Post-Election Miscellanea

Well, that was fun. If nothing else good comes out of the Obama victory, at least I'm now more likely to keep my job since I'm not checking 538.com every 5 minutes anymore.

Interesting article in the PI about Seahawks players going for Obama. I’ve always thought of the NFL as practically the fifth branch of the military (sorry, Coast Guard), so this was a pretty big deal. It wasn’t simply a case of African-American players supporting the African-American candidate-both black and white players were represented as supporters. And very few of the players are actually from liberal Seattle, so that wasn’t a factor either. This should have been the signal that Obama was going to win all along.

In related news, it’s now officially okay for my gay male friends to admire Steve Young. The Hall-of-Fame quarterback and direct descendant of Brigham Young displayed No on Prop 8 signs in front of his house, and his wife gave $50,000 to the No on Prop 8 campaign. As for my lesbian friends, well you already admired him for his ability to check down to the Y and Z receivers to exploit the seam between the linebackers and the secondary.

But Prop 8 was the big disappointment of the night. At least we’ve restored the sanctity of Britney’s 55 hour first marriage or Rush Limbaugh’s 3 marriages. I guess you gotta leave something to fight for in the next election. A black president AND legal same-sex marriage was simply a bridge too far in one night.

Speaking of Rush Limbaugh, I indulged in some schadenfreude the day after the election and listened to his show. When did he become such a whiney little bitch? His show is nothing but victimhood and sobs of “It’s not FAIR.” Very entertaining. He was complaining about Obama’s acceptance speech, in that the flags made the backdrop looked like the UN, even though all the flags on the stage were US flags. Good Lord-unless every speech consists entirely of a reenactment of the crossing of the Delaware River, you might as well be passing atomic secrets to the Soviets.

My New Art Career, Chapter 3

Here's my third attempt at a depiction of Jesus in modern times-see here and here for my first two tries. As always, one image is from an established artist and the other by me. I think I'm getting closer.


Chief of the Medical Staff


The Lamb of 'Blank'

The View from My Commute

A brilliant afternoon at the Ballard Locks.

My New Art Career, Continued

Given how the downturn in the economy has affected the housing market, I thought I should accelerate my transition into a career in fine art. Once again, see you if you can pick out the image from the established Christian artist, and which one is my creation.


The Senior Partner


The Assistant Director of Sales and Marketing, Great Lakes Region

The View from My Commute

Sunset Hill, Ballard, Seattle

A lonely "pro-America" pocket in our effete, elitest neighborhood. The house across the street has a similar display, except with U.N. and Venezuelan flags. Most of the street signs are in Esperanto, with directions to staging locations for the coming foreign occupation troops.

The View from My Commute

Morning at the Ballard Locks. It's times like this I wish I had a nicer camera, but then again if I had a DSLR I wouldn't be able to carry it with me everywhere.

Four Oh-My-God-I’m-Old

I turned 40 on Sunday. Not to sound petty and vain, but I’m not thrilled with this development. Now I've entered what I call the Ear Hair Years, where it’s all mirdles and fantasizing about Angie Dickenson. At least I don’t have cankles yet.



We had a really fun party on Saturday night. To be surrounded by my wife, friends, and dog as the clock struck midnight meant a lot to me and certainly softened the blow.


When you’re married to a graphic designer, you’ll always have great invites for your parties.


The barscape. Photo by Daisymayrobin.


Leo cowers before his owner’s imminent middle-age. Let’s have a better attitude there, buddy.


A great beer stein from my sister and brother-in-law. Thank you for not being cruel with the message!


Former Canadian Co-Worker and Wife know my appreciation for fine art and gave me this outstanding painting. The only thing more awesome than Jesus is Jesus with laser beams coming out of his eyes.

Special thanks to Chuck for his "freedom cake". Unfortunately, we don't have any photos, but it was amazing. You're so "creative!"

And thanks to everyone for sending me off with a wonderful evening. Now it’s time to grab some Wuerther’s Originals and catch an episode of “Murder She Wrote”. But first I have to yell at some kids to get off my lawn.

The View from My Commute

This one is cheating a bit-I flew to California last week on project-related business. I guess I drew the short end of the straw and was forced to spend 2 days driving around Napa and Sonoma Counties taking pictures of small towns, wineries, and the type of perfect vistas that would make an issue of “Martha Stewart’s Living” look like “Tukwila Lifestyle.”


Flying out of Seattle. I'm kind of a geek when it comes to flying in that I always want a window seat.


A short time later, very close to Mount. St. Helens. First time I’ve seen it from this angle.


My favorite airport, Sacramento-the dive bar of airports. It’s just too bad it has to be so close to, you know, Sacramento.


Glorious day, and for the most part the roads looked like this. However…


This was my rental. I was “upgraded” to this monster. Turns out it’s way more expensive to get a small car because gas prices have created a huge demand. In the time it took me to take this picture it burned half a gallon of gas. With the engine turned off.




A couple of views from St. Helena. Daisymayrobin and I stopped at Ana’s Cantina 3 years ago on our way to a wedding in Yountville. Highly recommended for mexican food and margaritas.




Healdsburg-a little town in northern Sonoma Valley. A traditional town with a lot of contemporary buildings seamlessly integrated. I want to return.


On the way down to Sonoma, quick detour to Glen Ellen. I just wanted to put this town in my pocket and take it home with me.


A view from the town square in Sonoma. Look at all those wine-sippin’ California liberals and their sense of “community”. No this isn't a Nancy Pelosi rally- it was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of their city hall. FUN FACT: their city hall was designed to have 4 identical facades, so that none of the shops surrounding the plaza would feel like the building’s back was turned to them. I forgot to look for where they store the trash.


I ended my long first day at La Casa Restaurant and Bar, just off the main village square and across the street from the Sonoma Mission. Exactly what I was in the mood for.


The view from my room at the Marriot Courtyard in Vallejo, the “gateway” to the wine country. And by “gateway” I think they mean “crappy on-ramp.”


Last picture-on my way to the airport to return home, stopped for my first In-N-Out burger. I have to say I was impressed with the food, uniforms, and decor. If Seattle ever gets these and Del Taco, we'll never have to leave the state again.

God is an Elite Socialist

What other explanation can there be? The good people at James Dobson's Focus on the Family put together a little prayer video about the Democratic National Convention. Instead of asking the Lord for stupid petty things like an end to poverty, famine, and war, the host of the video encouraged his fellow evangelicals to pray for "rain of biblical proportions" to disrupt Obama's speech. As we saw last night, the Lord did not grant their wishes.

Although Obama has recently been determined not to be the Antichrist (whew!), he's definitely up there. What kind of a God would let the speech going on without so much as a swarm of locusts? He's obviously an effete snob or a wealthy academic.