Sunday, October 14, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
I've been bogged down lately and am writing from San Antonio. More prayers are needed for the family I wrote about a few weeks ago. Please keep them in your thoughts.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
All That's Left is the Light Fixture!
The kitchen is about 95% complete! The main piece left is installing the light fixture. It arrived this week (see last picture), but my contractor hasn't been able to get over here for a few days. He stopped by today and measured a few things, so I'm hoping the light will go up Monday. Let me know what you think! Oh, and the floors in the living and dining room are done, too. I had them refinished. It's like having a whole new floor. Woo hoo!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Unacceptable, Unnecessary, Unbelievable
It's a sad day for Hawkeyegirl. The shame, humiliation and frustration of losing the annual football game against the junior college across the state is virtually unberable. It's made all the more frustrating by our coach's poor record against the Cyclowns from Cow Pie High: 3-6.
I love coach, don't get me wrong, but he makes $2.7 million a year. He's the highest paid state employee! He makes more than the governor, but that's okay because the governor is a buffoon. Without belaboring the issue, Iowa should always win this game. That's all I can say about this subject. I'm crushed.
Tomorrow is another day, and it's the birthday of a special little boy I know. Thanks to the Faithful for praying for the little guy.
I love coach, don't get me wrong, but he makes $2.7 million a year. He's the highest paid state employee! He makes more than the governor, but that's okay because the governor is a buffoon. Without belaboring the issue, Iowa should always win this game. That's all I can say about this subject. I'm crushed.
Tomorrow is another day, and it's the birthday of a special little boy I know. Thanks to the Faithful for praying for the little guy.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Say A Little Prayer
Please pray for a lovely family I know. Your prayers are needed and appreciated.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Almost Done!
Well folks, the kitchen is almost done! I'm down to just some punch list items, such as the cabinet hardware, the light fixture (it's on back order and should arrive near the end of the month), and a couple other items. I decided that since things are already pretty dirty around here that I'd go ahead and have my hardwood floors refinished, too. They're pretty scuffed up and worn, so a nice sanding and finish will do the trick. Take a look and let me know what you think!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
So close, but...
It's really moving along, now. The floor and backsplash are in (no grout yet) and most of the cabinets are in. See for yourself!
Friday, August 17, 2007
The Perfect Post
Occasionally I like to post an article that really resonates. I love baseball, adore baseball movies, revere President Reagan and am enthralled by a good come back story. This one has it all.
In the movie The Natural, Rob Hobbs is traveling to Chicago to try out for the Chicago Cubs when he is felled by The Lady In Black. So the guy in this article is a Cardinal; not every great story is made in Hollywood (not even most). Enjoy.
August 17, 2007
The Natural Returns to St. Louis
By Charles Krauthammer
In the fable, the farm boy phenom makes his way to the big city to amaze the world with his arm. At a stop at a fair on the train ride to Chicago, he strikes out the Babe Ruth of his time on three blazing pitches. Enter the Dark Lady. Before he can reach the stadium for his tryout, she shoots him and leaves him for dead.
It is 16 years later and Roy Hobbs returns, but now as a hitter and outfielder. (He can never pitch again because of the wound.) He leads his team to improbable glory, ending the tale with a titanic home run that, in the now-iconic movie image, explodes the stadium lights in a dazzling cascade of white.
In real life, the kid doesn't look like Robert Redford, but he throws like Roy Hobbs: unhittable, unstoppable. In his rookie year, appropriately the millennial year 2000, he throws it by everyone. He pitches the St. Louis Cardinals to a division title, playing so well that his manager anoints him starter for the opening game of the playoffs, a position of honor and -- for 21-year-old Rick Ankiel -- fatal exposure.
His collapse is epic. He can't find the plate. In the third inning he walks four batters and throws five wild pitches (something not seen since 1890) before Manager Tony La Russa mercifully takes him out of the game.
The kid is never the same. He never recovers his control. Five miserable years in the minors trying to come back. Injuries. Operations. In 2005, he gives up pitching forever.
Then last week, on Aug. 9, he is called up from Triple-A. Same team. Same manager. Rick Ankiel is introduced to a roaring Busch Stadium crowd as the Cardinals' starting right fielder.
In the seventh inning, with two outs, he hits a three-run home run to seal the game for the Cardinals. Two days later, he hits two home runs and makes one of the great catches of the year -- over the shoulder, back to the plate, full speed.
But the play is more than spectacular. It is poignant. It was an amateur's catch. Ankiel ran a slightly incorrect route to the ball. A veteran outfielder would have seen the ball tailing to the right. But pitchers aren't trained to track down screaming line drives over their heads. Ankiel was running away from home plate but slightly to his left. Realizing at the last second that he had run up the wrong prong of a Y, he veered sharply to the right, falling and sliding into the wall as he reached for the ball over the wrong shoulder.
He made the catch. The crowd, already delirious over the two home runs, came to its feet. If this had been a fable, Ankiel would have picked himself up and walked out of the stadium into the waiting arms of the lady in white -- Glenn Close in a halo of light -- never to return.
But this is real life. Ankiel is only 28 and will continue to play. The magic cannot continue. If he is lucky, he'll have the career of an average right fielder. But it doesn't matter. His return after seven years -- if only three days long -- is the stuff of legend. Made even more perfect by the timing: Just two days after Barry Bonds sets a synthetic home run record in San Francisco, the Natural returns to St. Louis.
Right after that first game, La Russa called Ankiel's return the Cardinals' greatest joy in baseball "short of winning the World Series." This, from a manager (as chronicled in George Will's classic "Men at Work") not given to happy talk. La Russa is the ultimate baseball logician, driven by numbers and stats. He may be more machine than man, but he confessed at the postgame news conference: "I'm fighting my butt off to keep it together."
Translation: I'm trying like hell to keep from bursting into tears at the resurrection of a young man who seven years ago dissolved in front of my eyes. La Russa was required to "keep it together" because, as codified most succinctly by Tom Hanks (in "A League of Their Own"), "There's no crying in baseball."
But there can be redemption. And a touch of glory.
Ronald Reagan, I was once told, said he liked "The Natural" except that he didn't understand why the Dark Lady shoots Roy Hobbs. Reagan, the preternatural optimist, may have had difficulty fathoming tragedy, but no one knows why Hobbs is shot. It is fate, destiny, nemesis. Perhaps the dawning of knowledge, the coming of sin. Or more prosaically, the catastrophe that awaits everyone from a single false move, wrong turn, fatal encounter. Every life has such a moment. What distinguishes us is whether -- and how -- we ever come back.
letters@charleskrauthammer.com
In the movie The Natural, Rob Hobbs is traveling to Chicago to try out for the Chicago Cubs when he is felled by The Lady In Black. So the guy in this article is a Cardinal; not every great story is made in Hollywood (not even most). Enjoy.
August 17, 2007
The Natural Returns to St. Louis
By Charles Krauthammer
In the fable, the farm boy phenom makes his way to the big city to amaze the world with his arm. At a stop at a fair on the train ride to Chicago, he strikes out the Babe Ruth of his time on three blazing pitches. Enter the Dark Lady. Before he can reach the stadium for his tryout, she shoots him and leaves him for dead.
It is 16 years later and Roy Hobbs returns, but now as a hitter and outfielder. (He can never pitch again because of the wound.) He leads his team to improbable glory, ending the tale with a titanic home run that, in the now-iconic movie image, explodes the stadium lights in a dazzling cascade of white.
In real life, the kid doesn't look like Robert Redford, but he throws like Roy Hobbs: unhittable, unstoppable. In his rookie year, appropriately the millennial year 2000, he throws it by everyone. He pitches the St. Louis Cardinals to a division title, playing so well that his manager anoints him starter for the opening game of the playoffs, a position of honor and -- for 21-year-old Rick Ankiel -- fatal exposure.
His collapse is epic. He can't find the plate. In the third inning he walks four batters and throws five wild pitches (something not seen since 1890) before Manager Tony La Russa mercifully takes him out of the game.
The kid is never the same. He never recovers his control. Five miserable years in the minors trying to come back. Injuries. Operations. In 2005, he gives up pitching forever.
Then last week, on Aug. 9, he is called up from Triple-A. Same team. Same manager. Rick Ankiel is introduced to a roaring Busch Stadium crowd as the Cardinals' starting right fielder.
In the seventh inning, with two outs, he hits a three-run home run to seal the game for the Cardinals. Two days later, he hits two home runs and makes one of the great catches of the year -- over the shoulder, back to the plate, full speed.
But the play is more than spectacular. It is poignant. It was an amateur's catch. Ankiel ran a slightly incorrect route to the ball. A veteran outfielder would have seen the ball tailing to the right. But pitchers aren't trained to track down screaming line drives over their heads. Ankiel was running away from home plate but slightly to his left. Realizing at the last second that he had run up the wrong prong of a Y, he veered sharply to the right, falling and sliding into the wall as he reached for the ball over the wrong shoulder.
He made the catch. The crowd, already delirious over the two home runs, came to its feet. If this had been a fable, Ankiel would have picked himself up and walked out of the stadium into the waiting arms of the lady in white -- Glenn Close in a halo of light -- never to return.
But this is real life. Ankiel is only 28 and will continue to play. The magic cannot continue. If he is lucky, he'll have the career of an average right fielder. But it doesn't matter. His return after seven years -- if only three days long -- is the stuff of legend. Made even more perfect by the timing: Just two days after Barry Bonds sets a synthetic home run record in San Francisco, the Natural returns to St. Louis.
Right after that first game, La Russa called Ankiel's return the Cardinals' greatest joy in baseball "short of winning the World Series." This, from a manager (as chronicled in George Will's classic "Men at Work") not given to happy talk. La Russa is the ultimate baseball logician, driven by numbers and stats. He may be more machine than man, but he confessed at the postgame news conference: "I'm fighting my butt off to keep it together."
Translation: I'm trying like hell to keep from bursting into tears at the resurrection of a young man who seven years ago dissolved in front of my eyes. La Russa was required to "keep it together" because, as codified most succinctly by Tom Hanks (in "A League of Their Own"), "There's no crying in baseball."
