Tuesday 2.26.02
Today's Essay: I only lied about being a liar....
Today in Hockey: (1989) With two months to play, Pittsburgh Penguin legend Mario Lemieux records his 100th assist of the season.
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
More than you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Portland Trailblazers 88, Philadelphia 76ers 83. Just thought y'all might want to know....
There are WAY too many of y'all out there looking for naked pictures of Jamie Sale....
25 MEN FROM MINNESOTA PROVE REINCARNATION IS REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Gospel According to John (Ahscroft): Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of unbelief I fear not God. I fear John Ashcroft. Ashcroft's narrow religious views are truly frightening, particularly since they are being woven into the fabric of political policy. What is terrifying is that no one in the Bush Administration sees this as a problem. Ashcroft serves as a lightning rod, absorbing some of the heat that Shrub would otherwise take for his own religious convictions. He had also become the de facto Administration ambassador to the religious right. I do not begrudge the man his religious beliefs, but I do strongly object to the way he wields them in his position as the chief law enforcement official in the US.
"You could tell they needed it." Team USA may have lost the Olympic gold medal game to Canada, but no one on either side has reason to be anything but proud. For the Canadians, it was about 50 years of pent-up frustration. For most of the Americans, just playing for a gold medal was a dream come true. For those of us who adore the game of hockey, it was a good day for the game. Growing up as close to the Canadian border as I did, it's tough for me to root against Canada. I'm as happy for Canada as I would have been had the US won. Game on, eh??
For years now, Dell Computer has been the 800-pound gorilla in Central Texas. It was a benevolent dictator, but about a year ago, Dell jumped the tracks, throwing thousands of passengers off (Wow, three tortured metaphors in the first two sentences! I think I just set a record....) Many employees lost the best-paying jobs they ever had -- jobs augmented by options to buy Dell stock -- and struggled to find work. Hank Watson went from earning more than $100,000 a year as a Dell sales manager to receiving less than $1,200 a month in unemployment benefits. Four months after being laid off, he found work as a waiter. The sad reality is that Austin's technology market has undergone a sea change- and not for the better. What was once a market that couldn't begin to find enough qualified people is now the exact opposite. And it's not as if Central Texas has much else to offer in the way of economic opportunity.
A continuous loop video of 10 Cuban men performing a sex act is the controversial centerpiece of an art exhibit in Birmingham, England. [T]he gallery's director Jonathan Watkins said the work confronts difficult issues about the sex industry. He has defended the video's inclusion, pointing out that signs have been put up warning parents....Mr Watkins insisted the work is a comment on the commercial exploitation of people but admitted the video is extremely explicit. While I am supportive of the concept of self-expression, the actual depiction of a sex act would seem to cross the boundary into pornography. There are still some things that are best left out of a public display, and sex acts would, in my mind, fall under that. I don't mean to be a prude, but there still needs to be some boundaries present in public life. There is a time and a place for this sort of "art"; a gallery is neither.
Can Bono save the world? Some may riducule him for what may appear to be a penchant for always managing to find myself in front of a camera, but I've always felt him to be quite sincere. Here is someone who really DOES want to change the world, and realizes that his celebrity gives him a platform to do just that. Would that more celebrities showed his passion and commitment to making the world a better place.
A 65-year-old small-time rancher in South Texas is determined to show that bullfighting is not a cruel blood sport. Since United States law prohibits killing the bull, the bloodless bullfights at Santa Maria will focus on traditional steps and pageantry, with plenty of color and mariachi music and a big dose of humor. A bull will fight once and then go onto a career cavorting with rodeo clowns. Even with a bloodless bullfight, there are still those who say that, without a kill, a bullfight is an empty exercise. So, let me get this straight. Unless you kill the bull, you have not validated the spirit of the bullfight? And they wonder why people decry bullfights as cruel and inhumane spectacles....
Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia: Have you ever wondered where your old computer ended up? Chances are good that it's in a dump in a Third World country somewhere, where workers chop them to bits in search of the precious metals inside. Doing that, though, exposes them to a number of toxic materials. Now a report...documents one such "cyber age nightmare" -- a cluster of villages in southeastern China where computers still bearing the labels of their one-time owners in America are ripped apart and strewn along rivers and fields. The authors of the report, called "Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia," hope it puts more pressure on United States companies and lawmakers to increase domestic recycling efforts. Out of sight, out of mind, eh?
The Taco Bell Truth Tour: Coming soon to a fast food restaurant near you. The Coalition for Immokalee Workers thinks that marching around a Taco Bell, demonstrating for better wages for tomato pickers just might work. As it turns out, they just might be right. Using the Nike anti-sweatshop boycott from a few years ago as a model, the Coalition hopes to draw enough public attention to be able to bring the issue before Taco Bell's shareholders. As with any effective protest, the plan is to hit Taco Bell where it hurts: in the bottom line. For my part, I wish them bon chance. They deserve it. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers' kickoff of their nationwide Taco Bell Truth Tour takes place Feb. 28 at the University Lecture Hall on the USF-Tampa campus....For more information regarding the Taco Bell boycott or the Taco Bell Truth Tour during the tour (Feb. 28-March 17) contact The Coalition of Immokalee Workers at 941-821-5481 or 941-285-2368. Call the Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida at 941-839-3970.
Don't ask, don't tell- it don't work: Tipper Gore is beating
the drums to repeal the military's "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding gays and lesbians serving in the armed
forces. This could be a precursor to her husband seeking a rematch against
Shrub, who succeeded in stealing the 2000 election. Regardless of the political
implications, she makes an excellent point: the policy doesn't work, except to
keep everyone- gay or straight- in denial. Isn't it about time that we
recognized that sexual orientation has nothing to do with fitness to
serve? If a person wants to serve their country, they should be allowed to do
so- not be treated like pariahs. (Drudge
Report)
Thursday 2.28.02
Today's Essay: I'm just an excitable boy....
Today's magic phrase: This is guaranteed to generate lots of traffic for any webmaster: Jamie Sale Naked!!!!!!
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
More than you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Who says the Internet doesn't represent the decline of Western civilization?? Fully 50% of y'all who visited my site yesterday got here because you were looking for naked pictures of Jamie Sale. Sorry to disappoint you, but she is not to be found here- at least naked. Go forth and pornicate....
The gleam of a Pearl: Daniel Pearl died for his curiosity, according to TIME's Lance Morrow. Long ago, the novelist and journalist John Hersey wrote in a sketch of Henry Luce, "He was amazed and delighted to learn whatever he had not known before." Curiosity is the noblest form of intellectual energy; in any case, your mind goes nowhere without it- except maybe to fanaticism. Would that when I no long walk the Earth I could be remembered for having that brand of curiosity.
Portland Trailblazers 105, Washington Wizards 101 They're baaaaaaaaacccckkkkk......
Since when is THIS what religion is all about?? Admittedly, I’m not a detail-oriented person, nor am I a theologian, but let me see if I'm beginning to understand how things work.... Muslims kill Jews. Jews kill Muslims. Muslims kill Christians. Muslims kill Copts. Shiite Muslims kill Sunni Muslims. Sunni Muslims kill Shiite Muslims. Hindus kill Muslims. Muslims kill Hindus. Christians kill Wiccans. Christians were kind enough to bring us the Crusades. Ah; I think I'm beginning to understand- religion is not a philosophy, or a belief system, or even a way of life. It's effective population control.
Ooops....our bad!! A government study that estimates some 15,000 Americans have died of cancers resulting from Cold War nuclear weapons tests has been delayed for nearly a year. This sounds like lawsuits just looking for a place to happen, eh?
Presbyterians decide God loves gays and lesbians less than heterosexuals: Last summer it looked as if liberal members of the Presbyterian Church would succeed in passing a referendum to allow the ordination of gays and lesbians. Last week, though, the conservatives won out. The vote leaves in place church law stating that clergy and lay officeholders must "live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or in chastity and singleness." Ah, yes, bigotry and discrimination is alive and well, and it's wearing vestments and carrying a Bible. Life is full of contradictions, no??
Maybe if they didn't hit the drive-thru lane at Jack-in-the-Box so often: In what is being termed a setback for cloning, researchers have announced that cloned mice develop obesity when they reach adolescence. I suppose there is a joke in there somewhere, just dying to come out, but this is a very serious implication for those who support cloning research. What other unintended consequences may be out there? There short answer is that there is simply no way to know just yet, particularly with the questions of possible long-term effects. Messing with Mother Nature may be a fair bit more complicated than previously thought.
