It's been said by someone else before, but it bears repeating

I can't recall who put it this way-- this is not my original thought. It might have been on a friend's blog. It might have been On the Media. But we seriously all need a reminder.

The word "madrassa" means "school". So when Bob Kerry (among many Fox and MSNBC contributors), supporter of HRC, falsely tells the world that Obama attended a "secular madrassa", what that really means is that he attended a non-religious "school".

I confess-- so did I. So before someone digs this horrible, shameful fact out of my background, I just want to be first to tell the world that I am a product of a secular madrassa known in some circles as "St. Charles East High School".

Can you believe the State of Illinois funds and supports secular madrassas all over the state? I heard other states do the same. It is such a scandal that the media is ignoring this! Madrassa sympathizers! Secular sympathizers! Secular-Madrassa-sympathizing media! Madrassa-educated Secular Media!

Seriously though, the media really needs to stop using the word 'madrassa', unless they are saying the entire sentence in Arabic, or using a proper name. Otherwise, they are willingly playing the game that the Republican and Clinton machines want them to play.

I'm brilliant. This blog-reading tool says so.

Unlike Fruit Femme, I don't view this as a marker of inaccessibility as much as I view it as a marker of my clear blogging superiority.

On the other hand, I'm sure there are MySpace pages with the "genius" designation. So that takes the wind out of my sails.

My First New-Job-Related Post

Everyone should go buy December's issue of American Prospect. It has a group of articles on the "Politics of Pre-K" in the current Dec 07 issue. One of the articles is about how Illinois became a model state in political coalition-building around early childhood education. This is pretty much what I am learning about and working on daily, and I found it to be a useful primer.

And since I know everyone as endlessly fascinated with me and my daily life as I am, I thought it might be interesting to share.

My boss was interviewed for the article, but they didn't end up quoting him directly. They do mention my organization.

I don't want to post it here, but I actually have an email version of the article, so let me know if someone wants to read it. The Prospect.org website requires that you have a subscription in order to read the whole article. Actually, I may commit a mass emailing, so people might get the article regardless of if they want it or not.

The issue of early childhood education is sort of more exciting than I initially thought it would be, if only because I get to read about it in the political magazines to which I'm addicted, and on which I waste so much money.

Ode to Intellectual Laziness and Mediocrity

My beloved friend Fruit Femme told me that I should consider changing the name of my blog to "I'm Trying Not to Betray My Atheist Self". This evening on the phone, I said it to her when I was trying to describe a feeling without sounding like I was talking about fate, or the hand of god, or the universe, etc.

But, by god, I could not find a way around it. So I just had to make my excuses, and say the wishy-washy theistic thing I was thinking.

I haven't found Jesus hiding in my closet, nor have I seen the goddess under the street light on the corner, so let's not get too excited, theist friends.

It's just that sometimes, I find myself giving in to the dominant linguistic and cultural paradigm, because I just don't have the creative power necessary to generate my own description of events without falling back on cliches.

And God is the ultimate cliche.

In my utterly humble opinion.

Speaking of humble-
So, I turned 29 a week or two ago. It was sad. But, things are looking pretty good for once. I think the latter half of my 20s has sufficiently lowered my expectations of life that I now am capable of enjoying things that before I would have been entirely blind to.

All in all, I haven't been this content in years.

Fake Crushes

Fruitfemme tagged me! With a meme. A fun one.

Fictional Characters with whom I Would Gladly Spend Time in a Pool.

However, I don't know that I can name 10. I just don't like the idea of snogging fictional characters. It makes me uncomfortable. I think it's fine if people want to do that, but they should keep it to themselves. I don't want to see it.

That said, this list is in no particular order. These should surprise no one.

• Stephen Colbert (the satirical character) of The Colbert Report. He is so hot.

• Mulder from The X-Files.
  

• Tony Hill from the BBC's Wire in the Blood (Robson Green)

• The literary Rochester Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

- and Orson Welle's Rochester in the 1944 production of Jane Eyre
- and Toby Stephens' Rochester in the 2007 BBC production of Jane Eyre

ok, moving on...

• Any literary character who is a Dutch doctor.

• Goren from Law and Order: Criminal Intent

• Wentworth from Auten's Persuasion (and Ciaran Hinds who played him in a film was totally snoggable in that particular role)

• Darcy from Pride and Prejudice as played by Colin Firth!
  

• House (played by Hugh Laurie) on House

This list reveals a few disturbing truths. One of which is that I read too much non-fiction, and watch too many reruns. Most of these characters would have been on my list 8 or 9 years ago. My fictional crushes need some updating. In my defense, my unobtainable interests tend to be people like Colbert and US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

Ok mcookies! I'm tagging you!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!! Finally!

I know it will disappoint me, but still--yay!

It's Official-- Click Here!

Who is going to camp out with me to be first in line for the first Chicago showing on July 25, 2008?!

Meme via Mcookies

Here are the rules: Copy and paste it into a comment, then put it on yours and I will fill it out there.

1. Do you have a tattoo?
2. How old are you?
3. Are you single or taken?
4. Eat with your hands or utensils?
5. Do you dream at night?
6. Ever seen a corpse?
7.George Strait or Jay Z?
8. How did we meet?
HERE COMES THE EQUALLY INTERESTING PART...
9. Whats your philosophy on life and death?
10. If you could do anything with me, and have no one know, what would it be?
11. Do you trust the police?
12. Do you like Country music?
13. What is your fondest memory of me?
14. If you could change anything about yourself what would it be?
15. Would you cheat ?
16. What do you wear to sleep?
17. Have you ever peed in a pool?
18. Would you hide evidence for me if I asked you to?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Which do you prefer - short or long hair?
21. Do you sing in the shower?
22. What's your favorite color?
23. If you could bring back anyone that has passed, who would it be?
24. Tell me one interesting/odd fact about you?
25. What was your first impression of me?
26. Have you ever done drugs?
27. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?

In keeping with my usual blogging practice

....rather than post anything substantial of my own, here is a link to someone else's hilarious blog post.


Wonkette's A Children's Treasury of Terrible 9/11 Art

In response to Fruitfemme's 10 Commandments Post

This is how I always have imagined my ideal man, except more oily.

I would like to note that my recollection of this book is that the heroine is about 19, and the hero is about 40.

As delightful as the cover art is, it is not nearly as compelling as the content-- found in commandment #10 at Fruitfemme's

10 commandments

For writing a romance novel published between 1973 and 1985.

Like Opening a New, Crisp Notebook

I am extremely sleepy. But I am very excited about all the cool features at blogger that I couldn't go to bed without trying them out.

So, yay. New blog.

PS My old one was at http://sommossa.livejournal.com