have you seen this?

The Alabama quarter has Hellen Keller on it and says "Spirit of Courage." Hellen Keller is great an all, but there has got to be a more acurate representation of the state's attitude and heritage.

How 'bout:
Alabama - One of three states that still incorporates the Confederate St. Andrew's Cross in our flag.


Of course, to say that the flag "incorporates" confederate bars is a little misleading since the flag IS the Confederate cross. At least it's not the Battle Flag, like Mississippi. Florida is the 3rd state, although their's is probably the least obvious.

And in all fairness, Alabama adopted its flag in 1895, so they at least have some argument that keeping the flag is about heritage. Georgia, on the other hand, added the Confederate Bars to its state flag in 1956.


But replaced the flag in 2001 or so, and now flies a non-racist flag:


Does this vest make me look fat?

INJUNS!

"I could care less what the Seminole Tribe in Oklahoma think. They're in Oklahoma," said [Florida State University] trustee Richard McFarlain, a Tallahassee lawyer. "They got run out of here by - who was it, Andrew Jackson or somebody like that? The Trail of Tears? The real Seminoles stayed here."

quoted in St. Petersburg Times, August 11, 2005, P 1B.

Of course, the Seminoles were eventually granted an exemption by the NCAA, allowing them to retain full use of their racist mascot, which the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota were not:

NCAA: N. Dakota Can't Use Fighting Sioux

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 8:36 p.m. ET

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) -- The North Dakota Fighting Sioux will remain on the list of college nicknames the NCAA doesn't want used in postseason play.

The university's appeal was rejected by an NCAA review committee because it did not have the support of the three federally recognized Sioux tribes of North Dakota, the association said Wednesday.

''Although the University of North Dakota maintained that its logo and nickname are used with consummate respect, the position of the namesake tribes and those affected by the hostile or abusive environment that the nickname and logo create take precedence,'' NCAA vice president Bernard Franklin said.

North Dakota President Charles Kupchella said he would appeal the decision to the NCAA's executive committee.

"And the walls..." or "Busted"

I am torn as to whether this post should be named after the John Cougar Mellencamp tune:
Some people... ain't no damn good
You can't trust 'em, You can't love em
Second best is what you get
'Til you learn to bend the rules
Time respects no person
And when you lift up must fall
They're waiting outside
To claim my crumblin' walls

Saw my picture in the paper, Read the news around my face

When the walls
Come tumblin' down
When the walls, Come crumblin', crumblin'
When the walls, Come tumblin', tumblin'
Doooooown


Or the more fun Young MC song, Bust a Move:

Girls a fakin' ... goodness sakin'
They want a man who brings home the bacon
Got no money and you got no car
Then you got no woman and there you are
Some girls are sophistic... materialistic
Looking for a man makes them opportunistic
They're lyin on the beach perpetratin a tan
So that a brother with money can be their man

But either way, today is a good day. There is hope in the universe.

DeLay Indicted in Campaign Finance Probe

House Majority Leader Says He Will Temporarily Step Down

By William Branigin and Amy Goldstein

Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 28, 2005; 2:51 PM

A Texas grand jury today indicted Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) on a criminal count of conspiring with two political associates to violate state campaign finance law, and DeLay announced he would temporarily step down as House majority leader.

hurricane emergency

slap shot

You'd think she might be more worried about the women who were getting raped in the Superdome. Why do so many people in the world pay attention to the wrong shit? And why hasn't the National Counsil of Women's Organizations figured out that this woman has done more to delegitimize their cause than Andrew Dice Clay? There is still sexism in America, and it should be delt with - but not by this press-hound.

Burk plans to protest new NHL ad campaign
ESPN.com news services

The NHL's new advertising campaign is getting attention, but not the kind it was likely hoping for.

According to a report from The Canadian Press, Martha Burk, the chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations, said she intends to write letters of protest to the NHL and NBC over the NHL's new ad campaign, which is set to begin next week.

The first spot, titled "It's Time," shows a player (an actor, not an NHL player) in a locker room, surrounded by candles and accompanied by a woman who ceremoniously helps him don his hockey garb. The ads feature quotes from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" along with dramatic camera work and music reminiscent of the film "Braveheart."

Burk told The Canadian Press that the ad is "offensive on many levels."

"The woman is dressed provocatively and when she asks the player if he's ready, it's a double-entendre in my view," Burk told The CP. "She's in the ad as a groomer, a sex object.

"The commercial is clearly selling sex and violence and the last image in that commercial is a young boy watching this, so he's clearly the customer they're after, or it's a misguided attempt to draw in families."

NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur told The Canadian Press that was not the case.

"This ad shows no disrespect for women," Mansur told The CP. "On the contrary, the woman is the spiritual and physical trainer for the 'Warrior' and is his mentor."

