Jersey Does It Again

Well it looks like I will have to wait even longer to check out the hottest little restaurant in lil 'ole montclair, new jersey. And that's because its owner and chef has now won 2 eliminations challenges in a row plus a quick fire challenge (judged by none other than jersey's own martha!!). If she manages to win the elimination challenge tonight too (watching as I write this), well I'd better make the reservation now for my birthday. At the end of February.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Jamaica mon!

In just over 24 hours from now I will be sipping a cocktail on the beach at the Ritz-fucking-Carlton in Montego Bay. Of course, between now and then, I've got to finish a couple of memos, review a complaint, gather the depositions I have to read on the flight, arrange for a pet sitter, take out the trash, do the dishes (I fucking hate coming home to housework), pack (which is a hell all of its own), and figure out how the hell I'm getting to the airport. Yes, I realize this isn't that bad considering a Jamaica trip follows the madness (a trip which, I should add, is being paid for almost entirely by my firm), but still. As I said in response to a friend's blog post earlier today, I wish I had a personal assistant.

A Little Screwed

If you've stopped by to visit recently, you would have "heard" me rant about a particular little chef who owns a particular little restaurant in a particular little town in a relatively small state (yeah, that would be Jersey. Duh. Did you read the intro to this blog?).  Well...this particular little chef, who also happens to be on this particular little TV show, was actually kind of stinking it up on the tellee for two weeks running. Like I said.

And then last week, she pulls out a juicy and tasty Thanksgiving turkey. Using a fucking toaster oven, no less. And while she doesn't win, she does get big fat praise from the judges. And I start thinking...crap. I should probably get on making that rez. But of course I don't. Because it's not enough that I've got a crazy job, I've got to add random party planning and shit to the list. So, like I was saying...rez doesn't get made. But so what, right? How many people have even heard of Montclair, NJ, right?

And then fucking TaNIGHT. The fucking bitch has to go and win the god damn Today Show challenge. Not any regular old run-of-the-mill fucking challenge, no! The TODAY SHOW CHALLENGE. And with a freaking caprese salad of all things (my favorite. figures.). And I think, "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck." ( while, of course, also being silently proud as hell of my ass kicking "old lady" Jersey girl!!! - her words not mine)

Now, I'm not upset that she won with a salad. More power to her -- hell, that was a crazy smart decision (Um, let's see....I've got 2 1/2 minutes to present a dish...what do I make? Ummm, duh, salad! And c'mon, who doesn't like 'muzzarel' & tomato, especially when there are tasty ass Jersey tomatoes involved?) My problem isn't that she made a salad. It's that those dumbass bitches on the Today Show picked a salad to win. Cause now Ariane is going to be on the fucking Today Show with lord knows how many people watching (and that's not even counting myself) and I'm thinkg she's prob.abaly going to mention her particular little restaurant, which just happens to be a mere 17 fucking miles from the fucking Today Show studio. Great. Just great. If it was hard to get a reservation before, it will be fucking impossible now. So yeah. I think I may be a particularly little bit screwed.

Crazy Family Shit

I never really thought about hanging out a shingle to do family law (i.e. divorce, custody, other shit having to do with kids, etc...), but a couple of new decisions in NJ have made me think otherwise...

1. Smith v. Smith, Hudson County

From the 12/1/08 NJ Law Journal Daily Briefing:
EXES CAN SUE OVER RUINED TIES TO COUPLE'S CHILDREN For the first time in New Jersey, a judge has recognized the right of parents to collect damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress when their relationships with their children are poisoned by former spouses. The issue in the Hudson County case, Smith v. Smith, is whether the emotional distress claim was a disguised complaint for alienation of affections, a cause of action New Jersey abolished in 1935. Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli ruled the emotional distress claim is separate and distinct. His ruling sets up a possible Appellate Division showdown, since a Morris County judge made an opposite ruling in August on similar facts.

