June 30, 2004

Kerry - Clinton ticket?

Mr. Drudge speculates based on anonymous tips that Senator Hillary Clinton will most likely be chosen as Kerry's running mate.

His reports site that signing up Senator Clinton would be the solution to a lot of Kerry's problems (see article). I feel that as exciting as it would be to have a woman running for the second top spot in the fall, choosing her to be his running mate will be the kiss of death for his campaign.

What do you think?

Day Three

4:50 pm
Either the craving for nicotine or the effort not to smoke, is giving me a big fat headache. It would be huge relief if I could just smoke. I hate quitting smoking.

3:23pm
Agony. Agony. Agony. Huge craving lasting for hours.
A great act of will required not to give in. I called Jon who reminded me why I am doing this. The support feels good, even if quitting does not.


8:45 am
Confessions of a serial smoker: Last night, at the bar, when I was playing trivia, while my team was winning, I went out with a friend and smoked one of her cigarettes. Also, I smoked one when we were on our way out. But I am not discouraged. I have decided that today is a no smoking day as well.

Day three is not going too badly. Earlier, I found that the need for a cigarette was properly quelled last night (see above confession) and I woke up feeling somewhat free of my addiction. This morning, when out of habit, I found myself thinking about buying a pack for the day, my body was not with me. Reason eventually won out because I just did not feel like spending $8.00 on another box of nails for my coffin. So, I didn't.

Now I am at work and during the course of writing this between spurts of work, I find my urge comes and goes in proportion to the ebb and flow of my work. Answering two lines, while making photocopies and faxing out estimates seems to make me feel a little stressed. That happened about 20 minutes ago. Now I find myself again fighting the urge to run out, buy a pack and smoke, because again, there is a small lull before the next big rush of meaningless work.

As you can imagine, I am receiving support from my friends and loved ones.

I resist telling my family until I achieve at least a week of smoking sobriety.

June 29, 2004

Second Day

This is my second day of "choosing not to smoke". To say I'm quitting is way too much pressure. Today, I choose not to smoke. That seems less pressuring, no?

Right now, it's hard not to. Work is a little slow and my system is screaming for one. For me not to smoke, requires me to believe that I am not naturally a smoker and these feelings of physical longing are simply something that will pass if I ignore them.

I feel jittery, like pacing, like eating, like jumping, like talking incessantly. I'm in control though and I am resisting.

Although sometimes it feels like resistance is futile.

Light and Fluffy

After yesterday's Farenheit post, I thought I would post something a little lighter and fluffier.

Did I ever tell you guys about my little three year old imagination,the little tricks it used to play on me and how it helped me to rationalize the big, bad world around me?

I'll limit this post to how it used to help cope with things that were too complicated for me to understand.

For example, when I was about three years old and starting to learn how to communicate, I used to get excited by adults who were so thrilled to see me because they hadn't seen me in a while.

They would always start with, "You've gotten so big. Did you grow overnight?"

I used to hear that so much, I imagined growing happened overnight with the help of elves. While I was sleeping, the elves would open my head, pull out my skeleton, and replace it with a new, longer skeleton. I never remembered anything when I woke up from this experience but had a good idea that these little people were conspiring against children remaining small.

With regard to my growing empathy to those around me, I used to believe that all of my dolls were alive and had feelings. It was important that none of them fell off the bed when I was sleeping otherwise their feelings would get hurt and they would get angry.

With regard to what I consider an early appearance of insomnia, when I was trying to fall asleep at night, sometimes I imagined my wall disappearing altogether as it was replaced by a huge mural of imagined landscapes with a cast of cowboys and astronaut supplying the action.

Do you remember your earliest thoughts about the world and how it worked?

June 28, 2004

Farenheit 9/11

Here is an argument against Farenheit 9/11, written by former and beloved NYC mayor, Ed Koch.

I have to admit, the more I hear about this movie, the less I want to see it.

I'm no great supporter of the Bush family but if you're going to come out against them, I think you should at least get your facts straight. It doesn't sound like Mr. Moore is really presenting an accurate portrayal of his argument, rather it seems like he is taking some almost facts and manipulating them to support an agenda I don't understand, quite frankly.

He seems to be motivated by money this time around. His efforts to promote this film seem above and beyond previous efforts to promote previous films.

Again, not being a fan of Bush I can understand how someone can come out against him but to come out against this war so strongly and then release the movie internationally doesn't seem all that patriotic. Be against the war, be against your government but don't take it outside our borders.

