Best Picture Books for Kids - 2004

I have just completed best of the year lists on my other blog - Books for Kids. There is a list of the best children's picture books of 2004 and another list of the best chapter books of 2004 for kids and teens. Check them out!

These are some great stories for children and adults alike!

Indian Ocean Tsunami

What a way to come back to my blog. I joke about being discontented, but I've really got nothing to complain about compared to the hundreds of thousands of people in the Indian Ocean region. These are the two things that have struck me most about this disaster, other than the sheer number of dead;

First, no one knows for sure, but there might have been some primitive cultures that were wiped off the planet. Can you believe that, languages and cultures that will never be seen or heard from again. It blows my mind.

Second, it appears as if some islands in the Maldives were completely washed away. Sure, in a tornado or a hurricane your house might be destroyed, but in this case there is absolutely nothing left. No house, no land, nothing. If you can't rely on the ground beneath your feet, what can you rely upon?

I'm planning on making a donation, but I'm still not sure to which organization I should send my money. Speaking of donating money, there is a great editorial in the NY Times about the stinginess of the US Government. How come I am still amazed each and every time that Bush shows that he doesn't have a clue?

Merry Christmas!

See you after the Holidays.....

Television Networks refuse to share exit polling data

This is the problem with big corporations owning our news media, they are more concerned with their corporate interests instead of the interests of the United States. Democracy is crumbling and no one is making a stink that will be seen by the masses.

Yahoo! News - Michigan Congressman Seeks Exit Poll Data

Cheat on elections, Cheat on tests, Let's hear it for the great state of Texas

Of course no child will be left behind, its just a matter of teaching how to cheat at a young age.

CNN.com - Newspaper finds evidence of cheating by Texas schools - Dec 20, 2004

Merry Christmas

Do you really blame these kids for being afraid of some of these freaky Santas?

44% of Americans Are Idiots

I should just stop reading the news, because every single day I am more and more scared by the United States. What other groups does this idiotic 44% think should give up their rights also?

Yahoo! News - In U.S., 44 Percent Say Restrict Muslims

Time to Simplify

If more people would actually do something about simplifying their lives, instead of just talking about it think about what a better country this would be?

This is what my wife and I have done to simplify our lives in the past year:
1. We share a single car and make lots of use of the bus. Yes, the bus can be a pain, but its still better than an extra car payment, extra car maintenance, and extra car insurance.
2. Eating at home more instead of eating out. The majority of the cooking duties have landed in my lap and I've discovered that I actually like to cook. Tonight's dinner was Pepperoni Pizza Chili (I added a small can of mushrooms to the recipe)---yumm!
3. Visit the library instead of the bookstore, video store, and record store.
4. Learned to rely on the income from one job so that we have more free time.
5. Waiting to see movies at the dollar theatre instead of paying $8.50 per person.

BuzzFlash > News Analysis > Theft of the Election, Redux.

Why aren't people rioting in the streets? Right wing conservatives are in the middle of stealing our country from us and everyone seems to be sitting back and not giving a rat's ass. Why?

Incompetence vs. Fraud: Ohio Election Mess Update

I just finished watching the 11:00 news. The Columbus NBC station did not mention the election hearing or the protests about the Electors casting their ballots today. They did mention it on their web page, http://www.nbc4i.com/politics/3992559/detail.html. But I am sick of hearing all of these Republican officials refer to us as poor losers and treating this like it is some sort of game---this is the future of our country and the world that is at stake. Screw you if you think I am a sore loser for caring about fair and honest elections. The more pissed off the Republicans act, the more inclined I am to think that they have manipulated the system. If they truly think Bush won in an honest and fair election they should have no problem with looking into various allegations. What are they afraid of?

Let me count ways that the Ohio 2004 Election was screwed up:
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/fitrakisvotestmt12804.pdf

Kerry/Edwards campaign finally starts paying attention to this mess:
http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/04/12/ale04101.html


Good to see that Florida is experiencing some of this election silliness also:
http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=489

Ohio Election Mess - Lots of Links

Ohio's Electors are supposed to make their vote tomorrow. Representative John Conyers (D-MI) and the Democratic members of the House Committee on the Judiciary are supposed to hold a forum on the 2004 election at Columbus City Hall tomorrow. If my work schedule permits, I am going to attempt to sit in on the forum. Supposedly members of the Republican Party are doing their best to make sure that the forum does not occur.

Doesn't it strike anyone else as just a little bit odd that the Republicans are trying so hard to make sure that a recount does not occur? What are they trying to hide?

