Parroting For Parody

Too funny, and with a laugh out loud from CNN too. SNL didn't even have to change Palin's words. They were already not-ready-for-prime-time and good to go.

ACL Day Two

We found free parking about 4 blocks from the shuttle, and there was a really long line to get on the bus, but it went fast. So far so good. This time it was really about trying to get a front rail for a headliner (Plant and Krauss) so we got to the big stage around 3:30 (to acquire turf for 8:15). Robert Earl Keen was on next, followed by John Fogerty.

We didn't manage a front rail right then. There was a group of Fogerty Superfans in front of us. They were nice folks, all around our age, a married couple from California, a man from S. Carolina and a woman from New Orleans who they described as the biggest John Fogerty fan in the world. They knew each other pretty well, as is typical of superfans. They meet up at various locales in the country and even the world, then stay in touch online, so they are pretty close (I know what it's like!). Amazingly, I had not seen Fogerty before, and it was fun to see him with them in front, as they were having a great time -- and so was he, apparently. This is a guy who really enjoys playing... and from a distance he looks the same as he has always looked.

During the break between Fogerty and Robert Plant / Alison Krauss the crowd surge occurred, but there were no problems other than primarily one obnoxious drunk right behind us -- luckily not a mean one.

Plant and Krauss were unbelievable! I really love the sound of this T-Bone Burnett concoction. He is brilliant. Buddy Miller and Stuart Duncan were in the touring band as well. Stuart Duncan simply amazed me. I've heard him play some bluegrass and other acoustic-styles before but what he was doing with that fiddle was really not like anything I've heard before, I didn't realize that was possible. We were awestruck by the whole event. The Fogerty superfans gradually left except for one holdout, allowing us to finally get some front rail for the show we came to see. The show was kind of over for them anyway, and one of the women rolled her eyes at me over Alison Krauss getting stage time without Plant -- obviously not impressed. Oh well. Different strokes.

The show was over at 9:30, and that's when the ordeal really started. The line for the shuttle busses went for a few blocks, it just took forever to find what we thought was the end of it. The only way you could tell was that the shuttle "line" was forced to walk in the wrong direction, against the flow of a crowd of 65,000 people (including those trying to leave on one of about a thousand bicycles - there was even a motorcycle trying to plow through). We had to do that for the entire distance we'd just walked to find the end, then we had to get through one of those rat-maze barricade sorters which made us walk first a block in one direction, then the other, then back, then back again... until we finally got to a bus. {sigh}

The bus filled right up and we had to ride it standing, holding on tight to the grip-loops - and it was a horrible ride because the part of the trip that was not u-turns and other sharp turns the bus was stop-and-go in very heavy traffic. Not only was ACL letting out, the UT/Arkansas game was that day, which had an attendance of 97,833 -- plus -- it was Saturday night in Austin. When we finally got dropped off, we still had to walk 4 blocks to the car. We were absolutely convinced that we could have walked the distance to the car faster, even though it was a few miles. When you are limping on both feet, it gives you a very silly walk. Feet. Hurt. Bad. We finally got home by 11:45, after pretty much standing and/or walking since 3 in the afternoon. Also, the dust was really starting to kick up on Saturday. Lots of folks looking like bandidos in face bandanas.

I told MrB that I really believed that for me, ACL was over. It won and I was done (he was too, after we finally made it to the car). I had a good time, but it takes a bit of something to endure certain aspects of it, and that something for me was gone. Sunday would have been worse, and it got up to 95°, at least in our backyard. Whew. Sunday morning I got up and put the wristbands on Craigslist, (thanks to ACL for making it easier to slip them on and off this year) and was inundated with calls and emails within minutes of posting.

ACL Day One

The Steps. We really like this Austin rock and roll band. They played this festival last year and this year they got voted in.

 Paula Nelson (aka Willie's daughter) sounded great with her band.

Another one with a legendary dad, Jakob Dylan. We got up pretty close, but the sound was absolute crap, so we moved pretty far back. They fixed the problem by then, but we ended up listening to the rest of his set from the one air-conditioned oasis on the grounds, the AT&T tent. Once you go there and get comfy, it's hard to go back out.

 But we did head out in time for Patty Griffin. We have been fans of Patty's since Flaming Red (1998). She still has the perfect voice. I have to say this though, every time I see her she seems thinner. She is way too thin - enough to be worrisome. I would be happy to donate 20 lbs. to her, then we'd both be just right. :-)

MrB took this video of Patty on Friday.