In other words, don't air our dirty laundry.

I'm a little disappointed in you Mr. Moore.

Weekend Bullets

Friday Night
Cleaned up
Blogged
Went to bed early for a Friday night

Saturday Day
Got up early
Watched In America
Had breakfast at Keystone
Foodshopping at Key Food
Picked up laundry
Made famous butterscotch fudge

Saturday night
Rested
Wrapped fudge
Gave some fudge to neighbor
Rode subway to meet Jon in city
Saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Sunday
Rode subway to deep Queens
Visited brother and saw most incredibly wonderful and cute baby in the whole world (my nephew)
Rode subway back into city
Got out 57th & 6th
Walked up West Side of Central Park to 100th Street
Rested

Sunday night
Rode subway back to Queens
Took shower
Went to neighbor to watch Six Feet Under
Ate pizza
Had fun
Went home
Posted cute picture of Jon and me
Got sleep

Frog People

Does anyone remember the series "Ripley's Believe it or Not" hosted by Jack Palance? The Ripley people now have a cool website you can visit to find stories about the strange but true.

Perhaps you can imagine what it was like is like for the following woman. The article I refer to comes from the BBC News World Edition online.

This woman in Iran claims to have given birth to a frog. The paper that published the article claims that experts who have examined the frog says it has human characteristics. Possible explanation given is that while the woman was in dirty water somehow the larva crawled inside.

The frog still has to undergo testing:
But it quotes clinical biology expert Dr Aminifard as saying: "The similarities are in appearance, the shape of the fingers and the size and shape of the tongue."

June 26, 2004

Fantasy Wedding


As promised, here is a photo of Vanisha Mittal, daughter of the 5th richest man in the world, at her $55 million wedding.

And here is an article about it
.

June 25, 2004

This site is certified 79% GOOD by the Gematriculator

Elevator to the Stars

or

25,475th floor
The Ronald Reagan Space Station


At first when I saw the headline for this article at The Drudge Report, I thought for sure it was an article about scientist Bradley C. Edwards having gone mad. But then I started reading the article and learned there are those that believe a space elevator could be ready and operating in 15 years to the tune of $10 billion. Still, I couldn't believe what I was reading was true. How could a space elevator even be remotely possible? Perhaps the Drudge Report was posting satirical articles like those written on the pages of the The Onion.

So then I linked to one of the supporting links listed at the bottom of the article. This link is for the Third International Conference for the Space Elevator. If you go here, you can see notes from the conference and different articles on the different technologies that would make a space elevator possible.

It's true. It is possible to build a space elevator. Even if you don't believe it can be done in 15 years, I should be able to see it's launch before I die.

That's amazing.

Schwarzenegger May Be Barking Up Wrong Tree

In an effort to save his constituents money, Governor Schwarzenegger is proposing to repeal a state law that requires animal shelters to hold stray dogs and cats for up to six days before killing them according to this article at SeattlePI.com. He suggests animals should be euthenized after three days of capitvity.

Governor Schwarzenegger says that this measure would help to save local governments operating animal shelters up to $14 million.

I think this is a great idea but I have a feelign that his constituents, in spite of all of California's financial problems, will not stand behind the Governor on this decision.

June 24, 2004

Weighing in on Mary Kate

For those of you who dislike breaking up a set, you may want to stop reading now. The news in entertainment this week is the Mary Kate half of the Olsen Twins has signed herself into a facility for treatment for an eating disorder.

What I understand about the ailment is little. Experts say it's not about being thin, yet every one seems to become anorexic trying to get or maintain thin. Experts say it's about control. Well, Mary Kate and Ashley have a lot of control or so I've heard.

My feeling is the disease is about escape.

There's probably a lot of pressure on the Olsen Twins to keep succeeding and moving forward. The only way out really, without people barking at you is to get very sick. That's the only excuse some people will accept for not being busy all the time. These girls have been busy since they were 9 months old. I hope that Mary Kate is checked into a good facility, that she's getting rest and taking it easy and giving herself a break.

