nuestro himno

there's a growing debate surrounding a spanish version of the national anthem, the star-spangled banner. a british producer made the track, which he says honors immigrants in America. immigrants say it gives them a way to further participate in this country, but in their native language. when asked about it, president bush said he was against the song, because he felt that people who wanted to become citizens of this country need to learn english and need to learn how to sing the national anthem in english. i'm not sure where i stand on the issue, it seems okay to me to have the song, but at the same time, there's something to be said about a national anthem that needs to be sacred. as long as the english version remains the predominant one, i think the spanish version is okay for fun.

in a rush to get high

little mr. rush limbaugh was arrested earlier today on his prescription drug abuse situation. unfortunately, i enjoyed the headline a little too much, before i realized that these were technically old charges and that he hadn't been booked twice. but still, it made my day just to see the words "rush limbaugh arrested" wonder what his little chickadee daryn kagan has to say about it!!

to serve and ridicule

we covered a story today about a policeman and 2 firefighters who were fired in 1998 for their part in a labor day parade float that mocked stereotypes of blacks. well, they've been appealing their firing under the argument that their right to speech was violated by the city. today, the court upheld the city's decision, ruling that the city's interest in protecting the public and deflecting possible backlash was greater than the individual's right to expression. i have to say i agree with the court, but my reasoning is also tied to the fact that this type of behavior was habitual. i can't describe their previous efforts, so i'll let the words of the judge speak instead:

"Each year, Broad Channel plays host to a loosely organized Labor Day parade. The parade features, among other things, floats with varying themes and of varying degrees of sophistication. Local politicians award prizes to floats designated, for example, “prettiest,” “most original,” and “funniest.”

In each of the nine years leading up to 1998, the prize for funniest float was awarded to a particular group of individuals who entered floats that often, but not always, featured racial, ethnic, or other stereotypes, and that played off themes from popular culture. In 1994, for example, this group entered a float entitled “Hasidic Park,” a play on the film Jurassic Park, that featured stereotypes of Hasidic Jews living in prehistoric times. The group’s 1996 float, called “Gooks of Hazard,” depicted Asian stereotypes. Another year, the float styled itself “Happy Gays” and made fun of gay men. Steiner and Walters participated in each of these floats, and Locurto in the 1996 and 1997 floats. There is no evidence that any of the previous floats generated any substantial contemporaneous controversy or public attention.

For the September 7, 1998 Labor Day parade, the group, which included the plaintiffs, decided to enter a float called “Black to the Future – Broad Channel 2098.” The conceit, a play on the 1985 time-travel film Back to the Future, was to depict how Broad Channel would look in 2098 when, presumably, the community would be more integrated than it was in 1998. Each of the float participants, including the plaintiffs, covered their faces in black lipstick, donned Afro wigs, and accompanied the float along the procession in attire ranging from overalls with no T- shirt underneath, to cut-off jeans and ratty T-shirts, to athletic pants and sweatshirts. The float itself featured two buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken on the hood of a flatbed truck.

One of the participants (not a plaintiff in this case) ate a watermelon and at one point threw the remains into the crowd. The float participants engaged in various chants, including, “No Justice, No Peace,” “This isn’t Johannesburg,” and “We didn’t land on Broad Channel, Broad Channel landed on us.” Plaintiffs Steiner and Walters yelled to the crowd, “Crackers, we’re moving in,” and Walters simulated “break dancing” alongside the float. Near the end of the procession, and apparently without the others’ knowledge, Walters held onto the truck’s tailgate, pretending to be dragged by the truck, and yelled, “Look what they did to our brother in Texas, we would not allow them here . . . .” The scene was intended to invoke and parodically recreate the dragging death of James Byrd, Jr., an African-American man who had been murdered months earlier outside of Jasper, Texas after being chained to the back of a moving pickup truck by three white men.

