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Wednesday, February 05, 2003

Wow. I just read Thomas Friedman of the NY Times latest column entitled "Will My Neighbors Approve?".

Here is what Friedman says about the war on Iraq, "Now, truth be told, I think I get this war, and, on balance, I think it is a risk worth taking — provided we have a country willing to see it through."

Friedman is endorsing the war on Iraq. I would put a link to it here, but you have to register with the NY Times to probably see the column. Friedman also writes that much of the country does not support the war, and I think he may be right about that although I'm surprised. Friedman attributes people's lack of enthusiasm for the war to the bad economy, and he has a point there; economics rule.

Still, I thought for sure that there would be more support for the war in the states that voted for Bush. Perhaps Friedman is wrong. What's interesting about the anti-war movement to me, is that there are no publicized anti-war rallies in NYC. Why is that? Is NYC still hurting from 9/11 and in a serious post 9/11 security hangover? Or has 9/11 turned NYC into war hawks or into shell shocked barely surviving peace doves? No one talks about the lack of anti-war demonstrations in NYC, which I find odd, but perhaps the media understands NYC's mood better than I can.
I heard on the news today that if you were predisposed to a war with Iraq, Colin Powell's 90 minute presentation at the United Nations answered all your questions. However, if you were against a war with Iraq, there was nothing that Colin Powell could have said that would have convinced you to change your postion.

I thought Powell gave very convincing evidence, but I was a cautious supporter of the war before his speech.

Two things that stood out for me in Powell's presentation.

1) who is tipping off the Iraqis on the UN inspectors itinerary? Is it someone on the team, or is it a result of Iraqi intelligence.
2) Iraq has never accounted for all the chemical and biological weaponry found by the UN inspectors in the 90's. This issue is frightening for me. I'm like people, what is the silliness about having Saddam Hussein contained? I don't think so. Not if Iraq may still have the chemical and biological weaponry from that period. This is where I don't get why people don't think he's a danger, or that Hussein is a person who can reasoned with like a normal person. Whatever.

Whether the anti-war protestors like it or not, we are on a road to war. There are over 100,000 troops in the middle east preparing for the event. The cost of sending them and keeping them there is enormous, and they wouldn't be there unless we were going to war.

I don't enjoy war. I am not a war monger or a war hawk, but I also don't think the US should make the Neville Chamberlain mistake and think that Saddam Hussein like Adolf Hitler is not threat to the world.

What scares me too, is there are news reports floating around that say that our intelligence sources are showing the same amount of communication among Al-Queda operatives that they saw in the day preceding 9/11. What are those terrorists planning, and why is it so hard for the US to find them and lock them up?

Tuesday, February 04, 2003

JS at Just a Pose talks about feeling homesick. When I watched "Lilo and Stitch" a couple of weeks ago, I felt so homesick.

First of all, Lilo and her sister live on the island of Kauai, where I was born and spent the first eighteen years of my life. Secondly, the music and the flower dress Lilo wore called a muumuu were so familiar to me. I wore muumuus all my life growing up, and I was taking hula lessons as soon as I was able to walk. Talk about being homesick! I wanted to head to the local store and make myself some poke, a local raw fish dish that trendy restaurants are calling ahi tuna tartare.

The movie however, also had an SF Bay area connection. The guy singing the opening theme song and the surf song, David Keali'i Ho'omalu, is someone whom I've heard in person here. I think he lives somewhere in the East Bay, and I've seee him and his hula troop at hawaiian festivals in Alameda and out at Fort Mason. I'm sure it's the same guy, because his voice is so unique.

The first time I heard him was at a hawaiian festival in Alameda. When he started walking to the stage, everyone started clapping and was so excited to see him like he was some local rock star. As soon as he chanted and sang, I realized why he was revered. His voice sent shivers down my spine. There is something so powerful and ancient in his voice, like he was channeling the ancient hawaiian spirits or something. His dance troup does hula in the old style, where it's more like religious rituals and not flowery songs. Some of the hula reminded so much of hula for men, where it's more like choreographed fighting techniques.

