i was surprised kerry did so well in iowa. i have to say that i find him to be really slick and calculating, neither of which is a quality that i look for in a presidential candidate let alone president. i still support kucinich, and i really hate it when people say, "i like kucinich the best, but i'm afraid he's not going to be electable." that's such a cop-out. as kucinich pointed out, "i'm electable if you vote for me." i hate the idea that our so-called democracy becomes not about who we want to lead us, but who we think is going to win, especially when so much of that is directed by the media. anyway, here are two important links. i really hope that people are registering to vote, esp. for the primary, b/c such a small percentage of americans vote it seems pathetic. and that's what our whole country is about, isn't it? i think if you don't vote then you have absolutely no right to complain about high taxes, the fact the job market sucks, the fact that millions of americans don't even have health insurance, and that americans continue to die in iraq and there still hasn't been a single trace of "weapons of mass destruction" found. register to vote here. this organization will look up the address you need to contact and in most cases bring up a form you can print out. how to register in MA: By Mail: Mail-in registration forms are widely available. To obtain a mail-in registration form please click here, or call 617-727-2828 or 1-800-462-VOTE and a form will be sent to you. Mail the completed form to your local city or town hall. You should receive a confirmation notice in 2 to 3 weeks. If you do not, please contact your local election office to verify your voting status.

i don't know if anyone who reads this blog even cares about poetry, but i think it's a much underappreciated art form in our all too hurried modern world. anyway, andy had this book of humorous poetry that i thought had a fair number of entertaining poems in them that rather reminded me of that "orange" story winnie posted a while back from harper's. this book's called famous americans and is by a fellow named loren goodman. most of the review i wrote for amazon:

something out of the ordinary: humorous poetry. this collection is quite good, although it should be noted that humorous doesn't necessarily mean light. goodman has a knack for unlikely juxtapositions and clearly loves playing with language in the form of non sequiturs and malapropisms. at their best, as in "yeast" which is a play on the poet yeats, the poems' results are strangely moving. a little too often his poetry is simply gimmicky and rather predictable, but it's a nice quick read for some good laughs and chuckles, as well as some moments of true emotion.

here are two samples:

TOUCHDOWN TO COLLEGE!      Playing foot ball tot me to trust my teammates and not only them butt the foot ball itself would not burst into spirals of most delicious heat units                     a thousand cocoa beans

--- From the trials of war that tested our nation's most fundamental ideals, a great leader emerged. He was Robert E. Lee ... a master of military strategy ... a man of great loyalty and faith ... there is no greater love than His. It knows no bounds and is truly everlasting. He was, in the words of Winston Churchill, "remarkably lifelike," and today, cradled safely in grandmother's arms, the ultimate symbol of strength and sustenance. Now this noble American is honored in a magnificent commemorative work, "Andy." "Andy" wants to feed the fawn, but both of them are a little shy. So "Andy" extends his hand very slowly. The fawn turns to look right at him, and then nuzzles his hand gently for the food. "Oooh! His nose tickles!" "Andy" exclaims in delight. You can almost smell the burning leaves on the crisp, clean autumn air as you view this masterpiece of American art. Artful hand-painting makes Robert E. Lee's face radiate with joy. His posable arms, as well as his lower legs, are handcrafted in an endless circle of seven graceful daffodils. The center of his head embraces a sparkling, full-cut diamond. As "Robert E. Lee" ("Andy"), you will have the opportunity to rise from the rugged rock of a crested butte on the horizon. You can almost smell the burning ieaves on the crisp, clean autumn air as you are selected America's most popular artist.

Also, my comments on the State of the Union will be made unnecessary by you reading Page 30 of Get Your War On.

holy shit, are democrats like, COMPLETELY USELESS? Senate Approves Huge Spending Bill After Democrats' Delay I couldn't even tell you what was wrong with this, but I know it is bad. I also know that Sen. McCain (R-AZ) is probably hopping mad, and I agree with him. McCain was on the Daily Show last night. He was hillllllarious. Also, did you know they decided Zacarias Moussaoui wasn't the 20th hijacker after all? I just stumbled upon his indictment which is pretty cool to read (where "cool" specifically does not refer to the coolness, or rather lack of coolness, of the related event, just to be clear for you fbi types). So they decided LAST YEAR that it was some other guy altogether.

the onion Remember that article in the Onion a long, long time ago, right before Bush was inaugurated, about how Bush would end our national nightmare of peace and prosperity? Turns out that the editors of Onion could perhaps be the next Nostradomus. Dan Chak has reprinted it, with all the necessary links for your enjoyment.

