Eh... not so much

Oxo is awesome!

2009-07-10T20:05:23Z

I wrote to Oxo and asked if I could order a replacement bowl for my salad spinner. It was a wedding shower gift so it's over 4 years old. It got a little warped in the dishwasher.

They just sent me a new one! For free!

I will never buy anything for the kitchen that isn't Oxo. Yay!

Wow

2009-07-09T01:26:51Z

Just watched "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead."

Uh.

Wow.

Comments are screened to prevent spoilers. Please feel free to share your O.o with me.

It's true! It's true!

2009-07-08T19:31:01Z

Trader Joe's is coming to Princeton soon!

Not only that, it's only a 3 mile walk from my house! I can exercise and buy overly priced yuppie treats!

I've only been writing to them for the past few years begging them to come to Princeton! Foodies with too much discretionary income? We're hip deep in 'em! A Princeton store is a license to print money!

Yes, I'm a little excited.

Today's "Yeah, what he said"

2009-07-01T12:37:25Z

Found via Balloon Juice. If you get past the dirty words in Matt Taibbi's blog post on True Slant, you find gems like this:

Anyway this teabag thing has really gotten out of control. It’s amazing, literally amazing to me, that it wasn’t until Obama pushed through a package containing a massive public works package and significant homeowner aid that conservatives took to the streets. In other words, it wasn’t until taxes turned into construction jobs and mortgage relief that working and middle-class Americans decided to protest. I didn’t see anyone on the street when we forked over billions of dollars to help JP Morgan Chase buy Bear Stearns. And I didn’t see anyone on the street when Hank Paulson forked over $45 more billion to help Bank of America buy Merrill Lynch, a company run at the time by one of the world’s biggest assholes, John Thain. Moreover I didn’t see any street protests when the government agreed to soak up hundreds of billions in “troubled assets” from Citigroup, a company that just months later would lend out a jet furnished with pillows upholstered with Hermes scarves to former chief Sandy Weill so that he could vacation in Mexico over Christmas.

I hear Fox Not-Necessarily-the-News is trying to whip up more teabag protests over the 4th of July weekend. Uh huh. Let us know how that goes, guys.

Dammit!

2009-06-30T17:17:34Z

So who put the end of the 2nd quarter so close to the 4th of July holiday?!? Grrrrrr.

WOW.

2009-06-29T15:34:48Z

They did it.

150 years for Bernie Madoff!

He ain't never getting out.

Today's reason I'm going to Hell...

2009-06-29T14:59:18Z

Do you think Vince Shlomi will pour one out for the late Billy Mays, then wipe it up with a ShamWow?

Linkies!

2009-06-28T15:53:33Z

From MSNBC: fascinating story by a man arrested in the Stonewall riots 40 years ago. Boy, look at those pictures of him from the '60s. What a cutie he was!

From NYTimes: Charles Blow on the new euphemism sweeping the nation:

...At the end of the day, aside from the dereliction of duty and malfeasance, this, for me, would be a private matter. That is if it were not for the appalling hypocrisy of yet another social conservative saying one thing while doing another.

There are Democratic sex scandals to be sure, but Democrats didn’t build a franchise on holier-than-thou moral rectitude. The Republicans did. They used sexual morality as a weapon and now it’s shooting them in the foot....

From Newsweek: Fareed Zakaria on Iran:

The situation in Iran is more complex. Democracy clearly works against this repressive regime. The forces of religion, however, are not so easily aligned against it. Many, possibly most, Iranians appear to be fed up with theocracy. But that does not mean they are fed up with religion. It does appear that the more openly devout Iranians—the poor, the rural—voted for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

One of those little things the current administration gets right

2009-06-26T16:57:28Z

From the AP:

Obama Appoints Domestic Violence Adviser

WASHINGTON (AP) — A longtime advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault has been named to a new post advising the White House on those issues.

Vice President Joe Biden announced the appointment Friday of Lynn Rosenthal, an expert in domestic violence policy. The White House said she will advise President Barack Obama and work with government agencies to ensure that violence against women isn't ignored and the perpetrators are held accountable.

A former director of a women's shelter, Rosenthal was executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence from 2000 to 2006. And she worked as director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

I approve.

Need a laugh today?

