angrylambie

25 Things Obama Has Done That I Like

1. Set expiration date for Bush's war in Iraq
2. Seriously focused on the Afghanistan War, which Bush let spin out of control
3. Lifted Bush's restrictions on stem cell research
4. Lifted Bush's restrictions on U.S. aid to international Family Planning groups
5. Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State
6. Joe Biden, Vice president
7. "I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."
9. Doesn't restrict Town Hall meeting participants to his party's members, like Bush did
9. Answers press conference questions, fully and articulately,
10. Cooled off from Bush's belligerent, bullying tone toward Russia, Central America, Cuba, and the World
11. Reached out to Iran
12. Acknowledged United States responsibility re the current financial crisis
13. Fired the CEO of GM
14. Said no to Torture, and meant it
15. Released the barely redacted Torture Memos
16. Didn't rule out prosecuting some folks for torture, nor for writing the twisted legal explanations for why torture is not torture
17. Started the United States on the path towards universal healthcare
18. Boldly took on so much, with his enemies attacking his every step
19. Is smart, thoughtful and intelligent
20. Married Michelle
21. Tacked toward center-left, and is willing to piss off far-left progressives who tear him down for not being 100% ideologically true to their principals
22. Kept his sense of humor, but shows his serious side when appropriate
23. Established a White House Council On Women And Girls
24. Has largely stayed true to the letter and intent of his campaign promises
25. Closing Guantanamo

Bonus:


...anyone else got anything?

A friend on another social site (coff facebook coff) tagged me for one of *these*, but it came out sort of fun, so figured to share it here...

1.) I'm no good at these things because I am so self-centered (the world does revolve around me) that I could write 100 random things and only be started - these lists bring out the drama queen in me - not a difficult thing to do! :-)
2.) I have very little contact with my family, my older brother lives in town but we are not in touch
3.) I got a degree in Studio art from UC Davis, minored in Anthro
4.) I love photography and photoshop and am pretty darn good at both
5.) I love music - almost any kind - opera, punk, Hank Williams - as long as it is 'good' -
6.) I recorded my own songs in the late 80s-early 90s on a 4-trac with drum machine and me singing, playing guitar, bass & keyboard - but I don't think of myself as a musician any more than I would think of myself as a 'cook' because I can steam a hot dog
7.) I'm ~40 pounds overweight - unhappy about that, but diets don't work
8.) I do not have a 401K, do not own a house, and do not have credit cards
9.) I live in a tiny cottage with a skylight, a nice little yard, two great people and two great cats in the front house, and cheap rent
10.) I got a grant from UC Davis to set up a studio in the Design Department to shoot portraits of non-white UC Davis students, and used the studio to approach local rock bands and offer to shoot publicity shots - in exchange for beer and fun - that's how all that started -
11.) I rarely drink or smoke -
12.) I took ~5 years off between high school and college, so I was ~5 years older than a lot of college friends and acquaintances
13.) My pet rabbit, Josqin Lapin, owned half of my bed for over two years - he died last summer
14.) I enjoy driving and regularly spend weekends driving to Mendocino, Russian River or - lately - Napa/Solano
15.) My parents and all five brothers and sisters are alive and well
16.) I was raised in a deeply devout Catholic household where non-believers were viewed as sad, pathetic and "not as good as us" - I've been an atheist since age 14
17.) Recently, after 10 years, I have reconnected with my ex-mother and father-in law, and that is beautiful beyond words -
18.) I always get confessional on these lists - Catholic! - then have to go back and edit to be a bit less melodramatic - can I please just stop here?!
19.) The davis80smusic project started after Lisa Camhi and I exchanged a few emailed one-word memories - Olive Pit, PopeAlopes, Barney's Records - that resonated deeply - a single page of links grew into a web site, youtube page, several myspace pages, yahoo group, etc; and it's sweet for me that it's brought a lot of people enjoyment and insights
20.) After work, weather allowing, I walk around San Francisco - mostly North Beach - for fun and exercise
21.) I did a lot of artsy nude photography in the 80s and early 90s, but none since - at times it seemed I was shooting nudes of practically every woman I met - it was fun, but I was constantly checking in on my seriousness and integrity -
22.) Being on tour with Game Theory (as roadie and husband of keyboard player) and getting to hear them play nightly for weeks was a peak experience - Scott's songs are in my cell structure -
23) After my divorce, my first serious girlfriend was a belly-dancing computer programmer 20 years younger than I - we were together ~2 years, including one apart while she worked in Amsterdam
24.) People make me anxious, but I want to be social - I take a beta blocker every day and that has helped enormously!
25.) I blog almost every day and find that total honesty, within certain bounds of discretion, is liberating
Bonus thing:
26.) Last year I was contacted by a large number of people - high school friends, ex-lovers - I never thought I'd hear from again - it's been distracting and exhausting, but also healing/therapeutic and just very unbelievable cool - I love that aspect of the internet