Media Coverage?

Tuesday evening I turned on the television and flipped through the cable news networks hoping to find some quality political rhetoric to feed my addiction. Only msnbc of all of the news networks had anything related to, Iran, Iraq, the hostages, Gonzalez, and an assortment of other issues. Even more frustrating was that the show that was broadcasting these topics was none other than Keith Olbermann, and wait it gets worse. Who do you think his guest was? Perhaps a Senator talking about the passage of the non-binding resolution? A fellow news commentator perhaps? Maybe it was a military general or an expert on American Justice? No it was none other than (drum roll) Bill Maher. AND IF THIS WASN'T BAD ENOUGH!! Would you like to take a gander at what CNN, Fox News, and NECN were covering at the time? The mind bending Anna Nicole Smith saga. Are the networks getting paid off by the government or something? Honestly with all that is going on today in the world why are people so mesmerized with the death of a self-destructive sub-B movie star, and events surrounding her tragedy? I'm not really sure that people care... however it is being force fed to us, as though we do.

Kate cooked me a lovely chicken stir-fry meal tonight. Thanks as always! The food and good company was a delight.

Now I've just noticed that the new Jericho episode just got put on CBS.com so I'm going to check that out as I get into bed.

What did people think of the South park tonight? For the most part I thought it was kind of lame. Also it seemed a bit of a repeat of a Oprah episode (this time Hillary Clinton, or Hill-dog as Parker and Stone dub her).

Have a great Thursday... and stuff.

My weekend, my strange dream, my left overs

I had an eventful weekend. It is going to be tough, as it always is, to head back to work.

Friday night Kate came over. We had Pizza, lounged around and relaxed after our busy weeks at work. On Saturday we got up and went for a walk around Melrose. I went to the Public Library and checked out a travel guide on Chicago, where Kate and I plan to visit in June. We then went to a local mom & pop hardware store on Main Street in Melrose where I bought a spray bottle for my plants to give them some extra loving. We went to Liberty Bell Roast Beef for Lunch and indulged in french fries and sandwiches. It was a lovely day. Around quarter to five, Kate and I went our separate ways, and I headed to Portland for Tim Hayes's 30th birthday party. It was a nice little "shindig" using Brandy's words. It started with dinner & cake at RiRa's and then finished off at a Old Port dive called Amigo's. It was a loud and fiesty evening.

Sunday I went to the folk's place in the morning after spending the night at my friends, John & Michelle's apartment. I slept well, however I had a weird dream about being in this crime ridden city which seemed on the scale of something like New York City, except it seemed like it was in Texas or the southwest by the lay of the land and the climate. I went out exploring on my own in this city, and was given strict instructions of where I should and should not go. Additionally the places I did visit were deemed unsafe after sunset, but from my encounters, they just seemed unsafe all the time. Each time I waited for a train, and once on the train I had to talk my way out of getting mugged or killed. One guy even asked me what I did for a living, and when I said I worked in the sciences he was convinced this somehow made me evil to the core, so of course he had to threaten violence... as I babled to try and tell him we meant to help people. There were hoardes of teenagers walking around with guns that they didn't even bother to conceal. It spent all of the time in this dream wondering how to behave. How can I keep attention away from myself? How can I appear unworthy of robbing? Should I appear tough? Do I avoid eye contact or is this a sign of weakness? Sometimes I was successful in talking my way out of problems, other times I escaped the negative encounters through pure luck and circumstance.

As the trains would go through neighborhoods there were people out everywhere in the sweltering heat. Interestingly, felons and families intermingled side by side almost if there were deals in place. Perhaps you had to earn the respect of, or pay for protection from the thugs that ran the streets. Oddly the dream ended with me going to sleep on a futon in a friend's home, and I woke up on a futon, at a friends.

When I got to Mom & Dad's they were both gone. Mom was gone with my Aunt Gigi doing the rounds at the maple syrup tasting festivities currently going on. Dad was at work and wouldn't be home until 1:00 pm. After showering up I roamed around the old neighborhood a bit, hoping to reconnect with a couple of the neighbors, but no one was home.