My only criticism of the movie is Lilo didn't speak with a hawaiian accent, which they call "pidgin english' in Hawaii. I think all of the other hawaiian characters did, but not Lilo. For Kauai, that would not be normal. If the show took place on the island of Oahu, the pidgin accent wouldn't be so noticeable, but on the outer islands the pidgin is very thick and of course, varies from island to island.

When I was growing up, the pidgin accents drove the teachers nuts and we all went through "elocution' lessons. I've pretty much lost my accent, so that most people can't tell I'm even from there, although if you pay attention to that kind of stuff you'd know. I've taken Speech for Stage classes, so my accent has been smoothed over, although I think it will always be there. And when I go home, it only takes a few days for it come back. My mother can't understand me, unless I speak in pidgin, or at least that's what she says. I think she just likes me to talk the way I did when I was a kid, because it's familiar to her. You can't fake the hawaiian pidgin accent either.

My cousin who was born in Michigan, and spent the first four years of her life in Minnesota, picked up a serious pidgin accent because she lives and works in Hawaii, but I can tell she's not native born. She pronounces certain words in a way that a native Hawaii born person would never pronounce.

My accent is all mixed up anyway. I've been told I've picked up some midwestern speech patterns, because I went to college in Iowa. I also spent some time in Southern California and NYC, so my brother keeps saying I sound like a valley girl and my acting teacher got freaked out because I had some NYC speech patterns. Then just to complicate things, I took an acting dialect class on how to speak with a proper English dialect, called RP or received pronuncation or BBC english, and how to speak Cockney, so some of those speech patterns have slipped into my accent as well. I was thinking of trying out for the play "Major Barbara" one year, and I thought taking the class would give me an edge in auditions. I never tried out for the play, but I can still do the accents quite well, although I mix them up constantly and ended up sounding like high pitched american Michael Caine.

Monday, February 03, 2003

Which OS are You?
Which OS are You?


This is so funny, because I have a wince baby laptop! This quiz comes from Gordon Zaft's blog.
I had to get blood drawn today for some routine tests, and for my own comfort I always warn the lab person how hard it is get blood out of me. I've had lab people tell me that my veins are too small, and how they can't find my them. I've had the tourniquet tied so tight around my arm, it left marks. I've opened my eyes to see to a broken needle or two in my vein. And when they do finally get the blood, I get a bruise that lasts for days. I don't give blood anymore, because it took an hour to just get half a pint and my arm was so sore.

Today was no exception. No matter how much I warn the lab technician, they never listen. They look at me insolently like they're saying "how dare I tell them how to do their job." First I told the lab tech the tourniquet wasn't tight enough, but she didn't listen. She stuck the needle in my left arm, and I could feel her moving it around because of the pain. Finally she gave up and said, "Your veins are too small and they move too. I need to try the other arm and use a smaller needle." I shot her a "I told you so" look, which of course she totally ignored.

I offer up my right arm, and I tell her again that the tourniquet is too loose. The lab tech moved it further up my arm and tightened it. Then she started tapping my arm looking for a vein, but again to no avail. Finally, she tapped my upper arm where the tourniquet was, and magically a vein bulged out. This seemed to excite her, and she quickly grabbed a needle and obtained her sample. The lab technician smiled at me afterwards and says, "Your veins are really small, and they move, but I got them." I smile and left the lab with band-aids on both arms, wondering why I bother even saying anything since it's always the same.
I saw the Winslow Homer watercolour exhibit at the Legion of Fine Arts today. Homer painted exquisite watercolours of his favorite pastime, fly fishing. His use of colour was amazing, and his mixing of greens and oranges reminded so much of how Cezanne mixed these two colours together. Once you see an Cezanne oragne, you never forget it. I can recognize a Cezanne painting just by the colour orange.

Homer also does fantastic water and rushing water scenes, which is amazing since he did it with watercolour, which is such a delicate medium to work with. Homer's blues are beautiful. What I like most about his watercolours was how close he got the colours to match what you actually see in nature. To match what nature can do with colour takes genius, and Homer definitely had the genius touch.

