A month plus...ooops, where was I?

Busy month! Marnie is getting MARRIED next week, y'all!! We took a short trip to San Diego and Orange County, I had my 34th birthday party (Fiesta de Cinco - Ole!), I pulled weeds on Earth Day (buffel grass sucks! and I fell down Piestewa Peak!), went to the zoo (thanks, Dawn!). I have photos, and they are coming. Just thought it was time I checked in.

BYO Bag

This will help with one of those items on the list - always bring your own bag to every store. The kit is $19.95, good deal! I usually remember when I grocery shop but I will try to always keep one of my euro string bags in my purse (stretchy!) - or refuse a bag sometimes.

Another Great List of Things We Can Do

Featured on Here and Now today, Time's 51 things you can to to fight global warming.

I already wrote a note to my mayor asking him to make Phoenix an LED city (and a Cool City as well).

Let's all work on one a day! :)

Free Veggie Burger

Buy one get one Bocas at Johnny Rockets retro diners. Click for the coupon thru 3/31/07. Yum!

Amelie and her Sisters

Amelie does not have imaginary friends, she has imaginary siblings. Usually their names are "Fluffy" and "Molly" and the others vary but they are numerous. Talk about laying on the parent-of-an-only-child guilt! Anyway, through the magic of digital photography, here is a photo of Amelie, Molly, and Fluffy.

Amelie's Best Day EVER

This past Friday, I got a message from a lady named Jan at Kaleidoscope Horses. The horses are the public art project that has appeared on street corners (Chicago has cows, and here we do huge fiberglass horses). She was going down the list of Sierra Club members in our newsletter, they had some wildlife-themed horses, and would we have anyone who could maybe pull them in the Parada Del Sol, Scottsdale's long-running rodeo parade? So I said OK, if I would be able to bring Amelie. My vision: she wear a shirt promoting CF bulbs and smile and walk with me as I pulled huge horse through parade. Her vision: she wear a princess dress and ride the horse while waving as I pull horse AND her through parade. Guess from the pictures who won? But she was SO excited, and also, there was an extra horse that we got to graffiti, to which I added my CF bulb message, amongst others, so no biggie. And Greg managed to sneak in and walk with us most of the route. Then we went for pizza and a walk through the park. After that we went to the mall for flower girl dress shopping, so Amelie says it was definitely the best day EVER.

McCain is Running (duh)

He's been sewing up his sheep's clothing (or it's more like one of those masks that have two different faces that change depending on whether you're looking from the right or the left) for 10 years, but McCain is now officially (kinda) running again, as of his appearance on Letterman last night. At least the press love-fest is pretty much over. PEOPLE: he has been my senator for as long as I have been able to vote. Nothing special- another right winger that takes calculated moderate positions enough to look like a "maverick". Plus he's already 72, and for the troop surge. Eh, whatever.

Police Tickets Vent

I suppose I should be grateful. I never thought I would ever see the day that the Police would be here in concert. I was 11 when they split in 1984. HOWEVER...let me just say a word or two about "fan club" presales. They set up a web site (thepolicetour.com) and to get access to ticket presale codes (and various other "stuff" like access to videos and things) you had to pay an EXTRA $100. Plus ticket sales are through Ticketmaster, so you are already being completely raked over. I think that this only really encourages people to scalp. MAYBE if only the ticket purchaser could use these tickets, that would be one thing, but they are already all over the web at INSANE prices. It sets up a predatory situation and I am definitely feeling the (ahem) sting. I'll be scrambling with the riffraff on Monday morning trying to get what's left over. Oh well!

Life on a warmer planet

I was cynically thinking about what life could very possibly be like as global warming progresses, (no skiing, mass extinctions, etc). Now here's a good article in Salon on getting ready for life on a post-GCC planet. I was also thinking that it's so ironic that Florida will be the state responsible for putting the guy in office who is so much to blame for putting their state under water one day(plan that Disney World vacation now, folks). But I digress.

We also have the cheery news that those of us using the Colorado river for our sprawl party (AZ, NV, CA, I am looking at you) will have even less to fight over. Super.

I never posted Christmas photos

Just two, Amelie's super cool dollhouse (Santa painted it pink, yesterday she was saying she wants it RED - we'll see if she persists), and in front of the tree in the footie PJ's. Check out the cool LED red lights! Love those!

Attention, Bone Mama fans

Ah, KUKQ, late 80's. Your crappy AM signal. Your kick ass play list. Most of all, Mary McCann in the mornings. Polka, anyone? So, great news! Mary has a radio show on the ol' W-W-W. I know, probably not news to everyone, when the Zone turned to crap the first time she left for greener web pastures. But for one reason or another, I was a step or two behind her whereabouts. But now, I have found it, and I share with you this. I checked out the play list and it is chock full of goodies. I can't wait to listen (sadly straming audio is strictly verboten here at the ol' office - meanies!). Cause for celebration, I say. I missed you, Mary! God, Phoenix radio does suck.

New Year's Resolutions that Really Make a Difference

I was SO excited to hear about An Inconvenient Truth's 2 Oscar nominations yesterday. I think it HAS to be a shoo-in. As great as the other docs may be, what other documentary will people remember in 40 years as having made a real difference?

In honor of AIT, here is a list of New Year's Resolutions you can make that will really make a difference.

And how LAME is Bush's 20% in 10 years plan ("Bold", ABC? Really??) - and it wouldn't even bring down carbon that much! Ludicrous.

I think we'll be planning something for this, check it out: http://www.stepitup2007.org/

Wake Up, Detroit!

Hello!!!! Nobody wants your ugly, nasty, gas guzzlers anymore! Where has this guy been? This GM exec says higher fuel standards will really hurt US automakers. Yeah, right. Thanks, GM, for the H2 and H3, and for disassembling mass transit in the 40's, and dropping the EV-1 - they're keeping up the good work, all right!

Now, you may say, but, hey, they are working on that plug-in hybrid - OK, fine, but they are pushing bio-fuels (boo) and hybrids lite (mileage sucks) plus they have no batteries for the plug-in. Let's see some results.

