tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721720537250654702012-02-11T10:32:35.130-06:00Random thoughts on a variety of subjectsJoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-76012048971734964872011-12-04T09:18:00.001-06:002011-12-04T12:01:20.387-06:00

OK, I have absolutely and completely fallen for the Black Keys. (Thanks Dylan and Caroline) I'm SOOOOO way late to the game. These guys have been around for 10 years. But man, oh man, can they play Blues/Rock. I am a sucker for the Blues. Comparisons with the White Strips are inevitable, but miss the point, I think. I love the Stripes, and what Jack White does on a guitar. My hus Bill has

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-2487167742289306832011-12-03T12:01:00.001-06:002011-12-03T19:27:02.412-06:00

I've always loved music. As I look back I realize it's been a big part of my life. When I was growing up both my older brothers played in bands. Some of my earliest memories are of them rehearsing out in the garage. As a kid I remember hearing the Beatles music everywhere. Of course I preferred the Monkees. Don't hold it against me; I was only 5 or 6. Through my early teens my brother Richard

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-42184008926593199662011-11-19T15:50:00.000-06:002011-11-20T05:09:11.659-06:00

From UCDavis. I am not OK with police in riot gear spraying students with pepper spray like they are bugs. These students are on a sidewalk with lots of green space around them, so although they are blocking the sidewalk they are not keeping anyone from getting anywhere. I'm still trying to understand where and how the First Amendment was repealed. "Congress shall make no law...abridging

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-53841063667525713292011-11-12T13:02:00.001-06:002011-12-02T21:52:52.748-06:00

I was reading a blog last night and came across a post on Joe Frazier vs Mohammed Ali. Hearing about the death of Joe Frazier this week brought back some memories that I thought I'd share. I grew up watching boxing: my father was a sports enthusiast, and the 1970’s with Joe Frazier, Mohammed Ali, Ken Norton and George Foreman was an exceptional era in boxing. I was born in Jacksonville,

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-16973765003266142932011-10-27T15:21:00.000-05:002011-10-27T15:21:04.403-05:00

Another foreclosure story. Erin has some very good, heart-breaking posts about what her family is going through. This post about their attempts to keep everything together for the kids really resonated with me. And for my next trick....

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-7570250828948597652011-10-20T21:42:00.002-05:002011-10-21T08:33:59.489-05:00

Trial loan modifications are the way banks stretch out the process and pretend to be helping the borrower, when in reality they are killing your credit rating. We have been trying to get a loan modification from our lender, Citimortgage for over two years. Citi is, of course, one of the "too big to fail" banks that we bailed out, and who are now reporting $3.0 billion in profits. We bought

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-19514357904043684042011-10-20T14:36:00.000-05:002011-10-20T14:42:21.711-05:00

"One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country. It's not okay. It's a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."                                                 --Rick "Don't google me, man" Santorum Can you say, I'm going to alienate normal, non-radical

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-10380479028803415852011-10-20T13:33:00.000-05:002011-10-20T13:33:13.854-05:00

Elections have consequences. Your vote chooses: A Democratic proposal of a 0.5% surtax on income above $1 million would raise enough money over the next 10 years to cover the $35 billion cost of hiring and retaining about 400,000 teachers and emergency responders next year. That means if you net $1.1 million, on a gross income of $3 million, you would pay $500 more in taxes. OR A Republican

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-25422636652487156042011-10-09T14:05:00.003-05:002011-10-09T14:18:30.208-05:00

Health Care Reform is a three-legged stool: one leg is no denial of coverage, one leg is individual mandate and one leg is subsidies. Like a three-legged stool, HCR cannot stand if one of the legs is removed. ***If you're reading this via Facebook click "View Original Post" to read the entire blogpost*** In part one I shared something I wrote back in 2009. As I read through it, the common

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-50302854913872237962011-10-08T15:46:00.000-05:002011-10-09T18:32:23.801-05:00

