Obama's latest wimpy, jelly-spined statements ought to be the final nail in the coffin of his campaign. When asked by Rick Warren, "At what point does a baby gets 'human rights'?,” Obama (a strong supporter of both the right to abortion and the right to evade any moral issue with ambiguous evasions), stammered out the following bleached response:
“well...I, you know, uuh, uhh, ...whether......you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or.....a scientific perspective..... answering that question with specificity …..is, is, above my pay grade.”
(Later in the interview, he went on to reiterate his view that it was important to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.)
I know, I know, I know what you're thinking. Artfully spoken, knee-weakeningly inspirational.
Which leaves me and any other present American to wonder what else makes Obama's pay grade's shunned subject matter? The blog "American Thinker" was kind enough to give us the inside scoop:
Ten Things Above Obama's Pay Grade
(in no particular order):
1. Cogency, concision, and conviction.
2. Ease of manner without a teleprompter.
3. Maintenance of American defense systems.
4. Pro-American assertions.
5. Rejection of moral and cultural relativism.
6. Decision-making.
7. Qualification to lead the United States.
8. Loyalty.
9. Respecting America and her symbols.
10. Understanding Christian doctrine.
He went on to reiterate his view that it was important to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. All the man's energy is spent attempting to shroud his radical actual beliefs behind bland moderate mutterings until he and his wanting 'pay grade' have deluded their way into the Oval Office.
North Star Writershas an ace article available here, which I would like you to read, as a very belated birthday present for me.
The Olympics is back, and so is my pink little crush on Michael Phelps. Today's post is merely visual-- a pictoral tribute to the boy with the blessed wing-span of a prehistoric bird.
July 30, 2008
My dear friend sent me this link to an incredibly apt speech made by Pope Benedict.
He speaks about the need for those of us working, studying or taking part in the media (which, in these days qualifies as all of us) to stand in that field as beacons of hope, promoting, "justice and solidarity, and to respect in whatever circumstance the value and dignity of every person, who also has a right not to be wounded in what concerns his private life." He also talks about combating the frightening rise of globalization, which seeks to do away with the individuality and soulful distinctions that people of different nations have a right to.
All in all, his remarks are well worth reading, and should inspire you to do your part for the promotion of goodness in this seriously tainted industry we call the media. God needs people fighting for Him and standing up for life on all fronts.
My Sister Keenan, recently returned from the white nights of St. Petersburg, just showed me a cool news story recently done on her ballet school, Vaganova Ballet Academy.
The school's very, very legendary Graduation Performance (there are clips of the performance covered in the story, which, had the camera been moved rightwards about three feet, you could have seen Keenan, bringing her Americana to the Mariinsky theatre) is covered, after which, the school's gorgeous artistic director Altanai Asylmuratova is interviewed. Behind her, the dancers took post-performance celebratory pictures. Here are some of Keenan's pics from that exact performance. :)
Tatiana Udalenkova
The Peach's main teacher Tatiana Udalenkova is also interviewed, and some of Keenan's school friends are filmed taking class (she was already back in NYC at the time , so she isn't in that segment). Anyway, I thought I would tack this up here so you could enjoy it if you are as curious as I am.
In the excruciatingly wee hours of the other night, I was seated at my computer clicking away with furious, brow-furrowed intensity. You could almost smell my hair burning. And right as I'd reached the final sentence, and the save button on this Typepad account was clicked, my internet deflated and all of my work on the particular topic was lost in the technological abyss. It was traumatic, to use a diplomatic word, and only etched all the deeper my festering hatred for computers. Computers are so lame. (And yes, all you irony-obsessed hipsters out there, I'm aware of how that given the medium and content of that statement, it's, ya know, so ironic it's not, and so un-ironic it is.)
I may try to recreate what I wrote, but then again, I may not. The spirits are still weak, and the heart still shriveled. While I grapple to replenish a bit of writerly motivation in this flea-bitten world of Mac Computers, have a look at this NYC vid for a little mischievous inspiration.
There are blended lemonades at your local, friendly, culturally imperialistic Starbucks, and they are good.
Is it at all normal to have a recurring element of a dream crop up during my REM cycle for four nights in a row? This is my sad, manic-disturbing plight. Never the centerpiece of dreams, the random, fat cat from Adam Sandler's painfully disappointing movie "Anger Management" showed up at unexpected times of my dream. Like a demented, haunting game of Where's Waldo?, or like a sour-puss, pudge-endowed, red-hooded grim reaper. What does this bizzare, weight-challenged kitty's intrusion into my psyche mean for me? Anyone have an interpretation? Let us discuss.
<<--- Fiend!
In a few days I am going to post a review of a book that I hope you all will read, so return to this corner soon for those goodies. In the mean time, I urge you to get your hands on Jason Mraz's new CD and treat your mind to a listen. I have never been much of a Jason Mraz fan before this CD-- to this day I blame his song "The Remedy" as a key contributor to my continual psychological demise, and his song Word Play teeters on the brink of a Philip Glass -genre. But his most recent CD is a joy, particularly his two songs: "I'm Yours," and "If It Kills Me." Mother is beckoning--noon mass at St Patrick's Cathedral awaits!