pics courtesy of connie, from nyc in front of a church: closeup of sign:

the grinch came this year i'm so sad. someone stole my christmas presents. they were coming in a box and the box arrived empty!!!! i lost the entire james bond box set, a couple books, and my favorite cookbook in the whole world that I was so excited to get. i guess i'll file a report with the post office and the police? i don't even know. :(

recipe for a perfect day in tahoe Rental snowboard package from Dave's in Truckee: $32, with the strap-in type bindings. The guys there are way nicer and attentive than the rental guys at Boreal -- don't go to there. They suck. Drive to Homewood from Truckee: about a half hour. Half-day lift ticket: $35 Semi-private lesson at 3pm: $62/2 people On the way up the Madden Triple chair lift, we turn around and see this fucking amazing view of Lake Tahoe. On the way down the mountain, anytime you're on a clear area it's just you and the snow and the lake. I can't help but feel like a superstar traversing across the face of the mountain, looking out over the snow and trees and blue blue water. Private lessons are totally worth the money. I also drive the least snow-worthy car in all of Tahoe, so it's a good thing it didn't snow (good thing for the car, not so good for the slopes). Rear wheel drive, performance tires. Also we discovered its maximum capacity -- 2 snowboarders, 1 skiier, associated equipment, and 1 day's luggage. It was definitely a bit clown-car like, but not too bad for a tiny sedan with no roof rack. Food in Truckee leaves something to be desired. Earthly Delights makes a damn good and spicy chicken and shrimp jambalaya, but the tofu salad sandwich was merely okay. The Mexican place next to Dave's makes rather sub-par beef fajitas, with chewy pieces of beef you can't quite bite through. The locals are fun and more than willing to chat with you. And if you stay in the Truckee Hotel, you should definitely use the supplied earplugs -- if the trains don't wake you up, the trucks refueling at the gas station next door will. I can't wait to go again.

i can't help posting pics of my nephew. he is the cutest! here's his pouty model pose: also, having just watched miyazaki's castle in the sky (which, incidentally, i thought was my favorite of the 5 english-dubbed miyazaki movies i've seen ... remind me to borrow nausicaa from you, winnie), i was psyched to read about how in japan they have miyazaki stores. i ran across this blog that had a pic of a store's cat bus statue from totoro. here it is, with a drawing from the original so you can compare, heh heh: the blog also has some really cool pictures of (a?) sanrio puroland (i.e. hello kitty world) in japan. on his page click on japanese pics pages 6 through 8. funny.

Arnold starts blowing things up Highlights from the governator's budget proposal for UC, which sound highly inconsistent with all the things I would do to rescue a flagging state economy (such as better education of workers): Enrollments: UC's freshman enrollment in fall 2004 would be cut 10 percent, or approximately 3,200 students, below this year's level, saving $24.8 million. This means that some freshman applicants who have met UC's academic eligibility requirements would not be granted admission to a UC campus this fall. The Schwarzenegger Administration is encouraging these students to attend community college through a Dual Admissions Program and proposes that their community college fees be waived. In addition, $1.6 million would be provided for UC counselors to work in the community colleges, helping students prepare to transfer to UC campuses and ultimately obtain a UC degree. The University will be reviewing the potential impact of the governor's budget on transfer enrollments. Research: A 5 percent ($11.6 million) reduction in state-funded research, on top of the 20 percent cut these programs have taken over the last two years. In addition, $4 million in funding for one specific research program, the Institute for Labor and Employment, would be eliminated entirely. Student fees: An increase of 10 percent ($498) for resident undergraduates and 40 percent ($2,088) for resident graduate academic students. Nonresident tuition would increase 20 percent. Fees for most professional schools would rise steeply, due to the governor's proposal that state support for most of these schools be reduced by an average of 25 percent and that student fees fill the gap. Finally, the governor is proposing that undergraduates taking more than 110 percent of the credit hours required for graduation be charged at a higher fee rate, such as the nonresident rate or the full cost of instruction; the budget assumes such a policy would be phased in, saving $9 million the first year. What the hell is that, an "overachiever penalty"?! You'd better not try to take more classes than you need!

andy's out of town :( ... here's a funny pic that we took when we were at the arboretum this fall eating flavored tootsie rolls.

my sister enid got me hooked on trader joe's honey nutty seedy crunchies ... they're made of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, almonds, and honey and are a nice alternative to chocolate bars or peanut brittle, although probably not that much better for you, heh. while i'm thinking about it, while in new york this past weekend connie (winnie's sister) and i got to talking about what would be on our list of best food ... here's some stuff off the top of my head: fred's list of top food items - tofu gra prow from dok bua - vegetarian chili at the other side cafe - crispy eggplant at via matta - lemongrass tofu at pho pasteur - slice of any pizza at nicole's - grape leaves (and falafel) at cafe jaffa - potatoes (and veggie burger) at the miracle of science - creme brulee at radius - barbeque tofu burrito with sweet potato fries at burrito max - sun tubu chigae at suishaya - honey nutty seedy crunchies at trader joe's - hash browns from burger king - various stores:    chips: red hot blues, terra chips, cape cod barbeque chips    drinks: orangina, nantucket nectars    candy: twix, baby ruth    other: "tofu cutlet" vegan sandwich in other news, the new york times ran an article about rolling stones' idiotic decision to exclusively provide best buy with their new set of dvds, and the repercussions. it includes a quote from the owner of newbury comics. personally i find this to be only mildly irritating since i don't listen to the rolling stones anyway, but i'm pretty against it in principle. i'm surprised there aren't more people boycotting them. why is it that the canadians are the only ones who are doing the smart thing instead of just sitting around and whining about it?

"If we're not good enough to have all the products from the Stones, then we won't have their catalog in our stores," said Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV North America, whose 100 outlets in Canada removed all Rolling Stones products. "The only method we have to influence the Stones is to impact their royalties stream," Mr. Kadaner said.

if i bought music cds from best buy you can bet that i'd be boycotting them as well.