Oh Crap Global Warming Moment of the Day

Crucial link in marine food chain withers, satellite data show

By Seth Borenstein
Associated PRess
Dec. 6, 2006 11:24 AM


WASHINGTON - The critical base of the ocean food web is shrinking as the world's seas warm, new NASA satellite data show. The discovery has scientists worried about how much food will grow in the future for the world's marine life.

The data show a significant link between warmer water - either from the El Nino weather phenomenon or global warming - and reduced production of phytoplankton of the world's oceans, according to a study in Thursday's journal Nature.

Phytoplankton are the microscopic plant life that zooplankton and other marine animals eat, essentially the grain crop of the world's oceans. Rest of article here.


Now go to carbonfund.org and offset a year's carbon for your family and friends for Christmas. There is no better gift this year than the future of life on Earth, dontcha think?

"HDTV" Friday and Plasma vs LCD

As sooo many people will spend Friday shopping, and as this is the year of the flat screen, so they say, it is actually important that everyone know that LCD TVs are MORE EFFICIENT than plasmas. See this article on Daily Kos. Cars are not the only gas guzzlers out there, and plasmas are the Humvee of the TV. Pass it on. And consider waiting, both types got 25% more efficient this year. Prices will most likely go down, and efficiency is on the way up. Slippers make a nice gift!

On another note, Friday is National Buy Nothing Day. Consider it. :)

Give a turkey something to be thankful for

Have a gentle Thanksgiving! We'll be trying the Veggie Turkey Breast. Faux meat is really not even necessary and Amelie completely shuns it, but it's nice for the old folks (us included) to have a center to the meal. Happy Thanksgiving!

A Handy Voter Guide

This is from the Truth to Power Hour blog, for the grey areas on your ballot:
BALLOT PROPOSITIONS
A recap of Saturday's show here are my recommendations for Props.

Prop 100: Bailable Offenses NO
A Russell Pearce attempt to change the AZ Constitution for his anti-Immigrant agenda.

Prop 101: Local Property Tax Levies NO
Attempts to take tax decisions away from localities and put them in state control.

Prop 102: Standing in Civil Actions NO More Pearce foolishness

Prop 103: English as Official Language NO More Russell Pearce

Prop 104: Municipal Debt YES
Gives local governments more flexibility in financing transportation and public safety initiatives

Prop 105 State Trust Lands NO
A GOP trick to muddy the waters about Prop 106

Prop 106 Conserving AZ's Future YES
Has support from a diverse coalition

Prop 107 Protect Arizona Marraige NO
An attempt by Len Munsill to attack gays that actually affects civil unions and all non-married couples.


Prop 200 AZ Voter Reward Act ???
Gives a lottery ticket to all voters who participate.

Prop 201 Smoke Free AZ Act YES Supported by American Lung Assoc, American Cancer Society, AZ Hospital & Healthcare Assoc.


Prop 202 AZ Minimum Wage Act YES
Raises AZ minimum wage to $6.75/ hour

Prop 203 First things First for AZ Children YES Raises taxes on cigarettes to pay for child health services

Prop 204 Humane Farms YES
Goes after corporate farms for cruel treatment of animals by setting guidelines for pen sizes

Prop 205 All Mail Elections YES Some good arguments on both sides of the debate. If Prop 200 holds up this may serve to re-enfranchise voters.

Prop 206 Non Smoker Protection Act NO
I consider tobacco giant RJ REynolds' support for this as a major red flag.

Prop 207 Private Property Rights Act NO
A Trojan Horse for right wing extremists masquerading as a populist movement.
Would give special interests more control over gov't lands.

Prop 300 Public Program Eligibilty NO
More Russell Pearce nonsense.

Prop 301 Probation for Methamphetamine Offenders NO
Takes away treatment options for meth addicts.

Prop 302 State Legislators Salaries YES
Raises pay from $24 K to $36 K


For more detailed info on props check out Michael Bryan at
http://www.aznetroots.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=15

or at his site

www.blogforarizona.com


Dem Judges

Hurwitz; Kessler; Norris; Portley; Budoff; Downie; Foster; Heilman; Lee; Rea; Ronan; Swann; Talamante

For Central AZ Water:

Barrios, Brooks and George.

If You Didn't Read Pat Tillman's Brother's Op-Ed yet, You Need To

Here.

Go on a Greenhouse Diet - Take the Slate Challenge

Here.

Jon Kyl Campaign Ad Lied

Kyl campaign ad may have duped sheriffs

http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/email.php/5889028

Go Harry!

I'm in District 3 and I was waiting for the dems to ask for my help for Herb Paine running aginst Shadegg... I actually just read some disturbing info about that here... in any case, what I HAVE been doing for the dems in general will hopefully help ALL of them. But last night was the funnest yet, I helped at a table for the Harry Mitchell CD5 fundraiser and I got to see Jimmy Eat World (sorry for the lousy cell photo), I was a fan before, now I am a HUGE fan. It would be sooooo nice to get rid of J.D. Hayworth (see previous post re:LCV scores).

Actually, Don't Buy Compact Flourescent Bulbs!

SKIP those, and go straight to LED bulbs! They are SUPER energy efficient and they are getting more and more available on the web. I'm going to order from a guy on ebay for my track lighting and if it goes well, some of you know what your Christmas presents will be. Speaking of Christmas...check out this tree. I am usually categorically opposed to aritificial Christmas trees, but if this isn't vinyl (NEVER buy vinyl!) I am definitely mulling it over.

Laurie David was on Al Franken and she said if everyone switched 5 bulbs from regular light bulbs to CFs, that would be equivalent to taking 80 million cars off the road for a year - this is like 10 times better than that. Imagine it!

No Big Surprise, But Worth Mentioning, LCV Scores Are In

Th usual performance by the Usual Suspects, as reported on azcentral.com:
Arizona's senators each agreed with the league's positions 29 percent of the time. The representatives fluctuated wildly, with Reps. J.D. Hayworth, Jim Kolbe, John Shadegg and Trent Franks getting zeroes and Rep. Raul Grijalva receiving one of 112 perfect scores handed out.

