HOLIDAY

This is how I choose to remember Madonna.

Enjoy your holiday weekend.

SUPPORT THE TROOPS?

The United States has some 68,000 troops fighting in Afghanistan. Over two thousand Americans have died in the more than ten years of that war, a war Mitt Romney has supported. Yet in his speech accepting his party's nomination to be commander in chief, Mitt Romney said not a word about the war in Afghanistan. Nor did he utter a word of appreciation to the troops fighting there, or to those who have fought there. Nor for that matter were there thanks for those who fought in Iraq, another conflict that went unmentioned.

Leave aside the question of the political wisdom of Romney's silence, and the opportunities it opens up for President Obama next week. What about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing even to mention, in his acceptance speech, a war we're fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it?

-- William Kristol, The Weekly Standard

Well, out of sight, out of mind, right?

Good call, Kristol.

DIG IF YOU WILL THE PICTURE

Rodeo Valley

Rodeo Beach

Here are a few of the shots I took during an early and incredibly FRIGID ride to Fort Cronkite, on the Marin Headlands yesterday.

THE MUNSTERS

Herman and Eddie, together again

So, the Christians - er, Republicans - have been throwing a party in Florida over the last few days, and they've decided to ask a Mormon and a Catholic to represent them in the elections later this fall.

Oh God.

PACKER

Damn, I like this one

Damn, I like this one, too

For those who STILL haven't quite landed on what to buy for the big day, might I suggest either of these backpacks.

Both seem to really work for me.

Oh, and thank you in advance.

DEAR DIARY

Monroe, on the IRT Grand Central Station
subway platform

I've often said my favorite thing about New York City is the subway. In fact, I've blogged several times over the years about how much I LOVED the subway when I lived there. However, I recently found the journal I had to keep for a writing class I was taking in college, and it seems my feelings back then weren't as amorous as I remembered:

10-5-99

"For the last few days, I've been house-sitting on the upper eastside. To get to work, I've been taking the 4 train, and have come to the conclusion that it is the most inhumane way to travel. Sweaty, over-packed, surely riders, with trains that move at a snails pace. At one point, it was all I could do to keep from yelling at the top of my lungs 'OH FUCK!'"

Well how about that?

Maybe I should take off my rose-colored glasses.

DIG IF YOU WILL THE PICTURE

Crissy Field

Font

Light

South Tower

Nothing tastes as good as being thin again

Here are a few shots from an early morning ride that I may turn into a regular thing.

THIS HOUSE IS EXQUISITE

I'd like to make an offer on this Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Home, located up in San Anselmo. It just hit the market, with an asking price of $2.5 million.

Damn.

Okay, so who wants to be the Ethel to my Lucy, and schedule a viewing with the realtor? You know that hi-jinx would ensue.

ALLIED FORCES

REPUBLICAN WOMEN FOR OBAMA

"If you truly believe in a small government, that government shouldn't be deciding what I can and can't do with my body."

'Nuff said?

MY OZ

So do I, Holly, so do I.

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

Just another Saturday night in "The Mission."

WET DREAM

Okay, it's still a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure this is how it went down last night.

So I was out drinking with Robin and another friend of hers, when at some point she said we were going to stop at Lili Zanuck's house.

Holy shit, I thought to myself. Lili Zanuck? That's the wife of David Zanuck, famed producer of Jaws and Driving Miss Daisy, among others. He's also the son of legendary 20th Century-Fox mogul Darryl F. Zanuck.

How does Robin know her?

Anyway, we get there, and something is said about me pitching one of the television shows I've written. I reply "Really? Here? Now?" Robin says something like "yeah, why not? We're here and she's pretty open to stuff like that." Now, for some strange reason, we get talked into auditioning with a song and even stranger, I'm the only one who gets up and sings (a Dean Martin song, by the way). So while I'm singing my heart out, David Zanuck shows ups and when I'm done, I ask if he wants me to do another one. He replies with "No. That was fine, but it was a little too much of today and way too much of yesterday."

Ouch.

Then I mention that I also have a few television show ideas and he expresses some faint interest. So, just as I start tell him my first idea, it happens --

I wake up!

Dammit, I hate when that happens.

SARA

Drowning in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
And now it's gone
It doesn't matter anymore
When you build your house
Call me home

Oh man, I love this song so much!

HOT STUFF

Facebook friend and former bowling teammate Dan is very much into hot peppers. So much so, in fact, that he recently recorded himself and another friend trying out the almost legendary Ghost Chile Peppers, with hilarious and death-defying results.

Although it looked like at one point someone was going to have to call 911.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to upload directly from YouTube. Not sure why, it's normally not an issue. At any rate, click here for a pretty amusing 13 minutes of pepper hell.

PAUL RYAN

When one of my Poopers Muchava Gina (don't ask) posted this link on his Facebook page, along with this picture of the Oscar-nominated heartthrob, I thought it was a new play on celebrities with Ryan in their name, i.e. Paul Ryan Gosling. Turns out to be one picture with some amusing references to Republican Vice-Presidential candidate (and douche-bag waffler) Paul Ryan.

However, I think my idea is a bit more fun. You could probably turn it into a drinking game, something I'm always a big advocate of.

Examples:

Paul Ryan O'Neal

Paul Ryan Seacrest

Paul Ryan Reynolds

Paul Ryan Phillippe
Paul Ryan O'Neill (former Yankee pitcher)
Paul Ryan O'Neill (former US Treasury Secretary under George H. Bush)

I think this could be the new Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Play along and see what you can come up with.

Come on, you know you want to.

TAXMAN

"No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate . . . They know that this is the place that we were born and raised."