There's a mortar round out there with your name on it: Yasir Arafat is a bit nervous these days. Of course, you would be too if the Israelis were literally firing shots across your bow at every opportunity. If Ariel Sharon had it to do over again, he would have killed Arafat 20 years ago when he had the opportunity in Lebanon. Before dawn on Wednesday, Israeli Apache helicopters fired missiles into a building next to the office compound in Ramallah where Arafat has been involuntarily quarantined since December. The next day Israeli gunships blitzed the compound again, this time destroying a building used by Palestinian Authority soldiers and injuring one of Arafat's bodyguards. Sharon was not aiming to hurt Arafat. A senior aide told TIME, "We want him to think twice before he sleeps at night." Yep, that would definitely get my attention....
News Flash! Americans Not Universally Loved! Film at 11! I know; as hard as it may be to believe this, we are more likely to be loathed than loved in the Muslim world. A Gallup Poll found that, in nine Muslim nations, residents by a 2-1 margin expressed negative feelings towards the US. That would probably account for why I tell people I'm Canadian when I've travelled in the Middle East. Flashing an American passport in some parts can complicate your life in one hell of a hurry.
A suggestion- Get over yourselves: Jay Leno, in making a joke about a South Korean speedskater eating a dog, has managed to anger Korean politicians. One Korean politician even went so far as to call Leno "an ignorant son of a bitch". While the joke was in poor taste, politicians using the outrage to their own political advantage is hardly a constructive response. Lose the righteous indignation, folks. It's one thing to express your anger at the inappropriateness of Leno's joke. It's quite another to turn it into a perceived indictment of Korean national culture and heritage. (Drudge Report)
I suppose this plan will be more popular than the one pushing divorce and unemployment: Shrub's latest political masterstroke is a brilliant piece of political puffery supporting marriage and work. Kudos to the Shrubmeister for tackling the tough issues. Today, he releases his plan to support motherhood and apple pie....
A bad idea and some better ones: Molly Ivins wonders if there is an upside to have an official government propaganda office with a license to lie? The "Office of Strategic Influence", while in theory has some potential for countering anti-American propaganda in the Muslim world, in reality was associated with Soviet-era dezinformatsia. As Ivins so ably points out, if Shrub and his minions really want to make a positive impact overseas, there are a number of things they could do, none of which involve government-sanctioned lying and disinformation. Hello? Kyoto Protocol, anyone??
How about Vagisil Field? Monistat Stadium? Beano Ballpark? Say goodbye to Enron Field. The Houston Astros have bought back the naming rights to their downtown ballpark, after deciding they no longer wanted to be associated with Enron. No surprise there; no one else in this city wants to be associated with Enron, either.
I love Spring.... ESPN's Peter Gammons discusses the 10 teams he thinks are worth watching this year. Yes, there are a few surprises, but then there always are until the games count.
How do you say "Go Braves!" in Arabic?? The Shrub Administration announced today that the US will be sending troops to Georgia to assist the government there in the war against terrorism, and to hunt for al-Qaeda members. It's unfortunate that terrorists have descended upon Georgia, but Atlanta really is lovely this time of year. Besides, while they're in Atlanta, the terrorists can take advantage of the shopping opportunities in the tony Buckhead district. I also have it on good authority that Osama bin-Laden has been frequenting a Hooters in Marietta. Good wings, eh??
Wednesday 2.27.02
Today's essay: It's a real weenie-shrinker....
Today in Hockey: (1977) Chicago Blackhawk great and NHL Hall of Famer Stan Mikita scores his 500th career goal against the Vancouver Canucks.
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
More than you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Someone actually found my site yesterday by doing a Google search for "naked curling pics". Whoda thunk it??
Killed for being a Jew. Daniel Pearl likely never had the remotest chance of returning home alive to his pregnant wife. Being a Jew working in a rabidly and "fiercely anti-Semitic" Muslim country was by definition a risky proposition. As cautious as he was about the manner in which he conducted himself, there were just too many people willing and able to snuff out his life to "further" their particular political agenda. Being admittedly Jewish in that environment is almost an invitation to murder."My father is a Jew, my mother is a Jew, and I am a Jew," are the last words Daniel Pearl uttered, an instant before his throat was slashed....Daniel Pearl's kidnappers stripped him of his humanity; the funny, creative, fiddle-playing husband and father-to-be is lost. It is replaced with the enemy, the other, the Jew.
It only gets worse: In a sickening twist on the Pearl murder, Pakistani official fear that copies of the video showing his throat being slit will be sold on the street within a few days. Authorities in Pakistan assume Pearl's killers made more than one copy of the videotape, and that in a country where Osama bin Laden monologues and al-Qaeda training films are readily available, it's likely the grisly footage will also surface. It's a prospect almost too sick to comprehend, but then there are those in the Muslim world who consider Pearl's execution to be an act of bravery and a great thing- he was a Jew and deserved to die. Repulsive, I know, but that is the reality in that part of the world. Life is valued much differently there than it is in the West. It's about time we all got used to that idea, because this likely is not the last time it will come up.
Ken Lay's nest egg: Linda Lay may be crying on national TV about "fighting for liquidity", but the reality of the Lay's financial situation is far different. The Lays have millions stashed away in lawsuit-proof accounts, having shifted millions of dollars in personal assets into investments that are beyond the reach of creditors or legal judgements. Two years ago this month, the Lays paid about $4 million -- an amount greater than Lay's entire salary from Enron that year -- to buy variable annuities that will, starting in 2007, guarantee the couple an annual income of about $900,000. Such annuities and life insurance policies are protected by law in many states. Clearly, ken Lay made certain that he and his wife would be taken care of. I wonder if he ever stops to wonder who is taking care of his former employees. My hope is that there will be a very special place in Hell for Lay and the other Enron executives who stripped the corpse clean and then fled for greener pastures.
Go forth and invent even more cool stuff: 2001 may have been the worst year ever for the semiconductor industry, but Intel CEO Craig Barrett is telling his Geek Brigades to keep inventing neat stuff. "Collectively we need to invest and bring new technology into the marketplace. Old technology doesn't sell. You need new capabilities to get the consumer interested. The Internet is the basis for communications, for information access, for commerce, for entertainment, going forward. It's just started its build-out around the world and that's why I'm excited." Kinda makes you look forward to Christmas, eh???
I just flew in, and boy are my arms tired: The Olympic hockey tournmanent, and the break the NHL schedule took during it, means that some teams will face a hellatious schedule down the stretch. For the Dallas Stars, it means 25 games in 48 days- and that's BEFORE the playoffs begin. Twenty-one of those 48 games will be against Western Conference foes, 17 against playoff contenders. Making the playoffs is no guarantee for the Stars. Fortunately, these aren't the Minnesota North Stars that I grew up worshipping. That team had the playoffs "in the bag" in 1993, only to collapse down the stretch and finish out of the money in their final year in Minnesota. This year's Stars have enough talent to make it- if they have the stamina to survive the schedule in front of them.
Setting aside their differences: It's the little things that makes the Olympics special. A week from now, no one will care about the sports- luge, skeleton, moguls skiing, team binge drinking- but the individual stories will linger. I will especially remember Janica Kostelic from tiny Croatia, who won three golds and a silver. Having spent a month in Croatia, I know what those medals will mean there. They will be appreciated and celebrated in a way they never could be here. That, to me, is one of the truly special things about the Olympics. I may not care about most of the sports, but I love the stories.
He's BAAAACCCKKK.... Gary Condit is back in the spotlight, defending the undefendable: his conduct in the Chandra Levy case. Granted, I cannot begin to know all of the pertinent details and realities of his involvement (or not) in her disappearance. What upsets me is the stalling, the obfuscation, and the prevaricating that have been designed solely to maintain his political position. The sad part of this is that a young woman is nowhere to be found, and a Congressman, who by all accounts has until now served his district admirably, is caught up in the web. Personally, I don't much care about the intimate details of what Condit did or did not do with Levy. The fact that he a) committed adultery, b) lied about it, and c) has been implicated in Levy's disappearance, ought to be enough for the voters in his district to send him packing in November.
Shrub's Vietnam: Sure, we "won" the war in Afghanistan? Now what? Ted Rall wonders just what is going to happen now that the fun is REALLY beginning in Afghanistan. Yes, the US managed to defeat and substantially destroy the Taliban. That succeeded only in opening a Pandora's box of rivalries and hatreds that could, and in some cases are, lead to civil war. As the US military is about to find out, if "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", then "the friend of my enemy is also my enemy". Confused? You should be. It gets no easier from here.
He knows if you've been bad or good.... And he knows what you've been typing. No, it's not Santa Claus, it's your tax dollars at work. Federal law-enforcement officials want to begin using keystroke logging Trojan Horse programs to determine what people may be doing on the Internet. Privacy activists are predictably and understandably lived at this prospect, and if you're not nervous, you should be.
