The Private John McCain

Karl Rove did a profile in WSJ of McCain.

After relating several heroic stories of McCain such as:

Mr. Day relayed to me one of the stories Americans should hear. It involves what happened to him after escaping from a North Vietnamese prison during the war. When he was recaptured, a Vietnamese captor broke his arm and said, "I told you I would make you a cripple."

The break was designed to shatter Mr. Day's will. He had survived in prison on the hope that one day he would return to the United States and be able to fly again. To kill that hope, the Vietnamese left part of a bone sticking out of his arm, and puthim in a misshapen cast. This was done so that the arm would heal at "a goofy angle," as Mr. Day explained. Had it done so, he never would have flown again.

But it didn't heal that way because of John McCain. Risking severe punishment, Messrs. McCain and Day collected pieces of bamboo in the prison courtyard to use as a splint. Mr. McCain put Mr. Day on the floor of their cell and, using his foot, jerked the broken bone into place. Then, using strips from the bandage on his own wounded leg and the bamboo, he put Mr. Day's splint in place.

Years later, Air Force surgeons examined Mr. Day and complemented the treatment he'd gotten from his captors. Mr. Day corrected them. It was Dr. McCain who deserved the credit. Mr. Day went on to fly again.

At the end Rove offers this advice:

Private people like Mr. McCain are rare in politics for a reason. Candidates who are uncomfortable sharing their interior lives limit their appeal. But if Mr. McCain is to win the election this fall, he has to open up.

Americans need to know about his vision for the nation's future, especially his policy positions and domestic reforms. They also need to learn about the moments in his life that shaped him. Mr. McCain cannot make this a biography-only campaign – but he can't afford to make it a biography-free campaign either. Unless he opens up more, many voters will never know the experiences of his life that show his character, integrity and essential decency.

via Hot Air

Fuck. That. Shit.

Random: I saw the Kirov ballet a few weekends ago. One of the most clearest thoughts that I came away from the performance, was how incredible precise the dancers had to be. Not just in their dance moves, but in relation of one another. The world is so chaotic and at times completely incomprehensible. There is some kind of beauty in this precision and master of the body and the surroundings. Sometimes being human fucking rules.

On Words

I really like the word "smitten" there is something so satisfying about saying it out loud. It's one of those words that you get to rarely use, but when you do it's quite satisfying. I also prefer the British "fancy" to the American "like" - it always leads to conversations like this: "Do you like him? or Do you like like him?" Fancying someone is a nice short cut to that conversation.

Weird

I don't know why by the phrase "intertubes" freaks me out. Just say internet. Ick.

The Coolidge Effect

I love anecdotes about Presidents. Here's another:

The Coolidge effect is the tendency of males of every tested mammalian species to perform at their sexual peak when introduced to a new receptive female. The term comes from this old joke:

President Calvin Coolidge and his wife visited a poultry farm one day, and, during the tour, asked the farmer how he managed to produce so many fertile eggs with such a small number of roosters

The farmer explained that his roosters performed their duty dozens of times each day.

"Perhaps you could point that out to Mr. Coolidge," replied the First Lady in a pointedly loud voice.

The President, overhearing the remark, asked the farmer, "Does each rooster service the same hen each time?"

"No," replied the farmer, "there are many hens for each rooster."

"Perhaps you could point that out to Mrs. Coolidge," replied the President.

via Kottke

Related: The 5 Most Badass Presidents by Cracked

Mad World

I like the haunting version of this song. I was looking at my tiny DVD collection and saw that I owned Donnie Darko. I haven't thought of Donnie Darko in a long time, for that matter I haven's seen it in about four years. It's funny because I've been listening to a totally different song all day, but it made me think of Gary Jules' Mad World. Since I'm too embarrassed to reveal the other song, I'll just post Mad World.

The Best Intentioned Worst Line(s) Ever

"Baby Mama" is less than a perfect movie - it's shoddily assembled, and McCullers's coincidence-driven script, smart as it sometimes is, rushes us out the door. But in this era of Apatow and Ferrell and Rogen and Wilson, of men monopolizing movie comedy, "Baby Mama" feels absurdly momentous, and even political. Fey and Poehler aren't just taking back control of their bodies. They're taking back control of their profession.

And just like that Wesley Morris made me not want to see Baby Mama.

Coolest Hats Ever

I recommend seeing it in the bigger size.

Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia hat especially rules. I feel like she would totally be a whiny goth girl, if alive today. Dye her hair black and scoff at "suits" walking on the street past her. Or something to that effect. Look I don't really know who Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia was, but I love old photos and the hats were neat.

