IPOD
RADIO
Grab a snack and a drink. Get comfortable, and watch this, if you haven't seen it:
If this man is not our next President, I honestly believe there is no hope for this country, because if that happens, this country will have looked hope in the face and thumbed its nose at it.
bean!
Last weekend Obelisk made some fantastic cocktails, I got hammered, and played Rock Band with him and Scopitone at 4am.
Spent all day Sunday slightly hungover, played a bunch of NCAA09 on Xbox, then went hiking with some of the SGLA kids and our dogs.
It was a good weekend.
-bean!
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Leo Beastdog on his beanbag, licking his giant icecube:
It was 95 degrees in Los Angeles today, which means Leo Beastdog gets as many giant icecubes as he wants.
We fill large plastic cups with water and freeze them, then put the resulting ice cube on a saucer (that's the clicking sound in the video, the ice cube hitting the edge of the plate).
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bean!
I cannot overstate how optimistic I am about the future of our world and nation right now. I know that there are tough times ahead for us all, but I'm hopeful that, for once, something concrete will be being done about them, for once, our legislature will be accountable to us as much as to lobbyists, and for once, we'll have a President who puts the interest of all Americans ahead of the interest of the wealthy and well-connected, and who has the vision to surround himself with competent and honest people who can and will solve many of the problems facing us now and those on the horizon.
I cannot, as well, overstate how excited I am to have the chance to have a quotable President again.
In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.
So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.
So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.
So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom's cause.
So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that's better, and kinder, and more just.
And so it must be for us.
America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.
The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment -- this was the time -- when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals.
--Barack Obama, June 3, 2008
bean!
Here's the scoop for those of you who haven't heard it already:
We were fostering him, with every intention of letting him go to a good home when the time came, and getting another foster dog, until we had a bigger house with a bigger yard and more time, etc. Shortly after we started fostering him, we realized that we wanted to keep him, but we decided that it wasn't going to work, because he was so big, and without a guaranteed method of getting him out of day care every day (the day care place closes before Shalome can get there from work, and I don't drive) --nevermind the expense of having him in there every day--, we didn't have anything to do with him during the day, and didn't want to keep him locked inside, or out in our small yard. But a couple of times of not being able to take him into day care led me to take him into SGHQ with me during the day, where he got along with everyone and curled up under my desk and slept all day, except when he came out and ran with me on my breaks.
So when we saw that the adoption agency had put up his listing on their site, our hearts sank, and we knew that we couldn't give him up. We'd figure out a way to keep him. I brought a couple blankets and some toys and treats (and some air freshener) into SGHQ, and started alternating taking him with me to work and getting people to give me rides when possible so that he could still go to day care sometimes, and when the adoption agency called us to ask us to bring him into their weekly adoption event, we said we'd rather just adopt him ourselves, and they were very happy to hear that because they were worried about placing him with someone good.
So he's been our dog for a little over a month now, and he's awesome. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect dog to suit our lifestyle.
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In other news, we haven't been going out much at all, as we're saving money and paying down our already small debts and stuff, but I really want to get out soon. Staying home is starting to get old.
bean!Anyhow, he's awesome. He doesn't bark. He just wants to lean on you and be petted. Also, he snores. Really, the snory sound is just about the only sound he makes, and he makes it when he's going for a walk (sniffing at the ground, sounding like the idling engine of a muscle car) or sighing (though he sounds more like a pig sometimes). Right now he's laying on the couch behind me with his head wedged between my back and the back of the couch. Here are a few pics:
bean!
And on that note, I give you this video I found from Jeffrey Lewis, an "anti-folk" singer/poet/artist I stumbled on while poking around at random Youtube videos. Apparently he's been putting out music for some 10 years, but I'd certainly never heard of him.
I actually have to include two videos here, because one is a song and the other is a sort of performance art poetry piece, but both are awesome in their own right.
Okay, three.
Jeffrey Lewis - Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror
Jeffrey Lewis - The Complete History of Punk Rock and it's Development on the Lower East Side 1950-1975
Jeffrey Lewis - The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song
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