Yes, finally, pictures!

Sorry, all, I have been technically challenged these last weeks, and though I have been online, it is company equipment which I can't upload onto. So I finally dug up the necessary infrastructure to get my photos online. Here are the ones I took of the empty-and-therefore-spacious-appearing house before we filled it chock full of our sh*t. And you should just SEE the stuff we left in Phoenix!! Yeesh!

I hope to have more about the lovely and scenic El Segundo on here soon. And we found out that indeed, parts of town smell bad, but not our part.

On the Carbon Tax

"Free market" solutions to pollution have always been a problem because the costs of pollution are not part of the market, instead, they are borne by society without costs to the polluter. So, there lies the need for a carbon tax. Policy makers in many cases have already moved on from that fact to the issue of what to do with the revenues. But, if a carbon tax is doing what it should, it's a tax you should never want to collect. For more, an enlightening article from the NYT Op Ed Page is here.

Just a couple of things...

Hi from Sunny California!

This is just too good (thanks, laist.com)!

And Battlestar is coming back, fools! Rent the DVDs now & thank me later. Watch this to see why you must watch this show. You must watch this show!!

And also, the cast doing last night's Top 10 on Letterman here.

NYT Quote O' The Day

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"The problem is time. There just isn’t enough time. Men won’t spend a whole day away from their family anymore."
WALTER HURNEY, a real estate developer, on the decline of golf.

Earth Hour 2008

Lights Out, 3/29/08, 8 PM.


Generic e-mail w/the link:
I just signed up to the new Earth Hour website for 2008 and I thought you might like to take a look and possibly sign up too. Earth Hour is on 29 March 2008 at 8pm, and it looks like it's going to be really big. So far, as well as Sydney, there'll also be Chicago, Tel Aviv, Manila, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Brisbane and Toronto all turning off their lights for an hour in the name of fighting global warming. And I'm sure there'll be more cities by March. Sign up for Earth Hour with me by visiting http://www.earthhour.org/user/s6vR and join the movement.

Yeah, baby!!

Let's hope this is one long-coming sequel that George Lucas didn't screw up!!

Going to California

Well, pretty officially now, Amelie and I will be joining Greg in L.A., specifically in El Segundo. Now, El Segundo is an odd little town.


View Larger Map

Note it is happily situated adjacent to LAX. The other mud-colored areas on the map are the L.A. wastewater treatment plant on the coast and a Chevron refinery to the south. Despite this (or because of it?) there is this great little town. It has clean coastal air (they have really worked on the smell issues), the BEST schools, no traffic, a great tiki bar, independent coffee shops, good Thai food, and the walk score for this house is 89 (my current house is 54 and I think that's too generous by half).

We're hoping to be out there by the end of the month, if all goes well! Here's hoping, anyway!

Obama is the guy

We saw Barack Obama in Phoenix on Wednesday. He was inspirational. The energy was palpable. I'm actually excited about his candidacy. I went back and read this article by the late, great Molly Ivins on why she would not be supporting Hillary, and it still rings true. So I am for Obama. We'll see what happens Tuesday. I would support her over any Republican (and take it from an Arizonan, McCain may be no conservative to some, but he is certainly no moderate). Would I be sorry about a split vote resulting in a floor fight ending in a Gore nomination? No, I'll admit that would be a dream scenario for me. However, Barack Obama is an exciting candidate and I think that his candidacy will signal the new direction I think that America is desperate for. Vote Obama!

Dump Your E-Hog Xmas lights

If you, like me, have a bag of old fashioned Christmas lights (my C-7, C-9, and even icicle lights are HISTORY) that you just can't bring yourself to throw away, here is your chance. HolidayLEDs.com will recycle them for you for free, you just have to pay postage. They have to be postmarked by January 31, but you can send them parcel post, so that may not cost you too much. Or, take them apart yourself, I hear that the scrap metal market is way hot right now. But do NOT give them to Goodwill, because someone will use them as Christmas lights (duh) thus negating any positive benefit you hoped to achieve by replacing your guzzly bulbs in the first place.

Oh, and also, a tip for next year- Greg disliked the cold, bluish lights our LEDs gave off, so I used squares of red and white tissue paper on top and secured them with the tiny rubber bands used for girls' braids (the Goody area of your drug store will have them) which made the light far more pleasant. It only took me about an hour and a half to do 150 lights. The packaging said not to cover the bulbs, but they burn so cool that with supervision I think the risk is minimal.

