Sunday, August 28, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Monday, August 22, 2005
Rome is for beating gypsies....
No, Renkey, I never lived in Italy...but I have visited before! Those who have not before visited may not know that Rome is a gypsy capital of Europe. The gypsies, among other things, train their children as professional pickpockets. Over Christmas of 1991, my family and I toured Rome under the tutelage of a long-time guide.
He had grown so sick of his tour groups being victimized by the gypsy children that he developed a habit of smacking the bejesus of any who approached the tour group. On several occasions, I witnessed him suddenly leaving off in the middle of a sentence (about some ancient artifact or other), sprint to the back of the group, and whack the hell out of some small, dirty child who had been on the verge of lifting someone's wallet. Then he would turn to the group and say, "It seems terrible, but you have to do this, or they'll steal you blind."
Funny because it's true.
He had grown so sick of his tour groups being victimized by the gypsy children that he developed a habit of smacking the bejesus of any who approached the tour group. On several occasions, I witnessed him suddenly leaving off in the middle of a sentence (about some ancient artifact or other), sprint to the back of the group, and whack the hell out of some small, dirty child who had been on the verge of lifting someone's wallet. Then he would turn to the group and say, "It seems terrible, but you have to do this, or they'll steal you blind."
Funny because it's true.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Beating a dead horse until its ribs are squishy
Hey Chappy, since you lived all over the world growing up (especially in former Axis countries), did you ever live in Italy? Just wondering...
Monday, August 15, 2005
I'm already warming up the anecdote machine....
Anyone with any special requests for items from Italy should make them known soon, for on 12 September, I depart for a week of barolo wine, agnolotti pasta, and surprisingly good beer in northern Italy. Did I mention I'll be staying at the Le Meridien Lingotto hotel, formerly known as the Fiat auto factory -- complete with testing track still on the roof? Sweet................
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Wherethehellismatt?
While continuing a meme on livejournal, I came across an interesting page: Where the hell is Matt?
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Lamer than Berendzen
From The Chronicle of Higher Education
Thursday, August 4, 2005
http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/08/2005080401n.htm
American U. Investigates Improper Spending, Possibly by Its President
By PAUL FAIN
Washington
American University's governing board has begun an audit of possible improper expenses charged by an unspecified university department, according to a written statement issued by university officials. The inquiry allegedly focuses on American's president, Benjamin Ladner, according to a report published on Wednesday in The Washington Post.
The Post's article, citing an anonymous letter to the newspaper and an anonymous source with "firsthand knowledge" of the investigation, said Mr. Ladner had charged the university over the past five years for various personal expenses, including vacations and gifts for family members.
Several members of the university's governing board also received copies of an anonymous letter that questioned "certain expenses in one department of the university," a university spokesman said in a written statement, which was distributed on Monday in a campus newsletter. After receiving the letter, the board hired a law firm and external auditors to review the department's "personal and travel expenses."
However, the spokesman, David E. Taylor, did not specify which department was being investigated. It was unclear if the anonymous letters to the board and to the newspaper had come from the same source, or if the anonymous source interviewed by the newspaper might have written the letters.
"The review and any wrongdoing discovered will not affect the university's strong financial position," the university spokesman wrote. University officials were not available for further comment.
Mr. Ladner was hired as American's president in 1994. His arrival followed a turbulent period for the university's chief executives, most notably with the 1990 resignation of Richard Berendzen, who stepped down in the wake of news reports that obscene telephone calls had been traced to him (The Chronicle, May 16, 1990).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, August 4, 2005
http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/08/2005080401n.htm
American U. Investigates Improper Spending, Possibly by Its President
By PAUL FAIN
Washington
American University's governing board has begun an audit of possible improper expenses charged by an unspecified university department, according to a written statement issued by university officials. The inquiry allegedly focuses on American's president, Benjamin Ladner, according to a report published on Wednesday in The Washington Post.
The Post's article, citing an anonymous letter to the newspaper and an anonymous source with "firsthand knowledge" of the investigation, said Mr. Ladner had charged the university over the past five years for various personal expenses, including vacations and gifts for family members.
Several members of the university's governing board also received copies of an anonymous letter that questioned "certain expenses in one department of the university," a university spokesman said in a written statement, which was distributed on Monday in a campus newsletter. After receiving the letter, the board hired a law firm and external auditors to review the department's "personal and travel expenses."
