This is for the best.

7 Nov 2009

The Verve Pipe is doing a family show at Schuler Books in Grand Rapids. It’s kind of amusing, but didn’t they kind of used to be a rock band?

6 Nov 2009

jaclynday:

Whenever I’m having a down moment, all I have to do is look at this collage I made of my sister and I start laughing.

Ha ha. My sister is also a fan of the giant mouth pose.

Exhibit A:

When I was a kid all the maps said

newsweek:

resurrecthobbes:

pragmatism:

notthatkindagay:

jasencomstock:

Peking.

When I was a kid there were 2 Germanies.

USSR and/or CCCP were still on most of our maps.

Zaire instead of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yugoslavia still existed…

“Here Be Dragons”

Newsweek wins.

5 Nov 2009

jeffmiller:

julyshewillfly:

Contrasting images from Maine. On the left, the people who had their rights taken away by a majority vote. And on the right, the people who happily celebrated, and put their hard work, time, and money into taking away the rights of their fellow human beings. (Images via Daylife)

There’s something ugly about the inclination to celebrate the revocation of another’s rights. Mind you, the right to marry does not come at the expense of another. It is not like affirmative action, whereby one candidate for a slot displaces another. It is not like welfare, whereby money is taken from one to give to another. If anything, it is like speech … another person’s exercise of it may offend your sensibilities, but it does not deprive you of anything. The people above on the right are celebrating something that has no effect on their lives, and a huge effect on the lives of those on the left. Tomorrow, they will give little thought to the initiative they passed; those on the left will feel it every day.

We would be a happier and better people if we learned to let people do things we don’t like.

Oh Jeff, I do love libertarians when it comes to social issues. That was so perfectly put.

5 Nov 2009

Linguine with Pesto, Beans and Potatoes - two coast table

robot-heart:

You had me at pesto.

This is one of my favorite foods. I don’t know why, but the potatoes make it taste SO good.

5 Nov 2009

brooklynmutt:

Fox News Claims ABC’s V is an Attack on Barack Obama

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity have all given rousing endorsements to ABC’s revival of the show V. All three of the FNC personalities claim that the show is a political statement against Obama and healthcare reform. Ironically enough, all three also made their claims on the exact same day. I smell a talking point here.

continue reading… Politicususa.com

Do they know it’s a remake of a 1983 show? If anything, it’s a commentary on Reagan. Oh, are they comparing Obama to Reagan?

Also, just so we’re clear, they’ve been advertising V for MONTHS, which means it was conceived of and written, and filmed long before the healthcare debate, and likely before Obama was even president. Does ANYONE have a brain at Fox News?

5 Nov 2009

We sold our car!

On craigslist. Frankly, I kind of thought craigslist was kind of a crock, but apparently, real people will give you real money for things on it. It boggles the mind.

5 Nov 2009

karion:

I just love this fall shot.

via this flickr

Auto GTI reblog.

5 Nov 2009

caterpillarcowboy: suitep: apsiesinthekitchen:

There is nothing I love more, food wise, than a good potato. I know there are much healther veggies to consume but I can’t help it. I served these with dinner last night and they were to die for.

Individual Scalloped Potatoes - The Noshery (photo via The Pioneer Woman)

8 whole medium potatoes
1 stick Butter
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
½ cups Scallions, Chopped
12 teaspoons Half-and-half
Salt And Pepper

Pierce potatoes with fork, sprinkle with salt, wrap in damp paper towel and microwave for 15 minutes. Potatoes should be firm. Set aside and let cool till they can be handled, then slice.

Place 1/2 Tbsp pats of butter in each mold of the muffin/cupcake pan, then a slice of potatoes, a pinch of salt and pepper, then cheese and scallions. Repeat layers: potato, salt & pepper, cheese, scallions. (I only did 2 layers, but I suggest going up to 3.) Top each mold with another pat of butter and drizzle each with 1 tsp of half-and-half.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes, until cheese is melted and potatoes are brown.

Reblogging because I fully intend to try making these over the holidays. The only thing I would do differently would be to actually bake the potatoes beforehand, instead of nuking them.

I love that what you are really making is a butter sandwich with some cheese and potato in between.

Why was I not following apsiesinthekitchen before? Also, this looks delish.

