"She's thinks my chief-of-staff's sexy..."

I haven't heard any other local lady bloggers say it, so I'm going to say it: I think Rahm Emanuel is HOT! Similarly, I thought John Lyman was sexy back in the day. Peep this Time article for some interesting facts about him. My favorite:

He studied ballet in high school and was offered a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet, but went to Sarah Lawrence College instead, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He has a master's degree in speech from Northwestern University.

No wonder he has a reputation for being such a jerk - he studied ballet and went to Sarah Lawrence - he has to prove his manhood somehow! Whatever, that's still hot.

Pirates v. Ninjas 10/31/08

I so wish I could have been there for this. Alas, I was too busy having a 12 martini lunch and finishing up my bad ass Halloween costume.



More info at nolapenguin

LAWLZ

I just had to post this. I know the election is over, but this video just reminded me so much of some people.

A prediction for my nearest and dearest

I love making predictions. Who will win this election? When will he get married? How long will this new receptionist last before they get sacked? How much weight has so-and-so lost? When will Zac Efron come out of the closet?

The pundits are going crazy predicting President-Elect Obama's choices for his cabinet and staff. The biggest cabinet position being discussed is Secretary of the Treasury for obvious reasons.

Education is my favorite political issue because it's, well, so political. It's the issue on which most of my friends would agree I am the most conservative. Preferences aside, I am officially making my own prediction on who Obama will choose for his Secretary of Education. And it's pretty close to home. My choice: Tulane University President Scott Cowen.


Affectionately known as "Scotty C" by Tulane students, Cowen is a good friend of Vice President-Elect Joe Biden. Joe Biden's daughter Ashley attended Tulane around the same time as THP ladies, and Biden has maintained ties with the school and its very popular, business-minded president. Cowen donated his money and name to the founding of the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives at Tulane. Several of my "sources" (aka drinking buddies) that work for the Tulane administration and at the Cowen Institute have suggested for awhile now that, in the event of an Obama-Biden victory, Cowen's appointment as Ed Secretary was probable.

So far, Inside Higher Ed is the only outfit I can find (in a quick Google search) that has suggested Cowen's name is on the short list for this job. Education isn't a very sexy issue for most of the pundits in making their cabinet predictions, but for other Americans, millions of whom send their children to failing public schools every day, it's an extremely important one.

Personally, I believe that Cowen as Education Secretary could do amazing things for public education all over America by sharing the progressive educative ideas employed here in New Orleans with the rest of the country. These next four years could prove to be a very exciting time to be in education.

Post-election thoughts

Yesterday I was way too hungover from simultaneously celebrating a victory (Landrieu) and drinking away my sorrows (need I state the obvious?) on Tuesday night. As you might have noticed, our attempt at live blogging failed for the same reasons that I was hugging a toilet for the better part of Wednesday.

Congrats to Senator Mary Landrieu - you can buy your dairy in DC and eat it too! It was an extremely close race, but you did it. Here's to 6 more years of fighting for the Pelican State!

New Orleans now has a new DA. In the Cannizzaro-Capitelli showdown, THP endorsed Capitelli. However, New Orleans is lucky that it had in this race a win-win situation: two experienced and qualified candidates. I will not talk about this race again, except to just say this: Leon Cannizzaro doesn't appear to have much faith in all of the new voters that turned out to support Obama, as both of these signs were clearly planted by his people. I'm not saying he wouldn't have won without these low tactics, but they clearly helped.

[h/t to Brad for this one]

On a final and more positive note, I have this to say: although I voted for the McCain-Palin ticket and worry about Obama's policies in the long term, I think that you have to be pretty heartless to not feel moved by the amount of energy and excitement surrounding Obama's election. As for my sad Republican friends out there, I think our comeback in 2010 and especially 2012 will be in the manner of 1994's Contract with America. Until then, I can say that the results of this election make me proud to be an American, and I wish President-Elect Obama and the rest of our country the best for the next four years.

Live blogging from the Election turnout!

So dorky, I know.

Pre-gaming before the victory parties with a bunch of Obama supporters.  Things are looking bleak right now for my man, but I am anxiously awaiting the local results!

I obviously live in the wrong state...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Why are you reading right now? Go VOTE! It's Election Day!

And remember, Republicans vote Tuesday (today), Democrats vote on Wednesday!

XOXO,
ALTR

mmm, election cake

Courtesy of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum's newsletter.

