SassyBlonde

Insanity

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:51:59 -0500

I know it's been quiet around here lately, but if you've been following the Twitter feed you know there's been some crazy stuff going on in my family the past couple of weeks. In short, there's been no shortage of karmic oh-my-God-I-can't-handle-one-more-thing going around at Chez Sassy, and I'm very much due for a vacation. Let me give you the recap:

My grandmother died. So incredibly life-changing on a number of levels, but that's for another day with more beer.
We're down to one car. Insanity (n.): Christmas season with two musicians and one car. OMFG.
Sick cat in the vet hospital as we leave town for a funeral. Seriously, if it wasn't for the Muse, I would be losing my mind.
Left my theater job after seven years of growth, challenges, and finally sheer hell. Glad to see the end of it, really.
Met two of my all-time favorite people in real life for the first time yesterday. Planning on spending a lot more time with Amy and Jeff. Totally blissed out.
Family time, or the lack thereof-- D's in Maryland, I'm in Alabama for Turkey Day. Alone. To. Face. The. Family. Beer, please.
The project got a major boost-- we heard our non-profit status was approved today.
Going back to China twice next year on tour-- yay for more tour diaries, and I may even have some solo goodness on this one.
Needless to say my nerves are pretty jangled at the moment, and I swear to God that if I have to deal with one more asshole right now I am going to totally lose my shit.

Anyway, all of that to say that if you don't hear from me for a bit don't be surprised... I'm still here, but I may be a little scarce for a bit while I get my head on straight. I know, it's a threat and a promise.

YouTube RoundUp: Cowboy Love

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:39:00 -0500

Since we're coming up on Turkey Day, where we celebrate all things we're thankful for and the family we share them with, this Friday's RoundUp is dedicated to the work of my incredibly talented brother-in-law, also known as Dancing Dragon. On November 8, 2008, The Windy City Cowboys performed a piece he choreographed, "Cowboy Love Story", at the Sundance Stompede, and they rocked:

In case I don't say it enough, I'm incredibly proud of you Steven, and of the talent and drive with which you pursue what you love. Even if I can't be there to see you shine in person and support your work, know that you're on my list of things to be thankful for this year and always. Love to you and t.i.m. and sorry I'll miss you at the glorious yearly blowout next week.

It Begins Here

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:28:13 -0500

People, I am tired. Sick and tired.

Even after the joy of the election results, there have been a few things that have been bothering me greatly about this election cycle. The most important, and the reason for this post, has been peoples' lack of ability to discuss the issues that we all grapple with intelligently, calmly, without histrionics or name-calling, and our apparent inability to even try to understand or at least respect peoples' right to their own opinion. And frankly, I'm done with being sick and tired.

I never intended this as a political blog as such, but very shortly it's going to become a lot more so. In the coming days and weeks I'll be posting a more in-depth analysis of my opinions on some issues that I'm sick and tired of everyone not being able to discuss like adults, with open comment sections for that discussion. Moreover, this blog also will become a much more public forum for me rather than simply a private journal, so expect some tweaks and changes to that effect. (Nothing major to report yet, but I'm still working on it.)

I will welcome your reasoned dissent, your arguments, and your personal analysis and experience. What I will not welcome is name calling, ultimatum dropping, hysterical guilt trips and personal attacks. Those things have no place in the larger discussion about these issues, as they do absolutely no good in solving the problems that we all face, they only spawn more problems.

I'll sign off today with a challenge to you all:

Research the following issues and come up with reasoned and researched argument for why you are for or against them. Most of them require more than a one-sentence epithet to explain intelligently.
Once you have researched an issue, write a post about why you feel the way you do, and include your supporting data. These rules apply: the supporting evidence must be scientific, analytical, or first-person anecdotal in nature. You must cite your sources and provide links where applicable. Hearsay and religious dogma do not apply, with the exclusion of statements of personal belief. (e.g. "I believe God says" not "God says." Not everyone reading here necessarily believes in the same God as you.) Please provide scripture references to define those beliefs-- that counts as evidence if it backs up your personal stance.
If you can do so, suggest how we might move toward solving this problem in a legal and civil way.
You can do this for more than one issue if you feel strongly about them.
Include the graphic to the right (right click and save) to show you're in.
Link back here and post a head-up in the comments so I know you've done so.

