Customary Creatures

Our five-month old wiener dog puppy, Tootsie, celebrated her first Halloween this weekend. She was a spooky witch! She kept biting her cape, so the costume was short lived.

Rach and I took Tootsie to Holliday Park today (Sunday, November 2). Tootsie enjoyed smelling other dogs, and apparently turned on her kiddy tractor beam before hitting the trails. No matter the distance, children would spot Tootsie and come barreling over in glee. It was a good time!

A special shout out to Steve Nascimbeni, who lives for Halloween!

My Halloween costume, circa 1992, bought by my dad while on a business trip to New York. 

My parents told me I was “Sebastian” from The Little Mermaid. I didn’t say anything, but I knew I was just a simple lobster.

Last Thursday, October 23, I went to the first day of early voting at the J. Everett Light Career Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Thinking I could vote quickly right after work, I was gravely mistaken. I waited in line for a total of two and a half hours.

As you can see from the pictures, the line wrapped up and down a couple hallways. It felt like Disney World, where you thought the end was near just to turn the corner to find the line continues down another room.

Even though the wait was long, the vigor was high for Senator Barack Obama. I didn’t hear one person say they were voting McCain, and there were a lot of people talking. 

There was a passion within these voters that was severely lacking four years ago. With the majority of Democrats voting out of angst against George W. Bush last election, I’ve seen people supporting and now voting out of hope for Barack Obama. 

The lack of passion was the fundamental reason I believe Kerry lost in 2004. Those votes weren’t really for him, they were against Bush. And with that lack of passion and the way the polls made it sound like a Kerry victory in those last days before November 4, many people didn’t vote.

The 2004 election proves that hate doesn’t prevail. Like many others, I voted early out of hope and passion, and that’s why I believe Senator Barack Obama will be our next president.

Okay, so I haven’t posted anything in a week. Hopefully this beefy, picture-filled update of my going-on’s will make it all up to you!

1. Tootsie Update

Our dog Tootsie is doing well. She’s grown in a few adult teeth and it quite long these days. These pictures are a couple weeks old, so she’s already a bigger gal! She gained a pound within two weeks, bringing her up to just over six pounds!

2. Bloody Netflix

I am a Netflix subscriber. Beefing up my “classic” film collection, I received the 1969 John Wayne movie “True Grit” a couple weeks ago. Upon removing the sleeve from the envelope I couldn’t help but to notice gross, dried red spots under the description. Blood? Very likely.

3. Delicious Sodas at Noodles and Company

Sprecher sodas are delicious. I had never had one up until a few weeks ago. Since the first mouthful of orange delight, I’ve enjoyed numerous sodas of the Sprecher variety! The “Orange Dream” flavor is THE BEST orange soda I have ever tasted. Bravo! Check out the awesome label art.

4. Volunteering for Obama

I’ve made calls, done some data entry and went canvassing a couple times out of the Broad Ripple Obama field office. Everyone was friendly and amazing. Check out some signs made by kids (or feeble senior citizens?).

5. I Got a Car Wash

This is amazing because I rarely get my car washed. Usually I let nature do its job outside while I’m at work. I’m not aiming to impress with my silver Nissan Sentra. Maybe when I’m old and have a status symbol car I’ll car more.

Anyway, I forgot how enjoyable a car wash can be. I love the smell of the soap, the vibration and tug of the car being pulled along, and watching the big soapy pieces of cloth squiggle down the windshield. Plus, at Mike’s Car Wash you get to watch wet and frumpy stuffed animals. Check out Ernie!

6. El Sol de Tala

My wife suggested a Mexican place I hadn’t been to over on East Washington in Indianapolis. It’s in a rougher part of town, and the exterior of the building didn’t look like much, but El Sol de Tala is amazing. Outside a full-sized stuff donkey and barrels of hay greet you. Inside is a large, remodeled room reminiscent of the dining hall in “Beowulf.” The cheese dip was scrumptious. Visit if you can.

