Mind Vomit by the ikss

anger management

OK, I need to take the Iggy Pop CD out of my computer and switch to something a bit more...calming...because I am seriously on the verge of throttling the temp who works for me right now. Normally, she is fine and I plan on hiring her full-time, as soon as I can. I have her working on a project right now, though, which is making her freak the hell out. She has come in to my office, seriously frantic, several times. She has gone to others, as well. And do you know what she's working on? She's making telephone calls and asking customers to fax us a sheet of paper. That's it. And there are only 13 customers to call! Also, apparently, if there is no phone number written down in front of her, calling directory assistance is not only something she would never think of, but is something which just adds to her overhwleming sense of misery.

She's acting like I asked her to do brain surgery, using only a textbook as her guide.

It is all I can do not to scream at her, "You're a fucking temp, woman. Make the calls and get the stuff done or I will get someone in here for whom making telephone calls is not cause for a mental breakdown."

Lord, grant me patience.

i heart keith olbermann

OK, granted, I love Keith Olbermann and if I ever wanted to have babies I'd want them to be his (or John Cusack’s, of course)...but y'all have to watch these clips. One more reason to realize that Rush Limbaugh is a piece of dog shit on the shoe of society. And Sean Hannity is just an insane blowhard who seriously makes me want to commit a violent crime every time he opens his mouth.

http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/0 8/13/right-wing-media-one-two-punch/?icid=100214839x1207711949x1200417548

republicans for obama

Republicans come out for Obama

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Former Republican Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa Tuesday endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president.

The former House member said Obama's platform is one of "old American values that are as much a part of the Republican as the Democratic tradition," ABC News reported.

The Illinois senator's platform is "a call to change," Leach said. "But the change that he so gracefully is articulating is more renewal than departure."...

Leach made his announcement in a conference call announcing the start of "Republicans for Obama."

Others in the group include former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Rita Hauser, who served on President George Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and the President's Intelligence Oversight Board.

Hauser said if likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain, the senator from Arizona, were elected it would mean a "third" term for Bush's policies.

"It's difficult to walk away from your nominee but you have to put your country first," Hauser said.

me...and ikea

Hey - IKEA may soon stock solar panels.

OK, I no longer find their stores (and those HUGE catalogues they insist on mailing to me, no matter how many times I ask them not to) quite so annoying. If they’d knock off the catalogues, I may just step inside a store.

But back to what I really intended to write about today – ME and my musical state.

After I went on a self-pity rampage a couple of weeks ago, I decided to bite the proverbial bullet and make a concerted effort to find myself a band, or at least a few musicians who wouldn’t mind hanging out with me and making some music. To that end, I have been talking with two bands: A country cover band and a blues-based rock band which needs a lyricist and singer.

I met (and sang) with the country cover band last week, but am not going to pursue anything with them. They were all super-nice gentlemen, but the "country" music they like is…well, it’s everything I hate about country music. I have never in my life seen a song list so heavily weighted in favor of Brooks and Dunn. Oh and? Toby Keith. Toby-freakin'-Keith, people! You have no idea how...dirty...I felt, singing "Little Less Talk". It was like singing a passage from the Satanic bible or something.

I thought about doing it anyway, but I know it would drive me crazy to sing those lame-ass songs all the time, so I bowed out. It would have been the country equivalent to singing Britney Spears, if you get me. I'm not sure which is worse - singing crap or not singing at all. In the end, I decided I am not quite desperate enough to sing the crap.

The other band is headed up by a guy I used to work with. Thus far, he’s staying true to the musicians’ reputation of being a bit of a flake, but I’m practicing that virtue known as patience…it takes a lot of practice, for me.

In other news – I am so over Summer already. Come back fog and 70 degree weather!

urgent action - protect america's endangered species

America's landmark law protecting endangered species is under attack and we need your help.

Late yesterday, news broke that the Bush administration has drafted proposed new rules to dramatically weaken the Endangered Species Act.

We need your help to fight back. Add your voice to the chorus of opposition to this outrageous proposal.

Take action today.

With only five months remaining in office, the Bush Administration revealed yesterday that it would soon publish a proposal that would eliminate independent scientific reviews and undermine species protections in favor of fast-tracking federal development projects.

The Administration characterized its forthcoming proposal as only "narrow changes" to existing regulations. Unfortunately, those narrow changes are likely to have broad consequences.

Until now, the ESA has required interagency consultation between "action agencies" that build dams or highways, issue oil and gas leases or timber cutting contracts, etc., and the "conservation agencies" that have the primary responsibility for protecting endangered species (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service).

The existing process has worked pretty well, often resulting in minor, but important, changes to proposed projects so as to avoid adverse impacts to rare plants and animals.

If the proposed regulatory revisions are adopted, the independent scrutiny provided by the conservation agencies will no longer be required.

Instead, the very agencies whose primary mission it is to oversee and promote federal development projects will decide for themselves whether their actions will have any adverse impact on rare species.

This is your chance to stand up for endangered species protections.

Email President Bush today.

Tell him you oppose the outrageous changes to weaken the ESA and that you support wildlife protections to ensure future generations will continue to enjoy America's rich natural heritage.

Together, we will do everything we can to stand against this assault on the landmark Endangered Species Act.

