I'm not going into a big schpiel and rant here, because, well, in a few hours I'm off to a sewing seminar and I don't have all that much time.
Suffice it to say, that while George Walker Bush has always seemed too stupid to manage to actually finish reading "My Pet Goat", it amazes me that the rest of the federal government is so slow at reading as well. Perhaps THAT is the reason for the ridiculously-funny-if-not-so-pathetic "No Child Left Behind" piece of moronic idealism passed a few years ago. They just can't read fast enough, so they figure an "initiative" like that would solve the problem. I wonder how many "Republican Leaders" have signed up for the NCLB remedial courses?
Because it seems that they have only JUST NOW realized what we bloggers have been typing our fingers off about for oh... the last... what, 3..4... years?... about.
Particularly amusing quotes:
From Alberto "The Constitution does NOT specifically list Habeus Corpus as a right" Gonzales: "People have to believe in what we say," Gonzales said. "And so I think this was very upsetting to me. And it's frustrating."
Well... Fuck... Bert - we been telling you about this for years now. Maybe you and your amigos in the Administration ought should get yourselves some ESL or something, comprende?
From Teddy "Make mine a double" Kennedy: "It's up to Congress to end these abuses as soon as possible. The Patriot Act was never intended to allow the Bush administration to violate fundamental constitutional rights."
Really Teddy? Then why the fuck did you pass such a lame fucking law that so many of us told you not to pass - and most certainly NOT TO RENEW? Apparently your reading comprehension is sorely lacking if you thought for ONE FUCKING MOMENT that George Walker Bush would not look for every last loophole in that law and exploit it to play "toy soldiers" with American lives for as long as he possibly could. Shame on you, Teddy. Back to 2nd grade and Dick, Jane, Sally and Spot until you learn how to understand what those fucking bills actually SAY before you vote on them, Dipshit.
701 days
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Friday, March 09, 2007
Lafayette... Normandy...
One of the first stops (if not the first) of a "caravan" rally of Pro-Bushies heading toward Washington D.C. was at a place called "Lafayette", which features a home-grown memorial to the brave servicemen and women who have fallen in Iraq. The memorial features a white cross to mark the symbolic "grave" of these military folk who gave their lives in service to their country. The Pro-Bushies claim that this is a "Slight" to the soldiers, and want it removed.
Amazing really. I suppose they'd also like this memorial removed? Photo
Just for the record... that link takes you to a photo of another field of white crosses. The field of white crosses in that link is located in Normandy, France.
Or maybe THIS memorial ought should be removed, huh? I mean.. LOOK AT ALL THOSE GRAVE MARKERS - how DARE we honor our beloved fallen heros?
I DARE the "MOVE AMERICA FORWARD" asshats to go try and get rid of THAT war memorial to soldiers killed abroad. In fact, I hope they do. Nothing would piss off the remaining few non-insane Bush supporters faster than having them try to remove that memorial.
That is, btw, Arlington National Cemetary.
(Thanks, Ted, for the additional ammo)
Hell is too good for these NeoCon Nazis.
Amazing really. I suppose they'd also like this memorial removed? Photo
Just for the record... that link takes you to a photo of another field of white crosses. The field of white crosses in that link is located in Normandy, France.
Or maybe THIS memorial ought should be removed, huh? I mean.. LOOK AT ALL THOSE GRAVE MARKERS - how DARE we honor our beloved fallen heros?
I DARE the "MOVE AMERICA FORWARD" asshats to go try and get rid of THAT war memorial to soldiers killed abroad. In fact, I hope they do. Nothing would piss off the remaining few non-insane Bush supporters faster than having them try to remove that memorial.
That is, btw, Arlington National Cemetary.
(Thanks, Ted, for the additional ammo)
Hell is too good for these NeoCon Nazis.
Patience, Persistance and Damned Stubborness
Someone sent me a private e-mail the other day after seeing my post with all the quilt pictures in it. She told me that she would always have loved to make something like that, but that she was certain she didn't have the patience to do it.
Patience my ass. I have never utilized any patience. I have a huge STOCKPILE of patience, because I never use it! What I do have is persistance. The "push" to force myself to do a little bit of something until the darn something is done. Except as regards housework.
Persistance and Damned Stubborness together are what make all those quilts. You saw "Veggie1"? Well, the squares for that one are each made up out of 2 different fabrics, a "background" fabric that is tiny green flowers on white, and a foreground fabric that has veggies or fruits on it. Would you believe - I was getting near the end and discovered I was short about 1/2 yard of the "background" fabric?
