can we all just agree?

support math and science education in a title i middle school with: But Where's the Spleen?

2009-11-28T15:01:00.001-08:00

have you ever wished that you could help a new math and science teacher at a middle school in a very challenging area make these subjects more accessible to her students? good news! here's a chance! a good friend of mine has a donors choose project that you can support! check it out:

But Where's the Spleen?

update: the project has been fully funded! yay! she's a great teacher, and i know this will help make her students even more successful.

"it's connecticut for lieberman, not vice versa."

2009-12-07T23:27:00.000-08:00

careful readers of c.w.a.j.a.?. will remember that joe lieberman is among my least favorite politicians in the history of ever. and, as you might also recall, i'm pretty impatient with the lack of affordable health care in this country. lieberman is one of the jackasses who's really holding things up. today, however, i watched a video that explains things pretty well:

joe lieberman sucks.

professors say the darndest things

2009-12-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

one thing i will miss about this semester: having a class with the professor who explained, "david harvey? david harvey is like YODA."

bad bread

2009-11-28T02:16:00.000-08:00

the other night captain awesome and i were walking down the street when we saw some felonious bread*. fortunately, someone had already taken steps to physically corral this anti-social set of slices, so i think we were safe from where we stood.

*obligatory legal disclaimer: it is possible that the bread had been wrongfully accused. still, it was dark and i was glad that we didn't have to find out the hard way that the bread was, indeed, dangerous.

for the very brave, here is a closeup. does it send a shiver down your spine?

thank you, captain awesome, brave photographer.

can we all just agree that the monkey wrench gang is an exceptional piece of literature?

2009-11-27T23:27:00.000-08:00

i loved this book so much. and here's a bit of it for you:

"A true autochthonic patriot, Smith swears allegiance only to the land he knows, not to that swarming bulge of real estate, industry and swarming populations of displaced British Islanders and Europeans and misplaced Africans known collectively as the United States; his loyalties phase out toward the borders of the Colorado Plateau."

-edward abbey, the monkey wrench gang p. 358

common problem, etc.

2009-11-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

"i'm intimidated by your giant meatleg!"

-audra

b.f.h. knows me pretty well

2009-11-25T19:38:00.000-08:00

a couple of months ago we were talking on the telephone. b.f.h. and i were both pretty tired and because of that she was saying exceptionally (but unintentionally) funny things. she told me that she was going to have to get off the phone, and i answered,

"why are you shutting off the faucet of this brilliance?"

she answered,

"cuz i'm afraid it will show up on a blog somewhere."

my blog report on "Just a Little Guy" by sarah.

2008-11-29T16:13:00.000-08:00

Just a Little Guy features pictures of cute animals (no cats or dogs allowed) and commentary that is generally confusing and almost always obscene. i love it, but it should get updated way more often. awww, the mysterious proprietor, tends to come and go as he pleases (kind of like a neighborhood cat, you know, the one you start to care about and put out food for, who is occasionally around for weeks at a time but will then disappear for a month or two, only to return like, "what? why are you acting like that?")

of particular note: possums in a box (safe for workish, except for the use of the f-word in the description)

fan boy friday II (reader-submitted photos, awww-provided totally nsfw commentary)

but seriously, you should just read the whole site. it is fantastic.

(read more blog reports)

can we all just agree that japanese television is incredible?

2008-08-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

i only wish i could understand what they were saying. brother bear, want to offer highlights to our english-speaking audience?

cat weightlifting

my blog report on "THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREATEST PAWS!" by sarah.

2008-07-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

my blog report on "THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREATEST PAWS!"
by sarah.

THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREATEST PAWS! is pretty excellent. it is written mostly by some cats. canadian cats. their names are monchi and eloise. since i recently learned from the internets that canadians are a brave and noble people, i don't see why canadian cats should be any different. monchi occasionally writes an advice column, and he is very responsive to the needs and concerns of his readers. monchi and eloise also have a human, rachael, who is fun to write email to, and she has participated in at least one international craft exchange.

THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREATEST PAWS! is a wonderful source for all your cat picture needs. (people in need of dog pictures will also find some of those as well.) THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREATEST PAWS! isn't updated very often, but there are a few years worth of archives that should keep you busy for awhile.

in conclusion, THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREATEST PAWS! is funny and informative, and is sure to be appreciated by those who enjoy photographs of cats, dogs, and donkeys.

(read more blog reports)

can we all just agree that "Henrí" is a pretty good movie about a cat?

2008-05-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

henrí is a haunted kitty, they say.

(this movie came to c.w.a.j.a.?. by way of the brains behind THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREATEST PAWS!, which is wonderful and which doesn't get updated nearly often enough.)

i lol'ed. thanks, cat.

