intimate involvement in the entire process. I take it as a given that Surnow is working to develop public attitudes which are more accepting of torture; to overturn centuries-old prejudices against torture. He is a torture-enabler.

Jeebus H.

Oh, Really? Cos Barack Obama Built Me a Robot

ae — 2008-02-14T13:13:00-05:00

And baked me a pie. And recited a poem that reminded him of me.

He luuurves me.

Barack Obama Is Your New Bicycle.

Why, Yes, It is for Lack of Trying

ae — 2008-02-02T16:02:00-05:00

Damn you, Twitter! You killed my blog! It's easier to write (and think) in snippets, I won't lie. Coupled w/ the holiday crush and a deadline push, not a lot of extra brainspace 'round these parts. And as always, the insanity of our political reality inspires more catatonia than logorrhea.

For a long time I didn't miss the blog, didn't even care, over it. What the hell else could be said about my hate for Donald Rumsfeld? (Given the endless depths of his venality, a lot probably.) Then as my deadline passed from memory and I was able to relax into reading other things, enjoyable things, articles and essays and fiction -- real, honest-to-god fiction! -- and, as always, it made me want to record a little something here and there. A week later, here I am.

Anyhoo, still alive. More latre as the inspiration (or frustration) comes. In the meantime, here's a pretty picture to further signify the unspeakably boring shoegazey nature of this post:

My shoe, my pal JM's coffee table.

Close Gitmo

ae — 2008-01-10T19:50:00-05:00

Happy New Year, friends!

I don't own anything orange--nothing obvious anyway--so I'll be wearing one of db's shirts tomorrow.

American Civil Liberties Union : Close Guantánamo.

Rainy Day Blues

ae — 2007-12-27T11:22:00-05:00

As much as I love the Dingo, when she's wet, I just die. That face!

Oh noes! Where did she go?

There's my sweets. Let me in, Mom! Dad's a terror w/ the towel!

Happy Xmas!

ae — 2007-12-25T09:14:39-05:00

Have a beautiful day, all. If yr into that sort of thing, hope Santa brings you lots of loot. If yr not, enjoy being nestled in the bosom of friends and family. And for others still, I wish I were eating Chinese food and going to the movies w/ you. xoxo

What's Xmas w/o a disco angel, I ask you.

Friday Finny Blogging

ae — 2007-12-21T16:17:26-05:00

Finny, when not bugging the Dingo and hogging the dog bed, can be found chilling under the couch.

No, it is not possible for her to be cuter.

Meet Your Al-Qaeda Operative!

ae — 2007-12-17T14:29:05-05:00

Ladies and germs, your Bush administration brings you a world gone completely absurd.

Al-Qaeda wants your questions.

AL-QAEDA sympathisers have been asked to send in their questions for the terror network's second in command, which he will then answer in an online interview next month.

The bizarre stunt was announced in a new video posted on the internet in which al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahri, mocked today's British handover of security in southern Iraq to local forces as a sign that insurgents are gaining the upper hand.

The video, carried by Islamic websites, was issued as Britain handed over security to Iraqi forces in the last of four provinces it once patrolled, effectively marking the end of nearly five years of British control of southern Iraq.

The websites invited readers to send in questions during the next month for Zawahri to answer in an "open interview". How the interview would work was not immediately clear.

What questions would you ask al-Qaeda's number two? Let us know using the form below.

Zawahri has been in hiding since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and - along with Osama bin Laden - is the target of a global manhunt from US forces.

Maybe they should look for him on Twitter. How's the bandwidth in those caves in Pakistan? &c. &c. Faugh.

Robber Barrons Unite

ae — 2007-12-17T12:40:00-05:00

Dear lord!

Report Says That the Rich Are Getting Richer Faster, Much Faster.

The increase in incomes of the top 1 percent of Americans from 2003 to 2005 exceeded the total income of the poorest 20 percent of Americans, data in a new report by the Congressional Budget Office shows.

The poorest fifth of households had total income of $383.4 billion in 2005, while just the increase in income for the top 1 percent came to $524.8 billion, a figure 37 percent higher. (emphasis mine)

The total income of the top 1.1 million households was $1.8 trillion, or 18.1 percent of the total income of all Americans, up from 14.3 percent of all income in 2003. The total 2005 income of the three million individual Americans at the top was roughly equal to that of the bottom 166 million Americans, analysis of the report showed.

The report is the latest to document the growing concentration of income at the top, a trend that President Bush said last January had been under way for more than 25 years.