The exhibit showed a few of his Florida paintings, and he minute brushwork to portray the spanish moss hanging from tree, or the delicate palm fronds were incredible.

Although the subject matter of trout and anglers was not very interesting to me, to see Homer's genius with watercolour and his delicate brushwork was a fantastic experience.
I just finished watching "Brush with Fate", a surprisingly not so schmaltzy Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. I missed the opening credits, but I believe the movie was based on the book, " Girl in Hyacinth Blue" by Susan Vreeland. Brush reminded me so much of the movie, "The Red Violin", a hauntingly strange, eerie and beautiful movie.

Glenn Close was great. She has become such a great character actor. Her character reminded me so much of an ex-school teacher at church, that it was as if Close had personally studied the mannerisms and looks of this woman I know. And the surprise ending was fantastic, and ultimately sad. Like I said, not your usual Hallmark sugar coated ending, but something far more disturbing and unsettling. I definitely will have to read the book now; I love good historical fiction.

Sunday, February 02, 2003

There was a swarm of earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area this morning. I felt two of them. You always know it's a quake, because if you're sitting you feel your butt move first.

I felt the first one at 8:22 am, while I was reading the Sunday paper. It was small, but unmistakable. I waited thinking I'd feel another one, but nothing happened. Then at 10:22 am, when I was getting dressed for church, the building shook again and it felt like something had hit the place. It was small sharp jolt, and again I waited for the aftershocks to follow but nothing happened.

The earthquake at 8:22 am had a magnitude of 3.6. The earthquake at 10:22 am had a magnitude of 4.2 There was other quakes all morning, but those are the only two I felt. I hate earthquakes, but they're a fact of life here, and I don't know if I'll ever get used to them.

Saturday, February 01, 2003

I woke up late this morning, turned on my computer and was very shocked and saddened to hear about the shuttle disaster. It will be interesting to hear how this happened and why. They were so close to landing too. A very, very sad day for the seven astronauts, their families, friends and loved ones.

Friday, January 31, 2003

Is the US following Japan's lead, Lower prices a boon to consumers, but causing headaches for retailers .

"Deflation -- a sustained decline in prices in goods and services -- is a vicious cycle. A sluggish economy forces businesses to reduce prices, which prompts consumers to delay their spending because they believe even better bargains are ahead."

I also read somewhere earlier this week, that the dollar for the first time in years was worth less than a dollar. How that is possible, I don't know. I'll try to find the article and post it.

There are For Rent signs all over San Francisco. I heard some media financial gurus interviewed on the radio on Tueday, The Dolans, and they said that they expect the market to go even lower. The Dolans said there are two many people still in the market, with dwindling stock portfolios, and at some point they will panic and take their money out to prevent any more losses. The Dolans warned that if you're still in the market, you would need to stay in for at least 9 years to make your money back. The Dolans themselves got completely out of the stock market two months ago.

My IRA is safely in money markets, but my smaller 401(k) at work is in stocks. I'd like to pull the money out of my 401(k) as well, but I think I may have missed my window of opportunity. I should have pulled out when the market was at 9,000. I would have lost money anyway, since I started putting money in my 401(k) during the summer of 2000. So much for the theory of dollar cost averaging I spaced this one out. The amount always looked okay to me, because my company was matching my amounts. SPACE CADET!!!

I doubt I will be working at my current company in 9 years, and I need to research if I can leave my money in fund if I leave the company. My 401(k) is at Fidelity, and I would love to keep my money there. I think the market may tick up at the end of February, and if it does, I might get out and take the loss. When the market does go lower, I'll go back into stocks and get some major bargains.

This is the Superbowl theory of the stock market. If the AFC wins the superbowl, the market goes down. If the NFC wins, the markets go up. Since NFC team Tampa Bay won, let's hope the theory holds, at least until I can move my money to money markets.
A scary article, Drug-resistant staph infections breaks out among L.A. County gays. The radio news is reporting today that this staph infection can now also been in gay men in San Francisco. What is going on, and why does it seem to only be attacking gay men?

Thursday, January 30, 2003

I love this song. It's so airy, fairy, so bubblegummy, but every time I hear the lyrics it makes me smile.

