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Friday, May 31, 2002
So the Ithaca festival sprang forth last night with its annual parade. I can only liken it to a "pep rally" for our little city. Ithaca is the only place that could get away with something like this -- a parade featuring The Volvo Ballet (yes, volvos driving in formation with large mesh pastel tutus attached), The Subaru Samba, the compost theater, the He-Man Chainsaw Band, and the stiltwalkers, among other local social groups. The parade lasted all of a half-hour. This morning I was walking to work, and the commons was astir with preparations and activity. It seems they've moved all the food vendors to a different location than previous years (which I think is a big mistake)... they're going to be further from the center of the commons now... down by the State Theater. Or maybe that just means the Ithaca Festival is "growing up" and they need more space now for the performances and exhibits directly on the commons. Well, in any case I can't wait to get out and enjoy it, Ithaca never feels more alive than during the festival. | private feedback | (0) public comments DAILY PIC OF ME AS A KID... Friday's picture Bonus picture #1 Bonus picture #2 See all pics | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, May 30, 2002 DAILY PIC OF ME AS A KID... Thursday's picture Bonus picture See all pics to date | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, May 29, 2002 So I'm a little bummed. After planning on it for a little over a month now, I'm going to have to miss Keelinn's dance recital this week. I don't know how I got it in my head that it was later in the evening but it actually starts around 5:30-ish so I can't get out of work in time to go. We've got tons going on at the office right now (a few tight deadlines) that won't be over until Friday. :-( I guess I get to watch the recital on video, Lori's gonna tape it. If I'm lucky, she'll dance along with it. Heh. In other news -- This weekend is the big Ithaca Festival... a celebration of all things ITHACA. ;-) If you've never been to one you definitely shouldn't miss it. The parade is Thursday night at 7 where you can see, among other things, the Volvo ballet, the chainsaw band, the stiltwalkers, and the compost fairy. *grin* And then throughout the weekend you can catch all kinds of arts and crafts, musicians and other performances on the commons. I hope the weather holds out. | private feedback | (0) public comments DAILY PIC OF ME AS A KID... Wednesday's picture | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, May 28, 2002 And, a highlight of my weekend that I completely forgot about... I got to try the new Vanilla Coke flavor (although i've been ordering it for years at Friendly's... they'll make it with vanilla syrup if you ask nice enough.) Pretty good! Try it if you find it on the shelves, especially if you like sweet things. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments DAILY PIC OF ME AS A KID... Never-before-seen (outside of my mom's photo album) pics of me as a young'un. These are my favorite pics of me as a kid... I was sooooo blonde. I'll feature one a day for this week, and if I have any left-over I'll add them on Friday. Soooo... bookmark my page and check back at least once/day. I'm posting two today since I didn't get one up yesterday. (I spent a while scanning these last night, and in case you're wondering... the color *is* off, but it's the way they are on the actual photos and I LIKE the way they look.) Monday's picture Tuesday's picture | private feedback | (0) public comments On Friday I downloaded the "Preview Version" of Netscape 7.0 for Mac. (Some of the things I'm gonna gripe about may not apply to the PC version. PC users, you'll have to download it and try it out for yourself.) A couple of the bugs I've run into in my limited use are that the cursor doesn't always appear correctly in text boxes -- you think the cursor is in the middle of a word when its really at the end (makes altering the subject line of a hotmail email very difficult and frustrating), and then when I was using blogger... everytime I would enter information into the post field, the crucial "publish" button would disappear. D'oh! Though it does have a few perks -- the interface is super cool and well-designed, the program smoothly integrates AOL Instant Messenger into the browser window, AND it incorporates the ability to view ".art" files which means people using Netscape 7.0 will be able to view those pesky AOL emails with embedded images. Netscape is definitely moving in the right direction... but for now I'm going to stick with Communicator 4.7. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments I'm amazed at the difference in how things are received in America versus Europe. A movie that will make very little noise here (I hope I'm proven wrong about this) takes home huge awards at the Cannes Film Festival and even gets included in the French Education System's curriculum. Take Michael Moore's latest film project, "Bowling for Columbine," his statement on the culture of violence in America. The movie has all the potential of being brilliant from what I saw of it. When he was in Ithaca we were privileged to see a few clips as it was still in its rough unedited stages. One scene involved Michael visiting a bank that offers free guns with the opening of every checking account, and the second was an interview with the brother of one of the convicted Oklahoma City Bombers. The humor and wit is unmistakably Michael Moore but it draws a clear line of interconnectedness between the the irrational American love affair with guns, the modern day militia movement, the NRA, the manufacture of weaponry, and school shootings. When this movie gets released, go see it! Since I'm sure most of you aren't on Michael Moore's mailing list, I wanted to share this with you -- his words on the success of his movie abroad... "Bowling for Columbine" Wins Cannes Prize May 27, 2002 Dear friends, By now you may have awakened to the news that last night, in Cannes, France, my new film, "Bowling for Columbine," was awarded the Special Prize of the 55th Cannes Film Festival. It had already made history by being the first documentary chosen to be part of the official festival competition in almost 50 years. And, last night, it was the only prize awarded that received a unanimous decision from the festival jury. The film's crew and I have never experieced anything like this. Now, you're probably wondering what happened to that guy who wrote "Stupid White Men?" I know it seems like I disappeared for the better part of April and May. Contrary to the wild rumors I helped to initiate, I was not abducted by the Ashcroft Aliens for violating the new Patriot Act. In truth, the book tour spun out of control when I couldn't say no to all the places that asked me to come and speak. Before I knew it, I had done 64 appearances in a total of 47 cities. Then, on the morning of my birthday, I was awakened with a call from France, asking me if I would allow my film to be shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. What do you say to acall like that? "Hey, it's my birthday, dammit, I'm trying to sleep!" So I rushed back to New York and went into overdrive to put the final touches on the film. We finished it 3 hours before we left to go to France. Well, that was two weeks ago. I have been here in Cannes since then -- and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming. The director of the festival announced that the standing ovation our film received as the credits rolled set a new record in the history of the Cannes Film Festival -- 13 minutes long. Within hours, dozens of countries from around the world bought the distribution rights to the film from the Canadian conglomerate which "owns" our movie, breaking the previous record for a documentary set by "Roger & Me" (yes, the producers get all the money and we get... well, we get nada plus a plane ticket home!) The day began yesterday with "Bowling for Columbine" winning "Best Film" from a vote of hundreds of French teachers and students from arond the country who each year come to Cannes and award one movie their "Cannes Prix Educational National." It's the only "people's prize" at Cannes where everyday citizens get to screen the films and vote. It was a wonderful moment and a great honor to receive this award. The Education Ministry in France has made "Roger & Me" part of the French national curriculum and it is shown each year in every school in France. The same will now happen with "Bowling for Columbine." So, when do you get to see it? United Artists bought the film for the U.S. and is planning on releasing it this fall. But don't hold your breath. I hate to sound a note of pessimism or warning, but my experience this year in fighting to get my book released (from a publisher that was hell-bent on NOT releasing it) has made me justifiably wary of anyone who says they will distribute my work. I wish the good people at UA all the best. There is no getting around the fact that "Bowling for Columbine" is a provocative, controversial film that is going to make a lot of people angry. That is not my intention. I do not relish the hassle I am in for. But the work I do must be an honest expression of what I see and believe -- and I am not inclined to soften what I do to appease those whom I must beg for money in order to do my work. "Bowling for Columbine" is my personal view of America at the turn of this new century. It is not specifically about Columbine and, no, it is not about bowling. My favorite quote I read during the festival was, "This film will single-handedly guarantee that George W. Bush will never see a second term." Well, one can only dream. After all, it is just a movie. If it go as planned, the film will be released in October. I have to say that things have turned around a bit for me in the past few months. I have no one else to thank for this except for all of you. Against incredible odds that included a publisher who demanded I choose between censoring my work or destroying the 50,000 copies they had printed, you made "Stupid White Men" the most-read non-fiction book in the country -- and it remains at or near the top of every best-seller list in the U.S. and Canada for the 15th week in a row. To now have this record-setting response to "Bowling for Columbine" happen here at Cannes is beyond belief. It's more than I deserve and I feel truly blessed and privileged. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish there was some way to repay all of you, like an internet version of let's all go out for a pizza. Maybe someday! Thanks again. Yours, Michael Moore Filmmaker Author Lifetime Member, N.R.A. | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, May 27, 2002 So I'm back home in Ithaca, got into town sometime around 12:30. It feels good to be back. I immediately went to bed since I was operating on 4 hours of sleep. (I can't sleep on a bus.) I got woken up by Mike calling to see if I wanted to go to a friend's memorial day picnic. I was so tired I couldn't even think straight so I just went back to bed, but I did end up going later, around 7. I wanted to see Mike and everybody before I started my week. Somewhere in there I talked to Mom. She got home ok, just had to take a cab. Hmmm, other than that, nothing much is new... just going to chill tonight and watch t.v. Memorial Day weekend is officially over... :-( | private feedback | (0) public comments So mom's flight got consistently delayed until about 5 AM when United (or the airport) finally just declared the flight grounded and all the passengers were put up in a hotel. Of course this means that I'm not going to be around when Mom gets in this afternoon. I'll be in Ithaca already... So she'll have to take a cab home from the airport. :-( | private feedback | (0) public comments Happy Memorial Day Weekend... As my friend Rodney and I were preparing to come to Rochester this weekend, we saw a rainbow. I clung to the symbolism and was optimistic that meant good things to come. I was pretty much right. All in all it has been a great weekend. Friday we got into Rochester and went to dinner with some old friends of mine, Chris and Dennis. By the time we were done it was gettin' late and so we ended up not going out... Saturday we went for brunch with some other friends of mine, Brett and Jamie... and then checked out the conservatory at highland park. Back to Brett and Jamie's apartment building to tour some apartments (it was open house weekend) and then back home where I took a LONG nap... I think I was out for close to 4 hours. Then dinner and a little shopping at Weg-heads and went out to Muthers... and then to Tilt. Got home sometime around 2:00. Today, we had lunch with Chris and Dennis at the Highland Park Diner (great food, I love diners!) and then went shopping at Eastview mall a bit. The highlight of my day was getting a stemware rack to suspend under my kitchen cabinets. $6.95 at "Get Organized." Hey, what can I say? It's the small things. :-) Then we went to dinner at Friendly's past Pittsford Plaza (I think into Brighton at that point) and then out to RJ's (Rodney had never been before.) We left RJ's cause we were supposed to pick Mom up at the airport. Of course why am I up so late when I'm planning on leaving for Ithaca in the morning? Well.... Mom's flight keeps getting delayed. She's flying in from Miami through D.C. She was supposed to be in Rochester at 10:23 PM, but the last indication I have (after her flight has been delayed 5 times) is that she's gettin' in shortly after 3 AM. Ugh.It's going to be a long night. I have a strong suspicion that she's not getting in until early early morning. I'll let you know when we finally get to the airport to get her. I guess they're having a massive thunder and lightning storm down there in D.C. I bet my mother is about ready to rip into just about anyone she talks to at this point, she's not the most patient of individuals. Heheh. | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, May 24, 2002 Wow, if you just came across my Web page today you'd think I do nothing but sit here and post random things to my blog all day. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments OKAY MIKEY... Its graduation weekend, your folks are coming, and you're gonna figure out that whole cap-and-gown nonsense and walk with all the other thousands of graduates at Cornell. CONGRATULATIONS!!! (And I'm confident you'll finish that whole pesky dissertation thingy soon after... heheh) *big hugs* | private feedback | (0) public comments Bet you've never bar-coded yourself... And make sure when you're done you hit the "scan" link. It will tell you how much you're worth. ;-) $9.56!?!?! heheh (And the rest of this "all-about-bar-codes" site is pretty nifty too!) | private feedback | (0) public comments Sometimes working at my office is worse than living in a frat! My biggest pet peeve? No one changes the toilet paper! Grrrrrrrrr. | private feedback | (0) public comments Carl McCall's speech at the New York Democratic Convention, accepting their endorsement. | private feedback | (0) public comments There is not enough coffee in the world this morning. I woke up with two of the biggest, darkest bags under my eyes ever... but before I get to that... I left work right at 5 last night. Turns out Lori's meeting got cancelled so I didn't need to babysit afterall. But I still took the opportunity to hang with Keelinn cause I haven't seen her in a while. The three of us went to Friendly's for dinner. (Definitely try the Mexican burger if you're into that kind of thing...) They only way we could get Keelinn to eat was to tell her that the faster she ate the faster we could get back to my apartment and get in the bubble tub. We got back to my apartment and she got into her bathing suit... drew the water in the tub and she was so excited to get in. You should see her in my tub!!! The thing is like five times bigger than she is. She can