Whine & Cheese

Express Lane: Issue 61

USA cancels 'The Starter Wife' - While it certainly wasn't brain surgery, it was still a cute and fluffy show led by the charming Debra Messing... so a bit surprised it got the cut after just 1 post-mini-series season. (2/12/09)

Joanna Pacitti out of 'American Idol' - This ouster is not a huge surprise for the gal gal previously dropped from a record label, friends with execs at 19 Entertainment (Idol's production co.), and rumored to be dating DWTS' Mark Ballas (reason enough for me to get rid of her!). (2/12/09)

China's Lantern Festival, And An Unfortunate Ending - The Big Picture - What a transition in this photo set from the beautiful celebration to a 40-story hotel under construction being set accidentally ablaze by stray fireworks. (2/11/09)

Bushfires in Victoria, Australia - The Big Picture - TBP isn't always fun stuff... here their usual collection of stunning pics from the devastating fires in Southeastern Australia. (2/10/09)

Etta James Takes Shots at Beyonce & President Obama - Stand back folks we got a cat fight on our hands: "I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song, she gonna get her ass whupped" (2/5/09)

ABC Will Announce Cast of DWTS 8 During Prime-Time Sunday - Eschewing 'Good Morning America' for the cast reveals, Tom Bergeron will pop up and drop the "star" names over 3 hours of ABC's Sunday (Feb 8th's) line-up. (2/3/09)

Cable Provider Apologizes For Porn Interruption - We were a bit skeptical when Todd's parents told him about this during a post-Super Bowl phone call, but crazy enough it was true! (2/3/09)

One More Obamicon

I guess the adage "never say never" is one that should never be uttered (well, ummm... never not say "never say never"??!).  But honestly, I was pretty darn sure that I was done making Obamicons, but I just took a look at my search hits today and had one for: 

aretha obamicon respect

And before you could spell out that very word and sock it me, sock it to me, sock it to me... I was over at Obamicon.Me and you know what picture I was using!  Hee hee!

Express Lane: Issue 59

John McCain Confirms Wife Cindy Rejected Dancing With The Stars 8 - Rumor has it the Senator was the one who put the brakes on his wife's participation and his dodgy recall of the "mutual" decision does not do much to dispel it. (1/23/09)

Requests Flood In For 'Queen of Soul's' Custom Hat - The bow with the hat attached to it was custom-made creation for the Queen (and only the queen!) and would sell for $500+, but for those interested a retail version with a satin ribbon version is available for $179. (1/22/09)

Julianne Hough Makes a Date With Toby Keith... and, as expected, that means America's Dancing Sweetheart will not be apart of the upcoming 8th (!!) season of 'Dancing With the Stars' (1/22/09)

The Inauguration of President Barack Obama - The Big Picture - Loved the satellite photo of the record crowds at the Capital and Mall and any featuring the contagious smiles of the Obama family. (1/21/09)

Inaugural preparations - The Big Picture - This site over at Boston.com always has such amazing photos, that I am going to linking to it via the "Express." First up, Obama Inaugural Prep! (1/19/09)

Rachel Griffiths Expecting Baby No. 3 - Banjo & Adelaide will be getting a new brother... or sister. No word yet if unwed Sarah will be adding another Walker to the ABC dramedy. (1/17/09)

Lisa Rinna: "I Look Like a Freak" After Too Much Plastic Surgery - At first I thought this was something for the "tell me something I don't know" department, but then the shocker was that it had nothing to do with her lips! (1/8/09)

CNN's Gupta Approached About Surgeon General Post - It's just a hunch, but I suspect Dr. Sanjay would very likely be the first time a US Surgeon General who has ever appeared in a People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive issue. (1/7/09)

DWTS' Karina & Maksim Engaged! - Had heard rumors that the couple were 'friends with benefits,' but this news still surprised me. I'm guessing the make-up sex should be great (and methinks they'll be plenty of it - fight! sex! fight!) (1/4/08)

Obamicons & Inaugural Fashion

I have to admit that even I am a bit Obama'd out from yesterday.  It was a great day for many of us, but pretty darn exhausting.  I had planned to at least do the first part of this post for the inauguration yesterday, but then I got swept up in things and then got tuckered out... and I doubt many people were interested in blog stuff yesterday anyhow.

