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Go Vote!
Even if it's raining (or snowing) where you are, exercise your franchise, baby!
Even if it's raining (or snowing) where you are, exercise your franchise, baby!
4/11/08
Here She Comes, America
4/11/08 12:13Sarcasm GIrl cast her first vote today.
Before we went to the polls the three of us (Dad, Mom, Kid) sat around the living room going over the various propositions (twelve at the state level, an insane twenty-two! at the city level), reading all the pros and cons from the voter booklets and checking the Chronicle's recommendations (many of which we agreed with; a few of which not so much). When we had each made up our own cheat sheets for the poll, we set off (after SG had applied makeup to make herself more implausibly gorgeous than she already is, dammit). The day here is clear and breezy, not too cool. The polling place was busy but not overwhelmed--though apparently the before-work voting crowd was fierce--and everyone was in high good humor. The whole thing had something of the air of a block party--people greeting eachother with "Hey, haven't seen you since the last election."
Afterward SG bounced out of the polling place, hopping around chorusing "I voted! I voted!" I'm not sure she'll ever take off the little red "I voted" sticker. This is, for me, the culmination of years of indoctrination: I used to take her into the voting booth with me in New York when she was only a Sarcasm Tot, and we'd talk about how important it was to vote every year. So now she's on her way. She's got the taste for it and no mistake. I consider it my gift to the world.
ETAShe called KFOG to request "Revolution" or "You Can't Always Get What You Want," in honor of voting, and wound up getting a shout out from the DJ for her first vote. She's still bouncing, hours later.
Before we went to the polls the three of us (Dad, Mom, Kid) sat around the living room going over the various propositions (twelve at the state level, an insane twenty-two! at the city level), reading all the pros and cons from the voter booklets and checking the Chronicle's recommendations (many of which we agreed with; a few of which not so much). When we had each made up our own cheat sheets for the poll, we set off (after SG had applied makeup to make herself more implausibly gorgeous than she already is, dammit). The day here is clear and breezy, not too cool. The polling place was busy but not overwhelmed--though apparently the before-work voting crowd was fierce--and everyone was in high good humor. The whole thing had something of the air of a block party--people greeting eachother with "Hey, haven't seen you since the last election."
Afterward SG bounced out of the polling place, hopping around chorusing "I voted! I voted!" I'm not sure she'll ever take off the little red "I voted" sticker. This is, for me, the culmination of years of indoctrination: I used to take her into the voting booth with me in New York when she was only a Sarcasm Tot, and we'd talk about how important it was to vote every year. So now she's on her way. She's got the taste for it and no mistake. I consider it my gift to the world.
ETAShe called KFOG to request "Revolution" or "You Can't Always Get What You Want," in honor of voting, and wound up getting a shout out from the DJ for her first vote. She's still bouncing, hours later.
Cake We Can Believe In
4/11/08 23:53While Barack Obama was accepting the will of the electorate, I was at cake decorating class, making fondant.
Fondant is not difficult to make, just tricksy and time-consuming. And sticky. My instructor really wanted me to make it a nice pastel, but you know me. I made this nice moss color, rolled out the fondant, and draped it over...a styrofoam cake form. That's what my teacher likes to do, for a first attempt. Once I'd covered my cake form and "polished" the fondant (really: you gently burnish the surface of the fondant with the heel of your hand until it's smooth and slightly shiny) I traded some left over green fondant for some orange fondant, and started getting tricky with flowers and trim on the bottom.
For a first attempt, not so bad. It would be better with real cake inside.
Fondant is not difficult to make, just tricksy and time-consuming. And sticky. My instructor really wanted me to make it a nice pastel, but you know me. I made this nice moss color, rolled out the fondant, and draped it over...a styrofoam cake form. That's what my teacher likes to do, for a first attempt. Once I'd covered my cake form and "polished" the fondant (really: you gently burnish the surface of the fondant with the heel of your hand until it's smooth and slightly shiny) I traded some left over green fondant for some orange fondant, and started getting tricky with flowers and trim on the bottom.
For a first attempt, not so bad. It would be better with real cake inside.