The fabric had been featured at JoAnn Fabrics for several months, but when I went back to get more, it was gone. I went to every fabric store I knew of - nothing. Not even a stinking remnant. I was crushed. (The worst part was when the EXACT same pattern of the fabric was found.... in blue instead of green).
I never gave up. For years I searched, I never ever gave up. About 4 or 5 years later, I happened to walk into a JoAnn store that I'd not seen before, and my eye naturally scanned over the light green 100% cotton fabriOH MY GOD.... there it was. 2 huge bolts full. I grabbed one. I hugged it to my chest. I wouldn't let go of the death-grip until I got it to the cutting counter. I bought 8 yards. The hell if I was going to run out again!!!
Buying that much allowed me to have sufficient to make Veggie2. It also leaves a large pile still sitting in the "stash". There won't be a Veggie3, but that pretty little light-mint-green-on-white print is there when I need it now.
That, my friends... is damned stubborn.
*grin*
702 days
Patience my ass. I have never utilized any patience. I have a huge STOCKPILE of patience, because I never use it! What I do have is persistance. The "push" to force myself to do a little bit of something until the darn something is done. Except as regards housework.
Persistance and Damned Stubborness together are what make all those quilts. You saw "Veggie1"? Well, the squares for that one are each made up out of 2 different fabrics, a "background" fabric that is tiny green flowers on white, and a foreground fabric that has veggies or fruits on it. Would you believe - I was getting near the end and discovered I was short about 1/2 yard of the "background" fabric?
The fabric had been featured at JoAnn Fabrics for several months, but when I went back to get more, it was gone. I went to every fabric store I knew of - nothing. Not even a stinking remnant. I was crushed. (The worst part was when the EXACT same pattern of the fabric was found.... in blue instead of green).
I never gave up. For years I searched, I never ever gave up. About 4 or 5 years later, I happened to walk into a JoAnn store that I'd not seen before, and my eye naturally scanned over the light green 100% cotton fabriOH MY GOD.... there it was. 2 huge bolts full. I grabbed one. I hugged it to my chest. I wouldn't let go of the death-grip until I got it to the cutting counter. I bought 8 yards. The hell if I was going to run out again!!!
Buying that much allowed me to have sufficient to make Veggie2. It also leaves a large pile still sitting in the "stash". There won't be a Veggie3, but that pretty little light-mint-green-on-white print is there when I need it now.
That, my friends... is damned stubborn.
*grin*
702 days
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Annie Banannie and Theodore Cleaver
A few days ago, Ann Coulter made a comment about John Edwards. If you missed it, go look at a news source, I'm not gonna quote it. Suffice it to say, (s)he used the word "Faggot" in an exceptionally perjorative sense and implied that Mr. Edwards was such.
It was rude. (S)he claimed it was a joke. Whatever.
That really isn't what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about is the concept of "Conservatism".
The Republican party has for some time claimed to be the bastion of "Conservatives". The party that stands for all those things that are good and wholesome and healthy for a country and an economy and the citizens - Freedom, Democracy, Family Values, Truth, Justice, The American Way, Hot Dogs, Mom, Apple Pie...
Given their "druthers", the Republicans would allegedly send us back to the 1950's, when Dad went off to work in his suit with freshly ironed french-cuff white shirts, and Mom stayed home and baked cookies for Bud and Sis. We'd all live in the suburbs next door to the Cleavers and Eddie would compliment our Mom on her frock.
Or even better - back to the 1800's when women didn't vote or get involved in politics, but stayed in and did the ironing, and the mending, and embroidered flowers and aphorisms onto squares of linen, and when they went out they wore bonnets and gloves and carried calling cards and took tea at each other's parlors full of antimacassars and aspidistras. Heck, back then they even had to ask PERMISSION to read the newspaper. There were no unions, no mandatory OSHA regulations, no “Worker’s Compensation” benefits.
Now, I can understand the conservatives longing for a simpler, less complicated time, when there weren't any scarey people in the Middle East, when a penny saved was a penny earned and worth something to boot, when employers could treat workers just like the scum they are, when there were plenty of manufacturing jobs for the taking and nobody had to be unemployed unless they WANTED to be, (sarcasm) when the "darkies" and "white trash" knew their place (/sarcasm) and they could live without worry or care.
Ann Coulter wants to be considered a "Conservative" - in fact, (s)he is flagrantly rude, verbally abusive and often crude in her commentaries on "Liberals". (S)he wants to be the mouthpiece for all those things, that whole way of life that embodied “everything good about America” and wants to be taken seriously.
