louise on the left (coast)

Someone sent me this oddball titled "Green Porno," and I'm still trying to determine what I think of it. I guess what I'm thinking is that Isabella Rossellini's wacky "look at sex in the natural world" is, well, just the kind of thing you'd expect from that kooky "blue Velvet" star. But, I'll never look at another box of Snail Bait the same way, again.

Views from the Mommy Van. This is what I see to and from school every day. It ain't easy to be "blue" in a place as "red" as this. Seriously, you can't imagine the dirty looks I get for wearing my party pride around here in "the OC." And yet, would I remove my pro Obama stickers from my car? Would I not wear my Obama baseball cap? Would I not blog for the "blue" team? No. I have to do this, even if it feels like I'm the only one doing so.

If there was ever still any doubt that this Pro-Obama movement crosses all racial and gender lines, this one humble music video should make this quite clear: Old Time for Obama

"Oh, my gosh! S.O.S!" Kids, guess what? Your parents stink for making you sing this, and...'Barney' wants to chase you down for stealing his song. Seriously, better hide, Irene, because singing this mean song made 'Barney' really, really mad.

Here's a wonderful video response done by adding one simple twist to make it's point. By watching this "pro Prop 8" ad with the main topic switched from one former taboo to another, it exposes how easy to see ourselves, today, in a different light. -- Thanks, as always to Andrew Sullivan, at The Daily Dish , for finding all that amazing stuff he does. He rocks.

My favorite "Piggy Back" artist, Eddie Breen, is at it again, selling current event, collector items on eBay. Check out his latest: OBAMA LIBERTY Seriously: Eddie Breen is terrific. If you have the money: Buy his stuff. He's great. Check out more of his cool work here. Ps. If anyone wants to buy me an unexpected, but highly appreciated gift that I would covet forever, please buy his evil Mr. Peanut attacking a girl with a peanut allergy, for me and Juliet. My daughter's had this allergy her whole life, but this is the first time we were both able to laugh and cry about it at the same time. This guy is brillliant.

My parents, actually, sent this clip to me, which surprised me for a few reasons. First of all, it uses a few bad words, which isn't like them to endorse, but, also because, I didn't think they knew how to view, or re-send a video link. Wow. I stand corrected. (Note: Not the first time I've said this.) Anyhow, I opened up the clip, mostly to be supportive regarding their senior, fledgling attempts to master the internet to happily discover one of the best pre-voting day videos I've seen! This one is just great. It spells out the last 8 years leading up to this election clearly and in depth as well as anything I've watched on television over the past year, alone. See it. It's great. If you have a few minutes, take a moment to watch, then send to anyone anywhere you even think might be an "undecided voter." This clip is one of our last, best chances on enlightening voters about what the best choice for our president should be. It really is a

Check out what has to be one of the best vice presidential interviews of this race. What is striking about this clip is not merely how cute this clip's ace news reporter, Damon Weaver, is, but is how the same simple question posed by school kids is answered so differently by our two Vice Presidential candidates: Here's how Obama's Vice Presidential Pick, Joe Biden, answers this toughy. And then there's how McCain's Vice Presidential Pick, Sarah Palin, answers it. And then there's the answer she gave a month or so, ago... Leave to kids to expose who we really are, time and time again. Thanks to Prince Gomolvilas at Bamboo Nation for posting the great clip of Biden's interview.

My husband doesn't want to ruin the joy of standing in line on election day, which he suggests is "America's Superbowl." But, in the past week I heard not one, but two of my heroes suggest it would be better for this election to get our vote in early. (Tim Robbins, on Bill Maher, and now Obama is directly saying this, too.) So, hey, why not? There's no harm in being cautious. It's not like we paranoiacs don't have good reason to fear voter fraud and election day glitches. Here's a link to places in Orange County, CA where you can VOTE EARLY! So, be counted and VOTE today! Super Size your choice! (Well, okay, it still remains just one vote.) But, there's a perk for those who live in Orange County, you can even drive-thru your vote! Click here for directions to "fast food" style voting. Here's a link to places to vote in California , too. And if you live in California, but can't get to a polling place,

