Howdy Pardners,
Everyone knows I am partial to Kerry in the next election. But let me make something straight. Yes, I will vote for Kerry but I want to make it clear that I would vote for Robin Williams if he were running against Bush. Eitherway, I want to give everyone impartial info on last nights debates. Here is a link directly from CNN.com that does some fact checking on the barbs that were thrown last night from both sides. Take a second to read and get your info straight before you vote.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/13/factcheck/index.html
Have fun...
wit
WitBlog...the weekend edition:
I believe that the violin is possibly one of the most deadliest weapons in the world. Now don't get me wrong, amigos, in the hands of the trained musician it is a beautiful, emotive musical instrument. The tones and dynamics that can come from a talented craftsman can bring tears to your eyes.
But put that same instrument in the hands of a 10 year old...and you have an automatic aneurism maker.
My neice recently wanted to learn an instrument (which i think is super). So instead of picking the piano or the clarinet, or even the GONG, she chose the violin. And really that would have little effect on me. I don't have to listen to the kid so why do I care?
But tonight was a dual-birthday celebration for both my grandmother and my step dad. But for some ungodly reason, neice brought the violin along. She brought it along and was armed and ready to delight us with her bone crushing skills.
Now, I showed up late...i walked in and saw the cute little music stand with the dainty sheet music propped up on it. And I saw the violin laying there. My first thought was "cool.." That was until my neice spoke up.
"you want to hear me play, uncle mike?" She asked with gleaming, proud eyes...HOW DO I SAY no to that. I wanted to say no. Hell, i was dying to escape from the room. For a moment I thought about lighting the couch on fire so that we could evacuate, but I realized I didn't have a lighter and I didn't think i could ignite the furniture by rubbing the cushions together. So I was stuck.
"yeah...sh...sh..sure..." I mumbled.
So she broke into a tune and I was pretty impressed. No squeakers or honkers and all my teeth remained in my head. I dodged a bullet...thank you jayyyysus....praise the lord and pass the hand grenades!!!
We had a nice dinner with our normal family conversations about ex wives and underwear (don't ask). Then it came time for the birthday cake. Mom was in the kitchen putting the candles on it and that's when she dropped the bomb.
"Hey, why doesn't olivia play happy birthday while we sing..."
oh....oh no....
But yes....OH YES. Now here is the first problem in this...most of my family is about and musically talented as a sack of brussel sprouts. So even if Olivia played the song perfect it would still be painful.
So the family all started to sing...then olivia joined in with her vio-brainpuree-lin and suddenly I realize what it felt like to go insane. Everyone screaming the song at the top of their lungs while Olivia screeched a few cat-killing notes. In a moment of clarity i thought "why aren't the neighbors calling the police? I'd call the police if I heard this coming from a house..."
And then it was over....sweet relief.
I have to give credit where credit was due....Olivia was a much better violinist than I was. I'd never be dualing the devil for my soul ala Charlie Daniels. And I really hope she keeps practicing...just not when I'm around.
I'm sitting here at work (shh...don't tell anyone) and i'm literally staring at the clock trying to WILL it to move. As if I have some unearthed Jedi mind-trick up my sleeve. I don't know if its like that for you, but Fridays are downright painful on my side of the fence. The week always seems to fly by like a racoon on rollerskates. And then friday comes and the week just STANDS on the brakes. Some of you have the luxury of sitting at home all day so maybe this doesn't apply to you but what is it about a Friday that makes it drag so badly? I mean, I don't have any huge plans this weekend. I'm really not looking forward to anything except going home and doing the same thing I'm doing now...sitting on my ass and watching the grass grow.
So why is it that Friday crawl and Saturday goes by like a mofo?
Might have something to do with just coming off vacation/honeymoon...(which flew by like a mother too by the way). It might have something to do with the fact that my work does very little to inspire me. I'm sure your work fails to inspire you too. Who knows.
So I sit here watching the clock not move and I get barraged by the SPAM e-mails that are haunting the internet waiting to pounce.
Enhance your member, Be a stronger lover, get your friends credit report (that one got me laughing), work from home...
Wait a minute. Work from HOME?? Now my brain begins to wonder.
Work
From
Home
Do you think that the clock goes just as slow if you work from home? Do people who work at home take cigarrette smoke breaks? Do they have to punch out for lunch? I wonder if they look over their shoulder before browsing out to spin.com on the internet like I do here.
HELL NO THEY DONT! If I worked from home I wouldn't ask permission to leave a little early. Shit, I probably wouldn't bother to get dressed before work. I'd be sitting at my desk in my spongebob boxer shorts and instead of watching the clock, i'd watch reruns of Gilligan's Island.
They'd have to measure my productivity with an Ion Microscope cause I know I'd do next to nothing. I know it...i admit it.
Double-Post Wednesday
WASHINGTON - Contradicting the main argument for a war that has cost more than 1,000 American lives, the top U.S. arms inspector reported Wednesday that he found no evidence that Iraq produced any weapons of mass destruction after 1991. The report also says Saddam Hussein's weapons capability weakened during a dozen years of U.N. sanctions before the U.S. invasion last year.
Contrary to prewar statements by President Bush and top administration officials, Saddam did not have chemical and biological stockpiles when the war began and his nuclear capabilities were deteriorating, not advancing, according to the report by Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group.