So, this means that when your ex turns your kids against you by telling them you are a lousy mother, father, whateverthefuck -- so long is it "distresses" you "emotionally" you can sue the bastard (or bitch, as the case may be). Ok, there's a little more to it than that, but still...sounds like some family attorneys are about to get ritch bitch. ;) And I'm thinking maybe I should get in on the action. Because there's no way the average joe (or jane) is going to be able to prove one of these cases without professional assistance.

2. A.G.R. v. Brisman, Monmouth County

More from the NJ Lawyer Daily Briefing:
SUIT GOES FORWARD AGAINST LAWYER AND DOCTOR OVER SURROGATE-MOTHER PACT
A civil suit in Monmouth County tests the potential liability of professionals who set up surrogacy arrangements, an issue left undecided in Baby M. In A.G.R. v. Brisman, a woman who first agreed to give up her offspring but had a change of heart is suing the lawyer who set up the surrogate parenting arrangement and the doctor who handled the medical procedure. The suit, which includes counts of civil conspiracy, legal and medical malpractice and fraud, cleared its first hurdle when a judge denied a defense motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action.

OK - now this is not your typical family law case, since it involves malpractice and fraud claims and shit, but its in the same genre, or close enough anyway. Surrogacy is a "family" issue, right? And the best thing about this case (especially compared to the boo hoo you turned my kids against me case) is that this one involves defendants with deep pocket -- in other words, here's another potential troth from which we fiends can feed -- the malpractice insurers behind the doctors and lawyers who set up these surrogacy contracts. I'm kind of surprised the judge let this one pass -- cause really, where's the malpractice if the surrogate got to do what she wanted to do anyway? -- but I haven't read the case and besides, he's the judge. So if he says there's a cause of action, then until someone higher up calls him out, there's a cause of action. And potential for some money-making-money-money-making. ;) Where do I sign up?

Reservation for Two Please

Ok. So its Top Chef NYC, Elimination night #2. Ariane Duarte, owner of CulinAriane in Montclair, NJ, is still standing. Barely.

For the second week in a row, Duarte has been in the bottom three. Tonight, it was as of a result of her Lemon Meringue Martini with Cherry Surprise, or whatever the fuck it was called. In explaining why the dish sucked, she actually said that they have this on the menu at her restaurant. A restaurant which, I might add, has quite a good reputation in the 'clair. It's so well regarded, in fact, that a friend of mine actually expressed dismay after learning that Duarte was on Top Chef because, as she put it, it was going to be even harder to get a reservation at CulinAriane then it already was. So yeah, the place is supposedly pretty effin good. Of course, I've never eaten there, but I've been meaning too. But obviously it's not one of those, hey, let's go grab a bite at yada-yada kind of places. (and did I mention that the joint is also one of the priciest in town?)

Anyway -- this meringue/surprise-dealy was apparently so fucking sweet that Padma (don't even think about asking me what she was wearing, cause I don't remember; or ccare; well maybe I care a little and I could check the DVR but is there really a need for more than one blog entry about what Padma's wearing?) What was I saying. Oh yeah, Padma actually spit the offending dessert out in her napkin! Right there at Craft. She might even have called it "violently sweet" (but that might be for some other as yet to come awful dessert). You'd think that if the biatch makes the dish every day at her own restaurant, that she'd be able to reproduce it. Right? Right? Cause - fucking excuse me - but I don't own a fucking restaurant, in fact I almost never cook, and there are dishes even I can reproduce in a heart beat.

The fact that this supposed Top Chef couldn't do what I can (and I'm not all that good of a cook to begin with) makes me wonder if I should even bother going to her restaurant. I'm sure that's a totally unfair jump to make -- from one or two bad dishes on some crazy reality TV competition show to over-rated restaurant -- I'm sure the food at CulinAriane is as good as it has been reported to be -- and it's much more likely that the multiple fuck ups are a result of nerves, or editing or timing or whatever-the-fuck, and not because Miss Thing can't cook. But, still, Duarte is not looking too good on the tellee. Two bad finishes in a row is never good.