I know how bashful and modest you are about your hypnotic balletic prowess, but I, frankly, do not care. :) I am taking this post to publicly embarrass you by bragging to the world about your acceptance into the incredible Stuttgart Ballet, where already absurdly talented dancers go to advance to even more perilous heights on the "spectacular" scale. Although I haven't heard all of the particular details of your acceptance, I would imagine The Stuttgart Ballet took one look at you, dropped to their knees, and serenaded you (New Kids on the Block style), with a German, "You've got the right stuff, baby."
So stop fronting, and accept how ineffably fantastic you are. My sisters and I adore you as the 5th sister we never had: you're such a crucial aspect of our pack. I wish I had a better grasp of the english language so that I could come up with a sentence that can sufficiently express how sad we will be without you next year. When we aren't with you, holding up traffic and taking our ballet to the streets,, we can be found singing your praises until our wind-pipes dry up and we are left to recuperate in an asthmatic, sisterly heap. Congratulations, Chuch. Oh yeah, Chris Martin asked me to tell you he loves you and is also equally proud.
I can't wait to witness your future enhancement of Teutonic atristry.
According to my sister Keenan's facebook status, there are 17 days until her airplane makes a glorified evacuation from Russia and touches down onto asphalt-Americana. My sister Meggie and I are heavy-aware of her endurance of eastern European culture, and are giddy to assist in the lifting of her current estrangement of the quirky western world. We are in the motions of designing an agenda of a few therapeutic activities to celebrate her first evening away from the Russian remix version of Rihanna’s song “Umbrella.”
We figure we might as well hit a few of the usual customs of America. We will be sure to happily consume a brain cell-killing, artery-clogging, cellulite-endowing NYC burgers, cheesy fries, and cokes. We will roam magazine racks to fill her in on how often and how well Brad Pitt is wearing this season’s fedoras, and which household appliance Britney Spears has most recently utilized as a weapon of mass destruction. We will gaze in civic solidarity upon the statue of liberty, add our own flavor to local attractions, shop for jeans and pumas, and in the evening we will hit up a truly GREAT music concert. You should totally join us.
The music group whose performance I am cordially inviting you to, calls themselves “Sparky’s Flaw.” I actually have no idea why they’re called that, but that is sublimely beside the point. What does matter, is the five boys of Sparky’s Flaw are a seriously talented rock quintet whose music and high-energy live performances will win over your beating hearts within the first 2 minutes of the show. A quick trip to their website's homepage, will provide you with a few song tracks to sample as you peruse the remainder of this post.
The band’s five members are: Will Anderson (Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Lead Vocals), Johnny Stubblefield (Drums), Alex Hargrave (Bass), Kit French (Saxophone, Backup Vocals), and Nate McFarland (Lead Guitar, Backup Vocals). They call their sound “Acoustic Driven Pop Rock." They’re the laid-back kind of guys you’d want to have a pizza party and an out-for-blood competitive game of DDR with. They are self-deprecating free spirits; connoisseurs of all that is hip and frayed-denim real. From what I know, the first video does an uncannily good job of summing Sparky's Flaw up. God bless them.
Here’s a clip from their show at the UVA amphitheater last semester:
Clearly, there’s no rest for the wicked:
Sparky's Flaw Tour Dates
6/4/08: The Sound Garden, Myrtle Beach SC
6/5/08: The Masquerade, Atlanta GA
6/7/08: Jack Rabbit's, Jacksonville FL
6/8/08: The Social, Orlando FL
6/10/08: Studio A, Miami FL
6/11/08: The State Theater, St. Petersburg FL
6/12/08: 1982 Bar, Gainesville FL
6/13/08: Headliner's, Columbia SC
6/14/08: Oasis, Charleston, SC
6/15/08: Greene Street, Greensboro NC
6/17/08: The Canal Club, Richmond VA
6/18/08: Jammin Java, Vienna VA
6/19/08: Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
6/21/08: Trackside, Wilton CT
6/22/08: Harper's Ferry, Alston, MA
6/24/08: The Troc Balcony, Philadelphia PA
6/25/08: The Knitting Factory, New York, NY
6/26/08: Fletcher's, Baltimore MD
7/4/08: Pleasant Grove Park, Palmyra VA
Sincere regrets to anyone who does not live in the proximity of eastern coastal cities-- you're missing out. And as for anyone who does, the concert will give you a night's blessed relief from this summer's desert-like enslavement of the radio's truly uninspired, awful songs, "Shake It," "Pocket Full of Sunshine," and the ever abrasive "Sexy Can I".
A few of Sparky's Flaw songs are available on iTunes and I hear there are soon more to come; I’d recommend you study up so you can go and geekily sing along with the rest of us. (their song “Indie Rocker” is great.) Treat your skeleton to a night of bopping to the jams of these very sweet boys. Get ready to pump up the pulmonary, and I mean it.
