Some Good Witch YOU Are, Glenda!

The latest forecasts show that Cyclone Glenda will first clobber the NW Australia coast as a hurricane, then rake the ENTIRE western coast as a tropical storm or tropical disturbance, THEN become an extra-tropical low in the Great Australian Bight, and THEN plaster New South Wales AND Tasmania. ONE storm will terrorize HALF of the entire coast of the entire continent of Australia, in one way or another, at varying strength, over the next week! Damn! Such mileage!

Wonderment Over Kaloogian

Nell makes an excellent comment regarding Tristero's post over at Digby's regarding Kaloogian's geography (comment reproduced here):

Here's what puzzles me: Kaloogian's background is Armenian. A ton of Californians, presumably many voters in his district, are of Armenian heritage. There's enormous, justifiable sensitivity in those households and communities to all things Turkish.

And yet someone on his staff put up a picture from suburban Istanbul, with Turkish signs clearly visible, and thought no one in the district would notice it's not from Baghdad? I can't believe someone from Kaloogian's office didn't spot it.

Very good point, Nell!

Makes me think his campaign crew just doesn't have their act together. Given the high-quality of Photoshopped material these days, we are fortunate that this was such a botched, amateurish job.

Mark Of The Beast

A warning from the sky:

The most memorable moment of Terica Washington's 30th birthday Monday was looking into the sky and seeing an airplane towing a black banner with words written in white: "6/6/06 You have been warned".

She was alarmed enough to call the FBI.

Still Showing!

The Crest Theater has extended the run of "Ballets Russes" yet again, through Thursday, April 6th! They are moving the times around to accomodate newer films, however, and presumably matching the hours of cinema buffs who otherwise have trouble making it, so check the Crest Web Site, or the newspaper, before you do down there!

Howard Kaloogian, Faker

That's funny! Howard Kaloogian, noted Republican hatchet type (particularly in the 2003 California Recall campaign), and current candidate for Congress from San Diego, has been misrepresenting photos of Istanbul as Baghdad, trying to show what a normal place that Mesopotamian hell is these days. Exactly the kind of Congressional Representative scandal-burned San Diego needs these days!

El Tricolor

The Mexican flag has been a potent symbol in the latest protests:

That image -- protesters waving and wearing Mexican flags -- has angered anti-illegal immigration activists.

"This isn't Mexico," said Joseph Turner, founder of Save Our State. "This is America. . . . What (annoys me) most is the arrogance that they are going to fly a foreign flag on my soil."

The Mexican flag has long been a hot-button issue in the immigration debate. For some, the flag represents cultural pride and unity among Mexicans and Mexican Americans fighting for their rights here. For others, it symbolizes an invasion by Mexicans into the United States.

... University of California, Irvine, Professor Frank Bean said the flag doesn't signify loyalty to Mexico, but rather loyalty to each other.

"They are saying, `We are together in fighting against these people who are trying to make felons out of us,' " said Bean, co-director of UC Irvine's Center for Research on Immigration, Population and Public Policy.

... Jose Covarrubias, 16, a junior at Garden Grove High School in Orange County, carried both flags Monday. He doesn't think anyone should read too much into protesters' use of the Mexican flag.

"St. Patrick's Day just passed," Covarrubias said. "Just because they wave an Irish flag doesn't mean that they care about Ireland more than they do the U.S."

My suspicion is that the Mexican flag is as much about nostalgia as it is about unity - the remembered, nuturing mother land. But in the context of a demonstration, many protestors also understand that American nationalists will be annoyed by the tricolor's presence, and that is exactly why they'll make certain the Mexican flag is just as ubiquitous as it is possible to make. It's all about ordinary people taking a stand against their detractors!

Sweet Voices, And The Radio Isn't Even On

Apparently I'm not alone - Kylie tells me when the traffic light is about to change:

One of the most notorious drunk drivers in the Ottawa area has been found not criminally responsible on his latest impaired driving charges because of a mental disorder that makes him believe female celebrities are controlling his actions.

Matt Brownlee was arrested last October after police spotted a pickup truck speeding along a busy street in downtown Ottawa. ... The 33-year-old man told psychiatrists that he knew the legal repercussions of his actions, but believed singer Shania Twain was helping him drive.

... On Monday, the judge drew on several psychiatric assessments in ruling that Brownlee was not criminally responsible for his actions because he suffers from delusions that celebrities such as Twain are communicating with him telepathically.

Aqueduct For German Cargo

Food for your inner civil engineer! Today, Gabe highlights this interesting water bridge over the River Elbe. Even (unreliable) Snopes says it's for real!

Deer In The Headlights in Iraq

I remember once finding my cat, Ashley, and another strange cat, yowling at each other at close range. Both cats were in an extreme state of agitation. I thought to put an end to the confrontation, so I stomped directly between them. The chance of retribution removed by the presence of an intervening leg, both cats immediately attacked, and savaged my leg from both sides.

Something like that might be happening in Iraq. By and large, and with notable exceptions (Muqtada al-Sadr), we've been supporting the Shiite communities there as they flex their political powers, but we've also been trying to mollify the Sunni communities as well. Since we don't understand the neighborhood very well, we've been having trouble calibrating our efforts, and we've been making tons of terrible mistakes. Thus, we are in an unenviable place, with the possibility, maybe even likelihood, that both communities will unite to attack Americans. All that's required is a temporary truce between the warring communities, and it's open season on the Yanks!:

Some Shiites, according to al-Hayat, are saying that the US is deliberately attempting to provoke a civil war in Iraq. Among their concerns was the US military's announcement that the attack on the Mustafa Husayniyah in Ur was the work of an Iraqi military unit. Which unit? Where? To whom does it report? Is it little more than a death squad? Is it commanded by the Americans? Why didn't the Prime Minister know about this attack, which spilled over on Dawa Party offices? PM Jaafari is a member of the Dawa Party.

The Badr Organization, a political party that represents the paramilitary Badr Corps, the Shiite militia of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, demanded Monday that Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador to Iraq, be expelled from that country.

Tropical Storm Season in Australia

Threats on all sides!:

Australia was bracing for its second top-category superstorm in a week as tropical cyclone Glenda headed toward the western coast. The storm was becoming more powerful and was likely to reach category five status as it hits the Pilbara mining area in the next few days, said Noel Puzey from the bureau of meteorology.

Emergency workers in the sparsely-populated region urged residents to batten down in order to avoid a repeat of the devastation tropical cyclone Larry wrought on the other side of Australia last week.

... yet another tropical cyclone, Wati, have provided an unwanted headache for lifesavers along Australia's entire east coast. Wati has whipped up massive surf along the coast, with swells of four metres (13 foot) on tourist beaches such as Sydney's Bondi.

Authorities have warned people to stay out of the water but have been forced to recue dozens of surfers determined to test their big wave riding skills in the rare conditions.

SOS

If "Carpathia" had been piloted by the Germans.

Pittsburgh Freak-Out

Much ado about nothing:

Heavily armed shock troops took to the streets of Downtown, police officers barked at pedestrians to take cover and Pittsburgh's mayor donned a bulletproof vest yesterday afternoon as reports of a sniper in the heart of the business district triggered a massive police response and paralyzed both commerce and traffic.

... There was no sniper after all, only a maintenance man at the Pittsburgh Allegheny County Thermal plant shooting at pigeons inside the 10-story facility with a pellet rifle.

Police declined to identify the man. But PACT president Robert Fazio said he was Richard Wills, an "excellent" longtime employee who has worked single-handedly for several years to eradicate the plant's pigeon problem after poison and plastic owls proved unsuccessful. PACT provides steam heat for buildings throughout Downtown.

When police discovered that tidbit of information, they also learned another. Despite the rapid response and overwhelming police presence, the worker, a Fayette County resident, had quietly left, possibly oblivious to the uproar he had caused.

... Chief Dominic J. Costa, who was Downtown along with Mayor Bob O'Connor and other top local officials, said merely carrying a pellet rifle Downtown might not be against the law. However, he added, it flew in the face of common sense.

"Look at the alarm he caused. Look at all the inconvenience he caused," Chief Costa said.

... "It was confusing and more than a little aggravating," manager Debbie Doucette said. "Now that it turns out to be a pellet gun, I'm really aggravated. We were all held up for two hours for pigeons and pellet guns."

