Scandalous

In light of the scandal with the Idaho Senator Craig, I post the following from today's Arab Times. Similar stories, but different word choice:

Staff find homos in jail bathroom
Three Asian homosexuals were found engaging in immoral acts inside the bathroom in Ward Number Nine at the Central Jail.Security sources said an employee assigned at the ward checked the bathroom after hearing strange voices inside and was surprised when he found the three inmates involved in indecent acts. The employee immediately informed the Central Jail Director who filed a case at Al-Sulaibiya Police Station against the prisoners.

Homo beats mom

Police have arrested a homosexual who allegedly beat his mother and sister. Security sources said the suspect had a heated argument with his mother which prompted him to hit his mother and sister. After attacking the women, the suspect allegedly went out of the house and set his mother's car on fire. Police later arrested the homosexual who was referred to Rumaithiya Police Station. Initial investigations revealed the suspect is suffering from psychological problems due to pressure from his family.

The Mormon versus the "Muslim"

Just had an interesting conversation with a colleague. Seems he won't vote for Obama because he feels he is a secret Muslim, and also won't vote for Romney because he is a Mormon. I am sure many Americans feel the same way.

But it raises the question: what if they are both the nominees for the Presidency? Who will America vote for then?


Just wondering. I guess those issues aren't behind us as a nation. Of course, this could all be just a dream matchup, kind of like if the keeper of the world's emerging world religion, Environmentalist and number one Anti-Christ contender, Al Gore, throws his hat into the ring.

But now I am just babbling like a brook.

Dem Debates

I was able to catch the last half of the Democratic debate the other day. I have a few comments.

For one, I cannot believe that the Democrats are going to choose Lady MacBeth as their standard bearer. It seems more and more likely every day. I wonder if they will wise up.


Second, Obama looked good. I still don't know why he isn't in the lead. Edwards looked weak. I think he will fade fast after December.


Two people who looked really good to me were Dodd and Biden. I can't believe they aren't showing up in the polls. How Richardson is leading them is anyone's guess. He seemed a bit nervous to be the president in my opinion. I think he is running for the veep position though, since he knows he has a lot more to offer Hillary than Obama. Blacks are going to vote Democratic, even if decided to run two Klanmen on the ticket, but the Hispanic vote is split. Richardson could help in the Southwest and the Mountain states. He needs to be less nervous though.


I must say the real idiot of the night was Gravel. It seemed that everyone was uncomfortable with him even being there. Kucinich has no chance of winning but at least he is thoughtful and behaved. Gravel reminds me of my old, drunk, racist granddaddy; always saying something at an inopportuned time.


So if I have to break down the candidates for who I think the Democrats should nominate I would put them in this order:


1. Obama


2. Dodd


3. Kucinich


4. Biden


5. Richardson


6. Edwards


7. Stalin


8. Hitler


9. Mao


10. Pol Pot


11. Hillary


12. Attila the Hun


13. Gravel


At least Gravel didn't make the top dozen.

Elvis: I hardly knew you

I can honestly say that I didn't really respond to Elvis' death 30 years ago. I wasn't a big fan of his and that summer when I was 11 I was more interested in seeing "Star Wars" a few more times.

I really only knew Elvis from all of those horrible movies that were on tv all of the time. In those days before cable there wasn't really much on tv, but you could always find an Elvis movie, and I avoided those like the plague.

It is sad now to think what Elvis must have been going through. He had so much talent and was hamstrung by the Colonel. If there is a musical heaven then the Colonel must surely be in Hell.
I was thinking about Elvis yesterday while I was listening to the re-release of the Travelling Wilbury's cds. Bob Dylan was singing some amazing stuff on there (and his newest cds are amazing). I started thinking, what would Elvis be singing now? He could have been something else into his 50's and 60's, but he will always be 42.

A friend came up with a movie once about what if Elvis were still alive. I remember her giving me a tape that purported that he was still alive somewhere, recording new songs but not releasing them. I think that would be nice. But when is he going to release that new songs?

Elvis had the same birthday as my mother. I wonder if my mom has now met him in Heaven. Maybe they are singing a gospel song together. That is a nice thought anyway.
Well goodbye Elvis. I hope you are doing as well as possible. Now I like you.

Some Gory Details

Some interesting news from the Washington Post about Al Gore vs. the Hill/Billy ticket. It is a little dated, six weeks, but it is so full of promise. I am already preparing to be disappointed.

Article published Jun 27, 2007N.H. poll puts Gore over Clinton
June 27, 2007 By Ralph Z. Hallow - ONLINE EXCLUSIVE / 3:13 p.m.