Players, league personnel and media attended the unveiling of the campaign at The Museum of Television and Radio in Manhattan on Wednesday night.

The ads were conceived by a company called Conductor, an entertainment marketing company that has contributed to campaigns for "Spider-Man" and Green Day music videos.

For the NHL, the team created a series of commercials and print ads that will be released next week. The commercials will be packaged in a five-part story that will unfold through February.

how bad can things really be?

No matter how bad things may seem to be going, there is a certain baseline quality of life when you are able to sit at home on a Monday morning and read (in this case Labor Law) while listening to classical music and sipping on a cup of coffee?

Incidentally, if you stream music over the web, and you like / want to hear some classical, I highly recomend beethoven.com. They play more than just Beethoven, and since I listen to probably 5 hours a day, there is no way I can realistically develop a collection of classical music that would be adequately diverse.

New links

I've added Opperation Eden to the links at right - it's a guy going down to rescue his family post-Katrina.

I also came across this slideshow of 4 guys from Ole'Miss who loaded up with "6 chainsaws, 5 coolers, 180 gallons of gas, 1 12 gauge, 2 .40's with hollow tips, 1 baseball bat, 15 cases of water, shovels, axes, splitters, and plenty of food" and went down to "help out" immediately after the hurricane. Remember in Roadhouse when Patrick Swayze stitches up his own arm? These guys are the real deal.

is it coming through

I should be studying. I have a paper I need to be working on, but I think it's working on me.

As if the web didn't provide enough distraction to a tired disinterested law student, I discovered the "Next Blog" button up there in the top right corner.

I assume the only people who actually read this already know me.

It the cynical angst coming through? It's starting to take over.

Neil Young has his entire Greendale soundtrack streaming on the web at all times:
http://www.neilyoung.com/greendale_frames.html

I recommend watching the movie first though.

big time

I guess the key to "making it" with your blog is to include the words "kate moss nude" in the same sentence. I finally got Blog Spammed with that last post - I wouldn't recomend following the links provided in the comments.

[oddly enough "blog" is not in this blog's spell checker]

who wudda thunk it?

Kate Moss Is Dismissed by H&M After a Furor Over Cocaine

By GUY TREBAY and ERIC WILSON

In a move with little precedent in the fashion industry, Kate Moss, one of the world's most recognizable models, was dismissed from a planned advertising campaign yesterday after executives said she had admitted to recently using cocaine.

H&M, Europe's largest clothing chain with 78 stores in the United States, had photographed Ms. Moss to promote the global introduction in November of a fashion collection designed by Stella McCartney. But a spokeswoman for H&M said the campaign was canceled after Ms. Moss told store executives in New York that a report of her drug use in a London newspaper was correct.

"If someone is going to be the face of H&M," the spokeswoman, Jennifer Uglialoro, said, "it is important they be healthy, wholesome and sound."

...They must not have ever actually seen a photo of her. Sexy, maybe if you're into skinny chicks - but wholesome? Get outta here. Hearing that she has done cocaine should be about as shocking as finding out that the Catholic Church is cracking down on gay priests.

In other news, there are a shocking - at least to me - number of nude pictures of Kate Moss on the web.

potato launcher

Remember the good old days when you were stupid enough to launch a potato out of a two or three foot length of PVC over the roof of your back yard neighbor's house? How come you never heard of people getting sent to the hospital from being hit in the noggin by an unidentified flying potato? Personally, I preferred launching rotten tomatoes.

We also used to sneak out at night and throw rotten vegetables off the roof of a ten story parking deck downtown. What kind of lame security did they have to let us up there and get away with that?

Regardless, even when we stayed up all night at my buddy's lake house launching live catfish across the neighbor's dock at 4:30 in the AM, we never used anything like this:

This guy is serious about his potato launchers

good times

I don't think I can actually host video clips, so you'll have to follow the link:

http://www.doubleagent.com/video.php?v=738&ct=38

acceleration

As I have mentioned, I have an 81 242. That means that if I am behind your 2005 Acura on the ramp to I-66, and you are going slower than I am, you need to learn how to drive on the highway. The idea is that you match the travel speed BEFORE you merge onto the highway - do NOT merge at 45 mph and then decide to accelerate.

Likewise, if we are on the beltway up by silver spring where it is all curvy, not only do you need to get your slow ass of the left lane, but I promise your car handles better than mine. If I can maintain 55 mph, I promise that you can.

The Houride:

rated pg-13

I usually don't post twice in the same day - I figure I could save the post for tomorrow to keep things fresh, but this is pissing me off. I also usually try to keep this blog semi-family friendly, but you will have to pardon my french for just a moment.

