Not feeling well today. So spent the afternoon curled up with my favorite TV show. Love SATC... Nothing like some Carrie and Mr. Big drama.

I am not a psychologist, nor do I claim to be an expert in the field of psychoanalysis. I am, however, a keen observer and student of human nature. I am also quite intuitive and have always been able to see well below the surface of a matter. There are things I simply know...just because I do.

If John McCain is elected to the presidency, America can essentially
pack her bags and go home. This country's reputation as a respected and revered world leader will be damaged beyond repair. My claim is daunting; I know. But, I call it as I see it. And, eight years of "The
Decider" are incomparable to what may be in store for us with "The
Maverick."

As a young student of literature, I learned two terms that were associated with the protagonist in Greek tragedy and those of Shakespeare-- hubris and hamartia. Hubris is a word that refers to excessive pride. This is the sort of pride that goes entirely unchecked until it becomes extreme arrogance. In a tragedy, hubris typically becomes hamartia or tragic flaw, the character defect which is so profound that it eventually leads to the cataclysmic downfall of the protagonist. Anyone who has read Oedipus Rex or MacBeth knows how things end up. I don't think I'm out of line in suggesting that Senator John McCain's way of being might resemble hubris.

Like most Americans and people all around the world, really, I've been watching the 2008 Presidential Election unfold. While politics has never really interested me before, this time around, I'm paying attention. In some ways, I may be more hyper-focused on this political race than I have been with previous elections. It is abundantly clear to me that the American people simply cannot cast their votes haphazardly. As I've said before, thinking Americans must take the lead and ensure that Barack Obama is elected this election day, November 4.

Sarah Palin likes to toss out the question, "Who is Barack Obama?" It is a fair question to ask. In fact, it's a necessary question to ask. If you've watched the debates, you know the answer to that question. For a moment, let's put policy and political platform aside and ask that question on a fundamental level. Who is Barack Obama? What I saw in Wednesday night's debate speaks volumes. Senator Obama is intelligent and articulate. He's also a man of integrity and good judgment, and he possesses a calm, collected demeanor. The man seems unshakable.

And to be fair, we must also ask "Who is John McCain?" Senator McCain is a smart man. His military service to the US, and his career in the Senate are certainly indicators of a level of patriotism that inspires his Republican base. He is the self-proclaimed "Maverick" who promises change on the one hand while waving the flag of the Neocons who hijacked this country eight years ago with the other hand. His campaign has been built on attacks and fingerpointing at "That One." He patronizes and condescends while puffing up his chest and saying, "I know how to fix Washington."

November 4 is just a few weeks around the corner, and each of us will have the opportunity to cast our vote. As an electorate, we must be diligent about weeding through the rhetoric and propaganda to find the facts. We must take attack ads and propaganda at face value and not be swayed by attempts to skew reality and incite fear. We must strike a balance between emotion and reason and trust the latter to inform our decision on all of the issues placed before us on the ballot. Most importantly, we must look beyond our own special interests, our biases, and our personal agendas to see the bigger picture. Armed with the facts and a thorough understanding of all that is at stake, we must each cast the vote of a lifetime.

My mother first taught me to knit one winter. I think I was in the 5th
grade. I tried to make a scarf, but I kept on adding stitches somehow. The scarf kept getting wider and wider.

Now, a few decades later, I have made quite a hobby of knitting. I'm close to finishing my first sweater. And, I just finished this scarf. I'll give it to my friend Sabrina as a birthday gift.

Knitting is truly a beautiful folk art. Working the needles and yarn create such lovely patterns and textures takes on a bit of a
meditative quality. Perhaps one day someone will further that argument in a treatise entitled Zen & the Art of Knitting. I shall not be surprised if someone already has!

New Rule

Stop calling me your friend...

On my way to the office on the F Market streetcar because the
underground was a mess. If I had not changed my plans this morning, I might still be waiting for a train. Par for the course. Nevertheless, I love this city. It took a little time before it felt like home, but now it is clearly where I belong.

Here is a shot of my street.

Change... Progress... Hope! Politics has never really interested me. But, I cannot imagine another moment of the covert oppression that has been inflicted on the American people by the Bush administration. It's time for a resurgence of true democracy.

Fashion Forward Vintage Men's Wear on Market Street--San Francisco. The proprietor has a great eye.

My favorite of all the street fairs in SF is the annual Castro Street Fair. Held each fall on the first Sunday in October in the neighborhood I love, this event features local artists and community organizations, taking to the streets to celebrate the local color of the Castro. I shot this picture as I was window shopping at Sui Generis.

