To expand on Steinn's point: it is certainly not just one embassy, or just embassies. Here in DC everything is markedly changed, for the creepier and for the worse. Roads are closed, you practically need security clearance to get inside the Washington Monument. I've lived here my whole life, and I find the recent number of armed motorcades disturbing.
Last Weekend, some friends of my parents were to boat out from here to the Eastern Shore, but as they motored up the Severn they came across two coast guard boats, who yelled from behind machine guns that "The River Is Closed." There was no radio traffic and people at the boathouses knew nothing, but Dubya was giving a speech at the Naval Academy.
I could list a hundred more examples of such random displays of force and power, but I fear I would be redundant again. I've always joked about fleeing to Europe, but now I'm getting nervous (and also brushing up on my French and Spanish).
Speaking of dubious publishing opportunities, check out this Craigslist post: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/wrg/70601939.html
Since this is DC, we must ask 'who is up to what?' with this sort of thing. LaRouche? Humanity's Savior Rev. Moon?
Off topic (but this is an open thread, right?), I was earlier today directed to this essay, by Ronald Sider, about the hypocrisy of American evangelicals. A fascinating read, but while I think we'd all be better off if more evangelicals were as thoughtful and committed as he claims to be (and apparently is), I have to admit that the whole thing makes me more than a bit uncomfortable. I wonder if anyone else has a similar reaction?
The lemon and soup recommendations (in additions to the various actual medications) sound good to me. For nastier respiratory symptoms, however, and the inability to sleep, I recommend:
Boil water. Add a good bit of (preferably fresh) sage. Boil for about 1 minute more, then begin to inhale the steam deeply. After you've done that a bit, drink the infusion. Sage is a good anti-microbial, and also an astringent that will clear out your system, plus it's a bit of a narcotic that will make you sleep very well. And think the situation is funnier than it is.
Posted to my blog, emailed to friends and coworkers. What amazes me is the talk that a warning was possible but not sounded...I wonder if that's true and if it's not I wonder why. We certainly have the technology.
This is a really funny article about Americans’ inability to write properly wreaking havoc on business. I know I encounter it every day…people who way outrank me sending out drafts with confused to/too/two’s, etc., and worse. Didn’t they used to teach this stuff in college (or, high school)??
This speaks to something a good friend of mine said last night, by mistake at first but then she decided to make a meme out of it: "Christianism." Dogma without religion, pretrending to be religion. In the same way that Bin Laden is not Islamic but Islamist, the people here are not Christians but Christianists.
Far better, to my mind, to avoid places that misspell food items on their signage. Whatever rottiserie chicken may be, it's not going in my mouth.
While I mostly agree, it does depend: don't expect to get a decent Pho if the English menu has all the ingredients spelled correctly. That menu should have been translated from the Vietnamese by a small child somehow related to the non-English speaking owners.
If they can afford a translator, or if it even occurs to them to hire one, it's not proper Pho.
Wow. Bloody. Incredible. Thank you very much for that!
Julia -
You might try making it with roasted peppers and onions. You could compensate for the extra sweetness by upping the lime content, or splitting the balsamic vinegar with wine vinegar.
This recipe begs for scientific exploration (and that includes publication!).
Yum! Made this one last night...a definite hit. I threw in a fresh diced habanero in place of the crushed red pepper, which was nice as their heat tends to be slower and more drawn out than the sharp hot of cayenne or jalapeno. Plus they taste great.
The 'pretty girls' comment reminds me of the bit in The Hill recently, where they listed the 50 most beautiful people on the Hill. Click through, and you'll notice that there are more very conventionally 'pretty' girls on the Republican staffs, and more good looking Democrats in office. Funny, that.
And I fully disagree with their top 2.
I don't wear khaki above my waist, because I am not in the Army.
Well said.
Julia, aubergine came back last year, in home decor. I was second-jobbing at the Pottery Barn and every bloody thing they carried came in aubergine. This is fine, but I prefer my eggplants grilled with olive oil.
Also, it seems to me that some colors stay in no matter what, but have to keep getting renamed to stay 'hip:' black, the 'purpley maroon,' navy, and slate gray/steel blue.
Orange (the bright, awful, oh-mine-eyes! kind) has a disgraceful hold on the DC male populace. Worse even than Capitol Hill Pink, as it's blinding. Give me good *blue* jeans and a burgundy chemise any day. As long as I've got good shoes.
The perfect environment for a backyard citrus tree!
Perhaps, but watch the pH in both air and soil...so much CO2 will lower it, to the detriment of most crops.
Want. One.
I have to say, however, that I'm not sure I wouldn't find seeing through certain things (walls, floors, cars, etc.) a bit distressing. And probably painful, as I'd surely be running into them pretty often.
Speaking of shirts...I can't resist passing this on (believe it or not my mother sent it to me!)
http://yque.com/booboutjanja.html
Anti-spam. This won't stop spammers who already have your address, but it will cut down significantly on new 'bots. Don't post an actual mailto: link. Write, in text, something like "tnh AT panix DOT com" or tnCUTTHECRAPh@panixCOTCRAPnet." Or, you can just photoshop up a .gif with you address 'spraypainted to a wall,' which bots can't read, and are harder to copy (must be done by hand) so less actual human spammers will bother.
Jst M Tw Cnts
I read your double dactyls page a while back and have been attempting them on my blog. I think this deserves one:
Scissorthorn Scissorthorns
Melissa Davidson
Saw Mel Gibson's movie
Started a fight
With her husband over
Godfathertrinity
And ended up in jail
To Christs Delight?
I thought something similar last night, at the anti-marriage amendment rally in DC. One of the speakers was Carol Schwartz, DC Councilwoman. A Republican, she said she was in no way supporting the amendment, but she doesn't support gay marriage either. Just 'civil unions.' She urged the crowd to be patient, to accept the [way-less-than-]half-step, and soon those in power (i.e., her) would deign to grant us full rights. Once they got used to us being around, that is.
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| 2004 | 15 |
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