"The history of a people is found in its songs"

A few albums I'm digging, lately:


Costello Music
- The Fratellis (Rock / Indie / Alternative)
You may have heard their hit "Flathead" on that iTunes commercial.
Check out their MySpace page for some tunes.


Separate Ways
- Teddy Thompson (Rock / Folk / Pop)
I discovered him performing a beautiful rendition of "Tonight Will Be Fine" on the Leonard Cohen documentary. "Everybody Move It!" and check out his MySpace page.



Neon Bible - Arcade Fire (Indie / Alternative / Pop)
Most of you have heard "Funeral"; their new album "Neon Bible" will be out March 6th. Check out their MySpace page for some old and new tunes.



Bring It Back
-McAlmont and Butler (Surf / Soul / Indie)
English rock/soul duo comprised of David McAlmont and Bernard Butler (Suede). Thanks for the recommendation, Arturo!
Some newer tunes here.

Chicago Votes

Don't worry, I'm not going to go all P. Diddy on you; I just want to make sure everyone has the correct information.

Okay, Chicagoans...it's that's time, again! Get off your arse, wipe that drool off your chin, abandon your work for an hour, and vote.

Not sure who/what you're voting on?
Mayor, City Clerk, and Alderman
Look on your voter registration card, check which ward you're in, pick accordingly.

Not sure where to go? (Geesh, do I have to do everything for you?)
Go here.

Sharpton 'shocked' by link to Thurmond's family

Story Highlights

• Thurmond promised to preserve racial segregation in 1948 presidential bid
• Sharpton's great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, owned by Julia Thurmond
• Thurmond fathered bi-racial child; he died at 100 in 2003

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendant of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond -- a discovery the civil rights activist called "shocking" on Sunday.

Sharpton learned of his connection to Thurmond, once a prominent defender of segregation, last week through the Daily News, which asked genealogists to trace his roots.

"It was probably the most shocking thing in my life," Sharpton said at a news conference Sunday, the same day the tabloid revealed the story. (Watch Sharpton react to the news )

Some of Thurmond's relatives said the nexus also came as a surprise to them. Doris Strom Costner, a distant cousin who said she knew the late senator all her life, said Sunday she "never heard of such a thing."

"My momma never would talk to me about nothing like that," Costner said of ancestors who owned slaves. "She only talked to me about good things."

The revelations surfaced after Ancestry.com contacted a Daily News reporter who agreed to have his own family tree done. The intrigued reporter then turned around and asked Sharpton if he wanted to participate. Sharpton said he told the paper, "Go for it."

The genealogists, who were not paid by the newspaper, uncovered the ancestral ties using a variety of documents that included census, marriage and death records.

They found that Sharpton's great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, was a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was Strom Thurmond's great-great-grandfather. Coleman Sharpton was later freed.

Thurmond, of South Carolina, was once considered an icon of racial segregation. During his 1948 bid for president, he promised to preserve segregation and, in 1957, he filibustered for more than 24 hours against a civil rights bill.

Sharpton, who ran for president in 2004 on a ticket of racial justice, said he met Thurmond only once in 1991 when he visited Washington, D.C., with the late soul singer James Brown, who knew Thurmond. Sharpton said the meeting was "awkward."

"I was not happy to meet him because what he had done all his life," Sharpton said.

Thurmond was seen as softening his segregation stance later in his life. He died in 2003, at 100. The long-serving senator was originally a Democrat but became a Republican in 1964.

Thurmond's children have acknowledged that Thurmond fathered a biracial daughter -- Essie Mae Washington-Williams' -- whose mother was a housekeeper in the home of Thurmond's parents.

Telephone message left by The Associated Press on Sunday for Strom Thurmond Jr. and an attorney who once represented Washington-Williams, were not returned.

(via CNN.com)

2.18.07 Photo Blog

Some days it's great to be a tourist in your own city.


Morris, Washington, Solomon statue on Wacker Drive - 2:30pm


3 more photos can be seen here.


