25 February, 2008

Don't Watch This Unless You Want To Just Skip To The End of the Story

Diebold accidently leaks the results of the 2008 Presidential Election.

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

I'd be able to laugh at this more, if it weren't so close to the truth.

(h/t to Jeff Fecke over at Shakesville

Labels: eeek, HAHA

~~ victoria on 7:59 PM ~~ 0 comments

24 February, 2008

Weekend U2: Gloria

No NOT the G-L-O-R-I-A version! The version that, the first time I saw the video about 25 years ago, the chorus stuck in my head for weeks. All due respect to Van Morrison, whom I adore, there is just something I've always found particularly charming about this song.

Labels: rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music

~~ victoria on 4:40 PM ~~ 0 comments

Simon Sunday: The Charmer

I came home Friday evening to find that quite a number of Simon and Billie's toys had migrated from their toy box onto my bed. Twist ties in many sizes and colours, Crackle Turtle (partially disemboweled), Crackle Squirrel (similarly maimed), a bobble bop and the last of Simon's Favourite jingle balls. Here's me thinking he slept all day when I was at the office!

We've tried a new tack with the problem of Getting Billie To Eat. She's damned determined that she'll have her meals served "free choice," but with He Who Eats Everything on the prowl that just isn't possible unless I leave him locked in the bedroom (I can't keep her in the bedroom because then she gets pissed off and pees on the bed). In desperation last Thursday, I brought her dish out just before going to bed. I brought Simon into the bedroom with me and kept the door closed while we slept. That way she had several hours to eat her food and, since she tends to be more on the nocturnal end of the scale, she has most of the apartment to herself to run around and play in. I have now dubbed her Vampira, since she feeds primarily at night. Thankfully, Simon is being good about being kept in the bedroom so far. In the past he has tended to insist on being let loose and would pester me or knock stuff off of the dresser until I relented and let him go.

I'm hoping that we've finally hit on a feeding plan where Billie finally gains back her weight, even though this is gonna make things really tricky finding someone to sit for them when I have to be out of town. Feeding them already was a bit of a time commitment: Now it's kind of a logistic nightmare because I'm certain that this works because I'm with Simon at night. I couldn't stand the thought of him being locked in the bedroom all alone for hours.

Here's hoping I don't come to that bridge anytime soon.

Labels: Billie, cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday

~~ victoria on 4:26 PM ~~ 0 comments

17 February, 2008

Weekend Young Fresh Fellows: Picture Book

Still feeling some PNW nostalgia, but this week we'll go a bit farther north to Seattle. These guys did some great pop in that classic vein of the Kinks (an especially edgy Kinks, actually) and were one of the best live acts I've had the pleasure of seeing.

I'm pretty sure I was at this show! (I was resurfacing after a very horrible year right about this time.) And I most certainly have fond memories of Bohemia After Dark. (edit: I WAS at that show! Completely Grocery was on the bill and I remember seeing them open for YFF.)

Labels: music, rock 'n' roll, waxing nostalgic, Weekend Music

~~ victoria on 9:31 PM ~~ 0 comments

Simon Sunday: Having Commandeered My Ironing Board

Simon discovered that the ironing board made a great place for a cat nap since it was nice and warm after I had ironed my skirt and a couple of shirts.

Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday

~~ victoria on 2:34 PM ~~ 0 comments

14 February, 2008

San Francisco Can Be Crazy Wonderful

Pillow Fight, originally uploaded by Planet Vicster.

This evening was the annual Pillow Fight held in Justin Herman Plaza. The set is on Flickr of course. I'll be adding to it over the next couple of days as I process more images. Right now, I'm exhausted.

And moulting.

~~ victoria on 10:42 PM ~~ 0 comments

10 February, 2008

Weekend Dead Moon: It's OK

Eh, I'm still in a nostalgic PDX music mood. I had a hard time deciding between this one and 54/40 Or Fight, which is also a totally kick-ass tune. But It's OK is the song I put on when I'm feeling very low and lonely and not very clever at all and I need to cheer up. Pearl Jam did a good cover of this song as well.

