types of coloradoans - part 2

Boulder women - These women are very intriguing to me. They are wealthy and hippie at the same time. True Bobos. Like, I'm pretty sure these women compost their human waste; yet, you'll see them shopping on the Pearl Street Mall at the chic boutiques, wearing expensive, designers clothes which fall over their freely, sagging breasts. No bra, unshaven bodies, and no makeup, yet still an air of class to them. It's a way of life in Boulder. In fact, I think keeping up with the Jones means who can live the greenest life.

Boulder men - The counterpart to Boulder women. Strolling through the Pearl Street Mall, ever block or so, you'll come across a crazy-looking, middle-aged, homeless man. Yet these men, with their over-grown beards and manes, ashkenazi noses with spectacles atop, shirts disheveled on their torsos, are wearing expensive, clean shoes. In fact, all their clothes have been carefully picked from store racks. They also seem to be carrying leather-bound journals and look as if they're on their way to sip espresso. I have yet to determine if they are the husbands of the Prada-wearing, hippie women.

the time is now

This weekend I was asked a question I had never thought about before. Someone said to me, "So, when did you get into Obama?" I didn't know. After a few hems and haws and crinkling of the face, I narrowed it down to a period of time. It must have started after the 2004 DNC where Barack was the keynote speaker. At this point in my life I was just graduating college where I spent those years immersed in media and had a fervent hunger for politics. I remember snippets and references to the speech all over the news and from that moment on it became a snowball of media coverage until today. I can't remember not being 'into' Obama, because the more I learned about him the more my admiration for him grew; so it was only natural to support the idea of him running for president when it was first introduced.

At the time of the 2004 speech, I don't think anyone, including Barack, thought he would be the top presidential (not just democratic) candidate for 2008. But the people are speaking louder than ever. This is the time. This this his time. This is OUR time. It must be now. I truly believe if we let this great leader pass us by at this very moment in history, that it will be too late for our nation to recover and rebuild to the respected posture we once modeled.

Obama is what the world needs now.

Dunk that Junk

Looking over all the mail we got this week, I think almost 90% of it is junk - credit card offers, home equity and debt consolidation pitches, catalogs, and other assorted cruft that goes straight to the recycle bin without even being opened. What a waste of paper!

I decided to spend a chunk of today figuring out how to stop the endless tide of junk mail. Luckily I found a very informative website that details how to opt-out of direct mail (as well as telephone solicitations).

In summary here are the steps I took today:

• Credit Bureaus Main Opt-Out Line - Probably the majority of my junk mail results from lists provided by credit agencies such as Equifax and Transunion - these are the credit card and loan offers. I called 888 567-8688 and found out I can opt-out permanently online by visiting: https://www.optoutprescreen.com/. From here you can fill out an online form, and then you must print out and mail a paper form.

• Experian Consumer Services - I called 402 458-5247 to opt out of non-credit offers from Experian. I simply had to leave my name, address, and phone number after the voice recording.

• Direct Mail Lists - I wrote a simple letter to each of the following organizations and politely asked them to remove me from their direct mailing lists. I included my name and address.

DMA - Direct Marketing Association Opt-Out
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512

Dunn & Bradstreet
Customer Service
899 Eaton Ave.
Bethlehem, PA 18025

Metromail Corporation
List Maintenance
901 West Bond
Lincoln, NE 68521

R.L. Polk & Co. - Name Deletion File
List Compilation Development
26955 Northwestern Hwy
Southfield, MI 48034-4716

Database America
Compilation Department
470 Chestnut Ridge Road
Woodcliff, NJ 07677

I really hope these actions will help reduce the junk in our mailbox and save a few trees.