Shut yer lying piehole, you vile huckster.

Earlier reports, based on tax returns, showed that in 2005 the top 10 percent, top 1 percent and fractions of the top 1 percent enjoyed their greatest share of income since 1928 and 1929.

Can't have another Gilded Age. What should we call this one? Maybe the Gelded Age? Don't see the (neutered) Dems doing f*ck-all about B*shCo's rampant looting.

Friday Dingo Blogging--Late Edition

ae — 2007-12-14T22:46:36-05:00

Yes, I am in love (in love!!) with my dog. So what.

Can't Get Enough of That "Sanctity of Life" Crowd

ae — 2007-12-14T16:39:00-05:00

Horrible tragedy. What is it w/ right-wingers and murder?

Evolution vs creation row ends in stabbing.

"One day we're going to live in Paris..."

ae — 2007-12-12T23:46:30-05:00

I promise, I'm on it.

The Interwebs Are Making Me ADD

ae — 2007-12-12T22:20:00-05:00

Just tooling around the interwebs finding way too much to read.

American Exceptionalism in a New Light: A Comparison of Intergenerational Earnings Mobility in the Nordic Countries, the United Kingdom and the United States.

A hunger for books: Doris Lessing's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech.

Tom Watson: Clearing the Smoke Around Obama.

Postdoc Survey Finds Gender Split on Family Issues.

Yale U. Puts Complete Courses Online.

From Oil Wars to Water Wars.

IKEA Naming Conventions.

Hillary's Cookies.

[photo: ae | wall at Kuba Kuba | Richmond, VA | 11.03.07]

I Canna Help It

ae — 2007-12-12T18:51:10-05:00

The man, I love him.

_________________

UPDATE: 12.12.07: Morrissey the most English person in the world?

The FA should look to Morrissey, not Mourinho.

England's new manager must be to England what Captain America is to America. He must be the very distillation of Englishness. And in all seriousness, there can be only one candidate. Cometh the crisis, cometh the man. Step forward Stephen Patrick Morrissey*.

[snip]

Morrissey should be the new England manager because, despite being Irish, he is the most English person alive apart from Mrs Thatcher, who is a woman. And like Mrs Thatcher he is of the opinion that real Englishness is under threat.

Morrissey is not only the most English Englishman alive, he's also the most northern (as revealed by an online poll carried out by Salford art gallery, The Lowry). And northerness is to Englishness what unicorns are to horses, what with being further away from France.

They should give awards for sentences like that last one.

[*ahem, that's Steven Patrick Morrissey, thank you.]

Oh, There are Asses Involved Alright.

ae — 2007-12-11T18:11:00-05:00

Wow, that's just vile.

Who needs credit cards when you have a junior vagina?

Doesn't anyone w/ a clue work at any of the companies involved here? Sell your asses, girls! Charming.

________________

UPDATE: 12.12.07: Wal-Mart has pulled these idiotic things from the shelves! Way to go, feministing!

Friday Beastie Blogging

ae — 2007-12-07T12:46:20-05:00

The beasties are sharing a bed. Used to be Dingo's bed, but Finn doesn't know that/care, so she plops right on it as soon as she walks into the room. For a while Dingo would lurk around, eying the now off-limits chair, like, Where am I going to sleep? There's no more soft spots, before harrumphing on the rug in front of the bed. (Literal hangdog expression.) For a couple of liver treats, it looks like the sweet Kate can be convinced to do anything, including sleeping next to her bratty little sister!

See what I put up with, Mom? Surely I get an extra bone for this.

Warmth

ae — 2007-12-06T22:59:00-05:00

Love a fire, love a pal to share it with. Happy birthday to our pal Pablo who came over tonight for b-day cupcakes and tea! (Like an idjit I forgot to take pix of the pretty cupcakes. Grr. But here's a pretty fire instead.)

Toasty. It's finally winter in North Carolina.

Emoticons During Wartime

ae — 2007-12-05T10:35:00-05:00

Haha...ha...argh.

Shouts & Murmurs: Emoticons During Wartime.

:-)

No new attacks reported today.

:-(

New attack reported today.

=|:-)=

This e-mail is being monitored by Uncle Sam for your protection.

:-x

I’d rather not say in an e-mail that’s being monitored for my protection.

:-w

Our current leader speaks with forked tongue.

*:o)

Our current leader is a bozo.

/:-=(

Our current leader in some ways resembles Adolf Hitler, at least in his disregard for civil liberties during wartime.

:-o

Uh-oh, what was that?

:-@

I hear screaming.

