WanderingAmylessly 2.0

Because we're not going to pretend this is anything other than my shameless excuse to post Anderson's picture... Anderson's View: The Calm (and Crabcakes) Before the Storm By Anderson Cooper I’m sitting at a bar. I know, I know, there’s a massive storm coming. Don’t worry, I’m not drinking. I hadn’t eaten all day and this is the only place I could find open in the French Quarter. “We never close,” the bartender yelled out as he waved me inside. “I knew you would be here,” the chef said, rushing into the kitchen, “I’m going to make you up some crabcakes.” How could I say no? It’s a small place called the Oceana Grill, and it’s packed with cops and reporters. That’s a good sign, it means most of the residents and tourists have left. The Quarter is empty, boarded up, calm. I’ve spent today walking and driving around, checking up on evacuations and preparations. So far the differences between the response to this storm and Katrina are obvious. Lessons seem to have been learned....

This was in my e-mail inbox from some democratic-minded folks: Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people. Huh? Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background: * She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.1 * Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2 * She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3 * Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4 * She's doesn't think humans are the cau...

This may fall into the "Oops, sharing too much" category. But because it involves Henry, I figure his fan club out there will think it's too funny to pass up. This morning, I was sitting on the couch in my nightshirt, having just fixed a huge chocolate-chip-pancake breakfast, and was getting big snuggles from my boys for having done so. Then Henry bounded off the couch to go get dressed, hesitated for a moment, then threw his arms around my knees, pressed his little cheeks against my legs and started to say "I love yo..." But something made him stop. He screwed up his face, stuck his tongue out and stared a me as though I had turned into the creature from the Black Lagoon. Then he bluntly explained: "Ewww. Mommy. You. Are. Pokey." I'm getting grief for my depilation hygiene from a 4-year-old boy. I looked at Tim and said, "Geez. You don't even say anything to me about that." Tim smirked and simply said, "I've learned."

McCain's choice for his Veep is a ploy to snatch away women voters who had been supporting Hillary. At least, that's what the pundits are saying. But I say if that's the case, it's extremely insulting to women. How dare they think that I'm going to blindly follow anyone simply because she's a SHE. This particular SHE is, from what little I've been able to scrape up on her, anti-environment, anti-choice, anti-gay-rights, knows nothing about foreign policy, has a husband who works for an oil company, looks like she could be McCain's granddaughter, annoyingly reminds me of SNL's Tina Fey and, truth be told, her ability to pick quality names for her children has been called into question. A friend pointed out that this stoutly conservative 44-year-old Alaska governor's five children are named Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig. My husband then quipped: Her kids' names sound like a dog sled team.

I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington. But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you. For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time. America, this is one of those moments.

Just made an incredible Greek-inspired dinner tonight, courtesy of Rachael Ray. Moussaka Pasta Toss and Spanikopita Salad * 1 pound penne rigate * 1 pound ground lamb * 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided * 1/2 teaspoon allspice * 2 pinches of cinnamon (eyeball it) * 1 teaspoon cumin (1/3 palmful) * 1 teaspoon dried oregano * Black pepper & Salt * 4 garlic cloves, chopped * 1 large onion, chopped * 1 small eggplant * 2 tablespoons butter * 2 tablespoons flour * 2-2 1/2 cups milk * 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (eyeball it) * 1/2 cup parsley (about 2 handfuls), chopped * 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese * 1 pound spinach leaves, stems removed, coarsely chopped * 1 small red onion, thinly sliced * 1 cup feta cheese crumbles * 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped * 1 lemon Preparation Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it and cook pasta to al dente. Heads up: you will ...

It's an old song, but it's my favorite Alanis tune. And I guess I was in a mood today. You know, all angsty and melodramatic. Enjoy.

It may not have gotten the same level of media attention as Hillary's concession or Bill's support speech, but today's luncheon forum for gay, lesbian and transgendered delegates found U.S. Rep. Barney Frank fired up and making some quips that are worth repeating. “If Ted Kennedy, in the face of this terrible illness, can come and make that speech, then will everyone else stop bitching about such trivia? Can we not take from him at least that this is about real issues and our lives?” Frank, an openly gay Massachusetts Democrat, longtime at the forefront of gay rights issues, denied there is a “radical homosexual agenda” at work in Washington. “What agenda? We want to get married, join the Army and get a job. Some agenda." He also took a verbal swing at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other high-and-mighty Christian politicians and their self-righteous slogan, "What Would Jesus Do?" “I say to Newt Gingrich, ‘I don’t think he would have gotten married th...

