StallNine: Spirit of the blog

Cool or Mary Jane at the Rodeo?*

Oh, did you want a close-up?

And why the hell don't SHOE stores carry 5 1/2s any more?? I mean, shoes do come in 5 1/2. Why don't they sell them? It turns out that 6s (without straps) aren't so hot at staying on my feet which makes,  you know, walking slightly dangerous. Filene's/Macy's did say I should try Nordstrom's but I have a one-store limit on shopping trips plus, um, Nordstrom's is a tad bit pricey. I don't mind buying kids cleats but I'm not really looking for Junior Miss Prom Shoes for work. Am I asking too much?? Damn average height dominated society!

(And yes, I know there's always online shopping but even when I find shoes in 5 1/2 they often don't fit so unless I know the brand -- shout out to my all time favorite in comfort, Dansko! -- online shopping is risky as the chance of my having to return is fairly high. And, yes, I know you can return online goods, it's just more of a pain in the ass.)

*And even if they are Mary Jane at the Rodeo, I think they look better in person than in the picture I took of my feet in them...

Update: What the hell?! How did I not notice the HEARTS at the tips of the toes?! That's it, I'm returning them. No way I'm wearing Mary Jane with a Crush on Jimmy Ray at the Rodeo shoes! Who puts hearts on adult shoes?? I may as well have bought Junior Miss Prom Shoes. Sigh, shoulda stuck with Danskos!

Ew, indeed

So, thanks to Atrios, I found myself watching Lieberman's newest ad on youtube. Ew, indeed! Even if you don't watch the video, make sure to read the comments posted. They're awesome! My favorites (most of which are in response to the hypnotic woman asking us to "think about the good things"):

THINK ABOUT GOOD THINGS?!!!
OK - I am thinking about a Democratic Congress impeaching Bush....
Ahhhhh - that's the stuff...
-americanexile

Good God, that ad is horrible.
"Just sit back and think about...good stuff" ?
No, not Iraq!
No, not soldiers being maimed and killed!
No, not Iran or North Korea!
No, not health care!
No, not history debt!
No, not job security!
No, not gas prices!
No, not ineffectual leadership!
Just...think of Joe Lieberman, relaxing on the beach. Then, if you live in CT, VOTE him out in NOVEMBER and plunk his ass down in the sand, so he can get started on his own list of "good stuff" to think about.
Wait, don't fall asleep, Connecticut voters! Feel The Joementum!!
-mrCurmudgeon

A setting sun... the perfect image for a career that's about to end.
Plus, bonus points for indirectly attacking your opponent in an ad that whines about negative attack ads.
-johnno22

Overheard

You're still talking. You ate Rudolph! And they blame the Jews for the War on Christmas, that makes no sense.

- Me to Tex who ate Rudolph. On his pizza.

Btw, my reindeer-eating friend, congrats on turning in your dissertation!

Turns out...

you need a Ph.D. to figure out UCLA's Dissertation Guidelines-- 35 pages of fun! But how do you figure the guidelines out when you don't yet have your degree? Hmm, perhaps this is why we've heard so little from Mr. Codswallop lately... Good luck, Tex!

Terror

Despite what Joe Lieberman says, I really don't support terrorists. For real. In fact, I really don't like terrorists at all. Which is why I'm supporting Ned Lamont. See, the "War on Terror" that we're fighting is actually creating more, not fewer terrorists. So why the hell isn't anyone in the mainstream media calling Lieberman on his bs?

Oh, and by the way:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 — The Department of Homeland Security has taken significant steps since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to make it much harder to turn a plane into a flying weapon. But a nearly obsessive focus on the previous attacks may have prevented the federal government from combating new threats effectively, terrorism experts and former agency officials say.

...

The nation is still at risk from the same “failure of imagination” cited by the 9/11 commission as having contributed to the success of the 2001 attack, several argued. (emphasis mine)

But how can that be?? I mean, the Republicans are in conrol, how can things be less safe? And (via Atrios) John in DC reminds us the anthrax scare happened after 9/11 and still no resolution. But I guess that was soo 2001 so who cares...unless it can be used for political purposes to help the Repubs! Right.

