Grudge

I'm holding one. I didn't look at the NY Times once today. I'm thinking about taking down my link to them too. Bastards.
I did look at the Post. I even clicked on an ad. I think it was for BoTox or something. I didn't really read it. I just clicked it b/c I was mad at the Times.
I can access the OpEd columns on Lexis for free. I haven't yet b/c it's the principle. I deserve to have it all for free. I'm not sure why but it's important to my being a part of the informed citizenship or something. There's a policy argument in there if I felt like it.
One other thing. Batteries are stupid. Especially batteries that you're pretty sure are full but turn out to be really low once you're at the Arcade Fire show and you're trying to take pictures with your digital camera but it doesn't work b/c the batteries have run down b/c they're stupid. This is probably tied into the Times charging money. They want me to buy batteries now too. Stupid batteries.
One last thing. A really cool CD came out from the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series. It's called Rolas De Aztlan: Songs Of The Chicano Movement. It's got some old Huelga songs and a couple Corridos. It's available on Amazon and totally worth it.

Tragedy befalls us

Alright this might not be a tragedy per se, especially in light of all the real suffering. But damnit! What the hell is with this new Times Select B.S.
Pay for the New York fucking Times! I've been reading the damn thing for 10 years and I've never paid for it. Don't raise my freeloading as an argument in favor of their decision to charge real money for it. Sure the whole problem revolves around people like me who have taken advantage of the Times, or occasionally their jobs or coffee shops which offer free copies, and never actually paid a single cent for the wealth of information provided therein. But damnit, I rely on it. I mean the Times has caused me to rely on their continued free coverage. Oh sure, they never out right induced me, as such, to read their paper. But I felt like continuous provision of free content over the last several years encouraged me to continue to expect to use free NY Times. I've made plans on it, in as much as I spent money used to pay for a newspaper subscription to buy Pabst. No wait, I mean medical supplies for starving children in some place foreign. Why are you asking me all these questions all of a sudden. Of course I don't feel guilty. What exactly are you insinuating. This is about the Times and not about me Senator.
Wait now, what were my elements? Does anyone have a contracts outline I can borrow? Promise, inducement, reliance, and damage? I think I've got all those, well maybe not the promise. Anyway, damn the Times and I'll be reading the Post from now on.

One more thing, it's not like I didn't buy crap from your advertisers. I bought a plane ticket off of orbitz once, and I think I bought a book off of powells on a few occasions, not b/c they're around the corner and have a great coffee shop with a girl I have a crush on, because I saw the advertisement on their web page. And does anyone know how to do the html code to cross out words?

Hurricane Ophelia

Does anyone else get the feeling that the news crews already are feeling let down by Ophelia b/c it will never live up to Katrina? They try and build it up, but they know deep down in their hearts no one is going to get bumped up to network for this storm. The news gave me the creeps today.
I don't know how anyone feels about Judge Roberts, and maybe I should say something intelligent about it, but the fact of the matter is that he's going to get confirmed. In my opinion the democrats should have let him slide through. There are troubling aspects about him but he's pretty nominatable and it's not really worth fighting. If you saw any of the hearings you realized the Kennedy just looked like a clown most of the time. He played up to a stereotype. It bugged me but whatever. Anyway recognizing that the nomination is going through pretty much no matter what, and he's no Burger or Rehnquist so I don't really care that much, I thought this editorial in The Times had the best take on the hearings.

Sunday Afternoon

I've hit that point in the day that Douglas Adams called "the long dark teatime of the soul". I've read the Post and the Times, I've kind of picked up a little here and there. I've had all the coffee I really need to drink today and I've been on my walk. The crossword is done, carpet's vacuumed, cat box cleaned, recycling sorted, and bed linens changed. The only thing left for me to do is work.
I desperately need an activity to distract me from this ugly fact, but I've run out of distractions. I don't really need to take another shower. I'm broke so I probably should not go to the record store. I've returned all the videos and stuff like that.
I'm not hungry. I'm stuck, I should go to school and do homework. That's all that's left. I mean, this post has to end at some point.

