Never trust a man named Bobby Jindal

Hate to kick a man when he's down...

What a guy
FD

Poem of the Day

Bridal Shower

by George Bilgere

Perhaps, in a distant café,
four or five people are talking
with the four or five people
who are chatting on their cell phones this morning
in my favorite café.

And perhaps someone there,
someone like me, is watching them as they frown,
or smile, or shrug
at their invisible friends or lovers,
jabbing the air for emphasis.

And, like me, he misses the old days,
when talking to yourself
meant you were crazy,
back when being crazy was a big deal,
not just an acronym
or something you could take a pill for.

I liked it
when people who were talking to themselves
might actually have been talking to God
or an angel.
You respected people like that.

You didn't want to kill them,
as I want to kill the woman at the next table
with the little blue light on her ear
who has been telling the emptiness in front of her
about her daughter's bridal shower
in astonishing detail
for the past thirty minutes.

O person like me,
phoneless in your distant café,
I wish we could meet to discuss this,
and perhaps you would help me
murder this woman on her cell phone,

after which we could have a cup of coffee,
maybe a bagel, and talk to each other,
face to face.

"Bridal Shower" by George Bilgere.

Crazy Eye Beck

I never watch Colbert and The Daily Show anymore. It used to be such a ritual but it's getting to the point where I'm lucky if I see an episode a week...That has to change! Here's why:

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Truth From the Gut

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Joke of the Day
Stand-Up Comedy

For the Cat/Ninja lovers

This is quite entertaining, and also will help my husband get to the ACTUAL 100th post he so desperately wants.

Edit: POSSIBILIANS Unite!

After a week and then some of work-free existence, I was finally able to once again catch an episode of "Talk of the Nation" during my afternoon commute. The Tuesday, February 19, episode featured author David Eagleman discussing and reading excerpts from his new book "Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives." He described himself as a "possibilian," aka someone who believes that ANYTHING is possible.

I would kindly suggest that we have another religion to add to our blog poll. I would also highly recommend perusing the excerpts posted on the TOTN page, if not listening to the episode. It was enjoyable and thought-provoking. Also, it was great to hear some creative and unique takes on what the afterlife will consist of. Personally, I'm voting for that mystical moment between wake and sleep, where seconds stretch to infinity. As long as little girls don't creep up next to my bed while I'm there. (I'm looking at you, Madison!!)

Response to the "Off the Hook" GOP "Urban Campaign" or "Last Ditch at Relevance" or "Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures"

I'm out of quotation marks. Words cannot express the hilarity of GOP's...insert word, ah-impotence comes to mind, but really fails to capture the sad humor or the sheer ridiculousness of the whole idea of hip, urban, multi-ethnic?, conservative appeal.

Can the GOP make improvements in the 2010 midterm elections? No. Not at this rate.

Do I look forward to seeing Conservative Republicans working the street angle? Selling their crusty, crotchety agenda as something that is "dope"?

You down with GOP / Happy Birthday Alex

First of all, Happy Birthday Alex! Hope it's a good one! As a gift to you, I offer this excellent news via Central News Network.

"Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says his party is going to launch an "off the hook" public relations campaign that will update the GOP’s image by translating it to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings."...Asked whether that meant cutting-edge tactics, Steele demurred. “I don't do 'cutting-edge,’" he said. "That's what Democrats are doing. We're going beyond cutting-edge.

Do you know how hard it is to rhyme with Gingrich? Seriously, do they think this is going to work? What will Rush Say? This is the party that many pundits predict can't turn it around before 2012 (for the record I'm not one of them, this party will be here for awhile, but what with Bush the Failure and his neo-con brood, and Palin looking to be the answer to Barack Obama, I can see where there is cause for concern). This is how they are going to reinvent themselves?

Sweet, thanks Mix Master Steele.

MC Rove, please express your agreement with an awkward, urban break dancing move



Get your Popcorn ready. This should be fun.

EDIT: One more reason this is a bad idea...

EDIT: Not the 100th post! Still No content!!!

Yep, this ones for me. If you don't know David, you should!
Here's Christian Bale taking this kid to task...He probably deserved it.

Why we need same-sex marriage

I have homework to do and then it's off to brunch with my children (who got nothing but glowing reviews from their teachers). But I had to take some time to type something up about this.

