My Cousin's Wedding

Before heading out to California last week, we went to my cousin's wedding on a plantation just outside of Charlottesville. I'm sure the former owner's were rolling over in their graves!

Wild, Wild West

 

So, we're sitting here enjoying the weather, and look what was walking down the street!

California Dreamin'

Greetings from the Left Coast! The FW and I are in Monterey for a few days before heading up to Berkeley for a wedding. It's about 35 degrees cooler here than it was in DC when we left yesterday. It's actually chilly - 62 degrees or so. Brrr!

Happy 4th

Hope you all had a happy and safe Independence Day. I did it in the quintessential American way - with my family and friends, drinking beer and eating burgers and dogs cooked over hot coals. It doesn't get any better.

And to close out my favorite holiday, here's our National Anthem.

Virginia is for.... Patriots!

Wahoowa! 

Happy Independence Day Folks!!

Summer Time - it's a family thing

My little brother and his family (his wife Maggie and daughter Maya) are flying in tomorrow morning from San Diego. I'm so excited - since he moved out the west coast 8 years ago, it's very rare that the entire clan gets together. For the 4th, we're all headed to my sister's house (Mom and Dad will be there too), and on Saturday, everyone will be driving to Charlottesville for my cousin's wedding - 4 generations will be there!

Take Care, TiTi. We'll miss you.

It's a sad, sad day in the Chaz household. My favorite player on my favorite team has left. Thierry Henry has left Arsenal for Barcelona, and I'm pretty upset about. It's like my best friend decided to start dating my ex-girlfriend. Anyway, I was an Arsenal supporter long before Henry came to the club, and they're still my favorites. But it's gonna take awhile to get over.

Here's the man in action:



But fear not, Gunner fans, for we do have Robin Van Persie!

Great News

V's been released from the hospital. No more voices! Once I get the details, I'll fill you in.

Hmm

While signing his veto of the stem-cell research bill, President Bush said

"Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical".

Isn't that his reason for the war in Iraq? Kill them over there before they kill us over here? Just sayin'.

Why we can't win in Iraq

I'm reading a fascinating book, "Caesar - Life of A Colossus", by Adrian Goldsworthy, and in his chapters dealing with Caesar's Gallic Wars, I've discovered the reason we won't be able to win the war in Iraq. Caesar was bogged down in a similar situation in Gaul - he had invaded a territory he thought he knew, but came to find out that the inhabitants didn't necessarily want to be ruled by an imperial power. After initial successes, the legions came under more and more attacks from the Gauls, leading to an entire legion being destroyed. The Gauls weren't a unified nation with an army willing and/or able to meet the Romans in a head to head fight, so they resorted to guerrilla tactics.

Caesar "wanted to regain the initiative, which inevitably at the beginning of a revolt lay with the rebels. The Roman army would attack and would show that Rome was still strong in spite of defeat, and that the consequences of opposing it were appalling. The tribes had no single leader, no capital and looked unlikely even to mass into a single field army. Nor would the defeat of one necessarily cause others to capitulate, and each had to be defeated in turn. Lacking these clear targets, Caesar would instead attack the homes and farms of the warriors. Houses would be burned, crops and herds consumed or destroyed, and people killed or enslaved. The Romans had a word for this activity, vastatio, which is the root of the word devastation, and even a verb vastare for the process. It was brutal in the extreme, but could be effective, terrifying the enemy into admitting defeat and coming to terms. Throughout history occupying forces have often turned to similar methods, but few have surpassed Caesar's legions in their ruthlessly efficient application."

The only way we could do this would be to totally abandon who and what we are as a nation. We don't do terror, it's just not are way. It's the opposite of what we say our objective is, winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people (which isn't working by the way). And because we aren't as ruthless, as cruel as those we are fighting, we won't win this fight.

South Beach

And these are from our trip to South Beach back in January.



South Beach 07

Ireland

Just found a bunch of pix on my hard drive and thought I'd share them. I'll start with our trip to Ireland a few years ago.



Ireland

Obama on Iraq

Today.

Good News

V should be discharged from the hospital Thursday or Friday.

Oh my God, Obama's a racist! (er, no he's not)

So the leftie blogs (of which I consider myself one) are all in a tither about a memo the Obama camp has been circulating attacking Hillary Clinton for accepting donations from Indian-American companies that outsource jobs to India. According the them, he must be a racist, he called her HILLARY CLINTON (D-PUNJAB). The problem is, she said this about herself last year.

So, apart from the D-Punjab part (which Hillary herself said last year), what about the memo was bad? Are American jobs being sent to India or not? Is Hillary actively courting Indian donors or not? The fact that people are attacking the Obama campaign kind of proves the point - don't say anything about jobs going to India or you must be a racist.

More on V

Dr. Sheerer met with V yesterday and tells us that he believes she's suffering from a psychotic episode and that she should recover fully. He doubts that any medication caused her break, but that the stress she's been under may have had a big part to do with it. She's just not capable of dealing with stress the way that you or I would be able to.

She'll be in the hospital for at least another week. She's still hearing the voices, but she's getting better. Fingers crossed.

Passing the buck

1st, the good news. V's doing better - still hearing voices, but now that she's in the hospital and knows that she's safe, she's improved a lot. So much so, that when Amber was visiting last night, V told her "okay, you can go home now"! Vintage V, she'll let you know exactly how she's feeling and when she's had enough of you.

The bad news - in the time-honored tradition of bureaucrats everywhere, the people who run Victoria's residence are planning on filing a complaint against Amber and/or V's doctor - blaming them for V's breakdown. Incredible! I don't know what to say. Amber does EVERYTHING for her sister, including everything her counselors are supposed to do, and they're now blaming her? They're saying the combination of meds V's on is the cause of the breakdown, never mind the fact that the hospital hasn't said that's the case. V's been on medication to control her weight. The part of your brain that tells you that you're full isn't working on V and she'll just eat and eat and eat - Amber took her to a doctor a few months ago and was able to get her a prescription for Meridia. Now, one of the side effects is mood changes - but this was not a mood change, it was psychosis. Assholes.

