Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Helen Gotlib


I was trawling around on Etsy, looking for Christmas gifts, and stumbled onto some pretty neat drawings and paintings, and lo and behold, they were done by someone I went to high school with.

This is, I think, my favorite, but there's a lot of good stuff on Helen Gotlib's site.

Quiz: What's your Batman name?




I got "Batman"!

via.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Neat Sharity blog

Is not theft is copyright infringe!

Pretty neat little sharity blog that had a Little Ann album I was curious about. Now, if it's good, I'll order it from Dusty Groove, but they're too expensive to buy at on a lark.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Re: Thankful

from Josh Steichmann
to info@barackobama.com
date Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 9:38 AM
subject Re: Thankful
mailed-by gmail.com
hide details 9:38 AM (4 minutes ago)
Dear Barack,

I voted for you because you were a socialist muslim. I have since learned this isn't true. I am very, very disappointed.

I had been told you would enslave all the white people and though I am white I thought "about time." But this has not happened.

So I voted for Republicans because I think making things worse helps them get better because smaller government hands off my medicare. If I can't have one thing I want the opposite.

Still I am thankful that we got some health care later unless we can destroy it.

Go Indians

Josh
- Hide quoted text -


>>On Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 9:22 AM, Barack Obama wrote:
>>Josh --

>>When Michelle and I sit down with our family to give thanks today, I want you to know that we'll be especially grateful for >>folks like you.

>>Everything we have been able to accomplish in the last two years was possible because you have been willing to work for it >>and organize for it.

>>And every time we face a setback, or when progress doesn't happen as quickly as we would like, we know that you'll be right >>there with us, ready to fight another day.

>>So I want to thank you -- for everything.

>>I also hope you'll join me in taking a moment to remember that the freedoms and security we enjoy as Americans are >>protected by the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. These patriots are willing to lay down their lives >>in our defense, and each of us owes them and their families a debt of gratitude.

>>Have a wonderful day, and God bless.

>>Barack

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Am I getting enough self-righteousness in my diet?

Tasha, The Voracious Vegan gives up being vegan in a post that applies the same religious fervor of her veganism to her new bicycle, being a localvore. With a new moral philosophy that seems mostly cribbed from Tool's Disgustipated ("Life feeds on life!"), she goes from MEAT IS MURDER to ZOMG BACON in less time (but more words) than it takes to make (vegan) ramen.

Ginny Messina, the Vegan RD, answers back, pointing out a lot of things that rang false to me about the Voracious Vegan.

Now, Tasha has answered some of the criticisms she's gotten, but it seems like she's ignored most of the trenchant criticism in order to focus on the asshole vegans that everyone knows (and she used to be). You can't declare that you no longer see things in black and white while simultaneously declaring that vegan or full-on bacon orgies are the only options.

And, you know, I'm a little bit annoyed by the constant ad hominem dismissal of legitimate criticism as coming from a misogynistic place — it's OK to call women obnoxious when they're acting obnoxious. It's not because you're a strong woman challenging the patriarchy here, it's because you come off as a self-righteous taint, and in order to be self-righteous it helps if you're right.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Oh Bauer!



Such a catchy song about farming!

Threat, Anxiety and Support of Anti-Terrorism Policies

Neat article by some folks at Stony Brook University. Some of it is Water Is Wet conclusions, that perceived risk of terrorism increases support for aggressive anti-terrorism policies, but the interesting thing to me was that anxiety didn't increase support, either domestically or abroad, which wasn't what I would have guessed. Paper here.

Trust and Governance

Since I'm doing some freelance citation fixing, I'm googling all sorts of neat papers to find first names of authors (blame a random journal's style guide — initials work for EVERYONE ELSE). That includes a couple chapters from Valerie Braithwaite and Margaret Levi's Trust and Governance, which I had at one point as part of a coursepack, but now I can't find.

Well, I guess I can find it now, it's here. Not the whole thing (just the intro and third chapter), but that's what I had in the coursepack anyway.

