“It’s a new world every morning Sarah.” ~ Pops

I played in the waves with abandon. The water’s too damn cold here to do that so I took advantage, tossing the beach football with the boys, diving and swimming into the waves, handstanding and back handspringing all over the place. Sigh.

Hi! I’m back. Well I mean, not emotionally, but physically. And I have some pretty solid pics but I’ll post them later, save one or two. There’s just other things worth writing about today. And, I may have secured another byline here in town…we shall see… Anyway, if y’all get something out of the following, well that’s just a fantastic bonus. But this is how I find my voice in the madness. And so if you thought it was something more, my apologies for disappointing you.

One thing happened down there in my beloved Georgia that had the mark of a lesson on it, primarily due to the fact that it followed me from Savannah to Atlanta. There’s a stretch of highway between 16 and I-95 down there that’s named the Clarence Thomas Interchange. Now, I was unaware that Thomas hailed from Savannah but it made sense immediately from what I know of the man when I realized I was bopping along it headed out of Savannah. And then, early the next morning, after some killer burgers and brats that Pops grilled up, I happened to turn on the TV at like 6 am and there was Thomas on CSPAN talking to students at Duquesne University about how he thinks there’s something remarkable about kids who come from modest means and go on to defeat the odds and obstacles — and prejudices — and become what they desire to become. He said they are the reason the expression “Do well to do good” existed. Well my God. I hear you. And I’ll get right on it.

And I’m pretty sure that whole “doing good” thing means owning up to mistakes and taking responsibility. There has been a very disturbing trend lately at high levels of government to be all, “Huh? What’s going on? Well I didn’t know that was happening…It must’ve been someone working to harm me or against my overall vision… .” I mean look, plausible deniability is a fascinating concept and useful to a degree, but it’s starting to sound stupid and, at a certain point, starts to smack of cowardice. I think you have to employ it on the front-end for it to work effectively. As in — “Don’t tell me! I don’t want to know!” Invoking it after the fact, when everyone’s pretty sure you must’ve known something, just makes you look…God take your pick of things. None of them are flattering. If you’d like to know the proper way to handle a scandal, it’s here:

“First, let me say I take full responsibility for my own actions and for those of my administration. As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities. As disappointed as I may be in some who served me, I’m still the one who must answer to the American people for this behavior. And as personally distasteful as I find secret bank accounts and diverted funds – well, as the Navy would say, this happened on my watch.” ~ Ronald Reagan, March 4, 1987 during a little thing known as Iran Contra

Also, one of my favorite thinkers has written something that I’m so glad SOMEONE has finally addressed. Namely, it doesn’t really matter if you’re nice to your enemies if their agenda is to see you dead. Your truce is a punchline to these folks. Or, as Goldberg says:

They say all is fair in love and war (I’m skeptical), but that doesn’t mean war and love have much in common. When it comes to love, both parties need to be in on it. In war, all it takes is one to tango. Sure, if the non-belligerent party doesn’t want to fight, it can try to talk, or cut a deal, or even surrender. But it’s up to the guys willing to kill to decide how things will proceed.

I recently watched Apocalypse Now again after many years and Kurtz kind of comes to that realization when he decides that Charlie has the will to cut off the arms of the children recently inoculated by American Special Forces. They are just men, but they are stronger because they don’t care/care that much. By no means is this meant to suggest we meet brutal killers on their own ideological battlefield; simply that it would be wise to stop pretending that we can reach them through explaining how inoculation is good for the world. And for the record Jonah, I’m skeptical as well.

On a related note, shocking right? (said no one who has been paying attention to anything in the history of the world or in modern day international affairs…)

A’ight, other fun things and stuff:

This would be hard for those slaves to email (ahem), the planning the day idea is a good one. I personally murder sticky notes at a horrifying clip.

Must read. Because the intersection of magic and psyops is just too delicious.

Engineering would have been a cool pursuit if I didn’t have the hots for all those tortured poets and writers as a teenager…

Some boys are awesome.

Some women are bizarre. Feminism is hilarious to me.

Like economics? How bout Game of Thrones? History? Okay, here. Thank George when you see him.