You don't have to be on the move all the time to be succeeding. It's okay to rest. Unless you know you're checking out tomorrow, you've got years to get done what you're trying to get done. My advice to the Olsen Twins is to check out for a while. Enroll in college, go to classes, hang out with your friends. But stop working on your careers and work on protecting your sanity. This may sound condescending but I'm proud of Mary Kate for taking the time to take care of herself.
HASH(0x8ad70e8)
Ki-lin

A mythical being of Chinese mythology, comparable
with the western unicorn. Ki-lin personifies
all that is good, pure, and peaceful. It lives
in paradise and only visits the world at the
birth of a wise philosopher. The Ki-Lin is
said to walk on earth and on water. It never
drinks or eats dirty food or water. The Chinese
unicorn never treads on smaller animals below
its feet nor does it ever harm another living
creature. The Ki-Lin is the emblem for
exquisite goodness, longevity, grandeur,
endless compassion and great wisdom. According
to Chinese mythology, at the birth of Confucius
a Ki-Lin appeared and Confucius died soon after
a Ki-Lin was killed, he believed that his
writings would not proceed from the omen of the
death of the Unicorn.

Which Chinese Mythological Being Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Welcome Back

Chico, the mastermind behind Nervous Nero, The Evil Twin Theory, and Area 52 is back from his writing hiatus.

Welcome back, Chico.

We've missed you.

June 23, 2004

Subway Tales

Tonight, when I got out of work, I stopped by Jon's office to bring him a cup of coffee. He works nights as a copy editor for the New York Post.

It was five minutes well spent. I handed him his coffee and he gave me a hug.

Then I went back to the subway.

And I waited and I waited and I waited.

Then my train pulled up but there were so many people waiting the train was too crowded before I even got to the door, so I didn't get on and I waited some more.

Another crowd started to gather.

We were all getting a little impatient when an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Due to delays, there is an R train approaching 42nd Street."

I was at 49th street so this was a good announcement. Although the R train isn't my train, this meant that a good part of the crowd would get on and there would be room for me on my own.

Well, the R train came and went, right through the station without stopping.

An N train came by and stopped, took in most of the crowd but even though that train was going to Astoria I decided to wait a few more minutes to see what came next.

Two minutes later, a W train pulled into the station and I got on. Most of the crowd had boarded the previous train so this train was relatively empty.

I sat with my eyes closed until my stop in Astoria.

The end.

Ann Coulter

Hey look everybody!!!

Ann Coulter has a blog type thing.

June 22, 2004

Tuesday

Today is Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday
It will be a fun day, fun day
All day long.

June 21, 2004

Weekend Bullets

1. Sat. day - slept late, played video game

2. Sat. night - roasted stuffed chicken and corn for dinner, made salad

3. Sun. afternoon - Long Beach - went to beach with Jon

4. Sun. night - Long Beach - BBQ at parents house. Parents, brother and wife, brother's inlaws, nephew

5. Good times.

June 18, 2004

American Hostage Beheaded in Saudi Arabia

Those Al Qaeda bastards beheaded Paul Johnson.


Here is Paul Johnson's yearbook photo.


I'm going to leave this one to the professionals to discuss.

Here is the latest.
Saudis Say Qaeda Chief Killed After U.S. Man Beheaded
Saudi authorities said on Saturday they had killed al Qaeda leader Abdulaziz al-Muqrin and three other prominent militants after they beheaded U.S. hostage Paul Johnson.

Saudi Arabia confirms death of al-Qaida leaderRIYADH, June 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The Interior Ministry of Saudi Arabia said Saturday that the leader of the al-Qaida terror network in the kingdom, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, had been killed. The ministry published photos on state television to support its claim.

U.S. hostage beheaded; leader dead
An Islamic extremist group in Saudi Arabia Friday beheaded Paul Johnson, the American electronics engineer whom they had kidnapped six days before. Within hours, Saudi Arabia announced that its forces had killed three of the extremists, including their leader, in a gun battle. The group, called al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, posted gory photos of Johnson's body on the Internet after the expiration of its ultimatum that the Saudi government free al-Qaida prisoners it holds.


They're At It Again

The Anonymous Blogger and Anonymous Bloggette are at it again.

Anonymous Bloggette, yesterday, made the point that if women have it so much easier than men when it comes to dating there wouldn't be so many reality based TV shows where 50 women are competing for one man, that the show Average Joe and Average Joe 2 would never feature an Average Jane. Anonymous Blogger, today, makes the point that TV Producers are mostly male and suggested that programming is sex related for the benefit of making money. He challenges women to produce their own reality shows. He said that a program like the Swan is awful because it emphasizes outer beauty.
I thought it was great!! It was honest. Ugly or average looking women do not fare as well in American Society as their better than average and great looking sisters. The Swan offered people a chance to succeed in a society where looks matter.


