The Country Lawyer

На ремонт

2010-01-28T20:35:00.003-09:00

The Country Lawyer is soon to become the Country Magistrate, so this blog is going into stasis until further notice. I've had fun writing, and I thank you for reading!

I hope I can learn from the examples of my heroes on the bench, both famous and not so famous.

Tap tap tap

2009-09-17T03:00:00.002-08:00

I haven't posted here for a while, I know. Still running the law practice--splitting my time between Barrow and the Valley these days, currently in Barrow. I miss my cat, whom I haven't seen in almost 2 months. I've finally been to trial--I won my very first time out of the gate, and the trials seem to have come in waves since then. Otherwise, just having fun as always. Not cooking nearly as much as I'd like to. I ran for the first time in a while, and quit after an embarrassingly small number of miles. I'm out of shape for a guy who ran his seventh marathon less than a year ago.

That's it for now. More soon, I hope. Thanks for reading . . .

Groan

2008-10-13T04:19:00.002-08:00

Injecting Lifetime Movie-like melodrama into a serious subject like bootlegging in Bush Alaska? Frankly, I expected better from The New York Times. Filed with a Bethel dateline, no less.

Anthology of Interest

2008-07-30T14:58:00.002-08:00

Scholars from the RAND Corporation, a thinktank with historically strong ties to the Pentagon, posted a research brief concluding that, since 1968, military force has rarely caused the end of a terrorist organization.

From the abstract:

How do terrorist groups end? The evidence since 1968 indicates that terrorist groups rarely cease to exist as a result of winning or losing a military campaign. Rather, most groups end because of operations carried out by local police or intelligence agencies or because they join the political process. This suggests that the United States should pursue a counterterrorism strategy against al Qa'ida that emphasizes policing and intelligence gathering rather than a “war on terrorism” approach that relies heavily on military force.

I'm totally not qualified to comment on their research, but it's quite interesting as a layman. Perhaps someone should pass it along to Barack "We need more troops in Afghanistan" Obama

Stop the press!

2008-07-29T09:30:00.002-08:00

In the midst of all the traveling, moving, and starting a new practice hoopla, I thought I'd break radio silence. Why? Because Ted Stevens has been indicted!!! Seven counts of filing false financial disclosures--a crime that doesn't sound too sensational, but it could make it hard to run for reelection. And here I was giving the Democrats about a 4 in 10 chance of picking up the seat with Mark Begich. Definitely read a reputable news source to get the whole story.

Obscure Joke of the Week

2008-06-20T00:22:00.004-08:00

OK, seriously--how many people are going to get this?

toothpastefordinner.com

I actually love Oblique Strategies--I have it as a widget on my MacBook, although the cards have been around for ages. It's a great cure for writer's block, or a fun way to pass the time until your writer's block goes away. Brian Eno is one of the true creative geniuses of our time.

Culinary Crimes Against Nature, Count I

2008-06-16T16:59:00.002-08:00

I really wanted to make vichyssoise this weekend. I have a recipe that I like very much, in fact. The problem: there were no leeks to be found in Bethel. Not a one. So what possessed me to try the recipe with cocktail onions? I don't know--I had a bit of the kitchen mad scientist in me. Anyway, the soup turned out more onion-y than vichyssoise, which I don't mind so much. What I do mind is that it's incredibly bitter. No good. Lesson learned--I shan't reoffend, at least not in the same manner.

I did find a recipe for "crispy pork bits," which I had to make based on the name alone. Those turned out good--very carnitas-like.

Go Dennis go!

2008-06-11T15:57:00.006-08:00

Having failed in efforts to impeach Vice President Cheney, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) escalated his battle against the administration this week by introducing 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush, using a parliamentary maneuver that will probably force a vote today.

From today's Washington Post, by way of Common Dreams.

I think most people who share his views are content to wait until January 20, 2009, but I think Kucinich is someone who stands on principle. Perhaps not An Unreasonable Man, but a man on a mission nonetheless. It's gonna be a fun year for politics geeks all over this great land.

UPDATE: A full House vote sent the articles of impeachment off to die a slow death in the Judiciary Committee, chaired by John Conyers, which is unlikely to hold hearings again this Congress. Click here to see how your Congresscritter voted. Interesting that Kucinich, after forcing a full House vote, dispatched his own articles to committee. Perhaps the point of the exercise was to read them into the record . . .

The Country Lawyer's Celebrity Hot Tub Party

2008-06-06T14:13:00.004-08:00

Well, I assure you I have been neither in jail nor in rehab for the past month and a half. Just busy, that's all. I've been on the road a lot--in fact, I'm leaving again tonight.

The Alaska Bar Convention at the beginning of May was hit or miss as far as the seminars went. Hearing from Ruth Bader Ginsburg was quite a treat, though. So was seeing people from all over the state that I either A. knew from years and years ago, or B. had only spoken to on the phone.

It was also good networking, since I am going off to co-found my own firm at the end of next month. That has resulted in a lot of working trips into Anchorage/Wasilla, but it's exciting--the pieces are in place, aside from me, but I'll be there from August onward, living in Wasilla and working in Barrow, Kotzebue, and Palmer. Good way to make partner.

I ran marathon number six in Oklahoma City, the Saturday before memorial day. It was my worst marathon time ever--the heat and humidity did me in. Some of the winter training lethargy might have caught up with me as well. I finished an hour later than my usual time, sweated through my sweatproof sunblock, and sweated off some of my tape, which led to some unsightly chafing. But I still love marathoning, and, as always, I'm looking to the next race!

I did some sightseeing in my four days in Oklahoma City. It's actually quite a nice town, the climate notwithstanding. The State Capitol is among the most visitor-friendly I've seen, with lots of cool artwork, a comprehensive self-guided tour, and easy access to the House and Senate Chambers, Supreme Court Chambers, and the Governor's reception room. They even have portraits of two heroes of mine who happen to be Oklahomans: Will Rogers and Woody Guthrie (sadly, not holding his guitar labeled "This machine kills fascists"). Oh, and there's an oil well on the grounds, right out front, pumping away:

Here's what the top looks like:

I also enjoyed seeing Bricktown, the art museum, Myriad Botanical Gardens, and the very meaningful memorial at the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

From there, I headed off to Coeur d'Alene, and had a wonderful visit--seeing the sights, cooking a joint dinner, looking at the flooded lake, and generally hanging out. It really is beautiful country in northern Idaho. I also stopped in Seattle for a quick dinner with some folks that I see all too little of! I closed out vacation with about half a week in Anchorage/Wasilla/Palmer, which was relaxing. I also got to attend my very first Air Force promotion ceremony (thanks, Maj. Siefkin!), which was very cool.

When I got back, my mom's FBI file was waiting in my mailbox, at long last. About a year ago, I had filed a Freedom of Information request, generated by getgrandpasfbifile.com, to see if the G-Men had anything on my late mother. Turns out they did! About 30 pages total, with portions redacted. Much of the information was incomplete and inaccurate, which gives the impression of shoddy investigation or just not trying very hard. Perhaps they had a hunch that she wasn't a national security threat . . .

Since Kucinich is long out of the race, I couldn't be happier that Obama is going to be the nominee. I have a good good feeling about November.

I leave you with a cat:

Awwwwwwwwwww.

Run Forrest Run

2008-04-20T18:20:00.004-08:00

Hang on, I never really liked that movie. Let's try that again:

Run Devil Run

Much better.

So, I just finished the first 20-mile run of the season. The last few miles were rough, but the most important skill in running a marathon is being able to run the last six miles when you feel just awful. So today was good practice! The Pogues and The Clash provided the soundtrack--nothing like angry, politically-tinged Anglo-Irish punk rock to keep you motivated on the road for all those hours.

I picked up strawberry yogurt instead of plain at the store yesterday, but went ahead and made the tandoori chicken marinade anyway. We'll see how it turns out--hopefully it won't be a disaster. Maybe a little sweetness among all the onions, garlic, and spices will be a good thing? There were also no eggplants to be found in town, so I used zucchini to make the eggplant relish recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook, a recipe of which I'm quite fond. It turned out pretty good! I can hardly tell the difference.

Don Young seems to be getting deeper and deeper into it--hope he has a good pair of wellingtons. The Senate has asked the Justice Department to investigate one of his suspicious highway earmarks, and Jack Abramoff, the convict for whom he claims never to have done any favors, had over 120 contacts with him and his staff over a 25-month period. Maybe he just wanted to see Don's Hummel figurines.

Incidentally, this comes as a surprise to no one:

2008-04-10T22:54:00.002-08:00

Bush administration officials from Vice President Dick Cheney on down signed off on using harsh interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists after asking the Justice Department to endorse their legality, The Associated Press has learned.

Link

I can't believe they're still equivocating, after this issue has been in the news for 6+ years. "Harsh interrogation techniques" are what any normal person would call "torture." Immoral, unethical, and, dare I say it, illegal.

On a lighter note, I just took the last of the chocolate mint cookies out of the oven . . . mmmmmmm.

I always loved Iron Man, the armored avenger who wore a tin suit to take on bad guys and hide from his own demons. And now he's fighting the evil that is open source software--bizarre.

What a relief!

2008-04-10T16:23:00.002-08:00

"I feel like a soldier, But I look like a thief!" should follow, as any Clash fan knows, but I'm actually relieved that I am familiar with most of the purported 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time. I think it's indicative of my cultural literacy. I can't argue with their #1 pick, as I've been laughing at it since junior high . . .