I read a wonderful post by Larry David on Huffington Post called Waiting for November 4th , and if you haven't read it already, you really should. He's brilliant and honest about a certain anxiety we all share these days. But I've been thinking about this, and I have to admit it's not November 4th that worries me, it's November 5th. Can you imagine our world on "the day after?" Even if Obama wins, I've lost friends and made neighborhood enemies. For the record, I live in a blue collar section of Orange County, and by now my neighbors hate me, since I've been a visual thorn in their side with my Obama stickers and the like. And then there's just the election-road rage I have to worry about for another week or so. I simply don't know if I can survive the road-rage directed at me here in Orange County for having a "Women for Obama" (and the other three stickers) sticker on my car. I get a lot of people flipping the bird at me

I'll give you a hint, it's a "C" word (No, not Communism ) and is roundly considered quite tasteless in certain circles. -- I'm sure Grandma loved this one! So, I have to share something with you -- -- Yesterday, I posted a video which really offended one of my few blog-readers. Upon her request I took it down right away, because "my personal protester" made a valid point about it appearing to be too pro-violence toward women. Since the subject of that video happened to be, a shameless wolf killing, moose-skinning "Six Pack Joe" herself, and sure isn't my idea of a typical woman, I have to admit, this one did get by me. My bad. However, my husband, who is a "professional writer," was shocked when I told him I was posting this today. He thought I should've left up the one with Terry Tate tackling Palin and not posted this. He argues that while he thinks it's funny, too, that since it's using a word he says

This whole thing is great, but you have to stay with it till the end to fully appreciate. Note: I hear the actors in this are the same ones in the original. Cool, huh?

Louise On The Left's Quick n' Easy way to vote like a CA Progressive Democrat Okay, we'll probably see a lot more of this in the next few days -- but if you want to know where you stand, right now, today (for instance, say, you're a busy mom who needs to vote early) instead of waiting till November 4th, here in California , then here are some links for you . I'd write something more lengthy, but I'm still busy revising my other CA Voter Guide: 2008 California Voter Guide for Witches, Pagans, Communists and other Devil Worshipers . So a few helpful links: ONE PROGRESSIVE/ LIBERAL VOTER GUIDE Below is a link to give you more insights if you care about progressive, Democratic or liberal issues. Easy-to-Use Voter Guide on California Ballot Propositions with Recommendations from Ten Leading Progressive Organizations ANOTHER GAY/LESBIAN VOTER GUIDE Voter Guide from Equality California PACs (guide based on pro gay and lesbian issues) Equality Californi

This is why I'm so proud to be American, even after all the mistakes. This is what I think the world needs more than anything else right now. And this is why I'm voting for Barack Obama . Barack Obama. Richmond, VA. October 22 2008.

If appealing to your sense of reason and morality isn't reason enough to get you to vote NO on Prop 8, then why not just hear what Jack O'Connell -- Superintendent of California Schools -- has to say about Prop 8.

Okay, only because the writer gave me persmission to, and only because I'm so busy today am I going to relent and "borrow heavily" from Prince Gomolvilas in order to further articulate why prop 8 is SO WRONG. Let me clarify this for anyone new to my blog: I am a married, heterosexual, wife and mother of two beautiful children. I live in Orange County, CA and I STRONGLY OPPOSE PROP 8. I think Prop 8 is all about hate. ( Easy to remember this fact, "Prop 8 = H8") But, incase you are undecided on this issue, please take a moment to look this over and consider why I feel voting for civil rights is the only right thing to do. CALIFORNIA VOTER INFORMATION ( OKAY, LIES ) ABOUT PROP 8 Lie #1: "Schools began teaching second graders that boys can marry boys." -- Uh, no . Does this sound stupid? It is. This ad is referring to one specific Massachusetts court case. Using the plural "schools" is a gross exaggeration to make it sound like its a w

