Old Shoes thrown at Pres. Bush -Wag the Dog Re visited!!!

Arab reporter throws his shoes at Pres. Bush. It could have been worse, the President could have been apprehended, imprisoned, and interrogated at Abu Grahib prison. The ultimate insult in Islam is to show the bottoms of your feet to someone (as you are sitting down, thats why feet are tucked in under you when you sit on floor in Arab countries). Now all across mideast are demonstrations wanting to free the journalist who threw his shoes, and demonstrators are throwing THEIR shoes! This reminds me of the movie Wag the Dog, (see picture) where a sex scandal requires the President's staff to distract the media a few days until his re election is over, and so his staff stages a phoney war with Albania, but the CIA expose it and they have to end the phoney war, but a few days are left until the election, so they come up with explanation that one soldier is left behind, a Sgt Shoemaker, and soon they compose a fake blue's song about bringing back old shoe, and they throw old shoes all over DC,(see picture) and soon the nation is focused on special operations to bring back Old Sgt Shoe....but he's "dead," so a funeral down Pennsylvania Ave is conducted, complete with riderless horse, Sgt shoes dog walking next to caisson,....anyway, their boy gets re elected --- so now reality mimics make believe, an Arab journalist throws his shoes at Pres Bush, an ultimate act of civil disobedience and now all over mid east "shoes" have become a symbol of resisting American Empire. Could Hollywood make this up any better? I even heard that a crowd of Iraqi boys threw shoes at a convoy in Baghdad....how do you respond if you a re a soldier to boys throwing shoes? Brilliant tactic when you think of it........

Is it going to rain today?

Hey whats the weather I mean quick!!! This gives you an immediate answer. or try this!

Caroline kennedy for Senator from NY !

Here is a link to barnes and noble and Caroline Kennedy's books. Caroline is of course the surviving daughter of John and Jacqueline Kennedy. Her dad was assassinated, her mom died of cancer, his brother John died in a plane crash, and her other brother Patrick died shortly after birth. She alones survives. She is an attorney, I dont believe she has practiced law but has written good books on civil liberties (check the above link). I am reading her edited book on Christmas, poems, songs, short stories, and Dr. Martin Luther King's christmas sermon 1967, literally delivered christmas eve - remarkable sermon, King talks about the many dreams he has for his country, also in a prophetic voice (he would be killed 4 months later). Anyway, Caroline is amazing, a great mom, intelligent, poised, elegant, but also concerned for the rights of all Americans. Rumor is, she may be appointed Senator from New York, replacing Hillary when she is confirmed as Sec of State. she would be a great choice, NOT because of her name, but because of what she has done with her life. She was born a celebrity, because of her parents, but never exploited that status. Unlike Paris Hilton, an uneducated, wealthy brat, Caroline took her education seriously (Radcliffe now harvard, and Columbia Law), has been a wife and mother, and a serious intellectual author of books (like her dad) on law and civil liberties, in addition to being an editor (like her mom) who has edited books on poems, and of course Christmas. yes, Caroline Kennedy would be a great Senator - she is probably too liberal for me, but her character is above reproach, and when we have trash like the governor of Illinois using politics for personal enrichment (see below) we need someone with character and intelligence contributing to our Senate.

Lock him up and throw away the key!

This guy should be sent to prison and have the key thrown away. After watching election videos about really good, honest young candidates wanting to change their communities for the better, like Cory Booker (Mayor, Newark NJ) and Jeff Smith (Senator, Missouri State legislature) this guy should be locked up the rest of his life. Absolutely terrible - this corruption and the need for raising millions of dollars to wage a campaign is what keeps talented young public servants from running for office. Reform politics! there is also some danger with this guy, his fund raiser also raised funds for Pres. Obama, I hope this doesnt somehow reveal improper fundraising by Pres Obama - I didnt vote for Obama, but I believe in his sincerity and I support his efforts to return the US to the beacon of hope it once was for people all over the globe.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he brazenly conspired to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder.

Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field, according to a federal criminal complaint. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

A 76-page FBI affidavit said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti.

Otherwise, Blagojevich considered appointing himself. The affidavit said that as late as Nov. 3, he told his deputy governor that if "they're not going to offer me anything of value I might as well take it."

"I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain," Blagojevich allegedly said later that day, according to the affidavit, which also quoted him as saying in a remark punctuated by profanity that the seat was "a valuable thing — you just don't give it away for nothing."

The emanuel brothers: Rahm and Ari, my kinda peoples!

With the nickname "Rahmbo" and a disposition likened to that of a mobster, Emanuel, though widely respected for his moxy and get-it-done record, isn't exactly Mr. Nice Guy. A dynamic mix of talent and brawn -- he was offered a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet company and volunteered for the Israeli Army during the Gulf War -- Emanuel's the real-deal pitbull Democrat (lipstick not included).

What follows is a list of the five most infamous Rahmbo tales. It's the stuff legends are made of:

1. Mailing a Dead Fish

Emanuel is known for his panache for treating donors right. He sends them cheesecakes from Eli's, the famous Chicago bakery. But the one pollster who notoriously ticked off Rahmbo received a 2 1/2 foot decomposing fish in the mail -- ripe, stinky, and to the point.

2. Fundraising the Bugsy Siegel Way

His foray into fundraising started in Chicago while campaigning for Mayor Richard Daley's reelection, when Emanuel raised a record number of donations. His sales pitch was simple enough: He'd tell contributors he found their offers so low it was embarrassing and then hang up on them. Mortified, the donors were shamed into calling back and giving more.

3. Nearly Losing His Finger

When he was a senior in high school, he sliced his finger while working at Arby's. But instead of seeking medical attention, he decided to celebrate prom night by swimming in Lake Michigan. The bone and blood infection that resulted was so severe it practically killed him. Scrappy and determined, even at death's door with a fever of 106 degrees, he pulled through, only losing part of his finger.

4. Threatening Tony Blair

Never a mincer of words, Emanuel didn't couch his meaning when he offered Tony Blair counsel just before the then British prime minister appeared with President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal: "This is important. Don't ---- it up."

5. Knifing the Dinner Table

The most infamous Rahmbo story of them all is the one that begins with the dinner the night after Bill Clinton was elected in 1992. Among those present at the dinner table was ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, who watched while an overwrought and clearly exhausted Emanuel began ranting at a long list of Clinton "enemies." As he shouted each name, he stabbed the table with his steak knife: "Nat Landow! Dead! Cliff Jackson! Dead!" Apparently, others joined in.

and here is info on brother Ari: (above left picture)

Up until Rahm Emanuel was offered the Chief of Staff position in Barack Obama's cabinet, his younger brother Ari, the cantankerous Hollywood talent agent, was considerably better known. Most famously -- or perhaps infamously -- Ari Emanuel is said to be the inspiration for the abrasive, determined Ari Gold character on HBO's Entourage, played by Jeremy Piven.

"With Ari, it's all about the bottom line," said writer Aaron Sorkin, creator of the television drama "The West Wing," whom Ari Emanuel represents.

"In a business deal, he's going to try to kill for you, and its just going to be about putting as much money in your pocket as he can, until you tell him that there's something else that's important to you."

Revealed! Mall shooting in Iowa could have affected Presidential election!

This video is really twisted, but makes an important satirical point. This obsession with stereotyping voters and simplifying the election reduces the election to its lowest common denominator. And this video shows this. But it really is funny......

Wal Mart Worker Trampeled to Death: Bush gives Award

Bush gives an award to shoppers who are dedicated to shopping during our war against terror:


A worker died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers when a suburban Wal-Mart opened for the holiday sales rush Friday, authorities said.

At least three other people were injured.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Ark., would not confirm the reports of a stampede but said a "medical emergency" had caused the company to close the store, which is in Valley Stream on Long Island.

Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., an hour after the store opened. The cause of death was not immediately known.

A police statement said shortly after 5 a.m., a throng of shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground." Police also said a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation and three other shoppers suffered minor injuries and were also taken to hospitals.

Mc Cain jokes with Goldwater

Great John McCain story!!! John meets Barry Goldwater in Arizona, and Goldwater tells him:"You know, if I had been elected President in 1964, you never would have been held in a Vietnamese prison camp," to which McCain replied, "You're right Barry, it would have been a Chinese prison camp." Get it? very funny. McCain has a sense of humor way out on the edge.

(Goldwater retired as US Senator from Arizona in 1986, McCain replaced him in Senate). McCain haters say that Goldwater didn't like him, the McCain is not a true conservative, blah blah, but Goldwater and McCain got along ok.

Hillary Clinton, Goldwater Girl

Sec. Of State Clinton was once a supporter of Barry Goldwater for President in 1964. her family was affluent, father a doctor, and she embraced her family's politics. By the time she reached Wellesley College she became an anti war activist on campus, and wrote her senior paper on Saul Bellow, a social reformer, intellectual, and Trotskyist (communist). I have seen her picture with some goldwater supporters as a young girl, but can't find it on the net. this picture is not of her, but this is how she looked when dressed up as a Goldwater girl.

If you must eat Turkey, try to find a Kosher turkey.

Here is the Gov. Sarah palin interview, just after she pardoned the Alaska turkey, she goes outside for an interview, and behind her, is the guy who slaughters the turkeys. He puts them in this funnel, positions it and engages a automated slicing blade, and then holds it while is bleeds and empties all its blood the trough underneath -- you can see the turkey (the second one) shaking as it bleeds to death, the guy has to hold it down so it doesn't struggle.

My problem: look at how the camera person positions the interview so you can see the slaughter behind. Of course, sarah can't see it, because it is behind her. so she was kinda set up by the camera person.

Yeah, she prepare the family turkey, just like millions of women across the country. If you are vegetarian, I guess that's gross, but my point is the press really exploits her and sets her up.

BTW, animal rights activists said that the slaughter of the turkeys in the video is more humane than most slaughter houses. There are other videos about turkey abuse, some guy somewhere else grabbing and throwing turkeys in a cage, shoving them in. In contrast, these turkeys are being bled to death, but it can really get much worse in the big industrial slaughter houses.

I really do know Sarah Palin, she lives here in western PA. Since I know her I feel I can understand her. I really don't know Hillary Clinton, on the other hand (don't get me started).

BTW, I am doing a vegetarian thanksgiving. Here is a site that shows how turkeys are hatched, raised, and slaughtered.

I have no plans, maybe help out with the townships turkey meal (for elderly).

Carla Bruni - first lady of france on Letterman Show

here is the First Lady of France singing on David Letterman show, just one more reason to visit France!

She was very sophisticated, and sang very well. We are stuck with Barbara Bush!

get the dirt off your shoulder

get that dirt off your shoulder....song by Jay Z (listen) and then listen to Pres. elect Obama speak in North Carolina after a debate with hillary clinton If Obama listens to Jay Z, and understands how to apply him to a rally, and still sound Presidential (and making Hillary look the fool), then I am sorry that i didnt vote for him! Good luck Obama, and yeah keep that dirt off your shoulders and you will be a good leader. I am actually looking forward to some "Obama" change in DC.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Great movie shown at Regent Sq theater as part of the 3 rivers film festival. I had to see butch cassidy, a 35 mm film, shown with full screen. I sat in the back to see the whole effect, academy award for cinematography. i was there for Paul newman, my friend. I couldn't help but cry when this part was shown, Paul newman and Katherine Ross and the bicycle scene. he was such a great actor, and a good man.

BJ thomas by the way is a great singer, none of his hits ever showed off his range or ability to interpret. the burt bacharach song doesnt give justice to his voice. he sings gospel best.

I thought Paul newman's best movie was "nobody's fool," from the novel by Richard Russo.

Great movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - thanks Paul!

red state blue state

here is red state blue state from univ of michigan

The Republicans CANNOT win the west and south and elect a president. William Jennings Bryan carried the west and south for the Democrats in 1896 and 1900, and lost big time. FDR expanded the Democratic party, to include great lakes industrial states, NY and California.

McCain won more counties than Obama. However, Obama won the counties with the most votes.

There is still a rural urban split that was apparent in past elections. Sarah Palin talked about the small towns, and she is right; that is where Republicans have their greatest strength. But they need urban areas too, where there are lots of voters.

The Republicans will have to find a way of combining rural areas with urban vote. The status of the so called Christian evangelical right wing is also in question: male self identified evangelical christians for Obama easily outvoted those for Mc Cain. The Republicans will have to find a way of getting james Dobson out of the Republican party. The southern born agains are ruining the Republican Party. Ever since 1994, when Newt took over the House, the republicans have had to put up with these right wing moralistic voters - most Americans dont like them, dont like their candidates. W. Bush understood them and how to use them to get votes. But along with those votes comes the moralistic expectations of their supporters. The Shiavo case in Florida really alienated most Americans from the james Dobson's of America. Remember Sen. Frist from Tennessee? he looked at videos (he is a doctor) of Terry Shiavo and claimed she had brain functioning. Her autopsy revealed her brain had shrunk, she had to consciousness at all.

What happened to the party of Lincoln, or Teddy Roosevelt?

"The Year of Living Dangerously" featuring young mel gibson before he went nuts

This is a great film and its now showing on TCM. film is about Sukarno's rule in Indonesia, in 1965, during an attempt of communist overthrow. Sukarno was no commie, and his right wing death squads executed thousands of those commie red bastards. It goes beyond that, Indonesia occupied by Japanese, happy to be rid of british rule, but they hated the japanese. Now japanese out, Indonesia granted freedom by british (thanks, mate) and Indonesia spills over with nationalism, national socialism, perhaps we could call it Fascism, as a reaction against british colonialists, japanese occupiers, and now communist 5th columnists (treason from within, backed by chinese or russian communists). My knowledge of east asia intrigue is limited, shall we say. anyway, this is an australian film, very ambitious, up there with Gallipoli and
Breaker Morant, and has a love story between Mel gibson and Sigourney Weaver. they are both young, beautiful, and it was filmed before they forgot how to act. Mel went on to make his crazy jesus films in aramaic (which is great if you are an archeologist in jerusalem and you actually KNOW aramaic) and Sigourney went on to film ghost busters and Alien. Anyway, the love story is great! the political intigue is great! the executions of commies way too realistic (VP cheney would love that part). Great film

"Come back to me..." Atonement the movie.

"Come back to me," Cecilia whispers to Robbie. Atonement is a movie I have been watching on HBO - the first time I saw it I was almost in shock at the ending. I mean it hurt.

The scenes of Robbie in France, and finally Dunkirk. and the troops arriving back home in england - They were saved, they returned to their past lives, to their loved ones. Actual footage of the Dunkirk survivors.

And then Brionny's interview. She is old, has a disease of the brain, she will soon be suffering from dementia, will forget who she is, will wither away in a nursing home. So she writes her last novel, something she must "atone" before her mind is lost. And then she explains the real ending, the real life ending of Robbie and cecilia, and that is when I gasped. I have seen painful movies before, in fact, I drive to pittsburgh to watch heart breaking films (one from england I forgot i will research and update blog when I find it). But here I am in my apt, and suddenly this movie takes an incredible turn.

and then the scene of robbie and cecilia on the beach...(it is called Redcar beach) -so absolutely beautiful. Here is the scene, but dont click it if you havent seen it, SPOILER ALERT.

I plan on watching again, several times, it is full of nuances, the director placing small details to subconsciously draw you into the plot, each scene designed to affect emotions. A well thought out movie, edited perfectly. The acting, off the charts.

Pefect picture for political film, but too many students have probably seen it. Is there atonement? What about atonement for lost love? Or atonement for the crimes and inhumanity of war?

Where we live slideshow - the urban poor of the world, and it can only get worse

Where we live. I swear I will never complain about living in slippery rock again. In many ways after watching this slideshow, slippery rock is a piece of heaven.

Law and Order episode, with chickens

Believe it or not, I swear I already saw this episode!!!

"Obama is Beautiful World" japanese video

I don't understand this video , other than this might be one more reason NOT to vote for Obama. I am still confused about Obama, in 2004 he was an Illinois state senator who spoke at the DNC, in 2006 he ran for US senate, the republican in general election withdrew since his estranged wife was suing him for divorce and revealing that he forced her to participate in kinky sex swapping in NYC.....then Alan Keynes was Republican nominee, even though he really isn't an Illinois resident, Alan was so right wing even Illinois republicans abandoned him, then Alan's daughter's blog was discovered, she is gay, he has disowned her, makes alan look like a fanatic (i mean jesus, she's his daughter, what happened to a father's love?). So Obama won, without really having to campaign. I liked him taking on the Clintons and whipping their asses, but i have no idea what he would do as Pres since he has no record. he has as much experience as Sarah Palin.....

Palin for Pres in 2012? come on, just play Bingo.

Some are already talking about it. In careful terms. If John McCain loses next week, Sarah Palin “has absolutely earned a right to run in 2012,” says Greg Mueller, who was a senior aide in the presidential campaigns of Pat Buchanan and Steve Forbes.

Jaysus! News sources are listening to aides to Pat Buchanan and Steve Forbes about 2012? Yeah, they were really sucessful with their own candidates...Losers!

Not only that, but one cable station actually has Pat Buchanan as a full time analyst - that's like having Alexander Kerensky as a full time commentator on the Russian revolution (he was PM for a brief time before Lenin took over, he died in 1970 in a small apt in Brooklyn...).

Sarah Palin as a candidate in 2012? That assumes that the McCain race is doomed (probably is). But the point is these damn journalists (some actually have a degree in journalism, but alot do not) who know next to nothing about politics or elections or public opinion, have already decided that McCain is gone, so they are looking for spin, any kind of spin, to report on other than the current Pres race. I can't see Palin as a Pres candidate....as a VP to appeal to the far right wing of the party yes, but a candidate, no.

Don't forget, running for Pres means raising hundreds of millions of dollars. McCain has trouble keeping up with Obama, I am sure that Palin could not raise the money for any kind of viable presidential campaign.

In the meantime, relax by playing Palin Bingo....and there is no truth to the rumor that Palin's next child will be named "Bingo>"

Sons:

* Track (1989)
* Trig (2008)

Daughters:

* Bristol (1991)
* Willow (1995)
* Piper (2001)

to bad voting really doesn't matter unless you live in certain counties within Ohio.

Is this true? One of my former students just told me this (my son). Does your vote really doesn't matter unless you live in certain swing states? Mathematically, yes. In 2004, Bush won the electoral college vote on the basis of 130,000 votes in Ohio, which gave him all the electoral votes from Ohio. So the 3 million votes Bush won over Kerry (who remains a "douchebag" as they say in France....this is from SNL skit....) didnh't matter: the 2004 race was decided by those 130,000 republicans from Ohio.

Will you be allowed to vote? On slippery rock univ campus, students registered to vote but some put down wrong address: their address decides if they live in the borough, or in the township. Part of the campus in on the borough, the rest on the township.
so students may show up at the wrong polling place. Some students put down their dorm address, but also included the univ address as a permanent address - this means they claim to live in the township but live permanently in the borough.....which means the polling judges might tell them "figure out where you live next election, and then we'll let you vote..."

Then it depends if your vote will be counted: don't forget, in pittsburgh, they still use those big metal vote machines that operate with computer cards (the kind of cards they used back in the 50's and 60's). If your chad is hanging, or just dimpled, your vote won't count.

So even if you register to vote, show up on election day, you might be denied the right to vote or have your vote thrown out.

Or, there may not be enough voting machines at your polling place, so you might have to stand in line for hours, in some cases in Ohio in 2004, 3 - 5 hrs. Oddly enough ( ! ) there were too few voting machines in heavily democratic polling places in Ohio in 2004, because the Republican secretary of state ordered too few (oops! My mistake! Sorry we can't hold the election again....)

And then there is the Ohio case: If Pennsylvania goes to McCain, he has a chance of winning. Ohio is a swing state too. As are 1 or 2 counties in Maine: Obama is ahead in Maine,but Maine/'s electoral votes are awarded on the congressional district plan, not winner take all. So McCain can lose Maine, but still win one of their congressional districts, so he would get one electoral vote.

What happens if it comes down to one congressional district in maine? then your vote only counted if you lived in that one congressional district.

And THIS is why some political scientists go into mathematics and game theory - because votes only count under certain conditions in certain places.

Everyone clear now? So be sure to vote on election day, if you live in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or in one county in Maine!

Duke Univ Weekend

I drove to Duke Univ for the weekend, eldest son Nathaniel had an interview with the MBA program. His friend Zack gave us the grand tour, even got us free food (BBQ and Beans) and football tickets. (Duke lost to Miami). the mileage on the MR2? 1242. I took highway 501 from NC to Lexington VA, and toward lexington 501 goes through the mountains - it was dark, and I threw the transmission down for the curves, the car was amazing, the tires never slipped, no squealing, the car performed like it had velcro on the tires, so that tells me I could have gone much faster. Great weekend, good to see Nathan, fantastic university.

Burn After Reading - Coen Brothers Strike again !!!

Burn After Reading is so funny, I mean, I had to stifle my laughter so as not to miss the dialogue. I cant spoil it for anyone, just be assured that this movie really takes some strange turns ("lots of ins and outs"). The coens are incredible writers - they must feed off each other somehow. My colleague Daniel McIntosh has got to see this - we saw the french satire OSS 117 and that was funny, but Burn After Reading is off the chart. I cant tell you what's funny without ruining it - suffice it to say its great.

(I was so depressed saturday night, esp after Vanderbilt lost to Miss State, and on top of that I saw "Atonement" a second time on HBO, cried once again at the end - what an incredibly sad, heart breaking ending, "come back to me" whispers Keira Knightly, and the older Briony invents an ending which somehow atones for the terrible mistake she made as a child...)

Sooooo, I was definitely in for a funny movie sunday night, and I wasn't disappointed. Go see Burn After Reading and laugh your ass off!!!

Mos Def reveals how dumb Bill Maher is...

I like Mos Def, but not more than any other rappers, until I saw him on bill maher, and he told off maher. Bill maher has this thing about Islam and the Koran, calls it a violent religion, appeals to nut cases and so forth. Bill, read the bible some time, skip over the first four books of old testament, because after the first four, the reading gets really violent, I mean, jews killing hittites, not just in battle, but I mean killing everyone, children, burning whole villages, the violence in the bible is numbing. Even the first four books are full of incest, child rape. Any way, here is Mos Def putting maher straight, BTW, Mos def first studied Islam when he was 9, he converted when he was 13, so he knows what he is talking about. He also says, he doesn't believe the planes brought down the towers, or that OJ is guilty, but he does believe in Big Foot. He is funny, but he is making a point. That's Cornell West next to him, Princeton Prof, and Cornell understands what Mos Def is talking about (Cornell is an intellectual, but he still walks the talk...)

Clayton Bigsby, White Supremacist

Clayton Bigsby, white supremacist. classic dave chappelle skit. I like the part where the man's head blows up. Also that Clayton divorced his wife when he found out she was white, because.......dear god I just found another one, this is really offensive, dave chappelle as the spanish pixie convincing a customer to buy leopard seat covers and the jesus air freshener....we are all going to hell for this one

Grace is Gone most popular film this semester

Grace is Gone has been the most popular movie in Political Film so far this semester, more students wrote about that film than any other. Amazing, given that the film was never released other than to a few independent theaters to test the audience. Other than that, it went straight to video, I guess, i haven't seen it in any video stores. great film, I love the ending. beautiful. One student who is in music education learned the theme song on piano and played it for her studio class - now that's a positive sign - she loved the film and the haunting music score (written by clint eastwood - i checked on clint eastwook on IMDB.com and he has written many songs for films. Dont forget he has appeared in musicals, so he does sing and he is very musically gifted). "To live in hearts you leave behind, is not to die, Grace."

Vanderbilt 14, Auburn 13

Incredible game, Vanderbilt beats Auburn 14-13 with their backup quarterback. Mackenzie Adams is the backup, but my son nathaniel (a Vandy football letterman) explained to me at the beginning of the season that both Chris Nickson and mackenzie are very good, emphasis on VERY good. Vandy is 5 and 0, and finally has got its program moving. Recruitment should be further helped with this season. Bobby Johnson deserves this, (coach), he has kept up trying to build this program, heart breaking seasons (3 yrs ago, a loss to middle Tenn state from a blocked field goal, then a loss to Florida due to an excessive "celebration' after a touchdown) so he is long overdue for some breaks, like the turnovers they have had, and Auburn's failure to make a point after touchdown last saturday.

Seneca Nation Casino at Niagara Falls

I met my son and daughter in law in Niagara Falls for the weekend - lots of fun! They convinced me I couldn't walk across bridge to Canada since I didn't have a passport or birth certificate, so I stayed behind and had a coffee at Starbucks. But I saw the Seneca Nation Casino across the street so I figured why not gamble? Last weekend I fired shotguns for 2 hrs with Nathaniel, so this weekend i figured I would gamble at a casino. So i went in, and the casino was huge, as big as a convention center. There was background music like I was entering heaven. Mostly there were slot machines, and the customers were for the most part older seniors, some with canes, over weight, and smoking - the same crowd you see at a racetrack. So I sat down by the slots that had a grand prize of a Lexus SUV, on display above us. I put in $10, played three times, and I won: whistles went off, sirens, bells, lights, I mean my machine made more noise than anyone else's. I thought I must have won the Lexus, but then again, no one was rushing up to congratulate me. The machine wanted to know if I wanted to play some more, and I selected a receipt. I put the receipt in a cashout machine, and it turned out I won $19. That is, I bet $10, and got $19 back, so I really only won $9 (they count what you bet as part of your winnings). So I left $9 richer. I gave the housekeeper who made my room at the holiday inn a $5 tip, so I only had $4 left. Thats my only experience gambling. A winner!

Dolce the cats hideout

I spread a blanket over my leather couch to prevent dolce the cat from clawing the leather, and he likes to knock the blanket off and hide in it. Its funny, because I wonder where he is, and then all of a sudden the blanket starts to move, and I see part of a tail, or part of an ear. he also hides on the dining room chair, the table spread covers the chair, so he is not visible unless I bend over and look for him, and then I see a paw.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Great film - just remade in 2008 - haven't seen the remake, but hard to believe it could be an improvement over the original (1953). But the great scene is when Helen ( the babe of interest) tells the robot:
" Gort! Klaatu barada nikto! "
we don't know what that means, but it gives instructions to the robot to protect helen, rescue Klaatu, bring him back to life, and help save earth. Great film!

Shoot skeet in Texas

So my son nathaniel and I are driving from Austin back to Dallas, in the afternoon, after attending a morning orientation to U Texas School of Business. He is checking out MBA schools. As we drive on I 35, we discuss possibly renting shotguns and shooting skeet the next day, even though its something we have never done. And then we saw it: a skeet range off I 35 (there is a frontage road on texas interstates, so its one long side of the road advertisement for used cars (wrecks) and flea markets (junk). So we turn off, walk in, "we want to shoot." They gave us a shotgun, 2 boxes of shells, and some tokens and turned us loose. We shot with a very large man who was a self professed "expert." He helped us alot, but he was kinda marginal (like after he shoots all his co-workers, the survivors say, "he was quiet, liked guns, but we never thought..."). We shot for two hours, and Nathaniel was good. This is a great way to release stress. But only in Texas can you pull off the interstate, flop down $80, no identification, nothing, just cash down on the counter top, and they give you a shotgun and shells to blast away for 2 hours. Only in texas. or maybe Afghanistan...

the F word in Big Lebowski, 281 times

here it is, all 281 times. the origin of "f.u.c.k" is hard to determine, but many languages have verbs that are very similar. Let us just say that the movie the big lebowski explores the various forms of this word, from verb to noun, adjective, adverb and so forth ("what have you...") Newsweek did a story on the movie this week - nothing new there for us "Achievers" - we know it all already. One of my students wrote an analysis, suggesting that the cowboy ("you got that whole...cowboy thing...") is really The Dude in an earlier life - that in the past, the Dude was a cowboy, herding the steers, fighting rustlers, and...eh...abiding. I thought this gave a whole new spiritual dimension to the movie, The Dude as a reincarnation of past heros. I gave the guy an A on the paper, probably BS though, but fun reading it. Newsweek's analysis says that the Dude, is broke, lives in poverty, has an aimless life, is drunk or stoned most of the time, and his only recreation is bowling, and that somehow today's college students who are caught up in upwardly mobile lifestyles and expectations see him as the ultimate anti hero - no crap?! Wow! they figured that out! only took them ten years !

Great Song "Common People": Rock Out William Shatner!

I have listened to this song before, really liked it, never realized (until I was entering grades in Blackboard at negative warp 3.5 - there are delays between each entry, and 106 grades TAKES ONE HOUR SO I HOPE THE STUDENT APPRECIATE THIS) but enough with my anger at Gradebook, check out this song! Part of it narrated by William Shatner, great music. Rock it Bill! And yet here is another version.
Here are lesser appreciable Shatner music attempts:
Rocket Man
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

I have it from good authority, that the last two Shatner music contributions have been played to enemy noncombatants at Camp XRay, and that they have all confessed to everything, including alien abduction and the Kennedy assasination. Book em' Danno!!!

Fake Sarah Palin pic: Real vid Palin firing auto rifle

I was so disappointed to hear that this photo is fake. It's a good phoney though, her head is proportional to the body, so someone worked on this more than a couple seconds. My regret is that it is a fake, because it would have boosted McCain ticket polls by at least 3 % ! Perhaps the McCain campaign should not have been so quick to dismiss this as a fake - maybe they should have said yeah it real, and notice that the safety is on too because she is careful with firearms. Here she is getting firing range practice in Kuwait with auto weapon. this is not a fake. Update: I finally saw the vid, and I believe she is firing a M16 variant, a model used by marines and some army units.

funny impersonator Sarah Palin

here is a funny you tube video of a sarah palin impersonator. So funny I laughed my a** off even though my back is killing me and pain killers haven't kicked in yet. There is part 1 and 2, and a McCain video too. I only saw Part 1 and it is really funny!!!

Village of Stonington

Stonington is a beautiful village, a former fishing village, and in the late 1700's and early 1800's, a seal hunting port. We saw only one commercial fishing boat coming in from the Sound, so now stonington is a place for wealthy people to have a summer house, and retirement condos. Cheapest place I found was over $600K, a two bedroom home. the condo's are over $one million. Here is a video of the public dock, and from a park located on the sound. Videos show how beautiful, peaceful this village is.

Ships at Mystic Seaport

here are photos of ships at the Mystic Seaport taken over Labor Day.

Whaling ship

Here are pictures of Harpoons on the whaling ship Morgan in Mystic Seaport. these are authentic! hard to imagine hunting whales with these small weapons - at least the whale had a fighting chance.