X-Mas: The Mutant Holiday

Here's a story from when I was little...

My brother had a floppy disk full of christmas-y themed "games" for the Commodore 64. I recall one of the games talked about X-Mas which was a term I was confused about. So I asked my brother (apologies to my brother, my memory of his responses is not exact. I was probably 8 at the time).

How do you pronounce this? Ex - mass
What does that mean? It stands for Christmas.
But why don't they just say Christmas? Because it's different, easier. Shorter.
And why do they use the X? It's like a cross.
But then it should be Cross-Mass, shouldn't it? Well, no. It's because the cross is a religious symbol.
Oh, but... Ok.

By that point I think I got bored with the subject. And my brother probably wanted to play some other game.

But that was my introduction to the concept of Xmas. It actually bugged me quite a bit, the whole X being pronounced "ex" but being a stand-in for "chris" because it's a cross? That's garbage!

Later it would occur to me that the holiday that I celebrated as Christmas was pretty well devoid of any religious reference, except the name. Christ Mass is pretty a fairly explicit reference. However, Xmas is really devoid of religious meaning. So that is what I generally have started using to refer to this celebratory period before the New Year.



So, my Atheist/Jewish/Muslim/Pagan friends, allow me to celebrate Xmas with you. Don't worry, it's not about the birth of the son of God.

Prop 8: the Musical

RE: a subject discussed earlier

Blogging Summary

Here's some blogging to make up for all the time I haven't blogged.

I have no comment about Obama's cabinet picks. I have little to say that hasn't been said about Governor Blagogogoagovavich. A man with a name like that should not be in politics anyway. I'm not sure what to make of the mess that is Canada's national government. Nor anything of import to say about the student-led chaos in Greece (although a movement led by anarchists is ripe for the mocking).

The economy isn't looking so hot, but you didn't hear that from me. And all my investments are worth significantly less than they used to be. Though no one's explained to my satisfaction how the values of these things are determined.

The Giants clinched the NFC East last weekend (by losing, so it's tough to get excited). The Knicks are still batshit crazy.

I was just in Canada, and saw some hockey on TV. I participated in the famed "Hockey Night in Canada". This involved a pub crawl around town, with YSA. The male to female ratio was out of control (like 10:1). Which was disappointing for me, but did you hear that straight women/gay men? Toronto's new slogan: Like shooting fish in a barrel.

Edit: Zimbabwe deserves a mention in the list of places where crap is happening. The times suggests that inflation there may be as high as 8 followed by 18 zeros. That's 8 quintillion for those who are playing at home.

This Will Blow Your Mind

I am sure exactly none of my readers are aware that World of Warcraft recently released a new expansion to their incredibly popular online role playing game. I am sure even fewer of you care (like some of you actively don't want to know). But I saw this comic and thought it was worth sharing for those few of you who have ever experienced the global insanity that is online RPGs.



This comes courtesy of the gaming comic Penny Arcade.

If you get the joke, right on. If you don't get it, basically the mechanics of these games are such that no matter how accomplished you are in the game, you'll always be tasked with doing stupid, repetitive stuff to get money or gain favor. Like always this expansion was delivered with great fanfare, offering realms and features only the truly advanced can reach, but the gameplay always remains the same.

OK. Fine. I am a dork.

But why? Why is the MMO model so damn successful? There's no fun in this stuff! They've created a whole new world (apparently called Northrend) and filled it with the same exact stuff that's everywhere else. And then they sell it for $30 (actually it's $40) and millions and millions of people will spend every free moment consuming this garbage. How is this possible?

Is this a symptom of the human condition? Are people satisfying their aching need for answers and their quivering fear of the uncertainties of life by submerging themselves in mindless pointing and clicking? Did we kill God only to replace him with a video game?

See, I got all deep and philosophical there. Bet you didn't see that coming!

I happen to know that some of the Tomog readership have voted. Even though they are generally too shy (or wise) to post on my blog.

