and at no time will you see his mouth move... so i flip past the fox sunday morning news show(i have no idea what it's called) & see condi rice on there defending her man dubya. it just seems such a shame that dubya has taken two of the most influential black american leaders & made them puppets. i could almost see the strings moving condi's arms & head. it reminded me of the musical number from chicago w/the flynn pulling roxie's strings. "...oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, i reached for the gun..."(i my best simultaneous richard gere & renee zelwegger impersonation).
The caption reads: "Head of a baseball club and director of Salem bin Laden's oil company (brother of Osama). Designated President of the United States by friends of his father at the Supreme Court before the vote count showed that he lost the elections."
thanks to jay/jack for the heads up on this one. quandary here. these cards look hilarious, but i in no way wish to support the voltaire network(the group who sells them) & their leader, thierry meyssan. i find the position on the 9/11 attacks appalling. meyssan is the author of a one-time French best seller, "9-11: The Big Lie," claiming that no plane ever crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, and that the attacks were plotted by a faction within the U.S. military. that's is one big, fat, french fried, conspiracy theory. while i frequently rail against dubya & his policies, i will in no way give financial support to this group. too bad some inventive soul in the US didn't come up w/this idea. now, we have to pay the dillusional french royalties if we make our own. damn the french, their onion soup & their love affair w/jerry lewis.
trouser snake? i can't imagine any amount of money that would make me do this.
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- A Swedish man has allegedly tried to smuggle eight dangerous snakes into Australia by strapping them to his legs, according to customs officials.
now, can missy elliot save the WNBA? will their team uniforms include fringe on the sleeves & leather pants?
AFP - Sep 24, 8:45 am EDT
PHILADELPHIA, United States (AFP) - Rock star Jon Bon Jovi is putting his heart and "soul" into an Arena Football League expansion franchise in Philadelphia.
David Baker, commissioner of the indoor gridiron league, on Tuesday announced the Philadelphia Soul as the Arena League's 18th franchise.
"It's something I was very passionate about," said Bon Jovi of co-owning a football team. "I love football and I expect to be really involved. I know as a guy who grew up across the river in Jersey that the fans in Philadelphia love their football."
After a full day of media appearances on sports radio, rock stations and network television, Bon Jovi hosted a rally on the steps of the Wachovia Spectrum along with co-owner Craig Spencer on Tuesday afternoon.
Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora and his wife, actress Heather Locklear, also attended the rally.
Ron Jaworski, former quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League, is the team president.
when does the weekend end? help settle an argument between me & my wife. we were talking last night(sunday) & karen said that she couldn't believe october was next week. i said that it wasn't, that saturday was september 27. october started the following week. she said her definition of next week begins sunday, september 28th. i argued that the first day of a week is monday, not sunday as was her definition(yes we do banter back and forth on trivial matters).
she supported her argument by stating calendars begin the week on sundays as do paychecks. i countered by saying how do you have a weekend(end of the week) that includes saturday & sunday, it those two days are in different weeks. this went on for awhile w/me waking her up to ask her questions about it(i never know when to stop, plus i love picking on her).
so who is right? what's your first day of the week?
am i crazy? i'm gonna miss hurricane isabel. all of the media blitz covering isabel was a bit overwhelming, but i just couldn't stop thinking that i wanted to be the person standing outside in the wind & rain. this stuff just completely intrigues me. i've been through a few twisters in my life. walked through totally leveled houses w/cars left in the swimming pool. i should have been a storm chaser.
"We as a people are more concerned with J.Lo and Ben Affleck than these so-called weapons of mass destruction"
the wife is sitting here catching up on a week's worth of plain dealers when she comes across this quote. if you haven't already heard it, can you guess who said it?
spike lee. yes, the same man who sued the network formerly known as TNN when they attempted to rename themselves Spike tv. he said the company was trying to make money off his name. he pretty much won as they case was settled. keep in mind, TNN/Spike is owned by Viacom for whom lee is currently directing a movie.
remember the first few weeks after 9/11, when news of ben & jlo or brad & jen were completely off the air. the stars & the people who cover them were all pondering the point of their jobs. all of that faded rather quickly. of all people to tell the american public to lay off the sensationalism & media idolatry, spike lee ranks right down there with joan rivers & anyone working for E!(still love ya E!). i agree we as a society put excessive emphasis on news of the stars, but don't ya think lee is biting the hand that feeds him?
dubya's accomplishments got this in my inbox today. wanted to share it w/everyone...
