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pandagon_net)
The various complaints with Barack Obama’s appearance in Germany have ranged from location to content. Now, we see another line of attack lining up: Obama’s luring people with music and food.
We all remember the Decembrists “controversy”, wherein he seemed to draw every Decembrists fan in the continental United States to a single place in order to falsely inflate the size of his rally. The Decembrists followed that up by performing in a community rec center...the biggest rec center ever!
The idiocy’s already made it to alter Perfesser and der freie Republik, meaning that it should be heading up Fox News’ way by three or so. I’m also kind of amazed at the idea that in order for an event to remain “pure”, it must be nothing but the politician heading the rally speaking. Bringing any other form of entertainment, preoccupation, comestible or even just some dude handing out flyers is tantamout to rigging the system and, hey, fascism!
haikujaguar)
• Finish one book, where book="writing project that is complete in itself and takes many months to create."
• Publish one book, where book="anything worth selling, whether that's a short story collection, novel, or coffee-table art book."
• Put down bones for book, where book="writing project."
• Finish one painting, where painting="something complicated enough to be a novel in art."
• Put down bones for another two paintings.
• Finish any poetry, short fiction or "short paintings" I feel compelled to do.
susandeer)
feministe)
Image stolen from that other original Fake Pretty Feminist.
It’s true; you’ve all been duped. Unless you were just here for the titties in the first place, in which case, welcome!
(I know I shouldn’t respond to these things either, but this one was just too good).
So in the spirit of running an anti-feminist vice den, and in the spirit of this fabulous vice-ridden post, there’s some hot dudely vice action below the fold. Probably not safe for work.
Romain Duris: Hottest man alive. Also the background on my cell phone.
So is Sayeed:
So is Stringer Bell:
And the rest are just half-nekkid eye candy:
(Not sure how I feel about the fact that he’s wearing a bandana, but I’m willing to ignore that in favor of his ass).
superveganblog)
[Humpback whales wave their fins as we pass by.]
Antarctic sunset. One of the rare days of good weather.
The waters get greener the closer we get to Australia.
The Aurora Australis, perhaps the origin of Dust. (photo by ship's official photographer Noah Hannibal)
solarbird)
Okay, so there's this "housing bailout" bill (HR 3221) that's pretty much a Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae bailout bill. It gives Treasury Secretary Paulson only very loosely limited access to US debt instruments to bail out these two government-chartered but privately-held housing-finance corporations. I've linked to articles talking about why this is a bad idea before. The House passed it last night; it goes now to the Senate.
One of the reasons this is bad is that the stated ideas about how much value loss the housing credit crisis includes still do not reflect reality. They still assume that housing prices can be stabilised at historically high levels, which is not going to happen. I'm sorry; it's just not. The real losses are now starting to be acknowledged as being around US$1.5T. This bill essentially allows Mr. Paulson to cover these losses with government money, which is to say, taxpayer funds.
Now, the US government debt ceiling will limit that (unless raised again) to US$800B or so. But no matter how you cut it, that's an absolute assload of new government debt - which means new government borrowing, or created money - and in a pretty short period of time.
Here are the questions you need to ask:
What's that going to do to the US dollar? And what's that going to do to the cost of US government borrowing? And what's that going to do to the cost of financing the current very large government debt? And what's that going to do to the size of that debt, once you add in the new, higher interest rates generated?
I suppose you could also ask, "Do I want to pay to bail out these bondholders?"
The bond market already appears not to like this discussion. The 10 year bond has added 359 basis points to bond interest rates since Mr. Paulson said it should happen a week ago. (C.f. chart here.) This could be real. Or... might not be. I suspect that if it passes, we'll get another short-term stock rally, which will drive bond rates down a bit - at first.
Look, I understand the urge to Do Something. I have my own ideas about what should be done. (I was arguing for the Short Sharp Shock some, what, 18 months ago?) And I'm not at all as confident about this as I am most things I go public about, but the time factor makes taking my best guess and hoping it's the right one kinda mandatory. I could be wrong about what should be done; I could be wrong about the fallout from this. I would say the odds of being wrong are higher than usual, because there are simply too many unknowns.
