Florida House Update

Earlier this week, I posted about a forclosed house we looked at in
Florida. I guess we weren't the only ones that thought that was a
good deal, because someone already has a contract on it. It is just
as well, as that house was very remote, and we need to save more money
before we buy a house. I have a feeling there will be other bargains
to be had in Florida down the road.

Subway Ad for God

You may recall that I posted a subway ad promoting atheism some time back. Today on the DC Metro, I saw the above ad promoting god. I thought the copy was kinda funny actually... Longing for something? A cheeseburger perhaps? No? How about an imaginary friend? That would be fulfilling! If there actually were a god, would this omnipotent being really need advertising to promote him? I guess someone thinks so. You do see an awful lot of people reading the bible on the subway. Maybe it's working.

Michael Jeter Delivers a Message in The Fisher King

I'm Anne Morrow Lindbergh -- I can't find my baby!

After hearing the news of Robin Williams having heart surgery recently, I started thinking about my favorite Robin Williams film, The Fisher King. Robin isn't actually in this scene, but the amazing Michael Jeter works his magic.

Get well soon Robin. Watching this should help.

Letter to VT Gov. Douglas: RE: Vetoing Gay Marriage

VT Gov. Jim Douglas will veto

the Vermont Gay marriage bill

because he is a dick.

I wrote an e-mail to Vermont Gov. Jim (Oliver Wendel) Douglas today after his announcement that he would veto the marriage bill that recently passed in the State Senate and is currently in the State House. In the subject line, I wrote: Friend of James Neiley. He is the 17-year-old who testified during a VT Senate hearing that I posted about earlier. Click here to e-mail Gov. Douglas also!

Govenor Douglas,

I was saddened to hear your announcement of plans to veto the gay marriage bill in Vermont. Since Vermont was the first state to allow civil unions for same-sex couples, it is unfortunate that it still has not taken the next step, like Mass and CT. You say you want the State government to concentrate on economic issues, but by vetoing this measure, you are just causing them to do additional work to override your veto. That doesn't make any sense, does it? Of course, you can't be in the Republican Party and do something as enlightened as permitting gay marriage. Don't be a bigot. Do the right thing. There is no reason that makes any sense to veto that bill. I urge you to reconsider your decision.

It's a Free Salad Day!

I work next door to a mall with a foodcourt. One of the food places
is a Salad Creations. Whenever I go there, I always get the Chopped
Veggie Salad Jr., with the spring mix lettuce, honey dijon fat-free
dressing and no artichokes. It is just under $6 and yummy. Also,
after you buy 9 salads, you get the 10th one free. This is my free
salad! To celebrate, I went to au bon pain and got a chocolate
croissant. You only live once!

Eloquent Argument for Gay Marriage by a High School Jr.

If you noticed someone getting a bit teary-eyed today at L' Enfant Plaza Metro Station, it was probably me. I was listening to my friend, Archer's, podcast (www.archerradio.com) on the way to work and he played the audio to this clip. It is of 17-year-old James Neiley from Charlotte, VT, testifying at a State Senate hearing on gay marriage for Vermont. I can't imagine being brave enough to do this at his age. What a great kid. I haven't heard a better arguement. I realize it is a long clip, but the testimony part is only the first half, which everyone should watch. The Vermont State Senate passed the gay marriage bill 26-4, sending it to the State House this week.

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #186

Let my people go . . . to the China Hut for the most

delicious sweet and sour chicken this side of the Red Sea!

This is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest cartoon for this week. My caption for this cartoon is above. Click on the link above to enter.

This caption is way too long and I don't think it is particularly original either or funny, so it has a good chance of winning. Other captions I was considering included:

"Have a Goldstone, Mr. Eggroll."

"With sin you get eggrolls."

"Having Kung Pao anywhere else is an abomination!"

"Thou Shall Not Double Dip the Duck Sauce."

This is why I'm not a comedy writer. Let me know if you come up with any captions too.

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #184 -- Sort of Close

Unless you're selling chalk, we don't need any.

You might recall my caption for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest cartoon from a couple weeks ago (#184), which is above. Each week they announce three finalists for people to vote on to determine which is the best caption. One of the finalists announced this week was, "Beat it, buddy. We're out of chalk." It was submitted by Paul Snare of University Place, Wash. I'd say I was getting close. OK... it isn't exactly the same, but we both mention chalk.

Insomnia Sucks Big Time

There is a saying in our house -- when Shane doesn't sleep, nobody sleeps.  

I have been having a bad time the last couple days with my sinuses.  I was hoping it was the high pollen count down in Florida and not a cold.  Anyway, my head is congested and I have a bit of a tickle in my throat causing me to cough a bit.  We went to bed at the regular time... around 11:15 or so.  At about 1:30, I woke up with a tickle again and had to cough a bit.  I drank a little water and Shane lifted his head, and said in a slightly panicked manner, "I can't sleep."  