Karen and Rodger
would have liked to do more
but Painter can't vote

Proposition 8
Clouds Obama's victory
for Jeff and Cathy

Paul you righty kook
McCain can't win in Cali
I'm glad you voted

Give Paul a big smack
I thought you had him in line
next time Vick, next time

And Nan, you lurker!
I know you check in sometimes
Go Democracy!

That Sour Taste in Your Elation Smoothie

What the hell, California? I mean, what the freakin' hell? Everyone's feeling elated, like the country is full of promise again, and you go and do this?

Well I guess it lets me know that I am not dreaming. But seriously, amending the state Constitution to say that marriage is between a man and a woman? What the hell? Why don't you also toss in some language about how far from the curb you can park or whether men can wear skirts?

Kudos to Obama for winning over these small-minded people.

I mean, though my first instinct is to just be really mad at slightly over half the voters in California, maybe it's not their fault. I wonder if the ballot initiative was set up the other way (Vote Yes for Gay Marriage, Vote No against Gay Marriage) would the outcome have been different?

Something important happens today

Can you guess what it is?

In partnership with Dissertation Year, the Tomog is giving stuff to voters. If you vote we'll write you a haiku (or a story of how love and good humor conquer all from YSA). See the instructions for how to get your reward.

Sample Reward

I am not to blame
I voted for Obama
but somehow Kang won

What the hell?

McCain acting out for the press the moments before Palin would become president were he elected. Also Meg Whitman is a robot.

You know Romney's thinking, "I would die from a heart attack way better than that guy!"

Stealing It

This weekend we learned that Colin Powell is now angling for a cabinet position in the future Obama administration. It looks like the inside word is that McCain-Palin are going down harder than Kimbo Slice. I expect a lot of political mover-and-shakers are going to jump onto the Obama bandwagon in the next week.

Events on the campaign trail haven't been very helpful for the Republicans. During the debate, McCain morphed Joe Six-Pack into "Joe the Plumber" and while he's at least a real person, it turns out he's not a plumber and his name isn't Joe. So too bad there. Palin finally took a strong stand against the Anti-America parts of... er... America. Also, it turns out that McCain's "fiery" performance in the debate played as cranky and senile against Obama's Buddhist-like calm.

It's probably pretty hard right now for McCain stalwarts. There's really nowhere left to hang your hat. Witness, William Crystal, going all neo-populist today.

But maybe, those Republicans who still believe, can take most heart in the miraculous victories of the Bush years. Bush ran and reigned as a nitwit and got elected twice against far more qualified opponents. If he can do it, maybe there's still hope for McCain.

Palin's Debate Flowchart

I've got it! She's a finite state machine! This amazing advance in robotics and artificial intelligence was brought to us by the Republican Party. And they say that McCain doesn't understand advanced technology.

I'm sorry, we don't use that term in Alaska

From the Vice Presidential debate last night:

Question: What is your Achilles heel?

Palin's Answer: "My Achilles heel is that my executive experience of a huge energy-producing state counting towards much progress towards getting our nation energy independence. That's very important."

Um yeah. I guess it's better than just saying that you don't know what an "Achilles heel" is. The moderator tried to help her out by mentioning that others perceive her Achilles heel to be her lack of experience, but I think it just confused her more.

Computers Suck

It's funny because it's true.

Monkeys For DJs

When I was in High School a subject of intense and constant discussion was the general crappiness of radio. Maybe it's a New York thing, but it always seemed like there weren't enough radio stations playing music I liked. And the ones that did would endlessly play the same 10 songs.

It occurred to me one day that they could replace the DJs with monkeys and just let the monkeys randomly pick songs I liked.

Radio has since moved in this direction by phasing out the DJs, but it hasn't really improved much. Mainly because they're still picking from the same 30 songs and I don't like but 5 of them anyways.

If only the monkeys would play music that I already liked. Except then I could only listen to music I had already heard.

Leave it to the internet to resolve this problem. Not sure how it works, but you give it a genre or a band and it matches songs to that genre or band and provides you with a steady stream of quality music. No need to listen to everyone else's favorite songs, no DJ, just a room full of monkeys (I imagine and hope).

