Our server at Cantina Laredo (in Addison) said they had cabrito last night, so I ordered it. He returned a few minutes later and said it was all gone! Argh! I've never had it before. This weekend is the (31st) annual World Championship Barbeque Goat Cook-off in Brady, TX (a 5½ hour drive).
Michelle was visiting relatives in Louisiana and is transporting goodies to her folks in Los Angeles. One such package was a box of pralines, but .. we neglected to close the door to the guest room while @ dinner. When we returned, a very smirky Beta the Wonder Dog awaited us, with a massive sugar fix. Only a single praline survived. Today, we'll try to find replacements (Central Market? Whole Foods?).
Monday, September 6
Morton's Blackwell's Black Heart
Worth a look: Republican Purple Hearts. Some convention attendees may have thought Morton Blackwell (delegate from Virginia) was a funny guy, but his stunt belittles anyone who was wounded. After all, those Purple Hearts don't give themselves out.
I am pleased that RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie dressed Blackwell down, although I'm distressed that some delegates found this even remotely funny.
I am pleased that RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie dressed Blackwell down, although I'm distressed that some delegates found this even remotely funny.
Sunday, September 5
Death Wish in Big D ?
Feeling hungry for something other than cold cereal, I ventured onto the streets to find breakfast, and was nearly killed in the process. It seems like the local early-church crowd didn't want to have anything to do with speed limits or lane markers (those must be for heathens) and they were out to prove it .. with a vengeance! Since I somehow returned to post this blog entry, I must've survived (but I'm not sure how).
Oddly enough, I actually feel safer during the weekday rush hour; the drivers don't seem to be as out of control as they were this morning. Then again, Dallas is the only city I've ever lived in where you can feel free to speed anytime (unless you're a minority) and get away with it.
Unrelated: This has to be in the running for Most Bizarre Website of 2004: MuslimsForBush.com; apparently they were met with less than open arms at a weekend rally near Chicago! Word of the MuslimsForBush site has reached the folks behind Muslim Wakeup.com (see: Bush Likes Muslims, But Republicans Don't).
Deep Thought #44: After viewing MuslimsForBush.com, I searched for a parallel JewsForHitler.com site, but couldn't find it. Zell Miller must not be running for re-election.
Now, what shall I watch today: The Boys from Brazil (1978) or (Charlie Chaplin's) The Great Dictator (1940) ?
Oddly enough, I actually feel safer during the weekday rush hour; the drivers don't seem to be as out of control as they were this morning. Then again, Dallas is the only city I've ever lived in where you can feel free to speed anytime (unless you're a minority) and get away with it.
Unrelated: This has to be in the running for Most Bizarre Website of 2004: MuslimsForBush.com; apparently they were met with less than open arms at a weekend rally near Chicago! Word of the MuslimsForBush site has reached the folks behind Muslim Wakeup.com (see: Bush Likes Muslims, But Republicans Don't).
Deep Thought #44: After viewing MuslimsForBush.com, I searched for a parallel JewsForHitler.com site, but couldn't find it. Zell Miller must not be running for re-election.
Now, what shall I watch today: The Boys from Brazil (1978) or (Charlie Chaplin's) The Great Dictator (1940) ?
Friday, September 3
Bonus Room
Years ago, when I was house hunting, I sometimes wandered across houses where the builder added a "Bonus Room" atop the garage of a 2-story home. This usually became an entertainment room, painted all black (for maximum theatre realism). The owner must add their own disco ball, natch.
One of the things I like about DVDs is that there's often excess space for the "printer" to add "bonus features!!". At the end of the Outfoxed DVD (all about how Rupert Murdoch made The Fox "News" Channel into GOP-TV) there's a mention of MediaReform.net ("Free Press : media reform through outreach, activism, lobbying and networking") and newsHounds.us ("We watch FOX so you don't have to")
Unrelated: I stumbled across the Gene Linux Cluster page: wonder why they didn't call it the Gene Bob Linux Cluster? I hope that page stays online; if not, I can always try the Internet Archive (aka Wayback Machine).
One of the things I like about DVDs is that there's often excess space for the "printer" to add "bonus features!!". At the end of the Outfoxed DVD (all about how Rupert Murdoch made The Fox "News" Channel into GOP-TV) there's a mention of MediaReform.net ("Free Press : media reform through outreach, activism, lobbying and networking") and newsHounds.us ("We watch FOX so you don't have to")
Unrelated: I stumbled across the Gene Linux Cluster page: wonder why they didn't call it the Gene Bob Linux Cluster? I hope that page stays online; if not, I can always try the Internet Archive (aka Wayback Machine).