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT: GEORGE W. BUSH
I attacked and took over two countries.
I spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury.
I shattered the record for the biggest annual deficit in history (not easy!).
I set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.
I set all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the stock market.
I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
I am the first president in US history to enter office with a criminal record.
In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history (tough to beat my dad's, but I did).
After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I presided over the worst security failure in US history.
I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.
In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their job.
I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.
I set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period.
I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.
I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president, since the advent of TV.
I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other US president in history.
I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.
I cut health care benefits for war veterans.
I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.
I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.
I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.
Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The poorest multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her).
I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously struggle against bankruptcy.
I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.
I am the first president in US history to order a US attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community.
I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States, called the "Bureau of Homeland Security"(only one letter away from BS).
I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history (Ronnie was tough to beat, but I did it!!).
I am the first president in US history to compel the United Nations to remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.
I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.
I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.
I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant.
I withdrew from the World Court of Law.
I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.
I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.
I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.
The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).
I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.
I am the first president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied,saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1).
I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government.
I took the world's sympathy for the US after 9/11, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.
I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
I set the all-time record for the number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling their huge investments in corporations bidding for gov't contracts.
I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history. In a little over two years.
I have created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided that the US has been since the Civil War.
I entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.
RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).
I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.
I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.
All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view. All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.
PERSONAL REFERENCES:
For personal references, please speak to my dad or Uncle James Baker (They can be reached in their offices at the Carlyle Group where they are helping to divide up the spoils of the US-Iraq war and plan for the next one).
(Note: this information should be useful to voters in the 2004 election.)
Circulate to as many citizens you think would be helped to be reminded about his record.)
hey dubya, there are no 'take backs' in this game...
"There's no question that Saddam Hussein had al Qaeda ties," the president said. But he also said, "We have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11" attacks.
The president's comment was in line with a statement Tuesday by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who said he not seen any evidence that Saddam was involved in the attacks.
Yet, a new poll found that nearly 70 percent of respondents believed the Iraqi leader probably was personally involved. Rumsfeld said, "I've not seen any indication that would lead me to believe that I could say that."
WTF?!?!? Is it just me or has this country under the dubya adminstration, become a nationed ruled by a mob mentality?
sleeping positions found this story on CNN.com today...
Crouched in the fetal position is the most popular sleep pattern and favored by 51 percent of women, according to the results of the study he conducted for a large hotel group.
Fetal sleepers tend to be shy and sensitive while people who assume the soldier position, flat on their back with arms at their sides, are quiet and reserved.
Sleeping on one's side with legs outstretched and arms down in what Idzikowski refers to as the log, indicates a social, easy-going personality. But if the arms are outstretched, the person tends to be more suspicious.
The freefall, flat on the tummy with the hands at the sides of the head, is the most unusual position. Only 6.5 percent of people prefer it and they are usually brash and gregarious.
Unassuming, good listeners usually adopt the starfish position -- on the back with outstretched arms and legs.
Idzikowski, who identified the positions by comparing personality traits of people, their preferred way of sleeping and the most common positions, said once a sleeping style is adopted it is rarely changed.
"What's interesting is that the profile behind the posture is often very different from what we would expect," he added in a statement.
apparently i am a suspicious logger w/outstretched arms. karen falls under the starfish group. maybe that's why i'm a log, there's no room to share w/a starfish. jackson falls into the starfish family also. maya...well, maya is in the rare 6.5% in the freefall position. brash and gregarious...yeah, that's accurate.
taking in cleveland karen & i took a mental health day yesterday & played hooky from work. we had lunch in coventry & walked the ripped up roads along the storefronts. i hadn't been to coventry for a few years. all this construction is massive. i understand they are looking to make it more shopper or tourist friendly. still, all this change seems to have taken something away from the area i was introduced to 7 yrs ago when i moved to cleveland from alabama. it was a little more bohemian then. the sidewalks were cracked, there were no chain stores or restaurants, it wasn't pretty, but it had character. i'm afraid these changes will take away it's character. still, big fun is still open which could lend itself to hours of browsing for me. browsing & self ass kicking for giving away all the toys of my youth. not only do they sell for obscene markups now, but they bring back such good memories. among the standard star wars, gi joe & transformer action figures(they are action figures, not dolls), i found some gems. the 3 ft plastic godzilla, complete w/spring launched fist & red fire painted tongue. wonderful.
after coventry, we decided to go to little italy. i had driven through there a number of times & marveled at all the shops & their lack of parking. after 15 minutes of skulking for a spot, we found one in front of a store w/opera flowing out of it. we stopped by presti's for gelato. we had fallen in love w/gelato during our trip to rome. it's less fat & tastes much better than ice cream. presti's version wasn't bad, but it didn't come close to any gelateria we found in the stony streets of rome. we walked the streets looking at all the restaurants, making mental notes of which to visit on one of those rare date nights w/o the kids. we also stopped by corbo's bakery for a fresh canoli. they actually fill it when you order. i'm not much of a sweets eater, but karen swore they were the best she'd ever had.
what took me while we were sitting on at a table outside presti's was the authentic atmosphere of the place. we were sitting on the street tables along w/a group of older italian men smoking cigars about the width of a cardboard toilet tissue roll and drinking their coffee. their conversation & manner of being reminded me of the punks, skaters, college people, etc that used to roam coventry. this was their place. it's like they were isolated from the rest of the world. in little italy, you have nothing but small businesses. hell, you don't even have a parking garage. it is unspoiled. they are beginning to build some townhomes up the street from the hill on mayfield. hopefully that is not the beginning of changes for the area.
i really enjoyed my little cleveland expedition. i know there are a lot of other neighborhoods i want to spend time in, like tremont/ohio city. cleveland has so many little areas like this. what's your favorite or suggestion for my next mental health day?
9/11 memories as we all know, today is the second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in NYC, DC & PA. this morning, i've read a few recounts of the events that people went through on that day. i've heard friends & family telling us what it was like. you see, my wife & i were overseas during 9/11/2001. karen had won a trip to rome. we flew out of JFK airport in NYC on 9/9. i saw the twin towers for the first time as we were landing & pointed them out to karen, commenting on how i had finally gotten to see them. the first 2 1/2 days in rome were fantastic. the history there is remarkable. of course, our enjoyable trip was about to be cut short of fun, but our stay lengthened.
due to the time difference, karen & i were having lunch at the trevi fountain at the time of the attacks. we had been walking the streets, window shopping, taking in more sites. we were preparing to go to 4PM mass at one of the historic catholic churches. it was the seat of the american catholic church in rome. we were going to pick up our tix to see the pope the following day. as we were walking to the church, i noticed a number of armed personnel carriers loaded w/soldiers. i dismissed this as training exercises, like the national guard. while waiting at the church, we ran into another american couple who were there for their tix & as fate would have it, to be married that week in rome. they asked if we had heard the news? news, what news? they said a plane had apparently hit the world trade center in NYC. there were varying reports on the international media outlets ranging from a small plane had hit the tower to a turkish television report that the japanese were exacting revenge for hiroshima. one thing to keep in mind while reading this story is that karen was afraid to fly in the first place. when we get into the church, we begin talking to the nuns there(surprisingly, they did not freak me out like nuns i have seen before). they were the ones to tell us that it was actually a large airliner or two that had presumably been hijacked. of course, this sent us, especially karen, into a spiral. what do we do? where do we go? how are we going to get home to our family, especially our 1 1/2 year old daughter?
we sat through the mass, like it was an option not to at this point. we made our way back to the hotel. on the way, we passed the american embassy which was down the street from our hotel. there were people & reporters clamoring around the presumably locked gate. arriving at the hotel, we flipped on the tv which had a bad connection to cnn all of a sudden. we ended up watching the bbc for the details. we were calling home to let our family members know that we were ok. we had no idea when we would be getting home, but we were physically ok. needless to say, not much sleep that night.
