burgers and fries and cherry pies, or what this post has none of…

between holidays, painting, work on the house, mom’s retirement, and a somewhat bizarre back problem (my entire lower back feels sunburned-ish, only… there’s nothing there. pinched nerve? fibromyalgia? spinal tumor? meanness workin’ its way out of me? i haz a pain in my sawdust, whichever it is!), i’ve been horribly, terribly remiss about blogging as of late.  i keep bookmarking things, thinking, “oh, i need to post that”... then i don’t.  so now i am…  *prepare for onslaught*...

first, leonard pitts speaks out for the poor:

If he’d said it of Jews, he would still be apologizing.

If he’d said it of blacks, he’d be on BET, begging absolution.

If he’d said it of women, the National Organization for Women would have his carcass turning slowly on a spit over an open flame.

But he said it of the poor, so he got away with it.

``He’’ is South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer, running for governor on the GOP ticket. Speaking of those who receive public assistance, he recently told an audience, ``My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.’‘

You read that right. The would-be governor of one of the poorest states there is likens the poor to stray animals.

i love leonard pitts.  i’ve followed his column for years.  on this, he’s definitely spot on, “the monied interests in this country have somehow been able to con the poor into doing just that, fighting tooth and nail when they ought to be standing shoulder to shoulder”.

move to amend “we the corporations” - in response to the citizen’s united ruling, they want to amend the constitution to “Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.”  amen!

pick locks like a pro! - just in case you need to *fight the man* by breaking into his locker…

the period table… of typefaces - or by leaving him a fancy note…

play.house - the music from House, M.D. - via rollickster - so you’ve something to listen to while confronting the monied interests that would *keep us down*

cats 4 gold - via this guy, simply put your cat in an envelope… just in case you want to *fight the power* on their terms

follow me tattoo socks - you can’t stage a revolution without followers!

how to make olive penguins - because *every* revolution needs snacks…

and, finally, the “support the troops” phrase has irked me as an empty, meaningless bit of patriotism that gets waved around without any real action behind it. 

make it meaningful. - via vencedor, ye wow raid leader extraordinaire.

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Tagged as: politics,links,poverty,abitofeverything,thekitchensink January 31, 2010 @ 11:12 am

i’m now terrified of the avon lady…

i’m at home doing a bunch of nothing yesterday when my doorbell rings and i did the unthinkable… i *answered the door*.  call me crazy, but that’s what i do when the doorbell rings.  it’s a pavlovian response.  i can’t help it.  knock on the door, ring the doorbell, i will *open the door*.  i ~live on the edge~ that way.

anyways, this guy is standing 6 feet or so from the door, wearing black jeans, a tshirt, plaid flannel shirt, carrying a backpack, with a cellphone in his hand.  wants to know if i’m the person with the plumbing problems.  we’ve just had several nights in the 20s, so the plumbing excuse is believable.  but…

my first thought is: what plumber shows up not knowing what house he’s going to ... not in uniform ... and carrying a backpack?
my second thought is: oh, hey, didn’t we have a burglary here just 2 months ago, shortly after a guy *matching this guy’s description* was seen wandering around the property?
my third thought is: i have the most vicious sounding beagle IN THE WORLD.  she’s not stopped snarl-barking yet.

i tell him it’s not my house he’s looking for, he apologizes and wanders off.  me, being the brave nosey person idiot i am, decides to put the dog on the leash and go see where this guy is headed.  i don’t *like* being suspicious - i don’t like that immediately my inner cynic is rearing her head.  the guy may be completely innocent.  maybe he’s some kinda plumber’s helper who’s just lost.  but i just can’t stop that “who’re you, what’re you doin’ on *my* territory?” thing.  (i once called the police cuz my neighbour’s front door was standing wide open and his giant great dane was nowhere to be found.  police showed up just as the guy returned *from taking the dog for a walk*.  me?  meet chagrin.  note: the neighbour thanked me for being so attentive, but.  yeah.  ~embarrassment~.)