Pundits

Compared to Sharon Stone, Madonna sounds like Edward R. Murrow. First, Sharon Stone:

I THINK Hillary Clinton is fantastic. But I think it is too soon for her to run. This may sound odd, but a woman should be past her sexuality when she runs. Hillary still has sexual power and I don't think people will accept that. It's too threatening."

Next, Madonna:

"Hillary should go for it. I don't think now is necessarily her time, or the Democrats' time, but she should certainly go for it. You've got to start somewhere, in terms of a woman leading the U.S. In Europe and Asia and elsewhere, women have ruled over millions, it's not an abstract concept. But in America, men are still afraid. And I don't think women are too comfortable with the idea of a female in charge. I find that really amazing."

Lingerie

So, what's Kylie up to?

Australia's sweetheart made headlines in her adopted UK home again yesterday, with reports Minogue has already created a fragrance and is now negotiating names and packaging with a cosmetics company.

Additionally, the singer is set to launch a new range of designs for her "Love Kylie" lingerie line.

It's a good idea to expand that lingerie line. It seems aimed for young, svelte women - nothing for the middle-aged man (well, actually everything for the middle-aged man, just nothing to wear).

Last time I tried wearing something skimpy (a Speedo swim suit), I was 24-years-old, and already embarrassingly unsuited for it. I've gained fifty pounds since then.

Expand that "Love Kylie" range of designs - expand it A LOT!

Stayin' Alive In Las Vegas

Two articles that explore why so many have so much trouble stayin' alive in that blasted desert fantasy metropolis, the one with a burnt, coal-black cinder where a heart should be. When I go there, I see angry, preoccupied people walking around on the fringes of life - in the endless trailer parks, at bus stops, at the mini-marts, behind the glittering facades:

Why is the suicide rate so high in Nevada?:

As far back as 1929, the first year Nevada registered vital statistics with the federal government, the suicide rate here was more than twice the national average.

... Newly compiled data by state Suicide Prevention Coordinator Misty V. Allen shows that 480 people took their lives in 2004, up 9.7 percent from the previous year. That's more than the 398 individuals who died in traffic accidents in Nevada that year.

From 1990 to 2000 Nevada led the nation in the number of suicides per capita. In 2004 the rate dropped slightly, to 18.5 suicides for each 100,000 population.

The national average in 2003, the last year for which comparison figures are available, was 10 suicides per 100,000 people. That year Nevada's rate was 19 per 100,000, which placed the state fourth nationwide.

... "Suicide victims seem to have a much higher rate of alcohol and substance abuse," Thienhaus said. "The vast majority of victims also have a mental illness that should have served as a warning."

... "Long term care doesn't just mean hospitalization," Thienhaus said. "It must also include supervised housing, sheltered workshops, access to outpatient care, all of the things necessary to avoid a recurrence of the factors that precipitated the initial suicide attempt."

... It is a common assumption, for example, that gambling is a major factor in Nevada's high suicide rate. But other so-called frontier states that do not have legalized gaming also rank high on the list.

In addition, New Jersey, which also allows gaming, consistently ranks near the bottom of the list.

The fact that so many frontier states top the list suggests there may be something about living there that contributes to suicide attempts.

Looking at street life:

Norman Bangs had finally had enough of the streets. He'd had enough of the cold and dusty back lots, the police harassment, and the mocking teenagers. He'd had enough of the newspaper beds, the relentless sun and the lack of running water. He'd had enough of the drinking and the drugs.

He just wanted a little help. What he got was the cold shoulder and a one-way ticket back to the streets, where he died earlier this month.

"He seemed like a fine fellow to me, but he had two vices: alcohol and drugs," said Greg Malm, who occasionally ran into Bangs at the Fremont Street Experience and Circle Park. "That's the trouble with this town. There's so many doors that are being closed in your face. It really shouldn't be like that."

... Sacco drove Bangs to WestCare, which serves the valley's homeless who abuse alcohol and drugs. After being ignored, said Sacco, she asked if any beds were available. A receptionist said no. When Sacco asked if there was anywhere else she could take Bangs, the receptionist explained that WestCare was the only free detox center in the valley.

Discouraged, Bangs asked Sacco to drop him off at the Salvation Army homeless shelter. She did, not knowing whether he entered the building. About a month later, she heard that Bangs died of a drug overdose behind an abandoned building near Maryland Parkway and Charleston Boulevard.

... "It's always painful to hear stories of somebody who wanted to get help, and it just wasn't to be," said Lera-Randle El, adding that about 17 people have died on the streets of Las Vegas this year. "There's a lot of would've, could've and should've. Also, in order to deal with the grief, I hope that Norman Bangs' death will shed more light on the issue. I've had homeless people who've died over the years for various reasons. Their cases brought light to the issue. They're still helping from beyond the grave. They're still reaching out to show what's actually going on out there."

Love Bunny

B3ta is posting this exasperating game again.

Flash: Pro-Immigration Blob Devours The Nation

And everyone thought Americans wanted to 'go medieval' on illegal immigrants! As you might expect, it's just clueless people talking to each other, and not bothering to talk to anyone else. Half a million protestors! Perhaps the largest protest in American history!:

Thousands of immigration advocates marched through downtown Los Angeles in one of the largest demonstrations for any cause in recent U.S. history.

More than 500,000 protesters - demanding that Congress abandon attempts to make illegal immigration a felony and to build more walls along the border - surprised police who estimated the crowd size using aerial photographs and other techniques, police Cmdr. Louis Gray Jr. said.

Vladimir Putin

Thief:

Mr Putin was labelled a plagiarist at the weekend after a pair of researchers at the Brookings Institution, a Washington DC think tank, established that the President's academic credentials were based on a dissertation he had lifted in part verbatim from the Russian translation of a management study written by two professors at the University of Pittsburgh in 1978.

Right Outta 'Nam

I always wondered about the black helicopters:

Former Reagan-era Pentagon official Kathleen "KT" McFarland stunned a crowd of Suffolk County Republicans on Thursday by saying:

"Hillary Clinton is really worried about me, and is so worried, in fact, that she had helicopters flying over my house in Southampton today taking pictures," according to a prominent GOP activist who was at the event.

...Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson denied any spying was going on.

"We at the Hillary campaign wish Ms. McFarland the best and hope she gets the rest she needs," he said.

"NOBODY Expects The Spanish Inquisition!"

(Left) Fine food and fine company at Ludy's!


In honor of the Dannette's birthday, and since this was a 'dark' weekend, with no DMTC shows open, the DMTC crowd decided to travel and see Woodland Opera House's production of "Man of La Mancha," starring Rodger McDonald as Don Quixote and Michelle Drever as Dulcinea.

DMTC has done "Man of La Mancha" three times, the two previous times quite recently: in 2000, with Rodger McDonald as Don Quixote and Beth Nilsen as Dulcinea, and in 2005, with Byron Westlund as Don Quixote and Lauren Miller as Dulcinea. Given the fondness of the company for the show - almost a proprietary sense - and given the certainty that Woodland would do things differently than Davis would, I steeled myself for a night of complaint, intrigue, nay, even an auto-da-fe, which reminds me of, strangely enough, of Monty Python! :

Chapman: *I* don't know - Mr Wentworth just told me to come in here and say that there was trouble at the mill, that's all - I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.

(JARRING CHORD)
(The door flies open and Cardinal Ximinez of Spain (Palin) enters, flanked by two junior cardinals. Cardinal Biggles (Jones) has goggles pushed over his forehead. Cardinal Fang (Gilliam) is just Cardinal Fang)

Ximinez: NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise ... surprise and fear ... fear and surprise .... Our two weapons are fear and surprise ... and ruthless efficiency .... Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency ... and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope .... Our *four* ... no ... *Amongst* our weapons .... Amongst our weaponry ... are such elements as fear, surprise .... I'll come in again. (Exit and exeunt)

Chapman: I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.

(JARRING CHORD)
(The cardinals burst in)
Ximinez: NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition! Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as: fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms - Oh damn! (To Cardinal Biggles) I can't say it - you'll have to say it.

Biggles: What?

Ximinez: You'll have to say the bit about 'Our chief weapons are ...'

Biggles: (rather horrified): I couldn't do that...

(Ximinez bundles the cardinals outside again)

Chapman: I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.

(JARRING CHORD)
(The cardinals enter)

Biggles: Er.... Nobody...um....

Ximinez: Expects...

