I've been following the political situation in Iran following their controversial election on June 12th quite closely. I won’t pretend to have a firm understanding of the forces at play in their political sphere, so I won’t advocate a course of action for their country, or for my own.
However, I am interested in the specific point, that I have heard from several sources, that should the US, for any reason, choose to get involved in the dispute to assist the uprising crowds, it would have the effect of reinforcing the existing regime by giving them a plausible opponent (the USA) to rally against. Is there a geo political term for this situation? Is it a revolutionary catch 22? Let us pretend, solely for discussion sake, that the up risers are in fact looking for a full revolution in Iran. We can then also imagine that the only way they will succeed is with intervention and assistance from the US (a highly debatable assumption, but not very germane to this discussion). At the same time, the US backing the uprising revolutionaries might seemingly lead to the existing regime gaining additional strength and ultimately making the revolution less likely to succeed. Would the net effect be a stalemate? As the USA ratcheted up the support for the revolution, would the existing regime hunker down further and further? Just to clarify, I do not feel comfortable advocating support for the revolution or any US interaction, I am just interested in the power struggle presented above.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Another battle
Isaac 2, Mosquitoes 4. The war continues! I swear those Michigan-based mosquitoes have an unfair size advantage, must be something in the water....probably all the crap drifting down from Chicago...
Neighbors, Part II: Revenge of Bob!?
My mother guest authors another post in which our story of neighborhood diversity continues with new, thrilling plot twists.
So now someone has shot Phil’s car! This is getting serious, maybe? I am driving home yesterday and my cell goes off, pick it up and I see it’s from “home” so I know who is on the other end already!
“Can you meet me at Dale’s?” Pretty bad when the auto body guy is so well known I don’t even think to say "Dale who?" Actually when you think about how much body work Phil did on his old car it’s amazing we know anyone in this line of business.
“What’s up?”
“Somebody shot my car!”
“you’re joking! What do you mean?”
“Shot my car with a bb gun. Yep, right on the driver side door!”
So when I pull into Dale’s parking lot Phil is waiting for me and leans into my car and grabs my cell phone…he needs to document this atrocity for some future plan. He takes about 4 shots, but only one is viewable. The hole is very small, but definitely visible just above the driver’s door handle.
As we are driving home he is now speculating on who could be responsible for this dirty deed. What is amazing is that he goes through a series of possibilities before he zeros in on “BOB!” “He could just drive by and putsch” [demonstrated with a careful aim with a gun resting on your arm as you drive by (hope no one was looking at us as we drove along!)]
“So when did you notice this?” [I am expecting something along the lines of early this morning]
“On Monday”
Monday? Wow that is a long time to store up all this righteous indignation! Especially as he goes all the way back to re-telling the story of the kids who went into his old car and he caught them and they returned the next night to smear dog poop all over his car. So I am thinking “well maybe shooting the car is a step up in neighborhood hooliganism” Ya know the worst part of all these things is that Phil seems to take great delight in thinking up who is responsible. So far we are not storing up poop to wipe down anyone’s vehicle and I don’t think he would ever contemplate shooting an innocent car (now a motorcycle, hmmm that might be a little different,..he doesn’t think Bob should have one of those for some reason.)
He also asked me to determine if it was illegal to trap squirrels, I said I thought not, live trapping was probably okay. He “needs to know” because Bruce demanded to know and he wants to know so if he ever gets asked a gain he can answer. I suggested he look it up, he couldn’t find it,
so I said "well, call the city"
"hmm from an untraceable phone so I can …."
”What? What? You can be safe from the prying ears of a city employee who will report back to who that you, Phil, made an inquiry about trapping squirrels?"
He also need to know if its illegal to poison animals, including cats, I told him I didn’t need to look that one up and that he could be pretty sure that was illegal, and if they were actually contemplating that I would turn them in a heartbeat. I don’t want cats terrorizing our birds, but not to the point of killing them.
Phil says "No, no I’m not going to do anything, just let it all lay. I don’t intend to ever speak to them (Yosemite Sam and Charlie Brown) again".
