Friday Fishwrap

Thanksgiving Report:

WAY too many stories to tell from the Great San Francisco Thanksgiving Adventure. So I'll have to give you the short version (ha! yeah right).

After an uneventful drive up Wednesday we all hooked up in Noe Valley for the resurrected "Turkey Shoot" - it was great to see everyone and meet some new folks while we were at it. And as a bonus, I'd forgotten just how god awful Wild Turkey really is. I wasn't the only one. But hey, it didn't slow me down and it was a great excuse catch up with old friends and kick off the holiday.

Turkey day was spent devising new ways to burn the house down as we assembled the new deep frier and smoker. Dinner was amazing thanks to the best.cook.ever. I believe it was Staz who said, after seeing the menu, "If only there were a recipe where we could wrap the duck in bacon..."

I have to shake my head - she should know better. Of course Oddgirl found one. Meat, wrapped in meat, and smoked to Old Smokey perfection. It was beautiful. The deep fried turkey was a new experience for all of us. Only after pulling out the tool box and getting the damn contraption assembled and filled with 36 quarts of peanut oil. Then heating the oil to a flesh searing and quite dangerous 375º did we discover the following in the instructions "DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE THIS FRIER ON A WOOD DECK"

Oh.

And then: "FRIER MUST BE AT LEAST 10 FEET FROM ANY STRUCTURE"

Oh.

We are of the RTFM, only as a last resort, ilk.

Shrug. I mean really... what could happen? After digging up a half empty fire extinguisher we just went for it. 48 minutes later the bird was cooked to juicy perfection. FABulous. And we didn't burn the house down. Success! Many thanks to the cook(s) but especially to Oddgirl for working so hard to make sure we were all VERY well fed. Yum!

After getting a little shopping and a near death elevator experience in during the afternoon, Friday night we did a mini-Noe Valley pub crawl, hitting the old haunts (Dubliner, Noes, Valley Tavern) as well as a few new (to me) places like Bliss - hard to believe that used to be The Rover. I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves but lets just say the evening culminated in all of us leaving The Peaks with me hanging my head out of Z's Miata, sitting on the Engineers lap, barking like a dog. Pretty. I really am too old for this but I don't care!

The rest of the weekend was all football all the time. Mellow the Cat adapted to his new digs faster and better than any of us could have dreamed. Not only was he great on the ride up (he slept like a baby the whole way) but he was ready to go outside and explore unsupervised by Saturday. And by Sunday he decided to quit giving the dog a hard time and be nice. He's found his home and we couldn't be happier or more confidant. He's a great addition to a great home.

So, we just got in a little bit ago. Took a different route home this time, cutting over through Bakersfield and coming down through the high desert; Tehachapi, through Mojave and down into Yucca Valley and Palm Springs. It was a bit longer but the scenery (and lack of traffic) sure beat the hell out of LA.

Hope everyone else had a great holiday. Here are the pics! (vegetarians beware: dead flesh)

Our Leader?

Via Solonor, I sure hope that this billboard turns out to be some photoshop fake and not the real deal. If it's genuine, I think I'm going to be ill. I can't even make a joke about it... It's so wrong.

Someone needs to slap a big ol' Obey Giant sticker up there.

Ah. That's much better.

San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gates

Mellow is about to take the biggest trip of his life. Staz and The Engineer have selflessly agreed to take Mr. Mel into their fold where he will relish in being the ONLY cat and he'll have his very own dog.

Mellow is such a great guy. Since the day he arrived at our patio door scrawny and battered last year, I've grown pretty attached to him. He has no fear. He loves dogs, but hates cats. He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, demonstrated by his propensity to start fights with the other males and always, and I mean always, coming out on the bruised and often bleeding losing end of it (except for his little buddy, The Sheriff).

He desperately needed a home where he would not feel compelled to defend his turf. There are not a lot of cats in their neighborhood (comparatively speaking, we have over 30 around here) and the A-Man is the perfect dog for him. A-Man is blind and pretty much oblivious to cats, A-Man's only complaint may be that Mellow is eating too much of his kibble. We'll see.