2007-12-25T02:50:00.000-08:00

and merry christmas to all you folks out there.

¿podemos estar de acuerdo que lolcats son chistosos en español también?

2007-06-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

he visto muchos de los cat macros en inglés, pero hoy encontré a esto. ¡ojalá que te gustes!

can we all just agree that kittysitting is fun?

2007-08-01T01:42:00.000-07:00

especially when the kitty you get to hang out with is extremely affectionate? he loves to sit on my lap (it's nothing special; he loves to sit on everyone's lap) and he wraps his skinny little kitty legs around my leg so that i can't get away while he rubs and rubs and rubs his little face against me. cuddlehumping, i call it. or, rather, i would if i had the opportunity to describe the behavior aloud.

anyway, he's darling and while i don't want a cat of my own, i am excited about the opportunity of hanging with him.

also! he has freckles on his nose. totally adorable.

can we all just agree that it's pretty nice to have the most pressing problems in your life solved for you by an internet advice columnist cat?

2007-11-29T17:33:00.000-08:00

thanks, monchi!

good news! i bet you could ask monchi if you have problems that need to be solved too!

snakes are horrifying, but this story is nice.

2009-11-17T01:55:00.000-08:00

once upon a time at a zoo in tokyo there was a snake named aochan that stopped eating its frozen mice. the people who were in charge of feeding it decided to give it a live hamster to eat instead. to everyone's surprise, the snake and the hamster became best friends. the hamster is named gohan, which means snack. zookeepers say that the two appear to enjoy one another's company. i still don't like snakes. via the bbc.

dimensions of compatibility

2009-11-17T01:49:00.000-08:00

awhile ago i was commenting to captain awesome that i eat way better meals when i'm not eating alone. (which is true...i'm totally content to have a glass of milk and several chunks of cheese and half a bag of potato chips and some chocolate for dinner, but i'd never serve that to someone, ever.)

me: "if you weren't here, i'd probably have a chikpatty and tater tots for dinner."
captain awesome: "awww, sarah! you should have two chikpatties and tater tots! one is not enough!"

since it's still before thanksgiving, christmas songs are not appropriate. except for this one. this one is awesome.

2009-11-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

bhangra jingle bells

incredibly sad.

2009-11-09T22:14:00.000-08:00

karla lemon was a fantastic human being. san francisco chronicle obituary.

a bill with a public option! and, i have more thoughts on health insurance reform.

2009-10-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

harry reid has announced that he will introduce to the senate floor a version of the health insurance reform bill that includes a public option.

i think this is a great idea. if you agree, call/email/fax/write your senators and let them know you support it too.

i think the creation of a strong and affordable public option is really the only way to have meaningful health insurance reform. private insurance companies are not in the business to deliver high quality care; they want to make as much money as possible in order to meet their obligations to stockholders and to enrich top executives. that's their right, i think.

but at the same time, health insurance is not something most people can safely or comfortably do without. i understand that it seems unappealing to some folks to think about their tax dollars paying for someone else's care, but i believe that this sort of investment in one another is part of living in a civilized society. and sometimes it doesn't seem fair.

like we think of the things that we don't personally use, or haven't used for a long time. for example, i rarely drive but my taxes go toward massive maintenance projects for highway systems. i haven't taken advantage of a public school district in a decade, but my rent is increased to pay property taxes that go to OUSD. but when i do drive, i'm sure grateful for safe highways. and i definitely benefited from two public school districts at one time. am i paying for things in proportion to my use for them? definitely not. but there are also the fringe benefits associated with living in a place where the people around you have access to safe roads and the opportunity for a good education. i think we as a society are strengthened by social goods like education and infrastructure, and access to proper care.

there's also the matter of corporate profits. we may feel like we're saving money in taxes if there is no additional burden to pay for health care, but if we are paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month to private companies that may or may not allow us treatment that keeps us alive when we need it, is that better? what if we consider the part of that money goes to bonuses and advertising and massive executive salaries? (the CEO of united healthcare west makes $57,000 an hour. an HOUR.)

consider firefighting (another social good we all pay for that only some of us use.) right now, if a person's house catches on fire, they call 911 and the firefighters come, rescue the person's family, make sure the fire's out, and go. and those shiny trucks and skilled first responders aren't free—our tax dollars pay for them. and firefighting services are a public good. what if there were a bunch of different fire companies and you had to sign up with one, usually through work because it would be too expensive otherwise, and send them your premium each month...and then when it was time to call 911 you found that they weren't actually coming because they decided not to cover your fire?

i think a fine for not carrying insurance is totally insane, since many people who are uninsured would like to be but can't afford it. and i think private insurance companies should be allowed to continue to exist, but i do think that a government-run program for which everyone is eligible (like medicare, but for those under 65 too!) is the only viable solution.

and it's way past time. strong public option now.

riding a lot makes everything way more awesome.