And it's not just her cooking that isn't looking too hot. She's coming off as kind of a bitch. And a whiner. Of course, she's from jersey so i guess I should've expected that (well, not the whiner part -- we're usually a little more thick skinned around here -- I mean seriously - suck it up.) But bitchy -- duh, bitchy runs in the blood 'round here. Still, they didn't have to make the jersey girl the bitch. It's so cliche.

But whatever, Duarte's not doing much good for herself (or jersey girls -- hell. llo.) and she's probably not doing her restaurant much good either. Granted, I don't think they've referenced CulinAriane since last week (at least not out loud), but, COME. ON. if you owned a restaurant. And you were on Top Chef. And you made a total failure of a dessert. Would you really admit that you sell the SAME dessert in your restaurant? Really? Cause I sure as hell wouldn't. Lord knows who's watching. C'mon lady, You. Are. On TV. All the time. And they can do whatever they want with your image -- do you really need to give them ammunition? Because maybe the average Bravo TV watcher could give a shit about some tiny-ass-little-joint in some no-one's-ever-heard-of-it jersey suburb, but you can bet your ass that folks around here are sure-as-shit watching. And that can't be a good thing. (This is Jersey after all. Like I said, bitchy runs in the blood here and it's no secret that we're all a bunch of retched bitches just waiting to talk smack about someone.) Then again, maybe it is a good thing. Well, maybe not for Duarte and her restaurant. But it could definitely be a good thing for me because then maybe I could get a fucking table at a normal dinner hour sometime before next year. So, hell, bring on the smack talking Jersey. And everyone else for that matter. Cause I just HAVE to try Lemon Meringue Martini, Vanilla Wafer Crust, Cherry Surprise. Even if Padma hated it. Maybe even because Padma hated it.

Justice for All?

From today's NJ Lawyer Daily Briefing...

LET THEM EAT JUSTICE!
Philadelphia attorney Paul Rosen thought that it was the kind of concept everybody could get behind, so he persuaded his law firm's charitable foundation to fund a 38-foot-long mural depicting Justice, leased a wall in historic, tourist-friendly Rittenhouse Square and commissioned an artist to develop the concept. Philadelphia is, after all, the city of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, is it not? Its Mural Arts Program is celebrating 25 years, with more than 2,800 murals citywide. The thing Rosen didn't count on was the ironic reasoning the area's wealthy and powerful would use to oppose the idea. Said one, architect David Traub, murals with "tremendous visual impact" don't belong in a place like Rittenhouse, which belongs to the whole city. They belong in low-income communities like Mantua, where "only the neighborhood people are generally concerned." Umm, okay. Rosen said he's pressing ahead with the project anyway and expects to have it done in time for Christmas.

So who the fuck is this David Traub anyway? Other than being an asshole, he doesn't seem to have much going for him. Hell, you get more info if you google my name than if you google his -- apparently his architecture "firm" doesn't even have a website (because really, if google can't find your site, you either don't have one or you might as well not fucking have one) so he's hardly of great stature in that community. And even if he were the most famous and well-respected architect in the world, where does he get off talking about what is important to the "whole city" of Phili? Does he not know what the idea of justice stands for? Does he not get how totally insulting and imbecilic his comments were? Or maybe it's just that the Phili rich don't want (or deserve) justice. Whatever it is, I hope someday to be able to lease the side of the building in which Mr. Traub lives so I can commission a mural. I will call if "Traub is an Asshole". Or is that not of interest to enough people?

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

'nuff said.

VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!

Its finally Election Day people. So go fucking vote. For Obama (wish I could say I want everyone to vote, but really I don't; I actually hope the McCain and -choke me- Palin supporters decide to stay home).

I hope (and am trying very hard to stay positive and believe) that in about 12 hours I will be one of the happiest people on the planet. And probably drunk.

GOBAMA!!!