I got this image from the Library of Congress Flickr Photo stream. They are putting photos from the Bain collection, which is one of America's earliest news picture agencies. On one hand I find the photos fascinating, but on the other hand it's quite frustrating because you don't have a lot of context to go on. However, these little gems are worth it.

For Anyone Who Thought "Home" When It Came to Israel

The post by The Middle is worth reading. He deals partly with the demystification of Israel. Something that as person who maybe one day want to live there must come to terms with.

And therein lies a dichotomy. The rich beauty of Israel is true - its many achievements in culture, democracy, judiciary, music, architecture, economy, technology, warfare, publishing and so forth. It is also true that Israel is a success as a place of refuge for the Jewish nation, a place for the in-gathering of so many Jews, many of whom are refugees who came with nothing from many far-away lands. This truth feeds the innocent and romantic view of the country, even among its most jaded residents.

But the deep pain of Israel is also true - the war is interminable and the other side has had some legitimate claims even if they use illegitimate means to propagate those demands. The terror has the effect of turning the Israeli nation into a nation of mice seeking to avoid the side of the cage with the electric shock. Except that in this laboratory, the mouse has an army and the means and character to punish those who test him. This strange mix of power and fragility, of control and exposure to harm drives another combination that rests uppermost in the minds of many Israelis and their supporters: pride in the strength of its sons and their army; and, concern about their sons’ safety as well as concern that this strong army will overstep its boundaries and violate the country’s guiding principles of Good.

Prince does Radiohead

Strangely enthralling.
via Dooce

Not Guilty

Gib has an excellent post about the not guilty decision reached in the case of three New York police officers who shot Sean Bell 31 times. Really worth reading.

Spam E-mail of the Day

This made me giggle and giggle:
Penis Theft Panic Hits City

I can just imagine men running out into the streets: "Someone stole my penis!" Hilarious. What would you do if someone stole your penis!? Call the police? What's the value of that? Can you put an insurance claim on that?

Question of the Day

Passover was over last night. How is it that I have not had bread yet or for that matter why am I still eating fried matzo? Which is delicious BUT common! Mmmmm, bread.

Passover Food Thoughts

I was doing some food shopping this afternoon and almost got some sushi (not thinking it was chametz) because I was so hungry, but then I was like nope not going to ruin a perfect record of not eating chametz. I need to eat some more potatoes, Passover is the perfect excuse to eat my favorite food. Man I can go for a really nice sandwich. My mouth is watering.

NBC Blogging

Doesn't anyone else find NBC and its affiliates going "green" incredibly annoying? Stop telling me to buy florescent light bulbs, not only are they dangerous but I hate them with my core being. Also, it turns out NBC is not only doing this green week promotion because they are so altruistic, GE seems to have a lot to gain from it.

NBC Universal is owned by General Electric, which plays a regular role in this column because of how aggressively the company has hitched its profits to its lobbying successes. GE spends more than any other corporation in America on lobbying the federal government — more than $20 million annually over the past three years — and Green Week and Earth Week probably should be disclosed as lobbying efforts.

In many of GE’s businesses, the profit model appears to be: (1) invest in something for which there isn’t much demand; (2) then lobby to mandate or subsidize it.

Stuff Like This Makes Me Really Depressed

All of sudden it seems like doomsday scenarios are floating in my head. And then there was an article Instapundit linked yesterday about how to handle high food prices, that made me even more depressed. I really need to take my boyfriend's advice and just avoid these stories all together.

The federal government can do something right now to provide relief to Americans facing higher food prices: Repeal the ethanol mandate. The diversion of one-third of the American corn crop into ethanol production is a direct result of the 2005 law that required gasoline makers to buy 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol — a mandate that the 2007 energy bill President Bush signed in December increases to 36 billion gallons by 2022....
But demand for ethanol has also had an impact on food prices. It’s simple economics: Farmers have planted a lot of new corn on acres where they once grew other food crops such as soybeans and wheat, and they are selling all of that new corn — and then some — to ethanol distilleries. That means there are fewer acres devoted to food crops, and there is less corn available for feeding livestock at a time when worldwide demand for meat and milk is rising. Less supply plus greater demand equals higher prices.

There is little the U.S. government can do to make gasoline less expensive and nothing it can do about the weather in Australia. The production of ethanol, on the other hand, is directly related to government policies that subsidize it and require its use in gasoline. Absent government intervention, there would be little demand for ethanol. It has a lower energy content than gasoline, it is not significantly cheaper, and it is more difficult to transport to points of sale.

Dirty Mind Is A Shame to Waste

This story made me giggle, because as mentioned to me by several people I have a dirty, dirty mind. A British Government office commissioned a new design for £14,000, only to get a very, silly design.

