ooooh, Julep!!

Let me preface this by saying I historically haven't been one of those ladies who always has to have her nails looking fabulous. Truth be told, I worked in an office setting for about the last hundred years of my life, and, in the case of red or darker polishes, they tend to leave swipe marks on just about everything. No bueno for legal documents and such. As well, I'm really quite hard on my hands - always doing dishes, washing something, scrubbing something, digging up something, planting something, etc., so manicures were really just a big waste of money.

I frequent many of the beauty-related subreddits and blogs on the internet and have seen people rave about Julep, have viewed tons of ads for Julep, and was totally taken in by the adorable and unique bottles they use. So, the other night I decided to see what all the hullabaloo was about and visited the Julep website. I didn't want to commit to a monthly box, thinking, "wtf would I even do with all that polish?" I decided to try out a bunch of colors that were on sale, so I ordered a handful of them.

I received my box yesterday and couldn't wait to play with the pretty colors. First, I used the lime-green color, Korin (far right) from the Boho Glam line. It went on nicely, wasn't clumpy, dried very fast, but not too fast - I had time to work with it where needed. I threw on a second coat and while the color was funky and cool, I hadn't yet completely scratched the Julep itch and wanted to play with another color. Rather than taking off the green, I thought I'd put the iridescent, shimmery pink / gold color, Ellie (third from right) from the American Beauty line over it instead. Well, it looks great!!!

Most importantly though, I can't believe how well this stuff lasts!!! Seriously, I'm shocked! I've tried all kinds of polishes in all kinds of price ranges, including Opi, Zoya, etc., and have found that they chip off under the best of circumstances. God forbid you wash your hands, or a dish, or move wet laundry or anything at all.  You'll look like a grubby street urchin almost immediately.

Since last night, when I put the Juleps on, I have washed things, used my hands for things, snow-blowed and shoveled, cleaned off the vehicles and there isn't even a chip! Not a single one! I'm seriously, completely shocked and very, very pleased!!!  Heck, I might have to sign up for the monthly box, if this is the kind of performance I can expect from Julep!

If you like nail polish, you will LOVE Julep. LOVE. I can't wait to try the other colors I bought, and their color selection is UNREAL. Run, don't walk, to Julep and buy your little heart out!!! Details on their monthly Maven box here!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part.

So, due to some unforeseen circumstances there has been a significant decrease in the amount of time I'm able to spend with all of my pretties, concoctions, etc. But please, fear not, I will be back and better than ever. In the meantime, I will shamelessly plug a few of my faves for you to check out. I wholeheartedly recommend these folks and have done multiple transactions with them, tested / worn their products and ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM!! Squeeeee!

SHIRO COSMETICS: 
My absolute fave indie. The shadows, OMFG, the shadows. The colors, the textures, the shifts, the depth, breadth, complexity. UNGHHHH they are AMAZEBALLS, which is my highest rating. Truly. I don't know what kind of insane alchemy the owner, Caitlin, is capable of, but when I tell you I absolutely LOVE every single shadow (and lippie and OMG, the finishing powder, "Fatality", HOLY CRAP, that stuff instantly turns you into Sophia Loren. It's RE DICK!!), I'm not kidding.

I'm relatively artsy, I like blending stuff, I like off-beat stuff, but the colors and finishes and UNPH everything that Shiro comes up with is just craaaaazy!! Her creations are so multifaceted; a shadow might look like a nice, tame brown in the wee jar or sample baggie, but then you dip your brush in it and you swatch it and the universe simultaneously explodes and folds in on itself, and the many layers of color, tone, hue, shimmer and shift are revealed. The variation, the sheer number of looks you can create with even a handful of Shiro's creations are just off the charts. OFF. THE. CHARTS.

If you even remotely like makeup, eyeshadow, etc., you (like me) will be a convert after your first purchase.  The sample bags are quite generous - two of them (I always buy in twos) will last you quite a long time - definitely long enough to test drive them under just about every set of conditions you can imagine. Important note: with loose shadows, you will need a primer of some sort. Glitter Glue, Pixie Epoxy, Lorac Eye Primer, NYX shadow base - doesn't matter. To get the maximum (and inherent) WOW from loose shadows, you need to give them a good base to sit on. And Shiro's deserve nothing less, honestly.

Oh, and can I also just say, CUSTOM LIP GLOSSES, uber geeky cool names, themes, etc.??

Next Up: TKB Trading, THE source for all the shit you need to make your own cosmetics. Yep, you read that right, make your own!!! I've made a number of lippies so far and plan on branching out to glosses too! Woot!

Supplize!

