This turns from sick to ridiculous. I have rarely seen someone embarrass himself so thoroughly.
The video is from the annual Correspondents' Dinner–the one Colbert did last year. Note that when FoxNews showed the video, they cut the part where Rove says he ripps heads off of small animals.
So the other day, I made one of the dumbest decisions of my life. My wife and I are at a pizzeria, and I notice the price of a 8" pizza is 1/2 the price of a 14" pizza. I brilliantly suggest we get two 8" pizzas because we'll get more for our money. Why is this not true?
Math Review
Remember that the area of a circle is πr(squared)
| The area of the 8" pizza is: π x 4(squared) π x 16 16π 50.24 | The area of the 14" pizza is: π x 7.5(squared) π x 56.25 56.25π 176.625 |
I meant to post this last week. My friends at BrainShrub turned me on to this.
March 11, 2007
Jodi Kantor
The New York Times
9 West 43rd Street
New York,
New York 10036-3959
Dear Jodi:
Thank you for engaging in one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have ever seen in sixty-five years. You sat and shared with me for two hours. You told me you were doing a "Spiritual Biography" of Senator Barack Obama. For two hours, I shared with you how I thought he was the most principled individual in public service that I have ever met.
For two hours, I talked with you about how idealistic he was. For two hours I shared with you what a genuine human being he was. I told you how incredible he was as a man who was an African American in public service, and as a man who refused to announce his candidacy for President until Carol Moseley Braun indicated one way or the other whether or not she was going to run. I told you what a dreamer he was. I told you how idealistic he was. We talked about how refreshing it would be for someone who knew about Islam to be in the Oval Office. Your own question to me was, Didn't I think it would be incredible to have somebody in the Oval Office who not only knew about Muslims, but had living and breathing Muslims in his own family?
I told you how important it would be to have a man who not only knew the difference between Shiites and Sunnis prior to 9/11/01 in the Oval Office, but also how important it would be to have a man who knew what Sufism was; a man who understood that there were different branches of Judaism; a man who knew the difference between Hasidic Jews, Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews and Reformed Jews; and a man who was a devout Christian, but who did not prejudge others because they believed something other than what he believed.
I talked about how rare it was to meet a man whose Christianity was not just "in word only."
I talked about Barack being a person who lived his faith and did not argue his faith. I talked about Barack as a person who did not draw doctrinal lines in the sand nor consign other people to hell if they did not believe what he believed.
Out of a two-hour conversation with you about Barack's spiritual journey and my protesting to you that I had not shaped him nor formed him, that I had not mentored him or made him the man he was, even though I would love to take that credit, you did not print any of that. When I told you, using one of your own Jewish stories from the Hebrew Bible as to how God asked Moses, "What is that in your hand?," that Barack was like that when I met him. Barack had it "in his hand." Barack had in his grasp a uniqueness in terms of his spiritual development that one is hard put to find in the 21st century, and you did not print that.
As I was just starting to say a moment ago, Jodi, out of two hours of conversation I spent approximately five to seven minutes on...
... Barack's taking advice from one of his trusted campaign people and deeming it unwise to make me the media spotlight on the day of his announcing his candidacy for the Presidency and what do you print?
You and your editor proceeded to present to the general public a snippet, a printed "sound byte" and a titillating and tantalizing article about his disinviting me to the Invocation on the day of his announcing his candidacy.
I have never been exposed to that kind of duplicitous behavior before, and I want to write you publicly to let you know that I do not approve of it and will not be party to any further smearing of the name, the reputation, the integrity or the character of perhaps this nation's first (and maybe even only) honest candidate offering himself for public service as the person to occupy the Oval Office.
Your editor is a sensationalist. For you to even mention that makes me doubt your credibility, and I am looking forward to see how you are going to butcher what else I had to say concerning Senator Obama's "Spiritual Biography."
Our Conference Minister, the Reverend Jane Fisler Hoffman, a white woman who belongs to a Black church that Hannity of "Hannity and Colmes" is trying to trash, set the record straight for you in terms of who I am and in terms of who we are as the church to which Barack has belonged for over twenty years.
The president of our denomination, the Reverend John Thomas, has offered to try to help you clarify in your confused head what Trinity Church is even though you spent the entire weekend with us setting me up to interview me for what turned out to be a smear of the Senator; and yet The New York Times continues to roll on making the truth what it wants to be the truth.
I do not remember reading in your article that Barack had apologized for listening to that bad information and bad advice. Did I miss it? Or did your editor cut it out? Either way, you do not have to worry about hearing anything else from me for you to edit or "spin" because you are more interested in journalism than in truth.
