Election time!

In Massachusetts, today (Tuesday, 9/14/2010) is pre-Election Day, so to speak: primaries. Get thee hence to the polling place designated to your location!

More interesting are the ballot initiatives which we don't get to vote on til November. Here in Mass, right-wingnut Carla Howell is again proposing a state sales tax cut, from 6.25% to 3%. Past attempts have scored an alarming number of votes, and the teabagger movement could conceivably push it over the top this year. Of course, after you watch this awesome music video, you'll probably be convinced of the idea's merit. Howell fancies herself a singer-songwriter, apparently, and recorded this hysterical tune "How Could I Live Without Filing Taxes?"



Ouch.

For a rundown of the three ballot questions this year, go here:

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Massachusetts_2010_ballot_measures

A general guide to the Mass elections can be found at the Globe's site. Less details on the questions, but will detail all of the elections.

But basically, when it comes to the questions, vote No on all three. Do it! I told you to! There's no need for you to think about it!

As a voter enrolled neither as Democrat or Republican, I can go in and choose either of their ballots for their respective primaries. I checked out the Democrats' ballot, and became pretty disinterested; most are running unopposed. I'm thinking of taking a Republican ballot so I can vote for the craziest candidates I can find. There's a Tea Party guy running for auditor named Kamal Jain; and there's this awesome Harvard U physicist named Mike Stopa running for 3rd District US rep:



He's all for the Arizona anti-immigrant law. Meanwhile: "We have four beautiful children. At least, I think they're beautiful." Amusingly, he's married to a Japanese woman, and so his Japanese-American children look like they might be stopped and interrogated were they to actually travel to Arizona.

Sadly, we can't vote for this next guy. Greatest. Stump speech. Ever. Enter Phil Davison, who's "RUNNING FOR THE POSITION OF STARK COUNTY TREASURER!!!"



"DRASTIC TIMES REQUIRES WHAT! DRASTIC MEASURES! YES!!! WHO SAID THAT!!!"

Of course, any such video treasure demands instant remixes:

Phil Davison is Coming (Braveheart Remix)



Thus Spake Phil Davison (A Space Odyssey Remix)



History's Great Speeches (Phil Davison Remix)



PHIL DAVISON - (EPIC TRANSFORMERS THEME REMIX)



Phil Davison (FOX News Version)



And of course:

Phil Davison (Sparta Remix)

Sharing is Caring

I've been telling myself to actually post something, or just yank the blog. So I'm posting something. Not much, just references to other, more interesting somethings. But I thought I'd share.


New photos I took with my brother's awesome hand-me-down camera:

Wedding Photos (kind of, not really)
Pet Pix


Watch these videos:

1) Machete started out as a fake trailer attached to Robert Rodriguez & Tarantino's Grindhouse flicks, and the former has now made it into a movie. This awesome trailer is a mix of the old trailer with some footage from the new flick:



2) And One - one of my favorite bands of all time - covered an old song of their own, and made their best video ever:



3) Brilliant animated short paying homage to H.P. Lovecraft. It might look primitive at first, but it's definitely not:




Okay, enough stalling... I have to finish some accounting work I've owed my brother for oh, half a year....

ACORN

I was just watching the video of ACORN employees helping a supposed pimp and his hooker and how easily fraudulent it might be.

Part One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UOL9Jh61S8&feature=related

Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgqORp48uik&feature=related

Only once does someone on-screen - an ACORN employee - mention any kind of sex work: "Don't call yourself a prostitute." All of the talk involving sex workers comes from the pimp, whom you never actually see. Basically you can take this video and replace his dialogue to make it sound as it probably was: the film-makers posing as a stripper and friend. They also get advice on an unlikely situation of their being in a house that's taking in 13 children from El Salvador, and some of the advice raises questions, but still might actually all be legal. The final segment has them discussing avoiding what sounds like a previous pimp, but instead was probably them giving advice on avoiding a menacing ex-boyfriend, etc. Of course the video's editing is very choppy.

