Look! Up in the sky! I mean, on 5th Ave!

I just got back from the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., on 5th Ave in Park Slope. It. is. so. cool. I couldn't help but get a t-shirt and a map of Brooklyn and Environs. They also have paint cans full of tights and leotards, capes, wrist-talkies and other gadgets, and secret identity kits (see? serial commas are totally necessary). (And now I can't remember how to properly order an end-parentheses and a period.) It's also an after-school tutoring program for kids. So when you buy things, not only do you have to take the Superhero Pledge and put your money into a Vault, but you also are supporting a good cause. Woot woot!

Push, Fuck, or Marry

(originally from the game we played on the way back from Asbury Park on Sunday)

• FOXNews
  
• Scientology
  
• Osama bin Laden
  

Discuss.

seattle!

Things that ruled about my trip to visit Becca in Seattle
In chronological order

• Jet Blue
  Not only did I get cookies *and* chips *and* the famous cheese and crackers (hm, now i'm hungry), but i also got to watch a whole marathon of ANTM. And if you don't know what that stands for, you'd probably think less of me for having watched it, so I'm not going to say. Also, parts of the Daily Show.
  
• Seeing Becca!
  I mean, duh.
  
• Pike Place Market
  Free samples, first ever Starbucks, cool retro posters, crepes... (now i'm more hungry) Awesome.
  
• The Space Needle
  I had to say it. I mean, come on. It was... tall.
  
• Ballard
  NORWEGIANS! Or, Norwegian flags. And... Indian food (ok that's it i'm getting some breakfast). And a bar with Aquavit and the Mad Magazine Game and friendly people.
  
• The park
  Coffee, Ice Cream, and lots of walking in pretty. And bunnies (cute!) and squirrels (less cute).
  
• The thrift store
  2 cool new t-shirts for $1.49.
  
• Fado
  Lots of cute boys. Good for kissing, as the pictures that have probably found there way onto his MySpace by now will attest to.
  
• Punk Rock Diner (PUNK ROCK BEACH!)
  Ok it wasn't punk-themed or anything, and it wasn't even a diner by New England standards (let alone Jersey standards), but it had waffles at 2am and every punk and goth in the city had found their way there. Also, there was a tv you could send a text message to, kind of like at the Green Day concert.

There was other awesome, but leaving was less fun. But Brooklyn is also cool, and this week included a pink gorilla suit, a birthday party, the artist formerly and currently known as Prince, and Beth and Matt. And today, soccer! And I think a haircut, to go with all my awesome new earrings.

seattle!

Things that ruled about my trip to visit Becca in Seattle
In chronological order

• Jet Blue
  Not only did I get cookies *and* chips *and* the famous cheese and crackers (hm, now i'm hungry), but i also got to watch a whole marathon of ANTM. And if you don't know what that stands for, you'd probably think less of me for having watched it, so I'm not going to say. Also, parts of the Daily Show.
  
• Seeing Becca!
  I mean, duh.
  
• Pike Place Market
  Free samples, first ever Starbucks, cool retro posters, crepes... (now i'm more hungry) Awesome.
  
• The Space Needle
  I had to say it. I mean, come on. It was... tall.
  
• Ballard
  NORWEGIANS! Or, Norwegian flags. And... Indian food (ok that's it i'm getting some breakfast). And a bar with Aquavit and the Mad Magazine Game and friendly people.
  
• The park
  Coffee, Ice Cream, and lots of walking in pretty. And bunnies (cute!) and squirrels (less cute).
  
• The thrift store
  2 cool new t-shirts for $1.49.
  
• Fado
  Lots of cute boys. Good for kissing, as the pictures that have probably found there way onto his MySpace by now will attest to.
  
• Punk Rock Diner (PUNK ROCK BEACH!)
  Ok it wasn't punk-themed or anything, and it wasn't even a diner by New England standards (let alone Jersey standards), but it had waffles at 2am and every punk and goth in the city had found their way there. Also, there was a tv you could send a text message to, kind of like at the Green Day concert.

There was other awesome, but leaving was less fun. But Brooklyn is also cool, and this week included a pink gorilla suit, a birthday party, the artist formerly and currently known as Prince, and Beth and Matt. And today, soccer! And I think a haircut, to go with all my awesome new earrings.

Best. Movie. Ever.

i just saw the most amazing thing committed to film ever. Well, maybe in the past 2 3/4 years.

The preview for Pirates of the Carribbean 2. Check it out for yourself (of course, it's much better in the theater).

Just thought I'd share that with you. The rest of the site is cool too. I mean, probably. I haven't checked it out yet.

W.T.F.

So according to the Washington Post, "New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves—and to be treated by the health care system—as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon. Among other things, this means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control." (full article here)

Wow, thank you, CDC, for reminding me that my entire purpose in life is to breed babies. Despite relentless attempts to limit the women's right to choose, I'd almost forgotten. Good thing the federal government is here to help me be the best incubator I can be. Well, aside from doing anything as ridiculous as providing affordable pre-natal care to everyone who needs it.

Perhaps the high infant mortality rate in this country (second-highest in the world, is it? Or perhaps just among industrialized countries? Whatever, it's embarrassingly bad), cited as a possible motivation for this new "guideline," has to do with the flagrant lack of health coverage. I doubt that French women are any more likely to abstain from alcohol and cigarrettes than American women just because they're pre-menopausal. But French women are much more likely to be getting all the health care they need throughout their lives, and especially throughout their pregnancies, simply because they all have access to it.

And what's this assumption that every woman might get pregnant at any moment? Obviously, if the neocons get their way and outlaw all contraception, a lot of us will be a hell of a lot more likely to. But excluding rape, I doubt many lesbian women will have any unexpected pregnancies any time soon, not to mention those who are not at all sexually active.

I'm all for promoting good health. But couching it in this "your body is a baby-machine" mentality is beyond fucked up. It is not my sole purpose in life to create more life, any more than it's every living thing's life goal to perpetuate the species. The government isn't telling men to stay away from tighty-whiteys in order to maximize their sperm count, or to shy away from alcohol themselves because it can reduce performance.

This kind of thing doesn't just piss me off. It fucking terrifies me. As Dan Savage says, it's a small step between "should" and "must," and this is a damn slippery slope.

25 is a lot of times

I voted for the MLB All-Star game today! They let you vote 25 times, and usually I don't, but today I did. I thought surely it had screwed up and I'd voted way more than 25 times already, but then I got the "no you already voted enough" message, so it must have worked.

Fleet week has been a big bust. There were supposed to be many many sailors, roaming around and hitting on me and Liza. But no... Y'know, I thought the Navy wasn't involved in any desert operations, but have their numbers been depleted too? Or were they too "oh, I'm in Midtown, lalala"? The latter, probably.

Anyhoo, it's now too hot to retrieve and set up the AC. Oh irony of ironies.