Sunday Schedule

I have another new heroine:

The real story of bigotry and intolerance is the fact that it lives and thrives on the left. As a gay woman who spent most of her adult life pushing the cart for liberal causes with liberal friends in a liberal city, I found that sexism, racism and homophobia are staples in the liberal world. The huge irony is liberals spend every ounce of energy promoting the notion that they are the banner carriers of individualism and personal freedom, yet the hammer comes down on anyone who dares not to conform to, or who dissents even in part from, the liberal agenda.

Think about what would happen if you did act up? If you dared to say you like Sarah Palin, or admire Margaret Thatcher, or think global warming is a hoax, or think Bill Clinton is a sexual predator, or that George W Bush isn't to blame for everything, or that Barack Obama has absolutely no clue what he's doing, you know there would be a price to pay. Odds are that your "liberal" friends would very liberally hate you. At the very least, being shunned would be your new experience, condemning you to suffer that horrific liberal malady called social death.

Sing it, sister!

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Now here's a little blast from my past:

The bulky, blue machines are all more than 40 years old now, but the idea behind them remains as irresistible to Chicago children today as it once was to their parents and grandparents.

"Now You Can Operate the Amazing Mold-A-Rama Automatic Miniature Plastic Factory!"

I can't wait until my grandson's old enough to start his own collection. Lincoln Park Zoo, Field Museum of Natural History, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry and Brookfield Zoo -- Oh, the fun we'll have!

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Yep. I called this one a year and a half ago, and once the price of the Kindle itself went down, the sale of the device... and eboooks... went way up:

Though they only make up 9 percent of the consumer book market, e-book sales are up 193 percent over a year ago, according to the Association of American Publishers.

An estimated 4 million U.S. homes have an e-book reader such as Amazon's Kindle or Barnes & Noble's Nook, according to Forrester Research, which predicts sales of more than 29 million devices by 2015.

HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray reports "a sea change in the past few months" among new best-selling books: "On some books, the e-books are outselling the hardcovers."

Seriously, my Kindle was second only to meeting my daughter for the first time on my list of all-time great Christmas gifts. I use it all the time. It weighs next to nothing, fits in most of my purses and I can get books in seconds any time I want. On top of that, I've used it for simple Google searches lately, and I can even check email or blog from the darned thing if I'm really stuck far away from my laptop.

One more thing -- I've been introduced to a lot of new authors through the Kindle store's best seller list, and I've gotten a lot of interesting stuff either free or at a discount that way. (And when I've liked the discounted/free stuff, I've gone back and purchased more of the authors' works at the regular Kindle price.)

They really are dandy little devices.

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Getting ready to put together your Christmas shopping list? This article is loaded with tips for saving money on all your holiday purchases. (You may even want to print and save it for future use!)

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More Facebook privacy issues. Sheesh!

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Quote of the Day:

Braun's ego -- remember her run for president in the 2004 cycle? -- is matched only by her leaden political ear, behind which she had dabbed a little eau de Stroger. Yeah, that'll bring out the vote.

Zorn's got her number, all right.

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Where are you on the empathy scale?

My score: 67
0 - 32 = low (most people with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism score about 20)
33 - 52 = average (most women score about 47 and most men score about 42)
53 - 63 is above average

64 - 80 is very high

80 is maximum

Found via LL, who found it via Vox Day. Dr. Helen also took the test.

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Blogthings!

You Crave Inspiration

You are optimistic about both your present and your future. Things are going well for you. You see love as companionship. You're the type of person who would fall for his or her best friend. You expect other people to respect you. You are respectful of them in return. Your inner child is playful. You can have as much fun as any kid!

The City Park Test

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

... and...

Your Workspace Says You Work Best With Others

You are generally fairly organized, but you have occasional slip ups. You find keeping organized challenging. You are hardworking and driven. You have an excellent work ethic. You are proud of your life, and you want your co-workers to know how great it is. You're not afraid of some subtle bragging. You don't switch careers often, and you intend to stay at your current job for a long time. At work, you tend to be an extrovert. You enjoy working with other people and drawing people into your work space.

