Emergency Earthquake Response

I'm proud to work for an agency that does so much in response to major humanitarian disasters.
In the wake of yesterday's major earthquake, Oxfam is rushing emergency water supplies to the Indonesian island of Nias. The earthquake off the western coast of Sumatra on March 28 left hundreds of people dead and its major town in rubble.

Oxfam is accepting donations through its Global Emergencies Fund.

Wedding Update

Ann has really taken to blogging. If you click over to our wedding blog, you'll find the fruits of her hard work.

It's only about five weeks to go but we feel both calm and excited. We're calm because we've already made most of the arrangements for our wedding and honeymoon. We're excited because we're designed the event to be fun for everyone including ourselves.

As for the cost of the wedding, we're calm about that too. We had originally thought that we could keep the costs low. That was a naive underestimate. The price is now pushing three times our original estimate.

We've been through all the stages of grief. At first we were shocked and in denial. Then we became angry at the obsessively consumerist expectations of weddings in today's American culture. Then we bargained with our vendors and brought some of the price down. We've now accepted the cost and just plan to enjoy ourselves.

Five more weeks to go!

So Close But...

Tim Schofield ending up losing by only 65 votes.

On election day I left a doctor's appointment at 7pm and called Dan Cohen, Tim's campaign strategist. "Is there anything I can do at the campaign headquarters?" I asked.

"How quickly can you get here?"

"Ten minutes."

"Fine. I'll put you on the phones."

I spent the last hour calling previously IDed supporters and urging them to the polls by 8pm. I left many phone messages. I reached a few people who had been called several times throughout the day and who immediately answered the phone: "Are you calling from the Schofield campaign."

About ten minutes before the polls closed, I finally reached a woman who had just returned from work. I urged her to go down to the polling station straight away. I explained: "As long as you line up before 8pm, you will be able to vote."

With that conversation I like to think I turned out at least one more vote for Tim.

Later at the post-campaign party at the Kells, Tim Schofield made an impressive concession speech and endorsed Mike Moran, the winner of the primary. I had fun hanging out with several of my progressive activist friends. But, of course, it would have been better if we had won.

More Wedding Prep

Halfway through my haircut this lunchtime, I dropped a bomb on my barber. I said: "I'm getting married in seven weeks so this may be my wedding haircut." He laughed. I added: "Maybe I should have told you that before you started."

The haircut looks just fine. It's my usual short and business-like cut.

Over the weekend Ann and I hand addressed our invitation envelopes. Today I chased up a few friends' home addresses. Ann even picked up pretty stamps. It's quite satisfying to drop the invitations into the mailbox.

Ann labored hard on Sunday over the wedding blog. After a little more editing tonight, the site will go live with all the important wedding information.

Once we've finally nailed down the key vendors (photographer, band, jeweller) with contracts, we will feel more comfortable about the whole ceremony. I think we've managed to keep the work under control so we can enjoy the process. We seem to be on track to have the fun wedding we want.

Latchkey Dogs: A Nation's Shame

NPR just ran a story on a music CD for dogs. It sounded hideous. Over a fast beat I heard a peppy voice repeatedly chirping "Good boy!" Squeaky toy noises were also involved.

Before you torture your neighbors by leaving the CD on repeat all day, you have to listen to it for several nights with your dog so they associate the songs with you. I could not be paid enough to do that.

This is the latest in pet pampering products to take advantage of Americans' guilt in leaving their "furbabies" at home all day. You don't have to dress up your pets as little people. These days you can even find talking dog toys, puppy pedicures and doggy day care.

I'm all in favor of people taking good care of their pets. I often dote over dogs I meet on the street. But this trend smacks of undue anthropomorphism. They are not people, they are dogs.

Lonely

Did someone call a snow emergency and not send me the memo?

My office foor is almost completely deserted. Apparently it is actually due to a combination of travel and people taking comp time. At least it allows me to work to music. I can now play Radiohead and Wilco on my computer without disturbing my colleagues.

My lonely lunch hour at my desk was livened at least by (Fair Trade Certified) Organic Very Dark Chocolate from Equal Exchange and the eloquent Annalee Newitz. What is it about smart, snarky brunettes that I love so much?

Bush in Europe

I can't believe that this picture has not yet been posted on Wonkette.

Storm Clouds

Yet more snow is forecast for today and the weekend.

I hope it doesn't snow out my house party fundraiser this Saturday for Tim Schofield.

Sudden Realization

Last night, Ann tried on her wedding dress. According to tradition, she has hidden it so I won't see it until the wedding day.

Yesterday, the invitations arrived and I called to set up an appointment to have wedding rings made.

Holy Shit. I'm getting married in less than two months.

Last Snow of the Year?

Even I'm a little tired of it. Bring on Spring....

Boston College MBA in Ethics?

I've always been supportive of my alma mater, the Boston College Graduate School of Business. But I'm particularly impressed by the business school's new dean, Andrew Boynton.

Today's Boston Globe carries the story that the new dean plans to build on the school's "Jesuit values" with the goal of instilling students with "the motivation and compassion to serve others."

Apart from being the right thing to do, this concentration in ethics will most likely help Boston College's b-school stand out in relation to its local peers. For instance, Harvard stresses corporate leadership while MIT focuses on business and technology.

Way back in 1991, I actually picked Boston College over Harvard, MIT and the other local schools for my MBA. My reason for choosing BC was its grounding in ethics. I pointed this out in my application essay and it helped earn me a full scholarship from the school. To this day I always help BC MBA graduates with career advice in return for my free tuition.

The BC MBA program did not disappoint me. I had professors who used cases to show how the stock market was inefficient. I wrote term essays on environmental accounting. I was part of a group project whose client was the Fenway Community Development Corporation, which developed affordable housing. Overall it was good preparation for my career in corporate accountability.

Under Dean Boynton, the school should become even better.

Two Months To Go

We now have a wedding blog.

How To Make A Republican Tell The Truth

This was originally posted by Plaid Adder on Democratic Underground and only slightly edited by me.

Remember that game people play with cookie fortunes, where you add the words "between the sheets" at the end to make a meaningless platitude much more interesting?

All you have to do in order to make Republican domestic policies make sense is take their talking point and add the words at the end "... if you're rich!"

For instance: "Privatizing social security makes a lot of sense ... if you're rich!"

Or, "Our health care system is the best in the world ... if you're rich!"

Or how about, "The economy under Bush is the strongest it's ever been ... if you're rich!"

Just add three little words, and all of a sudden, the Republicans are telling the truth. It's most fun if you do it in a group with one person beginning the talking point and everyone else finishing it in unison. It could even be adapted as a protest tactic for whenever Republicans hold a rally or town meeting.

Pass it on.