As her partner of 17 years slipped into a coma, Janice Langbehn pleaded with doctors and anyone who would listen to let her into the woman's hospital room.

Eight anguishing hours passed before Langbehn would be allowed into Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center. By then, she could only say her final farewell as a priest performed the last rites on 39-year-old Lisa Marie Pond.

I think of all the gay couples I know and am saddened that this could happen to any of them because they're not married (and because the Government thinks it knows best when it comes to love). You know, I'm sure the hospital was just following it's rules set in place to protect privacy or some such, but this is ridiculous. I can't help but think it might have been easier for a straight man to get in to see his dying girlfriend of 17 years (although this is just speculation).

Bill O'Reilly vs. Christian Bale: Totally NSFW

Glenn Beck's magical underwear is cutting off his cicrulation

The night after Glenn Beck called Obama a Socialist (I won't embed the video here, because I've gone this far without posting Glenn Beck's face on the blog and I'm not about to start now), he turned his focus to Al Gore. Now if you do not know who Glenn Beck is, he is the poster child for the ideologues of the new conservative party. Every night he turns on his 'gee-shucks' charm and acts like he is a Libertarian pundit (I know Libertarians, he is no Libertarian). He decries liberals as Communists, socialists, (and now a new one) Nazis. Apparently, he isn't familiar with history, or political views, or words. Beck accused Al Gore of creating a Hitler Youth type movement that is taking the form of the Climate Change movement among the young people.

So if you're keeping score at home, Liberals are communists and Nazis.

In 1933, The Gestapo police force went from home to home looking for Jews, gypsies, and homosexuals tearing families apart and killing many, many people. They did this to cleanse society of the slime of society.

Recently Kenneth Starr (yes, THE Ken Starr) filed legal briefing on behalf of the "Yes On 8" folks to invalidate the marriages and forcibly divorce some 18,000 same-sex marriages in the state of California. The leading contributor of the "Yes on 8" campaign was (drumroll)...The Mormon Church!!!! That's right, the Mormon Church that Glenn Beck belongs that funded the "Yes on 8" campaign is looking to tear apart these marriages. So I ask you, who are the Nazis? Those that worry about climate change, or the ones looking to file legal proceedings that would invalidate legal marriages?

I know who I cast my vote for. I for one look forward to a day when two loving people can commit their lives to each other for the betterment of society. I challenge anyone to look at the loving couples in the video below and get me to understand why they shouldn't be allowed to get married.


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

You! Me! Dancing! @ the Rathskeller.

Tomorrow I will be singing and dancing to pure pop joy. I will drink beer and sing along with any friends that are about, perhaps new ones.

Here's a tune: "Death to Los Campesinos!"

Beers That Are Happening Now

It's that time of year, big black beers for the winter. Beers that warm the cockles of your heart and gullet. Here's some of the Church of What's Happening Now's favorites of late.

Ten Fidy made by Oskar Blues, Lyon Colorado.
This Russian Imperial Stout, in a CAN! is a whopping 10% abv, 98IBUs is one smooth operator. Quite the malt bomb, with malt notes of chocolate, coffee, and some dark fruit. This masks the high level of hops in it, giving it a clean, bitter finish. Your Freakin' Deacon dreams of this beer.


Let's go local.
Lake Louie's Milk Stout, Arena Wisonsn.
Tom Porter brews some of the Church's Favorite beers, may he be blessed by the noodly appendage. This beer is somewhat roasty, befitting a stout, with a creamy smooth lactose sweetness. A wonderful beer for the winter. If you haven't had it on tap you are missing out. A drink of choice for the Church at the High Noon Saloon, most recently during the Ghost Town Council's debut as headliner.


Let's stay local or as Dan Carey would have us do, Drink Indigenous.
New Glarus Coffee Stout, New Glarus Wisconsin.
Much is said about "Drinkability" lately, mostly by the idiots at Budweiser, but New Glarus knows what is all about. This coffee stout uses cold pressed Just Coffee, a local, fair trade coffee roaster, to make this stout. The best part is the abv-at 4.8%, this is a session stout that is somewhat an anomaly, usually reserved for Irish stouts (Guiness). This beer goes down smooth and easy, with notes of roasted coffee, chocolate and cream.


Drink Local.

For my Husband

I love this comic strip. And I think Mason will especially appreciate this entry.