The Socialist Republic of California

I like living in California, and I am always trying to find reasons to make it attractive to my boyfriend-whom-I-am-going-to-marry" (sorry, fiancé is just so French...in fact we were trying to make up an American word for fiancé, and decided on "bobble") to possibly move here one day. This morning I saw a headline on the front page of the Daily News that made me groan, because it would be one more strike against California: "Spanking might be outlawed".

If the proposed legislation is approved, California would become the first state in the nation to explicitly ban parents from swatting their toddlers.

Thankfully most people seem to agree that this is a case of the government overreaching. But still, the fact that they are even going to propose this irks me.

Don't get me wrong. I am not promoting child abuse here, I just think this is a law where they are in fact assuming that most people can't use proper judgment in how to discipline their kids.

CaliValleyGirl-friend is now CaliValleyFiancée

How’s this for the perfect backdrop to a proposal?

I couldn't help but think when we taking this picture: "oh, I am sooo grimey, if only I had known." But on the other hand I was quite flattered that even at my grimiest I was apparently still wife-material. I love it how we are both beaming in this photo. I am so freaking excited, because I just got engaged, and I guess my *ahem* fiancé is so happy that he pulled it off without me getting any whiff of suspicion.

We got back home in time to clean up for the New Years Party. What a way to start a new year! Last year I was missing my boyfriend, and this year I was hanging with my fiancé. What a difference a year makes!

We're getting married...whoo hoo. The journey was amazing up to now, and I hope like good wine it will get better with age!

Bryan Anderson

We advertise in quite a few magazines, and thus get free copies of all those magazines. I was just in our ad department and saw January's Esquire and had to pick it up to read the cover article: "Wisdom and Damn Good Advice from Bryan Anderson who lost two Legs and one arm in Iraq".


I rushed back to my office and felt guilty reading this article at my desk instead of waiting until after work...but it was just so good.

If you have the chance, pick it up at a the store and read it.

There might be hope yet for the UN

Well at least the new secretary general seems to be a little more with it than Kofi. So much so, that he has already received criticism on his first day:

At the United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ran into trouble on his first day of work when he failed to state the U.N.'s official stance opposing capital punishment and said it should be a decision of individual countries.

"Saddam Hussein was responsible for committing heinous crimes and unspeakable atrocities against Iraqi people and we should never forget victims of his crime," Ban said in response to a reporter's question about Saddam's execution Saturday for crimes against humanity. "The issue of capital punishment is for each and every member state to decide."

His ambiguous answer put a question mark over the U.N.'s stance on the death penalty, although Ban's spokeswoman said there was no change in policy.

Although I am against the death penalty, and feel that Saddam should have just sat in a cage in a public square in Bagdhad for the rest of his life, I am sick and tired of the UN just criticizing actions that countries take, while rarely taking any actions themselves.

Plus Kofi was so getting on my nerves...I think the final "respect losing" straw for me was the whole food for oil fiasco with his son...and how Kofi didn't do anything about it. You raise a crook, but don't take any responsibility to clean up his actions...nice.

Well, happy new year to all and let's hope that Ban Ki-moon receives more criticism from the media for not toeing the UN line!