Have yet to see it but Moulin Rouge was a tear-jerking spectacle of theater and dance and the book. Oh the book…

Hmmm…I feel like the Democrats only mantra might change…

Gah! If only he could have found more private investors! Wait…what?

A man unwilling to do this need not apply.

Could eat these all day. Also, if it eludes you…

I played in a million softball tournaments here as a kid and glad to see it’s getting some street cred.

If you could have seen me playing in the waves this weekend from underwater it would have looked something like this, only with red hair and a larger frame.

If you make it to Savannah, go to Bonaventure Cemetery. Trust me.

You don’t want to waste your life, nor do I.

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Miles to go before I sleep

Hey y’all…by the time you read this I’ll be close to Savannah, Ga. And the water. And the beach. And the food. And the pace. And my friends. And my family… I wonder if I’ll come back…Hold on there sparky, don’t get too excited yet. Things have just gotten really challenging and I tend not to run from challenges, despite the recent assertion by a charming human being I used to know that I’m weak — I think because I can get my feelings hurt and I don’t like to be around bitchy folk, men or women. Funny how often people mistake that for weakness. In any event, cutting the trip dangerously close to the wedding Friday but I’m a rebel like that (and I had tons to do before leaving town). So don’t get too excited about being rid of me yet. I’m still around. And plan to be for some time to come. Also, I made some of these for the trip from some of Grandpa Lee’s blueberries that have been chilling in my freezer. Can’t recommend this recipe more…

So, one thing that’s become noticeable of late — and it’s glaring — is the deafening silence of the kids who were so politically minded that they HATED BUSH and were all about YES WE CAN and the Obama future. I mean you couldn’t shut these kids up five years ago, and even pre-election last summer. They were all brilliant policy wonks who knew Nate Silver and Ezra Klein and Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were the blessed and the holy and were the glorious second coming of all things noble and peaceful and rational and not George Bush or evil Richy “Mitt Romney” Rich. But now, I look at some of their stuff on Facebook and they’ve become sort of shockingly apolitical. Like politics is SO BORING now it’s not even worth the effort to type about it. You would never know that we have some major, major scandals happening at the moment from the lack of output from these political and social critics of yesterday. It’s goddamn fascinating. Anyway, just an observation.

Speaking of, a friend created a beautiful graphic to demonstrate the wisdom of one “low-level” IRS employee:

If you need the reference, just do some YouTubing of the brilliant Chappelle Show. Man, there’s a hole where that programming used to be…

I’ve seen it written that Lerner was a product of her environment and a the culture of “target the other.” My friend George even gives her the Nuremberg Defense of she was just doing her job. And he’s right: it doesn’t take a genius to know what to do to stay employed. And the bureaucracy does pretty much rely on these types, those willing to forgo decency and all ethical consideration to keep their position (there are so many of them and, trust, is it a hard thing to watch at times…). And I think that speaks to a culture as well: you WILL get in line and follow the protocol — no matter what that protocol is — or something horrible will happen to you, i.e. you will lose your job. That’s a real and valid threat for most people. And breeding that kind of culture leads to the demise of a great many things — up to and including a huge organization like the IRS, as some are yelling for. Which, in this case, maybe wouldn’t be such a bad thing…Anyway, this was interesting. It’s the dumb blonde defense. Which has never been particularly impressive as a strategy AFTER THE FACT, to cover a mistake. It’s just kind of sad at that point…

K, now fun things for your long weekend…Also, do you ever get the feeling you have people in your life who are only happy if you’re really sad? I’ve been feeling that way lately. I don’t care for the feeling.

Gattis is going down in history already. Myth and legend people.

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster has always been a particularly appealing option…

Y’all know my Joaquin Phoenix obsession, right? I’m sure this won’t help…

So the arches of my feet sometimes get over worked from dance and they can really give me the finger and be all “yeah, I’ve just decided you’re asking too much of me and I quit.” A dancer friend of mine had one of these in class the other day and it was like the light of heaven just shone down upon my poor and beleaguered feet.

I’m thinking about it.

Finally, everyone’s talking about that new Daft Punk album. It’s in the car. So far, so good.