Will Athens be ready for 2004?? The Olympics head next to Greece, the Games' ancestral homeland. Questions still abound, however, about whether or not Greece will be ready to host the games. The IOC is already casting questioning glances at the Athens Organizing Committee, who steadfastly maintain they will be ready. Given the current state of construction and planning, it is easy to see why the IOC is nervous. Though the IOC would be loath to remove the games from their birthplace, they may not have an option unless Greek organizers show they can pick up the pace. And then there is the question of security....
The Immovable Object and the.... Well, not really, but any conversation that involves Michael Moore AND Bill O'Reilly is almost guaranteed to be a good time. Retreat to your corners, gentlemen....
What's God got to do with it?? Thankfully, according to John Ashcroft, God is on our side in the war against terrorism. I'd hate to think of what might happen if this wasn't the case. Then again, the last refuge of a zealot is to claim divine provenance. (Unknown News)
Monday 2.25.02
Today's essay: Hey, does anyone know any good pickup lines in Croatian?
Words you will never hear me say: "I miss the XFL...."
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
More than you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
All the President's Namsakes: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Gerald Ford all got together to drop the ceremonial first puck at a Philadelphia Phantoms- Houston Aeros hockey game. No, not THOSE presidents. Someone in the Phantom's marketing department had some fun picking names out of the Philadelphia phone book. It's all in the name, right??
Hockey's
greatest game ever?
A great day for the game of hockey
Canada's golden anniversary is one to celebrate
Northern Closure: Canada ends 50-year
gold medal drought
Canadians reclaim "their" game
Canada no longer needs to celebrate the 1952 Edmonton
Mercurys
The Mercurys, though, were there to celebrate this gold medal performance
US loses Olympic hockey
game on home soil for first time since 1932
Magnus Arvedson still trying to figure what happened to Team Sweden
Belarus
does what Russia should have done- show up, shut up, and
play
Olympic hockey All-Stars
IS the international game superior to the NHL?? It certainly IS different....
Every 15 seconds, an American woman is beaten by her husband or boyfriend. The lucky ones live, left with bruises and broken bones. Every day, four women are killed by acts of domestic violence. This is the story of how three generations of one Houston family was forced to come to terms with their own history of domestic violence.
Here we go again....Jayson Williams is a man in a heap of trouble. Williams faces manslaughter charges in the shooting death of a limousine driver at his mansion on 2.14.01. There is speculation that Williams may have allowed the driver to bleed to death before he called police. This is not exactly OJ redux, but it does appear to be another case of an athlete (or in this case an ex-athlete) having to deal with the consequences of his own excess. Apparently, money still can't buy brains, common sense, or caution.
Blame Canada: The French judge involved in the "Skategate"controversy has changed her story, now saying that pressure came from Canadian officials as far back as September. Less than two weeks, and she is already beginning to sound like an American politician....
North Dakota: a state badly in need of a tourism slogan: Dave Barry, works for the Miami (as in Florida) Herald, willingly goes to North Dakota. I went to Grand Forks, N.D., in January. I had made fun of Grand Forks and its sister city, East Grand Forks, Minn., for calling themselves the Grand Cities and declaring that they are "where the earth meets the sky." (This turns out to be slightly inaccurate: In between the earth and the sky, there's a layer of really hard ice.) Would that I could ever have a sewage pumping station named after me!!
More disturbing Google searches from my referrer log (Guess the theme, win a prize!!):
- Janet Jackson Hawaii Hawaii concert pictures topless
- Hungary pharmacist email addresses
- Child porn (Now THIS is not funny, guys....)
- Sports Illustrated 2002 Swimsuit Issue
- Interview PBS Javad Zarif
- Breasts Crossroads deleted scene Britney
- Prisoners Guantanamo terror nose mouth
- Jamie Sale & David Pelletier pics
- Willow stripper (???)
- 2002 guestbook of exporters in Tennessee
- Britney Spears shower pics from her movie Crossroads
- Naked pics of Russian Olympics ice hockey team
- Concert pics topless
- Topless Mardi Gras pics (No list is complete without this one....)
- Egyptian shower male rape scene (Am I the only one disturbed by this??)
- Rape kits and DNA and 2001
- Israeli male model pics
- Andrea Yates fundamentalism
- Squat pics bend over woman naked
- Free sex pics (Not here....)
- Russia whining Olympics
- Heroes leather life luxury Lagos, Nigeria
- David Pelletier divorce
- Sex chair writhing
- Miss Nude El Paso (I had no idea....)
- Jamie Sale naked
- Ashcroft idiot (No, this was NOT mine, but it could have been.)
- Pics of Latvian Winter Olympic athletes (Not naked??)
- Dead people pics (Thankfully, not naked....)
- Guestbook & email addresses of leather companies in Australia
- Boston Bruin fan lawsuit
- Axis of just as evil
- David Morales naked pics
- Muslim people pics (Again, thankfully not naked....)
- Montreal Expos move
- Daniel Pearl throat slitting
- Macedonian women nude pics
- Ethnicity of Chris Chelios
- Unconscious nude party women sex pics
- Tryon nude boys
- Chris Chelios penis
- Janet Gretzky porn
- Canadian men topless hockey celebration
- Irene seventeen nude
- Janet Gretzky free naked pictures
- Enron employees leaving Houston naked (Well, they DID get to take a carry-on bag....)
- Jamie Sale leather
- Jared Fogel Subway conspiracy
Sunday 2.24.02
Today's essay: If you can't live without me, shouldn't you be dead by now?
Today in Hockey: (1982) Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores his 77th goal of the season vs. Buffalo, surpassing Phil Esposito's record for most goals in a single season.
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
Frank Deford makes an excellent point about sports- athletes are meant to compete against one another, not for judges. My stepson is a debater, an activity subject to the vagaries of judging- incompetence, lack of accountability, and political considerations. It is sad to have to watch a 14-year-old learn that adults who act as judges are often accountable only to themselves, and then just barely. It's a hell of a way for a child to learn that life can be horribly unfair. I can't think of a way to crush someone's spirit faster than to judge them based on anything but their performance. If you want you child to experience the joy of competition, get them a pair of skis or speedskates. At least then all they have to worry about is the clock.
I did NOT have political relations with Ken Lay! The Smoking Gun, a website owned by Court TV, has documents that reflect a relationship between Ken Lay and Shrub that was anything but business-like. Apparently, "Kenny Boy" and Shrub enjoy a very cozy relationship that goes back some time. Can this long-term friendship really be enough to bring down a President?? One can only hope....
IIHF head: "The
referees decisions were not the reason the Russians lost."
It's Canada vs. US for Olympic gold medal.
At 64, Herb Brooks didn't need the aggravation....
Canada
hopes for Olympic gold for first time since 1952.
It may not be Good vs. Evil, but it just may be the biggest
hockey game ever.
Today will not be a day of rest for Canada.
He made a raise takeout and rolled the shooter over to guard against another US rock. I've been getting a kick out of people trying to understand curling. It really is not a particularly difficult sport to understand, but I love the culture connected to it. It may not be the national sport of Canada, but it's something close. Curling is revered in Canada in a way that is difficult to explain to someone unfamiliar with the sport. I grew up about an hour and a half south of the Canadian border in northern Minnesota. Some of the schools there, and in northern Wisconsin teach curling as part of their Physical Education program. Granted, there is little that is "physical" about curling, but that is part of the beauty of it. It's an activity perfectly suited to Joe Sixpack, someone who may not want to spend hours in the gym training. Besides, any game whose rulebook mandates that the winner buy beverages for the losing rink is OK by me.
My new favorite word: bonspiel!!! (a curling tournament)
I think all of us have probably wanted to do this.... A woman accused of beating another customer for bringing too many items into the express checkout lane at a Wal-Mart has surrendered to police. She was then taken to City Hall where she was given the key to the city.
Was that thing loaded?? A Florida fisherman was hospitalized after being stabbed with the bill of a swordfish in a fight with another fisherman. Does this really need a punchline??
The Electric Christian Rapture Test. Inventor and Christian evangelist Dennis Lee has somehow convinced thousands of people to fork over $10,000 for "dealerships" to sell "free electricity machines". So what is Lee- snake oil salesman or a man of God? With rising electricity costs and an increased focus on alternative energy sources it seems the nation's vulnerable underbelly has been exposed to these folks, whom skeptics consider little more than snake oil salesmen. And they seem to know exactly what population to target -- for example, disgruntled locals who show up at Public Utilities Commission hearings. It amazes me how easily some people can be separated from their money. Is it that they want so badly to believe that they're willing to pay for something they've never seen? Or is the power of faith enough to override good old common horse sense and reason?
