Random Ass Postings of the Day

Saw this one in the NYT. God, I love the spread of American capitalism and our heavily consumer-based economy to the far-reaches of Iraq. It kinda reminds me of Fairfax, but dustier, and with more "IEDs". At least the troops over there have XBox. Its a nice distraction. Read on: G.I.'s Deployed in Iraq Desert With Lots of American Stuff NYT 08132005

Now all they need is a PetSmart, Target, and BestBuy... then it will be like the never left home!

_______________________________________________________



A story close to my heart about the famine in Niger. (They need to eat more yellow cake.) The cynicism in this article is much appreciated: How Did Niger Become the Crisis of the Day? NYT 08122005

Many Thanks to my dear friends at the NYT for putting this on yesterday's front page. The fumblings of the world community are quite a tragic comedy (at the tragic expense of West Africa). Sometimes I honestly wonder... what exactly is the point of the UN?

_______________________________________________________

on a lighter note... (courtesy of Mr. Drudge):



We can all sleep easier tonight: Abdul exonerated Law firm concludes claims could not be substantiated (Variety 08122005)

_______________________________________________________



Is this not the ugliest building? Some people don't think so. And I quote:

CHICAGO (AP) - The architect's concept is breathtaking: a spiraling, 115-story tower that would pierce the sky along Chicago's lakefront and grab the title of the nation's tallest building. Off the drawing board, though, history shows that such plans often fail to live up to their record-breaking aspirations. Chicago Skyscraper Plans to Pierce the Sky (AP 08132005)

I love these "who can build the highest building" pissing contests. Let's all face it, the "Climbing Tigers" (as I like to call the consortium of China, Taiwan, Singapore, HK, and Malaysia) are the ones with phallic envy. We have no need to make up for our insecurities by building meaningless structures. Besides, we all know that 2/3ds of the office space will go unoccupied in this bldg.

_______________________________________________________

And last but not least, I leave you with a random ass News of the Weird. The moral of this story is that dumb bitches (even those who are physically dumb bc they have brain damage) will do anything for money:

Woman Files Lawsuit After Being Saved From Drowning (AP 08102005)

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- A woman is suing the town whose police divers saved her from drowning. Barbara Connors is suing the town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, saying she was rescued too late to prevent serious brain damage... It says the 75-year-old woman has brain damage and must be cared for in a nursing home for the rest of her life.

Peter Jennings Dies at Age 67

I saw this on the splash page of NYT this morning, and it came as a shock. Not a complete shock... I remember his final broadcast in April when he announced that he was suffering from lung cancer.

I grew up on ABCNews. Its what my Dad watched, and it was always on in the background as we got ready for school/work in the mornings and ate dinner at night. Peter Jennings voice and image made him another member of our household. The latter statement may sound rather cliche-ish, but I think that all of us can relate to growing up with the news. Its that background droning noise that you never really notice because its incorporated and embedded into your life so pervasively.

Families choose different networks... maybe some of you were raised on NBC or CBS. Mine was an ABC family.

I feel really sad that he's passed away. It really feels like a family-member has died. Serrusly. I look forward to all of the PJ retrospectives and specials that will probably arise over the next few days. I'll have to dust off my old copy of The Century. (I'm glad in retrospect that I was never able to get anyone to buy the book from me on eBay.)

Hmm... maybe I should go back to watching ABC news since I stopped watching CNN.