Dark Milestone I haven't been sleeping much recently. That's not so unusual for me, but this is worse than normal. I'm focusing on some issues - things outside myself - while the rest of me makes adjustments and comes to terms... whatever any of that will end up meaning. This is am impromptu post - I'd thought about it repeatedly in the past couple days, but hadn't done any drafts. It's too personal a matter, and not something I want to even have anyone suggest is being played for attention. I will likely rant and will definitely ramble. The tears don't get farther than the keys. My mom died Saturday night. My reaction to even typing that line only reinforces what was already painfully obvious to me -- that I'm nowhere near ready to deal with people in real time, no matter how well-intentioned and sympathetic. I've managed to hold myself together in dealing with siblings as we hash out the details, but a day likely won't help me prepare for deal
Posts
John McCain: No Integrity A string of excellent examples of the lies the McCain camp is hurling -- and "Straight Talking" McCain himself is approving -- at the Obama campaign, along with telling lies about his own record. In the same spirit, here's a new site that might bear watching: Pinocchio Politics .
" Every time I nostalgically try to regain my liking of John McCain, he reaches into his sleaze bag and pulls out something malodorous . " Dick Cavett on Palin & McCain: Experience 101 . Oh, and here's one of the latest smear attempts by the McCain camp . This one's an ad for Spanish language television, and seems oblivious to the fact that McCain and Obama voted the same way on the issues in question.
Oh, I know you've likely seen this already despite it only airing last night, but its another piece that's too good - and more importantly too solid in its underlying message - not to do what I can to make sure more people see it. This is a John McCain bio-flck, narrated by Ian McShane. Another gem from The Daily Show .
Stolen Heart I was pleased to see that Ann and Nancy Wilson have publicly repeated their demand to the Republican Party to not mis-use Heart's Barracuda as theme music for McCain's sorry excuse for a running mate, Sarah "Barracuda" Palin . This was after the GOP disregarded the earlier notice and continued to attempt to use the still-popular '70s hit as a way to lend Palin a positive, pseudo-edgy, familiar association. (Thanks to CryptLeak for this pass-along on a busy Friday.) Follow the link even if it's just to see the questionable nature of many of the talking points responses from GOP tools and dupes that follow the piece. I have little doubt that these same people, had it turned out that the band members were sufficiently morally- and mentally-deficient to embrace Ms. Palin and her platform, would be lauding the tune as a fondly remembered and often-heard rock classic instead of pretending they'd never heard it before being played at the conventi
As I contemplate how best to view the Bill O'Reilly's show, since Barach Obama has agreed to appear tonight - oh, I'll definitely be recording it, as I won't want to watch it in real time, but there should be some other sort of protective gear involved, no? - I am compelled to post a piece that aired elsewhere last night. A piece to remind us that O'Reilly, Rove and various other imps and minions whose mouths flap on Fox "News" programming are at best pompous and hypocritical, and that more and more we really do need to turn to The Daily Show if we want to cut to the heart of reality. Enjoy. (Oh, yeah. Go to the right and hit the pause icon on that jukebox first, if you haven't already. The volume on this video clip is fairly low.)
Making an Honest Woman of Her Sorry, I couldn't resist. Aside from noting that we're about to head into a season where I expect one candidate's gender will be used as her shield -- essentially many charges will be written off as misogynistically driven -- I just wanted to link to CBS' fact-checking piece on Sarah Palin's acceptance speech last night. Also, as appended to that piece as another link, the Obama campaign has responded in detail to her... misstatements. (The remainder of the piece is an archive of those two links.) Factchecking Palin By Hilzoy Sep 4, 2008 Send this story via emailE-Mail Story View a Printer-friendly version of this storyPrint Story Read related blogs & articles about this storySphere Share Text Size: A A A Answers.com (Political Animal) Factchecking Palin I thought Palin's speech was quite good: well-written, well delivered. And, as I said earlier, I think she's a genuinely engaging person, and comes across very well.
See, Mom? We could've been MUCH worse Here's a video from the El Salvadoran town of Nejapa , and of a tradition celebrated every August 31st: Las Bolas De Fuego (Balls of Fire) when some of the inhabitants battle each other with balls of fire. The tradition stems from both the commemoration of a volcanic eruption in 1922 and the tale that what appeared to be just an eruption and lava flowing down the side of the mountain was, instead, Saint Jeronimo versus the devil in a running battle where they pitched fireballs at each other. The tradition reportedly only goes back about a decade. I tell you, it may be events such as this that are keeping Roman Catholicism alive in some parts of the world. We never got to do anything this cool while I was being raised R.C.
Do you hear that? Exactly. Movie trailer voice-over king Don LaFontaine has passed on. I wonder if the now-cliched opening phrase " In a world ..." will be retired with him? While it appears to be overwhelmed at the moment, here's a link to his own website . via Entertainment Tonight online: Voiceover Master Don LaFontaine has died. He was 68. LaFontaine, far right, is pictured above with ET's Mark Steines and Mary Hart, and fellow voiceover artist Randy Thomas. LaFontaine, known as the "King of Voiceovers," died Monday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. LaFontaine's agent, Vanessa Gilbert, tells ET that he passed away following complications from Pneumothorax, the presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity, the result of a collapsed lung. The official cause of death has not yet been released. Over the past 25 years, LaFontaine cemented his position as the "King of Voiceovers." Aside from being the preeminent voice in t