I heard on NPR today that the internet and phone companies are worried about data overload tomorrow so I’ll post this tonight to avoid clogging the tubes tomorrow.

I haven’t paid much attention to many inaugurations in my life. I started paying attention after I was able to vote. That means that I’ve watched Clinton’s. I did not watch Bush II’s inaugurations but I read the coverage.

So, this will be the second inauguration that I will watch. I may end up having to listen to it since I’ll be at work. I had hoped to watch it online but if the interwebtubes are going to be stopped up that might be out.

It’s very heartening to me to see the amount of anticipation and even excitement about this new president. The fact that many news sites are worried about crashing from data overload is another sign of this excitement. More people than ever want to see our new president sworn in - want to hear what he has to say and witness it as it happens.

Obama’s pre-inaugural approval ratings are up to 60% and higher, which means even people who didn’t vote for him like what they’re seeing and hearing so far. I admit my bias but I honestly don’t remember this feeling of optimism and outright happiness about a new commander in chief, especially from the public at large.

There are many factors, I know. The bad economy has everyone wanting a change and the naysayers will say that that’s all this excitement is - anticipation of new ideas and a better fiscal future. There’s also the added glee at finally breaking the racial barrier for the highest office in the land. But I saw this optimism starting before the national financial crisis even started. I saw it during Obama’s campaign, even back when I was leaning more toward Clinton. Back when Obama was deemed unelectable.

I thought he was unelectable myself. I honestly thought that those out there who won’t read more than captions on a picture wouldn’t be able to get past that name - only one letter removed from the name of this nation’s most reviled man in the past decade. That and the fact that he wasn’t blindingly white.

I can’t express how glad I am to be wrong.

Tags: Inauguration, Obama

…so what am I going to blog about? The hostilities in the Gaza strip? The economic recession (depression)? Or maybe, to be more positive, the upcoming inauguration?

Nope. I’m gonna blog about shoes.

I’m not a clothes horse - anyone who sees what I wear everyday can attest to that. I think my biggest problem with modern fashion is that I simply don’t like it. I prefer ‘retro’ clothing and I’m not even talking about 60’s Mod or 70’s browns. I like clothes from the 30’s and 40’s and sometimes 50’s.

(The 50’s had that trend toward what I think of as ‘trashy class.’ Like a Frank Tashlin movie there was nothing explicitly inappropriate for general audiences, but still had a lurid feel to it.)

Anyway, why I’m even bothering to write about this is because I found this site today that sells retro clothing including shoes and I found two pair that, if I had the money, I would snatch up even though I would really have absolutely nowhere to wear them.

First, for the purple-loving facet of my personality:

And second - these are my favorite - red velvet pumps. I wouldn’t wear these even if I did have something for them to go with (I won’t show my toes) but I love these shoes.

For more angles, click the pictures. They’ll take to the site on which they’re for sale.

So, Happy New Year to everyone. Let’s hope things start looking up so that maybe we can all splurge on a little something every once in a while - like a pair of red pumps you may never wear but will love looking at.

Tags: Shoes

The United States of America has a Republican government, not a Democratic government. And no, I’m not talking about political parties here.

I don’t have my notes handy but I remember learning in school that a Republic is a form of government where the majority rules but that the rights of the minority must always be protected. In contrast, a true Democracy is a form of government where the majority rules, period, and anyone who disagrees with that majority – well, they’re out of luck.

True Democracy would not be a good form of government. I know there are many out there who disagree but look at it like this: The majority of this country prefers chocolate to strawberry flavored ice cream. What if your favorite flavor was strawberry and it was banned because the majority preferred chocolate? How would that be fair? Your preference to strawberry is hurting no one and there’s no real reason that it should be banned.

So, we come to Civil Rights. Fifty years ago, the majority of this country believed that black people shouldn’t have the same rights that whites have. However, this was an infringement on the rights of a minority and despite the will of the people those rights had to be protected.

We’re going through this again today with yet another minority group and I’m sure you know who I’m talking about, unless you live in ignorance. In case you do, that group is homosexuals.

Several states passed anti-gay marriage laws this past Election Day, the most appalling being California. Why is California guiltier than the others? Because they didn’t just vote to deny rights, they voted to take away rights that those people had already been given.

Does that really sink in? Americans voted to take away rights. We’re supposed to be the land of the free and we’re taking away rights from individual citizens of this country – rights that hurt no one.

What was that? The sanctity of marriage? Give me a frikkin’ break. If voters are so damned worried about the sanctity of marriage, why aren’t they trying to ban divorce? It has nothing to do with sanctity. It comes down to what it always comes down to – pure and unadulterated bigotry, hatred and ignorance.

Gay marriage isn’t going to hurt the institution of marriage – the vows traded by straight couples won’t mean any less, the bond people those people will still be as strong and their love for each other can not be diminished just because a pair of homosexuals are getting married at the same time.

I know that my little rant here is a waste – it will change no one’s mind either way. Hateful, ignorant bigots tend to want to stay that way and I can’t figure out why what I would normally consider a compassionate Christian can’t just let others live their lives. I couldn’t understand that when I was in the church so I certainly can’t understand it now.

My only hope is that the court will recognize that the will of the people really has no place here. This is a rights issue and it’s not lawful for the majority to deny rights to a minority.

Tags: Bigotry, Civil Rights, Gay Marriage, Hate, Ignorance

I am now officially on vacation. Tomorrow morning we’re leaving for the Ozarks (yep - I were a hillbilly!).