Now, for the topics at hand and in no particular order:

Taxes
Abortion
Same-Sex Marriage
Education
The Wars (both Iraq and Afghanistan)
Healthcare
Poverty And Welfare Reform

I challenge everyone who reads here to take on these issues. I'm serious-- I would love to see a response from each and every one of you who reads here, has ever commented here, or finds this site in the process of the challenge. If you don't have a blog, leave it in the comment section. If you have a blog, post about it and tell all of your readers. It's time to get the discussion started, without a candidate or and election at stake and regardless of who's in office. Take the challenge. I'm eager to hear what you have to say.

52 To 48

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:11:51 -0500

There comes a time when it just makes sense to move on, no holds barred, and this is one of those times.

ZeFrank has posted a challenge that I think all of us blue dots should take: From 52 to 48 With Love. (sports racers' responses here.)

No matter how much we'd like to show them the raspberry, no matter how excluded and downtrodden and misrepresented and marginalized we may have felt by them in the last eight years, and no matter how badly we'd like to throw it back in their faces, we can be better than that. That's all I'm going to say, and my personal schadenfreude ends here:

Weeping

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:01:04 -0500

I am sitting in my chair in my living room, watching CNN and weeping with joy and relief.

Why I'm Voting For Obama

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:30:34 -0500

I'd like to take a minute here to outline why I'm voting for Barack Obama tomorrow, not because I think I can necessarily change and hearts and minds at this late hour, but because win or lose, I want to remember the eve of this election and why I'm casting my lot the way I am. (And also keeping in mind that I'm following Aimee's format for Mrs. Flinger's challenge.)