I would like everyone to note that McCain isn't as green as he'd like to pretend to be.

Hawaii Pictures

If you have some time to kill and want to see LOTS and LOTS of Hawaii pictures, visit our Hawaii group room at Snapfish. Highlights include dolphins and ziplines. Mom says she wishes we hadn't done so much. Curse you, Maui, and your plentitude of exciting and interesting activities! I certainly could have foregone the trip around the back side of the island (the Lahaina side, not the Hana side). Imagine: one lane - two directions, curvy, no guard rail, side of a cliff, sister telling you to go FASTER (right, Marn, it's all good 'til you slide off the road). Not my cup of tea. And then we pretty much did it again going to Hana but that road (mostly) had a lane for oncoming traffic. Then there was the trip down the volcano where Amelie got car sick with carrots and POG. Ah, the memories!

All this driving talk reminds me that I should recommend Bio-beetle rental cars to anyone going to Maui or the Big Island. They were great people. Our 100% biodiesel bug had a few glitches, but it was a neat experience for sure.

Arizona Ballot Initiatives (NO on 207!)

"Takings" rears its ugly head once again. Prop 207 is a taxpayer nightmare. Please tell anyone you know in Arizona to please get to the polls - or their mailbox, as the case may be - and reject it - for about the 3rd time. We keep saying no, and with so many issues to look at, they are thinking they can sneak it past us this time. Don't let them do that.

For a very good rundown on all of the initiatives and which way to vote, and why, go here. I am leaning against 106, it's not good enough and may have some components that do more harm than good. Haven't totally made up my mind there.

Pass it on.

That was an extended absence!

Well, much of the interceding time I have been in Hawaii. It was lovely. Here is a picture.

I just had to post this. I would have killed for it in '04 when nobody thought they had lied us into this war. Here it is, laid out, in all its glory: a timeline from Mother Jones of each and every lie. Read it if you dare, 33 percenters.

Wicked was, um, what's the word?

Yeah, it was as advertised. Wiiiicked cool! :) Mom and dad were surprised to find 2 extra tickets in their envelope so A and I were happy to go along last minute. One web site said it might be intense for a small kid and the web site said please no children under 4 but she looooved it, so I guess it just depends on the kid. I liked this one so much more than Rent. I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats! as they used to say. The gal that played Glinda was soooo funny. Broadway is really the place for strong female leads, isn't it? Chicago, Mamma Mia - girl power, right on!

Organic and Vegan Frosted Mini Wheats

Kellogg's Organic Frosted Mini Wheats. Bought them yesterday at Bashas', had them for lunch today. Most mini wheats use gelatin in the frosting. These don't and they're soooo yummy. So if you are like me and you have been missing your mini wheats, the wait is over, AND you do the earth a good turn by buying organic. Truly win-win. :)

To skip or not to skip

Amelie is brilliant. :) I say this because her new school says she tested in the top two (let's face it, she's #1) of her school. Now they want to move her up to the 4 & 5 year old class where they learn actual reading and math. Academically I know she can handle this, she is reading spontaneously all over the place these days. "C-ah-m-p-a-c-t - what's "compact", mama?" on our parking spot, for instance. I just worry about her being the baby in the class, I want her to make friends. It took a long time at Montessori and when she finally had a "best buddy", they closed. We're taking the chance, she would be bored silly learning the alphabet. We'll see how it goes.

And when I got home this is what I saw!

Greg was BUSY while we were gone - there was a wall here when I left, and the living rooms and dining room were the other way round....

San Francisco rocks

Our nonstop month drew to a close with a 3-day weekend visiting Aunt Marnie in SF. We found THE dress, hung out, met some people, generally had a good time.

James, Amelie, and a large zucchini.

Playing with Dahlia.

Chinatown....cable cars....




...and two angels in Union Square.

Last weekend's trip

Again, again, again. I heart Priceline.

Huntington Beach, almost a full day Saturday because Greg got us up soooo early.

We were struck by how the configuration of confectioner's sugar on this beignet (yummy) at the Jazz Kitchen resembled the Matterhorn. They didn't have much by way of vegetarian fare but what they did have was deeeelish! I am still thinking about that stuffed eggplant. Mmmmmm.

This keeps happening

Twice now we have had random Japanese girls ask us to have their picture taken with Amelie in her princess costume. She doesn't quite know what to make of it.

Carbon Help

So I have been meaning to start monthly carbon offsets for a while but I got confused on how far my money would go, etc. I just found this that sorts it all out. Yay!

Finally! Good news!

From Green Cars today, Over half (56%) of Americans believe our dependence on oil is a very serious problem and an astonishing 94% agree that global warming is becoming a major threat to our country and the world. Now, we just need to actually DO something!

"Mama, why do we don't live in San Francisco?"

Every 15 minutes on the way from Oakland to San Jose International, that is what I heard. We had a great weekend. The basic rundown...

Friday, arrived at 8:30 and got to O-T at 10ish. Stopped downtown for crepes (mmmm). Greg was fighting a cold so we dropped him and took BART into the city (free parking and transit all day, whee!). Met Marnie for lunch at yerba Buena Gardens but turns out none of us were hungry so we rode the carousel and Amelie rode the monster slides. Swarms of kids on summer field trips. Stopped briefly at M's office where A met Kevin, her cool boss, and she partook of suite-mates' extra BBQ corn on the cob. We hopped on the Market St sardine can - I mean street car - that took us to the tourist trap - I mean Pier 39. We saw the 10 fat and sleeping sea lions that didn't go south to mate, and saw the WORST magician/comedian/juggler ever (sorry, guy, that was bad)("that's where you laugh, folks"- seriously). Bribed A with ice cream to get away from that, but had a pretzel instead then headed back and met up with Marnie to go back to her place. Briefly contemplated the street car to Powell but the experience would have been lost on Amelie, would have cost money, and would have meant a long long line. We all met up and went to dinner at an italian place called Spettro back in Oakland.