the next day, we walked to vatican city to see the pope give what ended up being his speech condemning the attacks. we figured the seat of the catholic church was either the safest place to be or the worst. after a tour of the vatican & the sistine chapel, we headed back to the hotel. we were supposed to leave the next day, but at this point, we were not sure what was going to happen. we called continental & after several phone calls & clueless people, found out that no flights were going out(kinda figured that one) & that our ticket for the 13th would now be in queue. this meant that the flight, when they began going out, would seat the plane w/passengers ticketed for that day. all empty seats would then be filled w/people who had tickets for the 11th & so on. obviously, this was going to take a long time. they were estimating that we were not going to be able to fly out for about a month!! a month!! i don't speak italian!! did i mention that our hotel would not let us keep our room? they said they had guests arriving & the room was already taken. when i asked if any of the rooms were reserved for americans, the desk clerk just looked at me. 'if they are from the states, they won't be here. there are no flights going in/out of anywhere'. he ignored me & told me he could not help us. called the american embassy. they told us not to come down. they would help us find a hotel. their version of help was looking in the phonebook & listing off numbers. finally found a sheraton four points hotel somewhat near the airport that had rooms(it was nowhere near anything anyone would want to visit). our ride that was originally going to take us to the airport arrived & we somehow communicated that we wanted to go to our new hotel. they dropped us off, we go inside to find out we were at the wrong hotel. there was another four points. so we take a cab there. we stayed at that hotel on the 13th & 14th, going back & forth to the airport each day w/bags in case we got lucky.
on the 15th, we were back at the airport, bags in tow(the hotel had instructions to give our room away if we weren't back by 5pm). the continental gate is finally open, but we were not leaving on their flights. while karen & i were in different lines(hedging our bets), a man came up to our line & said that alitalia(the italian airliner) was creating a flight out to NYC & it was leaving w/in the hour. better yet, there were still a handful of tickets left. let's just say that the suitcase flew over to karen & you have never seen this fat man run so fast in your life. looking back, a guy my size running through the terminal w/all the armed security probably wasn't a good idea. anyway, i make it to the alitalia booth & get what the woman says are the last tickets. they are only $1000 a piece. what a deal. so, eventually we make it on the plane after a security check you wouldn't believe. remember, karen was already afraid to fly, so i thought i was going to have to drug her, but her urge to get back to our daughter overwhelmed her fear. that was until we sat across the aisle from a middle eastern man who kept getting up & leaving his seat for extended periods of time. we kept dismissing it, but the french woman next to karen was going off. damn french.
we get to NYC to applause & catcalls in the plane, only to find out we can't fly out of JFK w/o a ticket. our ticket expired 4 days ago. needless to say, we were stuck. we met a couple from parma & eventually found out flights were going out of newark(you know, where one of the hijacked planes took off), so we hopped a cab across NYC to new jersey. during the ride, we saw the plumes of smoke, the dump trucks full of debris, the smell that could only be described as a cross between burning metal & burning flesh. i will never forget that smell. we crossed some bridge that gave us a direct view of ground zero. eerie stuff.
made it to newark, waiting in line to get home. the people working the desk we were waiting at, decided to close up w/about 10 to 20 people in line. found another continental desk in another concourse. i pleaded w/the continental person to exchange our ticket for a flight to cleveland. the only one available was leaving in about 10 minutes, of course. again, it's off to the races for the fat man. we finally make it on the plane after another extensive security search that included karen having to remove her sweatshirt. thank goodness she had a tee on underneath. as we are taking off for cleveland, a sense of relief came across us. that was until this older gentleman suddenly jumped up as we were rolling down the runway. he kept saying something about needing this stuff in the overhead bin. i was, at this point, about to jump & crush an old man, but the stewardess took care of it for me. i guess he was just confused.
finally in cleveland, hopkins is a ghost town surrounded by abandoned luggage. we get home & finally it is over. all in all, we were very lucky. i don't have a single thing to complain about as my family & loved ones are all safe & alive. it is a weird feeling having experienced a defining moment of my country, while out of the country. while everyone here was huddle together watching things unfold, karen & i were just fighting for info on events & trying to find a way home. it really showed how well we work together & make a great team.
so, if you actually made it through this rather lengthy rambling, thanks for finishing. i'm sure i've missed a lot of things, but i just wanted to share my experiences of that day.