Breathe In by Frou Frou

I read you and God I'm good at it I'm so spot on
Chord shapes in air go press that dissonance if you dare
And you breathing in finesse an innocent
From her partying

And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
'Cause I love you no?
Can't help but love, you know...

What part of no don't you understand I've told you before
To just get off my case this isn't happening stop this now
And I where was I? I have to be somewhere
Now where did I put it?

And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
'Cause I love you no?
Can't help but love you, no...

Is this it is this it is this it?

Yes hello we're back and we're taking calls
Now what was the question?

And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
'Cause I love you no?
Can't help but love you, no...
I saw another great movie last week called "Requiem for a Dream". Here's another "Pulp Fiction" reference. I thought that "Pulp Fiction" had some of the best scenes showing how drugs get into your system, but Requiem does them better. I'm not sure if Requiem stole it from Pulp, since it's been awhile since I've seen that movie, but the scenes seem similar.

"Requiem for a Dream" is the best movie I've seen on drug addiction, and how and why people get into it. Ellen Burstyn was amazing, and I can why she got nominated for Best Actress the year the movie came out. The movie also features a very young looking, thin and flat chested Jennifer Connelly. Maybe all those rumors about her fake rack are true, because she did not have one in this movie.

Requiem showed quite convincingly I think, that people always take drugs for emotional reasons. Either they're lonely, they're bored, they're looking for fun, they're looking for something that's missing in their environment or inside of themselves. Then like most things in life, if drug addiction could be plotted on a graph, it would resemble a bell curve.

Somewhere at the top of the bell curve is the point at which you pass from emotional need and into physical need. Alcohol addiction happens the same way, by the way, and yes, I did see it plotted on a graph too. For every person, the point at which you pass from emotional to physical addiction is different, but for all once you pass the "point of no return" there's no going back.

The movie showed cost of the physical addictions as well, and how it sneaks up on you. But the movie also showed how for awhile, the drugs do fill the void, maybe not for very long, but they do fill the void. And this is why drugs can be so very dangerous; they work. Drugs fill voids like nothing else, and they do it very well, and they fool you into thinking they will the void forever. But it's a lie, and they don't. The drugs end up filling up the emotional void, but then they create a physical void that only more drugs can fill. This is how drugs seduce you, trap you, enslave you, till I think you get to the point where you wonder if the emotional void you thought was hell wasn't as bad compared to the physical hell of the drug void. Do drug addicts wonder about this irony?

I rented the movie from Blockbuster, and it said it was the edited version. The movie was quite graphic, so I'm curious now about the unedited version. I may try to rent it from somewhere else just to compare.

The guy who cowrote the screenplay for Requiem, wrote the book as well, and I'm curious to see how the book compares to the movie. The movie spooked me about drug addiction, but I've been spooked in reality before, so I could definitely relate. Would the movie spook other people as well, who haven't tasted what drug addiction could be like? Somehow I doubt it.

There is no way to describe the depths of an emotional void and how you will do anything to fill it, if you haven't experienced it for yourself. For every person it's so different. Some people have very shallow emotional voids, others are quite deep. I'm not sure which ones are the lucky ones. Some people also have an amazing tolerance for drugs, and others can get hooked after a few times. The results however, no matter how fast or slow you get there, are the same.
I saw American Buffalo last Thursday at ACT. I read the play in college, and saw a production of it years ago, and seeing it again reminds me that a great play is timeless no matter when you see it.

First of all, there is the classic David Mamet full of foul language dialogue. The dialogue was radical when Mamet wrote it in the 1970's, and now it just makes the audience laugh. Think of Good Fellas or any mob Joe Pesci character, and you've got classic David Mamet dialogue. Think of the some of the great "Pulp Fiction" dialogue that Quentin Tarantino wrote, and how the gangsters were so angsty and into discovering themselves, and you realize that Tarantino ripped it from Mamet almost 25 years later.