we walk outside.  well, i walk outside.  the beagle *bursts* outside, snarl-barking, as she does *every time we go outside*.  it’s like she’s to announce to the world, “LOOK OUT, I’M COMING FOR YOU!”  she’s really *not* vicious, she just has her tough fur on.  (it occurs to me that the beagle and i are entirely too much alike.)  anyways, the guy is standing in my neighbour’s doorway.  the minute he hears the beagle explosion, he heads around the side of the building, where the maintenance guy happens to be working.  he mumbles something to the maint. guy and takes off towards the front of the property. 

i walk over to ask the maintenance guy what he’d said (maint. guy asked him if he needs something, guy said he’s working on plumbing and kept walking) and i register that a car, blaring REALLY LOUD BASS music, is pulling out of… my mother’s parking space.  mom’s at work, plus i’m fairly certain that she doesn’t do BLARING BASS (ottmar liebert doesn’t make those sounds).  i turn to look at the car… a tricked out eclipse… as it backs up very slowly towards me.  it sits there a minute, then slowly drives towards the front gate, where i can see the “plumber’s helper” guy.  the dog is absolutely having conniptions, barking, straining at her leash, and it occurs to me… i might should call the police, rather than standing there in the open, like a moron.  i suspect that the “plumber’s helper” guy is looking for houses where no one is home so he can break in and grab what’ll fit in his backpack, and that the BLARING BASS car is his buddy’s.

i call the police, who show up within mere minutes.  they drive through the property and it appears there’s been no break-ins, so perhaps we scared the guy off before he had a chance to do anything.  but the police proceed to fuss at me, “WHY would you open the door?”  me: “because they rang the bell?”  them: “you do NOT open the door to strangers.”  me: “i’m not 4? plus, i’d feel stupid yelling through the door at the avon lady.”  them: “would you rather feel stupid or be raped?”  me: “...well, okay, then.” 

sidenote: if the “plumber’s helper” was really a burglar, our condos have *the best smelling burglars* EVER.  his cologne nearly knocked me over when i opened the door, which leads me to believe that he and the avon lady are ~in cahoots~.

i’m now terrified of the avon lady.

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Tagged as: personal,theavonladyscaresme,getchertoughfuron January 12, 2010 @ 08:46 am

spackling is my new hobby

i’d made a promise to myself that i’d get my spare bedroom repainted before year end, so guess how i spent the christmas holidays?  spackling and painting!  woohoo!  i’ve discovered that not only do i just like to say “spackle”... A LOT (spackle spackle spackle)... but it’s FUN to do. while prepping to paint, i even *made* nail holes just so i could spackle them :|  dude… it’s all *pink and gooey*, you squoosh it into the holes and VOILA it turns white!  *awesomest thing ever* (yes, i’m easily amused, kthxbai.)  i’ve gotten so good at it, i’m thinking of adding it to my resume, “the spackling goddess”.

a conglomeration of my childhood toys and furniture with my stepdaughter’s stuff. she doesn’t stay much any more, but it’s still ~her room~. also, the purple/red/yellow? if you weren’t manic going in, you might be once you come out :O

yes, that IS a giant powerpuff girl in the corner.  we WON it.  and only had to spend $750 for skee-ball game tickets to do it ;o (also, those birds hanging in the corner? from *my* baby mobile. it’s amazing their poor wings haven’t fallen off by now.)

it’s a tiny bathroom so not easy to get a picture, but the fixtures have been replaced, the wall to wall mirror over the counter taken down and replaced with a nicer mirror, etc. i’d like to replace the cabinets/countertop and the tile floor, but… that’s for another day.)

i’ve still my bedroom and the stairwell to paint, but that’ll have to wait til i can use the a/c to vent out the paint fumes.  it’s a bit chilly for that, atm.  but oh… the spackle continues to call to me…

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Tagged as: home,personal,spackleisthebestthingever January 04, 2010 @ 02:16 pm

happy new year!

i’ve been awful neglectful about posting recently, but wanted to make sure to tell everyone happy new year!  may your year be everything you hope for and more!

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Tagged as: January 01, 2010 @ 02:13 am