Last night it snowed. This morning I was dashing along to catch the bus. I caught the bus alright but I also slipped and fell. However, since I was wearing my Arctic Parka, which is heavily padded, I didn’t feel a thing. The bus driver seemed concerned so I said, “I’m okay,” and gave her the okay sign with my fingers.
Brandon has his job interview at 11.30. Crossing my fingers.
Yawn. Who is going to take the open position at the office now? The one informally known as Rob’s Assistant. There was a firing yesterday. High drama. To smooth things over with the rest of us, the boss bought us pizza for lunch. O, to have someone stay for more than 90 days …
Dolly Parton is refusing to comment on rumors that she slept with Burt Lancaster or her “Straight Talk” co-star James Woods. “I don’t admit or deny anything,” she told the London Guardian. “If I ain’t done something, I’m probably capable of doing it. But I never admit to certain things unless I’m caught red-handed. Now those men, if I didn’t sleep with them, I probably wanted to.”
He looked down at his watch. “Almost time. If he starts on time.”
Grant leaned into him. “Did you really not want to come tonight?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Neither of them could think of what to say. So they just watched the bar as it filled up. Grant looked over at Lem and they moved closer to the stage. They were two steps away from it. A thin young man came out of the crowd and onto the stage. He had an acoustic guitar in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He sat down on a stool near the edge of the stage and started fiddling around with the tuning. A few members of the audience watched him silently, Grant and Lem too. He had the cigarette in his mouth. Music was still blasting; he seemed oblivious to everything. The spotlights hit his face and there were acne scars, creases that looked fresh and old at the same time. His hair was thick and on the long side, tucked behind his ears. He almost seemed like one of them, but more so. Continue reading
Last night Andy and I went to Won Kow in Chinatown with upsidedownblue … it’s been there since 1927 and is Chicago’s oldest Chinese restaurant. The food was pretty good, nothing wildly out of the ordinary, but it was very cheap and very plentiful and they had a whole menu of retro cocktails; our Mai Tais came in hurricane glasses with little umbrellas stuck in the top. So I give it *** out of **** just for value and atmosphere. It was most pleasant to see Brandon again, especially since our first meeting occurred under somewhat weird circumstances. I became aware of a dual mood operating inside of him: a sense of hope and excitement about moving to Chicago coupled with a certain wistful melancholy from leaving Michigan behind. I hope he finds his way soon and enjoys it here. I guess I always feel like I want everyone to love Chicago.
Today included a 6-hour iPod Lovefest for Andy. I guess I can’t begrudge him the satisfaction, especially since it was a present from me. I went for a walk to the Brown Elephant (with my own iPod I should mention) to get some cheap wine glasses, and when I got back he was on allmusic.com still researching his tunes. Every time he unearths a forgotten gem he lets out a little squeal of joy.
Did some good work on the novel this morning (maybe I’ll post an excerpt later) which brought my total page count to 64. It’s going slow but steady at least. Yesterday in the mail I got a letter from Ledig House. Sad to say I did not get accepted for a stay at the writer’s colony. Not really unexpected. Shot in the dark. It was a very nice letter, very nice form letter. There are heaps of other colonies out there to aply to. Just hafta get myself in gear.
Tonight we’ll probably watch “The Adventures of Robin Hood” with Errol Flynn. One of the “tracks” that Andy has going on in our greencine queue is 4-star Films From Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide (in alphabetical order, naturally). Pretty cool. Next up would be “The African Queen,” but it isn’t on DVD. That leaves “Alexander Nevsky.” I went to film school but never saw it. So now I will it would appear.
Senator Boxer’s Statement On Her Objection To The Certification Of Ohio’s Electoral Votes
January 6, 2005
For most of us in the Senate and the House, we have spent our lives fighting for things we believe in — always fighting to make our nation better.
We have fought for social justice. We have fought for economic justice. We have fought for environmental justice. We have fought for criminal justice.
Now we must add a new fight — the fight for electoral justice.
Every citizen of this country who is registered to vote should be guaranteed that their vote matters, that their vote is counted, and that in the voting booth of their community, their vote has as much weight as the vote of any Senator, any Congressperson, any President, any cabinet member, or any CEO of any Fortune 500 Corporation.
I am sure that every one of my colleagues — Democrat, Republican, and Independent — agrees with that statement. That in the voting booth, every one is equal.
