create your own visited states map or write about it on the open travel guide

Egad. My world map wasn't even worth posting. This, of course, makes me want to travel more.

It's pissed me off quite a bit to see Dean suddenly become "unhip". When people should have executed a backlash against the media that painted Dean into an "angry" box, they instead skritched a wooly ear and followed right along. The Black Commentator says it better:

Dean was stripped of half his popular support in the space of two weeks in January while John Kerry – tied in the polls with Carol Moseley-Braun at seven percent just two months earlier – rose like a genie from a bottle to become the overnight presidential frontrunner. Both candidates were shocked and disoriented by the dizzying turns of fortune, and for good reason. Neither Dean nor Kerry had done anything on their own that could have so dramatically altered the race. Corporate America decided that Dean must be savaged, and its media sector made it happen.

Via Randomwalks

This is a year of turmoil and terror in the Democratic Party: Their likely presidential nominee battered, bloodied, and ridiculed even before the general election has begun...

Rarely, in contemporary American politics, has a prospective Democratic presidential standard-bearer emerged successfully from his early primaries burdened by so many deep public doubts about his character within his own party.

Two things to remember as so many folks hang their heads about the "end of Howard Dean":

1. He has the most delegates.
   
2. It isn't necessary to win New Hampshire.

I read in fits and starts. There are times when all I want to do is settle into a comfy corner and read the day away, but sometimes weeks can go by when I'm burned out on the pages. The latter is a source of considerable frustration.

I realized as a teenager that there were more books I wanted to read than was possible in my lifetime. That was my first brush with my own mortality--the frustration that there were things hidden in books that I would never know, taunting me beyond the wall of time. This led to two reading decisions:

1. If it doesn't grab me by page 100, I won't bother finishing it;
2. Fiction is a waste of time.

My point, and I do have one, is that there's now a "reading" section over to the right. I'm not an Amazon affiliate, but you may occasionally see an affiliate link. This is because I got lazy and pasted in the link I got by searching with Andre's Nutshell toolbar. That doesn't bother me, and I'm pretty sure Andre wouldn't mind either.

Think you can't make a difference? What about saving an entire species?

Hawskbill sea turtles, killed for food and its beautiful shell (used to make fashion accessories), has made a dramatic comeback thanks to careful planning and the involvement of the local community in protecting the eggs and the animals.

These are the kinds of stories that give me hope for this benighted human race.

File under: Very Damned Disturbing. Apparently Al Sharpton, The Candidate Who Makes Debates Fun™, was getting advice from the other side.

Which of course makes me wonder: who else is on the wrong payroll?

Nope, not talking about the band. "Phishing" is a type of scam where personal information is requested via an official-looking email. For example, you may get an email from eBay saying they need you to update your address, and won't you just click this link and sign in? What they really want is your password--which they get when you click on a spoofed link and enter it.

Enter Anti-Phishing.org, dedicated to tracking and stopping this type of scam. Here you can report incidents as well as checking to see what scams are going around at the moment.

Personally, I never click the link in such an email. I'll go to my account in another browser window, just to make sure there's really nothing going on. That's right, these scams look so official that even I double-check. I wish Anti-Phishing.org success.

Paul over at Big Fat Blog points out the key to stopping diet ads: a sex change. Changing your sex to anything but "female" in your Yahoo! profile will stop the barrage of weight-loss hucksterism. I've tested it--I changed mine to "no answer"--and it works. I guess fat really is a feminist issue.

For your perusal from Project Censored are the The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2002-2003. I have to admit that I consider myself to be pretty connected, but most of these flew under my radar as well. My biggest surprise: # 4 Rumsfeld's Plan to Provoke Terrorists.

The team of covert counter-intelligence agents will be responsible for secret missions designed to target terrorist leaders. The secret missions are designed to "stimulate reactions" among terrorist groups, provoking them into committing violent acts which would then expose them to "counterattack" by U.S. forces.

Curious about how your state taxes, and how it stacks up in terms of fairness and management? Governing.com's Performance Project rates all fifty states, and includes a straightforward explanation of how your state has historically collected taxes. Here's the scoop for Oregon, and darned tootin' we don't like sales tax.