The idea of ACORN employees calmly giving advice to a pimp and hooker importing 13 children from El Salvador to serve in a prostitution ring seems a bit ridiculous. The idea of Republicans wanting to destroy ACORN by whatever creative means necessary seems... well, it's not just likely, it's true. ACORN registers scads of people to vote in urban areas. If all they did was their other activities - finding poor people affordable housing, education, understanding government services and accessing existing government assistance, they wouldn't be such a threat. But registering poor people to vote is what has always required they be crushed.

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACORN#2009:_Undercover_videos_controversy

A spokesman accused O'Keefe of dubbing the audio on the videos.[60] Tresa Kaelke, one of the ACORN organizers interviewed, states she believed the actors were joking and made a variety of absurd or joking statements to them;[61][62] another interviewed employee, Juan Carlos Vera, contacted a police officer after the incident.[63] ACORN fired the Baltimore employees, but also called the first video "false", "defamatory", and stated that undercover teams had failed in similar attempts elsewhere.[64][65] On September 16, 2009, ACORN suspended advising new clients and began an internal review process, headed by Scott Harshbarger, due to "the indefensible action of a handful of [ACORN] employees".

The whole issue is being investigated by the Brooklyn DA (ACORN is based in NYC) and ACORN is suing the filmmakers, but meanwhile they're getting funding cut left and right, and their name is now used just as easily as "socialism" and "Obamacare" and "Michael Moore" to incite fear and loathing. I'm always in love with Rachel Maddow for her ongoing coverage of all of this: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/

Crasher Squirrel

Ok, I'm so easily amused that I just spent a few minutes using the Squirrelizer (http://www.lutralutra.co.uk/squirrelizer), and here's the results:

Sanford

South Carolina Gov. Sanford just got back from his curious vacation, to reveal he's been having an affair. Why is a Republican being involved in an extramarital affair still worthy of a press conference? Anyway, he has one here:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2009/06/24/sot.sc.sanford.affair.scetv

and you should watch it. Not because of what he says - he gives the usual plea for forgiveness, etc. - but because of the women behind him during his speech, who are constantly trying to stop themselves from laughing. So watch the two women on the left, but be sure to watch the woman on the right at about 45 seconds into the video.

Me miss you long time

Long time gone. A fair bit to say; but will do so in a bit. For now: O, hai!

Philately Geek

I love and hate being on this stamp store's mailing list. They're running a sale on this series of "overrun nations" from WW2 that came out in 1944. It was the first time the USPS used more than two colors in printing stamps.

What... you aren't excited about this? What the hell's wrong with you?!

Vids

Hey, first post in ages. Been feeling absolutely shit for the last four months... now am on new drug (Nardil) and am notably better. Let's see if it lasts.

Meanwhile, here's some entertainment. This chickiebabe Nataly Dawn is all over YouTube, by herself and as half of her duo Pomplamoose. Pretty damn addictive and worthy of sharing:



And in case you missed it, the phenomenal remixes of Christian Bale's awesomely awesome fuckfest:

... srsly?

In the ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!!! department:

Baghdad celebrates first public Christmas amid hope, memories

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- From a distance, it looks like an apparition: a huge multi-colored hot-air balloon floating in the Baghdad sky, bearing a large poster of Jesus Christ. Below it, an Iraqi flag. ....

.... In the middle of the park there's an art exhibit, the creation of 11- and 12-year-olds: six displays, each about three feet wide, constructed of cardboard and Styrofoam, filled with tiny dolls dressed like ordinary people, along with model soldiers and police. They look like model movie sets depicting everyday life in Baghdad.

Afnan, 12 years old, shows me her model called "Arresting the Terrorists."

"These are the terrorists," she tells me. "They were trying to blow up the school." In the middle of the street a dead "terrorist" sprawls on the asphalt, his bloody arm torn from his body by an explosion. Afnan tells me she used red nail polish to paint the blood. A little plastic dog stands nearby. "What is he doing?" I ask. "He looks for terrorists and searches for weapons and explosives," Afnan says.

Am I wrong for thinking this is absolutely insane, and potentially dangerous?

bye!

