And people say HMOs don't care about preventive medicine

Apparently, while Kaiser Permanente isn't busy dumping patients or denying lifesaving treatments at hospitals, they're busy giving away almost-expired lip balm and other goodies! Because we have to "Thrive," people!

Yes, why just this week at my office I found two large plastic bags, one filled with KP-branded lip balm (set to expire 07/07) and mini-first aid kits that include five -- count them, five -- band-aids and 1.6 milliliters of antiseptic lotion.

Score! This way I can hopefully protect my skin (the lip balm is SPF 15) and prevent minor infections. Good thing, too, because if I got skin cancer or developed something like sepsis, the cost of my medical bill would probably be more than I could afford, even with insurance. That is, if my health insurer decided to cover my treatment at all. Kudos to you, Kaiser!

Go see SiCKO. Seriously.

"Does this armor make me look shiny?"

I stumbled across this photo today. It's a still from the upcoming film Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I was quite a fan of the first movie, Elizabeth, and I have a soft spot for lavish costume dramas anyway, so this is definitely on my list to see when it opens October 12th.

But the real point of this post is to say that if I had Photoshop you can bet your chain mail that I would be pasting Discipulus Legis's head onto Cate Blanchett's body right now.

Anachronistic cross dressing is HOT.

Jesus take the wheel... and pass the tempeh

PETA revealed the results of their annual "world's sexiest vegetarian" contest today, and the winners were former American Idol Carrie Underwood and leader of The Tonight Show band, Kevin Eubanks.

For my money, Discipulus Legis should have been the winner--hands down--but I'm pleasantly surprised that Carrie Underwood doesn't put dead animal flesh in her body. She should write a song about it. The country music genre would be perfect for some sort of vegetarian anthem... something about how her man done left her, and she drowns her sorrows in delicious tofu, but then she finds another cowboy who is way hotter than her last one because her new man, also a vegetarian, is fit and healthy, unlike her ex, who has cow/pig/chicken parts rotting in his ample gut.

My point is, be like Carrie. Don't eat meat: It's bad for you and bad for our animal friends.

Don't walk. RUN!

Go see SiCKO, Michael Moore's new movie. Just go. Now.

You'll laugh... you'll cry... you'll worry about the future of this country. And not in some petty partisan way, either, but truly worry about what will happen to you, your family, your friends, and your fellow citizens. Seriously. Go see it.

I'm off to have another glass of wine. To cope.

The truth hurts

A picture (and humorous quote bubble) are worth a thousand words...

You can buy the t-shirt here.

I see smart people

A very good documentary about the credit card industry, Maxed Out, is now available on DVD. The movie has a very Michael Mooresian feel (poignant moments mixed in with much absurd hilarity) and I highly recommend it, mostly for the segments that feature Elizabeth Warren, Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School (pictured, insouciantly posed on a desk, at right).

Ms. Warren seems like a very smart, kind, cool lady. I want to sit cross-legged in front of her--like in pre-school where all the kids sit on the mat in front of the teacher--and just learn things from her about the world and how it really works.

In any case, you should rent Maxed Out and visit www.creditslips.org, where Ms. Warren blogs on occasion. When it comes to economics, I am either completely apathetic or actively intellectually hostile to the subject, but she makes it fascinating. Check it out and you'll learn something.

I heart Dick [Durbin, D-IL]

My heart leapt with joy when I read that Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat from my home state of Illinois, recently introduced legislation that would make private student loan debt dischargeable in bankruptcy.

I think the odds are long that a measure like this will actually become law (since the lending industry is parasitically attached to the Bush administration, much like the phorid fly attaches itself to the hapless fire ant*), but imagine a world in which young people who have made mistakes and gotten in over their heads by spending too much on their education can start afresh, just like everyone else can do with just about any other investment.

O happy day!

(*You should really click this link and read what the phorid fly does to the fire ant. It's gory to the max.)

Our nation's founders would be proud

I pledge my allegiance,
to booze,
so that it can help my organization raise lots of money.

Don't question,
how basing all gay social events around alcohol consumption,
(just like in the 50's and 60's,)
might be bad for the community.

Just fill out this donor card,
in your shaky, liquored-up hand,
and be sure to indicate an alternate payment method,
in case your card is declined.

With liberty and vodka for all.