Biggles: Expects... Nobody expects the...um...the Spanish...um...

Ximinez: Inquisition.

Biggles: I know, I know! Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. In fact, those who do expect -

Ximinez: Our chief weapons are...

Biggles: Our chief weapons are...um...er...

Ximinez: Surprise...

Biggles: Surprise and --

Ximinez: Okay, stop. Stop. Stop there - stop there. Stop. Phew! Ah!...our chief weapons are surprise...blah blah blah. Cardinal, read the charges.

Fang: You are hereby charged that you did on diverse dates commit heresy against the Holy Church. 'My old man said follow the--'

Biggles: That's enough. (To Cleveland) Now, how do you plead?

Cleveland: We're innocent.

Ximinez: Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

So, beginning the evening, I was somewhat apprehensive about how the evening was going to go.

We began with a nice dinner at Ludy's, next door to the Woodland Opera House. Celtic music by Day Griffin (left) floated through the restaurant. The DMTC crowd looked forward to seeing the show, particularly since an E-Mail message from a cast member had been received earlier in the the week. The message extolled the superb quality of the cast and the orchestra, and created a favorable anticipatory buzz.


(Left) Just before curtain. Here, Steve Isaacson coverses with woodwinds wizard Paul Wurschmidt. A strange haze filled the theater. We thought a fog machine had been used recently, but none was used in the show, so the source of the haze remained a mystery. [Update: Steve says Jeff Kean at WOH has a haze machine. Maybe so. But then, why was haze necessary for this show?]

The show was quite nice. Rodger was just as I remembered in 2000: strong and vigorous. Michelle was fiery as Aldonza, and had a beautiful, gorgeous voice.

I liked the opportunity to see the 'gypsy' portions of the show (those parts had been cut from the DMTC shows). I especially liked that the show started with the gypsies. Great start! In the gypsy segment Kevin Little and Monika Neal had a fine dance. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Monika is focusing on dance. She has been attending Natomas Charter School of late, and clearly picking up useful knowledge. I particularly liked the whimsical little parade in 'Golden Helmet of Mambrino.'

My major complaint regarded the use of recorded music at selected places where an atmosphere of dread was required. The music just wasn't ominous enough, and seemed jarring and unnecessary, given the presence of a fine orchestra. Why use a recording?

Afterwards, we regrouped at Arthur and Dannette's. Steve, Lauren, and Andy came up and began tormenting me by croaking in unison, "M-A-R-C!" (it's a long story), so I pulled my coat over my head and gritted my teeth against the grating sound. Driven to madness by the endless sound, and imitating Rodger, I finally blurted (to general laughter) "My name is Alonso Quijana!" (Humor: the ultimate weapon!)

DMTC criticism regarded two general points. DMTC took seriously, raising to the point of principle even, the prison setting. That meant people and objects shouldn't enter or leave the stage, unless absolutely necessary. The lack of freedom of movement helps create the oppressive prison atmosphere.

Most DMTC people felt the prisoners and various objects were leaving and entering the stage unnecessarily. From where, and to where, could they possibly be going in a prison? Plus, stronger emphasis on Cervantes' trunk as the source of props should have been made.

But there are other ways to create an oppressive atmosphere. Woodland emphasized set design and lighting to do just that. The tall, imposing set accentuated the already tall, imposing proscenium arch of the Woodland Opera House. By allowing objects to fly in, they were able to use a confessional as a set piece - really, to me, a magical effect - but unavailable to the DMTC productions, given the stricter interpretation of what sort of movements were allowable. And (to belabor the obvious) the stage is not a prison. Can the director be faulted for taking advantage of a stage's possibilities?

The other general point regarded show direction. Certain relationships, such as that between Dr. Carrasco and Antonia, could have been developed better, given different direction. Some interconnectedness was lost at the beginning, such as when Cervantes first invites the prisoners into his imagination. Director Bob Cooner had the prisoners keep their distance from Cervantes, but a closer approach seemed called for.

But, in general, the DMTC crowd had a good time, liked the show, found much to admire about the actors, and was hardly in the mood to punish heresy. The cardinals had a soft touch for good theater, well done.

"Antonia" (Andrea St. Clair) heads home after a fine show!

Yet Again!

The Crest Theater has extended the run of "Ballets Russes" yet again, through Thursday, March 30th! Don't delay - see it while it's here! Sally saw the film today, and was shocked to see her old teacher, Alan Howard, in the movie. Go down there and get shocked too!

Motivation

I remember sitting in the kitchen once with my father, watching television, and watching a figure skater spinning on the ice. It might have been ABC Wide World of Sports (in the mid-seventies). My dad turned to me with a confident smile, gestured towards the skater, and said, "I can do that!" I'm afraid my skepticism shone through: "YOU can do THAT?" "Yes," my dad said "if you try hard enough, you can do anything!" "R-I-G-H-T," I replied.

In February, 1993, I vowed that I'd be doing the splits by September, 1993. Still working on it! Maybe I should have tried figure skating???

The Dancer's Life

Cruel fate:

A Miami-based dancer is suing the owners and producers of the Broadway musical "Movin' Out" for more than $100 million in damages on grounds that she was emotionally abused and fired after her breasts grew too large for her costumes.

Old!

Real old!:

A tortoise brought as a present for Clive of India had died in a zoo at the venerable age of 255.

... For many years the tortoise had been living in a zoo in the east Indian city of Kolkata, where it was one of the star attractions. It died after a string of illnesses, said Subir Chowdhury, the Kolkata Zoo director.

... The average lifespan of an Aldabra tortoise is well beyond 100 years, according to the website of the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas.

Most of the tortoises are found on Aldabra, an atoll of four large coral islands in the Indian Ocean. The atoll has been protected from human influence and is home to some 152,000 giant tortoises, the world’s largest population of the animal, according to the United Nations world heritage body.

Masquerading As A Lobbyist

Funny! (via David Sirota):

A few minutes later I was talking to a lobbyist and her schoolteacher husband, who were hanging around the periphery of the party. I spilled a very long spiel about our Grand Canyon project, railing against government regulation. The husband joined me in being angry about the obstacles.

"The thing is, you come up with something like that, the first thing they'll say is [here he changed his voice to a high-pitched whine] 'Oh, the animals, the animals!' ******* New York liberals!"

Martian Rover 'Spirit'

Loses power to a wheel. 'Spirit' is suffering from low power in general, because Martian winter is approaching and the solar panels are picking up less and less sunlight every day. Rolling into the sunset, bit by bit, but still rolling, and still generating data!

While driving eastward toward the northwestern flank of "McCool Hill," the wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit churned up the largest amount of bright soil discovered so far in the mission.

... A few days earlier, Spirit's wheels unearthed a small patch of light-toned material informally named "Tyrone." In images from Spirit's panoramic camera, "Tyrone" strongly resembled both "Arad" and "Paso Robles," two patches of light-toned soils discovered earlier in the mission. ... Spirit's instruments confirmed that those soils had a salty chemistry dominated by iron-bearing sulfates. Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer is analyzing this most recent discovery, and researchers will compare it with those other deposits.

These discoveries indicate that light-toned soil deposits might be widely distributed on the flanks and valley floors of the "Columbia Hills" region in Gusev Crater on Mars. The salts may record the past presence of water, as they are easily mobilized and concentrated in liquid solution.

For months, people were quietly heartbroken that 'Spirit' was set amid what appeared to be exclusively volcanic plains. Once in the Columbia Hills, and with these sort of discoveries, 'Spirit' was able to redeem itself, and confirm what people had long suspected, that Gusev Crater had once, many eons ago, seen at least some water.

Here Come The Divorce Lawyers

So many white-collar jobs can be off-shored (Update: sorry, 56 million American jobs, not 56 American jobs, like I first wrote), that only either specialization will save us:

Since education as such won't save us, Blinder recommends a kind of particularized vocational ed. We will have to specialize more, he writes, "in the delivery of services where personal presence is either imperative or highly beneficial. Thus, the U.S. workforce of the future will likely have more divorce lawyers and fewer attorneys who write routine contracts." Now, there's a prospect to galvanize a nation.

or some strategic legwork:

• We need to entice industry to invest at home by having the government and our public-and union-controlled pension funds upgrade the infrastructure and invest in energy efficiency and worker training.
• We need to unionize and upgrade the skills of the nearly 50 million private-sector workers in health care, transportation, construction, retail, restaurants and the like whose jobs can't be shipped abroad.
• And, if America is to survive American capitalism in the age of globalization, we need to alter the composition of our corporate boards so that employee and public representatives can limit the offshoring of our economy.

