scared...sad...frustrated...furious...

Activist Cindy Sheehan Arrested at Capitol

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier in
Iraq who reinvigorated the anti-war movement, was arrested and removed from the House gallery Tuesday night just before President Bush's State of the Union address, a police spokeswoman said.

Sheehan, who was invited to attend the speech by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., was charged with demonstrating in the Capitol building, said Capitol Police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. The charge was later changed to unlawful conduct, Schneider said. Both charges are misdemeanors.

Sheehan was taken in handcuffs from the Capitol to police headquarters a few blocks away. Her case was processed as Bush spoke.

Schneider said Sheehan had worn a T-shirt with an anti-war slogan to the speech and covered it up until she took her seat. Police warned her that such displays were not allowed, but she did not respond, the spokeswoman said.

Police handcuffed Sheehan and removed her from the gallery before Bush arrived. Sheehan was to be released on her own recognizance, Schneider said.

"I'm proud that Cindy's my guest tonight," Woolsey said in an interview before the speech. "She has made a difference in the debate to bring our troops home from Iraq."

Woolsey offered Sheehan a ticket to the speech — Gallery 5, seat 7, row A — earlier Tuesday while Sheehan was attending an "alternative state of the union" press conference by CODEPINK, a group pushing for an end to the Iraq war.

Sheehan, wrapped in a bright pink scarf against the cold, protested outside the White House with a handful of others before heading to the Capitol Tuesday evening. There were no cameras around, but the small band faced the executive mansion and repeatedly shouted, "You're evicted! Get out of our house!"

Sheehan was arrested in September with about 300 other anti-war activists in front of the White House after a weekend of protests against the war in Iraq. In August, she spent 26 days camped near Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he was spending a working vacation.

nancy sinatra and the dixie chicks don't lie

i saw regis philbin sing a duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with jimmy kimmel last night...

needless to say, amazing


i'm at ncb looking out at the thames river, and seriously, this is the most depressing day, weather-wise, ever. everything's all muddy and brown and dead, and the river is fast flowing but murky and gross. and there are squirrels out running around in this!! aren't they meant to be hibernating? shittt i just noticed there's a dead bird outside...its quite funny actually...its tail feather is sticking up straight up in the air hahahahah...

i wonder if it has west nile..

i'm horrible, dont listen to me hahaha.

decisions..

...
i'm going to apply for MPI next year.

i've loved him since the DNC and i want him to be president.

Sen. Obama Criticizes Filibuster Tactic

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer 35 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - To more effectively oppose Supreme Court nominees in the future, Democrats need to convince the public "their values are at stake" rather than use stalling tactics to try to thwart the president, said a senator who opposes Samuel Alito's confirmation.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., predicted on Sunday that an effort to try to block a final vote on Alito would fail on Monday. That would clear the way for Senate approval Tuesday of the federal appeals court judge picked to succeed the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Democrats fear he would shift the court rightward on abortion rights, affirmative action, the death penalty and other issues.

"We need to recognize, because Judge Alito will be confirmed, that, if we're going to oppose a nominee that we've got to persuade the American people that, in fact, their values are at stake," Obama said.

"There is an over-reliance on the part of Democrats for procedural maneuvers," he told ABC's "This Week."

Sens. John Kerry and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts are urging fellow Democrats to support a filibuster, citing in part Alito's conservative record on abortion and deference to executive power.

Alito's supporters must produce 60 votes to cut off a filibuster; an Associated Press tally shows at least 62.

The AP tally also shows that at least 53 Republicans and three Democrats intend to vote to confirm Alito; that is well over the required majority.

President Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address that senators should have an up-or-down on a nominee "who understands that the role of a judge is to strictly interpret the law."

Obama cast Alito as a judge "who is contrary to core American values, not just liberal values."

But Obama joined some Democrats, including Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Charles Schumer of New York, in expressing his unhappiness with the filibuster bid.

"There's one way to guarantee that the judges who are appointed to the Supreme Court are judges that reflect our values. And that's to win elections," Obama said.

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), said he, too, would support the filibuster attempt but agreed that it was not particularly wise.

"I think a filibuster make sense when you have a prospect of actually succeeding," Biden said on CNN's "Late Edition." "I will vote one time to say to continue the debate. but the truth of the matter" is that Alito will be confirmed, he said.

crazy Laura

i just got back from celebrating Chinese New Year's Eve with 35 friends at the Mandarin.

last night, i got so drunk and high that i puked for about thirty minutes this morning.

(what was i thinking?)



