MY OWN WAY: fall begins, fall leaves, first day of fall 2008

digg 1: ourwwworld pilot game: week 2 update
digg 2: One thought pushes fence-sitters to the left: Palin

As fall begins, my own way of celebrating is to enjoy the fact that I don't have to turn on the air conditioner anymore. Here in the LA area, the seasons are not as pronounced as they are in other parts of the country, but we still enjoy such autumn pleasures as colorful fall leaves and cooler temperatures. It's planting season here, so I am looking forward to buying some iceland poppies and snapdragons for my garden. Here's to the first day of fall 2008!

TALK2ME: tax policy center, fannie mae and freddie mac

digg 1: Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms
digg 2: The Muppet Show Cake (Slideshow)

Come on people, Talk2Me about taxes. I keep hearing McCain supporters say that Obama wants to raise your taxes. But report after report from non-partisan analysts say otherwise. The latest comes from the Tax Policy Center. Its report, released today, says that Obama's plan "would provide the greatest tax relief to middle-class families, while the McCain plan provides the greatest tax relief to the wealthiest families." Pretty much what ALL of the other studies done in the last few months have concluded. So, I suppose if you are incredibly wealthy, then your taxes will be higher under Obama, but of course few of us are. Since we are fighting two wars, borrowing billions from communist nations, millions of our countrymen are going without health care, fannie mae and freddie mac are having to be bailed out, and care for our awesome veterans goes unfunded, I really don't think that it is unfair to ask those who have benefited the most from living in this great country to kick in a few extra bucks.

What do you think?

I WONDER: hbo entourage, under the yum yum tree

digg 1: I WONDER: when in the course of human events; declaration of
digg 2: Can a family eat on $100 a week?

I WONDER why people are searching for under the yum yum tree, a 1963 film starring Jack Lemmon and Carol Lynley? I am pretty sure I haven't seen it, but I love the title. Among the new movies coming out this week is one called barbie and the diamond castle. I am certainly going to be missing that one. At my house, we all love movies, and hbo entourage, a show that goes behind the scenes of the movie business, is one of our favorites. It is funny and very well-written. I recommend it if you get HBO.

COMMON THREAD: nfl scores, nfl fantasy, hello kitty jewlery

digg 1: I WONDER: earthquakes today, white plague,
digg 2: Sarah Palin may have women flocking - to Barack Obama

Again today, as others have noted before, the COMMON THREAD on the google trends list is football. Everything from nfl scores, dallas cowboys schedule, and nfl cheerleaders to myfantasyleague and nfl fantasy. So I had to laugh when, buried among all of these testosterone-loaded search terms, there at number 21 sat hello kitty jewelry. Apparently they are debuting a new line today. I wonder if jillian reynolds, an nfl on fox commentator, likes Hello Kitty. My guess is not.

MY OWN WAY: caribou barbie, walter reed middle school, heart barracuda

digg 1: Talk2Me - This is intelligent politics?
digg 2: Why we were falsely arrested

Nicknames like caribou barbie and McSame are interesting, but did you know that Walter Reed Middle School and heart barracuda (song by the band Heart) both got unwanted attention at the RNC? It seems the photo behind McCain was supposed to be the military hospital, but was instead the middle school (in North Hollywood, CA) of the same name. OOPS! And the song Barracuda being played after the speech violated copyright laws. Apparently the mccain speech ratings were through the roof anyway.