"Nudist" Gardeners

How do you feel about this?



What I feel:

1. they aren't exactly nude.....??? they are scantily clad.

2. Are they doing it to push the limits on purpose, or are they just burningman people?

3. do they look gross in the clothes? because i feel like i've seen way more disgusting/offensive looking people fully clothed.

cop fired

remember last july when that cop in NYC body checked a cyclist during a critical mass? the video was all over the internet. well, he got his ass fired.

here's the original video if you need a recap.

Obama unveils Salary cap

i've been happily enjoying each bit of news these days... what a nice change.

salary cap for execs of businesses who are in need of govt aid. bbc article.


President Obama said it was "shameful" that top bankers had awarded themselves giant bonuses last year.

Firms will also have to publicly disclose "all the perks and luxuries bestowed upon senior executives, and provide an explanation to taxpayers and to shareholders as to why these expenses are justified". "We're asking these firms to take responsibility, to recognize the nature of this crisis and their role in it," said the president.

"We all need to take responsibility," said President Obama.

"And this includes executives at major financial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand, when they were in trouble, even as they paid themselves their customary lavish bonuses.

merrill lynch exec spends over a million revamping his office

yeah...after his company went into crisis and was sold to bank of america, he spends $1.22 million on his personal office area. oh yeah, of company money...

check it out:

• $2,700 for six wall sconces.
• $5,000 for a mirror in his private dining room.
• $11,000 for fabric for a "Roman Shade."
• $13,000 for a chandelier in the private dining room.
• $15,000 for a sofa.
• $16,000 for a "custom coffee table."
• $18,000 for a "George IV Desk." $25,000 for a "mahogany pedestal table."
• $28,000 for four pairs of curtains. $35,000 for something called a "commode on legs."
• $37,000 for six chairs in his private dining room.
• $68,000 for a "19th Century Credenza" in his office.
• $87,000 for a pair of guest chairs.
• $87,000 for an area rug in Thain's conference room and another area rug for $44,000.

and the one i especially like:

• $800,000 to hire celebrity designer Michael Smith, who is currently redesigning the White House for the Obama family for just $100,000.

wow. and people think that those on welfare and food stamps are the ones with the most affect on the economy. no, it's people like this, millions of them, who are comfortable with laying off workers and then proceeding to spend a fortune on guest chairs, just because they can.

fuck the rich.

OBAMA & THE PEOPLE WIN!

EXCITING! for the first time in the last 8 years, I have cried out of HAPPINESS during the election. I remember 4 years ago, when Bush got his 2nd term. I was laying on the couch crying until around 3am, hoping maybe it was all a fuck-up and it would be retracted somehow. Those days are over, at least for a few years.

Obama Obama Obama! By campaigning in not only classically democratic states, but republican states also, he has successfully won the trust of areas untouched for YEARS by the color blue.

Obama took Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina, West Virginia, and New Mexico.

I tattooed for like 8 hours straight, trying to check online in between, but everyone in the shop kept updating me with the electoral vote count. Around 10pm, we SHUT DOWN the shop and all took off to celebrate! What a great bike ride home from work... Phone calls to my family, close friends, and the thought that riding my bike was a concept that my president SUPPORTS. Maybe in the near future, the bicycle commuter act will have more support and standing!

okay. we could all go on and on. on every topic. but i'm tired now. some photos.

When Palin gets annoyed, her brain stops working entirely.

ha............................ is this real? if you're supporting this woman in any way, in all seriousness, you should be ashamed of yourself. voting for a washed out pushover old man is supporting her bid for the presidency. please reevaluate your decision, it is very important.


Palin was annoyed by Couric's questions on the CBS interview... That's why her flustered responses made absolutely no sense, and she showed absolutely no knowledge regarding very heavy US current events.

wow.

if you need a refresher, here is a video of the interview.




other interesting articles that never cease to amaze me:

palin's makeup girl gets $22,300 paycheck (2weeks). this is relevant in terms of how poorly their budget is distributed, considering their political advisors get around $12000 each 2 weeks. Her hairdresser gets about the same as the political advisors, if not more. this is also important news in regard to how their paychecks are reported- as "personnel svc/equipment" and "communications consulting." palin has a record of using taxpayer's money for her own use (the police jet in alaska), using her position of power for personal gain (troopergate, using the local alaskan police jet for personal travel), not regarding what she is told to do by her own party/advisors (using alaskan tax money for flying/hotels for her children at campaign events they are not invited to, speaking to the press when advised not to). the list goes on!

the republican national commitee spends $150,000 "outfitting" Palin and her family... I could LIVE on that amount of money for more than a few YEARS. her makeup artist's single paycheck could pay off my college debt!!!!!!! disgusting.

and, palin left her small town of wasilla, alaska more than $20 million in long-term debt after her time in office as mayor. she was known as the "ear-mark queen."

bicycle commuter act?!

CHECK THIS OUT! haven't heard it in the news or anything... saw it on apartment therapy re-nest article and on cycling blogs.

So it seems like us cyclists never get any deserved benefits (aside from being in shape and super sexy til we're old), but George Bush must not have read the bail out plan's details very carefully, and we got the good end of the deal.

Included in the bail-out plan signed into law a couple weeks ago was a very short act called the "Bicycle Commuter Act." Apparently, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Senator Ron Wyden (both Oregon Democrats) have been pushing this type of act for almost a decade. Their persistence, and our choice of alternative transportation, finally got that act written in the bail-out plan under the larger chapter of Renewable Energy Tax Credit Initiatives legislation.