(when can i do it again?)

tell me about it

hahah yes i know the layout is screwed up, but i was just searching the net and stumbled across this layout and i thought, 'i MUST have it'

so im trying, so bear with me.

its just too late to keep going now hahaha

--Laura

IT WORKS BEST IN FIREFOX, SO IF YOU DONT HAVE IT, GET IT NOW!

david letterman said that it is proven that yesterday, january 25th, is actually the most depressing day of the year, because the excitement from christmas is gone and there is nothing for people to look forward to

i wanna be in london for a week and not go to class.

i've watched star trek all day.

and not gone to class yet.

i also realized that i have a huge crush on commander riker.

and surprisingly, captain picard too.

i'm sad that this month is almost finished.

on my lost calendar, january is matthew fox month.

next month is jin and sun.

not as exciting.

i have a jewelled picture frame from the pottery barn.

i got it for christmas, but still haven't found the right picture to go in it yet.

speaking of christmas, i opened a bag of happy holiday m&ms yesterday.

soo good.

alright, star trek commercial break over.

update later for sure.

galangalangalang

in my desparate attempt to be creepy loner girl at the spoke, i have been doing some people watching

in about 3 hours, i have seen people who look like her, him, him, and a younger him, all of which must mean that i am on drugs because none of these people go here anymore (or never have/will).

and i now have spent 20 minutes trying to find a good picture of link #3.

wow. what a life.

somewhat mit perhaps

i'm reading a book right now called "The Reality TV Handbook"

amongst other delights, it tells you how to:
-fly under the radar
-form an alliance (and keep it)
-use alcohol to your advantage
-display emotion on cue
-lie and get away with it
-discern whether your date is actually wealthy
-make fire
-swallow a live bug

this actually might come in handy in REAL life...

i like looking at the photo albums

so addicted to facebook.

its coming up in conversations with friends, classes, people i just met...

for those on the "outside", they don't get what makes it so great.

and its hard to explain..

but if you're one of like 3 people left who aren't on facebook, sign up.

do it. do it now.

.
.
.
is this my Canada?
.
.
.

we're not talkin politics...

...we're talkin gooooooooooood times

i'm not crazy about him, but this pretty much sums shit up

From MichaelMoore.com

Friday, January 20th, 2006
Michael Moore Statement on Canadian Election

Michael Moore is currently in production on his next movie. As an avid lover of all things Canadian, he has issued the following statement regarding Canada's upcoming election on Monday:

Oh, Canada -- you're not really going to elect a Conservative majority on Monday, are you? That's a joke, right? I know you have a great sense of humor, and certainly a well-developed sense of irony, but this is no longer funny. Maybe it's a new form of Canadian irony -- reverse irony! OK, now I get it. First, you have the courage to stand against the war in Iraq -- and then you elect a prime minister who's for it. You declare gay people have equal rights -- and then you elect a man who says they don't. You give your native peoples their own autonomy and their own territory -- and then you vote for a man who wants to cut aid to these poorest of your citizens. Wow, that is intense! Only Canadians could pull off a hat trick of humor like that. My hat's off to you.

Far be it from me, as an American, to suggest what you should do. You already have too many Americans telling you what to do. Well, actually, you've got just one American who keeps telling you to roll over and fetch and sit. I hope you don't feel this appeal of mine is too intrusive but I just couldn't sit by, as your friend, and say nothing. Yes, I agree, the Liberals have some 'splainin' to do. And yes, one party in power for more than a decade gets a little... long. But you have a parliamentary system (I'll bet you didn't know that -- see, that's why you need Americans telling you things!). There are ways at the polls to have your voices heard other than throwing the baby out with the bath water.

These are no ordinary times, and as you go to the polls on Monday, you do so while a man running the nation to the south of you is hoping you can lend him a hand by picking Stephen Harper because he's a man who shares his world view. Do you want to help George Bush by turning Canada into his latest conquest? Is that how you want millions of us down here to see you from now on? The next notch in the cowboy belt? C'mon, where's your Canadian pride? I mean, if you're going to reduce Canada to a cheap download of Bush & Co., then at least don't surrender so easily. Can't you wait until he threatens to bomb Regina? Make him work for it, for Pete's sake.

But seriously, I know you're not going to elect a guy who should really be running for governor of Utah. Whew! I knew it! You almost had me there. Very funny. Don't do that again. God, I love you, you crazy cold wonderful neighbors to my north. Don't ever change.

