Clearly, the world is about to end. Why didn't anybody tell me?

http://www.billoreilly.com/newslettercolumn;jsessionid=8616BAF133B323D975D7FD683F92D49D?pid=24183

Chatting with Obama

By Bill O'Reilly
Friday, September 5, 2008


Like him or not, you have to give Barack Obama credit for waging a smart, focused campaign. Destroying the Clinton machine was a major achievement and so was putting together a successful convention in Denver. Obama is now firmly a part of U.S. history, no matter what happens in the presidential election.

The problem some Americans continue to have with the Senator is that he is long on charisma but short on detail. This frightens some voters. Who the heck is this guy, anyway? So when Obama finally agreed to speak to me this week, specifics were on my mind.

First, the man. The Barack Obama I witnessed is self-confident, determined and driven. He was acutely aware of his surroundings from the moment he entered the room. He looks you in the eye and touches your shoulder. He understands how to connect one-on-one.

As far as philosophy goes, Senator Obama is convinced that the federal government should be in control of income distribution and, to some extent, should regulate the free marketplace. That is a classic liberal position, and Obama promotes it well.

The Senator also believes that poor Americans have a basic right to free health care and monetary supplements from the government with no strings attached. The American substance abuser, for example, would derive the same benefit as a hard working, laid off worker would. Again, classic liberalism. No judgments made regarding entitlements.

So, if Barack Obama does become president, there will definitely be change. His left-wing base will demand it, and he will come through. You can decide if that's change we should believe in, but keep in mind that the unintended consequences of government interference in the marketplace are impossible to predict. Free markets have a way of chafing under government imposition.

On the foreign policy front, Obama has convinced me that he is tough but cautious. He rose up quickly because he vehemently opposed the Iraq war. But now I see a man who understands the victory that has taken place in Iraq. I don't believe he wants to screw that up. I could be wrong.

After going mano-a-mano with Obama on television, I am also persuaded that he is a sincere guy—that he wants the best for all Americans. He's an ideologue, but not a blind one. He understands that his story is incredible, and, I have come to believe, he is grateful to the American system for allowing it happen.

It is true that we don't know whether Senator Obama has the ability to solve complex problems, but you can say that about all presidential contenders.

Like most politicians, Obama has used guile and good luck to accumulate his power. He can be ruthless, kind, unfair, and generous. In short, he's a real person trying to achieve an unreal position—that of the most powerful person in the world.

God help him.

Click for Slideshow

Aimee & Jim eloped to the Arlington Inn in Vermont with their kids on 8/8/08. We had a sweet little weekend event. My favorite part (and you'll see a quick shot of her in the slideshow) - the Inn has 3 chickens-- the elsdest of which (biscuit) keeps to herself and mostly hangs out in the church yard across the street. In the morning, the innkeeper told me that she hadn't been seen in a day or so. Just as the ceremony is getting going, she comes tearing through the garden and into the gazebo, hops up on the rail, and proceeds to cluck to herself through the rest of the ceremony. Aimme, who had been tearing up, starts to giggle-- and is able to hold it together for the rest of the cermemony. Thanks, biscuit. Aimee thinks it might have been one of her ancestors who wanted to be at her wedding. I hope so. :)

And I am only peripherally paying attention to politics lately, for the same reasons I can't watch movies which involve characters embarrassing themselves (such as Welcome to the Dollhouse). I don't have enough emotional distance there. I desperately want things to be better. I don't want to shout and cry and throw things in frustration.

So... no, I didn't watch the RNC, thanks.

This weekend should be fun. Going to a friend's belated birthday party on a barhopping trolley tonight, and some time this week I will watch a double feature of The Godfather parts I and II at the Castro Theatre, which should be awesome.

I'm mostly recovered from my illness last weekend, and I've been trying to get enough sleep.

I'm still not used to this ergonomic keyboard. It certainly slows down my typing, but that may be a good thing. It's just hard to change these bone-deep typing habits. Argh.

Oh, another goal for this weekend: take out my film SLR and take some actual photos, and get my rolls of film developed.

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/index.php?articleID=11221

Actor Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) has been cast in a new film entitled "Wild Target" which will also star actor Bill Nighy and Harry Potter co-star Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange). Our Order partner RupertGrint.net is reporting today the comedy/drama...

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/index.php?articleID=11220

Actor Tom Felton, who portrays the character of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, will be participating in Soccer Aid 2008, a charitable sporting event in support of UNICEF on September 7th. Soccer Aid 2008 will take place at...

replacement vaporizer came in for my njoy.

i have 1/2 pack of reg cigs and that's it, so i'll be forcing myself to be using this.

so far, the replacement is MUCH better. the 'smoke' amuses me.

will give a better report after the weekend.

typing in sentence fragments.

The "Clashing Combines" derby Wednesday night was a hoot!  It was exactly what the name promised, a demolition derby for combines (large farming vehicles, for you city folk *wink*).  It was awesome, and yet slow.  Those leviathans of the field... well they don't exactly have a lot of pick-up.  It was like watching a tortoise fight, but when something did break, it broke spectacularly!  It was a good time and I hope we can go again next year.

The demolition derby last night was even more awesome after watching the slower heats from the night before.  I'm such a bad hippie when it comes to these events, 'cause I do love me some mayhem, Mayhem, MAYHEM!  I love the noise and the spraying mud, the crunching metal and the warm glow of all the "CHECK ENGINE" lights.  We even got rained on last night, and I still had a blast!