Listserv Idiocy

I'm on an Obama Listserv for Jersey. The traffic up until today has been light...a notice now and again. A call for volunteers about once a week, but generally very very light traffic. Today, however, as people are really starting to get involved, the traffic has increased. Dramatically. I expected this. Having been on lord knows how many listservs, I know they have high and low periods. The problem is that there are untold numbers of people on this listserv who are, quite plainly, a bunch of fucking morons!! Despite the "to unsubscribe" language in EVERY email and despite the specific instructions sent as separate emails to the whole list, I continue to receive emails from people asking to be removed. Ummm, excuse me dipshit, but FOLLOW THE FUCKING DIRECTIONS. These idiots are complaining about the number of emails they get and yet keep sending fucking emails. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

For [insert god's name]'s Sake

From the 10/31/08 NJL Daily Briefing:

THE UNIVERSE PLAYS DICE WITH GOD
Choosing the right benediction is a tricky thing for a public entity. Take the Cobb County, Ga., County Commission and its corresponding Planning Commission. Both commissions had a long tradition of opening their meetings with a prayer. Both have invited various clergy to offer the prayers, for the most part but not exclusively Christian, and in both cases the clergy have incorporated specific tenets of their religious beliefs and invoked God in the particular name, such as Jesus or Allah, used by their fellow believers. Seven local taxpayers sued to stop the practice by both commissions, saying the U.S. Constitution permits only nonsectarian prayers. But first a federal district court and now the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided the County Commission had not violated the establishment clause, while the Planning Commission had. Why? Because the former appeared to choose speakers at random from lists in the Yellow Pages, yet the latter - while it used the Yellow Pages - seemed to shy away from certain sects. So, invoking God in other words is just fine, as long as the god is absolutely random! You can read the full line of argument at www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200713611.pdf. 10-31-08

Too Much of a Good Thing?

On occasion, I've been known to take my clothes to this lovely little laundromat around the corner from my house for the "fluff-n-fold" service (for all you dirty minds out there, it's not that kind of fluffing). I do this even though I have a perfectly functional washer and dryer in my home -- machines I spent good money for when I purchased the home 4 years ago. Usually my excuse for paying 90 cents a pound for someone else to do my laundry, when I could obviously do it for myself, is that I don't have the time to do it myself (and because sometimes happy hour is more important than saving a few bucks for clean jeans) and this is sometimes true and sometimes my own rationalization for spending money somewhat frivolously when people around me are losing their jobs. On a few occasions I have a real reason -- i.e. the item needing washing won't fit in my washer and so I need the use of an industrial sized machine. Then the whole "I don't have the time" story really becomes true -- I mean seriously, who has the time to sit in a laundromat to wash ONE item? OK - maybe I could make the time, but considering the ridiculous hours I work sometimes, I would so much rather be doing something else. So, call me spoiled, but whatever.

So anyway, this morning I stopped in this lovely little laundromat to drop off my (fake) down comforter (no bird was harmed in the making of this item) which, having been in storage since last winter (yeah that's right, its winter bitches -- or at least it was last night), needs some freshening. Now granted, I haven't been there in a while, but this morning I realize I might use the place too much because the girl who weighs your clothes and gives you your receipt said to me "Good morning 'stina." (ok, she didn't say 'stina, since only d-bud actually calls me that, but she did know my actual name). Of course, she also said my king-size comforter would be ready by 6PM even though based on the number of laundry bags in line I probably should have had to wait until tomorrow. Which means I won't have to pile on extra blankets when the temperature drops below freezing tonight and instead I'll be able to snuggle up in my freshly laundered comfy-as-hell comforter. And sorry, but that's worth 90 cents a pound. Fuck, that's worth a hell of lot more than that. And if that makes me spoiled, well, then call me fucking princess. I figure fuck it, I'm already a latte-drinking-east-coast-liberal-elitist, might as well add spoiled to the moniker. ;)

I Heart the Crockett County Sheriff's Office

Mother fucker. Obama isn't even President (YET!) and already he's a target. At least until the Crockett County Sheriff's Department stepped in. Way to go boys!!

As for the scumbags who thought their skin color made them superior, I hope you get fucking raped in jail by a big ass black man with a fat ass cock. I know, I know, that's crazy harsh and pretty fucking hateful, especially for me (I'm usually a very peaceful person) but ya know what, on this one topic, I don't care. Neo-Nazis are a blight upon the earth if you ask me and they deserve whatever they get.

