DRILL DRILL DRILL
by Eve Ensler. (playwright and activist)
I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
roommates and jobs...
Been looking for a job.
Been looking for a place to live and someone to live with.
AH!!!!
There's a lot to do!
The job hunt:
Applied several places yesterday and going to keep on trucking, I interviewed at Eddie Bauer yesterday afternoon, and pretty much have the job there if I want it. It pays decently, but i think I could do better if i worked on a resort, just not sure if I'm cut out for that kinda work or not. I'll keep you posted on further developments
On the roommate front:
There's a website here in Jackson, JacksonHoleRadio.com, you can post free ads and respond to them etc. There are TONS of people looking to rent a room or looking to find a roommate and house-hunt together. I've already had several people contact me and respond to my contacting them. I am meeting with a girl names Shane tomorrow morning for coffee to see if we are truly compatible to room together, so I will for sure let you know what's going on with that as well.
On the friend front:
Lola and I went out to the Wort Hotel with my 2nd cousin once removed, or something like that, Barbara and her friend Shelia. The ladies were CRACKING me up with every guy that walks past me, "What about him?" they would ask. There were two girls dancing to the band and it made me REALLY miss my girls back home. I went up to one of them, her name is Sarah and told her that watching her dance made me sad that I left my dancing buddies behind in Alabama, she invited me to dance with them. I had a blast! After i sat back down at the table, Lola wanted to introduce me to her friend Erin. I walk over to the table and shake the girls hand and hear "Hey, that girl's from Alabama!" I turn around and see one of my old college buddies sitting at the table. "Clint!! I heard you were living out here!" I was so happy to see an old buddy! We exchanged numbers and hopefully I'll get up with him in the near future. He also has a friend that is moving out of a house and looking to sublet her room, the only issue is that I would have to live with three guys... so we'll see about that! Sarah also said she had a friend that needs a roommate. Never say that nothing good comes from drinking beer and dancing!
On the current living situation:
FLIES!!!!!!!!!! We have no air conditioning so in order to keep the house cool we have to open the windows and doors... but then flies come in and raid the house. Elu can't sleep, because flies keep landing on her.
On the stock market:
I'm depressed. the country is in Mayhem!!! Gold is up $86 TODAY! and everything else is down. there's some serious trading going on and I'm very fearful for the future of this country. Scared to death!!!
Been looking for a place to live and someone to live with.
AH!!!!
There's a lot to do!
The job hunt:
Applied several places yesterday and going to keep on trucking, I interviewed at Eddie Bauer yesterday afternoon, and pretty much have the job there if I want it. It pays decently, but i think I could do better if i worked on a resort, just not sure if I'm cut out for that kinda work or not. I'll keep you posted on further developments
On the roommate front:
There's a website here in Jackson, JacksonHoleRadio.com, you can post free ads and respond to them etc. There are TONS of people looking to rent a room or looking to find a roommate and house-hunt together. I've already had several people contact me and respond to my contacting them. I am meeting with a girl names Shane tomorrow morning for coffee to see if we are truly compatible to room together, so I will for sure let you know what's going on with that as well.
On the friend front:
Lola and I went out to the Wort Hotel with my 2nd cousin once removed, or something like that, Barbara and her friend Shelia. The ladies were CRACKING me up with every guy that walks past me, "What about him?" they would ask. There were two girls dancing to the band and it made me REALLY miss my girls back home. I went up to one of them, her name is Sarah and told her that watching her dance made me sad that I left my dancing buddies behind in Alabama, she invited me to dance with them. I had a blast! After i sat back down at the table, Lola wanted to introduce me to her friend Erin. I walk over to the table and shake the girls hand and hear "Hey, that girl's from Alabama!" I turn around and see one of my old college buddies sitting at the table. "Clint!! I heard you were living out here!" I was so happy to see an old buddy! We exchanged numbers and hopefully I'll get up with him in the near future. He also has a friend that is moving out of a house and looking to sublet her room, the only issue is that I would have to live with three guys... so we'll see about that! Sarah also said she had a friend that needs a roommate. Never say that nothing good comes from drinking beer and dancing!
On the current living situation:
FLIES!!!!!!!!!! We have no air conditioning so in order to keep the house cool we have to open the windows and doors... but then flies come in and raid the house. Elu can't sleep, because flies keep landing on her.
On the stock market:
I'm depressed. the country is in Mayhem!!! Gold is up $86 TODAY! and everything else is down. there's some serious trading going on and I'm very fearful for the future of this country. Scared to death!!!
Monday, September 15, 2008
My first weekend in Wyoming
Friday: Lola took me on a little tour of the Snake River... here's some shots from there
Then on Saturday, my friend Pete had the day off and offered to show me around the Grand Teton National Park.