Yeah sure, that is why you want all this ”illegal to do” ammunition, are you going to paper their gravestones with city ordinances?
Ta Ta,
Mom
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Pro Tip Series
Pro Tip #1001: How to tell if your refrigerator has stopped working.
When you wake up in the morning and pull out a new gallon of milk for your cereal and begin to pour and are treated with 1 cup of yellowish clear water and 15 cups of yogurt, you're refrigerator has stopped working.
When you wake up in the morning and pull out a new gallon of milk for your cereal and begin to pour and are treated with 1 cup of yellowish clear water and 15 cups of yogurt, you're refrigerator has stopped working.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Away We Go
A quick post here, normally I'm not aiming to run film reviews in here, but since this was a fairly independent, smaller comedy, I'll let it slide.
Away We Go (2009)
Starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph.
A really touching, fun comedy about an unwed early 30s couple, pregnancy with their first child, trying to determine where in the world to stake their claim and raise the forthcoming child. My wife and I stumbled into this film, for no other reason than it happened to be the show playing at 12:40, but within about 3 minutes I realized it was a perfect film for us, in that it easily parallels many of our experiences these days as we prepare for our first child's birth in December.
The funniest parts of the film revolve around the couple visiting various friends, family members, and acquaintances with often uncomfortable results as they begin to see the personality flaws of each potential new neighbor, seemingly pumped up on steroids. The acquaintances range from an overly preachy liberal college professor to an alcoholic former co worker, to a down on his luck single brother. Ultimately, the arc of the story is one of finding your place in the world, both as an individual and as a family.
Other notable films I've seen recently that I'd recommend (How about 3 Martial Arts Films, for no particular reason other than they kick ass!)
Red Belt - A David Mamet martial arts action film with the heart and soul of a bittersweet drama.
Ip Man - Donnie Yen as Bruce Lee's legendary instructor. Beautifully shot and executed...questionable historical accuracy.
Foot Fist Way - A hilarious potrayal of an out of shape, Tae Kwon Do instructor in a small southern town struggling with a promiscuous wife and a hero who ultimately fails to live up to the warriors code.
Away We Go (2009)
Starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph.
A really touching, fun comedy about an unwed early 30s couple, pregnancy with their first child, trying to determine where in the world to stake their claim and raise the forthcoming child. My wife and I stumbled into this film, for no other reason than it happened to be the show playing at 12:40, but within about 3 minutes I realized it was a perfect film for us, in that it easily parallels many of our experiences these days as we prepare for our first child's birth in December.
The funniest parts of the film revolve around the couple visiting various friends, family members, and acquaintances with often uncomfortable results as they begin to see the personality flaws of each potential new neighbor, seemingly pumped up on steroids. The acquaintances range from an overly preachy liberal college professor to an alcoholic former co worker, to a down on his luck single brother. Ultimately, the arc of the story is one of finding your place in the world, both as an individual and as a family.
Other notable films I've seen recently that I'd recommend (How about 3 Martial Arts Films, for no particular reason other than they kick ass!)
Red Belt - A David Mamet martial arts action film with the heart and soul of a bittersweet drama.
Ip Man - Donnie Yen as Bruce Lee's legendary instructor. Beautifully shot and executed...questionable historical accuracy.
Foot Fist Way - A hilarious potrayal of an out of shape, Tae Kwon Do instructor in a small southern town struggling with a promiscuous wife and a hero who ultimately fails to live up to the warriors code.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Total System Re-install Day
The great holiday is here once again, as unexpected as usual. With any luck it will once again take 3 to 4x as long as planned and still not fix the problem. Now to serenade the wise and aged back up hard drive with the traditional ballad of re-installs...
Don't conk out on me now...
Don't conk out on me now...
Update (06-22-09 9:04AM):
Re-install did not go as planned. I will now be submitting future blog postings by a carrier pigeon named Philbert and his lovable side kick, an incorrigible mouse named Lucky.
Don't conk out on me now...
Don't conk out on me now...
