Thank you, Mr. Hopefully-Soon-to-Be-Ex-Governor!

It has been quite a while since my last regular post. I am hoping to remedy that, as Real Life seems to be kind today. I have been pondering what to write in this blog, especially now that the election is over. I never intended for this to become a political blog; there are more informed and better writers out there to do that, ones with much more clout and better sources. But, in covering things that interest me, I find my thoughts and words turning towards politics and government frequently. Anyway, I digress.

Actually, I digress quite a lot, or else I would not be writing this in the first place.

So, there I was, in the beginning of December, not having written in a long time due to various things, including holidays, houseguests, psychotic cats, Real Life , an excess of turkey, one psychotic dog, bad weather, snow, frigid cold, the fact that the CTA sucks, occasional bouts of writers' block, talking to friends, various other writing projects... There was a purpose to this at some point, right?

Oh, yes. Early December. Into the void came a political issue that was a writer's gift: Rod Blagojevich. A humorist's or comic's gift, certainly, a cartoonist's gift with that odd Ken-doll hair. I suppose I should send him a "thank you" card at some point.

I have heard a lot of people from places other than Illinois referring to what Blago has done (...Yes, yes, I know, innocent until proven guilty. However, that applies to the legal system, a system which, I might add, many Illinois politicians have flouted for decades. Unless I get called to serve on a jury, I am quite free to declare Blago guilty guilty, guilty.) as "Chicago politics". This proves that these people don't actually know much about Chicago, or Chicago politics.

First of all, we don't all sound like we came out of the "Superfans" sketch (Da Bears!) or the "Cheeseboogie" sketch (Billy Goat Tavern). Do you hear me, SNL? We don't all sound the same! Secondly, all the real Chicago politicians are looking at Blagojevich and thinking "amateur". Chicago politicians don't get caught like that. They get caught 10 or more years after they have left office, or, if their name is Daley, after they have died. They make powerful, powerful friends first, secure money and loyalty, and then do whatever illegal things they want to. Or, if their name is Daley, they just do whatever they want, period. They don't piss off 2/3 of the state (very very inexact, imprecise estimate), alienate just about every other politician, put their name on toll-road tolling signs (because you really want people to associate your name with payin g money and road construction, brilliant move), and then try to sell a Senate seat. I mean... a Senate seat? While he was already under investigation and knew it? Oh yes, this is one smart cookie, all right.

Would you like a Senate seat? I can sell one to you...

Holiday Wishes

Just in time for several holidays (or during, or close to...) I have decided to try this new mobile blogging thing. I am not entirely certain it will work, but it is worth a try. Here is a holiday photo of my ferret. If I turn up missing, please note the homicidal glare in her eyes. Moments like this just can't be bought. Happy holidays, whichever you might celebrate.

The Obama Rally

I was at the rally on Election Night, as I said in my last post.. (I got tickets, woooo!) I am still trying to put it all into words, and it is hard. It was a very emotional night, and I am so very glad I was there. There with hundreds of thousands of people, all together for one purpose. It was incredible. But you know, when I try to capture it in words, it is so very difficult. They float away, leaving images and feelings that words seem inadequate to describe. Is this what it is, to be part of history, to see it right before you?

The crowd was huge, so that you could not take it in with one glance, not if you were on the ground. Maybe from the air, but seeing from there isn't quite like being there. A sea of people, it was kind of like being on a canoe in the lake, and the waves bob you up and down, so that you can't much see save for brief, awe-inspiring flashes. There were no seats, and my friend Becka and I found a place on a hill to sit. She kept her little Fig Newton crisps; our subs we ate while waiting in line, because you weren't supposed to bring food or drink in. Hooray for cookie leniency! So we sat, and we made "hill buddies" of some of the people around us, talking with them throughout the night. There was a Jumbo-tron where CNN was being broadcast, and so we got those results. I also have web access on my phone, and was calling out election results courtesy of the New York Times.

Every time a new state was called we would roar, cheer, applaud. It was like the tide changing,k rushing, growing. Each state was like a wave, more water, a bigger roar. Then California. Just a little after 10pm, Central Time. And when the race was called, a prelude. Then, the announcement: McCain had conceded, and Obama would become the 44th President.

It was a wall of sound you could feel as much as hear. It shook through you.

We danced, we cheered. People hugged total strangers, screamed, sobbed. There was so much emotion that it was overwhelming. It was like the wall of sound, the rushing of it.

Then Obama gave his speech, and the crowd grew quiet. "Yes we can" was a chanted refrain, like a holy benediction. Tears flowed like quiet brooks. Maybe it's cliche, but it is the image that comes to my mind. And then, when Obama was done speaking, we went our ways, a reverent hush over us, that led only to cheers when we had begun to absorb what had happened.