We went off the beaten path and enjoyed the hot springs:
The spring was almost too hot for us to swim in. This little area with the water fall was bearable, but it most definitely was hot!!
This picture was taken on the hike out from the hot springs. 
After we got back to the car, we went a few miles down the river and did a little fly fishing. I actually held a fly rod in my hand and was pretty good at casting it. No fish, but I did get the hang of it. Sorry, I forgot to get pics of me actually fishing, but here's the river that I fished.
Driving back from the river I got a cool picture at sunset of the Jackson Lake and the Teton mountains. 
After a day outdoors, we went and had a burger at the Jackson Lake Lodge.
Sunday:
I went with Pete over to a friend of his house in Driggs, Idaho to watch some football. Apparently everyone out here watches NFL, rather than SEC... but whatever, it was still football. We watched some football, Denver and someone... I wasn't paying much attention, because, well, it's not Auburn and Elu was in the backyard with two other dogs. After watching some football, we went to go play a round of disc golf. I'm terrible at disc golf. But it was nice to walk around outside and see the local flavor of Idaho.
After a rousing game of disc gold, Pete and I went over to his friend Chip's house and ate some dinner, then played a fantastic game of Presidents and Assholes. I was standing President for at least five games!
Today brought me back to the real world just a little bit and I spent the afternoon filling out job applications and paying bills online. Tomorrow is another day of pounding the pavement.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Lady Elu Photo Shoot
While Lola was fishing, Elu was running around playing and I was snapping photos. Here are some pictures of my beautiful daughter, enjoy:
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
She needs Wide Open Spaces!
Some things I learned while driving cross country:
So... latest update. I'm now in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I left Fort Collins about 5pm because my car was in the shop ALL day! I was able to get laundry done before leaving, so it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
I headed north towards Jackson. All was fine, the car's running smoothly and the dog's nice and worn out from playing with Burch for hours
so I'm just cruising along.
I turned over 100,000 miles in Wyoming:
Around 9 or 10 o'clock I got REALLY sleepy, so I pulled over at the nearest rest stop and closed my eyes for about 30 minutes. Not long after I continued driving I got to Lander, Wy. Actually it's a really cool looking town, but I stopped and got some coffee and filled up with gas again and kept on going. Lander is about two hours from Jackson. SO I'm cruising along again, wide awake and happy. I'm the only person driving on this road, maybe a truck every now and then (not on the interstate, no no, the interstate doesn't come anywhere near Jackson) so UP over the mountain... two deer cross the road, Elu barks at them, then a little ways further UP over the mountain and a fox crosses the road. Cruising.... then "be prepared to stop" so I slow down and see that there are two trucks with the strobe lights on their roofs. The man comes out to tell me that there's a delay and I'll have to wait about 30 minutes before the roads are opened again.
At this point, it's 12:30. I figure this is a great time to let Elu do her doggy business. I get out and walk her for a second when the man informs me to be careful, there is a rumor of a black bear that roams these parts. "Get in the car, Elu!!!" I roll the windows down just enough to feel the cool mountain air but not too much to allow a bear, or scary psycho killer be able to get to me. Locking the doors, I decide to take this (fully awake time) to do a crossword puzzle. At 1:00 on the dot, we are ready to go. I (along with the Mac Truck behind me and I think a couple more cars) have to follow the "pilot car" through the construction on the road. It takes us another 30 minutes to go roughly 10 miles. Once through the construction, I was about 30 minutes from Jackson. Lola met me at the gas station in town and I followed her to Wilson, Wyoming, just on the other side of Teton Village. It was dark, obviously when I arrived, so I had a beer with Lola and then went to sleep. It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I was able to see the property for what it is. And what it is is AMAZING!!!
Even though it was raining when I woke up, and the day is in general what most would consider "gross" weather, it's just so pretty I can't be bummed out about the weather.
and the view from the side porch
Going to look for a job tomorrow- I'm starting at the 4Seasons. Then heading to the other places in Teton Village (because it's much much closer and I can park just a few miles down the road and ride my bike the rest of the way into the Village) and then I'll head into downtown Jackson.
I also discovered that I need a pair of shoes that slip on, but are closed toed. Like Birkenstock or something- It's too cold to walk outside in sandals, even to run to the car and it's a pain in the ass to pull my boots on for just a second. That being said... I'm off to eat salad and baked potatoes with Lola.
OH, PS- Elu has 40 acres to run and play on and she is SUPER SUPER SUPER excited to have all this room to run and have even some horses to chase!!!
- apparently in the back-woods in North Carolina there is a market for single-wide trailers with the "log cabin" look- I'm talking plastic logs glued to the outside of the trailer.
- Shelby and Jefferson are both VERY common names for counties
- if you're driving through Kentucky, make time to stop at the Bourbon Trail... sounds really interesting
- your favorite music is not always the best to drive to. However, Fall out Boy surprisingly makes for great solo-road trip tunes
- Sunflower seeds are excellent to subside hunger between pit-stops
- Audio Books will SAVE YOUR LIFE when you're in the car for 13+ hours. It's like watching TV, but better!!