We've been blessed to have wonderful family and friends who've been supporting us through all of this, from as far away as San Diego and Sri Lanka! I especially want to thank my little brother's father-in-law Clark (a psychiatrist), who called the other night and helped us a ton.

Good News

V is resting now at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. Amber went to visit her earlier today, but she was sound asleep - her first real sleep in over a week. We're headed back this evening.

The Northern Virginia Training Center, one of five regional residential training centers for individuals with intellectual disabilities operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, is sending someone to the hospital tomorrow morning to meet with V. The doctor they're sending is one of the few in the country who specializes in patients with MR (mental retardation) and mental illness. Fingers crossed.

Finally

V is being admitted for at least the night. Amber will be home in about an hour - she's completely and utterly exhausted.

latest

Still waiting to be seen. V is now constantly arguing with the voices in her head - Amber's unable to make her stop. The voices are mad at V for going to see the doctor earlier today. This is so, so sad. Amber is a complete wreck now.

Update

Still trying to find a doctor who will see V. So far, none know how to deal with people with mental disabilities. Are going to try Arlington Hospital Center. The voices are getting worse and she's now actively arguing with them. The medication is not working.

Our weekend

We had quite a rough weekend. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned here before, but my wife’s little sister V suffers from mental retardation and cerebral palsy. My wife is pretty much her main support mechanism – she helps her with her bills, takes her grocery shopping, etc. Despite that, she is a very independent young lady. She has her own apartment, goes to work everyday and is just about the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. One of her many quirks is that she talks to herself – she’s actually just thinking out loud, with often comic results. This past week, however, her talking to herself became something else entirely.

For the past week, we’ve noticed that V has been very, very depressed. She used to love going to work, but last week she called us every morning to say that she didn’t want to go to work. Her job coach, hmm, how do I put it…? Her job coach is a fucking bitch. She yells at V when she talks to herself, snaps at her when she gets up to go to the bathroom, basically makes her workday a living hell. Now, most of us have had to deal with horrible bosses, but we’re intellectually capable of handling. V, however, assumes that she’s done something wrong and can’t understand why her job coach is so mean to her. The stress from all of this caused V to have a psychotic break on Friday. She’s begun to hear voices in her head, and it’s freaking her out. Of course, because she talks to herself, we didn’t know what was happening at first. My wife took V to the doctor Saturday morning to get help for her deep depression and that’s when we found out about the psychosis. They gave her some medication and that was it, until Saturday afternoon. The voices in V's head got really, really bad. She thought that her old roommate was with her and that they were both being hurt by another resident (this actually happened a few years ago). She didn’t know where she was or who we were and started screaming and crying. I can’t explain how scary and disturbing it was. My wife took her to the emergency room, where, after waiting for hours for someone to help, was eventually told that no one could help them, because V's mentally retarded and they had no psychiatrists trained to work with her. And with that, they washed their hands of the problem. No suggestions on what to do, they wouldn’t admit her to the psych ward, just a “sorry, can’t help you”. That’s the state of care the mentally retarded routinely get, and it’s horrible. We’re looking into our options today – possibly bringing V into the city to either GW Hospital or Georgetown. We’ve had to stay up with her all night, because the voices won’t leave her alone and she’s scared to death. So far, the voices have only been threatening her, not telling her to harm herself or others. The medication has made the voices whisper instead of yelling, but it’s rough. I’ll keep you posted on how we’re doing.

Wer wußte, daß Deutscher gutes dieses klingen könnte?

I first heard Joy Denalane about 5 years ago - I think it was when we were in Ireland and I was watching some music video channel. The woman is beautiful and what a voice! Goes to prove that even German can sound good! Anyway, Joy is Afro-German (her dad is from South Africa and her mom is German). Check her out:

Friday Night

This Friday night is my gal Sarah D's 30th birthday party. And we're going to kick it like it's 1991!

Scary

Just saw this on the 5:00 news. A National Guard unit from Frederick, MD is being deployed to Iraq and the father of one of the soldiers was interviewed by a reporter. The father said about his son "he's doing his duty for his community, his country and his faith". His faith? I had to rewind the DVR twice to make sure I heard it right. Duty to his faith to fight in Iraq. That is so fucked up.

Still here.

Yep, I'm still here. Sorry for the lack of posts lately - I've been much busier than usual. Mother's Day, my anniversary, work - I'm barely keeping up with everything. I've got a ton to write about, so check back in a couple of days.

It keeps getting better

Just got to Dallas and found out my flight home to DC has been cancelled. No apologies, no explanations. I now have to wait 6 hours for the next flight home. Fun, eh?

All by myself

So, I'm here at the Austin airport and going through security, I realized I lost my cell phone. Either some very gifted pickpocket got a hold of it while I was in check-in line, or it fell out of my pocket on my ride to the airport (stupid cargo shorts). It's weird how much I panicked when I realized I didn't have my phone. I don't really need it between now and the time I get home. And I can obviously use my laptop to communicate with folks in the meantime. But the loss of ability to immediately contact anyone is a little scary, I suddenly feel very, very alone.

Blind Dates

True story:

Which God Are You?

Just saw this on Andrew Sullivan's site. I'm Buddha!

Which God or Goddess are you like? Your Result: Budha   You are Budha. You are a very peaceful person, you love all who love you. You are a cheerful personality, and you have a great sense of humor. Congratulations!! You are Budha!!
Jesus
The Christian God
Goddess Bast
God Zeus
Goddess Sekhemet
You are your own God or Goddess
Satan
Which God or Goddess are you like? Make Your Own Quiz

Thoughts in a hotel suite

So, I'm sitting here in my suite in Austin, watching TV and eating room-service, and a thought just occurred to me - Julie Louis Dreyfus is 10x hotter now than she was in her Seinfeld days. That's it, carry on!

On the road again

I'm in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport, on my way to Austin for work. 2nd time in a month. And I'm headed to Cheyenne, Wyoming in 2 weeks. Yee Haw.

He's still alive?

