Toner Mishap

Snake Alert

2008-10-05T21:53:00.001-07:00

On vacation, saw a snake. Still waiting for my brother-in-law to identify it for me... can you do it? 12-16 inches long, and it looked like -- well, like in the picture I took up.

UPDATE

It's a mountain gartersnake -- thanks to my brother-in-law, who responded to my facebook page post.

Don't send this child to camp again.

2008-10-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

Names have been censored to protect the allergic. This is a real notice from camp last summer regarding one of our campers. I just dug it up to share it with a friend, and now you get to enjoy it as well.

Live Blogging the Debate... Sort Of

2008-10-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

OK, I've got the vice presidential debate paused so I can share a few first thoughts.

Right at the beginning, Sarah Palin entered the debate arena, shook hands with Joe Biden, and loudly asked, "Can I call you Joe?" Someone apparently told her to stick with the "just us folks" approach.

She's already used the phrase "hockey moms have to unite."

Did she really use the phrase "never again" in regard to the economic situation we're in right now? Did she *really* want to evoke thoughts of the Holocaust?

She actually said, "darn right!" She's so folksy; I think I'll vote for her, 'cuz she's just like me!

My favorite quote so far, in response to Biden's prompting her for an on-topic response: "I may not answer the questions the way you or the moderator want, but I'm going to talk straight."

UPDATE

She pronounces "nuclear" just like W: "nook-yular." [shiver]

Enough already.

2008-09-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

I've had enough of guys like Bush and McCain...

But I'm not yet done enjoying this sort of thing: a faux trailer for a Disney-esque movie about Sarah Palin.

The Great Schlep

2008-09-26T00:30:00.000-07:00

Plenty of cursing in here -- definitely NSFW. But if you're Jewish and you're planning on voting for Barack Obama -- and if you want to know what you can do to make a difference (and if you like Sarah Silverman) -- check this out.

You know what? Even if you're not Jewish, if you like Sarah Silverman you should check it out. And even if you don't really care for Sarah Silverman, what the hell -- it's not very long.

The Great Schlep

Sarah Palin -- God Help Us!

2008-09-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Someone please tell me what she is saying. Sarah Palin makes Dan Quayle look like Einstein. Hell, I would take Bush as VP over Palin. Truly the people cannot be so stupid to allow her to become vice president.

Who is this Rosh Hashanah person?

2008-09-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Is it possible there's someone working at DreamWorks who's never heard of Rosh Hashanah?

The whole story is here.

David Letterman Regarding John McCain

2008-09-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

This video speaks for itself. I highly recommend watching it all.

We Love the Onion

2008-09-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

And this is another reason why.

The Onion

Workplace Harassment

2008-09-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

Doing mandatory "workplace harassment" training for my job; actually, it's anti-harassment training -- but let's not split hairs.

The video example in the training involves a "hispanic" woman, an African-American woman, an Asian-American man, and a woman from Canada. Guess which one is discriminated against?

Of course, the Candadian, based on her Canadian heritage -- cuz that's the scourge of the modern workforce: harassment against Canadian nationals.

UPDATE

Punchline from lesson two: "And so the bartender says, 'That's what *she* said!'"

Californians: Vote "No" on Proposition 8

2008-09-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

More details here.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

2008-09-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

This pirate walks into a bar with a big ship's wheel down his pants. The bartender says, "Excuse me, sir, but do you know you have a ship's wheel down the front of your pants?"

And the pirate says, "Aaargh, it's driving me nuts!!"

More pirate jokes.

Holy Peeps, Batman!

2008-09-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not much for Peeps, but I love Batman. (Yes, those are Peeps.)

More peep shows.
[Thanks, BoingBoing!]

Everyone for Obama

2008-09-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

First, my assurance: I have nothing to do with this site, no way, no how. But I *love* what they're doing -- whoever you are, there's a button for you.

See them all!

