Letting my geek flag fly ...

Click here for a site that satisfies my inner, niggly geek that yells at every billboard with a bad apostrophe. (And my own hands when they "occasionally" typo horrific grammar.) He he.

Reasons I'm on the fence ...

Clinton, Obama. Obama, Clinton. I've gone 'round and 'round. I feel very thankful we've had so many great candidates on the D side vying for president, but it also makes the decision very, very hard. Clinton, Obama. Obama, Clinton. I know I'm not the only one on the fence. I know I want a better health care system, and Hillary has a plan. She has specific plans for many things. Specificity is good. And I know Barack has more than just charisma, though it's usually the charisma I hear about. And after the last eight painful and demoralizing years of he-who-must-not-be-named, well, a little charisma (or a lot in Barack's case) gets us feeling euphoric. And that feels good, really good. For the record: I fully believe Barack would do a great job. And I fully believe Hillary would do a great job. (AND she came to Tacoma. TO TACOMA! Small venue be-damned, she actually ventured out of the Emerald City!)

When it's all said and done, I will fully support whoever survives this gauntlet. If I could magically combine Hillary and Barack's many great qualities, I would do so in a split-second and be a happy, blissful and confident camper. But such magic is in my imagination, and so the painful process of choosing will occur. Dammit. Seriously, anyone have a magic spell to mash those two together before tomorrow? Then perhaps I could sleep at night.

But, at least I'm not alone ...

Tacoma Mama now knows my pain.
Girlfriend in Tacoma now knows my pain.
Both Hands is blissful in her Obama high.
So is Mr. Emery.
I'm a bit envious.

But tomorrow it's time. It's time for Washington's caucus, and as I keep hearing from every corner, both sides of the fence, Ds as well as Rs ... this year our decisions matter more than ever. I caucused for the last presidential election, a record-breaker in attendance for recent memory, but it wasn't anywhere near this close. And I have a feeling this year will make 2004 look like a vacant room. Tomorrow I have to make a decision. Tomorrow I'll be up to being swayed. Saturday I will close my eyes really tight, hold my breath and jump into one pool or the other. At least, I believe, the waters will be warm in either direction ...

Luckily, November's choice will not have such pain.

A day of bluster and surprise

I was walking, this afternoon, through the cold and bluster. Walking back from putting away my car ... Walking back to my office chair and a multitude of tasks. Walking back to work with hood around my head and scarf around my neck. Wondering if there'd be enough hours in the day, wondering if there'd be enough days in the week. Wondering what tomorrow will bring. Wondering what Saturday will bring. Wondering if I'd spot something shiny. Beyond a bottle and a can, nothing shiny. Beyond a pencil and a bag, nothing tiny. Instead, it was a rat that caught my eye ... the kind of rat I like to see: I'd finally happened upon my first Beautiful Angle poster. I'd seen them in captivity ... but this was my first sighting in the wild. My first encounter in its natural habitat. Oh, what a wonderful thing.

And it reminded me that we're less than a month away from the fabulousness that is Wayzgoose! I can't wait. Save the date! (March 2.)

Oh, and Happy New Year! Happy Year of the Rat!

Impending travel to Kauai: Any tips?

So, we're planning a trip to the island of Kauai for the middle sib's wedding this fall. Still can't believe my brother is getting married, but we're ecstatic about who he's marrying ... and that he picked a small wedding on a far off island, thus giving us all the excuse to leave the continental U.S. We're even leaving the kids ... somehow. We'll take them with us to the islands someday, but we parents have not had a true vacation on our own since ... well ... our honeymoon? And that's nearly 9 years ago. And we only went as far as the Oregon Coast. (And our only overseas travel has been to cold countries ... Ireland for me, Russia -- IN THE WINTER -- for the hubby.) We're ready. And very willing.

So, my question ... any tips on vacationing in Hawaii? And in Kauai in particular? I think we're going to rent a condo or house with some other family members ... and other than the wedding day, we have no plans. Other than exploring Kauai and relaxing.

And for those friends and relatives nearby, I may be calling on you to take a "shift" with one or two or three of the kids. A night, an afternoon, a playdate ... any volunteers? I'm trying to spread the love. And yes, I'll owe you. ;)

The boy's making up recipes again ...

Yesterday the boy wanted to make pineapple cake. So I said, sure, let me go find a recipe. "No!" he responded vehemently. "The recipe's in my mind!" Well, while I have no problem letting him test out his I've-watched-too-much-Food-Channel philosophies, yesterday I did not have the patience. I tried to distract him by saying "why don't you get the ingredients ... get out the pineapple." Again, "NO!" was the response. Why? Because, he said, that would be icky. Mind you, the boy LOVES pineapple. Will eat a whole can of pineapple on his own. Will beg for pineapple pizza. And, dude, he ASKED TO MAKE PINEAPPLE CAKE. But apparently pineapple cake does not include pineapple.

Today I have more patience. Perhaps I'll let him show me what this pineapple cake without pineapple recipe that's in his mind is all about ...

In the meantime, yesterday, we comprimised on chocolate chip cake. Mind you, it couldn't be chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate chip brownies, it had to be chocolate chip CAKE! And after he dumped in half a bag of chips, I asked if he wanted to put more in, and he said NO! This boy has opinions. Especially when it comes to cooking. Do I have a future chef on my hands? We shall see ... the closest the eldest ever got to this was being obsessed with sandwich making. BIG sandwich making.

Oh, and if we make pineapple-less pineapple cake today, I'll make sure to take pictures.

Where I wish I was tonight ...

Emerging Tacoma talent Deborah Page plays tonight at a Tacoma landmark: The Java Jive! I have no babysitter tonight, but if that's not an issue for you (either because you don't have kids, or you do have a babysitter) the show should be an awesome time, in an awesome location -- for a mere $3 cover (and whatever else you consume, of course). And I'll be totally envious ...



Oh yeah, and the headliner is Voxxy Valejo -- who will be shooting a music video. Kurt Lindsay will also play. Again, I'll be totally jealous.

VIDEO: What would YOU do if someone tried to ban your book?

As a fan of literature, it annoys me when people try to, or do, ban books. As a writer though, I'd never contemplated what it would be like if someday people ever tried to ban a book I wrote.

Well, today's technology lets me get a peek at what that's actually like, in the moment. I can hear, from the author himself, what it's like for an author I respect to have his work called pornographic, to have his work described as something that causes "immoral thoughts and actions in children." Strangely, while "they" say the book encourages kids to have sex, the author explains quite articulately about why, actually, it does quite the opposite ...



The book in question, "Looking for Alaska" by John Green, already needed a parental OK in the class to read due to sensitive subjects (and that I can handle because parents should be able to have a say in what's OK for their own kids), but a group of people who don't even have kids in the class are apparently trying to remove the choice completely. Apparently they know better. And that kind of pisses me off.

It's bizarre. And I appreciate John's commentary on which has to be a very personally insulting matter. (And now I really want to read the book ...)