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Cruelty and vanity

Hey y’all. I’m OFFICIALLY on vacation. Finally. Did I mention it’s been 3 years or so? Because it has. And I’m not really heading anywhere until Wednesday — and even then nowhere super exotic, just back South to Savannah for a wedding and some playtime with friends. Then maybe into Atlanta to see the folks since Mom’s coming off some minor surgery (she’s fine) and Pops just likes me and misses me, and I have a ton of time to spare. Lately it feels like the family are the only ones who like me. Heh. I guess everyone feels that way at times, huh? In any event, sometimes I do wish i could just bite the bullet and make wealthy-parents-with-a-travel-penchant a prerequisite for a relationship, but I don’t seem to have the eye of the tiger when it comes to such things. Even when everyone’s on board with what a guy friend of mine calls “an understanding,” I’m too burdened by pesky feelings like guilt and childish aspirations for love and commitment and loyalty. I know. Anyway, I’m in the midst of some big changes so seeing the family and hanging with people I actually call friends is in order. I’ll fill you in on the details of what I expect are positive developments once everything shakes out and settles down. Change is the constant, right? And dynamism is generally preferred over stasis. And anyway, the universe kind of tells you when it’s time to make changes and you can either listen and be proactive or gain a little more knowledge and be reactive. There are benefits to both. I tend to stick around out of loyalty (or laziness. I’m never sure which is the bigger motivator). And I’m comfortable being that kind of person. But it does set you up for one unpleasant set of circumstances that I’ve never quite gotten used to. It’s best described thus…

I used to know a guy who impressed me. Very smart, pretty cool, liked good music, good books, was intellectually curious, and seemed like a nice dude who came from a good family. But I noticed disturbingly early on that weird things — negative things — would happen when I was in his presence. For example, we would be out somewhere and people would be overtly nasty to me. They’d say really mean and intentionally snarky things to me in his presence. Or his friends were almost painfully rude and dismissive — or downright interfering. Or his drinking crew would treat me like I was some sort of pariah. Or he wouldn’t get up and let me sit on the end of a bench, making me literally squat over the seat and swing my legs around, even though I was in a dress, smirking the whole time. One time I slipped on a puddle of water and landed hard on my left glut and thigh. And I looked up at him and he stood there, smirking down at me, and never made a move to help me up. Bad things happened when he was around, and he smirked. And I began to realize at some point that the things that appeared beyond his control — the rudeness of others — were actually directly related to his attitude toward me. He gave people permission to treat me that way. And the other things — slipping, missing a train — weren’t related to him but the smirking and the later recriminations were. In short, his whole negative little vibe caused the world around me to suck when he was near. People carry an energy with them and it is either upbeat, positive, and affirming, or none of those things. And when you encounter that kind of thing — the soul-sucking vampirism of the mean little monster in your personal or professional life — it should come as little surprise when you one day look around and almost nothing is good. That’s the environment these mean little monsters create. And it’s that realization that you’ve allowed your entire orbit to become dark out of a sense of loyalty that is the thing I’ve never gotten used to. The good thing is, I’ve also never drowned in it either. You just find a new, brighter orbit and hope you’re not subjected to the monster makers again. Of course, they’re everywhere, aren’t they? But the bright orbits are everywhere, too.

Anyway, I’m gonna leave off talking about work-related (read: political) stuff except to say I agree with this. Benghazi is the worst one, y’all. Don’t be distracted. And say that I think lobbying for tech policy is very intriguing…Also, that now that I know I can just rest for a little while, all I want to do is sleep…Oh yeah, and say that it is very, very important to pay attention to how people treat everyone they meet. Because they may treat the waiter like a nobody and you think you rank above a waiter. But these kind of folks change rankings based on what they consider useful to them. And if they no longer like what you’re selling, you’re the waiter who brought them a substandard salad who needs to be dressed down in front of the whole restaurant. Just sayin’.

I’m posting this picture in lieu of two others that I REALLY want to post but have decided against because they’re hilarious but too mean…Also, I’m aware this is a non sequitur. I’m on vacation.

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No rain

Wednesday Jazz Hands

I’m really enjoying reading Wonkette and the feeds of prolific liberal social media users I know. Because it’s as if there’s nothing going on at all in the world except cat videos and obscure news items. So delicious.