completely turn around while stretched out and not touch any of the sides. :-) After she had some play time she begged me to get in the tub with her. I reluctantly agreed and put my trunks on (only after realizing that there wouldn't be any hot water for me to shower with afterwards anyway). Then I got a little gutsy... I had never put bubbles in the jacuzzi tub before and I thought Keelinn would get a big kick out of that. I put MAYBE a cap of bubble bath in the tub and the bubbles never stopped rising. I WISH I had my camera at home last night! The bubbles got higher than Keelinn, you could JUST see her face popping out of them. It was way too cute. Everytime she realized they had gotten "bigger" she started laughing. Shortly after Keelinn left I settled in to watch a bit of the Academy of Country Music Awards hosted by Reba. I had taped them the night before because I was in the midst of doing laundry and a telephone conversation. So I fast forwarded through everything just to see all the Reba parts. ;-) She is just too funny, she has great comedic timing. Mike showed up shortly after 8, changed and then we were on our way to Syracuse. After a short side-trip to Burger King we landed at RAIN and played darts while waiting for the folks we were supposed to meet. We didn't know how to get to Charades, so we followed them there. Who knew it was so packed out on a Thursday. We don't have anything like that in Ithaca. ;-) The drag show was fun... only a few good queens, but definitely potential. We stayed until close, I had a blast... was a nice change of pace from Thursday night Must-See TV reruns. But silly me... we didn't get home until after 3... and I had to come to the office early this morning to let NYSEG in so they could change the meter. I'm running on about 3-1/2 hours of sleep (hence the nasty bags under my eyes)... I have a conference call at 10:00 and an intern interview at 1:30... Ugh and I still haven't packed for my weekend in Rochester. (Gotta be on that bus at 6:00) No rest for the weary... | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, May 23, 2002 Busy day of proposals and invoicing today at work. I resisted the urge to get Mountain Dew Code Red for my afternoon beverage. Lately I have been super unhealthy. I can't stop drinking coffee in the morning...and Code Red in the afternoon. I get a cup of coffee every morning at Juna's on my walk into work. Up until about two or three months ago I NEVER drank coffee and now I can't make it through a morning without it. Even if I can somehow keep myself from veering into Juna's in the morning, I'll still feel sluggish around 10:30 and myself go out and get a cup. As for the Code Red... I don't know when that habit started, but it was recently. I used to drink 1.5 liters of water every afternoon... then it became 1 liter of Code Red. Yikes. Well I'm happy to say that I'm back on the water wagon. I'm a little frustrated because work is very busy at the moment and I have a co-worker (who shall remain nameless AND lazy) who insists on giving me their work. And unfortunately the types of things they give me are stuff that I KNOW need to get done so I'm a sucker and say "Sure." Everytime. What else can I do? I'm way too dedicated to this damned company. ;-) I'm leaving work right at 5 tonight. I'm going to watch Keelinn for a few hours... probably let her play in the "bubble tub." I can't wait to see her again. I hope she brings the tiara I got her, I want to see what it looks like on her. My little cutie patootie princess. Heh. Later, Mike and I are goin' to go out in Syracuse. Where exactly we'll go is up in the air at the moment... | private feedback | (0) public comments The Democratic Convention in NYC ended a day early... Andrew Cuomo decided at the last minute that he wasn't going to attempt to get the votes necessary to get on the ballot through the convention and instead would launch a "people's campaign" by circulating petitions. Now I want to make sure everyone understands this. Earlier this year, the Rural Democratic Caucus met to endorse a candidate and Andrew Cuomo won the vote. Because he won (and it was a close race at the time) he was ecstatic that the "party" backed him. He said it was portentious of things to come and that he would go on to win the race. McCall, on the other hand, didn't run away, but rolled up his sleeves and fought on. Now all of the sudden when the momentum swings the other way and he stood a chance of not even getting 25% of the vote required to get on the ballot, he runs away and launches the "people's campaign." Can we say, "Hypocrite"? When the party backs him he loves it, when the party doesn't then he snubs them and claims that he didn't want any part of the process anyway. Hmmmm.... right. I have to agree with Carl McCall when he said, "It seemed to me that if he was going to run outside the party, he should have done that in the first place when he first announced." Amen. Probably the worst thing about all this is that years ago... when Cuomo Sr. was running for office, he pulled nearly the same stunt. (Apparently that year Ed Koch was the party favorite for Governor.) And Cuomo Sr. ended up winning in the end. Let's hope this has a different ending. Two news stories on the topic... COWARDLY CUOMO PARTY PASS BEATS BEGGING FOR HELP And of course, check out Politicsny.com