The Informavore

We’re a little over two weeks away from Elliott’s due date. The onesies have been washed. The hospital bags are packed and waiting by the front door. My hair has been fixed and photo-ready for the big day. Clearly, our priorities are in order. And, as many folks have asked, the nursery is ready and waiting (sans toys and books for now). Feel free to click through and get a glimpse of our robot themed room. One day we’ll look back and marvel at how clean it once was.

Our anniversary is Monday July 26th. Corey’s birthday is August 2nd. Elliott could be appearing…well…any day for all we know. How could we commemorate such profound events? Two words: Micro Pig.

I say this in 99.999% jest, given that I was on the verge of putting our dog on Craigslist yesterday and sending her off to the first guy in a trenchcoat to respond. And I know there’s probably something a little genetically and ethically sketchy about trend breeding nature’s own breathing Bacon-Bit. But there’s a .001% part of me that will secretly think of names for my imaginary micro-pig.

Maybe I’ll name him Bacon-Bit.

I love me some mash-ups and this one has been my anthem for the majority of the day. I especially love the ones that are tongue in cheek with the poems they choose to use.

Check out “Ke$ha Just Wants to Have Fun” from DJ Jay-R at C.H.A.O.S. Productions

Ke$ha Just Wants to Have Fun – C.H.A.O.S.

A handy dandy site that helps you choose which vegetables/fruits are in season each month.

http://eatseasonably.co.uk/what-to-eat-now/calendar/

After much of the hullaballo, I’m hopefully back to posting more internet knick-knackery on a more semi-regular basis. To celebrate my little blogging vay-kay, a clip from a personal fave: 30 Rock. While I didn’t go to Cleveland, I was in Akron, which is close enough.

ARGH. I don’t know why it took me so long to find this site for Mash-Up mixologists, Bootie. Oh, right…another awesome BoingBoing tip off. I’ve got a very random and weird taste in music and when I stumbled upon their  site – I felt as though someone cranked open my cranium and just gave me exactly what I was looking for.

Extra icing for the moist and delicious cake? Their Best of Bootie Albums are available for free download! Here’s a few of their masterpieces. Seriously – wonderful stuff.

Beethoven VS Kanye VS Walter Murphy: A plus D – Beethoven\’s Fifth Gold Digger

Britney VS Amy Winehouse: King of Pants – Detox

Beyonce VS Tom Petty: Earworm – If I Were A Free Falling Boy

That’s just a tiny sample. The earlier (2005) album has less mainstream fare on it.

Happy listening!

Any time the dreary December weather, hazardous driving conditions, downward spiralling economy or general ‘end of the year’ malaise begins to wear down on my otherwise cheery disposition…I like to do a few things:

1. Draw a nice hot bath.

2. Dive into a pint of Bruster’s ice cream. Tuxedo Strawberry, if possible.

3. Ponder over those who have it far – far worse right now.

While the laundry list of names that fall into the third is quite long (either by sincere misfortune or karmic retributions for wrong doings) – it seems as though one of the individuals at the top of that list is Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The Weekly Standard ran an amusing post parodying the governor’s plight:

On or about November 27, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH, his wife and daughters, and BLAGOJEVICH’s chief of staff JOHN HARRIS ate Thanksgiving dinner together. BLAGOJEVICH’s wife asked BLAGOJEVICH to “please pass the potatoes.” BLAGOJEVICH asked what his wife was willing to give him for “the f—ing potatoes” because “these f—ing things aren’t f—ing cheap.” HARRIS said that BLAGOJEVICH’s wife might donate $250,000 to Friends of Blagojevich in exchange for the potatoes. BLAGOJEVICH’s wife said she thought that was a high price for a spoonful of mashed potatoes and asked BLAGOJEVICH to carve the turkey instead. BLAGOJEVICH said “What am I, your f—ing butler?” and reminded her that “I don’t f—ing work for free.” HARRIS asked BLAGOJEVICH to consider carving the turkey in exchange for a helping of BLAGOJEVICH’s wife’s cranberry sauce. BLAGOJEVICH said he “hated f—ing cranberry sauce,

you stupid f–k,” and reminded his wife that the “only reason we have this f—ing turkey in the first place” was because Senate Candidate 5 had personally delivered it to the BLAGOJEVICH residence that morning. BLAGOJEVICH’s wife said BLAGOJEVICH could take Senate Candidate 5′s turkey and “shove it up your a–.” BLAGOJEVICH said she could have the turkey “but if you feel like you can do this and not f—ing give me anything, then I’ll f—ing go.” HARRIS volunteered to carve the turkey if BLAGOJEVICH did not want to and the group returned to eating in silence.

If I were to say that most nights in my house weren’t spent with MSNBC playing in the background, and the dulcet tones of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow filled the air as I sat on my laptop – I’d be a dirty liar.

While I subscribe to “the liberal agenda” of passing out hugs and money like there’s no tomorrow – I respect the fact that not everyone subscribes to this belief and prefers to see things differently. I don’t think my beliefs are superior to anyone else’s – I just sleep better at night because of them.

Phew. That being said – I don’t pretend to believe that MSNBC is unbiased in the least. Heavens no. It’s preaching to it’s happy little liberal choir and I love it for the same reason people tune in to watch Fox News. Sometimes you want objectivity – and sometimes you want to hear people tell it like you like it.

As someone with a coupla communication degrees – I’ve always found Keith Olbermann to be a fascinating persona. He’s at once charming and brash – eloquent and loud mouthed – as unapologetic and indignantly left leaning as his frenemy “Bill-O” is right leaning. But on those special occasions in which current events merit a Special Comment – he seems to muster all the fire power of a Revival preacher. His latest – regarding the passage of Prop 8 in California – is an intriguing watch. If not for the political and cultural commentary – then for the deft use of language and construction of intimacy that tends to be so lacking in modern media.

On a lighter Olbermann note – while I’m not a huge fan of Ben Afflect – his Olbermann skit on SNL was wonderful.

Good day and good luck.

Mother Jones put out an interesting little article today regarding President Elect Barack Obama’s support for granting Washington D.C. statehood. If you’re as civically semi-literate as I am, this may produce a silent “humina-humina-whaaaa?” in your mind as you reach back into the recesses of your memory to figure out how a new state is formed, short of military upheaval and/or celebrity endorsement. It all stems from the political imbroglio D.C. residents and activists have been engaged in for a while – given the fact that the district lacks ANY congressional representation. As author Johnathan Stein notes:

After President-elect Barack Obama and enlarged Democratic majorities take power in January, the District of Columbia’s longtime quest for congressional representation seems poised to succeed. But Obama supports something even more ambitious—statehood for the District, a position that, if pursued, would spark a vicious fight with congressional Republicans over what would almost certainly be two new Democratic Senate seats. No group of American citizens has been disenfranchised longer than the residents of Washington, DC. Despite paying federal taxes and fighting in the nation’s wars, DC residents have lacked a say in Congress since the District was established.

While most activists are campaigning for congressional representatives – opponents contend that the overwhelmingly Democratic district (92% voted Obama – per the article) would tip the scales to the Republican detriment. While the nation is a bit iffy in the “Eh-not-so-much” vein regarding statehood for D.C. (a.k.a. New Columbia according to a 1987 constitution drafted for the proposed state)- its proponents are hoping for a second vote to at least gain congressional representation.