Before roads had improved and voting locally was an option, many people had to travel long distances to cast a vote. At that point, the United States was the only democracy and people took a special pride in elections, treating them as a major holiday. As people made their way into town to vote, housewives were preparing "Election Cakes," dense cakes sometimes weighing up to twelve pounds.*

Originally, these cakes were known as "Muster Cakes," prepared when farmers were called into towns for military training. They traveled long distances and, according to Alice Ross (Journal of Antiques and Collectibles, October 2003), "descended on the nearest designated towns for days of training sessions ('mustering') and nights of socializing, carousing, and partaking of what became known as 'Muster Cake.' "

Over time, Muster Cakes were used to celebrate a different event, the election. "Travel time to the polling places had not changed, and the logistics of a week of spirited fun away from home was as attractive as the voting. The dates were scheduled to accommodate passable roads and lulls in farm work, just as Muster Days had been ... Again men made their way to town in droves and stayed for several days, arriving early enough to take in the electioneering, to vote, to drink, and then to hang around for the results. The cake continued to be a special feature of the event, its name was transposed to 'Election Cake.'" (Ross)

The first appearance of Election Cake was in the 1796 cookbook by Amelia Simmons, The First American Cookbook, second edition. The recipe was made for a crowd, calling for 30 quarts of flour and 10 pounds of butter. To view images from The First American Cookbook, visit the Library of Congress website. Scroll down for the 1796 recipe for election cake and for a slightly more modern recipe.

Here is the recipe:

"Thirty quarts flour, 10 pound butter, 14 pound sugar, 12 pound raisins, 3 doz eggs, one pint wine, one quart brandy, 4 ounces cinnamon, 4 ounces fine colander seed, 3 ounces ground allspice; wet the flour with milk to the consistence of bread over night, adding one quart yeast; the next morning work the butter and sugar together for half an hour, which will render the cake much lighter and whiter; when it has rise light work in every other ingredient except the plumbs, which work in when going into the oven."
[American Cookery; Amelia Simmons 1796.]


And a slightly more modern recipe for election cake.

Election Cake (Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1911)
1/2 cup butter
8 finely chopped figs
1 cup bread dough
1 1/4 cups flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon soda
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sour milk
2/3 cup raisins seeded, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

Work butter into dough, using the hand. Add egg well
beaten, sugar, milk, fruit dredged with two tablespoons
flour, and flour mixed and sifted with remaining ingredients.
Put into a well-buttered bread pan, cover, and let rise one
and one-fourth hours. Bake one hour in a slow oven.
Cover with Boiled Milk Frosting.

The "right" to empty an automatic weapon into a nine year old

Trick-or-treater, 12, shot to death, police say

SUMTER, South Carolina (AP) -- An ex-convict who said he thought he was being robbed gunned down a 12-year-old trick-or-treater, spraying nearly 30 rounds with an assault rifle from inside his home after hearing a knock on the door, police said Saturday. ...

Police said at least two of the boys were wearing ghoulish masks when they knocked on the door. The boys' mother and a toddler stayed in the car nearby.

Patrick emptied his AK-47, shooting at least 29 times through his front door, walls and windows after hearing the knock, Police Chief Patty Patterson said.

He told police he had been robbed and shot in the past year.

"He wasn't going to be robbed again, and he wasn't going to be shot again," Patterson said Saturday at a news conference. (more....)

So not only does a man with multiple convictions have an AK-47, but he and his 19-yr-old girlfriend have immediate access to $7,500 cash?

Obviously, this guy is dealing (possibly more than drugs).

So he gets robbed and shot, and his solution is to buy a freaking AK-47 and empty it into the body of the first person to knock on his front door. It could have been anybody- friend, brother, political canvaser, neighborhood watch- but it was a couple of children out trick-or-treating on Halloween.

What was this guy doing? Sitting in a chair facing the door with the gun across his knees, waiting for a threatening approach (like a knock?)

And what was he doing with a freaking AK-47? Oh yeah, they're legal. Thank you, NRA. I sure am glad that Mr. Patrick was able to legally own an automatic weapon. After all, how is a person supposed to defend his home and loved ones if he can't empty 30 high-powered rounds through his front door at the slightest indication that someone may be standing on the porch?

And how is an 8-year old supposed to shoot himself in the head with an Uzi if he and the rest of the gun club don't have the right to carry them around and shoot things for fun?

Now, I'm all for hunting, and I do enjoy firing off a couple hundred rounds at the shotting range. But automatic weapons? Really? Why is it that we won't rid this country of automatic weapons?

I don't know whether Patrick purchased his AK-47 legally or illegally, especially considering his criminal record, but reducing the pool of legal automatic weapons is the first major step toward eliminating the criminal possession of such weapons.