Here are some links to various updates about the whole election mess:

The Columbus Dispatch is finally starting to get a little interested in this story. I don't understand why more of the media isn't covering this story. The Washington Post is still able to coast on their coverage of Watergate more than 30 years ago. What sort of publicity would the news organization get that breaks open this election mess get?
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2004/12/12/20041212-A1-03.html&chck=t

A great summary site of the whole mess. It also contains time and locations of various upcoming hearings and protests.
Ohio Election Fraud Blog

More summary
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x145282

A Heart and Head approach to the 2004 election mess.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x141527

Citizens’ Alliance for Secure Elections (CASE). CASE is another good site for upcoming protests and ideas about what you can do to help fix this mess.

Current press releases from the Democratic members of the House Committee on the Judiciary.
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/correspondence/letters.html

News:
More Absentee Votes than Absentee Voters in Ohio ----- hmmmm seem a little strange? Lots of data for those of you looking to do some late night or early morning statistics.

Consumerism, Culture, and the Media

A very interesting article by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter in This Magazine. Anti-consumerism has been co-opted by capitalism. Yikes!

This Magazine: The Rebel Sell

My New Favorite Internet Time Killer

Basically this is Name That Tune, you can pick the musical artist and it gives you 10 songs by that artist. They give you four songs and you see if you can pick the correct song title. I've wasted the last hour putting in various artists....it will find the artist as long as their music is for sale on Amazon.

Movie Review: Ocean's Twelve

I loved Ocean's Eleven, I thought it was a fun action flick, that never took itself too seriously. I was really looking forward to Ocean's Twelve and it is another one of those movies that wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good either. I think this time Stephen Soderbergh tried too hard to be quirky. I noticed myself several times paying more attention to the music (good soundtrack) and the scenery (lots of beautiful shots of various European locations). There are some funny moments, including some great cameos so it is probably worth a video rental or going to see it as a matinee.

Maybe one of my biggest peeves, in Ocean's Eleven all eleven members of the gang had an important role to play both for the heist and the plot of the movie. This time you could tell many of their characters were only making an appearance because they had been in the first movie. All these non-purposeful appearances did nothing but drag the movie down.

Can I ask for a do-over? I do like watching this bunch of actors together and hope they do something together again in the future.

Corporate media marginalizes political dissent in the U.S.

CNN.com - Electoral College set to certify election - Dec 10, 2004: "Few mainstream politicians dispute Bush's victory, and the incumbent's 3.5 million-vote margin nationwide was wider than any of the reported problems, which included insufficient or incomplete provisional ballots and, in some places, brazen partisan shenanigans.

But that is not stopping a disparate assortment of personalities -- prominent among them Democratic congressman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and presidential candidates of the Green and Libertarian parties -- from questioning the accuracy of certified results and demanding investigations."

The "mainstream" media has done a good job of marginalizing dissent about the results of this election. Clearly there were problems in Ohio and other than Keith Olberman of MSNBC none of them seem to have the balls to treat it as a legitimate news story.

Is there any "major" media source in the United States that cares more about the future of democracy in our country more than their financial bottom line? I seriously have my doubts these days. Please someone prove me wrong.

Ohio Election Mess-----Again

Lots of details about the various snafus and "pranks" and other unexplained trickery. Can you believe that the Republicans had the nerve to call the 3500 extra votes that showed up in Gahanna a prank? Maybe the whole Bush presidency has just been one big April Fool's joke?

"America Is So Much Better Than This" by Senator Russ Feingold

Why has this man not been a candidate for President?

My new profile picture. A self-portrait. Do I have a future as a digital artist?

The 6 Myths Of Creativity

This is an interesting article about creativity from the latest issue of Fast Company. Too bad almost every place of employment will ignore the findings of this study.

An ever growing list of reasons to be pissed at Bush and the Republicans

This column from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel sums it all up nicely.

How are those abstince programs working out for the red states?

Not that well, just take a look comparing Texas and Massachusetts. I want to see the Republicans try to explain their way out of this.

Go Fug Yourself

This is a funny blog if you like laughing at the rich, famous, and beautiful at their worst! And who doesn't like doing that?

Go Fug Yourself

Want to move to Canada? Here's your opportunity!

Lots of disgruntled Democrats talked about moving to Canada after the recent election debacle. I've probably even thought about it a few dozen times.

Well here is an opportunity to those of you who really want to make the move, Canada is trying to fill their shortage of exotic dancers.

