Scary

Federal authorities are warning of a possible Al Qaeda-orchestrated terror plot against New York City subway and other transit systems during the holidays

I don't normally link to Fox News, but this warning is worthy of reading. I think. Actually, I just can't help but wonder if knowing this really helps the people of NYC. Are we supposed to not use the subway? Or are we just supposed to be extra nervous when we do? Is this one of those things that is better not to know? God knows we all can't just take cabs these days. Are we supposed to just be on the lookout for "suspicious looking packages" instead of reading or eyeing the the train for possible people who might get up and relieve are feet.

Babies, Babies, Babies!

This baby train is never ending, and I guess it’s really just beginning. My brother Andrew and his wife Catherine came from London this weekend and we all met up for brunch on Saturday. I knew something fishy was going on when they both ordered Pellegrino Limondas to drink. I mean, this is brunch! And more importantly, this is Andrew and Catherine — my favorite couple, my favorite people to visit, my favorite people to got out with, my favorite people to stay in with, and certainly up there on the list of my favorite people to have a bloody mary brunch with.

Needless to say, shortly after the bubbly non-alcoholic elixirs were set in front of them, the news came out. They too, are pregnant! Much to the extreme delight of Catherine’s mom, the couple that wouldn’t have surprised anyone if they decided not to have kids and continue their life of parties and jet-setting around the globe, are going to join the parent club. Looks like a little British cousin for Maisie and India and another niece or nephew for me.

Personally I am feeling a little overwhelmed with the babies, births, pregnancies, family dinners, brunches, walks, shopping trips, and all. Saturday I sat at D & A’s holding 4-day-old India while Deanna explained the details of nursing, birthing, pumping to an even more overwhelmed Catherine. But you know, I actually am enjoying every minute of this hyper-drive family time once I am there — it’s just the getting out of bed and walking to the subway in the 24 degree weather that stresses me out.

Garth Diebel: May 25, 1954 - November 19, 2006

November is such a significant month for my people. Death, birth, the cycle of life, all seem to collide in this icy time. My best friend's dad died two years ago this night, as we all huddled around candles in Mary's Chelsea apartment praying and crying for our dear friend. All my love to Sarah and the Diebel family.

We Can't Forget Her...

Miss Maisie Moo

Bob Cahn (Boba) actually fits in this chair

Hello World

I think this little munchkin and I already have a special bond. I can just feel it, she told me all her secrets as she gurgled in my arms last night.

India Violet Cahn, 9:43 am, 8 pounds, 9 ounces

Another Cahn baby came into the world this cold November morning and to the surprise of many, it was a girl. Looks like Maisie is going to have some competition from little Miss India Violet. I haven’t talked to Aaron and Deanna yet, but I have heard through the family circuit that she is doing fine and it all ran smoothly. I’ll head to the hospital after work to meet the almost 9 pounder — man, thank god for c-sections. Another girl, I still can’t believe it. It’s so un-Cahn like, but I am just so excited to see and be a part of my two neices growing up, just a year and a half a part. When do the slumber parties start?

It’s Rebecca’s birthday today as well, and so sadly, the day she died one year ago. I actually think it’s a beautiful thing to have India come into the world this memorable day. What better way to honor another strong woman, than with a little girl who will grow into just that.

It's a Plaid World

Plaid is back in full effect, and this guy is doing it right. I mean you can do the normal plaid hipster shirt — my collection is ever growing (I love you Atlanta) as is everyone else's on Bedford Ave — but this guy is just taking it to a whole other level. If you can pull off three different plaids in one outfit, you are my hero, add grandpa glasses and I will probably ask you to marry me.

A Wednesday Photo

Nothing like a classic beauty on a classic bike.

Back in NYC

It was pretty amazing to go to Atlanta two days after we elected the first black president, considering the ATL is where Martin Luther King lived his entire too short life. The two historic men graced the cover of the city’s weekly free newspaper while I was there and I got to see the home MLK grew up in. It certainly beat my weekend in Nashville two days after Bush got re-elected. Well, at least for the politico and the shit-disturber in me. Atlanta is a strange city though — another liberal island in a sea of red. Parts of it actually reminded me of Berkeley and some parts definitely could have been mistaken for Oakland, but when I went through my second drive-through in the city’s suburbs, I knew I couldn’t be farther away from California. Oh and when I bought an entire new wardrobe for $300. Thrift store heaven…

When I got home last night my roommate Courtney told me the sweetest story — something that I would’ve loved to witness myself but felt happy just to hear. She was walking through our Fort Greene neighborhood yesterday and overheard two little African American boys playing. One said to the other “Let’s play President and Vice President, but you have to be Vice President because I want to be Barack Obama.” Now that is change — can you imagine them wanting to play Bush and Cheney? She said the look on their mother’s face said it all.