Former Vice President Al Gore is New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's worst nightmare in the nation"s first primary, a new poll shows. If Mr. Gore got into the 2008 presidential nomination contest, he would edge out Mrs. Clinton in New Hampshire 32 percent to 26 percent and defeat the rest of the Democratic contenders, says a 7NEWS-Suffolk University poll of likely voters. "Gore is the only Democrat, including Hillary, who can instantly melt the field," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, which conducted the survey. Absent a Gore entry, Mrs. Clinton is the clear front-runner among declared Democratic candidates, with 37 percent, up from 28 percent in the same poll taken in March. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is second at 19 percent, followed by both John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at 9 percent. "The Democratic candidates debate a few weeks ago may have helped Hillary and hurt Barack Obama," Mr. Paleologos said. "Gore takes the most votes from Obama. I think a chunk of Obama voters in New Hampshire are anybody-but-Hillary Democrats." On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has jumped to first from third, with 26 percent, followed by former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani at 22 percent, according to the June 20-24 poll. Mr. Romney was at 17 percent in March — four points above the 13 percent received by Arizona Sen. John McCain and undeclared candidate Fred Thompson in the new poll. The poll also showed that an independent presidential bid by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg would benefit Democrats when New Hampshire voters cast ballots in the general election. Mr. Bloomberg would grab 6 percent to 8 percent, but mainly from Republicans. The survey showed that in six general-election matchups, Democrats gained more support when he was a third-party candidate. However, Mr. Paleologos said Mr. Bloomberg's potential impact will change as more voters learn about him. He said 50 percent of New Hampshire voters either have never heard of him or don't know enough to have an opinion. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, if he enters, would have "a more muted impact" on the Republican field than Mr. Gore on the Democrats, said Mr. Paleologos. He would win 12 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, taking votes mostly from Mr. Romney. Sen. John Sununu, New Hampshire Republican, appears to be in trouble, with only 31 percent in the poll saying he deserves re-election and 47 percent saying someone else should get his seat. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent overall.

Hillary vs. A Man from Hope?

I am starting to wonder if Mike Huckabee is the Republican to beat. He is from Hope, Arkansas, for goodness sakes. Imagine having two presidential libraries in Hope. I think that is reason enough to support him.

The other reason to support him is this picture. I know presidential candidates are photographed in every possible angle, day in and day out, but this isn't the photo I want to see on a quarter, someday, or on Mt. Rushmore.

Of course maybe I am wrong. Maybe my friend Jeff Lowman is right in supporting his main man, Dennis Kucinich. He seems to be quite the fighter in this photo. He also has a really young wife (younger, even, than Fred Thompson's wife), so you know somebody will be stay up late at night even if he is pouring over policy briefs (maybe someone will be pouring over his briefs, if you know what I mean).

Of course I could be wrong. It is looking like a pretty good political season though. I think the nominees of both parties will be picked sometime between Christmas and Kwanzaa. But of course after lighting my Kenora, I will be too tired to focus on anything that spectacular.

Of course I could be wrong. Bush might pull that coup everyone keeps talking about and never leave. I think that would probably be better for everyone. So there you have it, give me eight more years of Bush please.

And a side of fries.

Year of the Golden Pig Reading 17: "Green River, Running Red"

It has been a while since I read a crime book. I spotted this at a bookstore. It was by Ann Rule, the same woman who wrote a book about Ted Bundy. I read that about twenty years ago when I was in the Air Force. So I thought I would check out what other sicko has emerged from Washington state (besides all of my colleagues from there). The book intitially focuses on the lives of the women that were strangled by Gary Ridgeway, the so-called "Green River Killer." That part of the book was okay. But after a while I got tired of hearing about girls who dropped out of school, took drugs, tried to get better, didn't, and then were murder. Hey, for me that is family. I don't need to read about that 48 times (for the women he killed).

Then it got better, and focused more on police work. I always thought it would be interesting to become a police detective. I thought it would be nice to solve crimes. In the end I think the paperwork would have killed me. In this case the were tens of thousands of document pages. I am sure I would have misplaced some of that.


In the end, it was fascinating to look into the life of such a killer. He seemed like a pretty normal guy, to his colleagues anyway. He was also married three times, had a steady job and his own house. Where have I gone wrong? Even this bum can have a normal life.


But enough of that. I thought the Bundy book was better but I was in my 20's then, so maybe it wouldn't hold up now. It makes me want to go out and read some more crime books, though.

News I wish I had made up: "Bad Thai cops to endure Kitty shame"

I haven't done one of these in a while, but this one just jumped out at me, especially since I am vacationing in Bangkok.

