AntSaint

Vote.

'Nuff said, but bears repeating: bloody well get out there today and vote.

Oh, and as a quick aside, Barack Obama for President :-)

I Never Thought I'd Write a Political Blog Post, But I Must

This is an odd, somewhat uncomfortable post for me to write, and I hope you'll bear with me. I'm not a particularly political person, but with a country in crisis, it is becoming clearer and clearer to me just how starkly different our 2 choices are for the upcoming presidential election. That's why I'm writing today, and I hope you'll hear me out and, if you want, also share your own views.

Not all of us agree on politics. We range from right to left, Democrat to Independent to Republican. We are dreamers and cynics, healthy and sick, businessmen and artists - and none of these meager descriptions even begin to do justice to the range of talents, ages, lifestyles and circumstances between all of us.

But I think we can all agree on two things:

1. Regardless of our interests and affiliations, we want a stronger, better country for ourselves, our loved ones and, especially, for the generations whose future will be shaped by the decisions we make today.
2. In a tough time like this, we need the outcome of this next election to provide us a president who will guide the country not only through the current problems in the market, but also through these next years of a world with hard questions and hard situations.

Like you, I follow the news with a mix of train-wreck interest and disgust. I hate what has happened in the financial markets. I hate that, as usual, we have a presidential race that has bogged down in negativity. But that's also why I had to write.

We are only days away from quite possibly the most important presidential election in modern memory. I know that for me and Jodie, we see the choices before us as vastly different, and all the more so after these last few weeks.

From coast to coast, from the biggest cities to the smallest towns, people ask about the economy, and what we will do today to begin the long road to reform and recovery. Over and over, in elections past and in today's election season, we as a people have said how sick we all get of negative attack ads and character sucker punches. We want discussion of issues. We want proposals and solutions. You and I and every American knows that we can disagree on details, but we can sort the details out over time. But ultimately, progress on problems, honest discussion of today's problems, is what matters. That is what will carry us as a nation, step by difficult step, to get through this current crisis and to become a stronger, better country in the end.

Frankly, only one candidate has actually been discussing that with we the American people, and that candidate is getting my vote and Jodie's vote.

I respect and am grateful for the lifetime of military and public service that John McCain has devoted to America. He is a good, honorable man, and there was a time where I could have seriously considered voting for him. But that time has passed.

Over these past weeks, where we the American people have said over and over, "talk to us about the economy", John McCain and Sarah Palin have instead talked about Obama. Over these past weeks, we the American people have said over and over, "what will we do to get through these difficult times?" and John McCain and Sarah Palin have ignored us, and instead have focused on trying to dupe the American public with character assassination.

My support for Barack Obama began begrudgingly. He is a bit "green behind the ears", and I do not agree with him on everything. But if anything has swayed my vote to Obama over these past few weeks, it has been this one stark, stark difference between Obama and McCain: McCain and Palin have now focused almost entirely on attacking Obama, and on dividing the American public, at a time where over and over Americans have made it clear they want to come together and discuss the issues affecting us today. This is not to call Obama an angel, as he has his attack ads too. Yet where John McCain and Sarah Palin have only attacked Obama, Obama has consistently focused on addressing and discussing the concerns of we the American People, talking at honest length about the problems before us and the ways we can tackle them together.

The piece below highlights the difference between two rallies held a few Fridays ago, both in the swing state of Ohio. One was a rally by Barack Obama; one was a rally by Sarah Palin. Obama talked about the issues that we the American people have said we want to discuss and address; Palin attacked Obama.

FiveThirtyEight.com: Electoral Projections Done Right: On the Road: Dueling Rallies, Ohio
"On a day when the Dow plunged another 678 points, we had the opportunity to cross paths with another Barack Obama rally and another Sarah Palin rally here in west-central Ohio. Obama did five rallies here in two days: Dayton, Cincinnati, Portsmouth, Chillicothe, and Columbus, while Palin did events in Wilmington (home of the DHL plant closing that David Plouffe promised to highlight in local radio ads) and Cleveland. The events were a study in contrasts."
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/10/on-road-dueling-rallies-ohio.html

I encourage you to read this account of the stark differences between the two campaigns.

These next years are some of the most crucial in the history of our strong, amazing country. For all the respect I have for John McCain, how he and Sarah Palin have chosen to campaign negates any support I would have given them with my vote. If you support McCain and Palin's ticket, I respect your choice. But I encourage you to look at the recent headlines, to look at the facts undermining McCain and Palin's attacks, and, above all, to look into your own red-blooded, proud, American hearts. The venom McCain and Palin have resorted to will not help our country, our dreams, our wallets or our families.

Barack Obama is not perfect. But he is doing something the McCain and Palin camp is not – he is talking to the American people about the things that matter to us, and he is discussing how we as a nation, as one people, can tackle the problems before us. The last I checked, this is what democracy, and especially American democracy, is all about.

