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Recommended Reading
Friday, April 30, 2004
I'm gonna get all Tony Robbins on you:
Today marks my one-year anniversary of regular exercise. There I was, a month away from my fortieth birthday when I said to myself:
"Self, you need you stop layin' around on the couch eatin' potato chips and watching the jigglefest on Empty V and get your flaccid, flabby butt in shape."
To which I replied "Dagnabbit you're right. I'll start next month on my birthday so it'll be nice and easy to keep track of."
"You'll start today you lazy bastard, or I'll give you a coronary."
"Okay fine, I'll start today."
And with those inspiring words Christopher dropped and did ten pushups and ten sit-ups. A humble beginning it's true, but from then on the isometrics became a daily occurrence. I even dusted off that old dumbbell I had lying around to wake up those pipecleaners I was calling arms.
Ten became twenty and by Mid-June twenty had become sixty. By the time I was drafted for firefighting I was feeling healthier and much more energetic.
But slim and trim wasn't good enough for me any more, so when I returned home in September I started going to the local gymnasium on a daily basis. Initially going seven days a week, over the next few months I tailored it down to four days of weights followed by one day of cardio (including 20 to 30 minutes of running: something I hadn't done since being diagnosed with arthritis at age 22).
Eight months after walking into the gym I am now eighteen pounds heavier and feeling ten years younger. I'm even thinking of entering a fitness competition next winter.
So if a procrastinatin', arthritic, middle-aged pudgesicle like me can do it, then anyone can.
You just have to stop making excuses.
This annoyingly perky message has been brought to you by the good people at Fit Day dot Com.
FitDay: where they take the fun out of eating and replace it with guilt.
0 comments
Today marks my one-year anniversary of regular exercise. There I was, a month away from my fortieth birthday when I said to myself:
"Self, you need you stop layin' around on the couch eatin' potato chips and watching the jigglefest on Empty V and get your flaccid, flabby butt in shape."
To which I replied "Dagnabbit you're right. I'll start next month on my birthday so it'll be nice and easy to keep track of."
"You'll start today you lazy bastard, or I'll give you a coronary."
"Okay fine, I'll start today."
And with those inspiring words Christopher dropped and did ten pushups and ten sit-ups. A humble beginning it's true, but from then on the isometrics became a daily occurrence. I even dusted off that old dumbbell I had lying around to wake up those pipecleaners I was calling arms.
Ten became twenty and by Mid-June twenty had become sixty. By the time I was drafted for firefighting I was feeling healthier and much more energetic.
But slim and trim wasn't good enough for me any more, so when I returned home in September I started going to the local gymnasium on a daily basis. Initially going seven days a week, over the next few months I tailored it down to four days of weights followed by one day of cardio (including 20 to 30 minutes of running: something I hadn't done since being diagnosed with arthritis at age 22).
Eight months after walking into the gym I am now eighteen pounds heavier and feeling ten years younger. I'm even thinking of entering a fitness competition next winter.
So if a procrastinatin', arthritic, middle-aged pudgesicle like me can do it, then anyone can.
You just have to stop making excuses.
This annoyingly perky message has been brought to you by the good people at Fit Day dot Com.
FitDay: where they take the fun out of eating and replace it with guilt.
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Oh when the Saints come marching in...
It seems that there is a Saint for virtually everything under the sun.
Most folks know the major leaguers such as Saint Mary, Saint Joseph and Saint Francis but others on the team include Eustachius, the Patron Saint of difficult situations, Servulus, the Patron Saint of physically challenged people and Benedict the Black, the Patron Saint of black people.
Then there are also more esoteric ones like Anthony of Padua, the Patron Saint of travel hostesses, Saint Barbara, the Patron Saint of Bomb Technicians and Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, the Patron Saint of the Venezuelan National Guard.
What I find particularly funny is the oddball way that patronages are assigned to Saints. For example, there's Saint Fiacre, who amongst other things happens to be the Patron Saint of box makers, taxi drivers, florists and haemorrhoids.
And George, the Patron Saint of agricultural workers, boy scouts, Canada and herpes.
There doesn't seem to be a patron saint for breast implants, erectile dysfunction or pornography yet, but since Isidore of Seville is the Patron Saint of the Internet, perhaps those are all under his jurisdiction.
0 comments
It seems that there is a Saint for virtually everything under the sun.
Most folks know the major leaguers such as Saint Mary, Saint Joseph and Saint Francis but others on the team include Eustachius, the Patron Saint of difficult situations, Servulus, the Patron Saint of physically challenged people and Benedict the Black, the Patron Saint of black people.
Then there are also more esoteric ones like Anthony of Padua, the Patron Saint of travel hostesses, Saint Barbara, the Patron Saint of Bomb Technicians and Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, the Patron Saint of the Venezuelan National Guard.
What I find particularly funny is the oddball way that patronages are assigned to Saints. For example, there's Saint Fiacre, who amongst other things happens to be the Patron Saint of box makers, taxi drivers, florists and haemorrhoids.
And George, the Patron Saint of agricultural workers, boy scouts, Canada and herpes.
There doesn't seem to be a patron saint for breast implants, erectile dysfunction or pornography yet, but since Isidore of Seville is the Patron Saint of the Internet, perhaps those are all under his jurisdiction.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Are you familiar with the concept of a memory palace?
I began constructing mine five years ago and over the years it's become quite elaborate. Since I've always had a fondness for Cape Neddick, that's where I located it. I find that the Method of Loci works well, but I still have trouble making spatial links to memories if the associations are particularly unusual ones.
What tools do you use to remember things?
0 comments
I began constructing mine five years ago and over the years it's become quite elaborate. Since I've always had a fondness for Cape Neddick, that's where I located it. I find that the Method of Loci works well, but I still have trouble making spatial links to memories if the associations are particularly unusual ones.
What tools do you use to remember things?