I was there. Yes we did.

If you would like to see the pictures I took at the rally, with my cell phone, here is the link.

Obama Rally Photos

Getting the Tickets to the Rally

Last week... (hold on while I check, yes, still last week)... last week I got an invitation to sign up for tickets to Barack Obama's Election Night rally down in Grant Park. I've never been to an election night rally, but then, the candidates I normally support never make it past the primaries. I decided that I would go ahead and sign up, and I got a message confirming I would get tickets. I was admittedly excited, moreso when I heard about how many people signed up and were on the waiting list. Wow.

Monday, 3 November rolled around. I had received an email stating that my ticket would be emailed on the 3rd, between 5pm and 6pm. I hoped they meant Eastern Time, but no such luck. So I went home, and there was the email, but right now my home printer wasn't working. I forwarded the email to my work address, and to my gmail account too. I figured I could print from work.

Wow. The Democratic Party was serious in not copying the ticket. Somehow it never got through to my work email, and the image was stripped from my gmail account. Also, as I use Thunderbird and not web mail, I could not access the original email except through my home computer. It seemed like any attempt to forward the email would not work. So I emailed the sender to let them know about my problem.

I got an email back saying I could pick up tickets downtown at the Hyatt, which is, alas, a 2-hour round trip from where I work using public transportation. As I could only pick them up between 10am and 3pm, and no one else could get them for me, and I only have an hour for lunch, this would not work. I was rather upset, as I really wanted to go to the rally.

Then I thought about maybe saving the email as a file, and printing it at the UPS store, as there is no Kinko's near me. No luck, they do not have the program to open emails. Now I was even more upset.

I called my friend Becka, who I was going to take to the rally, and she suggested I bring the file to her at work, and print it there. Then I thought, maybe I can email the file and that will work...

I rushed home as much as you can on the CTA, and sent her the file, and waited, chanting, "Please work, please work, please work..." It worked. The file printed, there was a ticket; we were good to go. So I told Becka I would meet her outside the Harold Washington Library, and we were on our way!

Cabbage Patch Dolls....

Someone mentioned these on a forum I am on, and I figured I ought to share. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. And sometimes it is worth taking an eraser to your memory...

So wrong in... so many, many ways....

Haunted Houses and Other Things

On Saturday the 25th, I went to a haunted house. Only, it wasn't a haunted house, it was a haunted trail, in which there were some houselike structures. Actually, there was one structure that was done up like a house, and there were people in it who apparently wanted to eat me. Somehow a haunted place that looks like it was once normal is creepier than something that never should have looked normal. There were clowns, too, and demonic Oompa-Loompas... the 70s film version, not the 2000-whatever one. There were these furry things or tree-y things walking alonmg the trail too, and you couldn't always tell where the real people had gotten to. It was most excellent.

Sometimes I feel sorry for clowns. Well, the people playing clowns. Because I don't know anyone who likes clowns. Most people I know think clowns are creepy. I think clowns are creepy. Well, I think clowns who are normal and not evil cannibalistic soul-sucking night-lurking clowns are creepy. The evil clowns are just downright scary. But, anyway, so, the non-evil clowns, I mean, those are real people, and probably really nice people, under all that makeup. But they're creepy anyway. Poor clowns.

I noticed something about carrots on Saturday, too. Carrots taste different, depending on the end you bite. One is sweet, the other a bit more earthy. It was quite surprising, and very tasty. I bit into one end, then the other, to mix the flavors together. I don't think I've ever really so intently noticed the taste of carrots before.

I'll post more when I think of it.

How to Have a Presidential Debate

Moderator: So, the first question is, "Can you answer a simple question with a direct answer?" This one goes first to you, Senator McCain.

Senator McCain: Well, first of all, let me than you for moderating, and thank you to the school who is allowing us to be here, oh, and hi, Senator Obama. And speaking of Senator Obama, I want you to understand that, in his eloquence, he never does manage to answer a question. No. His non-answers will raise your taxes, but he still does not answer. In fact, he has associations with some of the most unrepentant non-answerers of questions the USA has seen, and we need to know about the full extent of these affiliations.

Moderator: Senator Obama?

Senator Obama: It is a pleasure to be here thanks to you and to the generosity of the school, and it is wonderful seeing you again, Senator McCain. Now, I could talk about the non-answering of questions, but that is not what the American people want to know about. Their questions haven't been answered for years, and this mean-spirited campaigning isn't answering them. Now, my plan calls for a full answering of questions, with a tax break for the smaller companies, while Senator McCain only carries on President Bush's failed policy of non-answering.

Moderator: (Blinking.) So... uh...

Senator Obama: In a debate? While campaigning? No, don't count on it.