But there can be redemption. And a touch of glory.
Ronald Reagan, I was once told, said he liked "The Natural" except that he didn't understand why the Dark Lady shoots Roy Hobbs. Reagan, the preternatural optimist, may have had difficulty fathoming tragedy, but no one knows why Hobbs is shot. It is fate, destiny, nemesis. Perhaps the dawning of knowledge, the coming of sin. Or more prosaically, the catastrophe that awaits everyone from a single false move, wrong turn, fatal encounter. Every life has such a moment. What distinguishes us is whether -- and how -- we ever come back.
letters@charleskrauthammer.com
Thursday, August 16, 2007
More Kitchen Updates
I know this isn't nearly as fun as Mullphotos, my shrewd and clever commentary on the lesser issues of the day, or my rants on things that really chap my hide, but it's all consuming right now. I think The Faithful Three are interested in the progress, with one in Iowa being particularly concerned about the legal status of my workers (today I had two lovely Korean men working on the countertop), and Mr. Anonymous Who's Not Really Anonymous wondering what part of the renovation I'm doing myself. That's easy to answer: the check writing.
View from the dining room.
Countertop with inset cooktop.
The sink is installed!
Close up on the sink.
Another view of the cooktop and countertop.
View from the dining room.
Countertop with inset cooktop.
The sink is installed!
Close up on the sink.
Another view of the cooktop and countertop.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Dust, Paint & Chaos, OH MY!
Slowly but surely the kitchen renovation moves forward. I selected a color for the one wall that needs paint. I know it's shocking but I selected (drum roll please)... the same red that's on the walls in my dining room. TA DA! I think it will flow nicely and so does my design/construction guru, Jeremy.
The first couple pictures give a broader view of what I'm living with. It really doesn't bother me, but I post them as a warning to others who might have grand ideas for renovations. It's a lot of grime to live with for weeks on end. But I'm keeping my eye on the prize and getting more and more excited to see my vision come to fruition!
My Living Room
My Dining Room
Cabinets Taking Shape
The Red on the Wall
Note the black tiles on the floor -
Planning a black and white checkerboard floor with
a diamond pattern
The first couple pictures give a broader view of what I'm living with. It really doesn't bother me, but I post them as a warning to others who might have grand ideas for renovations. It's a lot of grime to live with for weeks on end. But I'm keeping my eye on the prize and getting more and more excited to see my vision come to fruition!
My Living Room
My Dining Room
Cabinets Taking Shape
The Red on the Wall
Note the black tiles on the floor -Planning a black and white checkerboard floor with
a diamond pattern
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Kitchen Renovation
She Who Leans to the Left reports a litter-free yard. I await confirmation of consecutive litter-free days before declaring the issue with the dreaded Washington Examiner successfully resolved and closed.
To change things up a bit and take a break from ranting, raving, griping, complaining and making sarcastic observations about the serious issues of the day, I'm sharing pictures of my current kitchen renovation. I'm two weeks into it and have approximately three weeks to go...so I'm told. I don't believe it. Ugh, my pessimism rears its ugly head again. Enjoy!
Kitchen Entrance Before Demolition
Another Kitchen View Before Demolition
Pre-Demolition
Entrance View Post-Demolition
Ceiling View Post-Demolition
Door to Patio Post-DemolitionTuesday, July 31, 2007
Call Me Andy Part II: A Conversation with the Publisher
An update from “Andy” – who admittedly suffers a far more minor trouble than the persecution that too many face in trying to faithfully practice their religion. I’ll be thinking of the folks in China this week, and of the sick and wounded soldiers who are missing out on the ministry of Catholic and Jewish chaplains because of one man’s judgment and hate. (He clearly missed the “open hearts, open minds” class back in Methodist seminary!)
Okay…so my rant, Part II:
True to my promise, I called the city police today. The officer was very nice, but didn’t think it was a matter for them to handle. (I like our city police in general and he reinforced that stance.) He referred me to code enforcement. Code enforcement told me that they don’t consider a newspaper litter. That’s just because it’s not in THEIR yard.
Mr. Friendly Police Officer suggested I call the “head honcho over at that paper.” Since he was the most helpful person I dealt with today, I took his advice. I called the publisher and (glory of glories) his secretary actually let me talk to him, so that was surprising. He assured me it would stop. If it does, that will REALLY be surprising.
Next stop, city hall. If the codes people don’t think it’s litter to get the equivalent of junk mail dropped in my yard, maybe they should. Next week, we write our council.
Keep the faith.
Okay…so my rant, Part II:
True to my promise, I called the city police today. The officer was very nice, but didn’t think it was a matter for them to handle. (I like our city police in general and he reinforced that stance.) He referred me to code enforcement. Code enforcement told me that they don’t consider a newspaper litter. That’s just because it’s not in THEIR yard.
Mr. Friendly Police Officer suggested I call the “head honcho over at that paper.” Since he was the most helpful person I dealt with today, I took his advice. I called the publisher and (glory of glories) his secretary actually let me talk to him, so that was surprising. He assured me it would stop. If it does, that will REALLY be surprising.
Next stop, city hall. If the codes people don’t think it’s litter to get the equivalent of junk mail dropped in my yard, maybe they should. Next week, we write our council.
Keep the faith.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Our Friends the Chinese
Report: China Detains 4 Priests
The Associated PressSunday, July 29, 2007; 12:58 AM
BEIJING -- Four priests from China's underground Roman Catholic church were detained by police, a U.S.-based monitoring group said Sunday.
Three priests were detained Tuesday in the northern region of Inner Mongolia after fleeing their hometown to avoid arrest for refusing to join the state-sanctioned church, the Cardinal Kung Foundation announced. It said the fourth priest was detained in early July in the northern province of Hebei following a motorcycle accident. It gave no details of what charges the priests might face.
China's Catholics are permitted to worship only in churches run by a government-monitored group with no ties to the Vatican. But millions who remain loyal to the pope worship in secret "house churches."
The priests detained in Inner Mongolia's Xilin Gol League region were identified as Liang Aijun, 35, Wang Zhong, 41, and Gao Jinbao, 34. All were from Hebei, according to the Kung Foundation, which is headquartered in Stamford, Conn.
Officers who answered the phone at police headquarters in the cities of Xilinhot and Erlianhot in Xilin Gol said they had no information on the cases. They all refused to give their names.
The fourth priest was Cui Tai, 50, of Hebei's Zhuolu county, the group said.
The Kung Foundation says five bishops and 15 priests or lay people from the underground Catholic church are in jail, while others are under house arrest or police surveillance.
"We urge the Chinese government to take steps immediately to stop all persecution throughout China and release all Roman Catholic bishops and clergy together with those faithful of other faith from prisons," the group's president, Joseph Kung, said in the statement.
The group is named for the late Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pinmei of Shanghai, who spent 30 years in Chinese prisons and died in the United States in 2000 at age 98.
The Associated PressSunday, July 29, 2007; 12:58 AM
BEIJING -- Four priests from China's underground Roman Catholic church were detained by police, a U.S.-based monitoring group said Sunday.
Three priests were detained Tuesday in the northern region of Inner Mongolia after fleeing their hometown to avoid arrest for refusing to join the state-sanctioned church, the Cardinal Kung Foundation announced. It said the fourth priest was detained in early July in the northern province of Hebei following a motorcycle accident. It gave no details of what charges the priests might face.
China's Catholics are permitted to worship only in churches run by a government-monitored group with no ties to the Vatican. But millions who remain loyal to the pope worship in secret "house churches."
The priests detained in Inner Mongolia's Xilin Gol League region were identified as Liang Aijun, 35, Wang Zhong, 41, and Gao Jinbao, 34. All were from Hebei, according to the Kung Foundation, which is headquartered in Stamford, Conn.
Officers who answered the phone at police headquarters in the cities of Xilinhot and Erlianhot in Xilin Gol said they had no information on the cases. They all refused to give their names.
The fourth priest was Cui Tai, 50, of Hebei's Zhuolu county, the group said.
The Kung Foundation says five bishops and 15 priests or lay people from the underground Catholic church are in jail, while others are under house arrest or police surveillance.
"We urge the Chinese government to take steps immediately to stop all persecution throughout China and release all Roman Catholic bishops and clergy together with those faithful of other faith from prisons," the group's president, Joseph Kung, said in the statement.
The group is named for the late Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pinmei of Shanghai, who spent 30 years in Chinese prisons and died in the United States in 2000 at age 98.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Guest Mull: Call Me Andy
Hawkeyegirl welcomes Mullings and Observations on a Semi-Normal Life's first Guest Mull. Our favorite lefty, The Faithful One Who Leans to the Left, shares a rant on her nemesis, The Washington Examiner. Take it away, Lefty!
In the 1998 movie “Funny Farm” the lead character Andy, played by Chevy Chase, became increasingly distracted – some might say obsessed – with getting his “maniacal” mailman to stop at his house. His efforts became increasingly more desperate and bizarre, until the comedy of it started to make me uncomfortable. Well, that was before the Washington Examiner entered my life.
Hi. You might as well call me Andy.
When my then fiancé and I bought our house we thought the previous owner forgot to cancel their paper subscription. No biggie, we thought, they’ll stop coming when the bills stop getting paid. Silly us; the paper is FREE.
So, I asked a neighbor how to stop the daily delivery of a paper I don’t subscribe to and I don’t want. His response, verbatim: “Good luck.”
And so began my odyssey.
It took me a while to get around to that first call to circulation, but I did call in the spring. The flowers and grass were coming in and the ugly, unwanted paper really stood out each morning. A cheerful and helpful customer service rep answered the phone and told me the delivery would stop within the next five days. Naïve and optimistic, I’ve always been dreamy this way – ask Hawkeyegirl, I’m the hopeful “Lefty” of which she often speaks. (Hawkeyegirl editorial comment: Those wacky lefties. They need pessimistic and realistic friends like Hawkeyegirl to make it in this world!)