First Black President

Last weekend I was campaigning for Obama in this lovely little Pennsylvania town. One of the people I met while going door-to-door was a kind elderly gentleman who told me, in no uncertain terms, that he was an Obama supporter through and through. He also told me not to bother knocking on his neighbors' door because while they were all registered life-long Dems, they were also all a bunch of, and I quote, "fucking racists." Being the good canvasser I am, I knocked on the neighbors' doors anyway and while not one of them said, outright, they wouldn't vote for Obama because of his race, all of them claimed to be "undecided" for reasons they could not articulate. WTF?? One bitch even shut the door right in my face without even answering the question of why she was undecided. Sorry, but if you're an undecided voter, I'm going to think you're a big fat fucking racist unless you can verbalize for me one policy-based reason why you are undecided. I'm not asking for the world here people, just one little reason, Hell, if you were smart you'd make some shit up so people like me don't think you're a big fat fucking racist. But, then again, if you were smart you wouldn't be a racist in the first place.

So anyway... to all those fucked up "undecided" (i.e. racist) voters out there, I give you David Allen Grier:

Persepolis

If you haven't already, see this movie!!!

The Wikipedia synopsis: Persepolis is a 2007 animated film based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of the same name...The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, which goes horribly wrong with Islamic fundamentalists taking power and creating a new theocratic tyranny themselves.

Giving Natural Blondes Everywhere a Bad Name

There are stupid lawsuits, and then there are really stupid lawsuits.

This one takes the cake: a woman sues L'Oreal because she (supposedly) accidentally died her hair brown while "touching up" her "naturally blonde hair." Puh-leeze. Natural blondes just aren't this dumb -- it's the fake-ass bottle blondes who give us all a bad name. Stupid bitch. I mean, seriously, COME. ON. What true blonde do you know needs to "touch up" her hair color with some cheap-ass-pharmacy-bought dye in a box? I've been blonde all my life and never once felt the need to do a "touch up" from a box/bottle. The sun is "touch up" enough for me; besides, which, I would never ever trust my hair (which is fucking gorgeous if I do say so myself) to a friend using something out of a box. Hel.lo. that's why god invested colorists. And besides, are this chick and her friend blind too? because one of them should have noticed that the shit they were putting on her hair was DARK. If you are too dumb to know that brown hair dye is dark and blonde hair dye is not, then you are too dumb to be dying your hair at home. And, don't even get me started on the claim that she can't get it back to her natural color. Fuckin' please. That has to be the biggest bunch of shit I've heard all damn day. I could dye my hair black today, and in a few weeks I could dye it right back to blonde. Granted, I couldn't do it with shit from CVS, but again, that's why god invested colorists.

But at least justice worked and the judge was smart enough to toss the case out. Judge Gilardi must be a natural.

Anyone care for a...line?

From the New Jersey Lawyer Daily Briefing (10/8/08):

Jogging? Transcendental meditation? Get real. The Times of London previews a study out this week that shows when the going gets tough for British lawyers, they turn directly to alcohol and hard drugs. The professional support group LawCare estimates 30 percent of male lawyers and 20 percent of female lawyers drink to excess, and drug use is fighting to catch up. Says LawCare's Hilary Tilby, "Once, after dinner you'd be offered After Eights - now it's the mirror with lines of cocaine." Legal Business magazine heard tell that partners call their connections directly from their office and pick up the deliveries at the reception desk. Some firms have "cocaine clubs" where clients and their attorneys play poker and take drugs together. As one lawyer told it, "I spanked £100,000 on cocaine in one year and no one noticed. The legal profession, unlike other classic professions such as medicine and teaching, does not give a damn, as long as you are profitable." And what are the firms in Big Law U.K. doing to address this problem? Legal Business did a survey but the results were spotty. Half the firms said they did at least have a formal drug policy. But 84 percent said they did not do any random drug-testing ... and the other 16 percent refused to answer.