Thanks for your activism and support,
Environmental Defense Fund Action Network

please help the wolves

A federal judge has ordered the Bush administration to restore endangered species protections for gray wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the northern Rockies until the full case can be heard in court. NRDC, Earthjustice and other groups requested the preliminary injunction in order to stop the slaughter of wolves that ensued after the Bush administration stripped them of federal protection in March. In the months leading up to the court's ruling, more than 110 wolves were killed in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming -- about one per day. Meanwhile, NRDC interns stationed at an information booth inside Yellowstone this summer collected more than 200 signatures per day from visitors who were eager to show their support for creating a long-term recovery plan for wolves. Please make your own voice heard on behalf of wolf recovery by going to the website of our partner organization, the NRDC Action Fund.

» Urge the Interior Department to ensure a healthy future for wolves in the northern Rockies.

TAKING A STAND FOR BIOGEMS
As you know, NRDC's 1.2 million Members and online activists play a critical role in waging our BioGems battles -- from taking online action and attending public hearings to providing crucial financial support. NRDC Members who live in BioGem areas have even helped us win some our most important legal fights by testifying in court to the dangers that pollution and other industrial threats pose to local wildlands, wildlife and communities. Last May, testimony from Members in the Yellowstone/Greater Rockies BioGem helped persuade a federal judge to strike down a rule that exempted oil and gas projects from clean water requirements, thereby protecting thousands of streams across the West from hazardous contamination. To find out more about becoming an NRDC Member, click here.

john edwards

I wanted to write today about John Edwards’ alleged affair, but I read something which totally says what I wanted to say. So I am providing you a link to these articles. Also, here are some excerpts by Digby at Hullabaloo and by Cenk Uygur at the Huffington Post (I have melded the two together):

Media Salivate Over Edwards' Affair; Shrug Shoulders Over McCain's Alleged Infidelity

I realize that everybody gets excited about sex scandals. It's human nature. But it's important to keep in mind that John Edwards didn't even come close to winning the nomination and this is just another sleazy tabloid story with absolutely no serious significance other than the sickening spectacle of the prurient slavering of the mainstream media now that they have finally found their hook: it's because he lied to the press about his sex life. How could he???

(Lying to the press about the anthrax killers and WMD in Iraq, well, not a problem)…

Now, we get to the most relevant question - if John Edwards' political career is done, why isn't John McCain's? John McCain had a well-documented affair on his first wife, with his current wife. He has admitted in the books he has written about his life that he ran around with several different women while still married to his first wife. And don't forget that he left her for a younger, richer woman - multi-millionaire Cindy Hensley who is now Cindy McCain - after she had been severely hurt in a car accident.

So, why are McCain's actions any more excusable than Edwards'? Because it was thirty years ago? Does that wash it away? Will we be fine with Edwards running for office again in a couple of years because then it will all be in the past? What is the statute of limitations on an affair?...

I personally don't care who any of these people are sleeping with (especially McCain). Marriage is a very complicated institution and I don't pass judgment on how others conduct theirs. I think this is all bullshit. But if the media has decided that even a failed politician who has no chance at the presidency can be subject to this kind of scrutiny, then they need to be a little bit more vigilant about pursuing someone who is the nominee of his party and has been very publicly linked to a specific woman by the paper of record, not the National Enquirer. If these are the rules, then this guy is a far more likely subject of scrutiny than Edwards.

mike stinson

Yo, kids.

So Friday night I took Dr. Niece and her BFF Mimi to Culver City to see Mr. Mike Stinson. Um…I got home at 5am Saturday.

Not only did I get home at an ungodly hour but, because he had to work, The Old Man’s alarm went off at 6:30am. Ninety minutes after I got home. And then, of course, we had to start talking to each other. By the time the dude left for work, I was wide awake and although I tried my gall-darndest, I never went back to sleep. Instead, I worked from home (have we discussed the fact that I am fed up with my job?) and piddly-farted around the house until the Old Man got home and we went to have fish tacos for linner (late lunch/early dinner)*.

Good lord, I was tuckered.

I got lots of sleep Saturday night, though. Like 13 hours or something. I didn’t wake up Sunday until 11am.

The more important topic of discussion, though, is Mr. Stinson himself, who just utterly rocks. You know, like only a country boy can rock. I have not seen him in over two years and am now kicking myself that I haven’t been going out to see him, like, once a week. It really should be part of my routine. I left the bar worn out but energized and just loving life in a way that only really great music can make me love it.

survey du jour

Because I’m lazy and do not want to think up a blog entry today, I stole this from Andrea, who stole it from someone else.

What happened at 9:00 am today?
I lied to a co-worker, so I could postpone our meeting until Monday.
What do you want in your life right now?
A good band who can write and enjoys playing in more than one genre.
Are you wearing anything you borrowed from someone?
Nope.
What is the last thing someone bought you?
Flowers. The Old Man brought me some flowers when I’d had a bad day.

supplements, the sequel

Apparently, my assumptions that I have only two readers of this here blog have been erroneous. I may have as many as five – count ‘em, five - regular readers! Yay for the ikss!

The reason I am making such a high-fallutin’ claim is that I have received not one, not two, but five emails asking for details as to what supplements I take, exactly, and why. So rather than write five long-winded emails, I thought I would answer the questions I received in a blog entry.

My apologies to Andrea, who received such a long-winded email before I realized I would be asked essentially the same questions by several different parties…

Needless to say, I am not a doctor and I’ve never even played one on t.v. The following is just stuff I have learned over the years, after reading a lot and looking in to various health issues I have had and also from working at The Vitamin Shoppe (yes, I was working two jobs for about a year, ostensibly to save money toward European travel. And you wonder why I did not blog for so long). I of course think I know everything, but to be safe you may want to read up on these things yourself or even ask your doctor – who will probably steer you away from natural supplements and toward pharmaceuticals, but that is an entirely different subject.