vrijdag 31 juli 2009 Up with alarm. Another good night's sleep. Vegetarian chili on rice for breakfast. Turn on Stephanie Miller. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) calls in to tell us about her anger at the Blue Dog Democrats and their opposition to meaningful health care reform. She says, “In recent days, some within the Democratic Caucus have raised spurious claims that the cost of reforming health care in America is something our nation cannot afford. I think there’s a lot of resentment at the role Blue Dogs have played.” A caller says, "The Blue Dogs should also not get any of the powerful committee assignments after this shameless show of disloyalty to the president and the party." Shower. Walk up Westlake to work... listening to Weekday on KUOW - Locally Made Ice Cream. The raspberry mint sorbet from Molly Moon's sounds yummy. 10 to 11:45 - Kitchen help. Standing on my feet for such a long time hurts my back. 12 - Up to Moons & Stars to do Lonnie's lunch. Sarah Myles covers for Leisha's. The kids are rather testy. Kyle says, "No! I want Sarah to do my diaper!" After lunch, Sarah does the diapers and I clean up the lunch mess. The kids lay on their mats. 1 - Pam's lunch is 10 minutes late since Lonnie comes back late. It's ok. I feed Paxton his lunch. Ivy is fine. Harrison plays. 2 - Patty's lunch. Just Alex. I put him in the back pack and we go out on the deck with the Seahorses. I leave at 2:55, and I manage to catch the 3 o'clock streetcar to d'town. Train to Beacon Hill. Shop at Hilltop Red Apple for my dinner and orange juice. The fried chicken looks good, but I don't have enough cash. I get a Marie Calendar's chicken dinner - $3.50 on sale. The light rail starts and stops a lot. Home by 4:25. Make a salad and heat my Marie Calendar's chicken dinner. Watch MSNBC News then Dexter.
donderdag 30 juli 2009 Up with alarm. I survived the hottest night in Seattle. It's 88.6 ° in my apartment. It's hot. Here's a YouTube video for this occasion - When You're Hot, You're Hot! Lemon grass tofu and rice noodles for breakfast. Turn on Stephanie Miller. Nice cool shower. Chat with mom. I tell her about the record breaking heat and how I'm coping. Today, it will be cooler... only 99° Listen to Thom Hartmann on my walk to work. He interviews Gavin Newsom who talks about Healthy San Francisco - a program created by the city of San Francisco that makes health care services accessible and affordable for uninsured residents. There's a staff meeting in the bike room. The Summer Camp is evicted. Q & A for the candidate for the new Team Leader. 10 to 11:30 - Kitchen Help. No dishwasher... So, we wash the dishes differently. It's not too hard. My back hurts. Take my break on the deck outside with the Rainforest Kids and the Trailblazers & Explorers. They're busy squirting each other. 12 - Anne's lunch. Erin covers for Elaine. Naps for 5 Starfish. I need to rock and sing to Ben for 20 minutes. 1 - Pam's lunch. The kids are asleep, but Pam's coming in and out of the classroom wakes them up. I manange to get Paxton and Harrison back to sleep. But Ivy won't go back to sleep. Teresa feeds Ivy her lunch. Ivy doesn't want anything to do with me. I take care of Nolan. 2 - Patty's lunch. The parents of the kids are there with their ice creams and sorbets - playing with the kids. Alex is trying to take steps. Streetcar to d'town. Change clothes. It's still hot. 95° Walk down to Seattle City Hall to James Street. Down James Street to the Pioneer Square Station. Ride nice cool train up to Westlake. I see Peter Lock getting off. He introduces me to his partner, Jason. Back to my place. Listen to Ron Reagan. Ron and Montel Share a Beer for Racial Unity. In honor of the "Beer Summit" at the White House between President Barack Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Sergeant James Crowley and, randomly, Vice President Joe Biden, Air America hosts Ron Reagan and Montel Williams get together to move the story of race relations forward. Finish off teriyaki chicken for dinner. Watch movie - Kronos.