I’ll be back in a week and a half or so.

Exactly seven days from this moment, Chris and I will be in the car on our way west for two weeks of visiting family and (hopefully) having a lot of fun. It takes two days to get there - assuming the weather cooperates - but we’ve always liked road trips and on the way to our destination is a stretch that I’ve never traveled.

My dad and his wife live in a small town just outside of Branson, Missouri. I grew up in Aurora, Missouri which is only an hour and a half away from Branson so I spent a lot of time in that area of Missouri when I was a kid. It’s changed drastically since the late 70’s, early 80’s, but there’s still a lot there that has been there since before I was born.

One of those things is Silver Dollar City located on top of Marvel Caverns and the only theme park (to my knowledge) whose theme is an historical one - the late 1800’s. You may have heard the town mentioned on old episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies. Here’s a little history of the real town and the theme park.

I have no idea how many times I went there as a kid but I’m pretty sure we went at least one time every summer and usually more often than that. It’s gotten larger since then, but doing some searching on the ‘net and checking out the official website, I see that it has not strayed from it’s theme and most of my favorite attractions and shops are still there.

One of those attractions is The Flooded Mine.

It’s a floating ride that takes you through - you guessed it - a flooded mine. It’s flooded because it also happens to be a prison and some of those crafty criminals did some extracurricular blasting, causing it to flood. When I was a kid, this was purely a float-through ride with no interaction. Much like Pirates of the Caribbean, all you did was enjoy the relaxing ride and watch all the goofy animatronic scenes around you. In recent years, they’ve added shotguns so you can help the Warden keep the criminals under control.

Being a purist, I don’t really like that but I’m just glad the ride is still there. One of my clearest and fondest memories of the ride is the music that’s played while you’re going through the ride. I can only hope that has not been changed. The last time I was there - over 10 years ago - it had not, meaning it had been the same for at least 20 years. That makes me hopeful that it’s still the same.

In the past decade or so, SDC has added some new, modern roller coasters such as Wildfire and Power Keg. However, the only roller coaster I’m going to make a point of riding is Fire in the Hole.

This is an indoor, dark ride in which you ride a train through a burning town. The post-civil war vigilante group, the Bald Knobbers (a real group that later turned into violent extremists), set fire to the town causing all sorts of mayhem.

Most coaster enthusiasts would probably label this ride very tame or even a kiddie ride, but even though my grandmother could ride it with no problems (despite the three dips and sprinkle of water at the end) it’s a lot of fun. Being a dark ride adds a thrill to it and for me, pure nostalgia will be enough.

SDC has two walk-through features, Grandfather’s Mansion, which is basically a fun house, and Huck Finn’s Hideaway.

At the end of one of these, and I can’t remember which, is one of my fondest memories of SDC - what I used to call the star room. All it is is a room with mirrored floors and lights on the ceiling and walls, but it always made me feel like I was floating in space.

In general, SDC is my favorite theme park because of childhood memories and the general atmosphere. Even when the park is busy, it has a laid back feel to it. Immersing yourself in the past - even if not wholly accurate - is a great way to forget the troubles of modern living. And since we’ll probably be going the day after the Election, it’ll be a great getaway.

I’m looking forward to a new section, added since my last visit - The Grand Expedition.

The Grand Exposition is supposed to be a replica of the World’s Fairs of days past. I’ve always found World’s Fairs fascinating so it’ll be pretty nifty walking through this place.

Of course, the whole place will look different to me because the park will be throwing it’s Christmas celebration. Personally, I think that’s a few weeks too early, but I don’t run the park. Even though the place will be covered in Christmas lights, I’m sure I’ll still feel all those familiar feelings, smell those distinct odors (and most of those were good, lol) and wholly enjoy myself at my favorite amusement park.

I especially look forward to stepping into the old Candle Shop and smelling my favorite smell in the world - one wholly unique to that one shop. If it’s gone, well, I guess I’ll cry.

Tags: Aurora, Bald Knobbers, Beverly Hillbillies, Branson, Fire in the Hole, Flooded Mine, Grandfather's Mansion, Huck Finn's Hideaway, Marvel Caverns, Silver Dollar City, The Grand Expedition

Tags: Standard Pop Songs, The Incredible Hulk

Tags: Medium Large, Presidential Debate #3

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I posted. I’ve been kind of tired lately and I also started a new blog (which I haven’t been updating as much as I would like) and this blog has kind of suffered.

Basically, I’m struggling to keep it together until vacation, which is two weeks away. We’re planning to take a trip to Missouri and Arkansas but I’m worried about the car. It’s almost 10 years old and it has been making some funny noises. Not terrible and it passed inspection and run fines, I just get paranoid.

We took a trip over to Camden State Park today to do some leaf peeping. It was pretty. It was the first time in the last three years I’ve been there when it was sunny. Here, take a look. (click to make it bigger)

Tags: Camden, Camden State Park

Niles Crane (David Hyde-Pierce) after taking care of a sack of flour as if it were an infant:

Last night, I actually had a dream my flour sack was abducted and the kidnapper started sending me muffins in the mail.

Tags: Frasier, Niles Crane

I haven’t been posting much lately. I don’t have any real reason why not. I haven’t been overly busy but I just haven’t felt much like writing at all.

It’s been a pretty standard summer. Garden did okay - bad pumpkin crop, but at least I got some. We tried to camp again and did get one good night but it started raining the next morning and we went home. Damn those hurricanes. Even in Maine they won’t leave us alone.