The festival provided a few extra hassles this year. They had our favorite secret free parking area blocked off this year (it was only a matter of time before that little prize went away), so we went down to Republic Square to ride the shuttle in. Seems like last year we parked there free, or maybe it was just cheap. Anyway, this time it was $10 for the day and $20 for day and night. Trouble is, we weren't too sure when they were going to decide that day was over and night was here (would it be 5pm? 6pm? 8pm? Nobody had a clue) so we crammed a ten in the slot and got back there around 6 with no ticket or towing. On the grounds they had ramped up security on the stage that's represented by people I know, and in the past I've been able to get backstage for a band I worked for by simply getting waved through. Not this time. No official VIP cred, no access, no exceptions. Day One was pretty tiring for these old bones. It's cooler than year's previous, but still in the 90s. By 5:30 I had a sun headache, a blister forming on the bottom of my foot, in need of food, and worried about the car being towed. Henry (the cat) was restless all night, so I got probably not more than an hour of sleep.

Today I am a zombie in pink. See you out there.

Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music - ACL

The Furkids Are Alright!

Nope. Not our cats, just a found image. We will be bakin' in the sun while sounds pound our eardrums all weekend. Maybe we'll see you at Zilker, or even at Chuy's. Enjoy the weekend.

(...and speaking of The Kids Are Alright, The Steps won the Sound and Jury contest! Way to go!)

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Cats - Catblogging

Last Hurrah of Summer

Blogging has been light lately - sorry about that. I've either been buried under piles of work with deadlines -- hardly stopping to breathe, or puttering around here in my jammies, organizing photos and being a bum. No balance. I even missed Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arrrrrrr!

This weekend is our big end-of-summer event, the ACL (Austin City Limits) Festival. This thing is known for being brutally hot (the one year we didn't go, 2005, it got up to 108° but 100s are par for the course), and this year it is supposed to be only in the low 90s, so we are glad of that. I really have a love-hate relationship with this thing. Every year when it's over, it's like waking up with a hangover and saying "I'm not doing that again, I'm done" -- the HEAT, the CROWDS, the sound BLEEDOVER, long lines for everything! Gah!! ...but the year rolls around and we always want to go again. I got our passes this year through barter, so they weren't really free but nobody's bank account was affected either.

The main draw for us this year is Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. There's also Neko Case, Sparrow Quartet, Raconteurs, Gillian Welch... well, as advertised... 120 bands, take your pick.

As for the big debate, I may see it when I get home, provided McCain doesn't weenie out. What is he afraid of? I thought he was supposed to be favored. My reaction, before I heard what Obama said about it, was in sync with what he said. The President should be able to juggle the crises, whether they come at 3am or during banker's hours.

I welcome October, but this year... even more... I look forward to November.

Autumn colors

The Autumnal Equinox is here. We've actually had a cool-down lately, which means we are mostly in the 90s for highs. It's much more pleasant. There were so many butterflies in the front yard, I wanted to get some pictures of them. The one above has a damaged wing.

The one below was a little blurry, so I did a Photoshop filter on it. Nice little political touch to it too. Hoping that there's a lot more BLUE coming in November.

Fun Fundraiser

This video turned out amazingly good. It's the South Austin Jug Band playing live in the background for a fire dancer. I wonder if a fire dancer has ever asked them for a light before?

This is from the fundraising event blogged earlier in the week for Stop Domain Subsidies - an effort to resist the corporate and ugly-growth forces' efforts to turn this place into a Dallas without our permission and on our dime. We couldn't afford anything beyond the small entry fee and taking home a free yard sign, but the art auction did raise some significant cash to help battle these forces before the election.

Purrsday Night - This little piggy is my pillow

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Friends Furever - Cats - Catblogging

Pro-death candidate

Defenders of Wildlife has produced this ad about Sarah Palin's promotion of cruel aerial hunting of wolves and other wildlife, even offering a bounty of $150 for delivery of the left foreleg of a wolf.

Dick Cheney in lipstick? Something tells me she could put his cold-heartedness to shame. At least he doesn't disguise his behind a perky personality.

More about this here.

Um. yeah.

Captions?

Found this on Cute Overload.

Blogger question

Has anyone converted an older Blogger blog to the relatively new Layouts format? And did you lose your archives or experience any other kind of hell? Someone mentioned that they lost all their older posts when they converted, and that's kept me from doing it.

I know I need to keep a copy of the template, etc. before doing anything rash.

Punch, Brothers, Punch!