Bad Thai cops to endure Kitty shame
from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070806/ap_on_fe_st/odd_hello_kitty_cops
Thai police officers who break rules will be forced to wear hot pink armbands featuring "Hello Kitty," the Japanese icon of cute, as a mark of shame, a senior officer said Monday.
Police officers caught littering, parking in a prohibited area, or arriving late — among other misdemeanors — will be forced to stay in the division office and wear the armband all day, said Police Col. Pongpat Chayaphan. The officers won't wear the armband in public.
The striking armband features Hello Kitty sitting atop two hearts.
"Simple warnings no longer work. This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor," said Pongpat, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok.
"(Hello) Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps," Pongpat said.
He said police caught breaking the law will be subject the same fines and penalties as any other members of the public.
"We want to make sure that we do not condone small offenses," Pongpat said, adding that the CSD believed that getting tough on petty misdemeanors would lead to fewer cases of more serious offenses including abuse of power and mistreatment of the public by police officers.
Hello Kitty, invented by Sanrio Co. in 1974, has been popular for years with children and young women. The celebrity cat adorns everything from diamond-studded jewelry, Fender guitars and digital cameras to lunch boxes, T-shirts and stationery.

Oh no! Another film festival

Okay not exactly a film festival, but something close. Actually Bangkok is having a lot of them this summer. One theater is celebrating its third anniversary by showing about 200 films over the next month. I might have to catch a few there. Another theater is showing classic American films like "Casablanca" and "Gone with the Wind", over the next four days. Today I went to see "Doctor Zhivago", which has always been one of my favorites. I had forgotten a lot of the details. I mostly remember the birch trees and the snow. It kind of made me want to move somewhere cold. I have been thinking of snow for a while. I kind of miss looking out the window on a chilly day, ice on the sill, watching my breath cover up my vision. I also like the crunching of snow and ice under foot. So maybe after Kuwait I will look somewhere north. Ah, to wear a sweater again and maybe get a down blanket. Oh joy.

Tomorrow I am going to see "North by Northwest."

Year of the Golden Pig Reading 16: "The Consolations of Philosophy"

I am a lucky man. I get to read philosophy and history books and get this: I am paid to. Actually that last part isn't true, but I do justify my expensive book buying on the fact that I am a teacher. I still believe that teachers should be the smartest people in their community. Based on the evidence, though, I'd said we've got a ways to go.

I started this book about a week ago. It was an amazing read. I now want to go out and read all of the authors that are mentioned in the text, particularly Montaigne's essays. The author, Alain de Botton, feels that philosophy is not about sounding smart and looking cool (someone called philosophy the new rock and roll), but about using it to helps us solve life's problems. By looking at five different philosophers, de Botton, does just that. He helps us cope with the difficulties of life, whether it is the loss of a loved one, not being smart or rich enough, or just learning to understand our purpose in life.

One of the concepts I teach in philosophy is the process of living and doing philosophy. I think this book will help me in the process in the future.

Some more random thoughts

Well bridges come and bridges go. Reading about the bridge collapse in Minnesota has made me think. America's in trouble. But I have known this for years. We have been spending way too much money on the military and too few on important needs, like schools, infrastructure, etc. So now we are entering the age of falling bridges. Who do you blame? My Democrat friends will blame Bush. The Republicans will blame Congress. Really I blame Clinton. Why is he at fault. Well he always bragged about the budget surplus in the 1990's. Perhaps he should have spent some on bridges. But really it is not only his fault. You can also blame Congress and Bush if it makes you happier.

Barak Obama. Man he is on fire. He is getting tough. But will he win an election? I don't know. I think Hillary might still have this one locked up, but I am rooting for Barak on the Democratic side. I also still think it will be Gore, but he has been holding out on us. Plus Live Earth was a political bust. Can you imagine the irony of his not running because of a shitty Madonna song? That would be worse than not carrying your home state to win the whole thing in 2000! But as for now "Go Barak, go!!!"

The End of Asia and the last trip. (My apologies to you know who on this one. If you know you know, if you don't you don't.) Something inside of me is different. I think my 20 years in Asia might have reached its conclusion. I first arrived in November 1987, touching down in Misawa, Japan. I was young then, only 22. Much thinner. Not so handsome (nowadays I am stunning). Young and impressionable. In the next 20 years Asia was in the front of my mind. I went back to Japan, moved to Korea and China, visited many different places on the continent. But now, I think it might be over. Time to move on and all of that. But how about Kuwait? Technically the Middle East is in Asia, but it is really a different place. So for now what is going to happen? Well I guess I will just have to wait and see.

My friend, Liz Fraser. Liz is getting married! I am very happy for her. May they be forever happy.