Apparently, the recession makes your identity cheaper on the black market. Which makes sense: since people have less money in their bank accounts, it should be cheaper to fraudulently access those accounts. N.B. "Identity Theft" is also a great song by Nellie McKay.

Acting on good advice, I got Soft Claws for the cat. So far, I've managed to glue a total of one soft claw onto the ten front claws that need 'em. But I'm a marathoner--I have patience, and I will get him shod.

It's still cold but sunny, and I still need to run after work. Headed to Wasilla this weekend for some birthday luau goodness. More to come.

Did you pay attention in high school English?

2008-04-08T12:11:00.002-08:00

From today's USA Today, a newspaper, that, if it were a breakfast cereal, would come with a lame toy and have an easy-to-solve maze on the back:

Thomas Stuckey, an FAA regional chief of inspectors, was given unspecified new duties four days after testimony before Congress focused on violations and other problems at Southwest Airlines, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

Granted, I didn't hear it with my own ears, but I'm pretty sure a government spokesperson wouldn't mention a work reassignment and a pending investigation in the same paragraph. Just a hunch.

Here, I'll fix it for you:

Four days after testimony before Congress focused on violations and other problems at Southwest Airlines, Thomas Stuckey, an FAA regional chief of inspectors, was given unspecified new duties, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

Better?

They're selling postcards of the hanging

2008-04-07T14:41:00.002-08:00

The Pulitzer Prize judges gave an honorary award to Bob Dylan today, citing his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." Good work, recognizing the best songwriter of the last century--it's only 40 years overdue.

All Right Now

2008-04-06T22:33:00.002-08:00

I'm happy that the Stanford women are headed to the NCAA Finals for the first time in a loooong time. Unfortunately, the men got knocked out by Texas in the Sweet Sixteen round, but still a good year for both basketball teams.

Can't believe I have to report for jury duty tomorrow. Grumblegrumble.

It's feeling springlike, sunny and somewhat warmer (and muddy). I gutted it out for 18 miles today--I don't know if I've ever slacked off more in training for a marathon. Oh well--thank goodness for muscle memory. At least I know my legs can carry me for 26 miles in Oklahoma City next month.

You should all check out my friend Kathy's site, which has some amazing photos!

Ow owie ow ow

2008-03-09T20:41:00.002-08:00

Fourteen miles on the road today reminded me of how out of shape my legs are. And the chafing reminded me that I really should have taped up beforehand. But sore legs are a good kinda hurt, and hopefully I'll be in better shape for the next race, Memorial Day weekend.

Still springlike outside--right around freezing and clear (and muddy). I'm waiting for that one more freeze-up before real spring.

More Russian election stuff

2008-03-05T16:08:00.002-09:00

I've always loved The Exile for calling out lazy or inept journalists, especially Western journalists in Russia whose editors are thousands of miles away, but this takes the cake. Literally--the cake is long gone, because it's been taken.

Their press review is generally a good read--a little more sporadic of late, but it's thoughtful and irreverent, as we should all aspire to be . . .

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

2008-03-05T15:38:00.002-09:00

It's just above freezing, and Bethel is turning muddy--it seems early this year. Maybe it's timed to coincide with early daylight savings time this year--part of the Bush Administration's brilliant energy-conservation policy. Brilliant.

I'm the lone ranger in the office this week--strange days indeed. The court dockets are as full as ever, for reasons best not gotten into here.

The outcome of the Russian election surprised no one, aside from those who didn't know there was an election going on. I didn't care for Tim Russert's gotcha question at the last democratic debate--asking Hillary whether or not she knew the name of Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor. Nor did I like the fact that Hillary couldn't pronounce Dmitrii Medvedev's name. Ah well.

Speaking of the Motherland, I was surprised to see a profile of Edward Limonov in Sunday's NYT magazine. To me, he'll always be the guy who wrote those columns in broken English in The Exile. I knew about his political party, but had no idea it was such a big deal these days--guess I've been out of the game too long. Maybe more bad writers should go into politics. I'm looking at you, John Grisham--your last few novels kinda stunk (at least the ones before I stopped reading), but at least you're right on tort reform, homelessness, and capital punishment.

I sent money to the Obama campaign today, my first political contribution since buying that MoveOn CD 4 years ago. He's no Kucinich, but he's the next best thing. Long primary seasons are more fun to watch, anyway.

I though it was a cool idea to list skills that are now obsolete, but I was chagrined to find out that I can do several dozen of these things, and many of them aren't obsolete! It's still useful to navigate using a compass--good luck using GPS in a cave, or after its batteries die. I was, however, amused to see mummification on the list.

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud . . .

2008-01-27T00:00:00.000-09:00

. . . is going on my list of films overshadowed by their soundtracks, along with Superfly. I've been a fan of the score for a long time, with Miles Davis's lonely lonely trumpet nearly bringing a tear to my eye. I just got around to watching the film, which is pretty good--great imagery, intrigue, everything not spelled out for the thinking viewer, and nice bookends for the start and end. But . . . the score is head and shoulders above the film. I don't know if the film's been written that could live up to that score, which was largely improvised over the film itself.

I could never be a film or music critic--I like too much of what I see and hear!

How a bill becomes a law

2008-01-25T12:21:00.000-09:00

Bethel weather has been crazy--ranging to and from 30 degrees on both sides of zero. It's been well above zero this week, with lots of blowing snow. Perfect time to start training for a spring marathon! Actually the first week of training hasn't been too bad.

I had an amazing visit to Barrow last weekend. So many familiar faces, and such an outpouring of affection for my family. It felt really nice, and it was great catching up and seeing the familiar sights after being gone for a decade. Of course I brought the digital camera and failed to take any pictures . . .

I was sorry to hear that my candidate of choice, Dennis Kucinich, is leaving the presidential race. Still, his leadership in Congress is more important than ever, so if he needs to fight to keep his House seat, I respect his pragmatism in deciding to spend his time back in Cleveland. I know he'll keep working for peace and justice.

The University of Akureyri, Iceland is offering the first ever LL.M. program in Polar Law. Very timely, with the icecaps melting, and tourism, shipping lanes, and oil & gas opening up in the Arctic Ocean. I'm a little tempted to apply--maybe some other year, once I've shaken off the eternal student label.

I think it's a little suspicious to use Facebook to rank books by the average SAT score of the schools in which they are top ten favorites. It also smacks of elitism. Granted, I've read more books in the list's top 20 than books in its bottom 20, but reading and enjoying the Bible doesn't make you less erudite than reading and enjoying Crime and Punishment, as long as you read both with a critical eye. Perhaps I'm getting too worked up about something on the Internet that's not even peer-reviewed or in a scholarly publication . . . Heck, I'm happy that young 'uns are reading. Reading books!

How I ended up in law school

2008-01-07T20:56:00.000-09:00

Ted Rall, don't ever stop.

Rock you like a hurricane

2008-01-07T16:18:00.000-09:00

Wow, that was a long vacation. I don't think I've been gone for that long since I moved to Bethel. Evanston was grand, as always. Got in some great time with the family, friends, and the cats. Too bad I was coughing the entire trip. Went to some great performances--Music of the Baroque, and a Light Opera Works production of Oklahoma!, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Going to the movies was fun too. Beowulf was a letdown: Neil Gaiman's writing was below genius level this time, and Crispin Glover's amazing acting as Grendel couldn't elevate the movie above the 3-star level. I Am Legend had some decent action, Will Smith did a good job talking to himself for most of the movie, and it seemed to borrow a lot from Twelve Monkeys, a much better movie. Charlie Wilson's War was everything an Aaron Sorkin movie should be: witty, smart, and only slightly preachy--I think it's my favorite of the bunch.

New Year's had the potential to be a big letdown, long story there, but it turned into a fun trip to Cleveland. Who knew First Night in Akron could be so fun? Anyway, I had a great visit to Rock n' Roll City, USA, and I think I missed the worst of the snowstorms on the bus ride home.

At the risk of venturing into crass commercialism, megabus.com is pretty cool. Nifty double-decker buses that aren't too crowded, reasonable fares (cheaper than Greyhound), and they only go to the bigger cities instead of stopping in every town on the freeway like Greyhound. The only downsides: no bus terminal to shelter you from the elements--you have to wait outdoors, and no customer service after hours--you can't call after 10:00 eastern to find out how much the snowstorm is going to delay your bus. But on the whole, a good deal. Hope they're makin' money.

Flying home went smoothly for a change. Everything was pretty much on time, and I had fun talking to a Bush teacher on the plane from Seattle to Anchorage. Making new friends on the plane--that pretty much never happens anymore, it seems. So, yay!

It's been fun following the presidential campaigns, albeit without my usual diligence. I'm still a Kucinich man, but it was cool to see a fellow Gen X-er and all-around cool guy like Obama win the Iowa Caucuses. And I will join the chorus of voices saying that Mike Huckabee's tax plan is insane.

Heehee

2007-12-18T23:13:00.001-09:00

marriedtothesea.com

It's this cold:

2007-12-18T00:01:00.001-09:00

Sure, I've seen worse, but not many times since I came back from the States. It hasn't been colder this year, I don't think, which is cause for concern on the climate change front . . .

Thank you, Stanford . . .

2007-12-17T23:38:00.000-09:00

. . . for sending me notice of my 10-year reunion with a detachable postcard displaying my name, year of graduation, home phone, and personal e-mail address. Yes, on a postcard, to make life easier for spammers and identity thieves. Thanks also for writing at the bottom that I could stick it in an envelope if I preferred. I could, just not while I was still out checking my mail--I don't carry letter envelopes in my pocket. Seriously, why not just use one of those airmail-type envelopes that don't take much paper?

