tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32336432011-04-21T22:22:57.400-04:00the end of the world is nighSPEAK OUT AGAINST THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE!!! Speak out against all sorts of bad stuff, in fact. Speak out against me, if you must.
this is a collection of my thoughts on things i find interesting, funny, scary, or otherly categorizable (including neologisms, if that is what i've just typed [or even if it isn't])
PEACE. THAT'S ALL. GIMMIE PEACE. I'VE ALWAYS CALLED YOU JEEBUS, YOU'VE ALWAYS CALLED ME GREG . . .Gregnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-852806462002-11-29T23:14:00.000-05:002002-11-29T23:14:38.710-05:00scott and i were just discussing the notion that i should blog again. so here i am.
i vow, among other things, to state my piece on recent developments in the us.
i will also, soon, blog on the "momentous decision" regarding my future as a ph.d. student (hint, there ain't none).
watch with baited fingers! (as if)Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-819761742002-09-22T23:13:00.000-04:002002-09-22T23:13:41.140-04:00ah well.
the german election was razor thin close. good news, though. the good guys won. well, the less-bad guys won (schroeder ain’t my fave rave, but i like fischer ok). i’m glad of two main things from the results:
1) speaking out against the u.s. war talk seemed not only not to have hurt schroeder but also to have helped him. i don’t care why he said what he said (obviously it is Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-814888392002-09-11T23:10:00.000-04:002002-09-11T23:10:19.776-04:00scott taught this hippy claptrap to his students today (of all days!)!
for shame, scott. the next thing you know you'll be filling your poor students minds with the declaration of independence and the beatitudes!
last year, by the way, at the big madison square garden concert for the cops and firefighters, the who (with the one remaining barrel of their once awesome rhythm section still loadedGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-814339092002-09-10T22:16:00.000-04:002002-09-10T22:16:13.120-04:00Given that the U.S. [is] at [sic] 'high alert' on eve of 9/11, it is hardly surprising that our most treasured natural resource should be properly secured.
Dick Cheney is safe. I won't say where he is, but I will say that he drinks way too much tequilla for a man in his condition! He is also helping me grade papers.
Part of what is written above is not true, by the way. Take that you Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-813892652002-09-09T23:57:00.000-04:002002-09-09T23:57:52.066-04:00read The forgotten anniversary. it is good.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-813811232002-09-09T20:56:00.000-04:002002-09-09T20:56:04.026-04:00hey.
just thought i'd drop myself a line.
well, it's been a quiet month (or so) in guadalajara, my (new, current, temporary?) home town. i've been a'teachin'. i teach a course called "advanced english essay writing". up to this point i've only taught college students. i have also only taught history. now, however, i teach high schoolers. going myself two better, i decided to not only Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-804017412002-08-18T17:53:00.000-04:002002-08-18T17:53:53.363-04:00WATCH THIS SPACE. MEXICAN BLOG IN THE WORKS.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-790024782002-07-15T23:40:00.000-04:002002-07-15T23:40:41.773-04:00hey.
i've not written in a while, but i have spoken to most (if not all) of the people who read this, so i won't bore you with an explanation.
my friendly acquaintance emily graham died not long ago. scott blogged about it.
i'm in alabama visiting my parents.
dubyah was in birmingham (with me) today. i had to go from gardendale (where i am) to century plaza (a mall) today. because of Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-780790632002-06-22T20:32:00.000-04:002002-06-22T20:32:30.220-04:00well, soccer has been interesting.
i'm still holding out hope that brazil will lose, but if turkey can't finish any better against them than they did against senegal there is no chance. south korea / germany? hmmm. that's a pickem, i think.
a germany / turkey final would be cause for mass rioting throughout germany, by the way.
tomorrow morning i'm going to drive to alabama and stay with Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-780106502002-06-21T00:20:00.000-04:002002-06-21T00:20:05.900-04:00a small plane flew dangerously close to the white house and it (the white house) was evacuated: no one told bush (no joke) until later.
meanwhile, i await soccer.
