theparkerfamily.org

  • wall photos: oregon

    [Sunset over Henningson Lane, Jefferson, Oregon]

  • hike: enchanted rock state park, texas

    [Photo]
    IMG_6080, originally uploaded by [ecpark].
    after three days in austin for a non-profit technology conference, i headed for the hills today for a hike around enchanted rock state park near oxford, texas. it’s a giant monolith in the middle of the texas hill country, and completely unlike anything else around.

    of course, when you are on a rock with no identifiable markings (you know, like a trail or something) one tends to get lost. but fortunately, one also tends to have a brand-spanking new iphone with gps integrated google maps to bail oneself out. again.

    but i still added about two hours to my hike by unexpectedly coming down the backside of the mountain, but the sky was blue and the weather was freexzing cold (by texas standards) so no harm, no foul.

    Explore the Photo Set:
    Hike: Enchanted Rock State Park, Texas

  • happy beginnings

    [Photo]
    IMG_5705, originally uploaded by [ecpark].
    some of you may have been following the saga of foster mom adventures, an absolutely courageos friend (and m.o.h.) of ours who ignored her own sanity and has given over her life for two children in need of sanctuary.

    we were their neck of the woods this weekend, and got to spend some time quality with our maid-of-honor-emeritus and her charges. and by “quality time” i mean “lots of piggy back rides.”

    it’s really a beautiful thing how a person can give over her life to children in need, and even more beautiful to see how resilient and wonderful children can be in even the most adverse of circumstances.

    it sounds like it’s going to be a long week for the girls, so keep the whole fostermom clan in your thoughts and prayers.

    update: turns out there is a happy ending (er, beginning?) to the whole situation. if you haven’t been following, now is the time to start.

    Explore the Photo Set (Flickr, friends only):
    foster mom’s adventures

  • the furnace man only knocks twice

    so, the lady sparkler went away on tuesday … and all of a sudden, i start having problem sleeping.

    is it because i miss her loving presence? because i can’t sleep without someone kicking me the bejeesus out of me throughout the night? or maybe because the moment she left the furnace started knocking like a nuclear powered jiffy pop machine?

    we had been getting some light pinging from the new family furnace ever since it was installed last month, but nothing particularly noticable. being a slacker, i was giving it a couple of weeks to see if it fixed itself … because inanimate objects often do that sort of thing.

    then, all of a sudden, yesterday the noise became loud enough to wake the dead — seriously, if sparkler would have been here, even *she* would have woken up.

    the very nice people from the local furnace conglomerate came by this morning, tweaked a few screws, and — poof! — didn’t make another sound. until five minutes after he left when it started shaking it’s milkshake again.

    turns out it was something in the exhaust pipe. the very nice people came back again, replaced the whoe thing, and now it is as silent as the lambs … and not just the ones with the fava beans. now, sparkler can come home and continue to sleep through absolutely any noise — hurricanes, tornadoes, motley crue concerts — uninterupted.

    all is well with the world.

  • three reasons why it sucks to be a Republican right now

    for me, this election cycle has highlighted three glaring reasons why the Republican party should be more than a little worried about 2012:

    first problem: party unity

    the party illuminati are already deconstructing the election, and half the party is saying they lost because they pushed away minorities and the intellectuals by pandering to the conservative base. of course, the other half says they lost when they left the party’s traditional base and moved towards the center (where the minorities and intellectuals seem to be hanging out).

    this argument is going to resonate well beyond 2012, but the next nomination cycle is going to be an ugly battle for the Repubs … between a candidate who energizes the party’s base, and a candidate who energizes the party’s intellectual / policy / more progressive center.

    that bruiser of a process is going to disenfranchise half the party, and make it very hard the nominee to win out. for those who weren’t paying attention, sarah palin brought about party discord, not party unity. her presence in 2012 is only going to make the situation worse.

    second problem: policy not security

    we are starting to see the signs that simply changing the subject isn’t going to work anymore. Republican candidates are going to have to retrench to a time when they had holistic policies (contract with america, anyone?) and didn’t just rely on national security to win the day.

    sure, it’s great to have two wars going on, and to be under attack by the terrorists, but eventually the repubs are going to have to get comfortable on a new set of issues and not just keep changing the subject to national security.

    (oh, and taxes… dems are starting to figure out how govern without raising taxes, so the “all dems raise taxes” line ain’t going to work forever.)

    third problem: the “other” conservatives

    the republican party seems to be defining itself only through religious and social conservatives. under Reagan, there was room for every flavor of conservative under the big tent (fiscal, pragmatic, progressive, military, intellectual).

    today, people who don’t meet the strict social/religious litmus-test are either tossed out of the party (for not being “right” enough) or are forced to assimilate in order to stay. the world is becoming way to diverse (ethnic, religious, cultural) for the Repubs to rely on owning the white, conservative, and evangelical votes.

    here is the problem: 89% of mccain votes were from white voters, but they represent only 74% of the electorate. 58% of mccain votes were from conservatives, but they are only 34% of the electorate. 42% of mccain votes were evangelicals, but they are only 26% of the electorate.

    this isn’t a knock on any of the above demographics, just a recognition that winning these demographics isn’t likely to be enough moving torward. it’s also a classic sign of “engaging the base,” and not competing on the field of ideas and policies.

    well, good luck, my republican friends — it’s going to be an interesting time in the wilderness for you. may you come back in less time (and maybe a little more progressive?) than the dems last time around.

