Does anyone have any recommendations for moderately priced, reliable pasta machines?

I hardly ever take advantage of the fact that I have a paid account. Tonight I tried my hand at creating a syndicated feed of http://www.mrs-o.org/. Any of you fashionistas on my flist who just can't get enough of our fashionable first lady-elect, feel free to add o_fashion.

Mr Savage,
      I am so terribly disappointed by your recent editorial slam against Black voters as well as the general backlash against black voters in the aftermath of the passage of prop 8. We are not the enemy here. Bear in mind too that Black and gay are not mutually exclusive categories. It seems like that point has been forgotten in this conversation. Keep in mind too, that Prop 8 was passed by a pretty large margin in the predominantly white Inland Empire. The African American community never has and never will have the market cornered on homophobia. As a Black woman and a lesbian, I am just as heartbroken by the passage of prop 8 as you are. At the same time, I am insulted that the current discourse of blame implies that I do not exist, since Black and gay are categories that apparently only exist in opposition to each other.
     There are many examples in the history of the Civil Rights movement, as well as contemporary examples, of activists who recognized that no one is free when others are oppressed. There have always been Black activists who understood that while racism must be eradicated, so too must we strive to eradicate homophobia, sexism, ableism and every other form of discrimination. All forms of oppression are equally wrong. The sort of oppression olympics you are engaging in here are logically flawed and counterproductive. The passage of Prop 8 did not happen because Obama has not taken a strong stance on gay marriage or because more Black voters turned out to vote for him. The success of prop 8 is just one symptom of the sickness of discrimination that has always plagued this nation.
     Proposition 8 did not pass because Black people are homophobic. Homophobia had to transcend racial lines for this proposition to succeed. The proposition was passed because a lucrative out of state lobby was politically savvy enough to manipulate people's ignorance and fear to their own hateful ends. Rather than laying blame on the Black community, it is time for the anti-8 lobby to regroup and consider what we can learn from this failed campaign. Perhaps the first step would be to do more and better outreach in all communities of color as well as faith based communities. Instead of trying to identify our enemies, it is time that we start to strengthen and develop alliances and work together to end discrimination against all people.
yours in struggle,
riverafire

Happy Birthday chestertodd!

LL is gonna rock your bells! Have a great day!

The critiques of Obama are getting so ridiculous. Now he's possibly too fit?! I hardly know what to say about this. Heaven forbid the leader of the free world be a man in good physical condition who makes the time to exercise regularly and eat healthfully.
     I guess this is just evidence of how little legitimate shit there is out there on O when they have to truck out minutiae like this.
    In totally unrelated news, Chuck D turns 48 today and I feel pretty freaking old.

Tagged by gwenzillaSing Along / 7 Songs summer music meme.

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.


The Healer/ Hip Hop-- Erykah Badu
Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)-- Gnarls Barkley
Me & Mr. Jones-- Amy Winehouse
Rising Up- The Roots ft. Wale and Chrisette Michelle
Machine Gun-- Portishead
Tombstone Blues-- Richie Havens
The Hollows-- Why?

& I tag raybear, xkot, ukashin, scexpatriate, tracijeannshgrl, kits_meow, sholanda

 I saw an advanced screening of Hancock last night. Despite going in with rather low expectations I still came out of the movie feeling pretty disappointed. Actually disappointed is probably an understatement. As epilady can attest to, I was pretty pissed off.
     There were actually a few things that did work about Hancock. The first half of Hancock is enjoyable enough. Will Smith plays Hancock, a man with super abilities who can't put down the whiskey long enough to be a real hero. There were actually a few times I laughed out loud. I also realized that one of Will Smith's gifts as an actor is he plays the lonely guy really well. This talent was about the only thing that redeemed I Am Legend, and again, in Hancock, the best moments were when will Smith reflected on the pain of being the only one of his kind.
 

Though I am a flop as both a 1930'a huaband and a 1930'a wife, I make a marginally better husband than wife:

-8 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

29 As a 1930s husband, I am Poor Take the test!

How is it possible that someone could live undetected in someone's closet for an entire year?

I put myself on deadline to write a letter to my mom, so of course I am shopping for shoes online. It is mildly defensible, as I would like something fresh to wear to see E. Badu and The Roots next month and I haven't had too much fun with the tax refund, so I am going to put some money down on a new outfit.

So far, these are the top contenders: T is flying down to see E. Badu and the Roots with me, so I am technically under a mandatory cooling off period right now and not allowed to buy new shoes or clothes until she is here and can shop with me. It is going to be a hard couple of weeks. In the meantime, I will have to settle for entertaining myself by soliciting feedback from my f-list.
and just for the sake of further distraction/ avoidance, the song that has been on a permanent loop in my head as a I wrote this entry:

made me a mocha cheesecake topped with whipped cream and strawberries. They always make sure I have a great mother's day, even if I have to buy the groceries.
    Also, I made myself an omelet of fresh asparagus and crabmeat with hollandaise for brunch. I think this will be the new mother's day tradition. Next year with mimosas!