Now, about that 8 hour drive up with the cat in the car. I'll have to give you the full report when I return. But he seems ready to go. And the Missus and I are forever grateful to our dearest pals for stepping up to the plate and giving this guy a permanent home. And as always, he comes with a money back guarantee if it doesn't work out.

While in San Francisco, I am looking forward to the Turkey Shoot (a tradition of drinking shots of Wild Turkey the night before Thanksgiving) on Wednesday, a feast beyond my wildest dreams on Thursday, prepared by old friend and über gourmand OddGirl. (wanna see the menu? I knew ya did..)

Appetizers: Crab-Artichoke dip Cheese/Vegis/Dip

Meat:
Turkey - 16 lb bird
Smoked Muscovy duck - cherry or apple wood chips

Sides:
Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
Garlic Mashers
Fresh Cranberry Sauce with pears and ginger
Canned Cranberry Sauce (I know for some people it ain't the same without the can marks)
Bread side

Vegetables:
Salad
Garlic-Lemon Green Beans with toasted bread, crumbs
Brussel Sprouts

Extras
Sorbet (tangerine or meyer lemon)
Turkey Stock for gravy and stuffing prep
Gravy

Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie w/vanilla whip cream
Cheesecake
Mitchell's Egg Nog

Jesus, I think I'm about to pass out just thinking about it...

I'm also looking forward to some time catching up with old friends and perhaps even sneaking in an adult beverage or 3 with fellow bloggers Pete and Matt, if their schedules permit and I am still ambulatory after that meal.

Here's wishing everyone a great holiday weekend filled with lots of warm yummy food, great football games (Go Lions!), and good times with friends and family. Cheers!

You're the one that I want!

If I ever get a dog, I want one that DANCES!
(direct link to 5MB .wmv) via the missus

**delinked due to bandwidth** email if you want a copy.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Here's what we woke up to this morning. Snow! Every direction you look there's snow. It's gorgeous. It's also fucking freezing. That's a picture (click to enlarge) of the low foothills behind our house - at about 1500 feet. The big mountain behind it, Mt. San Jacinto (about 10,000 feet) is engulfed in clouds. There must be 6 feet of new snow up there. I'm tempted to take the tram up and start a snowball fight.

Stunning.

TGImp3F

I haven't posted a TGImp3F in a few weeks because well, I haven't been listening to anything particularly inspiring and I've been lazy. So tonight I was poking around looking for a groovy tune to post when I stumble upon this little ditty.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Rufus Wainwright

This version always reminds me of a trip a few years ago to Minneapolis to visit my old college pal Mopsa for the first time in 17 years. When she picked me up at the airport, Rufus was playing in her car (why I remember that, I don't know...) Later that night, we ended up at Nyes Polonaise Room, where after some coercing (and a few cocktails) Mops saddled up to the piano and sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

It was beautiful.

So there, a Friday tune and a story to go with it. Have a great weekend!

A B C to the X Y Z

Saw this over at Joz'z Joint and thought it was kind of an interesting meme.

Type each individual letter of the alphabet into your browsers address bar and list the first URL that your browsers auto-fill function jumps to.

a = apple.com
b = blog.yatescentral.com
c = cameronmoll.com
d = data.scec.org
e = espn.go.com
f = fridayfishwrap.com (duh)
g = gay.com
h = head-rush.com
i = insidegretchenshead.com
j = jeepsunlimited.com
k = kimchijon.blogspot.com
l = linkdump.be
m = mapquest.com
n = nytimes.com
o = outandproud.ca
p = pokerroom.com
q = queerday.com
r = ronslong.typepad.com
s = solonor.com
t = thedesertsun.com
u = ultramicroscopic.com
v = versiontracker.com
w = waitressdreams.com
x = xo.typepad.com
y = yahoo.com
z = zoom.gay.com

Another found type site. Some interesting specimens, however what I liked most was playing the "I know that place!" game since a majority of the photos are taken in San Francisco, specifically my old 'hood, Noe Valley.

