je t'aime

Love from Crazy Anna in Paris:

"I miss you like the lightening misses the Earth because there's nothing to hit."

And from the top of the Eiffel Tower, no less.

All my life I've been
Wishing on eyelashes
For words to fit
How I feel

- Melissa Ferrick

some things are meant to be

Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly, International (an organization of hope)

word of the week

Bitchingly. As in, that is one bitchingly hot Jude Law. As in, I am so bitchingly hung over this morning.

It's very versatile.

don't let it get too deep

The reviews so far for the philosophical I Heart Huckabees seem to concede that there are some riveting things happening, with an undeniably great cast, but that there is just too much information being thrown at the audience, that it isn't fluid enough.

When I saw the film, I had the same feeling I did when I saw The Royal Tennenbaums - basically that I was seeing this gorgeous, intelligent, inventive but offbeat movie that no one in the audience got. Everybody seemed disconcerted, disengaged. It was "weird." American audiences aren't used to being challenged much, and certainly not in mainstream movie theaters.

I'm one of those people who is affected greatly by the energy of those around me. I sensed how offputting Huckabees was to the audience, especially during the more surreal sequences. There was a lot of imagery depicting how everything in the universe is connected, and how each character perceived that. Unusual, indeed. It was hard for me to watch the movie just for myself; I found myself watching it through other audience members' lenses.

I do hope that everyone in the theater opened their minds a little, allowed themselves to free associate with the images on the screen, and decide what those truly smart and original impressions meant to them. I'm sure some of them did enjoy the film and get something out of it. But as they all filed out at the end, abnormally silent, with those "What the hell was that" looks on their faces, I really just hoped that every single one, at some point on their journey across the parking lot, did what the movie asked us all to do, which was to ask ourselves,

How am I not myself?
How am I not myself?
How am I not myself?
How am I not myself?

good ol' days

You may know that The Carter Center monitors elections all over the world. What you many not know is that if the United States were a foreign country asking to become affiliated with the Center, it would have to reject us because we don't meet the minimum requirements for fair elections.

What you may also not know is that Jimmy Carter is an evangelical Christian. Wha???? Yes. He is. And he was then too. Did he ever talk about it? Rarely. Did he use it for political gain? No. Why? Because Jimmy Carter comes from old school baptist stock, and they believe that church and government should be separate. Kinda like that thing, the Consti... gee it's hard to remember the name of it but you know what I'm talking about. Their thought was, government doesn't interfere with what they do, and they as a religious group don't interfere with the government. Yep. Uh-huh.

"I barely recognize the Republican Party today. In the Republican Party that I was active in, it was really a party of moderation. What I think the party is dominated by now is a radical philosophy."

- John Dean, former Nixon White House counsel, to Mother Jones.

so bloody wrong

Take a moment to view this short movie about Bush's rhetoric, lies, and fear tactics. It's from the Daily Show, so you know you won't regret it and you know it'll be damn funny.

word of the week

Shitfest. Has a nice ring, yes? As in, work this week has been a real shitfest. As in, the Costco in Santa Cruz had a shitfest of holiday crap the first week of September. As in, Hey check out the shitfest known as the 2004 Presidential race. Or, focusing on some phony docs used on CBS when there are so many other brutally phony things going on is quite the Grade-A shitfest. Or how about 25 states having to decide on constitutional ammendments to ban gay marriage being a total fucking utter shitfest? See? It works, doesn't it?

an open letter to the eldest cat of our household

Where to begin? I want you to know that I'm not writing this to berate you in any way, only to further our communication.

I feel I need to tell you something in this letter that I do not seem to have been able to communicate to you in person. I'm not sure how to say it so you'll hear me, so I'll just come out and say it as simply as I can: You will not get tuna everyday. This won't happen, not ever. You will get it once every couple of days at best. I know that you have tried to tell me, to explain how you think you need tuna every single day. But you see, this desire for daily tuna is a want, not a need. I need for you to start distinguishing between those two things.

I feel like it's time to be open about this - the neurosis is reaching epic proportions. You watch me cook my own dinner (ok, fine, I realize that "cook" is a gross misrepresentation) while you have your perfectly good kibble in your bowl. I always buy for you the brand you like and I always listen when you tell me that the level of said kibble is not quite at the level in the bowl that you would like it to be. In short, I keep you in darn good kibble. And I might as well just say it - the precision with which you watch my every move in the vacinity of the kitchen is a little disturbing. You're always waiting, always obsessing over that moment when I might go to the tuna cupboard. Take a look at yourself. Is this how you want to be?

Also, I wonder what is up with the Spawn. You seem to manage to avoid her at all times, which on most levels I applaud, because it saves everyone's nerves I think when we can avoid any contact with her. However, when your little brother gets into trouble, I really... well, I don't see you rushing to his defense in any way. I don't expect you to take on the Spawn yourself, I just... I guess I would just like to see you get out there a little more, show your brother some support. Yes, I know he is adopted. But sooner or later you're going to have to accept that he's your brother no matter what, and he's stood by you through thick and thin. Hasn't he? Hasn't he endured your bullying and taunting? He's a good boy, and he doesn't eat much tuna. Think of what it must feel like for him, living forever in your shadow.

I truly hope you'll think about what I've said, and save your responses until after you've had time to let it sink in. Thank you for listening.

Mama

"I ALWAYS vote. It's hard because it's so dreary in those places. People dress badly. It's decorated badly. Try to pick up people when you vote. I tell college kids that when I'm lecturing. I say, 'Dress provocatively.' Cruise. Touch yourself as you pull the lever. Do things to make it more interesting. How else are we going to get young people to vote? They think it's dull."

- John Waters in the New York Post