Not Ready For Primetime

I kinda thought this was going to happen. Palin's not giving any interviews, nor can we expect any sort of off-the-cuff talking with reporters. Speeches and only speeches, I suspect from here on in.

Weddings and Happy Times

Karen and Rodger got married! This all went down yesterday in San Diego. I was there, so I know. Pictures and what-not will soon follow.

The Hypocratical Old Party

The Daily Show, once again doing something that seems too obvious for words. Taking the spin machine and using it against itself.



Why can't CNN or NBC do this? Why is it up to a "fake" news show to point out the blatant hypocrisy in our nation's political conversation?

Barack Gets the Nod

So after all the nail biting and hand ringing, the Dems had a conventional convention. Nothing crazy happened. There weren't any surprises. Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee.

Hillary went up on stage and said just the right things. She stayed on her message and made it clear that the only thing she wants from her supporters is for them to vote for Barack Obama. No drama.

Which put the pundits in a pickle. Because they had been promising at drama for weeks. And then poof, it wasn't there. But they had an ace in the hole. Not minutes after Hillary Clinton had cleared the stage, the pundits started looking forward to Bill Clinton's speech scheduled for the next day. Surely, if there was going to be a loose-cannon, it was going to be the lascivious former pres.

A big to-do was made of how Bill refused the Obama campaigns requests to "vet" his speech. What was he going to say? Was he going to try to upstage Obama? How would the Obama camp react when he made this convention about his legacy instead of about their candidate?

Didn't happen. No drama. Wow! Color me surprised!

And then last night, Barack went on stage and did all of the things that made him so popular in the first place. He gave a rousing speech, with a broad and accessible vision of the role of government, business, and individual citizens in our country. And then he laid out, in some detail, what he, as President, would do to achieve that vision.

Really, that went off without a hitch. I guess CNN will have to hope something awkward happens at the Republican convention.

Phew!

I don't know about you, but I feel a lot safer today!

Seriously? Seriously?! The driver of Osama bin Laden is now, officially, a war criminal.

Good work, everyone!

Witches Be Bumming

Charts are really great!

You may know that back in Olde Times, witches were all over the place. They were doing crazy witch stuff and freaking people out.

The freaked out people responded by forming angry mobs and just going to town on witches (See chart).



Clearly, the mobs were fairly successful, if a little over-zealous. Despite the precipitous decline in the witch population, the burnings continued apace (though never again reaching the peek levels of 1670, the decline in burnings may have been more directly related to the great firewood shortage of 1672).

The number of angry mobs also steadily declined, possibly due to rampant burnings of future mob members.

Hard, Manly Work

So the past couple days my father and I have been doing a little fixing up outside the house.

See, in years past a gutter on the back of the house overflowed which caused serious water damage behind the ceramic tiles. Later, squirrels were able to make use of the compromised wood and fiberglass insulation to make a nest.

This one particular portion of the house (about 4 feet by 20 feet) was pretty messed up. So my father and I (really my father) took it upon ourselves to man up and fix this crap.

And fix it we did. Step one: carefully remove the tiling (this was hard). Step two: remove the rotten wood and insulation (not hard). Step three: put in new insulation (easy). Step four: install new plywood sheets over the insulation (tricky). Step five: re-install the tiling (really hard).

The job is now complete (except for some touching up that needs to happen to make it look all pretty). And I gotta say, we did a pretty bang-up job. But I definitely don't want to work in construction. Being on a ladder for long stretches, hammering, crowbarring, drilling, measuring, sawing, hammering again... it's mindless, boring, and dangerous all together. Fabu!

Now That We've Got Them

Some leaders of the so-called "civilized" world have taken it upon themselves to denounce our missile program as being "dangerous" or "irresponsible" or even "photo-shopped". Nothing could be further from the truth! We understand the demands and responsibilities that this recent advance places upon us. We are ready to take our place on the world stage as true powers.

We will not disarm. It is imperative that our blogs be well defended and protected from external pressures. This is why we developed the missile technology in the first place!

However, if we were to disarm, we would need security assurances from the international community. As well, we have a list of demands:

1. Financial aid. In the form of a hundred million dollars.
2. Food aid. In the form of delicious foods.
3. Dissertation aid. In the form of someone to write dissertations for us.
4. Cooking aid. See food aid above.

