Hagioscope

Sunday, August 31, 2008

whirlybirds

I live near the airport.

There's a major political convention in town — so major the president may or may not be attending, Hurricane Gustav permitting.

I'm seeing a LOT of helicopters overhead this morning.

UPDATE: CNN.com has just reported that the prez and vice prez will not attend the convention because they want to focus on the hurricane.

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protestable

With the Republican National Convention hours from liftoff in our fair Cities, certain individuals are being subjected to police raids and detention — not because they're doing anything disruptive, but because somebody thinks they might be thinking of doing so later maybe. Citizens assembling peacefully to plan peaceful protests — the legal, protected-by-the-first-amendment kind — have seen their homes and public meeting places invaded and their literature and belongings seized because . . . yeah, no good reason. Google it. You'll find more reports than I can keep up with.

This kind of cowardly bullying certainly does not make me proud.

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Friday, August 29, 2008

committee chair



As you may have heard, the Republican National Convention is coming to my Twin Cities Sept. 1-4. It's going to be . . . I guess "interesting" is a polite word for it.

Check out this screen shot from a page on the convention's Web site. Look at the left nav bar. Since when did an armchair become an icon for video? Seriously! NOT the kind of logical choice that makes me think a Republican president would be anything like a good idea.

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Sunday, August 24, 2008

Joseph

As I walked home from the store this morning, a little boy about three years old jumped out onto the sidewalk to block my path. He was a cute enough kid: blond hair, blue eyes, rosy cheeks. But there was something about his wild grin that suggested all was not well.

The boy stayed in front of me as I feinted left and right. I showed off some fancy footwork and dodged around him to keep walking. He giggled, and I thought that was the end of our game. But it wasn't. I clicked off my iPod when I heard the flap flap flap of his footsteps behind me.

That was when his mother started hollering, "Joseph! Get back here!" Lank blonde hair, dangling cigarette, yesterday's sweatsuit, everyday bitterness.

I spun around with some menacing monster claws, but that didn't deter Joseph. He grabbed for them. I waved and turned my back and kept on going. Joseph followed me the length of the block, not speaking, just dogging my steps like a puppy hopeful of more playtime. His mother continued to bitch in their driveway.

Joseph caught up to me at the corner, all but wagging. Listening to the woman bark at the boy, it wasn't hard to guess what possessed him to follow a stranger so eagerly, without looking back. It made me sad to tell him he'd better go on home. And it made me worry: How far will Joseph follow the next person who's nice to him for half a second?

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

get cracking!

For all you Wallace & Gromit lovers out there: Hulu.com has added 10 short films featuring mad inventor Wallace's Cracking Contraptions. Enjoy!

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This scares me

Halloween candy is already on the shelves at the local Walgreens. Need
any "Snack Size Tombstone Molded Bars?" Got 'em right here.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Doing fine

Presto is home from the vet and back to his usual playful self. He's
already chewed another toy apart since getting home.

where the boys aren't

Last month, I decided to once again try my luck with online dating. I paid my fee and posted my profile. After a few e-mail exchanges with complete flaming idiots, I encountered a decent one. We traded messages, talked on the phone, and met for brunch on Sunday.

Then: a couple days' silence.

Today I sent him a message thanking him for a nice time and saying I'd like to meet again. But he does not think we are a match. kthxbai.

I can't say I'm surprised. To tell the truth, I did not feel any immediate chemistry either, but I was hoping to meet again and develop some.

I am not enthused about returning to the hunt. Maybe tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I just read a very interesting article on Salon.com. It's titled "Looking for the perfect stranger: How a single, successful New York writer ended up pursuing an arranged marriage in India" by Anita Jain. The title says it all. She makes some nasty cracks about desperate losers who resort to the Internet to find dates, but I'm not holding that against her. The article is an excerpt from her book, Marrying Anita: A Quest for Love in the New India. I ordered a copy.

Also: Presto is at the vet right now for his snip 'n chip procedure. I'll have him back late this afternoon.

The other males on my radar this morning are Olympic swimmers and gymnasts. Well done, gents. But why are your outfits exactly alike? When did swimmers stop wearing those fetching Speedos and start climbing into bodysuits?

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Monday, August 11, 2008

well geez

I finally broke down and tuned in the Olympics on my local NBC station last night. It seemed to be running sports coverage and commercials in about a one-to-one ratio — which is why I wanted to find a different way to watch. Sheesh.

I think I'm bad luck for female gymnasts. Every time I looked up from my book, some tiny girl with a ponytail was stumbling out of bounds or falling off of something. Yowch! I did better with men's swimming; no one fell out of the pool while I was watching.

Today I went to teach my T'ai Chi class for government employees and only one student showed up. Well geez. Don't these people have calendars? The lone student cut me loose after half an hour, so home I came. That was not a good use of my time.

Presto goes to the vet tomorrow morning for his neutering surgery. That might slow him down for a couple days, but hopefully not much. I'll have to remember to put his food away at 8:00 tonight and not let him have any more before he goes in. He will not be happy.

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Sunday, August 10, 2008

Who doesn't love ice cream?

Presto samples my ice cream sandwich. I'm surprised he likes mint.

the movies are coming to me

My stomping grounds may soon experience a brush with fame. According to this article, famous once-local filmmakers the Coen brothers will be shooting footage in my area next month. The location mentioned in the article is not exactly in my neighborhood, but it's close enough I could stop by on my bike.

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Saturday, August 09, 2008

What's the opposite of gold?

This afternoon I went to nbcolympics.com to try to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies online. But I'm not allowed to. Why? Because I don't have cable, evidently.

From what I can gather, NBC has partnered with numerous cable companies to provide online video. You have to subscribe to one of their partner services in order to access the video.

Uh, one of the main reasons I'm trying to watch online is because I don't have cable.

Verdict: STUPID!! FOR THE WIN!!!!

So I went to plain old nbc.com and tried to download a track & field video. But I'm not allowed to. Why? Because my computer is not running Windows.

Verdict: STUPID!! FOR THE WIN!!!!

Stupid: 2
Kim: 0

I finally found a scrap of the opening ceremonies on YouTube — 3.5 whole minutes' worth.
So far these Olympics are not going well.

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