"Twenty-two, twenty-two, come on back to me, come on back to me..."
Michael and I have had many discussions about Lost in America. My contention is that up to the scene at Hoover Dam, LIA is one of the funniest movies ever made. It is greatness. But it all goes WAY downhill after that and loses much of it's steam and humor, at least for me. Michael was all into Albert Brooks and I never "got it" until LIA.
As an aside, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the funniest movie ever made.
"It's just a flesh wound..."
"Help...help..I'm being repressed..."
"Listen, strange women in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government..."
I'm laughing just thinking about HG...I may have to pop in the DVD this weekend.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
The Nest Egg...
made the HH show tonight in the Emmett of the Unblinking Eye segment about the 10 best casino movies. Julie Haggerty.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
More on GF's position
Just her voice [2/3rds of the way down] is enough to convince this single guy but Peggy Noonan, and I admit again my infatuation, is sounding increasingly convincing.
Obama = Thompson
I'm thinking that both of these guys look great but have no real experience. Granted that FT has more life experience but I'm not sure he has the admin. experience. I'm hating this early political season.
Political Party "Card"
There is a lady here cutting up her Republican "card" because of the immigration bill. Do party cards really exist? If so, why have I never gotten one?
Re: "He looked healthy to me"
It certainly inspires no confidence though it is difficult for me to ascribe the act of one border agent to GWB...just as it was difficult for me to credit the last administration for stopping the Millennium Bomber. How long has this guy been at his post?
Having said that, I may be suffering BFS (Bush Fatigue Syndrome) but the incompetence of this administration during the second term is really wearing on me. Is this how Clinton supporters felt circa 1998?
Having said that, I may be suffering BFS (Bush Fatigue Syndrome) but the incompetence of this administration during the second term is really wearing on me. Is this how Clinton supporters felt circa 1998?
"He looked healthy to me"
Yep, this makes me sleep better at night, knowing that a diligent professional like this is guarding the border. What an idiot. This what my tax $$ are going towards????
And speaking of Homeland Security, has anyone seen or heard from Mr. Chertoff recently? Is he still head of this department? I'm waiting for a ''...you're doing a great job Chertie..." moment any day now.
Then again, perhaps it will take another "professional" border agent to let some al-Qaeda terrorists in, even though their passports are flagged and when questioned, say "well, they didn't look like terrorists to me" before we get a public GWB endorsement of "Chertie".
And speaking of Homeland Security, has anyone seen or heard from Mr. Chertoff recently? Is he still head of this department? I'm waiting for a ''...you're doing a great job Chertie..." moment any day now.
Then again, perhaps it will take another "professional" border agent to let some al-Qaeda terrorists in, even though their passports are flagged and when questioned, say "well, they didn't look like terrorists to me" before we get a public GWB endorsement of "Chertie".
Buenos Aires Story #2
One night we meet some of our friends for happy hour. To give some background on them, they are in their mid to late 20’s, college educated, speak at LEAST 2 languages and have traveled to the USA multiple times, as well as to Europe and to various South American countries. While they may not follow US politics as closely as we do, they are aware of what goes on (when they are in the States, it is usually for extended periods). Since BA is having local elections, we were asking about the candidates and the differences between them. The consensus among them was that it didn’t matter who won, nothing would change. It was also interesting to hear them talk about “left and right” – they told us that there isn’t really a “right” in Argentina – a politician in Argentina who is “right” is really just not as far left as everyone else. This subject, of course, led us into US politics.
I asked them why do most Argentine’s dislike GWB. The answer, from more than one, was the war in Iraq. They do not view it as a war on terror – they view it as a big, strong country fighting a small, weak one – and doing it for the oil. And it’s not that they condone terrorists or 9/11, but they see it as us wanting something that Iraq has (oil), and coming up with some pre-text to start a conflict. And more than one of them expressed the concern that we might do the same to Argentina. I was incredulous and asked why, for what? The answer was – water. Their concern is that water will be the next resource that we (the USA) will run out of; Argentina has a large reserve/supply and therefore, we’ll come down and take it. C and I just looked at each other and could not believe what we were hearing. We said, even if the US needed water, Canada was much closer and/or we would come up with some technology to convert salt water to fresh. Their response was that Canada was our neighbor, our friend and we wouldn’t “take’ from them. We told them that our government had nothing against Argentina, so why would we “take” from them? The reply - you don’t treat us like friends. You don’t make us feel welcomed when we come to the States. You treat us like an enemy. We are small country and if the US wants water from us, they will come up with a reason to start a conflict and Argentina could not fight us.
