Here’s one last image for 2007 — a photo I took just this afternoon. After a very foggy start to the day, it ended up being sunny and rather warm. The dog and I took a walk through the neighborhood and ended up climbing to the top of Orchard Knob. This picture looks into the sun, and over at Lookout Mountain.
Have a blissfully happy new year!
Here are a few (very random) links for the last day of the year…
Who is the most honest man in news?
The battle behind the Hollywood writers’ strike is a story we’ve heard before: even though big business makes its money off the creative talents of the little guy, they still want to cut him out of the deal. But maybe this time the artists will break new ground. The world’s musicians are starting to realize that they don’t need the greedy bastards at the RIAA. Perhaps the writers will find out they can still make livings without without the studio fat cats.
Speaking of the RIAA, guess what? They’re still evil. And they think we’re stupid.
Do you have any idea how the amount you spend on food compares to other world families?
What’s a New Year without a bunch of lists? Here’s just one: 2007 Dickheads of the Year.
While we’re reviewing the year, we have to give a nod to the iPhone. Unfortunately, we also have to recognize that this was the year when Apple lost its white hat.
The iPhone altered our calculus of concern. By illustrating the possibilities of the mobile Web, the phone cast wireless networks as ground zero in the battle for computing freedom.
Ironically, Apple itself wound up on the wrong side of the fight.
It’s not as though everyone didn’t already know that abstinence-only education doesn’t work, but now the failed movement has it’s own pathetic poster child. Can we please start handing out condoms, along with knowledge, in middle schools now? Seriously, what harm would it do?
And of course, let’s not forget those we’ve lost, including Benazir Bhutto.
And consider this: if George W. Bush had done his job — the one the Supreme Court appointed him to do — instead of diddling around in Iraq, how would the world be a different place now?
By the end of this year, Bush’s occupation of Iraq will have lasted 4 years, 9 months, and 14 days. Think about that when you go to vote in your state’s primary or caucus, and please, don’t vote for the a guy you could drink with — this time, vote for the smart guy. Incompetence gets really old very quickly.
I saw this live yesterday on Meet the Press, but it’s taken me a bit of time to find the link:
MR. RUSSERT: Some Americans believe that life does not begin at conception, and that it’s…
GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, scientifically I think that’s almost…
MR. RUSSERT: But…
GOV. HUCKABEE: …a point that you couldn’t argue. How, how could you say that life doesn’t begin at conception…
MR. RUSSERT: Right. Do you respect that view?
GOV. HUCKABEE: …biologically?
MR. RUSSERT: Do you respect that view?
GOV. HUCKABEE: I respect it as a view, but I don’t think it has biological credibility.
Did you hear that right? Mike Huckabee, a guy who denies evolution, says you can’t argue with established science.
Mike, Mike… you can’t have it both ways. Either peer-reviewed, accepted science is an authority, or it isn’t. You have to decide which way you’re going to come down on this. Cherry-picking the science you like and rejecting the science you don’t like isn’t going to help your credibility.
You know, I actually (sorta) defended Huckabee the other day. Someone said he’s almost as stupid as Bush and I responded by saying that while he may not be better than Bush, he’s certainly smarter.
But really, I don’t know about that. I might have been mistaken. Willful ignorance is certainly dangerous. Can the republican party (or this country) survive with yet another intellectual lightweight at the helm (and let’s not get started on Ron Paul)?
This is from my inbox…
Coincidence? You be the judge. Compare the newspaper photo to the still (from 3:08 in the following video):
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
– U.S. Constitution: Article VI
Well, I never went anywhere, but I have been distracted by holidays and house guests. But everyone is back home now and all the Christmas stuff has been put away (usually I wait until New Year’s Day, but this year I jumped the gun). The Iowa caucuses are just around the corner, and I’ve (mostly) fallen behind on the news (unless everyone else was also taking a break from the ‘net — I’ll find out when I get caught up on my blogs and email!), so I’m thankful that there’s yet another holiday right around the corner — perhaps I can get caught up before we get too far into 2008!
Have a great week!
Well, it’s been quite the exciting week and I’m still up to my gills in holiday fun, with a house full of visitors! The dog has been having a great time, but as you can see, she’s flirted with exhaustion at times.
The last ark of 2007 is up and running! Have a safe and happy New Year!
So, we’re sitting at Christmas dinner this evening, at the home of some friends who live up on Signal Mountain. There’s a woman there who we’ve met for the first time just today (she’s our daughter’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend’s friend from work). And she’s not having a great Christmas and is explaining why it hasn’t been the best of holidays this year. And one contributing factor is that just a couple of days ago, some drunk guy plowed into the side of her car while it was parked on the street, and then the dude just ran off!
At this point, DH (dear husband) has to stop her, because this story sounds freakishly familiar. “Wait a minute! That was your car? Over in Highland Park on Saturday night?” And sure enough…
Now, what are the chances that we’d spend the evening watching this drama unfold on our porch on a Saturday night and find ourselves, the following Tuesday, all the way over on the other side of town, sharing Christmas dinner with one of the victims in this crime?
I think it’s pretty freaky.
I hope everyone had a beautiful day!
May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!
Have a wonderful holiday (with some warm fuzzies thrown in!)!
Hello! I'm Alice, which is my real name (most of the other names here have been changed, though, to protect the innocent). I live in an almost-100-year-old house in downtown Chattanooga, TN with my first husband, G-Dog (who is from New Canaan, CT), and a cockapoo named Nonnie (the moniker comes from a Laurens van der Post book). We have one kid (that we know of) -- a daughter, Emmie, who plays a supporting role on the blog. She's off being a student, but she pops in often enough to keep things interesting.
I originally hale from Batavia, NY, a quiet little town in rural western New York. G-Dog and I met while attending college in Carlisle, PA, and then moved on to Chapel Hill, NC together before finally settling in Tennessee. Other places we've lived in long enough to have a mailing address include London and San Francisco.
This blog is about a lot of things -- the places I visit, things I cook, people I meet, photos I take, things I read, and -- of course, politics. I'm an unrepentant, arugula-eating, progressive, liberal, lefty, euro-loving, educated elitist and I'm looking forward to an administration that doesn't raise my blood pressure quite as often as the outgoing one did...
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