Back From Colorado

I can't explain how much I hate leaving the Rockies. Frisco (where we stayed). Breck. Vail. Rocky Mountain National Park.

Natural beauty everywhere you look.

Sense of peace (except for the ridiculous hairpin turnsand climbs and drops on Route 34 in Rocky Mountain National Park between the Colorado River trailhead and Farview Curve). We did make it up to the Continental Divide, but I decided that I had had enough at that point and let my dad get us back to Frisco.

A healthy distance from the stresses of everyday life. Damn good beer. So good, I brought three 12 packs back with me. You have to experience the Rockies to know what I mean. I could use another couple weeks out there.

By the way, what's gotten into the Cubs? They all of the sudden remember how to play baseball around the trade deadline.

Just for the record, I'm not buying. It's always nice to see them beat up the Cards, so let's just leave it at that. Especially since they are still 18 games under .500.

Back From Colorado

Fountains on Vacation

I'll be on a flight in 6 hours and 15 minutes. Here's my pre-vacation YouTube gift to you...from 2 of my favorite people in the world, Neil and Ed.



To my 3 loyal readers, if I'm anywhere near a computer, I may try to post but it's doubtful...most likely I'll just see you back here in a week.

Fountains on Vacation

LWW

Neil + Al:



(via Atrios)

LWW

Aloha

This sounds like fun.

PEARL JAM TO SUPPORT U2 IN HAWAII
07.20.06
U2 will play Aloha stadium in Honolulu, HI on Saturday, December 9th. Those holding tickets for the previously scheduled April 8 U2 concert can use their tickets for this show. Any tickets that are returned will go on sale to the general public on August 5th at the Aloha Stadium ticket office and Ticketmaster.

Aloha

Fountains of Happiness

Tips from my favorite happy blog.

In 1820, English writer Sydney Smith wrote a letter to an unhappy friend, Lady Morpeth, in which he offered her tips for cheering up. His suggestions are as sound now as they were almost 200 years ago.

"1st. Live as well as you dare.
2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75 or 80 degrees.
3rd. Amusing books.
4th. Short views of human life—not further than dinner or tea.
5th. Be as busy as you can.
6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you.
7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you.
8th. Make no secret of low spirits to you friends, but talk of them freely—they are always worse for dignified concealment.
9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you.
10th. Compare your lot with that of other people.
11th. Don’t expect too much from human life—a sorry business at the best.
12th. Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy, sentimental people, and everything likely to excite feeling or emotion, not ending in active benevolence.
13th. Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree.
14th Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue.
15th. Make the room where you commonly sit gay and pleasant.
16th. Struggle by little and little against idleness.
17th. Don’t be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice.
18th. Keep good blazing fires.
19th. Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion.
20th. Believe me, dear Lady Georgiana.”

Fountains of Happiness

President Groper

Seriously what is wrong with him.




Digby as always nails it. Even Barb knew George couldn't be trusted to be near the Queen when his dad was President. He was 44. And supposedly sober.

Update: I had vaguely remembered this and finally tracked it down. Bush has always had such bad manners that he couldn't be trusted to behave properly in the White House when his father was president.

Even as an adult, George was so out of control that his mother, then the president's wife, removed her eldest son to the opposite end of the table at a state dinner for the Queen of England. Although sober by then, the First Son had introduced himself to the Queen as "the black sheep of the family."

George W. Bush was then 44 years old.

Thanks Barb.

President Groper

Lyrics of the Day

I Am Mine, Pearl Jam:

The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

The North is to South what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine

And the feeling, it gets left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide...
We're safe tonight

The ocean is full 'cause everyone's crying
The full moon is looking for friends at high tide
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied
I only know my mind
I am mine

And the meaning, it gets left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide...
We're safe tonight

And the feelings that get left behind
All the innocents broken with lies
Significance, between the lines
(We may need to hide)

And the meanings that get left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
We're all different behind the eyes
There's no need to hide

I love these lyrics because they are empowering. The in between is mine.

I also love them because they have a sense of urgency about life. Don't wait to take ownership of your life. Live now. See also "Life Wasted." (That song definitely deserves a post of its own.)

And, finally I love these lyrics because they speak to acceptance of your unique self. Feel safe about who you are. We're all different behind the eyes. There's no need to hide.

Lyrics of the Day

Common Sense

Watch Bruce call Soledad an idiot to her face, about 2 minutes in, and see her giggle.



Bruce says: "You can get me started, I'll be happy to go," Soledad and expose you for the empty-headed news reader that you are. As if you, Soledad are any more qualified to comment on current events than any musician. As Bruce says, it's insane that "the idiots rambling on cable, present company included" are more qualified than a musician to comment on current events.

Common Sense

50 Questions

This list is guaranteed to leave them speechless, or at the very least stuttering. Here are the first 25 questions:

1. What are the Top Seven best things that the Bush Administration has done?

2. Is the Iraq War is going well?

3. After three years thus far, when do you think Iraq might be able to "stand up" so that America can "stand down"?

4. For his part in the event, how would you rate the job the President did protecting New Orleans from devastation?

5. How do you think the rebuilding of New Orleans is going?

6. When Dick Cheney and the oil company and energy executives met in private to plan America's energy policy, how much of their goal was to benefit consumers?

7. Do you believe in the President's call for an Era of Personal Responsibility?

8. Since Republicans control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, how personally responsible are they for conditions in America today?

9. Why do you think they haven't been able to find anyone who can verify that George Bush ever showed up for National Guard duty in Alabama?

10. Would you want Donald Rumsfeld to plan your daughter's wedding?

11. Are you aware that no government in the history of civilization, other than the Bush Administration, has lowered taxes during a war?

12. Are you married?

13. Do you personally feel threatened by gay marriage?

14. Since getting elected, do you think the President has been more a uniter or a divider?

15. How do you explain the President's approval rating going from a high of 90% to the current mid-30%?

16. Do you like the government collecting personal data on you without a warrant?

17. How much money do you have in your bank account, stocks and investments?

18. What's your partner's favorite sex position?

19. If you have nothing to hide, why aren't you answering?

20. Should we build a wall along the Mexican border?

21. Why isn't anyone building a wall along the Canadian border?

22. Does that terrorist gang arrested in Canada count as a threat?

23. If you shot someone in the face while drinking, how fast would the police show up to arrest you?

24. If Donald Rumsfeld had planned your daughter's wedding three years ago, would the guests still be there?

25. Even if no laws are broken, do you think it's okay to reveal the name of a covert agent?

I would follow the author's advice and print the list out. Some practical uses:

1. You never know when you'll run into a random wingnut, could be at the office on a plane. This should tie their small authoritarian cultist minds in enough knots to stem their verbal idiocy spewing from their mouths.

2. Make some copies and tuck them under the windshield wipers of any SUV you see with a Bush-Cheney sticker on it.

3. Make some copies and send them to the lapdogs in the WH press room. I think they need some material.

50 Questions

World Wide Suicide

The whole world
World over
It's a world wide suicide.
- World Wide Suicide, Pearl Jam

Sometime in the fall of 2002, I likened a U.S. invasion of Iraq to "kicking open a hornets' nest." I predicted that, if the Iraqis decided to fight in the cities, our casualties would be between five and ten thousand U.S. troops at least. Now, U.S. casualties exceed 20,000.

But the "hornets' nest" I predicted was not just an interminable and intractable U.S. occupation of Iraq. It was wider war in the Middle East. The larger hornets' nest is now swarming.

[...]

Wouldn't you think this would be exactly the time when the nation's wisemen, those neoconservative idealists who saw the great American empire imposing democracy on the Middle East at the point of a bayonet, who secretely envisioned Iraq as our military base in the region, to be heard from? Of course, I mean Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, Steven Cambone, and so many triumphalist others so present on the talk shows in early 2003. Haven't seen much of them recently.

Richard Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld are left to manage the disaster. You don't hear either one of them linking their arrogant decisions four years ago to the disaster unfolding in the Middle East.

Thanks, George, Dick, Rummy, Wolfie, Perle. Who's paying the price for you stupid arrogant f--kers?

I say draft the chickenhawk W bumper sticker brigade now.

World Wide Suicide

Why I Love PJ

Always trying to do the right thing.

Our Carbon Portfolio Strategy is the newest component of our ongoing efforts to advance clean renewable energy and carbon mitigation. Through this Strategy, we will donate a total of $100,000 to nine organizations doing innovative work around climate change, renewable energy, and the environment.