Monday came on a Tuesday

Another weekly mix

If I hadn't gotten lazy and just uploaded the .zip without checking, I would have axed a couple of the shorter songs, since they have cold stops. The Kapten Rod, particularly. Other than that, it's another mix of rock, jazz, rap and "various." I'm fixing citations to it.

Metal Gods—Judas Priest—British Steel [Remastered] [UK]
Skin The Pizzle—Ginger Baker—No Material
Dreams—Kill Peaches—Single
White Cat Heat—Godz—Contact High
Golden—High Places—High Places
So Sick—Ne-Yo—So Sick (CDS)
Modern Life (Extended Phones Remix)—Lomax—12"
Kallakallacka—Kapten Röd—Gillis Reggaepropaganda vol 1
An Autumn That Came Too Soon—Goon Moon—Licker's Last Leg
Champion Sound—Jaylib—Champion Sound
Oh Bauer—Jeans Team—Musik Von Oben
Twilight Of The Gods—Helloween—Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Pt. I
Wild Horses—Iron and Wine feat. Calexico—Live At The Triple Door - Seattle 2005
Gospel Time—Sandy Bull—Fantasias For Guitar And Banjo
Cabelo Voa—Mr. Catra & Mc G3—Rio Baile Funk-More Favela Booty Beats
La To Detroit—Jaylib—Champion Sound
Mornings—Japanther—Skuffed Up My Huffy
Get It In [My Space Rip]—J Hood [Feat ODG]—MySpace Rip
Heart Of Song—Josef K—Young and Stupid
Goddess—Minny Pops—Dolphin Spurt 7"
I'll Keep Loving You—Jackie McLean—Let Freedom Ring
Madimak—Mogollar—Anadolu Pop
She Wants To Move (NERD Remix)—Justice—Remixes
Every Night A New Surprise—Moving Sidewalks—Unknown album
Summer Smoke—Girl Talk—Night Ripper
Spine Of God—Monster Magnet—Spine Of God

Monday, November 22, 2010

The shifting tides of red and blue



David Sparks created a fascinating little animation with an abstruse name, the Isarithmic history of the two party vote, which really means that he's overlaying another dimension (voting patterns) on top of a regular map. Just watch it. It makes sense.

The fun parts are watching the ultimate mandate of Roosevelt (who Republicans now like to pretend wasn't popular or right), and the sweep of the "Southern strategy" pioneered by Nixon in the '70s. Unfortunately, it only goes up to 2004, but I'd imagine it could be extended pretty easily.

Friday, November 19, 2010

The worst things always win

I can't link to it directly, but Chococat's The Worst Things on MeFi music is some kinda wonderful.

Praise!



If all Christianity sounded like this, I'd go to church. Listen to that backbeat!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lemme tell you how my dad and I outsmarted ourselves.

It was one of those government websites, like taxes or student loans or property claims or something crazy, and it needed a password, a really long one. Maybe some traffic ticket I got going through some other state. And that moment, when we created it, is the last either of us ever remember.

We hit upon the phrase "keyboard arizonas." And somewhere in that is the mythic password that we have never recovered. By now, I can't even really remember the website that it goes with. I do know that we forgot it pretty promptly, because we just needed a screenshot. The trick was that it was really, like, "4r1z0n4" or something. You know, keyboard arizonas man.

Except then I needed it a year later. And I couldn't get it. It wasn't 4r1z0n4. It wasn't 4r!z0n4. It wasn't 4r1zOn4. It wasn't arizona, ariz0na, ar1zona, any of 'em. Here I was, calling my dad, calling my mom, calling my brother, calling my girlfriend, and none of them knew the password. "Did you try with the numbers instead of letters?" "Yeah, that was the first thing I thought of."

The problem was, we thought of one trick, the numbers thing. But the website wouldn't take it, because it needed more symbols or characters or something, so we'd think of another trick, something we could describe to each other in the inevitable future where we'd forgotten it.

And I know exactly where we went wrong. I can actually hear myself saying, "The password contains the hint! That's genius!"

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

You're being lied to and robbed

Christian Science Monitor finds that tax cuts haven't created jobs, and Republicans want to increase the gap between the rich and the poor.

ONE HUNDRED!