As the Olympic movement, and indeed the world, move forward, Russia is being left behind. Short on hard currency and mired in the Dark Ages, technologically speaking, Russian pride is not dealing well at all with the obvious. This is a country that, in it's own eyes, is still one of the world's superpowers, but in reality, can barely compete on the international level except in a few traditional sports. From the Kremlin to the Olympic Village, the former Soviet Union propaganda machine has been dusted off, cranked up and is spitting out Olympic-sized malarkey just like the days of the Cold War. It would bring a nostalgic tear to the eye if it weren't such a ridiculously thin effort to deflect attention from a miserable Russian showing at these Games. In their heart of hearts, Russians recognize the decline that has inevitably become more and more difficult to ignore. Now, in a last-ditch effort to salvage some pride back home, the Russian Duma has passed a resolution urging Russian athletes to boycott tomorrow's closing ceremony. Sadly, all of the whining and complaining done by the Russian Olympic Committee, has not had the intended effect. They look more than anything like poor losers. The problem here is that you're the Soviet Union any more, guys. Deal with it.
Saturday 2.23.02
Today's essay: Is a Triple Lutz acceptable in mixed company??
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Andreaa Yates trial....
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
Someone reached my site by doing a Google search for "naked pictures of the Russian Olympic ice hockey team"??? Just for giggles, I tried it myself, and this site comes up as #4. God, I love the internet!
Barcelona, a city I've always dreamed of visiting, is celebrating this year as the 150th anniversary of the death of Antonio Gaudi. Barcelona's "International Year of Gaudi" provides an opportunity to not only celebrate the life and work of one of this century's true architectural geniuses, but also for the city to complete long-standing construction on some of his projects. Guell Park, the Bellesguard Tower, an La Sagrada Familia have all long been works in progress- especially when you consider that Gaudi died in 1926. I've always admired Gaudi for his vision and passion, but also because his work seldom inspires ambivalence. People invariably either passionately love or intensely hate his work, but it is always difficult to ignore. The "International Year of Gaudi" is a long-overdue celebration of a true genius and master of his craft.
I love this! Cam Cole has nailed this one, and this judge loves it: All right, let's see if we've got this straight. After systematically stacking figure-skating judging panels for years with members of breakaway Soviet republics, all trained and intimidated by the Russian federation, Russia's Olympic committee loses one-half of a gold medal to a Canadian pairs team and wants to pack up its fur-coated fat ladies and go home? Leonid Tygachev, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, did everything but challenge IOC president Jacques Rogge to a duel with pistols at 20 paces. Do the Russians honestly think that anyone really believes that THEY are they one country that has suffered from poor officiating? Hello? Hey, Leo, didja happen to see the US-Canada gold medal game in women's hockey? Canada got jobbed, and they somehow managed to pull out a win. Here's a suggestion for you, Leo, and the rest of the Russians: GET OVER YOURSELVES! Or just go home. We don't care.
Penis enlargement? In all of the things I've considered doing to myself, and it's a laundry list, THIS is something I've never even remotely begun to consider. Why mess with a good thing? Besides, NO ONE gets near Junior with a sharp instrument....
Overheard at work the other day: "My computer went down on me." This Artificial Intelligence thing has gone just a LITTLE too far, don't you think???
Lesson Number One A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered " Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.
************************************************ Lesson Number Two A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey,"but I haven't got the energy.
Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "they're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first limb of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after the fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.
Management Lesson: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.
************************************************ Lesson Number Three When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss.
The brain said, "I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions."
The feet said, "We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go."
The hands said, "We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money."
And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs and the eyes until finally the asshole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the asshole being the Boss. So the asshole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered.
Eventually they all decided that the asshole should be the Boss, so the motion was passed. All the other parts did all the work while the Boss just sat and passed out the shit!
Management Lesson: You don't need brains to be a Boss - any asshole will do.
************************************************ Lesson Number Four A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out!
He lay there all warm and happy and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung and promptly dug him out and ate him!
Management Lessons:
- Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.
- Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
- And when you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut.
Class dismissed.
Friday 2.22.02
Today's essays: If you need me, I'll be in the john with this month's Playboy. & When they told me life isn't fair, they weren't kidding.
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
As many had suspected, Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter kidnapped by Pakistani radicals is dead. A videotape delivered to the US Embassy in Karachi showed someone slitting Pearl's throat and then decapitating him. Pearl's body has not been found, but US officials consider the videotape to be authentic. What could possibly be achieved by murdering a reporter who was, by all accounts, fair, thorough, and balanced? His pregnant widow is left to put the pieces together and sort out the rest of her life. Whatever cause his murderers were hoping to advance is no further along than before. What a senseless waste.
Could it be? Satan's evil minion and Minister of the Dark Side, Carl Pohlad, has decided to sell the Twins so that the team may stay in Minneapolis. Pohlad, ever the erstwhile Master of the Obvious said, "I believe that our fans in the Upper Midwest want the Twins to continue to play here." The next step is to find a new owner, one who can provide the impetus to build a new stadium. Ah, yes; every now and then Good triumphs over Evil, and it is truly a wondrous site to behold. Now all we have to do is to banish Pohlad and Bud Selig to the everlasting fires of Hell, where the flesh will be ripped from their bones and fed to rabid wild jackals. Not that I'm bitter or anything....
This week's sign that the Apocalypse is upon us: The Original Duct Tape Webcam. Or you can play "Stump the Duct Tape Guy". Perhaps you should just turn off your computer and go outside for awhile....
- Hey, baby, what's your sign? Do you think it fits you pretty well?I don't know, but I like the idea of being a ram. Very powerful and virile....
- What's the worst birthday gift you've ever received?I'm not sure. I think I've managed to block that memory. Denial really IS more than a river in Egypt.
- What's the best birthday gift you've ever received?On my ninth birthday, I came home to find a basketball and a basketball hoop/backboard waiting for me in my parents' bedroom.
- What's the best way you've celebrated your birthday thus far?My 21st birthday. It involved a couple girlfriends and a lot of alcohol. That's about as far as I can go and still keep this a family show....
- What are your plans for this weekend? Painting. More time at Home Depot. Watching the Olympic gold medal hockey game (Nice goal, eh??). Safely dispose of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Write.
She says she was miserable, and wanted out of her marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. He says that what God joins together, man cannot tear apart. After 31 years of what apparently was not exactly a marriage made in heaven, Texas' "no fault" divorce law is being challenged as unconstitutional. Doug Waite is using his religious beliefs to challenge the law, and Peggy Waite resents being used as a test case. Something's going to have to give here, folks. Can't we all just move on??? Get over yourselves.... (What She Really Thinks)
Thirty-four years ago, Marlon Briscoe was a young (23), talented,
quarterback. What makes him special was that he was the first African-American
quarterback to start a professional football game. In 1968, his
rookie year, he started seven games at quarterback for the Broncos after
Steve Tensi went down with an injury. He threw 14 touchdown passes -- still
a franchise record for a rookie. He wowed the media and the fans with his
strong arm and scrambling style. He earned his teammates' respect. But the
next year, he wasn't allowed to play quarterback -- or even to compete for
the job. He was told that he was too short to play the position. He felt
that what they were really saying was that he was too black. It wasn't
fair. he could have become bitter, but he decided simply to request his
release. Later in his career, he became an All-Pro wide receiver. Now he is
on to trying to make his world- South Central L.A.- a better place. His
approach now is the same as it was then: "I never gave up hope." Indeed;
Briscoe has become a role model and a hero to many disaffected youths. A
life well-lived is it's own reward, and Briscoe deserves to be richly
rewarded.
When you feel the need to ponder the vagaries of your miserable mortal existence, consider this story. Things could be worse; you could be a foreigner living in Japan.
- Find the official Web page which tells you that you need to take your original license, passport, gaijin card and 3,000 yen to your nearest driving license examination center.
- Decide that you'd probably better phone ahead to check, just in case.
- Phone ahead, only to be told that in fact you also need a translation of your existing license courtesy of the Japan Automobile Federation. And no, they don't know where the nearest JAF counter is.
- Phone the JAF, who tell you that their nearest branch is buried deep in the center of Tokyo, far from any significant population centre.
- Go to the JAF office at 9am the next day and pay 3,000 yen (£16) to get "Expiry Date: April 2045" translated into Japanese.
- Marvel at the fact that even in the austere offices of the Japan Automobile Federation, they insist on playing the kind of lame soft-rock dirge that Jeremy Clarkson and the rest of the Top Gear crew would no doubt approve of.