Sunday was our big concert splurge day, because the Punch Brothers were in town for 2 shows at the Cactus. Punch Brothers is Chris Thile's post-Nickel Creek band, and he is without a doubt, the band leader, but all the players are exceptional. Thile's fans are passionately devoted to his music, it's really more in the category of worship, and I am one of those nutty fans (MrB is too. He's just not a fanboy, that's all, doesn't want to go early and hang around late looking for autographs and/or conversation).

I wasn't sure how early the lines would form, so I got there waaay too early. MrB hates that, it drives him nuts, but we just have to work through that situation each time. I am a chronic early bird because of pre-show anxiety... I'd rather just be there and be first in line and have it done. And it was. During soundcheck I thought we were alone in an area of students working on lessons and doing their best to ignore the mandolin - then one came out of the woodwork with a squeeeel OMG IT'S CHRIS THEEELEEE!!! He's my HEEERO!!! OK. The line starts behind me.* :-)

I really do enjoy being around Nickel Creek fans. They are super-nice and nobody cares how old or young you are, or at least they don't show it if they do. Most of my pics were blurred, including these, but flash was out, and the camera blurs in the dark without flash.

Here's a Youtube of this band doing one of Chris's from a few years back. Gorgeous.

We did see lots of friends and acquaintances there, lots of them musicians. Dennis Ludiker and Noah Jeffries (South Austin Jug Band/MiLkDrive) were at 1st show, then they had a MiLkDrive gig to play so they couldn't stay. Warren Hood (Waybacks) sat next to us for 2nd show. He just had his big solo CD release the night before. Sarah Jarosz and her family were there too, and as I kind of expected, she was called up to the stage for the last two numbers. Sarah is a senior in High School, just signed with Sugar Hill Records, and has an upcoming gig opening for Tim O'Brien. How about that? I did record one of the numbers, and that is her Dad taking pictures in it. I hope they turned out better than mine.

After the shows, we did hang around. It was very laid-back, we knew quite a few people there (including Punch guitar player Chris Eldridge) and it felt more like backstage than meet and greet -- so I got to chat with him and also Thile, who was saying what a special city this is to play in because people are actually listening and understand the music (I am paraphrasing). I joked and said "I'll bet you say that to all the cities" but he really meant it. Then he introduced me to Sarah's mom and dad (because we were all in the same conversation) but I said we were old friends, and that we met several years ago waiting in line for Nickel Creek! {true}

I am still buzzing, and it's the only thing getting me through this week, which consists of working day and night, and not much else. Guess I should try and get some sleep now.

Punch, Brothers, Punch -- a short story by Mark Twain

*quote from Tom Petty's character "Lucky" on King of the Hill

Weather watching

Well, we didn't exactly blow away in the remnants of Hurricane Ike. I hear tell there was some rain in certain parts of town, but not in our backyard. There were a few clouds and a nice breeze - that's it. Sat and watched the devastation happening live on MSNBC, CNN and the Weather Channel. It bothers me that they put live humans out there in harm's way well beyond the time when they should be sheltered. But there they are, standing in water in the driving rain and wind. How about using an inanimate object -- a mannequin in a raincoat, a scarecrow with a flood gauge? That would take away the drama and reality-TV aspect of it, wouldn't it? The danger creates drama. I blogged this back right before Katrina hit, and I may have coined the term "Disastertainment" (which I am surprised someone else didn't also come up with and start using. I think it's a good word for it. Colbert?). And of course they have their special graphics and music for each disaster.

There was one reporter standing on the beach (forgot which channel) who wanted the camera turned on some washed up debris (a few feet from where he was standing) where there was a BIG snake coiled. The anchor informed him that it was a rattlesnake. Then he said "wait, there's another critter of some kind... I think it's a porcupine," and I'm thinking "not likely a porcupine." They showed it on camera where the anchor confirmed that it was a rat trying to use a piece of wood as a raft. The reporter responded with "OK, looks like these animals are trying to find some shelter and maybe we should do the same." They are saying no deaths in Galveston itself, but there were so many houses that simply were washed out to sea... well, I hope they are right.

Lots of activities in Austin were postponed, including the big UT-Arkansas football game, which they rescheduled for ACL weekend (Sep 27) -- so if you have a spare room/closet/doghouse to rent out, you can probably do it that day, as there aren't enough hotel rooms available in town (plus we are hosting many evacuees from Ike, some of which are using hotels and might be doing that for awhile). I was wondering how a hotel deals with a situation like that... what if you show up on the 27th and the hotel has already given the rooms to evacuees who got there first and are still using them? Do they make them leave? Or are you out of luck? I can't remember what happened when Katrina and Rita hit.