These days, we don't do strategy. Thus here come the divorce lawyers!

Falling For The Bait

Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia, decided to launch a cheap shot at the U.S. Government regarding our policy on terrorism (and by extension, our policy on coca cultivation), following the recent bombings alleged to have been masterminded by Californian Jay Amero in La Paz, Bolivia. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela also likes to use these kind of cheap shots. And why not? The U.S. Government falls for the bait every time!

President Evo Morales denounced the bombings as attacks on Bolivia's democracy.

"This American was putting bombs in hotels," Morales said Wednesday. "The U.S. government fights terrorism, and they send us terrorists."

Morales comments prompted an equally emphatic response from the U.S. State Department, which said the Bolivian leader's remark harmed their governments' efforts to cooperate against terrorism.

"Declarations such as these impede our efforts and block our capacity to cooperate" in anti-terrorism efforts, the U.S. Embassy in La Paz said in a statement Thursday.

In Washington, Thomas Shannon, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said he was "surprised" by Morales's comments.

Shannon said Washington had expressed its concern over the comments to Bolivia's government, according to his spokesman Eric Watnik.

Morales strongly opposes U.S.-led efforts to eliminate cultivation in Bolivia of coca, the main ingredient used to make cocaine. Coca also has traditional uses by Bolivia's Indian. Morales' close ties with Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have also strained relations with Washington.

Instead of taking the high road and carefully defending the right of all civilized societies to protect themselves against terrorist actions, the U.S. Government fired right back at Morales. Not the best of game plans. Why not state that the U.S. deplores the bombings, and that the U.S. Government will do anything in its power to assist the Bolivians, rather than state that its capacity to cooperate with the Bolivians is now blocked?

In their dumbing down of the Associated Press story, this morning's Sacramento Bee, Houston Chronicle, and I'm sure other newspapers, characterize the U.S. Goverment's statement as if the U.S. Government - the U.S. Government alone - defines what violent actions do - and don't - constitute terrorism.

The bombings Tuesday and Wednesday were denounced as "terrorist" by an angry President Evo Morales, prompting an emphatic response Thursday from the U.S. State Department, which said the Bolivian leader's remarks harmed efforts to cooperate against terrorism.

Whatever one might say about Morales' cheap shot, however, it seems pretty clear that these bombings (foreigners bombing civilian facilities for obscure purposes) qualify as terrorist actions. By attacking Morales, however, the U.S. Government seems to be indirectly defending the right of renegade, self-professed American Wiccans to murder Bolivians at random. And we wonder, sometimes, why our reputation suffers in the rest of the world?

Missouri Teen Survives Tornado Trip

Didn't end up in Oz, though:

When he came to, Suter found himself in a soft, grassy pasture. Last week a global positioning satellite device used by National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Gaede measured the distance at 1,307 feet from the trailer site.

Elephant Can't Remember Jack From Week To Week

How many times does the Bush Administration have to be hit across the forehead with a baseball bat to get a clue?:

In the aftermath of the Dubai ports dispute, the Bush administration is hiring a Hong Kong conglomerate to help detect nuclear materials inside cargo passing through the Bahamas to the United States and elsewhere.

The administration acknowledges the no-bid contract with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. represents the first time a foreign company will be involved in running a sophisticated U.S. radiation detector at an overseas port without American customs agents present.

Red vs. Blue, and Maybe a Success For The DLC Formula

If you look at a map of the electoral vote for the 1900 U.S. Presidential election, and compare it to a 2000 electoral-vote map, a striking jiu-jitsu flip reversal becomes apparent. In the 1900 election, Republicans took the Northeast, the West Coast and the Northern Plains, and the Democrats the South and Rocky Mountain states, and in the 2000 election, the pattern is close to the mirror opposite. The two parties spent the entire century opportunistically encroaching on each other's turf: sort-of like Mad Magazine's Spy vs. Spy.

The opportunistic attacks continue every day, of course, as the new century grinds on.

The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC: from which Bill Clinton emerged) favored catering to business interests, in the hope of breaking the Republican advantage on corporate and small business campaign donations. Liberals have been exasperated by this strategy, because it has prevented Democrats from creating a coherent political message, to clarify the political contrast with the Republican Party. Still, the DLC approach always had some potential, usually unrealized, but generally only if the Republicans actively blundered, and started promoting business-hostile politics.

This election cycle, many Republicans have favored a focus on illegal immigration. In a post 9/11 environment, it looks to many Republicans like a winning issue. A battle against illegal immigration can energize the Republican faithful, and it's also pertinent, with a large influx of illegals into the U.S., particularly Mexicans, and particularly in the South. I was reading somewhere that Mexicans compose about 30% (!!!) of the current population of rebuilding New Orleans.

But it's also a very dangerous issue for Republicans, because Americans are so, so, so hypocritical about illegal immigration. Closed-border ideologues seem to have no qualms at all about hiring illegals to prune the shrubbery. The reigning attitude, when hiring any Mexican is: 'don't ask, don't tell.'

So, I was struck by this story in today's Sacramento Bee regarding landscape contractors in Washington. To me, the DLC's vision, often unrealized, might actually work this election cycle. But it only works because Republicans are actively blundering - just like Spy-vs.-Spy!:

Ten California landscape business owners met with legislators this month in Washington, and three of them - all Republican voters - said Wednesday they were surprised that the lawmakers were not more sympathetic.

"I was most shocked at the Republican Party being against small business," said Cynthia Smallwood, who runs Diversified Landscape Management in Mission Viejo.

"They don't get that there is a labor shortage," she said, explaining that even with wages running up to $35 an hour for public contract work, she can't attract a lot of U.S. citizens.

Cathy Gurney, owner of Sierra Landscape and Maintenance, also complained of being snubbed by Republicans. "I can't believe I put this party in power," she said. "The Democrats get it. They took time with us."

Peter Dufau, who runs an Oxnard landscaping business, said he believes congressional representatives in his party aren't listening to businesses.

"It seems they are listening to a bunch of people who have the time to go out and sit in the desert, like the, quote, unquote, Minutemen," Dufau said, referring to a group that conducts self-styled patrols on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Went To The Dentist

I like going to the dentist. My mother took particular care, during my first visits to the dentist, to make it a fun, happy experience. Dr. Ray was a happy gregarious man. They had 'Highlights' Magazine there, and jigsaw puzzles. Procedures were carefully explained.

Going to the dentist is still a fun time, because Dr. Woo (former Miss San Francisco Chinatown 1986) is gregarious, and they have 'People' Magazine there, and jigsaw puzzles.

Quite unlike the careless way my father introduced me, as a kid, to the barber's chamber of unique horrors, like razors and shaving cream and tall, tall chairs.

Anyway, there's a temporary crown in there, so no sticky, chewy, crunchy food for a month (since that's all I ever eat, it looks like it's time for diet again!) And after three shots worth of painkiller, I won't be winning any diction contests this afternoon: 'De Raiw, Iw Spaiw, Sways Maiwly Iw De Plaiw.'

Join The Dark Side

I still believe we will all eventually become Goth. It's the only youthful stance that makes any sense these days. And, come on, "Razed in Black" - need I say more?

Passing through Las Vegas Paris' casino for 45 minutes last December 27th, I spotted a young Goth, dazed with either wonder or contempt, meandering through the mid-morning crowd of svelte Asian tourists waking up after a long night. I think she was the only incorruptible person in the entire establishment!:

"Most youth subcultures encourage people to drop out of school and do illegal things," she says. "Most goths are well educated, however. They hardly ever drop out and are often the best pupils. The subculture encourages interest in classical education, especially the arts. I'd say goths are more likely to make careers in web design, computer programming ... even journalism."

... Visitors to the Archangel dental surgery in west London are confronted by a goth dentist, Didier Goalard, who says: "I've got goth friends who are doing quite well. There's a dentist in Lyon, a couple of solicitors, a Church of England priest."

... According to Choque Hosein, formerly of goth band Salvation but now running a record label, "Goths tend to be the weirdo intellectual kids who have started to view the world differently." Cathi Unsworth is now a successful author, but she remembers that her own dark gothic past gave her an outlet for alienation. "I loved the bands, especially Siouxsie and the Banshees, but it wasn't a pose - I felt authentically depressed," she says. Unsworth was a teenager in Great Yarmouth, where she felt that "people didn't like me. It got to a point where I wanted to stop fighting against being different and embrace it."