Secondly, the acting was amazing. Marco Barricelli was perfect as Teach, and gave this almost lovable and sexy low life character a tangible desperate energy. He reminded me of Sean Penn's energy when I saw him on stage a couple of years ago. Matt DeCari as Donnie Dubrow was also terrific, and boy did he nail that chicago flat A accent. Damon Seawell as Bob was also very good, and I liked how he gave his character all the tell tale signs of an addict like rubbing your arms because you've got the skin crawlies.

Finally, I'm not sure if Mamet invented low life characters as worthy entertainment, but he sure perfected it in this play. Half way through the play, I realized that these guys were total losers, total low lifes, and I started asking myself why am I am watching these people. Then almost immediately, it hit me that Teach reminded me a guy I dated 8 years ago. There is nothing like recognizing that one of your ex boyfriends resembles a low life character you're watching in a play. I started to understand that these low life characters are quite universal, and that despite their income level, you end up relating to them or finding yourself in them.

I started to wonder if I was like Teach, a person who is always dreaming, always looking for the next big thing, pretty full of themselves, silly sometimes even, and most importantly pathetic. I don't know. I think there might be a little Teach in all of us. Who isn't out there dreaming of the next big thing, not ever satisfied with their life, thinking there might be something better out there for us, thinking (no matter how small the thought) that that world just doesn't treat us the right way? I know

I know I think like Teach sometimes. Sometimes I get in a bitter mood, and I rail against the world and my circumstances. I hate when I do that, but it happens. And yes, when I'm bitter, I feel really pathetic, suicidal sometimes. Thankfully, the bitterness moods are few and far between, but I know I've experienced them and American Buffalo reminded me of what they're like.

Maybe that's what the best plays do. They put you in touch with a part of yourself you don't like, would like to forget, wished you could forget, are in denial about, but which you ultimately know is part of your own personal experience, and part of the human condition as well.
I slept all morning, and then woke up bored and hungry. Since I've been sleeping non stop practically since 2 pm yesterday and not eating, I helped myself to a bowl of vanilla ice cream by Dreyer's Dreamery and low fat Smucker's chocolate sauce. Yummy!

The ice cream stayed down and didn't upset my stomach, so I guess this means whatever bug has been attacking my system is now gone. It's either that, or the flu bug loves ice cream.

Then I decided to load Turbo Tax on my computer and start on my taxes. I made a ton of charitable contributions this year and gave away a bunch of stuff, so I'm getting a huge tax refund. YEAH!!! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the extra money. I'm tempted to put the money towards paying off some debt, but another part of me is saying no, spend it on something you've always wanted like a laptop. I have money to buy a used laptop. I couldn't get a 3-4 pound laptop that I've been wanting with a new chip, but I could get a decent 5 pound laptop, with a decent chip brain. It's tempting, very tempting.

There are other things I could also buy like a new ring for my right hand. I had to give my pretty blue topaz ring away to a friend of mine, since I suddenly became allergic to it. Then there's those Dansko Mary Jane shoes I've been dying to have.

It's nice to have a huge tax refund, but I'm only getting it because I donated and gave away more than the standard deduction. If you don't own a property or a business like me, the only tax breaks most people have left, taxes totally kill you. I had charitable contributions of almost $700 last year, and still it wasn't enough to get me past the standard deduction. I hate that!
I'm taking a sick day today, and I'm at home. I should have taken a sick day yesterday, but I went in and ended up leaving at 1 pm. My body is fighting some kind of flu, I think. I'm getting the chills, I'm sweating, and my tummy is cramping. Since I've been trying to beef up my immune system, I don't get normal flus or viruses, I get them in halves. When I had the Norwalk virus, I went to the bathroom a lot, but I wasn't throwing up or feverish. The last time the flu went around the office, I got a stomach thing, but no runny nose or other cold symptoms.

I mean, I'm glad my body is working to fight off illnesses, but since I only get half the symptoms, it's hard to diagnose what is ailing me. Oh well. At least it's not a full blow nasty flu; those are the worst.

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

A weird thing happened to me on Friday night, January 24. I fell asleep listening to a radio program on KSFO, Coast to Coast, and woke up to hear this different talk show host talking about Covenant Network. The executive director of Covenant Network is a member of my church, and she's in my Kerygma bible class on Wednesdays. I was on a committee with her for a year, and have known her for several years. She's a Wellesley grad, was a college classmate of Hilary Rodham Clinton, and I think she used to be a book editor at Random House.

