CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE ELECTIONS TODAY: PLEASE VOTE!

NO ON PROP 98 | YES ON PROP 99:

I could go on and on about how bad 98 is, but I have a deadline at 2. So, here's a brilliant explanation from LAist Contributor Ross Lincoln:

"Though it’s not as high profile as the magical adventures we had on Super Tuesday, there’s an election tomorrow and it’s of critical importance for everyone in the State who isn’t a landlord or a massive corporate entity. In addition to various local elections, there are two propositions on the ballot tomorrow competing for your vote on seemingly the same issue - Prop 98 and Prop 99.

Both propositions aim to amend Eminent Domain law in the state of California, ostensibly to prevent abuses of ED such as those highlighted in the 2005 US Supreme Court Case Kelo Vs. The City of New London. Such reforms are arguably long overdue. However, the similarity of the propositions and brazen mendacity on the part of certain interests make tomorrow's vote critical. Neither proposition adequately addresses the concerns of ED, a problem for those of us serious about preventing Kelo style overreach, but while one of them doesn't go quite far enough, the other is nothing more than a malicious scheme to destroy renter's rights and hasten California's transition to a third world style economy. It's a brazen attack on the middle and working class of California's cities shamefully disguised as an attempt to strengthen their rights.

To put it bluntly, the specific intent of Proposition 98 is to abolish Rent Control in the state of California.

Vote no."

The full article can be found here: laist.com/2008/06/02/laist_at_the_po.php

JUDICIAL CANDIDATES:

Don't know who these people are? You should! Here's a quick cheat sheet on LA-based candidates with grades from the Los Angeles County Bar Association: www.lacba.org/showpage.cfm

POLLING LOCATIONS:

Don't know where you're supposed to go? Check out the links below:

Statewide: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/...ons_ppl.htm
Los Angeles: lavote.net/locator/

...

"In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?" Those words, recently read, come to mind as I write this:

This morning, as I rushed about Trader Joe's to pick up groceries for the week, a curly-haired little tyke stepped up to me and deftly pierced my heart. After a number of shy, first glances, followed by a casual discussion on her favorite tofu, this doe-eyed toddler stepped in closer, grabbing my skirt with her plump little hand to ensure my attention, before asking in Persian:

"Mamman?"
[Mother?]

Tears filled my eyes briefly, but I managed to keep them in check. Her father, having heard his daughter's query, approached us and smiled, gently telling the little one: "Na, joonam, Modarat niste." [No, she is not your mother.] The tears renewed their efforts; I smiled back at both of them, said goodbye and then proceeded to check out.

I looked around for her as I waited in line, feeling incredibly touched by this little exchange and wanting more. I could hear her sweet voice; she was somewhere in the vicinity. I recalled the dream I had several years ago about my own little one, Laila ... she may not even be born, or she may be patiently awaiting me, somewhere ... and in Aisle #2, amidst the most mundane of settings, I renewed my vow to find her in this world.

As I left the store, my own mother called. I dropped my grocery bags and picked up the phone; I just cried for awhile before uttering a whispery, watery, "Momma". Without more, she knew, and she cried with me. What followed was a second, powerful exchange, filled with clarity, understanding and connection.

Beauty transcended today, in a big way, and I am so humbled by it all.

My Heart ...

"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

Excerpted from The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream, by Paulo Coehlo.

ps - Brian: I'm almost finished with it! ;)

Daft Punk Summer Tour???

I missed Daft Punk's epic show @ Coachella last year and, although I likely missed what could go down in history as the penultimate display of robotic brilliance, I believe it was a blessing in disguise; those of you who know me well know that I'm a wee bit frail/fragile ... if listening to a live recording of their show caused me to lose my mind, my attendance at that show likely would have caused cardiac arrest. Hahaha ... Courtney and Elgin can testify to this: listening to the recording was very nearly a religious experience for me; I still haven't quite recovered ...