- replace windshield wipers before leaving your city.
- Dogs make excellent travel companions
- always a good idea to have a road trip mascot- I had Figment, he's the mascot of good luck and imagination
So... latest update. I'm now in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I left Fort Collins about 5pm because my car was in the shop ALL day! I was able to get laundry done before leaving, so it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
I headed north towards Jackson. All was fine, the car's running smoothly and the dog's nice and worn out from playing with Burch for hours
so I'm just cruising along.
I turned over 100,000 miles in Wyoming:
Around 9 or 10 o'clock I got REALLY sleepy, so I pulled over at the nearest rest stop and closed my eyes for about 30 minutes. Not long after I continued driving I got to Lander, Wy. Actually it's a really cool looking town, but I stopped and got some coffee and filled up with gas again and kept on going. Lander is about two hours from Jackson. SO I'm cruising along again, wide awake and happy. I'm the only person driving on this road, maybe a truck every now and then (not on the interstate, no no, the interstate doesn't come anywhere near Jackson) so UP over the mountain... two deer cross the road, Elu barks at them, then a little ways further UP over the mountain and a fox crosses the road. Cruising.... then "be prepared to stop" so I slow down and see that there are two trucks with the strobe lights on their roofs. The man comes out to tell me that there's a delay and I'll have to wait about 30 minutes before the roads are opened again.
At this point, it's 12:30. I figure this is a great time to let Elu do her doggy business. I get out and walk her for a second when the man informs me to be careful, there is a rumor of a black bear that roams these parts. "Get in the car, Elu!!!" I roll the windows down just enough to feel the cool mountain air but not too much to allow a bear, or scary psycho killer be able to get to me. Locking the doors, I decide to take this (fully awake time) to do a crossword puzzle. At 1:00 on the dot, we are ready to go. I (along with the Mac Truck behind me and I think a couple more cars) have to follow the "pilot car" through the construction on the road. It takes us another 30 minutes to go roughly 10 miles. Once through the construction, I was about 30 minutes from Jackson. Lola met me at the gas station in town and I followed her to Wilson, Wyoming, just on the other side of Teton Village. It was dark, obviously when I arrived, so I had a beer with Lola and then went to sleep. It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I was able to see the property for what it is. And what it is is AMAZING!!!
Even though it was raining when I woke up, and the day is in general what most would consider "gross" weather, it's just so pretty I can't be bummed out about the weather.
this is the view from the front porch
and the view from the side porch
and my bed room- that couch pulls out
Going to look for a job tomorrow- I'm starting at the 4Seasons. Then heading to the other places in Teton Village (because it's much much closer and I can park just a few miles down the road and ride my bike the rest of the way into the Village) and then I'll head into downtown Jackson.
I also discovered that I need a pair of shoes that slip on, but are closed toed. Like Birkenstock or something- It's too cold to walk outside in sandals, even to run to the car and it's a pain in the ass to pull my boots on for just a second. That being said... I'm off to eat salad and baked potatoes with Lola.
OH, PS- Elu has 40 acres to run and play on and she is SUPER SUPER SUPER excited to have all this room to run and have even some horses to chase!!!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
getting lost to find yourself (part 2..2)
Here are some more pictures from Tour de Fat:
And we also went to Red Rocks for Sound Tribe Sector 9 later that evening. I was really too worn out from the long day of biking and drinking New Belgium Beers. But I had a wonderful time anyway!
In other news, I really like this town, a lot!
not entirely sure what my next move is, but I know that it's time to move on. I could stay here forever, except for the fact that I'm crashing on a couch and starting to feel like I've over stayed my welcome. So I'll be moving on in the morning, as soon as my car gets fixed. I'm thinking about heading on to Wyoming and dropping some of my stuff off before coming back to Colorado for the next couple of weeks. Two reasons for this 1- gas mileage will be a lot better if I'm only carrying half the amount of stuff that I've been carrying and 2- I have no where to go for the next couple of days. as it is raining and gross in Colorado and I don't have any other places to stay really... just camping, and camping in 30 degree rain does not sound like a lot of fun.
Elu and I are highly enjoying ourselves in the cooler weather. Sunday I learned how to play polish horseshoes. Basically, it's a 2 poles with beer bottles on top and a Frisbee. goal= knock beer bottle off opponents' pole. Burch and I won four games in a row before Anna and Mike gave up. Elu hated the game 'cause she couldn't chase the Frisbee! She was all tied up. Tried to get my car fixed yesterday, but they forgot to order the part, so I had to stay one more day. So yesterday Anna and I watched season 4 of WEEDS and then went out to the bar for a quick drink, then back to the house and to bed at a decent hour.