- The next day (because the driving license center is only open from 8:30 to 10:00am) go to the driving license center, which turns out to be a ten-storey behemoth building packed to the gills with distressed-looking people clutching unnecessarily complicated forms being directed from counter to counter in some kind of bizarre bureaucratic homage to Kafka's The Trial and the works of M.C. Escher.
- Present all the above documents and feel very proud of yourself, for about five minutes.
- Start to have doubts when the clerk begins to mutter to herself worriedly under her breath whilst thumbing your passport and, you are fairly certain, also starts sweating lightly.
- Have the clerk talk solidly at you in frantic but ultra-polite (and therefore largely impenetrable) Japanese for five minutes.
- Ask her to explain, simply, what the problem is.
- Endure another five minutes of largely confusing monologue, despite frequent attempts to get her to stop using keigo (honorific language usually reserved for addressing 13th-century feudal lords and emperors).
- Work out eventually, with the help of an intricately-devised timeline charting your movements into and out of Japan over the last four years, that there is problem because your passport was issued at the British Embassy in Tokyo in 1998 and you have only spent a total of 53 days in the UK since then. Apparently this is "not enough".
- Learn that that they need to be able to prove that you have spent at least 90 days in the UK since the issuance of your driving license (in September 1993, i.e. nearly nine years ago) in order to be convinced that you are an experienced driver.
- Remember that you still have your previous (now invalid) passport at home. Ask if bringing it tomorrow will be satisfactory.
- Patiently endure another three-minute answer, which passes you by in a babbling daze until you recognise the final word: "kamoshirimasen", lit. "maybe".
- Give up, thank the clerk profusely, go to work, get a friend to phone and confirm that they need your previous passport. Wince in sympathy as your friend is subjected to a high pitched, rapid-fire ten-minute explanation, with their initially faintly unbelieving look slowly becoming etched into a pained rictus as they wait for the woman on the other end of the line to pause for breath so they can hang up.
- Console friend.
- Confirm that they need to prove you have spent ninety days in the UK since 1993. Reason that this shouldn't be too difficult; they need only quiz you on your encyclopedic knowledge of The Fast Show in order to have their fears allayed.
- Return the next morning with two passports, your UK driving license, a Japanese translation of the crucial "Expiry Date" clause, your Alien Registration Card, a 2.4x3cm photograph of yourself, 4200 yen and a timeline you yourself have helpfully sketched on the back of an envelope, precisely detailing every foreign trip you have taken since April 1995.
- Endure sinking feeling as the clerk takes twenty minutes to decipher your timeline and passport before calling you over to the counter.
- Start to massage your temples in disbelief as she explains that, since there is no exit stamp in your passport from your trip to the US over the summer of '95, nor a re-entry stamp to the UK for that trip, nor re-entry stamps for either of your week-long trips to Hungary in October 1996 and April 1997, that she is only willing to believe that you spent a total of 73 days in the UK between 1995 and 1998, namely the two and a half months between the issuance of your passport and the date of your first trip abroad on that passport.
- Point out (to no avail) that UK immigration do not stamp your passport on re-entry to the UK if you are a UK citizen.
- Point out (to no avail) that entering Hungary a second time necessitates leaving Hungary first.
- Point out (to no avail) that having a Japanese work visa issued in London in November 1997 virtually guarantees your having spent three consective months in the UK prior to that, as the alternative would be spending more than four months in Hungary. The clerk will be unable to take on trust the awfulness of this hypothetical situation.
- Breathe a sigh of relief as she agrees that she can combine the 73 UK days on your first passport with the 21, 17 and 5-day UK trips on your second passport for a grand total of 126 proven days in the UK since 1995.
- Do a double-take as she issues you with the relevant paperwork, along with an extra piece of paper explaining that you are only being issued with a "biginners license" (sic.) because you cannot prove that you have spent 90 consecutive days in the UK since 1993. This, obviously, makes all the difference between your being an experienced driver or not.
- Resist the temptation to regale the clerk with ribald tales of how you misspent your late-teen years bombing down Hertfordshire country lanes in a succession of high-powered family cars in a late attempt to impress upon her the depth of your driving experience.
- Take the form from Counter 1 to Counter 0 (which you find, of course, located next to Counter 1) to pay the 4200 yen fee.
- Take the form and receipt to Counter 7 for an eye examination which involves sticking your head up against a pair of goggles set into somthing resembling an automated Brighton Pier optical illusion peep show machine as envisaged by Terry Gilliam.
- Move on to Counter 8 to take an oral test administered by a very bored-looking civil servant. Civil Servant: "Do you speak Japanese?" You: "Yes, a little" CS: "A little's all you need, son. Off you go."
- Have the form stamped at Counter 9.
- Have your photo taken at Counter 10.
- Proceed to the fourth floor to collect your actual driving license. Marvel at the sheer number of middle-aged gentlemen waiting for licenses and speculate about how many are re-qualifying as a result of drink-driving or similar convictions.
- Examine your numbered ticket carefully before proceeding to the collection desk. Decide that, seeing as the queue counter is on 504 and you have ticket number 63,014, you might as well come back later. Much later.
- Come back later; collect license. Worry about where on earth you're going to find a set of Japanese provisional plates - but that's another story entirely...
Thursday 2.21.02
Today's essay: Narcissistic Nabobs of Negative Nookie
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Eve rything you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
Well, we do think pretty highly of ourselves. A survey has shown that roughly 3/4 of Canadians think that their country has high moral standards. For a clear example of this moral sense in action, look no further than Canadians' reaction last week to the judging of the pairs figure skating event at the Salt Lake Olympics, said Margaret Somerville, an ethicist at McGill University. The silver-medal finish for Canadians Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, which was later upgraded to gold, caused a flap that has dominated news coverage for several days. "Even this outrage over the skating I think reflects a moral sense ... that this isn't right," Mrs. Somerville said. "That cheating, that unfairness is wrong. I think Canadians think of themselves as moral people." The survey apparently also showed that Canadians think that Al Gore invented the Internet and that Bud Selig is Evil Incarnate. Hey, I must be Canadian!!
It was only a matter of time: Space aliens are expected to visit the Winter Olympics today. Damn, I sure wouldn't want to miss that, but knowing NBC, they'll tape-delay it anyway.
Some things just don't translate well (Tokyo Tales):
Fans of open-source hairdressing will no doubt be glad to hear that there's an emporium in Akabane called "Unix The Supermodel Hair Salon". I can't believe that having several thousand people working on your 'do simultaneously is a good idea, though.
Memo to Fox Sports: I HATE YOUR F#@&*%G POP-UNDER ADS!!!! Almost as much as your news station!!!!!
Memo to all of you who reached my site after Google searches for "naked female Olympic athletes", "Janet Jackson HBO sex acts", "Britney Spears breasts", or "porn pictures of Danish schoolgirls": I hate to burst your bubble, but there are no naked pictures here, much less pictures of sex acts, whether involving Janet Jackson or Jesse Jackson. I'd be in divorce court in no time flat, and I HATE attorneys....
Sex sells?? Well, duh.... In an increasingly competitive television market, TV executives have stumbled upon a sure way to increase ratings that is hardly new or original- scantily-clad women with large breasts. Gee, whoda thunk it?? None of this sits particularly well with self-appointed guardians of morality, who sought to eradicate smut from the airwaves under the guise of forcing networks to label programs with content ratings, such as TV-14 or TV-MA. After much hemming, hawing and indignant talk about undermining the Constitution, the networks complied -- and now find themselves able to put on pretty much what they want to the extent that advertisers (who keep pushing the boundaries of taste themselves) will tolerate it, politely telling critics, "We warned you, so change channels or turn off the set." Welcome to the world of unintended consequences, or so much for the best-laid plans of mice and ministers. No wonder watchdog groups were fed up enough to petition the Federal Communications Commission, contending that the Fox series Boston Public, set in a high school, violates indecency guidelines. When the gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers....
Sex sells, Part Deux: Along the same lines (is the universe an ironic place or what?), Sports Illustrated's 2002 swimsuit issue is about to hit newsstands and mailboxes nationwide. Runor has it that it will be arriving in a plain brown wrapper so as to escape the notice of female members of households. Yeah, right; don't they understand that women intuitively sense when the swimsuit issue comes out? Men just have to hope they get home first and pick up the day's mail. (Mail?? Sorry, honey, it was all junk mail today. I didn't get anything either....)
Sex sells, ad infinitum, ad nauseum: Even the UnaBlogger is getting into the act. Shameless self-promotion is it's own reward, eh??
We're still here. Get used to it: It was a long, cold winter for fans of the Minnesota Twins. It is so nice to be able to look forward to watching the team I grew up worshipping. Of course, being around next season is still not a guarantee, but at least hope springs eternal now. Besides, the New York Yankees are the only team to win more World Series titles than Minnesota since 1987. Contract THAT, Bud....