Was just reading with the radio on and pulled my head out long enough to notice they were playing a pretty decent cover of "California Dreaming." I decided to look it up on the station's website to find that it was Jose Feliciano. The only memory I have about Jose Feliciano is scoffing at my mom for enjoying his cover of "Light My Fire." Now I like something by Jose Feliciano! I am listening to my mother's music! This seems dangerously close to adding an easy listening station to the presets on my car stereo.
     In other news, my banana bread turned out quite nicely.
    

It's been a while since we had a post tagged "drunk posting" 'round these parts, so...yeah.
     After several potentially interesting plans got foiled tonight due to lack of advanced planning, I ended up in this overcrowded bar in Los Feliz surrounded by lots of upwardly mobile professional white people. Now, I feel that I have gotten pretty assertive about making it clear to people that indeed, they may not touch my hair. I even plan ahead by tying my shit up as it seems that when my hair is hanging down it makes it harder for (white) people to keep their hands to themselves.
     Anyway, I am leaning up against this jukebox trying to find some music that will make this scene tolerable, when this woman walks up to me and asks me how to work the jukebox. That's fine. Even though the instructions are on the front of the jukebox, I guess I have a helpful looking face, so whatever...I briefly explain how to pick a song and then this chick says to me, "I wanted to touch ask if I could touch your hair but my friends said that would not be cool." I responded, "your friends were right." She then wanted me to explain why, to which I should have responded, this is not a fucking petting zoo (the thought did cross my mind). Instead, I told her that I didn't know her or where her hands had been and if I let every random person who wanted to touch my hair have their way, then there's no telling how skanky my hair would be. I went on to briefly describe the complexity & time commitment  of hair washing & drying when you have a metric ton of hair on your head. She went on to assure me that her hands were very clean. I asserted that she still could not touch my hair, nor was it appropriate to ask.
     Mind you, this whole time she never even told me her name nor did she deign to ask me mine. Then again, when satisfying your curiosity, why would you assume the exotic artifact was deserving of even the most basic human consideration? It is, after all, just an object of your curiosity.
      So to satisfy my curiosity, a poll:
I was going to ask some more questions, but it is 3 in the morning, so no. You are welcome to go freestyle in the comments. Peace out (unless you wanna touch my m&$%$f#&%ing hair!).

"Modern psychology has a word that is probably used more than any other word. It is "maladjusted." Now we all should seek to live a well-adjusted life in order to avoid neurotic and schizophrenic personalities. But there are some things within our social order to which I am proud to be maladjusted and to which I call on you to be maladjusted. I never intend to adjust myself to segregation and discrimination. I never intend to adjust myself to mob rule. I never intend to adjust myself to the tragic effects of the methods of physical violence and to tragic militarism. I call upon you to be maladjusted to such things. I call upon you to be as maladjusted as Amos, who in the midst of the injustices of his day cried out in words that echo across the generation, "Let judgment run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." As maladjusted as Abraham Lincoln who had the vision to see that this nation could not exist half slave and half free. As maladjusted as Jefferson who, in the midst of an age amazingly adjusted to slavery could cry out, "all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." As maladjusted as Jesus of Nazareth who dreamed a dream of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. God grant that we will be so maladjusted that we will be able to go out and change our world and our civilization. And then we will be able to move from the bleak and desolate midnight of man's inhumanity to man to the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice."
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.The Power of Nonviolence, May 1958
     Still so much to be done, especially when one considers that 3 southern states think it is appropriate to commemorate Dr. King and Robert E. Lee on the same day. This is just a symbol of the racial injustice that still runs rampant in this nation. Really, why are we commemorating Robert E. Lee at all? I am feeling quite maladjusted when the first thing I hear on the radio this morning is that Dr. King was only concerned with loving your neighbor and Colin Powell is on The View in honor of the day. Certainly they could have found a better negro today.
*Powell just told an anecdote about how before the Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964, he was denied service at a hamburger stand. The day after it was signed, he was able to return to that stand and get a hamburger. I wish people would stop equating the CR movement with lunch counters and bus riding. People were fighting for the civil right to live without fear. People were fighting for the right to education. People were fighting for (and continue today to be deprived of) due process. Please lets not conclude that the primary struggle of the civil rights movement was the right of Black people to ride on the front of the bus to eat wherever they liked.*
    

Some pics taken on frat row, usc campus, January 14, 2008: They were still there when I walked back from class Tuesday night as well. Either no one has cared enough to complain or no one has cared enough to respond.
     I don't even have the energy right now to write about why this is so upsetting to me. Maybe I will write on it later when I am calm enough to formulate something more articulate than when in the hell will people get it?! & why do I feel like I am having the same conversations and forced to explain why I am so angry over and over again?! Maybe not. I called campus cops and they asked me what kind of animal was hanging there, as if it mattered. It is all easily dismissed, apparently, if it is just about the rivalry with another school across town. That is all it is, because we can just deploy nooses and hangings now as if they have no history (or figure prominently in racist current events for that matter). Fuck that noise.
     Given the response from DPS (that's supposed to stand for department of public safety by the way) I reckon I am just going to have to find a place to park my car that keeps me from walking down frat row.

This weekend, the lovely and generous  epilady gave The Girl a book from her vast collection called Period. Clearly it is not an updated version, and I was amused to find that there is a chapter entitled, "pads, pins and tampons."  What the heck do pins have to do with any of this?! Kind of a scary chapter heading for a book on this topic. All in all it looks like a good read but I will perhaps have to chat with The Girl before she gets to this chapter and reassure her that she won't have to wear a menstrual belt when Aunt Flo finally comes to town and there will be no pins anywhere near her nether regions (the use of "nether" in this context is completely inspired by you fj.) Personally, I hope we won't have to be too directly  concerned with it anytime soon. I just got a teenager. I need some spacing between these major milestones, thankyouverymuch.
     My main and most pressing concern right now is getting through some more chapters of Capital. To that end, I am leaving the disaster area formerly known as my house and heading off to a breakfast date with a dead Prussian.

Car shopping is a trip y'all!
Some things I learned and some things I kinda figured, but were confirmed for me this weekend:
1. As a woman, you get much more effective treatment from sales staff when you first get yourself a Car Shopping Boyfriend
2. It definitely doesn't hurt if the CSB is a clean cut white boy.
3. Everyone will talk to your CSB, even when CSB says "this isn't a car for me," even when csb is clearly not the one test driving the car.
4. In the absence of a CSB, sales staff will suggest apropos of nothing that you put your father down as a credit reference. That is perhaps the strangest presumption I have encountered in a spell.
 
I had been waiting for the cu guy to find me a car, but it has been more than 2 weeks and he still has found nothing in my price range. I am just sick to death of not having a car in this town! I figured it was time to get proactive and stop waiting for Jonathan. I was starting to think that Jonathan was not taking his job as seriously as I would hope.
     So Saturday I went car shopping with one of the guys from my department. I didn't find anything at my price, but I at least got a sense of how this whole car buying things works. I have never in my life bought a car off of a lot. Every car that I have ever had was so old and cheap that I bought it outright from a private party or someone just gave it to me because they didn't feel like dealing with it anymore. Needless to say, I didn't feel at all prepared for the high-pressure world of car retailing.
     It was pretty annoying that for the most part all the Saturday salesmen basically ignored me and only talked to csb, but it did give me an opportunity to observe how this kind of stuff worked. Didn't drive home with anything Saturday, but I did get a better sense of what was out there and what to expect.
     I hadn't initially planned to shop Sunday. I had lots of work to do and no csb. I found some interesting stuff on the AAA website, though, so I dragged myself and the kids out to North Hollywood. This time the sales staff were practically jumping over each other to "help me." There were several times when I excused myself to make a phone call or just step outside because they were so up in my space. This was a departure from my Saturday experience where no one touched me except to shake hands and everyone kept a respectful distance. I think that definitely had something to do with the assertive and masculine presence of csb. The Sunday salesmen weren't rude, but they didn't seem clear on the concept of physical boundaries. Of course, that is certainly part of the point, to get all up in the buyers face and exert some force of will.
     I think I held my own alright, though. I ended up financing through the dealer. They were able to offer me a bigger loan (so  I could get a newer car!) with an interest rate that is only 1% higher than the bank. The monthly payment on this loan is the same as it would have been on the smaller bank loan, which is good because there is no way I could have afforded more. I talked the guy down a good deal from what he was originally asking and I think I am getting my money's worth. All in all, I think I was a pretty good negotiator and got myself a pretty decent deal.
     So, in the end I drove away with an '06 Toyota Corolla LE, which holds the title as the newest car I have ever owned. On average the cars I have owned in the past have been at least 20 years old. It is so nice to have car that doesn't have any red warning lights shining on the dash. There are no dings or scratches and it is shiny and clean. & that new car smell, which I know is formaldehyde, but I still kind of like it anyway. For once I own a car that is actually worth the trouble of washing!
     Now that I am not worrying about the car breaking down all the time, I only have to worry about the car payment. I have never bought anything this expensive in my whole life. & there is no cooling off period in CA, hence no room for buyer's remorse. I think, though that I can handle the expense and it is going to work out fine.