What Does Your Work Space Say About You?

Blogthings: If Quizzes Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Take Quizzes

Drive-Bys

Quotes of the Day:

[B]acon fat would make a doorknob taste good.... - Pat Bruno

... and...

The Internet does many wonderful things -- it lets you buy stuff, find stuff, send messages. It's here, and you can't fight technology. But it also puffs oxygen onto every cruel, nasty instinct that ever smoldered within a human heart, granting both the shield of anonymity and a chance to vent in public. - Neil Steinberg

Too right.
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That blaming the voters thing I was cheesed off about? Neo-Neocon and the folks at Pajamas Media think I'm right:

No doubt Obama sees himself akin to a coach at halftime when the team is down in the score, talking tough to the players to motivate them. But he is not a coach; he is actually the star player. And voters are not team members, they are observers who don’t like what they see.

But don’t take my word for it; listen to some voices on the left, including David Dayen, who writes:

"…I’ve never seen a politician run an election with the message “Don’t be stupid, quit your bitching and vote for me.”… There’s a reason that strategy has never been employed: because it’s so insane to think that open berating would inspire a voter to action."

President Tin-Ear's beginning to sound (and look) like a pissy, prissy old headmistress in a second rate girls school, and he's losing traction on both the right and the left.
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And that $150 million Bright Start loss I've been jumping up and down about forever and ever? Seems like folks are finally waking up and making it a campaign issue:

Candidates for Illinois treasurer sparred Thursday over losses in the office's $2 billion college savings program as political fallout drips down the ballot from the U.S. Senate race.

Republican state Sen. Dan Rutherford blamed Democrat Robin Kelly, the treasurer's chief of staff, for $150 million in losses in a Bright Start College Savings plan fund that was billed as conservative to parents.

"If you have a fund that is on the trend dramatically to lose … I (would) have my personal guy on the phone saying, 'What the heck is going on here,'" Rutherford told the Tribune editorial board.

But Kelly said "we were on top of it" and blamed a "rogue" investor who put money in mortgage-linked securities outside of the fund's parameters in 2008. The treasurer's office later recouped $77 million in a settlement.

The fund losses have dogged Kelly's boss, Democratic Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, in his campaign for U.S. Senate against Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park.

It's about time. But I'd like to see Alexi answer the same questions, as he was the one ultimately responsible for this mess.

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Live in Chicago and don't have a water meter because you're afraid you'll be billed more? Think again:

For years, Mayor Daley has maintained that non-metered houses would get less-expensive water bills if they had meters. He's set up a program so they can volunteer to have meters put in their homes -- at city expense. He's even giving a seven-year guarantee that they won't pay more than they do now....

Those with meters pay $2.01 for every thousand gallons of water -- one of the lowest rates in the nation.

City officials say they can install up to 15,000 meters year. At that rate, though, it would take 20 years to put a meter in every home -- if everybody wanted one.

"If the answer is everybody get a meter,'' O'Connor said, "they don't have the capacity to get everybody a meter."

Go get one.
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Giggle of the Day:

Culture Club

It's been a cultural whirlwind for me in the last week, to go along with the craziness at work. Behold --

Friday night: Karaoke at the Blue Frog.

Saturday night: "Shush Patrol" declared a futile effort in the face of the enormous (and really noisy) fundraiser down the hall, so I actually got to see opening night of The Weir, instead.

Sunday afternoon/night: Worked concessions before and did set up and tended bar for the VIP reception after The Weir, followed by an evening at Grafton's with the ensemble.

Monday night: Sleep, and lots of it.

Tuesday night: Therapy Night with Walt (discussion covered books, theater, travel)

Wednesday night: Jazzin' at the Shedd and dinner at Ma & I (Can you say "Wasabi Shumai"? Faaaaaaaaabulous!)






Tonight I rest, because... tomorrow, I'm off to the Cubs/Mets game in the afternoon (hopefully with Beloved Baby Brother), and then going to The Art Institute of Chicago for the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit.

Whew! That's more culture in one week than I've experienced since back in the day when Culture Club was all the rage: