Sharing at Thanksgiving 2006

I just made another loan to someone in the developing world using the great Kiva website. This time I'm helping Boris Jordanov in Bulgaria with getting some equipment for his grocery store.

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone in the developing world who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks.  Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the business is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly. This is my third loan of $25 and I plan to re-lend to other businesses as these three finish their repayments. It's so easy to blow $25 on something stupid that it really feels great to instead put that money toward making a real difference.

Boris still needs another $1700 to complete his loan request of $2000.00.  You can help him out too or just visit Kiva.org to find another business you'd like to give a little assistance.

It's really cool to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for - and that the money really goes to helping that small businessperson.  And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back. Plus it's just great to build those connections. I am a lender to people in Uganda, Honduras and Bulgaria now. This totally beats collecting stamps!

Join me in changing the world - one loan at a time - and spreading some of your Thanksgiving blessings across the planet.

Relationship Advice 2006

It's a lot better when you're on the same continent.

Favorite Albums - P 2006

Party Monster

Party Monster movie soundtrack

5 star tracks: "Take Me To The Club - Mannequin"
4 star tracks: "2 of Hearts - Stacey Q", "Go - Tones on Tail"

Peepshow

Peepshow
by Souxie & The Banshees

5 star tracks: "Peek-A-Boo", "Carousel"
4 star tracks: "Turn To Stone"

Picaresque

Picaresque
by The Decemberists

O how I love The Mariners Revenge Song! It makes me so happy to sing along with it.

5 star tracks: "The Mariner's Revenge Song"
4 star tracks: "We Both Go Down Together", "16 Military Wives"

Poses

Poses
by Rufus Wainwright

Delightful album. "In A Graveyard" belongs in any optimistic mix about death. I also really like the rhythms in "Rebel Prince".

5 star tracks: "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk", "In A Graveyard"
4 star tracks: "Greek Song", "The Tower Of Learning", "Grey Gardens", "Rebel Prince", "The Consort"

Prolonging the Magic

Prolonging The Magic
by Cake

Cake usually features in my mix cds for long drives.

5 star tracks: "Satan Is My Motor", "Hem Of Your Garment"
4 star tracks: "Guitar", "Where Would I Be?"

Pure Funk

Pure Funk

Excellent collection.

5 star tracks: "Tell Me Something Good - Rufus (featuring Chaka Khan)"
4 star tracks: "Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire", "Lady Marmalade - Labelle", "Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight", "Fire - Ohio Players", "(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again - L.T.D.", "Super Freak - Rick James"

Wikipedia, I love you. 2006

Damn it makes me happy when I can suddenly have and satisfy the urge to read a scientific discussion of why we get sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner.

Screw Annie, this is my kind of optimistic song about tomorrow 2006

klaus nomi - after the fall

Thanks for the suggestion to watch a bunch of Klaus Nomi videos in a row, Adam. They're all great, but this was my favorite.

Interesting Reading 2006

I just read a very entertaining speech from Douglas Adams from 1998 called "Is There An Artificial God?"

I mean this is a great world, it's fantastic. But our early man has a moment to reflect and he thinks to himself, 'well, this is an interesting world that I find myself in' and then he asks himself a very treacherous question, a question which is totally meaningless and fallacious, but only comes about because of the nature of the sort of person he is, the sort of person he has evolved into and the sort of person who has thrived because he thinks this particular way. Man the maker looks at his world and says 'So who made this then?' Who made this? — you can see why it's a treacherous question. Early man thinks, 'Well, because there's only one sort of being I know about who makes things, whoever made all this must therefore be a much bigger, much more powerful and necessarily invisible, one of me and because I tend to be the strong one who does all the stuff, he's probably male'. And so we have the idea of a god. Then, because when we make things we do it with the intention of doing something with them, early man asks himself , 'If he made it, what did he make it for?' Now the real trap springs, because early man is thinking, 'This world fits me very well. Here are all these things that support me and feed me and look after me; yes, this world fits me nicely' and he reaches the inescapable conclusion that whoever made it, made it for him.