See the latest video about how important it is for us to vote FOR Prop 2. The sad news is that California's 20 million farm animals lack basic humane standards - they're so tightly crammed into cages they can't even turn around or stretch their limbs. It's a practice that is simply horrific and unacceptable. And because of your help, we're close to stopping it. This is truly a national campaign: If California voters approve this measure, it will lead to reforms in farming practices nationwide. But Big Agribusiness is just getting started in its campaign of deception. It's pouring millions of dollars--with an average donation of more than $40,000 from agribusiness interests--into a dishonest television campaign to defeat Prop 2 and preserve factory farms' cruel confinement practices. Don't believe the hype by Big Business, that this isn't good for business. That's not true at all, but you know who Big Business people are, right? Their the ones

Thanks to my hubby for sending me this. LOVE IT! (xo)

I woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling of dread having tossed and turned for hours with fretful, forboding dreams. I realized what was going on, this was my own personal "Nostradamus Moment." Maybe it's because I've been on cough syrup and cold meds for about a week, now. I don't know why these thoughts haunt me tonight. Maybe it's because of that wierd tarot card reading at the end of tonight's Mad Men. Or, maybe it's because I fear these next two weeks leading up the election are going to be very, very challenging and it's scaring me. Let's face it, we need these elections over with. I don't know how much more stress we can all take after the past few months. But, it's how we Americans handle the stress that has me so worried. Anyhow, here's my own "3 AM call" -- from Nostradamus. I see history repeating the same mistakes it did in the past. I see McCain and Palin refuse to condemn words and acts of h

You know, like so many other people, I stayed up late to see if Sarah Palin would actually make an appearance on SNL last night. And, yeah, at first I was pretty impressed with NBC for getting Fey, Palin, Baldwin and Wahlberg all together on the show, so I posted link to the opening act. But, that was then, this is now. I thought about it some more and I decided not to give Sarah Palin any credit whatsoever.  I might have IF she actually had the courage to do the breakdance bit, later on, but she chickened out and let a pregnant woman do it.  So forget it! Anyhow -- The REAL story of the day is that Colin Powell endorsed Obama in a television interview so beautiful it reduced me to tears. You can see and/or read about it on Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish -- As usual, he has some great, thoughtful commentary there. (Seriously, if you haven't heard all  of Powell's moving and eloquent Obama endorsement, then you are missing history .  You have to hear what

Can you name whose lips these are -- and why they're in the news?  (Correct winners will receive instant fame and a case of Klondike Bars!) Correct answers below (no peeking.) Mystery lips #1 Mystery lips #2 Mystery lips #3 Stumped? Correct answers: Mystery lips #1   --     Correct answer ,    Sarah Palin .    Why are her lips in the news?     Because apparently she tattooed them on. Mystery lips #2  -- Correct answer , Madonna . Why are her lips in the news?  Because apparently she needs to shave them . Mystery lips  #3  --   Correct answer ,   Angelina Jolie . Why are her lips in the news?   Because, well,  when aren't they? But, if  you want to see how Brad sees them,  check out even more stunning photos of her taken by her husband, Brad Pitt .  (These guys are amazing.)

I guess I must be doing something right, because I got my first "hate" spam. First of all, I just want to state how happy I am about my new discovery, finding a liberal website practically in own my back yard. (You mean...I'm not alone here?) Anyhow, one of the their topics "du jour" were arguments pro & con regarding Prop 8, including citations from Prince's "Open Letter to a Gay Friend." So, naturally I had to add my two cents. My post on The Liberal OC's website. Well, at least I know someone read my post, because here's what " OCGator " had to say: OCGator , on October 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pm Said: "My God I haven’t seen this much bullshit in a while. Plain and simple, Vote yes on 8 My Pop used to have a saying “Rave on cat shit, somebody will bury you” this applies especially to louise on the left." Gosh. He knows me so well.

Meet, Wesley -- the barn owl. How cute is this little guy? Since it seems that people are blogging about pets, tonight, I thought I might as well link to Pete's latest story about a pet -- Wesley, the Owl. Wesley has to be (other than my kids) maybe the cutest thing I've ever seen or read about. Thursday, October 16, 2008 A lifetime spent as an owl's best friend By PETER LARSEN THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Stacey O'Brien pressed her cheek to her baby and whispered into his asymmetrically placed ears: "I am your mother now." A few days later, her boy – Wesley, because it sounded sweet and sophisticated, Valentine, because he arrived on that day – opened his eyes for the first time. "Hello, Wesley," O'Brien said to his soulful eyes. "Screeeeech," Wesley replied. And then off to the freezer she ran to fetch a few mice slices for his next meal...

