Happy 5th of July!

I'm thrilled and delighted beyond belief that my very favorite cartoonist, Richard Thompson, (who also happens to be a neighbor here in the DC metro area) took up a request I made to him for a cartoon. He fulfilled my request in the second panel in the cartoon to the right.

Here's what he said:

Thanks for this must go to faithful correspondent Here Today Gone Tomorrow, who requested a cartoon about the miles of temporary fencing along the George Washington Parkway. The GW Parkway runs along the Potomac on the Virginia side. It's a wonderfully scenic drive, running from the Beltway to Mount Vernon, and every Fourth of July its length that affords a good view of DC is jam-packed with fireworks watchers. To keep the fireworks watchers from blundering onto the busy Parkway the Park Service puts up temporary fences. I was tickled to see a large photo on the front of today's Metro section of a stiltwalking neighborhood parade Uncle Sam. Just hope he didn't get stuck up there.

If you are not familiar with Richard's work, which I've loved and admired for years (he's a hellaciously talented artist with a deeply weird and wonderful sense of humor), you can see his daily cartoon here. Or you can just do what I did which is order his book.

Because Richard is a nice guy, I love how he assumes the Park Service puts up all that fencing to keep people from killing themselves on the Parkway. Because I'm an old misanthrope, I've always assumed they did it to keep people from parking on the grass.

And as I type this late in the night on July 5th, yes indeed, the neighborhood kids are shooting off fireworks (scaring poor Oliver half to death, I might add.)

Oh, and here's the stilt-walking Uncle Sam Richard mentioned.

what's missing from this picture?

Let's see.

The adorable Phil Liggett? Check.

Paul Sherwen? Check.

Bob Roll? (Second only to my Viggo in my affections.) Oh yeah. Check!

The insufferable Al Trautwig? GONE!! Not there!! Replaced by some dude named Chris Hummer (hmmmm...)

Oh, it's going to be a GREAT 2008 Tour de France.

Sheik Yerbouti* Friday

Well, really, what else could I play on a Fourth of July Sheik Yerbouti* Friday?? Nothing else, right?

The Beach Boys, "Wouldn't It Be Nice".

I wish that every kiss was never ending.




Wouldn't it be nice if we were older
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong

You know it's gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through

Happy times together we've been spending
I wish that every kiss was never ending
Wouldn't it be nice

Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray it might come true
Baby then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do
We could be married
And then we'd be happy

Wouldn't it be nice

You know it seems the more we talk about it
It only makes it worse to live without it
But let's talk about it
Wouldn't it be nice

sara sue's meme

Sara Sue tagged me to post a picture of my library - here is it, Arlington County's Central Library. I don't go in this front entrance; I go in the back entrance next to the parking lot. So I can pass the sunburned homeless people hanging out on the outdoor library benches and feel guilty about my good fortune.

It's not attractive or interesting architecturally, but it has a great magazine selection, as well as a not-too-bad sci fi area. They always seem to have art by local artists on display, and I take as a positive sign all the kids I see in there on a regular basis.

Nearby are the high school pool I do water aerobics at and the little Methodist church that hosts my Weight Watchers meetings (not that I go anymore, but they are close by...)

I love libraries!

I kid you not

This is the birthday card my parents sent to me.

And I love it! In fact, I'm going to frame it.

Hee! Happy birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Sheik Yerbouti Friday

"88 lines about 44 women" by The Nails. This song always cracks me up.

Catherine was much too pretty; she didn't do that shit at all.

Nuh-uh.

Not Catherine.