He's Smart And He's Not Afraid To Show It.
I love a smart man. And I love a smart man even more when he's not afraid to be smart, talk smart, and use his brain. (Say what you want about the way he carries or conducts himself, but I'll take an "elitist" former President of the Harvard Law Review any day of the week. You don't get that by being a war hero or by lining somebody's pocket-- you EARN IT.) He knows how to speak intelligently, he can carry on a debate with aplomb and thoughtful honesty and he isn't afraid to put out facts and figures on the line, no scripts or prompts.The reason this matters to me is because this man is going to be the one who helps design the plan for our future. He'll also be the one negotiates on our behalf with foreign leaders-- converses with them, spends time with them, takes them on in the vernacular fray. I want someone who can argue effectively and intelligently on our behalf without seeming like a moron or a belligerent blowhard. Tim Ferriss had it right on the money when he said "how you say something IS what you say." I want someone who is smart enough to make his case eloquently in the trenches. Moreover, I want someone who thinks through his plans to the logical outcomes a year, five years, ten years down the road, extending to even after his presidency ends, and Obama has done that in spades and laid it out time and again (see his response to McCain's healthcare plan from the last debate.)
He May Not BE Like Me, But He Doesn't Lie About It.
I'm a raving fan of the Joe The Plumber video for a lot of reasons, but one of my favorites is the couple of times that Obama refers to himself as a rich guy. He's not pretending to be like the rest of us, and he's not lying about where he actually stands either. More to the point, he may be wealthy, but he doesn't flaunt it, and in the process he seems to be looking out for those of us who aren't in policy. And his wife shops at J. Crew. I know it's shallow, but seriously, it matters to me.
It's The Economy, Stupid. (RIP Mr. Russert, and Godspeed.)
His tax plan makes sense almost any way I've tried to look at it. That is all.
The War.
He opposes the war and had the balls to do it from the beginning, when everyone was too afraid of seeming unpatriotic to do the same. Everyone is tired of this war. Even my mother, who is staunchly in the McCain camp, admitted to me today that she's going to be glad if Obama wins because she's tired of this war and she wants it over. It's time to admit that it was a mistake and move on, with all due respect to the troops who have worked hard to make it happen. I don't want any more of their parents to have to support an idiotic policy because they need to justify why their children died for it, and it's time for us to stop putting those soldiers in harm's way for the same reason. Obama opposed the war before he was a U.S. Senator, when he didn't even have a vote yet (thanks to Aimee for the quote): "I know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors... I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than the best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars."
Health...care?
Obama's health care reform plan makes sense, and it's workable. It won't eventually cause the unsupported collapse of the American healthcare system. And it will actually give an affordable alternative to people who need one, and will do it much MUCH more quickly than McCain's would and in a much more sustainable way.
He Respects My Rights And Responsibilities As A Woman.
There are not many things that get me fired up like this one does. Yes, I like him be cause he's pro-choice, but that's not the only facet of this issue that wins him my vote: he supports comprehensive sex education and healthcare reform making contraceptive coverage more widely available. See, this comes back to him being smart: he understands that if people are properly educated and supplied, there wouldn't need to be as many unplanned pregnancies in the first place. Moreover, he gets that that is the kid of decision that should be made in private in consultation with your partner, your doctor and your chosen deity, and he has the guts to say exactly that succinctly and in a straightforward manner, for which I give him extreme respect.
Civil Rights. For Everyone. EVERYONE.
While he makes a distinction between a religiously sanctioned marriage and gay civil marriage, he supports the rights of EVERYONE to have a legally sanctioned partnership with equal rights across the board, including adoption and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Everyone should have the right to be with the one they love, raise a family, and have all the rights and priveleges of a committed relationship, whether it's Adam and Eve or Adam and Steve or Alice and Ellen. Just ask this lovely pair. (Congratulations Frank!!!!!!!!!!)
Experience: He Has The Kind That Matters.
Having lived in D.C. as long as I already have, I can pretty much tell you that if you have to choose between an idealist and a career man in politics, the idealist should always be your first choice. I don't believe that having worked in Washington or in any specific executive position necessarily makes you a better presidential candidate. What I DO believe matters is how you've spent your time, patience and intelligent work before you get to that point. Did you spend it on the ground, working to make things better for the everyday man on the street? The AIDs victim? The disenfranchised? The environment? Good. Did you spend it in Washington "opposing" the bigwigs while eating lunch with them? Not so good.
The Death Factor
I'm not going to lie, I think no matter who gets elected I think we have a damn good chance of something happening to one of them while in office, and it scares the hell out of me and I think someone should be saying this rationally. If McCain kicks it, we get the crazy lady. If something (oh deities and saints and fates and The Spaghetti Monster may it not be so) happens to Obama, we get Biden. Vanilla, but all right and a damn sight better backup plan. I know this is not necessarily position based, but the presidency is a hard job and I'm tired of being scared of what would happen if the CIC makes an exit (oh my GOD, only a couple more months of Cheney fear. Oy.)
Green In All The Right Ways.
$150 billion for alternative fuels, lower LCFS carbon standards, a good thinking position on nuclear power, and a smart opinion on the gas tax (I love a man who can admit his mistakes and learn from them.) I want a planet to live on when I'm 80. That's the long and short of it.
Shame, Or Rather The Lack Thereof.
Lastly and most importantly in some ways, I want a man I can be proud of to be president. The last two presidents have found ways upon ways to make me want to die of shame for being an American with that guys as my leader, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm tired of going out of this country and having to apologize to people I meet for the way we relate to the rest of the world. I'm tired of watching out leader give speeches and being angry because he sounds like an ignorant, flippant moron when I know he's actually pretty intelligent in there somewhere. I'm tired of leaders who make unilateral decisions that take international moral authority and clout away from our foreign policy. And I'm tired of being depressed when I watch the political news, which is all we get around here pretty much.

Barack Obama gives me hope that we can be better than we have been, and that the government CAN be made to be accountable and take care of us the way it should if we all wake up and start paying attention and working toward that goal. Not only does he preach a message of hope, but he makes me believe it by backing it up. That's the long and short of it: he gives me HOPE. And I'll cast my ballot for that any day.

That being said, in a few hours it will be the day that everyone's been waiting for, for one reason or another. Whoever your chosen candidate is, GO VOTE.

Go in the rain. Go if you have to stand in line for three hours. Go if you have to take your kids with you. Go if you have to miss work. There is nothing more important for our country than exercising your right to choose who leads it, so GO. DO IT ALREADY.

Friday YouTube RoundUp: Honkin'

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:36:02 -0500

Here's my winner of the weird award for this week's video viewings, although it's made me investigate Paul Steel a little more and that's not a bad thing. ( NSFW because of drug use references and language, but then again if you're reading this site you're probably not at work anyway):

Basically, this is just one of the weirder videos I've seen on YouTube since I started this series, and the song's been in my ear ever since Susannah Breslin posted it (her site is definitely NSFW).