My friends & I tried to start a tradition of traveling to see an away Panthers game. This year we were all going to New Orleans on December 18th to see the Panthers @ Saints in the Super Dome and generally have a drunken bro-down weekend. Needless to say, the trip is canceled.

Fucking bastard ass bankrupt USAIR wants to charge my ass $100 to change the New Orleans flight. It was bad enough that they routed my call to Bangladesh over what sounded like a friggin world war one two-way radio, or that their change-flight fee is four times as much as Delta's, but now they want me to pay half the cost of the ticket just because the whole damn city is gone.

Don't get me wrong - I am lucky compared to a lot of the people down in New Orleans, but it is total bull shit that US Air is trying to make money off of me in the wake of this tragedy. I'm not even asking for a refund - I just want a full credit towards a different flight. If I end up having to pay a cent more to change my flight, it will only be after I have finished chewing off the ear of the highest supervisor they put on the phone and I swear I will never fly on their airline again.

negotiation

No one will low-ball you like a Pakistani steel trader.

transportation

When Bush was asked about his position on Roe vs. Wade, he answered that he really doesn't care how people get out of New Orleans.

fight the power

the weird ways my procrastinating brain works...

I have been having problems with MS Outlook. The short version is that I cannot send e-mail from home and school without changing settings every time I change locations. I'll leave it at that.

After failing to find a solution, I decided to switch to Thunderbird - the Mozilla mail client. I switched from IE to Firefox about 9 months ago and have been happy so far, although I still use IE from time to time. I was a little turned off because Thunderbird doesn't come with a calendar, so I had to keep using Outlook. Well, stupid me didn't actually try to find out if there is a calendar extension for Thunderbird, and of course there is.

While Microsoft's monopoly has some advantages, screw 'em. I'm finally done with outlook, and it took me WAY less time than I expected. Now I can refocus my goals in life.

So, in thinking of a title for this post I got the song stuck in my head, which also led me to think of the credit intro to an often forgotten fantastic movie - Do The Right Thing.


I went looking for a picture of Rosie Perez dancing, but couldn't find one. I did, however, run across this pretty good website called DVD Beaver. I have no idea why it is called that - it is totally safe for work etc.

fake meat

I'm not a vegetarian (you should already know that), but I do enjoy an occasional veggie burger. I don't mean the all-soy fake meat patties that have the consistency of rubber and taste like a sponge soaked in teryaki sauce. I mean the grain or rice based patties that don't try to be something they're not.

For all you non-believers out there; try slapping one on a couple pieces of toast with some lettuce, cheddar, and a few slices of thick-cut bacon.

So, for lunch today I used the George Foreman to press a Morning Star Okra Patty into a grilled cheese with fresh home-grown tomato & sliced onion. I should have taken a picture, but I forgot. The thing that inspired this post wasn't how good it was (it was good) but what the package advertised: "65% less fat than regular ground beef"

(I planned to post a link to the item description on their website, but it is no longer listed as a product. That explains the freezer burn.)

Think about that - I don't know exactly what is in this patty thing, but whatever it is, it has 35% as much fat as beef - not the lean beef, or ground sirloin - the full "regular" ground beef, whatever that is. How can a vegetarian organic pseudo-healthy veggie burger have that much fat? After I slap on the cheese, bacon, and mayo, I might as well just jump in the car and head to McDonalds.

(Morningstar Farms happens to be owned by Kelloggs - so all you tree huggers are supporting the man.)

hurricanes & hand grenades

is that all?

I drafted the following post before the hurricane. Funny how real problems crowd out the made-up ones:

Apparently over half the country thinks that all you should have to do in order to get a sit-down with the President of our nation is quit your job and go squat outside his ranch for a little while.

Do you know how long it would take Bush to shake hands with the over 3.5 million homeless people in America? I'm heading to Crawford.

Slight Majority Say Bush Should Meet With Sheehan

Survey Suggests Mother's Actions Have Little Impact on War Views

By Richard Morin

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 30, 2005; 7:00 AM

Slightly more than half of the country says President Bush should meet with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed last year in Iraq, who is leading a protest against the war outside Bush's ranch in Crawford, Tex., according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Tony Kornhiser began his local 'sports' talk radio show (which is great and you can stream on the web here) with a 20 minute rant about New Orleans. If I wanted to think about that on my way to school this morning, I would have tuned in NPR.

So, with that in mind, I will just let you know that if I see one more ____ walking down the street with a blue shirt and pink tie thinkin he is some cool slick stud, I will kick him in the balls, grab the end of the tie and wrap it around the seat post on my bike while I ride through downtown DC like Wyatt Earp rounding up the rest of the trendy ass losers.

I will be away for the weekend.