We took a nice brief trip to Seattle over New Year's - we're thinking about maybe moving up there some day (?) and the Stevensons were soooo nice to put up with us for a few days and even show us around town. So, a big thanks to Amy, Matt, Liam & Lochlan. You guys so rock. We had a great time, depite the C-O-L-D!! This is a video of A. on the Seattle Monorail during our whirlwind act-like-a-tourist day.

MY Prius!!

OK, no photos of the actual yet but FINALLY I got one. Loooove it!!

And ALREADY I found myself being one of those overbearing you-won't-believe-my-mileage people at a kid's birthday party yesterday. Is there a reason it rhymes with "pious"? Whatever, it's cool!

Cute polar bears

My aunt sent me an e-mail with misattributed pictures of Knut the Berliner polar bear. Cute! Looking for the proper link, I found this game. As treehugger says, you can use it to jump start a convo with your own youguns re global warming and all that. But it's just fun. Merry!

World clock

This actually gave me vertigo, a little bit.

Help Wildlife this Christmas

Order an adoption from Defenders of Wildlife by Saturday and save 10% with code KID10.

Choose your favorite species and doom the ugly ones to extinction (just kidding)!

Oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die?

Frrrrrraaaaaaacccccckkkk.......

We're Number 75

Wood is number 75 of most common surnames (I would have guessed higher, actually)...but up 3 from 1990, interestingly. Try your name here. This is why I hyphenate. Well, that, and I CAN, because I am not chattel. Thank you.

Save These Dolphins (Hayden Rawks)

Anyone notice I have gone a little YouTube crazy?

So they announced yesterday that Hayden Panettiere (the cheerleader of "save the.." fame from NBC's Heroes) has a warrant out for her arrest in Japan for trying to stop a dolphin hunt last month. In this day and age, where so many young celebs' only noteworthy actions are crotch flashes and trips to rehab, I really have to admire her.

So, here's the video (graphic & sad, be WARNED):


And, NOW:

Write to the Japanese Embassy and urge them to stop the yearly slaughter of thousands of dolphins!

We can put pressure on Japan and help bring a stop to this cruel tradition, it just takes a second:
http://takeaction.oceana.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=17309

Those Subversive Long-Hairs

Today's offering: "Pleasant Valley Sunday", The Monkees

The local rock group down the street
Is trying hard to learn their song
Seranade the weekend squire, who just came out to mow his lawn

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Rows of houses that are all the same
And no one seems to care

See Mrs. Gray she's proud today because her roses are in bloom
Mr. Green he's so serene, He's got a t.v. in every room

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Here in status symbol land
Mothers complain about how hard life is
And the kids just don't understand

Creature comfort goals
They only numb my soul and make it hard for me to see
My thoughts all seem to stray, to places far away
I need a change of scenery

Ta Ta Ta...

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Here in status symbol land

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday...


See? Even then, they knew the 'burbs sucked.

The Best Bags

Obviously now everyone knows the correct answer to "Paper or plastic?" is "Neither." I have had the same string grocery bags since 1995 and I love those, don't get me wrong, but I don't know how many times I have been caught without them (too many). So that is why I am CRAZY about are these bags I got at Claire's, the accessory store at the mall, of all places. They were $1 with any purchase and they are fantastic! They're made out of umbrella-material nylon and they pack away into a teeny tiny tote bag. I just saw them recently and they were about $6 now, still in a bin by the register. They have a variety of colors if rainbow polka dots are to chicky for you. I keep them in my purse and I am never, ever without a bag anymore.

A Little Perspective, Please

Actual video of "Earthrise" and "Earthset" from the moon. Very cool!

Go See This Guy

OK, kinda late now, but a week ago we saw this guy who does a one-man show of all three original Star Wars movies (yeah, 4-6, WHATEVER!! 1 to 3, you are DEAD to me). The whole show is one hour and FUNNY. We scored discount tix at showup.com. What I don't get is that Greg and I bought before Jamie and his friend and yet they were two rows in FRONT of us? WTF? Oh well, small theater, it was actually the top half of the former IMAX at the Scottsdale Galleria. That place didn't get anything right, eh?

The show plays until the 11th and after that he travels, look for him at a theater not far, far away.