A year of going without. I will most likely go home next summer, but before then I think I am going to take a vacation from vacationing. I might go to Iran for a wedding, but that will be about friendship, not travel. I am also going to try to go without any new books for the next year. That will be the hardest part of the year I think. I read a lot but I buy more than I can read. So I need to either learn how to read faster or buy less. This year I am going to try to buy less (or nothing at all). Also this is going to be the year I walk more, weigh less and feel more marvelous. Plus my student loan will be paid off and I will be able to save a ton of money.


Barry Bonds. I kind of wish he would just break the record. I wish he would hit five home runs in one game to just say, there it's done. But before we celebrate we must remember: He hasn't been found guilty or admitted to doing something that wasn't illegal in baseball when it was said that he did it. Wrap your noodle around that one.

Mos Burger. It is now in Bangkok. To be fair, I have only been three times in the time I have been here (all 18 days). I must say, I wasn't happy with it at first, since it was a little different from in Japan. But now I give it two thumbs up.

Three movies that could have sucked. You know how every summer some movies just suck. Well the reviews are in and three that could have sucked, didn't. I mean "The Simpson's", "The Bourne Ultimatum", and "Hairspray." All three had big sucking ops, but they seemed to have delivered with the critics. I have only seen the last one, and it was a joyful experience. It started out with a great number, and just kept getting better. The first two start in Bangkok next week, so I will get to see them before return to the Land of Friends, Kuwait.


Well a big over and out...

Year of the Golden Pig Reading 15: "Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire"

When I picked this one up, I expected something a little different. I assumed that this would be your standard anti-American tome. I knew the author, so I assumed it would be a well-written "anti-American tome." Instead what I got was an author saying that America should become an empire! I was kind of shocked; in this day and age to hear such a thing amounts to heresy.

The further I got into the book, though, the more his argument made sense. There are a lot of problems in the world that have to be fixed. Who is going to fix them? Europe is mostly emasculated (but not in the way that Thailand is: I have never seen a country where so many men try to look like girls; and I am not talking about transvestites, just kids on the street); Russia is too poor and drunk; China has too many of their own problems; Japan keeps whistling through its teeth; and Canada is full of Canadians. So it is up to America to do something.

Or is it? American, of course, has its own problems. Too many prisoners, not enough in our saving's accounts, a huge defecit, and politicians who are only worried about being re-elected. So maybe we can't do anything ourselves. That is one of the worries that the author has. He feels we have moved from a multi-polar world to a uni-polar one, but Americans really don't want all of the headaches that come with imperialism. He really worries that we will enter an apolar world where there is no leadership from any quarter. He thinks that this period would be highly unstable and lead to a decline of civilized trade and commerce and perhaps a new dark ages.

The author uses a lot of economics, which I honestly am not a huge fan of. I could have used some more historical details. All in all, it was a pretty good read. Moving a lot more quickly than I thought.

Year of the Golden Pig Reading 14: "I am Legend"

A few months ago I read about a movie that Will Smith is going to come out with called "I am Legend." It is about the last man alive in a world full of vampires. I also read the story was by a famous science fiction writer, who penned such works as "The Incredible Shrinking Man" and the short story that become the movie "Duel." Since this two pieces became two of my favorite movies, I decided to look for this one. Well yesterday, I finally found it. It turned out to be only about 160 pages long, so today I decided to take it easy and just read all day.

Surprising, this book had already been made into a movie, another one of my favorites, "The Omega Man." The book was quite different though. It is about a man who is trapped in his house surrounded by vampires who want him to come out all the time (to play perhaps). The vampire plague started after a war broke out. There have been an increase in dust storms since the war. Well everyone died. The man, the sole survivor of humanity, has an immunity to what is causing vampirism.

Actually this was an excellent book. I just wish it had been about a 100 pages longer. The ending is intriguing, but it could have been developed into a whole other novel or story. I will have to go online to see if the author did just that.

Well, now I wonder what they will do with the movie. I like Will Smith, but this needs to be a serious film, not as light-hearted as Will can be.

What an august occasion

If you are a teacher then you know the most frightening word in the English language. All of you non-teachers are pondering what that word is. Well, you don't have to go back to graduate school to find out, because the scariest word in English is "August." That's right, "August." Why would that be so scary you ask. Well that is when we start going back to school. Some in the early part of it and some in the latter. I am in the latter category, thank you very much; so I have some time left before I want to blow out my brains.

Well maybe I used to think that way. Not anymore. I don't know what happened. I am just looking forward to teaching this year. Have I gone crazy? Have I finally went coo coo? I really don't know. Last year all of the positivity started flowing and I have just tried not to look back. Call me crazy, but I am looking forward to getting back to Kuwait's hot weather and getting back into the classroom.

But I still have about a month yet to ponder the mysteries of the universe, study a bit of Arabic, watch some movies. I might even get a few apples ready to polish.

Well have a happy day.