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
If you live below the 49th parallel you've probably never heard of a Canadian television show called Talking to Americans. Host Rick Mercer travels across the continental United States doing street interviews with Americans to get their reactions on make-believe Canadian news headlines.
Often he heads for University campuses - such as Harvard, Stanford and Princeton where he got students and professors to sign a petition to protest Canadian government decisions "to resume the Saskatchewan seal hunt" and "reinstate the Toronto polar bear slaughter." .
"Congratulations, Canada, for getting a McDonald's," says one man in New York City.
"Congratulations, Canada, on 800 miles of paved road!" says another New Yorker.
"Canada, please don't put your senior citizens on ice floes to perish anymore," say folks in Michigan.
While I'm sure that Americans don't see as much humor in the show's premise as Canadians do, it also stands to reason that there really isn't any good reason for not knowing that we have higher education ("Congratulations, Canada, for finally getting a university" said a student at Berkley), VCRs aren't illegal and that frostbite isn't the number one Canadian killer.
But we do still put our senior citizens out on ice floes to perish...
0 comments
Often he heads for University campuses - such as Harvard, Stanford and Princeton where he got students and professors to sign a petition to protest Canadian government decisions "to resume the Saskatchewan seal hunt" and "reinstate the Toronto polar bear slaughter." .
"Congratulations, Canada, for getting a McDonald's," says one man in New York City.
"Congratulations, Canada, on 800 miles of paved road!" says another New Yorker.
"Canada, please don't put your senior citizens on ice floes to perish anymore," say folks in Michigan.
While I'm sure that Americans don't see as much humor in the show's premise as Canadians do, it also stands to reason that there really isn't any good reason for not knowing that we have higher education ("Congratulations, Canada, for finally getting a university" said a student at Berkley), VCRs aren't illegal and that frostbite isn't the number one Canadian killer.
But we do still put our senior citizens out on ice floes to perish...
Monday, April 26, 2004
On April 25th -26th, 1986 the World's worst nuclear power accident occurred at Chernobyl in the former USSR (now Ukraine).
Thirty-one people died immediately and 600,000 emergency response personnel (called “liquidators”) involved in fire fighting and clean-up operations, were exposed to the high doses of radiation. Based on the official reports, near 8,400,000 people in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were exposed to the radiation.
About 23,106 square miles were contaminated. That's more than the combined area of Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and Masschusetts. Agricultural areas covering nearly 7,750 square miles -nearly the size of New Hampshire - were contaminated with cesium-137 and strontium-90, with 30-year and 28-year half-lives respectively.
Nearly 404,000 people were resettled but millions continued to live in an environment where continued residual exposure created a range of adverse effects.
A British website on Chernobyl
The Official United Nations website on Chernobyl
A collection of links from Belarus
A British organization devoted to making the lives of children born into the aftermath a little better.
And lastly, an article from the Christian Science Monitor entitled "Driving Through Chernobyl" - but unfortunately the link to the images doesn't seem to be working.
0 comments
Thirty-one people died immediately and 600,000 emergency response personnel (called “liquidators”) involved in fire fighting and clean-up operations, were exposed to the high doses of radiation. Based on the official reports, near 8,400,000 people in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were exposed to the radiation.
About 23,106 square miles were contaminated. That's more than the combined area of Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and Masschusetts. Agricultural areas covering nearly 7,750 square miles -nearly the size of New Hampshire - were contaminated with cesium-137 and strontium-90, with 30-year and 28-year half-lives respectively.
Nearly 404,000 people were resettled but millions continued to live in an environment where continued residual exposure created a range of adverse effects.
A British website on Chernobyl
The Official United Nations website on Chernobyl
A collection of links from Belarus
A British organization devoted to making the lives of children born into the aftermath a little better.
And lastly, an article from the Christian Science Monitor entitled "Driving Through Chernobyl" - but unfortunately the link to the images doesn't seem to be working.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
I've been wanting to post this song for quite some time now...
Unwed Fathers
In an Appalachian, Greyhound station
She sits there waiting, in a family way
"Goodbye brother, Tell Mom I love her
Tell all the others, I'll write someday"
Chorus:
From a teenage lover, to an unwed mother
Kept undercover, like some bad dream
While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered
They run like water, through a mountain stream
In a cold and gray town, a nurse say's "Lay down"
'This ain't no playground, and this ain't home'
Someone's children, out having children
In a gray stone building, all alone
Repeat Chorus:
From a teenage lover, to an unwed mother
Kept undercover, like some bad dream
While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered
They run like water, through a mountain stream
On somewhere else bound, Smokey Mountain Greyhound
She bows her head down, hummin' lullabies
'Your daddy never, meant to hurt you ever'
'He just don't live here, but you've got his eyes'
Repeat Chorus:
From an teenage lover, to an unwed mother
Kept undercover, like some bad dream
While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered
They run like water, through a mountain stream
Well, they run like water,
Through a mountain stream
©John Prine and Bobby Braddock
0 comments
Unwed Fathers
In an Appalachian, Greyhound station
She sits there waiting, in a family way
"Goodbye brother, Tell Mom I love her
Tell all the others, I'll write someday"
Chorus:
From a teenage lover, to an unwed mother
Kept undercover, like some bad dream
While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered
They run like water, through a mountain stream
In a cold and gray town, a nurse say's "Lay down"
'This ain't no playground, and this ain't home'
Someone's children, out having children
In a gray stone building, all alone
Repeat Chorus:
From a teenage lover, to an unwed mother
Kept undercover, like some bad dream
While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered
They run like water, through a mountain stream
On somewhere else bound, Smokey Mountain Greyhound
She bows her head down, hummin' lullabies
'Your daddy never, meant to hurt you ever'
'He just don't live here, but you've got his eyes'
Repeat Chorus:
From an teenage lover, to an unwed mother
Kept undercover, like some bad dream
While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered
They run like water, through a mountain stream
Well, they run like water,
Through a mountain stream
©John Prine and Bobby Braddock
Friday, April 23, 2004
Here are the rest of the the books from that box I wrote about the other day. I should clarify that these two lists aren't the only books that carry meaning for me, but they do represent a good-sized portion of them.