Well, T.A.Blogger may not be aware of this, but I think he helped the Bloggette make some kind of point, but on an even bigger scale than either of them realize. Men just have it easier in this world. Period.

Granted nothing is easy and 99% of us work hard for what we have as a whole but men still have it easier.

June 17, 2004

Rein of Terror

This horse was determined to be the killer of 17 other horses in this bizarre story.

Outside

I was just outside.

It's hot out there.

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

or even better

How much wood would a wood chuck, if a wood chuck could chuck wood?

I can't let the Anonymous Blogger have all the fun, now can I?

The Baked Apple

Hot and humid; that's our forecast for today. I walked out of my stifling Queens apartment with the hopes of feeling a cool breeze as my feet hit the sidewalk.

Nope. It was just as hot and stifling outside as it was inside.

I chose to open my windows today to air out my apartment. I've been running the A/C for a couple of days and the air is getting a little stale. Truth be told, if it weren't for the humidity, I wouldn't ever run the AC. Fresh air is preferred.

So, as a result, it was hot while I was getting ready for work. I ran the AC until about 4 this morning. It's just too loud and drives me a little nuts. I can't sleep the night through while it's roaring cold air into my small space.

My apartment is a studio with four windows facing the same direction. I get no cross ventilation so it gets hot pretty fast in there when the weather warms up. Some might even compare being inside my studio in the summer to being cooked alive.

Anyway, it's a hot and humid day in the Big Apple.

June 16, 2004

Kidnapped

Did you hear about the American who was kidnapped as collateral against Saudi Arabia for some Al Quaeda prisoners they are holding prisoner?

Why didn't they kidnap a Saudi?

Say a little prayer for this nice man and his family

June 14, 2004

Retro Russell

Jon just watched "Used Cars" the other day and pointed out to me that Kurt Russell (in his first non-Disney, raunchy role) plays a sleazebag in cynical malaise-era America in 1980.

In his most recent role in "Miracle" he plays a hero who helps "lead" America out of its cynical malaise in 1980.

Just an interesting thought.

Pat the Bunny

In the pet store, I told Jon to touch the bunny because it was so soft and cute. 15 minutes later, checking out antiques, Jon's eye started to bother him. We decided to get outdoors figuring the dust was causing an allergic reaction. 1/2 an hour later sitting in the coffee shop, Jon's eye started to swell shut.

It was the bunny.

June 12, 2004

Aaron Carter

Caren, Sarah and I went to Staten Island to see Aaron Carter perform.

Before we boarded the Staten Island Ferry we met for a late lunch or early dinner at FunAyama, a favorite spot of mine, introduced to me by Caren. Funayama is a sushi place like no other. Before even going, I liked the place because it has the word "fun" in its name. Sarah and I orderd the Sushi specials, Caren got the eel and we all shared a plate of edimame. If you are entertaining a friend, that you want to impress take that friend to Funayama. Last night, our portions were obscenely enormous but they always are, no matter the Sushi chef, no matter the day of the week or the time of day. It's on Greenwich Avenue between W. 10th and Charles Street.

I'm ready start delivering food walking tours of New York. If I organized something like that - a day of eating at different restaurants over 6 or 7 hours in different parts of town - would you pay me and what would you pay?


After a leisurely meal, we gathered our things and headed out on our musical mystery tour.

1. The Staten Island Ferry is free - I haven't been on the Staten Island Ferry in years and couldn't ask for better weather. In the early evening, the sky was still blue and the views were tremendous. Behind us, was a gorgeous view of downtown. If you head over to "Sarah's site, she posted a shot. On our left was Brooklyn and I think Governor's Island but I'm not entirely sure. I'll do some research and get back to you. A view of the Statue of Liberty passed us on our right. We laughed and joked around as Sarah hummed the theme song to "Working Girl" and fantasized about Harrison Ford being her lover. The ride was short but then again it was a free.

This is another cheap thing you can do in New York, to entertain a friend or to entertain yourself. Staten Island is pretty interesting itself. We did only go as far as the Stadium but I've been there before. I've heard many New Yorkers refer to it as the armpit of New York but it isn't really. Link to Forgotten New York for some cool Staten Island places to visit.