"People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." -- William Jefferson Clinton, Democratic National Convention 2008

I was thinking how much easier blogging might be if I only had to write a sentence or two a day. Kind of like I could make my point, keep loyal readers up to date, be ever-so-cryptic, tease, bitch, throw a hissy fit, heap praise, offer up the snide remark or two, and be done with it. That's what I love about the "status" feature on Facebook. For those of you under a rock in a cave on a deserted island circa 1960s Gilligan (I'll admit, that was me just a couple months ago), Facebook is a social networking site on the 'Net where people post pics, yak about every piddling detail of their sometimes-not-all-that-scintillating lives, play games, and on occasion "throw a sheep" at someone. Trust me, it's not as looney tunes as it sounds. Or perhaps it is. My favorite part of Facebook is the "status," which allows you to write a few words or a sentence about whatever it is you're doing or thinking or planning to do or think or have thought or p...

I was so over-the-top proud of my girl, Hillary, at the convention last night. I was going to write a blog about her speech, but then my friend and fellow blogger Tom beat me to the punch. So you can read my favorite quote from her speech at his site . Instead, I'll just give a shout out to the women from decades ago who marched and fought and wouldn't give up on their dream of equality, who made it possible for me to have a voice and make a difference. We've had the right to vote for 88 years now, and never has it been more important to stand up and be heard and make the right choice -- for someone who will continue to fight for us and help bring a brighter tomorrow. Hope is what led a band of colonists to rise up against an empire; what led the greatest of generations to free a continent and heal a nation; what led young women and young men to sit at lunch counters and brave fire hoses and march through Selma and Montgomery for freedom's cause. Hope is what led me her...

Former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, a republican, spoke at the Democratic National Convention last night to endorse Barack Obama and remind people that it's not about political parties, it's about the future of America and who has our best interests at heart. Here's a bit of what he had to say. (For the full transcript, go here .) The portfolio of challenges passed on to the next president will be as daunting as any since the Great Depression and World War II. This is not a time for politics as usual or for run-of-the-mill politicians. Little is riskier to the national interest than more of the same. America needs new ideas, new energy and a new generation of leadership. Hence, I stand before you proud of my party's contributions to American history but, as a citizen, proud as well of the good judgment of good people in this good party, in nominating a transcending candidate, an individual whom I am convinced will recapture the American dream and be a truly great pr...

Oh golly. The tossing and turning, the sleepless nights can now come to an end. Your life is now fulfilled and complete, now that ABC has announced ... drumroll, please ... the upcoming lineup of sorta-celebrities for this fall's Dancing with the Stars!!!! In no particular order (other than it's the way I copied it from the press release, which I'm sure was written for maximum effect) here they are. The professional partners are listed in parentheses -- Lance Bass (Lacey Schwimmer) -- The biggest disappointment about this star seems to be that the openly gay former N'Sync member was not going to be chachacha'ing with a male partner instead of a female one. I don't care who he dances with, he's my pick to win it all. Rocco DiSpirito (Karina Smirnoff) -- Can a professional chef cut a rug as well as he can chop veggies? We'll see. I hadn't heard of him before this morning, so I have no opinion either way. Where's Emeril?! Misty May-Treanor (Maksi...

A retired police officer from a nearby town who wanted to do something to help his comrades in their work discovered a dead body under a blanket in Hickory Hill Park yesterday. Everyone believes they have found the poly sci professor accused of trading sexual favors for better grades. The whole situation is so desperately sad. He had not only the 4-year-old classmate of my son, but a 4-month-old son as well. And a wife who believed him so much she went on record adamantly defending him, again and again. So there's no mad gunman walking around with a high-powered rifle. There was just a sad, defeated guy who took a walk in the woods and ended it all to save himself from further shame. The one thing that still puzzles and slightly infuriates me -- the body was found within a five-minute walk from the park's entrance and something like 20 feet away from where the prof had parked his car. The police searched with cadaver dogs for two days and found nothing. Even though the prof had...

We all know it. Times are tough. Well, most of us know it. Except for certain out of touch presidential candidates who can't remember exactly how many homes they own, who think the economy's actually not looking that bad, and who would be delighted to spend $400 gazillion to keep our troops present in Iraq for at least the next hundred years or so. But now I guess we can add to the growing list of recession victims one very big name. Bill Gates. I just read a business headline that announced that Gates had been booted from his throne and stripped of the title of "richest man on the planet." In fact, the Microsoft co-founder isn't even runner up for the title he held for 13 straight years. Gates has fallen all the way to third place. Have the tears started falling from your eyes and sliding down your cheeks, dripping off your chin and pooling in your lap, creating a flood of Noah's Ark-type proportion all around you? Well, suck it up. And don't waste your p...