hands up who (other than me) has a drunken englishman sleeping on his couch!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-779473022002-06-19T16:01:00.000-04:002002-06-19T16:01:50.856-04:00here is the story, in english, of "korea team fighting" (sorry for the lack of loveliness in linking):
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2002/04/23/200204230035.aspGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-779166422002-06-18T22:51:00.000-04:002002-06-18T22:51:01.973-04:00KOREA TEAM FIGHTING also, by the way.
they won against italy team (not fighting).
google "korea team fighting", and you'll find the whole story of the phrase. i think it's funny.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-778385092002-06-17T04:22:00.000-04:002002-06-17T04:22:54.633-04:00USA TEAM FIGHTING!!!!USA TEAM FIGHTING!!!!USA TEAM FIGHTING!!!!USA TEAM FIGHTING!!!!USA TEAM FIGHTING!!!!USA TEAM FIGHTING!!!!USA TEAM FIGHTING!!!!USA TEAM FIGHTING!!!!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-778372322002-06-17T03:18:00.000-04:002002-06-17T03:18:22.426-04:00usa team fighting! (first half)Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-778280362002-06-16T22:29:00.000-04:002002-06-16T22:33:38.000-04:00THIS reminds me that the country which made me what i am (usa) is about to play the country in which i'm about to work (mexico) for the right to play the country which made birgit what she is (germany).
actually, it's even more tangled than that. i've studied and lived and worked in the u.s. and germany and am about to work in mexico. birgit has studied and lived in the u.s., studied and livedGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-777658522002-06-14T23:57:00.000-04:002002-06-14T23:57:25.633-04:00just when i think all is lost, i am reminded that there are smart people walking this earthGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-777551242002-06-14T17:34:00.000-04:002002-06-14T17:34:10.096-04:00hehehe! an article in SPIEGEL ONLINE just pointed out that several times in the last few days (you probably heard it), dubyah used a variation on the line "we've got over 2400 people in custody. now [with the "arrest" of padilla] it's 2401".Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-777492722002-06-14T14:49:00.000-04:002002-06-14T14:57:04.000-04:00i wish i was prominent, so that i could attach my name to THIS STATEMENT.
i hope THIS STATEMENT gets loads of press around the world.
i fear THIS STATEMENT will not show up in most american media outlets.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-777381642002-06-14T09:29:00.000-04:002002-06-14T09:29:17.670-04:00Korea team fighting!
i move that, in gratitude for their good work in dragging our sorry asses through to the second round, we withdraw our troops immediately!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-777214122002-06-13T21:46:00.000-04:002002-06-13T21:48:43.000-04:00hardball, which i rarely watch due to a wierd allergy i have to chris matthews's voice, is discussing the recent decision by cnn's lou dobbs to no longer refer to the u.s. engaging in a war against terrorism. his (dobbs's) idea is that this is really a "war against islamists".
this will, no doubt, spark a small debate on semantics. right now, a guest (tashbih sayyed) has trotted out the "true Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-777134642002-06-13T17:41:00.000-04:002002-06-13T17:41:21.783-04:00speaking of people attacking the greens . . . bushwatch has opened a new front. i guess this is some planned action from the left in the democratic party.
ugh.
if these weenie democrats were to spend as much time and energy attacking folks inside the democratic party (with whom they disagree on numerous issues) as they did attacking the greens (with whom they agree on numerous issues, then Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-777099012002-06-13T16:02:00.000-04:002002-06-13T16:02:46.316-04:00i've just added the following link to my links stuff on the left of this page: Eric Alterman: Altercation.
i have to say that, while i like just about everything i've ever read by eric alterman (he writes for The Nation, if you're wondering who he is), i do want to go on record as disagreeing strongly with him about the greens/nader. he was REALLY nasty about the nader candidacy during the Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-777072812002-06-13T14:54:00.000-04:002002-06-13T14:54:39.450-04:00scott recently blogged on the meaning of terrror/ism/ists. this article: Robert Fisk: Bush's Weird War fits right into that discussion, particularly in this segment:
"Sure enough, Michael Elliott turned up in Time magazine last week to tell us that "not all terrorists are alike". There are, he claimed, "political terrorists" who have "an identifiable goal" and "millenarian terrorists" who haveGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-776855902002-06-13T01:14:00.000-04:002002-06-13T01:14:49.643-04:00indeedGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-776824272002-06-12T23:45:00.000-04:002002-06-12T23:45:24.843-04:00HAHNAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA SatireWire | GREENPEACE WILL NOW OPPOSE EVERYTHING.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-776803972002-06-12T22:50:00.000-04:002002-06-12T22:50:19.016-04:00not long ago i blogged about the mtv awards. i forgot to mention that mandm performed. i just don't get mandm. i thought the dido song was clever, but otherwise i don't see it. among other things (other things are below), i hate the self referential nature of his whole genre (an ironic thing to say in a blog, i realize).
