Elena, a Russian woman with a motorcycle rides through and documents the ghost towns and abandoned buildings around Chernobyl. Elena seems to have a new site at a dedicated URL. UPDATE: Apparently Elena’s story isn’t entirely accurate. The original site claimed that she rode through on a motorcycle by herself, but the site later edited
Read on »Archives: March 2004
Air America Radio
The new liberal radio station, featuring Al Franken and Janeane Garafalo among others, has a streaming audio so you can listen to it even if you aren’t in one of the big cities.
Read on »Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sunken Treasure and Ships
Now that I’ve finished my book club selections months early, my next reading endeavor is going to be “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sunken Treasure and Ships.” Why? Because I won the book at work last year, but they were out of print, and they finally tracked down a copy and gave it to me.
Read on »Questions the AP want’s Condoleezza Rice to Answer before the 9/11 Commission
Interesting list of questions that the Associated Press suggests need to be cleared up by Dr. Rice when she testifies before the 9/11 Commission next week. Those are good, but Salon’s list of questions is much better; it covers more of the White House’s actions surrounding 9/11 and not just contradictions between Clarke’s testimony and
Read on »Quote of the day
“Sorry we let unsubstantiated claims drive our coverage. Sorry we were dismissive of experts who disputed White House charges against Iraq. Sorry we let a band of self-serving Iraqi defectors make fools of us. Sorry we fell for Colin Powell’s performance at the United Nations. Sorry we couldn’t bring ourselves to hold the administration’s feet
Read on »Worse than Nixon
As Richard Nixon’s White House counsel during the Watergate scandal, John Dean famously warned his boss that there was “a cancer on the presidency” that would bring down the administration unless Nixon came clean. In his new book, “Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush,” Dean warns the country that the Bush
Read on »“friday” “five” == Tuesday four
Q: What’s on the nightstand next to your bed? Glasses, tissue, lamp, alarm clock, phone, current book, current magazine, TV remote Q: What one show on television do you try never to miss? Big Brother, Joan of Arcadia, Wonderfalls, The L-word. Q: What condiment always tastes good to you no matter what it�s on? Worcestershire
Read on »Woo hoo! I’m getting $2,293 bucks
I applied for a tax credit from the Department of Natural Resources for painting my house, and got approved for $2,293. Woo hoo! That means I’ll probably be able to afford to put in a privacy fence around my backyard. Kick ass!!
Read on »Weekend Update 2004-03-29
So I spent the whole weekend moving at a leisurely pace, which was very refreshing after months of whirlwind activity. Friday night was Girl’s Game Night at Vic’s/Outword Bound, which is always very fun. I bought The Truth About Jane and Tipping the Velvet on DVD from Outword Bound, which now has an online store,
Read on »Medicare Scandal: How Bush is hiding true cost of Medicare
Medicare Chief Tom Scully Threatened to Fire Top Actuary if He Revealed True Cost of the Drug Plan. The Bush Administration relied upon the drug benefit’s $400 billion price tag to win over skeptical conservative Republican allies.
Read on »“An outrageous lie” from Condoleezza Rice
Sibel Edmonds, A former FBI wiretap translator with top-secret security clearance, testified to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States that the FBI had detailed information prior to Sept. 11, 2001, that a terrorist attack involving airplanes was being plotted. But the information she is trying to present is being hidden by
Read on »Six things I’m doing to beat Bush
1. Making sure everyone I know is registered to vote in time for the primary. Everyone has to be registered by April 5 (postmarked form) to vote in the Indiana primary on May 5th. And if they happen to miss the primary, they have to be registered by October 4 to vote in the general
Read on »paper moon
I saw the 1973 movie “Paper Moon” on TCM on Monday. I’d never seen it before; it was a great movie. Tatum O’Neal was a terrific kid actor. The soundtrack was great, too — Depression era jazz. I searched around but found there was never officially a soundtrack released for it, although someone put together
Read on »Reading, TV….
I finished The Eyre Affair on Sunday, and last night wrapped up The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which I’m reading for one of my book clubs. Both are highly recommended.
Read on »last words from American soldiers
The New York Times prints excerpts from letters home of American soldiers who were killed in Iraq.
Read on »Justice Department Memos show Bush to be lax on terror threats
Check out these damning memos compiled by the Center for American Progress — internal memos that show The Bush Administration actually reversed the Clinton Administration’s strong emphasis on counterterrorism and counterintelligence. Attorney General John Ashcroft not only moved aggressively to reduce DoJ’s anti-terrorist budget but also shift DoJ’s mission in spirit to emphasize its role
Read on »Images of “World Unity Day” on Saturday
Wow — some fantastic images from around the world on the anniversary of the beginning of the American invasion of Iraq.