Bush Reassures No One

2008-09-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

“He'd offer you an egg if you promised not to break the shell.”
Irish Proverb

Wall Street in Worst Loss Since 2001
Officials Try to Stem Crisis — Fed Will Meet Tuesday
By STEPHEN LABATON
Despite reassurances by the Bush administration, stocks fell 4.4 percent on Monday, dragged by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch.

The above is the headline from the online version of The New York Times this evening. What caught my eye were the first six words. Who would ever be reassured by Bush? His word and the word from anyone still employed by the administration is worth less than nothing. They have a track record from WMDs to Katrina of promising the world and delivering nothing.

Saturday Night Live Palin

2008-09-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

There is hardly any mental misery worse than that of having our own serious phrases, our own rooted beliefs, caricatured by a charlatan or a hireling.
George Eliot (1819–80), English novelist

More of the same...Lying

2008-09-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

No man lies so boldly as the man who is indignant.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), philosopher

I find it absolutely amazing how many well-informed Republican pundits now say they don’t know what he Bush Doctrine is – only to help out Sarah Palin.

Slowly, similar to how the truth came out about how the Bush Administration lied about weapons of mass destruction, the truth about Palin is coming out, but let’s hope that it’s not too late, again!

Is there anything the McCain campaign isn't lying about?"

Sarah Palin did not visit troops in Iraq, a spokesperson for the Republican vice presidential nominee confirmed Saturday, as new details emerged about the extent of the Alaska governor's foreign travel.

Palin visited the Iraqi side of a border crossing -- but never journeyed past the checkpoint. Earlier, campaign aides confirmed reports that Palin's time in Ireland on that trip had actually been a refueling stop.

The Obama campaign has accused the McCain campaign of deliberately lying about wildly inflated crowd estimates for Palin. The McCain team has twice pointed to law enforcement as the source for those estimates -- but the same officials denied to Bloomberg News that they had provided the numbers cited by the Republican nominee's campaign.

The McCain campaign said Gov. Palin opposed the bridge to nowhere, but now we know she supported it.

McCain's campaign released a television ad, titled "Disrespectful," that accuses McCain's Democratic rival of launching desperate attacks and smears against Palin. In the McCain ad, the announcer says the Obama camp had "lashed out at Sarah Palin" and dismissed Palin as "good-looking" as the Democratic nominee's face appears on the screen. The announcer also says the Democrats had said Palin was doing "what she was told" and had "desperately" called her a liar.“How disrespectful," the announcer says. "And how Gov. Sarah Palin proves them wrong, every day."Obama never made any of the statements the McCain camp released to support the ad, and the comment that Palin was "good-looking" was made by the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Joe Biden, in a self-deprecating joke when he was asked what the obvious differences were between the two vice presidential nominees. Biden repeatedly has said on the campaign trail that he respected Palin and that he thought she was qualified for the vice presidency. FactCheck.org pointed out the quote from an Obama adviser that Palin was doing "what she was told" was taken out of context. The quote is taken from the response of Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, in which he said Palin had misrepresented Obama's legislative record. "Maybe that's what she was told" about his voting record, Axelrod said.

When there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, Palin appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.

Throughout her political career, Palin has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials.

Interviews show that Ms. Palin runs an administration that puts a premium on loyalty and secrecy. The governor and her top officials sometimes use personal e-mail accounts for state business; dozens of e-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that her staff members studied whether that could allow them to circumvent subpoenas seeking public records.

Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that his request would cost $468,784 to process.When Mr. Steiner finally obtained the e-mail messages — through a federal records request — he discovered that state scientists had in fact agreed that the bears were in danger, records show.“Their secrecy is off the charts,” Mr. Steiner said.

The Wasilla High School yearbook archive now doubles as a veritable directory of state government. Ms. Palin appointed Mr. Bitney, her former junior high school band-mate, as her legislative director and chose another classmate, Joe Austerman, to manage the economic development office for $82,908 a year. Mr. Austerman had established an Alaska franchise for Mailboxes Etc.

Democrats and Republicans alike describe her as often missing in action. Since taking office in 2007, Ms. Palin has spent 312 nights at her Wasilla home, some 600 miles to the north of the governor’s mansion in Juneau, records show.

