A joke

Both the game above and this link were located through David Metz

Marc Perkel asks the following....

What's the difference between the war in Iraq and the war in Vietnam?

Answer: George W. Bush had a plan to get out of Vietnam!

Line Rider

Line Rider is a great little game that is quite addictive.

Book Recommendation

How Postmodernism Saved My Faith by Crystal L. Downing

I have a crush on the author, and I don't even know how old she is.

This professor of English at Messiah College on the west coast has taken the difficult philosophy of Derrida and others and made it palatable.

If you hear "Postmodernism" tossed about as the scourge of our day, this is the book you should read. Not that it will change your mind, but it will, I think, show you how a questioning, cognizant individual can still be a committed Christian as Dr. Downing most certainly is.

(She doesn't say she is Episcopalian, but I'm betting on it.)

Speaking of the crush, does anyone else do this? I never get a crush on someone I SEE as a normal human being might. Instead I notice those women who are well spoken, well read, and well credentialed.

There was a story yesterday in the Atlanta Journal Constitution (I think) about how traditional thought said that high achieving women turned men off, but the research says the opposite. I can't link the story, cause I can't find it.

Is this news to anyone? Who WOULDN'T want a wife with a brain and a million dollar salary?

Dr. Downing, I likes ya, wherever you are.

Keith Olbermann has brass balls

Somehow in my travels this story escaped me.

Certainly if you aren't a completely lop-sided Republican, Bill Clinton's sheer intellect should amaze you. But it shouldn't surprise you. Olbermann's courage to expose Fox and then to put Bush on the carpet almost brought tears to my eyes.

Don't tell me that Keith doesn't leave the office now with more than a modicum of concern for his health and that of his family. He knew that when he wrote the editorial and when he delivered it. THAT is courage.

In thinking about how dangerous it is now to speak our minds in a "FREE" country, it made me truly appreciate those journalists past and present who have stood up to the establishment in countries that aren't free.

I remember when I was in college and Keith and Dan Patrick were an everyday addiction on Sportscenter. His unique self-confidence, laced with world-depreciating humor, were part of why ESPN thrives today.

And think about one more thing when you consider what Keith has done:

He has relegated himself to a limited career path for the rest of his life.

Now don't get me wrong...we desperately need "neutral" fact-based and uneditorialized journalists more than EVER. But I think Keith decided he couldn't be the person he is if he sugar-coated the things he's witnessed from Fox News for years. Therefore every future job consideration for him will have to carry the discussion of "he's just another James Carville. We can only hire him for opinion and analysis".

So now we finally have someone who will call them on their propaganda and Clinton-blaming, Clinton-hijacking machine.

I appreciate it.

Mississippi connections

Tonight I was at a party with a number of bank managers in Atlanta. Karaoke was part of the fare, and I'll bet the folks who performed had no idea how close to home the music was for me.

Consider these three offerings and their relation to me and my home Mississippi:

1. Ode to Billy Joe - The famous Bobbie Gentry song was of course set in the Mississippi Delta and the Tallahatchie Bridge.
2. Harper Valley PTA - Another huge hit, this one written by Jeannie C. Riley, who now lives in north Mississippi, a little known fact.
3. Blue Suede Shoes - The Jerry Lee Lewis version of course, of Nesbit, MS, and also Booneville, MS, for a time, the small town where Ms. Riley resides.

Memphis Airport

Two quick notes:

Until the rules change, Memphis seems to be the worst of any airport for the "Quart-sized plastic bag" edict.

I even went through LAX last week, and there was no Bag Police. But at MEM there's an actual person who must feast his/her eyes upon your baggie before you get to the machines.

Gallon sized baggie? Oh my, that won't do at ALL. You'll either have to throw the shit away or go ask for your checked baggage back and store the shit there. I'm not exaggerating. One of my friends from New Orleans went through a few days ago on her way back home, and she was so pissed she asked to see the supervisor. The super wouldn't budge, even though my friend had been through eight different airports lately who aren't giving this nearly so much structure.