Perhaps this is a sneaky way to get more alumni donations, resulting in more competent mailings in the future.

OK, on closer examination it looks like I can fold this thing in thirds and tape it shut, protecting my vital statistics from prying eyes (it's about the size of a half sheet of letter paper, cut lengthwise). It's not designed that way, but that leaves their preprinted address unobscured. Maybe it was all a test, upon which the admission status of my progeny will depend.

I bet this never happens at Northwestern, does it Elizabeth?

It's coming down

2007-12-17T13:13:00.000-09:00

New Jersey, getting in on a trend that is hopefully sweeping the nation, abolished capital punishment, the first state to do so since the Supreme Court reauthorized the death penalty in 1976. The first since 1965, actually. Although there have been no New Jersey executions in over four decades, it's nice to know that there won't be any more. Very encouraging and politically courageous in an age when most people who win office promise to lock up more people for a longer period of time and our President's most noteworthy achievement as Texas Governor was signing a bunch of death warrants.

It's -1 and sunny, and I'm just back from a great weekend in Wasilla, kind of a late birthday party. The cat never let me hear the end of it when I got home . . .

D'oh!

2007-12-12T22:25:00.000-09:00

Terry Pratchett has early-onset Alzheimer's. He made the announcement with his trademark wit. It's sad, though--such a talented writer. Of course, as he says, he is not dead, and I'm glad he's going to keep cranking out books for the time being, especially since I only started reading the Discworld books in the past six months . . .

Oh, come on!

2007-12-10T12:17:00.000-09:00

Yesterday's NYT had an article about an increasing number of teenagers taking up squash (the sport, not the very tasty genus of plant native to the Americas). Apparently, with the sport's growth, many Ivy-plus schools are recruiting more varsity players. First of all, call me old fashioned, but I think the only reason a kid should take up squash is that he or she enjoys playing squash. Second of all, if you play squash to make your application stand out, won't it go into a pile with all the other squash players who are trying to make their applications stand out? Finally, everyone knows the best way to get into a good school is to move to a rural state--West Virginia, South Dakota, perhaps even Alaska :)

Of course, the larger issue is an older story--the college admissions industry and the cutthroat competition to get into those few schools that U.S. News puts in its top tiers based on a few numbers that ultimately don't mean very much . . .

One more before bedtime

2007-12-07T00:20:00.001-09:00

I couldn't resist. From: http://www.jamphat.com/rap/ (some graphs may be offensive to some). Good old school references, in addition to the 50 Cent.

Fine art imitates art

2007-12-07T00:07:00.000-09:00

Wow--Frankenstein the novel has a flashback within a flashback within a flashback within yet another flashback. It's just like that Simpsons . . .

It's warm again. I mean, like the Oregon and California winters I had grown used to. It's been rainy and above freezing. Weird. I'm off to Chicagoland in a week and a half for a splendid long vacation with the family. Oh, and I forgot to mention that STANFORD BEAT CAL last weekend!!! A 4-8 season maybe, but we beat Cal and USC (#2 at the time). Jim Harbaugh has made a believer out of me--hopefully he'll get a few years to really build the program. Keep recruiting brainy jocks (says the geek with delusions of jockdom--props to Robert C. for coining the phrase).

I like to get my learn on.

2007-12-02T21:16:00.000-09:00

As usual, I'm a couple of years behind the curve--I just discovered dailylit.com, which sends books to your e-mail address in small chunks that take ~5 minutes to read. The public domain works are free, which is a steal at twice the price. They'll send you a new installment daily, or on weekdays, or on demand--it's pretty awesome. I'm working on Frankenstein right now, which I managed to avoid all these years (although there was a filmstrip version that gave me nightmares in grade school). Maybe I'll read some Shakespeare afterwards, or some Dickens, since those were meant to be serialized. It's nice to read all those works I should have already read without having to put down the other books I'm working on. Oh well, call me easily impressed.

P.S. While it's just good to see knowledge disseminated more effectively, bound books are still better than ebooks. So no, I don't want a Kindle. I can only assume that Amazon named it that because they predicted people would throw them on the fire, which is terrible for the environment, but I can understand the sentiment.

. . .

2007-12-02T15:07:00.000-09:00

The Bethel temperature went up 50 degrees in ten days--it was -1 on November 20, and 49 on November 30. Unreal. It's just below freezing now. Hopefully the weather has made up its mind and we won't have a catastrophic warm winter. Also, I need it to be cold so I have an excuse for slacking off on the running, until it's time to train for the next race.

I had a great Thanksgiving weekend in Anchorage and Wasilla. Lions for Lambs was really good, I thought, all the bad reviews notwithstanding.

I made an awesome chicken-garlic stew last night, which yielded a lot of leftovers.

Alaska politics continue to be fun to watch if you aren't a Republican--it's raining indictments, and a sitting state Senator got caught on tape verbally roughing up the wife of a prosecution witness. I still think the Dems have a rough road ahead--we have a popular Republican governor who has managed to distance herself from these other knuckleheads, and guys like Don Young who have clawed their way back from tough spots before. Nevertheless, I remain cautiously optimistic--all of these corruption cases have to have some effect at the ballot box, don't they?

Not much else to report--looking forward to a long vacation in Chicago/Evanston for Christmas and New Year's, then into 2008, but I'm sure I will have more to say before then.

You can observe a lot by watching

2007-11-18T16:28:00.000-09:00

So I measured my height yesterday, probably for the first time since high school--the doctor usually takes my word for it. Turns out I'm two inches taller than I had previously believed. I'm not sure where or when I picked up the extra height, but I'll take it. Now I'm just an inch shy of six feet. And my driver's license is totally wrong. I do believe my mind has been blown . . .

Also

2007-11-14T21:59:00.000-09:00

It got colder. I mean, not subzero or anything, but cold enough to remind us that winter's going to be here for a while.

So good, so good, so good

2007-11-14T21:48:00.000-09:00

One of the bestest TV shows ever is back, albeit under a new name, new format, and new means of delivery. Come on, who among us didn't like to kick back and watch Mystery Science Theater 3000 back in the early 90s? Luckily, there is no shortage of cinematic dreck for them to work with, although it might be tricky to get the rights to a Crossroads or a Kangaroo Jack.

Whether or not Tom Servo's not part of the new crew, he'll always be there in spirit . . .

Thank goodness for Bishop Tutu

2007-11-13T20:00:00.000-09:00

I heard Desmond Tutu speak back in '99, and he was phenomenal. He wrote an amazing op-ed in today's Guardian, on capital punishment. Hopefully the day will come when it disappears, hopefully in my lifetime, and hopefully soon. I wonder how the US will vote tomorrow on the UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on capital punishment? Probably the same as a handful of other countries our government wouldn't want us next to on any list concerning human rights--China, Sudan, etc. Even Russia has abolished the death penalty. Heck, even red, Republican Alaska has no death penalty. I'm encouraged by some recent US court decisions--I hope we're evolving as a country on this issue. Revenge doesn't make us whole.

It's cold-er in Bethel, but not cold cold. It's about 20 degrees right now, and it got down to 17 the other night. It's supposed to stay pretty mild through Thanksgiving--I'm sure the subzero temperatures will get here sooner or later.

The joy of doing very little

2007-11-11T15:35:00.000-09:00

The three day weekend progresses splendidly. It's been very relaxing, and I can reflect on my hope for peace on this Armistice Day. I also made beef bourguignon last night, which turned out rather tasty (and tastes even better as leftovers, go figure).

I caught up on some Netflix as well. Four Brothers has a catchy blaxploitation soundtrack, most of which is already on my iPod, and I dug the story too--you pretty much know what's going to happen in any revenge-themed flick (heck, the name gave away the ending in Kill Bill). Comic Book Villains was disappointing--it gets a few points for the mild Kevin Smith vibe running through it, the comic book trivia sprinkled in, the excellent casting, and Cary Elwes playing a low-down dirty double-crosser who is loyal to his woman, but the story was kind of thin, perhaps good enough for a short subject. Vulgar was weird, but not weird in a new and interesting way--think Pulp Fiction meets Quick Change meets Death Wish. Still, gotta support independent cinema, even though it's mostly been gobbled up by major studios.

I am chagrined by the dearth of streaming audio coverage for Stanford basketball games. My team isn't the home team here, so I can't count on TV coverage, and I like to put the audio on so I can read or do chores or something while listening to the game. I missed the Harvard drubbing the other night, the Northwestern State whomping last night, and the UCSB trouncing going on as I write this. I understand that the campus station has a set schedule, especially before conference play begins, but you'd think a commercial radio station billing itself as "the radio home of Stanford athletics" would at least carry some games. Ah well, could be worse--I could live in a giant bucket.

Yay, us and those like us

2007-11-09T20:51:00.000-09:00

I bear no specific animosity toward Harvard--it's like Stanford with worse weather and traffic, no Silicon Valley, and a lack of a quality athletic program or marching band. But really, we're not all that different, despite there being a continent between us. Anyway, boy is it nice to see the Stanford Men's Basketball team start the season off right, by beating the Crimson 111-56. The Women's team also beat Yale today, 100-44. Good show.

Settling in for a three-day weekend--maybe I'll clean this place up a bit.

18 years? 18 years.