This list is not very extensive, nor, I think, is it outrageous to ask for such assistance. Having a blog is very difficult in these modern times. We are set upon by our neighbors and have very little to protect us. I think our position is clear.

And don't try anything fishy. We are arranging for a P.O. Box for receipt of the food aid and the hundred million dollars. And probably we'll get one of our friends to check it, so you wont catch us that way!

The Secret Of Our Success

Our association with Mahmoud Ahmadenajad (Or "Ahmedeezy", as I like to call him) is purely a friendly one. The suggestion that our recent missile announcement had anything to do with Iran or its President is complete speculation.



We just hang out sometimes, OK?

We Have Missiles

This is a joint announcement of the Tomog and Dissertation Year blogs:

We have successfully tested two separate types of missiles. These missiles are assuredly very destructive and have enormous ranges. They are also very dependable and ready to go!

This missile is really big! It goes super far and makes a lot of dust! We're really psyched!

This missile isn't as big as the big missile, but it's super cool! It comes in a box!

The missile tests occurred as part of a standard military exercise (though the missile tests were a new thing and everyone was really excited -- there was an impromptu dance-party). The exercises went well and we are delighted with the performance of our soldiers and missile people.

The technology for the missiles was developed jointly by both blogs with some assistance from external sources to whom we are most grateful.

We would like to assure the world that these weapons are for defensive purposes only.

Stay Tuned

An important announcement from the Tomog and Disseration Year is forthcoming. At this time, I am not at liberty to say exactly what the announcement is about. However I can tell you that it is military in nature and may have profound effects on the national and international political situation.

Please keep an eye on the Tomog for more information.

Stay In Your Seat

I don't know what more can be said about this sorry incident. I mean, sure, the guy has probably seen more finals and important matches than anyone should have to bear, so maybe the thought of yet another Wimbledon final between the only two men who know how to play tennis anymore was just not that compelling to him.

Of course, after Rhoden left the Wimbledon final turned into a match for the ages (although, I mean, shouldn't we let the ages decide that sort of stuff). Still it's safe to say that in 20 years, people will be talking about watching this match with the sort of reverence applied to say McEnroe v. Borg. Except poor William Rhoden will have to tell the story about how walked out in the middle so he could watch a popcorn flick.

Sigh, I am disappointed for him.

Facebook ads

Normally I get the "Looking for Hot Ladies" ads on Facebook. You know, I am a guy, and my relationship status is single. So, you know, fair enough. But today I got this ad.



Really, I am at a loss for words

Jackhammers Outside My Window at 8 AM

FTW!!!

Ultimate Frisbee is a Non-Contact Sport

It wasn't even a foul. Just a coincidental mid-air smushing of my head between three other players.

Didn't really hurt that much. Probably because I am so macho.

A Fall-off in Blogging

It seems that there's been a precipitous drop in the blogging going on. And it's not just me! I know I have been particularly quiet. (Things have been happening. Things, gentle reader, that I don't necessarily want to share willy-nilly.)

There are reasons for this near universal drop-off, of course. Chris and Jen are back in the states (sleeping around in Boston), YSA defended her muskrat, CBAM is lazy, etc...

I was going to post about my new shoes. But I didn't because I don't know where I put my camera. (It's somewhere, I think. Though it's possible that it disappeared into the ether. It exists in two states.) The new shoes are pretty nice. They're like my old shoes, but blue, they fit better and they're not three years old. They look like this.

The old shoes were pretty beat up. If I find my camera (and it isn't dead), I'll do a before and after. I know you're all fascinated.

Bob the Builder

So initially I was going to link to the Bob the Builder intro in a comment to the last post. As I was looking for the video it occurred to me (as it has in the past) that Bob the Builder's catch phrase ("Can we fix it? YES WE CAN!") is remarkably similar to Barak Obama's catch phrase. Is it just a coincidence that he's so popular with young people and their parents?