Read on »Richard Clarke and the “war on terra”
Former White House Counter-Terrorism expert Richard Clarke has written a book, “Against All Enemies: Inside the White House’s War on Terror–What Really Happened” which basically is a scathing criticism of everything George W. Bush did wrong; actions which lead directly to the 9/11 attacks.
Read on »Friday Five on Tuesday
So I took yesterday off to clean house after my party, and I’m even more late with the Friday Five than usual. If you… 1. …owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve? Chicken dishes. Yup, that’s all. It wouldn’t be a fast food take out place, though, but a sit-down, nice meal,
Read on »You can’t Do That On Television
Wow, there’s a blast from the past… My friend Lori B. mentioned that she used to have a crush on Moose (Christine McGlade) the host of this Nickelodeon show… so did, I big time. I looked around for more info on her, but there doesn’t seem to be much on what she’s doing now, except
Read on »Granta and the New York Times Review of Books
Granta and the New York Review of Books are two publications that I’ve always wanted to subscribe to, but could never quite find the money for in my budget. Now they’re free as a bonus with my subscription to Salon Magazine. That’s so cool. I love Salon and read it everyday anyway… all the bonuses
Read on »Naomi Wolf and sexual harrassment
I’ve read a great deal from others about Naomi Wolf and her revelation that while at school she had been sexually harrassed by famed professor Harold Bloom, but I had not, until today, read the story in her own words.
Read on »How the suburban shopping mall came into being
A very interesting article in the New Yorker about shopping malls, how they came into being, and how the design of malls was perfected. The most interesting part is how they came to replace downtown department stores–in some cases because the department stores influenced zoning and prevented new stores from moving downtown to compete. The
Read on »Leprechauns
I am a leprechaun, and I can have anything I wish for!
Read on »What Is An Irishman?
Loves religion for its own sake, but also because it makes it so inconvenient for his neighbors.
Read on »Three Irish Brothers
The bartender brings him three pints and the man proceeds to alternately sip one, then the other, then the third until they’re gone. He then orders three more.
Read on »Golfing in Ireland
One fine day in Ireland, a guy is out golfing and gets up to the 16th hole. He tees up and cranks one. Unfortunately, it goes into the woods on the side of the fairway. He goes looking for his ball and comes across this little guy with this huge knot on his head and the golfball lying right beside him.
Read on »Bush Lies
John Kerry was given a hard time recently for calling the Bush White House a bunch of crooked liars. Well, I’m not running for public office, so I can feel free to call him a big giant lying liar pants. And here’s the Proof, six comparison sites that illustrate what Bush said, versus what actually
Read on »Andrew Sullivan’s bizarre logic about Spain
Silly Andrew is making the argument that the liberal win in Spain was a victory for al Qaeda. Of course that’s ridiculous (see below) but the really bizarre thing is that he’s suggesting that it will lead to a major Al Qaeda attack in the US in an attempt to influence the election. If the
Read on »Strong Bad’s 100th E-mail!!!!
Okay, not really. But funny.
Read on »Things Republicans say for $1,000, Alex
Interesting, what some people will say, and then accuse others of talking about “hate”… “Get rid of the guy. Impeach him, censure him, assassinate him.” — Rep. James Hansen (R-UT), talking about President Clinton, as reported by journalist Steve Miner of KSUB radio who overheard his conversation, 11-01-98 “The homosexual blitzkrieg has been better planned
Read on »Bush can’t tell difference between women & men
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President George W. Bush has marked International Women’s Week by paying tribute to women reformers — but one of those he cited is really a man. “Earlier today, the Libyan government released Fathi Jahmi. She’s a local government official who was imprisoned in 2002 for advocating free speech and democracy,” the
Read on »Why do Republicans hate their children?
David Knight, son of the state senator who was the author of the California ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage, defied his father’s law and wed his partner of 10 years Tuesday in a quiet ceremony attended by just two friends in San Francisco City Hall. Atop the grand staircase of City Hall’s rotunda, Knight
Read on »Fridays are just too busy
To do The Friday Five. Mondays are a way more appropriate day. Screw alliteration. 1. What was the last song you heard? “Wanted Man” by Johnny Cash, because it’s one of the songs that the band is going play at my house on Saturday. The band has officially named itself, by the way — “Susan
Read on »Speaking of my new leather chair….
yes, let’s do that. No, I didn’t buy it from this site, and didn’t pay nearly that much for it. 🙂 I sat in this chair at Kittles for quite some time while gabbing to Kathy on my cell phone, and it is COM-FY! And the price was really great, so I couldn’t pass it
Read on »Here’s the thing about Bush….