Well, peeps, according to the Coachella message boards and various music blogs, we may all get to lose our shit "one more time" this summer. Daft Punk's rumored US tour dates include:

7/21 LA - Sports Arena
7/27 Berkeley - Greek Theater
7/29 Seattle - WAMU Center
7/31 Denver - Red Rocks
8/3 Chicago - Lollapalooza
8/5 Toronto - Arrow Hall
8/7 Montreal - Bell Centre
8/9 NYC - Keyspan Park

If this is true, I hope to see you there. Just keep an eye out for the chick with the pacemaker and IV drip, shakin' her little ass and losing her mind. ;)

Your Daily Grammar Lesson

10 Flagrant Grammar Mistakes That Make You Look Stupid
By Jody Gilbert

These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often, we're in a hurry, quickly dashing off emails with typos, grammatical shortcuts (I'm being kind here), and that breezy, e.e. cummings, no-caps look. It's expected. It's no big deal. But other times, we try to invest a little care, avoiding mistakes so that there's no confusion about what we're saying and so that we look professional and reasonably bright.

In general, we can slip up in a verbal conversation and get away with it. A colleague may be thinking, "Did she just say 'irregardless'?", but the words flow on, and our worst transgressions are carried away and with luck, forgotten.

That's not the case with written communications. When we commit a grammatical crime in emails, discussion posts, reports, memos, and other professional documents, there's no going back. We've just officially gone on record as being careless or clueless. And here's the worst thing. It's not necessary to be an editor or a language whiz or a spelling bee triathlete to spot such mistakes. They have a way of doing a little wiggle dance on the screen and then reaching out to grab the reader by the throat.

So here we are in the era of Word's red-underline "wrong spelling, dumb ass" feature and Outlook's Always Check Spelling Before Sending option, and still the mistakes proliferate. Catching typos is easy (although not everyone does it). It's the other stuff — correctly spelled but incorrectly wielded — that sneaks through and makes us look stupid. Here's a quick review of some of the big ones.

#1: Loose for lose

No: I always loose the product key.

Yes: I always lose the product key.


#2: It's for its (or god forbid, its')

No: Download the HTA, along with it's readme file.

Yes: Download the HTA, along with its readme file.

No: The laptop is overheating and its making that funny noise again.

Yes: The laptop is overheating and it's making that funny noise again.


#3: They're for their for there

No: The managers are in they're weekly planning meeting.

Yes: The managers are in their weekly planning meeting.

No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it.

Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and they're not happy about it.


#4: i.e. for e.g.

No: Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., Ad-Aware).

Yes: Use an anti-spyware program ( e.g., Ad-Aware).

Note: The term i.e. means "that is"; e.g. means "for example". And a comma follows both of them.


#5: Effect for affect

No: The outage shouldn't effect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn't have any effect on users.

Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime.

Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead:

No: The outage shouldn't impact any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage should have no impact on users during work hours.


#6: You're for your

No: Remember to defrag you're machine on a regular basis.

Yes: Remember to defrag your machine on a regular basis.

No: Your right about the changes.

Yes: You're right about the changes.


#7: Different than for different from

No: This setup is different than the one at the main office.

Yes: This setup is different from the one at the main office.

Yes: This setup is better than the one at the main office.


#8 Lay for lie

No: I got dizzy and had to lay down.

Yes: I got dizzy and had to lie down.

Yes: Just lay those books over there.


#9: Then for than

No: The accounting department had more problems then we did.

Yes: The accounting department had more problems than we did.

Note: Here's a sub-peeve. When a sentence construction begins with If, you don't need a then. Then is implicit, so it's superfluous and wordy:

No: If you can't get Windows to boot, then you'll need to call Ted.

Yes: If you can't get Windows to boot, you'll need to call Ted.


#10: Could of, would of for could have, would have

No: I could of installed that app by mistake.

Yes: I could have installed that app by mistake.

No: I would of sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.

Yes: I would have sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.

www.news.zdnet.co.uk