Bill The Galactic Hero on the Planet of the Robot Slaves by Harry Harrison
The Tent Peg by Aritha Van Herk
Games People Play by Eric Berne MD
The Five Fingers by Gayle Rivers and James Hudson
The Boy Who Invented the Bubble Gun by Paul Gallico
A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1967 edition )
Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Walden-Essay on Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau (1965 edition)
The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux
Waiting for the Galactic Bus by Parke Godwin
Designated Hitter by Walter Wager
Telefon by Walter Wager
Time of Reckoning by Walter Wager
Dune by Frank Herbert
Children of Dune by Frank Hebert
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham
A Gift Upon the Shore by MK Wren
People of the Deer by Farley Mowat
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac (1959 original paperback edition)
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
When Trouble Beckons by Mike McQuay
The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford
Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian
The Loo Sanction by Trevanian
The Main by by Trevanian
Shibumi by Trevanian
The Borribles by Michael de Larrabeiti
Ringworld by Larry Niven
The Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven
Night Sky by Clare Francis
The Stand by Stephen King
Genesis by WA Harbinson
Metropolis by Thea Von Harbou (1963 edition)
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A.Heinlein
A Matter for Men by David Gerrold
A Day for Damnation by David Gerrold
A Rage for Revenge by David Gerrold
The Sunset Warrior by Eric V. Lustbader
Shallows of Night by Eric V. Lustbader
Dai-San by Eric V. Lustbader
Beneath an Opal Moon by Eric V. Lustbader
Thunderball by Ian Fleming
Men for the Mountains by Sid Marty
Homeworld by Harry Harrison
Wheelworld by Harry Harrison
Starworld by Harry Harrison
0 comments
Bill The Galactic Hero on the Planet of the Robot Slaves by Harry Harrison
The Tent Peg by Aritha Van Herk
Games People Play by Eric Berne MD
The Five Fingers by Gayle Rivers and James Hudson
The Boy Who Invented the Bubble Gun by Paul Gallico
A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1967 edition )
Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Walden-Essay on Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau (1965 edition)
The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux
Waiting for the Galactic Bus by Parke Godwin
Designated Hitter by Walter Wager
Telefon by Walter Wager
Time of Reckoning by Walter Wager
Dune by Frank Herbert
Children of Dune by Frank Hebert
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham
A Gift Upon the Shore by MK Wren
People of the Deer by Farley Mowat
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac (1959 original paperback edition)
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
When Trouble Beckons by Mike McQuay
The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford
Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian
The Loo Sanction by Trevanian
The Main by by Trevanian
Shibumi by Trevanian
The Borribles by Michael de Larrabeiti
Ringworld by Larry Niven
The Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven
Night Sky by Clare Francis
The Stand by Stephen King
Genesis by WA Harbinson
Metropolis by Thea Von Harbou (1963 edition)
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A.Heinlein
A Matter for Men by David Gerrold
A Day for Damnation by David Gerrold
A Rage for Revenge by David Gerrold
The Sunset Warrior by Eric V. Lustbader
Shallows of Night by Eric V. Lustbader
Dai-San by Eric V. Lustbader
Beneath an Opal Moon by Eric V. Lustbader
Thunderball by Ian Fleming
Men for the Mountains by Sid Marty
Homeworld by Harry Harrison
Wheelworld by Harry Harrison
Starworld by Harry Harrison
Thursday, April 22, 2004
"i want a job at home doing medical transcribing in ontario only" was a google search that someone used to get to my blog.
I guess it just wasn't specific enough.
Perhaps a more focussed search parameter like this would help narrow things down:
"i want a job at home doing medical transcribing in ontario only - but i'll take a position in the south of france too if the employer pays my relocation and living expenses and provides me with at least four weeks off a year plus benefits and a car but not just any car it has to be a porsche, a light green porsche and not one of those cheap 944 models i want a 911 or at least a 912 and i also want a spouse who appreciates me and won't nag my lazy ass about the used bags of potato chips or the dirty socks i leave on the living room couch since i'm going to be home all day"
0 comments
I guess it just wasn't specific enough.
Perhaps a more focussed search parameter like this would help narrow things down:
"i want a job at home doing medical transcribing in ontario only - but i'll take a position in the south of france too if the employer pays my relocation and living expenses and provides me with at least four weeks off a year plus benefits and a car but not just any car it has to be a porsche, a light green porsche and not one of those cheap 944 models i want a 911 or at least a 912 and i also want a spouse who appreciates me and won't nag my lazy ass about the used bags of potato chips or the dirty socks i leave on the living room couch since i'm going to be home all day"
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
While at my father's last weekend I collected a box of books that I had been storing with him since 1999. They are the books that I prized above all others, the ones that I considered to be the "essential Christopher".