woensdag 29 juli 2009 Up at 4:40. Fairly solid night's sleep. It's 85.6° in the apartment. Only one small new mosquito bite on my toe. Turn on NPR News. Report - NPR Poll Finds Tough Sledding For Obama. Thanks for your support NPR...NOT! The polls actually show 70% of the country want a public option. I see the Republicans trying to outdo one another on the "evils" of programs being considered by President Obama and the Democrats in Congress. Sometimes, I think that NPR can be rather right-wing. According to Gallop on Monday, President Obama's average job approval rating is 56%. Rice and lemon grass tofu for breakfast. Turn on Stephanie Miller. She and the callers talk about how the Conservatives fearmonger that health care reform will lead to denying treatment to elderly. Steph also refers to an op-ed by Paul Krugman - "An Incoherent Truth" Shower. Walk past the Paramount. Tao - Martial Art Of The Drum is coming. Looks sexy. Walk up to Whole Foods. Get some egg salad. Andrew N. - the cute blond clerk - is my clerk. He has some interesting tats on his arms. It's too hot to walk anymore. According to KOMO News, it's already 90° at 9:30! So, I take the streetcar to work. 10 to 10:30 - I help the Summer Campers get ready for their trip to the Mariners' game - Seattle vs. Toronto. Julie froze their hats! They're thrilled to put their frozen hats on their heads. Then breaks for Pam and Patty. 11 - Teresa's lunch. Nolan and I visit the Sea Otters. He does a little water play with them. The Rainforest Kids also visit. They sing the ABC song for us. Most of them are stripped down to just diapers. Andy says, "It's all about keeping cool." Indeed! 12 - Anne's lunch. Quiet time. 5 Starfish nap. 1 - Patty's lunch. Alex is taking a nap, so Evanan and I hang out. He is very interested in my slinky. Charmaine looks after Alex while we goof around in the lobby. 2 - Olivia's lunch. 6 Seahorses wake up one by one. Kris does the diapers while I help them with their shoes. Honeydew melon for snack. I check the internet to see the temperature. It's official. This is the hottest day ever! The air quality is degrading today as the temperatures rise. Streetcar to Whole Foods. The store has A.C. Nice! Shop for veggies, sardines, cheese and wine. Andrew N. is my clerk again. Yay! Walk up to my place. Drop off stuff. Check with KIRO News. They say it is 105 - report from the Sand Point weather station. watch some MSNBC News. Kent Jones cracks me up with...
dinsdag 28 juli 2009 Up at 1:30. I feel icky and sticky. The mosquitoes love me. It's 84° in the apartment. Turn on BBC News. Report - Lower Oil Prices Cut BP Profits. That's really really too bad. Don't make me cry. Switch to MySpace to check on Jay Brannan's page. He says something interesting...
happiness is overrated and possibly even fictional
I totally missed his show here on Sunday. Sorry, Jay. Turn on Hulu. Play Weird Science - Strangers In Paradise.
Also Weird Science - Fatal Lisa. Fun!
Check lotto numbers. I have 4 out of 6! Whoo hoo! Leftover burrito and fried egg for breakfast. Check news for weather. Heat Wave Could Break Record Oh, boy. Seattle is in for an unusually long and oppressive heat wave this week, with peak temperatures on Wednesday that could break Seattle's all-time record of 100 degrees. Turn on Stephanie Miller. The word is out... Senate Finance Commission Dropping 'Public Option' From Health Care. People call into the show fuming. The people know that the "Bipartisan Compromise" Is A Scam! There's a list - according to The Hill - of Democratic Senators who have not agreed to support The Public Plan Option. Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.). Shower. Walk up Westlake to work. 10 - Cover for Pam's observation meeting. Paxton and Harrison play and poop. Ivy arrives. She lets me hold her when she gets dropped off by her dad. She poops, too. 11 - Pam's break then Patty's break. I take Alex outside to the deck. The Rainforest Kids are squirting each other with water bottles. Alex enjoys the frenzy. My break... Where I finish off my burrito. 12 - Lonnie's lunch. Hang out with the Moons & Stars for their lunchtime. One of them says, "You got muscles!" when I push a lid onto a container. 1 - Back down to Dolphins for Pam's lunch. Everyone is finishing up lunch, so I clean them up. Heather helps Ivy for nap. I take Paxton and Harrison next door to play with the Sea Otters. Patty is always welcoming of visitors. 2 - Patty's lunch. Alex has taken his lumps and bumps today. Then he hits his head on the table and bites his tongue. It's a tiny bite. I cradle him and he dozes off to sleep. Streetcar to d'town. Drop off stuff at home. Listen a little to The World. I like the Solar Power report. Train down to Uwajimaya. Nice, cool ride. Cash in my lotto - $30! Buy some teriyaki chicken, tofu and Ozeki. #212 bus tunnel back to my place. What a slow, hot bus. Ugh! Mixed veggies and teriyaki chicken for dinner. Watch movie - Dude, Where's My Car? Why do I love this goofy movie? It's just that... I love the ostriches in space. The moments of male bonding... And spacesuits made of bubblewrap. Zoltan!