  • live: the presidential election returns


    Final Obama Campaign Rally, Prince William Country Fairgrounds, Manassas, Virginia

    i’m posting out of order, but the lady sparkler and i went out to Manassas last night for barack obama’s final campaign rally, at the Prince William County Fairgrounds. (see the pictures on facebook, or check out the panorama above.)

    i’ll have more thoughts later (ie. tomorrow) but the rally was spectacular. they estimated the crowd at 90,000 and i’d absolutely believe it. he’s every bit as charismatic as clinton (mr, not mrs, who i met in early 1992) but hopefully without the, er, prominent character flaws. the lady sparkler and i went to the rally on a complete whim, but it felt great to be there for (hopefully) a little bit of history.

    we didn’t get back until just about 2am, so i am way too tired for coherent thought, much less coherent election night coverage … but we’ll see what happens as we get through the night.

    7:00 PM i love numbers! just like crack, only they are a little more addictive … and have a little less nutritional value.
    7:03 PM vermont is the first to go blue! as a former cog in the rep. bernie sanders (i-vt) machine, i am proud (i say) proud of this development … and can feel the entire city of Rutland (viva, rut-vegas!) having a conniption fit.
    7:18 PM cnn is using faux-hologram technology to project a chicago-based reported into the atlanta situation room. help me obi wan, you are my only hope. @#$%ng ridiculous.
    7:31 PM cnn has mccain up 8 to 3 … if that ratio holds, it’s going to be a landslide.
    7:40 PM What we should be watching … Early tells: Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina. Must McWins: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri. Late flags: Montana, Colorado.
    8:02 PM on a bus, away from CNN and it’s killing me. I trust nothing important is happening?
    8:11 PM CNN mobile says electoral college is 77 to 34 in favor of Barack, but only KY and VT have been called. That’s a Palin sized WTF?!?
    8:27 PM oh, the northeast happened. and Maryland. and Illinois.
    8:34 PM Obama won granite staters who “never attend church” and “make less than 25k” … not sure that’s a good thing.
    9:02 PM dole goes down… burn, dole, burn! you godless heeeethan.
    9:10 PM 51 senators and Michigan. it’s early. why do the people on fox look so sad?!?
    9:13 PM it’s silly, but I was really hoping for Georgia. sad.
    9:20 PM fox calls Ohio for obama. stick a fork inmac, he’s gone!
    9:34 PM I [heart] the CNN magic state/county map. it may be my new celebrity exception. mmmmmmmmm.
    9:37 PM malvo (CNN) went a little heavy on the orange bronzer.
    10:13 PM giddy. just giddy.
    10:15 PM breaking news! CNN announces that a source in the McCain count says that he may have lost!
    10:20 PM Jessica Simpson appears to be providing election coverage on fox news, and seems to have just high-fives Brett Hume.
    10:28 PM Steve Forbes is on comedy central, and BET seems to have a “magic map” made from refrigerator magnets.
    10:35 PM William bennett looks like he wants to blink out of existance.
    10:42 PM Jon King just touched Joe Lieberman’s blue tile and it turned blue! Will someone please, please call something.
    10:55 PM wow, this has been a slow, slow 10-minutes…
    10:59 PM you heard it here first, BET just called virginia for Obama.
    11:00 PM that’s it kids!
    11:06 PM wow, Jesus. wow.
    11:09 PM ten minutes ago, this had nothing to do with race. now, it’s hard to see anything but …
    11:17 PM is saying “our long national nightmare is over” too strong?
    11:19 PM no, boos, repubs. no boos.
    11:24 PM McCain: Dude, if you gave this tone of a speech six months ago, you would have won. Who wrote this? Why now? Legitimately beautiful.
    11:27 PM This is the pre-2000 McCain … the one I could have been content as president way back when.
    11:29 PM well, lots of repub boos, but atleast no “drill, baby, drill!”
    11:41 PM Am I the only one who honestly doesn’t believe that this has happened?
    11:51 PM Florida, Nevada? Montana would be the end zone spike.
    11:56 PM CNN: “people are celebrating in front of the white house.” that’s not celebrating, bob. that’s taunting…
    12:00 AM Michelle Obama’s dress made me think nice things about Cindy McCain. Damn her!
    12:10 AM God, he makes a lot of sense.
    12:16 AM how long has he been writing this in his head?
    12:17 AM this is really happening, huh?
    12:25 AM seeing Jesse Jackson cry makes me hate him just a little less…
    12:45 AM the steers are a wall of noise. horns honking everywhere. trucks, cars. it’s beautiful.
    12:49 AM people are litterally shouting and clapping on each street corner. And I just face planted because i should have been walking instead of typing.
    12:56 AM if park road is half as noisy as Connecticut Ave, I won’t be sleeping tonight.
    1:05 AM I’ve seen a hundred people since the returns, maybe two… but not one hasn’t been happy, laughing, smiling, honking or shouting. even the one repub I’ve seen was happy.
    1:33 AM 18th and Columbia is a parking lot of people high-fiveing, strangers making eye contact and grinning, people shouting “yes, we did.” it’s like DC melted away, and became Portland, Oregon for a couple hours.
    1:34 AM screw people who say that DC isn’t a sports town. our sport is politics, it’s just that we don’t win often enough …
    2:20 AM watched CNN’s replay of obama’s acceptance speech. it’s even better the second time around.
    2:20 AM g’night.