-- Mitt Romney at a rally in his home state of Michigan, earlier today.

Yeah, we don't want to see your birth certificate. What we want to see are your tax returns.

Birth certificate? Really, Mitt?

You are SUCH a dick!

TOO LEGIT TO QUIT

After a rather amusingly calm and quick meeting with the Steaming Poop political reporting staff, it was unanimously decided that we would wholeheartedly endorse the representative from Missouri, Todd Akin (R), as our choice for that state's senate race.

What a better way to guarantee his democratic opponent, Cheri Bustos, a landslide victory in November.

Run, Todd, run!

SOLE DESIRE

Oh. My. God.

Gimme, gimme, gimme, mine, mine, mine!

I pity the fool who stands between me and the store that has these shoes in stock!

THE BOYS OF SUMMER

Okay, Petaluma Nationals, you've got this.

GET TEXAS!

BLAZING SADDLES

A scene from the upcoming Republican National Convention, perhaps?

THE ACCUSED

I'm lost as to why anyone, especially women, would vote Republican.

They're anti-clean air and environment rules. They're against reasonable minimum wage and worker safety laws. They are against any reasonable tax increases for those who can afford it. They're against civil rights, even though they are the party that freed the slaves. They're against voters rights, and laws that make voting easier.

But wait, here's the one thing they do seem to be for:

Rape

"Concern for rape victims is a red herring because conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami"

-- Clayton Williams, 1980 - Appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush in 2004

"The facts show that people who are raped - who are truly raped - the juices don't flow, the body functions don't work and they don't get pregnant. Medical authorities agree that this is a rarity, if ever."

-- Henry Aldridge, 1995 - North Carolina State Representative

The odds that a woman who is raped will get pregnant are one in millions and millions and millions . . . The reason is that the traumatic experience of rape causes a woman to secrete a certain secretion that tends to kill sperm.

 -- Stephen Freind, 1988 - Pennsylvania state representative

Oh, and just so you know it isn't just a guy thing:

There was an article about an 11-year-old girl who was gang raped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute . . . her parents let her attend school like that. And I think it’s incumbent upon us to create some areas where students can be safe in school and show up in proper attire so what happened in Texas doesn’t happen to our students."

-- Kathleen Passidomo, 2011 - Florida State legislator

"Abortion is never an option . . . If God has chosen to bless this person [the rape victim) with a life, you don’t kill it."

-- Sharon Barnes, 2012 - a high-ranking Missouri Republican party member

Rape victims blessed?

Your honor, I rest my case.

SURVEY SAYS

A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey shows that Congress is enjoying an approval rating of 12%. Yet, in spite of voter hatred for those running the country, incumbents enjoy a 96% re-election rate.

Can't have it both ways, America.

WAFFLES

“Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape’’

-- Statement released from the Romney-Ryan campaign following the "legitimate rape" comment from Todd Akin (R-Mo)

Hmm, this is very interesting, as Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan opposes abortion in ALL cases. In fact, he co-sponsored a house bill last year, the so-called Sanctity of Life Act, which sought to define human life as beginning at conception, and grant "personhood" rights to embryos.

Hey Paul, are you offering jam or syrup for the waffle you're serving?

TRIBUTE

"I went to a gay wedding and I caught the jockstrap"

-- Phyllis Diller

Oh Phyllis, you were so awesome for so many reasons. Thanks for the laughs, you did good.

Real Good.

FULL RELEASE

Look, here's the deal - if the President can be bothered with something as ridiculous as having to release his birth certificate (more than once, I might add), then Mitt Romney can do the same by releasing more than just one year's tax return (2010), as is tradition.

Seriously, what are you afraid of, Mr. Romney?

PAPARAZZO

Okay, I admit that I've gotten a little crazy with the Instagram photo app lately. However, I'm having a great time taking all these pictures and have managed to get some great shots, if I don't mind saying so myself.

Click here to check 'em out.

HOME MOVIES

Here I am last night, as I was getting ready to sit back and take in a viewing of Requiem for a Dream.

Probably not the best film choice when you're already in a funk, but goddamn that movie is good.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

August is the month that the landmark neighborhood theatre, The Castro Theatre, celebrates 90 years in business.

The Castro has served three generations of my family. Mom and grandma lived two blocks up on 17th and Diamond streets in the 1950's, and attended with some frequency. My first visit was in 1986, when I took in an afternoon matinee of Blood Simple and Blue Velvet.

Still owned and operated by the same family since it opened in 1922, the Nassar Family, I can't imagine San Francisco without it.

Congrats, Castro Theatre. Here's to another 90 years.

PICTURE THIS

The Sailors Union of the Pacific Hall,
First and Harrison

Seriously, what did we do before camera phones?

THE GETAWAY

Seriously, I really need to get away

LUGGAGE

Seriously, I'm almost packed and ready to go. Where are we headed?

THE BOYS OF SUMMER

The Petaluma Nationals, my hometown little league team that played its way into the Little League World Series, won their first game in the series yesterday, 6-4.

The staff of the Steaming Poop blog is pulling for you guys and hope you bring home the pennant!

THE HOUSE BUNNY

Natalie: We could tie our shoes together, our tennis shoes, and we could throw them over telephone wires. Because I see that everywhere and it seems like people would have fun doing that. Like, how hard can you throw? You know what I mean? Like how - what are you - (awkward pause)

Shelley: Or we could go to a club.

-- The House Bunny, (2008)

Oh, I have a sneaking suspicion this fine film is going to find its way into my dvd player, this weekend.

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

Sorry kids, but I just couldn't help myself.

RE-ELECTION

'Nuff said?

GObama!