Update (06-22-09 9:04AM):
Re-install did not go as planned. I will now be submitting future blog postings by a carrier pigeon named Philbert and his lovable side kick, an incorrigible mouse named Lucky.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sun Glasses
Prior to sunday's baseball game at Wrigley field, Mei and I laid out 5 pair of sunglasses that I have (collected over the last decade or so).
1. The ones that look like Neo's
2. The really cool reflective silver tinted ones
3. The cheap looking maroon orange ones
4. The less cheap looking maroon orange ones
5. The gaudy ones with the gold frame
One of us tried to select the really cool reflective silver tinted ones, but these were deemed to be "too douche baggy". Not that I looked like a "douche bag" wearing them of course, just that the sunglasses were "too douche baggy", because we'd never think I looked like a "douche bag". You know?
We went with the less cheap looking maroon orange ones.
1. The ones that look like Neo's
2. The really cool reflective silver tinted ones
3. The cheap looking maroon orange ones
4. The less cheap looking maroon orange ones
5. The gaudy ones with the gold frame
One of us tried to select the really cool reflective silver tinted ones, but these were deemed to be "too douche baggy". Not that I looked like a "douche bag" wearing them of course, just that the sunglasses were "too douche baggy", because we'd never think I looked like a "douche bag". You know?
We went with the less cheap looking maroon orange ones.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Neighbors
Today's post comes from a guest author, my mother. It concerns my stepdad (Phil) and the neighbors across the street (Bruce and Bob X). Please enjoy responsibly.
Okay so now it looks like we may be heading toward a feud between the X boys and Phil.
Background: Phil has never liked Bob; when he moved back in with his mom and brother he [Phil] would talk about how much he disliked Bob as a kid growing up down the block from them and how Bob was a dictatorial brat in their boy scout troop etc.
You all might recall how Bob has had a vendetta against the squirrels in the neighborhood and I watched him shoot and smack one around last year. After that, Phil caught him with his pellet gun again and shouted across the street at him and made a big deal of it.
Well last week they [Bob and Phil] rode to the gun club in Elk River together and whether Phil brought it up or not I don’t know but Bob said he was no longer shooting them. A couple days ago, Phil was walking home from his moms and he heard the gun and saw a squirrel fall. Yesterday he printed out a copy of the city ordinance that prohibits discharge of any fire arm in the city; took it over to Bruce and they apparently went at it. Phil claimed we had a picture of Bob thumping the squirrel from last year and we would take more, Bruce said he thought cameras in the neighborhood were pretty un-neighborly, and that feeding wild animals in our backyard was not legal and we should stop that as it brought all kinds of squirrels and chipmunks into his yard who then ate his plants. Phil suggested that since we live in an oak savannah Bruce might consider cutting down his trees. Etc Etc
All of this wouldn’t be so bad but Phil comes home and he swerves right at being so pleased with himself and then left at the idea (in his head) that Bruce is out campaigning in the neighborhood against him [he claims Don our neighbor down the street, next to Theresa, that she and Bruce were “joking” they should buy up all the houses in the neighborhood and sell them back to people who would have to agree to keep nice yards!! ]
So here we are two armed nuts living across the street from each other and both not ever really liking one another. Maybe getting out of Dodge soon is an even better idea than I thought! And somehow this could devolve in to being my fault for feeding rodents!!
Mom
Edit: here is a follow up email with additional information.
The part I forget to tell you is that Phil suggested to Bruce as neighborhood watch chairman he [Phil] canvass the neighborhood with a questionnaire asking if they had any recent bullets holes in their garages or houses, and how they felt about “murdering” “breaking laws” etc etc. I am waiting for the real s@#t to hit the fan. Maybe I should secretly tell their mothers (Esther and Ramona] [who are, by the way, not the best of friends either (Ramona ain’t a Catholic ya know!)] I feel like I might begin to hear banjoes one of these days (paddle faster!!!)
Bob reminds me of Yosemite Sam (Hanna Barbera cartoon character) always swaggering, blustering, and shooting off his guns!! Those big walrus moustaches!! Bruce on the other hand, is a bit like Charlie Brown. Phil, Daffy Duck maybe??