Michael Moore

(Mr. Moore is not available for interviews because he now needs to address the situation in Azerbaijan. But he could be talked into it for a couple of tickets to a Leaf's game.)

holy shit

this is fucking amazing

it takes a minute to load, so be patient, but SERIOUSLY

click

(it's a new honda ad, courtesy of boingboing)

gimme passion, gimme feeling, gimme something to believe in

i've been feelin kinda down for the past week or so, and i really had no idea why.

i mean, everything's been great - new classes, lots of parties, good friends, been shopping - i'm really lucky, in every sense of the word.

but, i dunno.. it's just been hard, going to class and seeing so many people who are passionate about so many things, as large or as small an issue they are, when all i feel like is that i personally have lost all of my passion.

i know that sounds like a drastic thing to say

and i know my primary new years resolution was to get that passion back into my life

(and believe me, i have tried)

but everything that i once felt passionate about has just disappeared from my life, with no hope for their return.

so im thinking, im in university - this is the place for me to develop new passions, see the world in a completely different light - and i know that mit is definitely the program to be in to do this

but i find that even when something interests me in a class, i dont feel the same way that i used to about singing, or writing, or photography, or even the lame arts and crafts that i used to do when i was in kindergarten.

and the (lack) of passion in my life in the other sense of the word has always been an issue with me too... yeah there are always guys, but those guys are never the guys that i feel passionate about.. those guys just aren't there

so what am i to do

anything?

well, the obvious thing is that i need to get the passion back into my life, but it seems like the path that i am currently on is not allowing that for me.

something needs to change and i dont even know where to start or what to do or who to go to or whether i should even bother

(ok, comments on, but i dont want answers to my rhetorical questions)

snakes on a plane, the greatest movie of all time

(please note i dont use quotation marks even though i should and thus i am stealing. gracious apologies.)

as i logged onto my msn this morning, i happened to see two of my frosh's msn names in particular. they were as follows:

snakes on a plane. august 18th.
snakes. planes. samuel l. jackson. mutha fucking terrorists. august 18th.

needless to say, i was intrigued.

so, i employed some searching skills, and found this, this, and this and it turns out that there is in fact a movie coming out in the summer starring Sammy, called Snakes on a Plane.

Snakes. Snakes on a plane, not in a milk-crate, not under a rock; on a plane.

So many questions. How many snakes? What kind of snakes? What kind of relationship does Sammy have with the snakes? Does he see his childhood in their eyes? Can snakes love? Can snakes love...on a plane? Can snakes love a plane?

This is going to be emotional, I can tell. It's going to have heart.


I don't think America is ready for Snakes on a Plane. Then again, I don't think it will ever be possible to ever truly be ready for Snakes on a Plane.

It just simply exists on a higher level than us humans could ever imagine.

who knew?

apparently you can make meth from cold medication

click


ps - i saw colin mocherie and brad sherwood do an improv show tonight and it was sooo good. i didnt get called on stage, but they did use my suggestion that i yelled out for the game where there are lines in a hat and they pick one out and use one in the middle of the skit... and their finale dealt with blindfolds and mousetraps...
ask me about it when you see me (it's one of those stories that are funnier in person lol.)

i love this picture hahaha

thanks to boucher for taking it

surprising what an old journal can remind you of

Past regrets
With their steady gaze
And fixed stare,
They watch me.
Decipher me.
Observe me.
I am their puzzle.

Reduced to memories
And photographs,
They sit above me,
Hiding their secrets,
Letting me make their mistakes.
They aren't here to warn me.

I am listening to
Pictures laughing at me
From their permanent place
On the wall.

i currently cant feel my face

some random drunk chick at call the office tonight told will, eric and i she had so much sex on her trip to las vegas that her "titties are bruised"

young girl's love for her chickens gives her bird flu

(click title for original post)

An eight-year-old girl in Van, Turkey who raised chickens in her back yard apparently has become infected with bird flu after kissing and hugging her dying feathered friends. Fortunately, her health is improving and she's expected to be released from the hospital soon.

From the Associated Press:

When her mother saw Sumeyya holding one of the dying chickens, she yelled at her and hit the girl to get her away.

Sumeyya began to cry. She wiped her tears with the hand she'd been using to comfort the dying chicken.

"She wiped her face," said her father, speaking in broken Turkish and wearing a leather jacket and a typical Kurdish headdress in their bright, clean home. "She started to swell. She had a really high fever...."

Even if not animal lovers like Sumeyya, children in poor agricultural towns tend to be extremely comfortable with the animals they share their lives with. It has been particularly difficult to convince them that this proximity can now be dangerous.

