Musings Archives

03 April 2006Let Him Rot
Are we really going to make a martyr of Zacarias Moussaoui? It looks like it's possible now that a jury has found him eligible for death penalty. Whatever you think of him, and I think he's complete scum and probably...
02 June 2005Anita and the Strawberry Margarita
Amazing as it seems it's getting the point in my life that I've known the friends I made in college for 15 years. Although I don't see them as often as I would like, it's so nice to get together...
19 April 2005Good Money is on the Nigerian to Win
Want to get some action on the conclave? Just head over to paddypower.com, check out the odds, the candidates, fill yourself in on the process and the history of papal elections. Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria is the front runner,...
04 April 2005A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste
There seems to be a perfect storm brewing in the world at the moment. First we have this oil situation, real or manufactured, that is going to have long term ramifications to the US economy and threatens the quality of...
30 March 2005Johnnie Cochran and Human IQ
Last night as I was driving home from work I was listening to All Things Considered. There was this discussion about Johnnie Cochran OJ's lawyer who passed away yesterday. One of colleagues, Connie Rice, came on to speak to Robert...
24 March 2005Ladybug Soft Spot
I hate bugs. I hate mosquitos. I hate centipedes. I hate roaches. Ants, spiders, flies, anything creeping or crawling or buzzing. They should be eradicated off the face of the earth, as far as I'm concerned. I hate them all....
17 March 2005Record Gas Prices & Other Problems
When I finished skiing on Sunday, I drove down to Tahoe and saw that the Chevron at the bottom of Ski Run Blvd was selling regular unleaded, supposedly the cheap stuff, for $2.65/gallon. The stations near my house in Alameda...
14 December 2004Fired, Yes, but the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
Today, George Bush handed out the Presidential Medal of Freedom to three men, Tommy Franks, Paul Bremer and George Tenent. In the New York Times article, Bush is quoted as saying the three man "made our country more secure and...
08 December 2004Is America the Best Place to Live in the World?
Absolutely not, if you ask me, but my guess is that most Americans wouldn't agree with me. I had an epiphany about this while I was sitting in a huge international food court at lunch yesterday. You could get food...
08 December 2004Driving Amnesia
What is it about a little rainfall that makes Californians forget how to drive?...
19 November 2004Doomed to Repeat
Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. The people of England have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honor. They have been tricked into it by...
20 September 2004How Cheap is Cheap?
I went to IKEA over the weekend for the time in a few years (Jennifer was looking for a TV stand. There's one in Emeryville right near where I am working. The last time I was there I almost got...
10 June 2004Ray Charles is God
God is love Love is blind Ray Charles is blind Ray Charles is God This little piece of misguided logic that I recall from my youth came flooding back to me the second I saw the streaming piece news on...
09 June 2004Make it Stop
Coke has come out with C2. Coors has Aspen Edge. Krispy Kreme is had their first losing quarter and the parent company of Ronzoni filed for bankruptcy. "Carb-free" and "low-carb" labeled products are ubiquitous. Kraft has signed a deal with...
29 May 2004Books on CD
I've always had a philosophy about books on tape (and now CD) that they were the spawn of the devil, would eventually lead to wipespread illiteracy and were best avoided, unless made necessary by an excessive long solo drive and...
25 May 2004Oy Sole
This post is specific to my friends and former colleagues in Samoa. Sorry if you feel left out. It's been over 7 months since I left Samoa and yet I can't get some Samoan words out of my head. When...
24 May 2004How's Your Hmoob?
Yesterday I was at the Wells Fargo ATM and I was shocked to see "Hmoob" as one of the language choices. Hmoob? I consider myself well-traveled and generally knowledgable about these sorts of things, but Hmoob through me for a...
25 April 2004Bloating? Gas? Irregularity? Good News...
Do ya think maybe I have a spam problem? Here are some of my favorite headers: Dog treats so good your dog will never want to stop eating (is that a good thing?) Watch your friend's Hot Mom get Naked...
21 April 2004Deja Vu of Idleness
I can remember that when I moved to Atlanta in 1996 that it took me a long time to figure out what to do with myself when I wasn't working, which was rare since I was suffering through an internhip...
16 April 2004Can't Sleep
It's almost 2am and I can't sleep. For some reason I can't stop thinking about supermarket checkout scanners. I don't know why I'm thinking about this, maybe because I feel like I get screwed all the time and I have...
14 April 2004Decisions, Decisions
It's that time again. Vail closes the lifts on the 18th thus ending my job. So the big question is, what the fuck do I do next? There are lots of possibilities, but no one certain direction. Do I stay...
04 April 20044 4 4
No, that's not a Moses Malone prediction. It's the day. Apropos of nothing, really, it's the fourth day of the fourth month of the forth year. I suppose if you were into numerology, this might have some significance, but for...
31 March 2004A Greater Appreciation of Vowels
If you want to have a greater understanding and appreciation of vowels in the English language, just pick one at random and remove it from your keyboard. Then go ahead and type something, an email, a instant message, a post...
18 March 2004Job Offer
Kurt, my psycho manager, must like me because he offered me a job this summer working with him as a bear guide in Alaska. Can you believe that shit? He must not know in what little regard I hold him....
10 March 2004How Lazy am I? This Lazy
I was eating a pint of Ben & Jerry's in bed while I watching a movie last night. I didn't finish it and I didn't feel like walking upstairs to the fridge so I just opened my window and stuck...
29 February 2004Happy Leap Day
Leap Day. Leap Year. Whatever you want to call it, it's here. It's a bonus day. An extra 24 hours to earn money to pay rent, to ski, or to do nothing. A Leap Year always signifies a good year...
25 February 2004This is a Fucked-Up State
Columbine JonBenet Kobe Bryant CU Football And now U.S. Representative Marilyn Musgrave from Colorado is on the forefront of legislators trying to introduce a Constitutional amendment that will ban same-sex marriage....
24 February 2004Dale of Norway
My latest obsession is to get my hands on one of these beautiful Dale of Norway sweaters. However they are slightly out of my price range. It's shocking when you are in a store, see something you like, such as...
14 February 2004It's so Cold You Can See Your Breath
Most mornings and many days here in Vail, it's so cold you can see your breath. It's not such a big deal. In fact, it isn't a deal at all except that you can see how far away from people...
25 January 2004Spaulding Gray Missing
I saw Spaulding's last monologue at PS122 in NYC a few months back. I was in the second row right in front of his little signature desk. I was struck by how sad he seemed. He lacked the energy that...
19 January 2004C'mon Arizona, Get With the Program
I went to drop a few letters in the mailbox this morning and I was shocked to see that the mail had been delivered. Then I remembered that this backwards state that I've been living in for the past two...
19 January 2004Do You Want a Bun With That?
This Atkins Diet thing is out of control. I was in Burger King today (not by choice) and I see that they now have a "low-carb" Whopper on the menu. "Low-carb" Whopper? Who are they kidding? Listen up if you're...
06 January 2004Ask Your Doctor About Zastudil
What is with these drugs commercials? Lipitor. Vioxx. Lavitra. They are everywhere and they are so silly. Some guy, usually a former professional football coach is telling you to ask your doctor about some drug and you have no idea...
25 December 2003Happy Birthday, Jesus
I'm usually not in the habit of offering birthday greetings to long dead rabbis, but I'll make an excpetion in this case, on this day. There are a couple of remarkable aspects about Christianity in general and Jesus in particular...
16 December 2003The Real Reason for the Ivasion of Iraq
We had a little dinner party the other night and I found out from one of the guests the real reason for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. I was surprised to discover that our motives were not the capture of...
15 December 2003It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Conspicuous Consumption
I saw a show the other day on HGTV about the Christmas decorations at White House, which are, as you might expect, elaborate and ostentatious. As I was watching teams of volunteers drags innumerable boxes of ornaments and trees arriving...
14 December 2003Where Were You When?
Today, with the apprehension of Saddam Hussein, was another landmark day. There are some events like these for whatever reason that I will always remember where I was. I have a notoriously poor memory, but these events stay with me...
04 December 2003Alexander Wept
Today has been sort of a milestone day. I haven't had as much time to think about as I would like since I've been running around like a madman dealing with things that are starting to put me in the...
30 November 2003What's Wrong With This Country?
Did you hear about the woman who was trampled at a Florida Walmart in a crush of people trying to grab 29 dollar DVD players at the after-Thanksgiving sale? If you haven't, here's the blurb: ORANGE CITY, Fla. - A...
27 November 2003Daily Epiphany (x2)
Today I was pushing my mom's bike down the street to get the tires filled at one fo the local servos and I had two epiphanies (brought on either by the incredible scenery or the extreme cold). One was that...
26 November 2003Don't Cook Those Carrots...
...they'll kill you! This paraphrase comes courtesy of an acquantaince of my mom, George, whom we ran into yesterday at the checkout line at Basha's supermarket here in Sedona. George was explaining to my mom that in 1970 the US...
11 November 2003McVictory For Semantics
For all of us who have had shitty low-paying jobs (or even worked at McDonalds, as I have) comes the news that Merriam-Webster is not going to back down from the pressures of the corporate fast-food behemouth and that the...
04 November 2003Fefe
Fefe (pronounced Feh-Fey) is the Samoan word for "scared". It's a great word. One of the easiest to say and very handy to use. I've been thinking about it all day. Fefe is the feeling I have when I think...
30 October 2003So What if the Jews Killed Jesus?
I'm not saying they did or they didn't (but we all know they didn't). What I am saying is, "So what?" I had this epiphany when I was at the holocaust museum in DC the other day. I was watching...
19 October 2003I'm Tajikistan
No man is an island, but some are landlocked former Soviet republics...
08 August 2003The Death of Richard Kalin
You're probably wondering who Richard Kalin is. I, myself, wasn't even aware of his existence until a week ago. However his passing has hit me like a ton of bricks. Richard Kalin was formerly the CEO of a small company...