Received my latest package from TKB Trading yesterday, which included Versagel, a big, honkin' syringe thingy for filling tubes, a bag of lip gloss tubes, etc. Praise be to Koren of Enkore Makeup Online, for his awesome post on how to properly use Versagel. Just wanted to throw a shout out out there. :)

As an aside, if you have ever wanted to make your own cosmetics (which is actually a lot easier than you'd think), you should definitely check out TKB's website. They offer a whole host of different kits which come with everything you need  to make your own lippies, shadows, nail polishes, mineral makeup and more.


They also offer tons of individual items (e.g., palettes, pans, tools, lippies, ingredients, even recipes!!). Their shipping is fast, their products are excellent quality, and they have soooo much information on their site.  Yeah, I pretty much LOVE TKB!!!!

I'll let you know how it pans out once I've created my first gloss. And of course, I'll post swatches and, if you're really good, I'll offer them up for sale! Shameless, I know.

Ta for now!

Maybelline Color Tatoo

I recently acquired four Maybelline Color Tatoos, which have been the topic of much discussion on the makeup boards. I wondered what all the hullabaloo was about, so I gave them a shot.

They're purported to be a "24 hour shadow", and they do seem to have quite a bit of staying power, and a seemingly magical shift from a creamy texture to that of a dense powder. They're shimmery and beautiful, creamy on application, and are really quite malleable in terms of how you apply them. They certainly do stay put, that's for sure! Based on my experience last night, the similarity to a powder shadow ends at the blending. 

My first utilization of these was as an eyeshadow base, and they performed fabulously. Without a single touch-up over the course of approximately 6 hours, there was no creasing, no fading, no flaking and no eye irritation. I personally don't have allergies, per se, but my eyes tend to be pissy drama queens at the slightest perturbation of their saline sanctuary.

Swatches, left to right:

(25) Bad to the Bronze
(70) Barely Branded
(55) Inked in Pink
(30) Pomegranate Punk



I used Pomegranate Pink as a shadow base and put a Laura Mercier shadow on top. I also utilized a bit of the Bad to the Bronze in the crease, and didn't pat shadow over it (it was a bit of an afterthought, to add just a bit more definition to the eyes). I was quite surprised that these, despite being a powdery-cream, with a dense texture, did not crease. Creasing sucks and frankly, I've had mid and high-end stuff get all creasey on me, with and without primer. Ok, I lied - there IS no "without" primer. At least, there shouldn't be! I'm not sure how I ever wore eye makeup sans primer. It's just so wrong.

You can purchase these almost anywhere, including your local drugstore, behemoth big-box store, (Walmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.). They range from $6-8 bucks, and the amount of product you get when viewed in terms of how much product you'd use in an application seems to be quite good! Rumor has it these may dry out if not stored properly. Don't leave the cap off, don't store near heat, etc., and I think some folks store them upside down in order to prevent drying.

Overall Impression: definitely recommended! Whether you use them alone, or you use as a shadow base, these are pretty excellent, especially for the price!! Mama likey.

Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in: Forbidden Love

Let me preface this with, I'm not quite at the point where I have my shit together to the degree that would facilitate me sitting down, putting on makeup, taking pictures and posting them. I will get there eventually, I promise!

That being said, I bring to you today two products that I hate to love. But love them I certainly do.

Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara:

I don't want to love you. I really don't. You are expensive, and you're one of those well-known brands and I was convinced I was firmly entrenched in the indie / drugstore camp. How foolish of me. My overarching resolve to find beautiful replacements / dupes of the Hot du Jour has not wavered. But honestly, we're talking mascara here. You put it on your eyes!!! It's one of those cosmetic products that you can't sanitize, shouldn't share and could, at any moment, go horribly wrong. But not the Lancome. Oh, no.

I had heard good things about the Lancome Hypnose Star mascara and was determined to try it, but had already segued out of "hey, let's blow lots of money on expensive products" and into "I'm a makeup junkie, but oh shit, I need to rein this in, or disaster will strike!!" So, I listed this mascara on my wish list in the MakeupExchange subreddit and fortunately for me (my wallet), I obtained a deluxe sample of this mascara.

It went on beautifully. It is very light (in terms of not being intrusive, as some mascaras can be). It's deliciously black (awww yiss!).  I've had it on for a few hours, and it hasn't flaked or faded.

I really dig this mascara. And I might have to purchase it...

Incidentally, I am also enamoured with Hypnose Star's cousin, or maybe sister, Lancome Cils Booster XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base. Sweet jesus, that's a long damned name!!! But it's a pretty sweet product.  It goes on white, and then dries to clear / invisible. The Cils Booster does an excellent job on your lashes for those times you don't want to wear mascara (I know, that sounds ridiculous to me, too!!).