B)

Now donning protective goggles.

Where's the icon for "losing soul in a crumbling democracy"? >:-/

[via]

It's Just Not Fair

ae — 2007-12-04T14:56:49-05:00

The world could be run by decent people of conscience. It could, right?

He's got my vote (until such time as the Dem nominee--obviously not this man--is chosen when I, again seized w/ disgust and dismay, will vote for said namby-pamby nominee in hopes that RoveCo has not already stolen the "election").

Sob.

My Children, Is This Really Necessary?

ae — 2007-12-03T10:21:00-05:00

Not that necessary is the first word that springs to mind.

Oh dear.

Really? Jeebus in rock-climbing gear and on a Harley? Really?

And the Lord sayeth that it be unto the markets to decideth, and thus it was.

Dried by the Breath of Unicorns

ae — 2007-12-02T23:14:00-05:00

When historians look back on the Bush madministration's legacy of heinous crimes and mind-boggling idiocy, will they also note that Bush, besting despots and buffoons the world over since the dawn of time, has somehow managed to kill satire dead?

President To Investigate Where Laundry Chute Goes.

What? Somebody tell a joke?

BFF: Sexism and Hunger

ae — 2007-12-02T16:18:00-05:00

::sigh::

Jim Whitton Of The Hunger Project.

I spoke with Whitton, Regional Director of the Hunger Project, a global initiative that aims to empower those living in abject poverty and starvation to feed themselves, without first world arrogance.

[snip]
While race may seem to play a large part in what parts of the world are hungry and, without help, will stay hungry, Whitton patiently explained to me that no other force was more powerful in keeping people starving than deeply entrenched sexism, particularly in Greater Asia. "There is no social condition more primary to the persistence of chronic hunger than unimaginably severe discrimination against women and girls," says Whitton.

Friday Dingo Blogging

ae — 2007-11-30T08:26:00-05:00

Angel Dingo sent from the heavens.

I Would Like to Live in a Country Where...

ae — 2007-11-29T22:15:00-05:00

Glenn Beck could only appear on the NYT bestseller list if every other writer on earth took the year, maybe two, off.

Glenn Beck #1 on NYT List.

For the love of God, how is this possible?? That vacuous pretend bully yes man w/ the chip on his shoulder whose fanhood is obviously being questioned (every morning in the mirror, awww)? That guy?? Unbelievable.

That's it, nation. Pistols at dawn.

[photo credit]

Unmentionables

ae — 2007-11-29T00:45:00-05:00

I do really wish my alien parents would come back for me. I'm clearly not from this planet.

Taiwanese Firm Asks Workers to Work in their Undies.

The Audrey Underwear company in Taiwan asked it’s 500 women employs in the firms head quarters to come to work in camisoles and knickers to celebrate record sales. In fact, they have decided to repeat the event once a month.

Needless to say, the male workers were excited about the record sales too. "We have been waiting for this day all month. Today, we are super high, and don't know where to put our eyes," salesman Cai Mingda told Straits News.

I know where salesman Cal Mingda can put his eyes:

For all my peace-loving, I sure do feel violent more often than I'd care to.

(Here's Your Hat) What's Your Hurry, Trent Lott?

ae — 2007-11-26T22:02:00-05:00

First I read this: Lott to retire; Kyl eyes whip role.

Then I think, Hmm. Something's fishy. Wasn't that repugnant misogynist L*rry Flynt sliming around town making pronouncements about bombshell announcements? Hmm.

Then I find this: Is a Male Escort Behind Trent Lott's Resignation?

I might need that new category for Closeted Homo-Hatin' Repugnican Senators after all.

Shorter Trent Lott: When I'm not pining for the bad old days of segregation, I'm (allegedly) blowing young male escorts while promoting anti-gay legislation. Sounds about right for today's Repugnican Party! I'm sure they'll miss ol' T.Lo dearly.

And I wouldn't give one hoot who Trent Lott did or did not blow if he weren't a dangerous, civil rights-attacking bigot lawmaker while he did or did not do it.

Half-Awake in a Fake Empire

ae — 2007-11-26T18:57:00-05:00

Dear God, it hurts.

Gore and Bush Chat About Global Warming.

This article is rife w/ astonishing (and not terribly well-written) observations--beyond sobworthy--and I wish I had it in me to dissect it line-by-line, but after 8 years of mind-boggling vacuousness, treachery, and treason, I'm an inch from jumping off a cliff every day, and I can't do it.

The look on dumbyass's face ... God. He might just realize how inadequate and illegitimate he is.

