It has arrived.

Winter.

View of the red bud tree this morning. Cat tracks and rabbit tracks were visible all around the house. There's a fat black cat that visits and a rabbit family in my wild patches.


View of a neighbor's barn red attic through my trees.


View from my dining room. Favorite window in the house.

And a cozy little house for my cozy little car.

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Out on the Town

Common knowledge states that when you are feeling depressed, you should do something special to boost your spirits. After a very difficult 24 hours of obsessing over the health (or lack of it) of Ginger Ale, today was dedicated to doing just that.

I started by staying in bed a few extra hours this morning. This was something of a test of endurance as Ginger, the non-ambulatory pit bull with the best-looking hips since Megan Fox--at least, according to my veterinarian--experienced such levels of nuclear flatulence it is a miracle that the bedroom did not spontaneously combust.

We (Ginger, Soda, the Damn Cat and I) all staggered downstairs around ten to eat and start some laundry, under the pretense of doing something useful. This was so utterly exhausting that we all promptly fell asleep on the sofa, causing us to miss the protest against California's Proposition 8. I'd like to say we were there in spirit, but honestly, we were dead to the world. With the mood I have been in for the last few days, had I shown up the crowds would have begun protesting for me to go back home in no time. Really, it was better for everyone that I stayed behind.

Upon waking, laundry was changed and plans for an exciting evening were hatched. I decided to do something I only do once or twice a year. This was, after all, supposed to be a very special night. I fed and walked the dogs again (where did the day go?), grabbed my quarters and headed out.

First stop: Dinner. I went all out, ordering the #3 (plain, please) with a Sprite. Ahh, the smell of hot, salty McDonald's grease filling the Beetle... The gal on the other side of the glass tried to hand back a dollar, explaining I overpaid, but I told her, "Keep it! It's a special occasion!"

Dinner stowed safely in the passenger seat, I criss-crossed the metropolis of Columbus and drove straight into the open parking spot fronting my evening destination: the laundromat. Imagine my delight not only in finding a premier parking spot, but in discovering a waiting and empty Triple Load Washer! Some feelings are hard to put into words.

So there I sat, on an empty washing machine, downing french fries and watching my dry-clean-only quilt spin itself into sudsy oblivion. I will admit, there was a small part of me that was jealous.

I gazed up at the carefully worded sign dangling above the row of machines where I sat:

THOU SHALT NOT DYE IN THESE MACHINES

Well that, at least, provided some comfort.

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Inspiration from kt tunstall

I wish I knew how to add a video from YouTube, but I don't. And I don't have the energy to fight with it anymore tonight.

I tried to embed a video of kt tunstall singing "Heal Over," a song I find helpful in times of difficulty. I can provide the link, and I will also provide the lyrics. I don't particularly believe them, but I do find them comforting. Maybe someone else out there will, too.

Heal Over by kt tunstall

It isn't very difficult to see why
You are the way you are
Doesn't take a genius to realise
That sometimes life is hard
It's gonna take time
But you'll just have to wait
You're gonna be fine
But in the meantime

Come over here lady
Let me wipe your tears away
Come a little nearer baby
Coz you'll heal over
Heal over
Heal over someday

And I don't wanna hear you tell yourself
That these feelings are in the past
You know it doesn't mean they're off the shelf
Because pain's built to last
Everybody sails alone
But we can travel side by side
Even if you fail
You know that no one really minds
Come over here lady

Don't hold on but don't let go
I know it's so hard
You've got to try to trust yourself
I know it's so hard, so hard

Come over here lady
Let me wipe your tears away
Come a little nearer baby
Coz you'll heal over, heal over, heal over someday



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Dan Savage and Stephen Colbert make me smile

I have been a fan of Dan Savage since I lived in Seattle in the early 90's--even when I often cringed at the explicit details in his new (at the time) column, Savage Love. Let's just say I was much younger, then.

Today, while withering away in a sandtrap of boredom at work, I unearthed a very recent interview of Dan on The Colbert Show regarding his reaction to the passing of California's Proposition 8, which now bars same-sex marriages.

To see the video, click here.

[Disclaimer: Clicking "here" will not turn you gay. Though some may ask you if you got a haircut recently.]


And the quote which will live in infamy:

"It's sort of like 'Gay Survivor.' We're going to outlive, outlast, and outsmart the bigots."

Dan Savage, November 11, 2008 Read more!

Once again, I didn't get the memo

A 2004 order permits attacks on terrorists outside war zones.