Good News for Oregon

When we first visited Oregon in November of 2004, they had just passed measure 37 which was what is commonly referred to as 'takings legislation' which heavily restricts the ability of government to regulate property by zoning. Most people, when you talk to them about it, like zoning, as they don't want a factory or motel built in that nice empty lot across from their house. But on the surface, Americans, a freedom-loving bunch, viscerally connect with the notion that people should be able to do what they want with their land, and with ballot measures, a lot of times it's the visceral that wins out.

Which brings us to the present day. Yesterday Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved measure 49 which strictly curtails the effects of 37 and will hopefully keep the worst consequences of the former measure from taking place. A lot of that will depend on the courts. The story says this was an expensive and vicious fight, so it's nice to see that the good guys won. Yay, Oregon!

Jamie's photos from the party last weekend

Here's Jamie's version of the Pirates of the Carribean ride skeleton (rags blowing, wheel turning - nice effect):

Our host Random Jedi Jamie and his gal Dawn of Gryffindor:


The annual and each year more elaborate Pirate Bar hosted by Greg:

Such cuties - Amelie, Eleanor, and Eileen:

Alex, me (pirate/coctail waitress), Greg (pirate/bartender), Connie, Irene, and Vik:

Fun party. Grownups are so silly.

Joss is back!

FINALLY Joss Whedon is doing a new show! Joss is the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly/Serenity. He's teaming up with Eliza Dushku (Faith on Buffy) for a show due next fall by the name of "Dollhouse". Let's hope that it lands on a network that will give it a chance before dropping it (Fox - looking at you). For lots of discussion on all things Whedon, try Whedonesque.com.

And while I am on the topic of TV news, The Amazing Race is back on Sunday (against the Simpson's Treehouse of Horror - boo!) and at least some of the teams espouse the hippies' race phil-osophy, so let's hope it's a good one.

Hard Sun

On the soundtrack of Sean Penn's new move "Into the Wild", Eddie Vedder covers (yes, covers) a 1989 tune by the name of "Hard Sun" from the band Indio of Toronto. It took some digging to find it. If you were listening to alternative radio in the late 80's as we were lucky enough to have here with KUKQ, you may have heard it, too. Some wonderful person has posted it here. Listen!

Oh, and on a side note, in another one of those god-I-feel-old moments last month, my nephew Kiefer (18) and I were listening to his Fall Out Boy cd and they covered "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division. And I had to explain who Joy Division was...and who New Order was (is?). Ugh!

More on the World Without Us

I was just checking out their web site, and it's really cool. The multimedia art on NYC is neat, and this week's journal post is of an exchange of the author with the formal local Sierra Club staffer, Raena Honan (now of Flagstaff), regarding population and the club's policies. Nice.

Plastic Blows

I'm in the middle of reading The World Without Us by Alan Weisman and I just finished the part about our plastics. There is a continent-sized island of plastic in the middle of the Pacific and we don't know if it will EVER go away. There's an article about the plastic graveyard from the SF Chronicle today here. I'm only midway through the book but I highly recommend it. I can also loan it out once I am through so let me know if you are interested. I just need to find it, I left it at the beach place somewhere....

Matching Donations at UNICEF

Double your donation right now at UNICEF. Also, don't forget about Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, you can pick up your boxes at your local Hallmark Gold Crown store or Pier 1.

On Death, Cats, Dr. King, and Hollywood

Saturday morning we were watching Elizabethtown, a Cameron Crowe film starring Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, and Susan Sarandon (who my dad says he had a date with in middle school, but he had no idea she was "that girl" until maybe 5 years ago). Anyway, towards the end of the film Bloom's character drives across America scattering his dad's ashes in various places. Amelie was watching with us and first we had to explain cremation. We related it to our dearly departed cat, Mookie, who sits, cremated, on a shelf in our house, and has for um, 4 years now. We discussed scattering those ashes, but that would just make the house (more) dusty with cat cremains so we offered a funeral. So she cried, briefly, over missing Mookie. Then, there was a scene where he visits the scene of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in Memphis. Amelie was very upset to learn that Dr. King was assassinated (and what that even meant). When I considered the appropriateness of our viewing choices that morning, I wasn't really considering the consequences of having to discuss these life issues with a just-turned-5-year-old. So, she cried about that, too, briefly (and I am really not sure how sincerely, she is sooo dramatic sometimes, honestly), and for the next four hours we were fielding questions on the mechanics of the assasination (I had to quickly google to get James Earl Ray's name on my phone at lunch, I admit, but I am LOUSY with names).