Then I got it in my mind to post about that coincidence, but several people beat me to it. Still I found the bob the builder song on YouTube along with the Bob the Builder song translated into every fricking language in the universe.

English (original version)
French
German
Swedish
Danish?
Russian?
Polish?
Puuffmuter?

Well, I thought it was worth sharing.

I'm back!

You probably didn't even know I was gone. Yes, dear reader, I spent the last week in San Diego, California.

I had a great time hanging out with my brother and sister, my niece and nephew and my in-laws! The kids are super cute (sorry no pictures) and everyone really seems to be super happy out there. As a bonus, my good friends Paul & Vicky just recently moved to San Diego (no pictures either). I got a chance to catch up with them and check out their new digs. I didn't get a chance to use the lap-pool or the gym in their complex, but I assure you it looks very swank.

No pictures. For whatever reason, no one was taking photos, so you'll really just have to take my word for it.

The Appendix Is Not Neccesary

I have completed War and Peace! All 1247 pages (including the 30-or-so pages of notes)!

I received this bundle of pages, this devastator of the wilderness as a Christmas present. So it took me a little less than 5 months of heaving and hauling it's gargantuan mass from the floor to the bed to the desk to complete the reading.

There's a lot of stuff in this book. Even after you've finished pushing through the four giant "Volumes", there's the Epilogue and the Appendix. The epilogue is a brief treatise in the philosophy of history and free-will. The Appendix is, I guess, like a polite F-you to Tolstoy's contemporary critics.

I read the appendix. Though I was tempted not to, since it was clearly labeled "Appendix" and we all know that the appendix is not necessary. However, I figured that I had already come so far, I could take ten more minutes to complete the book. And boy, you know, I didn't need to do that.

Golf? Yes, Golf.

So this weekend is the Masters golf tournament. It's actually about to wrap up in the next hour or so. I don't know much about golf. I mean, I know Tiger Woods, but I honestly never watch golf.

But for whatever reason, I am finding golf incredibly interesting. I am fascinated by this tournament.

So I find myself not only watching golf, but enjoying it. Craving it. What are the implications of this? Is it a sign that I am getting old?

Doing Anything to Win?

The big news for Democrats this morning is former presidential candidate Bill Richardson throwing his support behind Obama. It's another blow to Clinton's candidacy. Over the next few days it's possible that many prominent democrats who have been on the sidelines will drop their impartiality. So big news.

But I wanted to draw your attention to another article in the Times. This one about the role that Hillary Clinton played in the Northern Ireland Accord. Reading that article it seems apparent that Clinton's claims of being intimately involved in the process and playing an important role are not an exaggeration. She may not have been at the top of the food-chain, but she was on the scene and she was very involved in one of the more triumphant foreign-policy achievements of the Clinton administration.

The part of the article I found most significant:

The Obama campaign has responded by accusing Mrs. Clinton of exaggerating her specific role and general experience. Some of the sharpest language has come in a memorandum written by Greg Craig, a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Obama...

“It is a gross overstatement of the facts for her to claim even partial credit for bringing peace to Northern Ireland,” Mr. Craig wrote in the foreign policy memorandum, which has been distributed to reporters. Though Mrs. Clinton traveled abroad as first lady and had some contact with Irish women’s groups, he added, “at no time did she play any role in the critical negotiations that produced the peace.”

So that's basically a slander against Hillary Clinton because she's a woman, right? If I'm not misreading that memo, it's basically saying "Hillary may have done some women-y stuff while the men were making everything happen. She couldn't have been involved in important decisions."

It's misogynistic and, judging from the article, a fabrication. The author disparages a fellow democrat, calls her a liar, and smears her reputation in order to win a few political points for his candidate.

This comes directly from the Obama campaign.

Should She Quit?

At this point it's become clear that, barring something ridiculous happening, Hillary Clinton will not catch Barack Obama's delegate count. Since neither Florida nor Michigan will re-run their primaries, there's even less room for Clinton to make any dents in Obama's lead. But on the other hand Obama wont be able to pull away over the next few months.

In my experience, and to my knowledge, this is an unprecedented situation. We have two candidates who can both claim to be the choice of half the party. Hillary could bow out at this point, but why wouldn't that be abandoning the 49% of the democratic party that supports her?