It was a big box so I shan't list them all today but here are a few of the titles:
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The African Queen by CS Forester
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Defence Diaries of W. Morgan Petty edited by Brian Bethell
Grimms Fairy Tales
Wilderness Seasons by Ian and Sally Wilson
Nahanni Trailhead by Joanne Ronan Moore
The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance by John Hale
The People's Guide to Backpacking, Boating and Camping in Mexico by Carl Franz
The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill
Paris in the Terror by Stanley Loomis
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff
Primitive Mythology: The Masks of God by Joseph Campbell
94 Hikes in the Canadian Rockies by Dee Urbick and Vicky Spring
Urban Alert! Emergency Survival for City Dwellers by Mary Ellen Clayton
The Wilderness Cabin by Calvin Rutstrum
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman
The Treasure of Topo-El-Bampo by Scott O'Dell
The Stikine River - Alaska Geographic
My Side of the Mountain by Jean George
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Stirling
The Mentor Book of Major American Poets edited by Oscar Williams and Edwin Honig
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace (1965 edition)
Venus on the Half-Shell by Kilgore Trout
Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life by Philip Jose Farmer
Ten Year to Doomsday by Chester Anderson and Michael Kurland
The Micronauts by Gordon Williams
Papillon by Henri Charriere
The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols
The Hook by Denis Cleary and Frank Maher
Nuclear War edited by Gregory Benford and Martin Harry Greenberg
For Love of Evil by Piers Anthony
The Postman by Davin Brin
Little Big Man by Thomas Berger
James Bond: The Authorised Biography by John Pearson
Tales of Riverworld by Philip Jose Farmer
Fatherland by Robert Harris
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary Wolf
Shogun by James Clavell
Check your Own IQ by HJ Eysenck
The Blue of Capricorn by Eugene Burdick (1962 edition)
Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer (1968 edition)
After Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
Roots by Alex Haley
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
Being There by Jerzy Kosinski
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon
The Chernobyl Syndrome...And How To Survive It by Dean Ing
The HAB Theory by Allan W. Eckert
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
Creator by Jeremy Leven
Fields of Fire by James Webb
Warday by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka
Long Voyage Back by Luke Rhinehart
Tai Ki by Kuno Knobl
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
No Blade of Grass by John Christopher (1971 edition)
The End Of The Matter by Alan Dean Foster
Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster
Dead Calm by Charles Williams (1965 edition)
World War III by John Stanley
Man From Atlantis #1 by Richard Woodley
Myths to Live By by Joseph Campbell
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Fire From Within by Carlos Castaneda
Var the Stick by Piers Anthony
And All The Stars a Stage by James Blish
Bordertown edited by Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Executioner #1 by Don Pendleton
Dhalgren by Samual R. Delany
0 comments
It was a big box so I shan't list them all today but here are a few of the titles:
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The African Queen by CS Forester
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Defence Diaries of W. Morgan Petty edited by Brian Bethell
Grimms Fairy Tales
Wilderness Seasons by Ian and Sally Wilson
Nahanni Trailhead by Joanne Ronan Moore
The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance by John Hale
The People's Guide to Backpacking, Boating and Camping in Mexico by Carl Franz
The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill
Paris in the Terror by Stanley Loomis
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff
Primitive Mythology: The Masks of God by Joseph Campbell
94 Hikes in the Canadian Rockies by Dee Urbick and Vicky Spring
Urban Alert! Emergency Survival for City Dwellers by Mary Ellen Clayton
The Wilderness Cabin by Calvin Rutstrum
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman
The Treasure of Topo-El-Bampo by Scott O'Dell
The Stikine River - Alaska Geographic
My Side of the Mountain by Jean George
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Stirling
The Mentor Book of Major American Poets edited by Oscar Williams and Edwin Honig
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace (1965 edition)
Venus on the Half-Shell by Kilgore Trout
Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life by Philip Jose Farmer
Ten Year to Doomsday by Chester Anderson and Michael Kurland
The Micronauts by Gordon Williams
Papillon by Henri Charriere
The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols
The Hook by Denis Cleary and Frank Maher
Nuclear War edited by Gregory Benford and Martin Harry Greenberg
For Love of Evil by Piers Anthony
The Postman by Davin Brin
Little Big Man by Thomas Berger
James Bond: The Authorised Biography by John Pearson
Tales of Riverworld by Philip Jose Farmer
Fatherland by Robert Harris
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary Wolf
Shogun by James Clavell
Check your Own IQ by HJ Eysenck
The Blue of Capricorn by Eugene Burdick (1962 edition)
Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer (1968 edition)
After Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
Roots by Alex Haley
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
Being There by Jerzy Kosinski
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon
The Chernobyl Syndrome...And How To Survive It by Dean Ing
The HAB Theory by Allan W. Eckert
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
Creator by Jeremy Leven
Fields of Fire by James Webb
Warday by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka
Long Voyage Back by Luke Rhinehart
Tai Ki by Kuno Knobl
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
No Blade of Grass by John Christopher (1971 edition)
The End Of The Matter by Alan Dean Foster
Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster
Dead Calm by Charles Williams (1965 edition)
World War III by John Stanley
Man From Atlantis #1 by Richard Woodley
Myths to Live By by Joseph Campbell
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Fire From Within by Carlos Castaneda
Var the Stick by Piers Anthony
And All The Stars a Stage by James Blish
Bordertown edited by Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Executioner #1 by Don Pendleton
Dhalgren by Samual R. Delany
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
The irony of this particular individual chosing to have his Blog headlined with the words "School Sucks" is too great to not comment upon.
I give you the incomprehensible world of: wat the hell am i doin!!!
This is the end product of millions of years of natural selection?
0 comments
I give you the incomprehensible world of: wat the hell am i doin!!!