Duelfer's findings come less than four weeks before an election in which Bush's handling of Iraq has become the central issue. Democratic candidate John Kerry has seized on comments this week by the former U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, that the United States didn't have enough troops in Iraq to prevent a breakdown in security after Saddam was toppled.
The inspector's report could boost Kerry's contention that Bush rushed to war based on faulty intelligence and that sanctions and U.N. weapons inspectors should have been given more time.
But Duelfer also supports Bush's argument that Saddam remained a threat. Interviews with the toppled leader and other former Iraqi officials made clear to inspectors that Saddam had not lost his ambition to pursue weapons of mass destruction and hoped to revive his weapons program if sanctions were lifted, the report said.
On Wednesday, Bush cited Saddam's "history of using weapons of mass destruction, a long record of aggression and hatred for America" in calling the invasion the right thing to do.
"There was a risk, a real risk, that Saddam Hussein would pass weapons or materials or information to terrorist networks," Bush said in a campaign speech in Wilkes Barre, Pa. "In the world after Sept. 11, that was a risk we could not afford to take."
Duelfer presented his findings in a report of more than 1,000 pages, and in appearances before Senate committees.
The report avoids direct comparisons with prewar claims by the Bush administration on Iraq's weapons systems. But Duelfer largely reinforces the conclusions of his predecessor, David Kay, who said in January, "We were almost all wrong" on Saddam's weapons programs. The White House did not endorse Kay's findings then, noting that Duelfer's team was continuing to search for weapons.
Duelfer found that Saddam, hoping to end U.N. sanctions, gradually began ending prohibited weapons programs starting in 1991. But as Iraq started receiving money through the U.N. oil-for-food program in the late 1990s, and as enforcement of the sanctions weakened, Saddam was able to take steps to rebuild his military, such as acquiring parts for missile systems.
However, the erosion of sanctions stopped after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Duelfer found, preventing Saddam from pursuing weapons of mass destruction.
Hi-dilly-ho my little Blogarinos...
Two days in a row! I must be eating my Wheaties or something. What's shakin? The wedding/honeymoon pictures are at Wal-Mart being born so I'll see if any are worthy of posting. If so, you'll see a couple up here (the G-rated ones anyway).
I've been on a search lately for new, interesting music...okay, I say lately but I'm pretty much ALWAYS looking. Anyway, I picked up a couple CDs recently and some of them deserve mention. I've been really stuck on the British bands lately. My opinion is that new american pop-rock is tired and very repetative (thanks in most part to the record industry nightmare).
Probably my favorite out of the bunch is Absolution by a band called Muse. If you liked Radiohead during the Pablo Honey/The Bends Era, you'll LOVE these guys. They're like Radiohead with a side of beef thrown in for good measure. My favorite tracks on the album are Stockholm Syndrome and Time Is Running Out.
Keane's album "Hopes And Fears" is a beautiful collection of songs. Kinda reminds me of Coldplay without the guitar. The band is basically a drummer, a piano, and a singer....that album is good from start to finish. Very good mellow album. "Bedshaped" is my fav on that CD.
Now I know I said that American Rock is dead...tired...repetative. But every once in a while something interesting manages to blast through the muck of the screaming angst-ridden-but-I-don't-know-why bands. Taking Back Sunday's "Where You Want To Be" is a great emo-ish album. It has the energy and hooks that keep it sounding modern. But the album is not slacking on good, ol' fashioned song writing.
Finally, and at the top of my list, is another American singer/songwriter. Gavin DeGraw's album "Chariot" (released on J Records) is no less than phenominal. I repeat....PHEEE... NOM... MINN... ALLLL. The songwriting is super. Gavin's voice is unique and immediately identifiable. Go to his website (
www.gavindegraw.com) and check the sampled tunes for yourself. Then go buy it. Don't burn it...don't steal it....give this guy a couple of your dollars.
Okay, now its your turn. What are you listening to? (Jess, we all know you're listening to Josh Groban....YOU NEED HELP FER CRYIN" OUT LOUD!!! hahaha...)
Allllllright...so I'm a huge slacker. Its been like 4 years since my last post. I have a good excuse for my last couple weeks of absence though. I got married. *listens to the bodies hitting the floor*
Yes, that's right...you can pick up your bottom lip. Sue and I finally tied the knot. Those of you who know me are going "Its about forkin' time!!" And those of you would be right. I'm going to post some pics up here once I get them scanned and electro-convertrosized.
The reception was a hit. Everyone had a great time as far as I could tell. And I chalk that all up to two words:
Open Bar (ask the Maid of Honor...she'll fill you in).
We spent a week in Mexico on our honeymoon. Weather was near perfect. Got run over by the proverbial Tequila truck on tuesday night. We met some new friends down there, one of which forceably made me drink 6 shots of the mexican poison. It turned into one of those "Hey lets take the hotel bikes and ride them through the bar and crash them into the ocean" nights. One of those nights that keeps reminding you long after the fire water has passed.
Sue and I even got to swim with dolphins. I wouldn't really call it swimming. They basically drug us around the marina until our lungs were filled with salt water and our swim shorts flew south and headed out to sea (I got pictures of that too...Visa and MasterCard only please).
So now we're back and in the real world once again where you have to pay for your meals, there is no hot tub in your living room, and the water won't turn your bowels into a slip-n-slide. Aint it all grand? Please leave comments to let me know you're still there.