Next up, Peter Thomas Roth!

Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx(tm) Peeling Gel. Oh ma lawd. I'm not sure if this is some gimmick whereby you slather it on and it is chemically engineered to ball up and appear as if it is sweeping away those dull, dry, dead skin cells on your face, or if it is some magical wizard potion sent by some magical skincare deity.  Whatever it is, I love it! You smooth it on, and massage gently with your fingertips. Wee balls of...something appear under your fingertips, and voila! Your face feels like a baby's arse. I will let you know how this works out, after I've used my deluxe sample for a few days. 

PTR, I don't want to love you!! You're soooo expensive and honestly, I'm trying to fly the straight and narrow, where purchasing is concerned. But you...you are very, very tempting and I fear that I might succumb to your charms one day. I'd better get cracking on inventing that thing, that I patent, and then license for a handsome sum. Ha ha ha. Stop being so damn sexy PTR!!!

CLINIQUE All About Shadow Nudes Palette - Review

I realize this isn't a drugstore product, but I recently received the CLINIQUE All About Shadow Nudes palette and It. Is. Awesome.

The palette was $36 (Sephora), and frankly, worth every penny. From the gorgeous, silvery packaging (which, unfortunately, is prone to fingerprints, scratches, etc.) to the beautifully silky texture of the shadows, I don't regret buying this baby for one second.

The shadows, as you would expect in a palette at this price point, are well pigmented, super finely milled, incredibly silky and utterly blendable. The range and selection of colors and hues allows quite a bit of versatility in terms of whatever look you might desire to achieve. If you want subtle, "no-makeup" makeup, you can achieve it with this palette. If you want to do a bolder smoky eye, there are deeper shades well-suited for this purpose. The lighter shades are lovely for highlighting, and the deeper shades show up quite nicely, without getting all muddy or chalky or generally looking like ass when blended. You can actually differentiate the shades (assuming you've been practicing your blending!).

If I may be so bold, I have to say that after doing a full eye with this palette, I was extraordinarily psyched at the result. I may have achieved one of my best eyes ever - and this is not hyperbole. The colors pop, they blend where they should and they stand out where you want them to. Oooooh, and little to no fallout!!!  Fallout sucks, hard, and causes the makeup gods great ire. It also totally screws up your painstakingly perfect foundation and concealer job and, why!! Just, WHY!??

I give major props to CLINIQUE for the brush they've included with the palette. I have a strange natural aversion to hideous, foam-tipped applicators and I loathe, with the fury of a thousand suns, tiny little shit brushes that typically come with shadows. This is a nice, long, dual-ended usable tool. You can actually utilize this brush in the same manner you would one of your staple brushes. I think that's pretty frickin' sweet, personally. Note to cosmetics companies: STOP PUTTING SHIT BRUSHES IN YOUR PALETTES!!!!!

I realize I'm probably going off the rails here a bit, but the importance of your tools, where makeup is concerned, can NOT be overstated. I am not insinuating that you have to go out and drop hundreds of dollars on some fancy shmancy honkin' brush set, but you do need the proper tools if you're going to create a look as fabulous as you are. I'll discuss brush types, brands, their uses and care in another post.  o get back to the subject at hand, I'm very pleased with the tool that CLINIQUE has seen fit to include with this palette.

In summary, this is a hands-down winner. Whether you are a makeup maven with a penchant for hoarding makeup or you're someone who wears makeup infrequently (why!!?? it's soooo fun!!!), this lovely and versatile palette is for you. After pondering whether this palette would be better suited to particular eye colors, it's my opinion that it would likely look smashing on just about anyone. For the brown eyed ladies, the coppery tones really compliment the deep brown of the iris. Similarly, the muted shades with their understated shimmer and range of hues would really accentuate blue eyes. Heck, this is going to look great on just about anyone!!

tl;dr - I adore makeup of all kinds, colors, textures, etc. This palette really wowed me though - I was all googly eyed and there were cartoon hearts and angels floating above my head. There may have been an audible SQUEEEEEEEE as well.

Until next time ;)

Brazen Cosmetics - Review

I recently signed up for Brazen Cosmetics' monthly "Friends With Benefits" subscription service and received my first bag a few days ago.