Joi Ito recently had a conversation with Sir Martin Rees on global warming and other things. Sir Rees brought up the very real possibility of unexpected consequences of global warming. Our understanding of global systems and their myriad interactions is in its infancy. We have a knack for making things worse: think forest management and fires.

I'm not sure whether or not I want Rees's book. I need to sleep some time.

We never went to see the movie Rabbit Proof Fence. We already knew the story, and both Bill and I would have cried all the way through it. Sometimes it hurts too much to see the details--the horrific things humans are capable of.

The subject of that film, Molly Kelly, has died at the age of 87. She was never reunited with her daughter.

If you don't know the story, I highly recommend risking the tears and seeing the movie.

In her exploration of feminism v. domesticity, Miki observes "work no longer underwrites our identities--consumption does". Like many of us who are feminists, yet love home life as well, Miki is asking if the two are mutually exclusive. Are we victims of another media blitz to convince women that the home is where they belong, ala post-WWII? Are those pesky feminists being sold a vision of domesticity in hopes they'll leave the workplace alone?

While I certainly do see a media slant pushing women toward the "home lifestyle", I do not believe home and feminism are in conflict. While mainstream feminism was indeed very much about work, I always considered it to be about choice, preferably for both sexes. This expansion of choice is something I strive for in my personal life, and the products of my home (see below) are created in equal portions by me and my husband.

Regarding consumerism, another interesting question is asked: if advertising has made us believe that our home is the result of the things we buy for it, then "how do we make the home a site of production, rather than commodification?"

First, we must decide on the product of the home. Miki says, beautifully: "here is love, whether you've earned it or not. Here are pleasures that have no price. And here is an identity you produce rather than purchase." To please my analytical mind, I prefer tangibles: yet the only tangible I can come up with is health, though the intangibles of safety and comfort are very important as well. From that point, seeing the home from the perspective of production is easy. Health is provided through cleanliness and good food. Comfort and safety are also about cleanliness, in addition to decor, and the activities that occur within the home. Of all these aspects, only one--decor--is clearly tied with consumerism. Yes, you can buy the newest gadget to dust with greater ease, and you can squirrel away six sets of dishes for entertaining, but these are hardly necessary. Any consumerism is clearly an individual choice.

Perhaps, then, domestic feminism is about making conscious choices about what and how we consume lifestyle items, and who participates in creating the products of the home.

Does Governor Dean's ralling cry look so scary when it's put in context?

Note: I don't think it looked at all unusual in the first place.

Ten Mistakes Writers Don't See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do) has some excellent tips for people who can express themselves well enough, but don't write tightly.

*raises hand*

I think I'm going to pin this to my bulletin board.

Lieberman and Leahy are asking Justice Rehnquist what the rules are exactly on allowing a member of the bench to go on a friendly hunting trip with a defendant. "Scalia has said that he did not believe that anyone could reasonably question his impartiality in the case as a result of the trip."

Oh, please.

Bill Press is writing a book about the top 10 reasons why Bush should not get a second term. He's looking for input at Democrats.org, so the book can become the "Democrats' playbook for 2004." What are your top ten?

Now Playing: Women of Istanbul

Looking for a collection of Turkish cabaret singers from the first half of the 20th century? Okay, you may not be, but if you were, you could get it from Traditional Crossroads Records. Not only is the CD excellent, the insert is as thick as they could make it--packed with information about the style, the time, and biographies on each singer. Amazing stuff.

Traditional Crossroads carries music from Africa, China, Bulgaria, and a dozen other places I want to explore. What caught my eye were their two disks from Djivan Gasparyan, master of the duduk. I have a tape of I Will Not Be Sad in This World--the irony being that the duduk is the saddest instrument ever created.

I can see where my music budget is going for the next six months.

This article on CNN is a prime example of what's wrong with the way the media covers obesity. The statistics are specious on several levels. First, it appears that they are counting all instances of diseases that are sometimes related to obesity. So if 10 people have diabetes, and five of them are fat, they're counting all ten. Also, they're talking about public health dollars, which are used in large part by an older segment of the population. Many diseases that are "linked" with obesity are more prevalent as you get older--weight notwithstanding. Finally, they are talking about 5% of the taxpayers' healthcare dollars, yet they say 64% of the population is overweight. 5% to care for 64%? Sounds like a good deal to me.