for all of the upcoming stories... | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, May 22, 2002 Ok, so it's probably a little tasteless to be writing my political opinions right below that link for the *ahem* sexually and religiously offensive Web site... but I'm a man of diverse interests... and here goes anyway. The New York State Democratic Convention convened today in New York City. We all know who I'm rooting for... H. Carl McCall. And all signs point to him being chosen as the party favorite. He's certainly got the party leaders lining up behind him and lending their support. His momentum keeps growing, and new McCall endorsements never seem to stop. If you don't know anything about the two Democratic candidates, I would urge you to read today's Ithaca Journal. They ran a full-page comparing the two candidates. (Oh yeah, the other guy's name is Andrew Cuomo.) I had to weigh-in on something. The Journal article (I dunno who wrote it, probably NOT someone from Ithaca) said that Cuomo was "energetic" and "inspiring" and that McCall "rarely inspired anyone" in his speeches across the state. I have to say I COMPLETELY DISAGREE. I've never heard Andrew Cuomo speak so I can't really compare the two, BUT McCall was one of the most eloquent, lively, and witty speakers I have ever heard. He definitely inspired me. (He's also an ordained Minister, so he knows how to capture an audience's attention.) Just as an example of some of the "inspiring" lines from the two candidates on the same topic... Cuomo: "I will live at 138 Eagle Street." (The address of the Governor's mansion.) Uhm, great. So you're arrogant AND wrong. McCall: "I started in public housing, and now I want to go back to public housing -- the governor's mansion." Talking about his humble beginnings and how he's come from the welfare system to become one of the most qualified candidates to run for Governor in history... now THAT is an inspiring and uplifting story compared to Andrew Cuomo's born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth past. Folks, there's no contest here. H. Carl McCall all the way! | private feedback | (0) public comments OH.... MY.... GOD.... heheh. Don't even ask how I found this site (and so early in the morning too). My personal favorite product featured here has to be Jackhammer Jesus. | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, May 21, 2002 I got a music file of Megan Mullally (Karen of Will & Grace) singing "Paris Original" from the Broadway show HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING from a friend today, and it prompted me to do a little research. Who knew she had such a great voice. Check out this page with some information about the show AND a picture of Megan in her role. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments I posted this yesterday, but if you miss any of this week's "Google Doodle" featuring Dilbert, they'll be posting them all at this site. Check them out as the week goes on... | private feedback | (0) public comments Woohoo! Go Team Real World! I knew all that teamwork would pay off in the end. If you didn't catch the last challenge last night on MTV, definitely try to catch it in re-runs. (... And I guess I just ruined it for you...) Let's see... last night I ended up going to the gym after work... and then getting home just in time to go over to Sally's where Rodney was making dinner.... spaghetti with homemade sauce... mmmmmmm. Watched some t.v. with them (Boston Public and Ally McBeal) before rushing home to meet Mike at my place for the Battle of the Seasons. Called mom last night, she's on her way to Miami starting Wednesday so I'm going up to Rochester this weekend to watch her house... her dog... and the birds. She's leaving the keys to one of the cars so that Rodney and I can pick her up at the Airport Sunday when she comes back in. (I need to learn how to drive. Heh). I can't wait for this long weekend! Lounging by the pool and in the hot tub at my mom's. :-) And hopefully get to go out a little bit and even see some friends to boot! I just got an email from my boss. We were supposed to go to dinner tonight to talk about the "future of the company." He says he can't make it now, he's got a few client deadlines that are pressing. This is the same "lunch" discussion that we were supposed to have months and months ago. Maybe it will never happen... I sure hope it does... I have a lot to say. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, May 20, 2002 AND... as if I haven't posted enough today... TONIGHT is the final episode of the Real World/Road Rules Battle of the Seasons on MTV. GO REAL WORLD!! (MTV -- 10 PM) | private feedback | (0) public comments And McCall's momentum keeps growing... this from Politicsny.com: McCall wins Working Families Party nod... State Comptroller H. Carl McCall has won the coveted nomination of New York's Working Families Party on Sunday, easily turning back a challenge from Democratic rival Andrew Cuomo. Humbert writes that McCall snared 81% of the approximately 300 delegate votes at the party's convention, while Cuomo received 19% of the vote, less than the 25% needed to force a September 10th primary for the party's ballot line. (5/20) | private feedback | (0) public comments NEW STUFF Here's another way for folks to get to know me a little better, and find out what makes