Before Ferraro had her little race-based implosion, she wrote an op-ed piece in the NY Times about the origins of the super delegate system. This is what she said:

Today, with the possibility that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will end up with about the same number of delegates after all 50 states have held their primaries and caucuses, the pundits and many others are saying that superdelegates should not decide who the nominee will be. That decision, they say, should rest with the rank-and-file Democrats who went to the polls and voted.

But the superdelegates were created to lead, not to follow. They were, and are, expected to determine what is best for our party and best for the country.

Clinton is not washed up in any measure. So bowing out now, while noble, isn't at all necessary. The super delegates will end up deciding this. And it would be a violation of their duty if, instead of making up their own minds, they bowed to "the will of the people".

The people are speaking with two voices and neither side will give in. It's up to the super delegates to break the tie.

What now?

Woops! Hillary won in Ohio and Texas (the primary anyways), even though the pundits had already started writing her out of the script two weeks ago. It looks like the voting (and caucasing) dems are split pretty much down the middle on who they prefer. Oh the horror of the Democratic party having two legitimate candidates for President!

Without skipping a beat, the pundits switched the story from "OBAMAMANIA" to Democratic Deadlock; to wit, the dems were going to rip each other apart before the general election. It's plausible, since neither candidate will be able to claim the necessary delegates to win outright. But it's totally wrong.

It ignores the fact that Hillary and Barack are both very popular among democrats. And that, odds are good that outside the campaign they have a cordial relationship. Obviously they are in competition, and so they are competitive. It's inevitable that each camp will have its partisans, but the press blows them up out of proportion. Reporting on a DNC civil war is way more interesting.

My father suggested to me that the party leadership should work with both campaigns to ensure that the message remains "Whichever one of us you chose, you're in good hands." And, in the meantime, both candidates should treat McCain's candidacy as completely superfluous.

I completely agree and I think (and hope) the candidates understand that slinging mud between them will not make the difference. In the days before March 4th, it seems the Clinton campaign found that perfect pitch, in portraying her as the stronger candidate and Barack as not as clean as his press would indicate and without causing a negative "bitchiness" backlash. The Obama campaign, meanwhile, has struggled to regain its balance.

To the question of whether this is good or bad for the Democratic party. Certainly, Barack and Hillary have been campaigning for longer than anyone can believe (they started at the beginning of 2007!) and I think the tendency is to think that they are running out of time. A decision needs to be made now or all will be lost! Oh wait, it's five months until the Nominating Convention and then three more before the general election. And in that time, thanks to this excitingly close contest, voters will get to see the two most dynamic and interesting presidential candidates, the Democratic candidates, at their best while John McCain (occasionally dynamic) is left twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines waiting for his turn to play.

In short, strategically, the Dems are in a perfect position. As long as both Barack and Hillary are competing (which should be all the way to the convention) they get free and overwhelming press coverage and they energize the entire democratic base.

Wherefore Scrabulous?

There's a little snippet in the NY Times today about the Facebook application Scrabulous and how its creators are trying to extort money from the companies that own the rights to Scrabble.

On the one hand, Scrabulous is very often the only interesting thing that is happening on Facebook. So I would be sad to see it go.

On the other hand, dude, it's a total ripoff of Scrabble!

Speaking to the Scrabulous guys now: you're already (apparently) making wads of money, take the $10 million buyout or whatever and run! I don't even know why they're making an offer. For $50,000 they can get some other code-monkeys to clone your dinky little flash app and have Facebook shut you down for IP violations. Nobody on Facebook is going to care whether they're playing Scrabulous or Scrabble(TM).

Which, as of right now, is my odds-on favorite for how this is going to go down.

Linky...

As if you have something better to do today.

A Foregone Conclusion

As of last weekend, Hillary Clinton has lost the race for the Democratic nomination. Or at least, that seems to be the word on the street. The news is that her campaign is a mess; her fund-raising is drying up; Bill is a drag; her hair and her suits are uninspiring; her poll numbers are falling and Obama has won 11 contests in a row!

