This Boy Elroy

Happy birthday, to me.

Last photo of me at 27, taken on August 30, 2008 at 11:54pm

First photo of me at 28, taken on August 31, 2008 at midnight.

Yay.

Palin

Brad and I were getting our haircut when we found out who McCain picked as his VP. As soon as we heard it was a woman, we were both a bit concerned. All I could think about was how it's a very shrewd maneuver.

However, as the day wore on and we began to learn more about this woman I see now that it's perhaps the largest political gaffe ever made. Listening to her background, listening to her speak, she is barely a step up from a local TV weather woman. The whole situation reminds me of Harriet Miers. Once again republicans have demonstrated that they clearly have the worst judgement ever!

I'm really getting a laugh out of how the fundie pundits are spinning this thugh. They keep saying how "it's a FUN choice!" Fun? That's your criteria for picking a candidate? Oh I know, let's pick someone who's a rabid anti-abortionist, an anti-environmentalist, someone who satisfies all of our fascist core values where McCain fails, and who looks like Elaine Benes! The proletariat will love it, everyone LOVED Seinfeld, it's FUN!

Here's the bottom line. McCain is 72. He's a cancer survivor, could have cancer again. If he is unable to do his duty as president this woman, who's experience is limited to being the mayor of a town of 9,000 and a less than two years as governor of Alaska, will be the president.

The more I think about it, the more I feel sorry for her. She's being used as a novelty item and she's not smart enough to realize it.

Bravissima Hillary!!

She didn't win the nomination but she DID unite the democratic party. Her speech on Tuesday coupled with her motion to suspend the rules of the convention and nominated Obama by acclamation were precisely what she needed to do! Bravissima Hillary!!!

And how fierce does the madame Pelosi look?! I love that she's my representative now!! And yes she is officially, I got my CA voter registration card.

Suday at the beach

After a long week and having to work on a weekend I wanted to do something that would refresh me. The first thought that came into my mind was the beach. So, after the gym I hopped on ye olde N-Judah and rode it all the way till you can't ride it no' mo'.

This was waiting there for me. WTF?!

There was a man sitting near this thing guarding it. I wanted to take his photo cause he looked like my dad, it was creepy.

I found a spot on a sand dune in front of some grass and just took in the ocean and all the other people enjoying the beach. Sitting there, I realized that the beach is one of those rare places where everyone is happy to be there.

An abandoned shovel in tire tracks. I had a morbid Edward Gorey-esque thought when I took this photo. I imagined that a child was run over by some freak dune buggy and this was all that was left.

Here's a video of me putting my feet in the Pacific. My philosophy is that no matter how cold it is you cannot visit the beach without touching the ocean.

Also, everyone go over to Moby's and wish him a speedy recovery. He was in a motorcycle accident on Saturday and was banged up quite a bit. I knew something was awry when he called me and left a voicemail, we usually only ever text. Saturday night I kept him company and helped him around his apartment and although he was in a lot of pain I'm confident he'll spring back!

Things I Dont Understand

1. Bandwith limits on broadband Internet service. If the companies don't like us using so much bandwith why do they offer it?

2. Borders. Imaginary lines that cause a lot of trouble.

3. People who walk barefoot in the locker room at the gym, especially in the urinal section. Clearly, none of these people ever took a microbiology class. I'm glad none of them sleep in my bed.

4. Complaints about Muni. I've lived here for two and a half months now and I've had some Muni delays, but that's life. Yeah, it's crowded during rush hour, welcome to the big city people. I've learned that if I push onto a train and kindly ask people to move to the center of the train rather than standing in the doorways, Muni is just fine.

5. People who drink decaf in the mornings. Too weird!

6. What Bob Costas does in non Olympic years.

Ootini!!!!!

In coordination with the previous post related to how the USA seems to have a penchant for panic, I offer you this movie which was made to demonstrate what the simulated attack drills happening in downtown SF this weekend might look like. Enjoy!

I'm off to my muster point!!

Sputnik Mania!

Brad is away for two weeks and I have been left to my own devices. What is a geek to do without his geek husband? Go out and mingle with other geeks of course!

Earlier in the day I read on SFist that there was a movie premiering at the Red Vic entitled "Sputnik Mania!" This was perfect because I had been wanting to check out the Red Vic since I picked up their schedule a couple of weeks at the Castro Theatre, and I love all things space and sciency-ish.