Now, this “treating us like a friend/enemy” is a sentiment that we had heard before, not only from Argentines, but from Brazilians as well. And not only on this trip, but on our last one as well. 2 years ago, we were having breakfast at our hotel and at our table were an older (50-60) couple from Brazil. They were talking to us about 9/11 and the aftermath. They kept asking us – why didn’t you just kick out all the Arabs after 9/11? That is what Brazil would have done, that is what almost any country would have done. Why at airports do you treat everyone as an enemy, when most of them are your friends? If you treat a friend like an enemy, then why are you surprised that you have no friends?
Our friends said almost the same thing. They did not understand why they get searched ( people from non-Arab countries, non-Muslims). If a certain people are your enemy, those are the ones you search or detain or not let in or kick out. We tried to explain that internal US politics and political correctness dictated that we treat EVERYONE the same, thus we treat EVERYONE like an enemy. That was a concept that they, and others we talked to, didn’t get.
They also told us that when they travel, especially to the US, they don’t use their Argentina passport. That most Argentines have 2 passports – since Argentina was settled mostly by Europeans (Germans, Spanish, and Italians), most have passports from Argentina and from the country of a grand-parent (if that grand-parent was a citizen of say, Italy, then you could have an Italian passport as well). This surprised me. We were told that it was because eve though the security rules were the same, that US officials treated them “differently” if they used a non-Argentina passport (that being said, I also think that the rules/restrictions on what you can bring into/out of Argentina using an Argentina passport has something to do with it)
I asked them why do most Argentine’s dislike GWB. The answer, from more than one, was the war in Iraq. They do not view it as a war on terror – they view it as a big, strong country fighting a small, weak one – and doing it for the oil. And it’s not that they condone terrorists or 9/11, but they see it as us wanting something that Iraq has (oil), and coming up with some pre-text to start a conflict. And more than one of them expressed the concern that we might do the same to Argentina. I was incredulous and asked why, for what? The answer was – water. Their concern is that water will be the next resource that we (the USA) will run out of; Argentina has a large reserve/supply and therefore, we’ll come down and take it. C and I just looked at each other and could not believe what we were hearing. We said, even if the US needed water, Canada was much closer and/or we would come up with some technology to convert salt water to fresh. Their response was that Canada was our neighbor, our friend and we wouldn’t “take’ from them. We told them that our government had nothing against Argentina, so why would we “take” from them? The reply - you don’t treat us like friends. You don’t make us feel welcomed when we come to the States. You treat us like an enemy. We are small country and if the US wants water from us, they will come up with a reason to start a conflict and Argentina could not fight us.
Now, this “treating us like a friend/enemy” is a sentiment that we had heard before, not only from Argentines, but from Brazilians as well. And not only on this trip, but on our last one as well. 2 years ago, we were having breakfast at our hotel and at our table were an older (50-60) couple from Brazil. They were talking to us about 9/11 and the aftermath. They kept asking us – why didn’t you just kick out all the Arabs after 9/11? That is what Brazil would have done, that is what almost any country would have done. Why at airports do you treat everyone as an enemy, when most of them are your friends? If you treat a friend like an enemy, then why are you surprised that you have no friends?
Our friends said almost the same thing. They did not understand why they get searched ( people from non-Arab countries, non-Muslims). If a certain people are your enemy, those are the ones you search or detain or not let in or kick out. We tried to explain that internal US politics and political correctness dictated that we treat EVERYONE the same, thus we treat EVERYONE like an enemy. That was a concept that they, and others we talked to, didn’t get.
They also told us that when they travel, especially to the US, they don’t use their Argentina passport. That most Argentines have 2 passports – since Argentina was settled mostly by Europeans (Germans, Spanish, and Italians), most have passports from Argentina and from the country of a grand-parent (if that grand-parent was a citizen of say, Italy, then you could have an Italian passport as well). This surprised me. We were told that it was because eve though the security rules were the same, that US officials treated them “differently” if they used a non-Argentina passport (that being said, I also think that the rules/restrictions on what you can bring into/out of Argentina using an Argentina passport has something to do with it)
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Dem. Debate
GWB may be incompetent or a dope but this is just painful. Mitt or Rudy...I've got to start donating.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
I want to be a part of BA, Buenos Aires, Big Apple
Nice to learn the meaning of "feria" as it is in the name of one of my favorite restaurants here in Austin.
That Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Che) is considered a hero to anyone still boggles my mind.
Can't argue with the international Bush hatred, if LJ saw/heard it I believe him.
That Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Che) is considered a hero to anyone still boggles my mind.
Can't argue with the international Bush hatred, if LJ saw/heard it I believe him.
Kerry on Edwards
From Robert Shrum at Time:
Kerry talked with several potential picks, including Gephardt and Edwards. He was comfortable after his conversations with Gephardt, but even queasier about Edwards after they met. Edwards had told Kerry he was going to share a story with him that he'd never told anyone else—that after his son Wade had been killed, he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he'd do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade's ideals of service. Kerry was stunned, not moved, because, as he told me later, Edwards had recounted the same exact story to him, almost in the exact same words, a year or two before—and with the same preface, that he'd never shared the memory with anyone else. Kerry said he found it chilling [emph. added], and he decided he couldn't pick Edwards unless he met with him again.
That is just creepy...not so much the thing about his son, if that is true [though what is it they say about remembering one's lies] I'm not going to judge...but having forgotten he'd already told the story.
Kerry talked with several potential picks, including Gephardt and Edwards. He was comfortable after his conversations with Gephardt, but even queasier about Edwards after they met. Edwards had told Kerry he was going to share a story with him that he'd never told anyone else—that after his son Wade had been killed, he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he'd do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade's ideals of service. Kerry was stunned, not moved, because, as he told me later, Edwards had recounted the same exact story to him, almost in the exact same words, a year or two before—and with the same preface, that he'd never shared the memory with anyone else. Kerry said he found it chilling [emph. added], and he decided he couldn't pick Edwards unless he met with him again.
That is just creepy...not so much the thing about his son, if that is true [though what is it they say about remembering one's lies] I'm not going to judge...but having forgotten he'd already told the story.
Nineteen Minutes
I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of Ms. Picoult, but I have read several of her books and have enjoyed the ones I have read. I knew the basic plot (a school rampage shooting at a high school) beforehand, but what made this interesting to me was how she explored the event from many different angles (the shooter, the shooter's parents, the lead detective, the best friend of the shooter, the judge who is the mother of the best friend) and from different points in time from years before the shooting to months after. You do find yourself, while perhaps not condoning the shooting, sympathizing with the shooter and what drove him to get to that point. Of course there is a plot twist that to me seemed rather predictable (I had mostly figured it out at page 108), but even with the ending not being a total surprise, I found this to be a very good read. It did, at times, take me back to my middle school and high school days, wondering if my schools had anyone that was a "walking time bomb".
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Buenos Aires Story #1
One of the bigger attractions of Buenos Aires (BA) are the various weekend ferias (arts and crafts markets), which can range from small to large, depending on the neighborhood. One of the biggest, and most famous, is the one in San Telmo. It is geared more to tourists and is mostly tango and antique oriented. It is held on Sunday. On our first trip to BA 2 years ago, we didn’t get to go because I went to futbol (soccer) matches on the 2 Sundays we were there (C shopped on one; the other she also went to the soccer match with me). The feria spreads from the main square in San Telmo outwards, mainly going down the major E-W street of the district. This is the “official” feria, with booths and what looks like permits from the city. Once you get to the intersection of the main E-W street and the main N-S street, the “unofficial” feria starts – mainly young people with blankets on the ground with the stuff they are selling. It was packed (people as far as you could see) and it got rather warm in the afternoon – at least warm enough for us to stop in at a local heladeria (ice cream shop). Even though C and I have mastered the ordering technique, it is still obvious to all that we aren’t Argentine. The following is the exchange we had with the counter people as they were making our cones:
Counter person #1: “Ah, you are American, yes?”
Me: “Yes, we are.”
Counter person #1: “Where are you from?”
Me: “Texas, Dallas.”
Counter person #1: “Oh, Texas….George Bush. I don’t like George Bush.”
Counter person #2: “Me either. I don’t like him.”
Me: “Well, that’s OK. I don’t like him much either.”
C: “Many Americans don’t like him. But we are having elections next year and he will not
be President any longer, so that will make those who don’t like him happy.”
Counter person #1: “Who will be the new President?”
C: “We don’t know – it’s too soon to tell. We don’t even know who our choices will be.”
Me: “Thank you – gracias.”
Counter person #1: “Good day – enjoy your time here in Argentina.”
As C and I walk out of the shop, she comments that my cone has twice as much ice cream than hers. I hadn’t really noticed and look and sure enough, mine is huge. I ask C why and she laughs and says it was because I told the girl that I didn’t like George Bush. And she was probably right. As we walk down the street looking at the booths and what they are selling, I notice a booth selling t-shirts. They have the usual blue and white striped Argentina shirt (modeled after the soccer jersey of the national team), the “Che” shirt and then I notice another. It says…..”KILL BUSH” with a drawing of GWB. I was shocked. I mean, that is pretty extreme. I thought about buying one, not to wear or to condone the message, but to have. But then, I worried about the possibilities if it was seen by US Custom agents upon our return. We did take a picture of it (as proof of its existence). I wanted to ask the seller how many she sells, but I was afraid of the answer. You see anti-GWB graffiti all over the place. To say that he is not well liked down there is an vast understatement
Counter person #1: “Ah, you are American, yes?”
Me: “Yes, we are.”
Counter person #1: “Where are you from?”
Me: “Texas, Dallas.”
Counter person #1: “Oh, Texas….George Bush. I don’t like George Bush.”
Counter person #2: “Me either. I don’t like him.”
Me: “Well, that’s OK. I don’t like him much either.”
C: “Many Americans don’t like him. But we are having elections next year and he will not
be President any longer, so that will make those who don’t like him happy.”
Counter person #1: “Who will be the new President?”
C: “We don’t know – it’s too soon to tell. We don’t even know who our choices will be.”
Me: “Thank you – gracias.”
Counter person #1: “Good day – enjoy your time here in Argentina.”
As C and I walk out of the shop, she comments that my cone has twice as much ice cream than hers. I hadn’t really noticed and look and sure enough, mine is huge. I ask C why and she laughs and says it was because I told the girl that I didn’t like George Bush. And she was probably right. As we walk down the street looking at the booths and what they are selling, I notice a booth selling t-shirts. They have the usual blue and white striped Argentina shirt (modeled after the soccer jersey of the national team), the “Che” shirt and then I notice another. It says…..”KILL BUSH” with a drawing of GWB. I was shocked. I mean, that is pretty extreme. I thought about buying one, not to wear or to condone the message, but to have. But then, I worried about the possibilities if it was seen by US Custom agents upon our return. We did take a picture of it (as proof of its existence). I wanted to ask the seller how many she sells, but I was afraid of the answer. You see anti-GWB graffiti all over the place. To say that he is not well liked down there is an vast understatement
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Victoria Jackson a Believer?
Who would have thought it of...the zany blond on SNL?
Update: must go to bio to see my point.
Even a bit of CS Lewis in there.
Update: must go to bio to see my point.
Even a bit of CS Lewis in there.
Christopher Hitchens and Dennis Prager on Religion
Monday, May 28, 2007
Observations from Buenos Aires
Well, C and I are back from our trip. I'm just going to share a few general observations for now, then relate 2 stories a bit later. First, it sucks to have a cold when you are on a plane for 10 1/2 hours. I had just gotten over a cold/flu before we left and on the day we left to come back, suffered a bit of a relapse. Didn't feel too well yesterday, today a bit better.
It was obvious to us that prices had gone up in Argentina. While the exchange rate is still good for U.S travellers ($1 = 3 pesos), prices for most all goods and services had gone up since our last trip 2 years ago. Even our Argentine friends commented that they had noticed that prices had risen. The said that the government says prices have risen about 12-15%, but they say it's closer to 35-40%. Their economy is getting stronger and you can see the results in new construction, rebuilding of infrastructure, etc.
This trip, we noticed military personnel at various locations throughout Buenos Aires. We did not see that our last trip. We thought it might be because of a national holiday on Friday (perhaps military parades), but our friends said that normally the military only parades on the Argentine independence day. Our friends could not explain the presence of military in the city.
The subway workers were on strike while we were there. As it was explained to us, the government (which either owns or controls the subway) offered the workers a 16% raise. The workers wanted 24% and thus went on strike. Now, an Argentine strike is a bit different than what we are used to. What they did was for 2 days, not charge anyone for riding. They just opened the gates. For the rest of the time we were there, it was free during both morning and afternoon rush hours, but you had to pay during all other times. As it was explained to us, the average Argentine didn't understand how you reject a 16% pay raise and had the workers done what we would consider a normal strike, they would lose the support of the people. Needless to say, the subways were packed, and not just during rush hour. In the middle of the day, there were times when we were crammed in like cattle and could barely move.
It was the beginning of fall and the weather was great - low 60's and blue skies during the day, upper 40's at night. We had only 1 day (out of 9) that it was windy and thus felt cold. But it was strange to see many, many people bundled up like it was the depth of winter in Buffalo when I was walking around in a short sleeve shirt.
We noticed many more English speaking tourists this time around. Not just Americans, but British and Australians. We went to a tango show (geared to tourists) and there were folks from Israel, Japan, Russia, Canada among many others.
Guess that's all for now - in the next few days, I'll relate a couple of stories that I feel will be very enlightening concerning how America, Americans, our President and our policies are viewed by Argentines (many of whom have travelled not only to the USA, but to Europe as well).
It was obvious to us that prices had gone up in Argentina. While the exchange rate is still good for U.S travellers ($1 = 3 pesos), prices for most all goods and services had gone up since our last trip 2 years ago. Even our Argentine friends commented that they had noticed that prices had risen. The said that the government says prices have risen about 12-15%, but they say it's closer to 35-40%. Their economy is getting stronger and you can see the results in new construction, rebuilding of infrastructure, etc.
This trip, we noticed military personnel at various locations throughout Buenos Aires. We did not see that our last trip. We thought it might be because of a national holiday on Friday (perhaps military parades), but our friends said that normally the military only parades on the Argentine independence day. Our friends could not explain the presence of military in the city.
The subway workers were on strike while we were there. As it was explained to us, the government (which either owns or controls the subway) offered the workers a 16% raise. The workers wanted 24% and thus went on strike. Now, an Argentine strike is a bit different than what we are used to. What they did was for 2 days, not charge anyone for riding. They just opened the gates. For the rest of the time we were there, it was free during both morning and afternoon rush hours, but you had to pay during all other times. As it was explained to us, the average Argentine didn't understand how you reject a 16% pay raise and had the workers done what we would consider a normal strike, they would lose the support of the people. Needless to say, the subways were packed, and not just during rush hour. In the middle of the day, there were times when we were crammed in like cattle and could barely move.
It was the beginning of fall and the weather was great - low 60's and blue skies during the day, upper 40's at night. We had only 1 day (out of 9) that it was windy and thus felt cold. But it was strange to see many, many people bundled up like it was the depth of winter in Buffalo when I was walking around in a short sleeve shirt.
We noticed many more English speaking tourists this time around. Not just Americans, but British and Australians. We went to a tango show (geared to tourists) and there were folks from Israel, Japan, Russia, Canada among many others.
Guess that's all for now - in the next few days, I'll relate a couple of stories that I feel will be very enlightening concerning how America, Americans, our President and our policies are viewed by Argentines (many of whom have travelled not only to the USA, but to Europe as well).
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