This is rather as if you imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in—an interesting hole I find myself in—fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for.

...There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world. The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be, but we have done various things over intellectual history to slowly correct some of our misapprehensions. Curiously enough, quite a lot of these have come from sand, so let's talk about the four ages of sand...

You wanted to see a mandate? 2006

Here it is. The republicans gained nothing; no new house seats, no new senate seats, no new governor positions. This is not the usual shuffle which happens to have turned out better for the democrats this time, no, no. This is an angry electorate giving a very clear message:

"Republicans, you've been screwing up badly. We don't agree with your actions or your agenda."

The GOP should look to the President and the current administration for a large portion of the blame for their failure and as a party had better bring back some values of fiscal and legal prudence and a lot more respect for American lives if they expect to get through the 2008 elections without further backlash for their bad decisions and the damage they've done to the country.

QotD: OS Preference 2006

Windows, Mac, Linux - What's your preference and why?
Submitted by ramblingsbymark.

Mac. It's prettier, more reliable, more fun, and I am way way way more productive using it.

Also, I am no longer required to be in a relationship with someone who can fix my Windows box when it goes bad every six months. (Microsoft makes dairy products, I tell ya...)

Overheard in Castro muni on November 1st 2006

These kids coming in from out of town, they bring their guns. "I don't like my life; I'll shoot you!" If you like your life you don't shoot people, right?

The MetaGrrrl Slate 2006

Here's how I've marked up my sample ballot, barring any additional research before Tuesday morning.

Governor: Phil Angelides
Angelides seems to be more aligned with my goals for the state and I can't endorse the campaigning Schwarzenegger has done for the Republicans or its implications for commitment to true traditional American values as expressed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Lieutenant Governor: John Garamendi
No brainer here. I like Garamendi's work.

Secretary of State: Debra Bowen
Her strong stance against election manipulation makes me more than happy to vote Democratic party lines here.
[Side note for this one: did anyone else think the Libertarian candidate Gail K. Lightfoot's statement in the voter information guide was a hoot? It is, in its entirety, "FULLY INFORM VOTERS." Lip service with no followthrough and delivered in an overbearing fashion; seems pretty accurate for many of my encounters with Libertarians.]

Controller: John Chiang
Very good endorsements from people I respect.

Treasurer: Bill Lockyer
Haven't heard anything to make me decide not to vote Democratic here. I recall voting for him in past elections with no subsequent wincing.

Attorney General: Jerry Brown
With pleasure. I'm a lifelong Californian and I respect the man.

Insurance Commissioner: Tom Condit
Bustamante's suspect relationship with special interest donors to his campaign sent me looking for an alternative. I think Condit's an optimist, but his goals are commendable.

Member, Board of Equalization, District 1: Betty T. Yee
Doing a fine job, from all I hear and I love her statement in the voter information booklet.

United States Senator: Dianne Feinstein (with some reluctance)
I am very unhappy about some of the choices she's made in the last half decade or so - such as supporting this horrible, unjustified war -  but she is a strong force and she's closer to the person I'd want in the position than the opposition.

United States Representative: Nancy Pelosi
Possibly the most powerful elected official in the country with whom I share more goals for the country than not.

Member State Assembly: Mark Leno
Yaaaay! Mark Leno! I really like what he does.

The whole judicial section always weirds me out a bit. It seems like a popularity contest. Sound jurisprudence, that's a reason to keep someone on the bench. Not knowing any reason to remove or applaud them, I will be skipping over this part of the ballot.

Member, Board of Education: Jane Kim (because her statement is impressive and my friend MJ is a long-time campaigner for Jane),  Kim-Shree Maufas (particularly for advocating small-by-design), and Hydra Mendoza (because this is one place where I think political ties will be useful to get resources allocated better & faster).

