Ghosts of Joe Slovo

October 5, 2009

At night, we pull into the town of Wadi Musa, outside the ancient (formerly lost) City of Petra. Omar, our tour guide, is a bit confused as to where we are staying, and as we pass by a group of restaurants hge says it is a 15-minute walk from our hotel to the restaurants... this will become a recurring joke for the remainder of our time with him. It is 15 minutes, if you were running at full tilt - which would kill you since we are on a sharp incline leading into a valley. Omar takes his constant ribbing with aplomb.

...

We pass by another of Moses' wells. It looks as though a hotel has been built on top of it. It's hard to describe. It has all the charm of a New York City subway platform, and you vaguely make out a rock formation with running water underneath it. Offered the chane to get out and look, the group declines. I think for the most part this group could give a damn about the religious aspects of the trip.

...

Dinner is a simple affair. Hummus and pita and salad. Sampled Jordanian beer ("Philadelphia") - it's nothing to write home about, it tastes vaguely like American macrobrews (Busch, Coors, Michelob). The beer is named not after the home of cheesesteaks in Pennsylvania, but the 1st Philadelphia, an ancient town in Jordan. It's odd to have to push that out of your head (summed up as "what you as X is actually Y"). After, Mark, Chris, and I head to an "Irish Pub". It is decorated like every Irish Pub I've ever been to (O'Shea's in West Palm Beach, Rula Bula in Tempe, Keiran's in Minneapolis). I swear to God, Guiness must make a fortune just in replica signs. The prices are insanely high, even figuring in just the loss in exchange rates. Not wanting to get screwed on price, I order a beer instead of whiskey. This time it's "Petra" beer, served in tall steel cans. Mark, having gone totally native in Germany, considers these "normal" sized. The beer is strong (12% alcohol), and I am done after one (I'm a lightweight when it comes to beer), but Mark and Chris order another round, I'm included, and our waiter has already popped the cap. Must soldier on.

( The lost city of Petra, bonding with Australians, and a wacky romp at the Turkish bath )

I love Wonkette:

"First, enjoy this local-news video report about Sarah [Palin}’s visit to the 'Tri-Cities,' and notice how Miss Regular Folks thinks it’s 'too much work' to prepare turkey for Thanksgiving. Can’t somebody do this shit for her? No? Then fuck it, and FUCK THANKSGIVING."

http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2009/11/department-of-book-reports-carl-sagan.html

Seattle Tammy and I are relaxing this week for the holidays with good company, fine liquor, and many great things to eat. We have also been watching Cosmos with Carl Sagan on the new-fangled Youtubes. What a great show it was, too. We thought we would share the following segment where Sagan talks of books and libraries. His thirst for and his delight in knowledge is clearly evident and contagious. We need more people like him.
We are thankful for good readers and good friends. May you find wonderful books in the coming year.
Edit update from Danton: Carl Sagan autotuned:






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• 13:56 @joycem137 *hugs* #
• 15:45 Just got out of the Star Trek exhibit at the Tech. Soon, I shall see the new movie for the 3rd tine, this time in IMAX. #
• 16:36 @joycem137 I can't find my old phone with your number >.< Call me to talk about your Thanksgiving party? #
• 19:33 @fortoria what time were you planning on heading up? #

Having witnesed Princess Teacup while was performing eir daily, a-HEM, Twitter "business", you shall now be transformed into biscotti.

You can thank LoudTwitter for your current predicament.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uclick/calvinandhobbes/~3/Czz1-JPtL2A/474478

Calvin and Hobbes for Saturday, November 28, 2009

I have nothing interesting or useful to say, so I bring you this, recently spotted on splodefromcute.



This kitten has epic fierce. Also, jazz paws.

You don't necessarily need sound, but you might need a high-pressure cute suit. I have watched it about ten times and I can't not smile every time.

The book is by this artist. I found it at Uncle Fun years ago and just remembered we had it recently.

Feeling very thankful for family, friends, food, and the comforts of a warm, dry home.

I'll be cleaning, scraping, sanding, taping, and painting today. Work off some of that delicious dinner.

While working on the walls, I'll also be mentally working on a new poem about how sexy a handyman is, and all the leaky things he can fix.

• I am thankful to be living, laughing, loving, and working. I am grateful that I have a huge family and homes around the world. I love you. #

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Originally published at Mike McGee Town. You can comment here or there.

I know that's so cliché, right? To be thankful on Thanksgiving? But, y'know, I am. I mean, not all the time. Sometimes I am so caught up in life's difficulty that I can't remember how lucky I am. How blessed. But today is the day we do that. Force ourselves to think of all the wonderful goodness that we have, the blessings, the bountiful loveliness of our good fortune for living where we live, having the families we have, the things that we have, the comfortable warm beds and cuddly cats, food in the fridge, money (however little) in the bank. We weren't born into abject poverty. We are not subjected to guerilla warfare in the streets of our hometowns. We are relatively affluent, relatively free, relatively unharmed. It's good to remember.









Things I am thankful for today:

1. I have a gorgeous and tolerant and patient and loving husband. Hoo doggies, how did I do that?!

2. We have a pretty kick-ass apartment, even if it is still kind of a trash heap. And also, it's not very expensive. And also, they finally put in the laundry room downstairs.