I'm sitting here watching the Warriors-Mavs game (great series, Golden State!), and who do I see on the Mavs bench? Old ass Kevin Willis!! I had no idea he was alive, much less still in the NBA. Dude was born in 1962!

DWB

In today's Washington Post, columnist Eugene Robinson wrote about the latest study on the instances of minorities being pulled over by the police, i.e., Driving While Black (or brown) - DWB. A reader responded to him today by asking,

what's the big deal? If you're not hiding anything, who cares?

My response to that is here:

The big deal is that a lifetime of people crossing the street when they see you coming, of women on elevators clutching their persons when you get on, of salespeople following your around a store, of people questioning why you're living in a certain neighborhood, of assuming you're in college because of a sports scholarship, these things add up to an incredible feeling of helplessness, anger and frustration. 17 years later I still remember my 1st experience of DWB. I was driving to the Outer Banks right after finals my fourth year in college, with my (white) girlfriend. We were on I-64, moving along with traffic, when a Virgnia State Trooper pulled up alongside us, gave us a long, hard stare, passed us on the left, pulled over on the side of the highway -- and once we passed him came back onto the road behind us and pulled me over. Said I was tailgating the car in front of me. The closest car to me was a good 25 yards ahead. Here we are in 2007, and every time I think about it, I still start shaking with anger.

To quote Jay-Z - "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for? Because I'm young and I'm black and my hat’s real low? Do I look like a mind-reader, sir? I don't know."

May 1, 2007

May 1, 2003

Bring Them Home

Truth in Fiction?

He might turn the speech into the usual denunciation of traitors and thought-criminals, but that was a little too obvious, while to invent a victory at the front, or some triumph of over-production in the Ninth Three-Year Plan, might complicate the records too much.

What was needed was a piece of pure fantasy. Suddenly there sprang into his mind, ready-made as it were, the image of a certain Comrade Ogilvy, who had recently died in battle, in heroic circumstances. There were occasions when Big Brother devoted his Order for the Day to commemorating some humble, rank-and-file Party member whose life and death he held up as an example worthy to be followed.



Today he should commemorate Comrade Ogilvy. It was true that there was no such person as Comrade Ogilvy, but a few lines of print and a couple of faked photographs would soon bring him into existence.


George Orwell, "1984"

Giuliani is a fearmonger and an a**hole!!

Guess what everyone's favorite mayor is saying now? That if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, American will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11. But if a Republican is elected, he said, especially if it is him, terrorist attacks can be anticipated and stopped. Like the Republican who was in the White House on 9/11, dumba**?

Hoos For Hokies

This was painted on Beta Bridge in Charlottesville following the horrible events the other day at VT.



Beta Bridge is on Rugby Road, where most of the fraternities at UVa are located (either on Rugby or close by). Most often, the bridge is painted on Wednesday or Thursday nights to advertise a party at a fraternity, but some great kids at UVa decide to switch it up a little bit.

Meanwhile

Let's not forgot about the other horrible deaths this week. Close to 200 Iraqis were killed yesterday by bombs in Baghdad, over 200 Americans have been killed since February 1st of this year.

Mmm, beer and pizza

I figured we all need something to laugh at today, after the horrible events in Blacksburg (props to Deadspin).



The best part of this clip, other than the slo-motion replay, is how much fun the announcers are having talking about it.

My prayers are with Blacksburg

The latest addition

Say hello to Ronin Orion Batacharia, the newest addition to our multicultural clan, and my 2nd nephew. He was born 3 weeks ago and is my FW's sister's 1st born. His Dad is a math professor and his mom is getting her PhD in Clinical Psych. I'll make sure to teach him to throw and catch - Lord knows his parents won't be able to!

Sometimes It Snows In April

Prince was right. Just woke up, and this was outside our window. It's April 7th folks. It was 81 degrees at the beginning of the week!

It's a marathon

But my man's running a great race. Obama raised $25 million, with over 100,000 donors. He had as many online donors (50,000) as HRC had total (she raised $26 million). Also, he refused to take any money from lobbyists or PACs. Damn!!

Early morning April 4

Shots rang out in a Memphis sky.

She's too Cool!!

I've always like Alanis Morissette, but now I'm in full blown awe! Check this out:

Spring is here, at least for a couple of days

80 degrees today and tomorrow, then 50's and 40's for the rest of the week. Better take advantage of the weather while I can. Think I'll take the dog to our favorite pub, sit outside with a pint or two and just enjoy ourselves.

Shift Happens

Saw this today during a meeting at work.

This Ad Actually Made Me Cry

Austin, Day 2

So my bag showed up this morning at 9:00 am, an hour before my presentation. Needless to say, by the time I got there, I was pretty nervous. In fact, I was sweating like Marion Barry, and had to keep mopping my brow with a handkerchief to keep the sweat from dripping in my eyes. Sexy, eh? But my presentation actually went very well - though it lasted almost 5 hours! The participants all came up to me afterwards to thank me and tell me that I made a pretty difficult subject easy to understand. Tomorrow, I'm meeting with them again to see if what I taught them stuck, and to actually implement it into their actual work. I plan to actually check out some Austin music spots tomorrow night, and then I fly home early Wednesday morning. I can't wait to get home and see the FW and Kaleb. The FW's been out of town since last Thursday. Her sister had a baby and she drove out to Kentucky to visit, and is headed home tomorrow.

Austin

I've made it to Austin. My bags, however, haven't. Southwest seems to have forgotten to unload about half of the bags from my flight, and they're now on their way to El Paso, then LA and Oakland. They say they'll get to me tonight. I hope so, because I have a presentation at 10:00 am.

I'm still here

Hey folks. Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I've been alot busier than usual lately. I'm headed to Austin, TX for work and Sunday - giving a big presentation that I've been preparing for. It's also the start of soccer season, so I've been getting myself back in shape by playing pick-up as much as possible.

This Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, and for the 1st time since we've been together, I won't be spending it with my FW. She left this morning to visit her sister who just had a little boy. That now makes it Nieces 5 - Nephews 2. I've got to do double duty for the family since she won't be here. It's gonna be cold and blustery, but I think I'll somehow survive. The plan is to meet friends at The Big Jig, a huge block party downtown with beer, food and music. If it gets too cold, I'm sure I'll find a nice, cozy (as in packed to the rafters) pub to warm up in.

Men vs. Women

glumbert.com - How to Shower: Women vs. Men

Uncle Vance

My Uncle Vance died last week. He's my 3rd family member in little over a year to pass away. This is gonna sound coarse, but at least this wasn't a surprise. He'd been fighting cancer for a long, long time and was able to make his peace and leave on his own terms. Uncle Vance was a WW2 veteran, and I used to love staying up late and listen to him tell stories about the war, while he and my father and their brothers and sisters played cards, drank and smoked. He was always fun to be around - I can't remember a time that he didn't make me laugh. One story in particular will always stand out - how he beat up Hitler during the war (his actual words were that he kicked Hitler's ass). As a 3rd grader, I couldn't wait to tell my teachers that one. And yes, I got in trouble for arguing with them when they told me my Uncle hadn't beat up Hitler (he did, in fact, beat up his racist sergeant and spent a good deal of time in the brig during the push towards Germany).

Weekend Getaway

Headed out of town for the long weekend with the FW and friends. A weekend of skiing. Yeah, I know. I figure if it's gonna be cold outside, might as well make the most of it.

Why this family is supporting Obama

My wife loves Hilary Clinton. Absolutely loves her. As long as I've known her, she's wanted Hilary to run for President. But something interesting has happened - she's an Obama supporter, like me. Why? Because he's for a fresh start, a change. The Clinton's had 8 years to do their thing. Bush has had 8 years. Let's try something completely different. Things can only get better. As he says himself,

“I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness - a certain audacity - to this announcement. I know I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."

And here's something I picked up from The Carpetbagger Report, the years in elected office of those running for President:

* Obama: 10 years (7 state Senate, 3 U.S. Senate)
* Clinton: 8 years (8 U.S. Senate)
* Edwards: 6 years (6 U.S. Senate)
* Giuliani: 8 years (two, four-year mayoral terms)
* Romney: 4 years (one four-year gubernatorial term)
* McCain: 25 years (4 U.S. House, 21 U.S. Senate)

OBAMA!!!!

"The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible. He tells us that there is power in words. He tells us that there is power in conviction. That beneath all the differences of race and region, faith and station, we are one people. He tells us that there is power in hope."

Still in 1st!!

It was close, but my Hoos just beat Maryland a few minutes ago, 69-65, for a season sweep and sole possesion of 1st place in the ACC!!

Halftime Show

In case you missed it, here is Prince's performance from last night.

Damn!!!

Best. Halftime. Show. Ever!!!

Prince is rockin' the shit out of Miami, y'all!

Hoo's Your Daddy?

UVa 68 - 66 Duke (in OT)!!!! 6-2 in the ACC - could we be at the Big Dance next month? Look at top 4 teams in the league right now. Of course, Carolina is tops - they're pretty f'in good this year. But the next 3 teams aren't your usual suspects - Va. Tech, BC and Virginia (all 6-2 in the league). Outstanding!

Over before it starts

Thanks Joe, it was nice knowing you.

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

Senator Joe Biden talking about Barrack Obama.

Don't you miss dating?

“Don’t you miss dating?” Uh oh! This is how Amber, my FW (Fabulous Wife for my new visitors) started a conversation not too long ago. This immediately put me into my GUY DEFENSIVE MODE – “Of course not, you’re perfect” or something to that effect.

As usual, I misinterpreted what she was saying. FW was talking about how much fun dating was for her and how she misses going out like we used to do. She’s right. Since we got the dog (who I wrote about earlier), we don’t really go out anymore. As wonderful as he is, he’s also fuckin’ neurotic, with serious separation anxiety issues (based, in no small part, on the fact that his previous owner died at home and he was inside with the body for a few days). If we leave him alone at night, he goes ape-shit, barking his fool head off. If we had a house, it wouldn’t be a problem, but we own a condo, with people living above us. We’ve recently found a few dog sitters, but haven’t really taken advantage of them yet. Wow, we sound pretty pathetic, don’t we? If aliens came down and observed us, they’d think we were the animal and the dogs were the intelligent species. I mean we clean up their shit, feed them, play with them whenever they want. Damn!

Sorry ‘bout that little detour. I was talking about dating, right? Anyway, I totally get what the FW was saying. Remember that feeling you would get in your gut when you would see someone you just started going out with? That same feeling you would get when a teacher would spring a pop quiz on you or call on you in class when you weren't paying attention - major butterflies in your stomach. I can remember when Amber and I 1st started dating (not just Amber, but anyone I dated. Sorry honey!), remembering how great she was and how she made me feel, but having a hard time remember her face. Anyone else know what I'm talking about? I miss that. I miss flirting when there were consequences. I'm still a big flirt, but both the object of my flirtation and I know nothing will come of it. I miss the 2nd date, because that meant she liked me enough to see me again. Nothing like a little validation, though the fact that she married my punk ass is pretty damn validating as well.

Full disclosure - I never dated much. I know, shocking. I didn't date at all in high school. Way too shy and self-conscious. I did have some MAJOR crushes though, especially on Kathy Murphy. She was the Andie to my Duckie (Pretty in Pink, children). That was pretty much my roll in high school - The Friend. Seriously, my life was a John Hughes movie. Duckie in Pretty in Pink, Kevin Dolenz in St. Elmo's Fire, you get the picture. It wasn't until my 2nd year at UVa (1st year was one long infatuation with Sophia DeSousa. English accent, punk dresser, need I say more), after I joined my fraternity that I developed something close to self confidence and started dating. 1st girfriend, Guia. Then I met Julie, and fell back into my Duckie mode for a year or so. Then there was Kathy. I seriously thought I'd marry her. We only dated for, what, 2 1/2 years, but they were good years (19-21). Sorry, I'm starting to channel Rob Fleming in High Fidelity. Great book by the way. Great author too. Actually, he's my favorite, and not just because he's an Arsenal fan. But I'm losing you now. Let me wrap this up by saying, I agree with my wife. I, too, miss dating. I'll write more on the ups and downs (mainly downs) of my dating past later on.