... It could be tough, but being a goth can open up a world where art, current affairs and literature are embraced and openly discussed, perhaps paving the way for future networking. Unsworth remembers debates about "current affairs, Oscar Wilde, decadence, hairspray ..." "There was a lot of Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker," remembers Porter. "It was better than the Sun." For Hosein, it was Quentin Crisp and "The Day of the Triffids. Anything involving horror and death."

... Indeed, there is a certain dry humour about goth that is often overlooked amid tales of black-clad youths worshipping Satan and, in one case, carrying out the Columbine massacre. "That wasn't goths," insists Brill. "The guys who did it always wore black trench coats but they listened to Marilyn Manson. There's an academic article: Why Marilyn Manson Isn't Goth." Brill insists that goth is a non-violent subculture. "They're like hippies. I don't know any goths who are into graveyard destruction or cat slaughtering. They like their graveyards and they love their cats."

Whiny Conservatives, Self-Reliant Liberals

The conclusions of this study seemed self-evident to me, at first:

Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative.

At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids from the Berkeley area that social scientists have been tracking for the last 20 years. The confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals.

The study from the Journal of Research Into Personality isn't going to make the UC Berkeley professor who published it any friends on the right.

Until they cited the correlation coefficient:

For instance, there was a .27 correlation between being self-reliant in nursery school and being a liberal as an adult. Another way of saying it is that self-reliance predicts statistically about 7 per cent of the variance between kids who became liberal and those who became conservative.

Boy - 0.27! My experience is that any correlation coefficient less than 0.80 borders on crap, and that anything less than 0.50 IS crap! It's possible to get better correlation coefficients by throwing darts blindfolded. So, this statement seems sound:

"I found it to be biased, shoddy work, poor science at best," he said of the Block study. He thinks insecure, defensive, rigid people can as easily gravitate to left-wing ideologies as right-wing ones. He suspects that in Communist China, those kinds of people would likely become fervid party members.

These questions also seem viable:

The results do raise some obvious questions. Are nursery school teachers in the conservative heartland cursed with classes filled with little proto-conservative whiners?

Or does an insecure little boy raised in Idaho or Alberta surrounded by conservatives turn instead to liberalism?

Or do the whiny kids grow up conservative along with the majority of their more confident peers, while only the kids with poor impulse control turn liberal?

Not scientific, but fun, silly stuff for a tedious Wednesday! I found this snarky blogpost from Smirking Chimp irresistible!

Regarding the study reported in the Toronto Star showing that the whiny kid who was always complaining how something wasn't fair probably grew up to be conservative, National Review's Jonah Goldberg whines that the study isn't fair.

Sympathy For The Thunder Lizard

Here's a news story that suggests dinosaurs couldn't get good sleep, and thus went extinct, because they were worried about climate change. That's it! Global warming or not, I'm nodding off irregardless:

THEIR sudden demise millions of years ago has been blamed on everything from huge volcanoes and apocalyptic tsunamis to giant meteor impacts, even alien invasions.

But could it be dinosaurs became extinct simply because they didn't get the right kind of sleep? Researchers claim the creatures' sleeping style meant they could not adapt to their changing environment, leaving them unable to cope with freak climate changes.

Most animals and birds enjoy two different types of slumber - rapid eye movement (REM) and "slow-wave" sleep. Scientists believe slow-wave sleeping patterns allow the brain to carry out important functions that improve the way it works. However, reptiles have only REM sleep, so they cannot develop their ability to respond to change.

... "Unlike mammals, reptiles do not have the cognitive abilities to experience slow-wave sleep, and slow-wave sleep is important as arguably it helps a creature perform new tasks and improve its memory."

Cold War Bomb Shelter

The re-discovery of this civil defense shelter made me nostalgic:

Workers inspecting the structural foundations of the Brooklyn Bridge uncovered a Cold War-era trove of basic provisions that were stockpiled amid fears of a nuclear attack.

The stash, discovered in a vault under an entrance ramp, includes water drums, canisters of calorie-packed crackers, paper blankets, medical supplies and drugs that were used to treat shock.

The estimated 350,000 Civil Defense All-Purpose Survival Crackers are apparently still intact, said Joseph Vaccaro, a supervisor at the city Transportation Department. The metal water drums, each labeled "reuse as a commode," did not fare as well -- they're now empty.

... "It's kind of unusual to find (a shelter) fully intact -- one that is rediscovered, almost in an archaeological sense."

I remember dinner table conversation in the early sixties, when I was a first-grader, and when my father was making grandiose plans to build a state-of-the-art atomic bomb shelter. Lo and behold, one day after returning home from school I went behind my house, and Voila!: my father was busy as a beaver digging a big hole in the back yard! Apparently it was the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he was going to make a insta-shelter for the entire family unit. I felt happier when he relented to my demand that our dog Pepper be allowed into the shelter as well.

To my surprise, the hurried project was abandoned just a few days later, when the Missile Crisis passed. Over the next decade, the big hole became a children's fort, as well as handy source of mud clods for our incessant clod wars with the kids up the hill. The clunky water tanks lasted longer, and took up lots of garage space for years. The brand-new portable radio later became a prized possession, in the late 60's, when I discovered how readily it would pick up AM radio signals from distant cities like LA, Des Moines, St. Paul, and Dallas. Indeed, when DMTC needed a period, or near-period, radio prop in 2003, for "Grease" (for Amber Jean Moore's rendition of "It's Raining On Prom Night"), that portable radio came in very handy. And it's all because of the Cold War!

Two More Nights!

See "Ballets Russes" while it's still here!

Ursula Andress Turns 70

Interestingly enough, that wasn't big enough news for the Swiss, so, to give the event more oompphhh, they coupled it with the opening of a consulate:

"We are celebrating the birthday of our biggest Hollywood star; we don't have that many of them," he told swissinfo.

He added that the party was timed to coincide with the opening of Switzerland's first general consulate in Scotland.

Remembrance - Jane Katherine Arthur

(Left) A metaphorical painting Katherine favored, illustrating the perfect bond between a man and a woman.


You never know when the past becomes genuinely past, when it becomes irretrievable. These pictures are just a few years old, but death is attempting to wrench away from memory my life with Katherine. Not yet! Not just yet......

Katherine and Sparky.





Springtime on 40th Street.




Persia Nelson and Katherine Arthur, Christmas, 1994.




Helga Frank and Katherine - friends!




Persia Nelson, Kashi Albertsen, Alex Samans: Katherine's children.




Katherine at Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, 1995.




Shopping with Katherine, Madrid, New Mexico, 1995.

Special "Aladdin, Jr." Performance, For The Rumsey School

From DMTC:

Welcome to Agrabah, City of Enchantment, where every beggar has a story and every camel has a tail! DMTC’s Young Performers Theater Division and Wells Fargo Bank present Disney’s Aladdin, Junior. The show is directed and choreographed by Jan Isaacson with musical direction by Erik Daniells. Last performance for Disney’s Aladdin, Jr. is: Thursday, March 23, 2006 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $3 all ages. The performance is at the Hoblit Performing Arts Center, 607 Peña Drive, Davis, CA.

All of your favorite characters are here in this stage adaptation of the Disney hit, including Aladdin, Jasmine, and of course, the Genie. Filled with magic, mayhem, and flying carpet rides. Most of all, the tuneful, Academy award-winning score with songs including "A Whole New World" and "A Friend Like Me."

Shredded

Shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred, shred - damn! broke the shredder!

"Titanic" Closing - And The Tilting Stage Breaks!


(Left) A cracked, upstage supporting timber. Cracking wood was heard in the same general area where cracking was heard just prior to the start of the performance run, four weeks ago. Sunday's cracks were apparently merely a continuation of that process.


HMS Titanic did break in half as it sank, didn't it?

We closed "Titanic - The Musical" at DMTC on Sunday, March 19, 2006. And the worst-case calamity we had occasionally feared finally occurred. On the very last performance, the tilting stage broke!

