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Sunday Open Thread

Couldn't resist. Here's John Edward's birth chart. And yes, I used to be one too, although I was always taught it's the wise man who rules his stars and the fool who obeys them.

Here's an open thread for you, all topics welcome.

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    Open Closet (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by Athena on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:00:44 PM EST
    Jake Tapper reporting that "gay and lesbian" has been left out of the family plank in the Dem platform.  Great.  

    "Family" plank? (5.00 / 0) (#35)
    by Shainzona on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:46:02 PM EST
    I guess BO's grandmother has been left out, too...he went to visit her but without Michelle and the kids.

    That is very strange...IMHO.

    Parent

    personal insults to candidates (none / 0) (#60)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:02:24 PM EST
    including Sen. Obama will be deleted. You have a tendency to do this. If you continue, you will be suspended.

    Parent
    It's not a family vacation? (none / 0) (#220)
    by SueBonnetSue on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 09:37:04 PM EST
    I thought the press said it was a family vacation in Hawaii.  Perhaps I misunderstood.

    Parent
    Tent Schment: I come frm a big Family (5.00 / 0) (#134)
    by Ellie on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:00:03 PM EST
    At last count, there were about 6 billion and some change.

    Yeah, we have lots of disagreements.

    However, anyone using the excuse of "family values" or "higher authorities" to deny every last person in the extended human family basic human rights and franchise has no copyright on the term.

    I'm really sick of the Religiously Correct pretending that people they don't particularly like -- or are inconvenient to the almighy f*cking frame or artificial "narrative" of the week -- aren't the beloved partners, children, parents, sisters and brothers, esteemed elders in a family.

    How's this for a Family Value: Humanity first. Marketing later.

    Parent

    Wonder if us single folk (5.00 / 1) (#166)
    by nycstray on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:29:22 PM EST
    have been overlooked again. . . .

    Parent
    You're always welcome at my table (5.00 / 0) (#178)
    by Ellie on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:08:46 PM EST
    Especially given all that cooking and canning you've been doing. :-p

    Technically, according to the Nat'l Faith of the moment and the exclusionary dogma of my own, I'm apparently single too. I just have the responsibilities -- and tax burdens -- that those "Valued" family types have in front of Gawd and everything.

    To largely quote the Big Tented One: Bah, feh, phhht and meh (and I'll throw in a few Scalia gestures and a maba'fa'n'cul0 for good measure -- and to avoid the nuke filter.)

    Parent

    Thanks :) Starting the brining (5.00 / 2) (#191)
    by nycstray on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:35:57 PM EST
    on a few batches of pickles tonight and just ordered a pressure cooker so I can can my soups  :) White bean and kale soup goes in the slower cooker, roasting beets to freeze so I have them handy for salads and such. May try pickling some as I have a ton. After the beets, making eggplant parm and will freeze in individual meals. Prob wait until tomorrow to roast the fresh chicken for dinner. We also got fresh sweet onions yesterday, so I thought I would do a balsamic roast with those, eggplant, mushrooms and asparagus to go along. My dog is going to love that one!

    I'm so sick of not being considered when they consider who to look out for. Yeah, I get that single person tax "break" for what it's worth, heh. But man, I fall though so many cracks it's silly. Hey! I just realized I must be magic! I belong to the cracks in the floor to fall through AND the ones in the ceiling to hit my head against. I do stand a better chance when I become a senior, so I'm now looking forward to getting "old". At least I'll belong :)

    Parent

    NYT op ed says: Let Them Vote (5.00 / 3) (#22)
    by Valhalla on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:36:14 PM EST
    with regard to entering Clinton's name into nomination and a roll call vote.

    ...But finding a constructive way for Mrs. Clinton's seriously aggrieved loyalists to channel their anger and disappointment could wind up being the path of less destruction for Mr. Obama's campaign. Plus, it's the right thing to do.

    You don't have to be a die-hard Clintonite, or even much of a feminist, to be moved by the significance of her presidential campaign.

    <snip>


    Giving them the chance to see their beloved candidate honored in a highly public forum could, just maybe, help release a little steam from the pressure cooker. Beyond that, there could be other, more direct benefits for Mr. Obama's candidacy.

    A roll-call vote for Mrs. Clinton could help Mr. Obama look magnanimous instead of messianic....

    link

    "help release a little steam (5.00 / 1) (#121)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:50:37 PM EST
    from the pressure cooker"

    Hmmm, who writes this stuff?

    Parent

    Which is why it is so (5.00 / 1) (#197)
    by tree on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:51:16 PM EST
    politically stupid for Obama and the DNC to be resisting her putting her name in nomination. As Hillary said, it would be a very unifying moment.