Golden Handcuffs

What do you do when your job bores you to tears, but pays you so well that there's no way you'd leave? I'm bored, bored, bored with my job. It's become so petty and brings me absolutely no joy. Oh, I've got plenty of work to do, but there's no sense of fulfillment with my work. I don't feel I'm actually doing anything of importance. That's not exactly true. I'm not doing anything that challenges me or makes me feel worthwhile. That, my friends, is an awful feeling.

Now, my FW, she has a job she absolutely loves; one in which she can see the difference she makes in people's lives. It doesn't pay a great deal of money, so there's no way in Hell I could just up and switch careers now.

A couple of years ago, I tried getting into the field that I think would bring me the most joy, workwise - working in politics. But God, the pay was more than insulting. There's no way I could have taken any of the offers I had and still been able to afford certain things - like food, or clothing. Maybe when I was younger - a whole lot younger - when a diet of Ramen noodles, pizza and Coke would have been awesome. But I'm married now, with a mortgage. I always wondered why the radicals from the 60's sold out. Now I know. You have to make choices, and my chance to do what I want to do sadly passed me by years ago.

Unconditional

There was a time, not that long ago, that the FW and I would get in the same silly argument over and over. The topic? Did our dog love us or not. Seriously. FW has a huge heart and absolutely believes that our dog loves us as much as we love him. Being a premature curmudgeon (I'm only 38 but have started acting and thinking like a man twice my age) I said "of course not, he's dog. Why do you want to give human emotions to an animal?" But lately, looking at my little man, I think my FW was absolutely right. Every morning she wakes up before me and takes him outside. The 1st thing he does when he comes back inside is run, full steam, back to the bedroom and onto the bed to see me. When she goes to bed before I do, he will sit at my feet, sometimes until 1:00 am, until I'm ready for bed. He really is my shadow. When I'm feeling down, or reflective, he somehow knows this and will lay his little head in my lap, let out a deep sigh, and force me to pay attention to him - somehow he knows this will cheer me up. And the look in his eyes, man, let me tell you, he could melt the coldest of hearts.

Now, I know my siblings, who both have children will laugh at this as the ramblings of a crazy man, and will tell me there's no love like the love of a child. They may be right, but as I have no kids yet, I can't compare the two (and since they've never owned a dog as adults, neither can they), but the fact that he never, ever gets upset with me and his whole purpose in life somehow seems to be to make me happy, well, that's pretty damn cool.



Kaleb

Is It Common For The Police To Call For Backup On A Routine Traffic Stop?

Yesterday, on the way home from work, I stopped to get my oil changed. After leaving Jiffy Lube, I was making a left hand turn, and noticed a motorcycle cop behind me. As soon as I made the turn, he turned on his siren and pulled me over. I knew I turned my signal on, and my lights had just been checked at Jiffy Lube, so why was he pulling me over. I rolled down the window and he said "Hey Buddy, you know it's illegal to have a radar detector?" Radar detector? What was he talk... oh, it was my Sirius satellite radio. It does look a lot like a radar detector. Anyway, he made me show him the radio and asked if there was somewhere else I could put it. I told him that wouldn't really solve the problem, since anywhere I put it, it would still look like a radar detector. As this was going on, 2 patrol cars pulled up. I guess he needed backup on a radar detector stop. Very weird.

We Are So Screwed

Why won't the U.S. press do reports like this?

Shocking!

This from ABC News today:

Mimicking the hijackers who executed the Sept. 11 attacks, insurgents reportedly tied to al Qaeda in Iraq considered using student visas to slip terrorists into the United States to orchestrate a new attack on American soil.

You have to read way into the article to find out that this isn't breaking news. In fact, "the documents captured by coalition forces during a raid of a safe house believed to house Iraqi members of al Qaeda six months ago". Six months ago? And they wait until the night before the State of The Union to talk about it? Do they really think the American people are that stupid?

The article goes on to say that "the plan was uncovered in its early stages, and sources say there is no indication that the suspects made it into the United States. Officials also emphasize that there is no evidence of an imminent attack". No evidence of an imminent attack? Then why is this news?

Worst. Actor. Ever.

Every Monday night at 10:00 pm, my FW and I sit down to watch a show so terrifically bad, it's good. CSI:Miami. David Caruso is the new William Shatner. Take a look.

South Beach

Just got back from visiting South Beach with my favorite lady (that would be my wife, folks). Here are some pix taken on our jaunt to sunny, warm Florida.



South Beach 07

The Counter Attack

From my West Coast Little Brutha #2, Sunflower Dubois -

When you walk out of your front door in the morning, what's the first thing you see? When you begin your commute to the job that costs more to get there and back than you earn; Before you have cleared your head and opened your eyes and prepared yourself for the beginning of the unknown, what blinds you? When the twelve dollars you planned to last you through the week has been spent on the neccessary morning stimulants,tell me, what rains down on you like a god? Have you ever noticed how often and how quickly you are solicited to spend? Of course you have. How could you not notice the 8 a.m. billboard reminding you of the 2007 SUV with Autobon capabilities. Is it possible to ignore the Sanyo blimp? Is there a public bus that doesn't glow with yellow side-panels selling walkie-talkie features and unlimited ring-tones? How many times will you be convinced that you love the golden arches? How fast will you be sold a seven dollar coffee?

The minute we wake we are sold something. We are told our lives will be more enjoyable or of higher value if we complete ourselves with so and so's product. We are told that the air-brushed smiles and digitized eyes can't be wrong. We're told that we aren't seeing shit unless it's on a ninety-eight inch plasma.

This year, BILLIONS of dollars will be spent by the advertising industry telling us which object of popularity best suits us and our wallet, and every morning there will be a new scheme, a new illusion, a new neccessity created in order to get us to spend and, basically, purchase ourselves deeper into debt and poverty.