We're #1: Charles Krauthammer on why winning the Cold War and bombing the #@&! out of Afghanistan is so much more satisfying than running up the score on the Chinese women's hockey team. Hockey may be fun, but in the overall scheme of things, it has little to do with world domination.
Can someone tell me just how in the hell THIS happened??
Belarus, a team thrashed by both Finland (8-1)and the US (8-1), beats Sweden. There were reports that shortly afterward, Hell froze over....
So what's the fuss??
Lessons learned; Chris Chelios has something to make up
for.
Team USA's "good luck
charm".
Last
Saturday night's US-Russia hockey scored the highest TV rates for a hockey
game since 1980.
Wednesday 2.20.02
Today's Essay: Post Partum Polemical Posturing
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
At 8:02pm tonight, and for 60 seconds only, it will be 20:02 on 02.20.02. I have no idea why that might be important, but I thought I'd throw that one out there for anyone who is more numerologically astute than I am.
Can't we all just get along?? The Olympics men's hockey tournament has reached the quarterfinals, and tempers seem to be rising along with the stakes. Let the fun begin....
A rodeo cowboy leads a rather hectic and intrepid life. Simple things, like being able to go to church, can go a long ways toward making a cowboy feel at home. During the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, cowboys (or anyone else, for that matter) can go to Cowboy Church. Boots and jeans are just fine. It's a tradition that was started by rodeo cowboys nearly 30 years ago, and it's still going strong.
"He denied the right of non-Serbs to live." Prosecutors at the genocide trial of Slobodan Milosevic have described how Milosevic ordered the systematic deportation, torture, rape and death of hundreds of Muslim civilians, then commanded his forces to destroy evidence of their deeds by reburying the bodies in mass graves in other parts of the country. "The accused never expected that the international community would go to the lengths it did to uncover evidence of ethnic cleansing," said senior prosecutor Dirk Ryneveld, a Canadian, on the second day of Mr. Milosevic's trial before the UN Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. All told, Serb forces deported around 800,000 Albanians from Kosovo and killed an unknown number. I've said this before, and I'll likely say it again: I saw evil during my time in Kosovo and it spoke Serbian.
John Gardner, the founder
of Common Cause and Independent Sector, died 2.17.01 at
the age of 89. A truly original American, Gardner spent his life in public
service, and leaves a legacy the likes of which few of us will ever leave
behind. He was active until his death. He was a consulting professor at
Stanford University, where a youth development center was named
for him. American public life will be poorer for his absence.
Shrub visits Japan, declines to throw up on Prime Minister....
This sounds like a "Monty Python" sketch looking for a place to happen: British troops invaded Spain on Monday, before realizing that the countries were not at war. About 20 Royal Marines landed in bad weather on a Spanish beach, thinking they were on British territory. They hastily retreated after locals told them of their error. Gibraltar has been a contested area between London and Madrid for 300 years. I suppose it's a good thing the Brits weren't conducting an artillery exercise....
It was all in the name of science.... UC-Berkeley has suspended a male sexuality class after the campus newspaper alleged that students participated in an orgy and watched their professor have sex at a strip club. I missed out; I suppose that's what I get for going to a liberal arts college. (Relapsed Catholic)
Lori Berenson, the American woman sentenced to 20 years in a Peruvian prison for collaborating with the Sendero Luminoso terrorist group, spoke out against the Peruvian Supreme Court yesterday. The Court upheld her sentence, which appears to end her appeals. Berenson said in a statement: "I was tried under an unconstitutional law that not only violated due process but also served to justify the flagrant violation of human rights of thousands of Peruvians. It's not really a judicial problem; it's a fundamentally political one. The process was even more absurd because of the defamatory propaganda the government has used for years, through a direct manipulation of the media, against persons like me, detained in the context of political violence." Her parents vowed to continue to fight for her freedom. Whether or not Berenson is guilty may have less to do with the evidence than the political realities of the case. The Peruvian government has turned her into Mata Hari, and it will not be able to step back without significantly losing face.
Rebel Held. A close-up look at Colombia's FARC rebels: Latin America's oldest, best-organized, and most powerful rebel army. The FARC have been been around in one form or another since 1949, but largely kept to themselves until they were attacked by govenment forces at Marquetalia in 1964. The Houston Chronicle's excellent report provides a look at a rebel war that gets very little attention in the US. This lack of attention does not mean that it does not have a profound effect on US foreign policy, though.
A concourse at the Louisville airport was cleared and a thousand
passengers were forced to go through security again after an employee at
a security checkpoint was found to be asleep early yesterday morning.
What do you expect when the poor sap is likely making barely above minimum
wage? . By about 10 a.m., a line stretched more than 200 yards through
the terminal. "That just happens, I guess," said Rick Ahlrichs, of
Cincinnati.
Susan Rider, of Louisville, vice president of sales for a software company,
was headed to Atlanta on business and had been in line for 2 1/2 hours.
"I've missed two meetings," she said. "It's costing my company a lot of
money." Welcome to the brave new world of air travel, where convenience
is an afterthought, and creating an illusion of security means we all feel
safer. And isn't that what it's really all about- making people FEEL safer??
Tuesday 2.19.02
Today's essay: Financial Follies for the Fickle Fanatics
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Andrea Yates trial....
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
One of the most interesting and thought-provoking sites I've run across is All Look Same. The design is top-notch, and the graphic content rates an A+ alone. What fascinates me, though, is the message. How many of us can tell the difference between Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese? Do they really all look the same? You can take a test to find out just how well you can differentiate between the three nationalities. I scored 6 of 18 ("Very bad- obviously you can't tell the difference."), but it did make me think- and perhaps that is the whole point of the exercise. If you feel like a challenge, you can also learn Mandarin!
Get Warholised! Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame! Then crawl back into your miserable maudlin existence to live your quiet life of desperation. (Zoloft, take me away)
Hey, we got us a football team! The Houston Texans completed their expansion draft yesterday. Now the real work begins- like finding a pass rush and a decent quarterback. Only 201 days to kickoff, when we'll find out just how badly our new team sucks.
The International Skating Union announced reforms that are intended to make the judging of the sport more fair and equitable. Now, can they PLEASE get rid of the tights and sequins??
Every reporter in the known world has been all over Enron like white on rice. Where the hell were they before the company went tits up? One of the biggest problems with mainstream journalism is that it tends to be reactive- the old "if it bleeds, it leads" mindset. Overly sensationalistic, mainstream media often doesn't know a crisis until it gets slapped in the face with it. I'm not saying that earlier warning would have prevented Enron's implosion, but it would have been nice to shed some light on the cockroaches before they had already scattered.
Former ABC news reporter Howard
K. Smith died last Friday at the age of 87. What an amazing life Smith
led> He covered the liberation of Germany, moderated the first Kennedy-Nixon
debate in 1960, covered the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement, and
generally played the iconoclast. What stories he must have been able to
tell....
A few people out there have WAY too much time on their hands. Here are a few Google searches from my referrer log:
- Enron employee naked in Houston (Do we really need that mental picture?)
- Song that contains why did the Russians invade Afghanistan (To get to the other side?)
- People complain about the lives of professional hockey players
- Denmark pics of porn children (Sorry, I deleted those weeks ago.)
- Release date for retro Jordans (Would YOU pay $200 for a pair of basketball shoes?)
- Animal Liberation Front Canada tax receipt
- Guestbook of leading businesses in the Vatican
- Topless Mardi Gras pics (I was wondering how long it would take....)
- Albanian stainless steel pans (I just sold my last one. Damn.)
- Naked male soccer team calendar (That one was NOT mine....)
- Tiffany Rawlins Playboy (Who the hell is Tiffany Rawlins?, he asked, displaying his cultural naivete.)
- Pat Glenn weightlifting quote
- Mabon arrest warrant (Three of the loveliest words in the English language to anyone who has ever lived in Portland.)
- Email guestbooks of all the chief executives in Croatia (Is someone planning a party?)
- Steven Seagal and sexual harrassment (Men fear him, women want him?)
- Michael Jordan family pics
(Sorry, I've lost the Christmas card they sent us....)- Enron, strippers, sex (They go together like peanut butter & jelly....)
- Patent lawsuit colors second meaning (Say what??)
- What did it mean when Ken Lay of Enron stated that he would take the fifth? (That you have too much time on your hands??)
- (Alta Vista) Topless 16-year-old girl (Nope; none here.)
- Bush Ken Lay letter Uzbek
- Andrea Yates fundamentalism
- Free pics Marija porn
(What is with all the porn searches??)- (Lycos) Cocaine Bill & Morphine Sue.
- Serbian mafia (It exists. I've seen it.)
