barry white

back in the pot-smoking, beer drinking, coke- snorting days of barry, a sense of character emerged (as detailed in today's new york times).

barry white? barry manilow? steve & barry's? nope. barack. obama. yes, that is he was known in school - barry - a very vanilla name indeed. now there are all of these emails floating around (thanks, dear republicans) insinuating the evil that lurks just beneath the surface of this brother ... is it racism? no, most definitely not. is the country 'ready' for an african-american (and this guy really IS part kenyan) or woman president? give me a break - more republican fear-mongering. the fact that the two front-runners in the democratic race are black and female is a total non-issue - and yes, it plays well in peoria too. let's face it, seven years of a dufus white guy educated at yale has NOT advanced the ball so much (more like set us back a few yards!) ...

of course, the other scare tactic i hear about (wildfire!) is that mr. obama grew up in indonesia - he's (gasp!) a muslim! or his pastor in chicago is louis farrakhan's protegé! or he's going to be 'bad' for israel.

well, last i looked, israel isn't in the greatest of positions ... surrounded on both sides by warring factions, and in a larger zone by fundamentalists bent on it's destruction, israel could use a little intervention. it took seven years for george w. bush, the 'greatest friend that israel ever had' (who spawned THAT one?!?) to make an official state visit - instead of searching for peace, he's making war (and hopefully not making love - yuchhhh! blehhh!).

it has always been official u.s. policy to bolster israel in a very troubled region, so we have no reason to suspect that that would change. and if by some chance barack obama gave israel and the palestinians a kick in the pants to get things moving, would that really be such a bad thing?

sometimes, in life, it's more important and critical to CHALLENGE than to ENABLE. we've had enough of this enabling for the last seven years - complacency has gotten us nowhere, and i don't believe that's good for israel or the palestinians.

beyond this narrow frame, shouldn't our candidate, our president, be a leader, a visionary, someone that young people can look up to? i'm not personally interested in defending corporate interests at the risk of huge fiscal irresponsibility and cutting of more social programs, public art, or health care.

when i see barack and michelle obama, i see what i would like to be, what i would like for my children to see. a young family, loving, committed to public policy, open and frank and honest, willing to take a chance and defend these values (no war!).

i have a dream ...

bless you!

i have elected, no pun intended, to join millions of bloggers today - all voicing their support for one candidate or another, espousing the virtues of this one over that one, and pointing out all that is wrong, which brought us in part to this point.

today i woke up (physically and metaphorically speaking) and i actually know who i'm voting for.

obama.

yes, he's young, full of hope, promising change. he's kennedy-esque, has a lovely family, and knows how to connect with people.

but these are not my reasons for my decision. barack obama gets my vote for the two things that he does not subscribe to:
1. he does not believe in the war in iraq, never did, and never got hoodwinked into voting for it
2. he does not end every speech by saying 'god bless america, and god bless you'.

it is my opinion that the premise for the iraqi war was always shaky - the united states had issues with the taliban and their tacit approval of fundamentalists on their soil. even though i am a pacifist, i recognize that sometimes it is critical to 'strike' in the interest of true security. iraq is another thing. france did not (rightfully) succumb to the pressure put on them by this administration, and while we are sinking (the dollar, the deficit, the vilification of our society universally), france is encouraging private enterprise in the construction of new high speed trains for improved infrastructure. why DID hillary clinton vote for this offensive (and it IS offensive!).

how did a so-called 'inexperienced' politician have the insight (not through cynicism) to separate what was critical from what was vengeful?

additionally, if i want to be blessed by any higher authority, i don't want that benediction coming from my president. i have a rabbi, thanks. what DID ever happen to separation of church and state? let's not pander to the god-fearing (porn-watching) set - hasn't seven years of that been enough?

we need politicians, not priests!

bag that!

lately, much has been made of the much maligned plastic bag ... and rightfully so.

for too long, humans have been astonishingly cavalier with the earth's resources (present company included). although i'm no al gore (and he's not john f. kennedy!), i suppose it's typical to think of these issues as one ages (rapidly!). it may be an inconvenient truth, but non-reused pvc totes are choking our landfills and depleting the earth.

yes. i could stop flying (almost welcome). trade in the suburban for a schwinn. turn down the heat, compost, unplug the computer. but today, i'm saying goodbye to the plastic bags at fairway, my most frequent haunt.
firstly, i kind of hate the look and feel of those bags to begin with. i'm paper over plastic any day (briefs over boxers too), and fairway doesn't give me that choice anyhow. i'm forever tying and untying handles little handles, a truly despicable task. so now, i'm free. i already am armed with my multitude of ikea sacs, which are now neatly folded and piled up in the car, ready to receive parmigiana reggiano, kenyan coffee, fresh yeast, cilantro, and salmon for homemade gravlax.

and what a success it has been! i did get a few stares, even gasps, when i offered up my bags to the cashier. but then again, i filled three of those huge suckers, instead of taking ten or twelve little bags. easy to carry, easy to unload, easy on the environment!

we have good examples to follow. as noted in the weekend new york times, instituted governmental programs limiting these menaces have been successful. ireland is now almost completely free of the nuisance. in rwanda, they are verboten (in december i bought a pair of shoes in the market and the vendor wrapped them in a plastic bag - when i objected and insisted on paper, he gave me a knowing look). and the momentum is growing ...

this may all seem so tiresome to you ... and too little too late ... and incredibly self-evident. but please do give it a try! it's only day one for me - i'm a convert!

support froot loops

support our troops? eat froot loops?

i apologize in advance to all of my friends who may be offended by this post. i will add a preemptive caveat - although i am a dedicated pacifist, i want you all to know that i genuinely and sincerely feel badly for those who are serving the united states in the crazy war-mongering currently defining our country.

