I don't know if I can cut back to only 10 girl nerds/ day, but I guess no one ever does ALL their resolutions perfectly. I hope google maps will point me the way to the electronics projects.

With the job I have now I can listen to like 5 hours of news every day, plus I get the daily. I always wanted to be more of a news junkie and in a time like this, it's addictive as a soap opera.

The thing that gets me the worst is that while Wall St was pushing to extort $700,000,000,000 last week, Congress approved basically the same amount, $611,100,000,000 for the 2009 Defense Authorization Bill. They gave Bush more than he asked for, to keep sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and to keep having private "security" do interrogation/ torture. I guess there's plenty of money to go around! As long as you have more than one house, you can get lots of refinancing options...anyway, I think in the past Bush has usually asked for tens, not hundreds of billions for the war and at least it gets some kind of coverage. Look at this fist, the one that's holding $700B, look out for it, OOPS lookit you got hit by the other one (that happens to be full of your cash too).

I'm kinda impressed that that $700B with Paulsen doing whatever the fuck he wants did not pass. I do not tire of hearing "Bush's worst legislative defeat" and "least popular president EVAR." I don't believe the right legislation or elected official is ever going to make things truly stable and better, but still it's exciting that even just for this political moment, lots of politicians have to be worried about what all the foreclosed-on folk want. And that Bush and Paulson can't just fire up everyone's fears and pass whatever they want really fast. I totally thought they would do how Naomi Klein describes disaster capitalism, seize the moment of fears and insecurity to install a radically corporate-supremacist agenda, but it didn't quite work out for you boys this time, now did it.

The massive deportation raids of this week and the past few months are beyond insane, tho. How do we resist these crazy dragnet-style sweeps?

Then there's Sarah Palin, like a wreck I just cannot look away from. Interviews with Katie Couric, SNL skits, debate on Thursday, it's good times. Check out the first 2 on youtube or googlevideo or where you like to watch video, so entertaining. My favorite is the conservative columnist who yesterday wrote that Palin should leave the campaign, and that "She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there's not much content there. If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."

And so far, Troy Davis gets to live. Which could change any day depending on the whim of the US Supreme Court. I cannot imagine the stress of not knowing if you'll be executed in 90 min, or next week, or not at all. Cruel and unusual much?

So the (US) state of Georgia is trying to kill another prisoner. Want to (at least) let the GA prison board know you're paying attention to what they do? fwiw, you could send a form letter from:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1265/t/5820/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=23774

The summary is that Troy Anthony Davis is on death row and scheduled to be executed on Tuesday at 7pm east coast time. There is no physical evidence linking him to the case and it has come out that several witnesses (if not all) were coerced by police. His execution was stayed once because of those circumstances, but his most recent request for a stay was denied. More info at
http://www.troyanthonydavis.org/eleventh-hour-call-to-action.html

And there are demonstrations or meetings Monday in GA and DC.

1. Take a picture of yourself right now.
2. Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair...just take a picture.
3. Post that picture with NO editing (except resizing if they are HUGE).
4. Post these instructions with your picture.

Bob had 2 heart attacks this afternoon, and didn't survive the second one.

I am very sad, but I'm also relieved, because we've been pretty constantly fraught with worry since he had a stroke about a month ago. He was on a lot of meds and it took a lot of coaxing to get him to eat, etc.

It was also the easiest way for him to go that I could have hoped for. 1) Fast and near-painless. 2)He was at the vet when he had the second heart attack, so instead of me freaking out and watching and feeling helpless, I freaked out in a quiet room while, literally, a team of vets and techs in the kitty ER did everything they possibly could. 3)P, who was basically Bob's husband, was back from being out of town last week. 4) I was so glad we didn't have to make any decisions about putting him down. How do you really know when it's time? 5) We weren't out of town on any summer travels. 6) When he could no longer hold his bladder he went on my pant leg, not inside my ReLoad bag. Much appreciated, Buddy.

Bob was the most gregarious cat, like ever. He was affectionate like a dog, but of course graceful in the kitty way. He had a walk like a big studly jungle cat. He was butch as fuck but never in an I'm-pretending-to-be-straight way. Boy, did he love the menfolk, human and feline. He was big and gorgeous and a delight, every day, for the last fifteen years. Pretty much my entire adult life.

Bobbers, I'm going to miss you like crazy.

Current Mood: sad

this is my favorite thing ever today.



Killer choreography always gets me.

Tags: i saw the sign, mountain goats

Happy Birthday to Artnoose!!!

Hope it brings you delicious food, just-swapped fashions, and fun around the 'burgh.

I went to the metal show last night. I can't take High on Fire seriously but maybe I'm not supposed to. Entertainment, no doubt.