7. Heartland Film Festival

A co-worker gave me gallery tickets to Indianapolis’ Heartland Film Festival. I’ve heard about the fest for years, but had never attended. The Crystal Hearts Gala Awards ceremony was unbelievable. I have a new level of respect and admiration for Heartland, and will surely volunteer next year. 

The picture above is in the lobby of Conseco Fieldhouse. Pardon the blurriness, but you can see that the area was set up with translucent cloth tables with glow sticks underneath. It was a very cool atmosphere!

8. Annual Meeting

Our company had its annual meeting last weekend in Arizona. People were divided up in teams for events, and I was extremely shocked to see that one of the team’s bandanas was a CONFEDERATE FLAG. Really? That’s all I’m saying…

9. Mutant McNugget and Flies Gettin’ Busy

Yesterday I hit up Mickey D’s for lunch and got a 3-for-1 mutant McNugget. It was an amazing rarity, and had to be documented via photographs. 

When we got back to work there were two flies getting busy on the wall adjacent to the we swipe our key on. Another rarity of nature, documented for your viewing pleasure!

Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.   - http://blogactionday.org/

This year’s aim is to create a diverse, yet united discussion regarding poverty around the blogosphere. In the spirit of current events, I’ve decided to address the issue of poverty in regards to the presidential candidates official views, as posted on their websites.

Poverty an Issue for Only One Candidate

I’ve looked at the “Issues” section of John McCain and Barack Obama’s websites, to see their official written stances and plans to battle the epidemic. Here’s what I found:

John McCain’s site does not feature poverty as a main issue, or even list it in any issue descriptions (but it’s good to see that the “Space Program” made the list).

Unlike McCain, Barack Obama’s site features poverty as an issue. His poverty site highlights the problem, the campaign’s plan to fight it, and what he’s already done in the Illinois State Senate to address the issue. The site even asks you, the visitor, to present your ideas for change.

The main articles of the plan include:

• Expand Access to Jobs
• Make Work Pay for All Americans
• Strengthen Families
• Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing
• Tackle Concentrated Poverty

Fight Poverty: Obama and Joe Biden will double our annual investment in foreign assistance from $25 billion in 2008 to $50 billion by the end of his first term and make the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015, America’s goals. They will fully fund debt cancellation for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries in order to provide sustainable debt relief and invest at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, including our fair share of the Global Fund.

McCain Addresses Poverty in April Press Release

To give McCain the benefit of the doubt, I wanted to see how often poverty was written about throughout his entire website. It’s possible the subject could just be missing from the issues.

As President, I will set aside the needs of the special interests to advance the interests of the American people, especially those 12 million children who deserve every opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

Total Mentions of “poverty” on the Candidates’ Sites

     

When It Comes to Poverty the Choice is Clear

Vote November 4th, or earlier if you’re able!

I’m at the tender point in life, being a married man in my mid-twenties, where deciding to have children is an ongoing consideration. However, I have to take stock in the world around me, and decide if I truly feel comfortable throwing innocent little babies in an existence such as this.

By “an existence such as this,” I am referring to a world void of these delicious, discontinued food items. My children deserve better, and I may have to wait until #1 is reintroduced to the market before the first child’s conception. I advise you all do the same. Without further ado:

5. Ice Cream Cones Cereal

This scrumptious breakfast selection hit the streets in 1987. According to the commercial, it was available in three flavors; vanilla, chocolate and twist. Puffed corn balls were the ice cream scoops, and Golden Graham/Bugle-like pieces were the cones.

Props go out to General Mills, who rereleased the cereal for a limited time in 2003. But alas, Ice Cream Cones cereal still isn’t a permanent fixture on store shelves.

The less-popular brother of Basketball Jones, Ice Cream Jones, was the cartoon spokesman for the cereal. Check out the commercial below; you’ll have the jingle in your head all day:

4. Fruity Marshmallow Krispies

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