I truly believe that George Bush knows where Osama bin Laden is, has known since 9/11/2001, and intends to “find” him at exactly the opportune moment prior to the election to boost his poll ratings. And I can promise you that if it happens exactly as I’m predicting, I will seriously think, once again, about
Read on »Bush Flip-Flops
Courtesy of http://billmon.org/ a big list of Bush Flip-Flops since he’s so busy accusing Kerry of changing his mind. Billmon is a great place for getting comparison quotes from various White House members on what they said back then, versus what they’re saying now. Bush is against campaign finance reform; then he’s for it. Bush
Read on »House of Bush, House of Saud
A new book by journalist Craig Unger, House of Bush, House of Saud, examines the intimate connections between the Bush family and the Saudi Arabian Royal Family, and in turn, the intimate connection between the Royal Family and Osama bin Laden and the militant strains of Islamic Fundamentalism behind the September 11 attacks.
Read on »ooooo… I need to revisit this online game
When I have more time to play around with it. Quest for the Crown.
Read on »Home grown projects
Remember that roller coaster that John Ivers, Indiana native, built in his backyard? Well these folks in Fremont, California built their own monorail.
Read on »Rumor has it…
That John Cusack is the anonymous celebrity behind this blog. Dunno if it’s true; haven’t had time to read it properly.
Read on »TV Station’s news ticker gets hacked
Check out the screenshots of the hacks; they’re pretty clever.
Read on »Halftime Janet Barbie
along with “JT” Ken. Talk about cashing in on the news.
Read on »Chris Rock’s Old Number
What happens when you get a new cell phone, and celebrities start calling you looking for Chris Rock.
Read on »Well, it’s getting there…
I was able to upload all my big things pictures, but now I’m discovering other stuff that’s missing. I configured a new guestbook, but it doesn’t look like my site, so I have to tweak it. And I’m starting a redesign that will hopefully allow me to redo the site using cascading style sheets and
Read on »Technical Difficulties — Please Stand By…
I just transferred webhosting to a cheaper service, so there are some aspects of my site that aren’t currently functioning, like the guestbook, and unfortunately, my big things photos. Give me a day or two to get everything set up, and hopefully, everything will be back to normal.
Read on »Questions from the end of Inside the Actor’s Studio
Rachel passed these along: 01. What is your favorite word? Knickerbocker. And it has nothing to the sports team. I think it has something to do with the fact that my childhood teddybear was made by the Knickerbocker Toy Company. 02. What is your least favorite word? Spackle. Panties. Belly. 03. What turns you on
Read on »late again
With The Friday Five. Sigh. What was… 1. …your first grade teacher’s name? Mrs. Forsythe was my kindergarten teacher. I don’t remember my first, second or third grade teachers, but my fourth grade teacher was Mrs. Wilson, and my fifth grade teacher was Miss Verban, who was young, single, and really, really pretty. 2. …your
Read on »Weekend Update 2004-03-08
This weekend, I had Lori over to play games on Saturday, and later Melissa and I went out to Talbott Street. then on Sunday, Mike, Brent, Jim came over with all their equipment and had band practice in my foyer, along with their lead singer, Justin, who I met for the first time. They were
Read on »treppenwitz
Treppenwitz, AKA “L’esprit de l’escalier” Literally, ‘the wisdom of the stairs’. The striking reply that crosses one’s mind belatedly when already leaving, on the stairs. People are often angry because they did not have the fitting answer directly during a conversation. The term is old, but it was made popular by W. Lewis Hertslet who
Read on »The Laws of Physics Don’t Apply to Me
College Application essay by Hugh Gallagher, author of Teeth: 3A. ESSAY: IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU
Read on »Get out, and take your cookies with you
CRAWFORD, Texas – Some families are boycotting Thin Mints and Do-Si-Dos and other Girl Scout cookies. Troop 7527 is down to just two members after the other girls were withdrawn by their parents. And Brownie Troop 7087 is no more.
Read on »The Three Kings Of Cologne — A Legend Of The Middle Ages
By John Of Hildesheim – Modernized By H. S. Morris [Adapted]
Read on »Marriage Constitutionally Defined as Between Man and Woman, or Two Hot Women
WASHINGTON – Congress today ratified the 28th amendment to the United States Constitution, which formally defined marriage in the United States as “a union of a man and a woman, or two hot women.” Conservatives are hailing this move a great victory for the preservation of traditional marriage values. Said Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), “The
Read on »Weekend Update 2004-03-02
Friday — Broadripple Brew Pub with co-workers. Fun, hangover. Saturday morning — got my hair cut and highlighted. Looks good. Watched Phonebooth. I enjoyed that. Although I thought he was kinda dumb for not walking away from the booth after the first call. I also did a tiny bit of work in the front yard.
Read on »Rumor: Bush to accept nominations at ground zero, 9/11 victims enraged
According to persistent rumors, President Bush is planning to accept the Republican nomination for president at Ground Zero in New York, during the Republican Convention this fall.
Read on »