2. Staten Island Yankee Stadium is a good venue for a show.
Mostly because it's not too big and all around you see nothing but sky. Audience members are treated to a view of Manhattan. It's very clean. It's right on the water.
(By the time I'm done writing this post, I'll be living in Staten Island)



3. The concert was a blast. Most of the audience members were 10 years old or under. What a happy place - not an ounce of cynisism to be found (outside of my body) which was quite refreshing for this New Yorker. Four acts were up before Aaron. Two solo acts, a thirteen year old boy and 14 or 15 year old blong girl, and two girl groups. All very pop, all very innocent all very Disney, actually.

Aaron Carter was introduced by Hulk Hogan and his daughter - I think her name was Generic Blond - who Aaron Carter is seeing. Hulk Hogan - gosh he still looks hot. His body - yeowza! - he's been working out 24/7 since he fell out of the lime light.
I feel bad for him because I'm sure he thought he would be retired by now, but no, Disney had to trounce him out on stage to introduce the 16 year old with the failed career who was performing to 3 - 10 year olds at some venue in Staten Island which wasn't even one-third full

When Aaron came out every little girl (and at least three big [adult] ones) in that place lost their minds (again, see Sarah's blog)

I can't say I found the music terribly good, but Aaron Carter worked his ass off entertaining the 5ifth grade and under crowd. The three of us were standing on our chairs for most of his performance. When he came out and started singing, I turned to Sarah and Caren and said, "Who is that girl?" It wasn't a girl. It was Aaron Carter. Honestly, this kid looks like he could use some time at a spa in New Mexico to regain his strength. By the end of the show, he was spent. I'll bet he loses 10 pounds every time he puts on a show. He can't weigh more than 120 pounds.

Afterwards, as the crowd was breaking up, we spotted Lou Perlman, the one time despotic manager of the Backstreet Boys, N 'Sync, O Town and I'm guessing the two girl groups that warmed up the crowd. Their names were Huggy Poo and Play. (I'm not too sure about the name Huggy Pop but it was something like that). Sarah got a great picture of Mr. Perlman who was meeting and greeting the talent and their stage moms after the show. He was kind enough to stand still for her for the time it took take the photo.

I guess the only thing I found disturbing was the sexiness of the choreography danced by the two girl groups. The audience was really young, I mean really, really young. It was like attending a Rafi concert. All around us were 4th and 5th graders having the times of their lives. I think their too young to see overtly sexy dancing.

Last night was probably the first time I've really relaxed all week, truly relaxed.

All in all, I had a great time and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I recommend this experience to every cynical, pissed off, sick of life in New York City, New Yorker. Children have a way of making everything seem okay.

June 11, 2004

Bread Dress

I shit you not. I found this article on CBSnews.com

Haute Croissant Couture

French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier has created an entire collection of clothes made of fresh bread.

Croissants and baguettes were turned into haute couture shoes, bras and even the perfect Oscar-night dresses.

The Atkins-unfriendly threads are not for sale, but rather, are on display at the edgy Fondation Cartier in Paris until October.

This video has no sound.

June 10, 2004

Ray Charles Dead at 73

Ray Charles died. He was 73. I guess he won't be "busted" anymore. (sniff)

Caren Lissner

My friend Caren Lissner, author of Carrie Pilby and *Starting from Square Two* will be hosting a reading on June 15th at Barbes, in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Stem Cell Research

I find it interesting that the Reagans were unable to succeed in getting the Federal Government to relax regulations on stem cell research, firmly supported by Laura Bush, considering the amount of AIDS research not done during the Reagan's reign. Perhaps, if they had encouraged and funded AIDS research and education programs during their time in office, a cure for Alzheimers could have been found as a side effect.

I don't wish illness on anyone. My heart goes out to the the Reagan family. I may not have liked Mr. Reagan as a politician but I didn't know him as a private person. He was probably a lovely man. Look at the turnout for his various wakes and the outpouring of sympathy for Mrs. Reagan.

It's sad that so late in the 20th century and early into the 21st, people are still suffering from diseases that have afflicted humans for as long as medical professionals have been keeping records. Restrictions on stem cell research are so strong. With the politics of the Right to Life movement standing in they way who knows if American scientists will ever be able to follow their research to its end.

Why must people suffer when cures are so close? There are several people in my life afflicted with ailments whose cure could potentially be found in the petry dish where the work will be done.

That's where politics come in.

That's why I dislike so many politicians.

That's why it's so interesting that stem cell research toward finding a cure for Alzheimers was not available to the man who put the kibash on AIDS research during his run as President.

June 09, 2004

Ahem.

I received this from one of my co-workers this morning, via email.
What do you think?
========================================

How do you tell the difference between Liberals, Conservatives, and Southerners?