YouTube RoundUp SE: Whazzzaaaaaaap

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:22:36 -0500

FYE: The Whazzzup Boys after eight years:

Indeed.

The Procrastination Flowchart

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:55:28 -0500

In case you have any doubt, this is where my mind is right now.

Friday YouTube Roundup: Soundboard Schwarzenegger

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:37:12 -0500

I know, I know-- I missed this whole soundboard prank call thing by quite a while, but in case you haven't heard it, you need to hear when somebody soundboards Ahhhhnold to a Gateway computer sales rep:

(I love that he keeps her going for so long. Hah!) Soundboarding allowed you to use your computer to play a grid of sound clips or voice cues, in this case of celebrity voices. So you know all of those robo-calls you're getting? (This is for you, Frankenberry, O resident of a swing state.) Now you can fight back. Answer as John Kimble just to piss off the pollsters, or fight for your side with Slate's Obama and McCain soundboards. And remember, just do what I tell ya.

The Surprise of Love And Its Furry Faces

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:32:20 -0500

When love comes along, real honest-to-God love, it's always a surprise.

I say this, sitting in my chair with a purring fuzzball of a spaz-cat curled on my arm and watching the cursor surreptitiously to make sure it doesn't make good its escape from the screen. Sitting and purring with his sense of appropriate grace and consort, knowing that this, now, is the place where he is needed most. I find myself scratching his ears and cooing, running tired fingers across the silken profile of his furry head, watching as his large green eyes slit into wells of condensed bliss and wondering that from that came this.

When we acquired the spaz cat, he was little more than an elegantly contrived wind-up toy, small enough to fit in a pocket or a palm and just as erratic and kinetic in nature. He whirred and whizzed and skittered and boinged, careening constantly and with utter abandon until his little body simply wound down and he flopped, careless and bohemian and easy on whatever surface he had landed upon-- floors, windowsills, toilet seats, laps, plants. He was utterly contained unto himself and completely self-absorbed-- unlike our serene, self possessed older cat who merely watched with zen-like peace and passivity, waiting for the perfect lap to present itself or the perfect wedging-space to appear between a leg and a sofa pillow. For the longest time he simply existed, like a pampered prodigy, as if his whims were what the world turned upon-- yowling and scheming and batting and sulking. And yet, among all of those things, there were small moments of connection which I never really recognized until he was gone for those four days a few weeks ago.

The house was quiet.

The older cat never made bones about it as such-- he just walked and searched, turning a cool liquid eye on me as if to say Somehow you have to fix this... this is not good, not balanced, not all right. And surprisingly, I agreed. For all of his self-absorbed mannerisms, there was a piece missing. And I started to realize that, even though he's feline, not human, there were certain kindnesses, certain relations with which he defined my existence.

When I wake in the early morning hours, surfacing from sleep into the heart-clenching, mind-warping throes of a panic attack, it is his furry paw which settles on my tear stained cheek and his wide liquid green eyes that search mine as he wedges into my shoulder, purring in my ear to say I am here... there are no words, but I *see* you, and I am here. It is he that comes and pats my arm in the wee hours of the morning to tell me I am being foolish, that sleep in necessary, and that someone notices my vigil through the long nighttime silence. It is he that distracts me from my ruminations, turning back flips and cartwheels and shadowboxing imaginary foes and real milk rings until I laugh and laugh, whereupon he feigns offense for only as long as I continue, performing a court jester's bow-stretch and curling over to show his belly in comic solidarity when I stop. It is he that eventually gives up, coming to rest wherever is the nearest touching place, so that I am not alone in my waking holding pattern. And it is he that keeps watch on the foot of my bed as I sleep fitfully into the daytime, facing away as if to circle the wagons and stay alert so that I may rest.

So you see, to me he is more than the kinetic furball everyone sees when they pass in and out of my door. He is constant, he is comic, he is companion.

From time to time I get a remark from someone I know that expresses incredulity that "people can feel that way about an animal." Lest you think that I'm evolving into a batty cat lady, I should clarify: I have only two, and they are quite sufficient. And that's really the point, isn't it? They are sufficient. They provide, as a good friend confided to me once, something missing in a newly forged home-- slapstick and attendance, mostly without judgment or comment.

