Wednesday, September 24, 2008

George R.R. Martin, I *heart* you!

One of my very favorite authors, George R.R. Martin, is contributing books to Books 4 Barack, which is such an exciting idea and makes me REALLY REALLY wish that I had $250 to contribute. Here's the gist:



From George R.R. Martin's blog:

Just go to http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/ayelet and make a donation of $250 (or more) to the Obama Victory Fund, and you'll receive a canvas tote bag imprinted with the BOOKS FOR OBAMA logo and stuffed with ten (10, count 'em, 10) autographed books.

The contents of each tote bag will be randomly selected from the books donated by a huge list of participating writers, so there's no knowing what titles you may get. There will be hardcovers, first editions, mass market paperbacks, maybe some art books, graphic novels, and who knows what else... but all of them will be signed by the authors, and all the money will go to help elect Barack Obama as our next president.

Hundreds of writers have already signed up and sent books. Stephen King, Judy Blume, Michael Chabon, Nora Ephron, Alan Furst, Garrison Keillor, Lemony Snicket, Amy Tan, Steve Martin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Jonathan Lethem, Dennis Lehane, Ann Tyler, and many, many, many more have donated to the cause, and more writers are being heard from every day.

For full details on the program and how it works, and a (partial) list of particpating writers, check out the Books 4 Barack website at http://books4barack.com/

I have a big box of twenty-odd books here that will be on its way tomorrow. Some old stuff, some new stuff, some hardcovers, some paperbacks, some common, some rare and collectible. Maybe you'll get one of them. Or maybe you'll be the lucky one who gets a signed Stephen King first in your mystery bag.

I am so in love with this idea, and I really hope someone I know does this, so I can get all excited about seeing what books they receive. So awesome!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Your attention needed in matter of utmost urgency!

I wish I knew where to credit this~I poached it from someone who poached it from somewhere else, you know the drill. Anyhausen:

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transaction is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson



And another place to make a good buck: http://www.buymyshitpile.com/

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sarsaparilla Skirt & Vest on Grosgrain Fabulous

Sarsaparilla Skirt & Vest GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

I so want to win this--can you imagine Bear all decked out in this outfit?! I'd have to find some cute boots or something, though. Shoe shopping? Don't mind if I do!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Time Traveler's Wife~

I just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife, and...I didn't like this book. I disliked it quite a bit, truth be told. I picked it for our book club, and I can't wait to get there on Thursday so I can apologize to everyone for this round. I'm very surprised, because I've heard such good things about this book, plus I'm not very picky when it comes to reading. I enjoy all sorts of different genres and can usually find something to like about most everything I read. If you haven't read the book and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading, because there are major spoilers following.

Brief synopsis: The Time Traveler's Wife is about Henry, a "chronically-displaced person" who unwillingly travels through time. He cannot control when and where he travels, but his time shifts are mainly focused around his specific past and his specific future. Henry is in love with Clare, a person he starts visiting when she's 6 (and he's 30 something) and who later becomes his wife. (it's a very chicken or the egg thing, because when he starts visiting Clare he is already married to her in their future) It's meant to be a grand, epic love story, I think, but it really missed the mark for me on that level.

My main problem: The characters are incredibly narcissistic and unlikeable. They are completely selfish and self-centered, and yet people adore them, and love them (both Henry and Clare have people that are obsessed with them for many many years) beyond any reasonable measure, given how flat and shallow and small they are as characters. Their entire world exists only for them, and no one else seems to matter—even their daughter is secondary to their “great love”. Clare goes through 6 miscarriages in a row before she can conceive and carry their daughter to term, and actually says out loud that she doesn't want to adopt because it won't be “real”. After Henry dies, Clare is nothing without him --not that she was all that great with him, anyway. 2 years later, she can't even pull it together to be a good mother to her daughter....it's still all about Henry, all the time. She ends up waiting for one last hurrah with him when she's 82 (I think he's...43 at the time? it doesn't matter, these characters have sex with each other all along their age spectrums)...the book ends on this vignette, and I think it's supposed to be romantic but I found it sad and pathetic. I would have felt sorry for both their characters if I didn't find them to be so loathsome.

My other big problem: I think it's creepy in the extreme that Henry time travels to spend time with Clare as a little girl, starting when she's six years old, and pretty much ruins her for any other relationship from that point on. He drops little tidbits to her, but never too much...”we'll be together doing xyz in the future, we'll be married, you love me, etc...” He ends up sleeping with her on her 18th birthday, when he's 41--but he's lusted after her younger self for years before that. Well, gee, discussions of determinism, fatalism, free will aside, of course her world will be built around Henry---he structured it that way from the very beginning. That poor kid never had a chance.

I did find the concept intriguing, and I wish it had been executed by a better author. The time travel stuff was interesting, and I did stay up late last night reading, so there is some redeemable stuff in there. Not enough to make me like the book, though.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Trouble in a coffee mug

A friend of mine sent this to me, and she got it from a message board...I have no idea who original credit goes to--all I know is that whoever they are, I hate them and love them. I seriously should not have access to a "chocolate cake in 5 minutes!" recipe.