Aunt Marnie and Uncle James got to see what it's like to have a toddler in the house - "The sun's up, it's morning time!". Saturday was Marnie's friend's baby's first birthday. Greg was off to the race. I knew a few people. For Oakland it was way hot, almost 100. Anyway, lots of nice people and kids for Amelie to play with, and she loves to chase around Aunt Marnie and Uncle James' dog, Crickets. We all watched Syriana later on. Good movie but a little boy dies early on and I have absolutely no tolerance for that since becoming a mom. Beware. Otherwise it was thoroughly depressing but I highly recommend it.

Sunday (see how very helpful I am being planning this wedding?), we went to Baker Beach on the ocean side of the "Golden Bridge" as Amelie likes to call it. It was like a real beach day (thanks, climate change!). We grilled veggie burgers and I finally got to meet James' lovely sister Molly who has one of Amelie's favorite names and who was really very nice. Thai for dinner in Berkeley. Yum. Then, gelato. Double yum. After that we ACTUALLY did talk about the wedding.

Monday we TRIED to do some real wedding shopping in the Marina district but most shops were closed or appt only. Well, next time! We met Greg for lunch & tried to find a birthday present for Linda in Berkeley, again. Then it was time to come home. I think Amelie is still mad about that. Photos coming soon.

And this weekend, Oak-town

We venture forth to the Golden State once more to visit "Aunt Marnie and Uncle James" while Greg goes and watches motorcycles go around really really fast, potentially alonside Brad Pitt and other luminaries. Ah well! We have a wedding to plan.

A factoid from Lonely Planet

A travel site, in its US article:

Factoid

Number One
In America, the rich are getting much, much richer. 25% of Americans earn 55% of the nation's annual income. The top 1% earns around 17% of all income and controls 35% of the nation's wealth.

Random Notes on the Weekend

I'll add a few pics later, but here are a few noteworthy things about the trip....

Friday night we passed the largest wildfire in the nation at the time near Morongo (the huge and non-ironically named Casino Morongo near the outlet shops on I-10 is right there). Coming over the hill into Coachella it looked like a couple of volcanoes. Very LOTR. More on this later.

Only in L.A. will you hit a 45 minute traffic jam at 1:30 AM. For construction. Lovely. So we got in to the hotel at 2. The Anaheim Hyatt for $69 on Hotwire was a screaming deal. I can't remember the last time I have been on the 16th floor of any building. Amelie liked to stand on the window sill and lean on the glass. That was not encouraged by us. Yikes.

We slept in a bit Saturday (nice beds), A. and I checked out the hotel pools, and then Greg went to his show and we rented a car last minute and drove (another traffic jam ew) to Newport Beach. Parking was a nightmare (heat wave) but eventually we found a spot by the bay and walked the 4 blocks over. See moblog for photo. We spotted a pod of dolphins just offshore. 4 foot waves were crashing just onto the beach so we really didn't venture into the water.

We met Greg back at the hotel and walked over to Buca di Beppo. It seemed pricey, but I had wine and we had dessert, so all told really not so bad.

We actually made it to the park early for us on Sunday (before 9) and that was after returning the rental car. We went right to Pirates. It was already blazing hot in the sun and the queue is almost all outdoors. The new Jack Sparrow stuff was well done but felt tacked on, at least this time through. We'll see. The Davy Jones effect was awesome. Then we bought Amelie the promised bribe for riding (coloring book), did Peter Pan, Dumbo, the Carousel, met a few princesses. Amelie was "shy from" the live character Sparrow and Mary Poppins. Eeyore, Pluto, and Belle and Cinderella were fine. Eh, she's 3.

We finished the day at California Adventure and headed for the car at 5. As it was still light out we stopped to see the roadside dinosaurs that were in Pee Wee's Big Adventure and many other things. They are owned by creationist nutjobs. The inside of the brontosaurus (was there such a thing? I think I heard they canceled it) was a gift shop which had a lot of toys and then crazy "Darwin lied" videos playing. See moblog link for photos. Something you do ONCE I guess.

Oh, and pulling in to there (the dinosaurs are at Morongo) we got to see the fire crews packing up for the day. There was a constant line of helicopters filling up just before the exit and a field full of them across the highway. It's amazing to see. That is one intense job. There is no way I could do that. Again, fire crews, rock on. Morongo is right between Big Bear and Joshua Tree, so there's a lot to fight for.

OK, so that's the news for now. :)

Off to Cali Once More

Greg wanted to get to this SO classy bike show in Long Beach to see his friend Jesse (with gal in gold bikini) in the show, so we are off once more to the O.C. And while we're there, may as well visit our pal the mouse. After a day beaching it. How summery! :) Have a good weekend all!!

Thanks, Michael Crichton

You jerk. Yes, we're making all of this global warming stuff up as a power grab, you figured it out. PLUS we made the temperatures go up "3.4 degrees above average for the 20th century." We are DAMN smart. Prick.

And on a Less Cheerful But Related Note

Carbon isn't only bad for the air, it's even bad dissolved in the water. Ugh.

What's Black and White and Rode All Over?

The Zebra!! Ain't it cute?

Confession time. I like to drive...fast. This goes 40 MPH. But for getting Amelie to school and me to work I am thinking - perfect! And under 10K? Awesome.

The reports of the electric car's death seem to be greatly exaggerated - let's hope!

Correction - that would be X-e-b-r-a Xebra. Oops. And I'm worried about the prospect of no AC. Not optional here in AZ. Not. Would you drive in Fargo without a heater? I doubt it there. You betcha. India has one with, soooooo...?

Happy Freaking Independence Day

You know what's great about this country? It's called the constitution. Read it before it's gone. Oh, the IRONY (from USConstitution.net)
Today's special event:
July 6, 1946 is George W. Bush's birthday. Celebrate by reading your Constitution.


Anyhoo, this piece on Grist so nicely captures how my celebratory spirit is dulled by concern. Deep freaking concern. Have you seen it yet?

Taking it a little too far.

I enjoyed the show and most of the movies. I visited the "experience" in Vegas. I even went to a convention - once. But, wow. Holy cow.

