So, I'm taking all these foot pix. And out at the Howard Dean bus launch, Thursday, I see George Lakoff. "Can I photograph your feet?" Done, but he says "You better photograph her feet, too." Pretty woman in a dress? Sure, why not? "What's your name?" Debbie Cook! OK. I like candidates as subjects. And whups!
Turning to move on, a voice behind me says, "Hey! Aren't you gonna photograph my feet?" If ya wanna know who it was, you're gonna hafta click again...
It was mcjoan!! And she wants the world to know that she quietly endured being bit by fire ants to support Howard Dean.
I encountered a coupla Daily Kos front pagers who were a little snooty. I shall not name names, but it definitely wasn't this guy. Look for him on television within the next few years. Very cute, comprehensive geekiness on numbers, and a terrific speaking voice. One of those post-ethnic "kids" that are making this year so interesting:
He charmed me by seeking me out to ask my opinion on NM races. And when this creature appeared in the main ballroom, he pulled a very smooth improv as he left the room, after stopping in for only a few minutes during the middle of that "Races to Watch" session:
When I took this picture, dday was waiting to do his Bob Barr interview. It was mebbe an hour later than his diary about it, complete with transcription was posted. I really feel slow sometimes!!
At that same time on Saturday afternoon, the Netroots for the Troops were busy packing their 101 care packages. It wouldn't have happened without Timroff and Dania Audax (Mrs. Timroff)'s efforts (that logo is on Timroff's t-shirt, and it was their idea to do this, not mine):
But maybe I should begin at the beginning. The first shoe pic I took? That same person was the last one I saw as I got on the shuttle for the airport. Gave a good sense of order to it all. (Yeah, right!)
This was in the hotel lobby, just after checking in. Snapped some more pix then, too:
This guy had some fancy boots with him, but I only ran into while he was wearing sensible shoes. I'm told there is a picture of those boots, so hopefully, they will appear in the comments:
Another one who got special shoes for the occasion - and several people told me about it - ended up carrying these shoes around with her. She changed them because these were the pictures she wanted in this diary. But Moody Loner's daughter refused to be left out of the picture!
That first night, there was a party hosted by Burnt Orange Report & The Field. I approached Al Giordano later, to thank him for the party, and (or course) to ask for the picture. He already knew about the shoe diary from last year. Very cordial, all in all. I noticed that navajo, in her diary, credited him the same way. Coincidence?
Mike Allen of Politico linked to the diary last year - his feet were in it, too. I happened across him in the hotel lobby, checking in. He introduced me to his boss. Maybe featuring their feet will get them to look at something serious I wrote about changes in voting in New Mexico. We aren't so much of a swing state any more! 56% of votes cast in the 2006 midterm for the house went to Democrats, too. (jest sayin')
Mostly, the rugs were easier on the eyes than in Chicago, but that one above, in the Hilton lobby, was definitely reminiscent of those endless carpeted corridors from last year. This guy (below), on the day he was on a panel, was so casual, it's a wonder he didn't show up in his jammies! (Kind of charming, in its way... And you gotta respect sensible shoes:
In contrast to Joe Trippi, this was a deliberate fashion statement; presumably to go along with leading the Native American caucus. And, yeah, I know I said I'd post some stuff to Native American Netroots blog. I'll do it, too!
Serious issues from Indian Country came with a panel including those associated with the Pretty Bird Woman House, including its director:
More western "cowboy" footwear was seen. She'd just bought these boots, and gave me directions how to find the store. My budget didn't include fancy new boots, so I had to content myself with a picture of this snazzy footwear:
Speaking of cowboy boots? This guy's gonna be my Congresscritter next year. Bad form to leave him out. He won't be an improvement over Tom Udall (who's moving up to the Senate, most likely), but he'll be good. And Udall will be way better than "Pajamas Pete" Domenici. So, big net gains in terms of having elected officials who represent my views pretty closely.
This is another New Mexico candidate, who is running for Heather Wilson's Albuquerque-centered seat. He's a city councilman there now, and has also worked as State Land Trustee under Gov. Bill Richardson. He is very very cute, too. To my knowledge, he and Scott Kleeb have never been seen together:
Speaking of Kleeb, this guy just got a job working for his campaign. Which is way cool. I expect great things from both of them. I had an email from him only a couple days ahead of NN08 saying he wouldn't make it. So it was a complete and utter and delightful surprise to see him when he turned up at the scholarship caucus.
This guy turned up at a scholarship event, too. Also surprising, but for different reasons, since it was a by-invitation supper, and he wasn't involved in the scholarship program. I first saw him at the airport, in baggage claim, carrying a YK07 bag. But I couldn't get him to acknowledge me, to share a taxi. So it goes. Never could get him to speak to me after that. But I figured if he was crashing the scholarship party (on my birthday, no less!), I did not need his permission for the pic. He disappeared from the dinner about the same time we started on introductions.
But I digress. DFA put a lot into NN08, what with it being a campaign year and all. The tone was different than in 2007. DFA also provided an institutional home for the scholarship program, so thanks to them for that, and for all the other things they do, too:
Here's some more of the scholarship winners - I didn't include them all here. I didn't photograph all their feet. I didn't even meet them all. I think, in the end, a couple of 'em didn't make it to Austin. This one, from Pocatello, Idaho, did make it:
This one had, perhaps, the best head of hair at NN08:
This guy is one of the top bloggers in New Mexico, so it was nice to see him get a slot. You might have noticed him in a cap that said "Bikes not Bombs".