But wait, who is that psycho in my kitchen?! Ahh!!!







(Nate sporting his new Shun knife)

All the "real" stories have been covered, so...

Scientology and baby placenta eating aside...

Just another reason to loathe Tom Cruise:

Badonkadonk

I have no readers, so I'm entitled to a fluff post.




As a factual claim, it's true. A little lipstick isn't going to make my butt skinny. What it doesn't tell me is why I should want a skinny butt. Shouldn't the correct marketing term for a gym be "firm", "fit", or I don't know... "healthy" ?
I was actually considering joining Bally's to get rid of some winter weight...maybe I'll check out Women's Workout World, instead.

Ah, lovely day out. Carry on.

On Holiday

You know, for a writer, I sure haven't been blogging much. Well, mainly because I write on my laptop and Tim's computer is always hooked up to our internet. So one of these days I'll upload them all. You'll be impressed, really.

Any-hoo...Nate and I just got back from Denver. Weather there is more unpredictable than in Chicago. We managed to get a sunburn on Sunday and snow on Monday.

I took a little video of the Rockies/Giants game on my digicam from our upper deck seats. Barry Bonds was up to bat. Booing naturally ensued. Shocker.


Here's photos from the trip.

Helen Thomas is My Hero

Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas asked Bush what some analysts called the most direct questioning he’s ever received on his reasons for invading Iraq.

3-21-06
Transcript follows:


HELEN THOMAS: I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I think your premise, in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist, is that, you know, I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect --

HELEN THOMAS: Everything --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Hold on for a second, please.

HELEN THOMAS: -- everything I've heard --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Excuse me, excuse me. No president wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy, but we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.

Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second --

HELEN THOMAS: They didn't do anything to you or to our country.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al-Qaeda. That's where al-Qaeda trained --

HELEN THOMAS: I'm talking about Iraq --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al-Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, ‘Disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences’ --

HELEN THOMAS: -- go to war --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it.

Papa Yankee Was Right

Okay, so I'll just say it: maybe Steinbrenner was right. Maybe hurdling some of the world's top baseball players into the WBC a month before the season begins wasn't the greatest idea.

In any case...

Damon's left shoulder hurting.
Outfielder limited to pinch-hitting for Team USA at Classic



God, I seriously knew this was going to happen. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that he had a shoulder problem last season and took pain killers to keep playing.
Now those pain killers are banned by MLB.

WALK IT OFF, DAMON. COME ON! YOU'RE A FREAKIN' NEW YORK YANKEE NOW! 26 World Championships! 39 AL pennant wins! We don't have time for this WBC horseshit!

P.S. - I couldn't pass up an opportunity to post this disturbing pic.


Yankees owner George Steinbrenner laughs after threatening to run over a reporter while pulling away in a golf cart at Legends Field in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo)
Feb. 16, 2006

Don't Gimme That South Park Religion

Well, this is just completely disappointing...

Soul Singer Isaac Hayes Quits South Park



I mean, did he not realize from the beginning their plans to mock every religion, race, culture, celebrity, politician, political party, and ...well, every other noun known to man? Tom Cruise probably threatened to not invite him to the Scientology BBQ's.

Conceptual Art Exhibition

On Thursday, March 2nd, from 3:30pm to 5pm at Columbia College there will be an opening celebration of my friend Brandon's untitled conceptual art piece, I would imagine with a bit of food and drink. His work will explore relationships with, and perspectives of, poverty.

624 South Michigan Avenue,
10th Floor, Peek-a-Boo Room

I would love to be in attendance to support a dear friend, but, well, I fear hipsters clad in white belts and checkered sneakers chomping on canapes. Actually, I'll be at the office. But everyone do yourself a favor and stop by. I can only imagine what his expansive, eclectic mind has in store for us.

No Rights or Reason

You know you have it good when you get a back rub before and after work.