And might I just mention once again that I have the best husband in the world!  I was really super out of it yesterday, fighting some major fatigue, well, not really fighting so much as getting my ass kicked by it.  He came home from work and went to the store to pick up some stuff we needed, something I should've done earlier in the day,  He also brought back some yummy stuff for my lunch today, and a huge energy drink that we split.  Then we went out to grab some dinner, had some great conversation and then on to the derby.  I felt like cold crap for most of yesterday, but from the time he came home the day took a major turn for the better.  *love*

My most exciting news at the moment is that yesterday I signed Craig and I up for drawing classes at the museum!!!  YAY, CLASSES!!!  We both havehad decent skills once upon a time, but they've near expired from lack of use.  Over the past few years we've both tried to revive our drawing talents, we've both picked up several books on technique, several sketch pads, a few types of pencils, and yet we just haven't been able to get back into it.  Not only do I think it's going to be awesome to take a class together, and an art class at that(!), but I think our artistic talents definitely need the help of an instructor right now, and some homework assignments wouldn't hurt either.  Even if we only get those two hours of practice once a week for the next ten weeks, that's still far more practice than we've been getting.  I'm so very excited about this class!!!

So yesterday was the derby and class registration and fatigue and ... oh yeah, the glass incident.  See, I was feeling crappy, like really crappy, and I thought a little fun activity might boost my energy, so I put in Wii Sports and I boxed a few rounds and then started one of the fitness routines.  The boxing went well, hitting tennis balls was fun, hitting baseballs, no problem, and then it was bowling time.  I had a tight hold on the Wii remote, I had the strap tightened around my wrist, what I didn't realize, until I threw my first ball, was that I also had my water glass on the coffee table right in front of me.  Yeah.  I didn't just knock it over, I hit it so hard the the whole top of the glass disappeared and water went everywhere and yet the glass remained upright.  I spent 45 minutes cleaning that up.  I found tiny, shiny shards of glass *everywhere*.  I even had to shake some out of my keyboard.  I got a towel to wipe up the water, and the towel was filled with tiny, shiny shards of glass.  I got a few minor cuts cleaning it up, even got one little shard stuck in my finger.  Good times.  Yeah..  So when you're playing Wii and clicking past the same safety warnings you've seen a hundred times, remember those warnings are there for a reason.  *sigh*

To sum up: I love the derbies, I love my husband, I LOVE that I'll be taking an art class with my husband (BFF), and watch out for water glasses when playing Wii Bowling (seriously!).

OH!  And Jasmine is sounding a little better finally.  She's still congested, but not so completely.  And she's not fight taking her meds as much.  Major YAY! on both counts!!!

Originally posted on seph.vox.com

If I want to say "to have strength"

Would it be d'avoir supérieur

Strength in the context of "he asked me to be strong for him and not call him all week" To have mental strength

Thanks!

i am selling this lip service dress:





hopefully you get the point. if not, i can take more pix of it over the weekend. it is in pretty damn excellent condition as i've only worn it about 4 times in the 5 years i have owned it.

if you are not familiar, there are numerous D rings and hooks around the dress that allow you to adjust the height in front as well as in back. when fully unhooked, the back trains on the floor. i am sure the lippy experts on my FL could give me the lowdown on this one because i dont do that shit. heh

all hooks/rings/straps are intact, no rips, stains, or anything, really. ive taken good care of it.

it is a size XL. i am sad to part with this but i can now put it on without undoing the zipper.


$130. paypal or if you are a friend/trusted friend of a friend i'll take a check or money order. please feel free to send this to anyone that you think might be interested.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DilbertDailyStrip/~3/FG0jfJqAu7M/

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2008-09-05/

My Dinner
Originally uploaded by natsuki★girl

Om nom nom nom~! Yank Sing Chili Pepper Sauce is my new favorite hot sauce (Second place is a tie between the Huy Fong Sriracha and Huy Fong Chili Garlic sauces... third is Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce ... basically I like stuff that's as hot but still edible in large doses... and has an actual flavor to it, as opposed to just being hot). I have all of these in my fridge/cabinet at all times, plus back ups. Yayz!

Oh, and also... I posted about it on twitter and then forgot to say it elsewhere... but last Friday was my forth time playing poker (we play at lunch time) with people who were not my parents or husband, and I won it. I didn't take all, but I ended up with the most in the end. The time before that I came in second, and the two times previous I went out (at least not the first one out). My coworkers are telling me I'm "really good" at poker. I don't think it's an empty compliment either because I'm doing better each time I play. I was also told that I don't seem to make the same mistake twice, lol... wish that was true in other areas of life. lol XD

Lemme preface this by saying that ALL politicians lie (not just Republicans). Just some do it more than others, and some do it in more malicious and/or manipulative ways than others. But anyway, here's a short but sweet vid about fact checking on McCain and Palin by one of the people I subscribe to on YT, ProfMTH:



All his sources are also linked in the user info.

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/index.php?articleID=11219

Actor David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) attended the premiere of his new film "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" tonight in Dublin, Ireland. You can see new photos of the actor at this event here via Film Magic. "The Boy in...

I finally relented and called Comcast. I've been without TV for 4 months now, having canceled it because of Comcast's unrelenting failure at customer service. I guess they win, since they have a virtual monopoly (I can't get satellite) and I'll be giving them my money again. But at least I can say that they didn't get about $400 from me over the past 4 months, and will get $40 less per month from me since I switched to DSL for internet. Ha, take THAT, Comsuck! WEEP AT YOUR PUNISHMENT!

I started packing my lunch instead of eating fast food every day. Go me!

In other news, I've been playing a lot of Tales of Vesperia. I like it.

What does the line "Vous n’aurez pas L’Alsace et la Lorraine" mean in English?