The IOC as Sanctioning Body?
Saw this interesting question on my Twitter feed:
@jdowdell Suppose Olympics Committee disqualified Russian athletes while their country is invading another? What would happen then? Might they do it?
You can find that here. Fucking Textile.
File Under:
olympics
beijing+olympics
beijing
russia
russo-georgian+war
How to Embarrass Your Daughter
It’s 10:30 at night and two employees at Pizza Patron in Denton, TX are closing up.
Suddenly, a robber barges into the restaurant, waving a gun and demanding money. One of the employees starts grabbing money out of the drawer, but the other, after being slapped by the robber, fights back, beating the you-know-what out of him.
The first employee takes a good look at the robber and tells her co-worker to stop hitting him.
“That’s my dad,” she says.
File Under:
news
pizza+patron
robbery
Racing Into History
File Under:
indy+racing+league
danica+patrick
motegi
indy+japan
auto+racing
racing
And This is News...How?
Regional nuclear war would affect entire globe, study says
No shit, Shawn says.
File Under:
news
science
nuclear+war
stating+the+obvious
In an Absolut World...
…I’ll be drinking Grey Goose
File Under:
ads
absolut+vodka
immigration
texas
unfunny
not+funny
Hunting Easter Eggs
Is it just me or have easter egg hunts always been held in an open field with the brightly colored eggs in plain sight? Because it seemed to me when I was the proper egg-hunting age, we had to look for them hidden in trees, under tall grass or bushes or maybe buried under gravel in the playground.
Whatever the case, we need to stop having our kids so easily find the eggs. Make ‘em earn it.
Oh, and Happy Easter / Late Vernal Equinox.
File Under:
easter
easter+eggs
easter+egg+hunt
Am I Wasted?
While Karol‘s comment system was down, I got called out.
Well, you shouldn’t worry, Mark. I don’t smell what The Barack is cookin’. Full disclosure, though, I did vote for him in the Texas primary, but that’s because because I’d rather see him as the Democratic nominee.
That said, I don’t think I was incorrect either. There is something very typical, old-school, run-of-the-mill, whichever about Hillary’s tactics in this campaign. The "3am Phone Call" commercial, desperately trying to seat Michigan and Florida delegates, the picture of Obama in traditional Kenyan dress, those sort of things strike me as, like I said in the comment, "politics as usual."
On the other side, you do have "politics based on hopeful change." Say what you will about its lack of substance, it has nevertheless energized a whole cadre of Obamaniacs to canvas, to blog, to get out there and push their candidate to victory. Are they buying into a promise that Obama can’t possibly hope to fulfill? I’d say that’s very much likely. And in some ways, the constant talk of hope and change is actually disempowering when you think about it. Who’s going to be the catalyst for change in your family or your city? Obama? If elected, he’s going to park his butt in the Oval Office. Maybe make some legislative suggestions, sign some laws, write some signing statements, all those things you’d expect from a chief executive.
I think one of the things folks have to realize is that regardless of who’s president, change starts locally, so long as you’re willing to make the effort.
Would I like to see Obama as the Democratic nominee? Sure. But at this point, I’m likely voting McCain.
File Under:
obama
politics
elections+2008
Long Live the Dungeon Master
The books are closed this evening, the rolling of 20-siders quiet. Gary Gygax, one of the creators of Dungeons & Dragons, has passed away.
As nerds go, I was more into the White Wolf system of games (Vampire/Werewolf/Mage). In fact, my favorite RPG character was an Uktena Theurge named Shining Moon. Problem was the game he was in didn’t run long.
But in the D&D campaign I played all the way to the end, I had another memorable character. In game terms, Seran was a dual-class Ranger/Cleric, but in story terms, he was a 16-year old war priest who led his army in loud cathartic praises to a god who would eventually lead to our enemy’s demise. Seran was also the luckiest character I ever rolled for; he barely survived a red dragon’s fiery breath. I chalked it up to his cloak, which deflected most of the heat (in reality, it was due to a most gracious Dungeon Master).
The army he helped to build was wiped out during the final siege on the main bad guy’s stronghold. It was Seran’s solemn pledge to see the quest through to the end and he and the party succeeded.
Yeah, we were all a big bunch of nerds. But we had fun. And we owe Gygax and others like him a large debt of gratitude.
Thanks, Gare. Keep those dwarves, elves, paladins, rangers and magic-users in line at that tabletop in the sky.
File Under:
dungeons+and+dragons
gary+gygax
role+playing+games
tabletop
d20
Texas Prima-Caucery Predictions
Dem: Hillary Clinton
GOP: Mike Huckabee with the upset.
File Under:
texas+primary
caucus
elections+2008
president
Some More Good News
Deal Brings Hope That Kenya’s Dark Chapter is Over
Let’s hope so. Things didn’t work out so well in the Congo
File Under:
kenya
violence
crisis
elections