I returned to house, started watching a documentary on John Lennon which was on some variant of VH1. My parents broke down and switched over to digital cable, so I was having fun with that. Dad showed up, we ended up doing a couple of errands and getting some Chinese food. I was lucky enough to score the left overs and bring it back to Massachusetts with me. Later that evening when Mom & Aunt Gigi returned we got pizza. My two favorite take out items in the same day. That's pretty tough to trump.

ANYWAY.... guess it's time to go to bed, so I must bid y'all good night.

A post lacking any effort or thought

I'm too busy. So enjoy Gumby. Its all I have. My bad.

Wha, Wha???

(rubs eyes) shifts from lateral position on futon with bits of supper on his shirt.....

This week is another sort of crappy week at work, which has been one of many as of late. So I'm just writing this to basically explain why I haven't been writing more substantial posts.
I fell asleep as soon as I finished supper tonight. I just woke up briefly, and now its back to slumber.

There is a lot of news to comment on, however due to a lack of time to devote I'll post only this one link which is sort of funny.

Schwarzenegger: Rush Limbaugh is 'irrelevant'

Limbaugh, I believe made himself irrelevant. The very thing he accuses Schwarzenegger of... the whole hypocrisy, say one thing do another, he has been guilty of in spades over the past few years. (drug use, immigration, devotion to family.... amongst many others). Limbaugh is primarily an entertainer, people get that now, and people also have more options as the article did point out.

Have a wild Wednesday.

The turbulance, the toil, and the radiance

It is a tired time, the rumble of the trains on the tracks, the scorch of tires on pavement, and the distant thunder of aircraft threaten to infiltrate my consciousness in manner that I don't quite understand. The weather is temperamental, fluctuating and surprising me with each change of the breeze. An angry child cries for attention in a crowd of adults. A man who's lost his way sits on the soiled granite curb. He grumbles at the preoccupied pedestrians recklessly rocketing forward to appointments of self inflated importance. These are just some of the multitude of whispering distractions tangled in the web of my thoughts.

One obstacle in life dissolves in the pools of our past while new ones crystallize and form an abrasive particulate in the fluids that feed our future. Our minds attempt to solve predicaments and make sense of the disarray. Through it all we struggle to hold on to this fast moving vehicle that is life with strained fingers, our muscles and minds trembling with the complexity of it all.

Some find a comfortable niche, a grove in the pavement, some tracks for their wheels to sit on. They proceed comfortably, complacently, and perhaps if they are lucky blissfully to that unknown destination at the end of the road.

Others may find roads but are too busy looking at a map to bother to look which path they actually are traveling on. For many, if not most people, there is enormous uncertainly propelling forward on these roads. We strive not to be over come by it, but try to be wary enough to take that next turn when we need to.

Traveling the journey that is life is difficult. It tries us at every turn. But I strive to remember how beautiful it all is, and how enthralling it can be. It is here for us, all of it. It is available for us to breathe in, to discover, to use, to consume and to love. Whether it is walking home in the glow of incandescent street lamps while listening to good music on my headset, or watching passengers light up like children as a playful dog joins us on a Subway car... these are the simple moments that we live for. This is the definition of greatness. It is exquisite beauty. The reality we exist in is a marvelous and intricate work of art.

These moments alone can for a moment make you forget about your problems. Make sure you get distracted by the beauty. I will make everything else seem bearable.

My past couple of days:

Work has been very tough lately. Too much to do and too little time. I'm managing to pull through this rocky patch, but I fear it will only get worse rather than better.

My Wednesday was wonderful as it always is, because I go see Kate, she cooks me supper and we talk about our weeks and a multitude of other topics. When dreamed of the warm weather and discussed in short possible plans to enjoy it. I have hints of spring fever sneaking out of my tired facade, however my brain is preoccupied with what pays the bills... and so we likely commiserated a lot about work. I already put in some time for vacation this summer. Hopefully it will get approved without a hitch.