Let me preface my review with a tl;dr: This is a pretty sweet monthly. I recommend it if you're into indie stuff and, in my humble opinion, you should be! In my marvelous makeup journey, I have run the gamut from mid-high end to drugstore to indie, and I have to tell you, there's nothing quite like supporting a start-up that puts out a quality product that you love, versus supporting a nameless, faceless conglomerate that manufactures its products god knows where (hint: places with incredibly lax or completely absent quality standards...Looking at you, China.). I've laid out the cash for $50+ palettes, goops, creams, potions, etc., thinking that a higher price guaranteed quality, when in fact, it doesn't. Drugstore and Indie brands have really been stepping up their games as of late. There are higher end products I've purchased after falling for the hype, only to find they just weren't all they were cracked up to be (looking at you, OCC Lip Tars - I know, you're all kind of beautiful to look at, but when the rubber meets the road you lag way behind products from brands a fraction of the price of yours).


Brazen has three subscription options, outlined below, and you may rightly assume here that I was quite pleased with what I received, or I probably wouldn't waste your time babbling on about them:



THE PACKAGES:

Silver:  For $15 you receive three (3) 3g pots of Brazen's UltraLuxe™ eye shadows. On their website, they note that these shadows are "unreleased, shades you'll get your eyes on before anyone else". Certainly can't poo poo that, right? For those of you unfamiliar with or new to this magical world of indie makeup, a 3g pot will actually yield quite a few uses, so you'll really have a chance to test-drive the shadows!

You also receive a mini of UltraGlaze™ Lipgloss or Ultraplush™ Lipstick, also exclusive and unreleased.  That's $25 or more (retail value) of makeup! Not too shabby! As if that weren't enough, you also get a 10% discount on orders from their e-store and Beauty Lounge AND free shipping within the US. They will ship to Canada and other international locations for only $5.00 extra which, as anyone who has had to ship stuff internationally from the US knows, that's a screaming deal!! 

Gold: The Gold package, $20 before shipping, in addition to the goodies you get with the Silver package, gets you a full sized exclusive shade of UltraGlaze™ Lipgloss (unreleased, woot!), AND a 15% discount in the e-store and Beauty Lounge, and free shipping in the US. That ends up being a $40+ value for $20 bucks. Can't argue with that!

Not temping enough yet? Oh wait, there's more:

Platinum: Their highest tier, the Platinum features everything in the Silver and Gold packages, and also includes a full-sized (5g) Ultraluxe™ eyeshadow in addition to the full sized lipgloss, 3x 3g eyeshadows and a mini exclusive shade of their lipgloss or lipstick.  For $25, you end up with $60+ retail value of product.  Shweet! But wait, there's even more! You receive a 20% discount in the aforementioned e-store and Beauty Lounge and free shipping on orders (US).  Niiiiiice!



"Get to the Taking Care of Business Part!!"

 THE REVIEWS:

Overall Impression:
I was thrilled with the contents, the packaging and the products, especially for the price. The packaging was super cute; someone obviously put some time and thought into it, and that's one of the sweet touches that come along with Indie products. When was the last time that multi-national conglomerate of cosmetics sent you a mash note with your order? Truth be told, I was pretty stoked about the return on my $15 investment.

The Samples:
If you prefer samples in pots, this is the monthly for you, as the "samples", which are quite generous, come in wee jars with screw tops, versus wee baggies. Personally, I am a fan of both options for packaging, but I know not everyone is. I end up transferring my baggie samples into wee containers anyway, with awesome labels denoting super powers, so as to be able to ogle them, lovingly, through their clear acrylic exoskeletons.

The Goods:

The first product I tried, the UltraGlaze Long-Wearing Color-Rich Lip Gloss™ in "Under the Covers", kind of blew my mind. It is, at first glance (or maybe second - I get the order mixed up), "hmm, another bubblegum pink frost", cue high school flashbacks. Let me (re)iterate, I am so not a pink / pink shimmery / pink frosty kind of girl. If I'm wearing a frost on my lips at all, it's a muted, deep plum with a slight gunmetal shift. Why? Because it's both reminiscent of a time and place in my life; a time when I was edgy and hip and cool, and frankly it just fucking looks good. 'Twas a time when I could fit into that teeny black cocktail dress, pair it with a feather boa and sassy strappy heels and be all, "aw yissss, so fierce!" Flash forward to now, and well, let's just go with "frosts aren't for everyone" and leave it at that. 

UTC is a frosty, shimmery pink lip gloss. Not particularly glossy in the traditional sense, it is very well pigmented and upon closer inspection, a very rich, multifaceted color. It's got a lot going on underneath its pretty exterior, and quite personifies the "don't judge a book by its cover" memetic.  