2009-06-26T01:39:48Z

iTunes is giving away the brilliant "Racial Sensitivity" episode of Better Off Ted for free! Here's the link.

Okay, just to be clear

2009-06-26T00:43:42Z

Definitely deceased: Farrah Fawcett. Michael Jackson.

Not deceased: Jeff Goldblum, Harrison Ford.

What a weird day.

Go get 'im, media types!

2009-06-24T19:19:07Z

You know, I was actually concerned about the weird disappearance of Mark Sanford, governor of South Carolina. The guy apparently up and disappeared with no word to his staff. His lieutenant governor doesn't know where he is, and more importantly did not know whether he's empowered to act in case of an emergency. His family alleged not to know where he was. There were weird stories about "off hiking the Appalachian Trail."

I thought the guy might have actually been having some problems. Of the mental variety. At first there was some hinting around about a breakdown. So I tried to be nice. I made no "Where's Waldo" jokes. I smiled at Rachel's report last night on the "missing Kent Jones," but thought, "Oh, that's not nice."

And finally today we know. No illness. Just another Republican having an extramarital affair while extolling the virtues of (white Christian heterosexual) family values.

When does the hypocrisy end?

Update: Chris Cilizza at The Fix thinks the press conference showed Sanford is in the middle of some sort of breakdown.

Buffy slaps down Edward Cullen

2009-06-21T16:51:08Z

Found via Jezebel. Girl power, baby!

Rachel Maddow on Charlie Rose!

2009-06-19T16:13:47Z

From Thursday, June 18. Enjoy!

Voluntary childlessness "unnatural" and "evil" - Broadsheet - Salon.com

2009-06-19T02:25:49Z

But after writing a lot about the abortion debate in the last couple of weeks, I'm struck by the similarities between the vitriol Vernon reports and typical anti-choice rhetoric. She receives "terrifying" letters and e-mails calling her "selfish ... unnatural, evil." She is "now routinely referred to as 'baby-hating journalist Polly Vernon.'" Ring any bells? How about this -- men more than women, Vernon says, often respond by becoming "aggressive, sneering ... Perhaps the idea that there are women at large who are not actively pursuing their sperm is an out-and-out affront to a certain kind of man. The same men who have spent years believing that all women secretly want to trap them into commitment and fatherhood, probably."

Voluntary childlessness "unnatural" and "evil" - Broadsheet - Salon.com

Milestone!

2009-06-19T00:30:15Z

Breaking filter silence to toot my own horn: as of tonight I've lost 20 pounds since March 26! It's amazing the results you can get when you do what you're supposed to.

I've got less than 2 pounds to go to hit my 10% goal! The suspense is killing me!

WELL, THIS EXPLAINS EVERYTHING

2009-06-14T03:24:51Z

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Veteran horror actor Lee knighted

2009-06-13T14:20:14Z

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Veteran horror actor Lee knighted

Sir Dracula! Bloody marvelous!

I also love that the article mentions that 87-year-old Sir Christopher "was unavailable for comment because he was filming in New Mexico." Excellent!

Dear LiveJournal

2009-06-09T17:41:11Z

Dear LiveJournal: Why do you not make it easy for me to read my LJ on my iPhone? Don't you want to be where the cool kids are?

Oh sure, you have a half-assed mobile version where I can look at friend entries, or post. But I can't look at my inbox or easily read my site & respond to comments. Must I suffer with a stripped-down looking theme just to make it easier for me to load the page via iPhone? Why do I have to go third-party and use LiveJournal.app for posting? Now those guys know how to make some useful streamlined software.

Get on the stick, please! With the new $99 iPhone coming, there will only be more and more of us.

(PS, tips and tricks for better mobility will be welcomed in the comments. Thank yew.)

Sit back and watch

2009-06-08T20:48:47Z

Bill Moyers has a very informative history of "health care reform" going back to the Carter administration here. Please watch and learn!

It's all about the sanctity of marriage

2009-06-05T17:15:48Z

Reality gets a bit ‘Stranger’ with new Fox show

Network developing series in which brides-to-be meet husbands on big day

LOS ANGELES - Fox is developing "I Married a Stranger," a matrimonial reality series in which brides-to-be don't meet their husbands until they exchange vows.

The premise of the show is that a woman frustrated by the dating scene agrees to wed a man she's never met. While she prepares for her blind wedding, friends and family select a spouse from a pool of six eligible suitors offered by the show's producers. The men are eliminated one by one until only two candidates remain. Both finalists walk down the aisle, but only one makes it to the altar to reveal himself to his new wife.

"She never meets him until the actual moment when they say 'I do,'" a source close to the project said. "It's like the big scene that comes after an entire season of 'The Bachelor,' only this is in every episode."

There are couples in California who have been together for 20 or 30 years or more who can't legally get married, and these idiots are marrying a complete stranger for a television show. Where are the National Organization for Marriage protesters on this one?

Mini rant

2009-06-05T12:37:30Z

So now the story is poor David Carradine might not have killed himself. It may have been a heart attack/mishap during autoerotic asphyxiation.

Why do I know this?

What happened to the good old days of covering stuff like this up? God damn, the man deserves a little basic dignity. Does his family want this all over the news? Is this the way his children want to think about him?

There is absolutely no news value in reporting this story, except for prurient tale-telling, and reducing a decent guy to a joke for morning radio DJ's.

RIP, Mr. Carradine. And my heart goes out to his family.

Wait, WHUT? "DAVID CARRADINE FOUND DEAD AT HOTEL"

2009-06-04T14:38:40Z

From World Entertainment News Network:

* CARRADINE FOUND DEAD AT HOTEL

Actor DAVID CARRADINE has been found dead at a hotel in Thailand.

The Kill Bill star, 72, was staying in Bangkok while shooting his new movie Stretch.

Local media in Thailand initially reported Carradine had committed suicide by hanging himself in his hotel suite, but the star's agent has told a U.S. TV channel he believes the actor died of natural causes.

Carradine was born John Arthur Carradine in Hollywood, but changed his name to David after launching his acting career following a course in drama at San Francisco State University.

He appeared in dozens of films and TV dramas but was best known for his roles as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s series Kung Fu and as the title character from Quentin Tarantino's martial arts movies Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2.

Carradine leaves behind a wife, Annie.

Why the late Dr. Tiller's work was so important

2009-06-02T02:20:40Z

Posted to Balloon Juice yesterday:

In 1994 my wife and I found out that she was pregnant. The pregnancy was difficult and unusually uncomfortable but her doctor repeatedly told her things were fine. Sometime early in the 8th month my wife, an RN who at the time was working in an infertility clinic asked the Dr. she was working for what he thought of her discomfort. He examined her and said that he couldn’t be certain but thought that she might be having twins. We were thrilled and couldn’t wait to get a new sonogram that hopefully would confirm his thoughts. Two days later our joy was turned to unspeakable sadness when the new sonogram showed conjoined twins. Conjoined twins alone is not what was so difficult but the way they were joined meant that at best only one child would survive the surgery to separate them and the survivor would more than likely live a brief and painful life filled with surgery and organ transplants. We were advised that our options were to deliver into the world a child whose life would be filled with horrible pain and suffering or fly out to Wichita Kansas and to terminate the pregnancy under the direction of Dr. George Tiller.

We made an informed decision to go to Kansas. One can only imagine the pain borne by a woman who happily carries a child for 8 months only to find out near the end of term that the children were not to be and that she had to make the decision to terminate the pregnancy and go against everything she had been taught to believe was right. This was what my wife had to do. Dr. Tiller is a true American hero. The nightmare of our decision and the aftermath was only made bearable by the warmth and compassion of Dr. Tiller and his remarkable staff. Dr. Tiller understood that this decision was the most difficult thing that a woman could ever decide and he took the time to educate us and guide us along with the other two couples who at the time were being forced to make the same decision after discovering that they too were carrying children impacted by horrible fetal anomalies. I could describe in great detail the procedures and the pain and suffering that everyone is subjected to in these situations. However, that is not the point of the post. We can all imagine that this is not something that we would wish on anyone. The point is that the pain and suffering were only mitigated by the compassion and competence of Dr. George Tiller and his staff. We are all diminished today for a host of reasons but most of all because a man of great compassion and courage has been lost to the world.

If you would like to honor Dr. Tillman's memory in some way, Julie at a little pregnant has some links.