Saturdae 17 April 2004:
We went out to celebrate both mandy n izwan b'dae..started off watchin starsky&hutch..damn funni...juz love the line by starsky "Do It,Do It...Just Do It!!" nvr fail to crack me up...then we went to eat at Suntec's Marche..gave Izwan a treat cos his b'dae we order lots of food but in the end couldnt finish!!haha!!typical singaporean..aniwae had lots of fun eatin at Marche..then we all took a cab to Mohd Sultan to round up our day!We were undecided as wish one to go cos jueru n graydon kinda like techno... n the rest were more into RnB,in the end cheeky monkey was our answer! it was a blessin in disguise!!We had tons n tons of fun!!We were kinda worry at first that izwan n yogen couldnt enter..but it turn out ok...aniwaes we spent the rest of the night dancin away!!didnt care less how n who we dance wif!!that nite cheeky was damn happenin!!Omg i was perspirin buckets loads of sweat man!!nvr have i sweat that much b4 even when i playin soccer under the sun!!Saw lotsa of familiar ppl over there..I had drink but it was nvr enough..we took a break n the eish bought a liquor which i tatolly despised aniwae had to drink it..it was horrible..give me jack danial anytime man!!it beat the hell out of that cheap liquor...haha..aniwae lotsa guys were eyin on mandy n it was so funni!!ppl cant help but had to dance wif ang moh gals man..but too bad mandy had a bodyguard wif her...u noe who...i wont say names...aniwae mandy bf didnt follow...too bad for him n great for some of us...if u noe wat i mean...juz put it some of us had alot of fun wif mandy that didnt notice thier own frenz...; ) the last hr the club play some reggae songs n most of us gave up dancin...n i was there tryin to reggae along wif the song..haha..nice sing..Red red wineeeeee....haha bring back memories...in the end we were all dead beat i mean literally dead beat!!we all struggle to go on the night rider..some more some of us had to work in the day!!that includes yurs truly...we all sat in the bus n chat away...haha..funni man..it was way i mean way better then hendrix man...there be more trips to there..that i can promise so fairuz n imran all watch out i will drag u all wif us...muahahahaha!!(evil laugh)went home n slept the day n woke up at 1.30 n went to work!!haiz!!bloody fullerton!!too exhausted n drainin to work haiz but wad to do...for the sake of Ipod!!
This is the end product of millions of years of natural selection?
For the love of God please...
please...
please...
take these 'effing flags off your cars people!
I'm really, really happy that you support the Saskatoon NosePickers or whatever it is that your favorite sports team happens to be called but enough is enough.
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please...
please...
take these 'effing flags off your cars people!
I'm really, really happy that you support the Saskatoon NosePickers or whatever it is that your favorite sports team happens to be called but enough is enough.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Son #2 had another tae kwon do tournament. Another win, this time qualifiying him for an invitation to compete in Germany next year. Since my ex plans on taking all three kids to Europe for a month in the Summer of 2005 anyway, it might work out well. And I won't get started on how she can afford a trip like that...
After the tournament I drove into Vancouver and took my father out for dinner. He turned 66 on the 18th, which means that in 1979 he was the same age I am now.
As I've mentioned before, I have an uncomfortable relationship with my father so once we got past exchanging weather observations and health updates our time together was mostly spent in silence as the Delphonics crooned on the car stereo and we drove through Stanley Park.
If I had to distill my feelings towards my father down into one word I think that word would be...conflicted.
0 comments
After the tournament I drove into Vancouver and took my father out for dinner. He turned 66 on the 18th, which means that in 1979 he was the same age I am now.
As I've mentioned before, I have an uncomfortable relationship with my father so once we got past exchanging weather observations and health updates our time together was mostly spent in silence as the Delphonics crooned on the car stereo and we drove through Stanley Park.
If I had to distill my feelings towards my father down into one word I think that word would be...conflicted.
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Kill Mom But Don't Hurt TV, Teen Tells Hitman
Fri Apr 16, 7:42 AM ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida teen charged with hiring an undercover policeman to shoot and kill his mother instructed the purported hitman not to damage the family television during the attack, police said on Thursday.
Police in the southwestern Florida city of Fort Myers arrested the boy, 17-year-old Carlos Chereza, on Tuesday on a charge of soliciting to commit first-degree murder.
Tipped by an informant that Chereza had offered to pay to have his mother killed, an undercover detective posed as someone willing to do the job, Fort Myers police said.
Chereza offered the detective $2,000 that he expected to inherit from his mother's bank account, and gave him the keys to the family apartment, a map of the apartment and a picture of his mother, the police report said. He asked that the shooting be made to look like a burglary, it said.
"Carlos stated that he didn't want anything to happen to the television," the detective wrote in the arrest report.
Police arrested the teen immediately after the meeting with the detective, and the mother was unharmed. Police spokeswoman Kara Winton said the motive was related to domestic problems within the family, but declined to elaborate
"Gee, mom was murdered by a burglar that had keys to the apartment and didn't steal the television."
The kid obviously should have watched less MTV and more CSI.
Well now he'll have other things to occupy himself with while in prison...
0 comments
Fri Apr 16, 7:42 AM ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida teen charged with hiring an undercover policeman to shoot and kill his mother instructed the purported hitman not to damage the family television during the attack, police said on Thursday.
Police in the southwestern Florida city of Fort Myers arrested the boy, 17-year-old Carlos Chereza, on Tuesday on a charge of soliciting to commit first-degree murder.
Tipped by an informant that Chereza had offered to pay to have his mother killed, an undercover detective posed as someone willing to do the job, Fort Myers police said.
Chereza offered the detective $2,000 that he expected to inherit from his mother's bank account, and gave him the keys to the family apartment, a map of the apartment and a picture of his mother, the police report said. He asked that the shooting be made to look like a burglary, it said.
"Carlos stated that he didn't want anything to happen to the television," the detective wrote in the arrest report.
Police arrested the teen immediately after the meeting with the detective, and the mother was unharmed. Police spokeswoman Kara Winton said the motive was related to domestic problems within the family, but declined to elaborate
"Gee, mom was murdered by a burglar that had keys to the apartment and didn't steal the television."
The kid obviously should have watched less MTV and more CSI.
Well now he'll have other things to occupy himself with while in prison...
Friday, April 16, 2004
I'm scheduled to take a managerial course next month and as part of the preparation I had to take an online questionnaire that would identify my 'personal operating style'.
According to the blurb, "This is not a personality profile. The 4D-i is a portfolio of essential success strategies and factors that you can use throughout your life". Yeah, whatever.
The assessment results are broken down into four main categories (Creativity, Understanding, Decision-Making and Personal Spirit) and then further subdivided into 18 'success strategies' and 3 'success factors'.
The scoring for the results goes from High (greater than 84% of the population) to High Average (66% to 83%) to Average to Low Average (17% to 33%) to Low (16% and under). So a 'high average' score means that I prefer to use that particular strategy or factor somewhat more than the rest of the population. You get the idea...