Really Lindsay?

Not that I really ever had any respect for Lindsay Lohan, but this is just insane, almost to the Sarah Palin level. Did she really just say that Barack Obama is the first "colored" president? Scary. She should not be let out of the house.

Thrift Day Weekend

Off to the ATL for some sun and shopping. It's the poor woman's vacation. Excited! Ill be back next week — to all of my many blog followers, just be patient...

Barack!

The countdown is over, and I honestly have never felt such genuine happiness. I almost feel like today I can start living my life. A day that was just a possibility two years ago, possibly never one four years ago, a day that we have been waiting to arrive for so long, a day that people I don’t even know all over the world have been waiting for longer than I can imagine, a day that many people thought they would never see. It’s here, and it passed in a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. To have hope in a leader, in a country, in world that has been tainted for so long is like nothing I have ever felt and last night was a high of a kind that I didn’t even know existed. To be so personally affected by something that is affecting billions of people is overwhelming and beautiful and amazing. I do hope one day I can find better words to document this historic time, but as for now amazing seems to work. Here are some amazing photos of people celebrating around the world. But yes, this is just the beginning and it’s only uphill from here and the horror that is Prop 8 is devastating, but for today I just want to bask in the moment that I quite believe will define our generation.

"Rosa sat so that Martin could walk so that Obama could run so that our children could fly”

Deets:
10 million more voters turned out than four years ago
Democrats gained control of the House and the Senate
Obama won by a landslide of 349 to 147 electoral votes

Countdown to Barack: Election Day

POLLS BEGIN CLOSING IN FINAL HOURS OF EPIC CAMPAIGN (NY Times Headline)

The time is now (6:42 pm), I am racing around my house trying to get my shit together, get dressed (I need to take a shower!), write a blog (without the fucking internet!), and I totally forgot to eat today. Shit. I am nervous...but pumped up.

I voted today using the most archaic voting machine I have ever seen. But I feel good about it and if the crowd in Fort Greene says anything (of course it does not) then we have sealed the deal. But the energy was out there today, pulsating through the streets. It's going to happen. It's going to happen tonight. I got to get out of here.

More Tears

Sad ones this time. Barack Obama’s 86-year-old grandmother died today after a long battle with cancer. She was an important figure in his life and helped raise him in his teen years. Just one more day and she would’ve seen her grandson elected to be President of the United States. It is things like this that actually make me believe in some kind of heaven or afterlife, because the world would just be too fucked up to not let her see what happens tomorrow.

This is an excerpt from the New York Times article:

“It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances.”

Madelyn Dunham, who turned 86 on Oct. 26, was unable to travel to see her grandson on the campaign trail. But from her apartment in Honolulu, she religiously followed his bid for the presidency, tracking his movements and his progression through cable television.

Tear Jerker

Maybe I am a baby, but this video just might make you cry too. Shit, I really love Barack Obama.

Countdown to Barack: 2 Days

Tomorrow is finally Election Day, I can’t believe after almost two years the race is coming to an end. It’s such a strange feeling to know that in just over a day I will either be overcome with a type of excitement and elation that nothing thus far in my life has given me or I will be devastated, ashamed of my country, and ready to get out. There is nothing in between — no happy medium or compromise. But I strongly believe that tomorrow will be remembered as one of the most monumental days in our nation’s history and we will elect our first black president and usher in a time where I can possibly begin to feel proud of being an American. I am overcome with such a foreign feeling even thinking about tomorrow — anticipation, distrust, nervousness, hope, and excitement all in one. It’s feeling like you have control but actually none at all. The people in 11 states (most of which I haven’t even been to) will decide our fate, and then we can all breath a sigh of relief and Obama can take a probably much needed nap. Oh man, I hope so.

Not that these polls really matter, but this is what they are saying. A Rasmussen poll shows Obama ahead 52-46 nationally; the same poll on Thursday showed him with a 51-47 lead. A Quinnipiac University poll has Obama leading McCain by 10 points, though the same poll showed him with a 12-point lead early last week. A Muhlenberg poll shows Obama leading 52-46, while the same poll a week ago showed him leading 53-42. According to Pollster.com, the estimate in Pennsylvania has shifted 5.4 points toward McCain in the past week.

P.S. Obama has been ahead in all 159 polls taken in the last six weeks. If he doesn’t win, I think a lot of pollsters are getting fired.