Alas, a week later, I was still getting the paper. ("Curse words!" as my friend would say.)
So I called back. This time a nice lady stayed on the phone with me and walked me through the process. She said the delivery person made a mistake. She made a note in the computer and the paper, miraculously, stopped for almost two months. And then, one hot summer morning, it was back. Coiled in its plastic wrapper at the end of the drive, the dreaded Washington Examiner waited for its daily toss in the recycle bin with taunting air. I was almost afraid to pick it up.
I called again. More direct this time. “What do I have to do to get you to stop littering my yard with that thing?” The apologies were profuse…and empty. Like the paper boy in “Better Off Dead” the paper still stalks me with dogged determination.
Yesterday, in a fit of frustration, I started looking for alternative outlets to release my frustrations upon. I googled “Stop Examiner Delivery” and found – with little surprise and dwindling hope of a solution – that I am not alone. The Baltimore Sun and City Paper have a series of articles on frustrated consumers desperate to stop delivery of this menace. (The Balt Sun page is down, but it is referenced in these links.)
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=12692
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=12887
http://penpressclub.org/2006/11/court-to-rule-on-examiner-distribution#links
Here’s the deal. The examiner delivers free to “affluent” neighborhoods (although that must be loosely defined given that I’m receiving it!) and then reports circulation numbers to its advertisers that include these free deliveries. The advertisers, one must assume, think they have one heck of a deal, with circulation so high in these desirable neighborhoods. In return, the Examiner pays a bunch of folks to deliver the paper every morning – since every house in the stated areas are unofficially subscribers, and none have actually asked for the paper, there is absolutely no incentive for the driver to check the opt outs as he goes. Just drive and toss – he’ll get paid no matter what.
So who wins? The advertiser certainly doesn’t. Check my neighborhood on trash day and you’ll see the bins full of unwrapped Examiners – many waiting to add to the trash heaps of local landfills. I mean really, who’s going to open, layout and bind for recycling a paper they didn’t even ask to receive?!
The consumer doesn’t. They have litter in their yards five days a week and no recourse to stop the onslaught.
The environment doesn’t. (Hey, I acknowledged being a lefty.) These people are killing trees and littering my yard with them. It makes me sad. (Hawkeyegirl editorial comment: I'm not a lefty and I recycle. It's the right thing to do.)
That leaves the Examiner and its drivers. Yeah, I guess they win. But I am trying to stop that – starting right now.
I have written a letter to the advertising department, VP of circulation and editor. I gave notice that, starting Monday, I’m contacting all their advertisers to complain and urge them to disassociate with this disreputable business practice. I plan to alert my homeowners association and see if we can start some sort of petition to boycott the advertisers. I wrote to stopexaminer@yahoo.com and asked for advice on my campaign. I tried to find Joel Levin to see if his restraining order gambit worked. (I can’t find him, if any of our lawyers friends know how to track him down, let Hawkeyegirl know.) I sent letters to two different web sites that are covering the Examiner and their delivery issues, hoping a kindred spirit will know of some tricks to help me.
And if I get a paper on Tuesday, I’m also calling the city police and reporting them for littering. Hey, it might not work. But then again, I’m desperate.
Call me Andy.
In the 1998 movie “Funny Farm” the lead character Andy, played by Chevy Chase, became increasingly distracted – some might say obsessed – with getting his “maniacal” mailman to stop at his house. His efforts became increasingly more desperate and bizarre, until the comedy of it started to make me uncomfortable. Well, that was before the Washington Examiner entered my life.
Hi. You might as well call me Andy.
When my then fiancé and I bought our house we thought the previous owner forgot to cancel their paper subscription. No biggie, we thought, they’ll stop coming when the bills stop getting paid. Silly us; the paper is FREE.
So, I asked a neighbor how to stop the daily delivery of a paper I don’t subscribe to and I don’t want. His response, verbatim: “Good luck.”
And so began my odyssey.
It took me a while to get around to that first call to circulation, but I did call in the spring. The flowers and grass were coming in and the ugly, unwanted paper really stood out each morning. A cheerful and helpful customer service rep answered the phone and told me the delivery would stop within the next five days. Naïve and optimistic, I’ve always been dreamy this way – ask Hawkeyegirl, I’m the hopeful “Lefty” of which she often speaks. (Hawkeyegirl editorial comment: Those wacky lefties. They need pessimistic and realistic friends like Hawkeyegirl to make it in this world!)
Alas, a week later, I was still getting the paper. ("Curse words!" as my friend would say.)
So I called back. This time a nice lady stayed on the phone with me and walked me through the process. She said the delivery person made a mistake. She made a note in the computer and the paper, miraculously, stopped for almost two months. And then, one hot summer morning, it was back. Coiled in its plastic wrapper at the end of the drive, the dreaded Washington Examiner waited for its daily toss in the recycle bin with taunting air. I was almost afraid to pick it up.
I called again. More direct this time. “What do I have to do to get you to stop littering my yard with that thing?” The apologies were profuse…and empty. Like the paper boy in “Better Off Dead” the paper still stalks me with dogged determination.
Yesterday, in a fit of frustration, I started looking for alternative outlets to release my frustrations upon. I googled “Stop Examiner Delivery” and found – with little surprise and dwindling hope of a solution – that I am not alone. The Baltimore Sun and City Paper have a series of articles on frustrated consumers desperate to stop delivery of this menace. (The Balt Sun page is down, but it is referenced in these links.)
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=12692
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=12887
http://penpressclub.org/2006/11/court-to-rule-on-examiner-distribution#links
Here’s the deal. The examiner delivers free to “affluent” neighborhoods (although that must be loosely defined given that I’m receiving it!) and then reports circulation numbers to its advertisers that include these free deliveries. The advertisers, one must assume, think they have one heck of a deal, with circulation so high in these desirable neighborhoods. In return, the Examiner pays a bunch of folks to deliver the paper every morning – since every house in the stated areas are unofficially subscribers, and none have actually asked for the paper, there is absolutely no incentive for the driver to check the opt outs as he goes. Just drive and toss – he’ll get paid no matter what.
So who wins? The advertiser certainly doesn’t. Check my neighborhood on trash day and you’ll see the bins full of unwrapped Examiners – many waiting to add to the trash heaps of local landfills. I mean really, who’s going to open, layout and bind for recycling a paper they didn’t even ask to receive?!
The consumer doesn’t. They have litter in their yards five days a week and no recourse to stop the onslaught.
The environment doesn’t. (Hey, I acknowledged being a lefty.) These people are killing trees and littering my yard with them. It makes me sad. (Hawkeyegirl editorial comment: I'm not a lefty and I recycle. It's the right thing to do.)
That leaves the Examiner and its drivers. Yeah, I guess they win. But I am trying to stop that – starting right now.
I have written a letter to the advertising department, VP of circulation and editor. I gave notice that, starting Monday, I’m contacting all their advertisers to complain and urge them to disassociate with this disreputable business practice. I plan to alert my homeowners association and see if we can start some sort of petition to boycott the advertisers. I wrote to stopexaminer@yahoo.com and asked for advice on my campaign. I tried to find Joel Levin to see if his restraining order gambit worked. (I can’t find him, if any of our lawyers friends know how to track him down, let Hawkeyegirl know.) I sent letters to two different web sites that are covering the Examiner and their delivery issues, hoping a kindred spirit will know of some tricks to help me.
And if I get a paper on Tuesday, I’m also calling the city police and reporting them for littering. Hey, it might not work. But then again, I’m desperate.
Call me Andy.
Friday, July 27, 2007
It Happens More Often Than You Think
Congressmen Seek Chaplain Probe
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 27, 2007; 11:02 AM
A bipartisan group of House members is trying to force Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to order an inspector general's investigation into allegations of religious bias and mismanagement at the spiritual ministry department in the nation's largest clinical research hospital.
The spiritual ministry office, whose chaplains tend to the spiritual needs of thousands of patients at the National Institutes of Health's clinical center in Bethesda, has been the target of complaints by current and former chaplains about religious intolerance and poor leadership.
Two chaplains filed complaints with the Equal Opportunity Commission, and a third is suing HHS, all alleging that NIH officials retaliated against them when they spoke up, inventing reasons to terminate them.
This month, HHS brought in outside experts to conduct a review of the department. But, in a letter this month to Leavitt, 14 House members rejected that probe as inadequate, saying that they had not received assurances from NIH that it would look into the conduct of the former head of the spiritual ministry department, the Rev. O. Ray Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald was demoted in April after the EEOC ordered the hospital to reinstate the Rev. Henry Heffernan, a Catholic chaplain who had been fired after accusing Fitzgerald of anti-Catholic bias. The EEOC ruled that Heffernan was the target of "discriminatory and retaliatory animus."
Rabbi Reeve Brenner, a chaplain who was fired after supporting Heffernan in his case against NIH, recently settled his complaint with the EEOC. Brenner declined to reveal the terms, but in a statement yesterday, HHS said that the case has been settled "to the mutual benefit of the parties" and that Brenner is no longer employed at NIH.
A third chaplain, Greek Orthodox lay minister Edar Rogler, has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Maryland, alleging that she was also ousted after testifying to the EEOC that Fitzgerald made anti-Catholic comments to her and referred to Brenner by an anti-Semitic slur.
Rep. Steven R. Rothman (D-N.J.), who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, has inserted language into the Department of Labor-HHS appropriations bill, which was approved last week by the full House, authorizing an investigation of the department by the inspector general.
"I have no confidence in their internal review," Rothman said this week. "It is just outrageous that the NIH could be tolerant of this kind of bigotry in its own ranks and in its own building."
In its statement, HHS defended its investigation, saying that a working group of the NIH Advisory Board for Clinical Research conducted a detailed and independent review of the spiritual ministry department, including its management and oversight. The group's draft report is due in September, the statement said.
But a particular focus of House members' ire is Fitzgerald, a Methodist minister who remains on the staff of the chaplain's department. Fitzgerald did not return calls for comment.