Which is a shame. I was born in those 1950’s. I was raised in the 1950’s and 1960’s. My grandparents told many, many stories about the 1800's to me while they lived, and I can tell you this without a smidgen of a doubt – no lady would ever have called Mr. Edwards what (s)he called him. At least not one who wanted to continue being considered a “Lady”. In fact, a female who spoke the way (s)he did would have been considered the equivalent of what Rush Limpbaugh refers to as a “Femnazi”.
I scent a credibility deficit.
It was rude. (S)he claimed it was a joke. Whatever.
That really isn't what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about is the concept of "Conservatism".
The Republican party has for some time claimed to be the bastion of "Conservatives". The party that stands for all those things that are good and wholesome and healthy for a country and an economy and the citizens - Freedom, Democracy, Family Values, Truth, Justice, The American Way, Hot Dogs, Mom, Apple Pie...
Given their "druthers", the Republicans would allegedly send us back to the 1950's, when Dad went off to work in his suit with freshly ironed french-cuff white shirts, and Mom stayed home and baked cookies for Bud and Sis. We'd all live in the suburbs next door to the Cleavers and Eddie would compliment our Mom on her frock.
Or even better - back to the 1800's when women didn't vote or get involved in politics, but stayed in and did the ironing, and the mending, and embroidered flowers and aphorisms onto squares of linen, and when they went out they wore bonnets and gloves and carried calling cards and took tea at each other's parlors full of antimacassars and aspidistras. Heck, back then they even had to ask PERMISSION to read the newspaper. There were no unions, no mandatory OSHA regulations, no “Worker’s Compensation” benefits.
Now, I can understand the conservatives longing for a simpler, less complicated time, when there weren't any scarey people in the Middle East, when a penny saved was a penny earned and worth something to boot, when employers could treat workers just like the scum they are, when there were plenty of manufacturing jobs for the taking and nobody had to be unemployed unless they WANTED to be, (sarcasm) when the "darkies" and "white trash" knew their place (/sarcasm) and they could live without worry or care.
Ann Coulter wants to be considered a "Conservative" - in fact, (s)he is flagrantly rude, verbally abusive and often crude in her commentaries on "Liberals". (S)he wants to be the mouthpiece for all those things, that whole way of life that embodied “everything good about America” and wants to be taken seriously.
Which is a shame. I was born in those 1950’s. I was raised in the 1950’s and 1960’s. My grandparents told many, many stories about the 1800's to me while they lived, and I can tell you this without a smidgen of a doubt – no lady would ever have called Mr. Edwards what (s)he called him. At least not one who wanted to continue being considered a “Lady”. In fact, a female who spoke the way (s)he did would have been considered the equivalent of what Rush Limpbaugh refers to as a “Femnazi”.
I scent a credibility deficit.
Good News/Bad News/WhoKnows News
The bad news is - the "insurgency" attacks are on the RISE, despite the Shrub's escalation of the war.. stratergyic "Surge" in troop levels. In fact, it is reported that Bush has already sent more than 5,000 MORE troops than he had originally indicated he would - 5,000 more, ABOVE the 22,000 he already had sent even as congress was drafting a censure about that and people had taken to the streets.
The good news is - The HotDogGeneral in charge over there now admits that this "thing" cannot be won with weapons, that it requires diplomacy and discussion. Hallelujia, someone with a modicum of a brain!
The "who knows news" is - The democrats are supposed to be about to unveil THEIR plan for getting us out of Iraq. Stay tuned, this could get amusing as the Freepers and Dittoheads wet and soil themselves finding fault with every little comma and apostrophe in it.
703 days
The good news is - The HotDogGeneral in charge over there now admits that this "thing" cannot be won with weapons, that it requires diplomacy and discussion. Hallelujia, someone with a modicum of a brain!
The "who knows news" is - The democrats are supposed to be about to unveil THEIR plan for getting us out of Iraq. Stay tuned, this could get amusing as the Freepers and Dittoheads wet and soil themselves finding fault with every little comma and apostrophe in it.
703 days
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
SCOOTER LOSES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guilty on 4 of 5 counts!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!
edit in
The Washington Post - well behind other sources - has this quote on their story about the trial: "Former senator Fred Thompson said that win or lose, Fitzgerald will be judged as a prosecutor run amok who chased petty political crimes "to the ends of the Earth."
So Fitz will be so judged huh? Kind of like other former folks chased petty crimes and were ONLY ABLE TO COME UP WITH A BLOWJOB???????
