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.