Happy Halloween!

M carved some very special pumpkins this year. This one's for Karlo over at Swerve Left - Keep the faith Buddy! We're there with ya!

Paris for President

Okay, I saw this, this morning and laughed my butt off. Listen to the words, I think I agree with most of her platform. ;-) My favorite lines are the "nu-cu-lar" one and "America should put me in charge, look at Bush it can't be that hard." Enjoy!

Women's Vote

Thanks to Marilyn for the great picture!

Secession

A friend sent me the following in an e-mail. I don't know if any of the statistics in this are accurate, it just made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it. Enjoy!

Dear Red States:

We’ve decided we’re leaving.

We intend to form our own country, and we’re taking the other Blue States with us.
In case you aren’t aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole’ Miss. We get 85 percent of America’s venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition’s, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we’re going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they’re apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don’t care if you don’t show pictures of their children’s caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we’re not willing to spend our resources in Bush’s Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country’s fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation’s fresh fruit, 95 percent of America’s quality wines, 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we’re discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we’re taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,
Blue States

Fall Colors

We went to a produce stand a couple weeks back to get pumpkins for Halloween. For some reason, I had my camera with me, and boy was I glad. Everything there was so vibrant with color it was amazing. Follow me on my walk through the produce stand. Happy Fall!

Who Saw This Coming?

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

I kinda expected Ron Howard would be a liberal, but Andy Griffith too?


And for those of you sick to death of all these political messages, I give you the ultimate in relief:

See more Natalie Portman videos at Funny or Die

Check out Seeking a Little Truth

Seeking a Little TruthHe has the best cartoon up right now!

Try Not Laughing

A big shout out to Marilyn in New York! Thanks for the hysterical laughter first thing on a Monday morning. I think "I've splashed my tights." frrrrpppptttt

Halloween is Coming

We're getting ready for Halloween at our house. This weekend I began building a 7 foot tall Samurai ghost. We tried standing him up on our roof without success. I think he's going to have to go on the ground where I can run lines into the ground to hold him still. I'll do a post soon with pictures. Also, we attended the 4th Annual Baconfest this past Saturday. I'll be doing a post on that soon as well.

In the mean time, a friend sent me an e-mail with all sorts of dog Halloween costume pictures. I've picked the top three for your amusement.

Coming in at a respectable 3rd place, this little dog in his fireman's costume.





Coming in 2nd, I couldn't help laughing at this dog/cow.





The hands down winner of 1st place is this costume. When I first saw it, I didn't even see the dog. I just thought it was a good headless horseman costume with a stuffed horse or something, then I looked closer and realized it was a costume on a dog. Some people are so creative!

Friday Fun

Woo-Hoo! It's Friday! Go have some fun at this site. Click on items in the Oval Office or even Sarah herself and see what happens. Palin As President

Strange News

So, if the Sarah Palin Oval Office isn't enough to entertain you, here are some bizarre news stories that might trip your trigger:

To be filed under: Never attack a woman holding a sickle.





Some women just aren't the marrying type, or rather the staying married type.







Don't worry honey, mama's got your back.

Buckley endorses Obama

Columnist, Christopher Buckley (son of conservative icon and National Review founder, William F. Buckley) resigned from The National Review after endorsing Obama.











Buckley story

Just Say No Ad

I got a hoot out of this ad. Enjoy!

Two Alaskan Women Speak About Palin

The Great Depression

There are a number of schools of thought on the causes of the Great Depression. Some things are certain however, there was an economic boom before the fall, people were spending money they didn't have, debt as a result increased, the former wealth of the many came into the hands of a few, with less money circulating and debt increasing, people started spending less, banks were not lending as readily and with the economy slowing down from lack of spending, businesses slowed down, layoffs became more common, confidence fell and eventually the stock market crashed. As a result of these events, some people went broke nearly overnight. Some lost jobs and it took a little longer to go broke.

With no jobs or low paying jobs, people could no longer afford the mortgages on their properties and foreclosures rose. People were forced to either become renters, move in with other family members, become homeless, or migrate in an effort to find work and a more affordable place to live. Added to all the economic upheaval, there were also great droughts across the midwest affecting crop production and crop prices.

People hit the roads in search of not only better lives, but any life where they could feed themselves and their children and find work and a home. We as a nation, initially in shock and concerned with our own well-being, tried to look out for number one, take of us and ours. This didn't work for most people. Eventually, we came together to solve our problems.

Communities came together to help one another. The federal government under Roosevelt created work programs that not only helped individuals, they helped build and rebuild this country's infrastructure, parks and other public works.

People learned to work harder and smarter. They became resourceful in methods of growing their own food, preserving food and clothing, heating their homes, getting water, finding work, learning new marketable skills. They didn't give up. They suffered some, but they survived. If we go into a full-blown recession, we will be in a different position than our parents/grandparents were.

First, most of us aren't living a subsistence life to begin with and we're not living in shacks. So we're not as close to destitute as a lot of people were during the Great Depression. The negative side of that is, we're soft and ignorant. Whereas most people during the Great Depression understood how to survive, how to grow their own food, how to butcher and prepare animals, how to make most of what they needed to survive, today, most of us are clueless.

I visited a number of Internet sites with first person interviews with people who survived the Great Depression. The following is a condensed, compilation of the advice most of the survivors had to give this generation in surviving a new Great Depression.

1. FOOD -- learn to raise chickens, pigs, cows, some sort of protein; learn to turn your flower gardens into vegetable gardens; even without a yard, you can grow food in windows, on balconies and on rooftops. Learn the age old arts of preserving food for the winter. Learn new recipes for food substitutions and making a little food go alot further, think casseroles and soups. Hunger pains aren't the end of the world and you won't die if you feel a little hungry each day. Don't panic, it burns calories.

2. MATERIAL GOODS -- Learn to sew, mend clothes, make clothes, re-use fabric for other purposes. Learn to make curtains, table clothes, sheets, blankets. Learn to weave, latch-hook, crochet, knit. You can make beautiful things from old scraps. Learn to repair what you have, furniture, appliances, your home. You can keep things clean and in good repair with a bit of creativity and very little money. Learn to look at items in new ways. Exhaust all possible uses for a material or an item. When you've finally exhausted every use for an item and there's just nothing left that it can be used for, if it's organic, put it in your compost pile for your garden, if it can't be used to grow food, burn it for heat.

3. MONEY -- Don't spend what you don't have. Learn to work more, save more, play less, and go without. Figure out free forms of entertainment, board games, singing, crafting. Learn to share with your family, friends, neighbors. Learn to barter skills, services, products, food. Always, ALWAYS be willing to learn a new skill that you might be able to use to make money. Pay down debt. Secure your home before your car or other items that are not necessities. Get into the mindset that no job is beneath you if it pays cash. Beggars can't be choosers still applies. Learn what a necessity actually is and then prioritize your necessities. Downsize if you're living large. Rent a room to someone to bring in more money if you have the room.

4. COMMUNITY -- Know your neighbors, look out for them. People tend to panic and get mean during hard times. Come together as a community or neighborhood to protect each other and help each other through. Anticipate change and bad times. The signs are out there if you choose to pay attention. Stock up now on shelf items, staples, medicines, batteries, water, so when money gets really tight, it won't be so hard. Shop second-hand, shop at discount stores, learn to use coupons effectively and competitively. If you can get an item for free or for a few cents with a coupon, get it even if you don't use it. That item can be re-sold, bartered, etc.

Here are some of the pages I looked to for information:

Pix of Great Depression"

Surviving the Great Depression

First Person Accounts

Take a Deep Breath

Okay, Iceland is on the verge of bankruptcy, in an emergency mood the Feds cut the interest rate a half percent, AIG blows money on spa junket that the American taxpayers just forked over to bail them out, but as I heard one financial expert on the news report today, "Hey, gas prices are falling!" So in the spirit of Nero playing while Rome burns and those eternal optimists that always find something positive in a pile of poo, here's a little musical interlude to help you through hump day.

Recession or Life as usual?

I saw an article on the CNN website today. It said shopping at resale shops (think Salvation Army and Goodwill) was up 6-15% which was a good indicator we're heading into a recession. Well if that's the case, I'd like to know where I've been living my whole life. CNN Article

I have always shopped at Goodwill and Salvation Army, in addition to yard sales, junk stores, and a big shout out to my all time favorite second-hand store in the world - Quattlebaum's of Conway, Arkansas! I've never been able to shop for everything at retail stores or at the mall. I always wondered how people could afford to shop retail and how they could afford a new wardrobe each season. I've always wondered if I was doing something wrong in my life, because I've never been able to afford to live like that.