maandag 27 juli 2009 Awake around Midnight. Restless night with a hot apartment - 81.3° I'm sticky and mosquitoes are harassing me. Play some Futuruma to relax. I manage to fall asleep. Dream about a kitten who says, "I'm Kat from Mars." He repeats himself a lot. Weird dream. That's what happens when you fall asleep while Futurama is playing. Another mosquito gets me! Up at 3:00. Turn on BBC News. London is getting ready for the Olympics - Three Years And Counting To 2012... from this day. Rice noodles and mushroom omelet for breakfast. Turn on Stephanie Miller. Steph and Chris are still drunk from the S. F. Green 960Girls Night Out event on Saturday. Shower. Walk up Westlake to work listening to Thom Hartmann. He talks about an important subject - equality. Check Equality Trust. According to Thom, USA is the most unequal country. 10 - Cover for Patty's observation meeting with Celeste. It's only Alex in her group. I put him in the back pack and we hang out with the Starfish on the nice, cool, shady deck. At 10:30 - Alex conks right out. No argument! 11 - Planning time for Anne. Carrie covers for Elaine. Starfish start to eat lunch. There are a couple of diapers to do before they lie down. Bella doesn't cry herself to sleep. 1 - Anne's lunch. It's quiet time. 2 - Olivia's lunch. The Seahorses wake up one-by-one. Streetcar to d'town. Get a Mondo Burrito. It's a pathetic, skinny burrito this time. #49 up to Cal Anderson Park. Walk through the park down to my place. What's this on the sidewalk? Je t'aime. (I love you.) Who me? Listen to Ron Reagan. He interviews - Danny Kofke - the author of How To Survive (And Perhaps Thrive) On A Teacher's Salary. Here's Ron Reagan's Pre-Show Show for today.
Watch movie - Mysterious Island. Watch out for the monster crab. Presenting the long-lost Captain Nemo.
Big salami and cheese omelet for breakfast. Bath. Ride over to Nordstrom's elevator to take my bike down to the Downtown Transit Tunnel.
At 9:00, it's already 67° It's going to be a hot one. From the elevator at the Beacon Hill Station, I ride up Beacon Ave. to Cheasty Blvd. I love Cheasty Boulevard. It's a lovely winding downhill 1.3-mile ride to Mt. Baker. Lots of people are taking advantage of the cooler temps in the morning to run and bike. Ride past the moorages of Leschi. Admire the lovely homes along Lake Washington Boulevard. Are boulevards supposed to always be lovely? Rest-stop at Madrona Park. Listen to a little A Prairie Home Companion under the shade. Rode up to the Mount Baker Station. There's competition for hooks on the train. There are only 2 bike hooks on each train, but I see lots of people taking their bikes on the trains. People are so friendly on the trains. I seem to manage to strike up a conversation with each ride. A cute Mexican boy - 10-years-old - asks me, "Is it free?" I give him a pamphlet showing him the Ride-Free area. "Thank you, sir." Exit the University Street Station. Ride up Union to my place. Rest a little. Listen to The Splendid Table and Tavis Smiley. Walk up to Borders and browse through The Return Of Depression Economics And The Crisis Of 2008. BBC News talked about crooked banking this morning. So...
A warning for all of us: like diseases that have become resistant to antibiotics, the economic maladies that caused the Great Depression were making a comeback.
Walk through Westlake Center over to my place. Find Torchwood DVD. Play Random Shoes. I love how Gwen listens to a ghost.
zaterdag 25 juli 2009 Up at 6:30. Turn on BBC-5 to listen to Le Tour De France - Stage 20. What a fantastic race! Mon coeur est ravi! I love this photo... The Schleck brothers are harassing this police officer.
Hummus on toast for breakfast. Early start for the day. Head down to Westlake with my bike to take a ride down to Columbia City on the Link Light Rail.
This is the way my bike actually looks dangling on the hook.
I ride up Edmunds to Columbia Park. Turn on Alaska up to Renton Ave. I see Seattle about 3 miles away... but I'm not going d'town.
Renton Ave. to Mt. Baker Blvd. Ride along Lake Washington to Seward Park. What a beautiful day... with beautiful shirtless sweaty studs running along the lake. I see a an American Bald Eagle diving down on a bunch of ducks. I do the Seward Park loop.
I stop at Colman Park to pee.
It takes about 30 minutes of riding to get to the Mount Baker Station from Seward Park. A very nice - cute - guy helps to take a picture of me at the station. He's wearing a Sounders' scarf - wrapped smartly around his neck.
The train is packed with people going to the Sounders game and to the Seafair Parade. Back at my place. I relax a little bit. My legs are sore. Wander up to M Street to get a few things. I notice a guy sitting at an M Street table reading Wall Street Versus America.
The store is busy with people stocking up on stuff for Seafair. I forget how busy the city can get for Seafair. Drop off stuff at home. Walk down to 4th Ave. People are already setting up chairs for the parade. Conveniently, a #33 comes by, and I ride it to Seattle Center... which is full of people as well. A nice air-conditioned #8 takes me to Denny. I turn on Rick Steves program on my radio as I walk to my place. I love his show - David Sedaris: An American in Paris and Tokyo. David likes to shop at Monoprix... Me, too! Watch Star Trek - Who Mourns For Adonis. As the USS Enterprise nears the planet Pollux IV, a huge hand made of energy materializes in space, catching and holding the ship.