Please Read

A friend of mine sent me this as part of a group emailing with "Please Read" as the Subject line. It IS a good read, very well put. [Here is the original posting on HuffPo]

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin.

Drill, Drill, Drill

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?

Eve Ensler
September 5, 2008

Furbaby Friday - Henry is 17!

A kitten came to my friend's door looking for shelter. It was February in Missouri, and he was lost or abandoned. She already had several cats, and told me "Come and get this cat. It purrs real loud and it's got claws and if you don't take him I will have to take him to the shelter." I did take him. That was back in 1992, and his first vet figured he was probably born in Sep of 1991.

Henry has never been anything but a perfect cat. He brings the sweet. He just had his senior bloodwork done, and it shows no real problems. He's got arthritis, asthma, his vision is not so good anymore, and he's beginning to lose weight in spite a good appetite. He has turned into our little old man. Happy 17th birthday to Henry!

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Artsy Catsy - Cats - Catblogging

Y-IKE!

We are too far inland to actually have a hurricane hit us (technically) (and maybe there are exceptions, someone out there knows more trivia than I do about this) but this sucker looked headed straight at Galveston, which means we should get a hell of a storm around Austin come Friday and Saturday.

MrB has reminded me to fill up my tank, because when we thought Rita was coming close to here, the gas lines got very long. All Friday and Saturday plans are off the schedule. Hold on to your hats and tie down the lawn furniture. Get the pets inside. (Please)

Galveston, I have a bad feeling about this.

What's a Meme without Me? It's still Me.

DivaJood has tagged me!

1. Where was I ten years ago?
In 1998, I was part of an in-house art department for a company whose parent corporation was attempting to sell-off, merge, or both, with another company. I was making twice the salary I make now, but the days of the job's existence were numbered. The new arranged corporate marriage went bad for the home team and our new partner cannibalized us and closed most of our facilities. I was also in full middle-aged crazy mode, going to see the Moody Blues in Vegas, hanging with my other middle-aged crazy buds, and spending money like it was going out of style. (Well, it was)

2. What was on my ToDo list today?
Got up at 5AM. Worked 20 minutes for a client before hitting the commute north, working 5 hours there, grocery stop on the way home. 5 check marks. Now I really should be starting that one project for a client... but will probably put it off and work on my own stuff... and blog. (oops! Forgot about the huge pile of laundry)

3. My favorite number. (2) It's comfy.

4. Five places I've lived.
Athens, Greece
Carterville, Illinois
Honolulu, Hawaii
Austin, Texas
Albuquerque, New Mexico

5. Bad Habits.
Indecisive. (Maybe that's why I like the number 2. It gives me another option to fall back on.) Packratty. Whiny. Bad attitude about exercise.

And lastly: tag five others, and if this is a second tag, ignore it unless you can list 5 MORE places (that's the one I can do), and MORE bad habits, and MORE stuff to do today. If you don't want to play, that's OK too. I, like, totally understand. ;-)

1. Ingrid
2. Mando Mama
3. Dr. Don
4. Nava
5. Depthmarker (Ann & Th' Rev)

Is this less insulting? A better comparison?

You can put lipstick on George Dubya Bush, and it's still him underneath it.

I had to chuckle at this "sexist outrage." She already compared herself to a pit bull with lipstick, and Obama was just using a metaphor that's old as the hills about putting lipstick on a pig (not as old as the hockey mom one she used, but both have been kicking around for some time).

I really think we're dealing with John McBush and Dubya Palin here. If the lipstick fools you, you're not looking deep enough.

(I'd rather kiss a pig on the lips than vote for McCain/Palin - with or without lipstick. It's a pretty thin disguise, you know)

ADDENDUM: The Rethugs are throwing a fit over the "pig" comment, but look who used it in 2007 referring to Hillary:

McCain criticized Democratic contenders for offering what he called costly universal health-care proposals that require too much government regulation. While he said he had not studied Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's plan, he said it was "eerily reminiscent" of the failed plan she offered as first lady in the 1990s.

"I think they put some lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," he said of her proposal.

And Obama used it like this in 2007:

'I think that both General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are capable people who have been given an impossible assignment,' Sen. Barack Obama said yesterday in a telephone interview. 'George Bush has given a mission to General Petraeus, and he has done his best to try to figure out how to put lipstick on a pig.

[source] [h/t]

Onward through the fog

Here's your soundtrack. This is a beautiful instrumental song by MiLkDrive, (very Nickel Creeky).