Last night I went and saw the Epoxies. They were great, I wish they would play more local shows. I swear to god they pose more than any band I've ever seen, except maybe Guitar Wolf. It's cool though b/c they look really cool and they have laser beams! And Roxy Epoxie is still my number one Portland Scenester girl crush.
The Reigning Sound's new record came out. It sounds a lot more like Break Up Break Down than Too Much Guitar. I prefer the Too Much Guitar sound but this is still really good. I also got an Andre Ethier, of The Deadly Snakes, CD. It's really good stuff. I highly recommend it.

Here's the collection of links I gathered over the last week. First is another blogger from the Astrodome, my favorite post is the one about Tom Delay.
There's an article on the costs of moving into the dorms. This is another one of those WTF stories. What do these kids need in their dorm rooms that costs that much. I didn't have room in my room for my clothes, let alone decor. What's wrong with scrounging milk crates and cinderblocks to decorate your room. There should be a law. Freshman would get an allotment of 2X4s, cinderblocks, milk crates, and their choice of either a Bob Marley Legends poster, Clash London Calling poster, M.C. Escher poster or that Gustav Klimt "The Kiss" poster.
Reflecting on the sad state of science education in the U.S., Salt Lake refused to entertain supernatural bogey men in their science curriculum. It should be obviously depressing when Utah is leading the vanguard against dumb religious ideas. This article has the dumbest headline I've read in a while. The fact that this news was phrased this way shows how deep the misunderstanding of evolution is. The idea that something would stop evolving, like there is a pinnacle of evolution, shows how weak the grasp the public has on the concept of evolution is.

Flags at half mast

Yesterday the president ordered flags at half mast, for Rehnquist. He also ordered them at half mast for the victims of Katrina. Apparently it did not occur to him until yesterday, after Rehnquist died, that the flags should be at half mast for the Katrina victims.
Is this a bunch of liberal mud slinging? Check for yourself.
There's a new post at White Washing the Black Storm.

Houston Info

I found White Washing The Black Storm blog via Jack Bog's Blog. The blog is written by two professors who are volunteering in the Houston refugee situation. They have a list of needed supplies and can get them to the people at the various refugee shelters quickly. Via Oso, t the post office you can get priority mail boxes for 7.70. They'll get to Houston in 2 to 3 days and it doesn't matter how much the box weighs as long as everything fits in it. In this post they list the stuff they need and where it can be sent for quick delivery.
One more thing, I finally found a story about immigrants in the Katrina ravaged areas. It's in the Post. It's about Vietnamese immigrants, which is good b/c they're normally just as invisible as Latinos, but on the flip side nobody is interested in Latinos in the area.

Katrina stuff

When I heard that a looter had shot a New Orleans police officer my first comment was, "Why didn't the cop find his own stuff to loot." My friend didn't think it was nice and I told him he hadn't been to New Orleans. I saw this in the paper today.
Another friend was wondering what they did with everyone in the jails and prisons. I was wondering too, but then I found this. I think if I were a jail inmate I would rather stay as far away from Hunstville as possible.
I know there are a million places to donate money for hurricane relief but if you don't know who you should give your money too let me recommend Mercy Corps. They are from Portland and have a great record of providing aid efficiently and effectively.
One last thing, the NCLR sent out an email about the Honduran Community in Louisiana. Here's the press release and there are groups who will use your money to help displaced agricultural workers and the Latino community that was affected by Katrina.

Looting

Via the Wonkette, I think this is interesting, and unfortunately not unexpected.

Queso Dip

Does anyone know of an instance where actual queso was used in chile con queso? I've never seen it in my life. Maybe it should just be renamed chile con velveeta. At my grocery store they actually keep the velveeta in the cooler next the cheese. I appreciate that. It gives me plausible deniability. "Man, I thought that was cheese. It was right next to the Kraft Singles."
As you can tell I'm eating healthier this school year. Besides the queso I also had some beef jerky and a tomato.