Friday, November 17, 2006

UW vs. Northern Iowa

I went to Tuesday night's Husky game vs. Northern Iowa. It was a close game (both teams shot absolutely horribly); Huskies pulled away at the end thanks to a 3-point bomb by Appleby and a steal/fastbreak layup by Dentmon. We eventually won by 9.

Local Washington boy Jon Brockman is accompanied by Ryan Appleby on the regional cover of Sports Illustrated this week (below). Interesting that SI chose not to put our 7-foot McDonald's All-American Freshman, Spencer Hawes, on there. Who, by the way, was very impressive vs. Northern Iowa. He has a soft touch, good free throw shooter, and likes to shoot both left and right handed hook shots.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

You - You look a bit like coffee
And you taste a little like me

-The Skin of my Yellow Country Teeth by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

(Pitchfork Media's review of their debut album)

Friday, November 10, 2006

Frat Boys Sue Borat

You knew this was coming, CNN reports that "humiliated frat boys sue over Borat portrayal":

Two fraternity boys want to make lawsuit against "Borat" over their drunken appearance in the hit movie.

The legal action filed Thursday on their behalf claims they were duped into appearing in the spoof documentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," in which they made racist and sexist comments on camera.

The young men "engaged in behavior that they otherwise would not have engaged in," the lawsuit says.

This was actually one of the most painful parts of the movie for me (and there were many). I was quite disappointed with the ease in which Americans got caught up in Borat's bigotry and racism (which unbeknownst to the Americans was a joke) and ended up mirroring his prejudices with their own statements of discrimination.

Tillman's Wish Granted?

In his poignant article on the state of America and the loss of his Ranger brother in Afghanistan, Kevin Tillman calls out Americans to take action against the current administration in the White House--to hold them accountable for their dubious conduct and policies.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action.

With the results of the recent midterm elections where both the House and Senate achieved democratic majority and the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, it seems the tides of power are changing. It is my hope that the now-former Secretary of Defense (and others) will be held accountable for the illegal methods employed while prosecuting the "war on terror." A war which, in my opinion, is more like a a "war of terror" as put so eloquently by Borat Sagdiyev. On Andrew Sullivan's weblog today,

We have news of the first attempted prosecution of the defense secretary for authorizing torture. You could see this coming. At least, I did, and Bush did. The case is coherent, as I pointed out last July. Rumsfeld had better not travel abroad for a very long while; or he could be arrested. Same goes for Gonzales and the other war criminals in this administration.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

POLS in Computer World

Intel Corp. has attached a privacy license to its new location-aware software product, intended to protect cell phone users’ personal information as mobile devices increasingly rely on tracking technology to provide targeted services.

So, Intel has added a
privacy addendum to the Eclipse Public License it uses for the software application called Privacy Observant Location System (POLS), according to a posting on Intel's Web site by John Miller, the privacy and security policy manager of Intel's corporate technology group.

(link)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Be Jubilant: Rumsfeld Resigns

Worse than Robert McNamara? Time will tell...

(link)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Music, Proof of God?

By the time reason took over we did not speak of that July.

And by the time you lost a Mother, I had no place in your receiving line. I had no place in your receiving line.