The Neocons sure do look more than a teensy bit stupid with that egg on their faces!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!
edit in
The Washington Post - well behind other sources - has this quote on their story about the trial: "Former senator Fred Thompson said that win or lose, Fitzgerald will be judged as a prosecutor run amok who chased petty political crimes "to the ends of the Earth."
So Fitz will be so judged huh? Kind of like other former folks chased petty crimes and were ONLY ABLE TO COME UP WITH A BLOWJOB???????
The Neocons sure do look more than a teensy bit stupid with that egg on their faces!
Asylum Street Spankers Video
The lovely folks at Google here have apparently broken my ability to post YouTube videos, or I'm stupid and can't figure out how to work it, or both. So...
LINKY
It's funny. It's cute. The first minute is kind of stupid, but the rest is awesome (Thank you John from Left in Aboite for bringing it to my attention via HCG and all that, btw, your blog does something weird now and it's crashing IE at work)
What I find MOST interesting about this video are 2 things - first off, Whammo has a better ponytail than I do and I am hideously jealous. Secondly, the comments. Honestly, the number of people who think that a parody song that points out that "Support Our Troops" consists of more than just slapping a stupid magnetic sticker on your vehicle is somehow insurrection would be laughable, were it not so damn pathetic.
Want to support our troops? Look to the right. Click on one of the links. Send a letter, or a care package, to one of our servicemen/women overseas. Tell them you support them, that you're proud of them, that you're having meatloaf for dinner... whatever - give them another connection to the US in that sweltering hellhole.
"And the last thing that we need's another fucking ribbon on that gas guzzling S.O.B."
705 days
LINKY
It's funny. It's cute. The first minute is kind of stupid, but the rest is awesome (Thank you John from Left in Aboite for bringing it to my attention via HCG and all that, btw, your blog does something weird now and it's crashing IE at work)
What I find MOST interesting about this video are 2 things - first off, Whammo has a better ponytail than I do and I am hideously jealous. Secondly, the comments. Honestly, the number of people who think that a parody song that points out that "Support Our Troops" consists of more than just slapping a stupid magnetic sticker on your vehicle is somehow insurrection would be laughable, were it not so damn pathetic.
Want to support our troops? Look to the right. Click on one of the links. Send a letter, or a care package, to one of our servicemen/women overseas. Tell them you support them, that you're proud of them, that you're having meatloaf for dinner... whatever - give them another connection to the US in that sweltering hellhole.
"And the last thing that we need's another fucking ribbon on that gas guzzling S.O.B."
705 days
Monday, March 05, 2007
Couldn't happen to a more deserving person!
Dick Cheney has deep veinous thrombosis.
Having had that myself, I know just how painful and unpleasant it is.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving person. Unfortunate that they caught it before part of it dropped off and became a pulmonary embolism, or a little something extra in that useless mass he refers to as his "heart".
*shrug*
706 days
Having had that myself, I know just how painful and unpleasant it is.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving person. Unfortunate that they caught it before part of it dropped off and became a pulmonary embolism, or a little something extra in that useless mass he refers to as his "heart".
*shrug*
706 days
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Quilts pictures for TFWY and his Better Half
This one is going to be "photo heavy". Sorry about that. But TFWY asked to see some pics of my quilts and I got a bit heavy-handed with the camera. This is now kind of a "quilt diary" of sorts. The captions are below the photos
This is the first quilt I made. I pieced it completely by hand. The small squares are about 3" on a side, so the large yellow bits are 9 x 9 inches. It's a fair large quilt, the major problem being the fabrics. The yellow is awesome, some of the softest 100% cotton I've ever purchased. The problem is the little squares are everything from wool, poly-blends and some 100% cotton. The fabrics pull on one another in the wash and some of the squares have torn and need to be replaced. It's awesome warm and soft, however. I did a terrible job on the binding, and some day hope to rectify that.
This is the 2nd one I ever did. Again a bit of a problem with fabrics, not as much, however. About the same size, the binding was done much better, although it was purchased binding, not made myself.
This one I made for my daughter when she was much smaller. The quilt fits nicely over a child in a single bed - it's not really the right size for a single, but it covers a child nicely, and it's easy for little hands to haul around in the house when things are chilly. This one has no binding, I machine quilted it, and had "turned" it by sewing the backing onto the front, then tucking it back around to the back. If you don't understand that, it's ok - I do not recommend this - but I was in a hurry
This is the one I consider so far to be my "masterpiece" - not because a Lone Star is all that hard to piece, but because this quilt was designed specifically for a friend in Texas - a musician with a penchant for oddity like wearing tye-dye sox and T's to gigs. You can't see it in the picture, but in the gold outter border, the shapes of his guitars are quilted (Gibson and Fender).