3. We have everything we need. Like, there are plenty of things we want, and there are plenty of things that aren't as nice as we would like them to be. Like, someday I would like to have a full set of silverware, y'know? But in the grand scheme of things, we are pretty damn fortunate.

4. We have incredible, amazing friends. Really.

5. We have supportive family members. Not all of them, mind, but a good chunk. And that's great.

6. We have adorable mischievous cuddly cats.

7. Doug and Heather have a gorgeous healthy baby girl that we can go cuddle anytime we want.

8. Our refrigerator is packed full of leftovers.

http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2009/11/opinuary-column_27.html

The Opinion "It's morning in America" has died from complications due to the time now being late afternoon--the days grow shorter and shorter until light itself is but a fleeting visitor. The banks have the citizenry by the balls, the military industrial complex is in full career, health insurance companies buy and sell politicians for fun and profit while human beings are denied health care primarily because they need health care. If this is the afterglow of Morning in America I daresay it must have been one hell of a bomb.

In lieu of flowers the family of the deceased Opinion asks that the general public provide ever increasing amounts of money and power, to be handed over to them in all due haste (and without protest) and please keep the goodies coming if you know what's good for you, lest something truly awful comes along and beats you down into a hole so deep you won't be able to crawl out of it, which can be arranged, capiche? Nobody wants that, because that would mean we're Mourning in America...and it could make the children cry. And we don't want to make the young ones cry, do we? I thought so.

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The Opinuary Column appears each and every Friday at Jesus' General.

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Calvin and Hobbes for Friday, November 27, 2009

http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2009/11/happy-black-friday.html

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Hogan and I are in New York.
Right now.

First time on the East Coast for Hogan, and the last time for me I was a tween. Eleven days and ten nights of food, art, music and other delights starting in Lower Manhattan.

If this is really happening, I'll wake up tomorrow and this journal entry will still be here.

So I googled one a woman who was one of the punk fucking rock (in music, energy and swearing) people I knew in college, who managed the radio station and everything, and now she's director of a Neurology Residency Program, specializing in Neuromuscualar Medicine and Muscular Dystrophy. The most punk fucking rock woman I knew in high school is a senior researcher in biochemistry. Well Damn.

http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2009/11/happy-thanksgiving-from-sarah.html

We just finished a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family in Washington State. It's strange being in a foreign country on such a very American holiday, but we made the best of it by setting the table with familiar fare. There is nothing more delicious than a baby seal you've clubbed yourself, and the wolf liver sorbet was better than ever. Todd's so happy, he doesn't even mind peeing indoors. I'm thankful for that.

I'm thankful for a great many things on this day.

I'm thankful the General allowed me to post on his blog.

I'm thankful I've finally seen Levi's wang and that my likeness is not tattooed upon it.

I'm thankful that at least 27% of Americans will believe anything.

I'm thankful I rank in the 28th percentile for intelligence.

I'm thankful I have Bristol to raise my baby, Trig.

I'm thankful Trig doesn't look like Todd's business partner.

I'm thankful that Sen. John McCain never admits to making mistakes.

I'm thankful my ghost writer never learned the joys of quitting.

I'm thankful no one told Todd about Viagra.

I'm thankful I can quit being thankful now.

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My house is a whirlwind of cooking activity this morning. Mashed potatoes, creamed corn (the good kind, none of that canned crap), cranberry sauce, marinated beets and carrots, whipped squash (so yummy), and chocolate chip cookies.

I am waiting until the hot water comes back up to take a shower, and then it's off to Jack's parents' house with tons of food in tow.

Trying to decide if I should make corn muffins.

• My feature at the annual Sock Puppet Slam in Berkeley is tonight! The Starry Plough. 3101 Shattuck Avenue. Sign up: 7:30. Bring a puppet! #

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Originally published at Mike McGee Town. You can comment here or there.

Over 100 in the house, folks sitting on the ground, high energy and lots of fun. Sock Puppet Slam was a big success, with 8 puppeteers. Though most of them were pretty lame puppets, truth be told. Winning the slam was Forward, and it was FANTASTIC to see him back on stage, after his horrific Halloween car accident. Despite (or because of) the cane and frail composure, he earned a VERY RARE perfect 60. Seriously, I can count on one hand the number of times we've had a poet get a perfect score on both rounds. Damn impressive! And Mike McGee... what more is there to say? Everyone knows he's the shit. He gave us a brilliant 30-minute set that had folks alternately pondering and laughing their asses off! This makes two weeks in a row of absolutely amazing slams. Yay!

• 18:54 RT @tyrsalvia: yes, the world will happen with or without my participation. but, will *I* happen without my participation in the world? #
• 19:00 RT @tyrsalvia: The atitude of punishment & reward will stop u bc u're only interested in whatever the reward is, not in the creative process #
• 23:54 RT @joycem137: To celebrate the genocide of a race of indigenous people we brutally massacre millions of birds... Happy holidays... #

Having witnesed Princess Teacup while was performing eir daily, a-HEM, Twitter "business", you shall now be transformed into biscotti.

You can thank LoudTwitter for your current predicament.