Two big games in the conference. Northwestern's cardiac Cats beat Purdue (eat dirt, VK - I called it!) in the final minute of their homecoming game. Go Cats! And in a game that took four hours and forty minutes to possibly become an instant classic, Michigan came from behind to beat Michigan State in the third overtime. Luvshack, I bet you're celebrating. EJM, tough loss - how's your heart doing after this nailbiter?
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Friday, October 29, 2004
My Luck Might Be Changing... In Bed
Here are my last three cookie fortunes:
1. You are entering a time of great promise and overdue rewards.
2. You will travel to many places.
3. You have a reputation for being straightforward and honest.
The third one is not really a "fortune," but I hope the first two come true... with or without the title's postscript.
1. You are entering a time of great promise and overdue rewards.
2. You will travel to many places.
3. You have a reputation for being straightforward and honest.
The third one is not really a "fortune," but I hope the first two come true... with or without the title's postscript.
Boo-rs
I hate Hallmark holidays. And kids. Ergo, I hate Halloween.
How can anyone condone a "festival" where children have the right to demand candy (as if they're not fat and diabetic and lazy enough already) from total strangers and can deface you and/or your home if you foolishly choose "trick" over "treat?" If I had my way these kids would all be brought in front of our good old Father Boris D'Santos for some much-needed correctional treatment of the wristier variety. But God forbid parents here do anything to upset their kids and "emotionally scar them for life."
And what does Halloween offer adults? A unique opportunity to dress up, go out and look & act even more stupid than they usually do. Honestly, I didn't think that was possible, but somehow they manage to pull it off.
Festivals in the US mean two things and two things only - shopping and alcohol - and the only thing that varies is the ratio of importance between the two.
How can anyone condone a "festival" where children have the right to demand candy (as if they're not fat and diabetic and lazy enough already) from total strangers and can deface you and/or your home if you foolishly choose "trick" over "treat?" If I had my way these kids would all be brought in front of our good old Father Boris D'Santos for some much-needed correctional treatment of the wristier variety. But God forbid parents here do anything to upset their kids and "emotionally scar them for life."
And what does Halloween offer adults? A unique opportunity to dress up, go out and look & act even more stupid than they usually do. Honestly, I didn't think that was possible, but somehow they manage to pull it off.
Festivals in the US mean two things and two things only - shopping and alcohol - and the only thing that varies is the ratio of importance between the two.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Images And Words
Go Boston. Curt Schilling did his team name proud by pitching through a painful stitched-up tendon that was evident from his bloodstained right sock in the third of four must-win games that Boston pulled out of the hat to win the ALCS. I don't even like baseball and I still couldn't help but admire the heart of the man and his team.
Here's a recipe for a killer cocktail (do not try this at home): One Red Hook. One Long Island iced tea. One "Sex on the Beach." Two Cosmopolitans. One Blue something-or-other. One generous slice of caramel fudge ice-cream cake. One shot of Jose Cuervo. One shot of Jägermeister. Two more assorted beers. Mix and chug. Now you know why I used the word "killer." Strangely enough, I wasn't nearly as hungover as a previous night when all I had to drink was about two pitchers worth of Miller Lite.
Fantasy football is an inordinate but mesmerising waste of time. I don't understand why I keep picking these damn teams week after week, but my guess is that I hate to lose. And it's even more annoying when the leader after Week 6 is a person who couldn't spell Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila or Adewale Ogunleye or Brandon Manumaleuna or any of the number of fascinating names around the NFL if her life depended on it.
After schmoozing my ass off these last few weeks, I've learned a few things:
1. A "deck" is a set of presentation slides.
2. "Going forward" is the only way to talk about the future.
3. The job search is like trying to get a phone number from a chick you like. Seem desperate and people run away from you. Act like you're not interested and all of a sudden everyone's wooing you and your uncle. (For further information I refer you to "The Tao Of Steve." It's a movie you retards!)
4. For the benefit of the depressingly-populous last-mentioned category, if 1, 2 and 3 have not already made it abundantly clear, 24/7 schmoozing is not something that agrees with me.
Here's a recipe for a killer cocktail (do not try this at home): One Red Hook. One Long Island iced tea. One "Sex on the Beach." Two Cosmopolitans. One Blue something-or-other. One generous slice of caramel fudge ice-cream cake. One shot of Jose Cuervo. One shot of Jägermeister. Two more assorted beers. Mix and chug. Now you know why I used the word "killer." Strangely enough, I wasn't nearly as hungover as a previous night when all I had to drink was about two pitchers worth of Miller Lite.
Fantasy football is an inordinate but mesmerising waste of time. I don't understand why I keep picking these damn teams week after week, but my guess is that I hate to lose. And it's even more annoying when the leader after Week 6 is a person who couldn't spell Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila or Adewale Ogunleye or Brandon Manumaleuna or any of the number of fascinating names around the NFL if her life depended on it.