The guitar player (Noah) said he wrote it for his mother in Idaho (called "Kay's Tune"). That's pretty sweet, and *almost* makes me wish I'd had a kid who would grow up to be this guy -- but what really would have happened is my kid would end up like Rush Limbaugh or Ted Nugent. I'll never know and don't want to know.

Anyway, MiLkDrive really loved their poster I did for them [VIEW]. I knew they really liked it, but it was even better. It was unanimously declared to be "Badass", and I say they are badass too.

Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market in Sunset Valley to stock up on Buddha's Brew Kombucha (so much better than ones you'll find even in the health grocery. Lots of people bring their pets, and this man had a beautiful python, said it was a full grown, New Zealand variety.

 I love snakes (non-venomous) and I got to meet this one. Here I am in full crazy-cat-lady gear, getting acquainted with a big snake.

I am going on 12 days of being pretty sick from the sinus infection, and today is the first improvement I've seen, the first day I haven't felt like a zombie (bad cough, congestion, fever, sore throat, almost no sleep at all, and exhausted). I got maybe 5 hours of sleep last night (IN A ROW), and the cough was better through the night. Don't want to get cocky though, because these things can fool you, they come and go, and come back. I am still congested and planning on still keeping it pretty low-key. Will skip Del Castillo on Thursday (not rested enough for that show) and wait for Sunday and the Punch Brothers at the Cactus. Very psyched for that, and need to be fit for it. It's Chris Thile, ex-Nickel Creek, and his band.


Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music

So Sambo beat the bitch!

The more I read about Sarah Palin, the more I'm getting a Dolores Umbridge vibe from her.

Alaskans Speak (In A Frightened Whisper): Palin Is “Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean” -- LA Progressive

Some excerpts:

“So Sambo beat the bitch!”

This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat’s primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.

[...] But being openly racist is only the tip of the Palin iceberg. According to Alaskans interviewed for this article, she is also vindictive and mean. We’re talking Rove mean and Nixon vindictive.

[...] ...many people in Alaska, and particularly Wasilla, are reluctant to speak or be quoted by name because they’re afraid of her as well as the state Republican Party machine. Apparently, the power elite are as mean as the winters.

“The GOP is kind of like organized crime up here,” an insurance agent in Anchorage who knows the Palin family, explained. “It’s corrupt and arrogant. They’re all rich because they do private sweetheart deals with the oil companies, and they can destroy anyone. And they will, if they have to.”

“Once Palin became mayor,” he continued, “She became part of that inner circle.”

[...] “People who fought her attempt to oust the librarian are on her enemies list to this day,” states Anne Kilkenny, a Wasilla resident and one of the few Alaskans willing to speak on-the-record, for attribution, about Palin. In fact, Kilkenny actually circulated an e-mail letter about Palin that was verified and printed by The Nation.

For good measure, Palin booted the Wasilla police chief from office because, she told a local newspaper, he “intimidated” her.

“She’s doesn’t like different opinions and she refuses to compromise,” Kilkenny notes. “When she was mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t hers. Worse, ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits but on the basis of who proposed them.”

[...] But when a local reporter dared to suggest that the reformer Empress has no clothes, Palin tried to get her fired.

“She came at me like I was trying to steal her kids,” said the targeted reporter, who now works for an oil company in Anchorage. “I heard she had a wild temper and vicious mean streak but it’s nothing like you can imagine until she turns it on you.”

One stupid mistake after another

When watching the McCain speech, I was struck by the green screen behind him, and thought "Good grief! What are these people thinking by putting a green backdrop behind him after all the fun that Stephen Colbert had with the last green background? Inviting viewers to "Make McCain Exciting" by taking the footage and making their own video revisions. There have been some brilliant entries, and you'll find more of them here on YouTube than at the Colbert site (a couple are posted at the bottom of the post but do seek out your favorite theme whether it's surfing or Star Trek).

Anyway, showing him against green was not the biggest mistake. AMERICAblog points out that it was supposed to be a picture of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in DC. Instead, it was a huge picture of Walter Reed Middle School in California. The school in the picture has nothing to do with the Medical Center.

A couple of green screen bits of fun. Here's the Pulp Fiction version:


Here's a Simpsons version:

Fast Draw Fast Food

[LINK] The NRA likes to say that guns don't kill people, people kill people, but sometimes if you happen to have loaded guns around you might just kill someone over a fast food hamburger, as has happened twice within a month's time in St. Louis.