Sometime last week, I finally found a site that allowed you to "Obamify" (or Obamafy) a photo ala Shepard Fairey's iconic artwork for the Obama campaign.  I had really been wanting to do one of Rocky, since over the past year or so (and hopefully for many years to come!), we have nicknamed him Barocky Obama.  So I thought it would be cute if someone I could transform a picture of Rocky into one of those Hope posters.

And alas Paste Magazine (have to admit never heard of it before this) put up an Obamicon.Me site that pretty easily allowed you to upload a photo, play around with the 4 major colors through use of slider controls, and even put your own message below. 

I immediately created one for Rocky, but then I quickly became addicted and got my creative juices flowing and created some more.  There are really some great contributions on the site, so even if you don't want to create your own it is fun to go to the site and check out the Gallery and "Top Rated" entries... none of my creations made the list, though I think a couple of them deserved it... though with so many entries pouring in, I think only some of the earliest entries gained any traction.  Anyhow, here are the 6 Obamicons I created:

As you see, I definitely went with my own likes... and not with some of the obvious targets (i.e. George Bush and Sarah Palin were frequent targets).  On the top row, is our own Rocky (of course!) followed by two W&C regulars - my favorite tennis players, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.

With the bottom row, I tried to get a bit more creative.  I was surprised that I hadn't seen this one with Cher on the site... as I thought it was a pretty obvious quote line to go with "Believe" for her. 

Next up, is my most obscure but perhaps you remember my obsession fascination with Lisa Kudrow's character of Valerie Cherish in the short-lived HBO series "The Comeback."   I thought of 'ole Val many times over these past few days since I can not see Mary J Blije without thinking "Bilge" thanks to the show!

And finally, I was scouring for another thing to Obamify and for some reason there was a story on Alex Trebek -- so I that immediately made me want to put one of Obama's main campaign themes in the form of a question!

Ok, I should probably end that there... but I would not be doing my duty of perpetuating the stereotypes of a gay man without some comment on inaugural fashion.

First up, there is no possible way I can not address this (even Rahm Emanuel in background bokeh seems pretty amused):

As my beloved Paula Deen from the Food Network would say: Great time of day!  I am pretty sure I heard a collective gasp go up across the country as Aretha Franklin came forth to sing (or should I say... perform!) "My Country 'Tis of Thee."  Ok, sure the bow (just in case you hadn't noticed) could have been a half (or a quarter!) of its size and been just fine... but would we be talking about it today.  As Whitney Houston would say: Hell to the no!   So yeah, totally out-of-hand, but diva-liciuos!

And Aretha's fashion would have been the talk of the day had not Michelle Obama hit a couple of home-runs with her choices for the day...

While I have found the new First Lady to be a bit hit-or-miss (you may recall I was not a fan of the Grant Park outfit), I really had no doubt that she would be wearing something great for the swearing in... and I think she even exceeded my expectation with this number.  Now, I am not gay enough to remember the designer so I will cut-and-paste that it was a "Isabel Toledo lemongrass-yellow ensemble."  One quibble is that I was not a fan of the high/chest level bow, much preferred when she had not had that tied up earlier in the day.   Also, though her inaugural ball gown (again, cut and paste... "white, one-shouldered gown, covered in fabric petals and dotted with beads by 26-year-old Jason Wu") was another winner, though not to the degree of the first...

Now if the first rule of fashion etiquette is that you are not supposed to out-shine the bride, Second Lady Jill Biden (or should I say Doctor (!!) Jill Biden, she earned a Doctorate in Education) certainly followed the rules:

... so I was not a fan of either of her outfits.  Her swearing-in outfit just seemed to be to "Go-Go Girl" / 1960s "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'"-ish for me, which is not to say that it is not a fun look or that she didn't pull it off... but it just seemed a bit too "cute" for the occasion. I couldn't find a decent picture of the grey dress underneath the red coat, but on TV (during the Congressional lunch) it seemed pretty ho-hum... and if that one was a bit too high for my taste, her ball gown was a bit too low... so once again, I am pulling out my "age inappopriate" penalty card... think it could been improved with a couple of straps. 