Speaking of, Mama Bradley gave this to me. Anyone who has ever negotiated anything with a cat knows this is all true…

Much to the chagrin of Wonkette I’m sure, there is some other stuff going on right now that deserves some attention. Charles and I had a little chat about all that this morning. Pretty funny stuff; a much-needed laugh was had.

Charles : Ha
“Jay Carney hasn’t faced a sequester question since May 3rd.”
Yeah, stuff has kinda been going on
me:
oh i’m sure he’d welcome a sequester question right about now
Charles:
No joke
Gosnell, anything
me:
really
he’s probably like
y’all want to talk about how we bowed to the Saudi guy?
let’s talk about that
or obamacare
?
Charles:
Ha, right
“Who wants to talk about Jeremiah Wright?”
me:
hahahaha
yeah
Charles:
That birth certificate was a reprint
me:
and it has flaws
serious flaws

It’s also interesting to note that some of the arguments and excuses being made are that 1)it’s really super hard being President; 2) the government is so vast the President couldn’t possibly know everything; and 3) the Executive Office gets its info from the news like the rest of us.

Okay, 1) the “pity-me” argument does not inspire confidence in leadership; 2) then cut the government. That seems to be a refrain I’ve heard before (stolen from Charles); and 3)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

Alright, other stuff:

I have a business meeting here later. I’m not bummed out about it.

Will be made this weekend.

Yeah, this rage seems a tad misdirected…

This hobby needs to come back into my life. Such a great game. I just need a partner.

Read the AP’s version of DOJ story. Fascinating.

Game of Thrones + Friends.

Sometimes this song comes on randomly in the morning and I jump around to it. It’s pretty much what I ask out of life as well.

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Now we are here….

The Monster Gosnell is guilty, as is befitting someone who tied young girls down, laughed about how big the babies decapitated were, and unceremoniously taught unlicensed civilians to snip the spines of these little ones as they wriggled and cried, fighting for life. Sick. I mean, it seems rational to me to question a system that gives license to, and sanctions — and sells — the behavior of a psychopath. Worth a second look, right?

Anyway, I don’t get something: I’m getting the impression that the left side of the political spectrum — particularly those in the press — seem to be downplaying the Benghazi scandal by focusing on the IRS scandal. Let’s just be really clear here — they are both bad. Charles said the only difference is that one was a reaction, the other a pro-action. But then, people died in the reactive case. So it all balances out. The point is: welcome to the 2nd term Obama. Too bad you set yourself up to have a really terrible time of things. I suspect you’ll survive with your job, but only just barely. You reputation will not fare as well, nor will your party. Because, despite a disturbing tendency to think things that are the bedrock of man’s civility to man are somehow meaningless, Mark Steyn spells out that, in the end, these things actually do matter.

The dying Los Angeles Times reported this story on its homepage (as a sidebar to “Thirteen Great Tacos in Southern California”) under the following headline: “Partisan Politics Dominates House Benghazi Hearing.” In fact, everyone in this story is a Democrat or a career civil servant. Chris Stevens was the poster boy for Obama’s view of the Arab Spring; he agreed with the president on everything that mattered. The only difference is that he wasn’t in Vegas but out there on the front line, where Obama’s delusions meet reality. Stevens believed in those illusions enough to die for them. One cannot say the same about the hollow men and women in Washington who sent him out there unprotected, declined to lift a finger when he came under attack, and in the final indignity subordinated his sacrifice to their political needs by lying over his corpse. Where’s the “partisan politics”? Obama, Clinton, Panetta, Clapper, Rice, and the rest did this to one of their own. And fawning court eunuchs, like the ranking Democrat at the hearings, Elijah Cummings, must surely know that, if they needed, they’d do it to them, too. If you believe in politics über alles, it’s impressive, in the same way that Hillary’s cocksure dismissal — “What difference, at this point, does it make?” — is impressive.

But the embassy security chief, Eric Nordstrom, had the best answer to that: It matters because “the truth matters” — not least to the Libyan president, who ever since has held the U.S. government in utter contempt. Truth matters, and character matters. For the American people to accept the Obama-Clinton lie is to be complicit in it.