'support our troops' bumper stickers are exactly the thing that is wrong with this country, this war. first and foremost, the government, who initiated this misguided effort, should be supporting the troops - by protecting them and formulating a plan to extricate them from this mess. secondly, the government should be providing young, disenfranchised (from the socio-economic ladder) americans with alternate opportunities in education that would afford them the chance to do something else with their lives.

more critically, these bumper stickers, which can be picked up for a few bucks at 7-11 or other 'convenience' locations, do NOT support those in need. the revenue received for these stickers, which are probably churned out in china for pennies a piece, go into the pockets of a few shrewd businessman. the manufacturing of the product does not create jobs. the investors reap the profits, which go towards enriching their own lives. they are usurping a catch phrase (part of the bush administration's brainwashing effort) and taking money that you MAY be using to purchase phone cards, blankets, or other necessary items, and redirecting it away from where it is actually needed. as a result of the government's irresponsible and cavalier attitude towards those on the front lines, poor souls.

if you really and truly would like to offer assistance, send a salami to your boy in the army. or attend a peace rally. or start a grass roots campaign. or hold those that are running for office in '08 accountable ... no more war, bring the troops home, and fight terrorism by providing citizens with real security through tolerance, understanding, education, and compassion.

PLEASE! do not buy these magnetic bumper stickers anymore - you are only making a few fatcats richer, while making a mockery of the democracy that the troops are fighting for. if you want to do something truly patriotic, write the white house and your congressional and senatorial representatives.

and i almost forgot - eat froot loops!

h

angelique angela

i must say, i was quite delighted (and relieved!) to see angela merkel, the chancellor of germany, being greeted by our own 'w' this past weekend in crawford, in a much less salubrious way. you may recall the (in)famous and unwelcome back rub (read: sexual harassment - you're either with me or against me!) he 'gave' her previously. i shudder at that thought (so does she, i'm sure). talk about 'yer cold war. uggghh. what a clod.

this time she was seen riding shotgun with him in his pickup. although he doesn't look all that bad in a pair of wranglers - much less dorky than chuckling and yuckling in a suit. that's what he should be doing - roping steer, not pillaging the world. i digress.

so there was angela again today, evidently embroiled in a three way.

embracing nicolas sarkozy in berlin - what a hussy! and what's 'w' going to say? how does that make him feel? like a jilted lover, i'll bet. i mean, here he goes out of his way, bending over backwards (probably in his wranglers) for nic (i think that's what he calls him). remember, he looked into his eyes, and could see his soul. oh, wait, that's putin. never mind.

alas, all these hookups ... what are these leaders teaching our children? soon they'll be sharing needles as part of the swiss exchange program, strung out on crack in a zurich park. tsk, tsk. let's get these folks some help, before the axis of evil really gets them good.

now, back to your best behavior please. and angela, please - cool it with those come-hither glances!

h

sarko, mon amour

letter from cecile sarkozy, former first lady (briefly) of france (translated from french):

mon cher sarko:

how quickly things have changed. in just a few short weeks since our divorce, announced almost immediately upon our separation and coinciding with a big strike back here in old europe, our situation does in fact seem strange and twisted.

when i saw you storm off of the 60 minutes set, i was sure that you were still my little jilted lover, my napoleon bravely putting your best foot forward (and not in your mouth, merci dieu).

you are now miles away, on distant shores, in the warm embrace of another lover. it was i, just a short time ago, who was perusing apartment floor plans with my own significant other, deciding upon the perfect love nest in new york. once you and i had officially split, everyone assumed that it would be me to return to les etats unis ... perhaps a park view, a jog by the reservoir, and lunch somewhere smart and discreet.

i can see now that i have driven you into the arms of another. and although i stake no claim to you, i do find it curious that you have taken solace 'over there'. it is both odd and ironic, and yet i do in fact feel a certain vindication in this measure. you have set out to win the hearts of your brethren across the sea - perhaps you admire their courage, their passion for life, their steadfast if often misguided determination. or maybe it is that you have fallen victim to that middle aged scourge - you have have someone younger ... and her name is america!

my darling, i wish you all the best. i am happy for you, and in your new romance i feel a certain modicum of (long sought) freedom for myself. just as our country once gave your new friend the aptly named (in this case) lady liberty, so i release you fully to the united states, with all my resolve.

vive la liberté -

yours,

cecile

(sans) serif

i have often wondered why, in the united states, the government depends so heavily on the use of serif typography. all of the lettering has little 'feet', as if to lend gravity and depth to the meaning of the words - without this grounding the text may in fact render itself superfluous. it seems that this is in manner a holdover from the earliest days of our country reaching it's birth - the gentlemanly script of days gone by. we have somehow not matured enough to distinguish between this link to the past, this imagery, and what we strive to be. campaign posters use the serif fonts; the large political screens staring blankly at us behind our 'leaders' use serif fonts - and certainly the good old greenback adopts this look for perpetuity. can we really be a superpower with sans serif graphics?

positive, forward thinking graphics is a reflection of what a country's mindset is. there is a certain 'democracy' in the sans serif font - it is seemingly devoid of pretension - the letters are just presenting themselves as what they are, without excess baggage. in europe we see the serif raise it's lovely head constantly - in fact, the confidence with which it is employed conveys a much more powerful message than the united states' grasp at merit by linking graphics with the past (think of steven colbert's eagle graphics poking fun at all of this).

lighten up america. literally (no pun intended).

h