Labels: Dead Moon, Portland Rock, rock 'n' roll, waxing nostalgic, Weekend Music

~~ victoria on 5:25 PM ~~ 0 comments

Simon Sunday: Toez

Although he has tried to dunk that paw into countless dishes of my food, I have NOT made it into a keychain. Besides, I think you're supposed to use the hind feet for keychains.

Kidding!

Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday

~~ victoria on 4:52 PM ~~ 0 comments

05 February, 2008

SuperDooperPooperFat Tuesday

Up until the moment I sat down in the polling cubicle, I had not decided which of the candidates would get my vote. I momentarily considered getting a Republican ballot just to fux with them, but I took the NP Democrat one instead because this election year IS THAT IMPORTANT. My candidate, up until last week, was John Edwards: I nearly filled in the line next to his name, just on principal.

In the end, I tossed my Mardi Gras beads to Hillary Clinton. It was NOT a vote against Barack Obama: Come November, I will vote for either one of them. It came down to Clinton's experience, as a statesman and as a working woman. She has had every misogynistic epithet thrown at her, she has (as most women do) worked twice has hard--or more--to get the same recognition as her male counterparts. She has been ripped apart and her every action second-guessed and scrutinized in ways that her male counterparts could never imagine. People find reasons to hate her, no matter what she does. She's too cold. She's too emotional. Blah Blah Blahbitty-freakin' Blah. And it's not bad enough that she's faced this from the Right Wing; she's had to face it from people who call themselves Liberals for whom it's not enough to disagree with her policies, they have to disagree in the most disparaging, deeply misogynistic way. I'm deeply ashamed to admit I've participated in that myself, up until I listened to the words I was saying and didn't like what I heard. (The Left Coaster has taken on the disheartening task of listing the ways that institutionalized misogyny is alive in well, not just in the mainstream media but in much of the progressive blogosphere as well. h/t to quixote at Shakesville) Don't get me wrong, the Clinton campaign has let loose some amazingly cringe-worthy racist comments. But Barack Obama hasn't been picked apart simply for being black in the way that Hillary Clinton has simply because she's a woman. And after all of that, Hillary Clinton is still standing. John Kerry couldn't even survive the Attack of the Swift Boaters. That says a lot.

Anyway, I'm really not here to rant. The thing is, I could just as easily have voted for Barack Obama tonight and I'm very happy for my friends who did vote for him. He is an incredibly dynamic man and his candidacy, along with Clinton's, has breathed life into a Democratic Party that has largely been DOA. This is history being made, people! We have the first woman candidate for president competing with the first African American candidate for president! It's amazing and it's exciting and it's wonderful and, at last, I can look toward November with a feeling of hope instead of a feeling of dread.

edit to add: Oh, man, this sucks. LA County is huge. Too huge to not have their shit together on this so that poll workers and voters are properly informed on voting procedure. As a Decline to State voter, I had no problem at all tonight at my polling place.

'nuther edit: Yes, I know that the GOP, in their paranoid state, made it so that you must be registered GOP to vote on the Republican ballot. Honestly? The idea of getting a Republican ballot to fux with them was a fleeting gleefully evil thought. To be sure, I'd set fire to my ballot before I'd waste it voting for one of those candidates.

Labels: politics, Why it is

~~ victoria on 8:27 PM ~~ 1 comments

03 February, 2008

Weekend Dharma Bums: The Light In You

I know I've said this before, but Portland had one seriously awesome music scene in the mid-to-late 80's and early 90's (there is still some really great music coming from PDX, but I'm feeling nostalgic today). The Bums were my most favourite. I was so heartbroken when they broke up and for years held onto hope that they would come to their senses and get back together. As many times as I've been dumped in my life, I think THEIR breakup is the one breakup that I've never completely gotten over.

Fans of The Decemberists will recognize John Moen in this video. This was from their third and final album, "Welcome". Jeremy had cut off his hair by then but was still incredibly hot (as was Eric). John and Jim were, as always, ridiculously adorable. I had crushes on all of them at one time or another.

Hope you're on the mend, Jeremy!