This one? More conventional in appearance, but writing about immigration - hotly contested in various ways:
One of several multimedia types in the program:
And - this official NN08 photographer was everywhere. She was working:
The candidates were working, too. This guy is channelling the Adlai Stevenson thing. (It was his idea to do the bottom of the shoe...) He's got a tough battle against "moderate" Republican and Udall cousin Gordon Smith in Oregon. But we'll need it to make 60, or close to 60.
This diary is already ridiculously long. I won't get all the Kossacks, or all the candidates, or all of anything. I took hundreds of pictures. But I would like to put a couple of hard-working women in. One is a new member of Congress. Already not the newest, but one of those "better" Democrats, not just "more" Democrats:
And to remind us, as if we needed reminding, that we're a diverse bunch even sartorially, here's another of our more favorite candidates. She has had enough bad stuff happen lately, she's about due from some good. Freshman in the 111th Congress? That sounds good!
One last candidate (I know I'm still missing several!) threw a party - a very noisy and crowded thing. I only stuck around long enough for the picture. Here's hoping ol' "Big Jon" Cornyn is looking for new work soon.
Also working, in well-worn shoes, was this intense young woman. Most people I asked for the pictures, but she was so busy evangelizing I didn't even try and interrupt. I don't think she noticed I took the picture. But so long as I'm displaying her URL, I'm guessing she won't mind! (Besides, global warming's been my top issues, personally, for over 20 years. And those are a cool pair of high tops.)
Speaking of people who were working? Shouldn't forget this one. One could find fault - we've all got 'em. But really, getting this baby launched and running was not a trivial undertaking. Much to admire and be grateful for in the results. Best of luck with whatever comes next for you:
Another case of notable pedicure, with an innovative palette to boot:
I haven't really included a whole lot of "rank and file" Kossacks yet, so here's some more. Mebbe our most avuncular colleague?
Last year, I went through the whole conference without ever crossing paths with Elise. (I'm sure there were people that was the case with this year, too.) Here's the queen of the Action Diary, though there haven't been so many of late and I'm looking forward to more. She's with another very active Kossack. Figures they were hanging out together:
I'm including a lot of women. Partly because we have more variety in our footwear, but also because lots of us were there. Contrary to the belief that we are all barely post-adolescent males, blogging in our parents' basements. In our jammies! Two more, one of whom was much blonder than I'd envisioned:
A lesser-known Kossack, probably there because of girlfriend affiliation. Included because the picture is most reminiscent of Ilona, who had some of the best feet last year (according to the poll). Even if Ilona did give us more ankle!
And more:
This one? She really did ask to be photographed this way, complete with the hole in the sock. I am not making this up!
Speaking of being insistent, this guy wanted to be photographed with his shoes off:
It seems almost wrong to leave pastordan out, but you can usually hope for mercy if you use the wife and kid as a fill-in. And Billy definitely wanted to be in the picture:
One of my favorite new acquaintances was dressed very well. He gives all credit to his wife on that, who was also in Austin, if not in many of the official events:
Speaking of fashion notables, this one even was color-coordinated with the carpet:
From the lower UID crew:
Not as low as these guys, though, the single-digit brigade. And speaking of those, too bad Meteor Blades didn't make it. Yet again!
And some more of us Kossacks:
These are custom shoes. Those little tabs at the base of the shoelaces (too small to read in this small version) say Ben:
She's got the best dimples ever. Not that you can tell from these wonderful, whimsical, silver sandals:
I ran into this guy, one of my favorites, a few times a day in Austin, it seemed. He got his shoes polished in preparation for NN08. It's the same pair of shoes as last year, so he says:
It is impossible to pick a favorite Kossack. But for me, these two are right up there. occams hatchet has one of the best usernames ever (along with PhilNDeBlanc, whose foot pic seems to have failed to be entered in the notes - must have been taken while I was drinking liberally or something.) Anyhow, OPOL wasn't a pussycat all the time, spending much of Friday physically twitching in anticipation of heckling Madame Speaker on Saturday (which he did.)
But he also told me that the best part of his Austin experience was some quality time with this guy. I found him to be profoundly gracious and decent, too. Sometimes I wonder if there'd be a pardon, and a job in President Obama's Justice Department for him. It would be an exquisite and utterly apt reversal of fortune:
I like to feature fellow New Mexicans, so here's one. He introduced himself as Adam Connor living in DC (affiliated with MyDD). But at the New Mexico panel, he started his question by saying he was:
This picture is an exception - the only blurry one I'm posting. (I think I locked the focus by mistake.) Anyhow, I've seen multiple references to this particular pair of Birkenstocks. This diary would perhaps be incomplete without including them!
Last, but definitely not least! This guy was mebbe our biggest headliner, and I went to the trouble of hanging out at the rope line for the picture. And to catch my 15 seconds of attention with two magic words - Roger Revelle. Remembering Hunter's screed on the topic of exclamation points, I have deliberately violated his guidance on the subject and exceed three of 'em:
I took a ridiculous amount of foot pix. There's still a lot more. But this diary is really really really long already. So if yours isn't here and you want to see it? Ask!!!!!!!!!!! If I had adequate notes or if the picture's not way too dark or blurry, I'll add it in the comments. And, please, corrections! Given the state of my notes, I'm near certain there's errors!
And I know there's more pix to be added in the comments, too. So have at it.