----

is it horrible that i want to laugh?

i want this show to be a hit

anyone happen to catch the premiere of The Book of Daniel on NBC/CH on Friday night?

if you know me, you know i watch a lot of tv...so you know this is coming from a qualified source when i say that this is the most promising mid-season replacement show i've seen in a lonnnnnnnnnnng time. yet so many christian activist groups have been up in arms about the content of the show, which i hope just means that it will hang around longer rather than disappearing like so many good and contraversial shows nowadays

in case you missed it, allow me to sum up:
-a Vicodin-popping priest tries to keep his family together while they face various modern family issues
-for example, his wife is an alcoholic, his 15 year old daughter gets caught selling weed and gets put in jail, his eldest son is gay and has to keep it secret from his grandparents, and his Japanese adoptive son will stop at nothing to have sex with his girlfriend (who just happens to be the daughter of a co-worker of the priest)
-also, the priest's father is a strict bishop and his mother is battling dementia and barely recognizes any of her family
-if this isn't enough to offend pretty much anybody, the priest also has visions of Jesus and talks to him throughout each episode

aka i'm in love with this show

its like a freaky hybrid of six feet under, joan of arcadia and weeds.

please watch it! its amazing!

you know what the new year brings....

the award show season!

and most importantly, the OSCARS!!

aight so every year I strategically balance my own views and critics' views to pick who I think will win the Oscars (by using the ballot in the TV Guide), and i realize i'm a bit early this year, but these are my picks (and back-up picks) for the 4 biggest categories (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress) for the 2005 Oscars

Best Picture - Brokeback Mountain (or Crash)
Best Director- Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (or Steven Spielberg for Munich)
Best Actor - Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (or Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain)
Best Actress - Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (or Felicity Huffman for TransAmerica)

Thoughts?

drugs, drugs, drugs

i think i love this a bit too much...

click

my best of 2005 list

i've always wanted to make my 'best of' list at the end of the year, but let's face it, i'm lazy and never got around to it before lol.

MOVIES
5. Wedding Crashers - i have never laughed so hard in a movie before in my life
4. Sin City - i loved it and its selective colouring goodness
3. Star Wars 3: The Revenge of the Sith - except for the horrible chemistry between Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman, this was an amazing ending (beginning?) to an amazing series
2. March of the Penguins- there's nothing like a good documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman to make a good movie
1. Broken Flowers- I highly recommned this movie mainly because of its supporting cast (Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, and Tilda Swinton *aka Narnia's White Witch*) however Bill Murray still steals the show in this one.

TV
5. Beauty and the Geek - this show, and this show alone, has given hope to the nerdy boys of America that just wanna "snag a hottie" hahhahaha Best part of this show was seeing Alex from the O.C. make a 'cameo' (if you will) as one of the 'beauties'.
4. I Want to Be a Hilton - as horrible as it was, i just could not stop watching this sad, SAD excuse for a television show. I think my favourite episode of this show was when the teams each had to buy Mrs. Hilton a hostess gift and a team bought her a 10 dollar box of chocolates from a convenience store!! hahahaha suckers.
3. America's Next Top Model - the newest season of ANTM brought us girls who didn't want to cut their hair, girls who stole granola bars, and the short return of Janice Dickinson.....GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW!
2. Prison Break - two words - Wentworth. Miller.
1. Grey's Anatomy - THE most amazing show on television. I don't think that since Friends there has been such an entertaining and relatable cast that appears on primetime television. Plus, Patrick Dempsey and Justin Chambers (Alex) are hot.

BLOGS
5. Engadget.com
4. TheSuperficial.com
3. Rosie.com
2. PajamasMedia.com
1. BoingBoing.net

MUSIC
ALBUMS
5. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
4. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
3. Fiona Apple-Extraordinary Machine
2. M.I.A.- Arular
1. Metric - Live It Out

SONGS
15. If You Could Only See - Tonic
14. O' Sailor - Fiona Apple
13. What If - Coldplay
12.Cold Hands, Warm Heart - Brendan Benson
11. Cry - James Blunt
10. Hung Up - Madonna
9. Consider This - Anna Nalick
8. Heard 'Em Say - Kanye West ft Adam Levine
7. This Modern Love - Bloc Party
6. Bucky Dun Gun - M.I.A.
5. Handshakes - Metric
4. Better Together - Jack Johnson
3. Neighbourhood #2 (Laika) - Arcade Fire
2. Tribulations - LCD Soundsystem
1. Finding Out True Love is Blind - Louis XIV


i'm sure *someone* disagrees with at least one of these choices..
alright, let me have it.