However, the spokesman, David E. Taylor, did not specify which department was being investigated. It was unclear if the anonymous letters to the board and to the newspaper had come from the same source, or if the anonymous source interviewed by the newspaper might have written the letters.
"The review and any wrongdoing discovered will not affect the university's strong financial position," the university spokesman wrote. University officials were not available for further comment.
Mr. Ladner was hired as American's president in 1994. His arrival followed a turbulent period for the university's chief executives, most notably with the 1990 resignation of Richard Berendzen, who stepped down in the wake of news reports that obscene telephone calls had been traced to him (The Chronicle, May 16, 1990).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Another Article
The Rafael Palmeiro saga - ESPN's Jayson Stark says he should still go into the Hall of Fame because, among other reasons:
Gaylord Perry won 300 games in an age when 300 wins didn't mean what it did when Old Hoss Radborn did it, either. But it was still enough wins to make ol' Gaylord a Hall of Famer -- even though he might have been the most proud and famous "cheater" in the history of modern sports.
Baseball didn't seem to care if Gaylord Perry cheated for two solid decades. In fact, everyone mostly seemed to find it kind of amusing.
So the next thing we knew, his name was showing up on the Hall of Fame ballot. And I figured, if baseball didn't want to stop him from cheating at the time, why would a few thousand Vaseline-balls stop me from voting for him?
So because another cheater got in we have to let them all in? Why not take a stand now? What kind of moral relevance is at play here?
Gaylord Perry won 300 games in an age when 300 wins didn't mean what it did when Old Hoss Radborn did it, either. But it was still enough wins to make ol' Gaylord a Hall of Famer -- even though he might have been the most proud and famous "cheater" in the history of modern sports.
Baseball didn't seem to care if Gaylord Perry cheated for two solid decades. In fact, everyone mostly seemed to find it kind of amusing.
So the next thing we knew, his name was showing up on the Hall of Fame ballot. And I figured, if baseball didn't want to stop him from cheating at the time, why would a few thousand Vaseline-balls stop me from voting for him?
So because another cheater got in we have to let them all in? Why not take a stand now? What kind of moral relevance is at play here?
Article of Interest
Front page of the Post today: Iran is judged 10 years from nuclear bomb (registration required, I'm sure).
The gist of the article - the Bush Administration is hyping the threat Iran's nuclear activities pose. Why? The National Intelligence Estimate says Iran is 10 years away from the bomb.
Where else have you heard about the NIE? Oh, that's right - in all the articles about how the Administration used the NIE's conclusions about Iraq's weapons programs to take us to war there, even though it was wrong.
What a double standard. All we have heard about is how the NIE got it wrong about Iraq. Now it clearly got it right about Iran? Sorry, I'd rather take Iran seriously now, than wake up two years from now when they have the bomb.
Other insightful commentary about this article here and here.
The gist of the article - the Bush Administration is hyping the threat Iran's nuclear activities pose. Why? The National Intelligence Estimate says Iran is 10 years away from the bomb.
Where else have you heard about the NIE? Oh, that's right - in all the articles about how the Administration used the NIE's conclusions about Iraq's weapons programs to take us to war there, even though it was wrong.
What a double standard. All we have heard about is how the NIE got it wrong about Iraq. Now it clearly got it right about Iran? Sorry, I'd rather take Iran seriously now, than wake up two years from now when they have the bomb.
Other insightful commentary about this article here and here.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Zeke
Something I've been meaning to tell you guys for years (Lewis likely already knows this):
If you haven't already, "pay for" some tunes by West-Coast shit-rockers Zeke. They suck -- it's like they're trying to pull off the music of NOFX, but they only have the musical talent of Jackyl.
But tunes like "Holley 750," "Hemicuda" and "Schmidt's Value Pack" are inadvertent brushes with greatness.
If you haven't already, "pay for" some tunes by West-Coast shit-rockers Zeke. They suck -- it's like they're trying to pull off the music of NOFX, but they only have the musical talent of Jackyl.
But tunes like "Holley 750," "Hemicuda" and "Schmidt's Value Pack" are inadvertent brushes with greatness.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)