Here's what the assessment had to say about my personal operating style:
Creativity
Creative Thinking
brainstorming = high average (81%)
challenge = low average (19%)
reframe = low average (36%)
envision = low average (32%)
Intuition
flow = high average (82%)
flash of insight = high average (76%)
Understanding
Analytical Thinking
scan = high average (74%)
structure = high average (50%)
clarify = low (16%)
Compassion
tune in = low (6%)
empathize = low average (32%)
express = low (14%)
Decision Making
Critical Thinking
crux = high (91%)
conclude = high (94%)
validate = high (99%)
experience = average (49%)
Beliefs/Gut
values driven = low average (34%)
trust in your heart = low (6%)
Personal Spirit
your outlook = low average (23%)
your sense of control = average (51%)
your initiative = average (48%)
So what does it all mean?
I think it means that I prefer to make decisions based on dispassionate logic and fact rather than on touchy-feely group hugs and endless communal navel-gazing. Anyone who's worked with me can tell you that I'm not a "let's have a shared-experience meeting" kind of person.
It works well in business but not so well in personal relationships. From what I've observed, women prefer their men to have more than 32% in their empathy score.
An acquaintance of mine once said that the main difference between the way that men and women resolve relationship problems is that men go into them with the intent to make a decision and move forward with life whereas women go into them with the intent to make the man feel bad and then have a cup of tea.
I don't know how true that is, but my ex sure drank a lot of tea...
0 comments
According to the blurb, "This is not a personality profile. The 4D-i is a portfolio of essential success strategies and factors that you can use throughout your life". Yeah, whatever.
The assessment results are broken down into four main categories (Creativity, Understanding, Decision-Making and Personal Spirit) and then further subdivided into 18 'success strategies' and 3 'success factors'.
The scoring for the results goes from High (greater than 84% of the population) to High Average (66% to 83%) to Average to Low Average (17% to 33%) to Low (16% and under). So a 'high average' score means that I prefer to use that particular strategy or factor somewhat more than the rest of the population. You get the idea...
Here's what the assessment had to say about my personal operating style:
Creativity
Creative Thinking
brainstorming = high average (81%)
challenge = low average (19%)
reframe = low average (36%)
envision = low average (32%)
Intuition
flow = high average (82%)
flash of insight = high average (76%)
Understanding
Analytical Thinking
scan = high average (74%)
structure = high average (50%)
clarify = low (16%)
Compassion
tune in = low (6%)
empathize = low average (32%)
express = low (14%)
Decision Making
Critical Thinking
crux = high (91%)
conclude = high (94%)
validate = high (99%)
experience = average (49%)
Beliefs/Gut
values driven = low average (34%)
trust in your heart = low (6%)
Personal Spirit
your outlook = low average (23%)
your sense of control = average (51%)
your initiative = average (48%)
So what does it all mean?
I think it means that I prefer to make decisions based on dispassionate logic and fact rather than on touchy-feely group hugs and endless communal navel-gazing. Anyone who's worked with me can tell you that I'm not a "let's have a shared-experience meeting" kind of person.
It works well in business but not so well in personal relationships. From what I've observed, women prefer their men to have more than 32% in their empathy score.
An acquaintance of mine once said that the main difference between the way that men and women resolve relationship problems is that men go into them with the intent to make a decision and move forward with life whereas women go into them with the intent to make the man feel bad and then have a cup of tea.
I don't know how true that is, but my ex sure drank a lot of tea...
Thursday, April 15, 2004
The first movie I can remember ever seeing in a theatre was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I guess I was five since it came out in 1968.
Unlike other boys, I didn't immediately fall in love with Truly Scrumptious. It was Baroness Bomburst who sparked my interest what with her long blonde braids, leather corset and impressive décolletage.
I'm always surprised that someone never made a porn version called "Chitty Chitty Gang Bang". Instead of inventing a car that does all sorts of things, Caracatcus Potts could have invented a marvelous, magical, marital aid. Then the evil Baron von ButtBurst could have stolen it for his wife the Baroness, forcing Caracatus, Truly Scrumptious and Caractatus' sex-starved twin daughters to have to go to the Baron's homeland of Vulgaria to rescue it.
There could have even been a remake of the title song:
Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
O you pretty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang, we love you
And with Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
what we'll do
Near, far, even in a motor car
O what a happy time we'll spend
Gang Bang, Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Our fine fourteen inch friend
Gang Bang Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Our fine fourteen inch friend
(Caractatus sings)
I'm hung like a thoroughbred
Your rump's on my feather bed
You'll give everybody head today!
(Truly sings)
I'll nibble on your lower lip
My hand on your leg and hip
The bedspread's in such disarray!
O Chitty You Chitty
Pretty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
We love you
High low anywhere we go
On Chitty Chitty we depend
Gang Bang Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Our fine fourteen inch friend
Gang Bang Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Our fine fourteen inch friend!
Beep! Beep!
0 comments
Unlike other boys, I didn't immediately fall in love with Truly Scrumptious. It was Baroness Bomburst who sparked my interest what with her long blonde braids, leather corset and impressive décolletage.
I'm always surprised that someone never made a porn version called "Chitty Chitty Gang Bang". Instead of inventing a car that does all sorts of things, Caracatcus Potts could have invented a marvelous, magical, marital aid. Then the evil Baron von ButtBurst could have stolen it for his wife the Baroness, forcing Caracatus, Truly Scrumptious and Caractatus' sex-starved twin daughters to have to go to the Baron's homeland of Vulgaria to rescue it.
There could have even been a remake of the title song:
Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
O you pretty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang, we love you
And with Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
what we'll do
Near, far, even in a motor car
O what a happy time we'll spend
Gang Bang, Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Our fine fourteen inch friend
Gang Bang Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Our fine fourteen inch friend
(Caractatus sings)
I'm hung like a thoroughbred
Your rump's on my feather bed
You'll give everybody head today!
