goddess of clarity: a blog about politics, culture, and serenity

Archive: April 1 - April 15, 2007

April 13, 2007 —18:37 EDT

Unflattering Politician Photo of the Week

(Friday the 13th Edition)

"Look, I had a bad day, alright? So just BACK OFF, pal! I mean it! Man, I'm sick of this."

It's been a really bad week for the prez: hundreds of Karl Rove's emails have gone missing (curse you, Exchange Server!). Attorney General Gonzales is set to testify again about why those attorneys general were fired and why everyone in the administration who opens their mouth about this issue can't seem to stop lying about it. Nobody wants to be the president's new War on Terror czar. And even former administration figures are getting in on the act, with former deputy defense secretary and current World Bank chairman Paul Wolfowitz getting booed and heckled by his own staff over a scandal involving a promotion and pay raise for his girlfriend. (I think the real news there is that this guy has a girlfriend.)

Of course, when the president has a bad week, we all kinda have a bad week. We're all in the same sinking boat together, after all. Lately though it feels like the boat is not just sinking, but it's got termites and it's on fire.

This week I read an article in Slate that outlined two proposals for extricating our troops from Iraq, neither of which the Bush administration will ever come close to considering. Three paragraphs in, this little factoid stopped me dead in my tracks, coffee cup aloft, mouth agape.

In short, it seems, we're all stuck in a holding pattern, doomed to mere "muddling through," until somebody else sets up shop in the White House on Jan. 20, 2009—an unbelievable 651 days of mayhem to go.

651 more days?! I had no idea we had so much more of the Bush administration to get through! With all the talk of the presidential election in the news, it feels like Bush should be out of there so much sooner than that.

The countdown goes on, I guess.

—lori.

April 8, 2007 —19:01 EDT

This was the view of my backyard this Easter morning:

Ah, Spring!

—lori.

April 3, 2007 —20:39 EDT

Yes, yes, I know. That snowy photo over on the right there has been up for a long time. And no, there is no snow currently on the ground in upstate New York. We've had tantalizingly spring-like weather here for the last week and a half. Robin red breasts abound, grass is sprouting up on the lawn, the frat boys are playing frisbee golf and grilling hot dogs on the quad: all the traditional signs of spring are in evidence. But check out this forecast for the coming Easter weekend here in Rochester:

Snow showers, windy. Low 29, high 33. Chance of precipitation 80%. Snow accumulation less than one inch.

Wash, rinse, and repeat for Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday.

Dammit! This winter just refuses to piss off already. I am not cool with a "White Easter." I want to ride my bike, and go outside without my heavy leather jacket. I want to buy a shovel and a hoe so I can, like, dig holes and plant stuff. I don't know what I'll plant yet; maybe lettuce. And peppers. And strawberries. Yummy strawberries.

So for now, I think I'll leave the snowy home photo up for awhile longer, so as not to taunt winter with an attempt to force the spring. Maybe the Easter snow will pass us over.

###

In other homeowner news, my first independently conceived and executed home improvement project can be deemed a success! Yes, I have successfully managed to paint my kitchen cabinets! I updated them from their original color scheme of utility-room-grey and battleship grey, and went with a more pleasing red-and-white look. Check it out:

Not bad, eh? Who cares if it took over a week to clean the cabinets and doors, remove the doors and drawers, sand the doors and cabinet cases, prime them, tape up the trim on the doors, apply two top coats of white paint, paint four coats of red trim, and reattach the doors? It was worth it. And at least I learned something in the process: those two-day room makeover shows are a load of wank. Oh yeah, I'm looking at you Changing Rooms. You too, Trading Spaces.

Flush with my cabinet-painting success, I'm turning my sights next on the pantry, which is also painted in that same fetching grey-on-grey. Honestly, who paints a kitchen grey?

—lori.

April 1, 2007 —20088 EDT

Three Haisku: Opening Day

Cotton candy man
Prepares his right shoulder for
His heavy pink load.

The stands are empty
The standings are all even.
Each team, a winner.

It's Opening Day
And I'm doing my taxes
How American.

—lori.