me tick. Take a look at the rules that I try to follow on a daily basis. It's something to strive for... and I think that's a step in the right direction... ;-) I got this idea originally from my friend Mike. He does something similar on his web site. Hopefully, I'll update these frequently, so keep checking back! (Normally, you'll be able to get to this page through the "about me" section..) And... check out Google all this week for a series of dilbert cartoons culminating in a "new" Google logo on Friday. Check out some of the previous Google.com logos. (I love this stuff!) | private feedback | (0) public comments We've got a Borders bookstore! Finally! Borders opened at the mall this past weekend. I ended up going to check it out with Mike on Saturday afternoon and then again with Lori on Sunday afternoon. And my friend Josh works there, although I didn't see him either day. :-( The place was packed! Between the grand opening of both Borders and Dick's it was almost like christmas mall traffic... the mall exit was backed up onto Route 13. So, maybe these stores will revitalize our little mall afterall. Best Buy, Old Navy, Borders, and Dick's have opened and a new Target and Abercrombie and Fitch are on their way. Pyramid mall is finally growing up. Although I'm still a little perturbed that Lansing is going to get all this development and not the city of Ithaca which could use the tax revenue. Oh well. Let's see... my weekend... I'm going to spare some of the details since they are both unimportant and if the people who they're about read this page I don't want them to get pissed at me. :-) Friday night... let's just say I stayed in. I wasn't in the mood to go out to Common Ground... (I went out a few weeks ago so I'm good for a few months). I finished "The Street Lawyer" by John Grisham. It was ok, everything turned out like I thought it would. No surprises there. So now I need something else to read... any suggestions? I already mentioned the trip to the mall Saturday to check out Borders... and then Jacques called me in the afternoon to see if I wanted to go to Syracuse with him. So I jumped at the chance to get out of Ithaca for a night and I had a blast. We got into Syracuse about 10:30 and spent the evening playing pool and darts at RAIN. (Ithaca really needs a bar like Rain, I think it would do very well here... we can call it FIRE. heh) I met a nice guy. (But why always so far away? Why can't I ever meet anyone who lives IN Ithaca? Oh well.) Got back late (4-ish on Sunday morning)... but I was still up by 10 AM Sunday. I watched Meet The Press on NBC... a whole hour with Dick Cheney... Woohoo! (I hope you can sense my sarcasm.) And then went to check out Borders with Lori and hung out with her a little while in the afternoon. I don't get to spend near enough time with her... She asked me if I could watch Keelinn this Thursday. Yay! It's been way too long since I've gotten to hang with her and apparently she's been begging for another sleepover since the last time she got to play in my "bubble tub." Most of my Sunday evening was spent on the phone... I didn't end up watching the X-files Series finale or the Survivor finale... although I caught a good chunk of "Sleepless in Seattle" on the WB. That movie is just too cute. So I have to say something about this whole White House chastizing Hillary Clinton story over the weekend. To make a long story short... One of the New York newspapers publishes an article Saturday with the headline "Bush Knew"... reporting that Bush had some advance warning about the 9/11 attacks in NYC and didn't do anything about it. Hillary begins a speech on the floor of the Senate holding up the newspaper and says (and I'm paraphrasing here)... My constituents want to know what this means. How much did "president" Bush know? What exactly did he do about it?... etc. etc. etc. Now let's not forget that Hillary Clinton is the elected Senator from the state that the 9/11 catastrophe happened in... and the Senator representing the city whose newpaper published this headline... and shes only asking for clarification. Someone in the White House (those republican talking heads are all the same to me, so pardon my not knowing their names) makes a speech saying all kinds of inflammatory things about Hillary Clinton... How she's acting completely inappropriate given the current state of affairs. (By the way, there are a lot of democrats asking questions... but they singled out Hillary Clinton because they're AFRAID of her... she's the number one target in the Democratic party because she's well-liked and carries a lot of influence in the party. Her name recognition alone makes her a money-making machine.) *I* for one appreciate politicians who stand up and ask for accountability and question authority. She didn't make any accusations, she simply asked for more clarification of the issues that were brought up in this article. GOOD FOR HER!! God forbid should we ask any "elected" politician such as Mr. Bush (I'm still refusing to call him president) to explain themselves. I can't wait for Hillary to run for President... that time can't come soon enough. | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, May 17, 2002 QUOTES OF THE WEEK: I've been working on this project for a few months, laying out a 300-page book in Microsoft Word (not an easy task). I