In Other Strange News:

Texas school appeases freaked out parent and nixes their homecoming weekend tradition in favor of non-gay agenda "Camo-Day".

4 eyes. Man blinded 4 times in the same eye. ::scratches head:: You'd think they'd have picked up on the scam after #3...

Weird Rocks move all by themselves... or do they?
via j-walk

Cool Stuff: iPod Tattoos Wrap yer pod. Each tattoo can stay affixed for about a month with regular use. Easily removable. I gotta try this.

New Boots!

I had a pair of these many many moons ago and I loved them. I can't remember what happened to them though... If the new pair fits as well as the old ones did, I'm getting them in brown too. Yay!

Good god, I'm outta control... somebody stop me before I hit the Apple Store!

Click and Clack - Car Talk

"Look at her. She knows you don't love her anymore..."

That's what my friend said about my Jeep when he saw that she had been demoted to street parking. As mentioned previously, we purchased a new vehicle last weekend. Shiny new car sits proudly in the drive while good old Bucket of Bolts Betsy cries a few drops of oil on the street. So sad.

But I've got to dress the old girl up and get her ready for her new home. I already have a buyer. She'll probably end up in a chop shop in Mexico, that's where they all go eventually. I don't want to know...

She's served me well and has been my absolute favorite of the 6 cars I've owned in my lifetime. I tried replacing her once before, but she stood with me, steadfast while the newer car fell to pieces.

Now it's time to part ways.

I took her in to see my mechanic yesterday and have the most critical of repairs made; broken track bar replaced, front end alignment (required after track bar), fix the oil leak, have the brakes done and figure out what was wrong with the ABS.

There was something very strange happening with the ABS system. The idiot light came on every time I started up and it kept making a buzzing sound every 8 seconds (yes, I timed it) which sounded like the system test it performs at start up, except it was happening constantly. Turns out I need a new ABS actuator, pump and motor, to the tune of about $800 in parts ($200 core) - PLUS labor. Add that to the $360 for the track bar/alignment, $300 for a new oil pan gasket (I know that seems outrageous however there is a cross bar and something else that has to be removed before you can even get to the pan to remove it, so labor is rated at 3.5 hours) and god knows what $$ for the new brakes. Add that all up and I might as well GIVE the fucking car away.

After scoping out some junkyard options for the ABS parts, then debating whether or not to just disable the ABS and go with standard power brakes, I discovered to my delight that the whole ABS system is a recall item and has a lifetime warranty! Chrysler will fix it free of charge. Woot!

As for the rest of it, I'm fixing everything except the oil pan. The guy who is buying it seems handy... He can fix it (yes, I've disclosed). Which brings me from $1600+ down to about $500. That I can live with.

If you have a Jeep, check out the recall section on the Chrysler website. Plug in your VIN and find out what they'll fix for free!

As for shiny new car, we're still in love. I can't wait to take her up to SF in a few weeks. We're going to have a blast!

United Colors of Kevin ... on Oxycontin

Here's a good reminder from Kevin to clean out your closet on a regular basis... The comments are priceless.
via pcjm

ApologiesAccepted.com

Maim That tune - Replaces one song stuck in your head for something equally annoying - but DIFFERENT!
via fishbucket

Fun mind game. Try it.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

The deal is done. The money is in the bank (finally!). We're extremely satisfied with the profit we made on 9 months of hard work. And the boys seem extremely satisfied with their new home.

The first thing we did this morning? Well okay, after paying off our credit card debts...

A 2005 Honda CR-V EX

I haven't had a brand spanking new car since 1988 and I'm utterly enchanted. "Look honey! Everything WORKS!"