Whatever your decision on Nov. 4, I respect you, and am grateful that we can disagree while still striving for ultimately the same ideals – that's what being an American is all about. But when you cast your vote, whoever it's for, please remember that this is not a matter of numbers. This is a matter of history and of the future, of who we are as a people and how we grow as a country. And you will be making this history for all of us.

I want to thank you for bearing with me through this post. I am a flawed man fumbling poor words through unfamiliar territory. I guess, to put it simply, for me it comes down to this... McCain and Palin's tactics have destroyed my confidence in their ability to lead and listen to America. Barack Obama is getting my vote for President on November 4, and I hope Obama gets your vote too.

Giving Up the Lottery Fantasy

Do you play the lottery? Why? I don't, and it's based on my two main memories of the lottery...

• Virginia set up a scratch-off system when I was about 9 or 10 years old (I think). My dad bought me a ticket with $1 of my allowance. I won $3, and bought 3 more lottery tickets. I lost. It hit me - this is just a way to get you to throw away money on false hope. Well, I probably didn't think of it exactly that way. But it was pretty close. I haven't bothered with the lottery since.
• A family comic strip called "Hi and Lois". Their oldest plays the lottery and says, "Dad, this is going to change my finances!" "It already has," his dad says. "You're down $1."

And that brings us to this great post: The Art of Nonconformity � Giving Up the Lottery Fantasy.

"I am now anti-lottery for reasons that have nothing to do with moral qualms. My reasons are even more personal: I am thrilled with the life I am building. I do not want the state of Washington, or any other government entity, to give me my ticket to happiness. I want to earn it"

Indeed, why play the lottery? Why bother? You can save minuscule amounts per week, and still come out farther ahead than you ever will by plunking down dollar and after on lottery tickets.

Oh wait. Unless you hit it big.

But here's the short and simple: You won't.

Save your money instead.

Stunning Pictures and Photos from Smashing Magazine

Smashing Magazine is one of my favorite online publications. And this post, from Monday, contains some of the most breathtaking photos I've ever seen.

Link: (Really) Stunning Pictures and Photos | Monday Inspiration | Smashing Magazine.

"Below you’ll find 50 brilliant photos and stunning pictures — some pictures tell stories, some are incredibly beautiful, some are funny and some are very sad"

Build a Better To-do List (hint: do it now)

I wound up trying this today. There were a few tasks, none of them necessarily time-consuming, that I'd simply not been doing. I would note that they still needed to be done, and then skip right along to something else. You know how somethings would take less energy to just knock out and have done, instead of constantly going, "yup, that still needs doing"? These were all like that. So I finally did them. And yes, it was good.

Link: The Renegade Writer Blog � Blog Archive � Build a Better To-do List.

Rather than list tasks that you know you’ll get done today because you have the flames of hell toasting your buttocks or just adding stuff like “do laundry,” “buy new file folders,” and “organize paperclips,” write down the three tasks you’ve been putting off. Go on, try it. The tasks can be anything, personal or business-related, as long as they’re creating even the vaguest sense of dread in your stomach

Instead of working harder, how about thinking harder first?

Yes, there's "the daily grind", and yes there are always lots of things to get done — but you know what? Since there are so many things to get done, how about recognizing that, and pushing off some of them to make sure you have time to think about some of the others? Who knows, you may just come up with some good ideas to help you get through the other stuff faster.

Link: From Where I Sit: Finding More “Head Time”.

The problems we face will not likely be solved by working harder. New gadgets won’t really help either. In fact, I sometimes fear that our many gadgets have only added unnecessary clutter to our lives. What we need is better, more profound thinking. But how can we find more time?

Via Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done

Exotic places do not a well-lived life make

"I used to think that going to the jungle made my life an adventure. However, after years of unusual work in exotic places, I realize that it is not how far off I go, or how deep into the forest I walk that gives my life meaning. I see that living life fully is what makes life – anyone’s life, no matter where they do or do not go – an adventure."

-- Maria Fadiman, Geographer, ethnobotanist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer. (Thanks Jon Meyers!)

The Dilbert Blog Roundup - Some favorite posts

• The Dilbert Blog: The Meaning of Meaning
• The Dilbert Blog: Happiness Formula
• The Dilbert Blog: Top Ten Things I Worry About
• The Dilbert Blog: Bill Gates for President

And, far and away my favorite:

The Dilbert Blog: Disturbing Developments
[note: about the discovery a while back that female chimps were making spears to go hunt cute wee tree-napping primates called bushbabies. I'm filing this where I can quickly grab it the next time some Eugene hippie starts ranting about the perfect passive harmony of Mama Nature and how only humans are violent]

Yarn Harlot: Love is all you need

The Yarn Harlot is a wise (and funny) woman. Jodie sent me this post, which matches my sentiments exactly. I dig romance. It has its moments. But it matters far more to me that Jodie and I support each other, and share the housework, and aren't just always gah-gah-gagging lovey-dovey at each other (though there's plenty of that too). Love isn't some sappy, pink idiocy. Love is tough. Love is honest. Love is dirty jobs and chores, just as love is back rubs, lovemaking, kissing, dark chocolate and waking up next to each other. Happy Valentine's Day.