the forest for the trees the state of florida has passed a law allowing high schoolers to skip their senior year in an attempt to reducing class size. students 'can graduate with six fewer credits, as long as they double up on English classes to earn four credits and study a foreign language for two years. They are allowed to skip several elective credits, including physical education, art and life management courses.' so in effect, what we are looking at is a group of just barely 17 year olds, out of high school with limited options. they will probably have a hard time w/college admissions since they will have 6 fewer credits than their counterparts from other states. they are missing their final math & science classes from their senior year while only doubling up on english & a foreign language. we all know the high paying jobs those two fields offer. for young adults not going to college, they will not be able to join the military because of their age. what are they going to do? wait around another year working in fast food or retail until they reach 18?
to me, this seems to be a severe solution to the problem of class overcrowding. i was not a huge fan of high school. i did well. i learned a little my senior year. let's face it, public schools aren't what they used to be. with that said, if i hadn't been in school for that final year, what would i have done. let's not romanticize the issue. these 17 year olds are going to end up working full-time in low paying jobs and we've all heard the typical story of the person who starts out working a menial job until they can get what they want. they usually end up at the menial job for much longer. even if these 17 yr olds can get into college, what about the one's who aren't financially supported by their parents? i know someone who tested out of the last half of their senior year & went to community college for awhile before attending a 4 year school. their parents footed the bill. for those of us who used scholarships to supplement our own money through school, what are the chances of these young adults getting scholarships w/less secondary education. remember, their knowledge isn't tested in order to opt out of high school, they just have to double up on english. we could see more kids falling through the cracks.
2003 QQ47, we hardly knew ya... earlier this week, a group of british astronomers said they had identified an astroid that could collide w/the earth in 2014, unleashing the destructive power of millions of hiroshima atom bombs. today, those same scientists have reported that, upon further research, there is a 0% chance the astroid, dubbed 2003 QQ47, will strike the earth.
is it just me, or do we see this scenario every year. some scientists believe they have found an astroid that will destroy the earth, only to find out later, after more precise calculations, they were wrong & it will miss the earth by millions of miles. do you think the fault lies in the scientists for releasing their initial findings or w/the media for reporting them?
don't call it a comeback... ok, so 15 days w/o a post is an eternity in blogspeak. been uber busy at work, learning to play golf & sick, all in that order. just enjoyed the holiday weekend w/the parentals, up from alabama. good times. now me & the fam are just loungin' around the big blue house channel surfing. we were going to partake in the many attractions in downtown cleveland today(taste of cleveland, air show, etc), but the rain put a damper on that, pun intended. i hope to find more time to write this week between work & my new, rededication to working out. i've been out of the gym for about a month & boy does my waistline show it. first was the flaring up of the ol' stress fracture in the foot, then it degenerated into pure laziness. but, i've gotta get back to it. used to run 5k a day, but i don't even know if i could finish one now.
so, i've seen a number of stories in the news lately that i would like to sound off on. the ten commandments & my home state. i couldn't say it better than chris at tourette's for beginners(see the post on roy moore).
the britney/madonna/christina kiss at the vma's? played out & quite frankly, i wasn't really interested. are women kissing any real headturner anymore? the one thing i did find of interest about the 15 to 20 minutes of vma's i saw was that someone finally sat christina aguilerra down & made her eat something. she looks good. she was beginning to enter laura flynn-boyle territory. good for her.
make sure to check out 'i love the 70s' on vh1. quite the trip down memory lane. stretch armstrong, shazam & isis. i thought i was the only person who remembered these two shows.
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dubya drops his dog in front of the little league world series softball champs in waco, tx. thank goodness dubya was able to scoop the little dog right up. otherwise, we would have been searching months for him. he would have probably moved in w/osama & saddam in that incredibly hard to find lair. if the republican party uses that stages aircraft carrier speech(dubya in the maverick flight suit), the dems & indies should easily use this pic. just photoshop saddam or osama's head in place of the dog.
in related news, bush was in neo today speaking to a union. surrounded by manly symbols of construction equippment, he says the economy is starting to improve. this as people who could not afford a decent poncho watched him while wearing trashbags.
well, the second most demanding woman in my life is demanding a pb&j sandwich for dinner. i better get step up to the challenge. hope to post more often.
and remember, go watch the star wars kid video & order a shirt. support this kid whose embarassing private moment has entertained us all.