It's so weird to hear my friend's organization talked about on the radio. The conservative radio talk show host was talking about a couple of presbyterian churches in Hayward and Castro Valley inviting a transgender presbyterian minister from Georgia to talk to them, so they could have a greater understanding of transgender people and issues since the slaying of Eddie "Gwen" Araujo Jr. -- the 17-year-old transgender teen slain last October. I guess Covenant Network helped to sponsor the event or something.

From the Covenant Network website, here's what they're about.

"The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is a broad-based, national group of clergy and lay leaders working for a church that is simultaneously faithful, just, and whole. We seek to support the mission and unity of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in a time of potentially divisive controversy. We intend to articulate and act on the church's historic, progressive vision and to work for a fully inclusive church.

We seek to live out the Reformed faith found in Scripture and our confessions, and in our life together to follow the principles laid out in the Call to Covenant Community. We strive to proclaim and embody the gospel as we have learned it from the life and ministry of Jesus; we affirm the centrality of the Bible in our church; and we value the dynamic tension between unity and diversity. The Call to Covenant Community has been affirmed by more than 2,500 ministers, 2,000 other officers, 19 former Moderators, 300+ sessions, five presbyteries, and the Synod of Lakes and Prairies.

Covenant Network was founded in August, 1997 to support the passage of Amendment (97)-A, the "Fidelity and Integrity Amendment." Its founding Co-Moderators were Robert Bohl, Pastor of Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas and Moderator of the 206th General Assembly, and John Buchanan, Co-Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and Moderator of the 208th General Assembly."

It's strange to have one's personal life and a hot news topic come together on a conservative talk show program in the wee hours of the morning.
On Thursday, January 23, I took advantage of Dine About Town and had dinner at the Pacific Restaurant at the Pan Pacific Hotel. The restaurant had decent reviews on CitySearch, and since I've been curious about what the inside of the Pan Pacific Hotel looked like, I booked a reservation.

First of all, the restaurant is way overpriced. Entrees were in the $20's, which is high considering the quality of the food is average. I thought the food was similar to the Daily Grill, which is much cheaper. I had the salmon, and it was drowning in oil. The Daily Grill serves their fish this way too. I know some people like their fish drizzled in olive oil, but I find this technique unimaginative and so five years ago.

Secondly, since the restaurant is overpriced, the place was empty yet the hotel was overflowing with guests. Usually hotel restaurants are full of hotel guests, because it's convenient and a guest can charge the food to their room. I don't know if the restaurant was empty because of the bad economy and the visitors are watching their pennies carefully, or that even the out of town visitors knew the restaurant was no bargain.

The only saving grace of the restaurant for me was listening to the few diners that were there. A beautiful, immmaculately coiffed white haired woman was sitting a few tables from me. She looked like one of those older society matron types, with her Bottega Vanetta bag, her silk shirtwaist dress that perfectly matched her green eyes, her rings, her double strand huge baroque pearls and the fine italian wool navy blue blazer with the gold buttons. The silk dress was definitely designer or off the rack designer, probably bought sometime in the 70's, but which still looked timeless and classic.

The society matron had beautiful unlined skin, and was still very thin, but she had all the tell tale signs of old age; arthritic looking age spotted hands, severe lines around the mouth, a crepey neck, clouded eyes, stained teeth, bad eyesight, and of course the lifeless white hair. However beneath the ravages of age, you could telll that this woman was quite the refined blonde bombshell in her youth.

The society matron was crying and telling the french waiter that his accent reminded her of her french husband. She had lived in France with her husband during world war 2, and had kept a journal of her experiences for her grandsons to read. The woman's husband's family had been in banking, and they were killed by the Nazis during the war because they had refused to give up the combinations to the vaults.

The french waiter told the society matron that while he was growing up was Lyon, he had met an old man who told him a story about the Nazi occupation of Lyon that he witnessed. Apparently, there was a Nazi in Lyon nicknamed "the butcher of Lyon". This Nazi, whom the waiter said was caught 10 years ago, had sent a whole school of 40 children to their death at Auschwitz.