Poor poor Edmund Andrews

2009-05-30T19:13:39Z

Hey, looks like I'm back! All I needed was something substantive to voice my opinion on.

And today it's Edmund Andrews of the NY Times again. Two weeks ago I linked to Andrews' piece in the magazine, about poor Edmund and his poor new bride, and how they just wanted a little love nest of their own. So he willingly signed up for a mortgage he knew he could not afford. Not surprisingly he and his new wife spent themselves into a hole -- not because of health expenses or anything dire like that. No, because they spent $1600 for a week at a beach house.

Best of all, poor Edmund has spun his "cautionary tale" into a book deal. We can spend $17 and help bail out poor old Edmund.

Since the article appeared, Megan McCardle from the Atlantic discovered that:

...Patty Barreiro, Andrews' wife, has declared bankruptcy twice. The second time was while they were married, a detail that didn't make it into either the book or the excerpt that ran in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine.

Andrews' desire to shield his wife is understandable--hell, laudable. No decent person wants to parade their spouse's financial trouble in front of the world. But this is material information that changes the tenor of his story. Serial bankruptcy is not a creation of the current credit crisis, and it doesn't just happen to anyone, particularly anyone with a six figure salary.

In September 1998, California bankruptcy court records indicate that Patty and her first husband declared bankruptcy. The financial statement they filed with the court indicated family income of $174,000 in 1996, $87,000 in 1997, and $126,000 in the first nine months of 1998. The income fluctuations are not surprising, given that her husband was in the film production industry. By the time of the filing, the couple owed about $30,000 on 8 credit cards, over $200,000 in back taxes, and almost $15,000 in private school tuition, as well as substantial car and mortgage payments.

In 2007, nearly as soon as she was eligible, Patty Barreiro filed again in Montgomery Country. When called for comment yesterday, Andrews was unavailable, but there is no question that it is his wife: his income and occupation are prominently featured in the docket.

And best of all, the letters have started to come in about the article to the magazine. Most are annoyed or "disgusted." But some actually praise the guy:

The excruciating details of Edmund L. Andrews’s personal finances, combined with his reputation as an economics journalist, make this a courageous essay. The story is especially powerful because he does not portray the mortgage broker or lender employees as villains.

The entire country was lulled into a materialistic mind-set in recent years, and the tale is a sober reminder that our economic future is complicated, as families readjust on spending, industries readjust on production, unemployment rises and housing prices continue to fall. As our government sinks deeper into record debt, any waste or reckless public spending by political leaders would be unconscionable.

We live in the D.C. area, and I must point out that Andrews’s home and lifestyle were certainly not among the most excessive. Mistakes were made, and Andrews was brave and generous to outline his experiences for readers.

I had frankly struggled over the past many months to appreciate the scale of the subprime mess and the many delinquencies that have occurred. The aggregated defaults — with numbers in the billions of dollars — lost all sense of perspective and understanding for me. But Edmund L. Andrews and his family’s story really humanized the issue better than all the bank failures could.

I suggest The New York Times give him a big bonus so he can square up with Chase, get on with life and refocus his energies on being the wonderful reporter that he obviously is.

Edmund L. Andrews is to be congratulated on the unusual degree of candor he displays. I suppose that if the article itself generates enough interest in the book from which it is said to be adapted, it is we readers who will write the final chapter in this tale of financial woe. By buying copies of the book, we can ourselves perhaps free the author and his wife just before the train arrives. It is an odd feeling. But sign me up!

Oh GAG. This was an educated man who understood the subprime mortgage crisis. This wasn't someone buffaloed by a smooth-talking broker. "As I walked out of the settlement office with my loan papers, I couldn’t shake the sense of having just done something bad . . . but also kind of cool. I had just come up with almost a half-million dollars, and I had barely lifted a finger." And knowing all this, he and his new wife went ahead and spent money like a drunken sailor.

Or as Hubby said to me: "One thing that's interesting to me is that he makes pretty much the same salary that I make, so it's easy to compare what they're doing to what we're doing. Basically, imagine that you didn't have a job and that I had to pay $4,000 a month in alimony, and instead of living in a house that cost $240k, we live in a house that cost $400k. Oh, and we have three kids.

If we were in that situation, would we be renting a beach house? I don't think so... "

Of course not. And probably neither would any of you.