    Parent
    Edwards is not finished with his troubles (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by Prabhata on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:56:28 PM EST
    After looking at Elizabeth's chart, I don't believe John told her about the affair in 2006.  I think she believed it was another "Enquirer" phony story until fairly recently (April to May 2008)

    Do you have ALL the required data (none / 0) (#144)
    by JavaCityPal on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:08:39 PM EST
    for Elizabeth's chart to be completely accurate?

    Parent
    No. Transiting Uranus sq natal Mercury (none / 0) (#219)
    by Prabhata on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 09:35:12 PM EST
    It's impact around April - May and based on that, even if I don't have exact birth time, I believe she did not know until recently.  I'm guessing from the events right now that her birth could be early AM, maybe 2 AM.

    Parent
    Clinton's point was that (5.00 / 2) (#64)
    by Valhalla on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:06:57 PM EST
    if it's well-planned for in advance, instead of resisted and then forced on the DNC (through a delegate's petition), it can be presented in a way that maintains the unity riff rather than contradicts it.

    Well, it turns out that the Edwards story from NE (5.00 / 0) (#128)
    by Angel on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:58:09 PM EST
    was true.....and no "legitimate" media would touch that story either.  Got any better arguments?

    Breaking - Isaas Hayes is dead (5.00 / 1) (#150)
    by cmugirl on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:12:47 PM EST
    Wow. That's very sad. (5.00 / 1) (#158)
    by shoephone on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:19:56 PM EST
    It appears he was excercising on his treadmill when he died.

    Parent
    I'm a distant neighbor of the Edwards' and. . . (5.00 / 1) (#210)
    by Roninstia on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 05:18:17 PM EST
    I ask where is your outrage that both John AND Elizabeth asked poor Americans for money to finance a presidential campaign that both of them KNEW would fail. . .a la Lewinsky. .  .  ?

    I've been lurking here for months but I registered today because I am SO UPSET!

    If you look in the threads from Friday (none / 0) (#216)
    by ruffian on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 08:20:09 PM EST
    you will see some outrage about that angle of it.

    Parent
    this thread has been cleaned (5.00 / 0) (#215)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 07:32:38 PM EST
    of character attacks on Sen. Barack Obama. If you want to spread defamatory gossip about him, please do it on elsewhere. The comment rules still apply on open threads.

    Well since all topics are welcome... (none / 0) (#1)
    by Thanin on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 12:59:37 PM EST
    The term Heartland was coined in 1904 by Halford John Mackinder.  So the line you love so much: Date 1904, refers to its origins.

    That was to Cream City, btw... (none / 0) (#2)
    by Thanin on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:00:00 PM EST
    Ha. I know exactly what (none / 0) (#77)
    by Cream City on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:16:17 PM EST
    the origin line means.  Or, as it were, meant.

    You oughta see the origins and evolution of the term Midwest.  But since I'm in 2008, I go with the definitions of these terms in, well, 2008.

    Parent

    Why bring up the midwest... (none / 0) (#130)
    by Thanin on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:59:24 PM EST
    when I was referring to the term heartland?

    Parent
    Yeah youre right... (none / 0) (#153)
    by Thanin on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:15:48 PM EST
    Cream City, I just got frustrated because it seemed like you were saying that the midwest is infallible, which, from personal experience, I know isnt true.  However, there are plenty of good, hardworking midwestern people who'd take the shirt off their back for you if need be, just like there are those that wouldnt lift a finger to save someone the didnt like.  Both kinds are here, like everywhere else.

    Parent
    Okay. I was replying to a (5.00 / 0) (#161)
    by Cream City on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:22:49 PM EST
    sweeping generalization about "Americans," all of us.  I was replying with exceptions to that, not attempting more sweeping generalizations.  That's as best I recall how that thread disintegrated.  As several have today.  Whatever -- cheers.

    Parent
    And aobut the Midwest being infallible? (none / 0) (#186)
    by Cream City on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:31:29 PM EST
    Ha.  See many recent political results, and that's only for starters.  I am no fan of much of what we do here.  I just blame it on, y'know, Chicagoans.

    Btw, maybe it just would be easier to consider the Heartland to be the same as the Appalachians, as they're defined these days? That covers the country.:-)

    To paraphrase Cheech and Chong, I baptise ye all.  Domini, Domini, Domini -- yer all Heartlanders now!

    Parent

    Responding to Frankly0 (none / 0) (#4)
    by kredwyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:02:26 PM EST
    because the thread's closed...

    Religion and spirituality are not based on any sort of rational methods. That's why Popper would put them as far away from the realm of scientific theory as is humanly possible.

    Science, however, is.

    But there is a space for both magic and science.


    And, to the comment that mentioned (none / 0) (#5)
    by JavaCityPal on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:02:28 PM EST
    Anthony Robbins, I have to ask why anything this man promotes to people could be considered flaky.

