Wednesday, June 30, 2004
celebrate with champs
I was once invited to a 4th of July party where everyone was asked to prepare a quick speech loosely titled, "My Favorite American."
Since I'm me, I arrived at the party too late to make the oratory rounds. But I was planning on pontificating about my favorite American. American Cheese. Here's a haiku, even:
zero nutrition
orange square wrapped in plastic
american cheese
What I'm celebrating is not only life itself, but a day off work this Monday, July 5th. I will be independent from the alarm clock, independent from fluorescent tube lighting. I will have the freedom to choose my new favorite bevvie: Sofia Coppola champagne in single-serve cans! Why down the whole bottle if you don't have to?
Monday, June 28, 2004
DNC dollar for dollar match until June 30
I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 on opening weekend so that my $9.50 would count in the numbers of people who support questioning dubya.
I saw Hillary Clinton speak at a fundraiser luncheon today. She spoke of the "unimaginable" sums of money that the Republican party has access to, and that the incoming checks just "flow."
She said that the current administration will continue to combine power with money as if that's the way things should be done. She never thought that she would long for the days of the Nixon administration, but Nixon had better policies for the environment. She also said that her mother was born without the right to vote.
I'm fired up. I just sent money to the Democratic National Committee and although I don't have eighty-five million dollars (the amount that Bush campaign has already spent on television ads to smear John Kerry) I do have a contribution that will be matched dollar-for-dollar until Wednesday June 30th at midnight.
Heck, even five bucks becomes ten.
I saw Hillary Clinton speak at a fundraiser luncheon today. She spoke of the "unimaginable" sums of money that the Republican party has access to, and that the incoming checks just "flow."
She said that the current administration will continue to combine power with money as if that's the way things should be done. She never thought that she would long for the days of the Nixon administration, but Nixon had better policies for the environment. She also said that her mother was born without the right to vote.
I'm fired up. I just sent money to the Democratic National Committee and although I don't have eighty-five million dollars (the amount that Bush campaign has already spent on television ads to smear John Kerry) I do have a contribution that will be matched dollar-for-dollar until Wednesday June 30th at midnight.
Heck, even five bucks becomes ten.
guilty of genocide? check!
Isn't it ironic that George W. Bush is in such fear of being outvoted by John Kerry that he has run ads on his website featuring Kerry and other Democrats with...Adolf Hitler?
Send an email now and tell them who the real killer is. Did you know that draft bills are circulating around congress as I type?
Send an email now and tell them who the real killer is. Did you know that draft bills are circulating around congress as I type?
Friday, June 25, 2004
a moment, now with zen
It's a buddhist saying and I'm sure I'm botching it up, but it goes something like:
Everything you need, you already have.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
iRaq
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Friday is Take Your Dog to Work Day
It's not just for children anymore. The SPCA is in its sixth year of celebrating "Take Your Dog to Work Day" this Friday June 25th.
The SPCA reports that having dogs around an office boosts comaraderie and morale, and deters absenteeism. Makes sense to me.
The celebrity pups in this photo are all Chronicle-staff-owned including Bailey, the 2nd from the left and Hound Dog, third from the right. Thanks for the photo illo by Chris Hardy.
And if you don't have a dog, why not Take Someone Else's Dog to Work? Maybe they can revamp your filing system!
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
love me, love the library
Is it odd to want to fly to Seattle just to get into their new library? I would do it, that place looks amazing!
When San Francisco's Main Library opened, it met with equal parts adoration and rage. The building is a nice place to be, but the user-friendly nature is a bit clunky.
No matter, I like to use the online catalog to see if there's something worth making the quick trip.
My latest search is on time management. How to get more done in a day. Quit procrastinating. The thing is, all the books on the topic are overdue. The one I wanted was due in May of 1999.
When San Francisco's Main Library opened, it met with equal parts adoration and rage. The building is a nice place to be, but the user-friendly nature is a bit clunky.
No matter, I like to use the online catalog to see if there's something worth making the quick trip.
My latest search is on time management. How to get more done in a day. Quit procrastinating. The thing is, all the books on the topic are overdue. The one I wanted was due in May of 1999.
Monday, June 21, 2004
a sea like mercury
Venice Beach looked like this yesterday, a perfect illustration of what newscasters refer to as June Gloom. I didn't mind. The sun peeked out at times and made the ocean all silver and glittery.
one hundred thousand legs...and counting
Can you believe that 25,000+ dogs have a webpage on Dogster?
That's more than 100,000 legs! Check the press release here.
Friday, June 18, 2004
Beulah, we hardly knew ya!
The band's last San Francisco show ever is coming.
And going to be at The Fillmore on June 26.
Is it ever going to be okay? Dammit.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
We Know Bush Knew. video here:
Thanks Jeanne for sending!
zen and the art of sink maintenance
Sometimes I download my photos and think, "What the hell was I thinking?"