Open email to my breast-feeding sister

Dear Lora,

I'm looking forward to your visit next week and can't wait to meet Coltrane and see how much Spencer has grown in the past year and a half but I want to make sure you are aware of the new travel advisories. As you may have heard, lotion and liquids are no longer allowed in carry on bags when you travel. What I would suggest is you get to your doctor right away to see if he/she can advise you on how to check your breasts in your luggage. I would hate for you to encounter any problems as you try to breast feed Coltrane mid-flight. Shoot, they could decide to pull over in Kansas out of fear. I mean, breast milk is liquid and can be dangerous -- what do you think leads to stinky baby diapers?? And how the hell did all that milk get in your breasts? Are we supposed to believe it just accumulates each day even though Coltrane has been trying his very best to suck it dry day after day? There must be something causing the milk to accumulate -- it just doesn't make sense. Very suspicious. I mean, never have I had any milk sprout out of my breasts. Sure I've never had a baby but come on, just because two things are correlated (baby and milk pouring out of breasts) doesn't mean there is causation. Basic statistics.

Anyway, good luck with getting the milk thing by security. I hope it all works out because I really do want to see you guys!!

Love,
(Aunt) Amy

Ned Won!!!

So you may have heard...NED WON the primary 52-48!!! Ned Lamont is now the Democratic nominee for Senate. Yes, Ned Lamont beat Joe Lieberman, the 18-year incumbent, to win the Democratic nomination for Senate. Did you hear me? NED WON!!! Yes, I think you probably get the point by now, I just still can't believe we WON!! And I really can't believe how many wonderful people I've met over the past few months. The next few months will be interesting but I look forward to the general election with hope for a new direction in our country. And for peace.

What happens when campaign volunteers repeatedly leave the bathroom key in the bathroom after hours

I'd like to say that I had nothing to do with the campaign investing in a larger key chain but I can't.

Thankfully, the folks at the Chinese restaurant across the street from the WH HQ are quite friendly and let us drop in for their bathroom.

More Maxines, please!

Maxine Waters came to CT for the THIRD week in a row in support of Ned Lamont. She was not my representative when I lived in California but I often wished that she was. CT Bob interviewed Maxine in Litchfield earlier today and you can watch it here. (Only watch it if you like seeing politicians passionate about fighting for the people! As in the actual people, not the people who are lobbyist-people.) As Maxine says, Ned Lamont's campaign represents what the soul and the heard of the Democratic Party should be.

What do Danny Glover and I have in common?

We both met Connecticut Bob today! After a morning of phone banking and canvassing, I ended up at the Hartford Ned Lamont for Senate office where the word was that Ned, Maxine Waters and Danny Glover were going to show up to thank us for helping to get out the vote. It was hot out (though thankfully not as hot as last week!) and after knocking on doors for two hours, I was pretty beat. I grabbed some water and looked up and who did I see? Yup, CT Bob. (Check out my favorite CT Bob masterpieces here, here and here.) Bob (he said I could drop the CT, he's casual that way) told me how excited he was to meet Danny Glover and he was hoping that Danny Glover would say a word or two on camera so he could post it on the Internets. I said cool and agreed to take a picture of Bob and Danny Glover during the interview. And so I did:

(The pics I got with Bob's camera were better, btw.) Bob expected that Danny would just say a word or two but instead Danny gave quite the interview. I'm not going to say more because I know Bob will post when he gets a chance (and I'll be sure to add the link). I've said before, while in LA I never was star struck (course, I never hung out in places where stars might be) but I was definitely star struck watching Bob and Danny talk. And it had nothing to do with the fact that Danny Glover is Danny Glover the movie star. I was star struck by Danny Glover, the human being. He sees the big picture and is using his fame to make the world a much better place. Thank you for coming to CT to lend your support, Danny! And, of course, I was also starstruck by the infamous CT Bob. He is such a cool guy all around. After all, he is the Happiest Aggressive Interrogator.