mostly i'm upset about the things so deftly handled in the following Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-776206582002-06-11T15:25:00.000-04:002002-06-11T15:25:19.670-04:00UPDATE: padilla apparently has seen a lawyer. i've just heard her interviewed on the fox newspeak channel, and she is now seeking to see him again now that he's been transferred to the brig.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-776103472002-06-11T10:37:00.000-04:002002-06-11T10:37:54.810-04:00DER SPIEGEL notes, in an analysis of the recently announced capture of the "dirty bomber", that the tip came from Abu Zubaydah (a captured al quaida member alleged to be close to bin laden himself).
why is zubaydah being so helpful? is he pulling legs? he was, remember, the guy who recently warned of attacks in new york city. his warning turns out to appear to have been inspired by the film "Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-775837752002-06-10T18:40:00.000-04:002002-06-10T18:40:27.273-04:00the u.s. and south korea tied. sigh. the u.s. was VERY lucky not to lose, as the koreans were far better in the second half. brad friedel should be framed and hung on a wall for his performance, and eddie pope and jeff agoos should cater to his every whim for eternity.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-775828082002-06-10T18:12:00.000-04:002002-06-10T18:12:51.940-04:00mayor quimby, on a simpson's rerun, just said that it is time for us "to face up to the un-face-up-to-able". i agree.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-775823192002-06-10T17:58:00.000-04:002002-06-10T17:58:34.070-04:00so johnny law has foiled a terrorist plot . . . hoo rah?
nevermind that the guy they have in custody . . .
is a native born u.s. citizen from new york city . . .
has been in custody since early may . . .
has not been charged with a crime . . .
has had no access to an attorney . . .
is HISPANIC . . .
is being held in a NAVAL BRIG . . .
and will probably never get the trial entitled him by the Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-775478012002-06-09T22:28:00.000-04:002002-06-09T22:28:25.580-04:00the guardian asks what sort of superhero you are . . .Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-775468872002-06-09T22:01:00.000-04:002002-06-09T22:01:55.106-04:00THIS has GOT to be the biggest coup in satire history!!! i am SOOOO crippled by laughter right now!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-775210982002-06-09T01:07:00.000-04:002002-06-09T01:07:05.560-04:00lennox lewis won over mike tyson in a knockout. he apparently dominated the entire fight after the first round. hopefully this will be the last we'll hear of tyson. hopefully he can now be locked up to get the intense help he seems to need.
any thoughts on boxing?Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-774932692002-06-08T03:27:00.000-04:002002-06-08T03:27:16.793-04:00i am a close personal friend of one of the members of lupec >> ladies united for the preservation of endangered cocktails>> l - u - p - e - c.
this group has recently gotten lots of press. pretty cool deal!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-774726982002-06-07T15:24:00.000-04:002002-06-07T16:05:05.000-04:00ahem . . .
from today's New York Times (to read the whole thing, you'll have to log in with their site, but it is worth it):
All-American Osamas
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
ALISPELL, Mont.
We Americans have conjured so specific a vision of terrorists — swarthy, glowering Muslims mumbling fanatically about Allah — that we're missing the threat from home-grown nuts, people like David Burgert.
