September 27, 2007
September 25, 2007
On the Little Rock Central High integration - Through a Lens, Darkly
September 24, 2007
A place to discuss world matters...
New smogr logo in honor of the 62nd United Nations General Assembly:
That is all.
September 23, 2007
Ahmadinejad is making Americans lose their minds
Dear America,
Look. I know that it has been a rough couple of years - with us bogged down in multiple wars and the economy going down the tubes.
But, can we all get a grip?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the United Nations and his speech at Columbia is apparently making everyone completely lose their fucking minds. Especially Fox News who on tonight's 10 PM broadcast labeled him the Iraq President. I know: some comments and pronouncements which I don't agree with, are factually inaccurate and are frankly abhorrent. He is basically a loony. My question is thus: if him visiting and speaking on US soil is so horrible and such a watershed moment, what does that say about the state of America? Personally, I think the US is strong and resilient enough to host a tin-plated near-despot.
What I don't get is the flap about Ahmadinejad visiting Ground Zero - Iran and Ahmadinejad had exactly zero involvement with September 11th. Can we grow up? Have we become a country of, for lack of a better term, pansies?
It is if the New York Post and every other tabloid on the planet is looking for this year's bogey-man. Last year it was Valenzuela's President Hugo Chavez which was the Great Satan. Look's like he is yesterday's news.
The best things to do is let him in, say whatever loony thing he will say and let him go. To try to protest his speech or interrupt it will give him a great propaganda victory.
So please America, can we just stand back and be grownups?
Sincerely,
The Grubbykid
Update - Watch the video of the speech live.
Update - that ended about as well as it could have. If there wasn't any of this foolishness from the Media then his banality would have gone unnoticed. Check out the New York Times live blogging and recap.
I'm opening comments up: what did you think of the speech, his presence at Columbia and the brough-ha-ha surrounding his appearance?
nope - I buggered the commenting engine, no comments available; sorry!
September 20, 2007
Canadian Dollar Reaches Parity With Staggering U.S. Greenback
On getting photographs of your marriage proposal: Will You Marry Me? Say Cheese!
Yet another reason NYC is the place to be...
Got a text message from a friend that Beirut was playing at a bar in my neighborhood. So I walked over and saw an awesome free concert with a bunch of my friends from the neighborhood.
September 15, 2007
Australia, Day 07
On my way to the States, where water flushes the correct way.
I'll miss the place, but it was a good trip. I don't know if I'll miss the utterly confusing sports such as Cricket, Rugby and the sport known as Footy.
Australia, Day 05
Another day of walking around Melbourne and meeting people, doing top-secret work, and having a great time.
Favorite Australian sayings, so far:
- Knock On ("let's go", or "good luck")
- No Worries
- I'll give you a bell... (I'll call you)
If you are ever in Melbourne, you must goto Pellegrini's Espresso Bar - just look at the place! Excellent old-school Italian food served by old-school Italians.
Melbourne's tram system is great - there are so many tram lines that it gets confusing which tram you need to use to get back to your hotel.
Many touristy shops in Melbourne sell real, taxidermied, kangaroo paws for back scratchers. And kangaroo Scrotum's. Seriously.
Tomorrow is my last full day in Australia, then I'm on my way back!
September 14, 2007
Australia, Day 06
Long days of ocean roads and discussing plans of action.
Photos to come, but action first.
September 11, 2007
A Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat
Wow, just wow:
Making his way back up the hallway, Oscar arrives at Room 313. The door is open, and he proceeds inside. Mrs. K. is resting peacefully in her bed, her breathing steady but shallow. She is surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren and one from her wedding day. Despite these keepsakes, she is alone. Oscar jumps onto her bed and again sniffs the air. He pauses to consider the situation, and then turns around twice before curling up beside Mrs. K.
One hour passes. Oscar waits. A nurse walks into the room to check on her patient. She pauses to note Oscar's presence. Concerned, she hurriedly leaves the room and returns to her desk. She grabs Mrs. K.'s chart off the medical-records rack and begins to make phone calls.
Within a half hour the family starts to arrive. Chairs are brought into the room, where the relatives begin their vigil. The priest is called to deliver last rites. And still, Oscar has not budged, instead purring and gently nuzzling Mrs. K. A young grandson asks his mother, "What is the cat doing here?" The mother, fighting back tears, tells him, "He is here to help Grandma get to heaven." Thirty minutes later, Mrs. K. takes her last earthly breath. With this, Oscar sits up, looks around, then departs the room so quietly that the grieving family barely notices.
A Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat, has the uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die, which doctors and nurses use to notify family of their loved ones impending death. Oscar also gives companionship to those without family who would have died alone. (via)
Another year, another remembrance
Tribute in Light, originally uploaded by plemeljr
September 12, 2007
Australia, Day 04
On the way to Melbourne, & saying goodbye to Sydney. More to follow.
Australia, Day 03
Beautiful sunrise today in the Land of Oz. How do I know? Because I woke up at 5 am because my plan at beating Jet Lag might have failed.
- Bondi Beach is really nice - even if it was too cold and windy to get into the surf
- Sydney really is pretty small and compact considering how sprawl-y it is.
- Australian television has very little good programming.
- Sydney nightlife would be more fun if I didn't want to fall asleep at 8 pm every night.
Tomorrow, Northern Suburbs and Manly.
Australia, Day 02
While this is the third calendar day since I left home, due to the wonderful International Date Line I've only actually had two days.
- Sleeping for fourteen hours on an airplane isn't as easy as it sounds, even with pharmaceutical help.
- So far, Sydney is the most laid back place I have ever visited. It is like San Francisco without the hippy pretensions. Even the security screeners were laid back.
- The Sydney CBD (downtown) is, because of APEC, a giant maze of concrete and steel. At least all the police officers were nice.
- Speaking of police officers, every last one of them told me that the President left yesterday. I wanted to tell them Australia could keep him, but I thought better of it.
- Get this: according to my Australian source, when Aussies go to the beach they bury in the sand items of value so they don't get stolen. "Oh, just put it in the sand" is apparently a commonly held social contract that anything in the sand is off limits; but things above, or on top of the sand, are fair game. Who knew?
September 7, 2007
Australia - Day 01
Some thoughts:
- The first day of travel, and I'm already behind schedule thanks to JFK's stellar traffic
- Wifi in airports is amazing, when can this happen in airplanes? Who can I give my money to for this?
- I fly all the time the time, to many different places in the USA and the world, and I've never seen a prettier, and more augmented, departure lounge than on this trip to Los Angeles.
September 5, 2007
Today's NYC Taxi Strike is real: on my way to JFK this morning I saw exactly 6 cabs and none queued up to receive new fares.
September 4, 2007
Strike cripples London Underground
so glad not to be in London this week