New Year's in NYC?

Si, porque no? I hope this plan works, because I'm losing my fricking mind!!!!

Hicks!

Who you calling a hick boy?!

http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/dynamite.asp

Free Speech in Tunisia

This was sent from someone I knew when I was in Tunisia and a lot of this is repetition for me. However, this is a good look at a regime that portrays itself as free and democratic, but fails in the key test, free speech. To be fair, Ben Ali's regime has done wonders for the rights of women, the economy and building better relations with other countries. This is why I'm always so perplexed as to why he is so intolerant of dissent (or, perhaps, why those around him are so intolerant of dissent).

It's in French, so non-francophones may want to track down a BBC report that dealt with similar issues circa 2001-2002.

http://real.xobix.ch/ramgen/tsr/tp/2005/tp_11172005-160k.rm?start=00:00:43.583&end=00:35:13.833

The dilemma of women

So I read somewhere that another business executive got in hot water for sexist comments. This time, some big shot at Fox News (quelle surprise!) was sued for using vulgar and crude comments to describe women and their body parts. As well, he is alleged to have said he prefers to hire men over women because women will take time off when they get pregnant.

Which, of course, made me wonder: Would this guy marry a woman who said she didn't want to have kids in order to advance her career? The lawsuit is mum on that idea, but somehow, I get the impression that he is the kind of guy who would not want to get involved with a woman who isn't going to bear him children.

Which makes for a dilemma for women: do you have kids in order to keep your husband happy or do you not have kids to keep your boss happy?

Of course, it isn't really a dilemma, since no intelligent woman would want to a) work for a boss who will punish her for being pregnant and b) marry a man who wants his wife barefoot and pregnant all the time.

And yet, these men can still find spouses and hire women....

In for a dime...

So I went out for brunch on Saturday and found a pretty good parking spot in terms of geography, but had to feed the darn matter (you have to pay to drive and then pay to park, as someone once observed). While feeding quarters, I dropped a dime into the fresh powder snow and, like the proverbial hot knife through butter, it cut through fast and vanished. Despite intensive search and rescue efforts, the dime was, alas, lost.

So I was rather amused when, later that day, I found two dollars in the parking lot of the hardware store. Yes, it was in that icky slush, but I left it over night on the floor of my car and used it today at the same hardware store to buy a rubber mat for winter boots.

In hindsight, I'm not certain the two dollar coin was there when I parked my car, because I noticed a smashed plastic bottle under the car next to me, which was still there when I returned. So it may be possible that I found my own two dollars, but I prefer to think I had a $1.90 of luck yesterday.

Coughing up a lung

Having been sick for over a week, I am finally ready to concede defeat and go see a doctor. I have no idea why my coughing fits have become so violent, but if my lungs are really unhappy where they are, they should really just say so.

Tricky Dick strikes again

From the latest media reports:

"As to suggestions that Bush, Cheney and others in the administration manipulated intelligence to make a stronger case for invading Iraq, "this is revisionism of the most corrupt and shameless variety," Cheney said. "

Let's rewind for a minute here...Cheney was the big bogeyman who said that Saddam had the bomb, plotted and executed the 9/11 attacks and insisted that weapons inspectors shouldn't have the time to do their job properly. And how he accuses others of revisionism?

The guy is certifiable, well past his best before date. But he's loyal, so he'll get a medal or something.

Heckuva a job Cheney!

In Loving Memory

-- SIMON
Born May 31st, 1977, Halifax, NS;
Died Nov. 20th, 1995, Ottawa, ON.
Rest In Peace, dear friend, you are still missed 10 years later

http://sandeepm.nomadlife.org/past/2004_12_01_archive.aspx

Let it snow, let it snow

And so it begins....

UGH!!!

Is it summer yet?

The worst part is that we are still a month away from the shortest day of the year.

"Dishonest and reprehensible"

Quoth the Dickmeister, in the Bush administration's latest attempt and convincing Americans that Iraq had some noble, higher purpose.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051117/ts_nm/iraq_usa_dc_8

So tell us, Mr. Cheney, why did the US invade Iraq? Why weren't the weapons inspectors not allowed to have more time to finish their job?

