Wacky Web Wednesday

I promise to post something of substance soon. Until then, enjoy these gems from The Onion.

John McCain Accidentally Left on Bus
This is a little mean (well, maybe more than a little!), but it's funny.

John McCain Accidentally Left On Campaign Bus Overnight

Cindy McCain Just Like Any Other Human
I have to admit, I am a little scared of Cindy McCain. Maybe this explains why!

Cindy McCain Claims She�s �Just Like Any Other Female Human�

A Day in the Life of a Sub...

- I made 3 kindergarteners cry today.

+ No kindergarteners made me cry today.

Wacky Web Wednesday

Literal Videos
I don't know who these people are, but they do good work. I especially appreciate that they've taken videos and songs that don't really make much sense in their original forms.

Take on Me by AHA


Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears

Wacky Web Wednesday (Late Again!) - Political Edition

My excuse this week is twofold:

1) We went to see The Magnetic Fields on Tuesday night. I REALLY wanted to find a video from them to put up yesterday, but all I could find were tribute videos and really low quality live recordings. If you don't know anything about this band, check them out here:

http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/

They have a very unique sound and didn't look at all like I imagined them. It was possibly the most laid back show I've ever been to and while there I learned that there are enough hipsters in this town to fill the Paramount Theater.

(For you other Lemony Snicket fans out there, Stephin Merritt is friends with Daniel Handler and is the voice of The Gothic Archies.)

2) I had to make enough potato salad to feed 100 people yesterday. This is more complicated and time consuming than it sounds.

So...I am late again on Wacky Web Wednesday. But thanks to Mr. Golden Hale I had material waiting for me in my inbox.

Vote for Hope

Not wacky, but it did come from the web. It's nice to see something a little more positive in this tense election time.

Sarah Palin Vlog
It's a little long, but these girls are a hoot! She doesn't look the part as much as Tina Fey, but she has the voice down. And she even throws in a praise chorus, raised hands and all. This girl knows her Assembly of God!

I-600A Update

I guess I should have put my activist hat on a little earlier because USCIS issued a statement on the I-600A issue yesterday. In short, they accepted grandfathering in people who were already in the system with the I-600A form! Many thanks to those of you who contacted your reps and/or signed the petition.

If you want to know more about the ruling, see the following:
http://www.uscis.gov:80/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=c5921c48aabfc110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Also, re-reading my post from yesterday I didn't like the tone of my ending paragraph. The gist of what I wanted to say is that I know this issue isn't one of the BIG ones, but it is important. (And selfishly, it's very important to me.) Thanks for understanding.

Call to Action - I-600A

When you get involved the process of international adoption, you become way too familiar with all kinds of bureaucracy, federal agencies and names and numbers for documents and forms. It really is a nightmare of paperwork. We navigated it fairly easily thanks to The Attorney's legal skills, but it was a pain. It became even more of a pain when we had to do part of it again due to the increased waiting time for Chinese adoption. We, like many other families in our position, had to renew our 1-600A form. And, unfortunately, we (and those other families) might have to do it again if things continue to slow down. This time, however, the nightmare could be worse because The Hague has changed the rules, so the US has changed the paperwork. Essentially, this means starting almost all over again with part of the process.

Our paperwork has been in China for over two years now. We have been approved by both governments for adoption for over a year. We were approved when the rule change took effect. And we're hoping that we will be allowed to take the slightly easier step of extending our current paperwork if necessary.

This could happen and you can have a voice in it, not just for us, but for the many other families around the country who are in our position. The Joint Council on International Children's Services has been working with USCIS (what used to be INS) to allow families like us to be grandfathered in to the new rules and let us continue to renew our existing paper work. The following link has 5 easy steps you can do to help. It also includes a link to much more detailed explanations about what this is all about.

http://www.jcics.org/5WaysToHelp.htm

This is not about ending world hunger. Or stopping nuclear weapons. Or fixing our broken economy. Or reducing our dependence on foreign oil. It's about helping families come together - helping children find homes. Seems like a pretty good place to start to me.

Playing Dirty

I am very tired of this election. It's already gone on for WAY too long and it just keeps getting uglier. I know this happens every time. And every time it upsets me. This year bothers me more than usual, however, because both candidates promised not to play this way. I know they are politicians. I know this is how it works. But it bothers me nonetheless.

I got to watch about 5 minutes of The Today Show this morning before I went to my sub job, and what I saw got my day off to the wrong start. Although both sides are taking unfair punches, the Republicans are hitting below the belt. McCain and Palin accuse Obama of "paling around with terrorists," people in their campaign are making sure to use his middle name, Palin says we should revisit his ties to Jeremiah Wright...I'm pretty sure there were more but I've taught 2nd graders since then and set up a book fair, so my mind is thankfully fuzzy. What is abundantly clear to me is that these are pages out of Karl Rove's Campaign Bible - playing on people's misguided and uninformed fears - meant to reach the same people who forward me the "Obama is a radical jihadist" e-mails. (Note to McCain and Palin: Those people are going to vote for you anyway.) I hope Americans are smarter than that. I pray that we are. But the fact that we elected W. twice doesn't give me a lot of faith in my countrymen.

What if people believe this stuff? Some people obviously do and are gung-ho about it. I saw them on TV this morning! The crowd responses to the McCains and Palin were a little too reminiscent of video I've seen of reactions at Nazi propaganda rallies. A little harsh, Librarian? Yes! But it was really unnerving to me. As I said in my last politically related post, I want people to think about why they vote for something or someone. These crowds were not definitely not responding with their minds.

I don't discount emotion and its effect on our choices. I know it's a factor for me. Heck, this post is an emotional response!! But when I go to the polls in November, I'm voting with my head. The choice of the next leader of the free world cannot be left up to emotion. It shouldn't come down to who scares me the least!

It's gotten ugly. And it's only going to get worse.

It's going to be a long 3 weeks.

Wacky Web Wednesday (a day late again!)

Sorry for the lack of posting as of late. My life of leisure suddenly got a lot busier!

British Ukelele Tribute to Pop Icon from the 70's
I don't want to give away any more than that. Thanks to the Pastor for passing this on!

Here's...Rosie!

The Attorney and I like to name our cars. And for some reason he thinks most cars are girls. After much deliberation, we have christened our new Prius Rosie, after the maid on the Jetsons. She is, afterall, a futuristic bubble car and has many, many special features to serve us (including a GPS system that talks in a woman's voice).

The new has not worn off dear Rosie yet. We're still learning all her bells and whistles and are loving the gas mileage (although we've been told it actually gets better with time). I'm also pleasantly surprised by the amount of room in the car, head and otherwise. And though she doesn't have the "zoom zoom" of the Mazda 3 we test drove, she has more get up and go than I expected. And the interior is very comfortable (especially for an 11 hour road trip, which was her maiden voyage!)