2007-11-08T20:23:00.000-09:00

I can't believe that November 9 is the 18th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. What a time that was--such optimism. It was right around that time that my interest in Russia and Eastern Europe really took off.

I'll refrain from commenting on which ideology is going to conquer the world, but it's a good thing on the whole when people can vote, go where they want, and say what they want, especially in a region that got the Hitler-Stalin one-two punch in the twentieth century.

Heh

2007-11-07T20:56:00.000-09:00

I like it when they get little details right on TV shows. This week's Chuck involved the characters going to the Stanford campus, and they got a lot of little things. The on-campus shots were clearly taken someplace else, and the geographical orientation wasn't correct, but that's nitpicking. Geography in TV and movies is always subject to artistic license. They did, however, use surprisingly accurate student ID cards, authentic aerial shots of campus, a real-looking shot of a football game at Stanford Stadium, a frat house that looked like it could have been on campus, and the "S" logo with El Palo Alto plastered all over the place. Impressive, especially when the show's creator is a USC alum.

ALWAYS do the right thing.

2007-11-06T14:06:00.000-09:00

I should, even though I don't always, praise politicians with whom I don't agree when they do something good. So, gold stars to Gov. Palin and the State of Alaska for filing an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the plaintiffs in the case involving punitive damages in the Exxon Valdez spill, to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court sometime in the next few months. Sure, the state couldn't very well file a brief on behalf of Exxon-Mobil without looking really bad, but it's nice to see the State doing something that helps so many citizens. I'll never forget the spill--I was all of 13 when it happened, and it really brought home for me how fragile our ecosystem really is.

Less encouraging is that the Senate appears to be satisfied with Michael Mukasey's promise to enforce a law banning waterboarding, should Congress pass one. I've never been a big natural law proponent--I'd like to regulate the hell out of things--but I don't think the Attorney General needs an act of Congress to know that our government shouldn't engage in something that is torture by any reasonable definition of the word. There has to be a moral basis for our legal system someplace . . .

It's mid-30s and the snow appears to be here to stay. What a difference the end of daylight savings makes in the North. At least the weather is nice!

Sigh

2007-11-05T13:17:00.000-09:00

From Today's New York Times:

The Bush administration signaled Sunday that it would probably keep billions of dollars flowing to Pakistan's military, despite the detention of human rights advocates and leaders of the political opposition by Gen.Pervez Musharraf, the country’s president.

. . . .

. . . the officials argued that it would be counterproductive to let Pakistan’s political turmoil interfere with their best hope of ousting Al Qaeda’s central leadership and the Taliban from the country’s mountainous tribal areas.

Because what better way to protect the American way of life than by sending our tax dollars to regime that has never shown much interest in democracy?

Another fun article here: since 9/11, the unwelcome atmosphere in this country, including an "entry experience [] among the world's worst," has cost the US $94 billion in visitor spending, 200,000 jobs, and $16 billion in tax revenue. That's a lot. If we make it oppressively difficult for people to come here, they'll never know what a great country we live in.

Wasilla ahoy!

2007-11-04T17:49:00.000-09:00

I'm sitting in the Anchorage airport waiting to get on my overbooked flight home after a weekend in Anchorage and the Valley. I had a blast in my 2 short days here--crossed paths with some people I hadn't seen for awhile, as well as the regular gang, which was awesome.

I also ran over a mattress on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway last night--I didn't see it until I was upon it, and it got tangled up in the wheel. There was a lovely smell of burning rubber, all from the mattress, fortunately. It took me a while to get it untangled. I can honestly say that has never happened to me before . . .

It would be hyperbole to say that federal prisons are soon to be swelling with former Alaska State Legislators, but wow.

Pervez Musharraf is very concerning, but he was also concerning six years ago when he became a U.S. ally in the endless war on terror: a military dictator whose regime gave key support to the Taliban before 9/11. So, perhaps what's remarkable is that his declaration of martial law and arresting opposition leaders and others who might question him comes as a surprise to anyone who's been paying attention. After all, I've just barely been paying attention. What we need is a president who will tell Gen. Musharraf that he can stop expecting our checks in the mail. If only.

All right--I'm tired and opinionated. More later.

I can't wait for the next alumni weekend.

2007-10-30T22:53:00.000-08:00

What do you know? My own Barrow High School has been listed as one of seven "dropout factories" in Alaska. But we have a football team! Bethel Regional High School also made the list. The schools were listed in a Johns Hopkins study analyzing U.S. Department of Education data. A dropout factory doesn't contain limb-endangering machinery (well it might), but has a graduation rate under 60%. Ouch. If I didn't know better, I'd say some children were being, ahem, left behind.

I knew something was missing.

2007-10-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's a Chairman Mao wristwatch, but what you can't tell from the photo is that he is waving in time to the secondhand. Weird wacky stuff. Thanks for the souvenir, Dad.

Upstream from the Herd

2007-10-24T23:05:00.000-08:00

Wow--it's been a whole month. I meant to update earlier, then I felt bad about not updating and went into a shame spiral of not updating even longer. Or something like that.

Vacation was awesome! The Portland Marathon was so much fun this year, and even though I didn't beat my record time, I finished in a not-too-embarrassing 4:12. More importantly, I felt better after this race than any of my previous marathons. I must be getting accustomed to it. The amazingly good night's sleep I had two nights before had to help--I usually miss out on that, and a decent night of sleep on the eve of the race has always been a lost cause for me.

The rest of the trip was awesome--I got to see so many of the important people in my life. And, of course, I hit a bunch of restaurants I like, and did a bit of shopping at REI, Powell's, and some outlets. Woohoo, consumer goods!

I came home to winter--snow covered the ground, and it hasn't gone anywhere. Coincidentally, I've been fighting a cold for the past week. I'm not done yet, but it's a lot like the boxing match in Cool Hand Luke--I'm Paul Newman, and the cold is George Kennedy, in case you were wondering.

Nellie McKay's new album is amazing. Funny, I was singing the praises of her last album a year ago. The girl works fast.

Isn't it interesting that the U.S. government is talking Turkey out of unilaterally attacking Iraq? I'm just saying, it's interesting. Perhaps even ironic, in the real sense rather than the Alanis Morissette sense.

Oh, and Stanford football is undefeated on the road, 2-0. Jim Harbaugh is making a believer out of me, even if we don't get a bowl berth this year.

In a tacit admission that the climate is in fact changing, the Coast Guard is building its first base in the arctic, probably in my hometown no less. Apparently, the race is already on for shipping routes in arctic waters, or so Harper's tells me.

I have plenty more to say, but it seems to leave my brain when I get in front of a keyboard. So more to come soon . . .

More or less?

2007-09-25T23:18:00.000-08:00

According to a new Stanford-University of Washington study, the gray whale population has not actually rebounded from commercial whaling. I wonder. I have to admit that it's pretty cool that they can extrapolate that from genetic data.

One of the arguments for subsistence whaling by the Makah is that the gray whale population is at or near its carrying capacity, the largest number that the ecosystem can support. If these new data turn out to be reliable, that kind of undercuts that argument. Still, hunting bowheads in Alaska is not that controversial anymore, compared to 25 years ago, and the bowhead population is much more precarious than the gray whale population. It's also worth remembering that earlier academic estimates of the bowhead population were way off, which became clear when local experts participated in the bowhead census on the North Slope. In any case, in this learned non-biologist's opinion, aboriginal subsistence hunting doesn't make a significant dent in the gray whale or bowhead whale populations, especially compared with newer threats like climate change and overfishing, both key factors mentioned in the study.

Maybe the Corrupt Bastards Club can have a reunion in prison

2007-09-25T16:25:00.000-08:00

Former Alaska House Speaker Pete Kott was found guilty of bribery, extortion, and conspiracy, oh my. The jury found him not guilty of wire fraud. The Federal Court will sentence him in December. I think this is just the beginning of legal troubles for Republican politicians in Alaska--the arrogance seems to be catching up to them. It'll be fun to watch--I'll bring the popcorn!

Nature Thrives in the DMZ

2007-09-25T12:30:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the Korean demilitarized zone is also one of the most important wildlife refuges in Asia. I guess when you wall something off from the north and south and leave it alone, nature runs wild, to paraphrase former Alaska Gov. Wally Hickel. I'm a bit conflicted--as desirable as a peace treaty among the Koreas and the U.S. would be, it would be a shame to turn this pristine wilderness into a bunch of luxury condos and Starbuckses. Of course they'd have to clear the landmines before any of that happened.

This reminds me of the story a couple of years ago about penguins using minefields from the Falklands War as breeding grounds--they don't trip the landmines, and the humans aren't around to bug them.

So, I'll admit that occasionally some good happens as an ancillary effect of war, but maintain my position that war is bad. Very bad.

Two Great Tastes That Do Not Taste Great Together

2007-09-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

You know, like chorizo and marzipan, or something similarly dissonant.

This has been around, but it bears mentioning that I love Dostoyevsky, and I love Batman, but Batman makes a lousy Raskol'nikov. True, both have feelings of righteousness and superiority. Batman, however, has a singleminded, maniacal compulsion to rid the world of crime, while Rodion Raskol'nikov had delusions of being an "extraordinary" man to whom the law didn't apply (I think--it's been a while since I read Crime and Punishment in college, and literary analysis was never my strong suit).

Lethargy Central

2007-09-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling disinclined to do today's 12-mile run. Is it the nasty weather, or the fact that I was feeling kind of icky yesterday, or just general weekend laziness? Blargh. Chances are I'll go in an hour or two anyway.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

2007-09-22T21:41:00.001-08:00

Final Score: Oregon 55, Stanford 31. Sigh. At least it felt pretty good at the half.