Now, I'm about to run my vehicle back to the Honda dealership and get it fixed. And make some phone calls.
Have a great day, today will be a good day to call me, as I will be in the car for 7 hours or so today.
And we also went to Red Rocks for Sound Tribe Sector 9 later that evening. I was really too worn out from the long day of biking and drinking New Belgium Beers. But I had a wonderful time anyway!
In other news, I really like this town, a lot!
not entirely sure what my next move is, but I know that it's time to move on. I could stay here forever, except for the fact that I'm crashing on a couch and starting to feel like I've over stayed my welcome. So I'll be moving on in the morning, as soon as my car gets fixed. I'm thinking about heading on to Wyoming and dropping some of my stuff off before coming back to Colorado for the next couple of weeks. Two reasons for this 1- gas mileage will be a lot better if I'm only carrying half the amount of stuff that I've been carrying and 2- I have no where to go for the next couple of days. as it is raining and gross in Colorado and I don't have any other places to stay really... just camping, and camping in 30 degree rain does not sound like a lot of fun.
Elu and I are highly enjoying ourselves in the cooler weather. Sunday I learned how to play polish horseshoes. Basically, it's a 2 poles with beer bottles on top and a Frisbee. goal= knock beer bottle off opponents' pole. Burch and I won four games in a row before Anna and Mike gave up. Elu hated the game 'cause she couldn't chase the Frisbee! She was all tied up. Tried to get my car fixed yesterday, but they forgot to order the part, so I had to stay one more day. So yesterday Anna and I watched season 4 of WEEDS and then went out to the bar for a quick drink, then back to the house and to bed at a decent hour.
Now, I'm about to run my vehicle back to the Honda dealership and get it fixed. And make some phone calls.
Have a great day, today will be a good day to call me, as I will be in the car for 7 hours or so today.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
getting lost to find yourself (part 2.1)
I made it to Colorado...
Left Knoxville Early in the morning after getting my car looked at. It is my oxygen sensor. Basically I'm getting 2 mpg less than usual, but the car is drivable, although not very eco-friendly. Drive from Knoxville to Omaha, Nebraska in one day. Got up Friday morning and drove to Fort Collins Colorado (I have some interesting things to say about my car ride, but it's not nearly as cool as what I've done since I've been here, so I'm skipping out of order for the sake of your entertainment).
When I got to Colorado, I met up with my friend Mike, his girlfriend, Anna and his roommate Burch. I was at their house long enough to take a shower and get cleaned up before heading out to Mishawaka Amplitheater to hear the Emmit-Nershi Band. We camped out on the island in the river. Elu went with us, and had a ball. We left her in the car to sleep while we went to the show, but before and after the show, she hung out with other dogs and swam in the river and ran around- she had a ball, and so did I!
We woke up early the next morning to go to the Tour de Fat in downtown Ft Collins. I cannot even begin to describe this, so I'll say a couple of facts and then let the pictures speak for themselves. One: 7,500 person bike parade Two: Fat Tire donated the beer and all proceeds go to helping make Ft. Collins a more bike-friendly place to live. Three: Everyone (mostly) wore costumes.
a girl traded in her car for a phat Fat Tire bike...
and the head liner for the evening was the March Forth marching band and dancers.. this chick was the most amazing hula hooper...
computer's about to die and I want to get this posted so more to come on part two later.
Left Knoxville Early in the morning after getting my car looked at. It is my oxygen sensor. Basically I'm getting 2 mpg less than usual, but the car is drivable, although not very eco-friendly. Drive from Knoxville to Omaha, Nebraska in one day. Got up Friday morning and drove to Fort Collins Colorado (I have some interesting things to say about my car ride, but it's not nearly as cool as what I've done since I've been here, so I'm skipping out of order for the sake of your entertainment).
When I got to Colorado, I met up with my friend Mike, his girlfriend, Anna and his roommate Burch. I was at their house long enough to take a shower and get cleaned up before heading out to Mishawaka Amplitheater to hear the Emmit-Nershi Band. We camped out on the island in the river. Elu went with us, and had a ball. We left her in the car to sleep while we went to the show, but before and after the show, she hung out with other dogs and swam in the river and ran around- she had a ball, and so did I!
We woke up early the next morning to go to the Tour de Fat in downtown Ft Collins. I cannot even begin to describe this, so I'll say a couple of facts and then let the pictures speak for themselves. One: 7,500 person bike parade Two: Fat Tire donated the beer and all proceeds go to helping make Ft. Collins a more bike-friendly place to live. Three: Everyone (mostly) wore costumes.
a girl traded in her car for a phat Fat Tire bike...
and the head liner for the evening was the March Forth marching band and dancers.. this chick was the most amazing hula hooper...
computer's about to die and I want to get this posted so more to come on part two later.
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