Thanks for the bit of stand-up, Mark. Who knew we had a budding Jon Stewart in the family: If McCain picks Romney for VP I can hear the jokes already: The guy who doesn't know how many houses he has picks a Mormon who doesn't know how many wives he has.

I'm not the photographer in the family. Like there was ever any question? But once in a while, when I've asked Tim to fix all the right settings on the super-complicated pro camera, when the light's just perfect (as it was at sunset in Door County last week), and when I have the perfect hottie to photograph (who, according to some big black guy on a downtown Iowa City street a few weeks ago, looks exactly like Brett Favre)...I might impress someone with my artistic eye.

Anyone who's ever worked in marketing, public relations, or the corporate world in general should watch this. And laugh knowingly and heartily. And for the rest of you, you'll get a kick out of it, too, because you've probably witnessed bits and pieces of it in your own world. (Thanks Tim, for sharing this! I feel your pain, baby!) The general motto: Be everything to everyone, and therefore meet no one's needs. And if you're the creative person tasked with trying to give the powers that be what they want, you'll remember just why you want to get blotto at the pub at happy hour on Friday. http://view.break.com/542649 - Watch more free videos

We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be? -- John Keating, Dead Poets Society

My city's had a bad year. First the guy who allegedly stole money from the bank where he worked bludgeoned to death his wife and kids and then killed himself in a high-speed crash on the Interstate. Then the floods hit and wrecked people's lives and work. Then the story broke that two members of the Iowa football team allegedly raped a woman in a dorm and the school allegedly covered it up. (Don't you just love the word "allegedly"? Keeps the cops and lawyers and reporters in business.) And now, a college professor who has been accused of bribing his students -- let's play show and tell (and perhaps fondle) with your boobs for better grades -- is missing. So's his high-powered rifle. My son's preschool was in lockdown all afternoon yesterday because the professor's son goes there and no one was sure what Dad might do. Henry's class was moved to an interior room with no windows. The kids weren't allowed outside for recess. Cops roamed the ha...

This commercial might be the one thing an American car company has done right in the last decade or two. It's a GM spot playing during Olympic coverage and the first time I heard it, I wasn't actually in the room, and was certain it must be an iPod commercial, the music was just THAT good. The song is called "The Story" by Brandi Carlile, and if you search for her on You Tube , you can actually see her video instead of the crappy-car ad. She reminds me of a younger mixture of Alanis Morisette and Melissa Etheridge (hey, Melissa, where you AT?! btw). If you haven't heard this song on the radio yet, I'm predicting you will. Soon. I'd give the girl a gold medal for her performance. I actually Wiki'ed her and found out I might be the one late to the party for this girl's fame...she had a bunch of songs featured on Gray's Anatomy, and her Story video debuted there. And she has toured with Tori Amos and The Indigo Girls. So we're all in agreeme...

I saw this tonight during Olympic coverage. I'm their target demographic. Their tactics worked. I want to switch insurance companies.

Amazing. I'm gone for one short week, away from most news and media outlets, I come back and -- whammo, look at all I missed. I'm trying to catch up. If you'd like to read along with me, here's a few top tidbits. - A UI professor of poly sci is on leave while investigators try to determine whether he, indeed, propositioned something along the lines of "show me your t**s and I'll give you a better grade" to four of his female students. That's after the University's still reeling from the alleged sexual assault of a woman by two football stars last year. Welcome to "Sex Scandal of the Semester." Should look great in the admissions brochures. - The Olympics, in general, and Michael Phelps, specifically. I'm teensy weensy crushing on this boy. Eight gold medals and have you SEEN those abs?? - I think Russia's being a bully again. - Who's the minority? We caucasians will be soon, according to a new report by the Census Bureau. Non-...

I think I might be as excited to be back home, sleeping in my own bed, NOT eating out, etc., as I was to be leaving for vacation last weekend. Another member of our family who returned home today is Maggie, back from her stay at the canine bed and breakfast. She sprinted for me as soon as they opened the door from the back room kennels/playroom, never left my side all the way to the car, and rode all the way home in my lap -- alternately panting and kissing me. The best thing about the place she stays is that they take pictures of all the doggies during each day's playtime. So we get to see how she spent her week. She's not above sharing a lap with a pug. But you'll note, she's usually the scrappy little terrier amongst all the big dogs. She likes the big boys and girls. She thinks she IS the big boys and girls. To us, she's one of the biggest, best reasons to be home again.