This is one of those times.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Happy Birthday Mr. President
Thank you Mr. President for declaring a national holiday last Friday due to the death of one single man. Thank you for for ignoring the countless who are still dying for your war on Iraq, your war on terrorism, your war on the American people. And thanks for the three-buck gallon of gas. Super! I mean, unleaded!
But seriously, sincere thanks go to Naral for their birthday card. Send it to friends, his b-day is July 6.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
dating: now with invoice
Below please find a reprint from Gawker.com sent to me by friends. We agreed that the main atrocity is not that such a jerkwad is out there dating unsuspecting people, but how in the world you can get a $75 meal for two in Manhattan.
The guy who invoiced his date is clearly not getting any. In any city. Read:
"Dating In Manhattan: An Exercise In Contract Law
Say you meet a nice guy on a popular online Jewish dating service, and go out for dinner. Then you get a little busy at work for a week or so, and don't jump all over the guy like a desperate hussy.
What do you get? An invoice for that date's dinner. Yeah, our name-withheld-heroine must be sad she's missing out on this clown's attentions. His invoice after the jump.
To: [X] Subject: Invoice 6/12/04 Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 17:15:59 EDT
Dear [WOMAN'S NAME]
On June 5, you agreed to accept dinner, paid for in full, by me, based on your stated offer that we would go out again. In that you have ignored all overtures to said follow up meeting, you are hereby considered in breach of contract.
To that end, you are being invoiced for 50% of the cost of the dinner, pursuant to the offer. For the record, the offer presented you with the option of not going out again and paying for half of the dinner, or going out again and not paying at all. You accepted these terms, choosing to go out again, as stated above, but have since failed to deliver your end of the agreement. In that this was merely a promise to meet, and not a promise to marry, the agreement is binding under New York law and does not require a written agreement (i.e. statute of frauds).
Furthermore, this is absolutely not a joke.
Your share is 50% of $74.51 which is a total of $37.25. Payment in full is expected within 30 days.
You may remit to:
[MAN'S NAME AND ADDRESS]"
The guy who invoiced his date is clearly not getting any. In any city. Read:
"Dating In Manhattan: An Exercise In Contract Law
Say you meet a nice guy on a popular online Jewish dating service, and go out for dinner. Then you get a little busy at work for a week or so, and don't jump all over the guy like a desperate hussy.
What do you get? An invoice for that date's dinner. Yeah, our name-withheld-heroine must be sad she's missing out on this clown's attentions. His invoice after the jump.
To: [X] Subject: Invoice 6/12/04 Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 17:15:59 EDT
Dear [WOMAN'S NAME]
On June 5, you agreed to accept dinner, paid for in full, by me, based on your stated offer that we would go out again. In that you have ignored all overtures to said follow up meeting, you are hereby considered in breach of contract.
To that end, you are being invoiced for 50% of the cost of the dinner, pursuant to the offer. For the record, the offer presented you with the option of not going out again and paying for half of the dinner, or going out again and not paying at all. You accepted these terms, choosing to go out again, as stated above, but have since failed to deliver your end of the agreement. In that this was merely a promise to meet, and not a promise to marry, the agreement is binding under New York law and does not require a written agreement (i.e. statute of frauds).
Furthermore, this is absolutely not a joke.
Your share is 50% of $74.51 which is a total of $37.25. Payment in full is expected within 30 days.
You may remit to:
[MAN'S NAME AND ADDRESS]"
Monday, June 14, 2004
what an elephant wants
Gotta get me a Free Flora t-shirt. Flora is a retired circus elephant who never knew another elephant her entire life.
Her new stomping ground is 2,700 acres of elephant sanctuary in Tennessee with two new elephant pals. The funds raised from the Free Flora campiagn go to keeping Flora with the fauna permanently.
Friday, June 11, 2004
It's! The! Sun!
Thanks to Eric Shea, who loves Black Sabbath and Bread equally, for sending this around. It's the best game ever, set to the sounds of The Polyphonic Spree. All you do is click, and click, and click, and click. And then you keep clicking. Get thee to all three levels. S'fun!
Thursday, June 10, 2004
oh, deer
Nick is my soulmate. He knows all about me and still loves me. When we went on our lovely getaway a couple of weekends ago, it also overlapped with us upgrading our home computer.
Hooray on that, number one, but also, we realized that it meant I had to upgrade my connection to the new Ruby iMac from the digital camera that Nick got me on Valentine's Day from kozmo.com years ago.
My point is, I had one mere memory card in my camera for our three-day trip. My intention was to clear off the extraneous ebay snaps and make room for things like our house, our hot tub and our dog in front of the fireplace. Nick said, "I don't want you to be looking at a sea lion saying, 'oh, I'll just delete some pictures now'" and I laughed because I would never do that.
I would make the time to scroll around on my camera and delete enough stuff so that I could shoot anything that merited pixels. In the words of the great Sammy Davis Jr., "Yes I Can."