Also:

If you are going thru the B gates at MEM on busy days, don't wait in the security lines if they are long. Simply walk left to A or right to C and enter there. Then you can take the moving sidewalks back. It can be MUCH faster most days.

Update/10-27:

Patrick Stewart at Salon has now done a story on the baggie issue.

It makes me feel a bit better that Memphis isn't the only one with Baggie Obsession. However, I note that the airport he went through only had a TSA dude yelling at him to put the baggie through the maching.

Not in Mempho. Nope. You don't even get through TO the bins until you get your baggie measured. The Baggie Policeperson in Memphis stands next to the ladies who initially look at your license and boarding pass. If you go through Memphis security, you'll recognize these ladies by their fingernails.

Several of them have nails that are literally four inches long. Imagine the extra time it takes them to palm your paperwork, due to a slight manual dexterity obstacle. Can you see this discussion in the nail salon?

"Gurl, where can we work where people will see these beauties?"
"How bout them folks who handle 50,000 plane tickets every day over at the airport?"
"Sounds good, but you reckon the TSA will hire us?"
"Gurl, you kiddin'?"

MSNBC From Baghdad

I enjoyed this discussion tonight in browsing through the political stuff.

MSNBC Story

(Sorry, I've got to do an HTML refresher to remember how to imbed the links.)

Anyway....

I love the comments from the hard right, who claim the "media is liberally biased because they don't report good news from Iraq".

In this story a guy named Bob wrote the reporter to tell her he knew a bunch of good news. When she asked for details, the good news story ended up being a student who was kidnapped but was returned safely.

With good news like that, who needs Fox News?

Speaking for Faux News, I hate em. And I'm not a "Yeller Dog Democrat" as we say in the South. Five years ago I was raising money for Republican candidates.

Sometime soon when I have more time, I'll try to explain my transformation from Kool-Aid drinking "conservative" to moderate hater of most of Washington. Since Washington happens to be controlled by the Repubs, I happen to dislike them more.

That will probably change when this thing cycles and the Dems take over. I'll swing back the other direction maybe.

But for now...I say investigate Bush, investigate the war lies, and bar Karl Rove from creating more fear and lies with his campaign "strategies".

More to come....

Packing for Atlanta

This is the worst time of year to pack for a long business trip.

I'm flying from Memphis to Atlanta in the morning, and I won't be home until Sunday morning. The weather is forecast to range from 45 to 80 while I'm there! Who can pack for that?? Thank God I'm a man. I have no idea how the women do it with all y'all have to include.

Adding to the madness is the requirement for business casual, casual, and business dress all in one trip. Its a nightmare. Normally I don't check bags. I wheel the little black suitcase on the plane, along with the ole laptop. Not this time though. I'm taking the modern day version of a steamer trunk.

Tomorrow night I'm doing a "dinner cruise" on Lake Lanier with the group I'm speaking to on Wednesday.

That means that come Wednesday I'll have to earn my dinner from the previous night with a fresh, entertaining, and motivating speech to fifty bankers about sales coaching. Two hours worth at that.

Tough as that sounds, I'm pretty good at it, believe it or not. The hardest part of motivational speaking is keeping up with what material the audience has heard from you previously. This is no problem for contract speakers, but "captives" like me definitely have repeat audiences.

Gotta Start Somewhere

I suppose most blogs are like diets. 98% of the folks who start them don't get very far.

Seems like anytime I search for good blog discussions, most of the links I find are well-intentioned bloggers who quit after four or five posts.

Far be it for me to promise any more than that....but we'll see.

Do people outside of the South say "far be it for me"? If not, perhaps I should translate my Southspeak. I enjoy dialects, and I tend to use mine to my advantage from time to time. More about that later. Anyway, "far be it for me" means "I'm the last person who would promise more than that."