A glowing piece on the WPA seems to be the highlight of the show, and there was one of those old time ditties accompanying the beginning of the segment that was really catching. I miss those. At any rate, I tried to do a google search to find it, but couldn’t. On the other hand, I did come up with this website, the Uncensored History of the Blues, which has a great podcast about the blues in the WPA era, including some songs. Pretty cool. Yet another bookmark in my already crowded folder.

Up now, Jesus Christ Superstar.

The movie review segment is pretty solid- Cadillac Records looks right in my wheelhouse, and Doubt will be a must see. Really, all someone has to do to get me to watch a movie is put Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a role. I think he may be the best actor in Hollywood, and if not the greatest, he is definitely my favorite. Hell, he made Charlie Wilson’s War as Gust Avrakatos, otherwise that was a pretty forgettable flick.

Kind of tired and still trying to get a bunch of stuff done before the holidays, so no more from me tonight. The heating pad and ice rotation and alleve seem to be working, btw, so thanks for the advice.

Also, it appears that the Obama children were not the only ones who were promised a post-election puppy, as Joe Biden is now the owner of a new dog.

Finally, this picture just came in, and even though I have about 75 pet photos to still get out there from you all, this gets moved to the top:

I will spare you all the obligatory Ghostbusters reference.

*** Update ***

Via LGM, the best scientific work ever:

“Research shows that the bigger allowance you get from mom and dad,” explained Andrew M. Sum, director of Northeastern’s center, “the less likely you are to work.”

No kidding…

Anyone have any legal remedies for lower back pain that don’t involve going to a doctor? Apparently the TRANE for my apartment leaks water, and I slipped on a patch of ice on my deck while taking out the trash last night and caught myself before I crashed to the ground, but sort of wrenched my lower back.

It isn’t serious enough to go to a doctor- I don’t feel any swelling and I didn’t hear any snapping, but it does hurt pretty bad. Ibuprofen is not doing the trick.

As suggested by the title of this post, this will be my last entry at Balloon-Juice. Before I say anything else, I must thank both John and Tim… I have really enjoyed this – more than you both know. And, for the rest of you, I haven’t mentioned my leaving before now to either John or Tim. I’m just leaving and they are learning with the rest of y’all!

When I started writing here several months ago, I was absolutely honored. I had my own blog at the time, and I was attracting between 1500-2200 readers a day, mostly on gay issues. I think I shut my own blog down about a couple months before I started blogging here. I can’t quite remember which came first – me shutting down Gay Orbit or being invited to post here!

My experience in voicing my opinions has normally been about gay issues. I know a lot about that, and I’ve expressed some very good opinions and rationales over the years, whether it’s on marriage or hate crimes legislation (which, unlike Andrew Sullivan, I completely support). When it comes to general politics, I have a lot to say as well. I just don’t think I am very good at expressing them – at least not good enough to be expressing them on a blog as widely read as Balloon-Juice. Here, we get about 30-40,000 readers a day. John is amazing at snark and putting his thoughts down in a way that is very intesesting. Tim is great at science and technology. I love reading their posts. Tim is especially interesting to me because I always learn something when I read what he writes. I already know I will agree with John. Tim writes shit I don’t even know about!!

However, while my opinions are as strong and as legit as either of theirs, I don’t think I put them “on paper” as well as they do. They are simply better writers and are what you expect from this site.

Now, some of you might think, “Michael’s leaving because he can’t take the heat.” Well, when I first started writing here, I have to admit, I was surprised as the animosity directed towards me – especially when I wrote the post about being a Republican (I do regret that one! I am no longer a Republican!) I learned a lot about having a thick skin from that one thanks to you, and I also learned not to care too much about what some of you thought of me! Having said that….

Let me be clear: I am thankful to each and every one of you for keeping me honest. I have learned SO much from the commentariat here. On my old blog, I could say whatever I wanted and people would just agree or disagree with me. Here, I had to learn to defend my positions – even though I didn’t always do that well. It’s the difference between a couple thousand readers and tens of thousands. It’s taught me to be better about defending my positions – something I am still getting used to.

Even though, as someone noted awhile back, I got the gig at Balloon-Juice because of a joke I made about Larry Craig, I learned a lot here. I really did. Most of all, I learned that you can’t take things personally, even though there are some idiots that want to piss you off and make you feel like an idiot! All personal stuff.

In any case, to all of you who agreed with me, disagreed with me, thought I was an idiot, or simply wanted to keep me honest—thank you so much. My short stint here at Balloon-Juice has made me a better person. It has made me think about issues more clearly before voicing my opinions on them (even if it doesn’t seem like it, it really has.)

My favorite part about this site is not Tim or John – it’s you. I learn so much, and will continue to do so from reading the comments. You are a smart bunch – much more so than me – and much smarter than most center left sites. In fact, I was a staunch defender of the Bush Administration for years. It’s from reading the comments from people like you that I decided I was wrong, and I am so happy that I have the capacity, unlike a lot of people, to see that. You have made me a better person because of that.