I'm having a conversation on twitter about health care. Now twitter is many things, but nuanced is not one of them. So I'm going to post a more thought out, reasoned, nuanced take here. If you've never had a major illness then you have no clue how badly the American healthcare system is broken.  And just for the record I don't post what's going on with our family for sympathy or because I think

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-62790127384343448592011-09-15T14:58:00.000-05:002011-09-15T15:06:52.231-05:00

From James Fallows, a view of what our country could look like without those big bad government regulations. It's not a pretty picture. This isn't an image from turn-of-the-century America, this is a current picture from China. And here is a picture of a worker without OSHA or a union: Think about these images the next time someone rails on about government regulations, and how we need to

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-79443787907095992182011-09-11T21:36:00.000-05:002011-10-23T04:10:14.739-05:00

Perhaps the last thing the world needs is another reflection on 911. I haven't turned on the TV, because I didn't really know how I felt today, and I didn't wanted the media telling me how I should feel. But I did have a strong urge to acknowledge this anniversary. There are so many conflicting emotions that it brings up, and I am raising two children who are at an age where they can engage in a

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-33762023108910356802011-08-16T11:11:00.005-05:002011-08-16T11:24:11.448-05:00

Here's some links to my footage of Obama's visit. I posted on facebook, but that isn't public. We met Jake Tapper, ABC Senior White House correspondent. He tweeted a pic of us outside the bakery. I posted two videos on Youtube. When we "saw" him getting into the bus and a compilation of pics from the day. I made it onto an interview reel at the StarTribune.

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-16451855621897593782011-03-04T22:56:00.000-06:002011-03-04T22:56:15.578-06:00

I made a really interesting chili last weekend. I've been experimenting with chili made with pork and tomatillos. This is my third attempt and while they've all been pretty good, this one was worth writing down and posting. I had country style pork ribs in the freezer. I was going to slice them into large bite-sized pieces and brown them in a skillet, but when I'd thawed them I realized they

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-61299214219523662812010-12-13T22:43:00.000-06:002010-12-13T22:43:00.667-06:00

I just had a conversation. Well it wasn't really a conversation, it was more like I listened and couldn't get in a word edgewise. Hence the blog post. Maybe here is a better place for dialog. The global climate change debate seem to distill down to two major camps, one says climate change is an issue that we should be worried about, and the other says it's a big hoax. Now I'm not a climate

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-69358758149437790032010-11-16T08:07:00.000-06:002010-11-16T08:21:44.717-06:00

***If you're reading this on facebook click "View Original Post" to see the whole thing***Hi allI haven’t posted in a while because I’ve become a Netflix junky. Yes, I admit it. I’m sure there’s a 12 step program out there somewhere that I should join, but until then I’m just enjoying the ride.I’ve become obsessed with a TV show that aired in 2007 called “The Riches.” It’s subversive and dark and

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-10509347021153225992010-10-03T12:45:00.000-05:002010-10-03T13:21:18.726-05:00

We started Netflix this month. I'm ambivalent about it. But I'm finding some older movies that I never knew about, and a few are real gems. I watched one last night that was really good, it's called Game 6. The movie uses the allegory of a sports fan following their team (with all the emotional ups and downs that entails) as a metaphor for life.The main character, played brilliantly by Micheal

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-91877611073294563442010-09-18T08:52:00.000-05:002010-09-18T09:29:58.213-05:00

The measure that's in the new health care law that has my family most excited is the part that bars insurance companies from excluding people who have pre-existing conditions. If you are unlucky enough to have a major health care issue then you know exactly what I mean. Until the new health care bill was passed, if your insurance company wanted to drop you, or not insure you because you had, say

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-17981673369728219302010-08-08T13:40:00.000-05:002010-08-08T14:06:18.711-05:00

In light of the California Prop 8 ruling I re-watched the documentary on the life of Harvey Milk, not the Sean Penn movie.If you haven't seen it before, or if it's been a long time, take 90 minutes and watch it. It's a great reminder of how far we've come as a society and how far gay rights have progressed. When the Prop 8 ruling came down I remember thinking to myself how someone like Milk, if