2009-08-25T01:16:00.000-07:00

i'm pretty good at appreciating eating and sleeping times, but especially in the last few weeks, as i've returned from ecuador and had time to be more focused on riding, i have become an eating and sleeping superstar. i'm not just hungry anymore, i'm ridiculously hungry, and whatever i'm eating is the best food ever*. and at bedtime (or, um, during the afternoon sometimes) i'm not just sleepy, i'm super sleepy, and i've been sleeping better than ever (which is amazing.)

*"best food ever" does not always apply to energy bars/sports fruit snacks. those are just excellent.

my suspicions have been confirmed.

2009-09-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

cantaloupe is the best shower snack ever. as we've already established, shower snacks are a wonderful idea after a lot of bicycle riding, but not all foods are well-suited for shower snack candidacy.

cantaloupe, however, is a perfect shower snack. let me tell you why:

1. it is delicious.
2. it is full of sugar and water, two of the things that you need after a long ride (and i suppose that you could salt it if you wanted to. and also sprinkle it with protein powder, making it the ultimate recovery food.)
3. it is actually more enjoyable to eat in the shower. due to the aforementioned delicious sugar and water, cantaloupe is pretty sticky in a non-aquatic environment, requiring the use of a utensil if you are one of the perfectly reasonable people who really prefers not to be sticky in most situations. in the shower, though, cantaloupe juice on your hands can just be rinsed off! it is perfect!
4. it is full of vitamin A and vitamin C and also potassium.

some people have wine cellars...

2009-09-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

i have a gatorade cellar.

special note to brother bear: those three on the bottom right (you know, the ones that are colored like actual natural substances) are actually recharge.

stolen bike!

2009-11-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

my friend suzanne's bicycle was stolen out of her garage in el cerrito, california. keep your eyes peeled!

it's a blue nishiki 10 speed, with black bar tape, front and back reflectors, and a silver bottle cage.

some thoughts on health care reform.

2009-09-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

•when you consider that we already have socialized bookshelves (libraries), socialized learning places (public schools), socialized fire protection (your local fire department), socialized security forces (police departments), socialized letter and package delivery systems (the u.s. postal service), socialized road fixing (caltrans, at least here in california), socialized environmental monitoring (the e.p.a.), and socialized medicine for old people already (medicare)...socialized medicine for everybody just doesn't seem so unreasonable.

•i've read the gospels quite a few times and i still can't find the part where jesus says that the man found by the good samaritan shouldn't have been lazy enough to not have a job with good coverage and lucky enough not to have a carrier who dropped him when his treatment got expensive.

•if health insurance companies are already doing such a great job, why should competition from a public plan endanger them in any way?

•on this issue (and probably this issue alone) i am turning into a total laissez-faire economics cheerleader. move over thomas friedman, it's my turn to high five the invisible hand! natural competition in the market solves everything!

•if we were to get a public option and you didn't like it, you wouldn't have to use it. that's why the public option is called the public option, not the public mandatory.

•rep. alan grayson is a total badass and i would like to give him a hug and bake him a cake and probably give him a kiss, but only if he would like it and only on the cheek. WATCH THIS OMG HE IS SAYING THE THINGS I'M THINKING BUT HE IS ON TELEVISION:

Rep. Grayson on the Situation Room

•if you want to contact rep. alan grayson and tell him that he is the best ever, you can do so here.

•if you want to contact your congresspeople and ask them why the hell they can't be more like rep. alan grayson, you can do so here.

•stephen helmsley is a bad person (but he's not the only one. anyone who makes their fortune denying care to sick and injured people is, in fact, a bad person):

Greedy Insurance Companies—Unscrupulous United Healthcare CEO Stephen Hemsley

•it's taken me a long time to get around to writing about this. i don't feel like this post represents my best work, or my clearest or best organized thinking about health care reform. but i'm tired. tired, and furious and terrified. i just weathered another coverage-related fiasco, and i'm doing fine now (properly covered, going to get reimbursed for some stuff i needed but couldn't easily afford, etc) but it was a really scary couple of months. yes, months. with terrible nightmares. i'm publishing this in spite of its failure to meet my usual capricious standards because i think it's important, but i've really gotten to the point where, when i'm trying to talk to someone who is arguing against health care reform, all i hear these days is, "sarah, i don't actually care if you die."