Or, on the other hand, the Senate could be passing Smoot-Hawley for a New Generation later this afternoon or tomorrow.
Do what you think you need to.
mecampbellesq)
"Finding romance when travelling is like finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk: It's nice when it happens, but don't expect it.
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anthroswingsofjudas)
Marker commissions, one character, no background: $10
$15 for two characters, tips welcome. Shipping free within U.S., $3 otherwise.
email/paypal: wingsofjudas@gmail.com
wingsofjudasart, depending on how many I get I might impose a cap, so act fast!spiritualmonkey)I've been accused (more than once) of having a Mad Max vision of the future.
Not necessarily. I absolutely believe in The Long Emergency. I think American, and indeed, World society is on deck for serious upheavals.
But what kind of future is it going to be?
I've come up with a couple of books I've read recently that each, in their way, paint a possible future. I recommend them all as great reading in and of themselves.
Imagine a great metropolis covering hundreds of square miles. Once a vital component in a national economy, this sprawling urban environment is now a vast collection of blighted buildings, an immense petri dish of both ancient and new diseases, a territory where the rule of law has long been replaced by near anarchy in which the only security available is that which is attained through brute power. (1) Such cities have been routinely imagined in apocalyptic movies and in certain science-fiction genres, where they are often portrayed as gigantic versions of T. S. Eliot's Rat's Alley. (2) Yet this city would still be globally connected. It would possess at least a modicum of commercial linkages, and some of its inhabitants would have access to the world's most modern communication and computing technologies. It would, in effect, be a feral city.I could totally see Oakland going feral after a major earthquake. BEFORE Iraq, emergency planners were talking about "in case of major earthquake expect to be on your own with no rescue for two weeks". I don't see any help coming now. Maybe Blackwater will be sent in to secure the port. But if all the roads are ripped to shreds, what good is a port? I expect they'll leave us all to die here in the 510 if a devastating quake hits.
feministing)
Besides having the best title ever--You're Amazing! A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self--this Girls Inc. sponsored, young adult nonfiction book is also the shiznit (come on, this is for the tweens) because it's written by Claire Mysko, feministing fan and awesome young feminist upstart.
In an age when every 13-year-old is made to walk the tightrope of high-pressure adolescence--make out but don't be slutty, worry about your weight but don't become a bore, do well in school but don't become a total nerd--this book is so needed. It's, in some ways, a reaction to the Supergirl Dilemma study that Girls Inc. conducted, which showed that girls today are feeling more empowered, but also way more anxious.
Mysko walks girls through all sorts of different rough patches--rejection, gossip, parents' fighting--with the cool ease of a big sister. She's not patronizing or cheesy about it, just compassionate and real. And what's even better--she quotes real girls through out the entire thing. Their voices are totally honored--like this heart breaker section where she asks, "If you could tell older adults in your life one thing you need to hear from them...what would it be?":
"Even if we make you angry or do something wrong, we always want to be told that we're loved and appreciated. Nobody's perfect." -Emma, 13
"Respect our opinions and help us, don't control us!" -Tabitha, 12
"Tell me I'm important!" -Rose, 11
You're important! You're important! Is that my inner 12-year-old crying? Okay, seriously, this book is amazing. You should get it for your little sister, niece, next door neighbor, bad ass lemonade saleswoman.
*There are also places to journal, quizzes (gotta love the quizzes), and feminist history worked in all sneaky like.
feministing)
Check out the trailer for this new doc, Seeking Happily Ever After, that a friend of a friend is working on about the 60 million single women over 30 and the ways in which they are remaking the "happily ever after" fairytale.
The filmmakers, Kerry David and Michelle Cove, are throwing a big fundraiser in LA on August 14th, so if you're in the area and all about radical revisioning of love/happiness/partnership, definitely show your support. Details here.
hascheezburger)
Training mah humin to walk on a leash
dis kitteh haz his hoomin traind.
picture: dunno source, via our lolcat builder. lol caption: two_kittehs
ysabetwordsmith)
I spotted this over on sfwriters:
The group can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jewishSpejewishspecfic.