They go down to the planet to visit Apollo. Apollo gets BIG! Nice! He's large and in charge.
The crew seem somewhat skeptical for Apollo's veracity.
"Your fathers knew me, and your fathers' fathers – I am Apollo."
"And I am the Czar of all the Russias!"
"Mr. Chekov –"
"I'm sorry, sir; I never met a god before."
"And you haven't yet." - Apollo, Chekov, and Kirk
Go to my Yahoo Music Videos. I start with Boulevard Of Broken Dreams... one of my favorites.
vrijdag 24 juli 2009 Up at 3:50. Turn on BBC News. Report - Calcutta Hit By Transport Strike. Rice noodles with miso orange tofu. Yummy! Turn on BBC-5 for Le Tour De France - Stage 19. It sounds like they're almost done, and Cavendish wins! Hoorah!
Mark Cavendish sets new British record for stage wins in Tour de France, sprinting to his fifth win of 2009, and ninth of career.
Bath. Switch to Stephanie Miller. They bicker about the arrest of the black Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the context of the situation. Sgt. James Crowley... did he profile? The BBC calls it The Harvard Row. In John Fugelsang's opinion - who joins the show - "It was a case of testosterone overload." Walk up to Whole Foods to get some orange juice. Andrew N. - a cute, tall, skinny, blond young guy - is my clerk. Up Westlake to work. Open space from 10 to 10:30. I hang out with the Seahorses. 10:30 - Breaks for Kenn and Elaine. 11 - We take the 5 Starfish inside from the playground. Elaine and Anne have an Observation Meeting. 12 - Elaine's lunch. The Starfish go to sleep easily... to the music of African Dreamland.
1 - Anne's lunch. Jack wakes up at 1:30. We go over to Sea Otters to play. 2 - Julie's lunch. 11 Summer Campers rest and sleep after their trip to Tutta Bella. Did they eat any pizza? Anyway... Scott, Harry and Henry stay awake. Our nap music is The Musical Renditions Of Coldplay.
Here's the real Coldplay! In My Place... Oh, Yeah!
When Tanya comes back, I leave. Streetcar to d'town. #41 bus tunnel to 2nd and University. WSLCB is very busy... Are people stocking up for a Torchlight Weekend? #41 bus tunnel back to my place. Drop off stuff. Relax for a while. Watch Star Trek - The Deadly Years.
Watch a little Rachel Maddow - The President doesn't want to Pump Up The Volume.
donderdag 23 juli 2009 Up at 1:39. Turn on BBC News. Report - Flu Infects 100,000 In Past Week. The UK has been hit hard with the swine flu, and kids under 14 are hit the worst. They have a National Flu Service with a website - Pandemic Flu. I manage to doze back to sleep. I have a dream where someone stole all my clothes. No clothes except what I wear. Up at 4:30... still hearing the BBC News. Rice and Teriyaki chicken for breakfast. Switch to Stephanie Miller. She interviews Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) to talk about Obama's press conference last night. I like her! Bath. Turn on BBC-5's coverage of Le Tour De France - Stage 18. Annecy, France looks pretty... but I bet the racers don't have time to notice. Cavendish keeps fighting The Telegraph has some video of today's stage. Walk up Westlake to work. 10 - Extra help for a rather disorganized Trailblazers & Explorers group. Karen manages a Morning Meeting with grace and dignity. 11 - Teresa's lunch. Avik has a very messy diaper... just in time for my break. 12 - Charmaine's lunch. Her group is napping. Caitlin wakes up and I feed her lunch. 1 - Pam's lunch. Harrison and Paxton wake up and need lunch. Sweet potato and chicken dinner. Yummy. 2 - Patty's lunch. She has only Alex. He's sleeping but soon wakes up. We read some books. We take a little back pack ride outside, too. Walk up to Whole Foods. Get some Hanenhof Semillon, mineral water, some miso orange tofu, hummus and paper towels. Listen to The World. I like this report - Amsterdam's Green Streets. We go to a place where people are more likely to hop on a bike than to get behind the wheel. (Guess what! It's not Amsterdam, USA.) In the Netherlands the bike routes are so separate that it’s not possible to have an accident with a car. Hans Voerknecht - International Bicycle Coordinator for the Netherlands - says the the problem with many bike lanes in the US is they sit between parked cars and traffic. Take a short walk around First Hill. Finish off Teriyaki chicken and rice for dinner. Watch Star Trek TNG - Hollow Pursuits.