Thursday, September 2
assignment: compare and contrast
I watched Comedy Central's The Daily Show Wednesday night. The host (Jon Stewart) talked about Arnold Schwarzenegger .. paraphrasing: "he appears to have the will ... to triumph" which was a reference undoubtedly lost on 99.376% (!) of the audience. Schwarzenegger was born in Austria, as was Adolf Hitler.
Stewart's reference was to Leni Riefenstahl's classic Nazi propaganda film: Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will). Riefenstahl died (in 2003) at age 101.
Stewart's comment piqued my interest enough to finally watch this DVD, but I'm not recommending you do this the same week that the Republican National Convention [RNC] is held, because it became near-impossible not to mentally compare-and-contrast the two productions.
The Triumph des Willens DVD has an option for an audio commentary track, atop the 2-hour epic (I found it difficult to view this in a single sitting, so I made liberal use of the [pause] button). I may watch it later with only the English subtitles, now that I know the background (this was filmed 70 years ago, so the commentary was useful to put things in the perspective of that time).
Both are trying to articulate a point of view, and everything cinemagraphic -- camera angles and locations, lighting, close-ups -- is manipulated. And then there's the content -- the goal of the film (shown in German theatres from 1934-1944) was to introduce the National Socialist (Nazi) party to the population, and it covered most of the leaders of the Third Reich, with Adolf Hitler getting the most footage (of course).
Like I said - do NOT watch this while the politicians are Doing Their Thing because you won't be able to stifle your laughter as the Political Parties are manipulating public opinion. I am convinced that they took lessons from Leni Riefenstahl.
Stewart's reference was to Leni Riefenstahl's classic Nazi propaganda film: Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will). Riefenstahl died (in 2003) at age 101.
Stewart's comment piqued my interest enough to finally watch this DVD, but I'm not recommending you do this the same week that the Republican National Convention [RNC] is held, because it became near-impossible not to mentally compare-and-contrast the two productions.
The Triumph des Willens DVD has an option for an audio commentary track, atop the 2-hour epic (I found it difficult to view this in a single sitting, so I made liberal use of the [pause] button). I may watch it later with only the English subtitles, now that I know the background (this was filmed 70 years ago, so the commentary was useful to put things in the perspective of that time).
Both are trying to articulate a point of view, and everything cinemagraphic -- camera angles and locations, lighting, close-ups -- is manipulated. And then there's the content -- the goal of the film (shown in German theatres from 1934-1944) was to introduce the National Socialist (Nazi) party to the population, and it covered most of the leaders of the Third Reich, with Adolf Hitler getting the most footage (of course).
Like I said - do NOT watch this while the politicians are Doing Their Thing because you won't be able to stifle your laughter as the Political Parties are manipulating public opinion. I am convinced that they took lessons from Leni Riefenstahl.
end of summer wardrobe change
After Zell Miller's wild-eyed speech to the RNC (and the nation) last night, I ran to the store and bought a new wardrobe consisting exclusively of brown shirts. I would've opted for white sheets, but it's almost Labor Day, and that would create a fashion faux pas. FWIW, Miller is a DINO (Democrat In Name Only).
Stepping back, I just have to wonder what message the Radical Right is trying to send; after all, Miller didn't get up there on his own (modern conventions are heavily scripted). I suspect Karl ("don't let facts get in the way") Rove's hand was deep in this; Karl is W's chief of staff, and star of the new [Bush's Brain] movie (now playing at the Angelika).
Let's see, under W's watch: 1) he sits dumbfounded for 7 minutes in a classroom full of second-graders when he learns that a jet plowed into the World Trade Center (now that's decisive leadership!); 2) Iran's getting nukes; 3) North and South Korea both get nukes (yes, South Korea announced today that they enriched uranium several years ago); 4) the Taliban regroups in Afghanistan; 5) al-Qaeda openly grows (opium) poppies to fund more terror; 6) we invade Iraq and find (queue sarcasm) thousands of WMDs scattered all over the country. "Four more years", indeed - think of what more he can accomplish!
The message I'm getting from the RNC convention is F-E-A-R : we should all be very, very afraid all the time, and re-elect GWB in November. Sadly, they've evolved into a group that wouldn't know truth-telling if it fell out of the sky, landed on their faces and wiggled. And that's probably a good thing, since the alternative is not to allow them to say anything unless it was fact-checked first, and that would prolong our elections (we couldn't stomach that).