Mr. Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-774502112002-06-07T01:05:00.000-04:002002-06-07T01:05:21.623-04:00in a recent blog i mentioned a few pieces of evidence that the end of the world is nigh. i forgot to mention argentina. read Do cry for us.
sad and scary.
incidentally: birgit discussed the possibility of these very problems in her thesis on argentina's move to neo-liberal economics, written for her degree in bonn, IN 1998!!!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-774443842002-06-06T22:21:00.000-04:002002-06-06T22:21:25.310-04:00i'm halfway watching the mtv movie awards and, though i've not given it my full attention (and much of what i have seen has been sort of forgettable) i would suggest that when it is (inevitably) replayed over the next few days, you check out the opening sequence. jack black and sarah michelle geller do a really hillarious send up of "spiderman". i mean REALLY funny (depending, of course, on Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773929782002-06-05T18:31:00.000-04:002002-06-05T18:31:00.376-04:00i'm not sure, but i think ctrl-alt-ego@undisturbed.org thinks i've been trying to pick a fight. she claims not to be in the mood.
i suppose asking why she decided to slander me was provocative.
if (and this is a big if, since it seems plausible that she would have someone else "trying to pick a fight" with her) she does mean me and happens to read this, i have a message:
i'm not (and neverGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773827322002-06-05T13:56:00.000-04:002002-06-05T13:56:00.836-04:00the u.s. beat portugal (a bittersweet day for jeff agoos, who did an own-goal) and ireland tied germany in the 90th minute (keeping their hopes alive).
good soccer.
i'm, of course, a bit conflicted about national team soccer. i'm no fan of the very concept of a nation state, but somehow watching it is fun. i particularly like to root for underdogs (and, in soccer at least, the u.s. is one). Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773648092002-06-05T02:15:00.000-04:002002-06-05T02:15:05.956-04:00hmmm. it seems that i am being discussed but no one has (yet) said anything of substance to me. i wonder if anyone looking at this has anything they'd like to say . . .Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773639972002-06-05T01:46:00.000-04:002002-06-05T01:46:28.546-04:00i forgot to add, by the way, that my correspondent asked if i opposed u.s. actions in afghanistan. i most certainly do. READ MY BLOG, WHOEVER YOU ARE, BEFORE YOU JUDGE ME!!!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773637312002-06-05T01:36:00.000-04:002002-06-05T01:36:42.990-04:00golly gee whiz! thanks to scott and shelley i got accused of antisemitism.
well, it's not really their fault. they just guided me to a chat site. the chat site host and i started chatting. the chat site host asked if s/he should interpret my blog as anti-semitic. i answered something to the effect of "no. anti current israeli policy." s/he asked if i had an idea of how to deal with the Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773539742002-06-04T21:12:00.000-04:002002-06-04T21:12:43.626-04:00YOU! over there! the one who finds u.s. support for israel difficult to understand . . . your problem is improper logic. see, you've been analyizing it in terms of realpolitik, but you really need to get right with GOD.
and for those of you who pay attention: you'll know i've said this before.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773511612002-06-04T19:50:00.000-04:002002-06-04T19:50:03.780-04:00i, like shelley, am a jedi master.
:: how jedi are you? ::Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773141432002-06-03T22:42:00.000-04:002002-06-03T22:42:13.363-04:00George Monbiot is very smart, but he doesn't seem to see why the looming nuclear (fucking) war between india and pakistan is a net gain for the west. lemmie suggest some perspective:
sure, 12 million people can be expected to die. so it goes. but some of them may have connections to the taliban or al quaida, so cheer up!
sure, lots of towns and cities will be destroyed. they'll need to be Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-773079712002-06-03T19:50:00.000-04:002002-06-03T19:50:14.530-04:00in response to popular demand (well, ok, calton's demand. but carlton's popular) i will now tell the story of how it is i came to seek and find employment here.
see, my dear sweet birgit works at the colegio aleman de guadalajara (i can't find a web link), and will be there for at least the next school year. i don't have to be in morgantown anymore. i could use a job. i can teach. they Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-772647612002-06-02T19:38:00.000-04:002002-06-02T19:38:45.286-04:00SOCCER-MAD AMERICA CRAZED OVER WORLD CUP
yup.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-772605042002-06-02T17:03:00.000-04:002002-06-02T17:03:09.573-04:00hi.
i’ve not blogged in a while as i’ve been away from my cable modem for the past two weeks. more on that in a moment.
first: from time to time i get the feeling that i have a sixth sense. you know, that i can catch glimpses of the future. like “the shining”. like “greggie’s intuition”. like “spidey sense” (i had to put that one in there to stay hip, since we now live in the age of Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-765661922002-05-15T01:08:00.000-04:002002-05-15T01:08:36.963-04:00scott and shelley are the only ones of you (prolly) who've seen me of late, and those two will know that this sort of thing doesn't necessarily translate to svelteness (sp?), but i forgot to eat today.