Lunch was in NoHo, L.A.-speak for North Hollywood. We trekked up there to check out North Hollywood Scooters, one of the better scooter shops in the country, as the industry mags report it. Nice people, low-key operation. Then, we drove around for a few blocks, saw the liquor store where Cher was mugged in Clueless (NoHo is actually in the Valley), and stopped at Pit Fired Pizza, which was decent.

After that, we toured back into Hollywood and decided to cruise a bit of the famous Mulholland Drive. In retrospect, I was wishing I had a $6 star map, it would have added to the interest a bit. We drove the non-Beverly Hills section (Laurel Cyn to the 101), so it was a bit less intensely populated with the homes of the famous. We did get a nice view of the Hollywood sign which was across the 101 and up another hill from where we were at.

Since we were doing the whole tourist thing that day, we headed to Universal CityWalk, which is like the Universal Studios version of Downtown Disney. At least at DD you can park for 3 hours free and then validate after that. Here it was $10 to park, at a MALL, and the only validation was if you were there for a movie. So lame. We ate at Wolfgang Puck's (it sounds so fancy - it's not, really). Then got ourselves back to the relative quiet of the South Bay.

Do I even need to mention how traffic sucked? By L.A. standards it surely could have been worse - they had the I-5 closed down that weekend, I read about a family that had to wait that out near Anaheim, and the accident was in Santa Clarita by Magic Mountain. If you have ever been there you know these two places are in separate counties. They were parked on the freeway for 5 hours, in the middle of the night. Good god. Living in this place is so not for me.

Blog Action Day

It's the day for everyone to blog for Planet Earth, so first off I want to congratulate Al Gore on his Nobel Peace Prize for his work in raising climate change awareness. Awesome!!

More in a bit.

Mickey's Halloween Treat

We also did the Disneyland Halloween party for Amelie's birthday.

Done! Now time to paint.

They finished and it's nice! Plus, somehow that storm went just to the east of us and missed us by BLOCKS. So now the wood must be painted before the sun kills it. So I set off on a google quest for ecologically-friendly exterior paints (much harder to find than interior), and lo and behold, a nicely priced company, Ecological Paint, is based in Tucson! Here is their site. They say that they can match any color. Cool! Now, to pick some pretty colors....

Just My Luck

NATURALLY, for the first time all month (all summer, practically) that the weather is this:

The one day that my roof looks like this:

Perfect.

Pizza Hut Back on the List

Well, a while back I posted that Pizza Hut's sauce was non-vegetarian. Today our office is ordering in pizza, and of COURSE, it's PH. SO I thought I would get an update as I always hate to turn down free, meatless food! And the good news is, they reformulated, and the sauce is now OK. They don't say where their cheese enzymes come from, but honestly, I usually cross my fingers and hope for the best on that. But anyway, for anyone interested, here's a good resource. I'm thinking about cutting back on my dairy, just to avoid the methane from those dairy cows. We'll see how that goes.

Anyway, I still doubt we'll be regular patrons, too much good local pizza around, but when we're at an airport or on the run, it's good to know we have options.

Incidentally, I am really surprised at the lack of quality pizza in Redondo Beach. You would think that no Italians ever moved to L.A. The pier pizza is O.K. The funniest yet is when we ordered a fresh mozzarella/basil pizza from a place in Torrance and they put that on TOP of the regular cheese. You have GOT to be kidding me!

Sounds too Good to Be True, Right?

I've been watching Living With Ed on HGTV, which is a reality show about Ed Begley, Jr. He is so totally my hero right now. The show is about 1) product promotion for new, green technology, and 2) Ed's wife, Rachelle Carson's resistance to Ed's penny pinching (which so reminds me of my mom and dad). It's amusing though. Anyway, they had solar garden lights on this week and said they would be on the HGTV web site. You can get them cheaper elsewhere, but while I was there checking it out I see that Ed got his solar panels from this place where you don't own them, you are basically setting up a mini utility on your roof. Seems like a fair concept, though, right? It certainly made his neighbor Bill Nye (Science Guy, holla!) jealous. Anyone see a downside here?

Some random photos

This is Kiefer on line for the Matterhorn.K & G on the Tower of Terror with Joe & Patti.

Just a few recent pictures. We continue to make good use of our Disney passes, and here is the ACTUAL Vespa on the Palos Verdes peninsula. 100 MPG - sweet! The pink helmet is mine.

And

Also Amelie's birthday is next weekend....

Playing Around

Did I mention Greg got a Vespa?