After endless back and forth hemming and hawing, this is the one we finally agreed on. She's a beaute and she's ours and she's in my driveway right now. Excuse me, I have to go fondle her again... she doesn't seem to mind.

crossposted over at the houselog

Burn Baby Burn

I LOVE science experiments! Oh My God It Burns! Take one 1/2 gallon of the cheapest, crappiest, evil, red-top vodka you can buy and filter it 4+ times. Better than Kettle One you say? Brilliant! I have to try this over the weekend (aside to the missus: never fear m'dear - I'll buy my own Brita Filter...) I'll let you know how it goes.
via mefi

Feeling a little more daring? Try "How to maim yourself and burn the house down while your at it in 6 easy steps!" Fun With Lighters. No, I will not be trying this over the weekend - and neither should you.

Download some good mixes at Orchard Lounge (huge mp3 files).

Play Panic Ball a breakout game with tons of power-ups (some I have no idea what they do).

Or put your thinking caps on and play Trebuchet Challenge

Things that make you go "Hmm, what an ass..."

Shine vs. SOM: Ex-Yale student sues designer of Freedom Tower The designs are strikingly similar... Did he think no one would find out? I mean it's not like it's the most watched construction project in the world or anything.

So long Turkey

John "Let the Eagle Soar" Asschroft says Mission Accomplished! ... I feel safer. Don't you?

The Say Something Nice About John Ashcroft Contest.

Remember the next day at school after halloween? When you'd bring in all your candy and brag about the loot and show it off to your friends? Ah, good times.

BikerFox - I think the photo's speak for themselves.

A Wagon Full Pancakes - StrongBad Email #117

Yiddish with Dick and Jane

Now here's a frighteningly accurate poll.

First Draft of Kerry concession speech.

Of course, because they could never come up with anything original... (or even navigable) werenotsorry.com Just look at 'em! Sigh.
via presurfer

Ahh...

2 beers, a full meal (no cat pills though, they aint cheap!) and one Daily Show later I'm feeling much better.

Welcome to my rollercoaster!

Stand Back People

Warning: may contain mild profanity and adult situations. Heh.

My head is about to fucking explode! Wanna know why? I knew ya did...

Our house project is in escrow HELL! Fuckity fuck fuck!

As a result I'm racking up huge finance penalties on my credit cards. Not to mention the mortgage interest accruing while we wait for some bastard no-name bank to get OFF THEIR ASSES and fund the damn loan already.

My Jeep is in desperate need of repair or a trip to the fucking junkyard but I can't pay for it until we close on the damn house.

That IDIOT somehow managed to get his stupid stupid ass re-elected.

My cat got run over by a car.

Another cat won't stop PISSING ALL OVER THE FUCKING HOUSE even though I have her heavily medicated.

Cat piss has now become a major issue in my marriage.

I started going back to the gym regularly so now my cycle is totally messed up and now I've skipped a period, but we've all been enjoying 10 GLORIOUS days of MJ in perma-PMS! Yippie!

GRROWWLLL.

Until further notice... Lock the doors. Hide the women and children. If you are a republican who voted for Bush, I strongly suggest that you slowly back away and don't make any sudden movements because I can't be held responsible for my actions.

I need a drink and maybe a couple of those cat pills...

T-T-T-Tuesday!

The Guilfoile-Warner Papers: Obit
via the morning news

Ride Now a site about a motorcycle trip across the Indian Himalayas. More pictures please!

Skydiving Granny. Closely watch the slo-mo at the end. Oops!

Play Jenga

Uh, no officer, I'm not a dancer, I'm just drunk.

Kuglekast - I know it's in Danish but read the instructions and you'll figure it out. Pretty pointless - perfect for Tuesday.

Font Fetish - Test your typeface knowledge. You might want to turn down the sound if you are at work.

Still here...

More Map Fun! Free States and Slave States, before the Civil War. Look familiar?

On that note... Fuck the South
via mopsa

Hey kids, never try and screw over your web designer!

God help us when the 80's come back. ::shiver::

I lost my frog.

On a diet? Can't deal with the nagging hunger pangs? Check out Kooky Chow. I promise you won't have an appetite left. It's all real food stuffs. My favorite so far? Bloater: Ingredients: Other fish...

TGImp3F

Hey, it's Friday! All in all, it's just another brick in the wall...