Tonight I watched the debut of a new TV drama which was on ABC at 10:00. It is called October Road and co-stars Laura Prepon from that 70s show (the red head). I don't keep up with hour long dramas as a rule. I've never been a fan of the action shows, cop shows, lawyer shows, the hospital shows, and the list goes on. As a teenager I did love the X-files, probably because I find the paranormal fascinating. I watched Ed fairly frequently as well, because it reminded me of Northern Exposure. Anyway October Road showed promise, and actually was sort of in the vein of Ed but perhaps a little more believable, not that it doesn't have its share of absurd people. However, I find that in my mere 29 years shows that lack the "absurd" characters are more unrealistic, because in life the absurd is the norm.

The premise is a late 20s lead who is a writer who has spent the past 10 years living in NYC. He went backpacking in Europe and told his friends and family he'd return, but he never did. Save for a few rare phone calls he never even contacted home during the time period.

Reviews panned the show as unrealistic, but oddly I didn't really find it so, perhaps because I know people who barely ever contacted their home town once they left. I personally hated my home town so I can relate. I do love my family however, so that keeps me going back. The main character is self absorbed, which critics complained about. I've got wonder how certain people get to review things, because so many of them just seem to dim to get the point of what they are watching. Anyway, the premise of the show is the sort of "mid-late 20s crisis" the self reflection of people wanting to make meaning of the choices they've made. We are a generation of narcissists, sad but true, and self reflection is one of our favorite past times. This drama is commentary on that. Going back to the "don't take things for granted theme" and the "stop and smell the roses" and further more, "the world does not revolve around you". Yes the character is sort of a jerk, but he's guilty, he knows, and the suggestion is that he want to make up for lost time. Lastly great soundtrack that spans generations... much like the soundtrack to our lives, that alone adds a really nice touch. I've heard the writers were involved in the script for the Nick Hornby movie "High Fidelity", perhaps the soundtrack suggests an influence of prior work.

Random Crap I've put together for Monday Night's Post

Poll: Giuliani leads the GOP pack: Sorry McCain, you just aren't going to win the New Hampshire Primary this time around. As for the south, where Bush won as he needed to, think Romney. I'm hoping Giuliani has a remote chance. If he can turn Ed Koch's NYC around, just think what he might be capable of on a National scale. He's my last hope.... but as I was saying the other day, just about any of these candidates for either party will be better than Bush. Ok maybe not Dennis Kucinich.

I watched the Rich's tonight on FX. I don't get into hour long dramas as a rule, but I like the previews and the reviews and decided to give it a whirl. I'm intrigued, it was entertaining, and it had an excellent sound track. So... sure, I think I'll watch the next installment at Mondays at 10:00pm. I can do that, it pretty much doesn't interfere with anything! Imagine that.

Jenna Bush book topic: Single mother with HIV: Bravo Jenna! Sounds like it will be interesting and that it will be very rewarding. I think it is pretty impressive really, I look forward to watching her future unfold. Alright Barbara... sis is totally making you look bad, of course, you do have the better looks so I guess you can't have it all.

Somehow I was stupid enough to miss the Red Sox/ Yankees game tonight. I was looking forward to it earlier today, got home and did some errands and completely spaced out. Sheesh...
Anyway, all went well regardless. Red Sox top Yankees

On a related note I purchased my first ticket to a Sox game this year on the evening of the 24th. I think we are playing Toronto. There are no pairs left at all for any of the games. I figure I'll get some scalped, standing room only, or Craigslist tickets when I go with accompaniment this season. Last year I totally missed the boat except for the game I saw in Tampa near the start of the Season. Determined not to repeat this occurrence I decided to go out on a limb and get a ticket. I'd like to go several times this year, although I'll probably check out standing room only. So far I haven't seen these tickets on sale, perhaps they will only be selling them the day of the game?

Well Enjoy Tuesday.

I hate March....