It’s the complicit part that is particularly interesting. And the marvelous straight forward assertion that CHARACTER MATTERS. Because it does. Sometimes I look around and think people have forgotten that. Wonderful to see it so definitively stated. It put me in the mind of something I read recently by my man CS Lewis (I keep him in my bathroom. Ahem.). He’s talking about war, but the spirit of the sentiment is the same:

It may be asked whether, faint as the hope is of abolishing war by Pacifism, there is any other hope. But the question belongs to a mode of thought which I find quite alien to me. It consists in assuming that the great permanent miseries in human life must be curable if only we can find the right cure: and it then proceeds by elimination and concludes that whatever is left, however unlikely to prove a cure, must nevertheless do so. Hence the fanaticism of Marxists, Freudians, Eugenists, Spiritualists, Douglasites, Federal Unionists, Vegetarians, and all the rest. But I have received no assurance that anything we can do will eradicate suffering. I think the best results are obtained by people who work quietly away at limited objectives, such as the abolition of the slave trade, or prison reform, or factory acts, or tuberculosis, not by those who think they can achieve universal justice, or health, or peace. I think the art of life consists in tackling each immediate evil as well as we can. To avert or postpone one particular war by wise policy, or to render one particular campaign shorter by strength and skill or less terrible by mercy to the conquered and the civilians is more useful than all proposals for universal peace that have ever been made; just as the dentist who can stop one toothache has deserved better of humanity than all the men who think they have some scheme for producing a perfectly healthy race.

Alright, other less heavy things before I get to go outside and play ball. Hooray! I prefer the outdoors…Speaking of, this commercial is really excellent…

A co-worker’s girlfriend took a pic of a bottle of wine they recently shared. Cracked me up when I got the pic last night. According to the Nerd American, “It was a really good bottle of wine.” Nice

I like to think the fact it was well received was a subliminal suggestion and that this means, maybe a little?, that I’m liked. Kind of…

Made a cream cheese strawberry Chambord pie last night and had every intention of bringing it to the work kids…but I’m not done with it yet….

Joss Whedon + TV show + Marvel Comics superheroes = everybody wins folks.

Um, I would totally do this. We used to go out on the Chesapeake chum fishing when I was a kid with my G-pa and Pops. Good — no, great — memories…
 

Whoa Saturn. Slow your roll…

Now, a friend of mine back in Georgia just went and saw a theater adaptation of this movie, that I can claim having seen in the theater as a very young kid because my sis was into this kind of thing. Lucky for me she was. Behold, Xanadu…Did y’all know I performed on TV once with my roller disco class? Multi-talented over here.

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Oh what a tangled web we weave…

Feel just like this today. (h/t George)

Good Lord what a day! I’ve been fielding calls all day about this IRS thing, which has simply got to be bigger than it looks because the story broke, apparently, because the IRS apologized. I find it highly unlikely that this was altruism for a great many reasons but most notably because, if it’s true that these were low-level workers in Ohio, why did the IRS choose to make it national news by drawing attention to it?

Anyway, I’m too tired to concentrate on that so I’m having a glass of wine at my desk and trying to make it through a brief but I wanted to just shed myself of a few things and share some fun here. Helps me put things into perspective to take a little break…

There’s a lot to say about Benghazi but it’s already being said and I have no new insights to offer except to say that Jay Carney will likely be out of a job over it, and when you’re caught in a lie it’s best not to continue trying to lie. It makes it so much worse. I swear it’s as if this administration just thought they were so far above the fray that they were untouchable. That kind of arrogance is infuriating on a microcosmic level and is downright immoral on a national scale. And, for the record, I’m not feeling particularly sympathetic toward all the kids who spouted off their rage at those who were unwilling to support this administration. I suppose it’s good you’re seeing how foolish you were. But don’t expect anyone you raged against to think very well of you. You were far too ridiculous. I mean, this is how you get your information. I get it. He’s charming and self-effacing and pretty funny at times. He’s also willfully ignorant at times. And cynical and dead wrong at times. Learn to ferret it out.

I think the problem lies somewhere in here. I mean, in spite of the fact that this — in a weird loop of irony — tries for irony but is, in fact, placing the blame elsewhere — this kid is right. I don’t think these kids actually understand the concept of “serious.” They are, for lack of a better word, pretty soft. But people dying in Benghazi is SERIOUS. It has import beyond where you’re drinking later, and implications for the future and safety of where you live. I mean, I’m not sure the everybody-gets-a-trophy mentality is the cause for you not getting that…

But there is hope among you!