Alright, whoever guesses how these two stories are related wins the prize:

South Dakota Passes Abortion Ban

Only an unlikely veto by Republican Gov. Michael Rounds could prevent the legislation from becoming law, people on both sides of the issue said.


Drives to Ban Gay Adoption Heat Up

Steps to pass laws (to ban gay couples from adopting) or secure November ballot initiatives are underway in at least 16 states, adoption, gay rights and conservative groups say.

Okay, I'll answer for you. This is how it looks from over here:

*giving up unwanted babies through abortion: bad
*giving up unwanted babies through adoption: good
*giving homosexual couples the right to raise those unwanted babies: bad
*giving straight couples the chance to raise those unwanted babies: good

So, they want to decrease the number of abortions by giving more support to adoption programs. Good, I agree with that. As does Planned Parenthood and every other pro-choice man and woman. But when you eliminate an entire community of willing, appropriate parents because the idea of two men or two women together gives you the "ickies", you've fucking taken it too far. That's not support. Who are they more concerned with? It surely isn't the unwanted children.
Logic? I'm out.

I'm Not An Al-Qaeda Suspect, I Just Play One

Guantanamo Actors Held at Airport



The men, who play British inmates at the detention camp, were returning from the Berlin Film Festival where the movie won a Silver Bear award.

One of the actors, Rizwan Ahmed, said a police officer asked him if he intended to make any more "political" films.

I wonder if Clint Eastwood gets stopped in airports like this.
"So, Mr. Eastwood, you plan on making anymore cowboy movies about slingin' guns and killin' folks?"

Mr. Ahmed also alleges that he was verbally abused by a police officer and had his mobile phone taken from him for a short period.

The actor also claims that he was told by police that he could be held for up to 48 hours without access to a lawyer.

Out of the Closet

When I first moved into this place, I had big plans. "You won't recognize this apartment in two months, baby." I began painting my living room a lovely jade green. (Began being the operative word.) I wanted to have the carpets cleaned, new curtains put up, new furniture for my bedroom. It's been 7 months, but if you took one look, you'd think I was a squatter.

I had to hold my breath to open the office closet this morning. Dust bunnies flying in my hair. Boxes, clothes stacked to the top. Most of my life is in this closet. Old journals, photos, videos, cds, clothes. Even old prescriptions. Most of them are still unopened. That's scary. I began to wonder why I'd stashed most of this stuff in a closet. Then, I found it: the tape that kept me locked in my apartment for a week straight last winter. The Pike family home videos. Me in an incubator, Christmas in Dallas, slip-n-slide, cook-outs, graduation, etc. Most people get the warm and fuzzies watching happy times with the family. I'm not most people. I'm reminded of what I don't have anymore, what I think I'll never have again. Stability. Comfort. Love. Everything synonymous with family.

Well, I watched the tape, anyway. I feel better for it. I've been hiding my problems away in a box, instead of hiding from my them. Same difference. I'm going to finish cleaning the closet, because Tim is moving in with me 2 weeks from now. Yes, I have to live with a boy. It's only temporary, 6 months top. But now where will I hide everything in the closet?

Smoking, Working, Screwing

I find it disconcerting that I can only blog when I have a cigarette in my hand. Well, not technically in my hand. It's resting on the tip of my lips, while smoke seeps into my eyes. Gross.

This is probably why the only place I can update from is my apartment. You see, Chicago has turned "health conscious." The city of deep-dish pizza, Wrigleyville wieners, 24 hour Swank Frank style dives with fried twinkies and mozz sticks. But, smoking 15 feet from a public building? Lighting up in a bar? Coffee shop? Gosh, no.
Reminds me of an interview with Morgan Spurlock. You'd never yell at an overweight person for dipping Super Size french fries in their hot fudge sundae, although it's perfectly acceptable to take a swing at someone for smoking in public. "You're killing yourself!" "Think of all the money you could be saving!" Smokers aren't the only ones with nasty habits.