We hope that by highlighting and creating a commons for these groups, we can advance preservation of existing ecosystems, restoration of degraded environments, and continued investment in clean, renewable energy technologies. Furthermore, by working with these groups and others to mitigate our own carbon emissions, we ultimately hope to get Pearl Jam at 0% net emissions for our tours and businesses.

How many other bands would even bother thinking about their impact on the planet? They never cease to amaze me.

Why I Love PJ

NL vs. AL

Maybe the NL could have some of these guys suit up next year and break the decade-long losing streak. Go ahead American Leaguers, stand on the plate with Gibson on the mound. Go ahead. I dare ya. I don't care how much protective gear you have on. You'll be dusting yourself off until you back up off the plate.

I can't imagine what it would have been like to see an All-Star game with this lineup.

The 1965 NL All-Star team

Starting lineup:

Willie Mays
Hank Aaron
Willie Stargell (who started in the outfield)
Dick Allen
Joe Torre
Ernie Banks
Pete Rose
Maury Wills
Juan Marichal

On the bench:

Roberto Clemente
Ron Santo
Frank Robinson
Billy Williams

In the bullpen:

Sandy Koufax
Don Drysdale
Bob Gibson

While I admire some of the talent and teams in the American League, until MLB or the American League and the god-awful MLB players' union gets rid of the DH, I cannot and will not root for them. It is not real baseball. You might cut down on some of the beanballs in the AL if the pitchers had to come to bat. Why should a teammate pay the price for you hitting someone? Get in the batter's box AL pitchers. The DH is absolutely ridiculous and no longer necessary. Other than the players union hoping to extend the careers of old players.

F the players union. If you can't play the field, you CAN'T PLAY BASEBALL.

Until then I'll support, the National League, where real baseball is played.

NL vs. AL

Quote of the Day

From the Happiness Project:

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides…”
-- Goethe

Quote of the Day

Why I Miss Nomar

Class and grace:

PITTSBURGH -- An All-Star again and a worried man no more, Nomar Garciaparra boarded a private jet Sunday night in Los Angeles with his wife, father and a Dodgers teammate, freed from controversy, injury and a losing team (although he still thinks Cubs fans are "just phenomenal").

Boston got rid of him. Chicago let him go. Now his batting average is .358, as good as anybody's in the National League. He is playing a first-rate first base. And he is so happy to be playing it for his favorite boyhood team that he feels like the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Could he have stayed with the Cubs, done all of this for them?

"Well, we chatted a little bit," Garciaparra says, going out of his way to offend no one, so upbeat is he about how this whole experience has worked out.

"They were as classy as could be. They told me it was time for the Cubs to go in a different direction, and I could understand that. I'll always wish them luck. My first day there, that ovation I received was so awesome. I'll never forget that for the rest of my life."

So parting was hard?

"I think maybe I let myself sulk for one day," he says.

[...]

"I have been blessed with the places I've played, the uniforms I've been able to wear," Garciaparra says. "I have played in front of phenomenal fans. Chicago's fans, that's what they were, just phenomenal. Somebody up there is looking out for me."

I'm very happy for him. It wouldn't be good for him to be with the Cubs during this miserable season. He deserves so much more.

Why I Miss Nomar

Freedom

Something to think about on the 4th of July.

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.

Thank you, Frederick Douglass, for reminding us that true patriots are those who are willing to criticize their country when it does not live up to its ideals.

Freedom

Goodbye, Sleater-Kinney

More brilliance from Sleater-Kinney. See why they will be missed.

Goodbye, Sleater-Kinney

Long Live Sleater-Kinney

The best band in the world is breaking up.

So goodbye, Sleater-Kinney. Thank you for everything, from "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" to "Modern Girl". Thank you for being an inspiration to women everywhere. No, fuck that-- to people everywhere.

You will be missed.

I'm thankful that I was able to see them perform their amazing music live in intimate venues several times before they called it quits.

I'm also thankful that I'll get to say goodbye and thank you one more time in Grant Park at Lollapalooza.

At the same time, I'm sad that I won't be able to take my kids to a Sleater-Kinney show, like I saw another dad do earlier this year. Young people, especially young women, need role models like the women of Sleater-Kinney.

I'm determined to introduce my kids to Sleater-Kinney music at some point and hope they are as inspired as I was by these 3 talented and passionate artists.

Long Live Sleater-Kinney