So I was finally right about something...Sarah Palin

I think McCain and Palin are going to win the election. It might be close or it might be a blowout, but his choice of her was brilliant. All of my liberal friends are starting to snipe at her, but she is just what conservatives need: someone who believes in small government. Complain about her lack of foreign experience if you'd like Mr. Obama, but that only brings up yours. (Living in Indonesia doesn't qualify unless you want people to look further into that madrassa you were in.) Attacking her on her lack of experience only enhances the fact that Obama also has none. One friend even mentioned the population of Alaska as if it were an indicator of why she shouldn't be veep (Delaware is so big!).
So I finally got something right. I think she is the lady to break through that glass ceiling. I always thought the Republicans would elect the first woman or minority, mostly because they don't just sit around and whine like the Democrats did last week.
Should be fun from here on out. Here is a picture of Sarah Palin in Kuwait. Wow! Talk about foreign experience.

Earthquake!!!

I went running last night. So when I went to sleep I was having strange dreams. Suddenly at about 1:00 I felt something funny. The earth was shaking. I woke and my bed was moving from side to side for about ten seconds. Then it stopped. I thought it could have been only a few things: 1. My neighbors were having really great sex. 2. Someone had decided to construct something nearby at one am. 3. I had a demon in my room a la "The Exorcist." 4. It was a freaking earthquake!
Turns out other people in other buildings felt it as well. I am still looking for news on it in the Kuwaiti papers but there is none. I found some information on land. Seems there was an earthquake last night on the Iran/Iraq border. Maybe that was what I felt. Fortunately no one was hurt and nothing fell off my shelfs.

The Year of the Rat Reading 16: "Millions of Women are waiting to meet you"

This books title alone will make you pick it up. This book bills itself as a memoir about internet dating. And it is that. But it is also an examination of the wacky world of sex. This book is full of sex. It is also funny. It is not as funny as "Portnoy's Complaint," but it does make one chuckle. It also makes one shake their head. Why? While reading this I sometimes wondered if I was reading the confessions of a dog in heat. The author was looking for a wife but he was also letting his little head run his life. He didn't seem to have an ounce of self-control. This, of course, makes me wonder: Why do I have so much self-control? Is there something wrong with me?
So I wonder: does this book reflect the realities of dating and sex? I don't know. I know it doesn't reflect my reality. In the book, the author talks about three pregnancies that he might be responsible for. The first one was aborted, the second miscarried and the third wasn't here. He talks about them briefly but really there could have been a whole book on the moral dilemma that is in this moments. He talks about how these unfortunate events led him to his current happiness. So in other words he is saying how his current success was helped along by walking over others. There is no time for any moral considerations in his lifestyle. He is only pure animal in his behavior.
This book did make me think a bit about my own failings in dating. I really am not too good at it. Maybe I am too selfish. Maybe I like my freedom. This summer I have had news from a few old girlfriends. One is happily married and has a child. I am happy for her. I know her husband and he is a good, solid guy. He offers her so much more than I could ever do. Another is getting divorced. I feel for her. She broke my heart in my 20's but I have since recovered and now I am worried about her transition. I also felt a connection with her when I saw her but time changes everything and one can't live on nostalgia. Finally another old girlfriend has recently gotten married and I feel relieved. I have managed to avoid it with her. So in this instance I am happier for myself than I am for her. (Summer is long for a teacher and you have lots of time to reminisce.)
So this book is one to get you thinking, but it is also a book that shows how messed up the world of dating and morality really are. I don't know if it has always been this way, but I wonder if we are approaching a new dark ages where morality is completely thrown out the window.
The other day I was listening to Larry King. Obama had just picked Biden to be his vice-president nominee. A caller called Larry King. He said he had always voted for Democrats but he couldn't vote for Obama because he had chose a plagiarist as his vice-presidential candidate. I though to myself: so you will vote for Clinton and his adultery but you won't vote for Biden because he stole from some other guy's speech. Stranger moral code. This book fits into this category.

So here is how McCain can win...

Hillary supporters sure are angry with Barack Hussein Obama. I think he might still win withouth their full support. That is, unless McCain doesn't something unpredictable, like, picking a female candidate. There is a perfect one, Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska. No one from that state has every been on the Presidential ticket and the GOP really needs to liven things up with their veep choice.
However, I know nothing about her. She would make an interesting dent in the Obama campaign though.

Back home again

Well I have been home for almost a week. It is nice. School started yesterday and that is going okay. My plans for world conquest are on hold for the moment, but I will let you know when they are back on track.
This year I will be teaching only four classes and have two senior study halls. Should be nice. Last year I had the same schedule. I am working with one new Canadian teacher. She is nice but a little scared. Mostly things are looking okay.
The convention is about to start so I will be able to follow that. I like Obama's choice for veep. I thought Biden would have also made a fine president. I am still thinking that Hillary will sink Obama though. Her supporters seem to be a bunch of whiners. I think McCain would be smart to pick a woman.
So here I am at school. I should go home, but I am recording cds unto my hard-drive. I am now recording "Tunnel of Love," one of the most underrated of Springsteen's cds.
Well I need to get ready to leave. I just wish I had something to do.

The Year of the Rat Reading 15: "The Muslims of Thailand"

One day while walking on my first trip to Thailand, I heard a sound that was vaguely familiar. So I stopped to listen. I had a certain melodic quality to it that confused me to its origin but it was the Islamic call to prayer. I didn't think I would be hearing this while walking through Bangkok, but unbeknownst to me there are about a half a million Muslims in Bangkok.
So since them I have been looking for some material on Islam in Thailand. I have never been able to find any before this trip, and then a whole bunch of it fell into my lap. This book, "The Muslims of Thailand," is the first one I will clean off my lap.
This is the kind of book you are forced to read in university. There is a lot of information but no narrative. Why do historians just tell us the facts. Some stories would also be interesting. Thailand is the midst of a mini-civil war, au currant, in its southern Islamic provinces, so perhaps some of those voices could have made it more interesting. Not that it wasn't an interesting enough book (as so many are) but the author seems to forget that history is full of people doing fascinating things. Just none of them are found here.

The Year of the Rat Reading 14: "The Siege of Mecca"

When I was just fourteen an event happened that has affected the world we live in today. Because of it the Soviets moved into Afghanistan, Pope John Paul II was shot, Anwar Sadat was assassinated, and the Carter Doctrine was formulated, allowing the USA to secure the oil in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf. Something this big must be common knowledge to everyone, but it isn't. That is why this book is so fascinating.
On the first day of the year 1400 in the Islamic calender (1979), a group of Wahhabists took over the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Because of the Iranian revolution and the taking of American hostages there, many reports at the time said the takeover was by Shi'ites. I actually thought so myself before I read this book. But no, the attackers were just your usual Wahhabist, who had been trained to hate everyone who is not a Muslim.
This book gives you a fascinating look into how the Saudis responded to it (they didn't do such a good job), how Muslims throughout the world immediately blamed the US and Israel for it (and burned down the US embassy in Islamabad in the process; and later attacked the one in Libya and of all places Kuwait!), how the attackers believed they were supporting the Mahdi, and how the French of all people can in and planned the final attack.
It is really a sad book about how a good religion has been hijacked by the extremists who really know so little of their faith, and how the very people who are spreading this version of the faith to the entire world (the Saudis) were a victim to their own success. I wish more Muslims were aware of the facts and would return to a more tolerant version of their faith.
So read this one. It is well worth the time.

The Year of the Rat Reading 13: "The Secret History of the World"

If you know me you know I am a bit of a freak when it comes to reading. I will read most anything, particularly if it is related to weird ideas about history. Well this book would seemed to have been just the perfect fit for me, and in some ways it was. It told the history of the world as told by secret societies. So I learned a lot about angels, the battle for heaven and hell and what influenced the great minds of history.
All in all it was a pretty good read, but I did have a few faults with it. Mostly I didn't like the lack of citations. I always tell my kids to cite if they are saying something amazing. If you are writing about Thomas Jefferson you don't have to cite if you say he wrote the Declaration of Independence or was a slave-owner. But you should cite, if you say Thomas was visited by aliens and taken away to Xenu. Well this book is full of moments that are amazing. And I know they are in the books that the authors puts in the back of his book, but it would be nice to know where exactly I can find this information. Page numbers please.
The ending of this book was also kind of weak. So I would kind of recommend it, but only if you have nothing better to read in the summer.