Member, Community College Board: Lawrence Wong, Bruce Wolfe, John Rizzo.
Seems like it's hard to go wrong with picking three from this list of candidates.
[Well, after 2 automated phone calls today - AFTER I had voted - for Bruce Wolfe, I'm really regretting that particular choice. Jeez, back the hell off, dude.]

State Measures
1A - No
This was a tough decision, but I think we need to have some flexibility to resolve state budgets and I firmly believe that schools trump freeways.

1B - Yes
Something does have to be done to address pollution and seismic safety issues. I wish it was less for roads & more for transit, but it will help.

1C - Yes
I support Habitat for Humanity and the Emergency Housing Consortium and they support 1C.

1D - Yes
We've got to do something to start making up for the damage Prop 13 did. I would rather restore the property taxes, particularly on corporate property, but bonds apparently is the best way to get the money approved in this "charge it" culture. At least this is once case where it isn't completely ridiculous to pass the costs on to the next generation...

1E - Yes
You'd have to be an idiot not to see that safe drinking water is absolutely critical and that it's in significant danger in the event of a major earthquake. Yes, this is something that we should be getting federal money for, but the current administration is blowing it all on a war they had to lie to get us into. This may be too little too late, but it may save some lives and some homes.

83 - No
Completely impractical. How about spending the money this would take instead on efforts to reduce the kind of dysfunctional situations that lead to sex crimes?

84 - Yes
Another important one; it's all about the water.

85 - No
I do so wish the bloody conservatives would put a tenth the interest into the well-being of the born as they do the unborn.

86 - Yes
Tax the shit out of the damn coffin nails. If the only way to get people to quit ruining their health and that of people around them is to make them outrageously expensive, then fine. The whining about the "tax on the poor" arguments carry no weight with me - cigarettes do no one any good and have a significant health care cost impact for the state. It's the addiction to smoking itself which is the real unnecessary "tax".

87 - Hell yes!
About time; it should have been done 30 years ago. This is a good investment. Yes, it will probably wind up making some folks rich off new alternative fuel sources. So be it. We don't have time not to solve this problem and if they're at least rich off something domestically available that'd be a fine start.

88 - Yes
Property tax is an appropriate way to fund schools. As usual, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is a good indication for me that I want to vote the opposite way they recommend.

89 - leaning to No
This is a tough one. Right intentions, but potentially very bad implementation.

90 - No
And this one was easy. Have you seen the lineup of organizations & individuals opposing this? Most impressive.

Local Propositions
A - Yes
A good companion to 1D

B - Yes
No brainer. Just catching up with technology.

C - Yes
This is a fair wage increase.

D - No
People I respect say this is a badly constructed proposition and could do more harm than good. Jennifer Granick's slate said:

The intent of this proposition is to stop the City from disclosing or selling personal information. Like most propositions, it is half-assedly drafted. Media law experts believe it has the potential to conflict with the Sunshine Ordinance and could be interpreted to bar the public disclosure of information that ought to be public. Protecting private information is important, but it has to properly define what is protected.

E - Yes
Cars have an enormous impact on a city and should pay disproportionately to pedestrian and transit users.

F - No
Places an unreasonable demand on small businesses

G - No
Inappropriate government interference in free trade and neighborhood decision making.

H - No
Places a completely unreasonable demand on landlords. People would be trying to get evicted with this one in place!

I - No
What a waste of paper and an example of bad government relationships!

J - Yes
I do believe that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have criminally violated their oaths of office. Does a city statement make a difference? Maybe, maybe not, but someone's got to stand up and say what they have done is wrong.

K - Yes
This statement, on the other hand, implies an action being taken when in fact it doesn't put anything binding in place. I think it shouldn't have been on the ballot, but it's not a bad statement.

Assessor-Recorder: Phil Ting
Seems to be doing fine and has good endorsements.

Public Defender: Jeff Adachi
Sounds like he's doing a very good job and should be given time to continue his projects.