Another Brick in the Wall - KoЯn (Pink Floyd cover)

Friday Fun

Blendie A blender that responds to human interaction. Think of the fun we'd have at cocktail parties! 5.4MB Quicktime
via b3ta

What is it? - A blog about identifying unusual objects.

My Eyes!

CNN captures true voter sentiment.

In the same vein as yesterdays graphic, check out Canada 2.0 - Baja Canada... I like the sound of that ;)

Sorry Everybody!
via oddgirl

Play OddTodds Mep Ball My high score was 306.

Sounds Good to Me!

I had five (5!) people forward this to me this morning which means that most of you have probably already seen it. If not, may I present you with the New Map of North America!

With a Heavy Heart

A tough morning here in the Fishwrap Household. One of our cats, Mouse, was hit and killed by a car.

She often slept in my convertible because she absolutely hated being locked inside at night. But she wasn't there this morning, which I found odd but not troublesome.

Then I went to the store...

I never thought she would have roamed as far as she did, and into such a busy busy street. She was always really smart about cars.

She was a feral born pastel tortoise. Our first rescue kitten when at 5 weeks old she accidently wandered into our bedroom 2 years ago. We were leaving for San Francisco the next morning and didn't know what to do with her, so we put her in the Jeep and she went up with us. Thus began our short but never dull relationship.

She lived life on her terms. She was very solitary. Didn't care for people, or other animals (though she did have an appetite for small rodents, reptiles and birds). Last Thanksgiving she spent 3 days up the chimney because this house was full of people and animals. She did seem quite content up there, coming out in the middle of the night to eat (you could tell by the paw prints).

But she LOVED the house project across the street. We were very blessed to get to know the other side to her usually aloof personality over the last 11 months. At the other house she was the sweetest, most loving, affectionate cat. That was her house and she liked it that way.

My heart just aches. So long my sweet Mouse Mouse.

Release the HOUNDS!

I'm stunned, but not shocked. Depressed but very angry. Embarrassed and betrayed by 53% of my fellow Americans who chose not to change horses mid-fucking-apocalypse.

There seems to be a common sentiment in the air...

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?

What were you thinking? What?! WHAT? Enlighten me please, because I'm confused (by the way, that's rhetorical - it's big word I know, look it up).

We've just entered a very dark retrograde period of American history. It's about to get worse - much worse - before we can even begin to hope for it to get better. This neo-con tryanical administration just got the green light. Nothing will stop them now. Nothing. In a nutshell..

We're so fucked.

Sour grapes? Poor Sport Whiny Liberal Loser? You bet I am. But I take solace in knowing that 48% of this country agrees with me.

If California does not take immediate steps to secede from the Union, Canada is looking pretty damn good. So it's a tad cold, I'll adapt, buy a sweater or something. You all think I am kidding... I'm not.

Maybe if we pool our resources we can go buy a frickin island somewhere and start a REAL democracy. You know, "form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..."

We could start with the following document. It might be a little dated, but it's worth reviewing. It's no My Pet Goat so we might want to ask Dick to read it to 'King George'.

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
(ed note: maybe we could drop this one...)

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
In Congress, July 4, 1776

Sound like a plan?

Na Na Na Na

Dare to believe!

Based on the last few reports from the VoteMaster, here's my theme song for the day:

Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye - Steam

I think we all know how I am voting in the presidential election... For those of you Californians curious as to how I'm voting on the State and Local props, here's my slate.

UPDATED To show current results

State
1A: Yes - Passed Protection of local revenues. No double dipping for Sacramento.

59: Yes - Passed Constitutional amendment for public access to state government. Transparency is good.

60: Yes - Passed Candidate with the most primary votes in a given party is included on the general election ballot. Duh. Or am I missing something here?

60A: Yes - Passed Sell surplus property to pay off State debt.

61: No - Passed $750,000,000 bond measure for childrens hospitals? Nope. See above.

62: No - Failed While I like the idea of open primaries, this goes too far by limiting the general election ballot to only 2 candidates.