After schmoozing my ass off these last few weeks, I've learned a few things:
1. A "deck" is a set of presentation slides.
2. "Going forward" is the only way to talk about the future.
3. The job search is like trying to get a phone number from a chick you like. Seem desperate and people run away from you. Act like you're not interested and all of a sudden everyone's wooing you and your uncle. (For further information I refer you to "The Tao Of Steve." It's a movie you retards!)
4. For the benefit of the depressingly-populous last-mentioned category, if 1, 2 and 3 have not already made it abundantly clear, 24/7 schmoozing is not something that agrees with me.
Monday, October 11, 2004
You've Got Gmail
Gmail rocks!
Sure, it takes a little getting used to, but once I got it figured out, it's far better than any other email service I've used. And a thousand megabytes of storage isn't a bad thing either. Now I have a place for all those pictures I worry about saving on my computer at work and I don't have to be guilt-tripped by my parents because I deleted some of their old emails.
Sure, it takes a little getting used to, but once I got it figured out, it's far better than any other email service I've used. And a thousand megabytes of storage isn't a bad thing either. Now I have a place for all those pictures I worry about saving on my computer at work and I don't have to be guilt-tripped by my parents because I deleted some of their old emails.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
It's Getting Hot In Here
And before you start taking off all your clothes (call me, if you're a hot woman, and God, PLEASE stop if you're a man) let me hasten to expand on that theme. I watched Fahrenheit 9/11 last night.
Superb documentary. The most damning denunciation of the little clique of greedy SOBs that surrounds our great president. Far better than the strident albeit justified rant that was Bowling For Columbine.
That tens of millions of people can ignore hard facts and choose, as they most probably will, to re-elect the village idiot and his corrupt cronies, is not only astonishing, it's inexplicable. No wait, it is explicable. After all, ninety-five per cent of this glorious country's population combines the stellar ingredients of three parts mind-numbing stupidity and one part total political apathy. Which makes for a pretty lethal cocktail.
Can anyone say Bloody Mary? Or "bloody hell" will do just as well. I'm outta here - I need a drink to help me with my depression.
Superb documentary. The most damning denunciation of the little clique of greedy SOBs that surrounds our great president. Far better than the strident albeit justified rant that was Bowling For Columbine.
That tens of millions of people can ignore hard facts and choose, as they most probably will, to re-elect the village idiot and his corrupt cronies, is not only astonishing, it's inexplicable. No wait, it is explicable. After all, ninety-five per cent of this glorious country's population combines the stellar ingredients of three parts mind-numbing stupidity and one part total political apathy. Which makes for a pretty lethal cocktail.
Can anyone say Bloody Mary? Or "bloody hell" will do just as well. I'm outta here - I need a drink to help me with my depression.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Would You Like Fries With That?
Watched "Super Size Me" a couple of days ago and found it educative and highly entertaining but also quite chilling.
A while ago I had a long conversation with my uncle about the whole issue of obesity and how it's absolutely ridiculous for it to be declared a national crisis etc etc. I'm of the view that barring disease and genetic predisposition to obesity, what you eat and how much you eat is a matter of personal and parental responsibility and should not and need not be dealt with by passing legislation and using government resources. My uncle had a different opinion and thought that if the problem is of the scale that the US is experiencing now, the government needs to step in and control it, much like China and India are doing with the population explosion and South Africa is doing with AIDS. I suppose I do see his point, but I still think it's incredible that there is a such a hue and cry over something that really can and should be taken care of at home.
People say portion sizes are too big in restaurants (and they are). Well, eat some of it and pack the rest and take it home - practically every restaurant allows doggie bags except all-you-can-eat buffets! And if you're fat, you should be steering clear of those anyway.
They say fast food is too cheap and too tasty to pass up. True, and I crave it too from time to time, but I can't imagine eating fast food three or four times a week let alone every day like some people do. And no matter how cheap it is, it simply cannot be cheaper than cooking at home.
People even complain about the all the soda vending machines, cookies and candy that pervade schools, offices, supermarkets, shopping malls. Well, WALK PAST THEM man, have you no spine??!
And how do people fix their problems? Exercise? Nooooo that's almost a bad word. Dieting? That's something that few people actually do for any length of time, and the people who do diet are usually people who're already responsible enough to not be morbidly obese.
No, the majority of the really fat (sorry, "large" or "horizontally challenged") folk try miracle cures like diet pills or gastric bypass surgery. Ah, gastric bypass... can you believe that there is now an entire branch of surgery devoted to such procedures? It's called bariatric surgery and is now one of the most lucrative specialisations, along with plastic surgery. In fact one of my cousin's friends and one of three final-year surgical residents in his class, is now in Florida doing just that and will probably be making upwards of $350,000 a year in a little while. This, by the way, is a man who, in his original statement of purpose, spoke humbly and glowingly of doing volunteer work in underprivileged countries.