Member, Board of Supervisors: Bevan Dufty
I like Bevan Dufty; I think he does a very good job. I've been increasingly put off by Alix Rosenthal's campaign and even more so by her machinations over the Halloween hullabaloo. First she was slamming Dufty for trying to end the party early and control it, then after the shooting incident she flipped to slamming him for not doing enough. I have no faith that she cares about the neighborhood. Dufty obviously does, deeply.

Sound Medical Advice 2006

I have a cold - booo! hissss! - and want to feel better. Like many folks would do, I seek the advice of friends:

me:   hi Joel, what's the best food for when you have a cold?

Joel: well, Olga's grandfather had a folk remedy...
        he took a tablespoon of vodka, and put it into a large shot of vodka
        then he curled up into a pile of blankets

me:   you are the best

Joel: if that's not your style, i would recommend soup

He later corrected himself saying he'd meant to say a tablespoon of black pepper, but I think the way it originally came out sounded funnier.

Now I'm off to heat up some soup...

Favorite Albums - N & O 2006

Nonsuch

Nonsuch
by XTC

"Some folks pull this life like a weight
Drab and dragging dreams made of slate
Your heart is the big box of paints
And others, the canvas we're dealt
Your heart is the big box of paints
Just think how the old masters felt, they call...
Awaken you dreamers
Asleep at your desks
Parrots and lemurs
Populate your unconscious grotesques
Please let some out
Do it today
Don't let the loveless ones sell you
A world wrapped in grey"

5 star tracks: "Wrapped In Grey", "Books Are Burning"
4 star tracks: "Dear Madam Barnum", "Then She Appeared"

Ocean 8
by Ocean 8

Local band I went to see once with a guy I was dating. Gorgeously voiced lead singer.

5 star tracks: "Signs of Life"
4 star tracks: "Fireworks"

On the Threshold of a Dream

On The Threshold Of A Dream
by The Moody Blues

A childhood favorite that still holds up and makes me feel at home.

5 star tracks: "Lazy Day"
4 star tracks: "Never Comes The Day", "Are You Sitting Comfortably"

Oranges & Lemons

Oranges & Lemons
by XTC

This always reminds me of the bookstore/coffeehouse I worked in when I first moved to San Jose. We had a giant heating/cooling duct that had been painted a sort of mauve color and I took to referring to it as the pink thing.

5 star tracks: "Across This Antheap", "Pink Thing"
4 star tracks: "Poor Skeleton Steps Out"

Orlando: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Orlando
soundtrack to the film by David Motion & Jimmy Somerville

Fantastic film and some great music, especially for someone like me who actually likes some of those old musical styles. Ah, the pavanne is a lovely dance. Very beautiful and seductive.

5 star tracks: "Pavanne"
4 star tracks: "Coming", "The Poem", "A Change of Sex"

Outdoor Elvis

Outdoor Elvis
by The Swirling Eddies

Clever, sometimes ridiculous, but highly enjoyable pop rock and other sounds. Well worth liberating from whatever Christian Music filing ghetto its been walled off in. I'm an atheist and I love this album; then again I also like C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, so maybe I just like wit with some depth to it wherever I can find it.

Ever so glad my friend Father John Mabry turned me on to this, way back before he got his dog collar.

5 star tracks: "Hide The Beer, The Pastor's Here", "Elimination (The Band That Wont Go Away)"
4 star tracks: "Driving In England", "Urban Legends", "Mystery Babylon",  "Arthur Fhardy's Yodeling Party", "Knee Jerk"

Outlandos d'Amour

Outlandos d'Amour
by The Police

"Roxanne" is on this album, but so overplayed in my lifetime - and particularly those critical radio-listening years - that I can only listen to it rarely and it teeters on the brink of dropping from 3 stars to 2. Not the song's fault, I suppose.

5 star tracks: "Hole In My Life", "Masoka Tanga"
4 star tracks: "So Lonely"

Honorable mention:
Oxygene by Jean Michel Jarre, with all tracks at 4 stars.

Tonight's Forecast 2006

Weather

Confusion rains.