The float never reached the viewing stand to be sized up for the annual funniest float prize because a thunderstorm ended the parade early."

need a reality check?

i've never actually liked michelle rodriguez, and now, i know she is someone i wouldn't respect. initially, i didn't buy her whole acting thing, with the whole scratchy voice, squint and lopsided smile deal. but now, she obviously has a lack of common sense in the real world and that just makes me mad. i don't know why this story makes me so mad, it just does.

further proof they are EVIL

so, there's news that a fox news anchor is going to be the next bush press secretary. !?!?!?! well, i guess it wont be much of an adjustment for him, since he was already a mouthpiece for the administration as a fox man. but still, this is journalistically a little ambiguous for me. i admit, i can't watch fox news for more than a few seconds at a time, because i want to throw something at my roommate's 42 inch flat-screen wall-mounted h-d tv, and it's just too pretty to do that. but he was already a political analyst for fox? what the hell? that's really blurring the lines. i can only take solace in the fact that generally speaking the people who watch fox for its "news" content aren't too worried about the morals of journalism.... since they probably can't even spell the phrase. ;)

light bulb

it's bad enough to be at work at 9p on a sunday, but to be surrounded by giggling middle-aged men is worse. the family guy just came on and every few seconds, i can hear little male giggles coming from the control room, the newsroom and graphics. now, maybe this show is funny, i've not really watched it, but it suddenly dawned on me that boys really are on a different plane than women. they find this stuff laugh out loud hilarious and i'm just not sure that it warrants it.

don't wake me up...

if i'm dreaming, california... sorry, american dreamz... and that's dreamz with a z. i watched the movie friday night and i loved it. i couldn't stop laughing, they made a wonderfully great satire. the characters are very interesting, i mean yes, they are filling stereotypes, but that's sort of the point of the movie. you definitely have to enjoy both pop culture and politics to get the movie, because if you hate them, the mockery... which is hopeful at the end... will seem flat. i think the writer presented a relatively acute and astute picture of today's world and how sadly, it all interplays somehow. i liked hugh grant, dennis quaid, and the dude who plays omer. but i adored the kid who plays iqbal... he was great as the ambitious, frustrated, rich, gay kid. and it's better if i don't mention mandy moore, does she think we think that she's not this conniving, blonde, pop star just because she played one on-screen? (seriously, zach braff, i trust your judgment, but mandy moore?)

go mountain state

i can't believe i claim west virginia as home:

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5527078

i sat through so many freezing games to cheer on marshall and wvu, but in a smackdown, i'd have to go for marshall.

reality far from bites

now, i would normally not be heard saying that sentence, because let's face it, i was born on the wrong side of the bed. but today, on my way to work, who passed by me in the subway, but ethan hawke. now, i admit, i normally don't find grungy white men attractive, but something about hawke in reality bites just got to me, and ever since, i've been mildly interested in his career/life. thankfully, i can report he looks pretty good right now. he wasn't trying too hard to go incognito, just a hat and sunglasses, but he kept fidgeting with his mustache. anyways, i totally tried not to stare and failed miserably.

and just in case you also know and love the movie, let me share my fave line. it does reveal me to be a slight cheese, but whatcha gonna do?

Troy Dyer while speaking about Leilana (sp?) - "I love her. She breaks my heart again and again but I love her."

talk on the street

was standing on the corner when i heard a guy walking down the street talking on his phone. the only part of the conversation i heard was this one line - "it's so hard for people to come to terms with their self-identity." initially, i was like what? what a totally "this day and age" comment to make. but then i thought, actually, there are so many people that have trouble accepting who they are. now, just by the intonation of the dude on the phone, i don't think he was really grasping some deep explanation of a friend's problem, but still, it was an interesting thing to just hear while standing around. i sort of felt like a fly on a therapist's wall.

could double as a boy band name?

it was a gorgeous day in new york today, i mean crazy pretty. i had the day off, so i spent half doing lame chores and the other half sitting and chatting in a plaza. i was going to meet a friend for coffee, but i saw a little cart with those flavored ices. i got one and my friend p. wanted one too. i was trying to figure out how to explain them, when the words "hispanic ice" popped into my head. now, maybe you know what i'm talking about, the little kiddie-cup size ices that are often popular in hispanic communities. you've heard of italian ices, now i think i'm going to call them "hispanic ice". maybe it could be taken as a little racist, and that's probably why it won't fly in the world at large, but it's gonna be my own little nickname!

yet another case of sexism...

though this one definitely tilts in favor of women. there is a list of the 100 most unsexy men going around the internet. i've tried linking to it, but the site is acting sort of funny, so be warned. now, maybe it's out there, but i've just never seen a list of the 100 most unsexy women in the world. i have tons of ideas on both sides of the aisle (lil' jon and shannyn sossaman, for one), but why isn't there a list for women? are people really afraid that such a list would minimize women to a degraded status by just focusing on their looks? (sarcasm should be seen from a mile away). or maybe they're just afraid of the insane amount of celebrity ass they'd have to kiss afterwards.