I really just wanted to see Coliseum. I love Coliseum! They sounded so fucking good at the Independent.

I do not understand at all why they were first on the bill (of 4 bands), or why there were only like 20 people at their show last year. Do you have an explanation? I mean, I love having plenty of space while the wall of sound washes over, but I am bewildered that not more people love them. They are so much more than metal to me.

Current Location: entering the data
Current Music: s/t - coliseum

I have been avoiding livejournal.

It all started (or stopped) when I traveled to Iran in August and opened a blogspot account. For some reason, they are the only non-blocked journaling site there. I started writing but detail was my enemy. Since, like, every little thing was super interesting and completely different from anything I had ever experienced ever, I had to get it all down. It was too much and I couldn't nearly keep up (internets there are about 80 cents/hour, but often not dsl speed. Still much faster and more widely available than the guidebook published 3 years ago would have you think. But most keyboards are old and I am spoiled and I typed slow.)

I felt guilty for leaving it hanging and I could not look at it nor any other blog.

But I couldn't avoid reading Gordonzola anymore when I came acrost his entry on RIP Lance while I was searching for memorial announcements.

(Plus I am at work, where I feel less guilty spending a lot of time looking at everyone's lj than if it's my own time at home when I should be writing or reading. [I don't hate this job, it's a very nice complement to freelance crumbs. Data entry but it's comfortable and pays good. It just doesn't get the same priority as those other things.])

And, I got to talk to Jactitation at some length for the first time in a while the other night, plus misscallis had a dream where she was driving around me and the rest of Lance's dream band. So I just had to sign on to add them guys.

The Iran blog is at nellieonthesilkroad (dot) blogspot (dot) com
I sometimes get motivated to continue it when people give me shit for not doing so - so feel free.


I haven't really gotten my mind around that I'll never run into Lance again.

Current Location: work
Current Music: Arbor Vitae

1) I went to the dyke march last night and had a great time. I've skipped it for a lot of years, not even sure how many. Usually I just feel too overwhelmed and tired out by the crowd scene.

But yesterday afternoon I blended up a batch of mudslide (not the kind from a mix), poured it into a previously frozen giant thermos, and headed over to Dolores Park. I ran into lots of people I was happy to see, some planned and some by accident. A couple of the planned, I never found. But my old roommate and her new boy/girl-toy kept making out hotly and happily. People would stare at them and take pictures, it was that steamy. Yay sweet fresh love and cold sweet drinks.

The hot boygirl is French, and when a friend ran up in her Pedal Revolution shirt, he doubled over, cackling with glee. "Pedal" means "fag" in French. Fag Revolution!

Speaking of fags, march supporters hung cute signs out their windows: "Snatch the moment." "My gym teacher was a dyke." "I came out of a vagina." "Paris, pick up the soap." Ah, the silliness.

Maybe next year I will actually make it to both the trans AND dyke marches.


2) New College regularly has student trips to Iran, but since they're usually during the semester, I didn't think I'd be able to go on one. What's the point of paying thousands of $ to go on a trip during classes you just paid thousands of $ for?

But last week I discovered there is an Iran trip in August. Yesterday I met with the coordinator and I put down my deposit. I went to the main library and checked out a stack of books and tapes for learning Farsi. All I need is a hijab and I am set to go. I've wanted to visit there ever since Marjane Satrapi started making comics. Plus, a friend went on this trip a few years ago and it sounds awesome.


3) Do you know much about thyroid disease? Even though I get fatigued easily, lose my hair a lot, have a personal history AND a family history of hypothyroid, and a host of other symptoms, I never put it all together until I started reading books about it over the past month or so. I just thought I would have more energy and think more clearly if I made this or that healthy lifestyle change. But it's a huge relief to think that there is this underlying physiological problem that can be treated.

One problem is getting a diagnosis if you aren't severely hypo. I have Kaiser and my primary physician was an IDIOT about the endocrine system. I mean, she was just asserting things that I knew were not true. What was extra annoying is that she had described herself as interested in complementary and alternative treatments, and that it was an honor to help people find health, blah blah blah, which turned out to be total bullshit. But I pushed for an endocrinologist referral, I quoted the standard from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and she finally referred me. Then I changed primaries cuz no way am I going back to that doc.

So I was geared up to have to really advocate to the endo, because most of them only know about diabetes, and very little on thyroids. (If you have access to a holistic doc, you are much more likely to find someone who knows all the thyroid latest.) But the endo seems, so far, to really know his stuff. He knew of the latest AACE standards and agreed it looked like a problem. He was easily accessible by phone. He wanted to run more tests that I wasn't even going to bother asking for at such a managed care behemoth. So now I am waiting for the results and feeling more encouraged about the whole thing.