Jacquilynne made 100-layer lasagna and I think I can turn it vegetarian without too much thought.

(Now I can close the tab so I don't keep returning to it going "I know I have that open for a reason!")

My greatest fear

But do you promise to really, really grope me?

TSA success story. Blogger avoided the pornoscan and led others to do so too.

Sure, our revolutionaries are bourgeois and ineffectual, but the police state is mostly inept and bullying.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

It's not Eminem












("Boy, you soft as pita bread." Heh.)











Why I love Gil Thorp


"Besides, I'm a people person, I like jam bands, and my guidance counsellor says I'd be good at it."

Monday, November 15, 2010

More music mondays!

162mbs of sweet, mixed-up action.

Jazz, metal, rap, Maroon 5, what more could you want?

Greenery—Quasimoto—The Further Adventures of Lord Quas
Animal Nitrate—Suede—Suede
I Never Want To See You Again—Quasi—Featuring "Birds"
Let's go dancin' (reprise)—Sparque—12"
This Love—Maroon 5—Songs About Jane
Folk Song—Michael Blake—Kingdom Of Champa
Thor (The Powerhead)—Manowar—Sign Of The Hammer
Intro To Rock—Marxy—Sonido Uzumaki
Money Money—Georgi McKay—Roots To Roots Vol .1
Sweet '69—Pink Mountaintops—Pink Mountaintops
The Rhythm—Gatsby The Great—Falling Up
Absorva—Mombojo—nadadenovo
Colours Move—Fuck Buttons—Street Horrrsing
Johnny Pissoff Meets The Red Angel—Fugs—It Crawled into My Hand; Honest
Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart—Terry Reid—Bang Bang, You're Terry Reid
Rahsaanica—Rahsaan Roland Kirk—Natural Black Inventions: Ro..
Agri Dagi Efsanesi—Mogollar—Anadolu Pop
I'm a Cadillac/El Camino Dolo Roso—Mott the Hoople—Mott
Kooler Than Jesus [Electric Messiah Mix]—My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult—Confessions of a Knife
Robot [7" Mix]—The Plastics—New Wave Complex Vol.4
Girl Friend—The Modern Lovers—The Modern Lovers
Perfect Kiss—New Order—Substance
Ain't Been to No Music School—The Nosebleeds—Streets (BEGA1 Vinyl)
Isn't it a pity—Galaxie 500—On Fire
You're My Miss Washington, D.C.—Nation of Ulysses—13-Point Program To Destroy America
Sang And Dance—The Bar-Kays—Stax-Volt Soul Singles Vol. 2 (68-71)
Down Down—Status Quo—Misc Oldies
Like That—Stat Quo—Aftermath Music
Never been a night like this—The Quads —Single
The Oil Runs Out—Newtown Neurotics—Single

Super secret time travel project needs more help

So, if you're interested, get ahold of me. It's going to be sweet. Totally fucking sweet. Seriously.

The Onion, sometimes true

Area Man Defends What He Thinks Constitution Says.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

You can't teach French to a pig

So, since I gotta stop fighting with friends-of-friends on facebook pages, I'm putting this blog entry here so I can refer people to it any time they wanna mix it up.

That means every time someone starts spouting off about gay marriage, "socialism" or religion in government on social media and the discussion goes more than a couple comments, I'm going to refer people here.

Anyone else who wants to mix it up here is welcome.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Two old multiplayer games I posted to MeFi forever ago

Crystal Clear, in which the object is to blow up crystals, and has maybe one player in the lobby ever (and I suspect they're a bot).

Quadradius is checkers in some needlessly robotic dystopic future. It's the kind of video game people in Firefly would play if they ever played video games.

Both are free, but have hardly any players. You can choose to pay to play either of them if you want to, I guess.

Test Card F



This is the sort of thing I'd go to if I wasn't worried about being the only stoned 31-year-old surrounded by a bunch of sober tweens and their parents.

Still, I wonder if telling them that I have a blog that gets literally hundreds of hits a day would be enough to score some free tickets.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Four snappy signs advertising democracy

Burmese military party wins Burmese military party elections, democracy party concedes defeat.