To put things in perspective: about two-thirds of the population is overweight. Chicago is, I believe, the third-fattest city in the US. And of the two girls who sued McDonald's and started a chain of events that resulted in "Super Size Me," one was fourteen years old, 5' 1" tall and weighed one hundred and seventy pounds. The other was nineteen, 5' 6" (about my height) and two hundred and seventy pounds (about double my weight!)
During the Olympics an NBC reporter was asked why Americans do so well in the sprints but fail to perform at anything over 400 m. His response was, well if an American had to go anywhere more than 400 m away, he'd get into his car and drive there. It may be funny, but it really is true. And that is the real reason behind the obesity epidemic. or as i like to call it, the "fat frenzy." Politically incorrect? What're you going to do, sue me?
A while ago I had a long conversation with my uncle about the whole issue of obesity and how it's absolutely ridiculous for it to be declared a national crisis etc etc. I'm of the view that barring disease and genetic predisposition to obesity, what you eat and how much you eat is a matter of personal and parental responsibility and should not and need not be dealt with by passing legislation and using government resources. My uncle had a different opinion and thought that if the problem is of the scale that the US is experiencing now, the government needs to step in and control it, much like China and India are doing with the population explosion and South Africa is doing with AIDS. I suppose I do see his point, but I still think it's incredible that there is a such a hue and cry over something that really can and should be taken care of at home.
People say portion sizes are too big in restaurants (and they are). Well, eat some of it and pack the rest and take it home - practically every restaurant allows doggie bags except all-you-can-eat buffets! And if you're fat, you should be steering clear of those anyway.
They say fast food is too cheap and too tasty to pass up. True, and I crave it too from time to time, but I can't imagine eating fast food three or four times a week let alone every day like some people do. And no matter how cheap it is, it simply cannot be cheaper than cooking at home.
People even complain about the all the soda vending machines, cookies and candy that pervade schools, offices, supermarkets, shopping malls. Well, WALK PAST THEM man, have you no spine??!
And how do people fix their problems? Exercise? Nooooo that's almost a bad word. Dieting? That's something that few people actually do for any length of time, and the people who do diet are usually people who're already responsible enough to not be morbidly obese.
No, the majority of the really fat (sorry, "large" or "horizontally challenged") folk try miracle cures like diet pills or gastric bypass surgery. Ah, gastric bypass... can you believe that there is now an entire branch of surgery devoted to such procedures? It's called bariatric surgery and is now one of the most lucrative specialisations, along with plastic surgery. In fact one of my cousin's friends and one of three final-year surgical residents in his class, is now in Florida doing just that and will probably be making upwards of $350,000 a year in a little while. This, by the way, is a man who, in his original statement of purpose, spoke humbly and glowingly of doing volunteer work in underprivileged countries.
To put things in perspective: about two-thirds of the population is overweight. Chicago is, I believe, the third-fattest city in the US. And of the two girls who sued McDonald's and started a chain of events that resulted in "Super Size Me," one was fourteen years old, 5' 1" tall and weighed one hundred and seventy pounds. The other was nineteen, 5' 6" (about my height) and two hundred and seventy pounds (about double my weight!)
During the Olympics an NBC reporter was asked why Americans do so well in the sprints but fail to perform at anything over 400 m. His response was, well if an American had to go anywhere more than 400 m away, he'd get into his car and drive there. It may be funny, but it really is true. And that is the real reason behind the obesity epidemic. or as i like to call it, the "fat frenzy." Politically incorrect? What're you going to do, sue me?
Friday, October 01, 2004
An Eye For An Eye
A few days ago, after long deliberation and doubt, I downloaded and watched one of the recent beheading videos. What I saw made me sick to my stomach. That one human being can do that to another in cold blood is horribly disturbing in itself. But when you realise that the victim could have been literally anybody, that he was a completely innocent, completely accidental casualty, it becomes absolutely unfathomable. I thought I was a fairly pacifist and non-violent type, but al Zarqawi and his henchmen fully deserve to have their throats sawed through for that. And I would gladly do it.
A lot of people feel that those videos have no place in regular reporting and showing them only furthers the terrorists' goal of more media coverage. I disagree. I fervently wish more people saw them. Because believe you me, the images cannot and should not be ignored. Because the scum who perpetrate such acts would find the world a very difficult place to hide in if more people were hit with the reality of their atrocities.
There's a message in all of this about the human species as a whole being an experiment gone horrifically wrong, but that rant's going to need its own (and much longer) post.
A lot of people feel that those videos have no place in regular reporting and showing them only furthers the terrorists' goal of more media coverage. I disagree. I fervently wish more people saw them. Because believe you me, the images cannot and should not be ignored. Because the scum who perpetrate such acts would find the world a very difficult place to hide in if more people were hit with the reality of their atrocities.
There's a message in all of this about the human species as a whole being an experiment gone horrifically wrong, but that rant's going to need its own (and much longer) post.
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