Kristin sucks, and here's why:

(1) She spends a great deal of time and energy choreographing things so that her lapdogs (Talan, Stephen, etc.) fall at her feet and become totally smitten. Then when it happens, she rolls her eyes and says something like 'oh gosh I don't want this, why does this always happen.' Then she finally admits that it happens because she is a bitch and is playing them, as if it's a cute little adorable game. It's not a cute game Kristen; people who manipulate others to make themselves feel special are either really mean or disturbed, or both.

(2) She was a little over the top in her pushing Stephen off in SF. Sure he was Clingy Guy, but it's not unreasonable for a person to think that if your ex accepts an invitation to visit you, there is a good chance that things might be rekindled. She had no obligation to play nice with him of course, but if she was going to be so blah to him, she just shouldn't have gone. She knew before he went up there that he would be Lovie Loverson. It's more of Kisten's Lead Him On and Then Crush Him Like a Bug program.

But why the hell didn't he pick her up at the airport in his sweet white truck?

The missus likes obscure pop-culture references as well. This one is from Mango from SNL.

It was amazing how much 1/2" of plywood can make you feel secure.

We bent the rules, George and Marianne showed up without wine, but with a roast.

The Slightly Rough compound, tight as a drum.

George beat the Japanese in WWII, cancer, and heart trouble. Hurricanes don't scare him. He enjoyed a Chilean cabernet sauvignon before dinner.

We relaxed the rule on bringing wine to get into the compound when Marianne pulled out a 1.75 liter bottle of Jack black.

I stuck with Coke until the storm was confirmed as missing us.

George and Marianne figured that the roast could go without power and we ought to cook it right with AC before hand. I carve while George supervises.

The little storm was all fun and games for us, but if the tree is on your car it isn't funny anymore. Taken in our subdivision near Westpark and Highway 6.

Saturday around noon, the National Guard is mounting up and heading east from the Westheimer Armory.

Here's another pic, we made a quick dash to Katy to get the car with a full tank and now we're staying in the house and keeping off the roads.

'A broad smile, however nice it may be, is therefore unacceptable,' the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Following the devastating hurricane and flooding in the Gulf region, Congress acted quickly to pass an initial $10.5 billion relief package. President Bush has asked for an additional $40 billion, bringing the total to more than $50 billion. This amount could double to $100 billion.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) has challenged members of Congress to block funding for unrelated pork projects in its aid for hurricane recovery and to help offset the costs by returning the $24 billion for the 6,400 earmarks in the recently enacted highway bill. Please write to your legislators today. Urge them to sign CCAGW’s “Hurricane Katrina No Pork Pledge”, through which they can vow to oppose any project or provision that is not directly related to the impact of Hurricane Katrina in any supplemental appropriations bill that provides funds for hurricane relief.

n. 1, ruff (fish). 2, brush; lump brush. 3, colloq. highly intoxicating mixture of beer and vodka.

John Ernst Eichler, RIP

Until I was 11 I lived in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. The Eichlers lived up the street from us. Our families didn't stay particularly close after we moved, but my aunt and uncle still live two blocks over and we kept in touch with the goings on in Cedar Grove. Mr. Eichler's murder by those terrorist scum made the events very real to us.

I hope that his family finds peace after this horrific event. I also hope that we never forget that day.

You can read his New York Times obituary here:

John Ernst Eichler: Magician and Joker

Congress allocated $58.1 billion for hurricane relief efforts Thursday. Paul was one of 11 House members who voted against it.

“That’s more than 100 percent of the total budget of the three states combined,” he said. “And they don’t know how they’re going to spend it.”

Paul also objected to provisions of the measure granting additional authority to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“There have been a lot of complaints in the past about FEMA excluding the Red Cross,” Paul said. “That doesn’t appear to be the case here, but if you don’t watch the power of FEMA, it can get out of hand.”

Paul said he did not reject the idea of federal aid entirely.

“There were several pieces of legislation I did support,” he said.

We’re throwing one gigantic party to raise money for some friends of ours who really need help - the animals of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. On September 16th and 17th, we will be having house parties across the state, fifty of them, to be precise. They will be occurring from 5-7PM and 7-9PM on both days (yes, there are two opportunities, each day), and though they will all be a celebration of independence and our candidate Kinky Friedman, they’ll also be one great hoot for our animal friends. The campaign will donate 25% of the proceeds to to The Utopia Louisiana Rescue Fund at Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. We’re going to challenge each party to come up with $500 for this fund, so Utopia can care for our little friends from the east. We think you can do it.