The thing to remember is that this article is absolutely typical of the pseudoscience rampant in the media. For more, check the comments on this article at BFB.

I couldn't bear to watch the State of the Union address last night--I knew it would make me angry and sick. So instead, I turn to Factcheck.org for non-partisan analysis. Factcheck.org, in my not-so-humble-opinion, is one of the most important political sites on the web, and is not to be missed.

A big kudos to VH1's Bands Reunited for not backing away from what the industry did to Debora Iyall and Romeo Void. Their record company (I believe it was Columbia, but don't quote me) cut off support halfway through their tour--despite two hits--because of Iyall's weight.

See, it's okay for Smashmouth and Bare Naked Ladies. Those are heavy men. A woman who dares be in the public eye had better conform or go home. Well, Iyall didn't conform. She's now a printmaker, and a contributor at Fat!So?.

My taxes and my rent are just about equal. And you know what? That's fine with me. Taxes are the price you pay for living in a civilized society, and ours is exceedingly civilized. It chafes me no end to hear folks say they'd rather not pay. Well, fine then. Get off my fucking roads.

I think people lose sight of what exactly taxes do for them. So here, in no particular order, are a few things I thought of right off the top of my head:

1. I can flush my toilet without digging a big hole first. Those that must still dig big holes must encase them so my food and water isn't poisoned.
   
2. While the river isn't perfect, I don't faint from the stench when I get near it.
   
3. When people do really bad things, I can sue them or have them arrested.
   
4. I can walk on the sidewalk.
   
5. I can take a bus.
   
6. I can have a picnic in the park.
   
7. Roads are there when I need them, and because of them I can have anything I need (including groceries) brought to me by...
   
8. ...a mail carrier.
   
9. My boss can't grab my ass without serious legal consequences.
   
10. I can breathe the air without choking.
    
11. The water from the tap is delicious and healthful.
    
12. Food from the grocery store is extremely unlikely to poison me.
    
13. My neighborhood is livable and lively.
    
14. I can get just about anything I want.
    
15. If there is a fire, someone will come put it out.
    
16. If I come home and find my door ajar, someone will come over and go in before me, to make sure the bad guys are gone, and help me find out what happened.
    
17. I can say whatever I want to right here on this site.
    
18. I can help someone get elected to office.
    
19. The kids in my neighborhood can, for the most part, read.
    
20. Those same kids aren't forced into slave labor as soon as they can walk.
    
21. The parks, streets, and sidewalks are clean.
    
22. Even if my phone service is disconnected, I can always dial 911 in an emergency.
    
23. A family with children need not worry about the heat being cut off in the winter.
    
24. Resources are usually there to help through hard times.
    
25. I only have to work so many hours per week, and I must be compensated.
    
26. Wild dog attack is unlikely.
    
27. Pictures from Mars!

Most folks know by now that it's a bad idea to use antibacterial products (look for triclosan as an ingredient) in the home, unless you're caring for an extremely ill and vulnerable individual. If you didn't know this, here's an excellent primer on the whys and wherefores. Read the good stuff at the top, scroll past the gobbledygook, then read the other good stuff about allergies at the bottom. The scoop: using anti-bacterial products in a healthy home is not only unnecessary, it is damaging to your health and the environment.

In any case, the problem is that non-antibacterial products--especially liquid body soap--are getting very hard to find. As usual, the herd mentality is at work. As Tommy Lee Jones said in MIB: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals." This was brought home to me when, on the latest Ping, Paul asked me where I'd found a non-antibacterial soap. I pointed him toward Ivory Liquigel. The ingredients:

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Lauramide DEA, Sodium Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, DMDM Hydantoin, Tetrasodium EDTA

You can also get antibacterial-free soap at places like The Body Shop, which makes lovely stuff.

In an interview, the Rev. Dozier, a non-practicing attorney, acknowledged asking some of the questions. But he defended their appropriateness. "I want to know the applicants' spiritual makeup," Dozier said. "It tells me a lot about a person. I think a judge should be God-fearing."

Don't have space for a garden? Use public space.