This is a terrific site and I am proud to have been a part of it for a short while. I am not leaving because of anything someone said or did. I am leaving because I don’t think I can contribute to the site in the same way that such terrific writers as John and Tim continue to be on a day to day basis.

I appreciate each and every one of you.

Thank you. You all are pretty damned awesome and I learn from all of you every day – whether I agree with you or not!!

I really have nothing that strikes me as worth discussing this morning. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything, but it does mean I just haven’t found anything that hasn’t been beaten into the ground already.

My girl, Charlotte, says hi. (Actually, now that I look at this picture, she looks like she is pissed that she is getting her picture taken.)

And this is a picture of our next door neighbor, Sophie, a Golden. Charlotte is a people dog. She does not like other dogs. The only exceptions are this one and a neighbor’s Irish Setter.

I’m on day 10 of quitting smoking, and it sucks. But then, smoking sucks worse, so I will get through it. Went to a Christmas part last night where several people were smoking and managed! Wish me luck. I am sucking on Commit Lozenges like you wouldn’t believe. Fortunately for my wallet, my employer pays for them! I have an awesome employer. I am one of those few people who not only enjoys his job, but also the oppressive corporate overlords he works for!

UPDATE: DAMN!! A lot of you are ex-smokers. I didn’t realize I was in such good company!! Congrats to all of you!!

The webmistresses were tinkering with the site (I think, they told me something about kernels or what not and my eyes instantly glazed over), so we were a little slow today and had some page not loading issues, but I think things are back to normal. As such, a kitty:

Claim your pets.

Go Eers!

*** Update ***

Pitt 19, WVU 15. Welcome to the Stewart era. Congrats to the champion of the Big East, Cincy.

Since John “tagged” me for this whole 6 Random Things About Me meme, I feel I should respond. So here it goes – brutal honestly follows.

1. I have an obsession with counting things. This is probably the most annoying thing in my life. For example, I know exactly how many steps it takes to get from the bottom floor of my building to my cubicle. I know how many steps it takes to get from my back door to my mailbox. And I hate it. I really do. A couple years ago, I saw a psychologist for something unrelated. I was thinking of bringing this up. I didn’t. I wish I did.

2. I hate talking on the phone. It’s almost a phobia. I call my parents in Canada once every two weeks because I have to. Same with my sisters. When I am physically with them, I love talking to them. I hate the phone thing. Same with other family members. I know my brother reads this blog. It’s not that I don’t love you bro. I just hate the phone thing. I really do. But honestly, I like a phone call from you because you are so far away (he lives in Japan.)

3. I love my dog more than anything. Yet, if I had thought about it, I would never have bought her. Turns out, I love her so much that it never occurred to me that she was going to die before me. Still, she is my best friend and I wouldn’t trade her for anything. And, like John, I treat my pet like she is the head of household. She truly is the love of my life.

4. I hate sugar – with few exceptions.

5. I am selfish. I hate that about myself. If someone died tomorrow, I would first think about how that would affect my schedule. I fucking hate it. Fortunately, I have an excellent moral compass. When “shit happens,” I DO tend to think about how those things affect me personally, but I also am very empathetic. I would never let my selfishness affect how I deal with others, for the most part. I am a pretty decent person. Like others, I have my failings, I suppose.

6. I did not know that laws about alcohol differred between counties in Georgia. I am going to Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin’s house on Thursday. I got it in me to go buy his favorite wine at midnight tonight. Turns out, you cannot buy alcohol in Dekalb County after 11:45pm on any night. You can, however, go 100 feet across the street to the store in FULTON county and buy the same thing.

7. I know it’s only supposed to be 6, but I’m adding this one to explain what I would do if I ever win the lottery. First, let me say that I don’t ever play the lottery. To me, it’s a tax on the stupid. But if I ever DID win millions, I would probably pay off everything I owed and the debt of many of my friends and family. Having said that, the FIRST thing I would do if I won millions would be to put out a press release that said, “I just won xxx millions of dollars. I plan on being very generous with this money. If you are a charity that needs money, I understand your plight. However, if you feel the need to badger a person who just won the lottery, you are out of luck. It is the policy of this lottery winner to ignore the pleas of people who are taking advantage of him. The surest way to ensure that you never see a penny of my millions is to bother me in the next six months. After that, please call my attorney, who will decide for me the best way to spend thhe money I have allocated to charity.”

Anyway, that’s a bit about me. And, for what it’s worth, I am a very charitable person. I give a LOT of my yearly salary to charity. I just would hate to win millions and deal with vultures. :-)

I got so excited earlier talking about corned beef and cabbage that I went to the store to buy some. Got there, and the corned beef was ridiculously expensive (I remember when it was $7 for a cut, the cheapest today was $20, so I went with a ham hock). Some carrots, some potatoes, a cabbage, the ham, and some parsley, and dinner is cooking as I write this. It smells so good. I love this meal, and it is soooo cheap, too.