"While Rev. Fitzgerald has been replaced as Director of the Spiritual Ministry Department, we were distressed to learn that he is still employed by NIH as a chaplain," said the letter to Leavitt, dated July 9. It was signed by Rothman and, among others, Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). "We do not believe that the NIH management has acted sufficiently to remedy this serious matter," the letter said.
Rothman also questioned why Fitzgerald had a prominent role at an NIH ceremony last week honoring U.S. Public Health Service employees. Fitzgerald gave the invocation and the benediction, according to the program and NIH employees who were present.
"It is outrageous, and, to me, it indicates to me a monumental lack of judgment on the part of the people at the NIH . . . and a slap in the face to Congress," Rothman said.
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 27, 2007; 11:02 AM
A bipartisan group of House members is trying to force Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to order an inspector general's investigation into allegations of religious bias and mismanagement at the spiritual ministry department in the nation's largest clinical research hospital.
The spiritual ministry office, whose chaplains tend to the spiritual needs of thousands of patients at the National Institutes of Health's clinical center in Bethesda, has been the target of complaints by current and former chaplains about religious intolerance and poor leadership.
Two chaplains filed complaints with the Equal Opportunity Commission, and a third is suing HHS, all alleging that NIH officials retaliated against them when they spoke up, inventing reasons to terminate them.
This month, HHS brought in outside experts to conduct a review of the department. But, in a letter this month to Leavitt, 14 House members rejected that probe as inadequate, saying that they had not received assurances from NIH that it would look into the conduct of the former head of the spiritual ministry department, the Rev. O. Ray Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald was demoted in April after the EEOC ordered the hospital to reinstate the Rev. Henry Heffernan, a Catholic chaplain who had been fired after accusing Fitzgerald of anti-Catholic bias. The EEOC ruled that Heffernan was the target of "discriminatory and retaliatory animus."
Rabbi Reeve Brenner, a chaplain who was fired after supporting Heffernan in his case against NIH, recently settled his complaint with the EEOC. Brenner declined to reveal the terms, but in a statement yesterday, HHS said that the case has been settled "to the mutual benefit of the parties" and that Brenner is no longer employed at NIH.
A third chaplain, Greek Orthodox lay minister Edar Rogler, has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Maryland, alleging that she was also ousted after testifying to the EEOC that Fitzgerald made anti-Catholic comments to her and referred to Brenner by an anti-Semitic slur.
Rep. Steven R. Rothman (D-N.J.), who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, has inserted language into the Department of Labor-HHS appropriations bill, which was approved last week by the full House, authorizing an investigation of the department by the inspector general.
"I have no confidence in their internal review," Rothman said this week. "It is just outrageous that the NIH could be tolerant of this kind of bigotry in its own ranks and in its own building."
In its statement, HHS defended its investigation, saying that a working group of the NIH Advisory Board for Clinical Research conducted a detailed and independent review of the spiritual ministry department, including its management and oversight. The group's draft report is due in September, the statement said.
But a particular focus of House members' ire is Fitzgerald, a Methodist minister who remains on the staff of the chaplain's department. Fitzgerald did not return calls for comment.
"While Rev. Fitzgerald has been replaced as Director of the Spiritual Ministry Department, we were distressed to learn that he is still employed by NIH as a chaplain," said the letter to Leavitt, dated July 9. It was signed by Rothman and, among others, Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). "We do not believe that the NIH management has acted sufficiently to remedy this serious matter," the letter said.
Rothman also questioned why Fitzgerald had a prominent role at an NIH ceremony last week honoring U.S. Public Health Service employees. Fitzgerald gave the invocation and the benediction, according to the program and NIH employees who were present.
"It is outrageous, and, to me, it indicates to me a monumental lack of judgment on the part of the people at the NIH . . . and a slap in the face to Congress," Rothman said.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Pearl Harbor
The Battleship MissouriPearl Harbor
July 7, 2007
July 7, 2007
Flag Over the Arizona MemorialJuly 7, 2007
I thought I'd share a few more pictures from Hawaii. Visiting Pearl Harbor was one of the highlights of the trip. I think I'll use the list technique again to share my observations:1. Two quarts of oil leak from the USS Arizona per day. Sixty six years after it sank into the harbor, it forms a small, filmy rainbow of colors on the surface of the water. Some environmentalists say it should be cleaned up and the nearly 500,000 gallons of oil remaining below removed. But veterans sharply disagree, saying the oil is like a living reminder of the souls forever entombed in the ship; it's their tears floating to the surface. I'm not going to argue with them.
2. By far Japanese tourists made up the largest group of visitors. It's a very interesting experience to watch our Japanese friends tour the museum, listen to the audio tour narrated by World War II veteran (and Oscar winning actor - those were the days! Actors serving their country!) Ernest Borgnine, view the 25 minute historical film visitors see before boarding the boat out to the memorial, and respectfully tread the hallowed space above the USS Arizona.
3. My friend Ashley is married to an Air Force officer, so we had access to all the military bases on Oahu. As we drove through the restricted areas of Pearl Harbor, I noted two ships docked in the harbor. One was a Japanese ship with a giant rising sun flag flying high. Having just left the memorial, it was a stunning sight! I wonder if any American (or Japanese for that matter) on December 8, 1941, would have believed that our two countries would one day, in the not too distant future, be the strongest of allies? Think of it this way: Do you think in 60 years ANY middle eastern country will be one of our strongest allies? If you are an optimist, please share.
4. At the far end of the USS Arizona Memorial is a wall with the names of all 1,177 men who died and are forever entombed in the USS Arizona. It's a moving sight. They were so young and full of life and hope. Off to the side is a list of Arizona survivors who, upon passing, requested that their ashes be interred inside the barbette of gun turret four.
5. The night before the attack, on December 6, there was a competition between the bands of the different ships and armed forces branches stationed on Oahu. The USS Arizona band won the competition and was scheduled to compete in the next part of the competition on December 20. All 21 members of the USS Arizona band died on December 7. The trophy was posthumously awarded to the Arizona band by members of the other bands. The trophy sits in a case at the museum.
Enjoy today and take time to think of the men who died that warm, sunny morning on an island in paradise.
Monday, July 23, 2007
A Talking Snowman, 2 Rednecks and a Woman in the John
The fodder for my visceral and sarcastic commentary runs rampant this evening. But I'm trying to turn over a new leaf - be a better, less bitter and negative person - so I won't be commenting on the CNN/YouTube Democrat presidential debate. YouTube?! Pandering to the high school, college and communist set I see. Consider this description of the event from a major internet news site: "A talking snowman, two rednecks and a woman speaking from her bathroom were among the odd, Internet-age twists to the oldest forum in politics — a debate."
Oh, and this...can't...stop...laughing: During the debate, Clinton refused to call herself a liberal. "I prefer the word progressive, which has a real American meaning ...," she said. Huh? I'll tell you what has a real American meaning: Kiss My Grits. Flo was so much more entertaining that Alice or Vera. She had moxie.
Moving on, I read this great little ditty in The Politico this morning. I sent it to a few people, but am pasting it in on M&O for my legions of readers to enjoy.
Can the butter cow save Obama?
By: Roger Simon July 18, 2007 07:21 PM EST
The Politico
I know what you are asking: Is the Barack Obama campaign really over? Answer: Maybe.
He made a cataclysmic mistake this week, a rookie mistake, a mistake that will test his mettle as a candidate. In a story published Wednesday in USA Today, reporter Jill Lawrence revealed that Obama recently urged a small-town crowd to grow their own fuel "right here in Illinois." He was in Iowa. But that was not the mistake. Presidential candidates often do not know where they are. This is why they have drivers.
The real mistake came in a later exchange with Lawrence, in which Obama had a chance to get his bearings and recover. Instead, he blew it. Here is how the exchange went: Lawrence: "Is Iowa like Southern Illinois?" Obama: "That's exactly right." I know what you are asking: Isn't Iowa exactly like Southern Illinois? No. And a presidential candidate should never, ever say one part of the country is "exactly" like another part of the country. It invites resentment from both places.
People in Golconda and Metropolis and Mounds are probably saying right now, "Does Obama really think we are exactly like a bunch of Iowans?" And people in Clarinda and Decorah and Algona are probably saying, "Does Obama really think we are exactly like a bunch of Little Egyptians?" (Little Egypt is what Southern Illinois is called by people who know the difference between Southern Illinois and Iowa.)
I know what you are asking: What should Obama have said? Here is how the exchange should have gone: Lawrence: "Is Iowa like Southern Illinois?" Obama: "Ha, ha, Jill, very funny. As you know, Jill, each place in America is unique with uniquely wonderful people. Iowa is unique and wonderful, and Southern Illinois is unique and wonderful. They are two different places, but each is unique. And wonderful." Lawrence: "Have you been drinking ethanol?"
I know what you are asking: How can Obama recover? He can go to the Iowa State Fair and eat stuff. Lots of stuff. While the press has been going nuts over the Republican straw poll to be held in Ames, Iowa, on Aug. 11, the far more significant political event is the Iowa State Fair, to be held Aug. 9-19 in Des Moines. The straw poll will attract 50,000 people at most, and they will show up only if bribed by the candidates with free food, drink, entertainment and tattoos.
The state fair will attract around a million people, and nobody has to bribe them to attend. And while the Ames straw poll has been held only four times in the past 30 years, this will be the 153rd year of the state fair. At the state fair, candidates from both parties wander freely, talk to people, watch the hog calling, admire the needlepoint competition and, of course, view the Butter Cow.
I know what you are asking: What is the Butter Cow? The Butter Cow is a cow carved out of 550 pounds of butter and kept in a refrigerated, glass-enclosed room in the Agriculture Building on the state fair grounds. Long lines form to get in. In the past, there has also been a Butter Elvis and a Butter John Wayne. In 1999, I stood in line to see the Butter Last Supper, which, though featuring only eight of the 12 Apostles, was still pretty extraordinary. The Butter Cow remains the gold standard of dairy sculpture in America, however.
I know what you are asking: What is the significance of the Butter Cow? To me, the Butter Cow is a metaphor for politics itself. It is symbolic, yet concrete. It is glorious, yet down-to-earth. It is inspirational, yet … buttery. And what Barack Obama needs to do is go to the Iowa State Fair and say, "This is a unique and wonderful Butter Cow. And I am pleased to be here in Iowa, which is nothing like Southern Illinois. Though both places are unique. And wonderful." Then he should eat something.
I know what you are asking: What should he eat? Anything on a stick. When George Pataki, who was then the governor of New York, visited the Iowa State Fair last year, he said: "We have a great state fair in New York, but we don't have pork on a stick."
I know what you are asking: What else can I get on a stick in Iowa? I know a straight line when I hear it, but food on a stick is no laughing matter in Iowa. So at the Iowa State Fair, Sen. Obama will be able to sample such stick delicacies as corn dogs, Cajun chicken, caramel apples, chili dogs, cotton candy, turkey drumsticks, nutty bars, chocolate cheesecake, hot bologna, chocolate-covered bananas, taffy, deep-fried pickles, deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried Snickers, meatballs, Ho Hos and fudge puppies.
I know what you are asking: Deep-fried Twinkies? What should they do, poach them? When Joe Lieberman went to the state fair, he avoided the many pork products because he is an Orthodox Jew, but he bought a fried Twinkie on a stick for $3 after his state director assured him it was kosher. "Delicious," Lieberman said after consuming it. If he also ate a deep-fried Snickers and a deep-fried pickle, history does not record it.
I know what you are asking: Is there anything in Iowa they won't deep fry? Not really. At the Iowa State Fair, if it doesn't move, they will deep fry it. So final state fair advice for Obama and the other presidential candidates: Keep walking!
Oh, and this...can't...stop...laughing: During the debate, Clinton refused to call herself a liberal. "I prefer the word progressive, which has a real American meaning ...," she said. Huh? I'll tell you what has a real American meaning: Kiss My Grits. Flo was so much more entertaining that Alice or Vera. She had moxie.
Moving on, I read this great little ditty in The Politico this morning. I sent it to a few people, but am pasting it in on M&O for my legions of readers to enjoy.
Can the butter cow save Obama?
By: Roger Simon July 18, 2007 07:21 PM EST
The Politico
I know what you are asking: Is the Barack Obama campaign really over? Answer: Maybe.
He made a cataclysmic mistake this week, a rookie mistake, a mistake that will test his mettle as a candidate. In a story published Wednesday in USA Today, reporter Jill Lawrence revealed that Obama recently urged a small-town crowd to grow their own fuel "right here in Illinois." He was in Iowa. But that was not the mistake. Presidential candidates often do not know where they are. This is why they have drivers.
The real mistake came in a later exchange with Lawrence, in which Obama had a chance to get his bearings and recover. Instead, he blew it. Here is how the exchange went: Lawrence: "Is Iowa like Southern Illinois?" Obama: "That's exactly right." I know what you are asking: Isn't Iowa exactly like Southern Illinois? No. And a presidential candidate should never, ever say one part of the country is "exactly" like another part of the country. It invites resentment from both places.
People in Golconda and Metropolis and Mounds are probably saying right now, "Does Obama really think we are exactly like a bunch of Iowans?" And people in Clarinda and Decorah and Algona are probably saying, "Does Obama really think we are exactly like a bunch of Little Egyptians?" (Little Egypt is what Southern Illinois is called by people who know the difference between Southern Illinois and Iowa.)
I know what you are asking: What should Obama have said? Here is how the exchange should have gone: Lawrence: "Is Iowa like Southern Illinois?" Obama: "Ha, ha, Jill, very funny. As you know, Jill, each place in America is unique with uniquely wonderful people. Iowa is unique and wonderful, and Southern Illinois is unique and wonderful. They are two different places, but each is unique. And wonderful." Lawrence: "Have you been drinking ethanol?"
I know what you are asking: How can Obama recover? He can go to the Iowa State Fair and eat stuff. Lots of stuff. While the press has been going nuts over the Republican straw poll to be held in Ames, Iowa, on Aug. 11, the far more significant political event is the Iowa State Fair, to be held Aug. 9-19 in Des Moines. The straw poll will attract 50,000 people at most, and they will show up only if bribed by the candidates with free food, drink, entertainment and tattoos.
The state fair will attract around a million people, and nobody has to bribe them to attend. And while the Ames straw poll has been held only four times in the past 30 years, this will be the 153rd year of the state fair. At the state fair, candidates from both parties wander freely, talk to people, watch the hog calling, admire the needlepoint competition and, of course, view the Butter Cow.
I know what you are asking: What is the Butter Cow? The Butter Cow is a cow carved out of 550 pounds of butter and kept in a refrigerated, glass-enclosed room in the Agriculture Building on the state fair grounds. Long lines form to get in. In the past, there has also been a Butter Elvis and a Butter John Wayne. In 1999, I stood in line to see the Butter Last Supper, which, though featuring only eight of the 12 Apostles, was still pretty extraordinary. The Butter Cow remains the gold standard of dairy sculpture in America, however.
I know what you are asking: What is the significance of the Butter Cow? To me, the Butter Cow is a metaphor for politics itself. It is symbolic, yet concrete. It is glorious, yet down-to-earth. It is inspirational, yet … buttery. And what Barack Obama needs to do is go to the Iowa State Fair and say, "This is a unique and wonderful Butter Cow. And I am pleased to be here in Iowa, which is nothing like Southern Illinois. Though both places are unique. And wonderful." Then he should eat something.
I know what you are asking: What should he eat? Anything on a stick. When George Pataki, who was then the governor of New York, visited the Iowa State Fair last year, he said: "We have a great state fair in New York, but we don't have pork on a stick."
I know what you are asking: What else can I get on a stick in Iowa? I know a straight line when I hear it, but food on a stick is no laughing matter in Iowa. So at the Iowa State Fair, Sen. Obama will be able to sample such stick delicacies as corn dogs, Cajun chicken, caramel apples, chili dogs, cotton candy, turkey drumsticks, nutty bars, chocolate cheesecake, hot bologna, chocolate-covered bananas, taffy, deep-fried pickles, deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried Snickers, meatballs, Ho Hos and fudge puppies.
I know what you are asking: Deep-fried Twinkies? What should they do, poach them? When Joe Lieberman went to the state fair, he avoided the many pork products because he is an Orthodox Jew, but he bought a fried Twinkie on a stick for $3 after his state director assured him it was kosher. "Delicious," Lieberman said after consuming it. If he also ate a deep-fried Snickers and a deep-fried pickle, history does not record it.
I know what you are asking: Is there anything in Iowa they won't deep fry? Not really. At the Iowa State Fair, if it doesn't move, they will deep fry it. So final state fair advice for Obama and the other presidential candidates: Keep walking!
Friday, July 20, 2007
A Hawaiian Apology
Scenic Point Near The Blowhole
Sunrise in HawaiiJuly 9, 2007
Work, work, work. Ultimate Frisbee. Vacation! Laziness. These are my excuses for being the worst pseudo blogger in the blogosphere. To begin to make up for it, I will mull my vacation to Hawaii. Form of a list!
1. When you're in Hawaii (I was on the island of Oahu), it's easy to forget you're still in the United States. It's tropical, the streets and highways are named for island kings and queens, and vowels dominate the language. That is until you see Ron Paul For President '08 signs. Everywhere. Random. If you know who Ron Paul is, drink one mai tai and proceed to the next sentence. If you know where Ron Paul is from, I won't mess with you.
2. To correctly pronounce Hawaiian words, you need to pronounce every vowel. By the end of my trip I was getting pretty good. Hey, if I can pick up Hawaiian in just 6 or 7 days, think how quickly I could slide back into French. I mean, I took 4 1/2 years of French back in the day. So I'm in the car with my friend Ashley and I see a sign on a store. I proudly pronounce the name of the store in my best Hawaiian, turning a one syllable word into a multiple syllabic song. Ashely says, "Yah, that's pronounced Frame Shop."
3. When palm trees blow in the wind, it sounds like rain. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why when I heard it raining in the middle of the night, it was so dry in the morning.
4. Hawaii has malls just like we do. But when you look up, you see sky.
5. I climbed all the way to the top of Diamond Head and all I got were sunburned calves.
6. Fitzarita: One bottle Corona. One can 7-Up. One can frozen LimeAid. Half LimeAid can's worth of tequilla. Stir. Pour over ice. Consume.
7. Boogie boarding. The sand! The sand! It ended up...everywhere.
8. We went into a surf shop on the North Shore. As Ashley perused some snorkeling items, I wandered around looking at the boards, swimsuits, flip flops, etc. Then I saw a glass case. In the glass case were the most beautiful blown glass objects - they looked like little pipes or mini horns. "Huh," I thought, "I wonder what the surfers use those for. They're pretty delicate, but maybe they attach them to the boards like we attached friendship beads to our shoes when I was in the fifth grade." Then Ashley finished her purchase and we left. I didn't think about it again until a recent conversation with someone from Florida. Bongs. They were bongs.
9. I developed an itchy, red rash on my feet. Stopped at a drugstore for Benadryl. I woke up one morning with a terrible toothache. Spent two hours at Ashley's dentist. After $187, he couldn't find anything wrong. It eventually went away. But geez, she has a gorgeous dentist. I might get a toothache next time I visit so I can see Dr. Hannah again. I fried the front of my legs my last morning on the beach. I flew out that evening and everyone stared at me in the terminal. My lobster legs were the source of great pain and sympathetic looks.
10. My last morning on the beach at Bellows Air Force Station the lifeguard cleared the entire shoreline of swimmers because he saw a hammerhead shark. How the hell did he see a shark from his David Hasselhoff-like post I will never know, but he jumped on his four wheeler and drove up and down with a megaphone yelling, "Out of the water now! Shark sighting!" Ashley emailed me today that a 36 year old man was attacked by a shark on that same beach! Crazy.
