Not the rest of Folsom Street Fair 2008 wrap-up

Not the Folsom Street Fair 2008 wrap-up

I know everyone is waiting impatiently for “Folsom Street Fair 2008 – Part Deux” but it’s been a week with a lot going on. So that’s a warning that this is not it.

I have a new freelance assignment, whoo-hoo!  And that is keeping me busy although I have the waiting periods between sending drafts off for review and comments and turning around the next parts.  I’m now waiting for comments, and at the same time have some research to do.  Believe me, it’s a dry topic this time.  Why large-scale government systems projects fail and what can be done about it, to not go any further into detail.

I felt like I was getting a cold Tuesday night and Wednesday morning – but with some rest, vitamins and my killer Portuguese kale-potato-sausage soup I seem to have bypassed it now.  (My what-ingredients-can-I-quickly-find fusion of a Rachel Ray 30-minute version of Spanish cocido and a Joyce Goldstein Mediterranean Cookbook recipe).  Which is good because we are supposed to head to LA to visit our friend Jeff this weekend.  Can you say “Hollywood Pool Party!”

Watched Project Runway last night – I was actually sorry that Kinley escaped the axe because she is so

Leanne modeling Kinley

unlikable.  She brings more drama and conflict than talent in my opinion.  If her personality is due to being raised away from other kids, as is alluded to, I say that should be outlawed right now.  I can see why the producers opted to keep all four for to produce Bryant Park collections.  The twist that none of them has immunity before Bryant Park adds some interest above-and-beyond to that next step.

I felt good enough for a Yoga practice yesterday afternoon, and I tried a new instructor at Yoga Tree.  Tim Floreen’s 3pm Vinyasa Flow was perfect for where my mind and body were.  It was a small class (I think it’s a new time and people are not yet aware of it) and I was able to get some position adjustments that are not possible with sizable classes.  I think it’s always interesting and valuable to try different instructors, and Tim had his own take on the Vinyasa cycles which kept things fresh.  It was not as vigorous as, say, Mark Morford or Les Leventhal classes.  Tim did put more continuous emphasis on constant breathing.  Which was great as I was feeling okay but not energized yesterday.  I can’t say I had any significant mental insights at the session but it did enforce present mindfulness, and I was blessedly not thinking about the economy, the election, or work.

Today I am doing research for the consulting assignment, and also trying to work on a new short fiction piece based on a random collection of freewriting material.  I’m just doing it as a creative exercise, not sure if it will lead to anything of real value other than being what it is.

Obama uppity? Or GOP racist?

Dead on the heels of my observation last night about the sea of white faces at the RNC as I watched Ms. Palin’s speech, GOP Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA) basically confirms the “old fashioned values” of today’s GOP.

In an interview today Westmoreland labelled Barack Obama “uppity” during an interview at the RNC. This is the same congressman who wanted to display the biblical ten commandments in Congress, because they are so important, but could only name three when asked.

Via Pam’s House Blend:

The GOP’s white sheet is showing (again). There’s a reason the RNC has hit a record low in black attendees at its convention.

Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term “uppity” to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.

Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.

“Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they’re a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they’re uppity,” Westmoreland said. Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.

You may recall that Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) expressed his inner bigot regarding Obama’s middle name – Hussein – back in March, warning that an Obama presidency would mean “[T]he radical Islamists, the al Qaeda, the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they will declare victory in this War on Terror.”

Westmoreland, btw, was humiliated by Stephen Colbert when he was asked what the Ten Commandments were. He flunked.

Added: So now we know that for more careful republicans the proper code-word for uppity is “elitist”

More McCainery

Lotsa people are reporting on McCain’s recent pronouncements about gay marriage and adoption, but I think the best I have seen is over at Boy Culture:

John McCain – “I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no, I don’t believe in gay adoption.”

Nice words from a man whose first wife waited for him while he was a prisoner of war, got into a disfiguring accident and then was unceremoniously dumped for a younger, blonder, pristine model in the form of the (coincidentally filthy rich) Cindy.

Hey, John, you know what studies also say is great for kids? Responsible fathers who aren’t shameless, calculating poonhounds.