ONE thing to do today

The ONE campaign put together a petition asking Congress and the President to keep the promises America made a year ago. I think you should sign it.

Click here or paste the following URL in your browser:

http://action.one.org/live8.jsp

Thanks.

Mercy, Mercy, Me

So I am sitting here today listening to Kool 94.5 and they played Marvin Gaye - I can't believe I never heard the words to this song before outside the chorus. Ok, so all I can say is I was not born when it came out, in my defense. In case anyone else was in the same boat as me....

Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology) Lyrics
Ah, mercy, mercy me,Ah, things ain't what they used to
be, no, no.Where did all the blue skies go?Poison is
the wind that blows from the north and south andeast.Mercy, mercy me,Ah, things ain't what they used to
be, no, no.Oil wasted on the ocean and uponour seas
fish full of mercury,Oh, mercy, mercy me.Ah,
things ain't what they used to be, no, no, no.Radiation underground and in the sky;animals and birds
who live near by are dying.Oh, mercy, mercy me.Ah, things ain't what they used to be.What about
this over crowded land?How much more abuse from man can
she stand?

On Being both a Mom and an Environmentalist

This was a fun read.

Goodbye to Oak Creek Canyon?

The best place in the state, I think, is in serious trouble today. Yay, fire crews, boo, idiots who won't leave their damn cabins. Full coverage from the Arizona Republic here.

And just a word on how this is just another face of global warming (see the movie!)...Arizona is in a multi-year drought. Now, this could be a coincidence, but at some point, you have to see that there are a lot of things going on that might happen once a millenia, that are happening, like, every year. Anyway, drought = sick trees. Sick trees = easy pickings for bark beetles. Bark beetles = lots of standing dead and dying trees. Lots of dead and dying trees = lighting fluid + kindling. This is what global warming looks like, guys.

And on a more fun note

A new picture, from Memorial Day (hey, I wanted to go camping, but someone had to see the Indy 500).

An Inconvenient Truth

We saw the preview of An Inconvenient Truth here in Phoenix. Everyone needs to see this movie. Please please please go to climatecrisis.net and spread the word!

An Actual Conspiracy - This is HUGE

So, something that you should know about me is that I am not one to buy easily into conspiracy theories. Oswald acted alone. I downloaded "Loose Change" over the weekend, haven't watched it yet, but I am 100% positive that it's mostly junk. So you might see how I am utterly dismayed at how completely true this piece by RFK, Jr. in this month's Rolling Stone, about how Bush stole Ohio among other places, proves to be. It's all things that were sometimes covered but never really investigated. Yet another way that the "liberal press" has FAILED our democracy.

As another case goes before Bush's stacked court, I feel like someone just stole my bicycle. This blows.

Today's Let-Them-Eat-Cake Moment...

Bush actually said that 9/11/01 ended in a humorous moment for him. He IS Marie Antoinette. It's so simple!

The New Five A Day

This is handy - Salon has posted the 5 things we all should be doing NOW to combat global warming.

Absolute Proof that DeLay Supporters are Morons

And this is after the White House Correspondents' Dinner. DeLay supporters used a Colbert Report piece (satire? maybe?) in their defense campaign e-mails. Stupid and evil is a dangerous combo.

The I Spy Work is Magic

I have hardly been a Montessori enthusiast, however, in what's probably her last week in Montessori school ever, my baby is reading! Miss Veronica taught her some basic phonics, and the "work" goes like this: There is a set of tiny objects, like a cup, a cat, a fan, and then the nouns are written on separate slips of paper. She matched up every one of them. Then they are supposed to take the words and copy them out, she's not so good at that yet, but so what? I'm so proud. She also can pick out the even numbers from 1-10 and count out dots to match each of the numerals, which is cool.

Her new school has ballet, gymnastics, piano, and gardening in the curriculum (the other school is closing next week, Ms. Lillian is retiring). It sounds right up Amelie's alley. And they look so cute in the little tutus! I don't know what the boys there wear, they are still roughly half the classes. Updates soon.

Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea...

I think the song is Raffi or something horrible like that but Baby Beluga was one of Amelie's first songs. Help them.

Did you know that Cook Inlet beluga whales could go extinct in our lifetime? But they do have hope for survival. I just helped these magnificent creatures by urging that they be listed on the Endangered Species Act, and I hope you will, too.

It's easy to get involved Just take action online at the website below:

http://action.defenders.org/savebelugas

Moms unite!

I read this great article on Salon and then I joined, you should too.

Subject: Join me in becoming a MomsRising member
I hope you'll join me and others in one of the most exciting grassroots movements on the Internet today: MomsRising.

http://www.momsrising.org/keepmeposted

MomsRising gives people a voice in the motherhood and family issues that are shaping our lives. This is particularly important because frankly American mothers and families are in trouble. A full quarter of families with children under six live in poverty, at least 9 million children don't have any health care, and far too many parents can't afford to stay home with sick children.

MomsRising is working to promote common sense family-friendly policies. You can sign online petitions and pledges that will be shared with political, community, and business leaders, as well as receive email alerts on timely issues, and read The Motherhood Manifesto book all for free.

MomsRising is building a vibrant online community and has great personal stories posted, as well as hot issues and timely actions for change. There are also current event discussion topics to spark group or personal conversations--and information about how start small groups, as well as how to get more involved working toward solutions.

By working together we can ignite a major movement that brings common sense, necessary change to the lives of mothers and families.

I hope you'll join us today at:

http://www.momsrising.org/keepmeposted

Ow.

Fossil Springs Trail. Strawberry. Hard. And that would have been bad enough, but it wasn't just me, it was 8 frustrated 10 to 13-year-old kids, and none of us had climbed a mountain lately in 85-degree weather. I hope they will forgive, or at least forget that. I was thinking of the Flume trail, which is easier, and TOTALLY FLAT, but below the decommissioned dam and therefore temporarily closed. Fossil Springs was beautiful but until the other trail re-opens I will not be back. Yikes!

BEST_SKETCH_EVER!!

Al Gore on SNL. Hell, yes!!