The movie was brilliant and I suggest that everyone check it out. It's not so much about the science behind Sputnik but the hysteria that emerged from the space race among the ranks of the military in the USSR and the USA. The film highlighted some really interesting points about the event, specifically that while most of the world was in awe that humanity had launched a satellite into space the American media (and hawkish politicians, namely Democrats by the names of Humphreys and Johnson) were more concerned about the fact that the USSR had built missiles capable of reaching the USA, ICBMs. The film points out, with first hand accounts of conversations between Eisenhower and Kruschev that neither leader thought that the production of expensive nuclear missiles made any sense because the probability of them being used was virtually non-existent and they were a terrible waste of resources. Kruschev went so far as to say to Eisenhower in a meeting at Camp David that he thought they should both sign a treaty to protect one another from each other's military staff. Eisenhower made speeches years before his famous farewell address warning about the "military industrial complex" about how it's dumb to spend millions of dollars on defense when the money could be used for schools, healthcare, and food for the hungry. That particular president thought that the best way to beat the enemy was through education and actually practicing peace. Imagine that, and coming from a Republican!

One of the really interesting things about the film is that it documents a top secret project that Eisenhower had hand picked 44 people for and he did it in such secrecy that not even the CIA knew about it. After project went off he was chided by military and congressional leaders for pulling a stunt, but what he did was pretty amazing. Eisenhower had basically arranged for the worlds first communication satellite to be launched. On the satellite was a recorder with a message from Eisenhower and through a short wave radio frequency the message was broadcast to anyone and everyone who could or wanted to listen. The message was this:

This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you via a satellite circling in outer space. My message is a simple one: Through this unique means I convey to you and all mankind, America's wish for peace on Earth and goodwill toward men everywhere.

After the film the director came out for some Q and A. He had some good stories that he couldn't include in the film. One of the cool ones he told, and this guy has been making documentaries for 40 years so he's pretty well connected, was about how Eisenhower knew the Russians had no weapons because the US had spied on Russia and had the intelligence to know that the only weapons the USSR had were the few they marched up and down Red Square. So he knew there was nothing to fear and there was no need for military buildup and that American proliferation of weapons would only spur proliferation of weapons by the USSR. However, the heads of companies like Lockheed weren't too pleased with that idea so they began to pad the pockets of Democrats like Johnson and Humphreys who were putting pressure on Eisenhower to be more aggressive with the USSR because they "posed a threat." At the same time the military brass is pressuring Eisenhower to build up the military and POOF! you have the military industrial complex.

Hmm? He knew the USSR had no weapons but there were business people who wanted the USSR to have weapons so they could get rich off of war. Sounds familiar! Wow, fifty years later and nothing's changed!

Eisenhower's next move was very smart. He created NASA as a completely civilian operation and in doing so funneled all of the money for the development for space exploration and jet propulsion away from the military.

Anyway, if you get a chance check out "Sputnik Mania!"

Clean up this mess!!

There's something that I have never expressed fully on my blog and I think I owe it to this space to come out from the shadows of the closet and say that I LOVE TO CLEAN!! On a given weekend, if you were to walk into my apartment it would not be unlikely for you to find me with a can of good old fashioned Bon Ami, sprinkling the powdered cleaner with reckless abandon all over the tile of my shower while reciting the lines, "You call this clllleeeaaan? Scrub Christina, SCRUB!"

When we made the move from Dallas we left our vacuum cleaner behind, that was my poor judgement. When we arrived we bought a Dirt Devil stick which was promptly returned to Target, what a crappy vacuum. Then we bought some dopey Eureka canister vacuum that just made a lot of noise. So, for the past couple of weeks I have been sitting in an apartment of cat hair and filth, trying to convince Brad to allow us to buy the small version of the Dyson Ball. Although it has a compact footprint, we both had our reservations because the small version is only 6 AMPS whereas the larger is 12, would it have enough power to suit our needs?

This is what the little guy unearthed.

Look at all that hair and dirt!!

All reservations melted away. Definitely worth the money especially since there is no other vacuum this size, with this much power available on the market. We looked, trust me. This is a great vacuum for apartment dwellers, not to mention it's sexy as hell.

Bravo Beijing

Fireworks explode over the Beijing National Stadium - Bird’s Nest for the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
Originally uploaded by Meiguoxing.

I have to say, the opening ceremonies were quite the spectacle! Watching it on TV was so amazing that I can't even imagine what it was like in person.

All I got to say is that London has their work cut out for them in 2012.

So hot.

I just fell in love with Paris Hilton.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Hot.

Note: This is the only clip I could find on YouTube as the original has been removed because of third party whining.