"One Bomb Away"

I read this a couple of days ago, but I keep seeing people say that this administration has kept us safe since 9/11, so they must be OK. That's not really what they've been worried about - they have actually been more worried about taking away more of your freedoms. A quote:

"Dick Cheney Chief of Staff David Addington had an idea for getting around all of that. As Jack Goldsmith, the former head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, tells the New York Times, Addington once observed that the White House was just "one bomb away from getting rid of that obnoxious [FISA] court."

Read it here. But hey, if you don't care about freedom....

Frodo, Don't Wear The Ring

Flight of the Conchords on HBO. It's about a fictional New Zealand duo living in New York. The Arwen in the video is Mel, their one fan. They have a lot of good videos-within-the-show, I just like the line "the magical bling-bling". Classic. So I present it to you.

the Black Pearl

the Black Pearl
Originally uploaded by mariannes_stuff

Check it out- Pirates 3 filmed from Kings Harbor by the Redondo Beach Pier. This was a much more happening place a year ago, it seems like!

The 11th Hour

I'm excited to see this new Get-Off-Your-Ass-and-Do Something film produced by Leonardo DiCaprio (I wasn't a huge fan of his earlier work - "Jack!" "Rose!", but he has now won my heart). It doesn't open here for a couple of weeks though! Mark your calendars.

First Week of School

So far, so good...Amelie seems to be enjoying Kindergarten, though the only answer I can usually get to the "How was your day today?" question is "Fine." Already. Yeah. Anyway, while I highly value individual creativity and expression, I am a huge fan of school uniforms and I think A looked super cute on the first day, don't you?

Selling a house

The market's just so great in Phoenix right now we decided to get the house ready to sell...ok, well, seriously, y'all, sometimes in life things can't happen at the perfect time. We'll see what happens. We're just ready for a change. Not sure where to yet but first things first, I need a handyman! :)

Off to the beach! Look for me biking the strand this weekend, and possibly the fam will be entering a castle in the Manhattan Beach contest on Sunday. High of 74, here we come!!

Taming the Energy Hogs

I was forwarded this informative article from the New York Times and I think it's worthy of passing along. Seems like very good PR for the Kill-o-watt thingamajiggy! Figure out which of YOUR devices are using needless energy and pull the plug!

The latest news

Is that Greg took a 6 month contract in Los Angeles. Which is obviously tough but check out where he is living.

We're going out this weekend, and next, and probably a lot the whole time. So if you will be in SoCal this summer look us up! Redondo Beach.

"Redshirting" for K-G

I just devoured this article from today's New York Times on the starting age of kindergarteners. I think I mentioned previously it's something I have agonized over a bit. Either I start her in August as planned (and save myself $650 a month), or wait, and try to give her a developmental advantage over her classmates that she may not need. The part that I found particularly thought-provoking is this:

But perhaps those kids with the pencils in their ears — at least the less-affluent ones — don’t need “the gift of time” but rather to be brought into the schools. Forty-two years after Lyndon Johnson inaugurated Head Start, access to quality early education still highly correlates with class; and one serious side effect of pushing back the cutoffs is that while well-off kids with delayed enrollment will spend another year in preschool, probably doing what kindergartners did a generation ago, less-well-off children may, as the literacy specialist Katie Eller put it, spend “another year watching TV in the basement with Grandma.” What’s more, given the socioeconomics of redshirting — and the luxury involved in delaying for a year the free day care that is public school — the oldest child in any given class is more likely to be well off and the youngest child is more likely to be poor. “You almost have a double advantage coming to the well-off kids,” says Samuel J. Meisels, president of Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development in Chicago. “From a public-policy point of view I find this very distressing.”

The article went on to point out that the youngest kids in the class, regardless of any arbitrary cutoff date, will always be the hardest to teach. We are vitims of the vagaries of the school calendar. So as states race to give their own kids an edge by pushing back the cutoffs to September 1st and earlier (as in Oregon where we almost had planned to start Kindergarten), it has a hugely disporportionate effect on the most disadvantaged of kids (what else is new, I guess).

Regardless, it did point out that the fact that we, as parents, are even strssing about this issue bodes pretty well for Amelie's future academic success. I hope that will be true. We'll see how it goes this year. If it's NOT going well, then, Greg can take a contract job in Europe or something and we'll just skip that year later on. :)

Marnie's first wedding picture

Crickets (the dog) was the ring bearer.

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.