I'm taking another Saturday off. Even feeling a little guilty about it. I guess I can rationalize and say I'm young. I don't want to be so burnt out this early on. My dad worked 12 hour factory days, sometimes 7 days straight. I can't even fathom that. He was only doing it to provide for me. Didn't want me ending up in a dead-end job, a job I hated, a job like his. I'm forever grateful for that.

I don't want to demean his work. He was good at what he did. Although, I can't honestly say I knew what his work consisted of until after his death. His company set up a tour of the factory for me and my brother. I'd only been to his work one other time when I was a kid to pick up a Christmas bonus or something. Let's just say after another look at that place, I have no room to complain about an outdated, fluorescent lit office.

Is anyone else watching the Olympics? I tuned into women's hockey this morning. Those are some tough broads. Checking left and right. I'm impressed. Although, I think I know what their secret is, now. (Thanks, Tim.)

Well, I think it's time to take a shower. There's no need to be lazy and dirty.

Everybody Wants to Be Happy

Mortified. Selfish. Foolish. Weak. Alone.

I guess this is where I should explain:
I cried at work, yesterday. I guess there's a first time for everything. It's hard enough having the "sweet, young female office assistant" label. "Sweetheart." "Dear." "Honey". Now I'm the girl who cries at work. Everyone will tiptoe around my feelings, make me feel inadequate. Or maybe they'll realize everyone falls on hard times. Sometimes you just have to break down in order to get over how you're feeling. "Maybe she was just having a lousy day and couldn't control how she felt?" Nope, I'll be forever known as "the girl who cries at work." The token "softy" of the office.

Moving right along, I have a doctor's appointment, tomorrow. I'd rather be tied-down to the bleachers in Fenway Park and have a hot dog shoved down my throat...in full-out Yankees gear...than go to the gyno. I think it's more that I don't want to go alone. I need someone there to hold me tight, if it's serious, to tell me everything's going to be okay, to laugh with me when it's just "trapped gas."

Well, I'm going to watch my newest Netflix arrival,
Happy Endings.
Here's hoping my tomorrow has a happy ending.


Dan: Everybody wants to be happy.
Larry: Depressives don't. They want to be unhappy to confirm they're depressed. If they were happy they couldn't be depressed anymore. They'd have to go out into the world and live. Which can be depressing.

-Closer

Dance, Dance!

54 days until Spring Training...

But all I can think is...
"Dance, Dance!"

Damn you, Fall Out Boy.

I think I'm going to begin using this blog (Under My Skin) as my personal news outlet. I'll be updating my current events blog Starving American when I come across newsworthy public material to spout about.

Well, it's the end of another weekend. I decided to take Saturday off and get in some undercover time with The Beau. We've both been working a lot lately. Crankiness has ensued. I needed this, desperately. The director of my part-time job claims he comes in every Saturday, but I've never seen him there. Could I log that I worked Saturday, anyway? Would that be wrong? Yes.

I've been thinking a lot about my family, lately. Translation: I've been missing my dad a lot, lately. I still have too many emotional attachments. Photos, books, memories. I still want to crawl under the covers when I don't want to face what's really taken place. Maybe this is as much "progress" as one can make in 2 years. I still can't help but wonder what is expected when the one person you depended on most in life is gone? Do you garner replacement support from everyone else that will give it up? It doesn't seem fair to do that when I don't understand how I feel most of the time.

Moving along. I'm working late tomorrow night. Another 12-13 hour day. I'll be sure to take an extra long lunch. No one will miss me. Tuesday, I'd really like to check out some exhibits at the MCA. Man, I haven't been in so long. Was I more cultured when I dated artists? Probably not. I pretended to be. What a hipster.

Well, I guess I'll go watch some Super Bowl commercials. What an odd concept-all these people keeping the tube on for 3+ hours, care nothing about football, but instead want to catch a peek of the "clever" brainwashing corporate America brings us in the form of an advertisement. Scratch that. I'm going to make some Starbucks coffee and smoke some Parliament Lights cigarettes.
Cheers.

Do you like my hand bag?

