Adventures with Johnny, Part 75

Johnny sits back as she watches former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski shellac Morning Joe host (and all-around thumbhead) Joe Scarborough over his "stunningly superficial" knowledge on the Israel/Palestinian conflict (click the graphic to watch the clip in all its cringe-worthy glory).


In 2008, Johnny racked up 75 different adventures, and she certainly plans to keep going in 2009!

Adventures with Johnny, Part 74

A rare of moment of detente between Johnny and Berry--I had to snap a photo of it.

R.I.P. Eartha Kitt 1927 - 2008

Eartha Kitt, who of course I knew from her role as Catwoman on the Batman TV series, died today, at age 81.

I was originally not going to use a still of her in the Catwoman get-up for this post, since this was such a tiny blip in her long career as an actress and singer. But apparently she never shied away from her (brief) time as Catwoman, and was happy to have been part of the show, which was nice to hear. As a kid, I simply adored Batman (still do), and every actor who participated in it owns a small piece of property in the area of my brain devoted to Beloved Childhood Memories.

But I wanted to run another picture of her, too, so I found this one via Google search:

...yowza! Quite a woman, and I can understand now what I couldn't understand when I first watched Batman--why Bats was so interested in Catwoman...

Rest in peace, Ms. Kitt.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 73

Sometimes Johnny needs a break from all her traveling, meetings, and press conferences, and just wants to kick back and relax at Grammy and Grandpa's house.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 72

Johnny, excited at the news of a very early, unseasonal snow fall in Las Vegas, Nevada, makes a quick trip to Sin City [Fig.1].

After posing for the above picture, she went off to frolic [Fig.2].

"Ugh" Moment: Last Word

I've already spent too much time talking about this, especially since I heard Obama talk about his pick of Warren today at his press conference. I understood what Obama said, and believe he's sincere; I still don't agree.

But this sampling of email missives to the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody gives me hope. If picking Warren (and Warren accpeting) will help splinter the Republican/Religious Right in this country, then I am all for it.

If you read some of the emails sent to the CBN, all they talk about is abortion, abortion, abortion. One genius refers to Obama as "Our most pro-death President." Interesting--what wars has Obama started, again?

I can understand if you think abortion is murder, and won't vote for a candidate is pro-choice. But how the hell can anyone who calls themselves "Pro-Life" vote for Bush or McCain who are Pro-War, which, I believe, kills lots of living, breathing people?

So maybe this was Obama's plan all along. Maybe he genuinely likes Warren, thinks its good politics to invite him. And it has an extra bonus of breaking up the Religious Right--if an Obama Administration can somehow do that, then I'd vote for him for President for Life.

R.I.P. Majel Barrett-Roddenbery 1932-2008

Majel Barrett Roddenberry has passed away, at the age of 76.

For those of you not familiar with her, the above picture ought to give you a clue--she was an actress as well as the wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. She played Nurse Christine Chapel (seen above) on the original series, and went on to play roles in every single Trek series (the only actor ever to do so), eventually earning her the title of "The First Lady of Star Trek."

My First Genuine "Ugh" Moment With Obama: UPDATE 2

Another theory about Obama's pick of Rick "Oogedy-Boogedy" Warren that I've been reading today is that this is an early attempt by Obama to "crack the Religious Right in half" by getting the Warren-ites to be seen implicitly endorse Obama, setting them against the older, more hardcore Religious Right fundamentalists.

Its true, that if you were going to try and set out and utterly decimate the Republican Party so you could try and work with some (the moderates) and forget the rest (the 12% who still think Bush is doing a good job), then dividing the Religious Right would be a good way to do it.

If--and that's a big if--that is Obama's ultimate goal, then the guy is more brilliant (and operationally ruthless) than even I imagined.

We'll see. Either way, I still plan to hit the "Mute" button when I see Warren come on.

My First Genuine "Ugh" Moment With Obama: UPDATE

I've been reading around the internets on the reaction to Obama picking Rick "Oh noes, teh gays" Warren, and the reaction has been either angrier than me, or about the same.

But I found a comment on the blog Think Progress that is interesting:

"Oh, let's look at this creatively. Warren is giving the invocation at the beginning (while Bush is still technically president), and Lowery [Rev. Joseph Lowery, a civil rights icon and supporter of same-sex marriage] is giving the benediction at the end. What better way to symbolize 'out with the old, in with the new'--the very definition of change?"

I think there may be something to this, but I don't know if I'm ready to give Obama quite that much credit--after all, he's still giving Warren a huge platform, and this appearance will give Warren that much more clout to go around telling government what to do.

But it is interesting.

My First Genuine "Ugh" Moment With Obama

President-Elect Obama has picked snake-oil salesman Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inaugural Jan. 20th.

Rick Warren talks a good game about being moderate, and reaching out, and all that crap (all the better to help sell your books to people other than the Left Behind crowd), but just beneath the surface he's a religious fundamentalist bigot like anyone else.

He supported Prop 8, and supported John McCain for President, because (among other reasons) his anti-abortion stance. But, Rick, John McCain was--is--pro-war, and very specifically pro-Iraq War. Don't all those dead people--soldiers, enemy combatants, innocent civilians--count as life too? How can you be pro-life and pro-war? If that's not enough, he also came up with a theological justification for "taking out" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Just because a pastor doesn't talk about Tinky-Winky of the Teletubbies being gay doesn't mean he's moderate.

