Mr. President

Mr. President. President Barack Obama. Beautiful words.

One thing: Am I the only person who thinks it odd that Michelle Obama was wearing a black widow dress on election night?? It kind of freaked me out, but nobody seems to have noticed. I've asked several people and not one of them noticed it. Here's a pic:

Mr. Darcy

Mr. Darcy in a cleverly edited video...

Flu and Flummery

Caring for the sick is kind, and it can have unexpected rewards.

The other day one of the unfortunate ill in need of care, let's call him Mr. Darcy, came home early from work. He looked at me slack-jawed, clutching his throat.

"I'b sick," he said. "I'b goig straight to bed."

"Okay. I'll bring you some flu medicine," I said, eager to aid in his recovery.

He nodded once and toddled off to bed.

I poured some hot water in a cup and brought it to him on a tray with a box of Nyquil packets and a spoon. I found him sprawled on the bed, holding his stomach.

"I threw up," he said. His normally stiff upper lip trembled ever so slightly.

"Oh, sorry." I set the tray down next to him. "Come on, take your medicine and try to get some sleep."

"Could you brig be some DVDs?"

"Sure," I said, and went to fetch him something short and nonsensical that wouldn't tax his flu-fondued brain.

When I came back he was sitting up in bed, bent over the tray with a rolled up twenty dollar bill on it, sectioning a pile of Nyquil powder into long lines with his library card. He had put on an Amy Winehouse CD.

"What are you doing?"

"By throat hurts too buch to swallow," he said. "I thought I'd try snorting it."

Eyeroll. "I'll get you some honey so you can swallow." At least his library card had seen the light of day for the first time since we moved here four years ago.

When I came back with the honey, he was already asleep. I felt warm and fuzzy. The whole incident took me back to when we were first going out. I set the tray aside and stuffed the twenty in my pocket.

He forgot all of this by morning. He stayed home from work. Instead of waking up alone as usual, I got to curl up against him in bed and listen to him tell me all about his weird flu dreams.

So you see, everything has its up side, and kindness is no exception.

Um, I meant illness, of course.

* The above flummery is fictional mental wandering, and any resemblance to anyone living or historical is entirely coincidental, in spite of the fact that the author has been known to profess the belief that there are no coincidences.

Viva Obama!

In Texas, Barack Obama is wooing the Latino vote with Mariachis:



Wow! And one of those Mariachis is a woman, even.

For the California primary, it was more of a Rap thing:

Come se dice?
Como se llama?
Obama!
Obama!

And then there's this:



All of which proves, as if there was any doubt, that the Democratic party is the party party!

Happy Chinese New Year...

Because 2008 is your year...







Ode to the Rat

The fearsome rat lurks in my mind

beside it many words unkind

"vermin", "filth", they leave no doubt

the rat's bad news to have about.

But were it gone, I'd miss the rat

though my son could never be a "brat".

The crafty rat scamps through my mind

four toes in front and five behind

though smart, the rat's good side is vague

and people blame it for the plague

just because it brings disease

when actually, it was the fleas.

Happy Groundhog Day...

This is Phil:

You probably already know the rest, six more weeks of winter are predicted.

http://www.groundhog.org/

Groundhog Day has its origin in the February 1^st Celtic sabbath Imbolc, or Oimelc, dedicated to the goddess Brigid, bringer of light, healer, and smith. Her festival celebrated the waxing power of the sun and the return of spring and abundance. It was eventually replaced by the Catholic Church with Candlemas, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Today we celebrate it with Punxsatawney Phil and a bunch of men in top hats. But it still comes down to looking for the light.

Spring is drawing near, bulbs begin to flower, lambs are born. There's not much that's as fun to watch as lambs frolicking on their stiff new legs in the fields of Somerset, England, the land of King Arthur and the mystic Isle of Avalon, where I was living at this time last year. Now, it lives in me.

Yesterday a friend of mine, let's call him Tony Soprano, sent me this link to a mind-reading game: http://milaadesign.com/wizardy.html
Check it out before reading on...

Here's the secret of the mind reader:

When you add the digits of any 2-or-more-digit number together, and then subtract that number from the original number you started with, the answer will be 9 or a multiple of 9 (which can be further reduced to 9 by adding its digits together). Ah, the number 9, such an important number the Beatles had to sing about it.

If you look closely at the page with the symbols, all of the multiples of 9 have the same symbol, the one that is in your mind.

If you click "next", the second game works on the same principle. The missing digit must be whatever will make 9 (or a multiple of 9) when added to the other three digits, which you have just supplied.

If you click "next" after that, you're invited to register for "online Death Note". Interesting. Death Note is a 12-volume Manga comic that features a notebook that will kill anyone whose name is written in it. The book is found by a high school student who wants to rid the world of evil. http://deathnote.viz.com/

I guess if you start noticing less and less evil in the world, you'll know it's working.

Greetings...

This is not intended to be a political blog, but I feel I must point out the following open secret about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Rumors have been circulating among some conservatives that Senator Obama is a Muslim. These extremist conservatives believe Senator Obama is the agent of a conspiracy to plant an extremist Muslim in the highest office of the US government in order to destroy it from within.

No, really. Check out this link for background info courtesy of the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007
/11/28/AR2007112802757.html?hpid=topnews

Senator Obama claims to be a Christian. These people should quit worrying about whether Obama is Christian or Muslim and see what is staring them in the face. Obama is not just a world citizen, but a universal one.

That's right: Senator Barack Obama is obviously a Vulcan. Submitted for your approval:

I have noticed the senator flashing the Vulcan hand gesture greeting on several occasions, but he does it so quickly that photos miss capturing it at its fullest expression. Nonetheless, it seems clear enough for anyone willing to see:

Those who are familiar with the Vulcan greeting may recall that it also happens to be the hand sign for the Hebrew letter "Shin", as used in Kabbalah. That's neither Christian nor Muslim, but Jewish mysticism. This gesture is used to invoke the feminine (that's right feminine!) aspect of deity, known as "Shekinah". Therefore, I submit to you that Obama embodies the possiblilty of bringing together the three western religions that always seem to be in discord with one another, along with a healthy helping of goddess worship.

Instead of worrying what book Obama would be placing a hand on to take the oath of office, should he be elected, perhaps one ought to consider what gesture his other hand would be making at that moment. Because I suggest to you, fellow Earthlings, that the gesture in hand would be a Vulcan one. Take me to your leader, indeed. A leader of Vulcan heritage might be exactly what it would take to unite this planet as one people at long last.

My pick for Obama's post-primary campaign slogan:

Live Long And Prosper.*

*Yes, I know "and" isn't normally capitalized, but it's an awfully important word. Isn't it time we stopped marginalizing conjunctions? Isn't it time for a change?