Scenario:
You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, a dangerous looking man with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, raises the knife, and charges.
You are carrying a loaded Glock 40, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?


Liberal response:
Well, that's not enough information to answer the question! Does the man look poor or oppressed? Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack? Could we run away? What does my wife think?

What about the kids? Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand? What doe s the law say about this situation?

Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it? Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to societyand to my children? Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?

Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me? If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me? Should I call 9-1-1? Why is this street so deserted? We need to raise taxes, have a paint and weed day and make this a happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.

This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for a few days and try to come to a consensus.

Conservative response:
BANG!

Southerner response:
BANG! BANG! BANG! B ANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
click....Reload...BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click.

June 08, 2004

Brain Spotting

Jon and I hosted trivia and it went well. There were 8 teams, about 30 people, not the biggest draw but they bought lots of drinks so it was good for the bar.

Our questions and categories were fun for the most part. However, my audio round - 10 arias, name the composer and the opera - didn't seem to go over very well. People didn't do as well as I thought they would but better, I'm sure, than they thought they would. Most people were able to get at least one opera or one composer. There was a tie for funniest team name. We awarded dirtiest team name to "George Bush - porn star or rock queen? We report, you decide." We gave the straight funniest team award name to "Permanent Bedtime for Bonzo."

Caren walked with Jon and I a bit afterwards. . .and while we were walking up Sixth Avenue around 9th Street, Caren said "Hey, that was Elliott Gould." We couldn't tell because we'd already walked past him (he was walking towards us) and by the time she'd mentioned it all we could see was the back of his head. It could very well have been him, but unfortunately I wasn't as quick as Caren in spotting him.

However, about 3 seconds later, ahead of us I spotted Jude Law. He looked good. Blonde, tan and I think he was with his wife, who was also blonde and tan and good looking.
Caren was turning to go to her train but I stopped her and said, "look over my shoulder, behind me, is Jude Law." She looked up and confirmed that it was.

Jon wasn't as sure. Not as familiar with Jude Law as Caren and myself, he actually went up to Jude Law and asked him, "Are you Jude Law?" to which Jude Law muttered, but not in an irritated way, "Yeah, yeah."

Caren and I teased him a little bit because neither one of us would have gone up to him. Maybe it's a little bit of a New Yorker thing.

I see celebrities in NYC all the time and I haven't gone up to one except the time I was walking with a friend and we saw Gordon Parks and he stopped to talk to him. It's either because I don't want to give them the satisfaction of being recognized or because I just don't want to seem uncool by thinking seeing them is a big deal or it's because I don't want to bug the celebrity, figuring they get bugged all the time.

Earlier in the evening, on the way to the bar, Jon and I walked right past Jill Hennessy, formerly of Law and Order and now of Crossing Jordan. For me it's enough to recognize them.

What do you think? If you saw a celebrity in your neck of the woods would you go up to them and talk to them or respect their privacy and leave them alone? Do you think it's cool or uncool to approach a celebrity in a non-entertainment related situation?

No-Dong

North Korea has an intermediate-range missile called the No-Dong.

This is too good to be true.

Assault with a Deadly Chalupa

Revisiting the department of weirdly appropriate names, I offer up Christopher Lame, who attacked a Taco Bell employee with a Chalupa because it wasn't what he ordered.

You get it? That's pretty lame.

June 05, 2004

Ronald Reagan Died

Ronald Reagan died today.

The above article speaks well of the two term president.

Unlike these Nevada officials, I was never fond of Ronald Reagan as president.

One of my earlier memories of becoming politically aware had to do with the Carter/Reagan election. As a child I was fond of President Carter. Not understanding the greater issues of the world, I felt bad that he was unable to free the Iranian hostages. I felt bad that he was blamed for the energy crisis of the 70's and I remember really liking his smile.

I was disappointed when he lost to Reagan. As a teenager, I was only vaguely aware of the AIDS crisis that was growing during the 80's. As an adult I learned that Reagan and his administration are in large part to blame for the lack of funding for research into finding the cause for AIDS and preventing it's terrible spread.

As a teenager I was aware as most of us were of the growing nuclear threat in the USSR and I remember the press conferences where President Reagan outlined his great plan for keeping the wolves at bay which was basically to bankrupt the USSR by forcing them to keep up with us in the arms race. We found out later that our own economy was also at risk as the dollar sank in value all over the world after his two terms were up

I also remember the enormous coincidence of the Iranian hostages being released after Reagan took office. This is the time in my life when I started to become skeptical of politicians and learned that our government didn't always have the best interest of the American people at heart. They were more interested in personal gain.