Link: Yarn Harlot: Love is all you need.

I wholeheartedly agree with love. Especially love of family, love of friends and love of ethics and fairness, but on careful reflection it seems to me that romantic love, given completely free rein and allowed to run wild through civilization, has been responsible for more poor decision making, wars, kidnapping, obsession, suicide, low self-esteem and generalized rack and ruin than any other human emotion in the whole world...and this belief has led me to a significant level of caution around the sort of love that Valentines day sells wholesale

The Antsaint Review: The Guide to Getting It On! (5th edition, 2006)

Get The Guide: @ Amazon | @ Powells | @ abebooks.com

"This book is 854 pages long, and it still can't define sex. Hopefully you will be able to define it on your own, or at least have a beautiful time trying. And always, try to remember that there are many dimensions to sex besides just huffing and puffing while the bedsprings squeak." — The Guide to Getting It On!, 5th edition, p. 792

A Book So Hot, Who the Hell Wants to Sit Down and Write a Review About It?
Please forgive me for the brevity of this review. After reading through a book as fun, funny and stimulating as The Guide to Getting It On!, it's not that this review is short. It's that the night is so long — and there are so many better things than typing to do with one's time.

Yet Read & Review I Must, for I Am a Virgin... to The Guide!
For years I've heard about The Guide to Getting It On!, but had never read it myself. And sure, hearing about The Guide! was nice, but until you try it for yourself, you don't know how amazing it really is.

Humor Is the Best Turn-on to Get You in Deep
Sex guides vary as much as sex itself. Some sex books are very matter-of-fact (think a lot of Dr. Ruth). Some are written in a deep, flowery prose-cum-poetry (The Kama Sutra). But of all the guides out there, I could chuck all of them and spend the rest of my... ahem, recreational life going solely by The Guide to Getting It On!

It's not that The Guide! is an all-encompassing, encyclopedic page-turner (though it is). It's not that it covers everything from kissing to kink, oral sex to what to do if you or your lover (or both) have a disability (though it does). It's that The Guide! is so damn funny doing it, while also being so matter-of-fact that some of the best zingers nearly fly by you:

• "Define orgasm? It's somewhere between a hand grenade and a sunset."
• "Romance is something thoughtful that you do for someone you love. It's the Gorilla Glue that holds a relationship together. It's lube for above the belt instead of below."
• "This chapter is about kissing on the upper body as opposed to kissing on the genitals, although one often leads to the other."

In Da Mood... Da Mood to Review

• Lights: Low
• Written Naked? Sorry, that information is limited access
• Music? Um, duh. What else do you listen to while reviewing The Guide to Getting It On!, but Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On? Duh. Honestly.

To review this book is pretty simple, really. The Guide! is for every lover and every person aspiring to be a lover. It's for the couple looking for some spice — or just some affirmation — and for the yearning soul looking for a bit of theory in advance of some practice. If you have even the tiniest twinge of blushing interest in sex, this is the book you want to keep under the mattress.

Updated Info & New Chapters Covering the Fun, Embarrassment, and Challenges of Sex
You'll find updated information — from the latest studies to the most lately thought-up one-liners — in your favorite chapters, along with new chapters  dedicated to...

• Losing Your Virginity, p. 339
• Sex & Breast Cancer, p. 401
• Snoring & Gas, p. 429
• Good Sex After Bad — Rape & Abuse, p. 457
• The Horny Pill & Patch, p. 699
• And lots more!

Stats:

• Title: The Guide to Getting It On!
• Author: Paul Joannides
• Publisher: Goofy Foot Press
• 5th edition, 2006
• Translated into 14 languages from Czech and Korean to Hebrew and U.K. English (and yes, I'm counting British English — at the least, they need to understand why we Yanks snicker when they ask to "borrow a rubber")
• ISBN: 1-885535-69-4
• Price (U.S.D.) $21.95
• 854 pages
• Publisher: Goofy Foot Press

"Cool As Hell" Tidbit for the Publishing, Mac and/or Typography Geeks
Wanna get your geek on before you get it on? Check out this Mac-only, foreplay-for-Mac-geeks publishing note in the front of the book:

"We are proud to announce that the Guide to Getting It On! is the first book in the country to go to press on a Mac Mini Intel Core Duo. Having been born on an SE-30, The Guide continues to thrive in an Apple Macintosh environment"

Get Your Copy of The Guide to Getting It On!
What are you waiting for, a nibble on the earlobe? If you want to get it on, then get on it:

• amazon.com - The Guide to Getting It On!
• Powells.com - The Guide to Getting It On!
• abebooks.com - The Guide to Getting It On!
• Or cruise down to your favorite local book store