Thanks to Matt for the tip! :)

It's Endangered Species Day!

Did you know that congressional Republicans are, at this very moment, trying to get rid of that pesky Endangered Species Act? It's true. Please do something today for endangered species, because they may not have a tomorrow. Here's your link. Go.

Arizona Conservation Organizations Celebrate success in endangered species protection and recovery

(Phoenix, AZ) The U.S. Senate has unanimously proclaimed May 11 as “Endangered Species Day,” providing for the first-ever national celebration of America’s commitment to protecting and recovering our nation’s endangered species.

Tomorrow, America will celebrate endangered species success stories, including the protection and recovery of the American bald eagle, peregrine falcon, gray wolf, grizzly bear, humpback whale and many of our nation’s wildlife, fish and plants.

In Arizona, we celebrate the return of some important species including the Mexican gray wolf, the black-footed ferret, the California condor, and the elusive jaguar. While these animals are not recovered, they are here and in our state due primarily to the Endangered Species Act and the support of the American people.

We also celebrate Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, a plan to protect habitat for 55 vulnerable species including threatened and endangered species like the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl, Chiracahua leopard frog, Huachuca water umbel, and Gila chub. This plan has gained national attention and recognition and could set a standard for future planning efforts.

The Endangered Species resolution in Congress encourages, “The people of the United States to become educated about, and aware of, the threats to species, success stories in species recovery, and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide.”

The resolution was introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and was co-sponsored by Senators Biden (D-DE), Byrd (D-WV) Cantwell (D-WA), Chafee (R-RI), Clinton (D-NY), Crapo (R-ID), Dodd (D-CT), Feingold (D-WI), Levin (D-MI), Lieberman (D-CT), Reed (D-RI), Snowe (R-ME) and Collins (R-ME).

While there is much to celebrate, there is also still much to be done to protect the many species that are threatened and endangered in this state, country and throughout the world. Here in Arizona, we must act aggressively to protect many species, including: our imperiled native fishes — out of the 36 fish native to Arizona, one is officially extinct, two are extirpated, and 18 are listed as threatened or endangered; the 17 native plants that are threatened or endangered — Arizona cliff-rose and Arizona hedgehog cactus, among others; endangered birds like Arizona’s desert-nesting bald eagles and the Yuma clapper rail; and the nearly extinct Sonoran pronghorn, one of 39 endangered mammal, reptile and bird species on the list of endangered species in Arizona. The Mexican gray wolf has been brought back to the wild in Arizona, but is still imperiled and continues to need strong advocates for its protection and recovery.

Endangered Species Day provides an opportunity for schools, libraries, museums, zoos, botanical gardens, agencies, businesses, and community groups to educate the public about the importance of protecting endangered species and highlight everyday actions that individuals and groups can take to help protect our nation’s endangered species.

Celebrate Endangered Species Day on May 11th, 2006.

-Learn about endangered species in your area.
-Provide habitat for wildlife in your backyard.
-Find out what the Phoenix Zoo is doing to conserve endangered species both locally and around the world.
-Plan a field trip to a local park or endangered species habitat in your town.
-Participate in an endangered species habitat protection or restoration project.
-Conserve water at home so that the waters of our majestic desert rivers, like the San Pedro and the Verde, continue to flow and provide important habitat for threatened and endangered species.
-Sign the Endangered Species Act Legacy Pledge at: www.stopextinction.org/legacypledge


For more information, visit the Endangered Species Day website at: www.stopextinction.org/endangeredspeciesday

Defenders of Wildlife has developed a national website indexed by state that features local “Heroes” of state Endangered Species success stories. To learn about everyday folks doing heroic things for Arizona’s species go to: http://www.saveesa.org/learnmore/states.html

The Center for Biological Diversity has developed a website which features 100 Endangered Species Act success stories nationwide broken down by region and state. Go to www.esasuccess.org to learn more about the following species, which currently or historically existed in Arizona:

American peregrine falcon
Apache trout
Arctic peregrine falcon
Bald eagle (Continental U.S. DPS)
Black-footed ferret
California brown pelican
California condor
Gila trout
Gray wolf (Southwest DPS)
Grizzly bear (Continental U.S. DPS)

Also, see the following websites for more information on endangered species.

www.sierraclub.org/esa
http://www.sonorandesert.org/
http://www.phoenixzoo.org/
http://www.tucsonaudubon.org/azibaprogram/index.htm
www.azwild.org
http://www.maricopaaudubon.org

I'm Proud to be a Qwest Customer

Hey, they may be raising my rates to add the BYU channel (ewww) but at least Qwest didn't rat me out to the NSA. So, it was OK for some of you when they wiretapped international calls, whose, they wouldn't say. What will it take for you to say that they have gone too far? Door to door searches? Just wondering.

More Veronica, Please!

Last night was the last episode of Veronica Mars on UPN - will the amalgamated WB/UPN pick it up? Maybe if enough people rent the DVDs. Veronica Mars is awesome. Watch it. Here is where they filmed (neato).

Our Tiki Themed Party

Jamie has posted Ruben's photos of our sixth (and last?) annual birthday party. It was fun, Jamie's house looked really cool, as usual, but the theming was no small feat, may I say!

Amelie's First Self Haircut, 5/8/06

I got home yesterday and Linda handed me a ziplock bag full of Amelie's hair that she decided to cut off of herself at school. Talking about it later, she said she did it "so I would look so pretty." Luckily, it's not too noticeable. I have yet to decide if we'll layer the rest or just pretend it's not there.

Reporters are Rubber, Colbert is Glue

Now the "narrative" is that Colbert "wasn't funny" - yes, nobody laughed, because the AUDIENCE was (and are) the JOKE!!

http://salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/05/03/correspondents/

If the press REALLY thinks it's doing an adequate job on covering Bush, let us not forget, Americans should have known ALL of this BEFORE 60,000 or so of them re-elected this fool.

New kitty!