In its three, fixed, tilted positions, the stage was designed to be supported by wooden blocks. The cause of stage failure appears to have been operator error: a designated cast member failed to place a block on the upstage side of the tilting stage. When people filed onto the (unsupported) tilted stage for the "To The Lifeboats" scene, two ominous, very loud cracks signalled a mechanical demise to Set Designer Michael McElroy's vision, about half an hour before its scheduled time. Fortunately (and as anticipated), this kind of support failure did not signal the threat of bodily injury. Still, and very suddenly, the cast was faced with a very different kind of show!

The curtain was not opened as usual for "To The Lifeboats." Instead the upstage cast members scrambled off the tilted stage and joined the downstage cast members in front of the closed curtain. The staged lifeboat mob scene then quickly evolved into something like a real mob scene, where there was so much pushing and shoving that we were in danger of stumbling and falling (I believe I stepped on Hal Wright's foot during this scene, and apparently Lauren Miller felt she had to rebuke others in her vicinity). Charles (Henry Holloway) almost didn't make it out of the scrum to briefly rejoin Caroline Neville (Jill Wright) for their brief downstage moment. J.P. Villa was so rattled by the turn of events that he forgot to come onstage for the scene immediately following, requiring us to improvise in his absence.

Michael McElroy was able to do his solo scene, "Mr. Andrew's Vision," with the sagging stage more-or-less stuck in "To The Lifeboats" position, but most importantly, for visual purposes, the scene was done with the curtain open. Once the curtain was closed again, oddly enough, there were difficulties lowering the stage: we nearly had to improvise a finale with the curtain closed. But we muddled through, in the best tradition of the British maritime industry, and were able to open the curtain for the finale after all. Some audience members even granted us a standing ovation!

The moral of Sunday's adventure was easy to learn: Focus, focus, focus!

The show itself was fun. We had a silly time in the dressing room. Alex Powell (I believe facetiously) sang the merits of America's favorite tune, "My Humps," by the Black-Eyed Peas:

What you gon' do with all that junk?
All that junk inside your trunk?
I'ma get, get, get, get, you drunk,
Get you love drunk off my hump.
My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump,
My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely little lumps. (Check it out)

I suggested that all musical tunes from all genres should sound something like "My Humps:" Alex suggested Mozartian arrangements, but others are certainly feasible: ragtime arrangements, lounge arrangements, etc. Later, apropos of what, I don't remember, Andrew Lemons enthusiastically stated that he was a musician. A musician only capable of playing "My Humps," I averred. The idea of any musician being capable of only playing this one (catchy, but somewhat limited) song seemed inherently funny on its face!

Then, a long, tedious, and not even necessarily complete process of striking the set!

Backstage at intermission: Robert Coverdell and Bethany Pederson.






Josh Smith discovers stage 'bling' during strike. Background left, Alex Powell. Next to Josh, Julia Spangler. Background right, Steven Ross.






Despite Scott's shoulder rub, this odd conclave of DMTC's 'utes' signals a strike decision-making process. (Scott Griffith, Lauren Miller, Alex Powell, Kristi Avila, Jabriel Shelton, Julia Spangler)






After strike, Steve's Pizza! (Gail Lampinen, Lauren Miller, Steven Ross, Emily Beal, Scott Griffith)

Rube! Dupe!

Gabe thinks it's funny that Snopes fooled me:

Gabe: Rube! Dupe!

Marc: LIES! Damn it! LIES!






Gabe: Yes, the man slipping on the banana peel is just plain funny!

Marc: LIES! LIES!

Gabe: By the way, have I told you about the weapons of mass destruction that are hidden...

Marc: LIES!

Gabe: [This Mr. Ed story] is hilarious!

Marc: LIES!

Gabe: [Mr. Ed says]: "Maybe I didn't go to college, but I'm not stupid!"

Marc: LIES!

The Future of Porn

His love of garlic is really twisted:

A 75-year-old grandfather has become the newest star of Russia's growing porn industry, after wandering on to a film set by mistake, thinking it was a muscle man show.

It's Tough To Be An Immigrant

The old days were better, though:

But, compared with what many immigrants face today, Ellis Island was a pretty benign system. The majority of people were admitted. Until 1924, there were no quotas. The huddled masses were welcomed to the island with decent meals, cups of milk for the children, physical exams, showers, blankets, and some rudimentary explanations of how things worked in the new land.

In best Progressive Era fashion, inspectors sought to exclude people who they thought had been recruited by unscrupulous labor contractors. It was a time of massive citizenship education. Immigrants were seen as future citizens, not just cheap workers.

As a consequence, most foreign-born people quickly became part of American democracy, and its most enthusiastic champions. They participated. They voted. Soon, they made amazing economic and cultural contributions.

Today 12 million immigrants, mostly poor, are outside our democratic system. The obsession with terrorism, ineptly administered, has played havoc with cultural and scientific exchanges and admissions of foreign students. Even legal entrants can face political hazings, as well as denial of social benefits.

San Diego Union-Tribune, and John Doolittle

Can't rely on the timid Sacramento Bee for this stuff! The San Diego Union-Tribune, looking for California Congressmen in the same ethics pickle as San Diego's Duke Cunningham, is focusing on Placer County's own John Doolittle!

Snopes Just Too Damn Complacent

In response to my complaint regarding their false Titanic story, Snopes makes clear that they have the story there to keep people on their toes and to keep people in a state of skeptical tension.

All very and fine, except that Snopes didn't merely repeat a story, but actually created a false D.W. Griffith Web Page to lend added authority to the story. That is no longer a case of False Authority Syndrome, but rather a case of Malicious False Authority. Snopes can't escape culpability!!!!

Queensland Calamity

Cyclone Larry hits:

March 20,2006 | CAIRNS, Australia -- Metal roofs littered streets, wooden houses lay in splinters and banana plantations were stripped bare after the most powerful cyclone to hit Australia in three decades lashed the country's eastern coast Monday.

Amazingly, the storm caused no reported fatalities, and only 30 people suffered minor injuries. But the damage from Cyclone Larry, a Category 5 storm with winds up to 180 mph, was expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hardest hit was Innisfail, a farming city of 8,500 people 60 miles south of the tourist city of Cairns in northeastern Queensland state.

"It looks like an atomic bomb hit the place," Innisfail mayor Neil Clarke told Australian television. "It is severe damage. This is more than a local disaster, this is a national disaster."

... The casualty toll was so low because people left town or went to shelters after authorities posted warnings. Residents and officials were mindful of the damage Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans and Mississippi last August, said Ben Creagh, a spokesman for Queensland state Department of Emergency Services.

"Everyone here studied Katrina and took a lot of messages away, a lot of lessons at the expense of the poor old Yanks," Creagh said. "There was absolutely no complacency at the planning level at all, and I think that shows. ... Good planning, a bit of luck -- we've dodged a bullet."

Strange Titanic Coincidence

[Significant Update: OK, now I'm really frosted! Steve began investigating this story, because it sounded just so fantastic, and he discovered that the Snopes-Web-Page link enclosed here features another link that sends readers to a false IMDB Web Page regarding the supposed Poseidon Adventure movie directed by D.W. Griffith. If you go over to the real IMDB Web Page on D.W. Griffith, however, you quickly discover that he never directed such a movie, and indeed, that no such movie EVER EXISTED! Damn! When you can't trust the Web Sites intended to debunk common myths, who can you believe? I'm complaining to Snopes! Meanwhile, I'll let this post remain, as a monument to my gullibility!]

Noel noticed this over at Snopes:

... The next evening -- the Titanic's last, as it turned out -- the entertainment switched to another 1911 film with a nautical theme, this one the work of an actor/director who was one of young Hollywood's fast-rising stars: D.W. Griffith. The movie was The Poseidon Adventure (unusual in its time for its length -- an amazing 53 minutes in an era when the 10-minute one-reeler was still the norm), about a group of six passengers and crew members who struggle to stay alive after the ocean liner in which they're travelling is capsized by a tidal wave.

... The Titanic's passengers, obviously unaware of the doom presaged by the film they were viewing, were so enthralled by the events of the The Poseidon Adventure that they failed to notice the slight shudder that marked the Titanic's fatal encounter with an iceberg at approximately 11:40 P.M. ... So enthusiastic was the audience's reaction to the film (and so slow was word of the true nature of the Titanic's dire condition in spreading) that The Poseidon Adventure was immediately screened for a second time just after midnight.

