MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!

I have started a new blog aimed entirely at getting Axl Rose to perform at our wedding celebration.

PLEASE

a. Visit the site: http://getaxlforourwedding.blogspot.com/
b. Sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/AxlRose/petition.html
c. Forward this information to as many people as possible!

THANK YOU!

We're All Screwed

This is one of the most depressing articles I've read in a while.

Lars Takes a Golden Shower

Lars Ulrich was almost mistaken for a toilet in Texas the other night.

That's what you get for selling out, punks!

I'm With the Idiot for Once

"I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform," Bush said.

Right. But the Palestinians went ahead and voted in Hamas anyway. For those of you not paying attention, the US and Israel classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization. Sure, they do a few nice things too, like helping the poor and handing out food, but they're most famous for killing innocent Israelis and brainwashing the public. Oh yeah, and they want to blow Israel off the map.

Sadly, without some sort of enigmatic leader to get people to change how they think (read Martin Luther King, not Arafat), I don't think this war in the Middle East will ever end. Unless Israel is destroyed. And while I'm certainly against that, it's going to take a lot of willpower and cruise missiles against a constantly growing, angry Palestinian population.

Think about that for a second -- destroying a country! It's ridiculous! The U.S. is against terrorism, but we don't want to destroy Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia. We want to make them better, to unlock the potential of their people, to free their minds and bodies. We need to convince the Palestinians and Arabs that our values are right, that their preference for dead Jews over peace is wrong. Because it is wrong. And that opens up a whole can of worms, land for peace, etc etc etc, but the Israelis have been willing to negotiate. Even Sharon, a hard-liner, wanted to deal. The Palestinians respond by voting in Hamas.

On a related note, Osama bin Laden recently noted his approval of a left-leaning book about US world hegemony. The result? Outrage, boycotts, angry letters? Not at all -- instead the book shot up from #209,000 to #30 on Amazon!

Close Call

After two days of driving to work in postcard perfect California weather (work responsibilities, alas), today I was back on the bike. It was a nice morning, cool but not cold, cloudy but not rainy. On the way I surpassed the 2000-mile mark, which ain't bad for eight months of bike ownership.

Upon arriving at work I went into the bathroom to change, as is the custom. I soon realized that I had forgotten a crucial piece of my daily attire, one that Cosmo Kramer once eschewed for personal reason but one that most of us, thankfully, wear. As I wear bike shorts on my ride, I pack this garmet separately, and today, after a few days off, I forgot.

Which is precisely why, for the past five months, I've kept a supersecret backup pair stuffed in the bottom of my filing cabinet. My coworkers thank me, I'm sure...

Off the Road

I went down to the Main Library today to check out the original first draft of Jack Kerouac's classic On the Road. Jack wrote the original in a twenty-day-long amphetamine boost, single-spaced, on one scroll of paper through a typewriter. Basically it looks like the Torah (which, many might argue, is an apt parallel as On the Road is considered by some to be a Bible of literature).

What's amazing is that 99% of this draft made it through to the final, AND there are NO TYPOS! I can't even write a thank you note without making mistakes. That kind of attention to detail while buried in a blaze of drugs is pretty sensational. Not to mention creating a classic, generation-defining novel at the same time.

I also stumbled in on a little introductory lecture, where various professors told stories about the San Francisco good ol' days, when artists could actually afford to live here. Apparently On the Road became a hit largely because of the incredible review it received down at the NY Times (hardly the first time that's happened). The main critic was heading out of town, so, in a stroke of unadulterated luck, he gave the book to the paper's jazz critic to review. The jazz critic, who jived with the freeflow prose, called it a defining book and Kerouac blew up; however, later on that week a literary critic published a second review in the Times that called it dangerous to the youth of America, and almost all subsequent reviews panned it. Clearly, they didn't matter much.

I haven't actually read On the Road -- I started listening to the booktape years ago with my pops but it was hard to follow and we quit. Reading the scroll it was a lot easier to follow (I could reread), and I was hooked; it'll be read as part of the 50 book challenge! (On book #5 at the moment, more to come...)

When Did Al Gore Get So Awesome?

Al Gore ripped W a new one today on the domestic spying program, which most people with half a brain can tell is blatantly illegal and unconstitutional. If Al had spoken from his heart more when he was running for office, maybe more people would have voted for him than the other guy and we wouldn't have this problem to begin with.

Oh wait. They did!

Also exciting is that the following from Arlen Specter, a moderate Senate Republican:

Specter said Sunday that if Bush broke the law in authorizing wiretaps without going through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court to get warrants, he could face impeachment.

When his own party starts dropping the I-bomb, I get worked up. But where are the Democrats? They've completely disappeared on the issue, and are letting dynamite political capital slip away as usual. They should pound on W's crimes every single day so we get used to the idea and then take it for granted, just like Bush did on taxes, like Bush did on the Iraq war, like Bush tried to do with Social Security.

When will this great proud party, the party of acceptance and helping those who got a raw deal, finally grow a spine?

Making the Chronic(le)

For helping to save the home of the slave that inspired Uncle Tom's Cabin, my mom got mentioned in the SF Chronicle. Pretty cool, and a direct rebuke to all those critics who say she's blatantly pro-developer.

Scariest Headline of the Year

Hit-and-run driver kills bicyclist, 26

OK, it's early in the year. But darn if that doesn't strike close to home.

Although I generally try to refrain from the 2 am rides.

Dude, It Totally Like Slipped My Mind

"I just never really applied for it," he told reporters during a state budget briefing. "It was just one of those things that I never really did."

- Gov. Schwarzenegger on never bothering to get a motorcycle license.

When you're catching sweet waves and macking hot babes, dude, like the government stuff is a total buzz kill. Life's a movie dude!

50 or Bust

There's a 50 book challenge floating around out there for 2006, and I've decided to throw my hat in the ring. Reading fifty books in a year isn't that hard, I don't think - when you break it down, it's less than a book a week. Granted, that's about 48 books more than your average American reads in a year, but I remain confident that I'm 25 times as literary savvy as your average American too.

There are several keys to success here. One is cutting down the television. As I only have five channels and there's usually nothing on, that's not hard. (NOTE: even with cable or satellite, I still believe there's usually nothing on television, with the benefits of broadcast-only being that I realize this faster because there are fewer channels to check, plus I save $50-100 a month). Another is reading short books. Again, I usually read a bunch of short books a year, because after finishing a 500-pager it's satisfying to burn something in a day or two ain't it? Also, quitting bad books is essential too, as those never get read and tend to kill momentum.

So far, I'm three down, 47 to go:
Close Range by Annie Proulx (Brokeback Mountain's in there, and lived up to the hype)
The March by E.L. Doctorow (a few outstanding scenes, but generally I found the review "a scrapbook of cliches" apt)
Time's Arrow by Martin Amis (the narrator is trapped inside the body of a Nazi doctor who escapes to the US - but time runs backwards for him, from death to birth. It's a one-trick pony but refreshingly short at 163 pages and the language is mesmerizing. The 2006 winner thus far.)

Any suggestions? I'd like to hear about off-beat relatively unknown authors/works in particular, stuff I wouldn't find out about through newspapers or PR.

Adios Amazon

Buy.com has a new promotion (at least new to me) -- all books are 10% BELOW Amazon pricing. So 10% off 30% off means you save yourself a coupla bucks and don't have to deal with going to a stupid store.

Case in point -- my grandmother kindly gave me a Borders gift certificate for Christmas. Blindly excited by free cash, I got in the car, drove half an hour through traffic, found a parking spot, ran in through the rain, and asked two dumb employees if they had the book I wanted. Despite being a top seller, nobody had heard heard of it, and it turned out they didn't have it in stock anyway.

I ended up going home and buying the book online. So stupid!

Cause and Effect

I have not shaved my face since Thanksgiving Week, 2005. Why not? It's a little chilly and the beard keeps me psychologically warmer; it masks the holiday jowls; it makes me look more intellectual (especially when paired with glasses and my public radio sweatshirt!).

However, since my beard has become full and not just facial fuzz (let's call it 12/1), the Washington Redskins have gone undefeated. Thus, annoying wife and employer alike, I will continue not to shave until the Redskins are defeated!

I realize there have been a lot of Redskins postings lately, but they don't make the playoffs often so you'll just have to deal. At least you won't witness what happened when we broke into a chest paint store back in 2000 (as published in USA Today and Sports Illustrated).

Southeast Jerome Don't Take That

Clinton Portis's momma dished up a playoffs-sized helping of whup-ass at the Eagles game last Sunday. So Donovan, where's your magical Campbell's soup now?

Holiday Photo Magic

Otis chews his present into oblivion


The Nancy Floreen 2006 Campaign Official Family Photograph


Alan and I kick off New Year's Eve festivities with a leisurely pilsner on the sofa.

After bragging at dinner that he had climbed Mt. Whitney I asked Dave where his celebratory t-shirt was. He was wearing it of course!

Even though he's a Republican, Francis knows what to do with hot blondes.


My beautiful wife puts the "costume" back into "new year's party."


Remember this: Dave Anjelly goes NOWHERE without a tie! Or bugging out his eyes! WOW MAN THAT'S CRAZY EYE LOOK CLOSE AND YOU'LL SEE!

Icing on the Cake

Today the Redskins made the playoffs for the first time in six years. In beating Philly, the Skins also denied Dallas a playoff spot.

I was happy with beating Dallas twice this year -- the playoffs are just gravy. Full admission: I thought the Redskins were going to stink up the joint this year. I've never been so pleased to be wrong.