I am grateful as hell to have the privilege to live in a country where the cartoonish shenanigans of superstitious autocrats won't likely ever get me killed. Say what you will about American elections and their efficacy (and with this last one, we've got plenty to bitch about), but it often irks me when critics of the American political system don't at least acknowledge that it could be much, much worse.

Climate consensus on Kool and the Gang



From 2008, the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS, which has a pretty sweet acronym for an academic journal) totally guts the myth that in the 1970s, people were more concerned about global cooling than global warming (PDF here). The publication record simply doesn't support that assertion, frequently heard from climate denialists like Sen. Jim Inhofe. It's a pernicious myth, but this is a pretty handy debunking.

Where my Steichmen at?

My Father's Mustache is a tumblr blog of vintage mustache shots, which got me thinking about all the old pictures of Matt, Jay and Ken (to my knowledge, Grandpa Erv never had a mustache). Mine's always part of my beard, except during those brief, confused moments between the accidental overtrim and the totally bald face (how do ladies do it? It's so cold!).

I mean, seriously, this guy (and the house he's in) could be in some old album lying around in North Riverside.

Never going to let you down

An O'Reilly talk about flash mobs gone wrong.

For safety


Make your own

Monday, November 08, 2010

Every Monday until I get a job

Another mix for you! I do housework to 'em, but you're of course free to do whatever to the music, but it's a fairly disparate mix and because it's for housework, I haven't ordered the tracks.

Download it here.


Orcus' Avarice—Ancestors—Neptune With Fire
If It Runs—Bad Livers—Delusion Of Banjer
Telecommunication—A Flock Of Seagulls—A Flock Of Seagulls
Pack You Up—Black Tambourine—Complete Recordings
Yaba Funk (Pre Mix)—Captain Yaba—Yaba Funk Roots
The Distance—Cake—Fashion Nugget
One Way Street—Aerosmith—Aerosmith
A Change is Going to Come—Baby Huey And The Babysitters—Living Legend: The Baby Huey Story
Surprise Truck—Camper Van Beethoven—Camper Van Beethoven (3rd)
Tearin' It Up (Larry Levan Mix)—Chaka Khan—12"
Ain't Mutatin'—Bird Nest Roys—Whack It All Down Ep
Winter Grey—Arcturus—Aspera Hiems Symfonia
Drag Racing—Big Stick—7"
IPT2—Battles—EP C/B EP
Woman Of Screen—Boris—Pink
Oaktown—Casual, Too Short, Richie Rich—Too Short-American Pimps
cool my fire—ada—blondie
Superstarfighter—Blumfeld—L'Etat Et Moi
Shining Brightly—Brinsley Schwarz—Brinsley Schwarz

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Best spam ever

BEWARE OF NIGERIA SCAMMERS!!!

Mr.Baba Gana Kingibe
show details Jul 22
ATTENTION:BELOVED FRIEND,

THIS IS THE SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA,HOW ARE YOU TODAY AND YOUR FAMILY IF FINE THANK'S BE TO GOD ALMIGHTY. I CONTACTED YOU TO INFORM YOU THAT AM SORRY OF WHAT YOU HAVE PASS THROUGH IN NIGERIA. PLEASE AM
VERY SORRY FOR THAT, PLEASE ACCEPT MY SYMPATHY AND EMPATHY I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I CONTACTED YOU JUST FOR ONE REASON,TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU WILL BE COMPENSATED FOR THE MONEY THAT YOU HAVE LOST
TO NIGERIA SCAMMERS SO FAR.

I PROMISE AND I ASSURE YOU THAT YOU WILL RECOVER IT BACK,I WILL COMPENSATE YOU WITH THE AMOUNT OF $5.2 MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS BUT PLEASE I WANT YOU TO REPLY ME BACK WITH YOUR

INFORMATIONS BELOW.

THE INFORMATION I NEED FROM YOU ARE LISTED BELOW.