yup.
i had some cookies and some cheese and some potato chips (the cheese and chips came a few minutes ago) but that was it today. wierd?Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-765589232002-05-14T21:43:00.000-04:002002-05-14T21:43:39.993-04:00some of you may read this and think "how has the weather been in west virginia of late?" i understand your concern. i respond with a poem (oh yes, a poem):
there will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
and swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
and frogs in the pools singing at night,
and wild plum trees in tremulous white;
robins will wear their feathery fire,
whistling Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-765368562002-05-14T11:28:00.000-04:002002-05-14T11:28:59.853-04:00THIS is an excellent lesson for all of us, particularly those of us who mused over the meaning of the assassination of pim fortuyn and the rise of the right wing in europe.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-765227432002-05-13T23:37:00.000-04:002002-05-13T23:37:28.330-04:00man oh man oh man
those of you who read my hand-wringing over christopher hitchens should also read THIS, especially if you, like me, like(d) hitchens.
i'm preparing to wash my hands of him.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-764844342002-05-13T00:53:00.000-04:002002-05-13T00:53:49.220-04:00i saw spiderman this weekend and i couldn't agree more with this review.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-764821812002-05-12T23:39:00.000-04:002002-05-12T23:39:36.113-04:00well, i took a long weekend vacation. you see, my life is so hectic that i need that sort of thing . . .
not really. but i do like that sort of thing.
anyway, upon my return i've discovered that the world kept turning. most particularly, the world of christopher hitchens, who i once loved. "hitch", as his friends apparently refer to him (i've never met him), has lately written more than a Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-763274202002-05-08T22:15:00.000-04:002002-05-08T22:15:13.313-04:00(probably) bad analogy time:
if i were to come into you house and refuse to leave, what would you do?
assume that there are no police to call. assume also that it's just you and me. assume also that neither of us have a gun.
would you try to push me out? assume i'm bigger and stronger than you, and have a baseball bat. every time you push me, i push you to the floor. i then smash Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-763223062002-05-08T19:51:00.000-04:002002-05-08T19:51:44.196-04:00hahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-763056532002-05-08T11:03:00.000-04:002002-05-08T11:03:05.676-04:00british music polls are odd. of course, i shudder to think what would turn up on a similar poll of americans.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-763055572002-05-08T10:59:00.000-04:002002-05-08T10:59:53.706-04:00scott, mr english major, rogers sometimes blogs about phrases / words he despises. here's one i despise . . .
every semester, on the final exam, one of the questions my students answer is "what have you learned in this class?". i don't usually give too much explanation of what i expect on this question, as i really want them to think about it and i really want to see what they come up with. Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-762039732002-05-05T22:26:00.000-04:002002-05-05T22:26:04.826-04:00as a potential future resident of mexico, perhaps i should say a word or two about cinco de mayo . . .
(probably not)
my understanding is that it is NOT mexican independance day, as is often said in the us. rather, it is the celebration of a victory by a mexican army over (i think) a french invasion force.
mexico seems to have lots of national days of celebration, in part because they've Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-761997752002-05-05T20:18:00.000-04:002002-05-05T20:18:47.870-04:00if you saw tonight's simpsons . . .
mmmmm caramel baloney . . . Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-761899012002-05-05T14:35:00.000-04:002002-05-05T14:35:58.106-04:00THIS is soooooo cool! i want THIS!!!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-761714722002-05-04T22:54:00.000-04:002002-05-04T22:54:17.583-04:00(notdubyah is me)
scottrogerspersonal: we had a big shindig at our department head's house on Friday. Our BIGTIME film guy is retiring...
scottrogerspersonal: here's a google search for him
scottrogerspersonal: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22leonard+leff%22+hitchcock
notdubyah: neet
scottrogerspersonal: yeah
scottrogerspersonal: he did some commentary, apparently, for the DVD of Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-761604752002-05-04T15:17:00.000-04:002002-05-04T15:17:31.826-04:00well, the meeting with the two cheaters was a non event.
