B L O O D F E A T H E R S

(This post is cutting in line, it can't wait! I'm feeling a whole lotta love & pride for my expat people.)

OLD ROCK N ROLL

Samuel w/ a Bo Diddley guitar!


Samuel & Ben:


Reflections of the way life used to be:






Drew:


Much much later...

Jeremy & Matt White:


Keiko & Leigh:

I am on holiday.

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ReJoyce in Ms. Elliott!

I know my political posts are my least popular; but they are my most important. I feel they give this blog some meaning and substance. That said, KMHD, ATM & I attended a luncheon with Senator Joyce Elliott @ KMHD's work on Wednesday. Let me just say that I walked away feeling happy, positive, confident & completely smitten.

Do you trust me when I say that this is a very important election and that we need to work hard to get Joyce Elliott to Washington, D.C.? She asked us personally for our help and it didn't take much convincing to enlist our services, time & (modest amounts of) money.

You've probably heard that Democrats might lose a lot of seats during the mid-term elections. That alone should compel you to take some action. We can overcome this! I know it isn't a presidential election, but that doesn't make it less important. President Obama is the representative of our country; Joyce would represent our state, our district. She will work hard to petition for and represent our district!

GRAVITAS!
1. Senator Elliott. She is the current Majority Leader in the Arkansas State Senate. That means that she is well-liked & respected by her peers. Click on the link and READ.

2. The first time she ran for office, people (including her friends) told her she couldn't win. Well, she did. Repeat that story two more times. Fearless!

3. I love that she answered a tough question without even flinching. The question was whether she'd vote the will of the people or vote her conscience. She said that she would vote her conscience, but that she would hold herself accountable to voters and explain why she voted a certain way. She hopes that people, in return, would at least listen to her. She understands the concept of "tyranny of the majority".

That is, it is illegitimate for a temporary coalition that had a majority to gang up on and hurt a significant minority. (In Wikipedia. Retrieved on 25 August 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyranny_of_the_majority

Sure, it is the will of the people. But, sometimes the will of the people is outright unconstitutional.

4. She made no promises except that she would work hard for our district & state.

5. She is not for sale.

6. I assume that most readers of fear_ants are progressive. I believe Joyce Elliott's stance on the issues are more aligned with yours than that of her creep-ass opponent.

7. When (not if) her opponent starts with the Karl-Rovian tactics, and I believe it'll be pretty bad from that point on, Joyce will not roll over. In fact, she said for him to "bring it on." Again, fearless!

8. She was born & raised in Willisville, Arkansas. She still lives & works in Arkansas for the Arkansas General Assembly. Majority Leader, remember? She didn't just decide to join the fray.

9. She is not a fear-mongerer. In fact, you should try to get some face-time with her, which is very easy to do as she is assessable. She is a very pleasant, positive person. It really rubs off on you.

10. She is a Mulerider, just like ATM! Hey-o!

I just wanted to write the things I like about Joyce because I wanted to arm voters with reasons to vote FOR her, not vote against her disgusting opponent Tim Griffin. But, I will tell you why he is not only incompetent, but troubling. He has done some pretty bad things to Americans. He's meddled with our Federal judicial system and dabbled in some voter caging. Working within the judicial system has enlightened me to the fact this is a serious violation of people's rights. Specifically, black people, low-income people, and Democrats. It's truly alarming! And this, this is truly petty, but I'm just going to go ahead and say it: Tim has broken the unwritten rule of posting his signs before Labor Day. It is in good form to wait until Labor Day or right after, so the people won't have to look at election signs for almost a year. So rude.



P.S., BTW, disclosure: I am not a registered Democrat. I usually vote Democrat, but do not align myself with any political party. Also, I hate bothering you about this. I do. But, it's that important to me.


Astley/Morrissey 2010

Top X August MMX

I am co-opting this idea from elsewhere; I believe it's good to list what's right with your life, especially the little things. Because, frankly, you are all killing me with what's wrong. UGH. List. Go!

I. ATM, SOLO & Hot Dog: Best. Roommates. Ever.

II. The near future: cooler weather, camping, vacation & Gonerfest!

III. The Night Marchers (I've been a bit rock-starved)

IV. Vitalic's POISON LIPS (Hot slabs of disco, comin' right up!)

V. Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim

VI. Making/discovering new desserts:


VII. Daydreaming about looking up the Redwoods in NOCAL & surfing/fish tacos in San Diego.

VIII. Moonshine and hanging with Ben & Lindsey at the best baby shower ever. (Salley-Holland's, of course!)

IX. Braiding my hair

X. Peace at the workplace. I love my boss & the law clerk! I am enjoying an era of peace with the rest of the lot, too.

BONUS!
XI. THIS:

I feel good!

Sweet relief! Today, you can go outside and not feel the blistering, painful glare of Helios.

ATM & I did some real talk Re: our vacation this year. The plan started out as a week or so in NYC. Then it turned into a few days in New Orleans. Now we're like, "We can't!" While I'm a little bummed about it, I'm also o.k. with our decision. We realized that we need to prioritize our new home and put a little time and money into it. I mean, I still haven't bought drapes. Instead of taking a big trip, we will probably make an event out of going to Gonerfest in Memphis this year. Fine by me! Rock n roll! Strapping Fieldhands? Guitarwolf? Yes, ma'am! We've also got to save $$$ for our super brief, but pricey trip to Austin, TX in October. We're going to witness nuptials in a cave! We won't be able to spend any time there, maybe get one meal outside of the wedding reception and then we're out.