Boring Backstory: I grew up in a time where bubblegum pink, super frosty lipstick was all the rage. As every generation does, we look back on our "blunderyears" and think "what the fuck were we thinking???" Frosty can be a dicey thing - not everyone looks good in them, but this...this gorgeous, beautifully pigmented, silky textured, gold-laden loveliness was heavenly!! It looked AMAZING. It was so pretty and reflective. I don't know what kind of crazy alchemy they used for this, but they managed to strike a perfect balance between "perfect shimmer / frost" and "oh god, why!!" It was really pretty and quite striking. UTC definitely makes an entrance!

tl;dr  - I was really quite taken with this gloss. Sure, it could have been the lovely afternoon sun streaming in the window or the tasty beverage I was enjoying, but OH WOW, that lipgloss. Holy. Crap!

On to the eyeshadows: Brazen's UltraLuxe™ eyeshadows in Snow Day, Blizzard and Frostbite. They are very generous samples!! You will get *many* uses out of these. They seem to be quite well pigmented and they are definitely very well...sparkled? Shimmered? They are true to their names and quite striking. See my swatches here. Frostbite in particular is just gorgeous, in terms of shimmer and of how well the color really exemplifies the name, know what I mean? Snow Day swipes on with a beautiful finish, is SO sparkly-pretty, and is also very true to its name.

My schedule has not yet allowed me to actually test drive the shadows (I know, that sounds ridiculous), but they are quite lovely and as long as you use an eyeshadow primer (which you always should, unless you're some kind of crazy person), they will show up beautifully!

BRAZEN COSMETICS hails from Ferndale, MI. And I don't know specifically why, but I have such a thing for the upper midwest: WI / MI / MN / IL.  Pretty much, if you border one of the Great Lakes, I love you and I really don't know why. 

monday monday

jobs i'd rather be doing:
litter picker (w/obligatory orange vest)
laundromat attendant
animal husbandry
corn shucker
"security" guard (read: watch tv & sleep)
plant sitter
absolutely anything that doesn't involve this gotdamned commute.

seriously.

it's 8am on a shiatty, cold, rainy Monday. We were delayed by a mile-long freight train, and now we're crawling. And i haven't even gotten to the city i work in, let alone gotten TO work.

Wahmbulance, plz.

k thx bye

dayum

It was a very good day.

Hot damn. I can barely quantify the sick WIN of today.
Nat woke me up at like o'dark hundred last night -so I figgered I'd be a raging arsehole today. however, i got over it all quite quickly and i took off running. me and The B (mah BFF) did the whole 4 kid thing today - I don't even know where to start. Leaf pile. Rolling down the hill. INSANE chicken broth - twice simmered! Made Xmas ornaments (that the kiddies are going to paint tomorrow!). Homemade pasta. Homemade bolognese. A slight mishap with a preheating oven and a plastic cutting board. Whatever, ALL GOOD. Helping children take one more tiny step towards not being a completely shitty adult. (baby steps, bitches). Good food, good music, happiness abounding. Jesus even visited! (i know!!!!).

so yeah - thank you - whoever created all this shiat. whomever conceptualized this insane / terrible / beautiful / fucked up / painful / orgasmic world -- you're a sick sumbiatch!!!

/dear lord little baby jesus, aside from the obvious, i also thank you for Donny Hathaway. A LAWT.

Cool Crap on the IntarWebz

Ah, memories....

hee hee, just click it!

I likey!!!!

OMG, SRSLY - that's horrible!

I can haz Engrish?

Wow... Just...wow.

This is (allegedly) the suicide note left by the guy who flew the plane into the building in Austin, TX today..... What a sad, sorry effin world we've managed to screw up. (sigh)


If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?” The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken. Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head. Exactly what is therapeutic about that I’m not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers. Remember? One of these was “no taxation without representation”. I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse.
While very few working people would say they haven’t had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.
Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies. Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”. It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.
And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!
How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand. Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its victims, claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand. The law “requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that’s not “duress” than what is. If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.
How did I get here?
My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.
The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.
That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.
Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.
On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father. I realized this at a very young age.
The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on.
In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time. When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me). I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread. I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made. I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.
Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ contract software engineer... and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.
For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report (http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).
SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.
(a) IN GENERAL - Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
(d) EXCEPTION. - This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. - The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.
Note:
· "another person" is the client in the traditional job-shop relationship.
· "taxpayer" is the recruiter, broker, agency, or job shop.
· "individual", "employee", or "worker" is you.

Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated. The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d). Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave. Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.
During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time. I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity. This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”. Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldn’t bill clients.
After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise. The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists). This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.
Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle. If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.
Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s. Our leaders decided that they didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco. However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to “shore up” their windfall. Again, I lost my retirement.
Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed. Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months. This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive. Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY! After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.
By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a change. Bye to California, I’ll try Austin for a while. So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done. I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages… and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn’t give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.
To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA. This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income. I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they disagreed. But they didn’t notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out. Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.
So now we come to the present. After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again. But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle. After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.
When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order. I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting. Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.
This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone. The end result is… well, just look around.
I remember reading about the stock market crash before the “great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything. Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”. Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution.
As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone. The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government. Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough). In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.
I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand. It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants. I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after. But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue; I have just had enough.
I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less. I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are. Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.
I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Joe Stack (1956-2010)
02/18/2010

mmmm, thinkity.

so yeah, I'm watching the "news" (I use that term lightly, because OMFrickinGAWD is televised news TEH BORINGZ!!!Eleventy!) and this dude is busted for a buncha pot plants in Wilton, NH. And I'm pretty much like, "hmmm, in researching my hubs grandfather, I've been doing a lot of Teh Googling on topics like "new-cyuh-luh" tests in the 1950s and crazy top-secret shiat like that.

So now, I'm setting off Carnivore(tm) meters left and right and doing Teh Googz on both nuclear crap, super-shady shadow men of the 1950s-60s (70s, 80s, yup) and WEEEEED. Jeeeeze. Us.

Yeah, so, that's pretty much my post for the evening. The ideas and opinions rendered above in some way might possibly reflect those of the network, but honestly, I have a penchant for psychotic levels of legal research and a raging case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (thank you, Mr. McFencier!).

There's that....

I'll try to write more. I know my SINGULAR fan prolly wonders where I've gone. Here's to you, Mr. Singular Fan of the Bean Blawg! (Sing that last part to that Mr. Awesome Guy Who Invented Stuff-esque beer commercial, you'll dig it.)

So? What's cooking with you? ( i think i've missed this...)

Amen, Anonymous Lady!

Ok, let me preface this by saying that
a) I know next to nothing about this Glen Beck guy; and
b) if we, the people, can't learn to look beyond the messengers, talking heads and (more importantly) get out from under this fallacious bullshiat battle between "left" and "right", we're DOOMED. (Pssst! Here's a secret - no matter what network, newspaper, radio station, etc. you get your news from and no matter which 'side of the aisle' you cheer for, there are two things that are immutably true: 1) the media is BOUGHT AND PAID FOR and 2) THE POLITICIANS, EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM, ARE TOO).

That being said, I'm posting this because no matter what your thoughts on the messenger (deliverer?) are, surely some, if not all of what follows will resonate with you? (If not, return to your delusion and pretend none of this was said and that none of this is happening in front of our very eyes....).

[...a woman in Arizona ...writes an open letter to our nation's leadership:]

"I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This is not to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the STIMULUS bill. I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you No, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars. I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There are many conflicting opinions and it is too soon for this radical legislation. Quit throwing our nation into politically-correct quicksand.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision that will burden me, my children, and grandchildren. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night without even reading it. Slow down! Fix only what is broken -- we have the best health care system in the world -- and test any new program in one or two states first.

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. More is not better! Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real [Constitutional] obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes -- how did they pull that one off? Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with any of our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs -- and that is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person! Why do you want me to hate my employers? And what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Every company must sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. (Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid?) We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.Take a breath. Listen to the people. Slow down and get some input from nonpoliticians and experts on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed-reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is needless urgency and recklessness in all of your recent spending of our tax dollars.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on bringing our concerns to Washington . Our president often knows all the right buzzwords like unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented.. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work, pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone... and we are now looking at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic freedom spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution, and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them.. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you.If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming."

OH. HELL. YES.

Wall Street, this burning pitchfork's for YOU!

AIG posts second quarterly profit
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8347168.stm
I could post a big-assed profit if the Gubmint were dropping FAT STACKS of taxpayer bailout money on me!!!!!


Fannie’s Draws From Emergency Treasury Fund Reach $60 Billion
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aTtl8uiGkfxc
Fannie Mae: That ever-growing sucking sound you hear in the distance...not unlike that of water rushing out just before the tsunami hits. And then it gets really ugly.

BofA: Credit card loss rate could have peaked in Q3
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressReleasesMolt/idUSTRE5A463Z20091105
Could have. But probably haven't. Or maybe they meant 'have peaked for the year'. Ah, green shoots – go great with Kool Aid.

And finally:

Unemployment rate hits 10.2% in October, Payrolls fall by 190,000, 22nd straight decline
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unemployment-rate-hits-102-in-october-2009-11-06-83100
OOPSIE! This doesn't really sound "less bad" to me...Quick, Ben-Geitner et al.! To the Chopper!!!


Funny how you don't hear those bloated wind-bags in the media spewing forth much of that "less bad" garbage lately, eh?