We are welcoming Calcutta, a bengal cat, to our family today (happy birthday me). She is 1 and we adopted her at Petsmart. For photos, click on the moblog link, right. She's pretty and friendly and not at all afraid of Amelie (perhaps she ought to be, but I hope not). We'll see how things fare with the other furry members of our household!

Virtual March for Darfur, In Case You Couldn't Get to SF or DC.

I just signed up for the "virtual march" against genocide in Darfur, and I'm hoping you'll join me. You can sign up online at:

http://political.moveon.org/darfur

Over 400,000 civilians have already died in Darfur. But, almost 2 years after the United States officially recognized it as a "genocide," almost nothing has been done to stop the killing.

A relatively small United Nations peace keeping force (which wouldn't even require new US troops) could protect civilians, stop the violence, and help a real peace process begin. But it won't happen if world leaders, including ours, don't stand up and demand it.

So this week, thousands of concerned Americans gathered in Washington to tell Congress and President Bush to support a real international peacekeeping force - and to do it now. To help show the national media how many voters support this call, MoveOn is organizing this virtual march.

MoveOn'll present our names and signatures this week, to help show how broad the support really is on this vital issue.

Please join me and sign up today:

http://political.moveon.org/darfur

Thanks!

Sweet Jesus, I Love Stephen Colbert

In case you missed it (which you might have, the press that filled that room flat out pretended it didn't happen), Stephen Colbert, host of the Colbert Report, hosted the White House Correspondent's Dinner on Saturday, and he thoroughly eviscerated Dubya right in front of the man himself. God bless Stephen Colbert.

But WHY?

I just happened upon this little tidbit:
PIZZA HUT:
The regular pizza sauce contains beef base, whey, cheese solids (which is made with animal enzymes), buttermilk powder, nonfat milk solids, and MSG. The Cavatini, meatless, and bread stick sauces contains beef base, beef flavor, meat type flavor, natural flavor, and MSG. No further information was available on these ingredients. The Zesty pizza sauce contains chicken fat and two types of cheeses (made with enzymes). The sauce, which is served with the spaghetti marinara with meat, contains precooked sausage (composed of pork and beef), beef, chicken stock, chicken fat, and nonfat dry milk. All the pasta at Pizza Hut is vegan.

Not that I have been there lately, but geeeeeez! Boo, Pizza Hut!

Yikes.

If we're lucky, we might survive global warming. Hooray!

Birthday Idea Alert!

http://www.carbonfund.org/

I am turning 33, and like the song says, that could be a full third of all of the time I'm gonna get - time to do right by my greenhouse gases. To that end...

A non-profit selling carbon credits. Great idea! More info here.

Torture is Un-American

From the ACLU:

If you agree with me that torture, indefinite detention and secret government kidnapping are un-American, I think you’ll be interested in a petition that I just signed.

These practices should not represent the United States of America. But today, two years after the truth was exposed about government-sponsored torture and abuse, the U.S. has failed to reverse the policies that led to this abuse -- and has yet to hold a single high-ranking official responsible.

After the horrors of World War II, our leaders helped draft universal principles that prohibit torture and protect human rights. I hope you join me in defending that legacy by signing the petition and speaking out against torture.

Please join with thousands of others and sign the petition today: http://action.aclu.org/tortureisunamerican

Protect Arizona's Environment here

For anybody not on Sandy's e-mail list, you can keep track of the latest evils (and very occasional environmental good deed) of the state legislature here. Tell a friend!

Building a better light bulb

Something that stayed with me from my trip to Montreal (11/00) was the Bombardier ad, oops I mean "exhibit" at their science museum - in particular, LED traffic lights. They are crazy efficient and they last forever, and LED bulbs are finally making their way into stuff we use, like party lights and track lighting bulbs. Gee, with - what's that called - leadership - we could actually be energy efficient.

A Smart Car, or Five of Them

And speaking of super cool cars, Smart Car has come to Phoenix. On Bell Road I caught these scenes of five of them going...somewhere....

Happy (Belated) Earth Day

We commemorated Earth Day by, well, buying a car. Greg's Scion xB gets 35 MPG, so he about doubled his mileage, so that isn't too shabby. Now I just need to get my hybrid and we will have doubled our household fleet economy. ;-)


We also watched "Too Hot Not to Handle" on HBO. Everyone needs to see it. We all should be a lot more freaked out about global warming than we are, period.

Happy Earth Day! Love your mother.

Would you get married here?

Marnie is looking at places to get hitched. James' sister Molly (and James also pretty much) work here. It looks even better for weddings. Am I crazy? Was there any reason to even look elsewhere? So glad she's not getting married here in Phoenix, anyway. :) Love you, Marnie!!

Gore '08?

I always like having an excuse to post this photo. Is the Gore machine gearing up?

Though we really could have used him in '04, at least the new, improved Al. How about Gore/Clinton?

Back after a week with this happy item...

Starving walrus babies adrift in the sea beacuse their ice homes melted.

Good Friday.

When can we start using the I-word?

Bush OK'd intelligence leaks to justify the war - who knows about Valerie Plame?

You know traffic is bad when....

I feel for everyone trapped on the 51 this morning. I was there. Here is a creative solution - on the left side the line of traffic is exiting using an express bus entry ramp that only runs at peak hours.

That's Hot! A Solar Oven

How easy is this - a solar oven from a reflective car shade? EVERY Phoenician has one. Weekend project! Just wish I had more time/inclination to bake.

Interesting Read for Those Feeling the Heat

http://salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/04/04/hope/

Is there hope? This was interesting but I am not overflowing with optimism. We're looking at hybrids but it's such a drop in a ginormous bucket. It's like recycling - I do it, as always, but, then what? We need leadership. Like ten years ago.

Did anyone else's hand go up when they read the part about keeping a crap job because of health care? Anyone?

Why be optimistic, wallowing in despair is such fun! When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around.

Remember Tuvalu

I remember when the leader of Tuvalu visited the U.N. a few years ago. Their country is being obliterated by a rising ocean, thanks to us. And have a great weekend. :)

Adopt a Cottontail for Easter

That spring fertility holiday that we call Easter is coming up. Here is a great idea, adopt an endangered bunny instead of picking up rabbit poo for the next 5 years!