(Truly sings)
I'll nibble on your lower lip
My hand on your leg and hip
The bedspread's in such disarray!
O Chitty You Chitty
Pretty Chitty Gang Bang
Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
We love you
High low anywhere we go
On Chitty Chitty we depend
Gang Bang Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Our fine fourteen inch friend
Gang Bang Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
Our fine fourteen inch friend!
Beep! Beep!
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Apparently there's something I need to get off my chest:
hair
I'd like to know when exactly it become fashionable for men to be as hairless as naked mole rats ?
When I was a lad, male virility was expressed by chest hair, broad shoulders and a strong chin . Look at the popular "sex-symbol" actors of the time: Charlton Heston, Sean Connery, Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson (okay so he was gay, but he was still virile).
However sometime during the past ten or fifteen years it became preferable for men to be hairless except for the top of their head and a wee bit of fuzz around their pubes.
I'm not suggesting that looking like a monkeyman is required, but this hairlessness thing strikes me as just one more step towards the socially-acceptable glorification of the prepubescent, androgynous body.
Even today's 'tough-guy' movie stars have the look: Click here for movie-star girly-man
Go to a gym, beach or public swimming pool sometime and you can see any number of men that have taken to shaving their chests and legs - I even see it at the gym I go to here. Watch one of the awful dating shows on the idiot box and again you'll see that male hairlessness seems to be preferred.
As for me, I think shaving my face is enough of a chore so I'll be damned if I'm going to start shaving any other body parts regularly as well.
0 comments
hair
I'd like to know when exactly it become fashionable for men to be as hairless as naked mole rats ?
When I was a lad, male virility was expressed by chest hair, broad shoulders and a strong chin . Look at the popular "sex-symbol" actors of the time: Charlton Heston, Sean Connery, Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson (okay so he was gay, but he was still virile).
However sometime during the past ten or fifteen years it became preferable for men to be hairless except for the top of their head and a wee bit of fuzz around their pubes.
I'm not suggesting that looking like a monkeyman is required, but this hairlessness thing strikes me as just one more step towards the socially-acceptable glorification of the prepubescent, androgynous body.
Even today's 'tough-guy' movie stars have the look: Click here for movie-star girly-man
Go to a gym, beach or public swimming pool sometime and you can see any number of men that have taken to shaving their chests and legs - I even see it at the gym I go to here. Watch one of the awful dating shows on the idiot box and again you'll see that male hairlessness seems to be preferred.
As for me, I think shaving my face is enough of a chore so I'll be damned if I'm going to start shaving any other body parts regularly as well.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
I had to write something before the day ended...
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Monday, April 12, 2004
I'm back from a mini-expedition to the West coast of the United States. Here's my report:
The Pacific is still salty
The Interstate is still far better than any highway Canada seems capable of building
Things get greener the further south you go
It's hard to stick to your diet in the States: Krispy Kreme is the Devil's doughnut shop
I like the E! channel ~ lots of salacious gossip
Eating a chocolate mint ice cream waffle cone while watching the sun go down over the Pacific Ocean is a good thing.
Hermit crabs are funny looking
***
I hope everyone had a good weekend.
0 comments
The Pacific is still salty
The Interstate is still far better than any highway Canada seems capable of building
Things get greener the further south you go
It's hard to stick to your diet in the States: Krispy Kreme is the Devil's doughnut shop
I like the E! channel ~ lots of salacious gossip
Eating a chocolate mint ice cream waffle cone while watching the sun go down over the Pacific Ocean is a good thing.
Hermit crabs are funny looking
***
I hope everyone had a good weekend.
Friday, April 09, 2004
At the risk of straying into American politics - something I've studiously avoided, I have to confess that I like Condoleeza Rice.
Here's her official White House Biography (which doesn't mention that she entered the U of Denver at age 15).
Here's the Condoleeza for President in 2008 website.
Considering that she is a black woman who was born in Birmingham Alabama in 1954, you have to admit that she's done alright for herself.
kudos for Condi!
Thursday, April 08, 2004
I'm not much of an online quiz junkie but here are some interesting psych tests and quizzes.
I took this one: The Interactive Lonely Hearts Ad. See what the words that you choose for your personals ad say about you.
And now for something completely different:
Actors Whip Easter Bunny at Church Show:
GLASSPORT, Pa. - A church trying to teach about the crucifixion of Jesus performed an Easter show with actors whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs, upsetting several parents and young children.
People who attended Saturday's performance at Glassport's memorial stadium quoted performers as saying, "There is no Easter bunny," and described the show as being a demonstration of how Jesus was crucified.
Melissa Salzmann, who brought her 4-year-old son J.T., said the program was inappropriate for young children. "He was crying and asking me why the bunny was being whipped," Salzmann said.
Patty Bickerton, the youth minister at Glassport Assembly of God, said the performance wasn't meant to be offensive. Bickerton portrayed the Easter rabbit and said she tried to act with a tone of irreverence. "The program was for all ages, not just the kids. We wanted to convey that Easter is not just about the Easter bunny, it is about Jesus Christ," Bickerton said.
Performers broke eggs meant for an Easter egg hunt and also portrayed a drunken man and a self-mutilating woman, said Jennifer Norelli-Burke, another parent who saw the show in Glassport, a community about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
"It was very disturbing," Norelli-Burke said. "I could not believe what I saw. It wasn't anything I was expecting."
Happy Easter Everyone!
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I took this one: The Interactive Lonely Hearts Ad. See what the words that you choose for your personals ad say about you.
And now for something completely different:
Actors Whip Easter Bunny at Church Show:
GLASSPORT, Pa. - A church trying to teach about the crucifixion of Jesus performed an Easter show with actors whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs, upsetting several parents and young children.
People who attended Saturday's performance at Glassport's memorial stadium quoted performers as saying, "There is no Easter bunny," and described the show as being a demonstration of how Jesus was crucified.