Another quilt for a gift. The recipient, however, has gone missing. This quilt was a collaboration between myself and Lea - same as the Lone Star. I did the design, cutting and piecing, she did the hand-quilting. Below is a detail with better idea of the colors, since my camera sucks.
This brings us to the end of the line - at least of those I have photos for here. There's one more finished top in the cedar chest, but I didn't dig it out. It's called "THE LOUD QUILT" for reasons quite obvious once seen. This one here is called "the fish quilt." If you look at the photo below, you'll see on the right side a paper-cut-out of a goldfish cracker that I had blown up off the internet to use as a quilting template. Below that is a detail of how the fish is quilted into the large-ish deep turquoise diamonds inside the white squares.
This is the first quilt I made. I pieced it completely by hand. The small squares are about 3" on a side, so the large yellow bits are 9 x 9 inches. It's a fair large quilt, the major problem being the fabrics. The yellow is awesome, some of the softest 100% cotton I've ever purchased. The problem is the little squares are everything from wool, poly-blends and some 100% cotton. The fabrics pull on one another in the wash and some of the squares have torn and need to be replaced. It's awesome warm and soft, however. I did a terrible job on the binding, and some day hope to rectify that.
This is the 2nd one I ever did. Again a bit of a problem with fabrics, not as much, however. About the same size, the binding was done much better, although it was purchased binding, not made myself.
This one I made for my daughter when she was much smaller. The quilt fits nicely over a child in a single bed - it's not really the right size for a single, but it covers a child nicely, and it's easy for little hands to haul around in the house when things are chilly. This one has no binding, I machine quilted it, and had "turned" it by sewing the backing onto the front, then tucking it back around to the back. If you don't understand that, it's ok - I do not recommend this - but I was in a hurry
Here we have an example of an actually finished "UFO". This one sat in my cedar chest for about 10 years after I pieced the top. The top has the distinction of having no 2 squares alike, and all the inside fabrics on the squares have fruits or vegetables on them. I call it "Veggie 1". There is, in fact, a Veggie 2 - exactly the same. Unfortunately, Veggie 2 sustained some damage during a moving house, and so needs to be repaired before I can quilt it.
This is still a UFO - I haven't quilted it yet. It is the result of a "Friendship Square Swap" from the early days of my internet usage. 8 of us women each made 8 identical squares using the same pattern and the instructions to use "blue and white" fabrics, then mailed one of ours to each of the other 7 ladies on the list, keeping 1 for ourselves. As you can see, one of the ladies had a bit of a problem with following instructions. I made the center square just to fill out the rest of it.
Here it is, friends - The Monstrosity. This is the quilt that refuses to get finished. The pattern was from a "Mystery Quilt" set of patterns. You get instructions in small sections - this one had, I believe, 10 sets of instructions. First set tells you approximately what type of fabric to use, the next tells you how to cut out the fabric, etc. I love this quilt. I hope some day it will let me finish it so I can use it.
This is the one I consider so far to be my "masterpiece" - not because a Lone Star is all that hard to piece, but because this quilt was designed specifically for a friend in Texas - a musician with a penchant for oddity like wearing tye-dye sox and T's to gigs. You can't see it in the picture, but in the gold outter border, the shapes of his guitars are quilted (Gibson and Fender).
Another quilt for a gift. The recipient, however, has gone missing. This quilt was a collaboration between myself and Lea - same as the Lone Star. I did the design, cutting and piecing, she did the hand-quilting. Below is a detail with better idea of the colors, since my camera sucks.
The fabrics used in this one (other than the black) all had something specific to do with the guy for whom it is meant. DAVID!!! CALL ME!!!!!!!!!!
This brings us to the end of the line - at least of those I have photos for here. There's one more finished top in the cedar chest, but I didn't dig it out. It's called "THE LOUD QUILT" for reasons quite obvious once seen. This one here is called "the fish quilt." If you look at the photo below, you'll see on the right side a paper-cut-out of a goldfish cracker that I had blown up off the internet to use as a quilting template. Below that is a detail of how the fish is quilted into the large-ish deep turquoise diamonds inside the white squares.
Well, Dan? That's all I've got. Hope it inspires as you required. *grin*
707 Days
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