5 Nov 2009

dodgethewater:

scrambledmeggs:suicideblonde:bohemea:

Danny Kaye

Automatic Danny Kaye reblog. Did I mention that the Husband and I went to see The Court Jester in a theater last week? Did I also mention how much I love it when Notre Dame shows movies I love in the Browning Theater? Ah. Well, I do.

5 Nov 2009

ragbag:

defrocking your books

it took me until pretty late in life to realise that book covers, by and large, are tacky and more or less useless. using them to keep dust from your books is akin to using neon plastic to preserve your furniture.

there are surprises in store for the adventurous defrocker of a hardback book…gold and silver foil stamping! linen! typography! earthtones! what’s more: since the binding of books has been more or less standardised over the last 3.2 million years, the dan brown bestseller that you bought yesterday will harmonise with your grandmother’s edition of fanny hill when they are both naked together on your bookshelf.

added bonus: you can upcycle your discarded covers into fashionable outerwear!

more unsolicited advice on how to arrange your bookshelf can be found here.

Wait…your grandmother had a copy of Fanny Hill? Yikes. And I thought MY grandmother was weird.

5 Nov 2009

Congressional Budget Office Thrashes Republican Health-Care Plan

robot-heart-politics:

notthatkindagay:

Late last night, the Congressional Budget Office released its initial analysis of the health-care reform plan that Republican Minority Leader John Boehner offered as a substitute to the Democratic legislation. CBO begins with the baseline estimate that 17 percent of legal, non-elderly residents won’t have health-care insurance in 2010. In 2019, after 10 years of the Republican plan, CBO estimates that …17 percent of legal, non-elderly residents won’t have health-care insurance. The Republican alternative will have helped 3 million people secure coverage, which is barely keeping up with population growth. Compare that to the Democratic bill, which covers 36 million more people and cuts the uninsured population to 4 percent.

But maybe, you say, the Republican bill does a really good job cutting costs. According to CBO, the GOP’s alternative will shave $68 billion off the deficit in the next 10 years. The Democrats, CBO says, will slice $104 billion off the deficit.

The Democratic bill, in other words, covers 12 times as many people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan. And amazingly, the Democratic bill has already been through three committees and a merger process. It’s already been shown to interest groups and advocacy organizations and industry stakeholders. It’s already made its compromises with reality. It’s already been through the legislative sausage grinder. And yet it saves more money and covers more people than the blank-slate alternative proposed by John Boehner and the House Republicans. The Democrats, constrained by reality, produced a far better plan than Boehner, who was constrained solely by his political imagination and legislative skill.

This is a major embarrassment for the Republicans. It’s one thing to keep your cards close to your chest. Republicans are in the minority, after all, and their plan stands no chance of passage. It’s another to lay them out on the table and show everyone that you have no hand, and aren’t even totally sure how to play the game. The Democratic plan isn’t perfect, but in comparison, it’s looking astonishingly good.

5 Nov 2009

notthatkindagay: pragmatism: rosasparks: thatisracist:

Pair demand apology over ‘racist’ dinner receipt

That is racist.

I would like my restaurant bill printouts to read, IN ALL CAPS,

Crazy, Fraggle-looking brown lady. How ‘bout that?

WHUT? Hey, that’s um, kinda racist and shit.

Well ok, I have a legitimate question then. What if it said “UPSTAIRS WHT COUPLE’ or even better “UPSTAIRS GAY COUPLE”? I’m not so sure anyone would be all that offended… I know I am opening a can of worms with this, but race has always been one of those things that I had trouble wrapping my brain around. I think that maybe if they had received poor service or experienced some other form of discrimination it would have been racist, but actually, I think this little incident is just a little uncouth.

I dunno that’s just me. I could go on about race and ethnicity and its role in communicating identity, but that would take too long right now, and I really don’t want to get myself in trouble with Ms. Sparks.

i tend to agree, somewhat, with pragmatism. i’ve been formulating a post about racism vs ignorant white people but still haven’t gotten all the kinks worked out yet.

we refer to barack obama as the first black president. ray nagin refers to new orleans as chocolate city. i don’t think anybody thinks those things are racist. it’d be racist if this receipt said something like “upstairs black couple who don’t belong in this restaurant.” or worse.

but maybe i’m just an ignorant white boy!?