Next up from Kucinich The Department of Sugarplums and Fairies . Yes this started from a snarky, smartass nature thought, but it goes alot deeper. The idea of a Department of Peace would require a lot of money and the taxpayers just wouldn't support it. I am not saying the concept is bad, but the Congress has a history of not supporting foreign aid to begin with, create another department and it will be Zero budgeted with in a Congressional cycle, I promise you.
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Dawson's Creek Season 1 DVD
And the reviews are in...I recieved the Dawson's DVD for my birthday, which is fast approaching. If you still haven't gotten me anything never fear my Amazon list is here .
Poor product design for the DVD. The quality of the DVD aren't that great, not many features, but more importantly they hide Episodes 8 &9. Rather than have all the titles on on page if you load the 2nd disc on the menu you seen episode 5-7 then Main menu. After that is an arrow pointing to the left, select that arrow and it takes you to the missing episodes, sadly rather than mention it, they leave it hidden. It took me scanning the web until I found it myself as well. Others on Amazon had similar complaints I hope they have found the answer, nothing on the website, nor the box to clue you in to this feature. Otherwise it's fun entertainment, sure the film quality isn't the greatest but it's a made for TV drama/teen-angst show, not Star Wars Special...
Quote of the Day " As sometimes happens with Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), he let his mouth race ahead of his brain Wednesday night at a gathering of Young Democrats at the Washington nightspot Acropolis. After presidential candidate Howard Dean spoke, Kennedy delivered an impassioned peroration against President Bush's tax cut. We hear that Kennedy told the crowd: 'I don't need Bush's tax cut. I have never worked a [bleeping] day in my life.' " Washington Post
Must be nice not to have to work for a living. Not the first time he's said something out of touch with reality, won't likely be the last.
Great article on free music and the recording industry... I do see price fixing going on think about it, I saw an ad in the paper the other day CD Recordable for basically a penny a CD. Think about it, it then costs $17 in the store to buy an album? On top of that the artist is getting milked too, someone is dishonest about their practices, but I won't name names .
In Phoenix
I made it safely to Phoenix my base of operations for the next month or two while issues on my cabin get resolved and spend the holidays with family. Tired, but otherwise I am in good spirits.
The drive went well, but there was one rather odd thing, in the middle of nowhere Texas, I mean the middle of no where there was not even a deserted shack within 20 miles. There was on the frontage road a lone figure walking down the street pushing a shopping cart. It was obvious he had no place nearby to by he walked steadily on pushing the cart, rather odd thing to see out there. And yes, it was not that far from the border to answer the next question.
Have a good week.
Rep. Jeff Flake declined to sign a letter with other Arizona members of the U.S. House requesting $14.3 million for Luke Air Force Base because he has decided never again to ask federal budget appropriators to fund any item or project during the rest of his House career. - AZ Republic
Members like this is why Arizona only gets back 60-70 cents of service for every dollar the state sends to Washington DC. It's all to common a practice, Arizona Congressional members are so afraid of government spending that other states literally get over $1.20 in service for a dollar they send. I am not promoting pork, I just know that the current deligation is so fearful of the label of pork they don't work to ensure a fair portion of our tax dollars are spent back in the local economy.
You know the more I see about Dean the more I'd like to give him a chance, why you might ask?
"It is a bit of a club down there," he said. "The Democratic Party, all the candidates from Washington, they all know each other, they all move in the same circles, and what I'm doing is breaking into the country club."
Paul Dean is accused of driving the car while three friends broke into an outbuilding at the country club to steal beer.
On Monday, Dean winced when he heard his own words.
"That was an incredibly unfortunate phrase," he said.
"Why do I say these things?" Dean asked a press aide. - The Honesty Factor
Although that I aside I have to wonder if he's qualified, I mean sure he was Governor, but of a state who population is equal to the population of an average Congressional district. Or in other words roughly the same number of people the Mayor of Austin, Texas represents . I am not saying it won't make him e...
Arizona Report for Those Under the Weather (or Whiney East Coast Biatches)
As a former DC resident, I tell DC folks this with all due candor. Get over the weather issue, sometimes it sucks sometimes it don't. Not so long ago I remember everyone bitchin' about the drought ( ha ha, come out here and I'll show you a real drought ), now it's all the rain. You have gotten alot of it, good, you need it, enjoy it, it makes you value the sun all the more. For instance like when you visit a place like Northern Arizona blue skies, warm, and a high expected of 88 ( with no humidty )
There's an old saying about there being no such thing as bad publicity as long as they spell your name right. The equivalent in blogdom is "as long as they get the URL right." - Rand Simberg
He has a write up about blogs and the Bill O'Reilly recent remarks, but this line may be the most valueable point in the piece.