Really, this month has to be EASILY my least favorite month of the year

If I have to state my reasons... if it isn't obvious to everyone else why March sucks... Well, I think you are mad. The folks with birthday... you get a bye. Yeah St. Patty's day rah rah rah... You know.... I'd claim the Irish were quite brilliant to put a holiday that champions over indulgence in alcohol in the middle of this miserable time.... But then again... doesn't Ireland have pretty much that same Gulf Stream mediocre weather all year round? Perhaps I'm mistaken. It is the weather... that and this time of purgatory where seasons are undefined and goals are unfulfilled.... Anyway, really... I've got to stop.

This Weekend I worked, ate Indian food with Kate and her friend Michelle, & indulged in more junk food and a nice walk by the Charles River on Sunday.

Work is thinning my hair more, and pushing my eyes further into my sockets.


If you get freaked out and think you see Skelator roaming Boston... no worries, its probably just me.

The lead singer of Boston passed on due to undetermined causes. The official cause of death is supposed to be announced Monday I guess. Really sort of sad. I was never a big Boston fan, but I recognize their greatness amongst the ranks of Classic Rock. Additionally Brad Delp was also the lead of a popular New England Beatles tribute band called Beatle Juice. I had seen the cover band perform long ago (or so it seems) with friends Tim Hayes, Brandy Rogers, and Jason Duplissis at Johnny D's in Sommerville. I had always wanted to see them again.

Anyway... I hope every one's week starts off well and that you all remembered the early day light savings change. I can't believe my computer actually did it right!!

I was bitching to Kate all day about how we were being robbed of an hour. She kept trying to feed me some B.S. about how we'll get it back in the fall but I just didn't want to hear it. :D

Uggghhhh.... Monday....

Late Winter's Journey

Walking with a hunch in my back, and a forced pace, I covered the lower portion of my face in the collar of my parka. I repeatedly pulled my wool L.L. Bean hat further down over my ears and tried to make up my mind whether to keep my hands in my sleeves, or shove them in my pockets. My knuckles get cold when they are slightly exposed in my sleeves, but my wrists get chaffed from the zipper on my jacket pockets.

Rather expectedly, I managed to forget my mittens in the cubicle after yet another long, frustrating day of unrealistic demands and new obstacles.

Forging ahead, I noticed a man in front of me who couldn't handle the nightly procession in the March Arctic freeze. Suddenly he broke into a sprint shortly after leaving the vicinity of Oak Grove station. It caught me off guard and I briefly looked behind me half expecting some one or some thing threatening to be bearing down on me. On this evening the only threat to be experienced was the elements, and the delusions of despair that a stubborn winter can bring.

At the time of this trek I listened to my mp3 player, but in my memory all I can hear is the rustling of my jacket and the crisp late winter wind. It's three quarters of a mile to comfort, and I sighed realizing the journey would be especially long tonight. The hum of a distant car is accompanied by a glimmer on the power lines above. The sound of my steps create an internal battle, one side of me was encouraged by the pace, the other side anxious over the distance that remained.

I continuously struggle to convince myself that I don't have much further to go. I look for distractions... the music... no, food.. food! What will I have for supper? Take-out? No its approaching 10 and I've written off the neighborhood late-night Chinese place because they tried to kill me a couple of times. Campbells chicken noodle soup or microwave lasagna... I was thinking Stouffers was looking like a favorite at this point, despite the sentimental value of soup on a cold night.

My distraction succeeded better than I anticipated. I tripped and stumbled as I hastily dragged my feet over the curbs and frost stressed asphalt. Somehow I didn't fall down, but staggered like I was intoxicated, and then I carried on.

My face burned and my eyes welled with tears that threatened to create a temporary epoxy connecting my eye lashes. My nose ran profusely, and I could almost feel the icy moisture crystallize on my skin, however I had already lost most feeling in my lips and cheeks. I reached for the shreds of a previously used Kleenex shoved in a pocket. In vain I tried to mop up the slow but steady annoyance which nagged me every step of the way. Half way paying attention, my peripheral vision caught the new condo construction project on my left as I neared the end of my irritation on Pleasant St.

Lincoln Terrace at last!

I turned into the unkempt frozen walkway and the ice spoke to me under my sneakers. I disregarded its complaints and tugged on the door of my building, exhausted and relieved that a long day was over.