Check out this great six minute piece by Rachel Maddow on Bush administration members that, in the past 8 years, were the subjects of various scandals requiring their "release" from employment and occasional incarceration:


www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27934583#27934583

The list goes on, and on, and on. Pretty entertaining too, when reminded of the insane shit these people did. And then I have to wonder, for every crime or foul spotted, how many went undetected?

Good morning?

So, this is fucked up... I got up a couple hours ago, shortly after 5 AM, and went to the bathroom, then into the living room, where I was surprised to find my housemate Jason and pseudo-housemate Rebekah watching the Colbert Report at really high volume. WTF, I thought.

It's a couple hours later, and I've realized that that was 5 PM. Now it's past 7:30 (PM) and I'm sitting here wondering WTF just happened. I can't remember the last time I was awake. But when I got up at the ungodly hour of 5:something, I totally felt like I was getting up early in the morning, and even went to the kitchen in my robe to perform the regular ritual of getting some cereal and orange juice.

Now I have to ask Jason is he's seen me up and about earlier today. Or WTF.

Maddow Rising

The new issue of the Advocate has a great little story on my heroine, Rachel Maddow. And if you're not watching or listening to Rachel, you're missing out.

WTF are you people thinking?

Holy fucking shit: convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska is winning his race for re-election by a tiny margin. It's still too close to call, as of nearly 6PM EST on the day after, but the current tally is 48-47% w/99% of precints reporting.

Check it. Surreal. Not to leave the saner people in Alaska out in the cold or nothin' (HAW HAW HAW), but I'm really not against this secession idea.

Meanwhile Al Franken seems to have lost by not even 500 votes, which triggers an automatic recount. CNN is listing the Georgia seat as being undecided, although incumbent Saxby Chambliss - besides having the cooler name - seems way too far ahead; not sure why they haven't called it already. The Oregon seat is still up for grabs... the Dem has 2k less in votes, but a quarter of the precints have yet to complete their counts; some lean heavily for the Dem, some for the Rep incumbent.

Dangerous Game.

Massachusetts Budget Game

Question 1 on today's ballot in Massachusetts is asking us to eliminate personal income tax in Massachusetts. Once the police have had their funding slashed to ribbons, I will feel far safer in getting away with smashing in the skulls of those who vote Yes on 1.


... I just finished my budget actually... I won! Did it! I had to cut health care, human services (elderly, disabled, transitional assistance, mental retardation, children/families, etc.), the state police, prosecutors, and prison system, most of the fire and public safety services, and some dubious sounding "additional assistance" being given to various "local areas."

Good thing I'm on SSI/Medicare/etc. now. If I hadn't been on MassHealth back in 2000-1, I'd have died, but, since I don't need it anymore, bye, fuckos!

O-ho.

Inane prattle post:

I've got a real man-crush on Morten Harket. I'm listening to something from his new solo album, but most people would look at him and say "ah, the a-ha guy," which would be correct... he's the lead singer of a-ha. He's the doll on the right on this 1980's album cover:



Thing is, here's a couple shots of him from a live appearance a few weeks ago, too:



The guy is almost fucking 50. I'm jealous of his beauty.

Tangential aside: I just learned from Wikipedia that Harket holds the record for longest note held in a "hit" (I imagine that means "top 40") song... 20.2 seconds in "Summer Moved On" from their album "Minor Earth, Major Sky" (2000). Yay for Wikipedia.

Anyway, the new a-ha album is out early 2009, so, another reason to live another year. Yeah yeah, I know most everyone is thinking "a-ha? srsly? LOL!" Yes, they are still alive. They broke up and regrouped, and have put out an album every 2 or 3 years since 2000. Interestingly they've gone from being on the forefront of technopop in the 80s to increasingly analogue in these past few years (to the point where "Analogue" is even the name of their 2005 album... which rocks).

Worst timing ever.

Man, this is sad... Obama's grandmother just died. One more day and she could have seen him (hopefully) become president. Fuck.

Agist, racist America.

Current stories on CNN.com:

"Could McCain Lose His Home State?" - Jesus, people, enough with the senility jokes already.

"Obama Could Steal McCain's State" - Yeah, because all black people are thieves. WTF.