Overreaction?

A few days ago, I posted that I had killed two spiders all by myself and before four in the morning (note to Bill ~ no, neither involved the urban legend, thank the Goddess, and that's all that's gonna be said about that!). There have been two more confirmed kills since then. I have, however, also taken to slamming the heels of heavy shoes down onto previously unseen stains on the carpet.

Ah well. Better safe than sorry.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Screaming Liberal Post #1

Since I am embracing my title of Screaming Liberal (while acknowledging, with respect, that it may not be quite as apropos down in the lower-48 where there are actual, you know, screaming liberals), I present to you the organization Turn Right USA. Not as a joke. Not with any kind of irony or eye rolling. They are serious. They are virulent and malicious. They are not joking.
Part of me doesn't even want to give them credit or dignify them with this much of an acknowledgment. More, though, I think it's important that we know these people are out here, these people have power, these people are having an impact. Knowledge is power. We have to stop this. I promise you, if you are reading this blog, there is a very good chance these people hate you. If you are reading this blog, there is a 100% chance they hate someone you care about.

If I just link the video, it will be removed due to copyright issues. Instead, here is the link to their page. From there, you need to (although I admit, you don't want to) click on the "our video" link in order to see the political attack ad they have created. It is not safe for work, for children, or for human consumption.

Those are screaming liberal Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Are You Kidding Me?

Let's be honest ~ as a culture, Americans hate the French. You may not; I may not. As a culture, Americans do. We've never, to my eyes, had a warm and fuzzy relationship with them but after they backed down from going into Iraq almost a decade ago, the attitude went from "not warm and fuzzy" to "as a culture, we hate the French." Remember "freedom fries" or "cheese eating surrender monkeys?" And don't try to tell me that was oh so long ago and we've moved on. It's not that we've moved on; it's that the hatred of the French has moved into the cultural consciousness to the point that we don't have to talk about it any longer. I know of at least one diner that still has "American Fries" on its menu. See?

And the diner was opened in the last 18 months, so you can't even tell me it's expensive to reprint menus once the supidity has worn off. It's a new menu, not a tattoo.


So...okay. Why am I talking about this? Because it seems the one thing Americans hate more than the French are black women. The accuser in the DSK rape case has been denied ... everything.

I've been keeping quiet about this because, even as her "character issues" came out, even as the media started talking about questions being raised, even as they released him from house arrest, the case was still moving forward. As of today, she has been denied everything.

Did she lie on her immigration forms? Sure. People smarter and more connected than I have said this is a fact. I will accept it as such. Did she react inappropriately immediately after the attack? This is up for debate, still, because what, exactly is "appropriate" in such situation. However, for the sake of arguement...fine. She didn't help her case in the moments immediately after the attack (*eye roll*).

So fucking what.

She is unreliable. She is a liar. She is a bad witness. She is imperfect.

So fucking what.

Her description of the attack has never wavered. DNA and physical evidence at the hotel point to the fact that something happened. The United States court system has said they don't care. None of this matters. She doesn't matter.

He is wealthy, internationally important, and white. She is...not. She should still matter. She does still matter. Taking him to trial would've been a travesty of justice? Perhaps it would've been. It wouldn't have been nearly the travesty of justice that not taking him to trial is.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Ps/ETA ~ Yes, I do believe this would be different if she was white. She would still be being raked over the coals. She would still be being called names. The court system would still be victim blaming. That comes with gender and misogyny. I also believe the case would've gone to court. The fact that it isn't, I lay directly at the feet of racism. Just to be clear.

A Day Worth Noting

I killed two ~ TWO ~ spiders, all by myself. One before four in the morning. Yeah, I'm a stud.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

National Aviation Day

Honored over here.

And a special shout out to GSH, too. ;)

Those are Pobble Thoughts ~ and Pobble Travels. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee, tea, or me...or something like that.

Dribs and Drabs

If you can't take being asked hard questions and not being allowed to set your own agenda when you are on a freaking talk show about being asked hard questions, you really shouldn't go into politics. Stop dishing it out if you can't take it.

*****

What is the allure of Kathy Lee Gifford? What am I missing? I find her to be ~ and have since her days with Regis ~ condescending, judgmental, and rude. Yet people love her. What don't I get?

*****

Have spent the last week working with the designer for my next book cover. Oh so very excited! Nothing more to say about it yet but you know I'll keep you posted.

*****

Our property manager in NOLA adores Lithus. I'm just as friendly as I know how to be; I get one line responses. He emails her and gets a tome, complete with emoticons. Oh so amused.

*****

When Lithus took this job, it was a contract gig with work through March and then we'd see. Based on the last two weeks of work, the project manager has signed contracts for another year worth of work. Ah, the smell of money...

*****

I could start a new blog just doing hotel reviews. I'm not because I'm already juggling two blogs and you know, my job writing. But I could. My first one would be that if you take a Travel Lodge, rename it, paint it black and red, add interesting outdoor lighting, and flatscreen televisions...it's still a Travel Lodge. A particularly unusual Travel Lodge, admittedly, but still a Travel Lodge nonetheless.