With so many other choices out there--globally recognized religious figures who, you know, aren't pro-war and hate gay people--I'd love to hear Obama's rationale for picking Warren.

Maybe there's a perfectly good reason, but I doubt it.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 71

Johnny is with President-Elect Barack Obama as he announces his environmental team, including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu for Energy Secretary.

Obama commented: "[M]y administration will value science", to which Johnny added, "...and Snausages."

We're Held In Such High Esteem

George Bush learns that not everyone in Iraq loves him:

...on the one hand, I'm completely against this, because you shouldn't be able to throw things at the President. Where the hell were the Secret Service? In the time it took to throw two shoes, a guy who had a gun might have been able to do some real damage.

On the other hand, it seems only fitting that on Bush's last trip to Iraq, the country that has suffered the most (second only to the United States) during his eight years, he was reminded how much he is utterly despised.

Jan. 20th can't get here soon enough.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 70

Johnny watches her favorite news show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, on Thursday night, at Grammy and Grandpop's house.

Her Special Comments go something like this: "Bark bark bark bark bark bark Bush bark bark bark Sarah Palin bark bark bark bark bark Republican stupid poopie-heads bark bark bark bark bark."

R.I.P. Bettie Page 1923-2008

For those of you around my age and read The Rocketeer, Bettie Page occupies a special place in our hearts, thanks to gone-too-soon genius comic book artist Dave Stevens.

For those of you who don't know who Bettie is, check out her story, its pretty amazing.

Adventures with Berry

Our cat Berry doesn't get much attention on my blog, which is understandable given the attention-craving nature of cats vs. dogs, but its also not really fair; we regard him as an equal part of the family, and we love him just as much as we do Johnny.

We were a little worried when a few months ago we discovered a small bump on his right cheek--it was a little hard, about the size of a pea. It didn't seem to hurt him when we touched it, but obviously it shouldn't be there.

Then around the time we scheduled a check-up for him, we discovered that the thing had grown to almost double in size, which was very distressing. Add to the fact that he seemed to have lost weight in the last year or two, and we were both quietly imagining the worst.

Luckily, after getting him his check-up, Berry has been given a clean bill of health. The bump on his cheek was no more than a cyst, which the vet poked with a needle (as Tracy headed out the door, post-haste) and drained right in front of me. Within a few seconds, the cyst had completely gone away. Now we know if it comes back what it is and how to deal with it.

Also, he got a full check-up, and all his levels and stuff are fine--the weight loss is apparently normal in older cats (he's 12), and even better news, the heart murmur he gets medication for (half a pill a day smooshed inside his Whiska Lickens!) is now almost completely gone. Truly, he's in better shape now than he was two years ago, and that was a huge load off our minds.

Berry and I have a very specific, regimented routine--in the morning, he waits for me to get breakfast going, then I get out his treats to give him his pill, and he comes wandering over into the kitchen to eat them.

At night, he's the last to come to bed, and he crawls on my stomach and lays on me for about a half hour. He'll then get up, disappears into the living room for ten minutes or so, then come back, jump back on me (lord help me if I flip onto my stomach in the meantime) for another half hour.

After that, he jumps off, and I am free to go to sleep. I don't know how we got into this routine, but its my thing with him and a night without it feels all wrong.

He's a wonderful little cat, and we're very relieved he's a-ok.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 69

Johnny is on hand with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, as he discusses the case against Illinois Governor Blagojevich.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 68

Johnny celebrates in the crisp winter air outside the Supreme Court, overjoyed the Court just decided to throw out that jackass' lawsuit claiming Obama isn't constitutionally able to be President.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 67

Johnny sneaks on-stage behind President-Elect Barack Obama as he appears on Meet The Press with host Tom Brokaw.

Johnny doesn't trust Brokaw, hence the shadowing.

R.I.P. Forrest J. Ackerman, 1916-2008

Forrest J. Ackerman, horror and sci-fi fan, writer, editor, collector, expert, and veritable Godfather of an entire generation of horror and sci-fan fans, has died at age 92.

Ackerman, along with Jim Warren, created Famous Monsters of Filmland, the first real magazine devoted to horror films, and its huge success spawned hundreds of imitators and brought together multiple generations of horror and sci-fi fans, many of whom grew up and went on to work in movies and TV, like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, John Carpenter, and more.

He continued, well into his 80s, to be a professional expert on all things horror and sci-fi, and could always be counted on to appear in any and all documentaries about classic horror films.

He seemed immortal in many ways, but of course he wasn't. Now he has gone on to join those he loved so much, people like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney.

Rest in peace, Forry.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 66

President-Elect Barack Obama and Johnny answer a reporter's question as they announce Gov. Bill Richardson's nomination as Secretary of Commerce.

Adventures with Johnny, Part 65

President-Elect Barack Obama, along with Vp-Elect Joe Biden, unveils the new National Security team, which includes (from left) Eric Holder, Gov. Janet Napalitano, Bob Gates, Johnny, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Gen. Jim Jones, and Susan Rice.