So of *course* there we were: Nick, me and the dog in our house, watching no fewer than four entire deer traipsing and sniffing on our very own lawn. There was a wee one that Nick said is called a fawn. If you strain, you can see the butt of one just below the bird feeder. All from the perspective of our dog.
So Nick was right. It's all right. I was scrambling for empty photos but got this one. He knows me.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
stop that incessant cackle
In the days of my youth I heard words often spoken from my dad...
"Stop that incessant cackle!"
The trouble is, sometimes when you've heard something too much, it ceases to register. My incessant cackle remains today, stamping my goofy personality to the shame of my dining companions. To those, I'm sorry. [But not really].
In honor of Father's Day, I would like to honor my father's least favorite toy: my Big Mouth Singers. Each key pressed opens one of the silly Muppet Baby-esque heads in half, like a Pac Man head, to the drone of each hideous bell. [It tolls for me].
I wonder with my own big mouth, who bought me that thing anyway?
Thursday, June 03, 2004
acoustic set; now with nurse shoes
I got to see Prince last night in San Jose, and I am one lucky girl. Although I lived in Minneapolis, Prince's hometown, for 4 years, I never, ever got to see him peform until last night.
The closest I'd gotten to him in Mpls. was spotting him in the crowd at his club. Even in his ultra-tall Kiss boots, he stood about as high as my chin. He was sucking on a round lollipop and moving fast from one spot to the next, often in the same minute. Where is he? Oh, on the first floor. Where is he now? Oh, on the balcony. Being deliberately elusive made him even more mysterious.
So was my 20+ years of pent-up anticipation of a Prince show worth it? You bet ya! He usually plays for 3 hours and incorporates costume changes to freshen up between sets.
His 2nd outfit last night was a white shirt, open wide, with red polka dots, and white pants with fringe running up and down the seams. He rose from below the stage on a silver chair for his solo acoustic performance. Since the mic was installed to his chair, he could swivel 360 degrees, purple acoustic guitar and all. He also wore white custom nurse shoes with giant white wedge heels. He may be Prince, but comfort is king.
I joked earlier that because of the last train I had to catch back to San Francisco, that I would miss "Little Red Corvette" and "Raspberry Beret" naiively predicting the encores in advance. But he played both solo, in that nurse shoe outfit.
Then the full band returned to the stage to back up Prince chugging his guitar through a stellar, incredibly solid cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Unreal, really.
Prince also pointed out that he refuses to use "bad language" which matches the rumors that he's now a Jehovah's Witness, but who cares? Anyone with eyes and ears would agree that his live shows are one sight to see.
The closest I'd gotten to him in Mpls. was spotting him in the crowd at his club. Even in his ultra-tall Kiss boots, he stood about as high as my chin. He was sucking on a round lollipop and moving fast from one spot to the next, often in the same minute. Where is he? Oh, on the first floor. Where is he now? Oh, on the balcony. Being deliberately elusive made him even more mysterious.
So was my 20+ years of pent-up anticipation of a Prince show worth it? You bet ya! He usually plays for 3 hours and incorporates costume changes to freshen up between sets.
His 2nd outfit last night was a white shirt, open wide, with red polka dots, and white pants with fringe running up and down the seams. He rose from below the stage on a silver chair for his solo acoustic performance. Since the mic was installed to his chair, he could swivel 360 degrees, purple acoustic guitar and all. He also wore white custom nurse shoes with giant white wedge heels. He may be Prince, but comfort is king.
I joked earlier that because of the last train I had to catch back to San Francisco, that I would miss "Little Red Corvette" and "Raspberry Beret" naiively predicting the encores in advance. But he played both solo, in that nurse shoe outfit.
Then the full band returned to the stage to back up Prince chugging his guitar through a stellar, incredibly solid cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Unreal, really.
Prince also pointed out that he refuses to use "bad language" which matches the rumors that he's now a Jehovah's Witness, but who cares? Anyone with eyes and ears would agree that his live shows are one sight to see.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Honorable Hamilton Rules
Check out today's top story, above the fold, on just about every newspaper downtown and you'll see yesterday's results of the Planned Parenthood vs. Ashcroft case:
Federal Abortion Ban Struck Down in Court!
Federal District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled today that the federal abortion ban is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. The ruling is a victory for women's health and the right to medical privacy.
This will save the lives of countless women. HOoRaY for that!
Federal Abortion Ban Struck Down in Court!
Federal District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled today that the federal abortion ban is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. The ruling is a victory for women's health and the right to medical privacy.
This will save the lives of countless women. HOoRaY for that!
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
one cone, then two
Join us this fridee June 4th at the newly swanky 12 Galaxies for an evening with our dear Kelley Stoltz [aka Stoltzy] and Oranger. It's at 2565 Mission street, to the left of Doc's Clock, but not the drag queen lipstick and wig store. Tix here.
Live! Cute! Swirls! [of the psychedelic rock variety].