one fella half-heartedly pled his "freshmanness". my response was that he has time, therefore, to incorporate this lesson into his academic career. he offered that one lesson from this was to avoid me (i hope he was joking) as a teacher. to which i responded that "we all know how to catch them and we all do". that's a lie: most of my Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-760623712002-05-01T21:58:00.000-04:002002-05-01T21:58:28.300-04:00raphael palmiero takes viagra!?!? say it ain't so!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-760603382002-05-01T20:58:00.000-04:002002-05-01T21:01:50.000-04:00today was the last day of class.
in my regular history class i told them about "candide" and read the last page or so (upon which i elaborated to make the point that they should become "enlightened"). we then tackled the last chapter of our text, by howard zinn, entitled "the coming revolt of the guards". (we are the guards). i then assigned the take-home final.
the movie history class was Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-759870352002-04-29T22:58:00.000-04:002002-04-29T22:58:19.623-04:00i try to be honest in class, and i hope that, thereby, i will encourage honesty from my students.
i think i have.
today a student told me that she wouldn't be in class wednesday and then (without prompting) told me that the reason was that she would be attending "wwf live" tuesday night and wasn't sure if she'd be back/fit in time for class.
i said "oh, dear" and she blushed. that was the Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-759820862002-04-29T20:25:00.000-04:002002-04-29T20:25:08.410-04:00i think katha pollitt and i would be fine friends, should we ever meet. i usually like what she writes and, but for one caveat, i agree with her take on Backlash Babies. my caveat? well . . .
why not NOT have children? you'll have to read the article to get why my disagreement is subtle, but suffice to say that pollitt is talking about how it can be made possible/feasible for working women Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-759270632002-04-28T12:08:00.000-04:002002-04-28T15:42:54.000-04:00the german news magazine, DER SPIEGEL, is reporting that, on saturday, the NRA's Wayne LaPierre argued that the shooting at the school in Erfurt, Germany, was proof that strict gun laws aren't needed in the US. See (as he rightly pointed out), gun laws in germany are generally stricter than in the US and, despite this, the worst school shooting ever happened on friday in germany.
as is so oftenGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-758329442002-04-25T23:15:00.000-04:002002-04-25T23:15:14.453-04:00TOO RICH!!!! in the press conference from the vatican, regarding the sexual abuse scandal, the spokesman for the group, the cardinal from washington d.c., said that the pope was concerned about this because he is (i shit you not) "turned on by children."
what is the title of this web page, i ask you?Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-757974732002-04-25T00:41:00.000-04:002002-04-25T00:41:11.396-04:00Q: how many priests does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: it depends on how many young boys are in the light bulb.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-757950772002-04-24T23:36:00.000-04:002002-04-24T23:36:58.346-04:00the catholic church will apparently henceforth have a "zero tolerance" policy regarding sexual abuse by priests. this is, of course, a dramatic shift from their apparent "infinite tolerance" policy of the past 15 or so centuries. i'm no genius about this sort of thing, but how about incrementalism . . . say, 80% tolerance for now, with 50% tolerance in 5 years and an eventual zero tolerance? iGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-757935602002-04-24T22:59:00.000-04:002002-04-24T22:59:09.410-04:00gol dang it! i posted something really cool and it didn't show up. harumph.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-757934952002-04-24T22:57:00.000-04:002002-04-24T22:57:08.313-04:00i showed the movie class "roger and me" (by michael moore) tonight. for those of you who haven't seen it, i have only this message: YOU SHOULD.
i think it is super cool. i've seen it a guhzillion times. i think what i like the most about it (other than moore's groovy gallows humor) is that i get the feeling that it isn't about flint, michigan (moore's home town) at all, but rather it is Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-757118112002-04-22T22:24:00.000-04:002002-04-22T22:24:33.480-04:00i went to ames (a department store) today and bought two kinds of things. which kind more marks me as a nerd?
kind-of-thing one: merry/pippin/moria orc action figure set; boromir/lurz action figure set.
kind-of-thing two: yes "talk"; billy joel "the nylon curtain; inxs "full moon, dirty hearts"; asia "alpha" (all of these are on cd. i already had billy joel on tape).Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-756626552002-04-21T18:38:00.000-04:002002-04-21T18:38:35.980-04:00i went rafting today! envy is now being accepted. i was on the lower yough river, and it rained the whole time. it was also cold. fortunately, i rented a wetsuit.