11. I saw a girl with an Iowa State shirt. I was disgusted.
12. I saw a kid with a University of Iowa shirt at Pearl Harbor. I was enchanted.
Other things I loved: Shave Ice, plate meals of shrimp and rice, fresh fish tacos, Shark Bite!, donning David's flight suit and Shaka helmet and quoting Top Gun, turtles bobbing up and down at dawn, Pearl Harbor, and spending time with a longtime and dear friend. I hope this helps make up for my laziness. No Randy, it wasn't you!Mahalo. Aloha.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
My Girls
BentPinky Photos of the Day
My Niece - Miss Kate
My Niece - Miss MaryIt was Kate's big day on Sunday and she enjoyed every minute of it. It was tough for little Mary, but she got a new dress, shoes and a rosary bracelet, so things could have been worse. I told her it would be her turn in just two years. When we left the church Monsignor Chiodo asked her if she was next. "In two years, Father," she said. Priceless.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Hello Again
I've been swamped - figuratively and literally - and apologize for my long absence. I appreciate all the ideas generated from my request for ideas.
I was in Iowa last weekend and feel like I'm still drying out. It is a W-E-T spring back home. The fields, at least in my neck of the woods, are saturated. The ditches are more like moats. It's almost reminiscent of 1993, but not quite.
While home I read in the paper that Sen. Barak Hussein Obama took a jab at Senator Grassley while stumping in Waterloo. How bush league can this guy get? I could write a lot about this subject, but I have to run. Will be back with more thoughts.
I was in Iowa last weekend and feel like I'm still drying out. It is a W-E-T spring back home. The fields, at least in my neck of the woods, are saturated. The ditches are more like moats. It's almost reminiscent of 1993, but not quite.
While home I read in the paper that Sen. Barak Hussein Obama took a jab at Senator Grassley while stumping in Waterloo. How bush league can this guy get? I could write a lot about this subject, but I have to run. Will be back with more thoughts.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Inspire Me
I can't think of anything to Mullserve. I know! I'm at a complete loss. So let's try something new: Submit some topics - keeping in mind the Lloyd Dobler Effect - and I'll see if I can muster up some Mullservations. Inspire me.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
That's SOME Hair!
This cracks me up, especially since one of the Faithful Two is from DeWitt.
Quad City barbers call Edwards' $400 haircut 'impossible'
By Bill Wundram Thursday, April 19, 2007
Quad City Times
Quad-City barbers put down their shears and sputtered words like “preposterous” and “impossible” Wednesday when they heard of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards spending $400 for a haircut. In the Quad-Cities, $10 or $12 is about average.
“If I charged $400 for a haircut, they’d come after me with white coats,” said Leo Fier, who has been cutting hair for 49 years at his shop in DeWitt, Iowa.
Edwards’ campaign committee filed a financial report with the Federal Election Commission noting that the White House hopeful paid $400 for haircuts in California and New Hampshire, and $248 for salon services in Dubuque, Iowa.
“That’s impossible, $400,” said Don “Dutchman” Braafhart, who runs Dutchman’s Barbershop in Davenport.
Next time he’s in town, Edwards would get a real bargain at Davenport Barber College, where supervised student barbers charge only $7.50.Even some Quad-Citians who allow their locks to grow long are shocked by a $400 haircut.
“My Santa Claus long hair is my trademark,” said Terry Lunardi, Davenport restaurateur. “I just had my hair cut Monday for $10. And I have a lot of hair to cut.”
Kurt Ullrich, a Scott County deputy auditor whose hair runs long, said, “Edwards and I are of a similar age and I took note of his hair when I visited briefly with him in Davenport. His hair is thick, full and beautifully coiffed, whereas mine is counter-culture long. Sixteen dollars is the most I’ve ever paid for a haircut.”
There are a few Quad-City shops that rise above the $10 average. A man’s haircut may range from $18 to $42 at some specialty salons. Operators at two of those shops said they would welcome Edwards, and not charge his campaign $400.A barbaric price for cutting hair may not be unusual. Jay Ledford, who runs Cut Rite, Moline, with his dad, Jay Sr., insists that a number of years ago, President Clinton had his hair cut in Davenport. “I can’t remember the barber, but he only charged him $150,” Ledford said.
Quad City barbers call Edwards' $400 haircut 'impossible'
By Bill Wundram Thursday, April 19, 2007
Quad City Times
Quad-City barbers put down their shears and sputtered words like “preposterous” and “impossible” Wednesday when they heard of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards spending $400 for a haircut. In the Quad-Cities, $10 or $12 is about average.
“If I charged $400 for a haircut, they’d come after me with white coats,” said Leo Fier, who has been cutting hair for 49 years at his shop in DeWitt, Iowa.
Edwards’ campaign committee filed a financial report with the Federal Election Commission noting that the White House hopeful paid $400 for haircuts in California and New Hampshire, and $248 for salon services in Dubuque, Iowa.
“That’s impossible, $400,” said Don “Dutchman” Braafhart, who runs Dutchman’s Barbershop in Davenport.
Next time he’s in town, Edwards would get a real bargain at Davenport Barber College, where supervised student barbers charge only $7.50.Even some Quad-Citians who allow their locks to grow long are shocked by a $400 haircut.
“My Santa Claus long hair is my trademark,” said Terry Lunardi, Davenport restaurateur. “I just had my hair cut Monday for $10. And I have a lot of hair to cut.”
Kurt Ullrich, a Scott County deputy auditor whose hair runs long, said, “Edwards and I are of a similar age and I took note of his hair when I visited briefly with him in Davenport. His hair is thick, full and beautifully coiffed, whereas mine is counter-culture long. Sixteen dollars is the most I’ve ever paid for a haircut.”
There are a few Quad-City shops that rise above the $10 average. A man’s haircut may range from $18 to $42 at some specialty salons. Operators at two of those shops said they would welcome Edwards, and not charge his campaign $400.A barbaric price for cutting hair may not be unusual. Jay Ledford, who runs Cut Rite, Moline, with his dad, Jay Sr., insists that a number of years ago, President Clinton had his hair cut in Davenport. “I can’t remember the barber, but he only charged him $150,” Ledford said.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Fourth State of Matter
I was a sophomore at the University of Iowa on November 1, 1991. It was a cold, gray Friday. I remember sleet, then soft snow. It was All Saint's Day. My last class concluded at 3:30. Mass wasn't until 5:00, so I trudged home to find a few minutes of warmth and rest. Past Van Allen Hall, around the corner and past Phillips Hall, then north up Clinton Street to number 521. And the snow kept falling.
On that day at 3:42 p.m., Gang Lu, a graduate student in physics, shot and killed 5 people, including 4 faculty members of the U of I Department of Physics.
I've always admired an essay written by Jo An Beard called The Fourth State of Matter in which she shares her personal loss and recollection of the day.
On that day at 3:42 p.m., Gang Lu, a graduate student in physics, shot and killed 5 people, including 4 faculty members of the U of I Department of Physics.
I've always admired an essay written by Jo An Beard called The Fourth State of Matter in which she shares her personal loss and recollection of the day.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The Lloyd Dobler Effect
Lloyd Dobler knew exactly what he didn't want to do with his life. He didn't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. He didn't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, he didn't want to do that.
Despite the pressure of dating a pretty, overachieving, fellowship winning, speechifying valedictorian with a disapproving father, he held steady and set his sights on what he excelled at: spending time with Diane, the speechifying valedictorian, and kick boxing. I loved that about Lloyd.
Here's where I'm going with this: "I'm not going to form an opinion on every mind numbing event and issue covered by the mind numbing American media machine. I don't want to write, talk or speculate on them. I don't want to write about what someone else has written. I don't want to talk about topics discussed on talk radio and I don't want to speculate on what people mean when they write and talk about mind numbing events and issues. You know, as an amateurish amateur blogger and a regular person, I don't want to do that."
So here's a list of topics that I'm not going to write, talk or speculate on:
1. Don Imus and the general question of what constitutes an acceptable apology or act of contrition these days.
2. Sanjaya: His hair, singing ability, conspiracies, teeny boppers, and the general media obsession with the kid and his potential to bring down American Idol. Oh, and I'm not going to write about all the brain power, time and manpower that has been devoted to covering the "story" that is Sanjaya.
3. The religious right evangelical crazies and how they've co-opted Christianity (hat tip The Tontine's Des Moines Outpost) and the party of Lincoln and Reagan. I'm bothered, but I'm waiting for my personal savior to fill me with the spirit. Get your blood going with that one? Good. Now you know how I feel.
4. The never ending search for a new University of Iowa president.
5. The fact that it took the University of Iowa less than a week to find a new men's basketball coach, but six months later there's still no University president.
I'm tired and more than a little cynical this evening, so it's probably best that I wrap it up before I write or speculate on something I don't care about.
Despite the pressure of dating a pretty, overachieving, fellowship winning, speechifying valedictorian with a disapproving father, he held steady and set his sights on what he excelled at: spending time with Diane, the speechifying valedictorian, and kick boxing. I loved that about Lloyd.
Here's where I'm going with this: "I'm not going to form an opinion on every mind numbing event and issue covered by the mind numbing American media machine. I don't want to write, talk or speculate on them. I don't want to write about what someone else has written. I don't want to talk about topics discussed on talk radio and I don't want to speculate on what people mean when they write and talk about mind numbing events and issues. You know, as an amateurish amateur blogger and a regular person, I don't want to do that."
So here's a list of topics that I'm not going to write, talk or speculate on:
1. Don Imus and the general question of what constitutes an acceptable apology or act of contrition these days.
2. Sanjaya: His hair, singing ability, conspiracies, teeny boppers, and the general media obsession with the kid and his potential to bring down American Idol. Oh, and I'm not going to write about all the brain power, time and manpower that has been devoted to covering the "story" that is Sanjaya.
3. The religious right evangelical crazies and how they've co-opted Christianity (hat tip The Tontine's Des Moines Outpost) and the party of Lincoln and Reagan. I'm bothered, but I'm waiting for my personal savior to fill me with the spirit. Get your blood going with that one? Good. Now you know how I feel.
4. The never ending search for a new University of Iowa president.
5. The fact that it took the University of Iowa less than a week to find a new men's basketball coach, but six months later there's still no University president.