During the last legislative session, some lawmakers became so frustrated with her absences that they took to wearing “Where’s Sarah?” pins.

What to expect from a McCain Presidency

2008-09-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

He (McCain) will make Dick Cheney look like Gandhi
Pat Buchanan, pundit, former Nixon speech writer

Hat tip to Godless Liberal Homo.

Listen to This: Brad Sucks

2008-09-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

If you like experimental pop music, you might like Brad Sucks. You can buy his new album ("Out of It") or just download it for free -- he leaves it up to you.

Palin On The Hunt

2008-09-11T10:15:00.001-07:00

No, wait -- it's not Sarah Palin after all. But if you have any interest in seeing a mom teach her son to hunt squirrels -- AND THEN MAKE HIM A SQUIRREL SANDWICH FOR AN AFTER-SCHOOL SNACK -- watch, this.

Motek, don't watch it. I already wish I hadn't.

Thanks again, BoingBoing.net!

12 Monkeys: Why You Must See It

2008-09-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Just watched "12 Monkeys" (1995 - Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt) on cable -- been meaning to see it for years. It's a must-see for one reason alone: Brad Pitt plays the most convincing crazy guy I've seen in a long time. First, in a mental hospital, then six years later in a tuxedo at a fancy dinner, and then in guerilla terrorist mode.

Seriously -- you may not care for dystopian scfi-fi, time travel, and viruses, but Pitt's performance is worth your investment of two hours.

911 (TM) A Brand Republicans Trust

2008-09-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain (1835-1910), author

Lie to Me Baby

2008-09-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82), essayist, poet, philosopher

This is apparently the moto of those who vote Republican:

"Lie to me"
Song and video by Tom Waits

Goats Chewing Up Downtown Los Angeles

2008-09-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Goats in downtown Los Angeles? Yes, 100 of them. L.A.'s Community Redevelopment Agency trucked them in to chew up the brush and weeds on the hill just below my office on Bunker Hill. Here are a few shots -- my building, a composite panorama, and an alternate view showing part of the crowd that gathers to pet the goats. Click the pix to see 'em bigger.

[Want more words? The Los Angeles Times managed to open its eyes up and take note of this phenomenon.]

Empty Suit with Lip Stick

2008-09-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

"In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism."
Spiro Agnew (1918–96), vice president under Richard Nixon

Here are a list of questions from Maureen Dowd column in today's NYTimes, she suggested that ABC's Charlie Gibson should ask the potential vice president who is skating passed the media because they are afraid of being called out by the right wing. Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew started that ploy with Agnew's famous quote, see above. And it continues to work today, hell even Hillary Clinton used it.

Questions we hope Sarah Palin answers:

What kind of budget-cutter makes a show of getting rid of the state plane, then turns around and bills taxpayers for the travel of her husband and kids between Juneau and Wasilla and sticks the state with a per-diem tab to stay in her own home?

Why was Sarah for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against the Bridge to Nowhere, and why was she for earmarks before she was against them? And doesn’t all this make her just as big a flip-flopper as John Kerry?

What kind of fiscal conservative raises taxes and increases budgets in both her jobs — as mayor and as governor?

When the phone rings at 3 a.m., will she call the Wasilla Assembly of God congregation and ask them to pray on a response, as she asked them to pray for a natural gas pipeline?

Does she really think Adam, Eve, Satan and the dinosaurs mingled on the earth 5,000 years ago?

Why put out a press release about her teenage daughter’s pregnancy and then spend the next few days attacking the press for covering that press release?

As Troopergate unfolds here — an inquiry into whether Palin inappropriately fired the commissioner of public safety for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law — it raises this question: Who else is on her enemies list and what might she do with the F.B.I.?

Does she want a federal ban on trans fat in restaurants and a ban on abortion and Harry Potter? And which books exactly would have landed on the literature bonfire if she had had her way with that Wasilla librarian?

Just how is it that Fannie and Freddie have cost taxpayers money (since they haven’t yet)?

Does she talk in tongues or just eat caribou tongues?

What does she have against polar bears?