The FreeCreditReport.com commercials embedded themselves into my gray matter. I actually find myself humming them at random times during the day. And since I don't want to be alone in my insanity, I'm bringing you down with me. Watch with caution.

To quote a movie I've never seen and a Republican I can't stand... Hasta la vista, Baby. But... I'll be back. If all goes as planned, I won't have wi-fi opportunities to blog or Facebook or even check my e-mail. If you need me, call my cell. No promises I'll have coverage. Certainly no guarantees I'll have it on. Have a great week, whatever you may be doing!

Tonight, to celebrate the kickoff of the 2008 Beijing Olympics -- and, let's face it, to avoid dirtying dishes before our trip -- we're getting Chinese takeout and watching the opening ceremonies. If we can see it through the smog. Did y'all see how our favorite online search engine marked the occasion?

I know I've made my feelings known about the stupidity and incompetence of weather forecasters. In this case, I'm giving the fine professional folks at The Weather Channel the benefit of the doubt because I'm in pre-vacation giddy mode. I'm feeling quite charitable that way. Extended Forecast for Sister Bay, WI: Sat. Aug. 9 79/56 Slight Ch. T-Storms (30%) Sun. Aug. 10 77/60 Partly Cloudy Mon. Aug. 11 80/62 Partly Cloudy Tue. Aug. 12 78/60 Isol. Showers (40%) Wed. Aug. 13 76/60 Partly Cloudy Thu. Aug. 14 77/60 Partly Cloudy Fri. Aug. 15 79/62 Isol. T-Storm (30%) Sat. Aug. 16 80/61 Sunny And I've only got 1 day, 16 hours, 17 minutes, 53 seconds to go.

At breakfast this morning, Henry was eating cantaloupe. Prompted by what, I'm not sure, but he quickly held up his fork, squinted shut one eye, stared with the open eye through the tines of the fork, and said... "You're in jail. You're in jail. You're in jail."

Breaking news from the Associated Press: Lottery officials say my husband is much more likely to become filthy rich than most of the rest of y'all. DES MOINES (AP) - Feeling lucky? You might be if you're a Tim or a Kellie. Those were the luckiest names for men and women playing Iowa Lottery games since the lottery started in 1985. The lottery's acting CEO, Ken Brickman, says the agency did a records check to determine the names of people who won prizes of more than $100,000. So should I change my name to further increase the odds? Nah. I'll spread the luck around, give someone else a chance. But Tim, you'll need to make a stop on the way home. Those numbers from your last fortune cookie were 3 14 22 29 37. Make 'em count.

Oh, the things I could write. The things I could tell you. The shocking insights I could relay. The secrets I could tell. The sharp, witty, cutting-edge observations I could make. If only my blog were read by people I didn't know.

The illustrious team of professional weather guessers at KCRG-TV 9 have unveiled their latest attempt at making excuses for why they can't seem to freaking get it right, for cripes sake. Last night, on the 10 p.m. newscast, Little Joshie Thunderpants (or whoever...I think, they're really all equally, interchangeably incompetent) revealed to viewers a radar view of the entire state of Iowa. He pointed out the series of green patches in the western half of the state that one would assume signaled rain showers in the vicinity (because after all, that IS the point of these gizmos, right). That's when his dastardly plan came into play. You'd think that was rain, he noted. But, aha! That's where you'd be wrong. He then claimed that those blobs were actually the wind turbines from wind(mill) farms in western Iowa reflecting or refracting or emitting or whatever it is they supposedly do to show up on a Doppler radar. So next time the green blobs show up, they might be s...

Take a look. To the lower right hand side of this blog, down a few posts. See that beautiful blue rectangle. The one that indicates we have 4 days and a few odd hours until we leave on vacation. Not that I'm counting or anything. I don't sound too desperate, do I?

I don't know whether it was the four glasses of pinot grigio talking, or perhaps the stress of dealing with a screaming preschooler at a dinner party, or the hope that I could, indeed, find additional quantities of alcoholic beverages to consume inside our home, but as I was exiting our car tonight after returning home from a night out with friends, I yanked open the back car door, gestured to the seat belt buckle and grouchily snapped, "Henry, would you please unhinge yourself?!" Why yes. Please join the rest of us who are unhinged.