Archive for April 2007

The monthlies.

• Sopranos Recapitulation

  Am I the only person to think that the Sopranos season is going too quickly? Plot lines that used to take several episodes to develop, let alone conclude, are now unfolding within an hour. I am with the majority, I believe, on the idea that last week’s Uncle Junior episode (in the nuthouse, at last) [...]

• In the News

  - Six former CIA officers have written a letter to former CIA director, suggesting that “Tenet should have resigned in protest rather than take part in the administration’s buildup to the war.” They are right. How will Bush/Cheney/Rove silence the uproar from Tenet’s new book? – “President George W. Bush will not support a war [...]

• Philadelphia, My Second Home

  Being all but displaced from my hometown, Buffalo (well, actually, a suburb northeast of Buffalo), my second home has become Philadelphia. I had spent time there courting my future wife after college before moving to California. My wife’s family is nearby, just over the border in New Jersey, and her sister lives in Center City [...]

• In the News

  - If anyone cared to watch the democrat presidential hopefuls debate last night, the American people saw a distinct contrast to Bush’s stay-the-course policy in Iraq and what the democrats have to offer, a way out of Iraq. (I missed the debate last night, it is a tad too early for debates, but from the [...]

• In the News

  - The House passed a “war spending bill that would require American troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq by Oct. 1, setting the stage for the first veto fight between President Bush and majority Democrats.” It is on. – The current republican mayor of New York city (and former democrat) on the 2008 election field: [...]

• Declining Clout

  Jake Tapper blogged about Speaker Pelosi skipping a congressional meeting with the commander of forces in Iraq, and I commented… You are right, Jake, it is newsworthy. What is also newsworthy is the declining clout the president and vice president have with their insistence that the bill will be DOA. With that statement known and [...]

• Mailbag: Bullshit Jobs

  Once again, real emails, real life. (Keep them coming.) You made the top list of bullshit jobs….. of course, it is actually your side job.– Jimmy Steamboat, New Jersey At first, I thought you meant engineering, my day job, but I’ve got to admit, blogging is a lot like engineering. Engineering my demise. I can’t [...]

• Rogue Elephant Seal

  Umh, there is now video of the rogue elephant seal terrorizing the Pacific coast, not far from where I’ll be surfing come late July. I’ve been referring to the surfing lessons as “shark baiting,” but “rogue elephant seal baiting” isn’t that much better.

• In the News

  - The president told PBS’ Charlie Rose that it would be “a catastrophe for American forces to leave now” in Iraq. And how did it get to this? Does this mean Bush is the man competent enough to do the job? – And our next president..? “Giuliani said the country is under threat from violent [...]

• A Night To Be Prosaic

  The wedding reception turned out to be a good time, as the stuffy, yet increasingly fun, cocktail hour winded down. My wife and I sat with a bunch of couples our age and, except for my wife insisting that my “double-fisting” was an embarrassment, the night went off without a hitch. I talked for a [...]

• Ambassador Clinton

  Over beers with my brother last Thursday evening in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, we were discussing Hillary Clinton as a possible president, and I suggested that Bill Clinton would be an excellent ambassador to the United Nations or something. Hillary is apparently thinking the same thing. (And then my brother began to pre-sell Michelob Ultra.)

• Currently Reading

  I had finished On the Road just in time for my trip to Philadelphia. Let me just say that it was an interesting read. Kerouac certainly developed a new style of writing — spontaneous prose — which I was not accustomed to. But the novel is most engrossing, and I definitely suggest reading if you [...]

• In the News

  Been away for awhile. And now, the news… – “For the third time in five weeks, President George W. Bush said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has his full confidence. That may not be good news for Gonzales.” What’s amazing is that Gonzales still has his job. – Surprise, surprise. There has been little change in [...]

• Unfinished Monkey Poem

  She told me,I fucked up my whole life. I said, baby,You don’t know me,I’ll make it out alright.

• GOP Wedding

  My wife and I are in between the ceremony and reception for this wedding, spending some free time at my sister-in-law’s piece of the pie in the sky, on the fifteenth floor overlooking City Hall. The wedding can safely be described as a GOP wedding. The groom’s father is apparently big in the Philadelphia GOP [...]

• Late Night Thoughts

  - Something I learned tonight: I have no respect for human resources professionals. It still confounds me that human resources is a major, and not just a two week seminar. (I have known of this disrespect for some time, but I think it is about time make note of it.) – Televisions should never be [...]

• Blogging Live from Philadelphia

  I have set up squatter’s rights at my wife’s younger sister’s chic condo here in City Center Philadelphia. We took a train in from Trenton this afternoon and following a short few-blocks walk, we landed here at the Ellington. The room-with-a-view offers the Wii as entertainment. I took a shot at Wii tennis, then golf, [...]

• Recalling Gonzales’ Recollection

  Gonzales’ testimony was priceless (following five weeks of preparation), “I recall making the decision, I do not recall when that decision was made.” The Daily Show with Jon Stewart…

• SFO to EWR Redux

  Some more thoughts on flying from SFO to EWR… – Jogged up to the counter, whipped off my glasses and told them we needed two tickets on the next plane to Cairo, and that we were in a race. – The Continental flight included a video of what to do in a crisis. I have [...]

• Blogging Live from Newtown

  I’m here in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where my brother lives, following a red-eye flight from SFO to Newark, and then a ride into Princeton for lunch (where my brother works) and the city next door to which my wife’s parents live, my in-laws. My wife and I will be attending a wedding in Philadelphia this weekend, [...]

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