Halloween 2005: Not too hot for penguins

Everyone loves penguins!Another dispatch from the Sister, this time from the storied blocks of State Street during the Halloween festivities(100,000 people in six blocks and fewer than 300 arrested-I call that a triumph!).

Christmas comes early

How else to explain this and this happening at the same time? The only thing that would have been better is actual indictments, but Santa never brings the pony like you want. I love that the Administration has been so adamant about producing documents(although it's hardly a new thing), and made a lame attempt to blame this fiasco on unreasonable Congressional requests. And the polling numbers!

It's not all lollipops and unicorns. While I really, really hope these abysmal approval ratings, indictments, and catastrophic failures carry over in the public mind to the 2006 election, all of this was in place long before November 2004. As happy as I am that there is finally comeuppance, it stings a little too. We shouldn't have to be happy with such petty vengeance, laughing at Fitzgerald's masterful leak strategy. We should have been able to beat these guys a year ago(almost exactly, which hurts too). It'll be a victory to see Karl Rove and Scooter Libby indicted, but it'll be 360 days late and 2 bosses short.

While we're on the bittersweet, it looks like the legitimate media will not be giving the starving public the hot British interview action they were hoping for. Never fear, for the independent press(read: me) will soldier on and bring it to the masses, free of substance-crushing cuts and a dignity eroding editing process.

Come to think of it, that publicity photo of Miers reminds me of someone. There's a...fossilized quality to her that is just so familiar...

Something in the Air, maybe?

I had a really creepy dream last night where I was the victim of workplace sexual harrassment...by Nicholas Kristof.

???

Snapshot

Picture this: I'm walking down a tree-lined street, watching scarlet leaves fall to the ground, pulling a 70 pound rolling suitcase. Who said moving isn't an adventure?

Success!

At long last, my day of triumph has arrived-I finished the Sunday Crossword. And I found a short term job and found a place to live. It's a little embarrassing how uninspired I've been of late; I promise things will improve shortly.

Too bad you can't blame them for gas prices, huh?

To the residents of Loyal, WI: Be thankful you're dodging horseshit and not bullets aimed at your back. There are worse disputes over cultural differences, that's all I'm saying.

Jim's Journal, Minneapolis Style

I went to the bus stop and waited for the bus to come. It did, but the bus driver didn't stop for me. That made me sad.

Congrats, Showoff

Come on, Eric, you're making us all look bad!

Seriously though, well done. The people of Minneapolis are not safe-I'm going to wander the streets shoving this in the face of each and ever person I see, shouting, "That's my friend!"

Keep fighting the power.

A New Plan

Resolved: From now on I will only make noodles by cooking the entire bag and then mixing them with an entire stick of butter. Best. Thing. Ever.

Huh?

I've had a confusing couple of days. Last night I engaged in religious activity for the first time in nearly a year, and it wasn't even my religion(such as I sort-of-almost have one), and today I checked my hometown newspaper's website and discovered something strange happening in the column of my mentor, John Nichols-he speaks well of Representative Mark Green. I'm all for respecting people who have different opinions, but Mark Green? Mark Green? I'm glad that the column was about Green's need to deal honestly with campaign funds; overall, the content of the column was good. It's just this one tiny bit-

My sense has always been that, while I might disagree with him on many issues, I could respect Mark Green. And I even entertained the notion that he might have some of the qualities Wisconsinites ought to look for in a governor.

What qualities are those, John? Please, tell me. The qualities that make him oppose a woman's right to choose? The qualities that make him such a fan of Faith Based Initiatives? That led him to suport Bush's absurd tax cuts? I'm confused. I know that Jim Doyle is a slimy, spineless, power hungry, miserable man without principle or ideals, but Mark Green is a right wing nutcase! Argh, now I'm all frustrated. At least I can eat(sorry sweetie).

Firebomb my innocence, why don't you?

Two more things-the person in the kitchen next door just CANNOT stop cleaning. It's starting to creep me out. Blood isn't that hard to get off linoleum...I mean...um.... More importantly, this whole UNICEF firebombing the Smurfs is as fucked up as anything gets. Thanks a lot, Wonkette. What's worse is there isn't even reliable video on the web to prove that some brilliant but sick bastard realized the most effective way to make Westerners feel bad was to mess with IMAGINARY societies. Smurfs are way cuter than legless and emaciated orphans, by a lot.

A little clarity

First things first-my Ls are getting a little randy in my comments, which was a lot of fun when I was unattached but now feels just a little bit dirty. For shame, ladies!