it was very, very fun and the weather was not a problem. come visit!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-756321282002-04-20T19:02:00.000-04:002002-04-20T19:02:07.560-04:00for those of you, and i know you exist, who wonder why the u.s. seems to support limitless israeli occupation of the west bank see the link. i recently had occaision to refer birgit's sister to the book of revelations for an explanation, but genesis works, too.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-756084992002-04-19T23:32:00.000-04:002002-04-19T23:32:16.500-04:00i'm bored, and so, as "third base" once rapped, "here it . . . . comes!"
i've decided to lay it all out. all (well, most) of my cards shall come to the table. i will speak now on events of the day and the general state of the world. don't try to stop me. don't hope to contain me.
-- THE ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT. israel is wholly and fully in the wrong on this. no two ways about it. Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-754872292002-04-16T21:58:00.000-04:002002-04-16T21:58:12.190-04:00as an underpaid underachiever who may never own anything other than books, i fully endorse this article:Home-Buying Up Among Lame-O'sGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-754511902002-04-16T00:11:00.000-04:002002-04-16T00:11:15.356-04:00here's another sign that the end of the world is nigh: there is a figure skating thing on tnt right now and the guy was just skating, dressed as cartman from southpark, while lip synching to "come sail away". he then stripped to an old woman costume to skate to "dude looks like a lady". KILL ME NOW!!!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-754115422002-04-15T00:15:00.000-04:002002-04-15T00:15:52.926-04:00birgit's grandfather died thursday.
he was almost 96 and had been painfully ill for some months now, so in a way it is good that he died now rather than lingering in the nether world between life and death. the bad thing, of course, is that he was much loved and will be missed.
there is another reason i'm posting this, though. you see, mr hesse was one of the "good germans." he did not, to Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-753945712002-04-14T15:04:00.000-04:002002-04-14T15:04:22.736-04:00scott hipped me to this: Chavez Freed, Returns to Power in Venezuela (washingtonpost.com).
since i don't know a ton about chavez (see my previous post), i'll not come out and say this is necessarily a good thing. we shall see.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-753920992002-04-14T13:22:00.000-04:002002-04-14T13:22:26.470-04:00when i was an undergrad at southern miss, i took a latin american history survey course taught by dr orazio ciccarelli. at the beginning of the semester, dr ciccarelli told us (jokingly) that, every year, it is reasonable to expect that there would be either an earthquake or a coup / coup attempt in venezuela. when i took the class, it was an earthquake. this year, it was a coup.
did you Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-753114762002-04-11T23:35:00.000-04:002002-04-11T23:35:03.520-04:00thanks to my parking garage story, i'm hit #8 in a google search for rippon college. eek!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-753112362002-04-11T23:28:00.000-04:002002-04-11T23:28:20.670-04:00"the daily show" on comedy central is often quite funny. tonight, in his opening monologue, john stewart said: "peace. in hebrew its 'shalom'. in arabic, 'salaam'. but no matter how you say it, your fuckin' dreaming!"
that's funny because it shouldn't be, i reckon.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-752980992002-04-11T16:57:00.000-04:002002-04-11T16:57:22.560-04:00jeebus! now i don't know what to think! the explanation mike presented convinced me (more or less) that it really was a plane that crashed into the pentagon, but shelley has noted that the video provided by CNN.com is dated 12 sept! it also appears to have been filmed at 5:37 pm!!! what the fuck?
anyway, i can't see the plane in the video. sigh.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-752910602002-04-11T13:13:00.000-04:002002-04-11T13:13:30.650-04:00i love most everything i've ever read from alexander cockburn anyway, so i REALLY love it when he writes about my home region!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-752905052002-04-11T12:56:00.000-04:002002-04-11T12:56:10.793-04:00mike sent me the following, quite convincing "Hunt the Boeing" Answers.
i must say, here, that while i know nothing of substance about construction engineering, aircraft of any sort, or the mechanics/physics of the collision between the two, i do know a fair bit about how conspiracy theories work. this one (the "hunt the boeing" one) follows the classic pattern: find an issue you know the Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-752693502002-04-10T22:18:00.000-04:002002-04-10T22:18:11.003-04:00i caught another cheater.