"Growing food requires land. Look around you, it's everywhere. If not horizontal, it's vertical. There is always somewhere.
Your imagination is the limit, railway embankments, back gardens, golf courses, roofs, car parks, overgrown bits, cracks in the pavement. The flower beds in your town centre could be growing your crops, right in the heart of the consumer landscape of burger bars, chain stores and supermarkets."

I just uninstalled the insidious RealPlayer--I hope for good. I've tried this many times in my frustration with that awful software, but it involved just passing on media I wanted to experience. Each time, I reinstalled.

Now there's a choice (scroll down to Real Alternative). Now I'm looking for sites that offer RealMedia files so I can test it.

Via Anil.

In testing now is a one shot treatment that eases withdrawal symptoms and opiate cravings for six weeks at a time. This is phenomenal news for the addicted and those who work to help them.

When I was a child, "Harlem" was a scary, far-away place that I knew little about, except for its unsavory reputation. When I first hear the song Take the A Train, I couldn't see why anyone would "really want to go to Harlem" (I was a kid; I didn't know from bigotry). What I didn't understand is that when the song was written, Harlem was a destination. During the Harlem Renaissance, everyone who was anyone gathered in Harlem to inhale the sights and sounds of a thriving community, and enjoy the very edge of entertainment. The Kennedy Center's Drop Me Off in Harlem beautifully explores this bit of history that has been mostly forgotten by white America. We know some of the names--Duke Ellington, Paul Robeson--but many more are undeservedly lost to obscurity.

I've had a blast wandering through this site, rediscovering a great period of American entertainment history.

There is a new little gadget in the right-side column, under Surf: My Bloglines. By clicking it, you can surf the same blogs I do, using a quick, easy, and downright elegant web app by the creator of ONEList (remember how beautiful ONEList was before Yahoo bought it?).

I've been thinking of using an RSS aggregator for a while, but wasn't happy with anything I'd looked at. I didn't want a desktop application, because I prefer to keep things portable. I also wanted something insanely easy. I've never been good about following all my blog links on a regular basis, and have a tendency to fall behind. It looks like Bloglines is going to cure me of that. I'm already addicted.

With great features like email subscriptions, folders, and recommendations, and with a damned slick interface, Bloglines is the way to keep up with the web.

Bad move, Joe.

Apparently Joe Lieberman's campaign has decided to spam the referrer logs of Portland blogger, B!x. No doubt he'll say he knew nothing about it, and apologize sincerely in a few days.

Frankly, I don't want a president who lacks a basic understanding of a medium as influential as the web.

Imagine you are twelve years old. You are toward the end of the semester at your Connor School, and your home room teacher gives you a form. The classroom bursts into excited pandemonium: it's your first public service term, and everybody is trying to get in the same unit with their friends. For two weeks, you'll get some kind of adventure. But what to choose?

The form shows a bunch of activities. You get to put a number in three boxes: "1" for the thing you want most to do, "2" for the next choice, and "3" for what you'll take if you have to. About half the class puts a "1" by working at the zoo, but you have a friend who did that, and you know what the description "clean stalls" means, and elephant poop is not your thing. Your older brother has a great time volunteering for the parks, but you aren't the outdoor type. Let's see, you can sort clothes or canned food for the needy, you can help put old library books on a computer, you can read to old people...there are dozens of possibilities.

You take the form home and talk with your family. Together, you narrow it down to six choices, then you get on IM with your best friends. You only have one choice in common, so you all go for that as number 1. The next two are the ones you like best after that. You decide you'd like to:

1. Help out at the library
2. Fetch wrenches at the Post Office garage
3. Work for the Parks Bureau (your brother convinced you)

***

Many of my friends balk at the idea of government service. Yet I find myself living in a society that puts little value on service and much on personal greed. Success is measured by how much you can get for the least effort. Working at a soup kitchen is for pinko liberal wimps.

While I don't want to live in the world of a hundred years ago, where roles were set and duties imposed, I would like to see a better balance betwen personal rights and societal good. Regular public service, beginning at a fairly young age, is one way to instill the idea of public responsibility. The pros of a well-done public service term:

• Exposes young people to new experiences.
  
• It teaches work ethic.
  
• It educates them about the needs of society, and that not everyone has everything they need.
  
• It combats the development of an unearned sense of entitlement.

• I'm having a hard time coming up with any.