Anything Possible

Late yesterday afternoon, Todd pulled up the MSNBC website and we immediately laughed at the juxtaposition of the two headline stories:

Shortly after they won the NFC Championship game and earned a birth to the Super Bowl, I twittered that I am not sure what I least thought I would see in my lifetime... a Black President or the Cards going to the Super Bowl?  After some further thought, I decided it was the latter that was more likely... ha!

While I am happy that the Cards are going to the big game, I can't say that I am terribly invested in it... nor will I be squeezing myself on the bandwagon.  Sure, I would like them to win (now that would be a Cinderella story), but I am not going to lead anyway in astray that I have been along for the entire "chumps to champs" road or that I am in any way responsible for their success this year.

What I have found terribly amusing, is how crazed this town is over the Cards.  You'd think this week that Phoenix was a town filled with faithful fans with their dreams crushed year after year, decade after decade... ala Chicago Cubs fans.  When only a few years ago, we rarely got to see a televised Cardinals game since the team never got close to a sell-out... or if they did, it was only because a popular opponent was in town, in which case their would be more people dressed and cheering against the Cards. 

So it totally cracks me up to see everyone strutting around in their Cardinal gear and acting like they've been waiting for this moment all their lives.  Now, I am sure they are folks out true-blue, through thick and thin fans out there... but it's so easy to see through the fair-weathered fans... perhaps because I have seen these same up-and-downs with the Valley's other sports teams... the Suns and Diamondbacks and to a lesser extent, the Coyotes.

We also watched the We Are One Obama inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial and I have to say I was very impressed.  Often these celebratory or benefit concerts drag on endlessly and/or there is wavering quality, but I really thought this was excellent from start to finish.  I was amazed by the authentically hopeful and positive vibe/spirit come off the screen... in the crowds and the performers, that I only wondered what it would feel like if things weren't so much in the crapper.  But then I quickly realized, that one big reason we are at this moment is because of where things are right now... definitely one of those watershed moments.  I was going to say for the first time in my life, but then I recall scenes of the Berlin Wall being knocked down and that certainly seems to qualify as well!

Anyhow, even if a word was not uttered or not a song sung, the gatherine would have been quite moving... and I hope that for folks that didn't vote for Obama could at least acknowledge what an amazing bookend this concert provided in our nation's history... a concert at the Lincoln Memorial... honoring the man who, among other things, signed the Emancipation Proclamation... on the steps where one of the greatest speeches of all-time and on the eve of a national holiday honoring the man who only "dreamed" that one day people "not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character"... to this day, 45 years later (a blink of the eye in the big scheme of things!)... where an African American man is hours away from taking a seat in the Oval Office.  And not that that's saying everything is all fine and dandy.. but it's still pretty darn incredible!

The Audacity of Hope (#27)

Change has come... to way I read books.  Appropriately enough, the first book I read on my Kindle was President-Elect Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope.

I will admit that I went into the Kindle with hesitation.  While I certainly thought it was a cool gadget, I questioned whether it could possibly replicate the "traditional" reading experience.  I'll save the rambling detailed response to that for another post, but for my first spin with the Kindle I thought it best to perhaps read something that didn't have characters or a plot to follow... so pretty much that ruled out fiction... and since it was shortly after the election and Audacity was riding high on the Kindle bestseller charts (and for $4.39!) - temporarily unseating the Twilight series - I thought it was good choice.

This book is pretty review-proof.  I doubt anything I have to say would encourage or discourage folks from reading the book... or heck, even changing any hearts and minds.  Honestly, a year or so ago I probably would have been surprised by the fact that I was reading this book.  I don't tend to be a person who has many regrets in life, but I'm thinking I probably should have went to this book signing when the junior Senator for Illinois came through town.   

But that was back in the days when I was saying "no, thank you" to the Kool-Aid and guffawing (yes, I'll admit it!) over Obama's inexperience and soaring oratory, that I felt was either uber-slick political shtick or naivete.  And while I like to think I am a positive and optomistic person, I realized that when it comes to politics I am a hardened cynic.

So it was not until the waning days of Clinton's Democratic primary campaign that I had to come to peace with the fact that Barack Obama would be the nominee.  It's not that ever had serious issue with him, but in addition to above, I still questioned whether the country was ready for him.