And now we know why bar associations always hold wine tastings.

Here We Go...

Palin and Biden are about to take the stage.
Gwen Ifill is making introductions and explaining the rules.
This ought to be interesting, if nothing else.

Go Joe Go!!!!

UPDATE: If that bitch says "darn" one more fucking time, I might have to stab myself in the ear. And, what the fuck is this -- she's gonna answer the question she wants no matter what the moderator wants? God I can't fucking stand her.

UPDATE #2: Ok, so she isn't tanking as bad as I had hoped she would, but it painful to listen to. But that's because she's a big fat fucking liar. And only barely answering the questions asked. And is trying too hard to be folksy. I mean, really, could she be a little more cliche, with the "darn" and "folks" and blah, fucking blah.

UPDATE #3: I. FUCKING. HATE. HER. She can't answer a question. Hell, she can't even understand the fucking questions. Asked whether her lack of experience was her worst Achilles heel, she went on about how her "experience as an executive" would help her if she was VP. WHAT? Not much humility there. And asked whether she ever changed a position on something she said she once didn't veto a budget? And no, she never had to compromise her psotions because they work together up in Alaska? Does she not even see how cunty that is to say? If you're working together then surely you have to compromise sometimes. Sometiimes you have to change positon. If she never had to change then there wasn't 'working togehter' there was doing what little miss bitchy wants. AAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

As I read somewhere on the web earlier...sweet zombie jesus help us if Palin becomes VP.

Countdown to Hilarity

What with health care reform helping the economy (Thank you Ms. Palin) and FDR discussing the stock market crash on TV in 1929 (Thank you Mr. Biden), the VP debate scheduled to happen in a couple of days could turn out to be the most entertaining of all debates, ever, anywhere. It could equally turn out to be disheartening (please oh please don't let Biden fuck this up) and sad (I'm no Palin fan, but even I don't want to see her completely embarrassed) but I'm gonna root for entertaining, cause in these fucked up times, I could use a good laugh.

Of course, this is all assuming Johnny boy and his crew don't come up with some lame excuse to keep Palin away. Which would really be a shame -- it might help Barry O, so I should probably hope for that to happen, but it won't be fun to watch without our little Alaskan beauty queen and her mixed talking points. Not to mention the potential for another Biden gaffe.

And really, isn't it about time politics were fun? ;)

I See Dumb People

"Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy."

Sarah Palin responding to Katie Couric's question about the bailout (hear it for yourself).


Normally I wouldn't make fun of retarded people, but COME. ON. Is this woman really that dumb? Because I heard that comment and immediately thought, huh? Oh please oh please let the debates go forward, because I could really use a good laugh.

People With Glass Houses, Redux.

That son of a bitch.  I fucking knew it!

The Palin Double Standard

Ok so these aren't my words, but since I really couldn't say it better myself (I'm good but I'm not that good), I figured better to quote someone else then to do it half-assed:

"Many writers have noted the many shades of conservative hypocrisy on view here:  when Jamie Lynn Spears gets pregnant, it is considered a symptom of liberal decadence and the breakdown of family values; in the case of one of Palin's daughters, however, teen pregnancy gets reinterpreted as a sign of immaculate, small-town fecundity."

Sam Harris, "When Atheists Attack:  A noted provocateur rips Sarah Palin--and defends elitism."  Newsweek, Sept. 29, 2008 p32-35 (see p34).

Now, excuse me, but what the fuck?  Is there a single Palin supporter who can explain this bullshit to me?  Seriously, I specifically remember when Jamie Lynn Spear's pregnancy was announced.  I specifically remember reading and seeing on television (possibly, hell, probably on channels which often claim to be news shows, but really don't tell you anything) about how shitty Mrs. Spears must be to have let her underage daughter get pregnant.  And now, little Bristol is knocked up and Palin gets a pass?  Why?  Because she's anti-choice?  Sorry, but that ain't it.  C'mon, think about it, did anyone even ask the Spears about their views on abortion?  No the fuck they didn't.  (Or if they did, it never made it to major media, kinda like the rally of Alaskan Women Against Palin, and for sure no one told my ass about it.)  

But wait, the hypocrisy gets even worse if you consider the rest of Mr. Harris' thought:

"And just imagine if, instead of the Palins, the Obama family had a pregnant, underage daughter on display at their convention, flanked by her black boyfriend who 'intends' to marry her.  Who among conservatives would have resisted the temptation to speak of 'the dysfunction in the black community'?"

Who indeed.  Please.  Those mother-fuckers would have been chomping at the bit to see who could find the most clever barb.  The vitriol against Obama would be worse than it already is.  And sorry, but I don't see McCain asking the media to lay off of Obama's family and focus on the issues.  Could you?  Knowing he's barely said the word 'issue' in his campaign, let alone actually discussed them? (Then again, maybe he would...after all, he was once the biggest supporter of a deregulated market and now he's supposedly all in favor of a bail-out accompanied by tighter regulation).  

Oh --and speaking of the bail-out...am I the only one who sees this as nothing more than a situation that was allowed to happen so that Bush and his boys could just put even more taxpayer money into the hands of the corporate powers-that-be?

So -- back to the double standard.  Anyone got an explanation for me?  Cause I'd really really like to hear it.  Honest.  I really want to know.  Look, I consider myself to be a pretty smart chick.  And its not like I'm a republican hater -- I respect everyone's right to believe what they want (and I can even, theoretically agree with some 'conservative fiscal policies' - at least what that used to mean), I just can't understand the Palin thing.  She gets a pass for the very things that conservatives have railed against in the past?  Why?  Because she's on the right side of the fence (no pun intended)?  I mean, I really thought my Republican friends were relatively smart people (and by the post-Palin definition -- well educated and from the East Coast -- elitist) yet they all seem to be falling hook-line-and-sinker for this b.s. being handed to them.  Sorry, but you guys deserve better than your party is giving you.  Seriously, you are getting majorly screwed.  Is it just me?  But the people leading the 'republican' party just don't seem very 'republican' to me anymore, at least not what republican used to mean anyway.

Which brings me to this other interesting article I just read....but I'll leave that for another time.  Besides I've got Dancing with the Stars tivo'd (hell-lo, Lacey from SYTYCD is on!) and I do (unfortunately) have to go to work tomorrow... 

People who live in glass houses...

Today we're going to hear all about how Obama is second on the list of senators who took campaign money from Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac. McCain (and his spin machine, aka FauxNews) will drill this into your head. They will make it sound as though Obama has been taking big PAC money, that he isn't as committed to a grass roots campaign as he says. But what McCain won't tell you is that the money Obama allegedly took from Fannie & Freddie is actually almost entirely from individual donors who happen to have been employed by one of those entities. Given Obama has more than 2.5 million individual donors, it's not surprising that some are employed at Fannie or Freddie. In other words, McCain won't tell you the truth about the donations because if he did, he'd have no mud to sling.

Oh, and one more thing MCain won't be telling you: he took money "from" Fannie & Freddie too. And lets not even get into where his current campaign money is coming from (lobbyists) and who it is that is driving his campaign (lobbyists - more than 160 of them on his campaign staff). Oh how I wish I had a few million dollars to blow so I could do some mudsliging of my own. Because while Obama may be above it (and rightfully so -- he's right that campaigns should be about the isues), I fucking am not. Besides, wouldn't you like to know what dirty little secrets big money like that could unearth?

2007 Book List

Not an exciting post but wanted to get it off my bookshelf at Bookcrossing. Since I don't want to lose it I figured I'd stick it here. ;) FYI - should anyone see this or care, this list is incomplete....

Greetings from Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer by Mari Sangiovanni
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
The Fifth Goddess by Stacy Backauskas
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
Daisy Fay & the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg
The Witch of Cologne by Tobsha Learner
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Hot Flashes by Barbara Raskin
Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Blame it on Chocolate by Jennifer Greene
Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Lethal Seduction by Jackie Collins
Be Cool by Elmore Leonard
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr
The Street Lawyer by John Grisham
The Good Wife Strikes Back by Elizabeth Buchan
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

OMG! OMG!