Speaking of hackers, this convinces me that the federal government is not employing the best and brightest…

Science is cool.

Know someone who rides a bike? Because this is like the coolest gift ever…

Well I mean yeah. Have you seen us? It’s like looking at angels…

I adore how he sits down! (h/t Silvers)

My intention is to try them all. Especially the eclair. Also, I found a ganache for my pretzel brownies. Because: coffee. Then there’s this, which will be made this weekend and will replace the chives with cilantro. Because that’s how I roll. Finally on the subject of food, I made a new dance friend who lives in my hood and we tried out a new spot up the street. Seriously, go. Oh wait! Also, graphic novel + cooking = glorious.

I love everything they do and this just looks quality. “…go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over.”
http://twistedsifter.com/2013/05/century-chest-100-year-old-time-capsule-revealed-oklahoma/

I stole this from Ann Coulter. Love them all. Brought some peace.

I get to see images from the family on a Thursday afternoon talking about their first day on the links. Nerds without feeling. That’s all I’m sayin’…

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It feels like things are getting ready to flip…

Okay, one thing down, one to go, so here’s a quick check in with you folks…

There’s like this eerie calm before the Benghazi hearing, right? Just for fun, I went hunting on the notably left-leaning blogs last night to see what they were saying about the hearing. Fascinatingly and rather disgustingly, they were fond of pulling the Issa-as-Ken-Starr meme, indicating (as The Daily Kos did) that Issa is conducting a circus hearing, presumably just to nail Obama. Does Kos (or Media Matters or any of the other rabid tankers who spout a party line without thought to morality or rationality or intellect or anything else that is actually interesting and appropriate) understand how remarkably disrespectful it is to suggest that Hicks — the man testifying who was the last to speak to Ambassador Stephens and is expected to say that they were told to stand down and that everyone knew from jump they were under attack AND that he was ashamed when this notion of a YouTube video was used as the official excuse — is being used by Issa in a witch hunt? I mean I know you like your guy and all — you gave him a second term — and I know you have high hopes for Hillary but the truth is it’s looking more and more like they failed to make the right calls (at best) and the men who survived should be allowed to speak to that. All you supporters would expect and deserve the same. And I know how much you insist on getting what you deserve…Anyway, I think this is the most interesting question. Why did a man who is regarded as competent not do something? Was he ordered not to? Did he make his own judgement call?

Okay other things while we wait…

This is a good piece written by an atheist about atheists who salivate over showing those silly believers they’re idiots. Couldn’t agree more. Like I’m real sorry your fundamentalist Mom made you go to church as a kid while the other kids were playing but get over it already. Jesus. (h/t George)

Good God but this is fascinating…

As is this. The Southern Cross is a bucket lister.

Sigh. The man who peaced out and left his job and his life and his wife and kids for a few weeks (come on man, get it together) just won his Congressional seat. Fine. I guess it’s better to have a Republican that will vote any way he’s told than a Dem coattail rider. But I will not be surprised if he just drops off the face of the planet at some point and ends up a bum on some South American beach. That’s all I’m saying. Which is fine, just don’t give people any reason to think they can rely on you. Anyway, I think Jonah Goldberg nails it.

Interesting. It makes sense of course — when people are building off of others’ code, the chances of it breaking increase.

Ace is always interesting but I admit it: the labradoodle thing cracked me and that’s the primary reason I’m sharing this. “Detective Doodle!”

Two twitter accounts to follow: My friend Whit told me about this one: Haikews. Literally, a haiku based on a news item. Love it so so much. And then NFLJesus because I believe God has a sense of humor and would like it.

We project this to the world, but I wish we projected more of this.

Bounce. Just for fun.

Pay attention gents. We can be really sweet and accommodating. But our red lines have meaning…

IF YOU MARRY A GEORGIA GIRL

Three friends married women from different parts of the country.

The first man married a woman from Indiana. He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.

The second man married a woman from Michigan. He gave his wife orders to do all the cleaning, wash dishes, and prepare gourmet meals.
The first day he didn’t see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done, and there was a huge dinner on the table.

