Well, I have done it. With my wife's permission, I have joined the Mormon Choir of Washington DC . They meet every Thursday night for a couple of hours of singing and I am loving it. I went and auditioned last week and that was brutal. I studied choral music at Eastern Arizona College , but it has been many years since I did any kind of challenging sight singing. Other than reading hymns out of the hymnal at church... and it wasn't easy. I am very rusty. They were very kind an...
This is supposed to be THE BIG MOVIE OF THE YEAR. I have heard radio announcements and TV spots billing this as the next great American film, in the mold of The Godfather or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Clearly, the iconic image of the American cowboy is under fire in this movie about a couple of cowboys who come to terms with their latent homosexuality while out on the open range. In the words of Henry Oturno , this piece of American history is "purposely being torn asunder in t...
My wife is a great cook, as my ever-increasing waistline will attest. Even with four children and a full-time employee for a husband, she can still put out four or five dinners a week and send me to work the next day with leftovers. And it's good, tasty, variety-filled food, too. Her mother was an okay cook; she served up a new meal every night with leftovers once or twice a week. Our family typically eats out more than once a week, as well. Usually fast food, mostly because of busy ...
Let's all give thanks to the mighty ACLU for protecting our rights as citizens of the greatest nation on earth. From The American President , the finest two-hour infomercial the ACLU could have ever asked for: ANDREW SHEPHERD: For the record, Yes, I am a card-carrying member of the A.C.L.U. But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? This is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights. Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a...
Can you say, "Accessory Before the Fact"? Knew you could. In the latest attempt to undermine our commerce system, people have discovered a way to disable RFID chips. RFID chips are small wire coils embedded into everything from passports to consumer products to Mobil Speedpass cards. It allows a consumer to conveniently swipe their RFID chip in front of a panel and debit one's account, identify the user, identify the product, etc. RFID chips are also the subject of conspiracy theori...
NOW fakes more than orgasms. The National Organization for Women fakes outrage when it comes to "insensitive comments" and football players... From today's Washington Post : A leader from the National Organization for Women has asked Joe Paterno to resign over comments the Penn State football coach made about an alleged sexual assault. Joanne Tosti-Vasey , president of the National Organization for Women in Pennsylvania, said yesterday that she was "appalled" by Paterno's comments...
So... I have a question. If President Bush, when discussing the war in Iraq, relied on sources of information that were inaccurate, but no one knew at the time were inaccurate, and said some things that may not have been correct, lied , then... When the media announced that the miners in WV were alive, by relying on information that was incorrect at the time, even if it was not known, doesn't that mean that the media lied? Things to make you go hmmm...
Have you read the life journal of this man? Apparently he's got his own blog now, along with Venom , Spiderman , Beast , and my favorite, the Incredible Hulk . Too funny, especially in the middle of the night. It's 12:15 AM... anything is funny about this time of night.
Have you read the life journal of this man? Apparently he's got his own blog now, along with Venom , Spiderman , Beast , and my favorite, the Incredible Hulk . Too funny, especially in the middle of the night. It's 12:15 AM... anything is funny about this time of night.
From today's Washington Post : The city says as many as 5,500 houses and businesses on the east bank of the Mississippi River may need to be razed because hurricane damage has made them unsafe. Mayor C. Ray Nagin has asserted that the city can demolish houses without the owners' consent if the structures pose an imminent danger to the public. But community activists filed a lawsuit last month disputing that authority. A federal judge is to hold a hearing Jan. 19 on the city's request to...
From Reuters : AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch troops helping earthquake survivors in Pakistan have complained that while they are subject to an alcohol ban, Spanish and British soldiers laugh at their austerity and turn up drunk at their campfire. "We were told before we arrived that alcohol was banned in this country or else very difficult to get hold of and we accepted this," one soldier told the Dutch daily De Telegraaf. "The Spanish drive around with cars full of Heineken ... and ...
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , we serve the church by holding "callings". We are "called" to serve in various capacities within our "ward" (congregation), all the way from childrens' Sunday school ("Primary") teacher all the way up to President of the Church (the head honcho in SLC). The time commitment varies with the level of the responsibility, but one can expect it to take about as many hours per week as an active hobby, like scrapbooking or sports. None of...
Oh... my... goodness... I just started five grueling weeks in a Korean language refresher course here in suburban Baltimore. Yikes, double yikes, triple yikes. Work's not insisting that I do this; it's a "recommended course of study" since I am a "Korea-centric intel analyst". First of all, let me say that I was no great Korean linguist to begin with. I was shocked and frightened when my Korea-centrism was put on the table at my new job. I know my limitations, and the Korean lan...
Earlier tonight I received an email from a friend in Pennsylvania wondering how I got my government job. I had also had a conversation this afternoon with a guy at work who is in the Navy and planning to get out. He wanted some advice, too. So I sense a need... Below is the email that I sent back to my buddy Gavin. Hey Gavin, The government is ALWAYS hiring, it is true. I would suggest the following resources: http://usajobs.opm.gov/ This is the Federal Government's offi...
Marion Barry has served in the city of Washington DC for so long that it's a clear connection between his leadership and the state of affairs in the District... He's made his bed and he's now lying in it. From today's Washington Post : D.C. Council Member Marion Barry reported to police last night that he was robbed at gunpoint inside his home by youths who had earlier volunteered to help him carry in his groceries. "It's quite an experience to have a pistol pointed in your face," the...