1, YOUR FULL NAME'S:
2, YOUR ADDRESS:
3, YOUR HOME PHONE NUMBER & CELL NUMBER:
4, YOUR AGE:
5, YOUR OCCUPATION:
6, YOUR INHERITANCE :
7, YOUR INTERNATIONAL/DRIVER'S LICENSE OR ID:

BUT PLEASE I WANT YOU NOT TO GO INTO NIGERIA INTERNET BUSINESS TRANSACTION AGAIN AFTER YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR COMPENSATION BECAUSE IT IS AN ILEGAL ACT,IS A SCAM,ANYBODY THAT CONTACTS YOU TO INFORM YOU OF A TRANSACTION
PLEASE EMAIL ME TO LET ME KNOW.

AND AM FIGHTING AGAINST IT WITH FEDERAL BUREAU INVESTIGATION SERVICE IN YOUR COUNTRY AND THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIME COMMISSION(EFCC).

CONTACT ME ON THE DETAILS BELOW;

NAME MR. BABA GANA KINGIBE

EMAIL kbabagana32@yahoo.com.hk

TEL 234-80-3354-7109

BEST REGARDS,

SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA.

BABA GANA KINGIBE

Monday, November 01, 2010

Amy and I did our voting homework

Here's how I'm going to vote (UPDATED WITH THE FEW RACES I MISSED LAST NIGHT):

Yes on 19.

I know some stoners and activists are against it. I think some of their critiques are legitimate. But a lot of it's just crazy paranoid fantasies about what will totally happen if there's, like, legal weed, man. The market will get involved!

In terms of what it'll mean for most recreational stoners, and because I love an underdog, I'm voting yes. This is one area where experimental democracy can have real dividends, and give other states a model for how to start the march toward full decriminalization.

Yes on 20.

California voted for the redistricting committee in 2008, but it hasn't meant anything because there's been no redistricting — the Census comes every ten years. Given that the Prop 11 in 2008 that authorized this also removed the prior law keeping legislators from gerrymandering districts to favor parties, incumbents or candidates, voting no on 20 is remarkably stupid. Carl Pope of the Sierra Club out to be ashamed, having his name next to the crazed invective from the voter guide, especially since it sounds like he doesn't know what the prop says. Yes on 20, no on 27.

Yes on 21.

Would you pay $18 a year to have free access to all state parks? Hell yes. Conservation, education, whatever, don't care. Free trips to state parks whenever I want to go? I realize I'm betraying hints of my class here, but goddamn, I love me some free parks and will go all the time. It already costs about six bucks a visit, depending on which ones and how long you park. So figure that you just have to go three times a year to break even, or four times to come out ahead? The argument against is just that it's some sort of car tax or something, and really just comes across as Rob Stutzman hates parks.

No on 22.

Really, trying to put up structural barriers to stop cash flow treasury abuses only works when we're running a surplus. Right now, 22 is just a measure from folks who don't believe government ever works wanting to prove themselves right by making it harder for government to work.

No on 23.

Part of the problem with global warming is that it really is a problem that we have to deal with even when it's not politically or economically convenient. It is happening, deniers are flat earthers, and the economic effects are going to be devastating, so letting them cascade earlier is dumb. Combine that with the loss of green jobs just so that current businesses can keep polluting? Ugh.

Yes on 24.

This one, I could go either way on. I do think that the business tax exemptions as passed were a terrible compromise to an elite group of national and multinational chain businesses that should never have even been necessary. I understand the LA Times position that it's not the voters' place to hash out tax code, especially not through the initiative process, but given that they're bad policy and that the voters are the last chance to catch them before they go into effect, it's hard not to see this as a good opportunity. Especially because the remedy proposed by the Times is to vote out the representatives, but that's easier said than done and only really speaks of single-issue voting anyway. I don't like the initiative system, but when given the choice between voting for 24 and voting against it? I'm voting for it grudgingly.

Yes on 25.

As you hear on every single campaign ad, "Sacramento is broken." A lot of that is because of the two-thirds majority required to get a budget through the legislature. We waste millions, hundreds of millions, every year, and during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, no less. The two-thirds requirement entrenches partisanship and destroys compromise, just like it does in the US Senate. It may mean higher taxes. It will also mean better budgets sooner, with fewer cuts to services. If you like good government, vote yes.