Underbloggery

2007-09-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

Stanford is leading Oregon by 7 points at halftime. Sweeeeeet.

Well, vacation was amazing. I loved the long Labor Day weekend in and around Seattle, including a ferry ride to Bremerton, Pike Place, the Space Needle, and catching up with lots of folks. Then five wonderful days in Denver! Hiking, cooking, and relaxing were the order of the day. It's always rough to start back to work after such an awesome break.

Of course, I'm taking off again in a couple weeks for the Portland Marathon, with an accompanying week off. I'm in that fun stage of training, when the running tapers off before race day.

Lots and lots going on in the world. Five members of the Makah Tribe killed a grey whale, in a hunt that was sanctioned by neither the Tribe nor the federal government--not surprising, given the ridiculous Ninth Circuit Court ruling in Anderson v. Evans. The U.S. Senate, instead of voting to end the war, or, more realistically, cutting off funding for the war and de facto ending it, wasted valuable time voting on a resolution to condemn a MoveOn.org ad questioning Gen. Petraeus's honesty (they never bothered to swear in the good general when he testified, so it's not perjury). And Donald Rumsfeld is coming to Stanford to be a visiting Hoover Fellow--I can see why people are upset, but that's not something that can easily be stopped. Anyway, I don't see Rummy hanging out in the Quad or playing ultimate in the Oval. They had Edward Teller and Edwin Meese, so what's one more crazy Republican?

Alaska politics continues to be fun to watch. I still think it will take a LOT to unseat Ted Stevens or Don Young next year.

Easy Amusement

2007-08-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

If you're like me (and I know I am), you've been known to chuckle occasionally at the funny kitty pictures with captions on them, viz. www.icanhascheezburger.com. Realisticats, however, has raised the bar. My personal favorite, both because of the genuineness of the sentiment and because I freakin' recognize that picture:

Three Days and Counting

2007-08-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

Vacation is nearly here, with so so much to do beforehand . . .

The Cake B-Sides album is all right--apparently it's nothing new to those in the know (heck, I already had 3 of the 11 listed tracks, and 2 more were just live versions of well-known Cake songs. I find their cover of "War Pigs" getting stuck on repeat a lot--Cake + Black Sabbath = Good Times.

I predicted in my March 20 post that Alberto Gonzales would resign. Or that it was likely. Yay me. Not that it takes a crystal ball to figure out that he would fall on his sword for the U.S. Attorney firings and ensuing coverup. If ever there was a loyal Bush soldier. But he hasn't been disbarred for perjury or anything, so he can still get a law job. I hope he uses the torture memo as his writing sample for those job applications. Like he won't end up at a Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institution, cushy corporate gig, or K Street lobbying shop.

I dig the Hipster Olympics. Just like any number of bars in downtown Portland. Or the Pearl. Or Alberta Street. Or Sellwood. Or wherever the next cool neighborhood in Rose City is.

It IS growing on me

2007-08-23T02:41:00.000-08:00

The Rilo Kiley CD gets better with repeated listenings, even if it is a blatant attempt to get more radio airtime. Either they focus grouped this really well with my demographic (liberal left-handed thirty-something Alaskan professionals?), or the sweetness of Jenny Lewis's voice finds a way to show through all the studio "magic." Or some third option I hadn't even considered. Like, man.

50,000 U.S. legal jobs to be outsourced by 2015?

2007-08-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Big corporate law firms are increasingly outsourcing legal work. It's not surprising that a lot of document review and boilerplate work would go to a place like India, where costs are low (thanks in part to government social welfare spending, ahem), the lawyers learn the same basics of common law, and English is the language of government and commerce.

I think they won't be outsourcing small-firm stuff anytime soon, what with economies of scale. Criminal law probably needs to stay stateside as well. Government lawyers probably are safe, although who knows--if the Bush administration can privatize a war, all bets are off.

Lest I forget how truly fortunate I am, I read war stories from the big city legal sweatshops on Temporary Attorney. It's a shame that my brothers and sisters in the legal profession have to work in such awful environments--and now this is the same work that's being outsourced.

Hmm

2007-08-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

Got the new Rilo Kiley CD today, and it's not rocking my world as much as some of their earlier work. It's not bad, it's just not amazing--I give it 3/3.5 stars. It might grow on me after repeated listening, I suppose. Some tracks are too disco-ey, and Jenny Lewis's voice just doesn't sound as angelic as on prior albums, or even her solo album. Standouts for me: "The Moneymaker," "Dejalo," and "15." I tell ya, I shoulda been a feisty music critic . . .

P.S. I'm impressed that I'm listening to it in Bethel on its official release date. Why couldn't you hook that up for Harry Potter, Amazon?

Kiita! (Or: Go Whalers!)

2007-08-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

Despite the mixed feelings, it's always nice to see my high school's football team do well. Yes, part of me thinks paying for equipment and travel is a colossal waste of money that could be spent on hiring and retaining more good teachers, or a much much much better college prep curriculum. Yes, it's uncertain how many kids are actually staying in school and out of trouble because of the opportunity to toss around the old pigskin. Nonetheless, it's good to see the home team start off its second season with a win. I also couldn't think of a better way to break in the brand new field, a very generous donation. Because "football" is more fun as a concept than "fiscal responsibility" anyway.

The score was Barrow 18, Seward 16, not that the linked article would tell you that . . . scores and opponents are meaningless details in this new era of sports journalism. Those details are here and here if you don't want to take my word for it.

Where have I been?

2007-08-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

A fair question, to which I would answer "around the way." I've been in town, mostly, working and running (A LOT--the Portland Marathon is in 47 days, and I did my first 20-mile training run yesterday, yay me), plus planning a gaelic beverage and obscure film party. I did get into Anchorage to see Cake last weekend--they never fail to put on a good show. I was a little bummed that, after their encore, the piped music came on--the international signal for "get out," and then they came back for two more encores. And of course there was no reentry into the venue. Lame. But a good show nonetheless.

Can it be that I've been writing this blog for over a year? Egad. I should have thrown a party. That also means I've been back in the Bush for over a year. Crazy how time flies.

I haven't said much about the Alaska Republican scandals, but they pretty much speak for themselves if you search Google news for Ted Stevens, Don Young, or VECO (devilish laugh). It's still an uphill battle to unseat either Stevens or Young next year, but hope springs eternal, yes it does.

It's also sad to see Karl Rove leave the White House. So sad. Surely he'll be back to running dirty campaigns for a lot more money.

I don't quite understand this, or what it says about the Red Army during its first 50 years. Amusing nonetheless.

At the end of next week, I'll be a South-Going Zax, heading down to Seattle and Denver for about 10 days total. Ah, vacations. Ah, civilization.

There I go again

2007-07-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

"Hola, amigos. I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya . . ."

I got back on Monday the 9th from a whirlwind vacation to Portland, Coos Bay, and Anchorage. It was wonderful seeing the family around July 4th--I have fun whenever I go down to Coos Bay. Saw lots of friends in and around Portland, and got in some hiking, running, and movie watching with my brother and various friends at various times. Then I saw even more movies and friends in and around Portland. Now I'm off to Anchorage on a work trip tonight, followed by another weekend in the area, with even more people to see. Wheeeee! And I'm going back to Anchorage to see Cake in a month, like sharpened knives to Chicken McNuggets . . .

We're embarrassed when our state legislators go to jail. Or we should be. But I have a hard time believing that Ted Stevens is in that much trouble politically despite being under investigation for this whole VECO mess--sure, my respect for him has plummeted since high school, but Alaskans keep reelecting him time after time. Also, I question the Philadelphia Enquirer's choice of headline for this story.

Miscellanea

2007-06-20T20:27:00.000-08:00

So, I ran the summer solstice half marathon on Saturday night. I was pretty happy with my time--faster than my time in the same race 2 years ago. Wish I'd run like that in Cleveland. Plus I got my picture in the paper. It was cold and rainy, but I had fun!

I also made both basil beef stir fry and baba ghanoush over the weekend, with decent results. No photographic proof this time, so you'll have to take my word for it. According to The Cook's Thesaurus, if your local supermarket doesn't have tahini, you can substitute 3 parts peanut butter and 1 part sesame oil. So I did. I gotta try the real thing next time.

Funny thing about Michael Bloomberg leaving the Republican party, but not surprising given his policies. Especially cracking down on gun crime, much to the chagrin of the NRA. He says he's not running for President, but if he did, I'm guessing he'd mostly take votes away from Republicans--the socially moderate, fiscally conservative votes.

I was a huge fan of KRS-One back in the early 90s, but didn't really hear much of his material after '93 or so. Anyway, I picked up his new album, and he's still got it--politically and socially conscious as ever. It's not as good as his classic material, but it's still quite good. That makes me feel good--considering the shelf life of a hip-hop artist is treacherously short, it's nice to see someone still around after 20-plus years. The best rhyme: "I've got 26 gold and platinum plaques/I'll take away your rights like the Patriot Act."

It's been a gooooood week at work. 'Nuff said.

Twenty-First Century Cities

2007-06-11T23:10:00.000-08:00

As someone who tries to walk the line between city mouse and country mouse (with a hint of suburb mouse), I loved this feature in Forbes, on the urban landscape in our newish century. Some standouts included "Two Billion Slum Dwellers" (I had no idea that the number of urban residents in the world will surpass the number of rural residents for the first time this year), a piece on shrinking cities that could look vastly different by 2100 (including some I wouldn't have guessed, ever), and "Snitchtown"--a damning indictment of our surveillance culture. I never expected to see anything like this in Forbes. Shows how much I know. Check it out.