Weekly Record

ae — 2007-11-25T22:54:00-05:00

I'm enjoying last.fm, and I'm thinking I'll post these weekly wrap-ups so I can see how my tune listening maps out over the year. This week: not surprising, though I see a couple of new albums in there, and I remember really enjoying Mos Def. Fun.

Song of the week for all you lovebirds: Rodrigo y Gabriela--Capitan Casanova.mp3

Taqueria + Bistro = Happiness

ae — 2007-11-25T00:15:00-05:00

What a great night filled w/ the baaaad jokes and easy company of our pals JM and Pablo. We started the evening w/ amazing soups and tasty tacos from Taqueria Lopez, one of the many highly regarded taquerias 'round these parts. TaqLopez was the first stop on what will become our culinary tour of the local taquerias, regarded highly enough to be lauded in Gourmet magazine, no less (no link, hmmph). Can't wait to sample the fares.

Our Spanish is so miserable that in attempts to order two draft cervezas we ended up w/ two of the biggest beers I'd ever seen. A liter each! We have got to get it together for Round 2 of the Taqueria Tour. Jeez.

We followed our delicious meal w/ Nightcap #1 at Vin Rouge, followed by Nightcap #2 (and world famous homemade cookies from Pablo's mom -- well, they should be world famous) at Pablo's. Fat-n-happy, yessirree.

Some fuzzy pix from Vin Rouge, which is probably our favorite spot in Durham. Tasty morsels, great service, great vibe -- lively w/o being loud, and the exact right amount of light. Cozy.

At my pal JM's suggestion, I had a French 75. Yummy!

Friday Finny Blogging

ae — 2007-11-24T15:43:00-05:00

Okay, so it's Saturday. Still.

This is our papier-mâché reindeer, a.k.a. Finny's (momentary) arch nemesis #1. Finn didn't cotton to the interloper, inherited from grandma this weekend, making its home on the fireplace and decided to show the reindeer a little homegrown jujitsu this afternoon. They being roughly the same size, it was quite the stand-off for a harrowing 6 seconds. Getting no response from the placid deco, Finny said, Eff this noise, turned on her heels, and promptly went to sleep.

Happy Thanksgiving

ae — 2007-11-22T14:05:00-05:00

I love this photo for so many reasons. Chris Glass plucked these leaves -- all from the same tree -- to create this amazing color wheel. So let's hear it for Chris's discerning eye, nature, creativity, color, ingenuity, inspiration, bothering to pull off the side of the road in pursuit of beauty, chance, serendipity, and the wild and wonderful interwebs!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. xoxo

O frabjous day!

ae — 2007-11-20T14:20:49-05:00

Well, that's it for today then. Now that I know, I'm sure to ~~waste~~ positively spend the rest of the day reading Stephen Fry's blog.

Buh-bye!

arse poetica

Doctor Recalls Abortion Complications Before Roe v. Wade

Can Obama Repel 'Swift Boat'-Style Attacks?

We Could All Use a Snuggle

How to Win the War on Global Warming

Worst.President.Ever.

Come, Armageddon, Come

DO.NOT.GET.ME.STARTED.

RIP, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Heckuva Job, Bushie

Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

Sidewalk Psychiatry

The Sun is Still Sunny

Throwing my Sun Salutation all up in ya face!

Sometimes I Cannot Believe What We Have Allowed to be Done in Our Name

Oh, Really? Cos Barack Obama Built Me a Robot

Why, Yes, It *is* for Lack of Trying

Close Gitmo

Rainy Day Blues

Happy Xmas!

Friday Finny Blogging

Meet Your Al-Qaeda Operative!

Robber Barrons Unite

Friday Dingo Blogging--Late Edition

Can't Get Enough of That "Sanctity of Life" Crowd

"One day we're going to live in Paris..."

The Interwebs Are Making Me ADD

I Canna Help It

Oh, There are Asses Involved Alright.

Friday Beastie Blogging

Warmth

Emoticons During Wartime

It's Just Not Fair

My Children, Is This Really Necessary?

Dried by the Breath of Unicorns

BFF: Sexism and Hunger

Friday Dingo Blogging

I Would Like to Live in a Country Where...

Unmentionables

(Here's Your Hat) What's Your Hurry, Trent Lott?

Half-Awake in a Fake Empire

Weekly Record

Taqueria + Bistro = Happiness

Friday Finny Blogging

Happy Thanksgiving

O frabjous day!

Why, Yes, It is for Lack of Trying