None of this is new to us, though. We have long been aware of the Beast and his manipulation and his hunger for what we earn. But what do we do about it?

It's easy to walk with our heads down, avoiding eye contact with the billboards and neon signs, but wouldn't you rather keep your head up and enjoy what little open space remains?

What if we, as artist from all walks, decided to counter-attack. I use the term "counter-attack" because we are, indeed, being attacked. We are bombarded from all angles with heavy handed commercialism and struck down by the material goals that have been designed and set for us to obtain. Our city streets have been attacked and are now patrolled by artificial hopes and aspirations.

But,

what if, one morning, when you begin your day, instead of mass advertisements and the encouragements to buy, buy, buy, you are encouraged to live, to appreciate the beauty around us, to love without condition, to "create" the beautiful days we so often tell eachother to "have". What if we were asked to give instead of consume?

Brothers and Sisters, I stand convinced that we, as artists and lovers and educators and truthseekers, hold the golden key to the (r)evolution we speak of everyday. There is noone more capable of promoting growth and devolpment better than US.

So, I ask you to come together in "The Counter-Attack".

Nationwide, we will be giving the gift of Art. Within our communities we will distribute, post and promote Art of all forms. Whether it be our own creations or the creations of other's that inspire us; whether it be our paintings or poetry or our own independant music, we will give it. We will occupy those rush hour intersections and offer our love of color and word play and rhythms. We will encourage others to excape the materialistic and commercial avenues they travel. We will ask people to display art in their windows. We will gather in the parks and paint with our children (they are all of our children). We will approach our neighborhood coffee shops and ask to have poetry readings. We will have poetry readings in the street. We will add some color to the grey streets and replace the murmur of advertisement with the heartbeat of the people who nolonger wish to be sold anything.

The possibilities are numerous. It is time we come together and coordinate this day. If only for one day, we can block out the rays of consumption, and give.

If you are interested in involving your city and community please contact me and lets exchange ideas and discuss the routes to take.

Lets do this people.

I also ask those of you who are already involved in our movement to please repost this and keep the word going.

Thank You, Sunflower duBois.

Are you sure you're in Miami Beach?

So how does your intrepid blogger spend a beautiful early afternoon in South Beach? Why, he heads to an Irish pub and watches Arsenal beat Blackburn 2-0.

Bienvendio A Miami!

Hey folks. We're in beautiful, sunny Miami. Got here about 3 hours ago, leaving freezing, wet DC behind. Our 7:00 am flight was overbooked, and the ticket agent asked if anyone would mind giving up their seats for a $150 voucher and guaranteed seats on the 9:00 am flight. We jumped at the chance, since (a) we were tired and wanted to get some more sleep and (b) we wouldn't be able to check into our room until at least noon anyway. Everything was set, until the early flight was finished boarding and the ticket agent came over to us - "Hi. Thanks for volunteering, but we didn't need your seats after all. Would you mind taking these 1st class seats as a thank you?" Bonus!! As a tall man, I wasn't looking forward to 2 hours in coach, so this was like a gift from Heaven. I slept like a baby the entire flight here, only waking up as we were landing.

Yep, I'm Still Here

Hey folks,

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Getting back into the routine of working after 2 weeks off for the holidays is rougher than I thought it would be. I've been way to tired to write anything, not that all that much is going on anyway. The FW and I are headed to Miami on Friday to take advantage of the long weekend. Never been there for fun, only work back in the day. Should be fun - at least it'll give me some new material.

Totally Random

The wife and I went to see "The Holiday" over the weekend. Pretty cute chick flick, if totally predictable. But it got me thinking about one of the stars, Cameron Diaz. Yes, she's attractive in a weird way, but is she an ugly hot chick, or a hot ugly chick? Discuss.

Hibachi!!

"I didn't say anything," he said. "My swag was phenomenal."

-Arenas to the Post

Happy New Year

Well, 2006 started out very brightly (buying our first home), but ended on a very sad note (losing the FW's mother just before Thanksgiving). Looking forward to a happier, more prosperous 2007.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone. We're (me, my wife, her 2 sisters and our dog Kaleb) at my folks new place, enjoying a nice, slow, relaxing day. When we got here, the annual Hundley Christmas brunch was waiting for us - bacon, scrambled eggs, fried oysters, juice and coffee. A Christmas Story is on the TV upstairs, I'm in the basement watching a Law & Order marathon, Dad's cooking in the kitchen, Amber's playing cards with Mom, Grandma and my niece. A good time is being had by all. Hope you're having a wonderful day as well.

Chaz

Christmas Time Is Here

So today, I finally got into the holiday spirit. My wife was throwing a baby shower for her older sister, so I needed to be out of the house for most of the day. Luckily, my fav gal pal aka East Coast Alaska Girl (who my wife tells me I can marry if something happens to her - don't ask, she's morbid that way), who's now just East Coast Formerly Alaska Girl because she's moved back to DC where she belongs, was free to hangout all day. I drove into town to meet her at her awesome condo on The Hill, and we walked ourselves over to Eastern Market. Now, the calendar may say December 23rd, but the weather wasn't feelin' it. It was beautiful today, about 61 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day to check out the scene at Eastern Market. Lots of cool crafts for sale, as usual. We had lunch at Tunnicliff's Tavern, sitting outside and doing some major people watching. And what do we see directly across the street? Dudes selling Christmas trees.

Now, we don't have a tree this year, because the Mrs. isn't feeling especially jolly this year, with her mother passing away last month. We have a very large poinsettia, but no tree. Well folks, we now have a tree! The tree dudes were selling all sizes and shapes of trees, and ECAG helped me pick out a small, cute tree. Only $10!! Afterwards, we went on a search for a tree stand. Home Depot would have one, right? Well, maybe a few weeks ago, but not 2 nights before Christmas. The wife and her sister our out shopping now, so I've had 2 hours to jerry-rig a stand out of an oversized planter and some festive holiday ribbon for support (don't ask). It's merely temporary - I'm going to head to a nursery tomorrow - they've got to have stands, right?