If you watched the Cleveland debate (or any post-debate coverage -- especially the part where she complains about always getting the first question) I bet you got the feeling that Hillary has just thrown up her hands. Nothing she does seems to have any effect on the perception that Obama is invincible, mainly because that perception isn't based on anything in reality.

These debates are taking place inside the aura of Obama which makes the political differences between the two irrelevant. In the Obama bubble, nobody cares what the candidates say. If Hillary says she's happy to be there with him, it means she's resigned to losing. If she says she disagrees with Obama and finds his approach naive, she's nit-picking or throwing a hissy-fit. Try everything, try nothing, doesn't matter! He's so handsome! And he can slide by, saying nothing substantive, committing to nothing, promising nothing.

In case anyone's interested in actual facts, Obama's winning but only by a narrow 81.5 delegates. There are 370 delegates to be decided in the primaries on March 4th (Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont -- and 566 more delegates after that), so this thing is still up in the air.

But what's blowing in the wind is that Hillary is done and a sore loser to boot. Where did this come from? I have no idea. But what will these people do if Clinton wins on Tuesday?

Not What You Thought Utah

Nelly and I just got back from our trip to Utah. We went with a group of NYU Law students. I think everyone really enjoyed the trip.

Skiing was really fun and skiing in Utah was really excellent. Apparently, the weather in Utah has been really excellent and that was certainly born out by our trip.



We flew in to Salt Lake City on Wednesday night and headed for the condo we had rented. It was a cute little place, nothing too exorbitant, but plenty of beds and plenty of room for everyone. And a hot tub!

Thursday was our first opportunity to get out on the slopes. The morning started off with an avalanche shutting down the only road up the mountain. So although most of our group set out before 8am, nobody got on the mountain before 11.

We started at Snowbird because it was close to our condos and allowed both snowboarders and skiers (and had a good rental deal). Little did we realize that Snowbird skews towards more difficult trails. Their beginner runs were very challenging, especially for the people in our group who were actually beginners. And, because of the avalanche, they canceled all the lessons.

Due to the danger of another avalanche on the road, they closed down the lifts early. So we only got in two runs on Thursday. A meager showing, to be sure, but we still had Friday through Sunday to make up for it.



Friday was a better day for most everyone. We headed back to Snowbird, undaunted by their intimidating trails. While the beginners made their way along the easier slopes, I went up to the top of the mountain for some blue runs. The first couple times through I had a pretty good time. But the last run of the day was torturous. I was just not in good enough shape to take the pounding Snowbird was intent on laying on me.

Boy was I glad for the hot tub on Friday night. Oy!

By Saturday, we'd learned our lesson. We headed further up the mountain to Alta. Alta not only had a better selection of green and blue trails, but it was also really groomed. All the greens and most of the blues were set up to offer a smooth and exhilarating ride.

It was a revolution for the beginners and intermediates on the trip (myself included) to be able to angle down the hill and just ride. By the end of Saturday, the beginners were trying blues and I was challenging myself with some black diamond runs!



The only flaw on Saturday was the fog that had settled over the peaks of the mountains. So while the rides were fun and challenging, there was a layer of nervousness added by the fact that you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. But once we dropped down below the clouds, it was just pure enjoyment all the way down.

Sunday we headed back to Alta. The day started off beautiful and stayed that way. With the sun shining down and the sky free of clouds, I felt even more confident. And headed all over the mountain, taking on some long and challenging runs. It was really perfect!



Utah is a beautiful place.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooo!

For those of you who follow the American Football and particularly New York's Football Giants, an amazing thing just happened! The Giants won the Super Bowl, defeating the ludicrously favored Patriots 17-14!


For those of you who don't follow football, it's hard to precisely describe the inexplicable-ness of this occurrence. And without the context of the Giants' struggles throughout the season, their improbable surge through the playoffs which lead up to the Super Bowl... all the angst about Eli (QB), the questions about Coughlin (Head Coach), the injuries to key players and the elevation of so many rookies to starting positions... without having followed them through all that, you probably couldn't understand what makes it so ridiculous.