Here is the original design:


Here's the image turned counter clockwise:


Geeks are such perverts, even design geeks.

via ace who appropriately writes "heh"

I'll take the cash

thanks.

On a side note, I've observed "lots of praise and very little cash" situation in real life. Money is always nicer.

via Hot Air

Some of My Favorite Things

I came across a gorgeous photo essay of trees at Time Magazine. Although I don't like the blatant bias of alarmist global warming that Time is pushing, the essay is still worth looking at. It was taken by Magnum photographer Stuart Franklin.

Although I don't fancy myself a good photographer, I love photographing trees. It's amazing how much, especially at this time of year, trees are on my mind. I find them incredibly beautiful and calming.
In Judaism trees hold a special significance. There's even a Jewish holiday, Tu B'Shevat, "New Year of the Tree," where typically people plant trees or collect money to plant trees in Israel. On a side note, while living in Israel, I found it really funny that Israelis revere trees, yet don't mind littering in forests. If the Jews worshiped an idol, it would probably be a tree.
I have two favorite trees where I live. There's the tree in front of my house that blooms every year for about two weeks, I never get a chance to photograph it. This is year, with my digital camera not working (frickin Sony), I thought it would be the same as the years before. But then I got my old Rebel out and (gasp) used actual film to photograph the tree.
The second tree is in the back, I especially love the way it looks at night. I have photographed it many times.

I Thought the Cottonelle Ads Were Too Explicit

The Japanese Koreans out weird themselves yet again. Commercial for a bidet:



Look at that joy people. That's something to reach for.
via dooce

P.S. The Cottonelle "be kind to your behind" ads make lots of reference to the butt. I don't know if that's the way to go. They have a cute puppy and all, but I don't if I really want to be reminded about my toilet habits while riding the train. Maybe I'm a bit too sensitive about the whole ad campaign, it's not like I was offended just mostly surprised. I have delicate sensibilities.

Congrats!

Isophorone hit the big time and was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal!

I guess you shouldn't trust an organization like, "American Family Voices" who can't even get the politicians name right.

Not What You Expect

Peter ran into a real-life pimp, turn out they are much more mundane in real life, but also tend to be less glamorous than portrayed in rap or on TV.

When the train pulled in, him and his companion boarded the same car as me and they continued speaking. I still wasn't paying much notice to the content of their talk until the rhythmic guy (who looked to be in his 30s; the other guy was in his 40s, at least) called himself a pimp. A pimp, I smirked, everyone's a pimp these days. Even little old grandmas call themselves pimps just to score coolness points with the kids. Why just last month, my cousin told me of a conversation he had with our grandfather in which he expressed a desire to "pimp up" his new car ("please don't say that ever again" my cousin begged). So now here we are, some guy on the train thinking he's a pimp.

.....

Thanks to the law of the land, though, dirtbags like him make all the money for nothing more than threats of violence while the girls who actually do all the work are the ones who run the daily risk of jail, disease, bodily harm and/or death, and then on top of it all have to pay this guy so he can continue to threaten them with more violence. What a country!

The Office Blogging

How cute was Jim: Will you wait for me while tie my shoe laces?

You're Not.

via PostSecret

According to The Recorder, hybrid cars may not be as great as we all thought. The additional materials required to make hybrid cars (in particular, production of the nickel used in the large batteries) is terrible for the environment. That, combined with a shorter expected life span, may put the Toyota Prius behind even the mighty Hummer in environmental damage.

from Shoutwire

In the spirit of full disclosure, I would totally get a hybrid - it's seems like the cheaper way to go. Although fixing it when it breaks down might not make that more cheaper.
Related.

Pretty Numbers Is Not Going To Like This

Making men more wussier, one blog post at a time!
Subway Crush debuts. Hipster New Yorkers can be so lame.

Some background here.

Penis land!

via Gib

Unintentionally hilarious domain names.

One of my favorites:

There’s the Italian Power Generator company,
www.powergenitalia.com/

When I worked at a doctors office (I wish I can say it was a ob/gyn office, alas it was orthodontist office) we had a patient by the name of Jenna Taylor. Say it out loud several times to get the genius aspect of that name. Her parents definitely deserve a smack on the forehead.

Arrested Development fans will remember Tobias' business card dilemma (analrapist):

Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
www.therapistfinder.com/

Great

I like hedgehogs and everyone starts liking it. I need to get one of those. Pronto. I hate trends!