This is pretty good, it's from MediaBistro.com (Fishbowl LA.) Little Bill vs. Barney Frank

All of you Diablo Cody fans out there should be pleased to learn that Steven Spielberg has created a Showtime series -- and Diablo Cody is writing it -- at least one episode. http://www.imdb.com/title/ tt1001482/fullcredits#writers And this show? Well, it sounds right up my alley...

I read something tonight which I thought was a brave and thoughtful exploration of a subject I care deeply about -- equal rights.  What is unique about this post is that it's written from a perspective not my own -- I'm not a gay man.  But, I can still relate to how it feels like to be dehumanized and to have rights denied me.  ( Another ugly story .) It's written by Prince Gomolvilas (who, I happen to think, is a something of a blogging rock star regardless of his political affiliations.) Oh, and, please note:   Nobody asked me to post this,  or any of my numerous past anti Prop 8 posts.   Nope. I openly ripped it off from his site because, it's that good.    I'm just an Orange County Mom who passionately believes we all deserve the same legal rights in this country, and that a vote for Prop 8 is a vote for bias and bigotry and all sorts of vile things that I thought we'd safely put in the past. You can read his letter in entirety by clicking on the link,

Please join me and vote no on Prop 8.

Look, I don't know what to say, but I'm getting really worried about the mentality of my fellow Californians, recently. I think anyone who loves each other and goes to the trouble to get married should have the rights of a married couple. I simply am appalled by all the hate I see around me suggesting (wrongly) that a vote for Prop 8 is, somehow, "protecting marriage." Well, I'm married (to a man, in case that matters to anyone reading this)  and it doesn't protect my marriage. Let's face it, voting for Prop 8 is VALIDATING HATE. Voting for Prop 8 has ZERO to do with religious freedom.  It has everything to do with hating gays and lesbians. I'm so outraged at the signs, comments, videos I see (and worse, that our children also see) all  sending the message "If you are gay, then we hate you and consider your rights meaningless.   People who are not heterosexual are not as good as we are.  Go away." Well, I do NOT believe this.

This is so beautiful and reminds me, again, why I love having two daughters.

All right.   -- Yesterday I discussed politics, and so now, today, it's time for something completely different. My husband, Pedro  of OCR's Pedro and the Watcher, sent me a couple of links to a funny Brit I'd never heard of before, which, means nothing, actually, because I don't know very much. And , because by the time I'm doing helping the kids with homework, I find Community Access Cable funny. So, that's not good. I digress. But I have to say, thi s guy made laugh so loud  it woke the dog. Hang in there on the first video till the people start to channel dead celebrities Meet Shirley Ghostman

From sportscaster Sarah Heath, speaking in bland monotones under big '80s hair,  to a self-assured, moose-hunting,  mother of four, now gunning to be our next Vice President of the United States of America, Sarah Heath Palin has arrived in our lives with a thud.    Whether or not you like her, you probably already have an opinion about her.  But, just who is Sarah Heath Palin? Not sure who to credit for putting together this video (But, I'd better get it right, for God's sake, or I'll have to 'bust' myself.)  The source slips away from me faster than a ball of mercury since it seems to keep getting pulled off the Internet. First I went to Larry Brown Sports site to try to watch it --  Gone. Then I clicked on it saw it had been pulled yet, again, so after checking my "usual sources"  (aka  Google and YouTube ),   I finally found it again from a YouTube member "subscribe2me4more." Yes, it's long, but when viewed in its entirety happens t

I doubt I'm alone with this situation. Those you consider your nearest and dearest are suddenly on the other side of the political fence,  and you both find yourselves passionately disagreeing about the future.  What do you do next? Well, I haven't known what to do, lately, since the world has warped and changed so dramatically in the past several years, or so it has been hard to find the way to keep close ties safe from harm. People and their opinions have become inflamed,  but what do you do when, say, your female friends, the same women who've stood by you during personal ups and downs, through thick and thin, suddenly state they're not on the same political team as you are? Well, I snapped and retreated into my own shell.  And I'm not proud of that. But, this really is new territory for me, because in the past, it didn't matter.  I accepted and actually welcomed alternative friends. But, lately -- I changed.   I got really upset and emotional over politics.