And so it is that I write here of love. For all too long a time I didn't realize it, but I do love him as much as I do his older avatar and near-opposite, albeit in a different way. Ours is a relationship of active silences, passing affections, and dismissive respect: always overtly distracting, a game of smoke and mirrors, but always constant.

*And lest you should worry, nothing has happened to him, tests are still all mainly normal following the Lily Debacle, just doing a couple more this week to check up on things.

Honest Band Leader

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:53:16 -0500

Sometimes the jokes are just too true:

Via David Valdez.

LiveSnark 3 Recap

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:30:12 -0500

Boy, was it good tonight-- The Muse, Annelisa, DanP and his girl and D were all here for some hot LiveSnark action tonight, and the quips were flying fast and furious. I got a few good ones in, and check it out-- I even got one on screen during the debate on Current:

I can't begin to say how happy that made me, especially as I made it on right as Obama made an explanation of his view on Roe v. Wade and abortion, which made me fall in love with him all over again. (I have a post on that forthcoming, gird your loins.)

All in all it was a great time, and the ice cream was a big hit:

The cheesecake with blueberry sauce was the big hit of the night, and we even eventually remembered to dig out the waffle cone bowls that I bought. Tasty, tasty.

Laundry Woes

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:49:42 -0500

There are very few things that I pine over heavily in life. Most of the time they happen to be shoes, but every once in a while I find something that truly makes my heart go pitty-pat for reasons other than accessorizing. Case in point: this LG combination washer and dryer.

Let me say this first-- I absolutely love the house we live in. It's not ours, but it supplies almost everything we need with only one major exception: it has no laundry hookups, and since we rent, none will be forthcoming. Considering that the median home price in our neighborhood is $550K, we won't be remedying the situation by moving down the block any time soon. Nor could we really move anywhere else nearby and still keep the business we have-- we'd have to completely rebuild our teaching business and D's job (and maybe mine soon) is a fifteen-minute drive from here.

For the past five years that's left us with only one option: the laundromat, and we all know what happens when I go there. So I've been trying to figure out more cost-effective and less frustrating ways of getting this stuff done, with kind of mixed results. I ordered one of these gadgets from Laundry Alternative and so far it's not so bad: it'll basically dry a load of laundry-- a real load, not one of those oversize ones you can do in a big washer-- enough so hanging it up for an hour or two gets it completely dry, even jeans. I've been looking forward to using the little washer contraption that goes with it, if it would ever get here (apparently it takes two weeks longer to get one of those... weird.) That's all well and good, but what I really want is one of these, because fluffy towels don't grow on trees, or rather, laundry lines.

Now, this isn't just an empty waah, boo-hoo, I don't wanna go to the laundromat question: D and I spend about $130 a month at the laundromat between our clothes and the household linens and towels, and we're trying to cut back on the spending since we're basically busted flat at the moment. And well, laundry really isn't an optional kind of thing, so we're trying to figure out how to make all this work without spending loads of cash in the process. And I'm not gonna lie, doing this stuff at home would be a whole lot more palatable than getting propositioned or harassed every time I go out to do it. Ah well, for now it's washerwoman, me. Maybe I can save some pennies and figure something out after the holidays, barring any unfortunate feline vet emergencies.

*That sign up there completely cracks me up. You can get it here.

LiveSnark Chez Sassy Part Three: Sweet Victory

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:13:47 -0500

All righty peeps. It's time for one last LiveSnark before we warm up those fingers for the voting booth-- Chez Sassy will be rockin' it at 9pm over on Twitter. For more fun, follow The Muse, watch the Current feed, and follow along on the CSPAN Debate Hub (complete with interactive timeline!) And as always, download the rules from DebateDrink before we start, and follow @DebateDrink on Twitter for drinking cues.

Oh, and as always, there will be a food theme if you're one of the lucky participants here in our living room: The Homemade Ice Cream Sundaes of Sweet Victory. Flavor candidates: Cheesecake, Sour Cream Strawberry, Fresh Mint Chocolate, Guinness Chocolate, and Lavender Honey. Moderator: Apple Bread Pudding. Awesome.