Don't even get me started on the nightmare sinkhole about to swallow up many insolvent municipalities (e.g., frickin cities, people. CITIES!) or the shiatstorm brewing (just about here?) for pensions – you know, those things old people have contributed to throughout their lives so they wouldn't have to die in a box under a bridge somewhere? Yeah, kiss that shiat goo-bye. If judging the Banksta d-bags solely on their actions, the Feds will be bailing out aging Joe Sixpacks just about the time hell reaches -273 degrees. Ya feeling me?

Numbers Game, yo!

# of days my back muscle(s) have been spasming: 3
# of percs I took tonight in an effort to make it stop: 2
# of miscellaneous objects I've tried to jam into my
shoulder blade to try to unlock the muscle: 4ish?
# of people I've begged or paid to try to kill this thing: 5 or so
# of ways I've tried contorting myself in an attempt
to crack this bitch away: (insert infinity symbol here).

2009 - a year in numbers:
trips to the emergency room: 3
blows to the head with chain-link fence end posts: 2
stitches required: 3ish
medical specialists consulted with or treated by: 7
number of friggin old people maladies I've ended up with, WAY too soon: 5ish?
number of pants I own that still fit me: uh, 5ish?


ok, bored with that now. I think the percs are kicking in....

singin' biatch wednesday

ok, so in no particular order at all:

I've read two KICK ASS books in the last coupla weeks. 10 In Hanuman's Hands, Cheeni Rao. OMFG, thiss book is THE SHIT. Read it. If you struggle with all things "bad", feel like a miserable failure most of the time, have fucked up brain chemistry, regret your existence whilst simultaneously entertaining fits of narcissism that would make [insert narcissist here] blush, then you need to read this shizzle, yo. Sorry I can't relate that all to you in perfect english, but yo - that's how I roll. And you know that, and that's why you read my shit, and why, when I'm posthumously accepting my mothertrucking academy award for Best ScreenPlay EVAR (courtesy of Kneerim & Williams, the folks I wicked love), you will know my name is THE LORD....

/sorry - went all Samuel L. Jackson up in here for a 'mo.

anyway....(yeah, I am not particularly in love with my ADD either - welcome to my Disney World - if the septic system failed - type 0f reality).

/mamas & papas - monday, monday, delightfully caressing my ears. particularly my left one....I digress. What else is new?

Book, the second: AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS "Dry"... Holy shit. It took me a FULL ON 12 hours to recover from THIS one. Yeah, I know, you're like "er, secretarial chick, WTF could you know?". Yeah. Keep dreaming about that as this rusted out hull of a cerebellar auditorium SMOKES YOUR ASS SO BAD(ly) at Jeoapardy. Or however the fuck you spell it. WTF.

Anyway. Augusten. OMG. That book. Gripped the living shit out of my soul. In that Gore Vidal way. And that's some serious shit right there. Mad props, Mr. Vidal - I hope you're well.

Welp..that was gonna be it, but now I've cranked the Pink and I like the Pink. What's more important though, is that that the hubs likes the Pink. And it's not often that he expresses an affinity...for much of anything. Not that he's farty and boh-ring, au contraire. He just isn't THAT guy - you know, the one you can jangle some reality show bullshit in front of and entertain. He's fuckin awesome, truth be told. I dig the SHIT out of him. (Now I'm editing a snide comment to someone from the distant past, but I still think "ha ha! charlie and the chocolate factory, biatchhhhhh!!!"

thanks for joining me on my md excursion to Inability to Complete A Thought syndrome - or, ICAT for short. Whattup, SHAWTY!

I have a couple of new FB pals that came into the fold purely through a) chance b) happenstance. Just wanna shout out to my new peeps. Cuz you all care like that, n shiat. LOLZ. Yeah, I know. You stopped reading after paragraph II. That's cool So did I....



/i can go for miles, if you know what I mean


shit. sorry - the whole point of the exercise was for me to tell you that Mama Cass's voice is like the most delicious, warm, buttery, carmelized yumminess EVAR. RAWK ON, Ellen Cohen!!!!

let's throw some mad love in there for Pattsy Cline too, while we're at it. Because sometimes we all walk for miles, along the highway...n shiat.

WERD

p.s. shouts to e-dawg and bar-b-licious, YOU MY HOMEYS.

MAD LOVE to my homeys.

It's been a tough week. I said something stupid on my FB and got my shit in tons of trouble. My hubster is pissed at me because I suck with money. But my peeps are rawkin and they have my back, and for that I'm fuckin seriously thankful.

Shanky, your email was like the bandaid on some seriously fucked up shiat, and dood, mad love for that. Thanks bro - it came at just the right time. I'm waiting for some short / leveraged shit to pan out and my old man is breaking my balls and I'm feeling all shiatastic about it, and I come home and read your email and dayum. Thanks man.