Insanity

You know when you want to do something really, really, really bad, but can't? And then another person suggests a completely crazy plan to accomplish the desired outcome and you actually mull over how you are going execute the crazy plan. Only to come to your senses and realize the plan is crazy and will never work? But in the back of your head you're still thinking it could work. It sucks how reality gets in the way of perfectly awesome ideas.

A Song for Spring

I meant to post this last Thursday, when it truly felt like the first day of Spring. Sunny and warm with no need for a coat.

Weezer's Island In the Sun.

Song of the Day - Jets to Brazil - Sweet Avenue

I'm not sure why there is a picture of Damien Rice, but the song is by Jet to Brazil.

everything is soft and slow
now all these tastes improve through the view that comes with you
like they handed me my life
for the first time it felt right
thank you for making me see there's a life in me
it was dying to get out
holding you we make two spoons beneath an April moon
everything is soft and sweet
this cigarette it could seduce
a nation with its smoke
crawling down my tired throat
scratches part of me that's purring
softly stirring


I'm rediscovering some old music I had because I just bought a Creative Stone, which I whole heartedly recommend especially if you are thinking of getting the ipod shuffle. It's cheaper than the shuffle and has many more features - like it lets you see the song you are listening to and there is a speaker on the tiny player. I'll be walking down the street feeling like I have a little boom box in the palm of my hand. It's very neat.
In fact I pretty much think all ipod products suck and are over priced. Even though they look slick, they breakdown far sooner than something that cost $300+ should.

I Like This

I don't know why I like this shirt - maybe it's because it has some Russian on it or it's a red t-shirt. I always like the image of smoke, it captures a moment nicely. I don't know if it's good on a shirt though, but I like it. I'm thinking of buying it or at least having it on my blog as a nice image.

I'm drooling

One of the things I want to do before I die is ride a motorcycle. I might even want to own one, one day. My cousin by marriage just got herself a sweet ride and I'm going to look to her as an inspiration to my motor cycle dreams. However, I'm also psyched about the cool shit engineers and geeks come up with and will be coming up in the future. So this MonoTracer looks effin cool.

The MonoTracer is an enclosed motorcycle or "cabin cycle," a style of vehicle which experiences a lot less drag than your average motorbike and keeps you from having to pick the bugs from between your teeth later. Its aerodynamic design and 130 horsepower engine get the MonoTracer from zero to 60 in about 5.7 seconds, and it has more speed than you'll ever need, topping out at 155 mph.

via Hot Air

Preview to What I'm Going to be Feeling/ThinkingTonight

Rachel Lucas captures the spirit perfectly:

So in honor of this day of misery and brimstone, I would like to offer some heartfelt sentiments to certain people.

Are you on welfare? FUCK YOU.

Do you have children you can’t provide everything for all by your widdle self? FUCK YOU.

Are you on unemployment because you just can’t find a job that’s good enough for ya? You don’t want to work at McDonald’s temporarily because you have a college degree? FUCK YOU.

Are you hoping for a bail-out because you’re too stupid to buy a house you can afford? FUCK YOU.

Are you a federal employee who has anything to do with making the government inefficient, bloated, and more costly than necessary? FUCK YOU.

Let’s cut the crap: Do you take any money from the federal government for any purpose due to your own poor decision-making? FUH-HUH-HUCK YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL.

Seriously. I hate those people and everything they represent. They’re the worst kind of parasites, sucking vortexes of need and stupidity, and I am genuinely enraged that I spend a huge chunk of my life working for those people. They take and take, never giving SHIT back, and you know what the actual worst part is? We put up with it!

Fun Little Video For Friday

via Kottke

Happy I'm Not A Canadian Citizen

Remember Ezra Levant's courageous and on the mark condemnation of the Canadian "Human Rights" Commission. He was being sued for publishing the Muhammad Cartoons, the guy who sued him, Richard Warman, is suing him again and other bloggers including Kathy Shaidle of five feet of fury and Kate McMillan of SmallDeadAnimals.

You might wonder who this douchebag, Richard Warman? Here's Levant's description of him:

....the former investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission, who quit the commission in 2004 to become the commission’s biggest customer. Approximately half of all complaints filed under the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s section 13 “idea crimes” provision have been filed by Warman. The CHRC has a 100% conviction rate under that section, and besides ordering the poor shleps Warman complains about to pay fines to the government, they’re often ordered to pay thousands of dollars to Warman himself, too, for his “hurt feelings”. Unlike the pay cheque he got when he used to work there, the cash he gets from commission fines is tax free.

A HUNDRED PERCENT CONVICTION RATE!? Even dictatorships usually pull out numbers like 98% or 99% just to seem a bit balanced when it comes to elections and trials.
The douche goes around intimidating Canadians and others (Mark Steyn), while being paid for it by Canadians taxpayers. Unbelievable.