    I find these beliefs very uplifting in times of confusion, insecurity and strife.


    I trust him about as much as I trust (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by MarkL on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:14:17 PM EST
    John Edwards.

    Parent
    Promotes? (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by standingup on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:25:31 PM EST
    More like sells to the tune of how many dollars?  

    Parent
    How about Joel Osteen? (5.00 / 0) (#66)
    by Angel on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:07:55 PM EST
    His wife is on trial in Houston for assaulting a flight attendant because there was a spill on the armrest of her first class seat when she boarded the plane and she wanted it cleaned up pronto.  One flight attendant gave her napkins to wipe it up but she said it "wasn't her job."  Other flight attendants tried to help, then Ms. Osteen tried to get into the pilot cabin, two flight attendants tried to block her from doing so, then Ms. Osteen reportedly elbowed one of the flight attendants, mayhem for a minute or so.  The Osteens were asked to leave the plane, they did so; they were fined by the FAA to the tune of $3,000; they now say they were nice as pie the entire time and that this is nothing but an attempt to get some money.....blah blah blah.  Why do some wealthy people always think it's about money.  Sometimes it's about taking responsibility for your actions.  I hope the flight attendant wins the case.

    Parent
    Joel is a religious minister (none / 0) (#156)
    by JavaCityPal on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:17:00 PM EST
    who gets donations rather than charges fees.


    Parent
    I think it's the smile... (none / 0) (#6)
    by kredwyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:05:56 PM EST
    AR, now that I think about him, (none / 0) (#79)
    by brodie on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:18:58 PM EST
    was something close to a self-help guru superstar back in the late 80s/early 90s, and was everywhere, it seemed, in the media.  He visited Clinton's WH, got some pub for that, good and bad, but then, seems to me, his star sort of dimmed and he disappeared almost.  I wonder what happened.

    Nothing wrong, btw, with people out there basically promoting positive attitudes and a can-do spirit.  Probably a far better way in general and healthier for the body than taking prescription medicine for most of those personal issues that cause the troughs and Churchill's Black Dog.

    Parent

    Astrology (none / 0) (#7)
    by Little Fish on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:08:45 PM EST
    I'm a Virgo and while I have a lot of the Virgo-ish traits, I lack one of the more defining ones - perfection, organization, tidiness. I couldn't be farther from that description if I tried.

    My mom is a spot on Scorpio though, it's like they wrote the description about her.

    I would imagine (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by ccpup on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:23:54 PM EST
    a lot has to do with your Rising Sign, whatever Sign your Moon is in, maybe what Sign your Saturn or Mercury is in (if we're talking about one's ability to commit and be disciplined and organized).

    Astrology is MUCH more than one's Sun Sign.  In fact, in many cases, the Sun Sign is almost an echo in the make-up of one's personality.

    Just FYI.  :-)

    Parent

    Exactly (none / 0) (#19)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:35:15 PM EST
    I explain that in the post I linked to above about casting the charts for the candidates:

    We need birth times so we can examine their entire charts. We need rising signs, Moon and Venus placement, a picture of what planets are in their 10th houses.

    If I remember correctly, the sun is your energy level, like the fuel that runs your car. The rising sign is the exterior, the make and model, how you appear to the world. The moon (emotions)is the  engine that makes it run, hidden from view. The 10th house (Capricorn)governs career and government; the fourth house (Cancer) is family; the 8th house (Scorpio) death and sex.

    The light of the sun illuminates, the light of the moon obscures. See the moon in the talkleft header graphic, behind Congress. It's there for a reason, signifying that so much that goes on is hidden from view of the public. (See, I can do it too, but I'm reaching back through 30 year old memory fragments to do it.)

    Parent

    Well, I know little about astrology (none / 0) (#67)
    by brodie on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:08:05 PM EST
    -- it might have originated in ancient Egypt (as per carvings in a later temple which itself was constructed from plans laid out thousands of yrs earlier, accrd'g to the hieroglyphs therein).  That very early (in human civ terms) introduction is a fascinating possibility.  But beyond that, I suspect these planetary influences on people, at birth or later, are at best a negligible factor.

    Now, since Jeralyn brings us the nifty Aquarius song from 40 yrs back, which spoke of the "dawning" of that Age, does anyone here have an opinion about when we're actually supposed to enter the Aquarius Age?  

    Or is that something that's going to be happening in ... (nervous laughter) ... 2012?

    Parent

    comment from ccpup deleted by accident (none / 0) (#213)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 07:28:21 PM EST
    Here's what CC pup said:

    the article inked to has a second link to an article on Hillary's chart written by a good friend -- and fantastically talented astrologer -- of mine.  He was one of the few who predicted Sarkozy's win over Ségolene.

