Got to reminiscing about the great teen films of the '80s... Here are my top 5: Breakfast Club -- saw this movie about 150 times. Red Dawn -- kicks Red Army butt. Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- have it at home, still working on the magic number 150. Some Kind of Wonderful -- Lea Thompson at her most beautiful. Oh yeah, good film. Princess Bride -- I am introducing my kids to this fantastic movie. And loving it. "Is this a kissing book?" Real Genius -- the zan...
On the eve of a Guster concert in Baltimore , it makes me reflect on previous concerts I have attended... I have been to the following concerts (as best as I can remember): Bobby McFerrin (with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra) UB-40 Gin Blossoms Barenaked Ladies (four times) Tara McLean The Odds Victor Borge Toad the Wet Sprocket (twice) Dido Joan Osborne The Cranberries ...hmmm, I can't think of any more, though after tomorrow night I can add GUST...
So Eddie Griffin of the Minnesota Timberwolves recently crashed his car into some folks and is getting sued over it. Nothing special there. Typical pro athlete mischief. But the plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that Griffin crashed his Escalade into their car because he was masturbating to some pornographic DVDs in his car while driving. ... What else can he do with his talented hands? From MSNBC.com : MINNEAPOLIS - A convenience store videotape recorded after a March crash inv...
Front page of the New York Times, circa 1944 :
Looks as though the American economy is improving and the deficit is shrinking! Much to the chagrin of our resident doomsayer(s). From TODAYonline : The projected US budget deficit unexpectedly has shrunk by some 100 billion dollars, thanks to an increase in tax revenue from corporations and wealthy Americans, a US newspaper reported. . The White House is on Tuesday to release figures showing the budget deficit to be about 100 billion dollars less than projected six months ago...
Thank you Kim Jong Il, you just made Bush's job easier. You just upped the ante, big time. We see your threat now. Let me tell you, under the Reagan Administration, the Star Wars program died a slow, horrible death. The missile shield ("Star Wars") was a provocative act against the Soviet threat. America's desire to shoot down missiles while in flight was going to be the end of the world as we knew it. Reagan was escalating the Cold War to unprecedented levels. Probably going to star...
Ok, rant time. About five weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail from the DC Photo Enforcement people, saying that I had been speeding on New York Ave in Washington DC. They provided a picture of the back of a car, license plate blurry and slightly hard to read. It said: 2L# 098 (Not the correct numbers, for illustration purposes only.) The # is the debatable character. It was blurry enough that it looked like an N to the police, but I think it was a W. Okay, here's why t...
Remember this? WMD in Iraq. The Iraqi government was found to be in "material breach" of its obligations back in 2002: Holding Iraq in “material breach” of its obligations under previous resolutions, the Security Council this morning decided to afford it a “final opportunity to comply” with its disarmament obligations, while setting up an enhanced inspection regime for full and verified completion of the disarmament process established by resolution 687 (1991). By the unanimous adopt...
From Sunday's Meet the Press , Murtha and Russert having a sit-down. Apparently the good Mr. Murtha is on crack: MR. RUSSERT: You say redeploy. Again, Mr. Rove challenges that comment. Let's listen and give you again a chance to respond to the White House. (Videotape, Monday): MR. ROVE: Congressman Murtha said, "Let's redeploy them immediately to another country in the Middle East. Let's get out of Iraq and go to another country." My question is, what country would take us? Wha...
What are the ramifications of expanding or changing the membership of the Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council (PSC). Before I give my "final answer" (with apologies to Regis), I think expanding the permanent membership is a very bad move. If it was hard getting five consenting PSC states during the Cold War, how hard will it be with seven, nine, or twelve? Any expansion of the membership will degrade the PSC's ability to pass resolutions and lead to further stalemates. Do Gr...
Got through to a local Baltimore radio station tonight, and won me some Guster tickets. ... I have had luck with radio call-in contests before, having even won some Barenaked Ladies tickets off the radio before. But it's been a while, and I am glad that I still have the magic. My history with Guster goes back about six years or so. Blame my Guster fandom on Y2K. Saw them for the first time on 30 December 1999, playing on Conan O'Brien's show. Know how I remember that? I ...
INTRODUCTION Since its founding in 1945, the United Nations' mission has evolved. Its initial charge was to foster international peace through dialogue and preventive action. Over the years, the means to peace have been changed to encompass bringing law, security, and prosperity to a troubled, war torn world. From its New York headquarters, the UN oversees Third World development projects and gives essential guidance to nations on the brink of disaster. America's role in the United N...
Wendy's has renamed its Biggie and Great Biggie drinks in order to... umm, make people feel better about their food purchases? DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — "Biggie" fries and drinks at Wendy's have been demoted. The Biggie portion size, formerly the fast food restaurant's equivalent of a large, will now be called a medium. It's only a name change, and the portion customers get — the equivalent of almost three 12-ounce cans of soda for the drinks — won't get smaller. Wendy's Internationa...
One international law scholar has observed that, "The determination of customary international law is more an art than it is a scientific method." Determining customary international law is esoteric and amorphous. Since there is no one body of rules for governance, no one criteria or standard for beginning (or ending) conflict, nor is there a bellwether for conduct between states, it is very difficult to strictly codify the "rules of international law". Approaches such as "traditional po...
I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. And that only a constitutional amendment defining marriage is the only way to protect marriage from those who would corrupt it. Since obviously the will of the people is being overridden by the judicial system in each individual state. Last week, I was inspired to write to my Senators, Sens. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) regarding the so-called marriage protection amendment. This legislation was to come before ...