Do you remember the whole Iran Contra scandal when Ollie North fell on his sword?

I do.

My disappointment wasn't that great because I never trusted President Reagan. This is all based on my childish preference for Jimmy Carter's true warm smile over the false warmth of an actor turned politician.

Our deficit increased, white collar criminals were practicing business crimes as if it was standard operating proceedure, the groundwork was laid for future savings and loans scandals, and thousands and thousands of people died afflicted with a disease that could have been prevented had the Reagan administration devoted any funding to research or education.

These are my memories of Ronald Reagan.

I don't think he was the great man many obituaries will say he was, although I do believe he was a pretty good actor.

Chopped Meat For Breakfast?

Yes.

I made hamburgers for breakfast and served them with Mary Janes. Mary Janes pieces of bread with the middles torn out, and eggs cooked inside sunny side up.

Hamburgers for breakfast? I got no complaints.

I wasn't able to make the meat loaf last night, so that's what I ended up doing.

Very exciting no? Today, I'll make banana cake.


June 04, 2004

The Anonymous Blogger

The Anonymous Blogger has done it again. Fanning the flames of our burning insecurities as men and women, he has made bold statements in order to spur on discussion.

Well, it works with me every time.

Bob stated that "women are crazy" that "women drive the dating process". CL responded by giving him what not about men having the upper hand when it comes to dating and marriage. Now, if Bob is speaking for all men that what he said about men being stupid is completely accurate. If men don't see that they have the upper hand when it comes to dating and marriage then they are truly blind.

NOTE: I DO NOT SPEAK FOR ALL WOMEN. I SPEAK FOR HETEROSEXUAL WOMEN WHO WANT TO BE MARRIED OR IN A COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP.

If it were up to most women, weddings would take place within in a year of meeting Mr. Right and falling in love. Women know almost right away whether or not they want to marry someone. They then have to play this game where they have to pretend like they aren't interested in marriage while Mr. Right slowly comes to the realization that he's not a kid anymore and he wants to get married. While this process happens at a rather rapid pace for women, men take quite a while longer to catch up.

I can only imagine the thought process. "What if I meet someone younger?" or "What if she wants to stop working?" or "How do I know she's the one?"

Well....we don't really know if you're the one either. Women decide they want to marry someone. They make a choice. Do we know if you guys are absolutely the one? Of course not, but we are willing to take a chance. How many years can we go on dating? How many men do we have to plod through before we have a pretty good idea of what we are looking for?

Now if any of you single men in your 30's are surprised to hear that many single women in their 30's want to be married, you're truly unaware. Of course we want to be married. DUH!!!!!!

There are some of us who have dated enough, had enough boyfriends, enough sex to know that it's time to settle down and pop out a few babies. We are on a clock guys. We have a finite amount of time that we can reproduce. So don't be surprised when the woman you are dating starts talking about a more serious relationship.

AND THAT IS WHY YOU MEN HAVE THE F-ING UPPER HAND!!!!!

The Pope Sees Bush

You know it's bad when the Pope asks to see you about America's foreign policy in a nation America is currently occupying under your command.

Pope John Paul II reminded President Bush on Friday of the Vatican's opposition to the war in Iraq and said the world has been troubled by recent "deplorable events," an apparent reference to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops


I'm assuming that the Pope invited President Bush to see what he could to end the war.

As you know, I continue to have mixed feelings about the Iraq situation. Let's say, that the popular anti-war theory is correct and that this war is being conducted for the sole purpose of regulating the oil industry. Is that really so bad? The whole world depends on these lunatic OPEC nations for their fuel supplies. Shouldn't somebody be watching their shit? Part of me also believes that almost every country in that part of the world is out to rid the region of the Jewish scourge by slowly chipping away at Israel. So, if there is a strong military presence stationed there doesn't that kind of help Israel in a way, as a sort of a positive secondary effect?

But then, there is that whole AMERICA is the watchdog of the world kind of vanity that seems to be wholly on display. There is something kind of despicable about taking over a country because you want to control it's resources. And then what happens when we leave. Everything is probably going to get worse.

By the way, if anyone actually believes this war is about liberating the Iraqi people you are truly dillusional.

I can't wait to hear what you have to say.