If I haven't mentioned it before, my main SF setting has a strong Jewish thread, because one of the scientists most involved with creating (accidentally) the first stardrive was Jewish. So he got to contribute a lot of the vocabulary, which makes things interesting. Also the Jews settled at least one colony planet that I know of; I don't have a finished story of it, but I do have a few scene sketches. Thus, I like to keep an eye on Jewish SF.
ysabetwordsmith)
Among my favorite companies is The Ginger People. Here you'll find products, news, health tips, recipes, a store locater, and other goodies.
The Original Ginger Chews are a favorite candy -- soft as a tootsie roll, but with a fiery golden flavor. Even if your teeth are bad you can enjoy these, just suck instead of chewing. They are quite hot. Other soft candy flavors, and hard candies, are also available.
The Baker's Cut Crystallized Ginger Chips are tiny little bits of candied ginger intended for baking. This is what went into yesterday's blueberry-ginger crumble.
Ginger can soothe such complaints as nausea, indigestion, menstrual cramps, and certain types of inflammation. It is a warming herb that encourages circulation and weight loss.
As a spice, ginger is not the cheapest but for most people a little bit goes a very long way. Powdered ginger has a subtle warmth and isn't horribly expensive. It's good in cookies, cakes, pies, sauces, soups, poultry, ham, etc. Usually it's added by the teaspoon or less, in combination with other spices. Fresh ginger root is priced similar to other fresh vegetables, and is very hot. A tablespoon or two of this in a whole pot of beans will pep them up nicely. It is also a meat tenderizer, so it's great in marinades. Candied ginger is very hot and sweet, also pretty costly; mincing it fine makes it go farther and reduces the "yow!" effect. It's best in cookies, cakes, pies, and other baked desserts. Add it a teaspoon at a time to taste, or by the tablespoon if you love ginger and have plenty.
Me, I eat whole candied ginger out of the bag, when I can get it. Other types of hot spice, I have to be careful with, but my tolerance for ginger is very high. High enough that I like Jamaican brands of ginger beer; I know I'm onto something good if the clerk looks at my fair skin and tries to talk me out of buying it. As I always say, "Good ginger beer leaves a pleasant warmth in your mouth and a tingle on your tongue. Great ginger beer atomizes your gullet on the way down!"
ninjahijinx)In my town, there are slime molds. I love them. I saw one in the mulch near where I parked my bike, yesterday, all dried up, but covered with little gooey beads of slime. I did battle with it, and gained 15 xp.
cute_overload)
[sucking thumb + bamboo strand]
Here's the deal.
I'm a golden-haired, mini mohawk-sporting, teeny-nostrilled monkeh.
And I own your soul. all of it! All. FYI.
Ooh-ooh-ah-ah, Sparkling T.!
doodlesthegreat)
A quick post from the madhouse of the Comiccon exhibit hall. Craziest preview night EVAR. And the EconoLodge in Lemon Grove is tolerable, especially with the Food 4 Less next door. Gotta go, so I'll see you later!
P.S.
Those who wish to get in and have my cell phone can call me. I have a spare Pro badge under Beau Burrigmi.
solarbird)
I know it's stupid early, but those of you going to Norwescon next year for sure might want to go ahead and reserve your rooms. (You can do that here, at the Hotels page of the Norwescon website with a credit card.) We're through half our room block already (as of a few days ago) and they already had to expand the Wednesday block so more concom members could register. (Don't worry, we're not almost out of rooms on any day regular attendees might care about. Just half out, which is bad enough.)
I dunno what's going on, but people are reserving rooms crazy early this time, which kind of continues a trend started last year when the hotel was booked up by late December. So now you know. ^_^
http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/one_s
http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/one_s
In the aftermath of Obama’s Berlin speech, I do believe that Kyra Phillips of CNN just called Kenya his home country.