Princesses Who Skate

We saw Disney on Ice: Princess Classics last night, apparently everyone with a girl under 8 in Phoenix is going too. Luckily we went on half price night and happened to score 6th row (actually 9th, odd numbering) tickets, anyway they were good seats. The girls (A. and her friend Lauren) loooved it. What's not to like? Ice skating and pretty princesses (even all the girls were dressed up). Funny how so many D. cartoons don't even give the prince a name. What sort of name is "Charming"? The poor guys.

Air America Phoenix is coming back! Yay!

Almost a month without Al! AM 1480, April 3rd. Good.

Mandarin Podcast

Here's a link where you can learn the language of "our future imperial overlords" as John Stewart says. Or order takeout, if you're an optimist. Either way.

Cheney, the Low-Hanging Fruit

This includes a funny Top 10 list.

Warming in the Arctic

Here's the sort of thing that should make you trade in your SUV and write your senator a truly angry letter. What fracking right do we have to do this? Online poll, also, vote early and often.

Seriously...again

When you have annual passes to Disneyland it feels wasteful not to use them. I am a mere five hours drive from the Happiest Place on Earth, you know? What's five hours to THE happiest place?

Anyway, photos. This one is just after we entered, Eeyore was very sweet.

Next we took a quick ride up Main Street in a 1903 horseless carriage, courtesy of driver Carl. We spotted Cinderella holding court outside the castle and jumped in line. This was about half an hour past opening and the park wasn't too busy...yet. Here is Amelie's version of a curtsey, legs wide apart and bending at the waist. And all that money I spent on finishing school....



So then we did the carousel, Dumbo, and the teacups, all without much waiting. Then we got Autopia fastpasses (1 hr return) and quickly hit ToonTown. Why is ToonTown so boring? Here's why. Autopia, then lunch, then went by rockets (45 minute wait, uh oh) for the Tiki Room which Amelie LOVED. We realized we were freezing so I offered to run back to the car for jackets, and they got on the Columbia (bums!, that's never running!) "pirate ship". Spent the remainder of the day at an actually crowded California Adventure. We only rode the Sun ferris wheel in maybe 2 hours there. Long lines, there was a cheerleading competition in town, the place was swarming with Buffys, or actually, by now, Caitlins. And thanks to my honey for driving the WHOLE way home.

Happy St. Pat's

Ahh, St. Patrick's Day. So dear in the hearts of my grandmas that I wouldn't dare let it pass without honoring my heritage (Newnam, O'Connor, and Stack, all of the Emerald Isle). This day more than any other I meditatate on the vagaries of fate that brought me to exist here in the ol' U.S. of A., and the people that came before me. We don't know a lot about our family, I am sure that the Mormons know more. But I know that there is a mish mash of peoples in there, and so yesterday I read this which put it all in a whole new perspective. My great-great-great-great etc grandpa was Ceasar. Frickin cool!

Fun online game

Try this. ;-)

Can Insurance Companies Save Us?

Here is something interesting regarding Exxon and their insurance company. Also some good links on how they certainly wear the black hat in the public debate on climate change. Thanks a lot, guys.

Old Business

For the record, final tally of rainless days, 143. The record went out with a bang, a nice day-long drenching and a ring of snow around the valley.
This is from AZCentral. Amelie had no interest in seeing snow. Oh well!

141

In case anyone is still counting, 141 days and no rain.

Coincidences

Crash winning the Oscar (huh?) and watching Dickens' Bleak House on Masterpiece Theater got me thinking about the likelihood of things. Both of those were written as if there were only about 40 people each in modern day Los Angeles and 19th century London, respectively. It stretches credibility. In Dickens I think it can be forgiven, Crash...well.... Anyway, since we all know that the world contains considerably more than 40 people, is it a smaller world or a larger world than I tend to believe?

For instance, we were in Portland last weekend (see previous post) and we were driving down some random street in a quiet, non-touristy part of town. There was a woman and a boy walking on the opposite side of the road. Something clicked and I looked back to see that this was my cousin Michael's son and ex who I have only met twice ever. The odds, I would swear, were so infinitesimal. They were on that road for two blocks and then they would have been on a bus if we had been any later. How do these things happen? We spent the whole next day with them, they are awesome. See photo of Maria and Jonah above.

And this wasn't the only time. Just last summer we stayed at the same hotel on the same days as our friends Shannon and Jared. Then they independently planned a trip to Disneyland on the same date as us. We missed seeing them both times but still. Same thing with Amy and Matt (see links)'s honeymoon being on the Big Island the same time as I was there with the rents. Again, we didn't know until later. What are the odds? No, seriously, can someone do the math for me, please? I really want to know.

I think I need to watch Sliding Doors again, it relates. But it's sort of a downer, or halfway so, at least. You have to see it to know what I mean.

Portland, Oregon

So it's been a week since we got back from Portland. It's hard not to compare the many ways in which Phoenix does not measure up. Vibrant downtown? Transit? Small walkable neighborhoods? Lots of coffee places? BEautiful parks and hiking - and FALLS nearby? It ain't home. Not yet anyhow.

Catching up...

Man, have I SLACKED!! A few items...

First off, I am listening to my newly acquired Brandi Carlisle CD. She so rocks. Marnie & I went to her show at the Aladdin in Portland on Saturday, which was awwwwwesome. Her voice is incredible and she's only 20. Which sort of brings be to my next topic:

PHOENIX RADIO SUCKS

OK, so the Edge is still all right, but not nearly as incredible as it was a year ago. I guess that was inevitable with the Zone going to the Free FM format with Stern's departure. However, my biggest whine today is that the Christians took over KXXT so no more Air America for now. The ratings were actually good, and god knows (ha) Phoenix really doesn't need another Jesus station but there you go. So do I get the Franken podcasts? Streaming is a no no. Sigh. Which brings me to:

PORTLAND ROCKS

What a great flipping city. Actually the rental car radio was TUNED to Franken. A sign? I don't know. I will post on PDX in greater detail later. Very fun trip.