All the things that go wrong in a football season seemed to go wrong for the Giants. Yet there they were in the Super Bowl against a Patriots who had seen everything go their way for the whole season.

And lo! They won! The Patriots didn't fall down, they played their best game, but the Giants were better tonight. And that makes it all the more impressive!

Goooooooo GIANTS!

We're Engaged!

Hi hi! Nelly and I are engaged!

The happy couple!

Cloverfield is a waste of time

From the guys that brought you Lost comes the new, hit movie "Cloverfield". Which, I'm sorry to say, is a really really bad movie.

It's a retread of the terrible monster attacks New York City, but told from the perspective of the most annoying people in the city.

Cloverfield suffers from all the things a movie can suffer from. It offers a putrid potpourri of bad casting, bad acting, bad script, bad direction, and pointedly abysmal camera-work. It's not scary, haunting, or disturbing and since the main characters are all pretty awful, I was never all that sad to see them go.

I generally conceive of movies as stories told through acting and camera-work. The general framework of a story is something like: protagonist is introduced, a problem is discovered, the problem is examined, and finally the problem is resolved. I think that JJ Abrams (the producer of this movie -- and also Lost) has realized that the hardest part of story-telling is those last two parts.

The easiest part is the beginning bit. Because we movie goers are a bunch of curious monkeys. We see just a little of something or get a hint of motivation here or there and we're hooked. We want to know what happens, how it ends up. But when you've posited a giant octopus-monster in the middle of Manhattan, it's kinda hard to come up with legitimate explanations that will satisfy the audience. So instead of trying to explain anything, just keep bringing up new and weirder questions. Bring up so many questions that the original questions are forgotten or seem insignificant.

Like Lost before it, Cloverfield is an extension of this methodology. It's a monster movie with no real monster, with no development and no resolution. There's no story, just teaser and nauseating camera-work.

A brief synopsis...

Political Sticks and Stones

I'm not sure if my dear readers have been following the goings on in Iowa or New Hampshire. I will admit, I myself have been having a hard time following along. Not particularly because I am unsure of who to support in this election, but mainly because the coverage is currently 100% focussed on the he-said-she-said.

Take this front-page blurb on the New York Times (my paper of record).

G.O.P. Debate Is a Slugfest
After taking a pounding on Saturday, Mitt Romney struck back with a vengeance on Sunday.

Um, struck back? Did he actually hit Mike Huckabee with a stick? Unfortunately, no. The article details a Republican debate in New Hampshire, where apparently, Romney said critical things about his opponents. Dog bites man, much?

There's another article about a speech Bill Clinton gave on behalf of his wife's campaign. According to the reporter, the speech was poorly attended and Bill was sleepy. And this is news, how?

I don't care how Obama is polling among dark-haired factory workers ages 22 to 37, and I don't care if Bill Clinton's suits were laundered at tremendous expense. I am vaguely interested in the candidates demeanor, but only a little. What I want to know, and what I want from the New York Times, is the candidates plans for their Presidency.

And I want specifics.

You support a withdrawal from Iraq... That's a meaningless statement unless it's associated with a date and a specific plan for how we're going to move all those men and equipment and not cause chaos as we go.

You support universal healthcare... how are you going to pay for it? How are you going to guarantee that this doesn't become a federal subsidy of the insurance industry?

You want to crack down on illegal immigration... (well you're a jerk) But how will you ensure that the crack-down is not abused? Where will we find the millions of people our economy needs to work smoothly?

You want to improve America's relations with the rest of the world... How do you intend to do that? What countries do you think we need to focus on? And what are the issues we need to address to assuage the fears of our friends and neighbors?

It's not that hard. I have been sitting here for fifteen minutes and I have already asked seven questions about issues that are commonly addressed by the candidates and which I haven't seen answered in the press.

Maybe I missed the part of the campaign where the candidates flushed out their views on the myriad issues that face this country today. And those views are now so clear and universally well-known that putting them in the newspaper would seem redundant. Since now they've moved on to making detailed big charts of where the candidates are spending their television advertising money. Woop-de-frickin-do.