63: Yes - Passed 1% tax increase if you make over $1million? Uhm, okay :)

64: No - Passed Limits lawsuits to "actual loss" suffered. I'm all for Tort reform but this doesn't cut it for me.

65: No - Failed Even the sponsors are now saying to vote no. Oops.

66: YES - Failed reform the flawed 3-strikes law!

67: No - Failed a telephone surcharge to pay for 911.

68: No - Failed Non-tribal gaming expansion.

69: NO - Passed DNA sample collections from felons AND accused. So if I'm charged but never convicted, the state still has my DNA? No.

70: Still Undecided - Failed Tribal Gaming Compacts. I like everything about this except the 99 year agreement.

71: YES - Passed Stem cell research funding. I'm usually anti-bond considering the deficit here in CA but this is one I do support.

72: No - Failed Requires "large and medium" companies to provide health care. Poorly written and ambiguous. Excessive burden on medium (20+ employees) businesses.

Local:
T: No - Passed Another poorly written school bond measure

U: Yes - Passed Don't shoot me! This is non-binding by the way, but I do support the Section 14 changes to the PS General Plan. Opponents to this measure willfully lied and used scare tactics to deceive the general public. The sky is not falling. Let the Tribe use their land however they want. Because they will no matter how you vote on Measure U.

V: No - Failed Don't increase the utility tax. Try balancing the budget first.

In Other News: If any of you happen to be walking around Hollywood tonight, why not check out Happy War - grand opening of La La Land Gallery 6450 Santa Monica @ Vine

Monday Meanderings

Or, Totally Random Ramblings (ooh, double alliteration!)

Maureen Dowd on the October Surprise:

"For some, it seemed cartoonish, with Osama as Road Runner beeping by Wile E. Bush as Dick Cheney and Rummy run the Acme/Halliburton explosives company - now under F.B.I. investigation for its no-bid contracts on anvils, axle grease (guaranteed slippery) and dehydrated boulders (just add water).

Al Jazeera: full text of bin Laden tape
via Adam Curry

Margaret Cho: State of the Emergency Massive (81MB) mp3 from a show in Florida. Free for now.
via irk

I totally want one of these!! Hidden Doors
via j-walk

For those of you who took part in the Friday Fishwrap Summer Burn - Neurotic Fishbowl has a great Fall Burn for ya. Today is the last day to sign up!

Oh yeah, and the Redskins Lost! Woot!

Weekend Report:
A pretty mellow weekend. Saturday night we were invited over to our new friends Chip and Kevins for cocktails. We met C&K Friday when we ended up with their dog Jack, a Catahoula Leopard Hound (that I thought was a pit mix).

Jack showed up at our door along with Oliver the Airedale and a seemingly nice lady who had stopped them in front of our house and wondered if they belonged to us. Oliver had a tag and was reunited with his owner with the hour. Jack had no tag so we set about making posters. Seemingly Nice lady quickly became Suspicious Strange Lady after she called several times an hour to see if we had found Jacks owners and repeatedly insisted that she would take Jack and "keep him" until SHE found his owner. Uh-huh. Dog Stalker.

About 15 minutes after posting the "Found Dog" posters on every lamp post in the neighborhood Kevin called and was relieved and grateful that we had Jack. They kindly repaid us for our troubles with a few cocktails and a new friendship. They also stopped by yesterday afternoon as they were leaving town for home and let us test drive their Honda CRV. Nice car. I think I'm sold. I love this town.

Last night the Missus and I skipped the Halloween parties and stayed home. We had about 15 trick or treaters. And since I had gotten the giant Cost Co jumbo bag of candy (brand name - of course) I gladly made their night by telling them each to grab the biggest handful they could get. One girl dressed as Brittany Spears (either that or she wasn't wearing a costume...) decided to press her luck and went in for a double dip. She's gonna be trouble when she grows up.

The doorbell stopped ringing around 7:30 so we lit a fire and popped in "Somethings Gotta Give". Cute movie. Diane Keaton is hot.

That's all - carry on.