  • some assembly (not) required

    well, i’m officially old now. interestingly enough, this realization didn’t come from a mortgage, or a life insurance that gives the lady sparkler financial incentive for my death, or from friends having wedding after wedding after wedding, or from going to a party and being the only one there without kids.

    it came, instead, from pottery barn.

    last week, we went anniversary present shopping and settled on a 33%-off console table to replace a piece of crap we bought at Ikea five years ago. it wasn’t in stock, but they had extras at the big, bad warehouse in the sky, and promised to ship one over to a store-near-us as soon as they could.

    well, we got the call yesterday, crossed the bridge into rural Arlington to go pick it up. when we pulled up front, a very nice boy wheeled the box out to our car … and that’s when all hell broke loose.

    the box was enormous. like really big. like “size of a piece of furniture” big.

    there are apparently places in the world where you can buy furniture that doesn’t require assembly. more importantly, there are apparently places in the world where you can buy furniture which requires something bigger that a Volkswagen Jetta.

    now, don’t get me wrong … i had heard rumors of such extravagance, but bushed them aide as if tales of the fortress of Atlantis, or a land filled with Unicorns, or a country of people who’d reelect some one from the Bush family. i mean, really … would would have thought such a place existed?!?

    after getting a grip on our new found alternate reality, “very nice boy pottery barn boy” led us to the conclusion that the Jetta just wasn’t going to cut it (and we galloped off to rent a pick up truck from ZipCar).

    but, let this serve as a cautionary tale for the youth of america. there comes a time when you will be allowed to vote, sent to war, drink, and afford to buy furniture that comes assembled — assuming that you catch a really good sale.

    so, excercise your rights (responsibilities?) with caution …

  • i love hope solo, and harry redknapp, and not necessarily in that order…

    after a lovely Saturday of belated anniversary present shopping (we settled on a one-third off console table from pottery barn) the lady sparkler and I settled in for a long evening at home … watching two-month stale coverage of the Beijing Summer Olympics.

    a couple things, looking back two months:

    • it’s been at least a week since I had heard any one say “michael phelps,” which made me wonder if he had fired his agent considering his best post-Olympic gig has been for Rosetta Stone.
    • It seems like (back then) John McCain actually ran ads that weren’t entirely focused on trashing Barack Obama. heck, August was so long ago that I didn’t even know that MILF had a political context.
    • I once again contemplated changing my celebrity exception clause to be U.S. Olympic indoor volleyball team silver medalist Logan Tom, but quickly realized I am already married to some one who can kick my @$& so what would the point be?
    • Whichever Olympic scheduler put synchronized swimming, canoeing, water polo, and rhythmic gymnastics in the same four hour block should be fired … or shot.

    • I got to thinking about politics, the economy and my 401k, and actually got nostalgic for a minute, thinking “wow. that was a simpler time, wasn’t it?!?”. yeah, way back in august.

    so, back to the present. much of our weekend was spent on the couch watching soccer.

    the taped USA vs. Brazil woman’s gold medal match was one of the best this year. goalie hope solo (I heard she is Han Solo’s niece) pitched a shut out over 120 minutes, making her world cup benching last year — and USA’s subsequent 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Brazil — that much more inexplicable.

    but perhaps the best news of the weekend came from the English premier league, where my team (Tottenham Hotspur) finally won their first game after nine attempts (that, and the midnight firing of the entire management structure.) while the win wasn’t enough to get them out of last place, they are now just one win away from a once unthinkably-good 15th place. (weeee!)

    to be fair, Tottenham could have actually been the second best news of the weekend … the best may have been the news that the Anchorage Daily News endorsed *Obama,* saying something about “putting her one … heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.”

    in the words of conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan, the Anchorage Daily News editorial board is obviously filled with “goddamn East Coast elitist hippies.”

  • jesus [heart]’s wonder woman

    photo

  • greenwebdc

    mmmmmm, beeer.

    hung out with a great group of greens tonight, drinking beer and otherwise promoting “good will” among eco-tweeting hippies (jcolman, starfocus, KSuzJ, and salsus … with special appearances by beautifulthangs and holdie1).

    all of this camaraderie should have amped me up to go to work tomorrow morning (and it did), but it mostly reminded me that i need to polish-up a presentation on engagement for the d.m.a. conference the first week of november.

    got pleeeeeanty of material, just need the time to put it all together … and work on my jokes. (“if you’re like me, and i am ….”)