Anyone catch the new Southpark episode? It was a fine entry to the new season. If you watch the show, without seeing Stan's revelation at the end... you probably won't get the message. Where was Vannah White on Wheel of Fortune? Was she there? I didn't notice.

Giving Birth to Terrorists

Giving Birth to Terrorists

INTRODUCTION/ UPDATE (8/9/11):

This post has become my most visited post from my blog, with a vast majority of visits coming from over seas. I don't really understand the allure, with the exception that I am self critical of my own nation and perhaps I am attracting an audience looking for vindication of personally held beliefs. For the most part, I stand by what I said in this post. Foreign policy needs to be conducted carefully. At the same time the record of the US, has been and continues to be one that often goes further to prevent, civilian death, abuse, disrespect, etc. than most foreign forces have in a time war.

Some might argue that Guantanamo Bay ultimately has proven itself with the resulting systematic dismantling of Al Qaeda, and killing of Bin Laden, which apparently would not have happened with out the some times controversial information gathering techniques.

I'm not sure I'm informed enough to pass a verdict on the appropriateness of water boarding (apparently it has been done for years- and until recently had not been a concern). What did trouble me was the "who" was getting water boarded, and why. I stand by that concern.

A lot of rhetoric has been thrown around comparing the US to various notorious war criminals- and this is patently unfair, and not what I intended to suggest in this post. Rather I wanted to stress that the US needs to continue to set the bar for rules of engagement and should not get sloppy, which I think they did.

Many flaws in policy continue today under our new administration. Arguably to some extent poor tactics have even been amplified as Obama has instituted an increased reliance on drone attacks resulting in civilian death. It is different now with a president that the Western media supports. He has a "cool" image that the youth admires, and the continued use of GITMO, the continued Middle East conflicts- (now expanded to Libya), the increased civilian casualties in Afghanistan, and increased violence in Afghanistan have failed to tarnish this president, because many who were critical of Bush were doing so more because they were critical of his domestic social policy- and not his foreign policy. The criticism of Bush, that should be equally (if not more) applicable to Barack Obama, is absent. The objective was to remove Bush from power- not to end the war. Many American detractors were more concerned about ending the war so the funds could be redirected towards providing defined "rights" to citizens (health care, free secondary education, food, public jobs, etc.,) Those who were devoted protestors of the war now are strikingly missing, or are attending the rallies they really care about- those supporting Unions, Social Justice, and other Leftist movements.

To be fair I have left the original post, althoug I can't deny that the temptation to just erase it entirely has not weighed heavy on me.

ORIGINAL POST:

While this is here say, the United States track record lends more credence to the journalists and witnesses involved in the latest war atrocity.

Apparently reckless policy is fast becoming a favorite past time due to continued screw-ups by decision makers. Afghan journalists claim that U.S. troops opened fire at a crowd and proceeded in essentially a 6 mile long "drive by" shooting of pedestrians. To confirm this, free lance photographers for the Associated Press claim that the U.S. soldiers had them erase or destroy film and photos taken. The flawed, ill thought, and careless policy of the U.S. defense department is serving to do nothing more than amplify hatred, towards the U.S. with indignant, selfish, and bloody policies. Ignoring Geneva conventions and torturing captives who were in the wrong place at the wrong time will likely create more terrorists. Randomly firing into crowds shows the same disdain for life that terrorists show when they strap a bomb to themselves and kill who ever happens to be there. I understand mistakes happen, however if there has been an attempt to "destroy evidence" as journalists are claiming, this was more likely an action of blind hate fueled vengeance on the part of U.S. troops.

The superior officers, and the people who direct the war strategies are to blame for this more so than the soldiers in my opinion. I feel that not enough is being done to discourage these war crimes, and historically it has been shown that it is a chain of commands that was at one time traced all the way back to Rumsfeld. Hopefully Gates is not of the same vein, but I kind of feel he probably will be.