    But birthtimes are very important.  For the longest time this campaign season, people were using a morning time for Barack Obama and not the early evening time on the birth certificate we've been told is his.

    McCain's birthtime is also something with a bit of doubt, although it's slightly easier -- with his history -- to rectify it a bit to the 9 AM time currently being used.

    When one's birthtime is in doubt, it sometimes helps to move to Secondary Progressions and watch what phase the Secondary Progressed Moon is in and what aspects it's making as well as what the SP Sun is doing or if any Progressed planets are changing Signs or Houses.

    Without the birthtime, though, it's hard to do any calculations using the Angles eg. the Ascendant and, especially important with career and the Public, the Midheaven (or MC).



    Parent
    interesting! (none / 0) (#73)
    by Little Fish on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:12:02 PM EST
    I've always been a little piqued by astrology, but never really pursued it. From what I remember I have a Virgo rising and my moon in in Capricorn.

    I am pretty organized in my head and I have a crazy memory. Outwardly though, I'm a disaster. I've tried to be neat and organized and it's an utter failure.

    Parent

    I'm a Virgo who gets organized (none / 0) (#80)
    by Cream City on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:19:09 PM EST
    twice a year.  Otherwise, you can't see the top of my desk.

    So I must have a moon rising twice a year.  Hmmm, maybe the answer is that my moon is circling a different planet.

    Parent

    I still think that how (none / 0) (#110)
    by ccpup on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:41:09 PM EST
    we handle our day-to-day business has more to do with our Rising Sign (or Ascendant) than it does our Sun Sign.

    For instance, Madonna is a very strong Leo, but she's known as someone who is OBSESSIVELY organized to an immensely irritating degree ... very unLeo-like.

    But she DOES have Virgo Rising.  So, her Virgo Rising really details how she handles her day-to-day business as well as her obsession with yoga, diet, working out, etc, activities not known to be the focus of many with their Sun in Leo.

    With you, perhaps you have an easily distracted, lost in dreamland Pisces Rising?  Or maybe a super-stubborn, it may be a mess but I know where everything is and I'm not going to change it Capricorn Rising?  Or there could be a It's SO boring to do and I don't have the patience for it Aries Rising?

    So many possibilities.

    Parent

    I'm a Virgo with a student uprising (none / 0) (#132)
    by Cream City on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:59:44 PM EST
    if I don't get my grades in on time.  That's what gets me organized twice a year -- after my desk descends weekly into deepening chaos throughout the semester. :-)

    Parent
    when I see (5.00 / 1) (#157)
    by ccpup on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:17:37 PM EST
    a chart with a Student Uprising -- ESPECIALLY combined with a Virgo Sun Sign! --, I just chuck it out the window and hope that God has mercy on the poor sap's Soul.

    Peace be with you.

    (or, as my niece used to say, "Peas be with you")

    :-)

    Parent

    Oh, I'm peas-ful and fine now (none / 0) (#189)
    by Cream City on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:34:32 PM EST
    if nervous as to whether I will have quite everything ready in three weeks to be the first prof that hundreds of frosh will see on the first day.  Pity them.  I'll tell them that it only gets better from there. :-)

    But that means that I'm only 19 weeks away from final grades.  Oh oh. . . .

    Parent

    I'm still in denial (none / 0) (#195)
    by pukemoana on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:47:37 PM EST
    at least I got my books ordered :-)

    hmm, but haven't checked if they've arrived :-(.  At another university a few years back, someone at the bookshop didn't like the edition of the books I'd ordered and and changed them for me, thereby screwing up my carefully planned secondary readings . . .

    Parent

    Been there, done that syllabus over, too (5.00 / 1) (#199)
    by Cream City on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:53:37 PM EST
    but I do believe that my reaction to the bookstore doing that still is remembered, so that particular screwup won't happen again.

    However, there have been so many screwups so many different ways, and I bet there are more possible.

    I keep checking the bookstore website -- that area isn't physically accessible yet -- but the fall setup still isn't up.  And enrollment is slow, with the economy and the price of gas (for a commuter campus), and so much still is on hold such as assigning TAs to sections, depending upon how many there really will be . . . and the potential for chaos mounts by the day.

    I.e., it's just more -- with much larger classes for me this year -- of the usual.  But somehow, we will manage to educate the willing.  And I just so enjoy teaching the willing, especially the frosh, trying to help them see the way to get to graduation from the first day.

    I love the first day.  I don't sleep the night before, though. :-)

    Parent

    Mr too..... (none / 0) (#11)
    by BarnBabe on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:19:20 PM EST
    My mind is organized though. But as much as I throw away, I can never get it all controlled. Just was sitting at the DR table and going through my save, save to read, toss piles. Then the phone rang, than I had to look at what was going on here.....OK, back to the DR table. Heh. Don't take me wrong, I would love everything neat and in order but then my house always has that lived in feel.