in fact, i think it's funny that people's sexiest man alive issue is one of it's top sellers every year, and yet, they haven't done a sexiest woman alive. yes, people's fan base is predominantly more interested in male bods, but still, i think they could guarantee another profit maker with an issue devoted to sexy women. i wonder what's stopping them... (once again, i presume it would be the utter insanity of the behind-the-scenes campaigning and then later, cajoling of celebrity pr people)

brown v. board 2?

nebraska is dividing Omaha's school system into 3 distinct districts, and the division will be based upon race - 1 white, 1 black, and 1 hispanic. the officials say the move will help districts tailor education needs and level resources. i'm not so sure. the idea of busing people to forcefully segregate is funny now, and the truth is neighborhoods are becoming less and less racially diverse, so at first glance, the idea doesn't seem like such a big deal. But i think perhaps it misses the essence behind the law. i worry that in our rush to take racial and cultural differences into account in all areas of life, we will create a world where it becomes even harder for us to cross those barriers because we were never forced to, rather than not being allowed to.

anyways, check out the full news article.

it doesn't just suck....

it blows!! that's what i want to scream at the tv every time i see a dyson commercial. seriously, who do these people think they are? their ads are so pretentious, and their vacuums... sorry, dysons... are so expensive, they should only be advertising in "home ec for the rich and famous." my friends have had philosophical discussions about how they would own a dyson if they could, but really, has anyone ever seen or tested one of these things? i don't know why dyson... with all his accented-yuppiness annoys me, but he does. growl.

disclaimer: this post is in no-way the ranting of a bitter and broke SIF....

the new map

the red and blue states map from the 2000/2004 elections spawned an entire classification method for the country. now, this map shows another similar breakdown of the country. it's based on probable abortion allowances if roe is overturned by the new scotus. i found the map a pretty good indicator of the way things could turn, though of course, it is educated guessing. i wish i weren't surprised by the amount of light blue on that map.

can i get a what, what

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2006/04/brass_vs_rumsfe.html#more

evil, evil spawn of the devil, who has skin so thick, no amount of criticism or truth can get him to admit reality.

flower petals keep falling on my head..

as i was walking home tonight, i crossed the street i cross every time. but tonight, a thousand white little flower petals rained down as i passed by. i don't even know what type of tree it is, but it was a totally beautiful experience, which can be rare in new york city.

"she's a moron"

that's what emily gilmore calls an 8-year old kid in tonight's ep. it was great. i love that luke is such a great dad, withouth having much practice. i love that jess was back, even for a few minutes, though i hated that rory was tempted to use him. i love that lane said "it's all about the benjamins baby", and i love that lorelai dumped coffee on the wedding dress from hell (though i do question how much enjoyment she got out of it). i love that i'd actually been to the cities mentioned today, courtesy of a trip my friends were willing to take last fall, and i love that philly was featured tonight. please let this show be worthy of its audience for the rest of the season.

woo hoo!!

okay, so i watched the entire yankee home opener at work today. luckily, that's one of the perks of working in news. so, i definitely thought we were slowly losing our grip through the innings today, and then comes DJ to the rescue. what a hit - bottom of the eighth, two outs, we're down 6-7, jeter comes to bat, homers a fly ball to left field and bernie and cano trot home. it was wonderful, everyone in the newsroom was cheering. so, l., hopefully this means our boys in stripes are turning things around....

happy birthday, mrs. cleary

i just saw that one of my favorite childhood authors, beverly cleary, turns 90 years old this week. i loved the ramona series, the books were just great. i can remember the adventures of this skinny, stringy black-haired, girl who was the happy go-lucky kid, that i always wanted to be. anyways, NPR interviewed her to celebrate, and i found it to be a fun trip down memory lane.

is dysfunction fun?

would that explain why so many movies seem to focus on the weird and sad quality of the lives of people who don't totally have it together? i went to see friends with money with my friend p. yesterday, and i have to say, it's not the greatest movie. in the quest to portray the ups and downs among four girlfriends, the movie just lost me. i just didn't see the point to the film. why would i care about these people? the director offered no explanations for the "conditions" that were affecting these people, just that they were the way they were, and you had to accept them with their flaws - because their friends didn't even point out their problems, let alone try to change them. i guess it depends on whether you believe in interventions - do you have the right to take it upon yourself to interfere in your friend's life when they haven't asked for your opinion or counsel?

sadly, jennifer aniston was once again slightly miscast. maybe it's because i can't disassociate her with rachel, but i just didn't believe her character. i loved frances mcdormand, she really was hilarious and quite good in her role. catherine keener is always understated and believable, but for once, i wasn't completely in sync with joan cusack. i love her (and her brother), but she looked interesting.