I'm tired and more than a little cynical this evening, so it's probably best that I wrap it up before I write or speculate on something I don't care about.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Iowan Masters Augusta!
Iowa's Johnson wins Masters! Augusta, Ga. — Iowa’s Zach Johnson stunned the golf world today by winning the Masters.J ohnson, the ex-Drake golfer from Cedar Rapids, tamed Augusta National Golf Club with a birdie binge on the final six holes to finish at 1-over for the tournament.
On CBS, Johnson was fitted for the fabled green jacket by 2006 champion Phil Mickelson in legendary Butler Cabin. "I can't put it into words," Johnson said.
Johnson said with a cracking voice as he talked with CBS near the 18th green that the victory meant even more on Easter, as he credited Jesus and his late grandfather for helping him steel nerves. "I'm (just) a Midwest guy from Iowa," Johnson said during the Butler Cabin interview on TV. CBS announcer Jim Nantz responded: "You made Iowa proud today — that's for sure."
On CBS, Johnson was fitted for the fabled green jacket by 2006 champion Phil Mickelson in legendary Butler Cabin. "I can't put it into words," Johnson said.
Johnson said with a cracking voice as he talked with CBS near the 18th green that the victory meant even more on Easter, as he credited Jesus and his late grandfather for helping him steel nerves. "I'm (just) a Midwest guy from Iowa," Johnson said during the Butler Cabin interview on TV. CBS announcer Jim Nantz responded: "You made Iowa proud today — that's for sure."
Friday, April 06, 2007
Investigating Nonprofit Hospitals
"We need to get a better handle on how nonprofit hospitals are fulfilling their requirement to serve the community in exchange for the generous tax breaks they receive. This is especially important as policymakers talk about helping the uninsured." So says the senior senator from Iowa in the article embedded below.
Talk. That's all policymakers seem to do when it comes to "helping the uninsured." Meanwhile it's the hospitals - the nonprofit hospitals - that actually confront the issue on a day-to-day basis. So yes, please expend taxpayers dollars to investigate those sketchy nonprofit hospitals and make sure the people are getting their money's worth. OR, actually spend some time in a hospital and see how the people's government fails nonprofit hospitals - and the American taxpayer - time and time again. How? Allow me to share a few examples:
1. Medicaid: The federal government cedes to the states all responsibility for setting Medicaid reimbursement rates. No guidelines, not even broad ones, from a federal government that in FY 2006 spent $180.6 billion in taxpayer dollars on the program. Why is this a problem? Medicaid reimbursement rates fall far below Medicare rates. As a national average, Medicaid pays only 69% of what Medicare pays for the same service. Even with add-ons such as Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments, which Congress is always trying to revoke, reduce or repurpose, Medicaid still fails to cover costs. Where's the accountability? Where's the federal oversight?
Do you know what happens when Medicaid reimbursement rates are so low that it becomes cost-prohibitive for physicians to participate in the program? Reduced access to care. Know what happens next? Here's an example: A 12 year old boy from Prince George's County, Maryland, died in February from a brain infection caused by an abscessed tooth. From a homeless family on Medicaid, he didn't have timely access to a dentist.
2. EMTALA: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Originally promulgated to combat the discriminatory practice of some hospitals transferring, discharging or refusing to treat indigent patients coming to the emergency department, it is an important and necessary law. However, the Emergency Department is now the primary care provider for the indigent and uninsured...and undocumented. Because the federal government fails to secure the borders, hospitals are bending under the weight of caring for the influx of illegal aliens. Who pays? Well, either the American taxpayer or the hospital. Charity care is a requirement of tax exempt status. From my perspective, however, it is not the hospital's responsibility to provide free care to illegal aliens on the backs of the American taxpayer.
3. Cost Shifting: It's the American taxpayer who ultimately suffers when the federal government shirks its responsibility for enforcing current law and appropriately managing the health care programs it created. So Medicaid reimbursement rates are low. Don't hospitals just negotiate higher reimbursement rates with private third party payers to make up the difference? Of course! And who pays? Yep. You got it. The American taxpayer...but not in taxes. In earned income! Private health insurance deductibles and copayments increase...I call it the Water Balloon Effect. When one side is squeezed, the other side expands.
I'm not naive enough to believe that there aren't hospitals out there that deserve intense scrutiny. Tax exempt status is a privilege to be earned, not a right to be abused. Hospitals are only as good as the people who work in them and the leadership that guides them. The same is true of our government. So where's the scrutiny? It's a lot easier to point a finger. The thing is, when you point a finger, there are three fingers pointing right back at you.
Gra_ _ley: Investigate Nonprofit Hospitals
By TONY LEYS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
April 6, 2007
Add comment
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Gra_ _ley wants federal investigators to find out whether nonprofit hospitals deserve the billions of dollars they receive in tax exemptions.
The Iowa Republican sent a letter Thursday to the Government Accountability Office, asking for a broad investigation into the issue. "We need to get a better handle on how nonprofit hospitals are fulfilling their requirement to serve the community in exchange for the generous tax breaks they receive," Gra_ _ley said in a news release. "This is especially important as policymakers talk about helping the uninsured."
Many hospitals, including almost all in Iowa, are defined as charities. They are exempt from most taxes on property and income. Critics say many hospitals fail to earn those exemptions. Hospital supporters say they provide many benefits, including billions of dollars of charity care and care for patients on Medicaid, which does not cover all costs. In Des Moines and some other parts of Iowa, hospitals recently sweetened their charity-care policies and vowed to ensure all patients know about aid programs.
Alicia Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the American Hospital Association, said her group supports standardizing community-benefits reports so the public could compare hospitals against each other. "Hospitals have good stories to share about the benefits they provide to the community," she said. Gra_ _ley noted in his request that the Internal Revenue Service used to have specific charity-care requirements, but he said those were abolished in 1969. The senator also asked the GAO to investigate compensation of executives and board members at nonprofit hospitals. I n 2005, he wrote to 10 major nonprofit hospitals around the country, asking for justification of their tax-exempt status. None of those hospitals was in Iowa.
Gra_ _ley is the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees health care issues and taxation.
Talk. That's all policymakers seem to do when it comes to "helping the uninsured." Meanwhile it's the hospitals - the nonprofit hospitals - that actually confront the issue on a day-to-day basis. So yes, please expend taxpayers dollars to investigate those sketchy nonprofit hospitals and make sure the people are getting their money's worth. OR, actually spend some time in a hospital and see how the people's government fails nonprofit hospitals - and the American taxpayer - time and time again. How? Allow me to share a few examples:
1. Medicaid: The federal government cedes to the states all responsibility for setting Medicaid reimbursement rates. No guidelines, not even broad ones, from a federal government that in FY 2006 spent $180.6 billion in taxpayer dollars on the program. Why is this a problem? Medicaid reimbursement rates fall far below Medicare rates. As a national average, Medicaid pays only 69% of what Medicare pays for the same service. Even with add-ons such as Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments, which Congress is always trying to revoke, reduce or repurpose, Medicaid still fails to cover costs. Where's the accountability? Where's the federal oversight?
Do you know what happens when Medicaid reimbursement rates are so low that it becomes cost-prohibitive for physicians to participate in the program? Reduced access to care. Know what happens next? Here's an example: A 12 year old boy from Prince George's County, Maryland, died in February from a brain infection caused by an abscessed tooth. From a homeless family on Medicaid, he didn't have timely access to a dentist.
2. EMTALA: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Originally promulgated to combat the discriminatory practice of some hospitals transferring, discharging or refusing to treat indigent patients coming to the emergency department, it is an important and necessary law. However, the Emergency Department is now the primary care provider for the indigent and uninsured...and undocumented. Because the federal government fails to secure the borders, hospitals are bending under the weight of caring for the influx of illegal aliens. Who pays? Well, either the American taxpayer or the hospital. Charity care is a requirement of tax exempt status. From my perspective, however, it is not the hospital's responsibility to provide free care to illegal aliens on the backs of the American taxpayer.
3. Cost Shifting: It's the American taxpayer who ultimately suffers when the federal government shirks its responsibility for enforcing current law and appropriately managing the health care programs it created. So Medicaid reimbursement rates are low. Don't hospitals just negotiate higher reimbursement rates with private third party payers to make up the difference? Of course! And who pays? Yep. You got it. The American taxpayer...but not in taxes. In earned income! Private health insurance deductibles and copayments increase...I call it the Water Balloon Effect. When one side is squeezed, the other side expands.
I'm not naive enough to believe that there aren't hospitals out there that deserve intense scrutiny. Tax exempt status is a privilege to be earned, not a right to be abused. Hospitals are only as good as the people who work in them and the leadership that guides them. The same is true of our government. So where's the scrutiny? It's a lot easier to point a finger. The thing is, when you point a finger, there are three fingers pointing right back at you.
Gra_ _ley: Investigate Nonprofit Hospitals
By TONY LEYS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
April 6, 2007
Add comment
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Gra_ _ley wants federal investigators to find out whether nonprofit hospitals deserve the billions of dollars they receive in tax exemptions.
The Iowa Republican sent a letter Thursday to the Government Accountability Office, asking for a broad investigation into the issue. "We need to get a better handle on how nonprofit hospitals are fulfilling their requirement to serve the community in exchange for the generous tax breaks they receive," Gra_ _ley said in a news release. "This is especially important as policymakers talk about helping the uninsured."
Many hospitals, including almost all in Iowa, are defined as charities. They are exempt from most taxes on property and income. Critics say many hospitals fail to earn those exemptions. Hospital supporters say they provide many benefits, including billions of dollars of charity care and care for patients on Medicaid, which does not cover all costs. In Des Moines and some other parts of Iowa, hospitals recently sweetened their charity-care policies and vowed to ensure all patients know about aid programs.
