Rest in Peace, little Space Bat dude

My Mister and I have been following the news about the now-famous free tail bat who accompanied space shuttle Discovery on its most recent launch. Tragically, NASA reports that Space Bat "likely perished quickly during Discovery’s climb into orbit."

You'll find more details and photos at NASA.gov, and a touching tribute to Space Bat on the Space Bat Memorial page.

In the words of an unknown forum poster at space-bat.com, "Damnit, I promised I wouldn't cry".

William Shatner WoW commercial

MAC Cosmetics Hello Kitty Collection Ad

Alice in a pinkified Wonderland goes down a distinctly yoni-esque "rabbit hole" and it just gets stranger from there. Wrong on several levels, but like the proverbial train wreck, I just couldn't stop watching.

8 years in 8 minutes

Prop 8 The Musical

Disclaimer: This video is an example of shamelessly Liberal humor. As a brazen Liberal, I enjoyed it. YMMV

A star studded mini-musical about California's Proposition 8. My Mister pointed me in its direction and I've since seen it in a few places on the interwebs. Neil Patrick Harris steals the show, IMHO.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

I spotted this on Wil Wheaton's site and couldn't resist cross posting it here from YouTube. Star Trek meets Monty Python. Hilarity ensues. Much goodness if, like me - you both recognize every scene in the video, and you're known to blurt out quotes from Python sketches at seemingly random moments.

Roomba Driver

Been a long day. I so needed this. Maybe you had a long day, too. So here it is.




My cats would SO never sit calmly through this.

What he said

Yeah. What Keith said. Except, unlike Keith, I DO have family members and good friends who are either gay, lesbian, or transgendered; some of whom live in California.

musing on the inauguration

I'm hoping Maya Angelou is chosen to speak on January 20th, like she did for Clinton's inauguration.

I looked up her poem for that day on the googles yesterday. My friend and I were discussing our memories of where we were when Clinton was inaugurated, and I remembered how moved I was by listening to Angelou as her words bloomed into that cold, bright Washington DC morning. I was in my little studio apartment in San Diego, sitting on my bed, watching that event on the TV, with it's rabbit ear antenna pointing toward the ceiling. I remember where I was sitting, and the quality of the light in the room, like it was yesterday.

We mulled over the realization that - since we both remembered where we were during Clinton's first inauguration so clearly - Obama's would be one of those impossible to forget, tattooed-onto-your-memory kind of events that we looked forward to with hearts trembling with joy.

Re-reading "On The Pulse of Morning" again yesterday, with a mind to our newly minted President Elect with his hand raised and speaking the oath of office, made me tear up.

* * *

ON THE PULSE OF MORNING
Maya Angelou

A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon.
The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.

But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no more hiding place down here.

You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spilling words
Armed for slaughter.
The Rock cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.

Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.

Each of you a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more. Come,
Clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I and the
Tree and the stone were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your
Brow and when you yet knew you still
Knew nothing.
The River sings and sings on.

There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.
Today, the first and last of every Tree
Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the River.
Plant yourself beside me, here beside the River.

Each of you, descendant of some passed
On traveller, has been paid for.
You, who gave me my first name, you
Pawnee, Apache and Seneca, you
Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then
Forced on bloody feet, left me to the employment of
Other seekers--desperate for gain,
Starving for gold.
You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, bought
Sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare
Praying for a dream.
Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am the Tree planted by the River,
Which will not be moved.

I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree
I am yours--your Passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.

Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.

The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me, the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.

Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning

Please, California, vote NO on Prop 8

Ok, I tried to post this to my blog twice a few minutes ago, and it seemed to go nowhere both times. Trying again.

Of all the places I've lived, California is "back home" in my heart. I lived there for most of the period from 1977 through 2003. I met my husband there, and I got married in California. I'm proud of my home state.

So I've been watching anxiously as election day draws near, and Californians prepare to vote on Proposition 8 (2008), titled Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry.

I ask the voters back home, please, please vote NO on Proposition 8. Don't write discrimination into the California constitution.

If you're on the fence, I ask you to watch this video and give it some thought.

politics, flowers and gifts

El Tinklenberg is not in our district, but we're happy to see Michele Bachmann (Republican, MN 6th congressional district's Rep.) digging her own political grave with her outrageous comments about Barack Obama being 'anti-American'. Apparently the backlash is giving Tinklenberg an edge he needs in his run for her seat. I heard a fellow interviewed while I was listening to MPR yesterday, who said he was a Republican who had been planning to vote for her (again), but said he'd vote for ANYONE other than Bachmann now, so he'd been researching Tinklenberg and thought he looked better than he expected.