Ya better lay down your quid soon before their shows sell out, and you are left on your couch with a depleting glass of OJ, languishing in your tardy regret. DIG ME? PUSH OFF AND GET A TICKET. GET IT, GET IT.
some of our photos with band memebers from past Sparky's Flaw concerts:
(my sister Meggie with Lead Singer, Will)
(Keenan with the Drummer Johnny)
(Miss Chelsea with Saxophonist Kit)
In finishing this post, we've got a warped-speed mini Q&A for you. Lead vocalist Will Anderson is a friend of mine through the university, and he was sweet enough to answer my following crucial queries into his psyche. My questions are in pink, his responses are in green.
If you were a pair of shoes, what kind would you be?
I would be a pair of green-and-white Nike Dunks.
Favorite Movie?
Surf Ninjas
If you were only allowed to listen to ONE song for the rest of your life, what song would you choose?
"I Can't Make You Love me" sung by Bonnie Rait, or "Ave Maria"
Your house is burning down. All human beings got out safely. What do you grab to take with you?
My guitar
Celebrity crush?
Lo from Laguna Beach
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Playing craps in a casino with Old people
What do your order at Starbucks?
Nothing. It is terrbile for you.
Describe Sparky's Flaw road trips in three words.
1.Long, 2. Fun, 3. Chaos
What inspires/ has inspired the song-writing and sound of Sparky's Flaw's music?
Different bands (U2, Maroon 5, Elton John) and things that happen with us. We love to listen to new music and get ideas from differnt bands, and we love to write about events or fictional events in our lives/the lives of people we make up.
What's your fantasy superpower?
Flight. no doubt.
Although I cannot and will not endorse Will's ardent renunciation of Starbucks' coffee, I am urging you to hit up one of their concerts this summer. The music's sweet, the boys are sweet, and the experience is sweet, so according to my faultless calculations, that is sweet cubed. I dare you to try and rival that proposal. Now git!
Obama officially went splitzville with his affiliation with the incendiary Reverend Wright. It’s basically the first move for concrete CHANGE we’ve seen from the guy. After twenty years of attending Reverend Wright’s Sunday morning spit-spewed, racist diatribes in the name of religion, Obama is renouncing his affiliations. As if that should make it any better. As you can see in the embedded video below, it is his career and ambitions of political expediency that is driving his decision. It is NOT Wright’s attempt to spread hateful germs of discord that has Obama cutting the apron strings of mother Trinity United church. It is a cold business move; a shallow PR strategy.
Oh he’s sonorous, and glib, and beguiling.
How has his transparency not leveled his reputation completely? Why can’t so much of America retain a coherent thought long enough to see that someone who shows no loyalty, no integrity, no backbone, would make a completely rubbish, disastrous leader? He is free to voluntarily spend 20 years in the audience of Wright's hate-filled tirades, and think that that alignment ought to be no reflection on him as a person. And he wasn't just another congregation member; Wright and Obama were tight: he performed the marriage of Mr and Mrs Obama, baptized their children, and built a twenty year friendship with the family. If we are supposed to believe that this renunciation of both Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ is not a shallow, slimy move for political gain, we can only logically arrive at the conclusion that he is a weak minded fool incapable of original thought. And call me crazy, but I feel that either conclusion would render him unfit of holding the office of President of the United States. If, as a Catholic, I had attended the similarly poisonous remarks of white chocolate Father Michael Pfleger (who says that “America is the greatest sin against God,” and made fun of Hilary not on the grounds of her socialist mentalities and lack of substance, but rather her whiteness) without speaking up, I would obviously be guilty of aligning myself and my views with his awful, unchristian tirades and patheticly faux-persona.
PS- check out this petition to remove Father Michael "Unhinged" Pfleger here. It's crucial, honey.
My mother recieved a trans-global telephone call from my sister regarding a request for a new kind of Russian Adoption. She wanted to buy a soviet monkey.
Keenan! Is your brain on hard drugs!?
I do not have it out for all simian primates. Curious George captured my infantile heart for my life's initial decade, and I still refuse to hear a word against that inquisitive creature. However, these monkeys have a distinctly sour aura about their presence, particularly our rather hostile-looking friend in yellow. He looks like the type of unpleasant individual who, if found dead, would have an immediately large list of 'who-done-it?' suspects. If you catch my drift. And the demented little dude in blue (with the unibrow) looks like the type to hold to a grudge for years.
Here is a list of 10 miserable things I would rather do than welcome one of these monkeys into our home.
1. Date a guy named Reginald
2. Enroll myself in a daily 3 hour trigonometry class
3. Listen to ABBA's "Mama Mia" on a perpetual loop for the rest of my life
4. Swim across the English Channel in October
5. Sky dive with a semi-defective parachute
6. Get tomato'd every occasion I take a stage
7. Procure deep and abiding papercuts each time I open a book
8. Drink Extra Virgin Olive Oil straight out of the bottle
9. Be partnered with Ryan Seacrest in a three-legged race
10. Run my iPod through the washing machine (again)