Melissa Salzmann, who brought her 4-year-old son J.T., said the program was inappropriate for young children. "He was crying and asking me why the bunny was being whipped," Salzmann said.
Patty Bickerton, the youth minister at Glassport Assembly of God, said the performance wasn't meant to be offensive. Bickerton portrayed the Easter rabbit and said she tried to act with a tone of irreverence. "The program was for all ages, not just the kids. We wanted to convey that Easter is not just about the Easter bunny, it is about Jesus Christ," Bickerton said.
Performers broke eggs meant for an Easter egg hunt and also portrayed a drunken man and a self-mutilating woman, said Jennifer Norelli-Burke, another parent who saw the show in Glassport, a community about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
"It was very disturbing," Norelli-Burke said. "I could not believe what I saw. It wasn't anything I was expecting."
Happy Easter Everyone!
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
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Tuesday, April 06, 2004
More on Rwanda
A slideshow of Rwanda's 100 Days, courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Some graphic images.
Another slideshow capturing the faces and words of Rwandan murderers and survivors.
Excerpts...
A murderer:
A survivor:
I don't have any pithy words to add. I read these testimonies and I feel ashamed at how important I thought my life's problems were in April of 1994. I remember looking at the images of rivers choked with bodies, running red with blood and thinking "Ah, that's Africa for you" and I realize that it was just the sort of bigoted response that North Americans tended to have unless we had relatives who once lived in fear of the Einsatzgruppen, the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti or the Iraqi Government.
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A slideshow of Rwanda's 100 Days, courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Some graphic images.
Another slideshow capturing the faces and words of Rwandan murderers and survivors.
Excerpts...
A murderer:
Evariste Maherane is a free man. After six years awaiting trial, he confessed and apologised at a Gacaca hearing. He sits at home near Nyarubuye with his wife, children and grandson...
...He remembers killing a 10-year-old Tutsi boy who had escaped from the church.
Evariste held the wounded boy, dressed in his school issue khaki shorts and shirt, by the neck and battered him with a club. Then they dug a hole and pushed the child in, still alive.
Evariste had a 10-year-old son of his own at the time, and is haunted by the memory of the Tutsi child's arms and legs flailing in the smothering earth. "It was a time of hatred. Our heads were hot. We were animals", he says
A survivor:
Marie was captured near Nyarubuye by Hutus who took her as a sex slave and raped her more than 100 times.
Marie contracted Aids from her rapists and afterwards discovered that she was pregnant. That baby died of Aids and Marie is now in the final stages of the disease.
She says: "I don't know why this happened to me. I was a good person. It wasn't my fault I was born a Tutsi."
I don't have any pithy words to add. I read these testimonies and I feel ashamed at how important I thought my life's problems were in April of 1994. I remember looking at the images of rivers choked with bodies, running red with blood and thinking "Ah, that's Africa for you" and I realize that it was just the sort of bigoted response that North Americans tended to have unless we had relatives who once lived in fear of the Einsatzgruppen, the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti or the Iraqi Government.
Monday, April 05, 2004
It was a busy weekend for one whose head is stuffed with mucus...
On Friday night I took my boys and my ex's boyfriend's boys (how's that for an awkward phrase?) to see Hellboy.
On Saturday I took all three kids (just mine this time) to the travelling carnival that came to town. They went on a few rides and played some midway games while I groggily sneezed and snuffled along behind them.
By the time I dropped them off it felt like my head was going to explode so I went home, chugged down some Dimetapp DM and went into a coma for twelve hours. Sunday was a repeat of Saturday night.
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On Friday night I took my boys and my ex's boyfriend's boys (how's that for an awkward phrase?) to see Hellboy.
On Saturday I took all three kids (just mine this time) to the travelling carnival that came to town. They went on a few rides and played some midway games while I groggily sneezed and snuffled along behind them.
By the time I dropped them off it felt like my head was going to explode so I went home, chugged down some Dimetapp DM and went into a coma for twelve hours. Sunday was a repeat of Saturday night.
Sunday, April 04, 2004
drifting in the air
golden spores refract the sun
my sinuses ache
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golden spores refract the sun
my sinuses ache
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Saturday entertainment...
I love this commercial for the Jesus Christ Action Figure
(with a shout out to CloneCone for the link)
Or, you can play Escape From Neverland.
I made it to level four.
0 comments
I love this commercial for the Jesus Christ Action Figure
(with a shout out to CloneCone for the link)
Or, you can play Escape From Neverland.
I made it to level four.
Friday, April 02, 2004
The next time you're in Europe, be sure to set aside time to visit the country of Molvania!
From the Travel Guide:
WHERE IS MOLVANIA?
It's a small, land-locked republic in eastern Europe, famous as the birthplace of whooping cough. Molvania also produces 83% of the world's beetroot.
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Most people get to Molvania either by air and by accident.
WHAT SHOULD I TAKE?
A good pair of boots, insect repellent and a set of emergency flares. It's also a good idea to bring a little extra cash to cover unexpected expenses such as ransom demands.
If you're wondering how I find this stuff, here is the link to the BBC news article.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
What are your plans for April 7th?
Remembering Rwanda: The 10th Anniversary Memorial Project
My opinion of Kofi Annan has risen slightly.
But I still think that LGen Romeo Dallaire has pretty much hit the nail on the head in this BBC article:
The head of the small UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda at the time, Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, told the conference that no-one was interested in saving Rwandans and the bulk of his force was ordered to leave.
He suggested that attitudes now had not changed.
"I still believe that if an organisation decided to wipe out the 320 mountain gorillas there would be still more of a reaction by the international community to curtail or to stop that than there would be still today in attempting to protect thousands of human beings being slaughtered in the same country."
If you don't go to any other links in this post, at least please go to this one: Witness to Genocide: Drawings by child survivors of Rwandan genocide
Lastly, it looks like news of the Rwanda genocide has finally reached Hollywood