had sent the file yesterday for review by the guy who's been doing the layout for years... a perfectionist and Microsoft Word wizard. I have never heard a person say so politely that they were fixing my mistakes. In answer to my query about the status... "I've been picking lint in it this morning." Picking lint? LOL You may only appreciate this one if you're familiar with computers and/or know the design biz. In response to some zipped files my co-worker sent to a wannabe printer in Massachusetts... "I can't get Illustrator to open a .zip file." Uhm... no shit. RANDOM RANTS: Sorry in advance to anyone who didn't see the season finale of Friends last night... don't read this if you don't want to know what happened... but they're going to fix this whole Joey/Rachel thing right? I mean they can't let THOSE TWO get married. And thank god they're taking steps to get Will & Grace to second-guess this whole baby nonsense. It was fun to talk about, but a baby would just ruin that show. Now, now... you know I love babies, just not for Will & Grace. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, May 15, 2002 Woohoo! I got my highest bowling score tonight.... a 151!!! Bad news... I just heard one of my favorite T.V. shows, Politically Incorrect was cancelled. Bummer. | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, May 13, 2002 Great weekend! Friday night I went to see BLUE WATER DAY at Micawber's. They get better every time I see them. Apparently I needed sleep more than food. I left there shortly before 8 to get something to eat, but when I got home I passed out... slept right through 'til the morning. Saturday I was ready to conquer the world and was surprised by a knock at the door. It was Lori and Darlene kidnapping me for breakfast at State Street Diner. Was fun to chill with them again. At one point in the conversation they were asking me if I had ever watched "Everybody Loves Raymond" and telling me how they were each like Raymond or Debra. VERY funny... even lesbians can relate to the relationship dynamics on the show. I said, "I think I'd be Debra." Lori said "Let's not kid around. You ARE Debra." *grin* I took my new OUT magazine and chilled on the commons for the afternoon. I even have a sunburned forehead and forearms to show for it. Looks kinda funny but I must have been sitting out there for hours reading. It was the Ithaca Kid's Rock The Arts Festival... there was music, and juggling and karate demonstrations... Sunday because of the rain I ended up going to hang out at Juna's and reading. I grabbed a book off the shelf that I owned for a while, but hadn't read yet... THE STREET LAWYER by John Grisham. I used to love reading John Grisham books. Unfortunately, as I started reading this one yesterday (I got halfway through it) I realized that he's writing them almost like they're movies... and not very good ones at that. I mean, they serve a purpose for when you want to get wrapped up in a mindless story and you don't want to think too much. But it does all get a little predictable... I don't remember A TIME TO KILL being so predictable, though it's been a while since I've read it. Anyway, THE STREET LAWYER is about a guy who gets held hostage by a homeless man and decides that he is going to leave the fast-track to partnership in a multi-billion dollar firm for a $30K salary as a street lawyer practicing homeless law. He suddenly gets a conscience. OF COURSE he's privvy to some information from his previous firm that he shouldn't be -- information about the illegal dealings of a real estate company that "evicts" homeless folks... and... well... that's about it. I haven't read the second half so I can't spoil it for you, although I have some pretty strong guesses as to what happens. Its definitely a page turner... although I'm mostly continuing to read it just to see if my suspicions are confirmed. Its the same reason I watch QUEER AS FOLK (has there ever been a more transparent and utterly predictable show on television?). Last night I went to see Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was very good. I was pleasantly surprised. Very funny in parts... Its about the friendship of two boys in Mexico and how their relationship changes on a weekend trip with a woman who is married to one of the boys cousins... There are subtle class and sexuality issues involved. And the movie was "narrated" for lack of a better term by this omnipotent voice that added rhythm and context to the story. It was very well done, go check it out. I'm not sure how much longer it will be playing at Cinemapolis. GOOD NEWS! I asked my boss this morning if I could take time off in June to go to Provincetown with my friends Mike, Rodney and Paul. Just a long weekend but a nice short vacation nonetheless. He said yes. :-) And then I said, "Oh yeah. Do you mind if I take a week off in July?" He was sort of hesitant about that one... and so I quickly added, "I mean, you're going to be on vacation that whole month right?" (emphasis on *whole*) hehe. He said, "Right. Yeah, go ahead and take a week off in July. That's fine." Mom wants me to go to Las Vegas with her and her boyfriend (Tony). It feels weird to actually get time off from work. After a year of no vacation I will have had 2-1/2 weeks by the end of this summer. A week for Chicago, a long weekend to Provincetown and then a