G U I T A R W O L F

Because I'm feeling so fine today, maybe it's a good time to discuss how low I felt the other evening. I was feeling pretty disgusted with humanity. The sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, the ignorance, everything. In the past, I used to think it was limited to a lunatic fringe element, but as it turns out, it's increasingly a huge amount of people; it's pretty much mainstream and it's awful!

I want to believe that I'm an optimistic realist; that it is my general view on life. Things can be bad, real bad, but there's always a silver lining AND my life isn't that awful. I think people forget this. This country is engaged in two wars, but I can still find the beauty of life during a stroll through the woods. But, you know what? On the whole, people are irredeemable fucking assholes. (Pardon!) Altruism gets taken advantage of ruthlessly. The way certain people act and speak, you would think that it would just kill them to care about something or someone(s).

I feel that people act really poorly because of fear, ignorance, a lack of respect for others, and just plain bad manners. Well, I just want to say this to those select few many: You're doing it wrong! While I realize that I'm not always right, you're wronger!

Things that I do not think are scary, but a lot of people "do": Curry, falafel & other foreign foods, small, gas-efficient automobiles, mosques, Lady Gaga, Barack Obama's sandals, the so-called socialist trajectory of our country, and breastfeeding.

Things that are actually scary: Ants, the stripping of civil liberties, Barack Obama's sandals (they ugly!), Sarah Palin, oil spills, teenagers, and Baby Boomers. And this lamp:


Yeah, REEAAAAAL subtle, flea market purveyor! It took all of my might to not take my hammer and sickle out of my purse and smash it to pieces!

Thankfully, I managed to pull myself out of this deep, dark place. I can only stay submerged for so long. But, people really need to get it TOGETHER and really think about things. I'm talkin' about deep, hard critical thinking. Things would be so much better if people thought things out before they spoke or harshly judged. Maybe do a little listening, too. And some general being kind to others. Golden ruler.

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Last Weds., ATM was all like, "Let's go to the Arkansas Underground Film Festival this Friday!" It doesn't take a lot of convincing me to go to Hot Springs, so I booked us a room, laid down some kitty litter for the cats, and off we went! We got to watch the first films by Jim Henson , Martin Scorsese, Guy Maddin, David Lynch & Roman Polanski. It's been too long since I've seen a film projected via film. So special! There was a projectionist! Remember them? Special. After watching those famous firsts, we took a break to eat BBQ (yeah) and then returned to watch David Lynch's ERASERHEAD on the silver screen. I usually approach Lynch films with a little apprehension and this was no exception. I really liked the movie, but was completely horrified the entire time. I don't know if I'll ever watch it again, but I'm glad I did. I enjoy being made uncomfortable by the arts from time to time, it's good for you! I did want to research the symbolism of the movie, but since Lynch doesn't really divulge that information, you're on your own. The internet is full of bloody film student insight and none of it is any good. On a different note, I love Hot Springs!





Sunday swimmin' @ Casa de Salley-Holland:

Everybody Loves Collin

ATM & I went to Collin's art opening @ the AC/AC last Friday. Collin has really grown in his artistic ability. I was really impressed with his work:

Look at the fade on this! And it's green!

Here's the big one:

Obviously, you should just go to the AC/AC and look at them because my cell phone photos do them no justice.

The arteest:

Upcoming topics:

Vacation crumble

Austin cave wedding

White pants clap

On a (dinner) roll!

We had a yum-fantastic-filled weekend, so let's get started! Less talk, more rock because these photos explain themselves.

I wandered into the kitchen on Friday night to find ATM baking brownies. Mind. Blown. Pictures. Taken.

They turned out beautifully. We will have to share these with friends!

On Saturday, Mariella & Brandon invited us (& Keiko/Rett) over for supper. They made empanadas with black beans & rice, Keiko & Rett made a fruit salad & I contributed a homemade tiramisu, a first for me. Of course it was all delicious! I can't tell you how many times I've replayed eating that meal in my mind.

I am the girl from Empanada!

Ah, here's the finished tiramisu with the precious Dahlia looking on. We did catch her running her fingers through it:

ATM, LP, Dahlia & Brandon:

Sergio, Little LP & RP:

Dancin' dancin' dancin'!

These next several pics were taken by Dahlia, age 3:

ATM & Rett:

Brandon (half):

Brandon (whole)

Mariella, LP & Keiko:

Mariella:

Yeah, I shamelessly begged to take a couple home:

On Sunday, we went to Will/Henson's for a Hee Haw Meal on Wagonwheels. It's basically brunch where you are dressed country. I totally failed the costume portion. I thought of my genius costume waaaaay too late; I did wear a bolo tie, though. Hey, man, I made waffles! What do you want from me?!!! Stop looking at me!

KMHD, Will & Clementine:

We watched Hee Haw, natch:

Zach, Robert, Will, Leigh, KMHD, ATM, Bonnie, Aaron & Collin's better half:

I tried to capture Zach's Hee Haw laugh face, but he really does smile with eyes too much to fake it:

Will & KMHD:

There is some sing-along harmonization going on here:

ATM:

Me & Clem:

I'm full and tired! Nothing but oatmeal and salads for me this week!