Hello.
Thought this would be a good time to start this little machine up again.
And just so this isn’t entirely a self-referential post, I’m calling it for Obama. It’s 7:10pm EST and I’m feeling optimistic.
Welcome back. See more of you soon.
Happy Halloween
One of Blackbird’s favorites adorns her jack-o-lantern this year.
Tea for All
As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
-H.L. Mencken
You reap what you sow, Tea Partiers.
Freedom Isn’t Free, People
The NY Times tells it like it is with this beautifully functional visual map of the Obama Administration’s 2011 budget proposal.
Be sure to click “Hide Mandatory Spending” to see just how little of the budget is up for discussion this year.
Blackbird: 2 Years
“Froggy, Daddy. See froggy?” (froggy is a lawn sculpture in the neighborhood)
“Um, I’m not sure, sweetie. Where is the froggy?”
“Might be down the street?”
That, in a nutshell, is how things have changed since one year ago. Blackbird is no longer a little mystery. She’s a little girl. She has opinions, preferences, thoughts, and observations. All of which she can communicate. And act on.
Let’s look back over the last year.
Magic Highway USA
This is just fantastic. It is at once prescient, naive, thoughtful, and simplistic:
Via Daring Fireball
Blackbird at the Park
Dear YouTube Commenters,
YouTube’s comments section is not an appropriate venue for your world view. YouTube comments are worse than bumper stickers, in terms of intelligence and depth. Also, if your user name is “DonutNinja” or “No2NWO”, you should probably not bother at all. If it’s not clear to you why this is, then perhaps it’s time to uncap your meds or ask your mother.
And finally, if you defy all counter-arguments by saying, “You’re just a government shill/a psyops agent/part of the conspiracy/a fictional identity/deluded by the government’s propaganda,” then you are weaving your own reality according to whim, rather than evidence. And do you know what that makes you? Part of the problem.
…I really need to stop reading YouTube comments.
I Remember…
May those that love us, love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping.–Irish Blessing
May we all remember the lessons we’ve learned since, not just the pain we suffered then.
Why You Care That Ikea Adopted Verdana
Ikea, after decades, has changed its corporate typeface. Its Futura look-alike, Ikea Sans, has been replaced by Verdana. If you shop at Ikea, start watching them, because changes like this one are often an indication of lost direction.