My daughter has grown up shopping for clothes at Goodwill and discount outlet stores that sell seconds and rejects from the big retail stores. Besides clothes, I've bought dishes, silverware, pots and pans and furniture from these second-hand sources. I am the Queen of finding discount furniture and the thrill of the hunt for that great bargain never loses its appeal for me.

But now I'm wondering, if all these "normal" people are now forced to shop second-hand because of the recession, where does that leave me? Will I find even cheaper places to shop? Will I cease to shop entirely and go back to darning socks and mending clothes and just make them last longer, oh wait, I already do that. I'm a pretty good darner as a matter of fact, even if my family thinks I'm nuts for doing it.

But the bigger question is, for those of us already living within our means, which are fairly modest, where does that push us on the food chain of this consumer society?

Parodies of Palin

I don't know about you, but I'm very disturbed about Palin being chosen as VP for the Republican ticket. Are there no qualifications for holding the second highest position of power in this country? It was bad enough that we suffered through Bush for 8 years, but he at least had Cheney running things and though I detest Cheney, he's definitely not a stupid man. As for Palin, if McCain dies, who will be her Cheney? She certainly isn't capable of doing the job herself. Given the brilliance McCain has shown for his VP pick, I can hardly wait to see the nut jobs he appoints to his cabinet.

As with all tragedies that you can do so little about, it helps to find humor in the situation. I've been glued to the tube each Saturday night to see the latest political skit on Saturday Night Live. Fey looks so much like Palin, it's downright creepy. One of the more recent skits was of Fey delivering Palin's comments, word-for-word, no changes necessary because the words that came out of Palin's mouth were just so unbelievably stupid. That made me wonder, is it a "parody" if the comedian is using the same words as the actual person? Here's a CNN clip:



Here's the SNL Palin/Couric skit. It didn't allow an embed, so you'll have to click on the link:

SNL Skit

Here's this Saturday's SNL skit of the VP Debate:



Lastly, if you're still with me after watching all the video clips, I'm not sure why Matt Damon was interviewed about Palin, but he delivers a very clear message about the absurdity of Palin even being in the position to become Vice President.



Given the climate of putting someone so unqualified on the ticket to be the next Vice President of the United States, I find some humor in going to a celebrity to explain the absurdity to us. This is what we have come to people.

Oh, it looks like Karlo over at Swerve Left is thinking along the same lines as me:

It Keeps Getting Better

Respond for Good Luck

A friend of mine just sent me this quicky e-mail questionnaire as a way to keep in touch. How would you answer it?

Subject: FW: 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, AND 4

Here's a fun and quick way to stay in touch...

A) Four places that I go over and over: Bagel Bakery, to my car to sing, to work, to the computer





B) Four people who email me (regularly): Melanie, my sister Pat, those people with the penis enhancements, and those people who want to send me money because I've won the lottery, or can be of assistance to some foreign dignitary




C) Four of my favorite places to eat: Bagel Bakery, Panera, Sobo's, Melanie's kitchen (not necessarily in this order)









D) Four places I would rather be right now: Stanely Park, Vancouver, B.C., Maine, Scotland, Italy









E) Four people I think will respond: Those people for the penis enhancements, at least four times within the next 4 hours








F) Four TV shows I watch: Heroes, True Blood, Fringe, The Daily Show

Does this remind you of anything?

VP Debates

Biden and Palin face off tonight in St. Louis. I hope it doesn't end up being sound bytes from a memorized script. I'd like to hear something that shows whether either VP candidate has what it takes to step into the shoes of President should that ever become a necessity. CNN article

Of course, I already know who I'm voting for, but it would be nice to be surprised by a bit of intelligence you didn't know was there.

Dar Williams - Promised Land

Love the new album, progressively memorizing all the new songs. This picture and the links are courtesy of Dar and NPR, click and enjoy

Dar Williams - It's Alright and NPR Weekend Edition Interview

It's Alright is my new favorite song and aprapos of this change in my blog. It's alright.

My Own Zen

Well, welcome to yet another new blog. Maybe starting new blogs is like starting new phases of life, change is good and all that. Bear with me while I slowly recreate the body and breath of the new blog at this location.