Second, I had my worried-over meeting this morning, and my favorite part was when I heard the words, "If I could hire you to start working today, I would." To sum up-I still have no job, but I definitely, absolutely will by the end of the year. And I get to pick what I want to do! It's not every day you get to choose your next career adventure. I should write one of those books. If you want to take the Communications Director job, turn to page 112. Might be fun.

Nothing has changed in the immediate sense, but I feel fantastic knowing that I've actually got something to look forward to(assuming the money people decide to fund us. Anyone know people who want to give a million or two to rural voter organizing? Please? Pretty please?)

Back to the short term job hunt. Then maybe a run(I know, crazy), then...PIZZA! Living in style!

I've officially written the whiteboards first words. Can you guess what they are?

"Welcome Home"

Thanks for the welcome, love.

I'm a big, jobless lump of domesticity at the moment(hardly something I ever thought I'd type), but so far things seem okay. I have my big "when oh when sir can I start working for you" meeting tomorrow morning, but other than that I am still unemployed and without the funds to rent an apartment. I've also not yet found one that looks pretty enough on the outside to get giddy about. I've been distracting myself by knitting and cleaning, so I (may) have officially lost my mind. I tell myself I'm frontloading my relaxation so that when I'm really busy right before the elections, I won't feel deprived of rest.

It only occurred to me this morning when I woke from the third or fourth anxiety filled dream about leaving New York that I might be feeling a little panicked, perhaps like I was a mite bit hasty in this move. Don't get me wrong-still the right thing, still excited about everything, about all the new life-related things to be done, the new life to build-but I miss New York and my small but devoted crew a whole lot more than I thought was possible. A lot more.

Enough navel-gazing for the evening. Hopefully my meeting tomorrow will clarify where I stand on the "get a life" continuum. Also, Ethan's white board finally came, so I'm looking forward to hours of fun. I'm hoping for Venn Diagrams.

Top 5 Things I'll Miss about New York(Even if I'm Coming Back)

5. Seeing the Statue of Liberty every time I go over the Manhattan Bridge on the Q train.
4. Prospect Park
3. The veiled contempt in the eyes of Met employees when you say "no donation."
2. The movies! (but not the cost of tickets or popcorn-highway robbery!)
1. My Girls

My last 24 hours in the city are counting down and begging to be enjoyed, and I apologize for the next few days of absense. Posts will resume when I have reacclimated to country mouse life.

Top 5 things I won't miss hearing outside my window

1. "Lookin' good/You fine/How you doin', Snowflake/Snow White/Snow Bunny/Princess/Light Skin!"
2. Firetrucks leaving the station around the corner between 12 and 6 AM
3. The dice game
4. The skull-rattling bass on awful hip hop music blasting out of cars that pull up to the bodega
5. The delivery trucks that seem to make deliveries only on mornings that I have a hangover.

Geek Love

I know that at least one of you out there has asked about it, so before I leave and become distracted by my real one, Boy Blogging returns. My subject today is hardly a household name, and he may never be one, but he has captained his little space ship on a course straight to nerdy, nerdy love. I like him better than Han Solo(yes, Liliana, I said it)-Nathan Fillion

Aside from his time on Two Guys and a Girl(the launching pad of another current B-movie favorite, ab-tastic Alanis Morrisette boy-toy Ryan Reynolds), Nathan's most memorable roles are all Joss Whedon-related. He played evil, evil priest Caleb during the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and now he's hanging out at a cinema near you in Serenity, a great sci-fi flick. Everyone should go see it so I can enjoy many more movies featuring those tight, tight pants. And because it's a good flick, but this is boy blogging, not a film review.

Tall, buff, and heroic without being boring(Riley Finn, anyone?), Fillion is incredibly charming on TV and the big screen, and deserves more work. I wish him a better, more varied future than Gen-Con appearances, but I'll take a few more years of him playing Malcom Reynolds if I have to.

A side-note on Serenity: All the male actors are way hotter than they were on television. Way buffer too(Simon? Um, wow.). It also still weirds me out that Jewel Staite found work after those couple episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark. I miss SNICK.

As if the Supreme Court weren't enough

Killer dolphins are loose after Hurricane Katrina. Trained to shoot poison darts at divers. Need I say more?

Judge not lest ye be judged, except when you're on SCOTUS

My girls have already covered the jokes on Harriet Miers, and I can't bring myself to read anything about her. A Supreme Court Justice who has no judicial experience? A loyal follower of the administration? I think that Bush's speech writers should start thinking about the nickname they'll substitute for "Brownie."

"You're a real meercat on the bench, Miers," just doesn't sound quite right.

Propaganda = Bad

In case you didn't know, the GAO has officially denounced the administration-it's all here. At least someone employed by the government is doing his job. More to follow, but I'm drunk now, and this seemed like a good end to the evening. It's not often that good news precedes bedtime.