No on 26.

Everything I just said about 25? Reverse it for 26, which would require a two-thirds vote on any fees raised by the government. Now, fees were supposed to be the libertarian approach to taxes, where people pay based on how much they use and can decide how much they use. Sure, it seems a little naive to tell some kid up in Tehachapi that he's choosing to drive his car to work, and so he can ration his other trips to stay within budget, but revenue's gotta come from somewhere. Sorry, you just don't get a good government for free. You get a Somali government for free. Anyway, I'm rambling. Twenty-six would be bad for California. Don't vote for it.

No on 27.

Why would we want to get rid of that redistricting board? Twenty-seven gets rid of it, in concert with Prop 20. It doesn't "save us money," it's sponsored by lunatics and incumbents (with some overlap between the two).

Barbara Boxer for US Senate.

Fiorina was terrible for HP and got fired. Now she's running a cynical campaign, the only real advantage of which is that she brought out a mean, petty Boxer. On some level, it was fun to see Dems fight nasty. On the other hand, it gets old real fast. I'll probably vote early, but if it looks like a blowout, I gotta admire Duane Roberts from the Greens running on a Vote for Duane platform. You know, if you just gotta vote for someone you could have a beer with.

Jerry Brown for Governor.

"I am Governor Jerry Brown. My aura smiles and never frowns." As a big fan of punk rock, I always hoped I'd get to vote for California Uber Alles.

Karen Bass for US Rep.

She got elected two years ago, and I haven't heard boo from her since. Still, when in doubt, this year I'm going Dem.

Curren Price for State Senate.

Endorsed by EQCA, so at least there's that.

Mike Gatto for State Assembly.

Also endorsed by EQCA, Gatto looks a bit sleazy and I couldn't tell from his ads if he was Dem or GOP, but he's a Dem and is apparently for marriage equality. Why not?

Gavin Newsom for Lieutenant Governor.

His cousin's Joanna the screechy harpist. I once worked with a guy named Ted Newsome, which'll make it hard to remember how to spell Gavin's last name. He might get to be governor if Brown dies. Why not?

Debra Bowen for Secretary of State.

She's done a pretty good job for the last four years, so might as well keep her going. I went to a DMV a couple years ago, it was pretty nice, but I'm not sure she's responsible for that. Pretty fast. I'm not sure if she's responsible for that, but in Michigan she would be and she's on a down-ticket race. She's running against a bootstrapping NFL player who sounds like a total dumbass. I'm not going to lie, I think focusing on voter fraud is kinda silly, but that's what she's gotta do, and he's just kinda saying that he'll provide hope for kids and give companies exit interviews when they leave the state (WTF?).

John Chiang for Controller.

I keep wanting to find out that Controller is some sort of super comic book villian position that, through a fluke of California's initiative process, is put up for election every four years. "As the Controller, I will use implanted brain chips to reduce techno-waste by thirty percent! Mind-erase collars and tele-helmets are costing us millions per year!" Chiang's been a pretty good controller, and I voted for him before, so I'd like to keep the streak alive.

Bill Lockyer for Treasurer.

I honestly had no idea what party Lockyer was from, given his ads about being independent and chastising both major parties. He's done well holding California together as much as it has been, and if the sucker wants another term, he should get it. He's up against someone endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who fill the voter guides with so much nonsense that it must be a front group for guys who drink the blue fluid at barbershops.

Kamala Harris for Attorney General.

The LA Times endorse Steven Cooley as a bit better than Harris, though they concede that both of the candidates are strong ones (for a change). But what doesn't bother them about Cooley, that he's stridently pro-death penalty, anti-gay rights and that he said he'd join in the bullshit lawsuit against "Obamacare," does bother me. These aren't little things, and that he's from LA and is a "good manager" isn't enough for me to get over my reluctance to put the defense of rights that I cherish in his hands.

Dave Jones for Insurance Commissioner.

Dave Jones has been so good as Insurance Commissioner that I won't even make a Monkees joke.