Some of you may remember my getting a little hot under the collar about the unauthorized attack on Syria on October 26. I had this nagging feeling that there was something wrong with lauching offensives within sovereign nations at our whim. This was primarily because it sure seemed to piss us Americans off when other countries did that to us. Maybe I was just having a bad day...

Well, turns out "we" (the U.S. government) issued a hush-hush memo back in 2004 saying that this was perfectly acceptable. Who penned it? This will shock you: Donald Rumsfeld. Here is the link to the story on The Huffington Post.

Secret Order Lets U.S. Raid Al Qaeda in Many Countries

By ERIC SCHMITT and MARK MAZZETTI
Published: November 9, 2008

An excerpt:

"These military raids, typically carried out by Special Operations forces, were authorized by a classified order that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed in the spring of 2004 with the approval of President Bush, the officials said. The secret order gave the military new authority to attack the Qaeda terrorist network anywhere in the world, and a more sweeping mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States.

"...The 2004 order identifies 15 to 20 countries, including Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and several other Persian Gulf states, where Qaeda militants were believed to be operating or to have sought sanctuary, a senior administration official said."

And there you have it. Read more!

There may be a blog cooler than mine

Someone who suddenly thinks he's super-cool just started a new blog. It's true what they say. Anybody can start their own blog!

Okay, so it is pretty cool.

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It's Official: Columbus, WI Decides Presidential Outcome!

Columbus City Hall, founded 1892


For all of you who have long underestimated the electoral power of the small city of Columbus, it's time to eat your words. The results are in, and Obama apparently has us to thank for his decisive and historical victory.

According to the November 8, 2008 Columbus Journal, voting was up a whopping 0.86 percent over 2004. You read that right--nearly an entire percentage point!

In 2004, 2,566 people in this great metropolis voted, while this year, the turnout spiked to 2,588. That's twenty-two people, people!!

As for the split, here's how it went down:

Barack Hussein Obama: 1,542
John Sidney McCain III: 1,000
Mayor Nancy Osterhaus?: 46

This is even more impressive when you consider that the 2000 census of Columbus stood at 4,479. It is loosely estimated to be closer to 7,000 now. That puts our voter turnout somewhere between 37 to 58 percent.


We're already preparing the Columbus Middle School's backyard for Obama's Airforce One Heli, as it only stands to reason that he will be stopping by the thank us any day now.




Gov Doyle stops in for lunch last June.


For the record, reports of voter intimidation were greatly exaggerated.


Photo by Shannon Green
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Oh, shit.

Thoroughbred Adoption Service Launched for FREE Horses.

This is ALL I need. No doubt this is due to recent legislation banning horse slaughter in the U.S.--a controversial subject due largely to the immense number of unwanted thoroughbreds in the racing industry--but it still makes a small part of me perk up and say, "Did someone just say "free racehorses?"

And another part of me that wonders, are they accepting any trades?

What did she just say?!

I do not need another horse.

I do not need another horse.

I do not need another horse.

I do not need another horse.

I do not need another horse.

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Writers welcome a literary president-elect

"Writers welcome a literary president-elect" is an interesting piece on Obama's connection with America's writers and literary set (a.k.a. the literary elite ;o). It was written by Hillel Italie, an AP National Writer.

An excerpt:

NEW YORK – Last winter, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison received a phone call from Sen. Barack Obama, then the underdog to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Obama had contacted Morrison to ask for her support. But before they got into politics, the author and the candidate had a little chat about literature.

"He began to talk to me about one of the books I had written, `Song of Solomon,' and how it had meant a lot to him," Morrison said in a postelection interview from her office at Princeton University, where for years she has taught creative writing.

"And I had read his first book ('Dreams From My Father'). I was astonished by his ability to write, to think, to reflect, to learn and turn a good phrase. I was very impressed. This was not a normal political biography."

For Morrison and others, the election of Obama matters not because he will be the first black president or because the vast majority of writers usually vote for Democrats. Writers welcome Obama as a peer, a thinker, a man of words — his own words.

I recommend the article, attainable by the link in the first sentence.

This June 8, 2007 file photo shows Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison pauses during a Radcliffe Day annual luncheon in Cambridge, Mass. For Morrison and others, the election of Obama matters not only because he will be the first black president or because the vast majority of writers usually vote for Democrats. Writers welcome Obama as a peer, a thinker, a man of words, his own words.(AP Photo/Lisa Poole, FILE)

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President-Elect Barack Obama

I will remember this day as long as I live.



The next First Family of the United States of America.

U.S. President-elect Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) leads his family onstage during his election night victory rally in Chicago, November 4, 2008. Obama holds daughter Sasha's hand, as Mailia and his wife Michelle Obama (R) follow.REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

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