whole week in Las Vegas. MMMMM, no complaints from me. :-) Ok, Ok, back to work.... Should be a busy day wrapping up that project-from-hell this week... more later... | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, May 10, 2002 Something else worth knowing... BLUE WATER DAY is playing at Micawber's tonight, 6-9 pm. | private feedback | (0) public comments HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! (Mom deserves a big hug... she had to do jury duty today.) | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, May 09, 2002 And after my little rant... a quote that I just had to share because it had me in stitches last night. From one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world Lori... "Who knew the only thing separating us from insanity was armpit skin?" I didn't... *grin* | private feedback | (0) public comments A Public Service Announcement Brought To You By Shane's Frustration... OK people, do me a favor... DON'T forward stuff around without figuring out if its real first. The five minutes you spend to figure out if something is a hoax is worth it. Don't blindly reach for the forward button. No more stories about kids doing science fair projects and want to know how fast and how far their emails travel around the country (I actually wrote back to this one and my email got RETURNED for a fake address!). No more cry-me-a-river stories about kids on dialysis machines that just want a full inbox for the last few days of their life. And no more stupid virus alerts that pranksters come up with to see how much buzz they can make. And please, no more forwards "just to see if that little video really will pop up" after forwarding the thing to ten friends (I'll tell you right now... IT WON'T!) Or my personal favorite, that free trip to disneyland that you'll get from Microsoft 'cause somehow they can track where your email goes and they'll know who has sent it and who hasn't (THINK about that a second!). PLEASE, let's all make a point to be responsible email forwarding individuals. That's my two cents... An example of one I got today... and the corresponding information that one could have found... THE EMAIL: >>>> Subject: WORST VIRUS EVER...CNN ANNOUNCED PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST !! A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive ever! This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee and no vaccine has yet ! been developed. This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored. This virus acts in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with the title "A Card for You". As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened, the computer freezes so that the user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+del keys or the reset button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk. Yesterday in just a few hours! this virus caused panic in New York, according to news broadcast by CNN. This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself. So don't open any mails with subject: "A Virtual Card for You." As soon as you get the mail, delete it!! Even if you know the sender!!! Please pass this mail to all of your friends. Forward this to everyone in your address book. I'm sure most people, like myself, would rather receive this 25 times than not at all. >>>> THE HOAX: Looked it up on CNN.com AND McAfee... nothing (of course) The Sector Zero/Virtual Card For You "Virus" Email Warning Is A Hoax | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, May 06, 2002 Is it portentious of bad things to come when the Chinese food you have for lunch makes you nauseous AND you have no fortune in your fortune cookie? Yikes. | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, May 05, 2002 Long week of working on this terrible project... (I was at the office until 4:00 AM Wednesday night... well I guess that would be Thursday morning.) So I haven't had much of a chance to do anything including update my Web page. This last week went by very fast. Monday I did laundry, Tuesday I was at the office super late. Wednesday I went bowling with the boys. I think we're going to make it a regular thing. I had a blast and bowled my best game ever.. 132. ;-) Thursday I was so tired that I passed out shortly after Will & Grace. Friday I saw a play at the Kitchen Theater... and then went out to CG for the first time in forever. Saturday I tried to enjoy the sun and spent part of the day chilling with Mike on the commons. I went out again Saturday night to play darts with the boys. Rodney and Mike and I went out to "breakfast" at Mano's afterwards. Today I read a magazine on the commons and even got a little sun. Wahoo! I dragged myself to the gym and then spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening at the office trying to print this massive 300-page word document. Our printer is so ancient that I only got through 120 pages. I won't even go into my personal life this last week. Let's just say that I'm not a fan of men at the moment. You wouldn't believe me if I told you... | private feedback | (0) public comments |
Hey! I'm Shane... a proud gay progressive Democrat who has recently relocated to New York City from Ithaca, NY. As I am no longer in Ithaca, I haven't quite decided the fate of this blog. Drop me a line!
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