Canada Invites Strippers and Gets Scrutiny (washingtonpost.com-registration required)

CNN.com - Woman auctions father's ghost on eBay - Dec 4, 2004

This is a fantastic story on so many levels. Capitalism, parenthood, technology. What happens if the ghost turns out not to be as friendly as the seller claims? Can you return a ghost? And does the ghost have any say in being sold? Could this be the start of a ghost slavery ring?

Here is the listing on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5541219808

and another:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5541219808

the copycats are showing up by the dozens...but I still think it is an interesting story. This would be a fantastic case for Dirk Gently and his Holistic Detective Agency to look into.... (Douglas Adams where are you when we need you?)

Virtual Bubblewrap - the original, providing bubble popping fun since 1996

This is the sort of stuff that happens to find me when I am surfing the web late at night. Maybe I should just go to bed earlier.

But speaking of bubble wrap, about five years ago I used to work for professional environmental association. I had to do a lot of shipping of various stuff, so quite often I would have the large sheets of bubble wrap in my office. After most everyone else had left the office for the evening my friend/colleague from down the hall would come to my office, wrap his entire body in bubble wrap, and proceed to roll around on the floor popping all the bubbles. Of course no one would believe when I told them about this guy rolling around on the floor in bubble wrap.

Bring us back to the present, the insane man who rolled around the floor in bubble wrap is now the CEO of this professional association, and me I'm just a lowly part-time substitute teacher. What's my point? I have no idea, but where would I be if I would have just rolled around in the bubble wrap instead? Hmmmmmm.......

A Good Overview of Why We Should Be Concerned About Sinclair Broadcasting

Some informative articles and commentary about Sinclair Broadcasting:


http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=1947

PressThink: Off the Charts: Sinclair Broadcast Group's Political Vision

Are the Democrats getting ready to put up a fight about the 2004 election?

A last a few Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are concerned about some of the irregularities in this year's election. I know from personal experience that there were problems this year. I stood in line 3.5 hours in cold, windy rain to vote (of course I live in a heavily Democratic district); prior to this time I've never waited more than 5 minutes to vote. At the very least there was very poor planning for this election, but I've made my opinion known many times that I think it was something more sinister than that.

Here is the link to the actual letter that the Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee sent to Ken Blackwell, the Ohio Secretary of State.

http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/ohblackwellltr12204.pdf

Who will be the first Republican to come forward and say that our country's election should be run in a fair, honest, and open manner? Who places more importance in our country than their own political party? I want to see if there is a single Republican in this country who is actually a patriot. We certainly know it isn't Karl Rove, George Bush, or Dick Cheney.

Why has walking become so dangerous?

STPP: Library: "In 2003, 4,827 Americans (11.3 percent of all traffic fatalities) died while crossing the street, walking to school or work, going to a bus stop, or strolling to the grocery, among other daily activities. Over the ten-year period 1994-2003, 51,989 pedestrians have died on U.S. streets."

This is just one part of the report from the Surface Transportation Policy Project's annual Mean Streets report. There is lots of information including results from the state and city level.

Isn't it crazy that walking has become so dangerous? It is something that each one of us should be doing daily, but with the possibility of an SUV mowing you down every time you turn a corner I could see why more people don't do it. Take a walk tomorrow, take back your streets from the gas guzzling SUV's.

Who cares if Wal-Mart's prices are low? They are evil with a capital E!

Good to see that Americans are finally starting to slow down on buying Wal-Mart's crappy Chinese merchandise.

Yahoo! News - Wal-Mart to Launch Advertising Blitz

Focus Group Participation

I spent my evening sitting around a table with twelve other guys discussing local news. The best part about it was I was paid $60.00 to give my opinions. And boy do I have opinions about our local news.

1. Sinclair Broadcasting is evil.
2. Mark Hyman's editorials annoy the hell out of me (plus he has a stupid name).
3. Columbus TV stations spend way too much time discussing OSU sports. Sports is not news, it is sports. Do I really ever have to hear about Maurice Clarrett again?
4. Its all about flash. Flashy technology. Flashy anchors. Flashy commercials. Flash, flash, and more flash.

I also learned again that guys are way too predictable. One of the other guys in the focus group said that he would watch one of the local female anchors (Andrea Cambern from WBNS) recite the alphabet because he thought she was so hot. She's not bad, but I think I could find better things to do than watch her recite the alphabet. Sorry Andrea!

Still it was the easiest $60.00 I've made in a long time, and hopefully I've altered Columbus news in some little way. Doubtful, but I can wish.

Republicans get scarier and scarier every day

I know there are reasonable Republicans out there....when are they going to start speaking up?