this one ALMOST owned up to it when i gave him the "is there something you want to tell me about your paper?" line. still, he fell short. he will now join all my other cheaters, richard nixon, ulysses s. grant, bill clinton, my little brother, enron executives, arthur anderson executives, and gary hart in that special level of secular hell reserved for people who justGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-752453442002-04-10T10:09:00.000-04:002002-04-10T10:09:52.590-04:00here is the english link to "hunt the boeing.Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-752451462002-04-10T10:02:00.000-04:002002-04-10T10:02:42.396-04:00since scott stole my thunder on the terrorism question, i propose that we play "Hunt the Boeing!". the link is in german, but a summary suffices (and i'm certain english versions lurk on the web).
basically: why, in the photos of the damaged pentagon, do we see no evidence of a wrecked jetliner? was it really a car bomb? why are there so few photos of the crash sight in pennsylvania? was Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-752251552002-04-09T20:32:00.000-04:002002-04-09T20:32:10.376-04:00scott and i chatted, some time ago, about what constituted "terrorism" and, by extention, whou could/should be called a terrorist. the good people at FAIR have issued the following regarding this issue (not that they were following our chat, but that they and others are obviously thinking along the same lines). please read: 'Terrorism' Is a Term That Requires Consistency and comment Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-751368192002-04-07T15:42:00.000-04:002002-04-07T15:42:49.756-04:00look at THIS!Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-751341062002-04-07T13:10:00.000-04:002002-04-07T14:02:42.000-04:00it is a sad commentary on the popularity of one’s blog when the requests of two people represent the demands of a solid majority of one’s regular readership . . .
such is the case with a request from scott and shelley, however. i will now, therefore, relate my (rather embarrassing) parking garage story.
the year was 1993. america was enjoying the first heady days of the clinton administrationGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-750826262002-04-05T14:42:00.000-05:002002-04-05T14:42:03.180-05:00any song can be made cool if tom waits sings it (or you sing it in a tom waits voice). try it! try it with "every rose has its thorn" by poison . . .
We both lie silently still
in the dead of the night
Although we both lie close together
We feel miles apart inside
Was it something I said or something I did
Did the words not come out right
Though I tried not to hurt you
Though I tried
But I Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-114426302002-04-04T01:08:00.000-05:002002-04-04T01:08:29.793-05:00i just saw something on tv that reminded of something i wanted to blog about a while back . . .
i remember visiting the following malls (assume the word "mall" follows each title): parkway center (pittsburgh); century three (pittsburgh); morgantown (morgantown, wv); mountaineer (morgantown); the one in clarksburg, wv; san jacinto (baytown, tx); the galleria (houston); pasadena's mall (Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-114402932002-04-03T23:43:00.000-05:002002-04-03T23:43:35.636-05:00tonight the movie class watched "platoon". this is the second time i've seen it and it confirmed something i have suspected since the first time (not long after it came out): i don't much care for it.
don't get me wrong: i like it more than "the green berets" (the last film we watched). i just don't like it much. i far prefer "full metal jacket" and "apocalypse now". and, although they Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-113947132002-04-02T19:54:00.000-05:002002-04-02T19:58:27.000-05:00while working / putzing around, i have taken to having my computer (using itunes) shuffle through collections of songs on my harddrive randomly. i have (among others) a playlist of songs with political connotations. if only i had my own radio station . . .
here's what's come up (notice the occaisional coincidence in themes) so far:
billie holiday "god bless the child"
lou reed "dirty blvd"
Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-113906632002-04-02T17:45:00.000-05:002002-04-02T17:45:22.456-05:00finally: a u.s. foreign policy measure i support! U.S. Drops Cats Into BelgiumGregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233643.post-113682952002-04-02T01:13:00.000-05:002002-04-02T01:13:31.693-05:00the monday "headlines" on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart reminded me of "why they hate us" (tm).
the story was on the easter egg roll at the white house. the white house chef explained how many thousands of eggs he would be preparing and stewart cut in to say (something like): to which thousands of afgani children remarked "to be part of a wonderful feast i assume . . ." cut back to the chefGregnoreply@blogger.com