Amelia, my fabulous Baltimore friend, is probably the most crafty person I know. That girl can jazz up anything.

Anyway, to the point....She's designed these whimsicle, adorable little tote bags (a pro-choice one for me, by the way.) and has them for sale on eBay, here.



Below is the one I'm buying... (We're still trying to think of a slogan.) I'll be alternating between this and my new Kenneth Cole to lug textbooks to class. I'm not usually one to disclose political views on my clothing or accessories, but this is too clever to pass up.

For those of you who don't know-coat hangers were the alternative and very risky method for inducing abortion when it was still illegal. This is sort of a "never go back" statement.



If you see anything you like - bid! or e-mail her at PastelPrincess7@aol.com

It's Just Like She's in Another World

I'm still trying to decide if I like the format of this new blog. Oh well...

I had a job interview yesterday at Dr. Meemar's office. I feel like it went really well. I'm frighteningly good at faking a sincere, professional attitude. While in the waiting room, I noticed three other applicants staring at the flat screen monitor trying to memorize the procedures, while flipping through the available pamphlets on chemical peels. The position was for a receptionist-come on,people..."nothing too cerebral". Anyway, I'll find out today if I'm employed or not. If so-free botox for everyone! Ha.

After the interview, I went shopping on State St. for a bit. Bought a new wrap dress, a few discounted tops, and a gaudy gold/turquoise/orange ring. Hey, does anyone else get tired of hearing that crazy, Bible-thumping freak wailing verses outside of Old Navy? Every time someone walks by with a cigarette he says the same line...I can't remember exactly, but it ends with him calling them a hypocrite. Like...what? As humans, we're all hypocrites. It's inescapable. If he's so bent on "spreading the word" in 9-degree weather all day-more power to him, but perhaps he should flip to Matthew 7:1 - "Judge not, lest ye be judged." (That's right, I looked it up.)

I think tonight I'm going to Pablo's for "guys' night". You know, the deal where they all sit around chugging beers and playing poker (or something?), in order to escape their significant others or prospects for an evening. But Kim, wouldn't you rather be sipping Cosmopolitans, ranting about how "men are evil", whilst flipping through back-issues of Vogue? Well, no. I've been disturbed by female behavior lately. Everyone is either getting engaged or crawling back to bastards that have mercilessly cheated on them, because "He really loves me. I just know it." ..someone needs a reality check. Not Kim Pike, no sir.

Alright, well I need to run to FedEx and mail my nephew's birthday gift (8 days late), then work on finishing Ulysses (for my Irish Lit. class), before lunch. Oh-and continue the apartment hunt, of course.

p.s. - I'm addicted to The Libertines first album, hence the blog title. It far surpasses the 2004 release.

Ladder 69

Now, you know I'm not usually one to dwell on insignificant, trashy news stories. But, Drudge got me today...and it's 6am.

His eyes welling with tears, Sacramento Fire Chief Julius "Joe" Cherry vowed Tuesday to return his scandal-ridden department to respectability even as Mayor Heather Fargo and two City Council members said that four firefighters should be fired if sex allegations against them are true.

Cherry revealed Monday that he had launched an investigation into charges that the four firefighters - three men and a woman - had engaged in group sex in their Hollywood Park station house.

In recent months, the Fire Department has been rocked by disclosures of firefighter misconduct, including drinking on duty, cruising bars, giving joy rides to women in fire vehicles and attending a Porn Star Costume Ball. In all, 24 firefighters received some level of discipline.

Cherry announced that the four firefighters - a male captain, two male firefighters and a female firefighter - have been suspended for allegedly participating in three instances of consensual sexual encounters with each other while on duty at Station 12 in Hollywood Park. Three of the firefighters are married.

One of the men would stand lookout while the others had sex in the station, Cherry said.

"If the firefighters aren't (fired), there better be a darn good explanation why," Cohn said.



Via The Sacramento Bee

Are any other SATC fans recalling the Samantha/firefighter episode? Ha.