*****

Along those lines, think twice about staying at a hotel where along with toothbrushes and toothpaste and a comb, they offer complimentary ear plugs.

*****

Boxing, hula hoop and jumping rope combine for a kick ass workout.

*****

"Brain Eating Amoeba" are three of the scariest words ever.

*****

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Occupational Hazard

Part of living on the road is getting to stay in hotels. Some hotels are noteworthy for their denizens and flophouse-y-ness. Some are noteworthy for their utter and complete mediocrity and un-noteworthiness. Some, though...Some are like the Hotel Davenport.

Lithus and I spent last Friday night there. We needed to get out of the bush, needed some elegance and sophistication; needed to remember that a world that includes chamber music, room service, and valet is indeed still our world.

It was everything we needed, wanted, and hoped it would be. The room was spacious. There was actual and for real art on the walls. The bed was hand-carved. The bathroom was marble. Even the toilet paper was lux.

Check out the bed:

What you can't tell from this picture is the fact that, at 5'2", I had to step on the bed rail in order to get onto this thing with any kind of grace. It's massively tall. (See the art on the wall? Actual paint.)

Another part of life on the road is just how often you forget where you are. You'd be surprised how many times Lithus and I look at each other and ask "Where are we again?" The only question we ask more often is "What day is it today?" ~ but that's for another post.

Forgetting where you are isn't all that bad, so long as one of us can remember in short order. And luckily, I have never peed anywhere inappropriate, as I have heard tell of other people who live on the road. However, sometimes, you happen to be in, I don't know, let's say Spokane. And you happen to be getting a little *ahem* amorous. This is not the best time to forget where you are. Because when you jump up out of bed for a quick second, you will forget that you haven't just gotten into bed but have had to ascend into bed and you will fall out. You will also catch yourself with your calf. There will be laughter and unsexy snorting. And the next morning, you will get into the (marble, extra-large) shower and notice this:

A week out, it will still look like this:

But you know what? Forgetting where we are is part of the life I love and the Hotel Davenport is oh so worth it (did you see the bed???????).

Should you ever be in Spokane, Washington, even for just a night, stay at the Davenport. Request a Davenport Deluxe King. Just remember where you are. ;)

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

The Gopher

The most recent big event here in Coolin, Idaho has been concern over if the horrible children who were staying at the hotel for the past few days had killed the resident gopher with a stick.

Lithus and I watched the kids ride by on their bikes last night and I pointed them out to him.

Me: Those are the kids who might've killed the gopher.
Lithus: With the stick?
Me: Yes.
Lithus: We hate them.
Me: Yes.
Lithus: Of course, if one of them fell off their bike and got hurt or something, we wouldn't just stand here, looking at them.
Me: Of course not. We'd point and laugh.

As of this afternoon, the gopher has been spotted. All is well here in Coolin, Idaho.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Theory v. Practice

Since leaving Vancouver and living on the road over two years ago now, I spend an outrageous amount of time alone or only with Lithus. Note, this is not in any way, shape, or form a complaint. We often remark upon how insane it is that we spend so much time just the two of us and continue to be quite content with that. However! There is not a lot of outside, mental stimulation.

Several days ago, I read an article about how to keep one's mind sharp and one's brain working at max capacity. It suggested different things, including crossword puzzles, suduko, and learning another language. Crosswords and suduko: Check. Learning another language: not check, exactly, but definitely something Lithus and I are working on.

Another suggestion was to perform simple activities with one's non-dominant hand. Eating, brushing teeth, signing your name. That's a good one. I can do that.

Or not...

In theory, it's an excellent idea. In practice, I can no longer get dressed before either eating or brushing my teeth without having to change shirts after both activities. *sigh* Maybe I'll start filling in my crossword puzzles with my left hand. At least it will save on the laundry bill.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

What's Wild

You know what's wild?

• That I carry a knife. And not just any knife. A big ol' freaking K-Bar.
• That I met one of my best friends working at a porn store and that just seeing pictures of him can make me tear up ~ eventhough it's been almost two years since I've seen him in person.
• That I have been in Anchorage, AK; Portland, OR; Salem, OR; Carson City, NV; Sacramento, CA; Tuscon, AZ; Alamagordo, NM; New Orleans, LA; Denver, CO; Coolin, ID; and Spokane, WA just in the last two months.
• That I have never even been in the same room with two of my closest friends.
• That I have outfitted an entire apartment via the internet, without once stepping into a store or talking to a real person.
• That we have ordered a sofa funky enough that the employees at a place called Funky Sofa are excited about it and want to put pictures of it on their website and blog.
• That, while not impossible, you still have to look really, really hard to find me online.
• That one of my most valued friendships happens to be with my mother's first boyfriend.
• That I still don't have Nemeria's mailing address memorized.

These are the things that have been rattling around the last couple of days and I thought I'd share.


Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Courtesy of Dr. B

Slowly giving up the idea that I am anything but a screaming liberal, regardless of what my screaming liberal friends think...



Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.