A few weeks ago, I got my very first tattoo. The artist was Shadow at Gotham in San Francisco. The design is Sanskrit which says "Om mani padme hum." This is known as the mantra of compassion and translates as "Hail to the jewel in the lotus blossom." A lotus symbolizes a primitive being's evolution to a spiritual being. Namaste!

Save Us from Sarah!

By now, most of you have probably seen Tina Fey’s portrayal of Vice Presidential nominee, Governor Sarah Palin, on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago. Clips of the sketch, which also features Amy Pohler as Senator Hillary Clinton, have been receiving thousands of hits on YouTube and the NBC website. It’s one of the funniest skits I’ve seen in a long time. Tina Fey played Sarah Palin perfectly with flawless imitations of Palin’s mannerisms and vocal inflections. And, of course, the resemblance is beyond uncanny.

Shows like Saturday Night Live and Mad TV thrive on parody and caricature portrayals of celebrities and political figures. These performances are always built around satire and exaggerations. Before Sarah Palin stepped onto the political stage, I had believed that our current president had most likely been the greatest source of material for comedians and satirists. But after watching last night’s vice presidential debate, I am pretty sure my assessment was completely wrong. What’s more, I realized that Fey’s performance was scarily too close to reality.

Without a doubt, this election is the most crucial one the American people have seen in decades. Consider all that is at stake—an economy that is plummeting so fast that Wall Street brokers are wearing hardhats, countless Americans living without health insurance, an education system that is clearly leaving too many children behind, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s beyond mind-boggling.

I have never been interested in politics at all. I always sort of preferred my Ivory Tower. My interest in the news stopped at reading about celebrities and pop culture. It has taken eight years of George W. Bush for me to wake up and take my responsibilities as a US citizen and voter seriously. Living with a partner who loves politics has also been much like emersion education.

I anticipated the Biden/Palin debate with somewhat the same excitement that I typically reserve for the American Idol finale. I planned my evening around the broadcast. I could not wait to see how “Sarah Plain and Tall” would handle herself when she was forced to truly demonstrate her readiness to hold such an important political office. After seeing clips of her interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, I was baffled at the fact that there are people out there who actually believe Governor Palin is a viable candidate for Vice President of the US. After last night, I’m completely dumbfounded at the fact that there are still Americans who will vote for McCain because Palin is his running mate.

Let me be completely honest here. Sarah Palin scares the HELL out of me. It scares me that she doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. I cannot think of a single question from last night’s debate that she answered directly. She’s a master of the political “bait and switch” of twisting a question and giving an answer that sounds reasonable on the surface but really has zero substance. More than once, I scratched my head and wondered, “What is she really saying?” The answer—Nothing! It’s political double-speak and quaint one-liners. “We’re going to put government back on the side of the people.” Sounds good… But something tells me that a McCain/Palin government is on the side of only those people who look and think like they do. Look at Palin’s record in Alaska—allegations of attempts to ban books from the Wasilla library, investigations by an ethics board surrounding an attempt to fire an ex-brother-in-law, her involvement with what has been dubbed the “Bridge to Nowhere.” She claims to be an outsider to Washington politics, but corruption in Alaskan politics bears a striking resemblance to what she promises to clean-up.

The polls this morning show that most Americans saw Joe Biden as the winner of last night’s debate. However, Sarah Palin was viewed as the most “likable” candidate. I’m not sure when congeniality became a criterion for measuring potential world leaders, but it scares me to realize that many Americans will vote for McCain because they ¬like Sarah Palin. Sure she’s cute, and she knows it. But, I for one don’t really want this self-proclaimed lipstick wearing pit bull (aka Hockey Mom) to be one heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world. Yes…she claims to be from “Middle America,” and “doggone it” she understands the struggles and desires of the average family in the US. But, I’m not sure that a Vice President who winks at the camera like she’s a waitress at the local truck stop is who I want representing America to the rest of the world.

Now before I’m accused of being a misogynist let me go on record and say that I believe America is ready for a woman in the White House. In fact, I supported the best woman for that job wholeheartedly. And, I cannot really say that Sarah Palin isn’t smart. That isn’t the issue. I know a lot of really smart people. But, I wouldn’t want ¬ANY of those people to be Vice President. It isn’t enough to be smart. It isn’t enough to be likable. Understanding “Middle America” will not cut it. Thinking Americans need to take the lead on this one because many voters will be swayed by “warm and fuzzy.” And that’s just a bit too scary for me to stomach. On November 4 we need to walk away from the polls with a new Vice President, not the Easter Bunny!