The good, the bad, the cute and the really ugly

What a day. It started out so nice. My first peony flower came into full bloom today. Mother says they’re late. They’re supposed to be out on Memorial Day so they can be put on graves, she says. I told her to talk to the other Mother. I’m not complaining. I dug up and seperated two bushes in the fall of ’05. Now my eight bushes are finally getting blooms!

Nature has a darker side too. Kitteh #3 goes out everyday. She grew up outside and I think it’s unfair for me to keep her in. But it was so nice out(and the peonies put me in such a good mood) I relented and let kitteh #1 outside too. Twenty minutes later, there was a huge ruckus(that’s a word you don’t hear much anymore) outside my window. Birds are PISSED. Ran to the deck and kitteh #1 is being attacked by robins. Looking closer, kitteh has a fat baby robin in his mouth. After a little girly screaming on my part, I grabbed Mr. Man and smacked his head until he dropped it. The baby robin was bloodied but not dead and hobbled off. Fucking circle of life.

Then the day started to look better. Every Saturday, my city has a spot where you can dump pretty much any kind of (nonhazardous) junk you want. It really helps stop people from dumping crap willy nilly (another fun old word). Here is this week’s pile:

It usually is bigger than that. The dreamy guy who writes down your license plate number as you drive in must not have used his Tonka truck yet to push it into the normal huge pile (and getting a picture of the garbage is much easier than getting a picture of the hot guy).

Rounding out my day, I attended a wine tasting party. ‘Nuff said.

You’re giving me gas

I don’t understand why Democrats are complaining about high gas prices. Here’s Harry Reid  from two years ago:

For years, Democrats have been fighting to get tough on Big Oil and protect Americans from being exploited when they fuel their cars,” said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. “Unfortunately, for years Republicans have been more interested in protecting oil companies’ profits than the American people’s pockets. Now that gas prices are skyrocketing and Americans are struggling just to fill their gas tanks, Congress must act to ease the burden.

and Nancy Pelosi’s take on it last month(second verse same as the first):

In recent months, the price of oil has continued to skyrocket – reaching $120 per barrel. American families feel the pinch of rising oil prices everywhere from the gas pump to the kitchen table and need relief. The New Direction Congress has been working on behalf of America’s families and businesses to lower energy costs for the American consumer, increase energy independence, enhance our national security, and reduce global warming.

Don’t. Get. It. Ease the burden? Need relief? With the increase in the price of gas, Democrats are achieving three of their long stated policy goals: increased use of public transportation, increased car fuel efficiency and subsequently lower green house gas emissions.

But all those successes aren’t good enough for some. They still want cheap gas. Hence, this brilliant plan:

With oil companies exploiting the American people to rake in record profits, Congress should give the president authority to put a cap on gas prices, U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey said Thursday.

Hinchey plans to introduce legislation in the next two weeks that would give President Bush the authority to control the cost of gas. He would like to see the president cap gas prices at their March 2006 level — $2.49 per gallon

Duh. Why didn’t someone think of that before. Oh I forgot, someone did. And that worked out so well.

Which is worse: our “addiction” to oil or our politicians’ addiction to pandering?

Obama, Google and spelling

The google hint I get when I include “Obama”, “Colombia” and “free trade” in the same search. This worries me.

Democrats love free trade (of oil)

The free trade agreement with Colombia is a no go with Democrats but when oil is involved, goddamnit, we need more free trade. From the House NOPEC Bill (sadly supported by many Republicans):

It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality or agent of any foreign state, to act collectively or in combination with any other foreign state, any instrumentality or agent of any other foreign state, or any other person, whether by cartel or any other association or form of cooperation or joint action–

`(1) to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product;

`(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product; or

`(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product

(emphasis added)

Agricultural price supports restrain trade. Import tariffs on steel restrain trade. But don’t fucking mess with our (their) oil.

I like Mark Steyn’s take on this nonsense:

The NOPEC bill is, in effect, a suit against OPEC, which, if I recall correctly, stands for the Oil Price-Exploiting Club. “No War For Oil!,” as the bumper stickers say. But a massive suit for oil – now that’s the American way.

Great leap forward (into absurdity)

I love getting my National Geographic Magazine every month but sometimes I wonder. The latest issue is devoted entirely to China. In this story, Gilded Age, Gilded Cage, I almost vomited when I read this:

Freedom is not always liberating for people who grew up in a stable socialist society; sometimes it feels more like a never ending struggle not to fall behind. A study has shown that 45 percent of Chinese urban residents are at health risk due to stress, with the highest rates among high school students

“Stable socialist society”? Really. Millions of people dying from famine and political violence can be compared to the “health risk due to stress”. Nice.

NatGeo is not alone in longing for the good ol’ days. This college professor, in his letter to the editor, also has a hard-on for Mao:

Today more and more Chinese working-class people look back at the Cultural Revolution years with fond memories. Despite some shortcomings of the Cultural Revolution, China was a socialist society that was overcoming inequality with full employment, free medical care and free education for its citizens.

Yeah. If only they had worked out those shortcomings…

Yummy local news

You don’t read a headline like this everyday…

“Homeless man held in alleged Moon Pie attack”

My first thought; That’s what you get for hanging out at the dollar store.

.

High gas prices: Rules for saving money

Cut down on your joy riding:

and avoid jackrabbit starts:

Ride sharing is a fun alternative (lifestyle):

And then there’s always public transport. Who knows who you might meet?

But please, everyone quit whining about the price of gas. Where would you be without your car (and your tambourine)?

Comfortably numb (and dumb)

Another holiday, another day at the casino with Mother. While she plays her slot machines, I’m hopelessly addicted to the machines that line the bar. Video poker and video keno are totally boring but that kind of goes with who I am. I can spend hours (and not a lot of money) playing both and I don’t have to think about anything else in life. The ultimate in escapism. It didn’t hurt that I had a really great bartender (who was really cute) who never missed a beat when I needed a drink. At $3.00 a beer, I’m sure I spent more on booze than I did on that machine. Totally worth it.

Living in the past: Rules for living in the past

Fantastic fun night but if you look at my choices for entertainment I begin to wonder. Started out tonight with the disco revival band, The Travoltas. Great show all around. I’ve seen it so many times I can tell you the next song on their playlist. My blisters agree. I danced my ass off (if only I had an ass to start with).

You’d think that would be enough retro magic for one night. But no. The friends (who kindly drive me) wanted to see the Jimmy Buffet tribute band too. I crossed state lines to see hot college guys try to dance to tired Jimmy Buffet tunes. Totally worth it.

Words: Rules for blogging

My one year anniversary of blogging is coming up here shortly. 400 posts, 1000 comments and 20,000 hits later and I’m still not sure what the fuck this is all about. Obviously, I’m not a writer but I do enjoy doing it. Through blogging, I’ve met(?) some really funny and smart people that I wouldn’t have otherwise. On the down side I’ve watched more youtube videos than I care to admit. But it is a nice way to chronicle my life. I can look back at this day a year ago and know exactly what I was thinking and how I felt because there are these little reminders that will forever stay out there in cyberspace.

Thanks, bitches!

And since we’re talking about blogging I thought some rules were necessary.

Words are working hard for you so be careful what you say.

Especially these words, cocksuckers:

Or not. All the words in the world mean nothing if no one is listening.

No rule here; that last song got me in the mood: