The Big Apple: Bitten.

Well, the trip to NYC went fabu. I boarded the BoltBus at the curb outside the Metro Center Metro station, took up my Uker-like front row seat, and instantly connected to the Internet to begin my trip. The bus was brand new and very shiny. The bathroom had a non-smelly chemtoilet, so you could pee en route. The bus left seven minutes late, but took exactly four hours (as planned) to get to NYC, where we disembarked around the corner from Penn Station. For $20 roundtrip, you can't beat it!

I then hoofed it about eight blocks to Chelsea where Jason and his lovely girlfriend Dabney (see photo below) were waiting at Jason's subleased apartment. It was a typical NYC studio apartment, which meant that it was...cozy. But it was also very convenient! Chelsea is a neighborhood I hadn't visited on my prior trips to the city, and it was really eclectic and cute, kind of what you like to think the Village used to be like.


We first went down to the New Museum ("Hell Yes!"), which is an architectural novelty, even in NY, as it is shaped like six boxes stacked one atop the others and clad in expanded aluminum. We got in free, since Dabney is a curator for a well-known New England women's college, which is nice. The artwork was suitably weird and cool.

After the museum, we went out to eat at the Mercer Kitchen (Yum! Pork chops...goooood.).

Later we headed down to the Lower East Side (my new favorite 'hood in NYC) and were deemed cool enough to be admitted by the leatherclad bouncer to The Back Room. In an "only in New York" moment, we approached the unmarked gate to the unmarked, hidden tunnel leading to the unmarked, hidden entrance to the unmarked, hidden bar and were stopped by a mean-looking bouncer who needed to scope out our coolness quotient before letting us inside. A guy next to us was judged unfit due to his use of flip-flops, but we made the cut. We're so cool.

After The Back Room, we went in search of live music, and found it at one of my NY haunts, The Living Room. This place is great because the crowd is over 30, the bands are always eclectic and good (we caught an improv band doing cover tunes with a Siberian throat singer...crazy!), and there is no cover charge to enter.

The next morning we groggily made it down to Washington Square Park and my my good friend Jane for breakfast down in Alphabet City. After some eggs, French toast, and plenty of coffee, Jane updated us on her new passion: kickball league (which started later that day).

The last leg of my whirlwind tour took the whole gang down to see a gallery that Dabney knew about where back in 1977 an artist named Walter De Maria filled an entire 3,600 square-foot flat with soil. Weird, yet strangely calming (see how calm we were afterwards in the photo below). That said, Jason and I also had an overwhelming urge to grab the fire hose and some seeds to perform some "performance art" of our own. :-)


I reluctantly trudged down to Chinatown, where my return leg BoltBus was patiently waiting to take me back to D.C. I was sad to be leaving my friends yet also very excited about seeing my Boo and Jenny (+S.T.B.®) again. It was only a day away but I really miss them!


The trip back to Washington was just as comfy as the ride up to NYC, but I (nor any other Mac users) could log on to the Internet due to a WEP 128 password problem (the router on the first leg of the trip was not pw protected). I hope that BoltBus either gets rid of the password altogether (why even have it on a moving bus?) or can figure out a Mac friendly solution before my next trip.

All in all, it was a fantastic day and a half trip. A big thanks to Jason and Dabney for putting me up and showing me the town and also to Jane for dragging herself all the way down Manhattan to come play with us! You all are awesome!

NYC weekend TK

I'm going up to NYC this weekend to visit my buddy, Jason (see photo on right), and meet his girlfriend. Looking forward to telling her every embarrassing story that I can recollect on the bus trip up there.

Jason and I met while studying in Spain back in '91, and have been BFFs since then...OMGWTFLOL. We lived together on Capitol Hill back in '93-95 and I followed him to San Francisco when I returned from Spain (different trip) in '96. It's been a while since we've been able to hang out, so I'm looking forward to seeing him.

The bus I'm taking is pretty cool. It's a Greyhound offshoot called BoltBus that operates between DC--->NYC--->Boston and is dirt cheap. My ticket came to $20 roundtrip (I think they are doing $1 trips, too, but I couldn't score one of those), which is pretty cool, considering that the bus has free Wi-Fi access and outlets for your computer so you can surf the Net on the road. I'll report back on Monday with my review.

Hope to meet up with my S.F.-turned-NYC galpal Jane, too (see photo on right).We're going to get breakfast on Sunday morning if all goes to plan. Jane and I worked together in San Francisco and wine-partied together in Oakland. It will also be great to hang out with her again! Looks to be a good trip....

New facelift for the blog!

We needed some graphically designed logo goodness, so here it is! (Look up, silly, it's right there!)

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Bed drama and, finally, success!

Hard to believe, but Sylvie is now officially a "big girl" who sleeps in her very own real bed. Since we knew that the crib would be needed by the S.T.B.® (sibling to be), we thought it better to get Boo into her new digs sooner rather than later.

We didn't want to get her a toddler bed and have to outfit it with a bunch of sheets that would become obsolete all too soon, so we opted for a twin that she can grow into. Being the IKEA freakazoids that we are, we picked out what looked to be a trés cool, über-modern design that we knew she liked from a quick romp at the store and both Jenny and I dug, design-wise. So I lugged it home and put it together, with all the trials and tribulations that putting anything from IKEA together entails.

And it looked, as the California kids say, "hella cool." Turns out though that, in person, it was also "hella sharp." Like, box-o'-steak-knives sharp. Here it is:


See, very cool. But...every single edge was seemingly lying in wait for the smooth skin of our baby's noggin to come crashing in for impact. Crap. Took it apart. Lugged it back. Gahhhhhh!

Undaunted by lower back pain and mental distress, we picked out a nicer, gentler, more rounded and less deadly bed for our Boo. I give you—Tromsö:


So far, only one busted lip from the railing (knock on wood). She likes it so much she's already sleeping through the night without getting up! (KNOCK ON WOOD KNOCK ON WOOD X infinity)

Getting ready for baby #2

Wow! I can't believe we're about to be parents again. We're getting really excited and the little jumping bean is really doing somersaults in there. Elbows and knees and buttbones are all readily visable through Jenny's sweaters now. It's straight out of the Alien movies!

I hope this baby is as sweet and good as Sylvie Boo. She is really coming into her own personality, and aside from the occasional 2 year-old tantrum, she's really a sweet and loving child. We are so proud of her!

Sirens in D.C.

I work within spitting distance of the White House (I've tested it often), so whenever I hear air-raid type sirens I get a little "edgy." What with maniacs flying shit into buildings and all. One is going off right now. Gulp.

My Grandpa's Senior Photo

I posted my cheesy senior photo a few days ago. Here's my grandfather's (his name was also Joe V.):




He graduated class of 1936 from Moundsville High School in Moundsville, WV. It's a good thing his parents had immigrated from Spain in the earlier part of the century, as the Spanish Civil War began in 1936. He was the perfect fighting age to participate in that terrible conflict, but instead went door-to-door with his uncle collecting donations for the Republican government in the Spanish areas of West Virginia (which were quite substantial at the time).

He went on to Bliss Electrical Academy in Takoma, MD and returned to WV where he worked as an electrician in coal mines in southern West Virginia, which is where he met my grandmother.

In 1945 he shipped off to Japan and helped rebuild the electrical infrastructure in Yokahama until his early release from the Army due to my grandmother having a terrible car accident back home.

He spent most of his later years as the head of the electrical apprentice program for the West Virginia branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Every time I pass the IBEW offices here in D.C. I think of him with pride. He was truly dedicated to the Union cause.

I loved my grandpa very much, and I think he was pleased that I learned to speak Spanish and kept in touch with our family there. I still dream about him often.

Happy Easter People!

Lunchtime protests

On my lunch hour I went down to McPherson Sq. (15th and K, NW) to check out the protests going on there. It's a little disheartening to see the kinds of people down there. Mostly young students (which is good), freaks with purple mohawks (bad), old hippies (very bad), and WTO-style bandits bent on getting the cops to beat their asses on camera for the Internet (very, very bad).

At one point the whole group was staging in the middle of K St. (without a permit), so the cops came to move everyone to the sidewalk (see photos below). The cops, I must say, were very professional and businesslike, not taking the bait to kick the living shit out of the idiots in the front of the group trying their best to provoke them. Instead, the officers simply formed a line, and with a higher ranking officer in back of them shouting instructions to the crowd, gently pushed back the throngs. Nobody got hurt, the crowd moved back, and the protest continued.

During the crowd control maneuver, some Internet reporter wannabe runs up with her HD cameraman, yelling at him to "get them pushing the protesters!" I turned to her and told her my thoughts on her kind of biased "journalism": basically, her kind of b.s. reporting is what gives the protesters (and the protest) a bad name with the rank-and-file Americans out there and provides fodder for the right to use against the anti-war movement. It's one thing to report on police brutality, which, as we know, happens all too often in the U.S.A., but she was attempting to spin the D.C. cops as brutalizing the protesters, which was not true at all. I think my photos of the incident prove that:

Here's the crowd in the middle of K St.:

The cops ask people to move back to the sidewalk:


The police form a line and start gently shoving the protesters back:

All the while, a lame-ass Rage Against the Machine cover band drones on (I kid you not: the singer had dreads and everything, it was comical):

I really wish the anti-war movement could rid itself of the freaks and provocateurs so that it would have a chance of attracting normal Americans who are sick to death of the war but don't want to be associated with the idiot fringe. It's one of the big reasons the right could care less about the movement: nobody takes these people seriously.

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch...business as usual.

Five wasted years in Iraq

I work right downtown, one block off K Street, NW—the heart of big-time lobbying in D.C. Here's what I saw when I got in this morning:




As the last two pictures show, the cops were arresting protesters and putting them in the paddy wagon to be booked. I couldn't help but think the real people they need to be arresting live a few blocks south at the White House.

End this stupid, disgusting war now and put the resources toward fighting our real enemies in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia!!!!

Curlers on the Metro

Seen on my way to work this morning, I give you the following:



I've seen this lady on the Metro several times now rocking the curlers all the way downtown. Here's the thing I can't answer: She obviously cares enough about her appearance to curl her hair, so why is she totally unembarrassed to come out in public without bothering to remove the curlers, thus branding herself slovenly and lazy? Such are the mysteries of the world.

One for the ladies

Vintage Joe, circa 1987. Damn that suit was fine. Sorry girls, I'm taken.

Where in the World is Xose the Destroyer?

I like to think of myself as world-aware, and although I traveled a fair amount through my early 30s, when I actually map it out, it seems that I haven't really seen too much of the world firsthand. I've spent a bunch of time in Spain, of course, but I've never made it into much of Africa or any of Asia. Maybe someday I'll get on the stick and fill some more countries in orange.

Indoctrinate the kids

This is a toy that will not be in our house anytime soon. I wonder if it comes with two screeners that alternate between talking to each other about what color to paint their nails and screaming at grandmas to take their orthopedic shoes off?

Lawrence Welk Anomalies, Part XVII

Now for a "modern spiritual performed by Gail and Dale." Sweet Jesus indeed.

Ready, oh so ready, for the weekend

Man, is it just me, or do 4-day workweeks seem longer than the regular 5 days we normally slog through? I was preparing a meeting packet this week, and that's always brutal, but for some reason, it really kicked my culu this time.

We're going to brave the ice storm and go to our friends' house on Capitol Hill tonight for dinner. I need some conversation, vino, and good food like a mofo, let me tell you.

In other news, the baby is moving around inside Jenny all the time now, and we're trying to figure out whether it's playing soccer or dancing or both. I always put my mouth next to Jenny's belly and yell "What are you DOING in there?!?" :-) Jenny thinks it's weird, but it worked for Boo Boo when she was in there, and it will work for this one: they come out ready to rock! :-)

I've been getting together with my old bassist from MyLOH to play some new music. We are having my friend Etienne come over to play drums tomorrow and see it that clicks musically. Stay tuned for new music in the short term!

Gah! Will 5pm NEVER GET HERE?!?!?!?!?!

Colds in Md.

Jenny, Boo, and I are all sick with colds. Blah!

Our schools are seriously broken

Okay, it's official. Our educational system is totally effed, as far as I can tell.

This morning I had to get up at 5am to go stand in line to register my 2 year old daughter for preschool. Turns out that finding a secular, decent preschool not housed in the dingy basement of a rec hall is tougher than it would be thought.

We got in, but what a freaking hassle. The folks in the front of the line had been there since 7pm LAST NIGHT. Whoa.

At least we didn't have to interview for a spot or get asked to list our daughter's "qualifications" like some other preschools in the area require. QUALIFICATIONS?????? SHE'S FREAKING 2 YEARS OLD, YOU A-HOLES!

Gahhh!!!!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family and family friends out in cyberland.

We are sure to have an eventful 2008, and anxiously await the opportunities that come with expanding our family by one, getting more education, and living life to the fullest!

J,J,S

Hello everyone!

I hope everybody is having as much fun this holiday season as I am!

Fun Chicago Trip!

This weekend I went to Chi-town for a SNAP conference and got to see two of my good friends from college, Mariangela and Punky. It had been too long! We all went to grab some killer Thai food, drank some wine and martinis, and Punk and I went on to see a some random band play live. Great times!

No more band

I'm bandless again. I had to quit after a very torturous attempt at finding a practice time that wasn't in the middle of the two hours I play soccer every weekend. Apparently, those were the only two hours in the entire weekend that would work for the band. Not wanting to be unreasonable, I quit. Which sucks.

I really enjoyed playing our music. I enjoyed my bandmates, most of the time. And the music was fun. But that's the way it goes I guess.

I am now back to solo project mode. ¡Coño! is my band now, and you can find me on the InterWebs here: www.myspace.com/conocono

Good pre-Halloween weekend

Boo Boo and I had a fun weekend doing pre-Halloween activities like going pumpkin picking, attending the neighborhood Octoberfest party, and even making a construction-paper witch hat and broom.


Jenny and I have always loved Halloween, and I hope that Sylvie also does (so far, it's a big hit. Sylvie loves to play dress up with a million different hats and stuff, so Halloween isn't a big stretch. Can't wait to go trick or treating!


Also, my good friend Jane came to visit from NYC. We used to work and wine together out in Oakland/S.F., and it was really nice to see her again. Come back soon, Jane!

Grandparents in/Boo in hog heaven

Sylvie's grandma and papa are in town for the week and she couldn't be more excited about it. Also, mommy and I might as well not exist anymore... :-)

Me: "Where are you going?"
Boo: "Outside with grandma and papa."
Me: "Can I come too?"
Boo: "Daddy no come with us. Stay inside."

Well, at least I know where I am in the pecking order! :-)

Ain't that a kick in the head?

Ouch. Got fouled hard on the pitch this Sunday and took a knee to the side of the noggin. That freaking hurt. Goose egg ensued. :-(

Scored a freaking awesome goal with my left foot, though, so that made everything all right. :-)

Boo Boo and I made a bird house this weekend, which was exciting and fun for both of us. Mommy got time off for good behavior this weekend. :-)

Yes! Take that, oxymoronic Patriot Act!

Federal Judge, and American Hero, Ann Aiken struck down as unconstitutional a large part of the Patriot Act yesterday in Seattle. Finally, the courts are doing the job the Congress is too terrified to do: protecting the 1st amendment rights of Americans from the Bush-led tyranny machine.

In her decision, Hon. Judge Aiken wrote the following wise words:

"For over 200 years, this Nation has adhered to the rule of law - with unparalleled success. A shift to a Nation based on extra-constitutional authority is prohibited, as well as ill- advised. In this regard, the Supreme Court has cautioned:

'The price of lawful public dissent must not be a dread of subjection to an unchecked surveillance power. Nor must the fear of unauthorized official eavesdropping deter vigorous citizen dissent and discussion of Government action in private conversation. For private dissent, no less than open public discourse, is essential to our free society.'"

You go, girl!

Awesome vacation in Wild, Wonderful WV

We went down to our place on the Greenbrier river in WV for a whole week last week...what a blast!

My folks were there with us, which means that Sylvie Boo was in heaven bossing grandma and papa around the place: "Papa do it!" was the common refrain of the week.

Boo Boo caught her first fish ever, a tiny bluegill barely bigger than the lure itself, and when my mom asked her if she caught a fish she yelled, "YES! BIG ONE!" :-)

I did indeed catch a big 17" smallmouth bass on the last day, which is always a thrill. I was by myself in the canoe, a long way down the river from the camp, and didn't have a net with me. As I was de-hooking the fish with my thumb in its mouth I had a sudden image of the fish squirming and impaling my thumb on the treble hook in its mouth. All I could think was, "how the hell am I gonna paddle home with a fish stuck to my hand?"

Luckily, I successfully got the lure unhooked and returned the monster to the depths to breed other 17" fish.

Jenny and I had a date at the Greenbrier resort, which was fantastic. We had lunch by the infinity pool and then did a tour of the secret, underground bunker where Congress would hide in case of a nuclear attack. That was really cool. If you think that the X-Files type secret government stuff only happens on TV, you're mistaken. Crazy stuff.

It was really hard to come home and go back to work. What a great week!

Birthday awsomeness weekend

What a great weekend! My b-day and Labor Day festivities usually coincide and this year was no different. Our long weekend was chock full of fun stuff, including the following:

• A Syrah-themed wine party on Saturday night

• Playing soccer on Sunday morning (scored a b-day goal and Jenny and Boo came to watch!)

• Band practice on Monday (using my spankin' new Squier Affinity Telecaster I got from my folks for my b-day--thanks!)

• About six hours' worth of soccer watching (Let's Go, Fulham! Let's Go, Fulham! Let's Go, Fulham!)

• Watched "Little Miss Sunshine," which was charming and funny and cute and really, just downright nice and awesome. Watch it!

Hope you all had a great one, too!

Let kids be kids! PLEASE!

What is this country coming to? Seriously. A school in Co. has banned the game "tag" on its playgrounds.

The reason? "...some children complained they were harassed or chased against their will. "It causes a lot of conflict on the playground," said Cindy Fesgen, assistant principal...."

For god's sake! Maybe a sane person would take the opportunity to just teach the teasing children why it's not polite to tease and the teased children how to stand up for themselves. But that's not the new, lazy, fear-ridden American way. We'll just ban something else. Asinine to the nth degree.

Other playground casualties of the new FearUSA® school systems:

• Monkey bars
• See-saws
• Fun of any kind that isn't sponsored by Disney, Elmo, or some other TV shite.

Blech weather

Things are grey grey grey right now in the Capital city, although the heat has abated, which is nice. It's supposed to get back up there this weekend, though. Maybe a trip to the pool will be in order!

This is how I feel.

From the fine folks at DieselSweeties.com. Apparently, Indie Rock Pete and I have more in common than good looks.

Happy B-Day to my sweetie!

Someone special's b-day is just about here! I love you honey!

What the hell is going on here?

This insane, illegal war in Iraq has left our soldiers and Marines resulting to SS- and Gestapo-style operational tactics. It is truly horrifying and disgusting to read in The Nation first-hand accounts of the brutal tactics we are employing in Iraq.

From the article:

Once they were in front of the home, troops, some wearing Kevlar helmets and flak vests with grenade launchers mounted on their weapons, kicked the door in, according to Sergeant Bruhns, who dispassionately described the procedure:

"You run in. And if there's lights, you turn them on--if the lights are working. If not, you've got flashlights.... You leave one rifle team outside while one rifle team goes inside. Each rifle team leader has a headset on with an earpiece and a microphone where he can communicate with the other rifle team leader that's outside.

"You go up the stairs. You grab the man of the house. You rip him out of bed in front of his wife. You put him up against the wall. You have junior-level troops, PFCs [privates first class], specialists will run into the other rooms and grab the family, and you'll group them all together. Then you go into a room and you tear the room to shreds and you make sure there's no weapons or anything that they can use to attack us.

"You get the interpreter and you get the man of the home, and you have him at gunpoint, and you'll ask the interpreter to ask him: 'Do you have any weapons? Do you have any anti-US propaganda, anything at all--anything--anything in here that would lead us to believe that you are somehow involved in insurgent activity or anti-coalition forces activity?'

"Normally they'll say no, because that's normally the truth," Sergeant Bruhns said. "So what you'll do is you'll take his sofa cushions and you'll dump them. If he has a couch, you'll turn the couch upside down. You'll go into the fridge, if he has a fridge, and you'll throw everything on the floor, and you'll take his drawers and you'll dump them.... You'll open up his closet and you'll throw all the clothes on the floor and basically leave his house looking like a hurricane just hit it.

"And if you find something, then you'll detain him. If not, you'll say, 'Sorry to disturb you. Have a nice evening.' So you've just humiliated this man in front of his entire family and terrorized his entire family and you've destroyed his home. And then you go right next door and you do the same thing in a hundred homes."

Our troops must look a hell of a lot like the Nazis looked to the German-occupied areas of WWII. We are the world's boogieman now. We used to be its beacon of freedom. Unreal.

Hace mucho calor...demasiado calor.

Damn it's hot. And muggy. Ugh.

Better than trudging through snow any day of the week, though!

Pool and the City

Yesterday Sylvia and I finally went to the pool again.
We had a great time other than the evil children incident.

I got my first taste of kids who are already "mean girls."
One child shoved another child into the baby pool and the parent justified the shove saying, "well your daughter touched my daughter's house she was building..." OK. That freaked me out.
When did parents stop parenting? Also note that these were not "big kids," they were only a bit older than Sylvia. It's amazing how the personalities are already formed. These same girls also kept taking toys from Sylvia and not sharing and one even would tease Sylvia and act like she was going to give her a toy and then would yank it away as Sylvia grabbed at it. Needless to say, I promptly removed her from the situation and got her away from the girls. At least I know who to avoid next time we're there.

Today we went into DC and visited the bookstore, Politics and Prose. I bought her a new book, "Polar Bear, Polar Bear what do you hear?" She's already off reading it! :O)

Feast of Stephen Reunion Now Live on the Web!

It's finally here! The Radio Free Charleston documentary on the Feast of Stephen reunion is now live and on the Web! Special thanks to Rudy Panucci, the brains behind RFC; Jerry Fugate, our intrepid cameraman and great friend; Brian Young, who ran the mixing board; and especially the other guys in the band: Tommy, Rad, Dan, Bob, and Fred, you guys are my musical brothers forever!

Surf, don't walk, over to Radio Free Charleston right now to watch this great show. You can see out-takes from the rehearsal the night before (which include our biggest hit, "Gomec") on the Feast of Stephen Website (look to the left-hand side of the screen under the band info). And Rudy gives the background on the show on his Myspace blog.

This was a fantastic experience for me and the guys, and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we did. This is Stephen. Witness His Feast.

Butterflies are free

Yesterday Syl and I had a nice day:
Dropped Daddy off at Metro, then drove to the ATM, then went to the post office, then we went to Brookside Gardens (home of my 2010 Art Show) to see the butterfly exhibit.
We met my friend from my old job and her new baby.
It was really a beautiful morning...we walked around the gardens first, looked at the roses and then the wisteria and Syl was obsessed with the fountains. If there is water, she will go to it.
The butterfly exhibit is amazing. There were these HUGE blue and brown butterflies and foot long (wing span) rainbow moths. Really incredible and located 10 min from our house.

Today, alas, was not so fun. We were stuck in the house all morning waiting for the washer repair people. They finally came and then asked to use OUR WD-40. Crazy. And I think the WD-40 might have done the trick. But I will test for the weird noise again tomorrow.
I need to find a better repair person, pronto.

Still likin' those cheap Chinese imports, America?

• Poisoned pet food (that killed my dad's dog, btw)
• Poisoned tooth paste
• Poisoned cough syrup
• Lead paint used on children's toys

And now this lovely chemical burn-inducing flip-flop disaster. Gross!

Also, check out this huge timeline of dangerous Chinese crap blithly imported onto our shores.

Free trade isn't feeling so free these days.

Creative Cutie

Today we met some of my friends and their kids at the Smithsonian for a performance of "Dance Africa!" Well, there was no dancing (at least at the beginning) so poor Sylvia freaked out and we had to punt. She had been prepping in the car on the way down. Dancing, wiggling her shoulders and getting ready to boogie. All her friends were fidgety and I think that it also why she wanted to leave...sorta a monkey see, monkey do situation. I have to admit that she did follow the directions of performer really well, but I think the performance was better for bigger kids.
SO, after we left, we headed to a farmer's market on the Mall with our friends and Syl picked out three beautiful tomatoes and a cantaloupe. YUM.
Then we rode the carousel. Then we walked to the Hirshorn Museum.
Then we came home. Breathe IN, breathe out!

We actually went to the Hirshorn earlier this week and the carousel and the Hirshorn's Scultpure Garden but she wanted to go again today. We went to the 2nd floor today of the museum. Tuesday we went to the 3rd floor. Next week we'll try the National Gallery of Art.


We had a lot of adventures this week that I will blog about later but I am too tired to type more tonight.

I'll take the back seat, please

According to a new study by Popular Mechanics magazine, you are WAY more likely to survive an airplane crash if you are behind the wings. Here's the diagram:



Photo by PopularMechanics.com

New look for an old blog

We've updated the Googleiffic back-end templates for the blog and since we were doing that anyway, we figured, what the hell, some new colors couldn't hurt! Whatchuthinkaboutdat?

Full Summer Mode

We've been in FSM lately: Barbequeing every night or just about every night, hitting the pools (both backyard and cement variety) with the Boo, and sipping on nectar and ice. The weather here in the DC Metro has been hot and dry, with less humidity than we normally get swamped with this time of year.

The skeeters have been held at bay a bit by the lack of rain, which has been a godsend. We've actually been able to let Sylvie play in the yard this summer! Crazy!!!!

Hope all of our friends and family are having as good a summer as we are!

A whole month with no blog! WTF?

Man, have we been slacking. Sorry folks.

We've been super busy lately with a bunch of family in town for the Boo's b-day, and things aren't settling down too much even now between various board committments, work, soccer, playdates, blah blah blah! Whew. I'm tired even typing it!

I'm really enjoying playing soccer again. My touch still isn't back to my EBOT glory days, but it's getting there. I did get my big toe stomped though, and it's having a hard time healing properly. Oh well, the price of futbol.

Bada boom, bada b

And that was that.

I was blown away by the Soprano's ending last night. It was a perfect way to do it. After all, this show has always been about the "normal" life as a Mob boss, not Goodfellas inspired shootouts. Well done.

I'm Internet Famous!

The newest edition of Rudy Panucci's fantastic videoblog, Radio Free Charleston, is now online! After the end credits roll, The Feast of Stephen, my old band, is featured in an Easter Egg doing a blistering version of "No Vaccination." It takes a minute to download the whole thing, due to the general crapitude of the Charleston Gazette's servers, but it is worth the wait, let me tell you!

This was the second take of the song with no prior rehearsals whatsoever. It's amazing to me that we could be so tight as a band after so long apart from each other. Fun stuff.

Here's what some comments on Rudy's blog had to say:

I’d only heard of The Feast Of Stephen. Never got a chance to see them. The name is spoken in hushed tones, as though holy relics are being discussed. That was awesome beyond belief. I can’t wait until episode 23. --Mexican Romeo

Jesus Christ, man. That extra song after the end credits is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen from the local music scene. Kudos all around. When do we get to read the notes on that? --Longtime Listener

...But the surprise song. I didn’t even know Bob Miller was still in the area. Melted my aging heart to see The Feast Of Stephen perform together. I can’t wait for episode 23! --Mountain Woman PhD

You hit us with Whistlepunk 2.0, which is amazing, and then you BLAST OUR BUTTS OFF with Feast Of Stephen!!! How are you gonna top this? --Fred Martin

Thanks for the compliments, folks! I can't wait for episode 23 either!

Cupcakes for the Cure

The Komen Race for the Cure is June 2nd, here in Washington DC.
To raise money for this organization and the disease that has affected many of my family members and friends of our family, I am baking pink cupcakes and selling them on June 2nd at our neighborhood yard sale.
I will post again with photos of the cupcakes and let you know how we did.

Save the Date: Spring 2010

My floral photography portfolio was accepted to Brookside Gardens for their art show!
Now I just have to wait THREE YEARS before I can show my work!

Sylvia and I went to Brookside Gardens today for their butterfly exhibit. We met another mom from the 'hood there, with her daughter.

Huge blue and brown butterflies were everywhere and would land on you!
There were butterflies of all colors and sizes but the large ones were breathtaking.
Sylvia had a good time and did not get scared of the flying "bugs!" Though she covered her eyes if they flew too close...

Feast of Stephen Reunion

What a weekend!!!

On Friday, I went down to West Virginia for a 2-day media extravaganza consisting of the U.S. premiere of the AsturianUS documentary (I'm interviewed on the big screen!) and the 15-year reunion of my college band, The Feast of Stephen.

The movie was fantastic and very moving, and I hope it gets a DVD release here in the states so more people can see how the Asturian zinc workers came to West Virginia to begin a new life. It's a bittersweet story and one well worth telling. Kudos to the filmmaker, Luis Argeo, an Asturian himself who now lives and works in Madrid and is a hell of a nice guy.

But the real magic of the weekend for me was the FOS reunion. I really did not know what to expect after so many years. For one, I was really skeptical that all of the guys (there were 5 of us) would be able to clear their schedules to make it, but they all did. A minor miracle, to be sure.

It was a testament to these guys' wealth of talent that in less than three hours of practice -- after not playing together in the same room for fifteen years, mind you -- we had a list of seven songs that we could play as solidly as any band out there.

I think my friend Dave T. said it best when he said the whole evening was like being "in the best effing way-back machine ever." The memories came pouring back after the first notes we played. Honestly, it was like we had never been apart, with Rad and I locking in to weave guitar parts underpinned by Tommy and Dan's solid, popping grooves. As always, the icing was Bob's gritty vocals and lyrics, which give our songs the power to really move people. Even the enigmatic Fred showed up on the second night to bring his trademark percussion magic....

Granted, due to the short amount of rehearsal time we had, some of the more complicated numbers had to be left in the past (Forbidden Dance and Watch Me Plow were both a little too out there, alas), but the final set list was nothing to sneeze at:Gomec, Blue Turbin, Ward 7, Escape the Man, Tired of Sinking, Bankrobber, and Mystery Hole all made their appearances.

The highlight of the sessions for me was a totally unrehearsed, BLAZING rendition of No Vaccination on the second night when we were taping for an upcoming edition of Rudy Panucci's Radio Free Charleston podcast. It was simply crushing.

Throughout the weekend other long-lost faces from the past filtered through: the aforementioned Dave T., my childhood friend and great percussionist; Dave M., singer of the Mad Scientist Club and the engineer who produced the FOS recordings; Sean R., lead singer of StrawFyssh and my favorite songwriter; Spencer E., lead singer for Mother Nang and now in a WhistlePunk with Dan; it was a veritable who's who of musical giants from Charleston.

A special thanks goes out to Jerry F., who came both nights and to the movie too, and took some killer footage for us. I'll post that up as soon as I can this week.

All in all, a fantastic weekend. I won't soon forget it.

Snow!

We woke up this morning to snow! Last week we had some awesome days where it was in the 70's and 80's and now this...was not ready to go back to Winter.

Since we thought the weather was finally getting warm, Sylvia and I have been going on many adventures together:
-we did a drive-by of the Cherry Blossom trees
-went to the National Aquarium,
-walked in the Smithsonian Castle's garden
-walked on the Mall,
-walked around and looked at the artwork at the Hirshorn
this was all in one morning!!!! PHEW.

We also have been going to Brookside Gardens a lot, so Sylvia can run free.

She's been able to wear her Spring hat as well as ride around in her wagon.

This week she was a "lady who lunches" as we went to lunch at Cafe Deluxe with mama's friend from work, Meg.

She also helped mama pick out some new hedges for the house; Dada had to pull out four dead azaleas last weekend and now we have to find replacement plants.

How we spent our Sunday afternoon

Two two GO! We “run” beside the girl with the bright blue eyes and golden hair.
Two two GO! Around the block we venture out. Up and down the street.
Peals of laughter.
Two two GO! Oh wait, we pause and look at the sky, “Aiwrplane!” And yes, the white speck far, far away is indeed, an airplane.
Ok, people gotta focus.
Two two go! We continue to “race” our 20 month old home.
Everyone STOP! What is that? LEAF!!!! STICK!!!! SQUIRREL!!!!!
The girl asks for “hand, hand” and we each give her one of ours.

Video of My Life on Hold

Hi all! Here's a video of my band's first gig at the Velvet Lounge in DC.... Enjoy!

The inconvenient security that wasn't

I thought I would share with you my experience with Secret Service security procedures this morning, as I found them to be troubling on several levels. When I arrived to work, the entrance to my building (on 17th and L Sts. NW) was behind a police line. Even though my building's main entrance was a mere 50 feet away, the DC Police officer told me that he could not escort me to my building due to Secret Service orders. Apparently, Dick Cheney was in the Mayflower hotel next door and the block had been secured.

While this was a major inconvenience, it was not the disturbing part of the story. What's disturbing is that to enter my supposedly secured building, all I had to do was walk through the bar/restaurant in the basement (their entrance is on L St.) to the elevator, and then off I went into the building.

How can the Secret Service consider a building secure from terrorists when they don't even bother to find and secure all entrances to the building? This is just yet another example of the bogus "security" we purport to have in this country. As with the asinine procedures at the airport, this was simply an empty show of force with no real efficacy. If a lowly office worker can slip into a secured building unnoticed, how hard would it be for someone determined to cause real harm?

God doesn't care about the AFC Championship Game

I don't know about you, but it really bugs me when people in sporting events act like god helped them win.

Last night, the Colts' owner and their coach both had to thank god for letting them win. Does that mean that god hates Tom Brady? I guess god was taking a snooze when the Pats kicked the Colts out of the playoffs for a few years there? WTF?

If you believe in god, wouldn't you think he'd have better things to worry about (Darfur, Iraq, homelessness, Afghanistan, Somalia, kids being murdered in wars all over the world, etc.) than whether or not some millionaires won in a child's game?

Get over yourselves, people. You're not that important.

Go Bears.

Lazy = brain sucker

This product freaked me out.
It's a motorized snot sucker for your infant's nose.
They should have a warning: "could suck your child's brain, right out of it's head."
Yes, it's a bummer to have to use a manual nasal aspirator but seems alot safer to use the one that the hospital uses, yes?


Nasal Clear

The only aspirator that really works! You told us that when it comes to your sick baby, manual nasal aspirators don't measure up. They're invasive, inefficient — and they make already stuffy babies even more uncomfortable. That's why this ingenious electronic aspirator is worth its weight in gold. It suctions so effectively, you barely touch it to baby's nostrils, and before he can squirm, you're done! It even plays distracting songs. You'll congratulate yourself for buying it every time you use it...and you'll use it for years. With see-thru collection cup and two soft tips. Requires 2 "AA" batteries (sold separately). Newborns and up. Note: Due to health reasons, we are unable to accept returns on any opened packages.

My Life on Hold

Well, the band (My Life on Hold...or MyLOH, for short) is really coming together. We've recorded four demos that we're using to (we hope) get some gigs around town...stay tuned on that front.

Ken's addition as singer was the final piece of the puzzle, and we are writing new songs like crazy now. I think it's sounding really good. I can't wait to get out there and play for folks!

Time to gloat

I hate to be a sore winner but...oh what the hell....

EAT IT YOU REPUBLICAN LOSERS!!!! We control the Congress as of RIGHT NOW!!!

Feels damn good, I must admit. :-)

Photo from www.washingtonpost.com

Happy New Year!`

Wow. 2007? WTH? Where did 2006 go?

Anyway, here's hoping all of you had a great Xmas and New Year's Day! Ours was spent at home in MD with my folks (well, Xmas at least). The baby had a blast, and we were even presented with the first of I'm sure what will be many insane temper tantrums... :-)

Sylvia for Quesident 2008

Please vote for her.

It's time for a change.

Chicago pix -- FINALLY!

Long overdue posting this photo, but I just got around to downloading photos from my fabulous trip to Chicago in October.

Here I am with my good friend Mari and her ex-roommate, Chris. We went to a jazz club to see some KILLER live music. Mari's old neighborhood was a touch gritty (in a very cool way) and it really set the atmosphere for live jazz in Chicago.

It was great to see her again and catch up. Jenny and I are very lucky to have such good friends all over the country, and the world, for that matter. We hope all of you have a fantastic holiday season!

Dear Metro driver: SHUT IT!

Metro here in DC is well-known for its low-hassle, clean transit experience (at least it's well-know to me for those things). But occasionally I'll get on a train with a frustrated DJ as driver. This is the kind of driver that WILL NOT STOP TALKING OVER THE INTERCOM THE ENTIRE WAY IN TO WORK AND HAS TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE STOPS, THE ELEVATORS, THE TIME OF DAY, THE...oh, were the all caps getting on your nerves? Well that's what the unrelenting chatter does to me.

Life's damn good, otherwise, though. And that's saying something! Have a great Tuesday!

She is no longer a baby

Though, I still call her my baby.
Here's some random facts about Syl:

No more baby food...
Her latest fave food is Trader Joe's "Pizza Rustico" which has kalamata olives and goat cheese on it. She also loves whole wheat waffles, with Fage yogurt on top.
Luxe life. She eats better than I do.

She is amazing at spotting "aiwr-pwane" and "woof woofs" and asks to watch "Hi-Fibe!?" while holding up 4 fingers.

She LOVES to wear hats. I have about five that my mom knitted her available at all times to let her put on and take off a million times in a row. She also likes to wear her pink pilot hat.

She greets Dada at the door each night when he comes home from work with a very loud, "hi-EYE-iii!!!"

She loves when we video tape her or take her picture. She also does a fake laugh, so she's known as "Hollywood" when she hams it up.

She finds squirrels and birds the MOST fascinating creatures EVER and greets them with her Pterodactyl yell. Also, Christmas lights on houses are VERY exciting and she screams and points at every one!

I will end this post with this thought:
I think she is a very cool kid because she is especially nice to older people and people in wheelchairs. She always says hi to them and I have been told by many a stranger that Sylvia saying "HI!" to them, made their day.

Have we overmilitarized our police forces?

There seems to be a trend in this country whereby the police are becoming less and less civilian protectors of the people and more and more of a military-type shock force, willing to use unjustified force to subdue suspects or borderline illegal coersion to trick people into giving up their civil rights.

More often than ever you see police officers in military-style clothing, with military-style weapons and tactics (for example, my home town of Oak Hill, with a population of a scant 7,000 people, has a K-9 unit—why?). It's only natural, then, for the officers to begin to think of themselves as a military unit, not a part of the population in general.

You see an example of the first problem cited above in this video of a recent tasering incident at UCLA. The police there taser a student multiple times instead of simply handcuffing and arresting him. More troubling is that his charge was not being in possession of his student ID. Hardly a major offense.

The second problem, that of coersion of suspects by trickery or intimidation, can be seen simply by watching the show "Cops." Time and again, suspects stopped for a minor infraction are told that the cops will go easy on them if they consent to a search of their vehicle. This is not true. The cops cannot "go harder" on you if you do not cooperate, and you are under NO OBLIGATION to grant a search of your vehicle, which is why the police ask for permission. Check out this great instructional video by the ACLU advising Americans of their rights when confronted by the police. It should be required viewing in civics classes (as if they still taught civics nowadays).

Also troubling is the habit of police officers to refer to the general populace as "civilians," as if they somehow have a lower status. In fact, the police officers are civilians as well.

I fully understand that being a police officer is a demanding, dangerous, and many times, thankless job. That's why I'm very grateful to the citizens of this country who choose the calling to protect and serve us. But having a dangerous, important job does not give a police organization or individual officers free reign to trample over the rights of the populace.

First A_nimal Board meeting!

Okay, I'm back to the underline code for this post, so break out your Enigma machines. Had my first meeting as an official, County-Executive-affirmed A_nimal Ma_tters Hea_ring B_oard member last night. The case involved whether or not to affirm the decision to declare a dog dangerous. The debate was not contentious, and my side won. This should be interesting. The next meeting is Wednesday night, and involves a barking complaint. We'll have to suss out whether or not this is a real complaint or just some neighbors looking for leverage against one another.

Arghh! Plumbing debacle in the works

I usually try to do most household repairs on my own, as a way to save dough and also just because I really enjoy fixing things around the house. My dad and I installed a new (used) dishwasher last week, for example.

But for some jobs, you simply have to call in the big guns. Take, if you will, a corroded, leaking bathtub trap. Now that's a replacement job in need of specialized tools and specialized skills. Unfortunately for us, those things cost a lot of specialized money.

We've been using the downstairs bathroom for showering for the last couple of weeks, and it looks like this will continue until we get the second estimate for replacing the upstairs bathtub trap. I'm not looking forward to the hole in my downstairs ceiling or the hole in my bank account. Ugh.

Grandparent madness!

Sylvie is currently in hog heaven, with grandma and grandpa in town for the weekend. She's also starting to do "babble talking" more and more. It's really funny because she uses correct intonation, but the words are all jibberish. Kind of like her daddy before coffee in the morning.

Moth-eaten cardigan sweaters are on aisle 7

So I was in Lowe's in Bowie Md yesterday buying a new showerhead for our downstairs bathroom. I had on standard November weekend attire, which for me is a boggin, flannel shirt, blue jeans (modern stylish ones that Jenny bought me), Vans, and my Carhardtt black jacket. Also I was unshaven and suitibly scruffy.

Apparently my wardrobe brought a flashback upon the girl who checked me out (in both senses of the phrase). As she finished scanning my items she blurted out, apropos of nothing, "I really like grunge. I wish I wouldn't have thrown out all those albums I had in college. I was looking for them the other day." I replied in the most delicate manner I could muster that MY WIFE and I also had regrets about some long lost CDs. She grinned sheepishly and I left, flattered yet somehow troubled.

Grunge is not the look I usually shoot for these days. I guess it's better than being confused for a gay man, which is what usually happens.

Kicking Ass!

What can I say? Other than SWEET!!!!!!

Now if we can solidify the wins in VA and MT all will be seriously good. I'm very happy this morning!

Great job Mr. Dean!

More, and different, board member madness

Well, guess who is the newest member of the M_ontgomery C_ounty A_nimal M_atters H_earing B_oard? That's right, M_e. (If I keep doing stuff I don't want Googled, this site is going to need an Enigma machine.)

The deal is this: I'm trying to become more active in the community and also strenghen my resume without resorting to grad school. I figured being on a board or two couldn't hurt, so I started applying to several county board openings that I thought would be interesting and fulfilling. I had a couple interviews, and ended up getting nominated to be on the A_nimal M_atters H_earing B_oard. Pretty cool!

What does the board do? Well think of the show Animal Cops. The board members are the ones who get to work after the cops do their thing to rule on disputes involving animals. So let's say your neighbor's mutt won't shut up. You file a complaint with the county. The board decides who's right and who's wrong. Or...let's say you keep your horse tied up with no food or water. We decide whether or not you get a hefty fine. Same for dangerous animals in the neighborhood, enforcing leash laws, etc.

The cool thing about this gig is that I'll (one hopes) be in the postion to be able to actually do some real good in the community. I hope that I'll be able to play a part in keeping people and animals in the county safe and happy. I'm looking forward to getting started with it. Wish me luck!

Travel mania

Went to Chicago for a conference last week and this week I'm in NYC for another one! Whew! Jenny's mom came in to stay with her and the baby while I'm away, so that's good.

Last night I went down to the Lower East Side to get some dinner and see some bands, both of which were very good. Silo, in particular, was fantastic. I went with a good buddy of mine from D.C., Keith. Neither of us knew the other was coming to the show, so it's a good thing we ran into each other on the exhibit hall floor. Strange how those types of things work out.

I really love NYC. I'm not sure living here would be all it was cracked up to be if you didn't pull in at least $500K/year, though. It would be torture to have to scrape by on PB&J with all these good restaurants just sitting there taunting you every night.

Long time, no blog. Sorry.

Sorry all for the long time between blogs. We've been really busy lately, for several reasons--not the least of which is that I've accepted a new job: A_ctuarial S_tandards B_oard P_rogram M_anager (underlines inserted to prevent Googling eyes).

It's still the same company, but I'll be doing new, different, and exciting things. Plus I get a bigger office with a bank of windows overlooking scenic L Street. Schweet.

There are certain aspects of the job that I have definite reservations about (taking minutes at board meetings, doing on-the-fly editing on a big screen projected in front of the board), but I feel that I'll be up to the challenge!

I'll be editing A_ctuarial S_tandards of P_ractice and a newsletter, as well as doing the print buying for said publications, so I've got that going for me. Gunga Ga-...Gunga Galunga.

Movin' on up, just like the Jeffersons.

Book published!

My mom's cousins' book is going to be available at the end of October.
This is SO exciting!
Please check it out as my Grandma Ida's recipes should be in there.
I am so proud.

Follow-up on my eye surgery

Well, that certainly sucked. The procedure only lasted about 10 minutes, but I've got to tell you, that crap that they inject into your face to numb it freaking kills. It must have the viscosity of maple syrup, because it seemed like he was slowly squeezing a pound of acid into my eye socket. It really hurt.

They then clamped my eye open with a device straight out of "A Clockwork Orange" and removed a small amber pellet out of my eyelid. Sorry if this is TMI, by the way. Turns out a sty had gone evil and decided to crystalize and stay a while. Not fun.

Pretty much back to normal now, though, thank goodness.

Dread

I have to go into the opthamologist today to have minor eyelid surgery. I'm really dreading it, as it involves several sharp objects being inserted into my face. I'm not good with needles in the best of circumstances, and having someone poke one into my eyelid is not the most fun thing I can think of to do this afternoon. Wish me luck.

Election Day Fiasco

Well, here in MD, it's primary election day. I usually never miss the chance to vote, so I made my way first thing this morning to the neighborhood elementary school that doubles as my polling place. Unfortunately, I was unable to cast my vote.

Here in decently upscale Montgomery County, we apparently have trouble getting voter authorization cards to the electronic voting machines on time. So, I was informed upon my arrival that I would not be able to vote electronically, but I could wait 30 minutes and cast a provisional ballot. I didn't have 30 minutes. Like most folks, I had to go to work. So I left.

The volunteer told me that the polls will remain open until 8pm, and possibly later, and I will trek back after work. But I wonder how many folks won't bother to make the second effort. Probably most of them.

Why, oh why, is it so freaking difficult to vote (and have your vote actually counted) in this country? It's high time that America gets its collective sh!t together on this issue.

Coal keeps WV poor

This weekend, West Virginia University played Marshall in the first annual "Friends of Coal" Bowl in Morgantown. WVU predictibly whooped Marshall, but for me, the game was marred by the near-constant pro-coal industry sales pitch by the announcers, commercials, and "special guests" in the booth. Former Marshall coach Bob Pruett and former WVU coach Don Nehlen, both on the pro-industry lobby group's payroll as spokespeople, told about all the glories of the coal industry and the massive force of good it is for our humble state.

Let me say that my family have been heavily involved in coal mining going back several generations. Coal miners are not the problem. In fact, my grandfathers on both sides and my great-grandfather on my dad's side were all miners. My dad was a federal mine inspector for 35+ years. My dad and mom do not share my views on mining, and point out, rightly, that money from mining and, in my case, inspecting mines, put me through college and gave us a nice place to live. This is true.

Several thousand people in WV make a damn good living by being coal miners, with salaries averaging around $65,000, well above the norm in the state. The "Friends of Coal" group makes much hay about how many jobs in WV mining produces. They act as if the whole state would collapse should mining go away, or god forbid, be regulated and properly taxed. But just how many miners are actually working in WV?

16,455 miners. That's it. That means that coal mining employs 0.9% of the state's population. (My numbers come from the 2002 Census, if you're wondering.)

Do you know what Don Blankenship, CEO of WV's biggest coal company, Massey Energy, made in 2003? $6,105,714 (according to salary.com). That's per year.

McDowell county, which has produced more coal than any other county in the state, has a per capita income of $17,622 (as of 2005). That means it would take the average citizen of McDowell county 347 years to make what Dandy Don makes in a single year. In fact, Don makes in a single day about what our average Joe in Welch takes a whole year to earn. If he has a job, that is. The unemployment rate in McDowell county is 8.6%. Ouch. Seen in that light, coal doesn't look so good for McDowell county, after all.

Coal (and more recently, timber) have made up the lion's share of West Virginia's industrial base since the state broke away from VA during the Civil War. Through all those years, coal has been the engine that drove West Virginia's economy. It's given thousands upon thousands of workers jobs throughout those years (and it gave a lot of them black lung, too, but we'll ignore that for now). I won't dispute that. So what has been the end result of all those great years of mining? Surely, such a fantastic industry would have turned West Virginia into one of the richest, most progressive places in the nation, right? Wrong.

After 150 years of coal mining, WV is

50th in Median Income: $24,880
Number 8 in amount of persons below poverty level: 16.7%
3rd in unemployment: 7.5%
50th in persons 25 or older with a bachelor's degree: 15.3%
40th in teacher's salaries: $38,461
5th in infant mortality: 9.1/1000 births

No matter how you slice it, that sucks. My point is that for all the snowjobs put forth by ex-football coaches and bass pros, the hard facts are that WV has never done all that well under the coal regime, even in the best of times--the '50s--when coal companies still actually employed people to mine coal instead of giant mechanical draglines.

And speaking of giant, mechanical draglines, those monstrosities gouge out huge chunks of the Appalachian skyline day after day, enriching guys like Blankenship and other out-of-state corporations (Massey, for example, is located in Richmond, VA--well away from the horrors it inflicts on our mountainsides.)

On Saturday, FOC spokesman Nehlen said to the announcer "Some people don't like us because we sometimes make a little bit of a mess." Count me as some people Don. WV is a great place. I just hope that the people living there wake up to the fact that "coal = jobs" is a myth before it's too late and they are living on a landscape that looks more like the moon than the lush paradise they grew up with.

Japanese TV is truly weird...and hilarious!

This is apparently an instructional video for young women on vacation to the U.S. who are expecting to be robbed by a dude with a bandana tied upside down on his bald head. The looks on the dancers' faces don't quite seem to match the phrases they chant... "spare me my life...spare me my life..."

Very bizarre.

Almost like a sick joke on all of us

According to this article in today's Washington Post, a plane from Britain to Dulles was diverted to Logan Intl. in Boston due to a claustrophobic woman going a tad nutso in the cabin.

According to the story (bold added by me for emphasis), "Her behavior was reported to the pilot, who diverted the plane to Boston. The woman did not have a screwdriver, the officials said, but she did have matches of a type that are allowed on flights. She also had hand cream, which should not have made it through security at Heathrow under the new rules formulated last week."

Come again? Certainly it did not just say that you could bring FREAKING MATCHES onto a plane, but hand cream was verboten?

Certainly the Post made an error here, right? Nope. According to the Transportation Security Administration Web site, "You may not bring matches in your checked baggage because of safety regulations. You may, however, bring up to four books of safety (non-strike anywhere) matches in your carry-on baggage or on your person. For safety reasons, you may not bring “strike anywhere” matches at all."

Oh, and incidentally, my swiss army knife with a 2 1/2" blade? Not allowed. Metal, sharp-pointed scissors with a 4" blade? Allowed. Does this make sense to anyone???

This just goes to show how much of a farce this whole airline security show really is. Unreal.