He laid back down and tried again... moments later he was up and trying to turn on the fan over our bed.  Unfortunately, the wall switch was off and when he turned it on, the light came on.  We laid there some more with him tossing and turning.  I could see this was not going to work.  I was just listening for his sleep breathing and it never came.  Normally, he can fall asleep in about 30 seconds, but he was now in worry mode that he can't fall asleep and I was worrying about him falling asleep too.  Also, I have this thing that after I sleep, even for a short time, my body thinks I was just taking a nap and it is time to get up.  I soon realized I wasn't going to be sleeping anymore tonight.  I got up and took the laptop downstairs and began surfing the web.  

My head is still congested and I'm starting to think this is a cold, not just from pollen.  I hope Shane was able to finally get to sleep.  He was worried about a big writing project he needed to get completed by Wednesday.   We just need to get through this day and hopefully, we will sleep well tonight.  

We're Considering a Forclosed House Near Naples -- Are We Crazy?

Shane and I sold our condo on Fort Myers just over a year ago. On our way to the airport to fly back to DC today, we stopped to look at a 3 bedroom 2 bath house outside of Naples, FL, on 2.75 acres of land listed for $114K. I was hoping it would be a dump, so it wouldn't be a temptation. It actually looked pretty nice. Damn!

OK, the grass is dead, but it is very dry in SW Florida. It is a rural area, but there are some other nice houses in the neighborhood. Of course, one of the worse houses is right next door. There are LOTS of houses for sale in the area, as there are all over the State of Florida.

Shane is going to call to get more information. There may already be a contract on this for all we know. Anyway, there are many other houses for sale and I'm sure there are still plenty of bargains to be found if this one doesn't work out. It would have to be an amazing bargain for us to dive back into Florida real estate.

Below are some photos from today's exploration. As you can see, it is on a wooded lot and it is set back from the road. The back view looks back into woods. There is plenty of room for a pool someday.

Turtle Beach Day -- Me Like

This is what I looked at all day. I did go for a run and a dip in the
Gulf, but I spent most if the day in my beach chair looking at the
view. It was a very nice day.

Black Tongue Surprise

I have fallen off the eating right wagon this weekend, and as a result I had a bit of an upset stomach last night. Shane had a couple Pepto-Bismal tablets, so I took them. I felt better and slept pretty good. However, when I got up this morning, I was flabergasted to discover my tongue had turned black as coal overnight. It looked like a horrible fungus covering my tongue. I started brushing my tongue with my toothbrush until I was gagging to get the black off. It still isn't all gone. I Googled black tongue and Pepto and quickly learned this is a common side-effect. It is a scary and gross side-effect too.

I Like Turtle Beach

We're down in Florida this weekend, and today we drove around a bit
and did some shopping. We were scouting out some beaches to go to
tomorrow for the day. We went to Siesta Key, and found Turtle Beach.
It has everything we want -- clear water, white sand, parking, not too
crowded, and a bathroom relatively close by. The short time that we
were there today, we saw pelicans, dolphins, and a sting ray. The
weather is nice today and is supposed to be nice again tomorrow. We
are going to spend most of the day there. I can't wait! The photo above shows Shane wading in the surf.

Tammy Faye Is Reincarnated! Maybe?

We are spending a long weekend in Florida at Shane's mom's and this is
their Labradoodle, Lucy. Though it is hard to see in this photo, she
has the longest eyelashes I've ever seen on any living thing. And that is
without mascara! If she cried a lot, I would be certain she is the
reincarnated Tammy Faye, but she seems pretty happy.

Has the President Let Fame Go to His Head?

I stayed up late last night and watched a little bit of Jay Leno interview President Obama. The president got a little bit of flack when it was announced he would go on the Tonight Show. The gist of the comments were that he should be fixing the economy and not appearing on entertainment TV shows. There are also those who think he is doing too many things at once. Everyone has an opinion. Mine is that he is doing just fine.

The whole controversy reminded me of the campaign last year when the Republican talking points came up with the criticism that Obama is a celebrity. How could we elect a celebrity to be president (unless it was Ronald Reagan)? I do worry, however, that our president might let all this celebrity go to his head. So, I came up with some warning signs.

You Know President Obama Has Let Fame Go to His Head When He . . .

--Starts hanging out at the Playboy Mansion.

--Has the U.S. Mint issue an Obama dollar coin.

--Is named to star in the new Ocean's 14 movie.

--Leaves his wife for Angelina Jolie.

--Has the Pope kiss his ring.

--Guest stars on the VH1 show, I Love New York.

Let me know if you have any warning signs of your own.

