blinker

[Blatant attempt to tap my network, please propagate far and wide]

Some of you may remember my friend Liz Hickok's really amazing San Francisco in Jell-O photo series from a few years back.

Anyway, she now has a Jell-O tribute to Obama's first 100 days in the White House up on her site.

Liz would like to get The White House: The First 100 Days (in Jell-O) to the actual White House somehow and is looking for folks who might be able to help. I don't have any White House connections myself, but maybe you or someone you know does? Let me know, or contact Liz directly (liz at lizhickok dot com). Thanks!

For those of you in/near East Somerville (which is not a cultural mecca like Davis Square, but has better burritos), we have some good stuff coming up:

The East Somerville Main Streets 2nd birthday celebration is on Monday, March 2. Details at eastsomervillemainstreets.org.

There are also some great photos from our Interpreting East Somerville photo show at City Hall up for silent auction.

Happy New Year, everyone!

K and I have been down in Key West since Christmas, heading back tomorrow. We're having a great trip full of fun outdoor activities (kayaking, snorkeling, cycling around town, etc. but no long walks on the beach because the beaches down here aren't all that long). I hope all of my friends in Boston are enjoying your 6-10 inches of snow.

The East Somerville photo exhibit that I mentioned is having its opening reception at Somerville City Hall on Nov. 20. from 5:30 to 7. The East Somerville Main Streets blog has details: http://eastsomervillemainstreets.blogspot.com/2008/11/interpreting-east-somerville-reception.html

There are photographs from 40 people, including yours truly and a few of my friends and neighbors.

I'm heading up to NH on Sunday to canvass for Obama. It's easy and fun and only takes a couple of hours. If you're interested in coming with, let me know.

Forwarded by my mom, the blog with the collected responses is at http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com:

>
> Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,
>
> We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the
> announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the
> Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed
> mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce—on the part of a
> pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate—that has a real
> possibility of becoming fact.
>
> Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin
> and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves
> and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex
> education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental
> protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor
> she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood
> against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar
> bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become
> the second-most-powerful person on the planet.
>
>
> We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a
> mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely
> as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice
> President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face
> to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and
> great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably
> benefited from.
>
> First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not
> demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that
> the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women
> voters. We want to disagree, publicly.
>
> Therefore, we invite you to reply here <mailto:womensaynopalin@gmail.com>
> with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this
> country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our
> nation.
>
> Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of
> residence.
>
> We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin,"
> which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your
> reply at your earliest convenience—the greater the volume of responses we
> receive, the stronger our message will be.
>
> Thank you for your time and action.
>
> VIVA!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
> New York, NY
> womensaynopalin@gmail.com <mailto:womensaynopalin@gmail.com>
>
> **PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! If you send this to 20 women in the next hour,
> you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously.
> Stranger things have happened.

Check out this story on Feministing about a Staten Island girls' high school where students are required to bring a male escort to the prom.

Fortunately, it's a Catholic girls' school, so you can be sure that none of the students are gay.

Via Mark Bittman's NY Times blog, check out some cool science photos on the BBC site:
http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/a-different-view-of-salt-and-pepper-literally/

Perfunctorily

Spotted on Mass Ave on our way to Boca Grande last night...

This whole National Coming Out Day is really hard when you have run out of people out to whom you can come. I may have come out to someone at work today, except I can't remember if I came out to him already.

Can one of you please tell someone that I'm gay? Thanks!