Help the effort!
In this time of need, the soccer community in North America has joined together to raise funds for those devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Major League Soccer players, as well as members of the U.S. and Mexican national teams, will contribute signed, game-worn jerseys from matches played on Sept. 3-4 to a live, online auction on MLSnet.com. All proceeds generated from this auction, run in conjunction with MLB Auctions, will go to programs designated to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Edna Million in a drop dead suit
Dutch Pink on a downtown train
Two-dollar pistol but the gun won't shoot
I'm in the corner on the pouring rain
Sixteen men on a dead man's chest
And I've been drinking from a broken cup
Two pairs of pants and a mohair vest
I'm full of bourbon, I can't stand up

Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone

Schiffer broke a bottle on Morgan's head
And I'm stepping on the devil's tail
Across the stripes of a full moon's head
And through the bars of a Cuban jail
Bloody fingers on a purple knife
Flamingo drinking from a cocktail glass
I'm on the lawn with someone else's wife
Admire the view from up on top of the mast

Hey little bird, fly away home
House is on fire, children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
House is on fire, your children are alone

I said hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
House is on fire, your children are alone

Yellow sheets on a Hong Kong bed
Stazybo horn and a Slingerland ride
"To the carnival" is what she said
A hundred dollars makes it dark inside
Edna Million in a drop dead suit
Dutch Pink on a downtown train
Two-dollar pistol but the gun won't shoot
I'm in the corner on the pouring rain

Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone

I've seen Picasso and I think he's a square

Jazz at Lincoln Center Hosts the Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Concert
Benefit for the Victims of Hurricane Katrina

GET TICKETS NOW
(Tickets: $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000)

The evening will feature Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Cyrus Chestnut, Peter Cincotti, Bill Cosby, Elvis Costello, Robert De Niro, Paquito D'rivera, Jon Hendricks, Diana Krall, Abbey Lincoln, Bette Midler, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Roberts, Paul Simon, Meryl Streep, McCoy Tyner, Cassandra Wilson, Buckwheat Zydeco, Ken Burns and many more.

September 17, 2005, 7pm
Frederick P. Rose Hall
Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Broadway at 60th Street
Rose Theater

S. O'BRIEN: You're telling me the president told you the governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision?

NAGIN: Yes.

Please consider donating, for long-term use, your idle RV or travel trailer. We are opening our park to our good neighbors from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who have lost so much in Hurricane Katrina. We have RV hookups available for their use, but we don’t have RVs. Your donation can make all the difference in the world to people who are looking for a place to call home for a few weeks or months as they sort through the aftermath. It’s absolutlely crucial that we all work together to help out our friends and family. Please email (info@buckbrazos.com) or call (254-898-2825) if you’re able and willing to help out. We can help make arrangements for getting your RV or fifth-wheel to our place. Buck loves to drive.

...a rambling, grandiose, philosophical manner.

A more detailed and operationally specific NRP Catastrophic Incident Supplement (NRP-CIS) that is designated “For Official Use Only” will be approved and published independently of the NRP Base Plan and annexes.

Red Cross volunteers are also screened. They must also go through an application process and complete a two-hour class before being accepted, said Anne Brooks, executive director of the Piney Woods Chapter of the Red Cross.

'Running the shelter is a delicate process, and we want everybody to be on the same page,' Brooks said. 'It involves so many details; and in the class, volunteers are trained to focus on their specific task so everything will flow smoothly.'

On Tuesday, Secretary Of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff Activated The National Response Plan To Ensure That Help Gets To Those Most In Need. The National Response Plan (NRP) fully mobilizes the resources of the entire federal government to support response and recovery efforts for state and local authorities - particularly in the event of a catastrophic incident. Secretary Chertoff has declared the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina an incident of national significance - the first-ever use of this designation.

There has been overwhelming support in terms of time and resources from our community, business and of course our individual volunteers. The Red Cross database does need more EXPERIENCED volunteers for data entry here at the dome this morning. They are far behind and could use competent volunteer support. If you know interested parties please let us know by making a comment on this blog (click on the # below to make a comment) or send an email to Will.Reed@techforall.org . The ACT Center is located in the Astrodome on the bottom level at the south entrance. We are open this morning at 9AM. Any data entry volunteers can report there and we can get them to the Red Cross. We also continue to need volunteers locally to assist evacuees who are not computer literate to input people locator and FEMA information.

My company Glazed Over will match any donations that I raise. I am dedicating my race to my maternal grandmother, Mabel Leach, who died of the disease over 50 years ago.

WASHINGTON -- Government disaster officials had an action plan if a major hurricane hit New Orleans. They simply didn't execute it when Hurricane Katrina struck.

Thirteen months before Katrina hit New Orleans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill that Ronald Castleman, then the regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called 'a very good exercise.'

More than a million residents were 'evacuated' in the table-top scenario as 120-mile-an-hour winds and 20 inches of rain caused widespread flooding that supposedly trapped 300,000 people in the city.

The Fat Guy: RV Roundup

Please consider donating, for long-term use, your idle RV or travel trailer. We are opening our park to our good neighbors from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who have lost so much in Hurricane Katrina. We have RV hookups available for their use, but we don’t have RVs. Your donation can make all the difference in the world to people who are looking for a place to call home for a few weeks or months as they sort through the aftermath. It’s absolutlely crucial that we all work together to help out our friends and family. Please email (info@buckbrazos.com) or call (254-898-2825) if you’re able and willing to help out. We can help make arrangements for getting your RV or fifth-wheel to our place. Buck loves to drive.

Technology For All, a Houston nonprofit, was coordinating with authorities to set up a center in the Astrodome with 40 desktop computers loaded with Internet connections and office productivity software.

San Antonio-based SBC Communications, Inc. said it planned to install about 1,000 telephone lines in the dome, as well as free high speed Internet service.

"We really figure that one of the first priorities of the people that arrive here after days in the Superdome and a 350- mile ride to the Astrodome is going to be trying to reconnect for the first time," said Larry Meyer, SBC spokesman.

SBC was considering providing Wi-Fi to help out authorities and media at the site.