Stepping back, I just have to wonder what message the Radical Right is trying to send; after all, Miller didn't get up there on his own (modern conventions are heavily scripted). I suspect Karl ("don't let facts get in the way") Rove's hand was deep in this; Karl is W's chief of staff, and star of the new [Bush's Brain] movie (now playing at the Angelika).
Let's see, under W's watch: 1) he sits dumbfounded for 7 minutes in a classroom full of second-graders when he learns that a jet plowed into the World Trade Center (now that's decisive leadership!); 2) Iran's getting nukes; 3) North and South Korea both get nukes (yes, South Korea announced today that they enriched uranium several years ago); 4) the Taliban regroups in Afghanistan; 5) al-Qaeda openly grows (opium) poppies to fund more terror; 6) we invade Iraq and find (queue sarcasm) thousands of WMDs scattered all over the country. "Four more years", indeed - think of what more he can accomplish!
The message I'm getting from the RNC convention is F-E-A-R : we should all be very, very afraid all the time, and re-elect GWB in November. Sadly, they've evolved into a group that wouldn't know truth-telling if it fell out of the sky, landed on their faces and wiggled. And that's probably a good thing, since the alternative is not to allow them to say anything unless it was fact-checked first, and that would prolong our elections (we couldn't stomach that).
Wednesday, September 1
of seafood and bureaucrats
HayJax and I lunched at Remington's in Addison today; I had the trout almandine which was cooked to perfection, and chowed down on the steamed broccoli (but passed on the apple pie). Ah, seafood bliss. I read on the web that Adam Remington has taken over management from his father, and that the restaurant was called Oyster's until about 10 years ago.
Tuesday, I went to the Dallas County Clerk's Office - in the Records Building (next to Old Red - the landmark courthouse built in 1890 and recently refurbished) to get a copy of my Deed Restrictions from the Dallas County Clerk's office.
The Records Building was easy to navigate; before going, I heard that the County Clerk's office was on the second floor, so I took the elevator (never could find a stairway!) and asked someone at the long counter where to go. They sent me to the far left where the real estate stuff is kept in microfilm canisters (none of this stuff is online), and a clerk quickly located the 4-page record I sought. She then instructed me to look in their database for any updates/addendums/whatever (there were none) and then charged me $1 per page and sent me on my way. While there, I marvelled at the amount of paper they use : truly unbelievable.
My neighborhood was built in the early 1960's in two large waves of 500 or so homes each. As such, there are two primary sets of deed restrictions, although there are several instances of deviations. There are only a few "teardowns" (and subsequent rebuilds) so far, but these will certainly increase over time. The new ones tend to stretch the deed restrictions to the limit: 6500 square feet homes on a half-acre lot leaves little room for error .. and they look very out of place.
Some Deed Restrictions have eleven sections, others have more .. but they all begin the same way: Section I says the homeowner cannot sell to non-whites (this was struck down by the courts in the mid-1960s). Now, such wording looks quaint and laughable.
Tuesday, I went to the Dallas County Clerk's Office - in the Records Building (next to Old Red - the landmark courthouse built in 1890 and recently refurbished) to get a copy of my Deed Restrictions from the Dallas County Clerk's office.
The Records Building was easy to navigate; before going, I heard that the County Clerk's office was on the second floor, so I took the elevator (never could find a stairway!) and asked someone at the long counter where to go. They sent me to the far left where the real estate stuff is kept in microfilm canisters (none of this stuff is online), and a clerk quickly located the 4-page record I sought. She then instructed me to look in their database for any updates/addendums/whatever (there were none) and then charged me $1 per page and sent me on my way. While there, I marvelled at the amount of paper they use : truly unbelievable.
My neighborhood was built in the early 1960's in two large waves of 500 or so homes each. As such, there are two primary sets of deed restrictions, although there are several instances of deviations. There are only a few "teardowns" (and subsequent rebuilds) so far, but these will certainly increase over time. The new ones tend to stretch the deed restrictions to the limit: 6500 square feet homes on a half-acre lot leaves little room for error .. and they look very out of place.
Some Deed Restrictions have eleven sections, others have more .. but they all begin the same way: Section I says the homeowner cannot sell to non-whites (this was struck down by the courts in the mid-1960s). Now, such wording looks quaint and laughable.
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