Thanks to hardworking representatives, strategic and intelligent legislation was passed. Looks like us lower income people might actually have just ONE benefit from the bailout bill. Who would've guessed it would involve our bikes.


HERE ARE THE BASICS:

Starting January 1, 2009, this will be the LAW, if you are a bicycle commuter (to your job).

Discuss with your employer- they will have to fill out forms (not yet created) to make this tax break happen.

You can/will be reimbursed up to $20 (taxable...) a month for almost any bicycle related expenses.

Your employer will be reimbursed what they pay you. Also, they get an income tax break at the end of the year.

EVERYONE BENEFITS.





Now, you might be thinking... "$20 a month ain't shit." BUT, the act was FINALLY passed into legislation. SUPPORT IT, and those representing us will be working very hard to get us MORE of a break! It was originally supposed to be $80 a month, but $20 is a good start.

RIDE YOUR BIKE!
please update me if you hear any new info!

check out the League of American Bicyclists page for the FAQ on this bill so far. here it is as of now, in the bailout plan:

SEC. 211. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS.

(a) In General- Paragraph (1) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘(D) Any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.

(b) Limitation on Exclusion- Paragraph (2) of section 132(f) is amended by striking ‘and’ at the end of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘, and’, and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: ‘(C) the applicable annual limitation in the case of any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.

(c) Definitions- Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘(F) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT-


‘(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT- The term ‘qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement’ means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.
‘(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITATION- The term ‘applicable annual limitation’ means, with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the product of $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during such year.
‘(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING MONTH- The term ‘qualified bicycle commuting month’ means, with respect to any employee, any month during which such employee--
‘(I) regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment, and
‘(II) does not receive any benefit described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).’.

(d) Constructive Receipt of Benefit- Paragraph (4) of section 132(f) is amended by inserting ‘(other than a qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement)’ after ‘qualified transportation fringe’.

(e) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.

oh yeah, the olympics

went to carrie's parents' house in houston the other day, and watched a little olympics (i have no TV here). reminds me of being a kid and watching all the events...

too bad (as usual) the political/cultural controversies of the time put such a damper on everything.

anyway. check out george bush at the 2008 olympics. he's being himself. make sure you don't miss the photos/captions after the article.

olympic bush

haha.

texas gun toters

so... don't sneak out your girlfriend's window or anything if you live in texas, because the neighbor can shoot you in the back and get away with it.

this is crazy. not that the "burglars" are in the right (if they were actually stealing, which the article neglects to mention), but holy shit. you can't just shoot someone in the back and kill them for crawling out of your neighbor's house.

this shouldn't be about race, but that's probably part of it. the 2 dead were illegal columbian immigrants.

check it out. i hate everyone right now.

no one will vote for you anyway.

mccain will veto beer.

note to self

want to talk about this later. no time right now.

CNN article on Hawaiians blocking palace.

interesting, and i have a lot to say.

to-do-list

so i actually did my taxes. after all the money i spent on supplies, school expenses, and bicycle parts, i had less than $1000 of taxable income. but, i had to pay a mandatory $860 in "self-employment taxes," leaving me at a whopping $24 left in the end. better than 0, i guess.



i want to look at these later, but i'm at work and i need to do paul's drawing. van gogh tattoo. forearm. going down: tomorrow!



1. The Mask Slips NYtimes article
2. Mini Landscape garden! this looks amazing. it'd be cool to make a less cheesy looking one.



some pictures soon.

money.

thousands in taxes. thousands in rent, car, school, bills, and insurance. end up with ...$0. well, tips, which allowed me to eat and buy bicycle parts. interesting how this country works.

this next month will be rough. and so will next.. and then..... summertime. slow season. awesome- maybe i should sell drugs?


ugh


and then, designer gas masks with diamonds on DVICE.




and a few more things that should make anyone sick to their stomach. if people cannot afford to feed themselves or their families, these things should be illegal.


this ipod:

this gold/platinum/diamond studded bottle of tequila:


this diamond-studded tea bag.






going crazy

BARACK OBAMA IS BIGGER THAN MASH.

that's right. i said it.


check out BARACK OBAMA IS YOUR NEW FIXIE (dot com)

he gave me his extra justice ticket.



thanks chris. you always find these little obama things earlier than me..how???

ready for this to be done.

THIS is a perfect example of why the american government needs to change.

brains.

unbelievable.. i just read a health article in the NYtimes online discussing a "medical mystery in minnesota." it describes, very nonchalantly, about how union workers in a hormel pig butchering factory get nerve damage from being splattered with vaporized pig brains. every day. the story is enlightening and interesting, despite how gross it all sounds, but what i found most interesting is how calm and matter-of-fact the writer was throughout the article. gross.




on a slightly less gross, but much scarier note, read this cnn.com article. FBI wants palm prints, eye scans, tattoo mapping.

wow, the news today was really uplifting.

meanwhile, i'm still nervous for obama. realistically, we just need the republican dickheads out. but ideally, OBAMA is the man, and he's running, and he's capable...so... i'll still be super frustrated if for some dumb reason he doesn't win. hillary...good politician. but she's a bitch, and has too many enemies. don't feel like ranting about this anymore today, i'm too anxious.


tomorrow is super tuesday.