Senator Orrin Hatch states he thinks it okay to destroy your computer if you download files even without due process of the law. It does not reflect well on the University of Pittsburgh where Hatch got his law degree that a former student doesn't understand such a basic legal concept. Interestingly he doesn't have a problem with illegally use software on his own website, now truth be told Members of Congress don't have time to micromanage their websites. So in theory he could be excused, except at the end of the day it's his site so he needs to make sure everything is above board, which I am sure it will be shortly as soon as his staff figure this out. All that said why would he support RIAA efforts, well a quick look at his campaign records and the answer doesn't surprise me in the least.
Crazy Idea
I just had a bit of a crazy idea pop into my brain about the New York smoking issue. If people can't smoke in bars then handle it one of two ways, a pub crawl with a bus transporting people stop to stop, the bus being used as a smoking room between bars, hence no loitering .
Or perhaps taking it to a greater degree modify one of those open top tour buses to have a full bar and allow smokers to have ride around town with cocktails and enjoying their smokes. Of course this might have to be done on the sly a bit, but it's New York you can do anything.
What do you know, I fit my vehicle, first try, cool.
You are a CR-V. Your love for things outdoorsy tells you to go for your rugged impulses as they come. When necessary, you can be conservative and handle a night out on the town with a friend. Normally, though, you're a fun loving person, and your friends can't resist your good natured charm.
which honda are you? | visit high mileage
Flash Mobs
Bruce Sterling predicted this in Distraction , with more harsh overtones, as did Howard Rheingold in Smart Mobs it sounds like an interesting social movement that will have greater impact in the future. For now it just seems like a fun experiment in social hacking. The idea of a Mob or swarming forming without warning is an interesting social concept, the more advanced we get, the more we resemble insects in behaviour, interesting no? But it seems something that would only work in urban centers, I don't think it would be nearly as effective in a town like Flagstaff or Sedona.
Back
I returned on late Friday, but didn't make it up the mountain until yesterday afternoon. If you want to know what the US Open was like, check here . I had a great time, I got to back to a fun bar I had enjoyed years ago.
Sadly, I missed out on Fray Cafe, but maybe that just means I'll have to host Fray Day Sedona in October.
Happiness is returning home from a trip to find something from your Wish List , thanks Derek!
Now back to the job hunt.
On the Road Again
Doing laundry and packing for a trip this week, so expect posting to be sporatic at best. I am about to leave to Phoenix, then Chicago for little vacation. I know vacation, but I have been working so much of late, er um not. I am going to see the US Open with my brother and father, his Xmas present to us.
I hope to make it back in time for Fray Cafe Sedona on Friday. If you are in Sedona stop by Canyon Moon Theater at 8pm Friday, it should be alot of fun.
Cheery happy, happy people shouldn't work at a New York Bagel shop, it doesn't fit with the appropriate mood of such a place and secondly they annoy the hell out me when my coffee has yet to kick in. It's like nails on the chalk board, a tourist tried to hand one of her coworkers used cup who wanted to put it in a recycling bin, she pointed in the trash and said just toss it in there, with a slightly surly tone. That's what I expect at a NY bagel shop. It's like trying to mix Disney and New York ain't gunna work so the new employee sticks out like a sore thumb.
</Morning rant> I am sure she is a nice enough person, it's just in the wrong place.
Fray Cafe
No luck on the job search as of yet, but thanks to Fray Cafe Sedona I have been occupied the last two days putting up posters and trying to ensure press coverage. Frankly, besides the fact I like fray and want to support it, it has been good to have things to keep me busy. If you are in Sedona or Northern Arizona next Friday drop by and say hello.
I signed up to a Joseph Campbell listserv yesterday and I was deluged today when I checked my mail and had more than 220 emails from the list and no spam. If your interested mythology and it's role in society it seems like a list to sign on to, sadly the person I'd like most to share this discovery with has already moved on. Reemul, your missed.
ps- Just got through all the emails and it's not a typical troll list, insteresting content, so if you are interested drop me a line and I'll tell you where to sign up.