On further reflection,

It was definitely because of the Carbombs!

Sensitive Guy?

I don't know if it was the 4 Carbombs and numerous beers I had during the day on Sunday (celebrating my birthday a few days early at a local sports bar with 30 or so of my closest friends), but I got all weepy watching 60 Minutes on Sunday. Yeah, I know, 60 friggin' Minutes. They were doing a story on children in foster care, and I just thought about how lucky I am that I was raised in a home with 2 loving parents. My mom was visiting for my party, and I thanked her for probably the 1st time in my life for being such a good mother and for giving me and my siblings everything we could ever want or need. (Dad, I would have thanked you to if you had come up for the shindig).

Sinclair Lewis said it over 60 years ago

When facism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.

I just want to ad

the following to today's earlier post:

Jefferson Davis said slavery "…was established by decree of Almighty God… it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation… it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts."

"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages." — Statement by Virginia trial judge in 1959 case that led to 1967 U.S. Supreme Court striking down laws in 16 states that prohibited interracial marriage.

So, please, stop using the Bible to support your bigoted views!

A sad day for the Church

My dad just e-mailed me to tell me that the church we went to while I was growing up, All Saint's, has just voted to leave the Episcopal church. Why? Because the Church has an openly gay bishop and the new head of the church supports him. The 500-member church was one of nine churches to vote last weekend whether to leave the Episcopal Church over disagreements on biblical authority and the 2003 consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, a practicing homosexual.

They plan to join the Nigerian Anglican church, whose leader believes that gays should be jailed. What really gets me is that the rector of All Saints, Father Guernsey, a man I really liked growing up, has the nerve to say

"We are heartened by the congregation's vote to move forward with our mission to be a church overflowing with God's love and healing power,"

God's love? When you're breaking away from the church because of hate? Do they plan to expel women from the church who are on their period? Or ban bacon or pork sausage at church breakfasts? What am I talking about, you ask? Just this, that the section of the Bible that says that being gay is a sin, says alot of other things are sinful too.

Homophobic fundamentalists often quote two particular verses that seem to be against gay people. These two verses, both of which appear in the book of Leviticus, are . . .

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." (Leviticus 18:22)

and . . .

"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13)

Okay, so the Bible does say being gay is wrong. But read on:

"For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him." (Leviticus 20:9)

Imagine what would happen today if we killed every child who was disrespectful to his parents. Fundamentalists explain this verse away, saying that it is part of the Old Levitical Holiness Code and is not meant to be taken literally.

But the above verse is just a mere 3 verses before Leviticus 20:13, one of their favorite anti-gay scriptures which, of course, they do choose to apply literally.

"If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has discovered her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from her people." (Leviticus 20:18)

Imagine what would happen today if we deported every man and woman who had ever had sex together while the woman was having her period. Fundamentalists decline the opportunity to take this verse literally, which is merely 5 verses after Leviticus 20:13.

"Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property." (Leviticus 25:44-45)

Did you ever wonder where racist, people got the idea that slaves were just property and not people? Directly from the above verse, which fundamentalists do not, of course, take literally (at least not in public).

"Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." (Leviticus 19:27)

"Bible-believing" fundamentalists never preach against the evils of shaving, as they do not take this verse literally for our day. Of course, they most certainly would do so if they had a personal bias against shaving, but apparently, they do not.

"...and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you." (Leviticus 11:7)

As you can see, the book of Leviticus also prohibits the eating of pork (a swine is a pig). Of course, fundamentalists do not choose to use this verse to preach against eating pork. Sadly, however, they have no problem abusing the Bible to condemn gay and lesbian people. Remember, it's about their personal prejudice against gay people, not about a true desire to understand what the Bible actually says.

"...do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear material woven of two kinds of material." (Leviticus 19:19)

Farmers in this country almost always grow more than one kind of crop in their fields. In fact, they often must do so for ecological reasons. Fundamentalists do not apply this verse literally. If they were to preach against farmers, there would be an uproar, and rightfully so.

Fundamentalists also ignore the Biblical command to not wear clothes that have two different kinds of material. The shirts that many fundamentalists are often seen wearing must be a cotton/polyester blend, the most common in the United States of America. They may be "Bible believing" Christians, but this is yet another verse that they don't believe should be applied to today.

See how stupid this whole thing is? It gets better, The Bible says that eating shrimp and lobster is an abomination:

"But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you." (Leviticus 11:10)

"They (shellfish) shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination." (Leviticus 11:11)

So eating shell fish is just as bad as being gay. Or is that being gay is just as bad as eating shellfish? An important distinction, no?

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Thoughts on death

It's been a little over a week since we said goodbye to Amber's mom. It was pretty sad, and I had a pretty hard time during my little part of the eulogy. This is my 2nd family member to pass away over the past year, and it's tough.

One thing that's really struck me across the face is the whole issue of mortality. As a child, you think your parents are going to be around forever, and up until last week, I've never considered the fact that my folks are going to die one day. I can't imagine what life would be without them. They've been the constant in my life for the entirety of my existence. And this is what makes it so hard for me with my mother in-law's death. I honestly don't know what to do for my wife apart from just being there for her. My natural inclination when anything bad happens to those I love is to fix it, or at least try to put myself in that person's shoes and establish some empathy. But now, I don't know. Losing a parent has to be incredibly painful and numbing, and I just don't know what to do.

Amber is a very, very strong woman and has yet to really let me see her grieve over her mother's death. Partly because she's been so busy dealing with all of the practicalities of what's happened - planning the funeral service, figuring out who's staying where, getting her mother's papers in order, cleaning out her home. The list goes on and on. I'm just afraid that at some point she's going to lose it. And I'm angry at her sisters and her brother. Intellectually I know it's only because we live the closest to her mother (one sister is in Taneytown, MD, the other is in Chicago and her brother is in Oregon) that Amber is the one who's had all of the responsibility fall on her, but she's the 4th child, the 2nd youngest. This is the time when older siblings really need to step up and take some responsibility. But, as with most things, that hasn't (luckily, Amber never reads this blog, and neither do her siblings). Whoa, I sound like my grandmother now - "You're the oldest" she's been telling me since I was around 7 or 8.