Larry Aceves for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

He's actually been a superintendent, seems to not have dogmatic positions one way or another, and is up against a guy touting his endorsement from the California Professional Firefighters. Has Torlakson (a mysteriously Swedish name) promised to require fire safety classes as graduation requirements? Don't vote for big fire!

Mike Gatto for

No endorsements on Board of Equalization.

Frankly, I just don't know enough. As the people who split up the public excise revenues in California, it's a position just absolutely ripe for a noir novel to be written about it, the dirty unsupervised moneys that go through the vaguely named bureaucracy. I'm pretty much just gonna vote straight Democrat, because what the hell. In all but one of the districts, that's who's already the incumbent; in the last, the Dem gives "Former Honorary Mayor of Pacific Beach" as a qualification, so why not?

John Nuguez for County Assessor.

He's endorsed by the Dems, at least. Scant info on the lower races.

Randy Hammock and Alan Schneider for Superior Court Judges. Rrrrrandy. Rrrrrrandy Hammock.

LA Times says "Yes" on all the judges. After that, the punditocracy thins out quickly. The only real No that I've seen going around is on Ming W. Chin, because he voted that Prop 8 was constitutional under the California state constitution. I'm as against Prop 8 as anybody — hell, I worked against it for a year — but I can understand that in his legal opinion, it was allowed under California law, even if I disagree with that. It was always going to be a federal thing, anyway. So, I'm voting for all of 'em; you can leave out Chin if you like.

Whew. I think that's all from my ballot.

Citizens united

I wish money didn't equal speech, but one of our best chances at fighting that is losing badly in Wisconsin.

Now that California looks pretty safe, I gave Russ Feingold $10. He's the politician that best represents my views, and he's someone I always think of when the nattering "No Difference" crowd tries to pretend that everyone in office is equally bad, and that there's no point in fighting for Democrats.

I got involved. I hope you do too, even if it's late.

Monday mixing!

Another zip of music to wash dishes to.

Again, meant to be shuffled. Good stuff, though, I think.


Too Much Fun—Too Much Fun—Muncie Sampler I
Bodies Adjust—Thunderbirds Are Now!—Justamustache
IEIEI—White Denim—Workout Holiday
Fell in Love—Vertex—Roots of Swedish Pop Vol 1 the Mod Years
Pyromaniac—The Verlaines—Juvenilia
All About My Fetti—Young Lay—New Jersey Drive, Vol.1
Look Out World—The Sliver Fleet
フリーダム—天井棧敷/東京キッド・ブラザース (Tokyo Kid Brother)—サントラ盤!! 書を捨てよ町へ出よう
Hoo-Bangin' [WSCG Style]—Westside Connection—Bow Down
Take A Stroll Through Your Mind—The Temptations—Psychedelic Shack
Listen People—Steve Marcus—Tomorrow Never Knows
She's An Angel—They Might Be Giants—Then
Zebra Ranch—Debris'—Static Disposal
Autobiography—Sloan—One Chord To Another
Set Me Free—TIn Openers
The Pros—The Roots—Game Ruffs
Scratchy—Travis Wammack—That scratchy guitar from Memphis
Stone—Small Faces—First Step
Time—The Parliaments—Testify! - The Best of the Early Years
Step it up—Stereo MC's—Connected
Rosewood—Woody Shaw—Rosewood
food & drink synthesizer—Unrest—Perfect Teeth
Over, Under, Sideways, Down—Yardbirds—Roger the Engeneer
You Don't Need A Doctor—The Robocop Kraus—They Think They Are The Robocop Kraus
Speed Limit—Tommy Lam—Dateless Night
Leather Wings—This Will Destroy You—This Will Destroy You
Third Uncle—Zongamin
Reinforcements—Sparks—Propaganda
Up Your Speed Ft Pyrelli—Sway—Up Your Speed
A View From Her Room (12")—Weekend—Archive
It Don't Mean Nothing At All—Valves—VA-Every One A Classic 4
Bootsie's Lament—Oneness of Juju—Bush Brothers and Space Rangers

In case some of y'all forgot