Ultimately, the grim coincidence of a film about a sinking ocean liner's being shown aboard a sinking ocean liner may have cost some passengers their lives. ... By the time the second screening drew to its conclusion after 1:00 A.M. and a few hundred Second Class passengers filtered back out on deck and finally learned of the Titanic's plight, all but a precious few of the woefully inadequate number of lifeboats had loaded and cast off ....

Moth, And The Light

Together with that Jackson story at FOX, they also had a video clip concerning Mary Carey's latest effort to run for Governor of California.

There's no question there's great theatrical allure in such a candidate, but porn stars in politics are unlikely to make a serious dent in a political campaign unless they address serious issues of some sort - an approach that HAS worked in Italy and Hungary, for example, where porn stars have ended up in Parliament.

In the FOX video, Mary Carey alluded to people disrespecting her (e.g., the National Republican Committee babysitters sent to keep her under close watch at a fundraiser). Disrespect is a problem she also experienced in her 2003 campaign (I disrespected her myself in the 2003 campaign). Disrespect is a great engine for political involvement, of course, but only if she can connect her experience with the disrespect others suffer. Narcissistic performance artists often can't make that jump, however, and appear instead as marginalized seekers of fame.

If Mary Carey could just connect her campaign to marginalized people beyond the Van Nuys adult film community, such as illegal aliens, or the rural poor, or maybe to neglected issues of some sort - inadequate fire protection or overcrowded child protection services, or SOMETHING, then maybe she can get some traction. Look to Europe to find an appropriate model, tailor those experiences to California circumstances, and then see what might happen!

Farewell, Neverland

After yanking his employees around regarding pay and health benefits, Michael Jackson ultimately decides to shut down Neverland Ranch.

What will become of Bubbles?

I Didn't Wear Green Today

So won't you pinch me then? (Picture from Aphex at B3ta).

Piñata

This week, B3ta asked people to describe interesting fights anyone had ever engaged in at school. Maybe I was off-topic: I don't know, but they didn't pick my story for their 'Best' page this week. Still, I liked my story, so I'll reproduce it here:

I was eight-years old, at a playmate's birthday party, the first time I ever saw a piñata (a hollow papier-mache donkey filled with candy). They hung the piñata from a rope and a blindfolded kid swung at it with a bat. I stood expectantly underneath the swinging donkey, surrounded by playmates.

Whack! The donkey shattered directly over me, and candy showered below. Suddenly, sheer brutality, as every kid attacked. Bloody nose, knocked to the floor, kicked, bitten - I began madly swinging, but was overrun.

Quaint, light-hearted birthday customs teach Mexican kids early about the world....

Final Weekend!

OK, this ain't so bad! Just use 55,000 sticks of Guernsey butter from the first class kitchen and practice deep-breathing exercises, and we'll make it! (image from somewhere at B3ta)

Balkan Dispute

Serbia-Montenegro, that odd political remnant of the Yugoslav Federation, is bickering bitterly regarding whether the Montenegrin band 'No Name' will represent it in the Eurovision pop music contest. Serbs are enraged about the Montenegrin judges voting as a bloc to put 'No Name' forward.

Put the leading groups on 'American Idol', and we'll see who's best!

Obituary: Jane Katherine Arthur

The Sacramento Bee published a fine obituary this morning for Jane Katherine Arthur. I'm trying to get permission from the Bee to publish the obituary in full, but in the meantime, here is a portion:

Obituary: Jane Arthur, 58, reveled in the unconventional
By Robert D. Dávila -- Bee Staff Writer

Jane Katherine Arthur followed her bliss at age 20, shedding the comforts of a genteel upbringing in Virginia to wear flowers in her hair on the streets of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district during the Summer of Love in 1967.

She embarked on an unconventional path that led her to seek enlightenment at an ashram, travel with musical bands and read palms to support her three young children. Along the way she married and divorced five husbands, became a lawyer and served in the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps.

A lively, stubborn woman who spoke her mind, she enthralled friends with tales of meeting the Beatles as a teenager and hanging out with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco. She was a force of nature and devout Buddhist who faced breast cancer by learning and teaching yoga to others coping with illness.

Composing her own epitaph, Ms. Arthur wrote that she "lived and loved passionately, completely and without regrets." She died March 4 of cancer in Sacramento. She was 58.

.....................

Jane Katherine Arthur
Born: July 17, 1947
Died: March 4, 2006

...Survived by: Daughters Kashi Francis Albertsen and Persia Ramana Nelson-Crates, both of Sacramento; son Alexander Garth Samans of Grass Valley; two grandchildren

Memorial services: 2 p.m. Sunday at the SGI-USA Buddhist Community Center, 1812 Tribute Road, Sacramento
...

Jessica Simpson Backpedals

Jessica Simpson decided not to meet George W. Bush at a Republican fundraiser, because she is representing a non-profit organization (Operation Smile), and feared entangling her group in partisan politics. Such a visit could kill contributions from upset liberals, and have been ethically dicey to boot: 501(c)3 non-profits are banned from participating in partisan politics.

NRCC spokesmen are surprised, pointing to U2's Bono attending such events, but Bono is not an American citizen (and may not have been representing American non-profit organizations).

A wise move on her part!

Can It Be?

Apparently the Crest Theater has extended the run of "Ballets Russes" through Thursday, March 23rd! I don't know why - I think attendance has been pathetic: about 17 on Monday; maybe 24, or so, on Tuesday. Maybe it was me flinging cash at the concessions counter, or bending the ear of the theater management, or humming "Petrouchka" in the lobby. But whatever it is, thank goodness! Don't be complacent! See it while it's here! "Ballet Russes" now has Gabe's stamp of approval (he saw it last night!)

Partisan Children's Literature

Start them while they're young.

A Handgun Is Not A Toy

Modern parenting:

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A 3-year-old boy shot his mother in the knee with a 9mm handgun he had found under a couch cushion over the weekend, police said.

It was the second time the boy had handled the gun on Sunday. The mother had taken the gun away from the child and removed the bullets - apparently overlooking one in the chamber - and put the weapon back on the couch.

Mexico Announces Deep Water Oil Find

Remember the big Ixtoc well blowout years ago? I just hope the technology is better this time around!:

An exploratory well dubbed Noxal 1 was drilled at a depth of 3,070 feet below the water, and is seeking a depth of 13,125 feet.

"With Noxal we will begin a new era of oil exploration in our country," Fox said aboard the "Ocean Worker 6 Britania" platform.

Go Ahead - Think Of An Elephant

Kylie getting some fresh air:

KYLIE Minogue has delighted a Sri Lankan theatre troupe formed in the aftermath of the tsunami by flying in for a surprise visit - and sitting on top of their elephant.

North Korean Musical

What will people think of next?:

Producers held a preview in Seoul yesterday of the musical called Yoduk Story that features goose-stepping North Korean soldiers and deprived prisoners wondering if they can survive into the next day.

...Songs in the musical include You are just like germs and All I want is rice. The producers hope audiences can find beauty in the misery of life in the prison camps.

Remembrance At The Yoga Solution

Left: The Yoga Solution. At the left is Katherine's (now Persia's) 1994 Mazda Miata.


For Jane Katherine Arthur. We shared very touching stories of Katherine's life. It was especially good seeing Persia and Kashi again.

Trademark Infringement

I like the dusty, arid battles that occur over the use of registered, trademark slogans that nevertheless enter common use:

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority hasn't been too happy about companies and organizations that have attempted to profit or call attention to themselves by using some form of the phrase "What happens here, stays here," which it considers to be a registered trademark.

Now the basketball sneaker is on the other foot, and it's the National Collegiate Athletic Association that is riled up about the LVCVA's use of the term "March Madness."

Funnel Cloud SE of Davis

Apparently it didn't touch ground (thank goodness, since I might have been in its path, living just downwind, in Sacramento.) Here is the video link from KXTV Channel 10.

The troublesome weather has already blown through Elk Grove. Most of the current trouble is now in El Dorado Hills/Folsom on one hand, and Stockton on the other hand.

Dial-In Plumbing

A surprise!:

It almost seemed like a miracle to Haldis Gundersen when she turned on her kitchen faucet this weekend and found the water had turned into beer.

Two flights down, employees and customers at the Big Tower Bar were horrified when water poured out of the beer taps.