    Parent
    Mine, too. My sister-in-law and her husband are (none / 0) (#71)
    by Angel on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:11:06 PM EST
    coming for a visit soon and my husband has begged me to clean up my home office and the closet in the bedroom they'll use.  I keep promising I will but, well, you know....

    Parent
    There is so much more (none / 0) (#27)
    by splashy on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:38:57 PM EST
    Than sun signs, so going by that is only looking at a small part of a person.

    Your sun may be buried in a more hidden part of your chart, and you probably have other signs more prominent, so your sun energy would mostly only show in certain areas of your life. I'm like that. I come off as fire in many ways, but when people get to know me they see the practical earth that is more hidden.

    It's far more complex than most people realize.

    Parent

    oh i think many people check out (none / 0) (#8)
    by hellothere on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:12:37 PM EST
    their sign and sorta follow what is said about it. as someone who has tried various "trips" earlier in life, i can say many of us look into things and they can add a dimension to our lives.

    Funniest horoscope I ever read (5.00 / 3) (#15)
    by Valhalla on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:28:32 PM EST
    for my sign, Pisces, in a major paper told me to beware of small appliance failures that day.

    Parent
    LOL. (none / 0) (#55)
    by shoephone on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:58:40 PM EST
    And were you? Bewaring of small apppliances, I mean.

    Parent
    I was lol (5.00 / 1) (#81)
    by Valhalla on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:20:01 PM EST
    I figured, can't hurt.  Don't want to fool with those small appliances -- they can be ferocious!

    Parent
    Ah, nightmares of Brave Little Toaster! (5.00 / 1) (#137)
    by Cream City on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:02:19 PM EST
    I hope you have seen that marvelous cartoon.  Some of the appliances have really ferocious faces.

    There is so much in that li'l film that is a metaphor for life.  It's marvelous.  A great fave in my grad student days.  We had wide-ranging discussions of The Meaning of It All.  What the Toaster Represented.  Was the vacuum a metaphor for The Great Vacuum of Leadership in This Land.  Etc.

    Parent

    Sam Sheperd's (none / 0) (#162)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:25:12 PM EST
    play "True West" is the play for you.  Toaster scene.  

    Parent
    Especially the ones that (none / 0) (#147)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:09:55 PM EST
    jump into the bathtub with you!

    Parent
    One of my friends years ago got very involved (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by BarnBabe on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:36:04 PM EST
    She still is. First she changed the spelling of her name. Then she legally changed her name to one of her earth's beginning and the numbers lined up right. She took me with her for palm reading classes. Interesting. Sometimes this will come up in a discussion and you can not believe all the palms that come out for me to look at.It is a lot of fun when that happens. I look at all of it as knowledge. I was brought up Catholic but I have been to a Seder, Baptist Church, Buddist wedding and other type religious services. I remain a bad Catholic. I like to think that people can have intelligent conversations and debates when they have knowledge and experience and not just closed minds. I have a Feng Shui book too but my furniture is arranged in my house where it fits.  

    Parent
    I have fengshui software (none / 0) (#65)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:07:23 PM EST
    and every time I move (which is every few years)I say  I'm going to set up the new house with it. I can't figure it out, I think I'm too left brain (analytical.)

    The only way I can draw is to put the object I'm drawing like a chair upside down. Then I draw what i see and if I turn the paper 180 degrees, it's a chair. (I got that from a lecture I once attended eons ago on right brain/left brain.)

    Parent

    Proofreading is also best done (5.00 / 1) (#101)
    by JavaCityPal on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:35:52 PM EST
    backward.

    Western Feng Shui, books by Terah Kathryn Collins, is the easiest instruction to follow.

    She sometimes does really inexpensive instructional tours around the country when promoting a new book. I went to one years ago and learned more in those two hours than I could have in all the books on the subject I have (which is a plethora).


    Parent

    i have reason to enter client's homes (5.00 / 1) (#106)
    by hellothere on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:39:09 PM EST
    as i am in a business affiliated with real estate. at times i have been aware of this and even their preference for where the staircase is located. i have seen rooms devoted to their partiuclar religeon, etc. i feel respect for their preferences and find most of them live very happy successful lives. so who knows!

    Parent
    Afriend's beautiful, high-end spec. home (none / 0) (#165)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:27:30 PM EST
    didn't sell until after the Feng Shui consultant stepped in.  Next home:  demolished the staircase and changed it's orientation.  Seemed rather extreme to me though.  

    Parent
    yup, i have had to take off my shoes (none / 0) (#174)
    by hellothere on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:45:39 PM EST
    at times due to either religeous or personal preferences. everyone has their own taste it seems. i have seen whole houses done in pink. geez but it made the lady of the family quite happy.

    Parent
    I am painting my front door red. (none / 0) (#83)
    by BarnBabe on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:22:25 PM EST
    Suppose to be lucky, but it also matches my gray siding, white shutters. So bases covered.

    Parent
    As a housepainting contractor (5.00 / 2) (#93)
    by shoephone on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:28:54 PM EST
    for the past 22 years, I say "paint it red!" You'll love it. The contrast with the grey and white will be just fine.

    Parent
    And I do not want blue red, I want copper red (none / 0) (#207)
    by BarnBabe on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 05:07:00 PM EST
    Found this towel at Wal-Mart. Great color. No one can match it because it is a towel. So found a picture of the towel and believe it or not I am on my 4th can of paint. I have patches all over the door. Probably chasing all the money away. Heh. I think I have it now. The Home Depot guy worked on several batches. Lowe's couldn't do it. Wal-Mart couldn't do it. So we shall try this can. All this talk makes me want to get my book out again. Too cool!

    Parent
    Also 4 gold objects (or golden (none / 0) (#88)
    by Xanthe on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:26:14 PM EST
    in color) situated in the southwest corner of your home are supposed to be lucky.

    Offhand Hillary's chart shows she is hard on herself - and determined.  but I think I saw the sun chart??  She has a lot of activity in one hemisphere - I have to go back and look; I forgot which one.  That matters too.

    Parent

    Gold object at the front door to keep your wealth (none / 0) (#94)
    by Angel on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:30:58 PM EST
    inside.  No staircase entry at exterior doorways or your wealth will walk out the door!  

    Parent
    So that's what happened! (none / 0) (#95)
    by Xanthe on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:32:15 PM EST
    not southwest - southeast - just (none / 0) (#118)
    by Xanthe on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:46:14 PM EST
    reread - however, in view of Angel's comment and my poor portfolio - beaten up and depressed - I may try the door.  Also keep toilet seat down so money doesn't go down drain.

    Parent
    I hope you are using a gloss enamel. I bet it (none / 0) (#96)
    by Angel on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:32:30 PM EST
    will look gorgeous!

    Parent
    I generally use only latex for exterior doors (5.00 / 1) (#124)
    by shoephone on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:53:55 PM EST
    but if oil is preferred, I would highly recommend the Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo. It's a fantastic product that looks silky smooth when properly applied.

    Parent
    As with astrology and all the houses, (none / 0) (#107)
    by JavaCityPal on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:39:25 PM EST
    feng shui also needs to be personalized to the individual.  i.e., I need to live in a home that has the front door facing South.

    I believe it takes something like 30 years of study and practice in Asia to become a true Feng Shui Master.

    Parent

    those are the exact colors my sister used (none / 0) (#109)
    by hellothere on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:40:13 PM EST
    in redoing the old family home. it is a lovely combination.

    Parent
    Looky here....think Cindy Sheehan will (none / 0) (#28)
    by PssttCmere08 on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:40:22 PM EST
    unseat Pelosi?  I am sure Pelosi is confident she won't, but wouldn't it be something if she did?

    Link

    I'm pretty torn about Cindy Sheehan (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Valhalla on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:47:43 PM EST
    I would love to see Pelosi unseated, but Sheehan is not necessarily a good candidate in her own right.

    Appropos of the conversations here a few weeks ago about supporting personalities vs issues vs the uselessness of electing Dems if they're all Blue Dogs, the one upside I can see in supporting Sheehan would be that if she can make a credible showing against Pelosi, it might encourage a real, fighting, liberal candidate to run against her in the future, one who has a real chance of winning.

    Credible showing meaning not a win or a close race, but some significant chunk of the vote -- 30% or more (imho).

    Parent

    Hmmm, well if she did make a good (5.00 / 1) (#50)
    by PssttCmere08 on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 01:55:44 PM EST
    showing, it might spur the lazy, and in some cases incompetent, members of Congress to do their jobs...cuz the electorate isn't playing anymore.

    Parent
    Pelosi is very popular in her District (none / 0) (#116)
    by samtaylor2 on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:44:26 PM EST
    Evidence? (5.00 / 0) (#179)
    by Valhalla on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:11:56 PM EST
    Her national favorability ratings aren't good.  Not dispositive but I'd love to see some numbers.

    Parent
    A quick Google and I found this (5.00 / 0) (#190)
    by Valhalla on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:34:34 PM EST
    link

    It's a Field poll showing that Pelosi's statewide (not districtwide) unfavorability ratings outweigh her favorables, 39 to 30%.  Breaks are largely along partisan lines, except unaffiliateds also disapprove, 38 to 18%.  Poll was taken in June 2008.

    I think folks on TL have said that Field is a good polling org.

    Didn't find any districtwide polling, although I didn't look esp. hard.

    Parent

    Could she be any worse than another 2 years (5.00 / 0) (#141)
    by JavaCityPal on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:06:41 PM EST
    of Pelosi?


    Parent
    That's a point, but if Nancy's gone (5.00 / 0) (#180)
    by Valhalla on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 04:13:08 PM EST
    will someone better be Speaker?

    Sigh.  I d*mn the whole 50-State, S*ck up to the Blue Dogs strategy.

    Parent

    someone responded to you (none / 0) (#70)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:10:09 PM EST
    with a hugely long url that skewed the site.

    Reminder: urls must be in html format. Use the link button at the top of your comment box. If you can't figure it out, go to tinyurl.com and get the short link.

    Edwards (none / 0) (#122)
    by cmugirl on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:51:31 PM EST
    The rise and fall of John Edwards - looks into the times Edwards' veracity was questioned.

    LINK

    In 2003, he mounted his first campaign for president. A strong showing earned him a spot as Kerry's running mate in 2004.

    Shrum, then a Kerry advisor, said in a 2007 book that Kerry had qualms. Edwards, he wrote, told Kerry he was going to confide something he'd never told a soul: that after his son Wade had died, "he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he'd do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade's ideals of service ...

    "Kerry was stunned, not moved," Shrum wrote. "As he told me later, Edwards had recounted the exact story to him, almost in the exact same words, a year or two before - and with the same preface, that he'd never shared the memory with anyone else."

    "I believe he gave into a very human tendency," Shrum says. "He wanted to be vice president and said what he had to."



    Ha! Don't they all? (5.00 / 0) (#127)
    by Angel on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:55:58 PM EST
    "I believe he gave into a very human tendency," Shrum says. "He wanted to be vice president and said what he had to."

    Parent
    Oy. Shrum. (5.00 / 0) (#131)
    by shoephone on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:59:34 PM EST
    Every campaign he's consulted for lost. I don't necessarily doubt his story about Edwards but I hope he's not going to waste time trying to pin Kerry's loss on Edwards. Kerry was a dismal candidate.

    Parent
    No segue: (none / 0) (#133)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 02:59:46 PM EST
    Padres lead the Rockies 6 to zip in the bop of the third in Denver.  Livan Hernandez is pitching for the Rockies.  Of course, this being Denver, "it's still a ballgame."

    Or maybe not. 9 to 0 after a (none / 0) (#136)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:00:52 PM EST
    three-run homer.  Hernandez is done for today.

    Parent
    Relief pitcher gives up a 2-run home run. (none / 0) (#140)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:06:18 PM EST
    11 to zip.  Good thing Brian Giles didn't succumb to the blandishments of the Red Sox.

    Parent
    Obama - McCain smackdown of each other (none / 0) (#149)
    by cmugirl on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:11:03 PM EST
    It's like "Monday Night Raw" - a virtual smackdown-a-pa-looza.

    Obama gave the Dems weekly radio address and said this  LINK:

    Obama, giving the weekly Democratic radio address, says that this week there have been "two stark examples of exactly what's wrong with Washington."

    "First, we learned that the federal budget deficit could reach nearly half a trillion dollars next year. Eight years after we had a record surplus, we're now faced with record deficits. This mortgaging of our children's future is a direct result of the Bush Administration's dangerously failed fiscal policies," Obama says, asserting that McCain would continue Bush's unfair tax policies by extending tax cuts for the wealthy.

    "The second thing we learned this week was that the Iraqi government now has a $79 billion budget surplus thanks to their windfall oil profits," Obama continues. "And while this Iraqi money sits in American banks, American taxpayers continue to spend $10 billion a month to defend and rebuild Iraq.

    "That's right. America faces a huge budget deficit. Iraq has a surplus. Now, Senator McCain promises to continue President Bush's open-ended commitment to the war in Iraq, while refusing to pressure Iraqis to take responsibility for their own country."

    Then McCain said this in his own weekly address:

    "As you may know, the Democratic National Convention is just a couple of weeks away. It was four years ago, at the same gathering, that America heard a fine speech from an Illinois state senator named Barack Obama. He's done pretty well for himself since then. And the smart money in Denver is on another celebrated performance," McCain says. "But even the most stirring speeches are easily forgotten when they're short on content. Taking in my opponent's performances is a little like watching a big summer blockbuster, and an hour in realizing that all the best scenes were in the trailer you saw last fall. In the way of running mates, Senator Obama should consider someone with a knack for brevity and directness, to balance the ticket."

    "In the meantime, let me take a stab at a plot summary of the Obama campaign: America is finally winning in Iraq, and he wants to forfeit. Government is too big, and he wants to grow it. Taxes are too high, and he wants to raise them. Congress spends too much, and he proposes more. We need more energy, and he's against producing it."



    Olympics - bike racing in the rain (none / 0) (#155)
    by ruffian on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:16:45 PM EST
    The women's road race is taking place in at least a drizzle of rain.
    They are almost at the end, in the mountains, skinny tires, wet road.  Amazing stuff.  5 women in a pack at the front.

    Brit Nicole Cooke takes it (5.00 / 1) (#163)
    by ruffian on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 03:25:21 PM EST
    Great finish - the Italian and Swedish women were right behind her.
    Cooke dispels any remaining notions of British reserve -very excited, and rightly so.

    That's why I love the Olympics.  I never heard of these people 3 days ago, and I then I get rooting for them. The Chinese women's skull team was phenomenal in the heats this morning.  Hope I did not miss the finals.

    Parent

    Was that Dale Tooley? (none / 0) (#203)
    by Iphie on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 05:02:35 PM EST
    Jeralyn,

    I just read your previous post about the candidate's charts and read that you once did the chart for one of the mayoral candidates in Denver. I'm guessing that was Dale Tooley's chart, then? Did you predict that the race would be that close? Would have been very interesting to see what Federico Pena's chart would have told you.

    yes it was Dale Tooley (none / 0) (#214)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 07:31:29 PM EST
    amazing you remember that race!

    I wasn't charting any more by the time Federico Pena won.

    Parent

    Hah! (none / 0) (#221)
    by Iphie on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 10:06:01 PM EST
    Certain things just stick in my brain. I do remember that my mother was angry with Tooley (whom she had supported) because he was trying to use Pena's race against him. I can't remember that part exactly, but I think he was making phone calls asking voters very specific questions about Pena being Mexican and being mayor.

    Parent
    Ummm ... (none / 0) (#212)
    by camellia on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 06:41:04 PM EST
    The Chinese women's "skull" team?  Interesting imagery here, but unfortunately for the intriguing mental pictures, it should be spelled "scull".  

    Ha - sorry about that. (none / 0) (#217)
    by ruffian on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 08:24:44 PM EST
    Thanks for the correction. I'm sure I have seen it spelled out, but I never even noticed it was a 'c' and not a 'k'.

    Parent
    Let the Games Begin (none / 0) (#218)
    by misterconcept on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 09:21:52 PM EST
    In June of this year (2008), Charlie Black, a career Republican operative and strategist, stated that, "a terrorist attack would be of great benefit to the McCain campaign."  It is a foregone conclusion that the Bush-Cheney Regime has employed a propaganda-enhanced, media blitz to instill fear in the American people for the purpose of enlisting support for its perverse policies here and abroad.  It would not be beyond the realm of possibility that this same perversity would provoke, precipitate, or even produce a terrorist attack to maintain its power base throughout the next administration.  Following Black's untimely airing of this sentiment, the possibility of facilitating this strategy was removed and the Republican hierarchy had to somehow `up the ante.'  What could be more useful than the re-emergence of aggression from the former Evil Empire--they hit the jackpot.  

    In a previous commentary, I pointed out that Georges Bush, Senior and Junior; Dick Cheney; David Addington; along with the entire Carlyle Group; are on the same payroll as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nouri Maliki, and Muqtada al-Sadr.   I omitted several other names from that list including those of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev.  When one examines recent history, one must consider the following:  the former Soviet Union began implementing a free market economic system in 1983.  A mere 25 years later, Moscow boasts of having the most billionaires in residence of any city in the world, among them Wally Putin.  When this Muscovite consortium of oil billionaires challenged the management authority of British Petroleum in Russia, Putin, overnight, went from being the face of modern Russia to a throwback to the Brezhnev years.  In response to Putin's rejection of western influence over his new cash cow, the United States and Western Europe formed political and economic alliances with neighboring Georgia and launched an effort to enroll this `pro-democracy' state into NATO.  Thus began the current conflict.  

    It is no coincidence that Bush and Putin were together at the Olympics when Putin boldly announced that the invasion had begun, reminiscent of two mafia dons meeting at a racetrack.  This new battlefield is yet another turf war where oil is the prize rather than heroin.  The only good news is that the greed and corruption among Russia's `leadership,' is so thorough and pervasive that little or no money has been allocated for the modernization of the Russian war machine.  That fact, coupled with the reality of the depletion of American military power resulting from the Iraq fiasco, when East meets West on the field of battle in Georgia, this war may have to be fought with knives and clubs.


    A new book about Obama's policy (none / 0) (#222)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 11:32:23 PM EST
    is due out Sept. 9 in paperback.  He wrote the introduction.  

    Obama

    I gather from this article his advisors wrote the rest of the book.  Maybe Cass Sunstein is a contributor?