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In Presidential elections past I have always voted with my heart. Mostly Democratic – I even voted for Jesse Jackson once, and in a moment when my heart went cold I voted Republican. Those exercises in civic duty were momentarily satisfying but sadly lacked any lasting joy since my candidates generally lost.
This time around I am changing my tack – I’m voting rational. I figure if I can come up with ten rational reasons to vote for a candidate, I would be doing myself an injustice if I did not. I found only one candidate met my criteria. Here are my ten rational reasons to vote for Hilary Clinton.
- She’s a Woman: For God’s sake, every democracy in the modern history of mankind has had a female leader except the U.S. What is wrong with us?
- She’s Strong: That is not the opposite of wishy-washy. That means watch out or she will kick your ass.
- She’s showed us her pain: No matter what you think of her decision to stay with Bill you’ve got to give her credit for hanging in when lesser spouses would have fled. She gets extra credit for her recent comments regarding her thoughts on having the freedom to choose what is best for your individual situation.
- She is Chaste: Believe me if “they” haven’t found any dirt yet, they won’t. Maybe this should be listed under “She’s Smart” for knowing decades ago to keep her nose clean and having the fortitude to do it. That is the number one reason I choose not to run for any office – youthful indiscretions!
- NY Loves Her: As Blue states go NY is the barometer of rational liberalism – there isn’t enough estrogen in San Francisco and holy cow, Massachusetts elected Mitt!
- She’s Got Experience: No other candidate running can say they know the ins and outs of the White House like Hilary.
- She Perseveres: I root for the one who perseveres because it is a quality I lack. After that whole National Health Care thing I would have thrown in the towel, but not Hilary. She is ready for round two.
- She has a sense of Humor: Well – put another way – she knows one needs a sense of humor to succeed in the job of President of the United States. Unfortunately, she is no Al Gore in this department.
- She is All Business: Take it from a perimenopausal woman – the woman means what she says even if she doesn’t say what she means.
- She’s Got Bill: regardless of what you may think of him, liberal Democrats love him. The bonus: he can play the target of the inevitable ruthless nitpicking from the right for the duration of her term in office.
- Why should I stop at ten? She’ll Go All the Way. She has the money and the power for the long haul. Realistically, only one other Democrat has the money to make it to the end and in my mind’s eye, I see him being eaten alive.
Laurel Wilson is a novice screenwriter with an eye toward the political. Readers can contact her @ frenlk@yahoo.com.
October 31st, 2007
A Salute to Bobby Pickett
It’s time for the Monster Mash again. Of course YouTube has hundreds of Monster Mash interpretations; one of my votes is for a 2005 performance of the 1962 hit by the song’s creator, Bobby Pickett, and his seasoned band The Cryptkickers.
Pickett, who died in April 2007, won three gold records for Monster Mash. The song hit the Billboard Top 100 in 1962, 1970 and 1973, selling more than one million copies. Among his movie credits are: Monster Mash, Lobster Man from Mars, It’s a Bikini World, and Boogie with the Undead.
He toured and played the song for decades. His tour bus broke once down outside Frankenstein, Missouri at a 1973 Halloween show.
Elvis Presley reputedly called The Monster Mash the “dumbest thing” he ever heard. Pickett was likely not concerned. He said when he heard the song he just heard the “ka-ching!” of the cash register!
« Betty Story is a writer, researcher and recovering librarian. She can be contacted at betstory@storyinfo.net »
October 30th, 2007
I think I’ve figured out why I like Halloween.
The thrill of cold weather tickling down my spine makes me shiver.
Ghosts and ghoulies and other creatures stalk the night, and shrieking is allowed.
My costume lets me role play good or evil, romance or horror, present reality (President masks scare me big time), seminal events of the past, or the future I would like to see. Just imagine.
Halloween is All Souls Day, when Catholics pray for us all - saved or not. The day after Halloween is All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation when Catholics pray for those who’ve been sainted. The name “Halloween” itself comes from “All Hollows Eve” – the day before the holiness. I always knew I was supposed to be a saint, but I was never sure I’d make it. So I’m glad we have this chance to pray for everyone who doesn’t make it into Heaven on the first try.
Photo by Sophie Nimmannit. Some rights reserved.
The Religious Right gets it wrong. They think the day is about worshiping the devil, when it’s really about acknowledging our fear of same. Not every spirit is sanctified, just like not every public figure is a saint. Saints, would-be saints, and public figures have a dark side. Refusing to acknowledge the dark side is a congenital problem for some. Halloween is the day set aside for us to examine the darkness. I am glad that for the rest of the year restless spirits leave us in peace. I don’t want to know every politician’s peccadillo or the reason why some souls cannot sleep.
Despite the darkness, there is an innocence about Halloween. The shivers and trembles are superficial. Masks of evil walk the world, but they can be placated with candy – unlike the real horrors we see unfold on the nightly news. Halloween is a traditional feast at the end of harvest. Autumn is half through and the hard winter is ahead. But for now we have food, we have warmth, and we have jack-o-lanterns to light the way home.
October 29th, 2007
I’m constantly looking for new and adventurous ways to tickle the “gross me out” bones of the two young boys in my family, especially on Halloween. A few years ago I needed a unique dessert they’d love for a Halloween party. I sat down and thought about scary stories that disgusted me as a child, and one stanza of a children’s song popped into my head:
“The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes.”
(See the full lyrics to the song, “The Hearse Song”, here.)
Suddenly it struck me: a skull-shaped cake with gummy worms crawling out of every orifice. I had my gross Halloween recipe and I knew it would thrill them!
The concept was simple enough, but the execution was slightly more complicated. I found a suitable skull cake pan at Fright Catalog. A standard boxed cake mix was easy to come by. Working with the mold was a little unusual—I was a first-timer to molded cakes and it takes a little finesse. The trickiest part is greasing the mold properly. For help, check out Baking911.com.
Once baked and cooled, another challenge arose. It’s tough to ice a delicately-molded cake with thick canned icing. I experimented with implements and found a smaller knife with smaller strokes around the mouth and eyes was most successful. When iced, the details of the skull lose definition somewhat so it’s a good idea—and adds to the fun—to use chocolate icing or dark frosting to trace the mouth and color in the nostrils and eye sockets.
Photo by Jason Meredith. Some rights reserved.
Then it was down to the pièce de résistance, the gummy worms. There are several types on the market, from the standard translucent brightly-colored to frosted opaque neon. I learned not to add the worms too soon before serving, because the gelatin can melt against the icing’s moisture. I simply punctured the cake where I wanted the worms to lie, anchored one end of the worm in the cake, and let the other end drape like it was dragging its body along the surface. For the best effect, I cut a few worms shorter so that they appeared to burrow deeper and had their “tails” higher in the air.
The end result made the kids squeal with laughter. And the pan has remained handy—I used it not long after as an equally creepy jell-o mold! This is a cake I’ll make again and again. It’s an easy way to add something gruesome to your Halloween party plans this year. For gross variations, try plastic toy spiders and bugs atop the skull as well.
« Dina Ely is a journalist, poet, and author of short fiction. Readers can contact her at dely723@yahoo.com »
October 27th, 2007
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October 26th, 2007
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October 25th, 2007
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