So after reading Hunter's poem, A Plea To That Guy At The Podium, last night, I thought it would be fun to put it into a little folk song in the tradition of Dylan or Guthrie with a little Coen Brothers thrown in. So I spent a couple hours writing and recording it when I realized, I have no way to post an MP3 file.

No problem, I thought. I'll just do it as a Youtube video with maybe a picture of Barack sitting there. Famous last words.

I can't speak for Hunter, but to me this song is not meant to be disrespectful to Obama in any way. It's just a gentle plea not to be swayed by the voices of mediocrity and the status quo.

Just as a little bit of amusement answer this question:

Tell us why you didn't make the Olympic Team?

So the Dog has started and abandoned three dairies today, as he seems to be too damn slow to in getting his thoughts together and other Kossacks have beat him to the punch (Damn you all!!!). It seems that if the Dog is to post today, he must fall back on the frivolous. That being said, let’s talk Olympics!

Many of you remember my original Daily Kos Bingo diary from March. Well, get out those orange daubers, because the primaries are over and the new card is here!

It is forehead-mopping, shirt-drenching, throat-closing, legs-sticking-together, peel-yourself-off-the-leather-couch-with-a-fucking-spatula hot out there.

I hope you are someplace with air conditioning and a building manager who has deep enough pockets to keep it cool. If you're not, you have my pity.

Because where I'm at, you feel like you need a second shower an hour before lunchtime. I've been out on assignment and I feel like I'm wearing a cable-knit sweater soaked in cod liver oil.

An interesting topic on Fark (it's not news = it's Fark) came up in a thread named "Interviews with three professional pick-up artists at Right Wing News... wait, what?". It was noted that the article says...

Although I did want to do a follow-up, given that I have a mostly male audience...

...and it was noted of one picture that if you "shave these guys, keep them out of the sun, and make sure the US flags you give them are flame-retardant... you'd have a hard time telling from a photo whether you were looking at Kandahar or Kansas."

That led to the creation of this: Is that a Terrorist or Conservative speaking? A quiz.

Ten quotes. Who said them (and I know, it's hard to tell conservatives from terrorists anyway, but have a try anyhow)? Follow the link to the quick quiz above. It shouldn't take more than two minutes unless you're cheating!

More, below the fold.

What do these two "celebrities" have in common?  Follow me over the jump and I will show you.

It is Friday and the Dog is one burnt out puppy! Between work, writing about torture and the visit at work by Sen. McCain the Dog is out of seriousness. Call it a failure of emotional and political stamina, but it is what it is. So, what is a poor canine to do, caught between a desire to post on the one paw and complete brain lock on the other? Why do something fun and frivolous, of course!

This is a completely non-politicial diary.  It is solely for entertainment purposes and hopefully a fun way to spend a few minutes on a Sunday night.

I was goofing around with iTunes and creating a new playlist I've called "Smooooooth."  Needless to say, it is made up of various songs that are just too cool and sexy.  It could be the singer, the melody or a certain je ne sais quoi that gets the song onto the playlist.

As the music was playing, a song came up, and I mentioned to my husband that it is one of those songs that just absolutely melts me.

I'll let you know what it is after the jump, but for the purposes of this diary, I want to know, what song "does it" for you?

Campaign logos form the backdrop—literally—of any modern election. Last year, I took a look at the crop of logos in use by the then-current field of candidates, from the good to the bad and beyond. Soon, possibly as soon as a few weeks from now, the candidates will choose their running mates and unveil new logos for the fall campaign, which may be similar to the ones they're currently using or very different. Let's take a look back through history at the logos used in previous general election campaigns and see what worked and what didn't.

Taj was kind enough to play a private concert for me and my friends when one of our crew decided to take his own life.  Taj performed an amazingly thoughtful and reverent show in my friend's honor at the Egg in Albany, NY.

So here is my one small way of paying him back.  Taj is currently touring as part of a trio and his new album is called "Maestro".  You can find out more by going here or to his official site

Tour Dates below the fold!

I admit, I haven't written a diary in like 3 months because I am just so exhausted by this very long and stressful election season.

Follow me below for more....

Today, me and my sister in law went off to do make our contribution to social justice, and attempt to spread some fits and giggles while we were at it, at the local DPBC (Democratic Party of Barrayar County, that is) annual chili cookoff.  

It was sort of a contest among state legislature House districts in the area. But I wasn't exactly in it to win it. For one thing, a self-respecting Dendarii looks for fortune and glory by conquering the Universe, not by entering local chili cookoffs.  

This diary is just a fun bit about how we had fun at one of the most local of local activities. It ain't no Netroots Nation Convention, but it's what we did today.

This diary is in the spirit of the true diversionary wit of fellow DKos citizen Droogie6655321, since he is busy with truly important things on this Friday. Forgive this pale imitation as the sincerest form of flattery. Hat's off to ya, Droog.

Today's topic: Most annoying musical acts.

I realize this is a cumbersome phrase, but I wanted to differential just plain bad from annoying (which is tastily subjective), and I didn't want to deal with the whole band/artist/group/duo/etc. differentiation. So "annoying musical acts" it is. I'll start the ball rolling with this list, in no particular order:

there are those moments in life when inspiration hits you... squarely between the eyes and threatens to break your glasses.

i received an e-mail today from my dad.  born, raised and returned some years ago to southeast alabama.  81 years old and very white.

oh, yeah... you know where this is leading, right?

follow me for the "a-ha" moment... and no, i promise not to link you to any a-ha videos...

This is a silly Saturday night diary with limited political relevance and less redeeming social value, but I think it might be fun.  Actually, it is two small games in one, so it might be double the fun.

I expect that others have thoroughly plowed this intellectual ground before, but I haven't, and it's more fun to be told a story than to sift through dry books looking for it.  So, here we go:

The surnames (occasionally with given names) of some people, like Albert Einstein, have become shortcuts in our culture for certain characteristics.  To call someone "Einstein" -- but, oddly, not Galileo or Newton -- is to call them a genius.  To call them a "Rembrandt" -- but, oddly, not Picasso or van Gogh or Michelangelo -- is to call them a great artist.  To call them "Benedict Arnold" -- but not, say, Joe Lieberman -- is to call them a traitor.

I'm not sure what this class of linguistic appellations is called, but it may have something to do with metonymy as well as possibly prototypes and exemplars.  (Someone here will know.)

Hello folks!  It is once again Caturday!!  Since I didn't see a diary made for it yet, I took it upon myself to make one.  Share your Pooties, Woozles or anything else that strikes your fancy.

This is just the place to unwind from the horrible reality we call our world.

Have fun folks :)

As I am wont to do, I offer a a couple of things to dwell on for today. Today, neither is particularly serious and one is more for fun (and I kind of mentioned it previously in passing).

First, the chess analogy.  I am far from an expert in chess.  My father tells me that I first started playing at age 2. He also mentions that I started beating him at 4 and he stopped playing against me shortly thereafter. I retained interest in the game, read some and played against some computer competition that wasn't very good.