Mom
Okay so now it looks like we may be heading toward a feud between the X boys and Phil.
Background: Phil has never liked Bob; when he moved back in with his mom and brother he [Phil] would talk about how much he disliked Bob as a kid growing up down the block from them and how Bob was a dictatorial brat in their boy scout troop etc.
You all might recall how Bob has had a vendetta against the squirrels in the neighborhood and I watched him shoot and smack one around last year. After that, Phil caught him with his pellet gun again and shouted across the street at him and made a big deal of it.
Well last week they [Bob and Phil] rode to the gun club in Elk River together and whether Phil brought it up or not I don’t know but Bob said he was no longer shooting them. A couple days ago, Phil was walking home from his moms and he heard the gun and saw a squirrel fall. Yesterday he printed out a copy of the city ordinance that prohibits discharge of any fire arm in the city; took it over to Bruce and they apparently went at it. Phil claimed we had a picture of Bob thumping the squirrel from last year and we would take more, Bruce said he thought cameras in the neighborhood were pretty un-neighborly, and that feeding wild animals in our backyard was not legal and we should stop that as it brought all kinds of squirrels and chipmunks into his yard who then ate his plants. Phil suggested that since we live in an oak savannah Bruce might consider cutting down his trees. Etc Etc
All of this wouldn’t be so bad but Phil comes home and he swerves right at being so pleased with himself and then left at the idea (in his head) that Bruce is out campaigning in the neighborhood against him [he claims Don our neighbor down the street, next to Theresa, that she and Bruce were “joking” they should buy up all the houses in the neighborhood and sell them back to people who would have to agree to keep nice yards!! ]
So here we are two armed nuts living across the street from each other and both not ever really liking one another. Maybe getting out of Dodge soon is an even better idea than I thought! And somehow this could devolve in to being my fault for feeding rodents!!
Mom
Edit: here is a follow up email with additional information.
The part I forget to tell you is that Phil suggested to Bruce as neighborhood watch chairman he [Phil] canvass the neighborhood with a questionnaire asking if they had any recent bullets holes in their garages or houses, and how they felt about “murdering” “breaking laws” etc etc. I am waiting for the real s@#t to hit the fan. Maybe I should secretly tell their mothers (Esther and Ramona] [who are, by the way, not the best of friends either (Ramona ain’t a Catholic ya know!)] I feel like I might begin to hear banjoes one of these days (paddle faster!!!)
Bob reminds me of Yosemite Sam (Hanna Barbera cartoon character) always swaggering, blustering, and shooting off his guns!! Those big walrus moustaches!! Bruce on the other hand, is a bit like Charlie Brown. Phil, Daffy Duck maybe??
Mom
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Fire Escape Inspector
With
out a doubt, I find the real key to a good fire escape inspection is to not fall 15 stories to your doom.
out a doubt, I find the real key to a good fire escape inspection is to not fall 15 stories to your doom.Sushi
When I order Nigiri, I don't like the little bit wasabi under the fish fillet. What is wrong with me? (please feel free to expound on my non-sushi related faults)
Art Fair
The annual running of the drunks came barreling through my quiet old town neighborhood once again this past weekend.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/laf/1223961034.html
******************
Here are the contents of the above link, in case it goes away.
Reply to: comm-td8d6-1223961034@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-06-16, 7:32AM CDT
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/laf/1223961034.html
******************
Here are the contents of the above link, in case it goes away.
Thank you-To the girl (Old Town Art Fest)
Reply to: comm-td8d6-1223961034@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-06-16, 7:32AM CDT
Who found the puking girl in pink with white capris on the corner of North & Wells. Thank you, thank you for calling my friend and getting me in a cab before I was taken to an ER then arrested. I am curious, did I cut my head before or after I left the fest?
Thanks again! You deserve a good citizen award!
PostingID: 1223961034
Thanks again! You deserve a good citizen award!
- Location: Old Town Art Fest
- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
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