In other news, I LOVE my new glasses! Couldn't find a picture of them on the Internets, but they're made by these folks. But they don't look all trendy.

Come On In My Kitchen

2007-06-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I tried my hand at making sauteed sausage and grapes today--I love simple recipes: sausage, grapes, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. According to the guy who wrote How To Cook Everything, the dish dates back to Roman times. So I figured it would collapse under its own hubris, yet have a lasting influence on my culture.

Here's kind of what it looked like, except it looked better in real life. Alas, I'm no Ansel Adams. All told, it tasted pretty good.

OK, one more time with the cat pics

2007-06-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to say how the cat got to the uppermost reaches of the bathroom without a nearby jumping-off point. Unless you ask me--it's a mildly amusing story. In any case, it made for some good entertainment on my lunch break.

Demmiecrats

2007-06-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I caught the second half of tonight's debate among the 8 Democrats vying for the nomination. Dennis Kucinich is still my first choice, but Bill Richardson impressed me. Kucinich and Mike Gravel got seated at the far ends of the stage, so they could be left out of most camera shots. Really, I'd take any of these Dems over Bush, McCain, Giuliani, Brownback, Huckabee, Romney, or pretty much any Republican who isn't Ron Paul (then I'd have to do some soul searching). Hopefully the Democrats can make it happen.

I'm getting slightly better at making tandoori chicken. Woohoo!

Bliss

2007-06-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

Some kitties have a rough life. Mine ain't one of 'em.

International Whaling Commission Roundup

2007-06-01T12:53:00.000-08:00

First off, had my annual physical today, and everything looks fine. I feel great, but it's always nice to have that affirmed by a professional. Needless to say, I have been medically cleared to Take It to the Man.

The IWC met in Anchorage this week. Japan was unsuccessful in bringing back commercial whaling, despite amassing an impressive number of votes--the moratorium in place since 1986 still stands. Alaskan subsistence whaling is safe, with quotas approved for the next five years.

Here's some decent background on subsistence whaling, for the unfamiliar.

The IWC also approved a quota for the Makah tribe on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, but whaling is not likely to happen anytime soon, thanks to the federal courts' boneheadedness--approving the hunt in theory, saying that the tribe can apply for a federal permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but setting nigh impossible permit requirements. Of course, the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay, signed by the U.S. government, explicitly gives the tribe whaling rights, but since when does this government care about treaties? Sorry--I'm kind of rehashing my law review comment here (full text available on request, or if you get on my bad side).

Oh, and Japan is threatening to leave the IWC after not getting its way. Reminds me of Lenin's strategy of threatening to leave the Bolshevik Party if they didn't vote the way he wanted them too. Of course, in his case it worked.

It's Friday. One last weekend before training for the next marathon begins. But mostly, I just want a nap.

Vacation Goodness

2007-05-29T09:13:00.001-08:00

Wow, I haven't updated this thing in forever.

I got back Friday morning from a whirlwhind 8-day tour, in which I slept in 5 different time zones. The jet lag never got too bad . . .

First stop was Chicago, to see the family. Had a wonderful visit--I packed a lot into 2 days, including some time just lounging around. I got to follow my brother to work, see a great stage production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and eat a lot of good food. I got in just after noon on Thursday, and left for Cleveland early on Saturday morning.

Once in Cleveland, we took a bus tour of the marathon course, which itself took an hour (to cover 26.2 miles). That was followed by a big lunch, some hanging out, and, in the evening, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fundraiser for their education program. That was fun, actually--quite a range of one- and two-hit wonders, including Tom Cochrane, Dr. Hook, Ton Loc, A Taste of Honey, the lead singer of the Stylistics (whose name escapes me), Billy Squier, Mitch Ryder, and, to close, Ronnie Spector. So quite a range, from the 60s to the 90s. And Paul Shaffer was the bandleader.

Race day itself, Sunday, started early, around 4:30. We drove into Cleveland from Kent, and started the race at 7:00. I was running pretty strong, and was making really good time before the 20-mile wall. Even after that, I was making decent time. Then around mile 24, I was on the final hill, and decided I'd treat myself to a walk. Big mistake. Once I tried running again, my quads cramped up on me, no matter how much I stretched them. Strangest thing--I was well hydrated too. So, I ended up walking the last 2 miles, and running the last few steps across the finish line, grimacing in pain. I was shooting for 3:45, and finished in 4:19, 11 minutes slower than my best time--oh well. I'm still a 4-time marathoner, and there will be more races for me. I'm thinking of going back to the drawing board as far as training goes anyway--vary my routine a bit, do some work on nutrition. There's always room for improvement, and I'm far from an expert at this.

After the race, I took a LONG afternoon nap. There was some celebrating that evening, and a lot of eating. I caught a 6:00 a.m. plane to Denver, so we had pretty a much a full day in Denver when I got there. Which we spent chilling out mostly--we did see the state capitol, which the civics nerd in me always enjoys, and check out a microbrewery (yummy). Tuesday, we went to some wineries, most of which were closed, sadly. We did find one that was open, and the wine was pretty good! I'd never had a white merlot before, but it was tasty. We also checked out the Stanley Hotel, made famous by The Shining (although the classic Kubrick film used the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood). Before heading home, we walked around downtown Boulder, one of those nice liberal college towns. We need more like it!

On Wednesday, I got to see the inner workings of a coffee shop :) Then we went to see Blades of Glory, which I found pretty funny. I've done a complete 180 on Will Ferrell, thanks to Old School and "I need more cowbell." I had a wonderful time in Denver, albeit too short a visit!

I spent that night in Seattle, at the home of an old college roommate who is now a prof at UW. How the time does fly. We hadn't seen each other in 5 years, so we grabbed a couple of beers on the way home. He and his wife are expecting their first child this summer, which is exciting! I slept for a couple of hours, then caught an early flight to Anchorage.

In Anchorage, they were all out of economy rental cars, so I got stuck with a PT Cruiser. I went downtown to meet a law school classmate for coffee, then a friend for lunch. I followed that with my first eye exam in 6 years, then a new pair of expensive, stylish glasses, then an order at the Brown Jug. Quite the busy afternoon--I didn't even go load up at Costco. Then I drove out to the Mat-Su valley to stay with some good good friends. It was a great evening, and yet another short visit. If only there were more hours in the day!

So I got back to Bethel early Friday morning, feeling quite groggy. Then I got a 3-day weekend to rest up from my vacation--I even got a short run in. Let the marathon recovery begin.

Soon I'll be back to commenting on the rest of the world. Opinions? I got a million of 'em.

Yay, Oregon!

2007-05-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

It feels good to be a former Oregonian--Gov. Kulongoski signed two bills yesterday, one which "allows same-sex couples to enter into contractual domestic partnerships with the same state benefits as married couples[,]" and another which "ban[s] discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accomodations, and creating a civil cause of action for violations of the act." Both are pretty common-sense measures that are sure to make the Jerry Falwell crowd crazy. Civil unions/domestic partnerships are a step in the right direction, but marriage equality is what we really need--there are literally hundreds of benefits that married people enjoy under federal law that are still off limits.

So, I applaud the legislature and the governor for making some progress, and let's keep leaning on our elected officials to make them do the right thing!

More VECO Fallout!

2007-05-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

I didn't know, but am not surprised, that VECO Chairman and CEO Bill Allen, was also publisher of the defunct conservative Anchorage Times. For those of you who weren't following Alaska news in '92, the Anchorage Daily News bought the Times, making Anchorage a one-(daily)-paper town (always sad). The Times had a contract to continue on, using a half-page space on the Daily News editorial page, "The Voice of the Times." They were reliably conservative and pro-development, as a counterbalance to what they perceived as a liberal bias in the Daily News (I never saw it--heck, I'm pretty sure they endorsed Ted Stevens a few times--someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Anyway, Bill Allen plead guilty to federal bribery and corruption charges this week, and the "Voice of the Times" contract happened to be up for renewal. The Daily News decided not to renew. A more cynical version of me would make a witty remark about the embodiment of conservative values, but I'm much too gracious for that, oh yes.

It's still thinking about springtime here--39 and rainy at the moment. I made an appointment for an annual physical--it's been a couple years, and it's always nice to have a professional reaffirm that I'm feeling great. And after going to my first dental appointment since before law school (no cavities!), I'm on an appointment kick. Just try and stop me--I just might see an optometrist next!

Meh.

2007-05-09T19:16:00.000-08:00

Tired again. But luckily going on vacation in a week, with lots of fun stops along the way!

The documentary version of Howard Zinn's autobiography, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train is really good! I haven't read the book in 5 years or so, but the film's got great footage, and it's narrated by my man Matt Damon.

While I was not blogging, 3 Alaska State Legislators (1 current, 2 former) got arrested by the FBI for selling their votes on an oil and gas tax bill last year to oil services giant VECO. Our esteemed governor called it "a sad day for Alaska," but if you ask me, that sad day was the day 3 lawmakers let themselves be bribed.

Anyway, not much to report. Running is delightfully tapering off, with race day in 11 days. Woohoo!