This article about Minnesota's former governer also made me quite happy when I saw it yesterday:

Carlson endorses Obama, spurred by Bachmann remarks

The former governor said Obama represented the best hope for an America facing an economic crisis.

Star Tribune
Last update: October 23, 2008 - 8:57 PM

Former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Thursday, saying Obama represented the best hope for an America facing an economic crisis and criticizing Republicans for waging a mean-spirited campaign that has "been going down all these side roads."

Speaking at the State Capitol, where he was introduced by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Carlson said his party had strayed from the moderate philosophies of past Republican leaders such as Ohio Sen. Robert Taft and President Dwight Eisenhower. "I consider myself a Republican maverick," Carlson said in explaining his endorsement of Obama.

[snip]

Carlson also took aim at U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, saying that her controversial remarks of the past week suggesting that Obama may have anti-American views, had led him to endorse the Democratic nominee. After hearing Bachmann's comments, he said he telephoned former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Minnesota Democrat, to tell him of his plan.

(read the rest of the article on their website)

And our local news reports that outraged people keep calling the local Bachman's gardening stores, asking if they're related to Michele Bachmann.

Any connection between flowers, 'anti-American?'

"Larry Pfarr with Bachman’s says Congresswoman Bachmann’s statements have caused a flood of phone calls and e-mails, from those wanting to know if Bachman is tied to Bachmann. "I can reassure everybody that she is no relation to Bachman’s Home Gift and Garden," Pfarr said."

[snip]

Bachman’s is staying out of Bachmann’s political controversy. They want both Republicans and Democrats to buy flowers here.

(Here's the rest of the article and accompanying video)

I haven't been following Tinklenberg's campaign as closely as those in our own district, but I got a chuckle out of this video, care of Tinklenberg For Congress.

Fifth Annual Birdaversary Extravaganza

I'll call you back later
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

Friends and family have probably already seen this video.

As of today I've been married to this wonderful, playful man for 5 years, and living with him for 8 years and change. I should not have been surprised when he pulled this little stunt in the middle of our wedding ceremony.

Yesterday was his birthday, or "bird day" in the family vernacular. With the two dates back to back like that, he's taken to calling the 10th and 11th of October as the Birdaversary Extravaganza.

Did I mention I love my Mister?

Canada: Liberal, Secular, Not as cold as you think

(insert guilty, uncomfortable laughter)

Snippets of Woodwardian Goodness

My sincerest thanks to a good friend in Australia, who pointed me in the direction of this video on au.youtube.com.

It took a LONG time to finish buffering the video (I guess the interwebs were slow from Australia tonight). But for a Peter Woodward junkie like m'self, it was well worth the wait, since it includes a few snippets of his work that I hadn't seen before.

GleeeEEeeEEeEEEeeee!!!

Pssst... There's a very little tiny bit of swearing in one of the clips. Just so you know.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Litch King

Pre-ordered my copy of the new expansion. I've been watching my Mister in the Beta and it looks incredible.

Even Karl Rove Says McCain Is Lying

Beyond the 100% Truth Test? That would make it... um... let me think... Not true?

Intentionally telling others that things you know aren't true in hopes that they will believe you. There's a word for that, I think.

Senator Clinton and Governor Palin on SNL

Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton:

"I invite the media to grow a pair. And if you can't I'll lend you mine".

Michael Palin for President

Well... how about VP? No offense, Biden.

Worldwide happy dance

Please, World. Can we have more of this?

The video is Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) by Matt Harding (sponsored by Stride gum.) For more info on Harding, try the article about him on Wikipedia if his own site wherethehellismatt.com is bogged down by traffic and won't load.

Click the video once to play. If you click it again it will take you to youtube where you can watch it in high quality (there's a "watch in high quality" link at the video's bottom right.) Or just click here and go to its page on youtube right away and click that same "high quality" link. But do make sure to watch it in high quality if at all possible.

Thanks go out to Bill Adams for bringing this video to my attention. He's a hoopy frood over at flickr who's photos I frequent for doses of beauty and fun.

FSM in action

Avast! It's His Noodliness in all his meatball-blinking majesty!

Pastafarian Idanbd created this masterpiece and shared it with the true believers via YouTube and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

RAmen!