It appears that once your level of paranoia reaches Dick Cheney's level, you no longer understand what "pot calling kettle black" means.

Damaged goods, is he.

The vanishing middle

So it turns out that America's obesity rates are the highest they have ever been, and anorexia rates are also at record highs. Which means that America is getting fatter and thinner at the same time, hollowing out the healthy middle class?

Drinks

So what, exactly, is the point of throwing a drink into a taxi? This is supposed to charm the cabbie into changing his mind and *not* thinking you're more trouble you are worth?

Other than that, New York was a hoot!

Lest we forget...

Nous nous souviendrons.

Jarhead

I have not read the book by Swofford, however I did have a chance to see the movie last night. It's a good story and probably a compelling one as he signs up, goes through training, gets shipped to Saudi Arabia for the first Gulf War and his all-t0o-brief wartime experience. The problem with the movie, however, is that it is too choppy in its development, so that I never really connected to any of the characters. The movie appears to be a connect-the-dot effort that pushes all the emotional buttons to convey life in the Marines ("welcome to the suck", as they say). I may be interested in reading the book to see if it runs more smoothly and makes more of a connection to the characters, but the movie was, frankly, disappointing. Not a bad movie, just disappointing.

The end of the season

So I started taking my bicycle to work this spring, an evolution from my frustration with public transportation. After walking for a couple of months, and appreciating the weight loss, I invested in a bicycle to cut down on the long, though agreeable, commute. It's the best of both worlds really, I don't pay for a bus pass and avoid the frustration of dealing with buses that don't follow schedules. I get the same benefits (and low cost) of walking, but cut my commute time by more than half.

I was pushing my luck through October and November as the days got shorter (especially after day light savings ended, though I got a light set for my bike last month), but so long as it didn't rain, it wasn't too bad. The colder weather was still manageable with gloves and a tuque as I warmed up within the first five minutes.

Today, however, I didn't really get warm as the wind was very harsh and the temperature much colder than anything so far this season. Coupled with a wild rain storm (almost freezing rain) to go home and I've decided that temperatures close to the freezing mark aren't good for biking (at least not without specialized equipment).

So, I think that today was my last day on the bike for this year. I'm mulling car pool options, illegal parking and a return to walking. The bus may be an option for really bad weather days, but I think I see car-pooling in my future until March. It's been a great summer though, as I averaged some 30km per week with my commute (rainy days being the big drag in October).

Yet another reason to dislike winter I guess....

PS: Happy to see the comments work!

Good night, and good luck

I saw this movie earlier in the week and, while overall impressed, I found it a bit contrived at times. George Clooney is obviously tapping a lot of the statements and words of Edward R. Murrow to compare the height of the red scare with today's War on Terror (tm), and it validates his intent to prove that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat (or make a hash of well-known sayings).

That said, it was a good movie because it vividly recreates the tension and fear of bucking the trend and taking someone who demonizes opposition and equates dissent with treason. In the end, Murrow and others who stood up to Joe McCarthy were on the side of the angels, but the movie makes clear that, in the moment, the impulse to cower in fear and keep quiet is a pretty compelling option.

Which makes their work, and those of patriots today who who their rights and freedoms to express their points of view, all the more important.

Ghana's first Ipod

As it was described to me....

Biting the Big Apple

Should be a good week-end, assuming no one gets thrown out of a bar...*snicker*

The politics of the judiciary

So Tom Delay's lawyers wanted to get rid of the judge assigned to his case, alleging bias because the judge contributed to the Democrats and moveon.org. They won, a new judge was picked, and this time, the prosecution wanted to get rid of the new judge, because he contributed to the Republicans. So Delay is now facing his third judge, a Democrat, before we've even seen opening remarks.

This is a great example of why politics should not be allowed into the judiciary, but typical of the scorched-earth tactics used by Delay and other bullies. Who cares if you ruin the indepedent judiciary, as long as Delay can manipulate the system for his own benefit.

Ugh...

Aidek mabrouk!

And a happy end of Ramadan to all!