DC Examiner Practices Ann Coulter Journalism

I ride the subway to work everyday and being the cheapskate I am I take one of the free newspapers offered at the top of the escalators at Eastern Market Metro. I always take the Express, produced by the Washington Post, and NEVER take the DC Examiner. The DC Examiner is Fox News with out the proclamation of fairness and the New York Post without the wacky headlines.

Today, the poor person hawking the Examiner had to stand in one of the most liberal cities in the country and try to give away papers with the above photo and headline hugely plastered. I couldn't help but notice it today.

It has been less than 2 months -- 2 month! Apparently, there was little news today. How can there be no news? There obviously wasn't any news, because the Examiner felt it necessary to put a dejected photo of President Obama on the cover and pretty much announce his time has come and gone.

Inside, they have a four-page spread of what they called, "Commentary: Special Report," which consisted of eight editorials explaining how our new president is "Stumbling along the learning curve," and that the "AIG mess clips the wings of high-flying Obama team." Obamaland will consist of long unemployment lines and skyrocketing prices, according to this bunch.

I don't agree with everything about Obama, but I believe in giving him a chance. This is plainly Ann Coulter journalism--saying derisive, hateful things to sell newspapers. Unbelievable! Whenever I go into a bookstore and see one of Ann Coulter's books on display, I hide it behind another book, usually something by Al Franken. I'd appreciate it if you would too.

I did have to look at this paper today to write this post, but I was happy to see the newspaper bin nearly full of these papers on my commute home tonight. You can't give them away. I wouldn't wipe myself with this paper.

Everyone Turns Gay, World to End, News at 11

Yesterday, some wing nuts in Minnesota said they would introduce anti-gay legislation to prevent gay marriage, civil unions, and unintended glances in locker rooms. Their worry is that if everyone turned gay, the world would end in 10 years. I say, maybe this is true, but what a fun 10 years that would be!

Apparently, they feel God’s damnation of gays would end the world. Let’s face it, this would not be the first time God has been pissed and wiped out humanity (minus an ark full of couples). God can be a bit judgmental, if history is any indication.

My question is, isn’t God often depicted as a man? Doesn’t the bible say that man was made in God’s image? Therefore, it seems to me all these men proclaiming their love for God are acting fairly gay.

I always thought Jesus was a little gay. He never got married, and he hung around at the beach picking up a dozen or so men. If I went to the beach and had a dozen men wanting to wash my feet, I’m not sure I’d be going around bashing the gays.

I don’t remember anything in my Sunday School lessons about Jesus commenting on the gays. Was it Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Maybe it just wasn’t that high on his agenda. Maybe his message of love and kindness is lost on the people that worship him. What makes me mad is that people get angry when I suggest that Jesus might have been gay, like that is a big insult. I consider it a compliment. Though I don’t believe in God, if there was a Jesus, I don’t think he would care if I thought he was gay in a hopeful way.

100 Facts About Me -- How My Father Died

In my recent post listing the 100 Facts About Me, I said that I would expand on the details of some of the facts on my list. Number 2 on the list was the following: "My father died when I was 1 year old in a skydiving accident (where he drowned)."

OK. Technically, that isn't even about me, but it was an important fact in my life. My father died when I was 18 months old. The last time I saw him, I was 9 months old. He was as Staff Sergeant in the Army and in the summer of 1962 he went to Southeast Asia for what was suppose to be a year tour.

In February 1963, my father was playing in a charity soccer match in Bangkok and the team was supposed to parachute onto the field. According to my mother, she had no idea that he was involved in parachuting. She said that he would get dizzy sitting in a rocking chair. Unfortunately, while skydiving he veered off-course and landed in a nearby canal. A helicopter was dispatched to rescue him, but he fell from the ladder beneath the helicopter back into the water and he drowned. He was 27 years old.

The photo above is of my parent's wedding photo taken in 1956.

I Spotted a Celebrity on the Subway!

On this morning's ride in to work, I happened to see a minor celebrity
on the subway. Sitting in front of the Chevron ad about using less
energy, is the model used in the ad. I'm not sure of this guy's name,
but what an inventive campaign by this company to hire models to bring
their ads to life by hiring the actual models to go around and sit
near their ads. I know I will now start using less energy. Isn't
Chevon already preaching to the choir by putting this ad on mass
transit? Perhaps they should be targeting the thousands of millions
clogging up the highways in their Hummers.

Self-Portrait Treading Water

I took this picture of myself at work on Tuesday with my iPhone. It
shows the two stacks of folders I am working in the background. The
closer pile is due today. They constantly bring more folders while I'm
doing these folders-- some that are more overdue than the closer pile.
It never ends until you retire or die. I took the picture to send to
Shane who is traveling this week so he could see me treading water.