Pictured: The amazing monkey waiters that serve tables in a Japanese restaurant By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Last updated at 3:19 PM on 07th October 2008 A Japanese restaurant has changed the face of customer service by employing two monkeys to help with the table service... I know where they can find another monkey in just about 100 days...

No, this is not a trick question. It's not even a political test. It's actually the biproduct of a masochist ritual I have of reading a daily "blog search" for any posts containing the words "Louise's blog." I have never, not even once, managed to appear in even one of these daily Google searches. However, on the positive side, plenty of other interesting "Louise's blog" items have come to my attention, which, I have discovered is actually kind of cool. And so, today, I introduce to you, " another Louise"  -- from another " Louise's blog ," far, far away...where I found something that my middle schooler and her friends seem to find very fascinating, indeed. (I have no idea if it's true, but I have to say that according the instructions the answer does seem to fit my profile.) Enjoy 1. Hold your hands together, as if you were praying. Look at your hands. Left thumb below the right thumb = left brain Right th

Like Obama, I can be a bit "green behind the ears" about certain things, such as blogging. But there are some rules I sort of thought just went without saying. (Wrong.) In researching this subject, I realized there are no hard and fast rules, merely collective codes of conduct most people agree to abide by out of civility and good sense. I found a nice website,  Digikev, that included had a handy page dealing with the issue of blogging without refs. (That means references, not referees, though maybe those refs would help, too.)   Here's paragraph on Blog Etiquette from their page here for the sake of clarity. Attribute your sources If I have used something of someone else’s or quoted them I make sure that they are attributed in my blog post. Lack of acknowledgment to someone’s work that has been replicated, quoted or used in part is plagiarism. I also make sure that if I have been inspired by someone else then they will get a mention too, this is not particularly n

I have to hand it to Charlie Gibson, he manages to consistently mine journalistic gold these days. Below are a couple of clips from TPM which I find in turn, both astonishing and ironic. Watching McCain squirm during his interview with CG is like watching Jake LaMotta implode at the end of Raging Bull, reeking with pathetic desperation. He should just stop trying to win the election and at least work to save his own legacy as a "Man of Honor." This footage is humiliating. I also found a different clip (again, thanks to TPM) of Gretta Van Whattever interviewing Palin regarding her "personal decisions." Again -- isn't it ironic ( shout out to A.M. ), given that Palin's own failures to "the team" suddenly make her a millstone around McCain's neck. Think that she might ever be asked to "step aside?" Does McCain "have the right team" around him, now? It's a shame he chose his VP so irresponsibly, but that's what he

Okay, I admit I'm no "View" fan, (because I don't watch TV during the day) but I would have enjoyed seing this live. After watching this show I'm reminded of all those polls that showed up in women's magazines like Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire where women chose which Sex In The City character they thought they were the most like. Which got me wondering -- if there was a similar poll based on The View , which woman would women identify with the most? Big news: I'm "a Whoopi." ( *gasp .) However I want to state that when I grow up , I want to be "a Barbara." (Man, whatever anyone thinks of her, she can handle sticky moments with class.)

Okay, I know I am supposed to stay off the computer for a variety of sound reasons, but I really do just have one more Sarah Palin link, posted by Tina from fishbowlLA . The Sarah Palin Song If I could take just a minute here to share a quick story about my own recent encounter regarding "sing-a-longs." Last month, before it left the theaters, I took my daughter with me to see an early matinee of "the" feel-good, mother-daughter film of this decade, Mamma Mia! . After all Juliet was going to start middle school which didn't begin for a week or so, yet, and she was out of school without her little sister so it seemed the perfect occasion to do something bonding together: Since tickets to Wicked aren't in the budget, we opted for Mamma Mia! and rushed to catch the first showing of the film so that we could get back and pick up Anna Lily by 2:25. We arrived just after the previews to take our seats in what I could vaguely