Anyway, back to the issue of mortality. I guess if I was a person with strong faith, I'd be comforted in the fact that my loved ones are going to heaven, but I'm not. I don't have any idea what happens to us when we die, and that scares the shit out of me. It'd be nice if we ended up chilling on some beach, or floating around the clouds. But what if this is it? What if nothing happens, and we just stop being?

Weekend

Well, we had Mama Nightingale's funeral on Wednesday. Obviously, very, very sad. I'm not going to go into any details, because it's it's still too hard to discuss. We had Thanksgiving with the whole family at her place on Thursday, with her sisters and brother who flew in from Ireland.

Tonight, we're having the FW's 2 aunts from Dublin overnight, along with her 3 sisters. Yep, me alone with a house full of Irish Woman. God Help Me!

My Mother In-Law

My mother in-law was a wonderful, fun loving woman. Yeah, she could be a bit rough and gruff, but that was part of her Irish charm. This is my favorite picture of her. It was taken at our wedding, and even though we had open bar, she didn't trust that we would have what she wanted, so she brought along her bottle of Bailey's. She loved that stuff.

She was really looking forward to Thanksgiving - we were all headed down to her place for a good old time, and two of hers sisters were flying over for from Dublin for the holiday. They're still coming over, just for a much less joyful occasion.

She had a really tough life, growing up dirt poor in Ireland, moving here to start a new life and raising 5 kids on her own after a bad marriage. But she never stopped having fun and enjoying life, though she did like making sure everyone knew how good they had it thanks to her.

I'm really going to miss her. I'll never forget the 1st time I met her. Amber and I had been dating for a few months and Amber drove me down to meet her "Mamacita". I was a bit worried - I didn't know how she would respond to her daughter dating me, as she was straight off the boat from Ireland. But she never batted an eye, and loved me as if I were one of her own. We had good times, and I'll never, ever forget her. I just wish she held on until we gave her the little grandbabies she wanted us to make for her.

Catherine Rickard Nightingale

Catherine Rickard Nightingale, 71, of Victoria Park retirement community in Woodbridge passed away peacefully on November 18. She died from multiple complications related to diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Ms. Nightingale was born in Dublin, Ireland, to the late Luke and Jane Rickard. She emigrated to the United States in search of adventure and opportunities in 1964 and resided in the Washington DC region. She became a United States citizen in 1996.

Ms. Nightingale worked as a housekeeper at Potomac Hospital for over 15 years. In her retirement, she was an active resident of Victoria Park retirement community. In addition to being an avid bingo player, she was involved with planning and organizing special events for community residents.

Survivors include five children, Scarlett Tausen of Taneytown, Maryland, Vienna Nightingale of Chicago, Illinois, Winchester Nightingale of Portland, Oregon, Amber Nightingale and Victoria Nightingale of Alexandria, Virginia; sisters Mae Checkon of Dale City, Virginia, Rose Honan and Ellen Carroll of Dublin, Ireland, Clare Kay of Lancashire, England, brothers Mark Rickard of Dublin, Ireland, Frank Rickard of County Wicklow, Ireland, and Hughie Rickard of Lancashire, England; grandchildren Christopher Tausen, Kelly Tausen, and Bailey Tausen of Taneytown, Maryland and Amber Nightingale of Morrill, Nebraska . She was preceded in death by her sister Nancy Rickard of Dublin, Ireland, brothers Luke Rickard of Lancashire, England, and Thomas Rickard of London, England.

Her sassiness, wittiness, and story-telling charm will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

A wake will be held from 12:00 noon until 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 22 at Mountcastle Funeral Home, 4143 Dale Blvd., Dale City, Virginia 22193. The funeral service will follow the wake at Mountcastle Funeral Home. Friends and family are welcome to attend a reception following the service at Ms. Nightingale’s home, 16820 Flotilla Way, Woodbridge, VA 22191.

A memorial contribution may be made in the form of a donation to: Capital Hospice 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 500, Falls Church, VA 22042.

Memorial Card

In Loving Memory

Catherine Rickard Nightingale

Sunrise: June 15, 1935

Sunset: November 18, 2006

God looked around His garden

And found an empty place.

He then looked down upon the earth

And saw your tired face.

He put his arms around you

And lifted you to rest.

God’s garden must be beautiful

He always takes the best.

He saw the road was getting rough

And the hills were hard to climb,

So He closed your weary eyelids

And whispered "Peace be thine".

It broke our hearts to lose you

But you didn’t go alone,

For part of us went with you

The day God called you home.

May she rest in eternal peace.

Not The Happiest of Holidays

My mother in-law passed away yesterday.

For Dad

I just realized that the last 2 Republican Senators to concede were Burns and Allen. Say goodnight Gracie!

It's Official

We won! We really won!

Recount

A recount in Virginia doesn't mean that they recount every vote, all they can do is double check the number the computers spit out. Don't see how Allen thinks he's going to get 7,000+ votes switched to him.

The Day After

Tester just declared victory in Montana. Webb is still leading by almost 8,000 votes in Virginia. And Rumsfeld is resigning (according to MSNBC). I've got to be dreaming!

Wow!

It's 2:15 am. We've just won Missouri. Webb is now up 8,000 votes in Virginia, and Tester is leading in Montana. Unbelievable!!! In Virginia, the leader heading into a recount has never lost. Plus, a recount means alot of scrutiny on the race here in Virginia. And lots of talk about voter intimidation and suppression by the GOP in Virginia. It's going to get ugly.

Good Night

I've got to get some sleep. We've won the House, the Senate is too close to call. What a great night for democracy. Talk to everyone tomorrow.

My Favorite Shirt

I've had this shirt since the last election, when I did alot of work for the DCCC. I wore it all day today, and every Saturday for the past 2 months (yes, I wash it). Who new I was only 2 years ahead of my time?

3000

That's the difference now, 3,000 votes in the VA Senate race.