So now it seems to me that under the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the right to vote, we must ask:
Why did voters in Ohio wait hours in the rain to vote? Why were voters at Kenyan College, for example, made to wait in line until nearly 4 a.m. to vote because there were only two machines for 1300 voters?
Why did poor and predominantly African-American communities have disproportionately long waits?
Why in Franklin County did election officials only use 2,798 machines when they said they needed 5,000? Why did they hold back 68 machines in warehouses? Why were 42 of those machines in predominantly African-American districts?
Why did, in Columbus area alone, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 voters leave polling places, out of frustration, without having voted? How many more never bothered to vote after they heard about this?
Why is it when 638 people voted at a precinct in Franklin County, a voting machine awarded 4,258 extra votes to George Bush. Thankfully, they fixed it — but how many other votes did the computers get wrong?
Why did Franklin County officials reduce the number of electronic voting machines in downtown precincts, while adding them in the suburbs? This also led to long lines.
In Cleveland, why were there thousands of provisional ballots disqualified after poll workers gave faulty instructions to voters?
Because of this, and voting irregularities in so many other places, I am joining with Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones to cast the light of truth on a flawed system which must be fixed now.
Our democracy is the centerpiece of who we are as a nation. And it is the fondest hope of all Americans that we can help bring democracy to every corner of the world.
As we try to do that, and as we are shedding the blood of our military to this end, we must realize that we lose so much credibility when our own electoral system needs so much improvement.
Yet, in the past four years, this Congress has not done everything it should to give confidence to all of our people their votes matter.
After passing the Help America Vote Act, nothing more was done.
A year ago, Senators Graham, Clinton and I introduced legislation that would have required that electronic voting systems provide a paper record to verify a vote. That paper trail would be stored in a secure ballot box and invaluable in case of a recount.
There is no reason why the Senate should not have taken up and passed that bill. At the very least, a hearing should have been held. But it never happened.
Before I close, I want to thank my colleague from the House, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.
Her letter to me asking for my intervention was substantive and compelling.
As I wrote to her, I was particularly moved by her point that it is virtually impossible to get official House consideration of the whole issue of election reform, including these irregularities.
The Congresswoman has tremendous respect in her state of Ohio, which is at the center of this fight.
Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a judge for 10 years. She was a prosecutor for 8 years. She was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame in 2002.
I am proud to stand with her in filing this objection.
Last night I was up till 11.30 watching “Psycho” with Andy while having cocktails (martini, appletini, Suffering Bastard) and gummi raspberries. God knows how many times I’ve seen that movie. But it’s just … brilliant. I just had to log onto eBay this morning and buy “The Birds” on DVD. One of my officemates called in sick. I’m in a Friday mood, yessir I am.
Senator Durbin,
My name is Rob Christopher and I have lived in Chicago for about 11 years. I am honored to have had you representing Illinois for so many of those years. I know you to be a politician who does not shrink from the truth, from making difficult choices and talking about them plainly. You have not minced your words when speaking about the war or about the current administration. That is why I am calling on you to rise to the floor of the Senate and support Rep. John Coyers of Detroit when he makes his objection on Thursday at 1 o’clock to the vote count in Ohio.
As you know, all he needs is the support of a single Senator. I was shocked when four years ago NOT A SINGLE Senator would allow the Congressional Black Congress the time to voice their outrage against the injustices which had been committed in Florida. It is a shame that not one of you had the courage to step up to the challenge. I sincerely believe that you will not allow this to happen again.
I will spare you paragraphs of detail as to why this is so crucial. Instead I will direct you to an article that lays out many disturbing pieces of evidence: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1065 which is published by The Free Press.
A democracy is not a democracy at all unless EVERY citizen has faith that his or her vote COUNTS and WILL BE COUNTED. The irregularities that have occurred overwhelmingly warrant an investigation. It smacks of hypocrisy to be involved in nation-building overseas while neglecting necessary nation-building at home. I urge you to rise in support of Rep. Coyers and the other members of the House. The people of Illinois will rise in support of you. I thank you for your service.
Sincerely,
Rob Christopher
Chicago
“Whoring of mind and body can be a jolly, zestful end in itself but it is cheapened by those who find sentimental, lying excuses for it.” –DAWN POWELL, 2 June 1933
Is there any interest in restarting the bi-monthly DVD group now that December is behind us?