Rumsfeld 'Shocks' Muqtada al-Sadr

Shock - and awe! And I'm puzzled as well. Why, precisely, are American troops there, if not to attempt to keep the peace? From Juan Cole:

Like many Iraqi and Arab observers, Muqtada was shocked when US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said last week that the US military would not intervene in an Iraqi civil war, leaving that to Iraqi forces.

"May God damn you," Sadr said of Rumsfeld. "You said in the past that civil war would break out if you were to withdraw, and now you say that in case of civil war you won't interfere."

"Ballets Russes"

I went and saw the film again. Roughly 15 people at the Crest (let's beef those numbers up so they extend the run!)

One point that impressed itself on me tonight was the importance of teaching in dance: dancers learn their craft under the tutelage of instructors, and the strength of the student/teacher relationship is crucial. Mia Slavenska was Maria Tallchief's teacher: what an extraordinary relationship that must have been! And George Zoritch's teacher (and one of the crucial figures of 20th-Century dance) was Olga Preobajenska.

Praise be to teachers!

Is Jon Zellhoefer A Shoo-In?

According to former 2003 California Recall gubernatorial candidate Daniel Watts, Assembly District 34 leans heavily Republican. Maybe Jon will get in after all!

Congratulations, Jon!

I Googled Assembly District 34, and it looks like you're a shoo-in if you can get through the primary (48% Republican to 33% Democrat).

Good luck with the campaign!

Services For Jane Katherine Arthur

The first one is tomorrow night:

Hello to Katherine's friends. Our sweet mama passed on, peacefully, surrounded by her family. She was very fortunate to have so many wonderful friends, and we hope to see some of you at one or both of these gatherings. She loved all of you very much, we will not forget her strength or laughter.

Love from her family.

Here is the latest on the celebrations of Katherine. There will be two different celebrations/memorials.

1. Tuesday, March 14 at 7:45 p.m. @ The Yoga Solution, 887 57th Street, #B, Sacramento, CA 95819, (916) 383-7933.

2. Sunday, March 19 at 2 p.m. @SGI., 1812 Tribute Road, Sacramento, CA (916) 564-4700.

Hopefully this will provide everyone who desires to be at one of the services an opportunity to do so. These celebrations are open to everyone and both SGI members and The Yoga Solution friends may go either or both services.

Again, please pass this on if you know someone who knew Katherine and who would like to come. Thanks.

Blessings, Jennifer

It's Later Than You Think!

Only three more nights for "Ballets Russes" at the Crest Theater!

George Clooney, Liberal

It's sad when valuable political advice has to come from outside the caste of politicians. Bloggers have been harping on this theme endlessly, but we need Hollywood actors like George Clooney to amplify what must be said. It reminds me of Vietnam, when students and preachers and, yes, actors were forced into the role of truthtellers:

Clooney exhorts the lily-livered Dems to stop being cowards and put some steel in their spines.

"It's not merely our right to question our government, it's our duty. Whatever the consequences," he lectures.

"We can't demand freedom of speech, then turn around and say, 'But please don't say bad things about us.' You gotta be a grownup and take your hits."

The actor vents frustration that "liberal" has become a dirty word. "Too many people run away from the label. They whisper it like you'd whisper, 'I'm a Nazi.'"

But as for Clooney, "I am a liberal. Fire away," he taunts.

For the record, my view is that an invasion of Iraq might have been appropriate only if WMD were there: otherwise, the opening of that diabolical Pandora's Box called Iraq would not have been worthwhile. By not demanding more WMD information at the time from the criminal Bush Administration, Democrats failed liberals - failed everyone. By May, 2003, it was clear there wasn't any WMD at all.

Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden who still refuse to denounce the Iraq invasion at this late date must be ostracized. Their fears will lead only to their own irrelevance. John Edwards ultimately turned his back on the Iraq invasion. Even gelatinous John Kerry finally came out against it (a year too late to have any effect on his campaign). Clooney is right:

"Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, 'We were misled.' It makes me want to shout, 'F— you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic.'"

TMI

I've always had trouble with the concept of TMI (Too Much Information): that nails-on-the-chalkboard moment when you reveal just a bit too much of your inner life to others, to general consternation.

Two moments recently illustrated my problems with finding that boundary.

I was nodding off at a recent DMTC Board Meeting, when Steve called out to me. Opening my eyes, I said, "Oh, I'm not falling asleep - actually I was wondering why I grabbed my crotch in aerobics class tonight. I mean, there I was, right at the front of the class, the only male student in a class of 35, or so, dance and swimming instructors, former cheerleaders, and state employees, and suddenly, for reasons I don't understand, I grabbed my crotch. I just hope, with all the exercise activity going on, that no one saw me." TMI! The meeting came to a halt for several minutes: Dian practically fell out of her chair with laughter.

Then there was today's TMI E-Mail exchange. N. took note of the recent case of the Berkeley man who was arrested for urinating in public, and the California court ruling that it is illegal to urinate in public:

N.: Urinetown really exists. Apparently, the musical was psychic.

Marc: I once peed in public in Berkeley. I would recommend it to everyone, except that we'd all get arrested.

N.: Only you could admit that. Um, thanks for the info. And for the record, it's a lot easier for guys. I think there are other gender-related issues that make it less appealing to women than to men.

M.: Wait a second... I could have been peeing in public all the time until just now? What the hell?! And do they ever mention THAT in school?!

Marc: What are the lyrics from 'Big Yellow Taxi'?

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
'Til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Misconstruing 'The Alien'

An 'Unrest Cure' at work:

E.: Your using paint thinner! I can smell it! You're dumping it in the yard!
A.: No ma'am, I'm using a concrete saw.
E.: You're staying here till midnight! I must get my sleep!
A.: It's 7 p.m., ma'am.
E.: You're making too much noise! It's too much!
A.: Ma'am, I don't think you realize the seriousness of the drainage problems here. I'm doing what I can. I'm sorry if it's a bit noisy at times.
E.: There's mud everywhere!
A.: That's correct, ma'am. It's wet down here.
E.: Don't touch my things!
A.: ?????

Standardized Tests

Stupid is as stupid does:

Mayra Ramirez thinks driver's ed is a waste of time.

And in her case, it is. She's blind.

But the 16-year-old and dozens of other visually-impaired sophomores are required to pass a written rules-of-the-road exam to graduate from Chicago schools.

That Sinking Sensation

Another "Titanic" weekend. A good weekend, with large houses. I messed up a line on Sunday, maybe partly because I was getting emotional and overwrought in 'To The Lifeboats.' When warned by gambler Jay Yates that I could expect him to cheat in our final card game as we sank, instead of saying, 'that's all right, I'm not going to pay you anyway,' I said 'that's all right, we're not going to make it anyway,' which lost a laugh from the gallows humor, but also yielded a sickening moment of dead-seriousness, so it kinda worked. You wouldn't think that kind of mistake would happen towards the end of the run, but strange things can happen onstage!

I wonder if my sadness regarding Katherine's death is affecting my performance?

Washington Post Plays Bush Defense

If ever there was a sign that there is no significant liberal media anymore, today's announcement by Ben Bradlee, Editor of the Washington Post, that he suspects Richard Armitage leaked Valerie Plame's name to the media, surely must stand out. Most speculation regarding the Valerie Plame leak has centered on Dick Cheney's office: Armitage was over at the State Department, and out of that circle. To me, it sounds like utter balderdash, the lamest of lies. Bradlee is doing everything he can to get Bob Woodward out of the hot seat for having done so much to tar Plame's reputation at the behest of the Bush Administration, and if he has to back the Bushies to the rafters, so be it.

Liberal media, RIP.

[Update: Digby apparently commented on this line of attack some time ago, and concluded that it doesn't much matter whether Armitage was involved, or not, in revealing Plame's identity to Woodward. What matters for a free American press is that the vaunted Washington Post feels compelled to protect Bush officials from their misdeeds, thus hopelessly compromising their reliability.]

Mingus Lakeside Panorama



March 12, 2006, from Deborah, who was exulting in the weather on Mingus Mountain (between Prescott and Cottonwood, Arizona.

How Does Enceladus Stay Warm?

Scientists offer wacky ideas:

An insulating shell of clathrate hydrates – a form of water ice containing trapped gas molecules – could help Enceladus retain more heat. Additional warming may come courtesy of the gravitational tug of war between Enceladus and Dione, a neighbouring moon.

View From A Portugese Village

George W. Bush (photo by Skip Kaltenheuser, with explanation, as posted at Steve Clemons).