This is crazy easy to make, and it's perfect for kids to help with. Plus the fun factor is high! One tip--we cooked ours for 2 1/2 minutes and it came out perfectly--3 minutes would have fried it.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE


4 tablespoons cake flour (That's plain flour, not self-rising.)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla essence
1 coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla essence and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous.)

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Is it Fall yet?

I'm ready! I'm ready for crisp, cool weather and crunching leaves and apple cider and sweaters. Autumn is my favorite season, followed by winter. It's in my super pale, white girl genes, I think. I love curling up with a mug of tea on cold evenings, I love having simmering pots of various sauces and stews on the stove, I love the way the air smells when homes have wood fires burning, I love crunching leaves with my kiddo, I love anticipating the first snowfall of the season.....sigh. I'm feeling all warm and cozy and happy already. Yay Fall!

A visual aid

Here's an interesting graph comparing McCain's and Obama's tax plans. I do better with charts and graphs because math makes my head hurt. ;)

Chart courtesy of:
http://chartjunk.karmanaut.com/taxplans/

Go Obama!

Let's do this thing, Barack!

Edited to add: direct link to his plan on his website:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/economyplan


Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Drum Roll Please.....

Here they are! Our tats! Thanks so much to Cory @ The Blue Door....he was so patient with our talking and laughing and shenanigans, and we ended up with some wonderful permanent artwork on our bods. And we had a great time doing it, too...my stomach hurt from laughing so hard throughout the day. Thanks Cory!

Here's mine:

And here is Tab's, which is a quote from The Awakening:

Monday, September 15, 2008

So much fun.

We had sooooooo much fun! But now she's gone. Sigh.

I need to upload my tattoo pics....T has them on her camera, and I'll get them once she gets home and sends them. I got it on my FOOT and OMG that hurt. But it was totally worth it. I'll talk more about our ink once I get the pics. T's turned out...amazing.

T and I met Trish at Osteria Marco, which was wonderful, and Trish brought our old friend Liz to surprise me! Liz was in town for a few days for business. I haven't seen Liz in years, and it was fantastic to catch up. She currently lives in Berlin, but has been on extended stay in London. Among her many other globe-trotting and connections-having exploits, she gets her hair cut by Natalie Imbruglia's hairstylist, she's considering dating one of Lily Allen's exes, oh and she's met Chris Martin (Coldplay). It's fun to get some vicarious star-sighting and glamour through her! After Osteria Marco, we went to Beatrice & Woodsley for drinks. That place is seriously lovely. And the drinks are so fanciful and yummy!

The rest of the time, T and I hung out. We did hit Manitou Springs for a day. We watched a lot of movies, and ate a lot of fudge. T bought Bear a ton of presents--Bribes! We cried copious amounts of tears during Steel Magnolias. I introduced her to Good Times custard, which she now hates me for. It was wonderful. You know, we've been to Paris together and Seattle together, but this was the best time we've had, I think. It was just so chill and relaxing and awesome.

Can't wait 'til next time!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Eeee!

My bestie is coming tomorrow! I can't wait. She lives too far away, and we see each other too infrequently, so when we do get together in person it's extra special. I'm sure I'll get to the airport all extra early just because I'll be Miss Antsy Pants.

I'm so excited! I set up Steel Magnolias to record for tomorrow, so we can watch that tomorrow night. I love Dolly Parton so much; she's totally one of my heroines. She just so cool and smart and funny and successful (on her own terms, too--she owns the rights to so many of the songs she's written! she's a very prolific song writer). And Steel Magnolias is, like, the epitome of "chick flick." My poor husband; I'm sure he'll have to go find something else to keep him busy tomorrow night. I seriously doubt that he'll be in a SM mood. ;)

On Wednesday we have something extra special planned. I'll update w/ pics after.

On Thursday, I think we'll take the lightrail and head downtown. I'm excited to show her The Tattered Cover and bum around LoDo for a little bit. One of my other friends' husband, (Trish--my girlie girl that I went to see Obama with!), is a partial owner of Osteria Marco (in Larimer Square), and we're meeting Trish there for dinner and drinks.

After that, it's open-ended! I might take her down to Garden of the Gods one day, because that's not to be missed. Otherwise, we're taking it completely by ear.

God Help Us All.

Joe Biden gives a racist a kiss.

In a corner booth, Biden sat down and, after a moment's conversation, planted a kiss on the forehead of Carolyn Bauer, age 89. Bauer explained afterward it wasn't such a friendly encounter.

"I told him I'm not going to vote for him," Bauer said. "Anybody who runs with a guy with a name like that is not going to get my vote. It'd be disgusting to get a man named Barack Obama as president of the United States. No way. I mean it . . . I'm going to vote for McCain and the lady."

"[Obama's] a Muslim," Bauer added. "He pretends to be a Christian, and he isn't, he's a Muslim."

Please reassure me that Obama will win! I am getting scared. :(

Spain has a pretty good educational system, right? Bear would like it there, I bet. Or Portugal. Portugal would be good, too. Sigh.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Georgia Congressman Westmoreland calls Obama "uppity"

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/westmoreland-calls-obama-uppity-2008-09-04.html

"Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.

Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.”


Is he insane? Or does he just not care that the whole world knows he's racist? Beyond belief. Please go donate to Obama's campaign fund. Let your money and/or your vote show that this is unacceptable in America today.

Uppity? Seriously???