thicker than water

my father's brush with Rahm Emanuel

2009-08-12T16:36:31-04:00

[cue trumpet fanfare] Yes, my friends, it appears that my father has been secretly hanging with the Washington elite. And they're Democrats. (Dad likes to keep me guessing, given his tendency to bash George Bush, Dick Cheney, and President Obama within the span of 10 minutes.) But, thankfully, I'm not here to discuss politics. No, instead, I would like to share with you an encapsulated version of a conversation I had with Mom over the weekend during our drive over to the grocery store. I was going to write this post the other day but realized I needed to do...

a bonus post for an important cause

2009-08-11T16:30:08-04:00

I just want to direct your attention over to Shannon @ Welcome to the Nuthouse. She's running a 48-hour auction to benefit a dear family friend in a time of crisis. Please do her a favor and check it out.

and now for something completely different

2009-08-11T13:41:09-04:00

A big thank you (I think) to Lily for tagging me yesterday with the "Just Us Guys" (J.U.G.S.) award. I do find the timing somewhat ironic, since just yesterday morning, she and I were extolling the virtues of patent leather pumps as an effortless way of glamming up an outfit. Now, as I understand it, Lily was not given any rules for demonstrating why she's worthy of being considered one of the guys, so she decided to create some. Although she's more likely to sing the praises of a good lager than I am, I realized after sleeping on things...

an open letter to the American Heart Association

2009-08-10T16:57:37-04:00

Dear Dr. Yancy: I am writing to inform you of a disappointing encounter I had with one of your volunteers this past weekend. Before I detail the exchange, I would like to say that I have made several donations to your organization during the course of my lifetime, and I will continue to do so. However, I felt obligated to pass along this information in light of the AHA's position on promoting healthier lifestyles, as stated in your Ethics Policy: "At the American Heart Association we are dedicated to working with our employees, volunteers, partners, vendors and customers to build...

wanted by the karma police

2009-08-07T15:43:05-04:00

And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself ~ Radiohead, 1997 I try not to lose sleep thinking about the afterlife, because, frankly, I have enough things in the here-and-now to give me insomnia. Still, a phone call I placed the other day makes me wonder if I'm truly a cold, selfish you-know-what who will be judged harshly when my time has come. Allow me a moment to step back to one week ago. I called my parents in a panic because our condo neighbor downstairs was throwing around words like "lawyer" and "I'm not the one...