This stuff will likely continue to happen, and I don't want to see the "Spit on Soldiers" mentality of the Vietnam War come back, but you can be assured that it will, if it isn't already here. Most American soldiers likely have decent commanding officers in charge, but there are always bad apples. In these cases soldiers are likely pressured to do as their told regardless of how morally reprehensible it may be, or receive the threat of facing court marshaling or dishonorable discharge.

America CAN NOT take the moral high ground, unless we make the often difficult choices to make the right move, rather than give in to what emotions may tempt one to do. If we let our desire for instant retribution take over, if we let cultural differences turn into hatred, than we are no better than the enemy.

ANN COULTER: MONSTER (Just in case you weren't already aware)

I don't know how any one can tolerate this woman. She definitely is a bizarre form of political pundit. Like Marlyn Manson and Madonna, Coulter gets attention through shock factor. Her words know virtually no boundaries. The latest Coulter has to do with her very publicly using a profane slur to describe John Edwards. It doesn't even make any sense either, it just makes her look incredibly unintelligent... although, one may argue that the press she gets from it may actually make it a savvy move on her part. All I know is, I hope that one day, and some day soon she goes too far. Something similar to this caused commentator Michael Savage problems in the past, so one can hope eventually the same troubles will befall Coulter.

Some other gems (sarcasm intended) Coulter has provided us throughout the ages:

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."

Coulter referring to the prospect of a nuclear-equipped Iran, "What if they start having one of these bipolar episodes with nuclear weapons? I think our motto should be, post-9-11: raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences."

"I think [women] should be armed but should not vote... women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a lot of ideas on how to spend it... it's always more money on education, more money on child care, more money on day care."

And apparently the recent allegation isn't Coulter's first use of what appears to be one of her favorite words:

On the July 26, 2006 episode of CNBC's "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" Coulter made a statement that Clinton shows "some level of latent homosexuality." On the July 27, 2006, edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews asked Coulter, "How do you know that Bill Clinton is gay?", in reference to her comment the night before. Coulter responded, "I don't know if he's gay. But Al Gore -- total fag."

Ann Coulter, wrote in a syndicated column on September 12 that in responding to terrorists "we should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

Feel sick yet? There's plenty more!

"God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'"---Coulter on Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01
Sadly I think this statement is rather revealing into the true beliefs of die hard ultra right wing people who refuse to grasp the concept of global warming.

"The swing voters -- I like to refer to them as the idiot voters because they don't have set philosophical principles. You're either a liberal or you're a conservative if you have an IQ above a toaster."
So in other words... Ann thinks if you actually take the time to think about what you believe in rather than blindly accept the platform of one of the two ridiculous parties (parties who's agendas are based mainly on taking a side opposed to the other....) that this makes you an idiot.

“They’re [Democrats] always accusing us of repressing their speech. I say let’s do it. Let’s repress them. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of the First Amendment.” Wow... no comment needed, this, I mean... wow....

MY NICE WEEKEND:

To move away from the horrifying hot air of Coulter, now to talk about my weekend.

I had a great weekend. Saturday I got some needed errands completed. I threw out a lot of paperwork, did some needed filing and even dusted a bit in my room. Kate came over for supper and we went to this pizza place in Malden that I discovered recently, which I think has some of the best pizza around. It's called New York Pizza. Simple name, for simply great junk food. Mmmm mmmm!

Sunday we watched some quality food channel television, later went into town. Then for supper we went to Brighton to a Chinese restaurant outside of Cleveland Circle called Chef Choy's House. The food was excellent! We had nice combo dishes which came with rice, an appetizer and soup. Both Kate and I had hot and sour soup and Kate ate pretty much all of her soup with the exception of a couple of chunks of tofu (I was so proud). The vegetables in the dishes were nice and crispy, and the servings were plentiful. We got beef teriyaki as an appetizer, and with the exception of Golden Temple in Brookline, and Kowloon in Saugus, not too many places around Beantown really do them right... they were spot on here. I'm jealous of Kate being so close to such good Chinese food!

Anyway I have a busy week ahead of me, probably... so I'm going to sign off and bid you all well!