It worked.  It worked.  Now if I can only get rid of the stupid "sent from my..." yada yada yada tagline.   

That said, I almost feel as if I should explain, or apologize or something, for being so silly and lighthearted in these last posts when in my last regular post I was in sorrow, missing Cary.  I know I don't HAVE to explain and there is really nothing to apologize for but I'm still in the place where I feel almost guilty for being happy or for seeming to forget.  I hope someday to crawl out of this dark place and I have my moments (i.e. my last two silly posts), but sometimes the contradiction between what I feel and what I do strikes me in such a way that I have to mention it.  Call it Catholic guilt.  Call it mourning.  Call it whatever.  I just thought that after being so light-hearted I should mention that I still miss Cary terribly.  That I still have yet to go a day when I don't feel that loss.  That I still can't see the place where thinking about her doesn't hurt.  I'm not alone in this, that I know.  But sometimes I get angry when other people try to equate their grief with mine.  It sounds bitchy, I know, but Cary & I had a special friendship, and even though others miss her too, I don't think they really get the loss I've experienced.  They may have lost a friend they spoke to once a month or so.  I lost someone who was a part of my everyday life.   I know its unfair and perhaps inappropriate to belittle one grief or to compare one to another, but I can't help it.  Sometimes I just want to yell "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW BAD IT HURTS."  Except with one person - Cary's sister (who we'll call Mary).  I often feel that my grief must pale in comparison to hers.  They weren't just friends or just sisters.  They were both.  And it all just sucks.  But I have gained one thing -- and that is a friendship with Mary.  We've been each others rocks.  Although sometime I wonder if we aren't helping each other through our grief so much as helping each other avoid it. 

In any case, back to my original point, I hope no one equates my lightheartedness with forgetfulness.  I haven't forgotten.  And I don't think I ever will.

Ok. So I'm behind the times. But I just learned I can blog from my crackberry. How cool is that? I might actually post on a regular basis if I can do it anywhere. No promises of course. And hopefully this will work.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Holiday of Life

Tonight, at a little local bar, some 30 or so folks who've known each other for more years than we care to admit, will join together to celebrate life and friendship and the fact that we are all, mostly, healthy. A group of 5 or 6 of these folks created this celebration in 1986. Then, it was celebrated on Feb. 19 no matter what day the 19th fell on. Then, it was an excuse to skip school and party. Then, it was held at someone's home. And then, it involved only a handful of folks.

This Holiday of Life, as we termed it, was celebrated with vigor for several years and then, real life happened, and the celebrating ceased. College and marriages and children got in the way and The Holiday faded away. Every so often, someone would mention The Holiday, but we never quite got around to making it happen. Life, it seemed, was too busy. Too crowded. Too overwhelming perhaps.

But now we've decided to bring back this most revered of made-up holidays because we needed reminding of how quick and fleeting life can be. How special good friends are. And how you may never get another chance to celebrate. We'd forgotten this in our race through adulthood. But we re-learned it all. And they were very rough lessons to learn -- taught instantaneously when my oldest and dearest friend in all the world passed from this life on December 14 after a very tough yet very brief battle with cervical cancer. I've lived life in a bit of a haze since that awful morning when my phone rang while I was driving to work. The haze is now lifting, but some days are still very cloudy.

But today is beautiful. Today, I will celebrate life. I will celebrate friendship. I will toss adulthood out the window and live in the moment like a child for tomorrow may be dark once again, and I'm preparing myself for a rough storm on the 19th (not only the original Holiday of Life, but Cary's birthday as well). But for one night I will try to forget my sadness and remember what it is to be free. For one night I will remember my friend without sadness.

Tonight I celebrate the Holiday of Life.

And if you happen to read this, don't think it strange, but I welcome you to share the Holiday and pass it along. You need not be part of my circle to celebrate life. Celebrate your own life, your own friends, your own memories. Because life is fleeting whether you grew up with the Holiday or not.