Great story huh? The society matron knew all the waiters and they knew her, which must mean she's a regular eater there. I love hearing people's stories. Everyone has such an interesting story to tell, and if you just shut up and listen, you'll discover whole new worlds.

Tomorrow, my review of American Buffalo.

Monday, January 27, 2003

I wonder what would happen if the White House were to show the world evidence that Iraq has biological and chemical weapons. Personally, I think it would cause mass hysteria and panic around the country and people would be freaking out. I know I would. Is that why Bush isn't showing us the evidence?

Some people are saying that if Clinton was in Bush's position, there wouldn't be as much opposition from the left. I wonder about that too sometimes. When Clinton was in office, we sent troops into the Baltic regions and no one said anything. Hmmm.
It's been a whirlwind four days, with my birthday on Friday and then having an event planned every day since Thursday, that I haven't had the time or energy to blog.

But first with Sunday's news. Yes, I am bummed about the Oakland Raiders losing. I thought for sure they would win by a touchdown, but the Tampa Bay defense was strong and Rich Gannon and the Oakland offense never could find their rhythm. Weird thing too, with the center being sent home. No one on the team will admit that this incident made them lose the game, but it's got to have been a distraction. Not sure if I even heard what the real story was on the center, but I'm sure the news will come out soon enough.

So damn! This is the second San Francisco Bay Area team this year to make it a sport championship final, and then bomb out at the end. The SF Giants lost to the Anaheim Angels, when in game 6 it looked they had it all wrapped up, and now the Oakland Raiders, who were a 3.5 point favorite to win, get stuffed in the superbowl. Bummer, bummer, bummer!

I liked that Oakland Raider was full of veterans and older players, or as the media dubbed them "football senior citizens". I wanted Oakland to win, to make a statement that just because you're old doesn't mean you can't play. I didn't want Tampa Bay to win, beause it sends the message out to everyone, that if you've got enough money and are willing to give up draft picks, you can buy a coach and win a superbowl. It's the New York Yankees style of winning championships, and I didn't want the same thing to happen to football. But it did, and that's too bad.

Thank god, football has a salary cap, so the George Steinbrenner school of winning championships can't infect football entirely. But because of salary cap, most of the Raider players will be gone next season, since the Raider will be seriously over the salary cap next year. Oh well. Al Davis did get spectacular draft picks in giving up John Gruden, so they'll be able to rebuild the team that way.

I think the Raiders lost because Al Davis has so much bad karma with the NFL. He's still in lawsuit with the NFL and with the City of Oakland as well.

Someone in the NFL office must really be a big Sting fan, since he appeared again. I loved Santana's appearance and No Doubt, and even Shania Twain. But Sting? Come on. I mean, I love Bon Jovi, but I can't believe they're playing at some other big event on TV. And why wasn't there any rap/hip hop acts like Nelly? Guess the NFL front office doesn't listen to the music that most of their players listen too or believes in variety in their acts.

I did love the way the Dixie chicks sang the national anthem, but I'm a Dixie Chicks fan. I kind of liked the spoof of the Bud Light two girls fighting commercial down the "The Practice". I think it only came on once, and it was funny. Then there's the visa check card commercial with Rondi and Tiki Barber, such cuties, where Rondi has a visa check card and the checkout girl makes the observation that Rondi is the one in the superbowl and Tiki isn't, because he's the one who uses check. Funny. The Ozzy Osbourne commercial was funny, but Pepsi Twist does not taste good. I wonder how much Pepsi paid all those people to be in that ad.

More later on Thursday's events - I went to see "American Buffalo" at ACT and ate at the Pacific Restaurant the Pan Pacific Hotel, Friday's events - I watched "Lilo and Stitch" and "Gangs of New York" and ate at One Market and at a Singapore/Malaysian/Thai restaurant, and Saturday's events - I went to a lecture on Tibetan art, wondered through a Chinatown street fair and saw "LOTR-The Two Towers." Like I said, it was a busy four days.