Ross on Grammar

Another post for those who care about grammar!

For the Raimi

Raimi,
Here is a better non-partisan site for information about voting. I know you already registered... but this site has information about all the candidates running for prez - even the third party ones. It is run by the Counting Crows - you know, the band.


For all you other peeps out there, you can register here to vote if you live in a state where the registration deadline hasn't gotten here, yet.

Register to Vote!

This post on the StuckeySpalt blog prompted me to put up these links:

Register to vote:
- if you're an Oregonian. (Last day to register to vote for the next Prez & Veep is: October 14, 2008.)
- in any state at Rock the Vote.

So, go forth and register!

Love,
akemi

Update

Sorry! I should have updated sooner.

Seems like Hannah Upp is found. I can't find any real up-to-date information. Last I heard, she was spotted on Sept. 9 at an Apple store. The facebook page is no longer open to the public and all news coverage seems to have ended last week. I think the theory is that she just ran away.

Anyway, I hope she is okay and that her family and friends are okay, too. Sorry I don't have more info.

Thanks!

Have You Seen Her?

Hannah Emily Upp, 23, has been missing since Friday, August 29, from her residence in the vicinity of Hamilton Terrace, Harlem.

Hannah is a New York City Public School teacher; she teaches middle school Spanish at Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change, at W. 135th and 7th Ave. A recent graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Class of 2007, majoring in Spanish and Comparative Literature, she is a New York City Teaching Fellow, working on her Master's degree at Pace University and teaching full time. She completed her first year of teaching 2007-08, and was about to start her second year of teaching when she went missing

Here is a link to the facebook page about the disappearance/investigation. It has contact info and more background info. Here's the entire link if you want to copy it: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=86887660472

My New Hero!

Gloria Steinem is my new hero.

In this op-ed piece, Palin: wrong woman, wrong message, she articulates why Sarah Palin is wrong for the White House. I am so impressed by her even-tempered, well-thought-out article. Where I would have resorted to sarcasm and frustrated screaming, she gives well-reasoned arguments. She is awesome.

Now, excuse me, I have to go read more of her writing. (I'm pretty embarrased not to have read her in the past.)

Watching More TV

Tonight's line up: the U.S. Open - Venus vs. Serena and Nadal vs. Fish; and the GOP Convention - Sarah Palin's speech.

So, I forced Sam to watch Palin's speech. There was much less substance than I expected. Sam says it is par for the course for Republicans. I really don't get them. She said she was going to talk about what a mayor of a small town/governor of Alaska does... but then she made some snide comments about it being like a community organizer except with real responsibilities. What does that mean? I think she is very rude. I didn't know what a community organizer was until I started reading Obama's first book. I definitely have an appreciation for the service he was trying to do and the leadership it took to help people in disadvantaged neighborhoods get services and representation that they deserved. I feel like Palin was belittling and out of line. She also said that "our opponents" look down on her... I think the press has portrayed that emotion, but not anyone from the Democratic Party and certainly not anyone from the Obama-Biden campaign.

I could keep going, but I don't think the speech needs a rebuttal point by point... plus it is giving me a headache. One thing that I did want to say is that I felt like Palin (and Guiliani, whose speech we saw a little bit of) were so selfish in their tone and presentation. She seems to come from a place of "me" and "my," like it is for the glory of her and McCain, and maybe the party, but not from a place of wanting to actually better our country. It is ironic that their slogan is "Country First" because they talk about so many external things like Iraq, Iran and wars abroad, but not about practical solutions or plans for the U.S.A.... well, they do want to destroy our environment by drilling on the North Slope - because "we got plenty" of oil and natural gas.

I just don't see how people can keep supporting McCain. His party seems to be all about double-talk and distracting people from the real issues by waving the machismo of "patriotism" around. It is weird. They keep saying he's the maverick we need in the White House, but to me that translates as "loose cannon." It is pretty scary.

In non-scary news there is the U.S. Open. The match between Venus and Serena was kind of a drag because of the commentators. They made the whole thing seem boring. Like, "la-la-la, great serve - blah, blah, blah powerful hit - yeah, yeah, great ball placement." The two of them are amazing players with such different physiques and different styles of play, but they don't say anything about that. There was no comparison of their games or litany of their wins and losses this year like they talk about with other players. What's up with that? Is it really boring to see two great women play each other? I didn't think so. Venus's serve is so fast! And she switches up her first serve - sometimes right up the middle and flat and sometimes wide. She and Serena both have a great down-the-line shot that I love. They both use such great ball placement that you don't always see. Serena is so strong! I was comparing her to a horse when Sam and I were talking - her muscles are so sleek and lean. I think Venus is more like a gazelle - much more slender... but she is super strong, too. I think either of them could take on a guy and win!

Well, now Nadal and Fish are playing. We got to see Fish beat James Blake. That was sure a sad match. Blake just seemed really out of it. I know that they are friends, but they both seemed kind of reluctant to celebrate good points. They also seemed almost sorry when they hit winners. I think Fish even challenged a call that was in his favor and Blake got that point. It was a weird match. But that could also be because of how the commentators were talking about it. I do think that Nadal looks better in the Nike shirt than Blake... weird that they both wear the same shirt at the same tournament. But, that's neither here nor there...

Can't believe that Fish is actually up a break and a serve! Wow. I guess he is having a really good tournament. We didn't see him play Monfils. Sam thinks that Blake let Fish win as a wedding present. Yeah, the commentators kept talking about how Blake is going to be a groomsman at Fish's wedding next month.

Anyway, time to actually watch the match instead of mouthing off here... hope my train of thought flows okay. Usually I have Sam proof my posts and I re-read them, but we have to watch Nadal.

TTFN.