tired of the lies

I'm so glad that this campaign is almost over. The constant barrage of lies that we have been forced to listen to are enough to make me physically ill. I'm mostly tired of hearing people like Sarah Palin slander a United States Senator over and over again, and make the country terrified that Democrats are dangerous. Dangerous! The party of John F. Kennedy is a danger! We're going to eat your babies! What the hell? When did it get to this point, that I actually believe that Republicans are evil monsters who want to cut down all the forests and kill all the polar bears and throw the Democrats in Gitmo and they think I'm a dangerous, mornonic terrorist-in-training who hates America and worships Satan?

I am NOT DANGEROUS. I AM NOT A TERRORIST FOR DISAGREEING WITH YOU ABOUT GOVERNMENT POLICIES. I have hope for the future. I want breathable air and drinkable water and biodiversity and solar power. I want birth control. I want people to be able to live without fear that their health insurance will be canceled the minute they get cancer. I love weddings and think that if two people care about each other enough to have one, they should get to have one--regardless of their genders.

I'm tired of Republicans painting me as the other, of questioning my patriotism, and of calling me stupid. And some of the things that I've heard and seen coming from McCain-Palin rallies frighten me. This man held up monkey doll that he dressed up in an Obama sticker, and the other Republicans around him CHEERED.

This is a time to try to find some middle ground, to try and compromise and figure out how we can work together, because if we don't this country will be torn apart. There is only one candidate who is asking us to do this, to work as one country, to come together rather than trying to divide us even further. That candidate is Barack Obama. I have hope for the future again, for the first time in a very, very long time.

babycakes

I'm pretty sad that the national cupcake craze appears to be waning. San Diego only recently got any cupcakeries at all. The one I tried recently is called Babycakes, and it's in Hillcrest where David's coffee used to be.

We decided to get one coffee and one cupcake to go. I chose the medium roast coffee, which was just fine but unremarkable and after much decision-making my husband and I picked out a pistachio cupcake to take with us. The guy at the counter seemed a little short tempered with me, especially when we asked if they made any gluten-free pastries (which I was wondering about so that I could take something to my sister if they did). He seemed a little snarly about that.

Anyway, the cupcake was pretty good. The cake was rich, dense and moist and filled with green pistachio colored cream. The frosting was a tad on the sweet side. I was hard pressed to note any pistachio flavor in the frosting or cream, and I thought I saw either green sprinkles or food coloring happening.

This place did sort of kick Cupcakes Squared's ass, but I don't know if I'll be frequenting it. I didn't feel at all welcomed by the staff, and for $3 I expect an outstanding cupcake plus some basic customer service.

unwind

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

The young adult novel Unwind takes a really controversial topic, abortion, and gives it a science fiction twist. In the near future, the war over abortion rights was fought and there were casualties on both sides. An agreement was reached between the two sides—it became legal to “unwind” teenagers under the age of 17. Their parts are harvested for organ transplants. Although at times the story got a little hokey for me, I found it interesting to think about a future where child murder is state sanctioned—actual murder, of human beings who had lives and grew as old as 17. This is a book that will invite conversation about what it means to be alive, where our rights start and stop, and if any agreement will ever be reached about such a controversial subject.

it's not easy being cheesy

Dear Cheetos Brand Cheese Flavored Snacks,

I have a new slogan for Chester Cheetah. First of all, he'll get a totally updated hip-hop cool look for the 2000's. And then he'll zoom into frame on a surfboard riding a wave of cheese, look directly at the camera and say, "Stop throwing your fucking single serving Cheeto bags all over the ground in San Diego, bitches! Peace out!" And then he'll surf away. Right after that there will be a voice over that says, "Seriously, kids. If you don't stop with the littering Chester Cheetah is going to show up at your house in the middle of the night and eat your ugly little faces off."

Thanks for your consideration, Cheetos!

Love always, from me

Little Brother

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow.

Supposedly this book is for young adults, but it should be required reading for everyone. Probably we should study it the way we studied 1984 in high school. Doctorow, who is already well known in the geek world, has written a very important book about freedom and surveillance.

In the not too distant future (just try reading that without signing the MST3K theme song! try!) San Francisco is hit with the worst terrorist attack the US has ever seen, and a group of 4 high school students are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Department of Homeland security interrogates them for days and then sets them free, but they return to a police state where the Bill of Rights has basically been suspended. The book shows how easily this could happen. Luckily the main character, Marcus, is wise beyond his years about computers and security and he fights the power.

Now admittedly I got lost when it came to a lot of the math and cryptography, but I don't think you need to be some sort of leet haxxor to understand that our freedoms are being taken away one by one.

Go! Read it now! And then go check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation.