Arnett: "I said over the weekend what we all know about the war."
From the Associated Press (sorry, it came from AOL: Still looking for a source that I can link):

NBC fired journalist Peter Arnett on Monday, saying it was wrong for him to give an interview with state-run Iraqi TV in which he said the American-led coalition's initial plan for the war had failed because of Iraq's resistance. Arnett called the interview a ``misjudgment'' and apologized.
Arnett, on NBC's ``Today'' show on Monday, said he was sorry for his statement but added ``I said over the weekend what we all know about the war.''
``I want to apologize to the American people for clearly making a misjudgment,'' the New Zealand-born Arnett said. He said he would try to leave Baghdad now, joking ``there's a small island in the South Pacific that I've inhabited that I'll try to swim to.''

I see. He wasn't wrong, he just made a "misjudgment" about what to say, to whom. Meaning, "I was on Iraqi television, you weren't supposed to hear that."

No problem, Peter. As long as your reports are branded with your name, so we'll know how much credibility to give them.

I see it also cost him his job with National Geographic.

LATER: Well, there are no shortage of linkable sources.

USA Today - TV networks pull Arnett, Rivera
After signing up with the Mirror, the naturalized U.S. citizen apparently changed his tune. ''I report the truth of what is happening in Baghdad and will not apologize for it,'' Arnett told the newspaper. ''I am still in shock and awe at being fired,'' the New Zealand-born Arnett -- who won a Pulitzer Prize for his Vietnam War coverage for the Associated Press -- wrote under the banner headline ''This war's NOT working.''
Arnett told Iraqi TV that the initial U.S. war plan had failed and that reports from Baghdad about civilian casualties had helped anti-war protesters undermine the Bush administration's strategy.

Well, he's entitled to his opinion. I'm sure he'll be very happy reporting for the Mirror.

If USA Today thinks he's "changed his tune", they weren't listening very closely. He didn't apologize for what he said, he apologized for the furor it inspired. And that's fair enough. I should hope that every reporter in Iraq is able to say things he believes in and stand behind them. Even -- especially! -- if it isn't pleasing to American ears.

It's not like NBC didn't know what they were getting when they hired Peter Arnett.

I might go so far as to say that Arnett has an obligation to let us know where he stands on the issues he covers. Please, Mr Arnett, tell us more. I'd like to know on what information he's based his assessment that the Iraq operation thus far is a "failure".

And if we've reached the point where reporters have to travel in ideologically-complementary pairs, like Hannity and Colmes, well, that's not such a bad thing.

And then they clicked their heels together and cried, "There's no place like Baghdad"

Reuters | Hundreds of Iraqis Killed in Four-Day Kifl Battle The officers said the tank unit fired two 120 mm high velocity depleted uranium rounds straight down the main road, creating a powerful vacuum that literally sucked guerrillas out from their hideaways into the street, where they were shot down by small arms fire or run over by the tanks.

You have to be careful what you tell reporters...

On the other hand, (say it with me now), well, it is Reuters. It's not like they're real reporters.

"We wouldn't have known they were there if Lieutenant Kent, here, hadn't seen them through the walls. He's really Superman, but don't tell anybody."

(Saw the reference at One Hand Clapping. While you're there, scroll down to the war protesters at the Fox News building in Manhattan, and his description of the difference between "soldiers" and "Marines", a distinction our beloved news media cannot seem to get straight.)

Well, it is Reuters

Yahoo! News - Entertainment Photos - Reuters A carnival float shows paper mache figure of German conservative opposition leader Angela Merkel emerging from the buttocks of Uncle Sam during the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in Duesseldorf, March 3, 2003.

I would be wary of following this link at work, I think. Willard Scott never had to describe anything like this.

Naked Quidditch Update
I know, I already told you about the "ninth and final chapter".

Well, it appears there's a tenth chapter at a different, more attractive page. With pictures.

Oh, calm down, it's not what you're thinking.

Have you seen this?
The Command Post: "This is not a professional news service � we are just a group of bloggers from around the world trying to post the latest professional news that we have seen, heard, or read."

The personals

It's another Thursday Threesome:

Onesome: Lights. Did you watch the lights of Hollywood at the Academy Awards the other night? ...and were you surprised by any of the winners. ...or did you spend the evening doing something else?

I listened to parts of it. Having seen none of the nominated performances, and having noticed that the only actors I recognize are getting Lifetime Achievement awards, I didn't pay much attention.

Twosome: Camera. Do you enjoy photography? ...and do you take pictures for your web site if you have one? Hmmm... Digital or film? Inquiring minds and all that...

I do enjoy photography, but I don't take many pictures. Being dirt cheap, I don't have the bandwidth to spare.

Threesome: Action. For some, March Madness has begun. Have you succumbed to the action of the basketball tournament, or are you immune to the madness and just waiting for regular programming to resume?

Basketball is a mental disorder to which I seem to be immune. The closest I get to March Madness is the unrelated malady, Spring Fever...

I can't say it's entirely unexpected...
...that my Nude Calendar Watch page would attract some attention. What surprises me is that the Fundraising for Small Groups Newsletter, always on the lookout for ideas to pass on, has given it a mention.

Surfing with the editor for Fundraising Websites

Nude calendars, or should I say partially nude calendars, are being used more and more to raise some very significant funds. While this may not be for your group you can visit this web site and keep up with the trend.

Why, thank you, Mr Brengle.

Warning: this web site may offend some readers, proceed with caution!

Oh, you should see the pages I chose not to link to...!

Welcome to planet Earth, revisited
United Press International: Lucky Break for Jordan

A group of American anti-war demonstrators who came to Iraq with Japanese human shield volunteers made it across the border today with 14 hours of uncensored video, all shot without Iraqi government minders present. Kenneth Joseph, a young American pastor with the Assyrian Church of the East, told UPI the trip "had shocked me back to reality." Some of the Iraqis he interviewed on camera "told me they would commit suicide if American bombing didn't start. They were willing to see their homes demolished to gain their freedom from Saddam's bloody tyranny. They convinced me that Saddam was a monster the likes of which the world had not seen since Stalin and Hitler. He and his sons are sick sadists. Their tales of slow torture and killing made me ill, such as people put in a huge shredder for plastic products, feet first so they could hear their screams as bodies got chewed up from foot to head."

And just to make sure they get the point...
Xanga dissidentfrogman's Weblog 3/23/2003: "Coalition of Simpletons"

I just hope you'll remember that while you were systematically denying and dismissing your government's cogent and restrained policy and while you were - most probably - comparing Mr. Bush with Hitler or your country with the worst dictatorships in History and claiming "it's about oil", which eventually led you on this path of enlightenment that ended in Baghdad with a reality check, people were actually being slowly tortured and put in plastic shredders, feet first.

The paradox is: Sometimes war saves lives. I know, it's not obvious, but it's true nonetheless.

I'll suggest that Iraq is fighting out of its weight class. The only reason we haven't glazed Baghdad is that we actually don't want to hurt them. And this does handicap us somewhat: Word is, the only reason Iraqi TV is still on the air is that their broadcast tower is on top of a daycare center and hospital. (Or so I've heard: Still searching for confirmation.) If true, I can't think of any way to read it other than to conclude that Iraqi children's lives mean more to the U.S. Army than they do to the Iraqi government.

Fictitious Oscars
Los Angeles Times: Awful truth? Filmmaker is miffed

Why are some people complaining that "Winged Migration," a critically praised, Academy Award-nominated French documentary, is hard to see?
The answer is wrapped up in the arcane and frequently contentious world of the documentary film category. The academy requires voters to prove they have seen all the nominated films in the category (unlike most other major categories, including best picture).
That means that missing one film disqualifies a voter from casting a ballot for any film in the relevant category. And if you're Michael Moore, that's a problem. Moore's Oscar-nominated film, "Bowling for Columbine," is one of the most popular documentaries ever made. But he's worried that the limited availability of "Winged Migration" actually will skew the odds in favor of the rival French film. He goes so far as to accuse the movie's distributor, Sony Pictures Classics, of deliberately withholding the film from screenings -- which Sony Classics denies.
The theory goes like this: If the pool of eligible voters -- those who have seen all the nominees -- is limited to hard-core documentary and foreign-film fans, their choices will tend to be classical, conservative, possibly esoteric or elitist, and likely not populist.
Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" is none of these things.

Now, I ran that l-o-n-g quote in order to say this: In order to give Moore the benefit of the doubt, I have to think of a way to interpret this that doesn't put these words in his mouth: "If the voters see 'Winged Migration', they'll probably vote for it instead of mine."

Oh, well. There's a case to be made that "Bowling for Columbine" isn't a documentary. Documentaries have to be true. Here's an analysis.

(Read about it at Hooray for Captain Spaulding.)

Well, it is Reuters
Yahoo! News - Iraqis Inflict U.S. Casualties, Take Prisoners

Iraq paraded U.S. prisoners of war on television on Sunday and inflicted the heaviest casualties so far on U.S.-led invaders as resistance stiffened the closer they drew to Baghdad.
After three days of unbroken successes and minimal casualties, U.S. and British forces got a taste of what may await them in Baghdad, where the Iraqi government's best equipped and most loyal forces are concentrated.

"A taste of what may await them"?

You may say I�m a dreamer. But I�m not the only one.
Somehow it sounds different when James Lileks says it.

The personals

The Friday Five:

1. If you had the chance to meet someone you've never met, from the past or present, who would it be?

Robert A. Heinlein. Just to say thanks.

2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?

Future. I want to see those cities on the moon.

3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be?

The wilds of north Georgia, on a large wooded estate from which I cannot see my neighbors. After living in downtown Atlanta for twenty-five years, I feel a need for elbow room.

4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?

Jubal Harshaw, from Stranger in a Strange Land. There's a man who knows how to enjoy life.

5. If you had to live with having someone else's face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be?

You really want me to be discontented, don't you? If I can't have my own face, let me look like Sean Connery. He has this extraordinary effect on every woman I know...

The personals

Thursday Threesome:

Onesome: Mountain. Hey, summer's on the way! If you can get away, is it to the mountains or to the beaches? ...and even if you cannot: if you could, which would you go for?

I'll be getting away to the mountains in a couple of weeks... but it's the companionship, not the scenery, that takes me there. If I could, I'd hit the beach.

Twosome: Spring. Enough is enough! Are you ready for Spring yet? ...or are you one of the lucky ones who are aleady smelling the roses?

I'm cold. I've been cold since September. I'm tired of being cold.

Threesome: Water. Domestic or bottled? Are you one of those who just cannot drink tap water and absolutely has to have bottled? ...or does any source that has some chlorine in it to okay with you?

I don't understand the question: Are you confusing chlorine (a common pool additive) for flouride (a common drinking water additive) accidentally or deliberately? Tap water is just fine with me... although pools are nice, too.

Inconvenient timing

Approach of War Reveals an Alienation in California
In fact, many people acknowledged that they might feel differently if a Democrat were leading them into battle. "I was wondering if I would feel more comfortable if it were Bill Clinton and Al Gore saying we needed to do this now, and I think I would," said Felicia Marcus, who was the regional administrator in California for the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton administration.

Well, Gore hasn't been too conspicuous, but Clinton and Lieberman are both on board. So everything should be fine now.

During some lunchtime and office-cooler chatter there has even been longing for President Clinton, a Hollywood favorite, who, the reasoning goes, would never have allowed a war to play havoc with Oscar night, one of the state's most hallowed traditions.

You. Must. Be. Kidding.

(Via Suman Palit, Kolkata Libertarian.)

There's no such thing...is there?
Through a long series of blog references (okay, not so long, South Knox Bubba via Instapundit), I give you one man's attempt to spend $2 at Taco Bell.

Stop the presses

Crusty debate rages in Legislature over official state cookie
Seems that, once again, the separate chambers of the [Pennsylvania] Legislature are at odds when it comes to designating an official state cookie.
The Senate is pitching anew for the chocolate-chip cookie, whereas the House is supporting the Nazareth sugar cookie.

Somebody send this URL to Saddam Hussein. He needs to understand that we actually have time to worry about sugar vs chocolate chip.

(Isn't Hershey in Pennsylvania? Doesn't Hershey make chocolate? Why are we talking about sugar cookies?)

Careful what you wish for

The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town
A paranoid, they say, is a person in possession of the facts.
...This invasion was thus designed to root out the very weapons we hoped�and at the same time feared�that he possessed. And we journalists were coming along not only to witness any chemical nastiness that might ensue but also, presumably, to breathe it.
With this embed program, the Department of Defense was embarking on a public-relations experiment of unprecedented size and scope. It remained to be seen how much latitude would be afforded the media once the bullets began flying, but by the look of things the Pentagon truly wanted us to be right there on the battlefield, free and unfettered, reporting precisely what we saw.

As opposed to on the rooftop of the nearest four-star hotel reading press releases. WWII-era war correspondents knew what you're going through. A fellow could get killed out there.

Perhaps too many of your immediate predecessors were complaining too much about being kept too far from the action.

How history is rewritten

CNN.com - Is there a 'Superman' curse? - Mar. 17, 2003
...The first cartoon "Superman" was voiced by Bud Collyer from 1941-43...

Yes, that's true, as far as it goes. But Collyer's participation in the Fleischer "Superman" cartoons was a footnote to his history with the character, as he spent over a decade on the radio portraying the character. This is not mentioned.

(I mean, the animated Superman barely spoke at all. I wouldn't be surprised if Collyer didn't even remember he'd done it.)

I'm not too bent out of shape over this, as it is consistent with most media coverage of the Golden Age of Radio. Or, more precisely, coverage that should include the Golden Age of Radio, but somehow never does. Richard Crenna's obituary, for example, prominently mentioned his supporting role on the television series "Our Miss Brooks" -- but didn't mention that the character, and the show, began on the radio.

It's as if the medium never existed. The only reminder I ever see that radio was once the dominant medium that television now is, is a cartoon that occasionally pops up on Cartoon Network: A small child demands to be allowed to stay up late to listen to the radio, and dreams of radio personalities of the day (who appear in animated form).

Pick your battles

Asymmetrical Information: Flying under false colors
I've never actually said I was a Democrat, you understand. I've never lied about any of my beliefs. I've just failed to mention that I thought the person I was speaking to was wildly, impossibly, horribly wrong about 90% of their core ideas.
...The fact is that in New York, if you want to get along with people, it's best to just let them think you're an arch-liberal.

The idea that there are people like Jane Galt in New York, people who haven't bought into the apparently-prevailing political winds, is the most encouraging thing I've heard in a long time.

On the other hand, they did elect Senator Clinton.

Here's a wild idea: What if everybody actually said what they thought? Did what they felt was right? Voted their conscience, instead of the least-objectionable "major" party line?

(See also "Another Kind of Insight", for the story of an occasion when I felt subversive.)

What he said

Text: Bush on Iraq (washingtonpost.com)
Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know that every measure has been taken to avoid war and every measure will be taken to win it.
...
We are a peaceful people, yet we are not a fragile people. And we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers.

The price of being the only superpower left is that occasionally you have to risk France's disapproval.

Welcome to planet Earth

FOXNews.com: 'Human Shields' Booted After Criticizing Iraq's Instructions
They had chosen locations "essential to the civilian population," such as food storage warehouses and water and electricity facilities, said Ken O'Keefe, of Haleiwa, Hawaii.
But the Iraqi government wanted the shields in more sensitive locations, he said. He did not elaborate, but some earlier activists have also left Iraq, reportedly after being told they would be posted at potentially strategic targets, such as oil refineries and power plants.
"They removed us from the sites we had chosen because we were critical of the integrity and the autonomy of the Iraqi authorities," said O'Keefe, 33. "I was escorted by Iraqi intelligence officers to the border, because I say what I believe and the Iraqi government wants submissive easy robots."

I can't decide if that's close enough to call a correct answer.

"The Iraqi government was acting absolutely very stupid," O'Keefe said, dressed in a long Arabic dishdasha robes while talking to The Associated Press at a small hotel in downtown Amman. "If they had only cooperated and let us do part of what we wanted to do, we could have worked with them also to protect these sites and we would have brought in more people to stay."

And you're proud of that?

Have you really thought this through? I'd be more disposed to respect your courage (if not your common sense) if I thought you understood that providing "aid and comfort" to an enemy is one of the few Constitutionally-defined crimes (treason), and is commonly punished by revoking your citizenship and deporting you.

What's up, Julia?
Not that I don't appreciate the visitors, but why are so many people Googling Julia Sawalha today?

LATER: But I did find a Julia Sawalha / Harry Potter connection...!

The personals

The Friday Five:

1. Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not?

I do not. With rare exceptions, phones are tools to make appointments.

2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?

My wife, actually.

3. About how many telephones do you have at home?

Hm. (Counting on fingers.) Five. Not counting modems. No, six. Forgot there's one in the fax machine.

4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened?

Of course. I used to work tech support for Microsoft. :) I have a high tolerance. Now that I don't have to put up with it, I find it fairly easy to hang up.

5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not?

E-mail, definitely. I can go on at whatever length I want to without feeling I'm intruding-- and you can answer at your leisure.

The personals

Thursday Threesome:

Onesome: Blue. Mac brought color into the scheme of computer things. What color would your computer be if they offered custom colors for PC or Mac?

Who cares? All right, all right, my PC is black (Dell Dimension 4400) and I really like it that way. I don't need computers in designer colors, but more than one is good.

