A Prestigious And Large Group

Twenty-seven SD schools were chosen as California Distinguised Schools. Only 343 out of the 839 schools that applied were selected. A mere 40%. Selective. Our schools are saved. Work done. Let's make Jack O'Connell governor.

Oy, I'm in a mood.

Head Out to FilmOut!

This weekend is the start of the 10th annual FilmOut. One week will cover 72 films, comedy, drama, etc.

“It seems that with any kind of artistic social movement, the original effort was to portray, especially in gay films, our lives positively in the beginning to gain legitimacy and reflect positively back on our community,” he said. “I think now people are most interested in seeing a whole panoply of images about gay life. So we want to see the dark, scary thriller. I want to see a full range of gay characters and gay stories, and sometimes life is a romantic comedy, and sometimes life is a horror story – so why can’t we do all of those?”

So there you go, now we're legitimate enough to have dark movies too. Go us!

What Do You Have on Your iPod?

The Governator gave the French ambassador a very personal gift for his visit today. An iPod with the Arnold's favorite music.

And the ambassador said, American music? ew. No, actually he said beach boyrs, guns n' roses, grateful dead? Did someone give Arnold a list of 'classic american music'?

How typical

How can the party of individual responsibility always be in favor of removing any personal responsibility from solving our biggest policy problems?

Assembly Republicans are working on a plan to give schools more money next year without a tax increase, countering a drive by Democrats to protect schools with a tax increase.

From the party that brought you a war withouth victory gardens comes an education funding crisis that requires no worry on your part whatsoever. Rockin'!

Sign of the times

You love the sign, now meet the man.

There is a father, leading the way with a clear sense of urgency, bent at the waist. A mother, running behind him, despite the prim dress that hugs her knees. A little girl, holding her mother's hand, unable to keep pace, her feet barely touching the ground, her pigtails -- everyone knows the pigtails -- flowing behind.

In 1990, the image would be projected onto black vinyl, traced with a knife blade, glued onto yellow signs, topped with one word -- CAUTION -- and placed on the shoulders of freeways, mostly along Interstate 5 north of the Mexican border.

The sign served as a warning that drivers could encounter people racing across the interstate -- most of them trying to get from Mexico into the United States. It would become one of the most iconic and enduring images associated with the nation's war over illegal immigration. And it would leave John Hood, now 59 years old and preparing to retire, conflicted and ambivalent about his strange legacy.

Interesting article, but largely just a gloss on the man who made the sign and the many groups who have adopted the sign to different ends. You can imagine who uses the sign for what.

I recall not understanding the sign, and subsequently laughing at it, when I was younger and saw it for the first time during a family trip to Sea World.

Ponder though, that anyone would risk running across the interstate to find freedom. It may be illegal. It's pretty stupid. But it's moving as well.

Good year for litigation

Bad year for homeowners, but whatever. At least attorneys can stay in business. Because if the lawyers suffer, we all suffer. Remember that.

Anyway, a Carlsbad couple is headed to court this week to pursue their claim that they was duped:

Vernon and Marty Ummel, who purchased a $1.2 million home in Carlsbad three years ago, will try to convince a jury that their real estate agent defrauded them when he failed to inform them that similar houses on the same block were selling for more than $100,000 less than what the Ummels had paid.

Although legal experts say the case is intriguing, most doubt it will spawn a raft of lawsuits in which disgruntled buyers go after real estate agents alleging they were led astray.

Experts also question whether the Ummels will be able to prevail, recognizing that ultimately, the Ummels were the ones who decided to pay what they did in 2005 for their two-story, 3,700-square-foot tract home in a neighborhood just north of the Four Seasons Aviara golf course. In those days, prices throughout the county were still climbing.

You know, if they just wait it out, the market will probably come back. Is the Four Seasons' neighborhood really going downhill to the point they need to get out now? Yeah, we didn't think so either.

I'm going to predict they'll lose big time here. Which will probably be a bad thing for other potential litigants with far more compelling cases and far less access to legal resources. Oh well. They'll stay rich. They sold their last home in NorCal for over a million. I bet they'll be okay.

There are two things wrong with this nipple story

First, that airport security made her remove her nipple rings.

Second, that she allowed scar tissue to develop in her nipples. C'mon now, hon, weren't you taught proper piercing care? Rotate! Clean! Avoid scar tissue and maintain good nipple health.