Stop Making Sense

2007-05-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

Once again, Ted Rall hits the nail right on the head with this week's column. In a nutshell, instead of applauding George Tenet for speaking up now, we should be asking why he didn't do so four years ago when it could have prevented this awful, awful war. The obvious answer is careerism, while a principled resignation would've been the right thing to do. Here's a good paragraph:

Just as the Nazis wouldn't have gotten anything done without their Vichy partners, Bush and Cheney needed the technocratic expertise of opportunistic men like George Tenet--as well as the political cover provided by such shortsighted enablers as Condi Rice and Colin Powell. Richard Clarke, Paul O'Neil, Tom Ridge, Tommy Thompson, Ari Fleischer, Christie Todd Whitman--they all knew better than to accept positions with an illegitimate administration who viewed We the People as an annoying obstacle to their agenda. But they did it just the same.

I just know he'll get in trouble for using "Nazis" and "Bush and Cheney" in the same sentence.

Now they can take out your appendix by going in through the mouth and leaving no visible scar. How cool is that?

Craziness

2007-04-29T22:02:00.000-08:00

So an overpass melted near the Bay Bridge due to a tanker truck fire. Many of you will remember it as the bridge Dustin Hoffman drove across (in the wrong direction) to pursue Katharine Ross at Berkeley in The Graduate. I might not have, had I not seen that movie 4 years in a row at Stanford Sunday Flicks. But I digress. The truck driver suffered second-degree burns, but fortunately, no one else was hurt. Video here.

Just when you though the Bay Area commute couldn't get any more onerous . . .

Where have I been?

2007-04-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

And how did I let two weeks go by without a post?

I just did my third and final 20-mile training run for the Cleveland Marathon, and it did not kill me. So I know I'll be able to finish the thing. Now I'm on the couch, full of Gatorade (yuck) and fresh strawberries (mmmmmmmmmmm).

While it is a blatant publicity stunt, I'm glad that Gov. Ted Kulongoski spent a week making a show of living off of food stamps. Maybe I'm just cynical and he got invited to no fancy dinner parties during that week, and the fridge and pantry in the Governor's mansion weren't stocked to outlast the Siege of Leningrad. Still, I'm glad he drew attention to the hunger problem that is so dire in Oregon as well as so many other places. I knew there was a reason I voted for Kulongoski in that last primary before I left Oregon. He's a good kid.

I was of course sad to hear that Mstislav Rostropovich is no longer with us, the man Yevtushenko called "the Human Cello" in his novel about the 1991 Soviet Coup whose name escapes me. As a one time cellist and a lifelong Soviet history buff, I would have loved to sit with him for an hour and listen. He struck me as a less grumpy, less reactionary Solzhenitsyn.

Oh, and Boris Yeltsin--totally missed that one too. Nothing I can add to the voluminous obituaries, really, except that I remember being a college student in Moscow right after his reelection in '96, when he disappeared from the public eye for many months while recovering from a quintuple bypass. I also remember him winning the runoff election by giving a cabinet-level post to the third-place finisher in the first round of voting, Alexander Lebed, only to fire him not long after the runoff. Complicated legacy, democracy and free markets combined with rule by presidential decree and rampant corruption, blah blah blah.

Unbreakable

2007-04-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

Did my second 20-mile run today, and feel strangely pain free. I might be getting the hang of this business. And most importantly, no chafing this time. And I'm off for warmer climes in mere days--WOOHOO!

Floating nuclear reactors? Seriously, who greenlit this? Sigh. Russia's stellar environmental record continues. I hope none of them, you know, get bumped or sink or experience any of the other stuff that can go wrong at sea. They might not have a Clean Water Act with a citizen suit provision over there . . .

At last, a scandal in which the American public can get interested:

2007-04-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

One that just about everyone can understand. Paul Wolfowitz is in trouble for giving his girlfriend a huge raise and a promotion at the World Bank, something that's against the rules, not to mention against common sense. Some of you may remember Wolfowitz as the guy combing his hair in the news feed at the beginning of Fahrenheit 9/11, or perhaps as the Deputy Secretary of Defense in the first George W. Bush administration, a principal architect of the Bush Doctrine which has yet to lead to the flowering of peace and democracy in Iraq.

It's sunny and beautiful here today. I'm beginning to feel marathon strong. I continue to covet a Vespa, although it won't do me much good out here.

Too many words on here. Here's a funny visual:

toothpastefordinner.com

Wow, just wow.

2007-04-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

There have been eleven earthquakes near Kaktovik this week. (Sorry--couldn't find a non-registration version of the story.) Kaktovik is the easternmost village in my home region, the North Slope, and seismic activity is a rarity.

It's also right by ANWR--anyone still want to argue that oil drilling there is completely safe? That is, if the myriad spills, pipeline leaks, and shoddy oversight by regulators on the North Slope isn't enough to discourage more drilling, let alone drilling on protected land.

UPDATE: Here is a nonsubscription version of the story. And props to the 2 profs who taught my "Natural Hazards and Human Survival" class at Stanford--it might've been a way for a liberal arts major to knock out a science requirement, but I learned something, and I still think earthquakes and volcanoes are cool.

I specifically said

2007-04-12T00:57:00.000-08:00

that Kurt Vonnegut is not allowed to die. Nuts. But it wasn't the smoking that did him in.

Know how I know it's spring? I'm running in shorts and my legs are covered with mud from the knee down when I get home. The mud has kind of a Jackson Pollock look on me. It did snow today, but it's still shorts weather for the road work.

Again with the arms race? It wasn't a good idea then, and it isn't a good idea now. First we expand NATO, originally designed to protect us from the Russians, right up to Russia's borders, then we talk about missile bases in Eastern Europe? Maybe I'm just not smart enough to see what security that gives us.

For Lent!

2007-03-30T21:50:00.000-08:00

nataliedee.com

Green Apple Splatters

2007-03-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

That got your attention, didn't it?

Apple, Greepeace . . . get it? I was always a fool for clever wordplay. Or immature wordplay. Anyway, should liberal-leaning members of Generations X and Y be surprised that the "think different" company's environmental record isn't squeaky clean? I've been a satisfied Apple computer user since I was a pup, but the bottom line is that corporations exist for one purpose: to make money for their shareholders. Watch The Corporation if you don't believe me. So it's going to take a big consumer, shareholder, and media outcry to get Apple to green up. And I hope it happens!

It's feeling like spring, at last. Temperatures in the high 20s-low 30s. I even ran wearing only one layer last night (and no facemask)! I always did love this time of year.

If I had a boat/I'd go out on the ocean/And if I had a pony/I'd ride him on my boat

2007-03-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely weekend in Anchorage. Enjoyed The 300--all style and no substance. Didn't try to read any current political themes into it--Frank Miller is no Thucydides. But anyway, it was nice to get out for a couple days! Friends, shopping, and places to go--what a change. Clearly, I gotta get out more often. Perhaps to points even further south!

I can't believe Stanford lost to Louisville in round one of the Men's NCAAs. Actually, I can. But the Tournament Gods are cruel to pit the Cardinal against the Cardinals, and to have the game in Kentucky. Now I'd love to see UCLA win it all. Or Oregon--I admire their pluck.

"But Country Lawyer", some of you may ask, "don't you have a degree from Kansas?"

"That may be," I would reply, "but I have no loyalty to those suckaz."

Wouldn't it be funny if the author of the famous "Torture is O.K." memo lost his job as Attorney General for the relatively minor offense of firing some U.S. Attorneys for their lack of faith to The Cause? Don't worry Alberto, a lucrative Republican sinecure awaits you in the private sector.

Again, Russia can't catch a break. First this, then this. Not to mention this. Tragic, just tragic--I'm dead serious. I wonder what the Russian equivalents of OSHA and NTSB are like? My guess: underfunded, overworked, and corrupt as all get out. But what do I know? They could be shining beacons of government competence.

Interesting rumblings between Russia and Iran, with Iran late on its payments for the Bushehr reactor and Russia coincidentally supporting sanctions if Iran doesn't suspend uranium enrichment.

Smoove out.

All about the things

2007-03-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

Well, dear readers, it's still cold--at least for someone who's spent most of the last decade in the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. +1F/-17C (-16F/-27C windchill) as I write this, but I still gotta run 17 miles today--I suppose it could always be worse. And spring is coming soon, I hear. If climate change works its magic, it should be coming earlier and earlier.

Work is awesome--every day I get to do things that no rookie attorney I know has ever gotten to do! But it's also time for a pleasure junket/shopping and movie-watching trip to Anchorage, which happens next weekend. Just in time to celebrate my Irish heritage . . . and everyone else's.

Ann Coulter crossed a line. Yet again. In a just world, she'd have faded into obscurity 10 years ago. I'd rather listen to, and disagree with, William F. Buckley any day.

The once mighty Stanford men's basketball team made it into the tournament as an eleventh seed--fingers crossed. The women's team continues to be a perennial powerhouse, and gets an automatic bid as conference champ--hope they are well seeded.

Rigged elections in Russia? I am shocked, shocked I tell you.

I have a hot cup of coffee and a cat at the foot of my bed. Life is good. End transmission.

Accentuate the Positive

2007-03-06T14:58:00.000-09:00

Leave it to Fox News:

From BoingBoing. Way to see the glass as half full, or one charge out of five full, as the case may be. It's technically true: Libby was found guilty of two counts of perjury, one count of obstructing justice, and only one of the two counts of lying to FBI agents. But on that second count, he was totally not guilty!