To my homeys on the train, I have MAD love for you - for understanding who I am and what I am, and for intuitively knowing that I'm NOT an asshole, I DONT start shit, and I am the fucken peacemaker. I try to keep shit in line, and I stand up against you sometimes even when I know you'll be pissed about it, in an effort to keep shiat smoove.

It's a scary fucken world out there. I am scared to death. Daily. Cancer has taken so much of my family and I wait for the day it takes me too. So, for those peeps that are there, and have my back - jon, barbs, your beautiful kiddies, jamie, charly, my mad train homeys, my fams, my absolutely unbelievably amazing kiddies and my hubs who is currently ballistically bullshiat at me, I mad love you and when I go, the saddest thing will be that I don't get to be with you any more.

It's been a rough fucken week.

Wild and wacky stuff afoot!!!

You have to love when major shiat hits the fan just before and/or during a holiday weekend.

Palin abruptly resigns for no apparent reason (well, citing no coherent or discernable reason, to be more precise). The word on the street, aside from "maybe she's pregnant" (which still wouldn't explain the bizarre and sudden torpedoing of her political...anything...ever), is that some nasty things are cooking regarding embezzlement, federal indictments and a probable scandal of epic (fail) proportions. Good times. Good riddance to a woman who truly epitomizes *everything* wrong with America, politics and human beings in general.

Then there's the abysmal state of the economy, and the withering of those holographic green shoots the yapping MSM puppet-heads have been trying to cram down our throats for months. This, as well as the Palin thing, really underscore that it's about damn time that we, collectively, took a stand against those whose action belie their belief that by and large, the average American is an idiot.

I invite you, my loyal reader (lolz - I'm pretty sure there's one of you, and even that may be a gross overstatement) to broaden your horizons. Explore the internet, shut off the CNBS, the FixedNewz, and the telly in general if it's news and information you want. Talking heads, the jig is up and you, collectively, whether in print, on television or radio, are quickly going to go the way of the dinosaur. You are racing towards extinction, because you allowed yourselves to be bought and paid for by corporate interests, thereby violating every previously-held tenet of what was once an admirable and critical function of our society - journalism. Now, you're nothing more than over-coiffed shills and honestly, your tired act has and will continue to erode until you are reviled and dismissed by everyone, not just we the "bloggers in our parents' basements". That's the best Dennis Kneale, Sarah Palin et al. could come up with as of late? "Ohhh, the nasty, mean blogger people"? Really? Your ilk epically fails at pokker. Why would you tip your hand and call out bloggers (for whom you clearly have nothing but disdain) if you weren't, to some degree, fighting an unease that perhaps your web of bullshit an spin was about to unravel? In short, you wouldn't - you'd continue to naively believe in the fallacy that bloggers are irrelevant and hold no power. Guess we'll have to see how that works out for you, now, won't we?

Mad, gigantic, humbled props to the following folks, to whom an enormous debt of gratitude is owed for at very least being on the front lines and attempting to get the information you might *actually* benefit from to you, versus inundating you with more inconsequential celebrealitard-centric DREK that serves only to obfuscate the truth and steer you away from reality. Try something for me, would you? Spend ONE WEEK reading instead of watching television. I'm not some high-falutin' teevee rots yer brain, I'm so very erudite and yer nawt, hurr hurr kind of gal. I love those rare moments of television entertainment, but sadly they are few and far between. So, spend a week reading up on things instead of being spoon-fed what the MSM wants to feed you. These are my favorites, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do:

zerohedge (blogspot) - Tyler Durden et al. defy description. If you are uneasy about the economy (and truly, you should be, no matter who you are), well, ZH's posts won't make you feel better at all, but they WILL educate you. I'll take the latter, thank you.

The Market Ticker - Karl Denninger minces no words. You won't be receiving hugs and love and regurgitated bullshit. I think you know where to go for those.

Something mighty is coming. Hope it's Change....

Blogs I LOVE

I know no one reads this shit, but it's all good, because it will be here for posterior. I mean, posterity. Here, in an order known only to me, are the blawgs I fucken LURVE!!


http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/ - My absolute OBSESSION. If you give ANY kind of a crap about
what's going on today, you'll bookmark ZH early and OFTEN!!!!!

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/ - I wicked love this guy - he's smart AND angry!

http://shankystechblog.blogspot.com/ - Can't go wrong with Shanky, baby!!!

Rawk On, Barbara Bovbjerg!

You should care about PBGC, people.

Bust out your Google Fu and mull it over. OUCH.

If you haven't already converted your liquid assets to cash, GET THE FARK OUT OF EQUITIES. Today. Now. Yesterday.