Should be a Twitter post, but I don't use The Twitters. I'm sitting out in front of Oxford Street in London while Barbe vistits Primark for the 3rd time! Those of us in the USA aren't lucky enough to have this store, it's AMAZING. Think Ross with quality, TJ Maxx with inventory, Old Navy with creativity and a full range of sizes and styles. Barbe is HOOKED!

I, OTOH, can't stand to go back into that insane asylum tonight! Full day at the Victoria & Albert Museum, then onto take lovely pictures of ourselves in front of Westminster and Big Ben, then onto Trafalgar Square and the National Museum to soak up some wonderful impressionist works. Whoosh! We're beat. Up tomorrow early to head back to Heathrow, all 3 suitcases fully packed with new clothes, books, and Doctor Who figures.



 

Instructions:
Take a picture of yourself right now.
Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair - just take a picture.
Post that picture with NO editing.
Post these instructions with the picture.

Yep, here it is. Doctor Who Series 4 starts in the UK this weekend! And in a sign that the universe is actually shrinking, it starts here in the US on the Sci-Fi Channel on April 18th (with the Christmas 2007 special, "Voyage of the Damned"). And if you order right now, you'll get Sarah Jane Adventures Series 1 starting on Sci-Fi on April 11th. Goodness, too much TV fun to be had this spring (after a pretty good winter with Torchwood and Ashes to Ashes).

But, as always, it's Doctor Who I'm looking forward to the most. The addition of Catherine Tate should prove, well, interesting if nothing else; but should definitely mix up the show more than the addition of another Martha or Rose like character. Not, apparently, that we've seen the last of them! So here's some YouTube Doctor Who S4 goodness, below the cut:

Tenth Life

The warmth of the sun on his fur felt like the stroking hands that had just been there, and he remembered. “I miss them already. My lives with them were so good.” He wished they could see him now. He felt so much better and just wanted to play. Well, perhaps after he ate, and napped for a bit in this long green grass. He looked to his friend who, it seemed, had been here waiting for him. “Will we ever see them again?”

“You can see them whenever you wish,” his friend replied. “Just look into the pond and you’ll be able to watch over them, wherever they are.” They looked out to the beautiful valley in front of them, and saw others in the distance. There would be so much to see, so much to do. “And we’ll all be together again someday. You’ll find that time here is… different.” He nuzzled against his long-lost – now found – companion. “It will feel like no time at all.”

Rest In Peace, Pan -- We Love You!

Been awhile since I posted anything remotely political, I think. I still scan a handful of sites, watch my Newshour with Jim Lehrer and 1/2 of the debates, and been really into podcasts with my Zune. But on the whole, I reached exhaustion with this election cycle late last year, throwing my hands up in the face of the media who kept insisting that the candidates I liked (for the record: Biden, Dodd, Edwards) were not real candidates. I've sat back and let it sort itself out while concentrating on my own The Next Big Thing project.

Coming into the New Year, I had no great love for either Clinton nor Obama. The former I simply do not trust, though I'm sure she'd surround herself with good people; the latter strikes me as style over substance and, yes, sorry, I would like a little more experience this time. I have enjoyed seeing how much Obama has been motivating and inspiring Dems to get active again, and feel like I'm getting my own little slice of the Kennedy experience here (that would be Jack or Bobby, not Ted, btw). Still, not enough to sweep me off my feet and get caught up in the O-mentum.

As of today, though, I've decided. I'm really glad things worked out this way. I'm happy that we got to see what would happen if Clinton and her campaign were threatened. Otherwise, I might have been fooled into thinking that she's half as smart and strategic as she thinks she is. But now that she has actually had to compete, there seems to be no end to the list of reasons not to get behind her. None of them really pushed me in one direction or the other, but I have now seized upon one key reason that she's unfit for office (Day One or otherwise): she can't play by the rules.

It's come up a few times. She wants to, post-facto, change the rules about seating the Michigan and Florida primaries. She dismisses the results of caucases she lost. She whines about debate formats. She even wastes our time trying to make up new rules (denouncing is not rejecting ...FTW??!!). And I read today that the Clinton campaign is threatening a lawsuit over the complicated delegate selction process in the upcoming Texas primary/caucus cluftersuck, now that it's starting to look possible (likely?) that she may not win.

Clinton & Co., you knew what the rules were (muddy as they might be) going into this; if you didn't like it, then don't play. Because when you're President, I'll expect you and your cabinet to play by the rules; specifically, the Rules of Law, as set forth in the Constitution. See, it's an area that the current office-holder has been, oh, a little lax about. Healthcare, security, the economy, the war(s), education... all of these issues are important and certainly need improvement and action, but I contend that they are transitory problems. The constant erosion of the Constitution over the past 7 years (things erode when you piss on them) under the current administration, however -- setting the tone and precedent for all future administrations -- is IMO the single most important issue this country faces today. If our own government cannot play by the rules, nothing else will improve. Nothing else matters.

Whoever gets that office is going to immediately face situations in which they may not like the hand they were dealt. These days, it's more than likely that there will be a number of crucial, extreme issues that will require a thoughtful, decisive response. I no longer want some idiot in the White House who feels free to just wing it, do what he/she wants, and give the rest of us the proverbial finger in the process. Based on Clinton's conduct during this campaign, I've completely lost any faith that she will resist bending (if not breaking) the rules when it suits her Administration. There's always a long-term price to be paid for that, and we've built up enough of that "debt" these past few years. No more.

So, sorry, Hillary -- you FAIL. I understand, it's been a tough fight. But you have chosen not to fight the good fight. As a result, you will not have my support. Obama will get my support, and I suspect fully earn my vote and confidence by the time November rolls around.

Happy, happy, happy anniversary to my one, my only 

tattooedartgirl

(I'll get you a card or something, too -- hahahaha!)

I LOVE YOU!