From an Associated Press story this morning:

Officials in Detroit and Montgomery, meanwhile, said the first seats of their buses would be reserved as a tribute to Parks' legacy until her funeral. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick put a black ribbon Thursday on the first passenger seat of one of about 200 buses where seats will be reserved.

Wouldn't it be great if we did the same for every bus across the nation?

...and many more

Happy Birthday Serena! I miss you...Next week, your mom's...we'll be there...bring the booze...

on more quotidian dramas ...

Overheard at work today, re: The Libby/Cheney/Rove-Plamegate story vs. Clinton’s Monica Lewinsky sex scandal:

At least with the whole Monica thing, the plot was really simple. I could better follow what was going on.

It does almost make one long for the simpler times of 1999...

grey ice water

I woke up this morning feeling a little down…not sure why…but then I glanced out the window and saw the gray sky and the wet ground and immediately felt cheered. The first rain of the season! Time to wear a sweater! And now I’m at work sipping hot coffee and listening to the Sun Kil Moon album and everything feels pretty damn good – especially considering that I’m at work and not at home making soup or doing other cozy fall home things.

I love fall and winter.

something bad ... hopefully redeemed by something good

The Prussian Blue story that's been circulating today is really one of the most disturbing things I've seen in a long, long time. I checked out their Web site but could only stomach so much before I had to close the link - it made me feel sick to my stomach that these two pre-teen girls are already spewing the gospel of hate at such a young age. Sadly, as evidenced by all the links today and even this blog post, the attention will probably only garner them more support among certain crowds.

And strange as this may sound, I'm a bit pissed at all the Olsen Twin comparions (i.e., from Salon: "Mary-Hate & Ashley?" etc...). Say what you will about the Olsens but they've done nothing to deserve the association.

Now, on to something that made me much happier today - watch this video of two guys in their dorm room singing a Backstreet Boys song - if you don't smile, then you're made of stone. And no, it's not about laughing at them - it's about here are two people who are obviously totally into this and it's just kind of sweet. I did laugh - but only because it reminds me of me when I was 13. Only I was singing into a mirror, not a Web cam and the music was Madonna (first album, natch).....Although, what is up with the guy in the background?

It's true, the rich really do get richer ...

new music Tuesday

Another request for help - this is one is more personal. I need new music! I am so bored with music right now. I've been listening to Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab, Super Furry Animals, Sons & Daughters, Kaiser Chiefs, Sun Kil Moon and Broken Social Scene - but I need something else. Something fresh and completely new.

Any suggestions?

This past weekend was nice for its Autumn-like tendencies and slow, easy feel. On Saturday we went shopping in Berkeley - we're looking for area rugs but unless you count the $1000 Angela Adams rug we both drooled over, we came up empty. Still, the trip was fun and included stop-offs at Amoebas, Cody's Books and, for dinner, the Blue Nile (yum, honey wine).

Sunday we hit up an antique mall but not before stopping at Cookie's Drive-In for grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries that were deep-fried heaven. Did you know that Cookie's has black bean burgers and veggie burgers? I didn't, but now that I do...speaking of food we also got ice-cream later in the day and I had a hard time choosing. I always think I want the pumpkin ice cream this time of year but once I get my sample taste I realize it's too rich even for my blood. I went with the caramel praline instead - you know, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, it's no wonder I'm feeling a bit, uh, pudgy right now. Gotta watch it but fall always means craving really good hearty foods.

At some point in the next week I want to make a pumpkin-lentil stew that I once made a few years ago - it's really good served with crusty sourdough bread and a green salad. And wine. Lots of wine.

Oh, also: If anyone has any decent Kings home game tix they are looking to sell - please let me know...

we interrupt this blog ..

I have a very important question for my Sacto peeps: Where are the best public restroom in this town? Besides Nordstrom, Zocalo or PF Chang's? Extra points for loos outside the grid.

Please and thank you very much.

barely breathing

Yes, I’m still here. Barely. Busy week. Let’s put it into perspective. Last Friday I went here. And I still haven’t unpacked. My suitcase? It’s been shoved into a corner of the bedroom. It makes a nice seat for the cats.

And yes there was a murder in our neighborhood this week (link deleted cuz it was doing spazzy stuff to my HTML) Just a few blocks away. Freaky but honestly, the last few neighborhoods I’ve lived in have had such things.

OK, that’s it for checking in right now. My goal for the rest of the day: Pick up the shoes that have been at the repair place for more than a week, unpack and shop for a new cell phone to replace the one I broke while using on the job yesterday. Trying to do an interview at the food court on your cell phone? Harder than it sounds, folks.

fall forward

Well, as anticipated this week is proving to be a bitch...or rather, I'm proving to be its bitch. Which means, no real time for blogging...probably not until at least this weekend, Sunday maybe, if I'm still upright by that point.

The good thing is that things are going pretty well right now and the lack of time to blog is because I'm busy doing mostly fun things with friends and family and Cory (who gets a category all to himself) and I think I'm out of my end-of-the-summer funk- so happy for the chilly mornings and nights that I can forgive and forget the warm afternoons.

But Nick & Jessica! So sad! I blame it all on Ashlee. It's got to be her fault somehow, right?

Oh, and Friday's Green Day show rocked (rawked!) in a Big Dumb Rock way - the band employed every rock cliche in the book and I loved every minute of it...

Anyhoo...maybe I'll see some of you tomorrow night at Luna's for the Beth Lisick / Tara Jepson reading? Frank Andrick, Becca Costello and others are also on the bill. 8pm. It's free and they have beer and wine and coffee and sweets (not free)...come on by, it'll be good stuff.