Television (the band, not the medium)

2007-03-05T12:51:00.000-09:00

After hearing for nearly 2 decades what an amazing album Television's Marquee Moon is, I finally picked it up and listened to it. It's amazing! As faithful readers know, I seem to have my finger on the pulse of what was popular in decades past. Anyway, the title track is especially good, and I can hear the beginnings of the sound that countless new-wave era bands would develop.

This is great--like discovering a new author and then looking forward to reading their whole catalogue. Except Television has put out, what, 3 albums in the past 30 years? Maybe I should treat this as a standalone masterpiece, like A Confederacy of Dunces, unless you, dear readers, have different advice.

I ran 16 miles yesterday, and I'm less sore than I thought I would be. Ha--maybe I need to train harder.

"The Bush team begins new diplomatic initiative with Russia"--good luck with that. Should give Condi a chance to brush up on her Russian, anyhow.

Confidential to Panda: those pumpkin biscotti really hit the spot with my morning coffee!!!

The Whaling Wall

2007-02-28T23:07:00.000-09:00

Hooray for awful puns. Anyway, the International Whaling Commission is meeting in Anchorage this summer, and it appears that the Japanese government is going to try to use its considerable sway over that body to try to put a stop to Alaska Native subsistence whaling if it doesn't get similar rights for its coastal villages to hunt minke whales. Which is pretty much a front for resuming commercial whaling.

This may be one of the few things on which Ted Stevens and I see eye to eye.

Oh, and Japan has also threatened to leave the IWC if it doesn't get its way. It's frustrating. But it goes to show you that no country has a monopoly on buying votes in international bodies, or using threats and coercion to get its way diplomatically.

The floggings will continue until morale improves

2007-02-24T18:13:00.000-09:00

The U.S. Attorney for Western Michigan got sacked this week, apparently one of eight to be ousted by the Bush administration for not toeing the party line. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but isn't it sad when even federal judges are ascribing bad motives to these clowns?

And, 50 years later, the federal district court in Arkansas released the Little Rock School District from federal supervision in the long-running school desegregation case. Interesting--the problem is far from solved, but I'm sure the odds of the 101st Airborne coming back to town anytime soon are slim.

Alaska's physician shortage

2007-02-21T22:19:00.000-09:00

I suppose Sen. Lisa Murkowski deserves some grudging respect for holding a hearing on how Alaskans are underserved, medically speaking. Especially in the Bush. Not having a med school, and having a paltry 10 slots for Alaskans set aside at UW med school doesn't help. It's just like the lawyer shortage--if Alaska had a law school, I probably would have gone there.

Clue-Impaired

2007-02-15T19:38:00.000-09:00

OK, when I was not paying attention, another one of my favorite bands, Rage Against the Machine, decided to reunite to play at Coachella. Which should be awesome, y'know, aside from the scorching desert heat and waiting in line to use the Johnny-on-the-Spot. Please tour, ideally sharing a double bill with the Police (see below).

Funny how they broke up because the rest of the band couldn't get along with Zack de la Rocha, so they all formed Audioslave with Chris Cornell. Perhaps they got along even worse with Chris? Who knows, until the "Behind the Music" comes out?

And for the record, this is not a music blog--it's a serious public affairs forum. Harrrumph.

What have I learned since the last post?

2007-02-12T18:47:00.000-09:00

Three seasons in one day is nothing I can't handle.
I run faster with an iPod.
Ted Rall makes the "stay the course" crowd's point better than they ever could.
I make a mean beef stroganoff.
Having an HDTV means an awesome picture, even if you don't get an HD signal.
Being TiVo-less makes said HDTV less splendiferous.
Russia, after surviving Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, and countless other disasters, is now (possibly) getting Wal-Mart. When will their suffering end?
Apple makes a darn good laptop. Keep an eye on this company--I think it's goin' places.

I'm sure I learned some other things, but that's all that springs to mind at the moment. Oh, and the Police last night? Disappointing--a version of "Roxanne" that sounded pretty much the same as the old studio version. It takes more than that to wow me, and two giant creative forces like Sting and Stewart Copeland surely could have pulled it off.

Afternoon has gently passed me by

2007-01-30T12:50:00.000-09:00

Big big news--the (reunited) Police are playing at the Grammys in a couple weeks! Even better are the unsubstantiated rumors of a summer tour--please please do it, and play a venue that I can get to easily!

And the most interesting story with a Juneau dateline today involves a bald eagle making off with a deer head but crashing into power lines, blacking out 10,000 residents of our state capital. Gotta admire that bird's ambition, poor thing.

I know it's barely an hour away, but . . .

2007-01-23T15:41:00.000-09:00

. . . why not call 3 friends and play the George W. Bush State of the Union 2007 Drinking Game?

I got nothin' else. Less sleep=less original content. Maybe I can just paste in some beat poetry and call it a day. "I saw the best minds of my generation . . ."

Don't badmouth black licorice.

2007-01-20T03:01:00.000-09:00

Seriously.

nataliedee.com

Cats don't want a miniature version of your bed . . .

2007-01-19T22:48:00.000-09:00

. . . they want your bed. Just like they want the food you're eating. But anyway, best of luck, makers of the Cat Loft.

Still psyched about the TV victory. It takes me back to '98, when I defeated the mighty University of Kansas bureaucracy.

"'Cause I can kill a man with the jab of my pen"

2007-01-18T19:19:00.000-09:00

Well, for anyone who's heard me complain about it for the last few months, the long saga of The Country Lawyer's missing TV is drawing to a close. The short version went like this: I bought a nice new LCD HDTV at Best Buy in Anchorage after the bar, and had it shipped out here--Alaska Airlines Cargo was the only option they gave me. Surprise surprise, the TV got up and walked out of the cargo terminal in Bethel before I could pick it up. Both companies denied responsibility.

I wrote nasty letters to both companies, and managed to get a pretty decent resolution to the whole fiasco a few months later. Woohoo! I love stickin' it to the Man!

It's been in the 20s the past few days, and I've started marathon training in earnest. Cleveland here I come! I love that sore feeling after a good run--if that makes me weird, well it's just one of many things that do that.

Cool, so cool.

2007-01-10T12:32:00.000-09:00

I just found out that Channel 5 in Anchorage runs "Democracy Now," albeit at 4:00 a.m. (go TiVo). For those who haven't seen it, it's a very non-corporate news program produced for the Pacifica Radio network. Bravo!

Other stations take heed: you're supposed to air public affairs programming in exchange for using the American people's airwaves for free. And tabloid news doesn't count as public affairs!

"If you know so much about making wise career decisions, how come you're a guidance counselor?"

2007-01-05T13:45:00.000-09:00

Lawyers, car salesman, and guidance counselors: some professions just have a bad reputation. Today's "Something Positive" made me fall out of my chair laughing, because it's so close to my own experience. To my high school guidance counselor, who "forgot" to send my transcript to Yale: I got in anyway, sucka! And then I didn't go, because Yale's no Stanford . . .

Harper's Yearly Review

2007-01-03T11:42:00.000-09:00

This piece sums up the year that was very nicely. Some highlights:

Thousands of people died in the Iraqi civil war, which was costing the United States $100,000 a minute. U.S. forces began to negotiate with Sunni insurgents, and the Pentagon, short of buglers who can play taps at military funerals, ordered 700 automated digital bugles.

Al Qaeda members were communicating via social networking website MySpace.com, and the Taliban established a “mini-state” in Peshawar.

Yanni was arrested for allegedly hitting his girlfriend, and Keith Richards fell out of a coconut tree.

SAT scores in the United States showed the largest decline in 31 years, and after 15,000 tries a California scientist was able to teach starlings some grammar.

The human population reached 6.5 billion, and scientists found that new infectious diseases were emerging at a faster rate than they had in the past. “These are good times,” said a scientist, “for pathogens.”

Ah yes, THAT'S what 20 below feels like.

2007-01-03T11:04:00.000-09:00

Well, I got back early this morning after traveling all evening and night. Vacation was awesome, and long overdue. Being back in the Bay Area made me feel very nostalgic for the 8 years I lived there. I saw lots of good friends while I was there, and did some sightseeing and shopping for those precious consumer goods you can't get up here. And I came home to some real winter weather! It's been over a decade since my last Alaska winter, so it's nice to know I'm still tough enough.

On the Former Soviet front, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, the last dictator in Europe, got all hot and bothered at the Kremlin for raising its natural gas prices, among other trade disputes. Ah, I had such hope for you two--remember 10 years ago, when you were on the road to becoming one slightly larger country?

С Рождеством!

2006-12-26T20:05:00.001-09:00

So, light blogging lately. Work has been crazy, right up until Friday when we closed the office early but packed in a full day nonetheless! Flights were largely without incident--now I know what First Class is like. Apparently it's really easy to sleep there, at least once your sleep debt catches up with you. Christmas has been awesome! Very relaxing. Off to the Bay Area for more vacation on Thursday.

James Brown, R.I.P. Thank you for "Down and Out in New York City," "It's a Man's World," "Grits," "Papa Don't Take No Mess," "Night Train," and so much more.

And now we've lost Gerald Ford too. "Hark when Gerald Ford was king/We were bored with everything." Thanks for giving me a subject for my 10th grade American History report after that other kid snagged Richard Nixon and then didn't even write a report. You were moderate and pro-choice in a party that was neither, at least not anymore, and did more than you got credit for to heal the country post-Watergate. But you also made Dick Cheney your Chief of Staff--think of the damage you could have avoided by sending him home to Wyoming. You also gave Rumsfeld his first stint as Secretary of Defense. Sigh.