At any rate, some pet pics, since it has been a while, some kitties:

And so I am not accused of anti-dog prejudice, this filthy and happy hound:

For a second, I was horrified when I thought that fellow was sitting on carpet, but it looks like he is actually on concrete. At any rate, claim your pets, folks.

I have been tagged by one of these chain online things, and I am supposed to do a number of things, including posting rules and what not.

I am tired of rules, and it is Thanksgiving, so if you want the rules you can follow the link to the person who tagged me and read them there. Now I am supposed to write six random things about myself.

1.) I secretly love the Cars and Van Halen. And not Van Hagar, I mean the real deal- Van Halen with David Lee Roth. Mean Street.

2.) I think corned beef and cabbage is one of the greatest meals ever. I could also eat stuffed cabbages any time of the year. And sauerkraut. Mmmm.

3.) I hate traveling. And not in the way that I just dislike it and am exaggerating and saying I hate it. I honest to goodness hate it. I always have fun once I get some place, and I enjoy seeing new things and meeting different people, but after two to three days anywhere, I am ready to go back home. I like my cat. I like quiet. I like my routine. I like being left alone.

4.) I can not watch horror movies of any kind anymore. They make my feet sweat and I have nightmares for weeks. I used to be able to watch war movies, and in fact loved war movies and novels about war (The Killer Angels is still one of the best books I have ever read), but now I get really troubled by violence. It just upsets me too much to watch these kids get blown up. Even Band of Brothers is bordering on too graphic for me, these days. I don’t know what happened, but I really can not handle it anymore.

5.) Baseball is just dead to me. It was not too long ago that I thought the perfect summer evening was sitting at home, watching a game or two, and reading, but now I am never on a baseball stationg for more than the time it takes to flip through. I am not sure if it is the 16 years of consecutive losing Pirates seasons that has done this to me, but I really can’t stand the game anymore. Plus, and this goes with what we were talking about yesterday, it just seems like baseball announcers are getting worse and worse. On the other hand, I do like listening to the Pirate announcers on the radio. I think Lanny Frattare is always entertaining and he has a really interesting voice.

6.) I don’t think most people really appreciate how important good salt and good pepper are for cooking. I watch people go through all sorts of elaborate rituals with their cooking, using expensive ingredients and arcane procedures to cook their “gourmet” meal, and then I watch them use Morton’s table salt and/or McCormick’s pure ground pepper (which is really only good for sneezing) and wonder what the hell they are thinking. Good salt and pepper really make a profound difference in how your food can taste, and you will end up using less salt. Same with cuts of meat. There is a reason marinades take up half an aisle in the grocery store anymore- you all are buying really shitty cuts of meat and have to hide the taste of what you are supposed to be eating with an over-bearing marinade. If your beef would not taste good with only a little pat of butter and some salt, and not even that, you are eating a shitty product. Having said all that, there are still some rare occasions when I just love slathering a ton of A1 on a piece of beef and calling it dinner.

If there were a number seven, it would be that I think TBOGG has the best titles to posts in the blogosphere. “Scenes from a Maul” ranks as one of the great ones, although today’s “Tripto Fans” is pretty awesome. At any rate, I am supposed to tag six people. I will start with Michael and Tim, here. That is two. Then, Kevin at RumpRoast and Cleek and Incertus. Finally, JenJen, who is job-hunting and could use your help.

You also can play along in the comments, I guess.

San Diego is a great city, and I say this as someone who judiciously seeks out the non-tourist areas. The food is good, the weather is fair, and if the plethora of just unbelievably attractive asian-american and mexican-american women is what a multi-cultural society means, then SIGN. ME. UP.

I have been a lot of places. Almost every country in Europe. Every state east of the Miss. and most of the ones on the west, and many major cities, and this is the best. San Diego is the best place I have ever been.

The best food. The best climate. The best public transportation. The best sidewalks. The best brewed beer. The best looking people. And what I love the most is the laid-back atmosphere, the kind of subtle “whatever” atmosphere. The people are just cool and fun and at the same time, smart.

These are my people.

I love this place. I do not want to leave. I am moving here the first chance I get, and I love West Virginia. But this is just where I am supposed to be, and I can feel it. What a hidden gem this place is. At some point, and you can mark my words, this will be my home.

The flight was sheer hell, but I made it. Now I have to race around and find a sports bar because the Steelers start in a half hour.

*** Update ***

The clock says 8:30, but after only three heife-weizens and an order of fish and chips, hometeam is flat out exhausted.

CNN is running a live feed from the Senate floor. Apparently, a convicted felon has seized control of a microphone and is giving a lengthy speech.

Everything packed, water in every room, doors propped open, bed made for Tunch, remembered to bring all the electronics cords, have the books for the flight, Ipod is charged, and I am off.

Maybe I will take some pics and we can play Where in the World is John Cole? At any rate, for now, I am hiding, like this fellow: