still for hill...

This made me smile, so I had to share it! (And it's only about 20 seconds, so what have ya got to lose by clicking?!)

my two cents

I don't know about you, but I'm getting really tired of political hyperbole overshadowing reality. Of course, in the world of politics this is nothing new. Witness this old postcard:

the front:


and the back:


We're obviously facing some big issues, and it's frustrating how über-partisan posturing limits our ability to have a substantive and rational discussion.

That is all.

bush as thumper

Taking to heart Thumper's wise words to Bambi (If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all), Bush avoided insulting Obama in his first post-White House speech given to a paying audience in Calgary.

According to CBS News, Bush stated: "I'm not going to spend my time criticizing him. ... He deserves my silence."

(I would have posted a picture of Dubya, but I think you'll have to agree Thumper is way cuter.)

there's cool and then there's not so cool

Yep, gotta admit this is Cool:


Obama Steps to Door of White House--and History (Seattle Times article and picture)

Obviously Obama faces some daunting challenges, but I think he's up to them. And I like the symbolism of Obama being sworn in using the Lincoln Bible.


Of course I simply must comment on something that is Not So Cool



Jill Biden said on Oprah Monday that her husband had his pick between the vice presidency or the Secretary of State nomination that eventually went to Hillary Clinton, a slip that Joe Biden tried to shush. Full story here. According to the article, "Clinton's spokesman declined to comment about the suggestion that she was the second choice."

Good response, Hillary.

There were pages of reader comments over at the Huffington Post on this topic. Here's my favorite:
"Thank God Joe isn't Secretary of State. These people can't keep their mouths shut."

Anyway, Biden will be fine as VP and Hillary will be great as Secretary of State. I say let's move on and get to the business of the country.

what to do now...

As I mentioned in my "Tina Fey plays Sarah Palin" posts, I love a good parody. And that's why I'm posting this. It's funny!

As you all know, Obama wasn't my first choice. *Sniff* Hillary was. But this is not meant to insult anybody who was a big Obama supporter. Again, I just find it funny!


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

This ain't no pick-a-nick!

I wish this was the only 'bear market' we had to deal with:



Here's what Hillary has to say on the topic...





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(googled the yogi pic)

what would a maverick do?

I love Queen Latifah, so I was excited to hear she was going to pop by SNL and portray Gwen Ifill moderating the VP debate. Tina Fey again brilliantly played Sarah Palin and Jason Sudeikis did well with Joe Biden.

Great stuff here!

Fey-lin

Woo hoo! Tina Fey reprised her role as Sarah Palin on SNL. But this time Amy Poehler played Katie Couric instead of Hillary Clinton.

While it didn't give me nearly as many giggles as the original Fey-Palin/Poehler-Clinton opener, it's still worth watching:




I always appreciate a good parody.

spot on

This just never gets old...

two items...

#1. Is it just me, or did Joe Lieberman look and sound like Droopy Dog tonight at the Repub Convention?



And, more importantly...
#2. Tomorrow, Mr. Tumnus is having surgery to repair a hernia. Good luck, Tumnus! Hope everything goes smoothly!

garbage puff's hillary party

Yesterday Garbage Puff came up with the idea of having a "Hillary Party". He thought it might be fun to have pizza, eat ice cream, wear weird hats, and watch Hillary Clinton's convention speech.

Me: Gee, Garbage Puff, I don't know if I'll be up for that after a long day at the clinic.

Garbage Puff: It'll be fun. I'll do all the decorating. All you have to do is show up. C'mon -- girl power and all!

I'll admit, the "girl power" thing got me, so I agreed. And true to his word, Garbage Puff had the house all decorated and made funny hats. (My mom, a McCain supporter, wouldn't wear a Hillary hat. But she did eat the pizza.)



I really liked the intro video narrated by Chelsea Clinton. If you didn't get a chance to see it, it's worth watching:
youtube link here

And, I thought Hillary's speech was great.
text here

Now if Garbage Puff will clean up the mess, I'll have it made.

"we can make it happen"

Yesterday, Hubby and I drove north and Offsprings #1&2 drove south so that we could meet to attend a Chicago concert. (Offspring #2 plays trumpet and really likes Chicago, so that was the main reason we started thinking about going.) No cameras were allowed, but this picture from wikimedia gives you an approximate idea of what we saw (only we were much further back):



Actually the first date for Hubby and me (back in early September 1977) was attending a Chicago concert in Portland. So 31 years later, here we were again. (Hubby the Historian pointed out last night that Offspring #1 is the same age now as I was back in '77.)

The venue was on the grounds at the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery, so it was very pretty. (Didn't take this picture either; found it on google!)



It was a really pleasant day--blue skies and warm temps. Four of Chicago's original band members are still with the group, and they still put on a heck of a show. (By the way, does anyone remember good ol' Livingston Taylor? He opened.)

It was interesting to have that 31 year gap between the concerts, and I made a couple of observations regarding my Baby Boomer group.

Observation 1:
Back at the concert in '77, if a guy in his early 20's had had too much to drink, taken his shirt off, and repeatedly shouted "Woooooooooooooooo!" -- and no, I'm not talking about Hubby! -- I'm sure I would have found it mildly amusing (and perhaps a bit annoying).

However when someone in his 50's does this same thing in 2008 (again, not talking about Hubby!), it just sort of strikes one as pathetic, ya know?

As Joan Rivers would say, "Oh, grow up!"

Observation 2:
One of the "oldies" Chicago performed was Dialogue Parts I and II. (Great song!)

In part I, the question is raised:
"Will you try to change things
Use the power that you have, the
power of a million new ideas?"

And in part II is the repetitive, inspirational chorus:
We can make it happen
We can change the world now
We can save the children
We can make it better...

As I was listening (and watching the "Wooooooooooo!" man in the sea of Baby Boomers), I couldn't help but be somewhat disappointed in my demographic group. For all of our "million new ideas", energy, and idealism, we certainly seem to have dropped the ball a lot. Of course there have been some great accomplishments, but as a group we bought into the whole consumerism thing. And on our watch, we sat by as the health of our planet declined. We also managed to forget the lessons of Vietnam and are now in another unpopular war. (Of course I am generalizing about the group as a whole -- there are individuals who have been trying hard all along NOT to drop the ball.)

In any event, as many people were singing along to the "we can make it happen" part, I was thinking that to truly "make it happen", we Baby Boomers better get our collective butts in gear already.

the speech

In the past week I've seen Offspring #1 in a play (dang, she's good!), heard Offspring #2's trumpet in a symphony concert and a jazz concert (dang, he's good too!), and helped Offspring #1 move into a different apartment. Yep, it's been busy.

I missed Hillary's speech, but did read the text online. Here's my favorite part:

To those who are disappointed that we couldn't go all of the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.

Always aim high, work hard and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you're knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on. ...

Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it -- and the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time.

Obviously she came up short (and yes I know not everyone is a fan of Hillary's), but still I'm proud of what she accomplished.

ch-ch-ch-changes

I hate to post back to back youtubes, but this one was waaaaay too good not to share.
(I've always loved this Bowie song, and it fits perfectly for Election '08!)
Enjoy!