Alicia Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the American Hospital Association, said her group supports standardizing community-benefits reports so the public could compare hospitals against each other. "Hospitals have good stories to share about the benefits they provide to the community," she said. Gra_ _ley noted in his request that the Internal Revenue Service used to have specific charity-care requirements, but he said those were abolished in 1969. The senator also asked the GAO to investigate compensation of executives and board members at nonprofit hospitals. I n 2005, he wrote to 10 major nonprofit hospitals around the country, asking for justification of their tax-exempt status. None of those hospitals was in Iowa.
Gra_ _ley is the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees health care issues and taxation.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Madam Syriana
Bentpinky Photo of the Day"I hope the Syrians like me. I'm sure they'll at least
respect me for being such a powerful and important woman."
respect me for being such a powerful and important woman."
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
See Ya' in the Cheap Seats
Bentpinky Photo of the Day
We all have those kind of days, Mattie.
Going on hiatus for a while. The campaign wore me out and I'm gearing up for baseball season. April 1 is Opening Day! Maybe I'll find that peace I lack on a perfect spring afternoon in my shirtsleeves along the first base line. See you in the cheap seats.
"Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom... It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come." -Terrence Mann, Field of Dreams
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
DAY EIGHT: The Results Show
The votes are counted. My mind is made up. The Results: Who Really Cares?
Who really cares if a couple anonymous people know who I am? What are they going to do? Run amok with the power derived from such knowledge? Prevent me from making Seinfeldian observations on the trivial nuances of everyday life that do in fact, from time to time, matter? Expose me to the three people who don't know who I am? Oh the humanity of it all.
So, Mullings and Observations on a Semi-Normal Life will stay right where it is at www.bentpinky.blogspot.com. I'll continue to periodically entertain The Faithful 2 and The Loyal Anonymous with odds and ends and occasionally post The Mullings Photo of the Day. I think I'll rename it, too - maybe Bentpinky Photo of the Day. Hey! When you have a harmless genetic anomoly, make it work for you.
Until I post again, I remain...someone with a fat girl's name. Go figure it out.
Who really cares if a couple anonymous people know who I am? What are they going to do? Run amok with the power derived from such knowledge? Prevent me from making Seinfeldian observations on the trivial nuances of everyday life that do in fact, from time to time, matter? Expose me to the three people who don't know who I am? Oh the humanity of it all.
So, Mullings and Observations on a Semi-Normal Life will stay right where it is at www.bentpinky.blogspot.com. I'll continue to periodically entertain The Faithful 2 and The Loyal Anonymous with odds and ends and occasionally post The Mullings Photo of the Day. I think I'll rename it, too - maybe Bentpinky Photo of the Day. Hey! When you have a harmless genetic anomoly, make it work for you.
Until I post again, I remain...someone with a fat girl's name. Go figure it out.
Monday, March 26, 2007
DAY SEVEN: Can Hillary Buy Your Trust?
I've lost track of days, so I'm declaring this DAY SEVEN in the countdown to possible shut down. I'm holding steady at four votes to retain the site, but there's still a full 24 hours left. Exciting, eh? It's like the last 24 hour push after months and months of campaigning...but not really.
The New York Post reports Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton raised nearly $10 million this last week in her quest to become Supreme Ruleress of the United States. It's not surprising a big chunk of the money was raised in California (where's the earthquake when we need it?), and apparently she's off to Florida next week for an event with hip hop producer Timbaland.
Timbaland. Now how's that going to go down? A few weeks ago she morphed into a pseudo-southern alter ego while campaigning in Selma. What was that? Were it not for technical difficulties I'd link to the YouTube posting so you could view and hear her contrived accent. In case you've forgotten where she's originally from, allow me to remind you: Park Ridge, Illinois.
Back to Timbaland. Maybe she'll bust out some krumping and snap dance moves at the event. You go Hil - get down with your bad self.
As she flies back and forth from left coast to left coast raising big blue cash, I can't help but wonder if all that money will buy her a new, trusting image and ultimately a seat in the oval office. I've said it once and I'll say it again, the individual and collective memory of the American voter is short and narrow. With a pinch of Madison Avenue, a sprinkle of well-crafted bipartisan initiatives to "improve the lives of working families," and a whole lotta' concealer and pandering (ahem - fake accents and hip hop fundraisers), the fine gauge wool she's knitting may slip unnoticed over your eyes.
The New York Post reports Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton raised nearly $10 million this last week in her quest to become Supreme Ruleress of the United States. It's not surprising a big chunk of the money was raised in California (where's the earthquake when we need it?), and apparently she's off to Florida next week for an event with hip hop producer Timbaland.
Timbaland. Now how's that going to go down? A few weeks ago she morphed into a pseudo-southern alter ego while campaigning in Selma. What was that? Were it not for technical difficulties I'd link to the YouTube posting so you could view and hear her contrived accent. In case you've forgotten where she's originally from, allow me to remind you: Park Ridge, Illinois.
Back to Timbaland. Maybe she'll bust out some krumping and snap dance moves at the event. You go Hil - get down with your bad self.
As she flies back and forth from left coast to left coast raising big blue cash, I can't help but wonder if all that money will buy her a new, trusting image and ultimately a seat in the oval office. I've said it once and I'll say it again, the individual and collective memory of the American voter is short and narrow. With a pinch of Madison Avenue, a sprinkle of well-crafted bipartisan initiatives to "improve the lives of working families," and a whole lotta' concealer and pandering (ahem - fake accents and hip hop fundraisers), the fine gauge wool she's knitting may slip unnoticed over your eyes.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Insomniac Update: From Alford to a Pearl?
I can't sleep so decided to peruse the Daily Worker - I mean the Des Moines Register. So Steve Alford is leaving the University of Iowa for New Mexico. No need to elaborate. It's not like the Hawkeye Nation didn't see it coming. Of course this is the question everyone is asking: "Who will replace Alford?" I'm going out on a limb and say...
We shall see. Glad I got that out there. Now maybe I can sleep. Until DAY FIVE...
Bruce Pearl
We shall see. Glad I got that out there. Now maybe I can sleep. Until DAY FIVE...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
DAY FOUR: A Mere Name Change?
Mullings Photo of the Day"Grandpa seems to know what he's doing. But I'm not sure..."
It's DAY FOUR in the countdown to possible shut down. The new vote count is 3 save, 0 shut down and one abstention. The campaign continues even as the votes keep rollin' in.
It's a completely self serving Mullings Photo of the Day today. My nephew's tummy is just too cute not to share. Since my identity has been compromised, I can post some personal photos. Maybe full disclosure has some benefits.
One of the Faithful 2 (a married couple that counts as one) submitted some novel options should I chose to rename Mullings. It's an idea that has merit. People would still know who I am, but the blog would be reinvented under a new brand. Afterall, when you get this big, it's all about brand management and reinventing yourself.
On a side note, Mullings would be remiss if the loyal anonymous readers weren't recognized for their faith in the current format and the nice comments. There's a special place in this blogger's heart for the Loyal Anonymous.
And so I share the submissions from the Faithful. I have such creative Faithfuls.
Hawkeye Themes with overall moniker: "It's Black and Gold and Read All Over"
1. Herky Groupie
2. Tiger Hawk - the only true HAWK!
3. Black and Gold Patriot
4. Cy Sux
5. Annually dreading the beginning of Big Ten basketball conference play
Iowa Themes
1. Knee High by the 4th of July
2. Corngrowers Association of the Blogsphere
3. More Blogs Than People
4. The Heavenly Blogger
5. Ethanol Queen: Cleaner Emissions for Your Blogs
6. The Potato Eyes All (Wait, that's Idaho. Sorry.)
Political Themes
1. The Not-so-Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
2. Thoughts on Being Red, and by "Red" I Don't Mean Being a Pinko Commie Bastard
Others
1. The Girls and Me
2. My Parents Went to Maui for Vacation and All I got Was This Stupid Blog
3. I_love_iowa_so_much_that_i_would_marry_chuck_long_
even_though_he_had_an_afro_or_mullet_or_whatever.com
4. The Margarine of Blogs -- Where Meat Helmets Are All The Rage
5. Chloe, the Web-toed Dutchwoman
6. Fort Dodge High School Football Rules!
Maybe tomorrow the focus should be observing. I feel like I'm neglecting that side of the blog. Until tomorrow...
It's a completely self serving Mullings Photo of the Day today. My nephew's tummy is just too cute not to share. Since my identity has been compromised, I can post some personal photos. Maybe full disclosure has some benefits.
One of the Faithful 2 (a married couple that counts as one) submitted some novel options should I chose to rename Mullings. It's an idea that has merit. People would still know who I am, but the blog would be reinvented under a new brand. Afterall, when you get this big, it's all about brand management and reinventing yourself.
On a side note, Mullings would be remiss if the loyal anonymous readers weren't recognized for their faith in the current format and the nice comments. There's a special place in this blogger's heart for the Loyal Anonymous.
And so I share the submissions from the Faithful. I have such creative Faithfuls.
Hawkeye Themes with overall moniker: "It's Black and Gold and Read All Over"
1. Herky Groupie
2. Tiger Hawk - the only true HAWK!
3. Black and Gold Patriot
4. Cy Sux
5. Annually dreading the beginning of Big Ten basketball conference play
Iowa Themes
1. Knee High by the 4th of July
2. Corngrowers Association of the Blogsphere
3. More Blogs Than People
4. The Heavenly Blogger
5. Ethanol Queen: Cleaner Emissions for Your Blogs
6. The Potato Eyes All (Wait, that's Idaho. Sorry.)
Political Themes
1. The Not-so-Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
2. Thoughts on Being Red, and by "Red" I Don't Mean Being a Pinko Commie Bastard
Others
1. The Girls and Me
2. My Parents Went to Maui for Vacation and All I got Was This Stupid Blog
3. I_love_iowa_so_much_that_i_would_marry_chuck_long_
even_though_he_had_an_afro_or_mullet_or_whatever.com
4. The Margarine of Blogs -- Where Meat Helmets Are All The Rage
5. Chloe, the Web-toed Dutchwoman
6. Fort Dodge High School Football Rules!
Maybe tomorrow the focus should be observing. I feel like I'm neglecting that side of the blog. Until tomorrow...
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