Saturday, January 31, 2004
In case you haven't done so yet, please check out MoveOn's 30-second spot on Bush's fiscal irresponsibility and CBS's decision not to air it during the Super Bowl.
For $150, the Horticulture Commission of Louisiana allows prospective florists to complete a written test of floral knowledge and demonstrate their floral arranging prowess before a panel of judges. Successful candidates enter a closely guarded guild -- intend on keeping future florists out. Unless some DC lawyers have their way. [NPR's All Things Considered broadcast this story on Jan. 30, 2004. The broadcast followed the shattered ambitions on one woman who just couldn't master the antiquated wire re-enforcement technique. Apparently, it's just "not done" anymore, though the HCL continues to test on it. The nerve.]
Friday, January 30, 2004
The good news first: I am now the proud owner of a black diplomatic passport. Careening towards immunity. Also, international incidents. And on a related note, I am delighted to report that I have now gone 37 days without a parking ticket. Not a moment too soon.
Erstwhile, as Howard Dean licks his wounds and John Kerry broadcasts his on Arizona television, let's pause to consider America's $25 billion outlay on recreational watersport equipment last year. Trivial? Or telling? I wish I knew. I can't help but wonder why I don't sit on the editorial board of the Des Moines Register -- these people are king-makers! I belong among them.
Erstwhile, as Howard Dean licks his wounds and John Kerry broadcasts his on Arizona television, let's pause to consider America's $25 billion outlay on recreational watersport equipment last year. Trivial? Or telling? I wish I knew. I can't help but wonder why I don't sit on the editorial board of the Des Moines Register -- these people are king-makers! I belong among them.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Three straight Tuesdays without a parking ticket -- take that (!) Knox, S! [Is it a wonder I like Tuesday so much?]
You'll also notice T-Zagreb has dropped below 100 days -- what should I wear? I'm starting to panic. In other news, I attended a panel discussion at Georgetown on what's really going on with the state of the union. The good news is: partisanship in America turns 150 this year. (Whigs? Who knew?!?) Apparently more ambiguous is our progress on health insurance, tax reform, legislative dialogue, and party identification. The moral of the story: Republicans have been corrupted by power just as Democrats have been corrupted by powerlessness.
You'll also notice T-Zagreb has dropped below 100 days -- what should I wear? I'm starting to panic. In other news, I attended a panel discussion at Georgetown on what's really going on with the state of the union. The good news is: partisanship in America turns 150 this year. (Whigs? Who knew?!?) Apparently more ambiguous is our progress on health insurance, tax reform, legislative dialogue, and party identification. The moral of the story: Republicans have been corrupted by power just as Democrats have been corrupted by powerlessness.
Thursday, January 08, 2004
When you receive a letter addressed "Dear Seeker of Knowledge," it might be appropriate to wonder (1) who lived here before I did and how was she so esteemed in the community? (2) what crackerjack organization wants money now? Nuns for Social Justice? Citizen's Committee on Pale Ale? (In this case, the Wilson Center for Scholars) or even (3) hooha! How did they finally find me?!? Joshie's reaction veered towards: mail, hello!
In other news, the number of institutions of higher learning that want money from me has officially doubled. Of these institutions, 50% are state-sponsored. I wish I could say the same about Joshie. Oh wait. Mail, hello!
In other news, the number of institutions of higher learning that want money from me has officially doubled. Of these institutions, 50% are state-sponsored. I wish I could say the same about Joshie. Oh wait. Mail, hello!
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
So much of what I see reminds me of something I blogged... and shouldn't it be the other way around?
I can't help but notice in a recent Google search for "Joshie," my website is the 49th result. 49th!!! Am I a gold rush? Am I coddling Tim Rice? Not at the moment, anyway. While I take some solace in the fact that we're in the top 50, I hope you'll all join me for the Joshie Springtime of Nations -- Let's take PMJ to #48. Like this page today and let's show the good people at Google who's Joshie out there.
They tell me RSS is all the rage with the young people these days. That said, I'm a tad miffed.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Two interrelated questions for your consideration.
Is this man fit to govern?
And for that matter, are these people fit to be governed?
Is this man fit to govern?
And for that matter, are these people fit to be governed?
Today I was delighted to find that for the second Tuesday in a row, I did not receive a parking ticket. Much dancing ensued. Not some of it was done by the notorious issuing officer Knox, S -- who for some reason thinks of tickets as candy or perhaps some low-fat meat (better for you, but he writes so many of them!).
So my stop-gap strategy is two-fold: (1) pay the parking tickets I've already gotten and (2) try like h$ck not to get any more. Odds of success: hello immunity!
So my stop-gap strategy is two-fold: (1) pay the parking tickets I've already gotten and (2) try like h$ck not to get any more. Odds of success: hello immunity!
Oh! And lest you think for one minute I do not bear an uncanny resemblance to a Portugese millionaire, Beth gave me some take-no-prisoner pictures from Croatia I'll be uploading shortly.
2004 -- like some 20-odd preceding New Years -- began with defeat at the Trivia Pursuit table. I blame: Khubla Khan. That said, Bethie and I were indeed purple pants-clad (as is our custom), so clearly something is going right.
But alas (alack!) Beth set out last night for a week-long slog back to Akieni (with just 12 Marie Claire-filled hours in Paris and something des blagues). I tempered my sadness by watching MSNBC's take on Britney's recent marriage and annulment. Apparently her signatures look wildly different on the marriage license and the annulment, the later clearly being far more legible. When asked if this implied she'd been drinking, the cub reporter expertly responded, "Well there's another interpretation, and that's that I think this marriage clearly matured her. She really grew up in those five hours... and perhaps we ought to remind our viewers this was just an annulment. What's an annulment? Well in the words of the former Mrs. Alexander-nee-Spears, 'it's a little more than a break-up, a little less than a divorce.'" High comedy.
In still other news, I saw two -- two! -- fellow BX4ers this afternoon. Soulmates abound.
But alas (alack!) Beth set out last night for a week-long slog back to Akieni (with just 12 Marie Claire-filled hours in Paris and something des blagues). I tempered my sadness by watching MSNBC's take on Britney's recent marriage and annulment. Apparently her signatures look wildly different on the marriage license and the annulment, the later clearly being far more legible. When asked if this implied she'd been drinking, the cub reporter expertly responded, "Well there's another interpretation, and that's that I think this marriage clearly matured her. She really grew up in those five hours... and perhaps we ought to remind our viewers this was just an annulment. What's an annulment? Well in the words of the former Mrs. Alexander-nee-Spears, 'it's a little more than a break-up, a little less than a divorce.'" High comedy.
In still other news, I saw two -- two! -- fellow BX4ers this afternoon. Soulmates abound.
Danas je . Čitate stalno Joshievo izaslanstvo.