The third man married a girl from Georgia. He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, the dishes washed, the lawn mowed, the laundry washed and ironed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn’t see anything, and the second day he didn’t see anything, but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone
down and he could see a little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher. He still has some difficulty when he pees.

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Lime Cupcakes

Disclaimer: written early this morning. Apologies for the pre-dawn rambling.

I had an interesting conversation with someone last night on Facebook because I posted that piece about RGIII and political correctness, agreeing that the Redskins shouldn’t have to change their name. My friend, who is generally a rational fellow, pulled the always loaded, “Wait. You don’t think Redskins is offensive?” No. In fact, I don’t. And even if I did, I don’t think it’s too deserving of my outrage. There are some other things that piss me off, that I’m legitimately outraged about (Benghazi, repeated ignored warnings about Tsarnaev the Elder, fabricated sequester horrors, etc.) so I think political correctness is pretty uninteresting by comparison. Also, as I said to him and it’s really what drives this opinion, people give their football teams (and sports teams in general) names that are evocative of badass-ness. In other words, the Redskins are to be feared and respected. That seems more honorific than anything else. But then, I do sort of take the Lenny Bruce tack about these kinds of language issues: the word is offensive because we decide it is. It is not inherently offensive. And, as I said, I don’t find it a pejorative when it’s linked to adjectives like tough, strong, capable, physical, athletic, driven, etc. etc. I’m open to an actual Native American having a problem with it, and I’ll be glad to give that argument a listen. But I can’t muster the outrage. Sorry.

So, who gets to go to Saturday’s Caps playoff game? That’s right, it’s this kid. This is what happens when you know cool ass people. Pics to follow. I think I’ll buy a Caps shirt today after work to fit in…Also, it’s been 3 years of me cutting my own hair so — Lord help me — I’m gonna get it did this weekend. Nothing drastic. It’ll just be nice for it to actually be even at the bottom.

So, does anyone else have experience negotiating a link they’re unwilling — at least at present — to break even though it, 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon style, connects to a person who has never, and will never, be nice to you for reasons that remain a mystery and are therefore fairly impossible to fix? Because my fight or flight thing is kicking in, and I’d like to not let the jerks of the world dictate my behavior…Speaking of, my Pops tells me he’s currently reading this book and suggested it might be something I should read. I do like the quote at the opening:

“In the first place, good people are rarely suspicious; they cannot imagine others doing the things they themselves are incapable of doing; usually they accept the undramatic conclusion as the correct one, and let matters rest there. Then, too, the normal are inclined to view the multiple killer as the as the one who’s as monstrous in appearance as he is in mind, which is about as far from the truth as one could well get. He paused and then said that these monsters of real life usually looked and behaved in a more normal manner than their actually normal brothers and sisters: they presented a more convincing picture of virtue than virtue presented of itself—just as the wax rosebud or the plastic peach seemed more perfect to the eye, more what the mind thought a rosebud or a peach should be than the imperfect original from which it had been modeled.” ~ William March

Okay, better things…

Brother Drew and nephew Jackson with Atlanta’s Bishop Wilton Gregory. Mom says he was a really cool dude. People need a better idea about Catholics…

A co-worker is quoted in this piece on the Koch Brothers sniffing around to buy the Tribune, Co. because it involves punishment using pension fund investments, and we’re a little into that over here. (Allen’s quote about the politicization of these decisions is a good one.) I think the freak out is hilarious, frankly. Because, um… Haven’t these people ever heard of Media Matters? My suspicion is they have but they just…don’t…care. Heh. Media Matters. That group cracks me up… Paranoia and enemies lists. But hey, whatever floats your boat…

So this is fascinating. What happens to the tiny thunder of an Ahmadinejad if he has nothing to leverage?

Shocking. I still want to visit but it moves farther down the list every day…

Hipster Shakespeare is awesome.

This cracks me up every time I look at it. It’s bookmarked.

I’m not a huge first-person shooter gamer but I’d play this…

Looking forward to seeing this (although I still haven’t seen 2), but I can imagine this review is dead on. By the way, Downey re-teams up with the director of the superb Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, which, if you haven’t seen it, you should. You should also see The Long Kiss Goodnight because — and I had forgotten until I re-watched the other day — it is still effing awesome. Just sayin.

The happy place genre. Only missed a few on this list…

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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