Twosome: Screen. Hey how about a quick survey? What type of screen are you running, CRT or LCD? ...and what size screen would that be? Uh-huh, and that would be at what resolution? Designing minds want to know...

It's a CRT, 19", running at 1024x768. I'm old and half-blind, I need it big. (I'm amused and amazed at the changes my vision has gone through in the last six months or so. From not being able to read anything, to being able to read only small and narrow lines, to not being able to read anything smaller than a cow.)
LCDs are getting good enough to use as a primary display, but they haven't gotten cheap enough.

Threesome: of Death. Have you ever had a catastrophic computer crash? Could it be revived or did you have to pronounce it dead?

I have never (knock wood) had a crash so catastrophic that I couldn't get it running again, at least long enough to download the data. Where I've lost data, it's been because I forgot to copy it.

Oh, I can think of something more frightening

Yahoo! News - Dixie Chicks Explain Anti-Bush Comment
The trio performed a live show in London on Monday (March 10th) night, and Natalie Maines (news) told the crowd, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."
That statement prompted all kinds of reactions from the American public, causing the group to further explain their stance on their official website... "While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost."

How about the innocent lives that have already been lost because we didn't go sooner?

What am I missing?

Yahoo! News - Smart Phones Will Know When You Can't Answer
Tiny microphones, cameras and sensors reveal body language and computer software analyzes the signals to determine whether someone is too occupied to take a call.

We already have answering machines. Mine stays on all the time, and if I don't make it to the phone within four rings, I was too busy to answer it.

This may be one of those things I won't know how I ever survived without in ten years... but my first reaction is, I don't need a phone that withholds calls because it thinks I'm too busy to answer them anyway.

Now, give me a television that turns itself off N minutes after the last person leaves the room, and we'll talk.

So what are they keeping?

Yahoo! News - "Superman" Tights Hard to Fill
Also causing controversy is the screenplay from Alias creator JJ Adams, which is coming under fire from comic book geeks for its modifications to the Superman mythology. Over 11,000 aficionados with time to spare have signed an online petition protesting the changes.
At stake are: Jimmy Olsen's sexuality (in the new movie he's gay); Superman's new status as a player (he flirts with Lois instead of saving people); an intact planet Krypton (in the original movie the planet explodes); the red and blue suit emerging as the superhero's source of power; and, finally, Lex Luther as a Kryptonian bent on destroying Earth.

Ah, I see. You'd have to be a "geek...with time to spare" to object to any of that. Or even to point out that none of the movies are the original, or that it's "Lex Luthor". Next thing, they'll be giving "The Scarlet Letter" a happy ending... No, wait...

Every now and again, Hollywood gets an urge to "fix" something that isn't broken. There isn't a producer, writer, or actor working who has the kind of lonegivity, good will, and name recognition that Superman has. All they have to do is play it as written.

Oh, chill. I know why they release articles like this, it's to generate "buzz". I'm not that naive. I remember the rumors about Chris Rock as Jimmy Olsen. Heck, I remember the rumors about the Mario Puzo draft of the first Chris Reeve "Superman", in which the Fortress would supposedly be decorated with hunting trophies. They spill things like this to make publicity. And apparently it works: I'm writing about it.

The mythology is pretty well defined by now: All they have to do is get it right. "Spider-Man" worked because, for all the minor changes, Sam Raimi obviously had some affection and respect for his source material. "X-Men", which looked nothing like the comic, remained true to the characters that inspired it.

Marvel movies are getting closer to their roots... and DC movies are getting further away. Marvel movies are setting the box office afire; DC is having trouble getting off the ground. Coincidence?

Keep it up. Keep telling those "geeks...with time to spare" that you don't need or want their attention. Tell those who are, currently, the only people inclined to go see this movie that the only thing you intend to keep is the name "Superman". And then wonder why your "buzz" isn't buzzing the way you wanted it to.

Calling occupants of interplanetary craft
One to go, please.

Yahoo! News - Happy Space Alien Day!
A New Mexico legislator proposed on Monday having the state honor all extraterrestrial beings with a special day that will "celebrate and honor all past, present and future extraterrestrial visitors" to New Mexico, the measure reads.
Rep. Dan Foley, a Republican from Roswell, the spot where some say aliens crash-landed more than 50 years ago, said he introduced the legislation to "enhance relationships among all the citizens of the cosmos, known and unknown."

Whatever happened to World Contact Day?

Eww

Police say man who swallowed $37,500 gem has yielded loot
He was caught and left the shop in handcuffs. Investigators had been waiting ever since for the loot to make its way through his intestinal tract.
Mannix--who allegedly gulped down the stone at a shop on Jewelers Row, at 5 S. Wabash, while trying to switch it with a fake--finally gave up the gem Friday morning, officials said.

(Noted at obscurestore.com.)

Spare me

Memoirs of a Market- Savvy Sock Puppet
After 22 months in the unemployment lines, a savvier Sock Puppet is enjoying a modest comeback. Last year he landed a gig as spokespuppet for Bar None, a Pleasanton auto loan company. In September he appeared alongside former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in Times Square for the 20th anniversary of the board game Trivial Pursuit. Two months later he opened for keynote speaker Bill Gates in a video shown at Comdex, the annual Las Vegas geekfest. He has also appeared in a documentary by video artist Christian Jankowski.
Word is, he has even been approached by Hollywood producers to discuss a television sitcom.

(Noted at obscurestore.com.)

A war blog like no other
Michael's Modern Blog. Nothing I can say will prepare you for it without giving it away. Just go.

The personals

The Friday Five:

1. What was the last song you heard?

James Taylor, "Only One".

2. What were the last two movies you saw?

At all? The Music Man (both Preston and Broderick versions, in succession) and Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. In the theater? Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Spider-Man.

3. What were the last three things you purchased?

A USB cable for my printer; Superman in the Fifties; Video Girl Ai, Vol. 5: Spinoff.

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?

Oh, all the things I need to do need doing during the week.

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?

The four people I live with (wife, children, and kids' godfather) and my son's teacher.

The personals

Thursday Threesome:

Onesome: Cold. Are you a cold weather person and just deal with it or do you prefer temperatures closer to the century mark?

As with so many things, the answer I give now is not the answer I would have given last year. I used to enjoy the first cold snap of autumn: I rarely got cold in Georgia's temperate winter. However, since my stroke, my internal thermostat has changed, and I begin to understand why people retire to Florida.

Twosome: and Misty. What makes you misty-eyed? Do you cry at Hallmark commercials or get all sentimental when you hear a specific song? You can tell us, we won't laugh ;)

God. I cried at Lilo and Stitch. ("This is my family. I found it myself. It is broken, but still good.") I cried at Pinky and the Brain Christmas Special. (I've never gotten a good look at the damn keychain.) I even cried at Harry Potter when Hagrid gave Harry the photo album. Willow's yellow crayon in Buffy. Just the other day hearing the theme song of Oh, My Goddess was enough to set me off.

Threesome: Morning. Mornings? ...or evenings? Which is your time of the day? Are you up with the sun or do you help the moon keep the night lit?

Evenings, definitely evenings.

Next time, think things through

Yahoo! News - Stranded human shields buses seek fare home
Two red double decker buses and a white London taxi that ferried anti-war activists to Baghdad to serve as "human shields" are stranded in Beirut with their owner short the 3,400 pounds it costs to ship them home.
...Some 50 other Swedish anti-war human shield activists who had travelled to Iraq began to leave on Monday, saying they had wanted to protect hospitals and schools but had been forced out to refineries, power plants and water works.

Sorry, write your own joke here. Too many opportunities, can't decide...

2 cool 2 B 4 got 10

Yahoo! News - Girl baffles teacher with SMS essay
An English essay written by a teenager in text messaging short-hand has reignited concern among teachers that literacy standards are under threat.
...The teenager's essay which caused the problem began:
"My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc."

What's worse: That the student handed it in, or that the teacher (who spends all day with 13-year-olds) didn't recognize it?

This is news? If the teacher's feeling generous, hand it back and have the child re-copy it in English. If she's not, failing grade. Who called the newspaper? Why?

Judith Gillespie, of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, told the newspaper a decline in grammar and written English was partly linked to the text messaging craze.

Ah. I see. In my day it was rock and roll.

March 15: Eat an Animal for PETA Day
See Meryl Yourish for details...but here's the intolerably stupid PETA ad campaign that spawned this response.

(Thanks, Ron.)

I'm shocked, shocked

Yahoo! News - Bermuda Tourism Ads Shot in Other Edens
Bermuda, the picturesque Atlantic island famed for its pink beaches, has admitted using pictures shot in other locales in tourism ads, a newspaper reported Friday.

Honey? Cancel this year's trip to Bermuda, we're going to the Seychelles instead...