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-23642540994505984412010-08-08T10:23:00.000-05:002010-08-08T10:28:57.044-05:00

Here are two articles from Time that really say a lot about the arc of this historic case. The first was written before Judge Walker ruled. It says that no matter what the outcome this case has changed assumptions:But the trial, win or lose, has put on the dock a series of basic assumptions about what living in America should be like for millions of its citizens. For decades, governments at every

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-20372187886160595812010-08-06T08:08:00.000-05:002010-08-07T23:18:05.462-05:00

I just read the ruling against Prop 8. Some of the ruling was based on the idea that gender roles have changed. The judge said that since marriage is no longer based on unchangeable, rigid gender roles (men provide and rule, women raise kids) that it was not possible to based marriage on antiquated ideas of gender."The evidence shows that the movement of marriage away from a gendered institution

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-30099555809721649162010-04-30T13:40:00.000-05:002010-04-30T13:51:24.281-05:00

****Facebook users click on View Original Post below to see all***We have a rule at our house. It’s a rule that came from a series of mishaps that are funny in retrospect, but could have easily been catastrophic.Our rule is: Chainsaws and extension ladders don’t mix.Now I realize that there is an entire category of people for whom chainsaws and extension ladders are an integral part of their job

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-69920255428784269952010-04-21T04:41:00.000-05:002010-04-21T04:53:49.292-05:00

Anyone who tries to say that the Constitution doesn't promote the separation of church and state hasn't read it. The founding fathers were extremely wary of including religion in the laws of our country having seen the troubles that came from government trying to legally enforce a religion on its people.We're fighting against religious extremism in the form of fundamentalist Muslims, why would we

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-38060553653757017652010-03-27T23:51:00.000-05:002010-03-28T00:58:34.728-05:00

The culture was different back in the 60's, but it has never been permissible to molest children. In two cases we know about the current Pope placed known criminal predators in charge of children. It is unconscionable.It should be just as important to the Catholic Church to guard the kids already under their care as it is to champion the rights of those who aren’t yet born. What is wrong with

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-90929439278597974592010-03-22T19:46:00.000-05:002010-08-08T15:58:05.833-05:00

Here are some links for more information about the health care bill ->I found this chart online and I think it's really useful to show you who gets what:http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-healthcare-passage22-2010mar22-g,0,7818440.graphicThis is from speaker Pelosi's website, so I assume it's prolly got a fair share of rah rah rah, but it does seem to be a very comprehensive guide:http:

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-8168325642765855532010-03-21T11:11:00.000-05:002010-03-21T11:14:24.512-05:00

Where are the leaders of the Republican party when their supporters are shouting racist slurs? They are silent.The Tea Partiers are not a spontaneous uprising of disaffected citizens who are angry about bailouts. This is the base of the modern Republican party, and they are the same kind of people who were co-opted by the Republican "Southern Strategy" so many years ago.The leadership of the

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-14252552489253419042010-03-12T15:31:00.000-06:002010-03-12T17:51:37.518-06:00

Not politics.Not food.Not children.Fingernails!I'm having way too much fun with fingernail art.

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-26848531821022269222010-03-06T20:24:00.000-06:002010-03-06T20:28:12.036-06:00

This week John McCain won't be on the Sunday talk shows...I'm shocked. But guess who will be?Tom DeLay. Tom DeLay, likely the most unethical scum who has ever been majority leader in the Senate. Why, of all the people to have on, would you book Tom DeLay? Our press corp is really a mess.

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-78863453416564013662010-03-06T09:23:00.000-06:002010-03-06T09:24:56.364-06:00

Another interesting post, this one on health care. Since I can't seem to send a link through Facebook I'll just paste it in.http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/sink-or-swim

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672172053725065470.post-75798761378405630922010-03-05T15:52:00.001-06:002010-03-05T15:56:32.300-06:00

Jay Rosen has a fascinating new blog post, about how journalists leave out reality when writing, and how that's harming their profession and resulting in less information for their readers.It's really worth checking out.

JoyousMNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.com0