and i thought hp was the coolest

i already think of her as a cool person since she created the harry potter world, but today j.k. rowling totally blew me away. she decided to speak out against the current culture of super-thin, publicity-thirsty famous girls. if she reaches the minds of even half of the teen and pre-teen girls who read hp, maybe she'll make even more of a difference in the world.

and secondly, i LOVE that she writes long-hand. i find myself needing to do the same thing to actually get a real feel for a piece. there's something about feeling out the words that lets you think. it's probably more that you slow down when you write, rather than type, but like i said before, i truly love the feeling on ink or lead against paper.

if only...

they could come up with a way to take the filling out.

oblong oreos??

vermont will not apologize for it's cheese

i went to see thank you for smoking today, and i really liked it. the movie has several laugh-out-loud moments and is a clever take on the world of lobbying. my friend a. might not like the movie because it does somewhat show the evil side of big tobacco, but since i happen to share the view that cigarette companies are a little evil, i had no moral objections.

the movie did have one interesting statement that stood out. the main character, lobbyist nick naylor, played by aaron eckhart, says something to this effect to his son: "the beauty of an argument is that if you argue correctly, you're never wrong." i loved the dialogue because it truly distills the idea of spin and politicking in today's world.

i liked eckhart and william h. macy, who portrays a vermont senator trying to change the labeling on cigarette boxes. both play their characters believably and are funny as well. but, i wasn't too crazy about katie holmes. first, i will never be able to disconnect her from the brainwashed pregnant bimbette to tom cruise's desperate middle-age mania. and second, she still suffers from the joey potter head-shaking syndrome. on the creek, holmes' only mode of acting was a constant shake of the head will every word. it drove me crazy then and it's driving me crazy now. and finally, rob lowe, who is just so funny in one scene that everyone in the theater was laughing. anyways, go see the movie, it's a good time.

A's got schooled

so, i didn't write about this yesterday but monday, the yankees totally killed oakland in their season opener. i think the final score was 15-2, with the new york sluggers taking control of the entire game. a-rod grand slammed, damon was 3 for 7, and matsui homered. i'm excited to see the rest of the season and i miss you paul o'neill!!

french fry

so, the gators won last night. i didn't get to watch the game since my roommate wanted to watch her tivo-ed charmed rerun (no, i'm not bitter at all). i've been reading all the reports today, and it seems like joakim is the man. this weekend, i was telling my friend about this guy, you really can't take your eyes off of him. i didn't learn until later that he was yannick noah's son, one of my dad's favorite tennis men. i don't think so much for his skill as for his presence, which seems to have passed down to joakim. either way, this guy is positioning himself as an athlete to watch.

going to the chapel...

to see my friend get married. i went home last week for one of my best friends' wedding. it was a great time. i was so happy for n. and v. they're both wonderful people who truly deserve immense happiness with each other. i was so honored to be a "bridesmaid", it was a fun experience, though i have to say, i now know why most bridesmaids hate their outfits - they are not meant to be flattering or comfortable in any way! most everyone we grew up with came to the wedding so it was fun celebrating with them, great mini reunion for us. some of the most touching moments in the wedding - during the toast, v.'s dad had us all participate in wishing them the fulfillment of all their dreams and aspirations. and n.'s aunt wrote a beautiful poem which had a line that said, if i held the world in the palm of my hand, i would give it to you. but, i'll admit, the whole time i was a little sad that i wouldn't be in her shoes any time soon, unless a miracle somehow happens in the next few months! either way, it was a great weekend and i wish them both a wonderful life together.

lock and key

dude, i think my roommate is stealing my chocolate!! i came back from several days away and i found half my reese's mini peanut butter cups gone. so, i tried to act all chill and was like, "whoa, i ate way more of these than i realized last week!! the bag's half empty" and she tries to pretend she doesn't know what i'm talking about, saying "oh, thank goodness i didn't know they were in the cupboard. i was on a total binge this weekend..."

now, for the key question, how do i know she stole them? well, to give you that answer, i have to acknowledge my own OCD tendencies. i hate the color pink. and since these candies are easter-themed, all the wrappers are pastels. now, i was trying to get rid of the pink ones earlier, so that my bag would have all the pretty blue, green and gold ones left. well, when i came back, guess what, there were only pink ones left in the bag. therefore i conclude that my roommate is responsible for sabotaging my candy fun. grump.