The point of this post is to let you know that you can do something about it. I already donated a measly $20 bucks to Kathy and I plan to donate Kate as well. If the idea of people being persecuted for thoughts, nauseates you, as it does me, I suggest you donate to Levant and other bloggers as well.

Tip: Michelle Malkin

And the weather is so breazy / Man why can't life always be this easy

Today I turn a quarter century old, I've already been called a baby by several people. How old do you have to be in order for people to think you're old!? Anyway, by Russian standards this is a big birthday and I plan to celebrate in style.
Anyway, I just wanted to remark how excited I am about my birthday, I haven't felt this excited about birthday since I was sixteen. I had one little celebration this passed weekend,I'm planning another little celebration next weekend, and then in two weeks my whole family is coming to celebrate. I have always been a fan of multiple birthday celebrations, oh and gift receiving. That whole being selfish thing should work out nice for the next few weeks.

Meditation on Expectation

When you eaten the last dumpling on your plate and you are surer than sure that there is still two dumplings left in the small pot you just cooked them in. Yet, upon returning back to the kitchen all you find is cloudy water, with no dumplings in sight. There should be a word for this feeling/situation.

Update: I realize that most people will identify this feeling as "disappointment," however "disappointment" doesn't actually encompass the whole feeling of thinking you have more of the delicious dumplings left, thus not savoring the last bite of the delicious meat/doughy goodness, only to realize that you squandered the opportunity to enjoy the last bite like a last bite should be enjoyed.

In The Mood For Love

I don't have much time to blog today, but this weekend I was reminded of one of my favorite film - In the Mood For Love. If nothing else the movie has one of the most haunting music themes. It's an incredibly visually lush film, the two lead actors worked without a pre-written script, the director, Kar Wai Wong, would write/tell the actors what to act the day of the shooting. I find Maggie Cheung incredibly beautiful and Tony Leung is fascinating to watch. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Here's a taste.

On Self-Censorship

You know when you want to write something, but then you stop and realize the people who might read it and totally take it the wrong way? So you don't. Me neither.

I like PapaGinos More Anyway

Another excuse to go to their competitor.

Semites & Anti-Semites

So Kottke links to a post titled: What Every American Should Know About the Middle East, I found the list a bit genralized and not overly informative. I did have a problem with point 6:
Arabs are Semites. We’ve all heard the term antisemitism being used — often to describe Arabs. This doesn’t make sense given the fact that the word “Semite” comes from the Bible and refers to anyone who speaks one of the Semitic Languages. That includes both Jews and Arabs.

Well yes, "Semitic" refers to a language group but historically the term "anti-Semitic" referred specifically to Jews. In fact Jews themselves can be anti-Semitic (see Karl Marx.) There is even a book with the title of my post, by Bernard Lewis that explores the origins of Anti-Semitism in the Middle East. When looking at the meaning of a word you can't just look at the etymology of it, you need to know how it has been used in the past and currently. Damn straight Arabs can and (some) are anti-Semitic, there is nothing contradictory about this idea.javascript:void(0)
Publish Post

Career Leanings

I always have trouble articulating what it was about being a librarian that turned me off from the profession. This article from the New York Times, which in trying to do the opposite, glorifies the new type of librarian, actually articulates why I found that being a librarian was not for me.

This jumped out at me:

And though many librarians say that they, like nurses or priests, are called to the profession, they also say the job is stable, intellectually stimulating and can have reasonable hours — perfect for creative types who want to pursue their passions outside of work and don’t want to finance their pursuits by waiting tables. (The median salary for librarians was about $51,000 in 2006, according to the American Library Association-Allied Professional Organization.)

“I wanted to do something different, something maybe more meaningful,” said Carrie Klein, 36, who used to be a publicist for a record label and for bands such as Radiohead and the Foo Fighters, but is now starting a new job in the library at Entertainment Weekly.

Michelle Campbell, 26, a librarian in Washington, said that librarianship is a haven for left-wing social engagement, which is particularly appealing to the young librarians she knows. “Especially those of us who graduated around the same time as the Patriot Act,” Ms. Campbell said. “We see what happens when information is restricted.”

A Love Letter

Dear Feta Cheese,
I think I love you. Today was a dreary, rainy, gray day, but with your presence it became well the same kind of day, just more delicious. My stomach was grumbling , it was time for you to meet my mouth and subsequently my stomach. You were definitely up for the challenge and for that I commend you. I just wish there was more of you left.
Till we meet again (tonight in my apartment)!
Love,
Pdov