Deborah was a Catholic girl
She held out till the bitter end
Carla was a different type
She's the one who put it in
Mary was a black girl
And I was afraid of a girl like that
Susan painted pictures sitting down
Like a Buddhist sat

Reno was an aimless girl
With geographic memory
Cathy was a Jesus freak
She liked that kind of misery
Vicky had a special way of
Turning sex into a song
Camela, who couldn't sing,
Kept the beat and kept it strong

Zillah was an archetype
The voodoo queen, the queen of wrath
Joan thought men were second best to
Masturbating in the bath
Sheri was a feminist
She really had that gift of gab
Kathleen's point of view was this:
Take whatever you can grab

Seattle was another girl who
Left her mark upon the map
Karen liked to tie me up
And left me hanging by a strap
Jeanie had this nightclub walk
That made grown men feel underage
Maryella, who had a son,
Said "I must go," but finally stayed

Gloria, the last taboo,
Was shattered by her tongue one night
Mimi brought the taboo back
And held it up before the light
Marilyn, who knew no shame,
Was never, ever satisfied
Julie came and went so fast
She never even said goodbye

Well, Rhonda had a house in Venice
Lived on brown rice and cocaine
Pattie had a house in Houston
Shot cough syrup in her veins
Linda thought her life was empty
Filled it up with alcohol
Catherine was much too pretty
She didn't do that shit at all

Uh-uh, not Catherine

Pauline thought that love was simple
Turn it on, and turn it off
Jean Marie was complicated
Like some French film-maker's plot
Deenah was the perfect lady
Always kept her stockings straight
Jackie was a right punk rocker
Silver spoon and a paper plate

Sarah was a modern dancer
Lean, pristine transparency
Janet wrote bad poetry
In a crazy kind of urgency
Tanya Turkish like to fuck while
Wearing leather biker boots
Brenda's strange obsession was for
Certain vegetables and fruits

Rowena was an artist's daughter
The deeper image shook her up
Deedee's mother left her father
Took his money and his truck
Debbie Ray had no such problems
Perfect Norman Rockwell home
Nina's sixteen, had a baby,
Left her parents, lived alone
Bobbie joined a New Wave band and
Changed her name to Bobby Sox
Eloise, who played guitar,
Sang songs about whales and cops
Terri didn't give a shit,
Was just a nihilist
But Ronnie was much more my style
She wrote songs just like this
Jezebel went forty days
Drinking nothing but Perrier
Dinah drove her Chevrolet
Into the San Francisco Bay
Judy came from Ohio
She's a Scientologist
Amaranda, here's a kiss
I chose you to end this list

Eighty-eight lines about forty-four women

call to action: protect dairy cows

Here's the latest letter from the Humane Society about abuse of dairy cows in this country.

Dear Lynn,

Lightning typically doesn't strike twice. And almost never three times. But it has in the meat and dairy industries, and they and government regulators need to do something about the systemic problem of downer cows.

Yesterday, The Humane Society of the United States released its latest undercover video showing abuses of dairy cows -- this time at an auction in Portales, New Mexico. The video shows workers kicking, hitting, dragging by chains, and electrically shocking cows unable to stand or walk. It sickens me to watch these images, and I know it must have the same effect on you.

This is our third exposé since January, and the horrifying cruelty we've documented shows why it's time for the USDA, the states, and the meat and dairy industries to act -- and to delay and dilly dally no longer. Watch our video, then urge the USDA to immediately adopt a comprehensive policy barring the slaughter of injured and ill cattle who cannot walk, called "downers." (The video will not start automatically if you prefer to take action without watching it.)

Our investigators visited five auctions and a slaughter plant during the course of these three investigations and found appalling mistreatment at every location -- providing irrefutable evidence that there are industry-wide problems that must be addressed.

Besides fostering the terrible suffering of downers, the loophole has the potential to threaten the safety of our food supply: Downers have a higher risk of harboring foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, and even mad cow disease, than cows able to walk on their own. How much longer can we afford to wait?

While the USDA has committed to a ban on the slaughter of downers for human consumption, it has yet to implement it. And our latest investigation shows why USDA should not wait another day. While it's at it, the agency must broaden the ban to include downers at livestock auctions and other links in the food supply chain, too. Animals -- and the American public -- deserve aggressive action to solve this problem. There is no more time for hedging or delay. Please tell the USDA to act today.

Thank you for all you do for animals.

Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
Copyright ©2008 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). All Rights Reserved.
The Humane Society of the United States 2100 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20037