- Latvian porn stars
- Googlewhacking Tibet (That's gotta hurt....)
- Andrea Yates mind control
- 1980 Olympic hockey player drunk driving charges
- Pics of naked boys for science (Only in Catholic churches....)
Bored? Lonely? Looking to scapegoat someone for your miserable existence? Play the Enron Blame Game. (Culture & Politics)
Smiling Willie Nelson Reflects On A Lifetime Of Weed And Women LUCK , TX: Taking a long, slow drag off a joint, country-music legend Willie Nelson reflected on a lifetime of weed and women Monday. "I've had some pretty fine times," said a smiling Nelson between hits at his West Texas ranch. "And some pretty fine ladies. Some of the names have escaped me, but the memories never will." Nelson then retired to his backyard, where he drank beer and strummed his favorite guitar while watching the sun go down.(The Onion)
Britney shows her assets.Teenage boys everywhere groaned in disappointment when it was revealed that Britney Spears bared her breasts in her new movie, "Crossroads", only to have the scene end up on the cutting room floor. Apparently, the shower scene with the zucchini was also axed. Maybe next time, kids....
Janet Jackson strips, runs naked through Hawaiian forest. Jackson, in a pre-concert promo spot for an HBO concert, apparently decided it was a good time to display her assets. Then, as if that wasn't enough, Janet chose the HBO special to bring back her most controversial live segment - by bringing an excited fan up on stage, strapping him into a crucifix-type sex chair and simulating sex on him. The Hawaii concert gave a quivering fan called MARCEL the chance to sample the nasty Ms Jackson, who groped him and slid her body up and down his, thrusting as she went. God, I LOVE cable....
Texas A&M is a university unique in it's time-honored traditions. Just ask any Aggie, and they will regale you with the laundry list of traditions that the student body and the Corps of Cadets live by. A&M is a very insular community, assisted by the fact that College Station is a small college town (hence the name). Being insular can often mean being resistant to change, or at the very least being behind the curve. The Aggie community is beginning to put the Bonfire tragedy behind it, but now there is a different, much more challenging issue on the horizon- racism. Although black students interviewed for this story said there were some racial tensions, most said the problems at A&M are not fundamentally different from those at other universities. All the students praised the Bowen administration for trying to address the issue. "Because of our history, we get our dirty laundry aired a lot more," said Shannon Davis, a black senior from Houston. "Pointing out problems at A&M is easier than looking internally to solve racial problems everywhere else." How does an institution that is so tradition-oriented and hide-bound create a culture that celebrates diversity? To begin with, it's difficult to celebrate diversity when you have such an overwhelming white student body:
Observers say a conflation of factors has led to A&M's image. These include a high percentage of conservative, white students and a low percentage of minority students, as well as traditions stemming from its history as an all-male, overwhelmingly white institution that provided technical and military training for rural youths.This year, 82 percent of the 44,000 students at A&M are white, 10 percent are Hispanic, 3 percent black and 3 percent Asian-American.
Whining seems to quickly becoming the Canadian national sport. Now The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, is getting into the act. Give it a rest, Wayne. No one south of the border wants to hear it, anyway. Poor wee Canada....
It has not been easy to be a Muslim of any flavor in this country
post-9.11.01. Harrassment, discrimination, and predjudice has been
disturbingly frequent. Things could always be worse, though. You could be a
Muslim
living in Norway.
Monday 2.18.02
Today begins my new adventure writing for Bad Samaritan:Next Generation. As far as I can see, the writers all seem to have serious attitude problems. It should be fun!! Check it out at http://www.badsamaritan.com/next.
Today in Hockey: 1990 - Boston Bruin great Ray Bourque records his 600th career assist vs. Vancouver.
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
Today's rant: I'm going to begin by saying that I am fully aware what a minefield the subject of race is- especially for a white boy like me. Nonetheless, I am profoundly disturbed by the current status of conversation regarding race in this country. February is Black History Month. OK, I can accept that, but can you imagine the outcry if I were to create a WHITE History Month? Why is it acceptable to celebrate the heritage of one ethnic group, but to celebrate another puts the celebrants at risk of being labelled racists?A good example of this is yesterday's issue of our beloved Chronk. I opened the Editorial section, and found this article: An overdue salute to our black fighting men. The Lifestyle section had this article on it's front page: Black memorabilia runs the gamut from racist to inspirational. The front page also featured an article about racism at Texas A&M University.
I'm as opposed to racism as anyone out there. Judging a person by the color of their skin is repugnant. Why, though, is it acceptable to deny whites the opportunity to celebrate their heritage that is afforded to Blacks, Asians, Native Americans, etc.? Can you imagine a collection of White memorabilia? A memorial celebrating White soldiers? A White history museum?
Racism is not a white phenomenon. It is part and parcel of the human condition. People feel more comfortable with people who look and act like themselves- that's human nature. It really only becomes a problem when skin color or ethnicity is used as a measuring stick. I know from experience that Blacks and Asians can be every bit as racist as whites. These groups can be open about it in a way that no white ever could. Why is this acceptable? Why does no one call them on it? Until we as a society learn to value people for WHO THEY ARE instead of the color of their skin, white Americans- indeed, ALL Americans- will be forced to live this repugnant double standard. Apparently, the meaning of the Civil Rights movement has been lost on the members of minority groups.
Crucify me if you wish for expressing opinions that are politically incorrect. I can live with that. Just don't tell me that what I've expressed is not an accurate portrayal of the realities of race relations in this country.
(There is) Life After Enron. They were the best, the brightest, the cream of the crop. Dedicated workaholics with invaluable experience in one of the world's most aggressive companies. Now they're simply out of work. Like anyone else who has ever been laid off (that includes me, by Washington Mutual- don't get me started...), it's a tough road- emotionally and financially. Even so, and I hope this doesn't sound too horribly insensitive, why should ex-Enron employees be treated any differently than anyone else who has been laid off?? I didn't see anyone pitching a fit when Continental laid off people in Houston. No one cried for me last May when I got laid off. Granted, I was fortunate to be able to walk right into a new job right away, but it was something I did myself. The same holds true for ex-Enron employees. What happened is a terrible, horrible, nasty thing, but it's time to move on as best you can.
I suppose all of us ask ourselves why we do what we do. Why DO we get up in the morning and go off to work, besides the fact that the mortgage needs to be paid. CNN's Martin Savidge has a rather unique reason to ask that question- he is halfway around the world in Afghanistan and his family is still in Atlanta. It also provides a healthy dose of perspective. [T]hese adventures provide me with something that most people -- certainly most Americans -- don't get: a good slap up the side of the head. Reminders for when I'm feeling down, overlooked or envious of others. You know the feelings. I can put a roof over my family's head, feed them -- they live in safety. Do you have any idea how rare that is in much of the world? I haven't walked a mile in the shoes of those who have lost loved ones in war, to terrorism or natural disaster. But I have for a time walked beside them some of the way. I'm blessed, I'm lucky, I'm grateful. My time in Kosovo also served to teach me just how fortunate I am to be carrying an American passport. I lived and worked with people who would have killed (some literally) to have the opportunities I have. I do what I do because I can, and that is a all too rare commodity in most of the world.
Portland 111, LA Lakers 105. Not exactly Good vs. Evil, unless you're a Trailblazers fan, but it's only February....
Hell, no, we won't go!! Young Russian men of draft age are avoiding the draft in droves, primarily over a reluctance to fight a war in Chechnya that they do not understand. Now Russia's Parliament is giving in to the inevitable and working on legislation to create alternative forms of national service. Perhaps they are learning from our experience in Vietnam? Santayana was right; those who do not understand history are condemned to repeat it. Let's hope the Russians have learned something from our mistakes.
- Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Leave me the hell alone.
- The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.
- It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper that's the time to do it.
- Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
- No one is listening until you make a mistake.
- Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.
- Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
- It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
- It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.
- If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
- Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
- If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
- If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
- Don't squat with your spurs on.
- If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
- Good judgment comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
- Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
- There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.
- Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your mouth is moving.
- We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.
Now that Canada's gold medal hopes are in trouble, the whining has already begun. The Canadian press seems to think that the hockey gold medal is their country's birthright as the "birthplace of hockey"- never mind that it has been 50 years since Canada last won Olympic gold. I'll tell you what, guys; win the tournament and then I'll listen to you whine. Until then, deal with the collection of overpaid, undermotivated players that you have.