Friday

Today is Friday, Friday, Friday.
It will be fun day, fun day
All day long

So. Today is Friday - long awaited and finally here.

That means that tomorrow is Saturday and most of us can sleep late.

Tonight, after work here is what I would like to do.

1. Cook meatloaf (with a hard boiled egg in the middle of course) with homemade tomato sauce. I'll also be preparing a salad with a blackberry vinaigrette made famous by last Sunday's dinner chez Val.

2. Clean my home. After four days of work and ordering takeout, my house is a disaster; clothes every where, take out bags and containers every where, dirt every where.

3. Write trivia questions. This coming Tuesday night, Jon and I are hosting Tuesday Night Trivia at the Baggott Inn. I'm looking forward to this. As most of you should know by now, Jon and I met through trivia.

4. Relax and admire my French manicure/pedicure. Last night, I closed out Eve's nails. While my nails were drying the ladies were sweeping up and closing down. I was the last customer to leave last night but it was well worth it. The poor woman who worked on my feet sank in despair as I explained to her that I wanted a French pedicure. She was so sweet. I could tell she was tired and the last thing she wanted to do at the end of the day was yet another designer foot job. She was doing great up until the white line. She started to mess up and had to redo a couple of toes. She passed me off to another woman who did a much better job and finished off by doing a great job on my nails. That was a real moral booster.

At some point tonight, I'm also supposed to write notes on my friend Dave's book. Poor guy. He gave his book to me over a month ago to read over and I haven't even finished it yet. We're getting together tomorrow to discuss and probably watch movies all day. He's my "movies all day on DVD" friend.

June 03, 2004

$55 Million Wedding

This is going to be a wedding to remember. This steel magnate is renting out the Palace of Versailles for his daughter's wedding banquet, and if I read this article correctly, he has rented out this 17th century home of Nicholas Fouquet, the financial minister of Louis XIV. They are expecting 10,000 guests.

The daughter's name is Vanisha. This makes me laugh. It's as if Lakshmi Mittal knew that his daughter's wedding was going to make his money "VANISH" when he first laid eyes on her.

I hope someone posts pictures of Vanisha in her wedding dress.

June 02, 2004

BABY HUEY

This little Georgian baby (Georgia in Europe not down South)is not so little. At 15 months, he already weighs 55 pounds. He's been gaining weight rapidly since his birth according to this article. Also, according to this article, his doctor told his mother that he should shed his weight by the time he's six or so.

Hmmmmmmm.

June 01, 2004

I am this kind of pie.

Take the quiz: "Which type of pie are you?"

Lobster, Spinach, and Cream Cheese Pie
Oy! You are LOBSTER, SPINACH, AND CREAM CHEESE PIE! My, my, my, are you a uniques one! I don't know anyone in their right mind that has the intellectual potential to order up something so creative and intuitive! Your true potential is hidden in your thirty-three letter name. Get out there and be heard!!!

Unsolicited Dating Advice

I read some good news on the website of a friend of mine. After a wave of bad luck with the opposite sex, it seems that things are starting to go his way.

In our little community, we've been kicking around some dating philosophiese that we all think will help all of us in the long run.

But I thought I'd add a few more things here.

1) Be positive. It's okay to be sad or talk about bad things that have happened to you in a day. But don't dwell on anything negative for too long. Talk about what made you sad and then move on.

2)Return phone calls in a timely fashion. If you wait too long to call her, she'll think you're blowing her off. If you haven't heard from your girl in a while, don't get all male on her and decide that calling her is a sign of weakness. Just call and see what's up. And don't call with an accusatory voice and say "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Just call to say hi and see how's she's doing.

3) Respect the space issue. If you are feeling crowded say so. For example, "I was hoping to do something on my own tonight, but I WOULD LOVE to hang out tomorrow."

or if she needs to do something without you one night, you can say, "Okay. I'll miss you tonight but perhaps we can get together later this week."

4) If you see something that you think she'll like, pick it up for her. You know you think about her and there' no harm in letting her know.

I have more advice, but this could be considered condescending so I'll stop.





Swedish "safe sex" Message

This news of the condom ambulance comes out of Sweden. The Swedish Organization for Sex Education is stepping up their education efforts by offering an emergency condom service. People on the verge of intercourse can call the phone number 696969 and an ambulance with a red condom on top and wings will deliver packets of 10 condoms at a price of about seven dollars, which apparently is less than in the stores.

The service is going to run through June and it's aimed at young people.

You gotta' love the Swedes.