Furbaby Friday - Doctor Henry

Henry's human mom has been sick with a sinus infection for the past week, so Henry has been practicing his bedside manner. Take a few deep breaths while he listens.

 And here he is being sympathetic. His human mom finally got some medicine including antibiotics, and some prednisone too, just like the 2 kitties are taking. Can we share?

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Counting Cats in Zanzibar on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging

R.I.P. Jerry Reed

[LINK] Jerry Reed has died of emphysema* at the age of 71. You might be thinking of him mostly as a hillbilly singer and goofy actor (Smokey and the Bandit, etc.), but he sure could play the heck out of the guitar. The clip above is with guitar legend Chet Atkins. They recorded 2 or 3 projects together, and it is amazing stuff.

I did have City of New Orleans posted here (watch that one at the link) but switched it out for this even better one of Lightning Rod:


My favorite guitar player, Eric Johnson, counts Jerry Reed as one of his biggest inspirations. He wrote a song called "A Tribute to Jerry Reed," and I would recommend going to this NPR page, there you can listen to his interview, just the music clips, or watch video including that song, on the lower left sidebar.

*emphysema is something that I have had to deal with, it got my mother, and one of my uncles, my dad was already getting it at 44 but it was his heart that got him, and another uncle has been suffering from it for years. Give up the cigs if you can. Even if you dodge cancer, emphysema can still get you and probably will. It also kills you but it can take years, really hard years.

My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, and I Don't Love Jesus

Well, the news lately is either sad, bad or ridiculous. I had some downtime from work and was sick for the whole thing, too sick for activities beyond chugging tea or cough syrup and lounging on the couch, so MrB didn't have much of a weekend either. We need some chuckles (but no clowns).

Here is a classic Kathy Griffin, this one makes me laugh no matter how many times I see it (topic: Catholics).


LOLcat

Country song titles, always full of groaners. These snagged from Dribbleglass.

All I Want From You Is Away

You Can't Have Your Kate and Edith Too

I'm So Miserable Without You, It's Almost Like Having You Here

Four on the Floor and a Fifth Under the Seat

If You Can't Be Good, Be Bad With Me

Bubba Shot the Jukebox

Are You Drinkin' With Me, Jesus?

Billy Broke My Heart at Walgreens and I Cried All the Way to Sears

How Can I Miss You if You Won't Go Away?

I'm Under the Table Over You

Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goal Posts of Life

Am I Double Parked by the Curbstone of Your Heart?

I'm Gonna Put a Bar in the Back of My Car and Drive Myself to Drink

Welcome to Dumpsville, Population Me

If Love Were Oil, I'd Be a Quart Low

Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed

My Phone Ain't Been Ringing, So I Guess it Wasn't You

I've Been Roped and Throwed By Jesus in the Holy Ghost Corral

She's Acting Single, I'm Drinking Doubles

Is It Cold In Here, or Is It Just You?

We Used to Kiss on the Lips, But It's All Over Now

My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, and I Don't Love Jesus

Thank God and Greyhound She's Gone

I Don't Know Whether to Kill Myself or Go Bowling

You're the Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly

Thanks to the Cathouse, I'm in the Doghouse With You

I Would Kiss You Through the Screen Door But It'd Strain Our Love

I Fell for Her, She Fell for Him, and He Fell for Me

You Were Only a Splinter as I Slid Down the Banister of Life

Did I Shave my Legs for This?

I Fell in a Pile of You and Got Love All Over Me

She Got the Gold Mine and I Got the Shaft

My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, and I Sure Do Miss Him

If You Want to Keep the Beer Real Cold, Put it Next to My Ex-Wife's Heart

I Gave Her My Heart and a Diamond and She Clubbed Me with a Spade

I Sat Down on a Beartrap (Just This Morning)

She Looks Good Through the Bottom of My Shot Glass

If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead?

Mama, Get the Hammer (There's a Fly on Papa's Head)

Red Necks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer

I Still Miss You Baby, But My Aim is Getting Better

If You Don't Leave Me, I'll Find Someone Who Will

My John Deere Was Breaking Your Field, While Your Dear John Was Breaking My Heart

So, you got any funny?

Yup Yup

Found via HuffPo, questionaire filled out by gubernatorial candidates in Alaska 2006:

Question: Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

Palin: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I'll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.

[source]
The pledge, of course, was not written until 1892 and the words "under God" were not added until the 1950s.

Basic information on the Pledge of Allegiance can be found in a search that takes only a few seconds, and might be recommended for people who want to hold office in this country.