Sunday 2.17.02
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
One of the most interesting political battle in recent Texas history is the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. For the first time, the two front runners are Hispanic-American, Tony Sanchez, a businessman from Laredo, and Dan Morales, a former Texas Attorney General. Both are impressive success stories, although they have travelled separate paths. The Hispanic population of Texas has generally been underrepresented, except perhaps in the counties bordering Mexico. Whether Sanchez or Morales wins the Democratic nomination simply means that the long climb is just beginning. The winner will have to face the incumbent Republican governor, Rick Perry ("The Invisible Man"). Outside of the ethnic component of the primary race, it is turning out to be a pretty typical Texas campaign. Morales is well behind in the polls, and, like anyone in his position, has resorted to some desperate-looking tactics. In one speech, he partially blamed Sanchez for 9.11.01. That's right, politics is a blood sport in Texas. Democrats (unfortunately) are particularly tasty. This is not an easy place to be a liberal, left-wing Democrat (unless you live in Austin).
To a golfer, there are few things more frustrating than slow play. Having to wait, and wait, and wait, while the group on front of you takes their sweet time over every shot, every putt can be maddening. Imagine trying to make a living playing golf, and having to deal with that on a daily basis. Whether you're an amateur or a professional, there is no reason in the world why a round of golf should take six hours to play. Anyone with any sense of courtesy at all should be able to play a round in about four and a half hours. If you can't do that, find another game where slow play isn't a problem- shuffleboard, f'rinstace.
A few days ago, I offered Cheese Racing as a sport for the future. Now comes word of Extreme Ironing. I can hardly wait for the Mountain Dew commercial.... (Liberal Arts Mafia)
Speaking of pigskin, Houston's new football team, the Texans (God, what a LAME name; don't get me started on that...)gets to hold it's expansion draft tomorrow. Now we get to start to see some faces, and find out what overpriced, underachieving veterans the rest of the NFL is trying to exile to Houston. The Texans have said they will not select any player over 30 years of age and will probably take just 15-20 players. Houston is permitted to choose 30-42 players, or fewer than that, provided the aggregate salary cap charge represents 38 percent of the 2002 spending limit. That means the club can stop once it has chosen players whose cap charges total slightly more than $27 million. OK, so it's nothing terribly exciting, but we have a HUGE new stadium, and it will be nice to see the process of creating a team begin to come to fruition.
A suicide bomber set off an explosion in the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron yesterday, killing himself and two Israelis. At last count, the wounded numbered 26. When is enough enough? Each Palestinian suicide bomb, each Israeli military incursion is in response to something that happened previously. The end result is an endless and senseless cycle of violence. Every time I hear reports of more violence in Israel, I'm reminded of something Mahatma Gandhi once said- "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Indeed....
Proving Gandhi correct, Israel struck back at Palestinian government targets in the West Bank early today. Witnesses said warplanes and helicopter gunships carried out the attacks, which severely damaged a Palestinian Authority building, a police compound and offices reserved for Yasser Arafat during his visits. There were no reports of casualties. Mahmoud Al-Aloul, governor of the Palestinian-ruled city, condemned the raids as a "dangerous escalation," but the Israeli army said it was responding to "continuing and escalating terrorism against the citizens of Israel and its soldiers."
It's official. Free speech really is dead.... (Unknown News)
The FCC has put control of Internet broadband access into the hands of several companies, leading consumer advocates to fear for the future of Internet access. The FCC said it would overhaul the rules governing high-speed Internet access with the goal of encouraging private companies to invest billions to take broadband connections to consumers. The federal regulators tentatively agreed to reclassify broadband as an "information service" instead of a form of telecommunications. While the new definition is fairly arcane, this action lays the groundwork for deregulating the broadband Internet in a way that will allow large telephone and cable TV companies to shape it to their economic advantage rather than let it develop to benefit the public, critics said. The FCC disputes that, saying that clearing away regulatory underbrush is necessary to lure private firms into spending money needed to build the Internet's next-generation infrastructure. The sky may not be falling, but it is easy to see the reasons for the trepidation. When economic concerns become primary, it is easy to wonder how many people will be left behind. Will we have poorer people limited to a "1968 Ford Fairlane Internet", while the rich enjoy a "Lexus 300GS Internet?" Will that widen the gap between the rich and poor? Not surprisingly, the answer may well be yes. If so, we will all be the poorer for it.
As a charter member of Citizens for Michelle Malkin Control, I am concerned with being able to counter the views of a conservative columnist with a rather pollyanna-ish outlook. John Leo of US News & World Report says of Malkin, "Michelle Malkin writes with force and wit and never ducks an issue. She is a born columnist who is bound to become an important force in American journalism." Or one who pushes a conservative agenda with more politeness and less vitriol than Rush Limbaugh. I'm not sure that's anything to be proud of. Malkin, like most Conservatives, seems to forget that life cannot be stuffed into their narrow little ideological box. Instead of opining about how things could and should be, deal with how they are....
Redneck Vacation Planning Billy Bob and Luther were talking one afternoon when Billy Bob tells Luther, "Ya know, I reckon I'm 'bout ready for a vacation. Only this year I'm gonna do it a little different. The last few years, I took your advice about where to go."
"Three years ago you said to go to Hawaii. I went to Hawaii, and Earline got pregnant."
"Then two years ago, you told me to go to the Bahamas, and Earline got pregnant again."
"Last year you suggested Tahiti and darned if Earline didn't get pregnant again."
Luther asks Billy Bob, "So, what you gonna do this year that's different?"
Billy Bob says, "This year I'm taking Earline with me."
Country music legend Waylon Jennings was laid to rest yesterday in Mesa, AZ. Jennings, whose hits included "Good-Hearted Woman" and "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," died Wednesday at his Arizona home after a long battle with diabetes-related health problems. He was 64. Country music owes a good deal of it's current popularity to Jennings. Country being what it is, the artists recognize it and are paying tribute- as well they should.
If you're single and looking for that "special someone", my former hometown, Portland, OR, would be a great place to start. Calm down, loser--you're not so special. Portland is the sixth most single place in America when you're looking at large towns, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More news from our favorite government accountants: Proportionately, there are more singles in Stumptown than in New York City. Hey, and on all those cold, damp winter nights, having someone to help keep you warm is a good thing!!
The Montreal Expos are focused on winning now, because there may not be a tomorrow. Or a next season.
This is just about the creepiest thing I've ever heard. The grounds of a crematorium in northwest Georgia may contain as many as 200 unburied bodies. Ray Brent Marsh, 28, the son of the crematory's owners, was arrested Saturday and charged with theft by deception after authorities discovered about 80 unburied bodies and body parts in sheds and strewn on the crematory grounds. Marsh told investigators the facility's incinerator had not worked for some time. So you think that they would have just gone ahead and fixed the silly thing, right? "There is no rational or logical explanation for this, and I'm about to the point of stopping trying because I can't comprehend it," a spokeman said. "I can't process it and make any real sense out of it." Needless to say, those who thought that their loved ones had been cremated and properly disposed of are looking for someone's scalp. Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, ever the master of understatement, said simply, "This should not happen again." Well, duh....
Your
tax dollars at work.... Playboy magazine is now available at Texas A&M
University's library. There was no word on whether it comes with a box of
Kleenex at the checkout desk. (Unknown News)
Saturday 2.16.02
Wall to wall Enron coverage (ad infinitum, ad nauseum): Houston Chronicle; AlterNet; Enrongate; Yahoo!
Complete coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City....
I am Lance, God of Romance. I spent the day painting the bedroom with Susan. Que romantica.... It ranks right up their with the day we took her car and my truck to Wal-Mart to get the oil changed. Someone's getting some tonight....
All hail the Queen of the Festival of Naked Flesh. When all you're wearing is a coat of paint, you'd better hope it doesn't rain....
Won't somebody PLEASE agree to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Or are you enjoying watching the Glazer brothers make a collective ass of themselves as much as I am? Note to self: remember that you generally reap what you sow....
Two men were arrested after smoking crack and having sex in an airplane bathroom on a London-to-New York flight. The miles-high ordeal began about 8:15 a.m. Friday on the London-to-New York flight, said an American Airlines spokeswoman. Flight attendants complained to the pilot that the two men were acting suspiciously, making four or five trips to the rest room together. When the captain radioed American Airline's operations center to ask that the plane be met by security personnel, the US Air Force scrambled two F-16s to check things out. Since no drugs were found on the two men, neither was charged with any crime. They were, however, denied entry into the US since they admitted smoking crack in the airplane's bathroom. Later the same day, they were put on a return flight to London. (Note to self: whenever planning to have sex in an airplane bathroom, always smoke crack BEFORE boarding the plane.) (Drudge Report)
Texas A&M, best known outside of Texas for rabid football fans and the Bonfire tragedy, now has something else to brag about. Researchers at TAMU have cloned a cat. The researchers, not lacking a sense of humor, have named the cat "C.C.", for Copy Cat. "This isn't ready for prime