What eventually won me over and what this book does a good job at is that you are struck by how sincere Obama is.  Again, one can be cynical and believe this is all an act -- but if it is, he's been planning and performing it for a very long time and even before he ever entered politics.  And while critics scoff at his inexperience, I'm thinking it's probably a good thing that his ascent has been so fast and that he hasn't been changed the political system or left it after pounding his head against it to no avail for decades.  Whether he'll be able to change "Washington," that I do not know but it will be interesting to watch. 

Now if I can let a little cynicism creep in, there is no doubt that this is a "I'm running for President" book... a stump-speech in long form.  The first part of the book is a nice little introduction that morphs into political philosophy... and then there is a bit more details "what I would do" policy type stuff (which I'll admit got me a bit snoozy) and then the wrap-up where he talks about his family and again summarizes his belief system - the decidedly non-cynical, non-political, non-partisan ... audacity to hope.  

While I should just end this "review" there, I have to say I am loving Michelle Obama more and more.  She is exactly the type of personlity a person in power and/or fame needs in their life - a reality check.  While Barack Obama is about to become the leader of the free world, despite being well-intentioned and helpful for one of the girl's birthday party, Michelle told him there was no way he could handle the task of buying party gift bags for the other children attending the party... she said he would go into the party store and spend hours there before his head would explode. 

And prior to his break-out "red state/blue state" speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention he related this story:

... until finally it was just Michelle and me sitting backstage and watching the broadcast, that I started to feel nervous.  I mentioned to Michelle that my stomach was feeling a little grumbly.  She hugged me tight, looked into my eyes, and said, "Just don't screw it up, buddy!"

And with that I will wish the President Elect well and, while I still waver, thank him for giving me the audacity to hope (and I do think that takes some audacity these days!)... but will echo his wife's words as well... just don't screw it up (more), buddy!

2008 1-2-3-4-5 Reading Challenge: + 364 Pages (Total: 10,254 pages - Finished: 11/18/2008)
-772 pages behind pace for the year (+93 change in pace since last book).

This & That

You may (or not?!) have noticed there wasn't a blog entry yesterday.  I said awhile back that I wasn't going to push/force writing here, but I have to say it still feels a bit weird to let the day go by without writing at least a little something out.  That said, just a little this and that stream of consciousness today...

But alas, even if there is no entry here you can usually see a twitter or two (or three or four) in the upper left hand corner or elsewhere (like... ummm... Twitter perhaps?!).  I have to admit that status updates are cannibalizing my blog entries (as I suspect they have for many, many others).   I guess some things can (or should) be said in 140 characters or less... or else it's just blogging for the lazy... "I would have written more, but gosh darnit... out of characters!"   I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing.  A big part of me thinks it is just adding/increasing the attention-deficit of our nation, but it is still a nice little outlet.

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The Twilight craze is fully underway, with the movie primed for a midnight opening tonight.  Just in case, you have been living under a rock, the Twilight series (written by local - and Mormon! - author Stephenie Meyer) is the latest publishing phenomenon (quickly filling the Harry Potter vacuum) about a high school girl and her first love, who just happens to be a 180-year old vampire (though if the movie version is accurate, can pass for Zac Efron's cousin).  I will admit - out of curiosity and this odd attraction to the vampire genre - to reading the first novel,  even though if today's newspaper is to be be believed I am in a minority since this is only something for daughters and their moms. 

As you may recall, I wasn't terribly impressed with the book... and re-iterated to Todd this morning that I wish, given all the hysteria, that it was a better written book.  Alas, he reminded me to stop being a snob.. and again, I will say that whatever gets people, especially young folk, reading is a very good thing.  I pretty much had the same reaction to Harry Potter... reading the first book and pretty much wondering what all the fuss was about (and you can see how my opinion affected future sales in that series!).   That said, I may give the 2nd book in the series a try ... and once we finish watching True Blood, the first book in Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series as well... like I said, I'm a sucker (ha!) for vampires!

