Monday, October 20, 2008

Vote Early

Also, if you live in Colorado and don't have a mail-in ballot, you can (and should!) vote at an early voting location. The lines and wait could be very long on election day, especially due to the large number of constitutional amendments on our ballot.

Find your early voting location here:
http://co.barackobama.com/page/content/coloradoearlyvote
and vote today!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Voting in Colorado 2008

Julia and I just sent in our mail-in ballot for the 2008 election in Colorado, which contains a staggering number of constitutional amendments. If any of you live in our great state, I'd recommend coloradoballot.net as a progressive source of information on what each amendment means and recommendations on how to vote on them.

We only disagreed on Amendment 51 (Increased Funding for the Disabled) - we voted Yes, because we believe it to be a worthy and underfunded cause.

Whatever you do, don't forget to vote (for Obama of course)!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

who knew ecuadorians are hip hop?

I could easily take a moment to focus on all the negative things going on right now, but I will abstain. Actually, I think I'll talk about my brother-in-law Tod.

One of the things that attracted me to Drake was his genuine love for animals. Though his webcomic might lead you otherwise, you should see the way he talks to our cats and his jubilant smile when showing me an adorable animal photo that's made it to Yahoo's most emailed photos. As if it's the first photo he's ever seen with so much ridiculous cuteness.

Drake's dedication to animals pales in comparison to Tod's. See, Drake and I talk TO our cats, but Tod actually translates for us. In a recent visit he said, "Domingo likes to be pet while he eats" and "Amira wants you to follow her." Tod is a kitty whisperer.

Last year he took a huge step and left his cushy, NYC tech-job (he worked for J Crew and did freelance writing reviewing video games - how cool is that?!!) and joined the Sea Shepherds in the Pacific Ocean to protect whales from illegal Japanese hunters. As much as we knew the dangers involved Drake and I still encouraged him to 'go for it!.

It wasn't long after returning from his Sea Shepherd adventure that he set off on a new journey in the Galapagos to save and socialize animals that are both threatening and being threatened in this fragile ecosystem. His first blog post to SuperVegan was put up this week and talks about the groups he's volunteering for. There are also vivid photos of the works he's doing with the animals.

I became especially intrigued with his new adventure after his first email noted, "I´m probably doing a lot of medical stuff that you´re probably not allowed to do if you´re not in a third world country, and I´m currently covered in feces at this hip hop obsessed Ecuadorian internet cafe."

What a great, yet gross, statement!

At a time when my desk job is getting the best of me, these little glimpses into Tod's (somewhat) selfless adventure remind me that following one's passions can lead to the most success and content.

Of course this altruistic journey of his doesn't come with a paycheck so my support for him also comes in the form of a plug for his personal donations page. Kitty food is hard to come by.