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It's been interesting watching all this post-election/cabinet post stuff with Obama.  In particular, I have been amused by all the criticism about stuff like Joe Lieberman keeping his chairmanships in the Senate or the consideration of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.  Given what we already know about Obama and now having finished reading The Audacity of Hope, these kind of things are soooooo Obama.  As you may recall, I didn't get on the Obama train to fairly late... all that hope, change, "red state - blue state, no the United States" stuff didn't penetrate into my cynical bones.  But once I let that go... drank the kool-aid (I'll give you that)... you either have to be stratospherically cynical that Obama has been planning all this each and every day for the last decade or more... or else come around to thinking this guy is incredibly sincere and really believes/intends to govern in a post-partisan environment. 

I have found the whole Clinton/Secretary of State thing pretty interesting.  I expected there would be some kind of offer... again, this is typical Obama (though this "team of rivals" knee-jerks are getting out of hand), but I didn't expect interest on Clinton's part... and apparently she does, otherwise I don't think it would be buzzing for these many days.  Now, if she would have been the very first female SoS, I think she would have jumped at it... but it's pretty amazing to think - and just in the past two administrations - that she would be the third woman (and continue the decade+ trend of a non-white man) to fill the post.  But given how long this has dragged on, I suspect she will head the State Department.

And likely by the time this entry gets posted, we will have lost our Democratic Governor here in Arizona as it appears that Janet Napolitano will be the Secretary-Elect of Homeland Security.  Napolitano was also rumored to be under consideration for Attorney General, but that fell through earlier this week. 

While I have no real basis/logic for this thought, I kinda sorta would have been okay letting Janet go for the AG slot... but Homeland Security, well... just seems like a disaster waiting to happen... literally!   But the more troubling aspect is that her departure would leave AZ totally Republican run... with the current Secretary of State Jan Brewer moving to the top spot (the third woman to do so in AZ's recent/20-ish year history - though this time at least with the governor not leaving in disgrace)... so while I am happy for Napolitano, it still leaves me a little sad that our little (but important!) bit of "blue" is leaving our red state.

Isn't It Ironic...

Don't you think?

I know I vowed to try to get away from the political stuff, but I couldn't just pass this one by. 

Last week, I was just geeking out and seeing how "red" and "blue" different states were ... and have determined that places where lots of people tend to live together are blue... and by a total accident, I hovered over and stumbled upon Maverick County in Texas.  And what Mavericks they were!  Voting overwhelmingly against the team of Mavericks ... but I guess no surprise, since they are basically in Mexico!

And while I planned to cool it on the gay marriage stuff here (for my own mental well-being), I could not not post this You Tube that is pretty much on every gay-oriented blog this morning... Keith Olbermann's passionate response to the passage of California's Prop 8.

As with civil rights issues of the past, I do not believe gay community we can not make progress without voices other than our own... and while a host on a liberally biased news network may be as effective as the Hollywood crowd, it is this very kind argument from our straight allies that might start chipping away and allowing that wall to crumble.

I just finished a book where the character was told of the Chinese proverb/philosophy of "learning to see the good in the bad and the bad in the good" and while it is certainly no comfort to our California friends, perhaps this setback will lead to the greater good.  If Prop 8 was defeated, it might have just been shrugged off as typical/wacky California and the steamroller would have just marched on to more easy targets like Arizona, Florida, and Arkansas. 

Obamania Week Continues

No worries, I will eventually shut up about the Obama, the election, politics.  I sense I am over the hump and things are slowly going to return back to normal here and I'll be devoting full posts to being happy over La Lucci finally getting the boot on Dancing With The Stars... but still got a bit left in the tank, so bear with me for a bit more!

First, thanks for communications (emails, comments, messages) about the whole Prop 102 and marriage amendment thing.  I was a bit taken aback by how down I was yesterday given that I fully expected to be giddily bouncing off the walls over an Obama victory.  Over the course of the day, I see I was not alone in feeling that way.  "Gay" was not synonymous with "happy" yesterday that was for sure!   I think it was the cumulative effect of all these propositions that had me in such a funk.  While I fully expected and was prepared for our AZ proposition to pass, the Prop 8 result honestly threw me.  I was well aware it was a very tight race, but I certainly got a lesson about the California political scene.  Here I was thinking CA was a pure bastion of liberalism, but looking at the Prop 8 Yes/No county map show that the Golden State is not that different from our country - "blue" on the coasts and major population center and more "red" inland and covering a lot more land mass.

Back here in AZ, there is some concern that we will lose our Democratic governor Janet Napolitano to the Obama administration... which would thus ascend our Republican (and also female!) Secretary of State to the top office.  Napolitano was an early supporter of Obama and now is part of the transition team and the buzz is that she would be considered for Attorney General or head of Homeland Security.  But rumors also have her not seeking re-election in two years to instead run for McCain's Senate seat.  So who knows!

Okay, onto more important things!

Just so you think I am not capable of critical thinking when it comes to the Obamas, put me in the NOT a fan camp re: Michelle Obama's victory speech/Grant Park dress.  I have been a fan of her no-nonsense, sensible, un-pretentious fashion/style ... and while the above dress is all that... she just lost me on the whole "what the heck is going on with the black fabric criss-crossing the front of it?!?" thingy. 

Actually I was thrilled to see what the First Lady-Elect wore to the polls on election day...

It seemed to be a very much throw on some clothes, pull the hair back, maybe put on a bit of make-up, get the kids in the car an head to the polls... pretty refreshing, and it's not like she didn't think cameras were going to be there... and a bit of contrast compared to Cindy McCain's Aspen ski-bunny get-up (which actually is pretty subdued/tame as well).

Next up, we know the Obamas are going to be getting a puppy when or before they head to the White House.  May I recommend a purely American breed of dog... the Boston Terrier: 

Here is the latest picture of our own Barocky Obama.  I think this is probably the only dog/breed that could out-cute little Sasha Obama.

But rumor has it the Obamas are going to ... in their typical elitist, "we're oh so perfect" way... going to get a rescue dog.  Ugh.

Figures... next thing we'll know they'll be announcing plans to replace all the lightbulbs in the White House with compact flourescent ones... and recycle wine bottles used at state dinners!

The Times They Are A-Changin' (And Not)

The cover of my old "hometown" paper (even though I am from NJ, I grew up with the NY Daily News as our daily newspaper):

While I was pretty optimistic about the outcome of the election, it was still very surprising and moving when the moment happened.  Truthfully, I never thought something like this would happen in my lifetime... first, voting for a viable woman candidate for the Presidency in the primaries, then voting for the bi-racial/African American man that will become the 44th President of the United States.

I just hope that we are truly headed down the path of a government who gets things done responsibly and with less divisiveness...though I am not holding my breath... and I already sense the world's view of our country has changed overnight (my little personal window of foreign reaction saw folks really pulling/hoping for Obama - and I couldn't imagine the reverse, with Americans being that invested in a foreign election).

But, as expected, the night and this morning definitely ha been bittersweet... with all 4 anti-gay (or pro-"family") propositions passing... marriage amendments here is AZ, in FL (where the prop needed, and received, over 60% of the vote), and while it hasn't been officially called, it looks like it will be very tough haul for CA's Prop 8 to be defeated... and I have to admit, that I was aware of Arkansas now voter-approved ban on "unmarried sexual partners" from adopting children or serving as foster parents.

So on a night where we witnessed just how far our country has come, it was personally very discouraging to feel one's own civil rights being pushed back taken several painful steps.  I remember a couple of years back when AZ defeated the first stab at this "sanctity of marriage" crap or when states started making strides towards marriage equality, that just maybe this would be something that would be realized in my lifetime. 

Now I am not so sure...

So if two perfect strangers (as long as they are a man and woman), decide they want to get married they can with nary a question (and certainly not a public vote)... and this couple could have more legal rights re: other than I have in my 14+ year relationship... or other folks can get married over and over again (and we all know some), hoping the current one is the last one.  But as long as folks seemingly can't discern the difference between the legal "piece of paper" aspect and a religious ceremony... with the latter meaning nothing without the former... it's going to be a struggle for our cause.

I think it will happen... someday.  But I am not so sure I will be blessed (or cursed?!) with the lifespan of Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106 year old that Obama so effectively highlighted in last nights victory speech, someone who has seen and experienced so many unimaginable events and changes in our country.  And again, even in such a moment of discouragement, I was inspired by Obama's words:

"That while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can"