Forgive me for having a momentary lapse. I forgot that The New York Times was leading the bandwagon in trumpeting why it is we should have gone into an illegal war. The New York Times became George Bush and the Republican Party's national "blog." The New York Times played a role in the outing of Valerie Plame. I do not know why I thought The New York Times had actually repented and was going to exhibit a different kind of behavior. Maybe it was my faith in the Jewish Holy Day of Roshashana. Maybe it was my being caught up in the euphoria of the Season of Lent; but whatever it is or was, I was sadly mistaken. There is no repentance on the part of The New York Times. There is no integrity when it comes to The Times. You should do well with that paper, Jodi. You looked me straight in my face and told me a lie!
Sincerely and respectfully yours,
Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. ,
Senior Pastor
Trinity United Church of Christ
I hope you have watched the 1984 YouTube video portraying Hillary Clinton as Big Sister. If you haven't, watch it now.
Yesterday, a close friend told me he is getting divorced. He and his wife love one another tremendously, but other life events are forcing the separation.
This news reinforces the importance of remaining vigilant with our marriages and relationships. Even good intentions between two honest people do not equal a life together. Being open with one's partner and compassionate in conversations does not guarantee all dilemmas, or even the more important ones, will be resolved.
Just as humbling as getting married is the realization that the endurance of our relationships is not entirely in our control. Life throws some nasty curve balls. Regular and sincere communication keeps our eyes on the ball, but we can still swing and miss.
Spiritual advancement is the reason why we are temporarily on Earth. Sometimes moving forward requires heartbreaking decisions, sometimes it requires giving up freedoms. Our role is to handle each situation with our highest consciousness. The rest is out of our hands.
Dieu est grand.
On March 21, Al Gore "will testify before Congress on the immediate action that needs to be taken to end the climate crisis."
Learn more about this event at his website. You can also sign a petition to show your support of his global warming campaign. Please take a second to sign the petition.
If you have not seen An Inconvenient Truth, rent it or buy it.
My wife and I used two free tickets to attend Charlotte's newest orchestra last night: The Charlotte Philharmonic. After the abysmal evening, I'd discourage anyone from purchasing a $30 ticket or even accepting a free ticket.
We wasted 15 minutes trying to find parking, and arrived just before the second piece. I was happy to see the new CPCC auditorium filled to capacity, and the orchestra's first bars pleasantly overwhelmed me. The strings' warmth spread a wave of pleasure over me, and I quickly understood why so many people support live classical music.
Shortly into the piano concerto, a dissonance pricked my ear. I am not a classical music aficionado, so I thought maybe I heard it wrongly or that it was intentional. Then I heard a few more. In a slow movement, the horns bumbled their soft entrance. The oboe/cello duet delivered another atonal surprise. Then, when the Concert Master, of all people, hit an errant note during her solo, I knew my ears were not the problem.
The most aggravating part came when the snare drum kept a steady cadence of eighth notes but the symphony played just slightly ahead of the beat (for about10 minutes). I think this problem was the fault of the hall's acoustics not the symphony. Perhaps the sound from the front of the stage (symphony) reached my ears before the sound from the back of the stage (snare). This could be the fault of the conductor who should have placed the snare in a different location. Whatever the cause, the effect drove us to leave. That and the fact that it was 10pm and we were only halfway through the second half of the program.
Unfortunately, we missed the medley of James Bond themes.
I don't want to be a cultural snob. But as an artist and appreciator of good art, bad art just plain hurts. Especially in music. You can leave the presence of a bad painting by turning away, but at a concerto, one just has to endure.
Yesterday afternoon before the concert, someone told me the Philharmonic is "ghastly" and a waste of time. This comment struck me as brash and arrogant, but now––unfortunately––I can't help but agree.
Last night, my father and I went to the History Museum to head Hans Blix speak. He was appointed by Kofi Annan as head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission in 2000 after serving as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1981-1997.
His bio reads
As the world urged Saddam Hussein to disarm, Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix and his team–through on-site inspections–tried to determine if the Iraqi leader was complying. While the U.S. an dits allies pushed for justification for military action in iraq, and key opponents on the U.N. Security Council called for further inspections, Dr. Blix stood between the two, trying to fairly and impartially determine the true scope of iraq's weapons program.
This post is dedicated to Kendra Cover, who is a good friend to many of us. Kendra is not only a dancer, Nia instructor, and inspiring friend, she is a rising actress.
I've been pumping iron since the New Year to improve my life in the fitness department––and it's working. Amazingly, I've gained thirteen pounds of pure muscle, boosting the measure of my gravitational force to 168 Earth pounds (179 on Saturn).
The great thing about being male and thirty is that I am old enough to gain weight and young enough to see rapid body changes. I may not ever be a bona fide beefcake, but I am getting stronger and practicing discipline. There are other concomitant benefits.
Few people are aware of the vast importance of the honeybee to our everyday lives. While most think of honey, it is estimated that thirty-three percent of everything that reaches the American table owes a debt to the honeybee. Over 90 fruits and vegetables including apples, melons, nut crops, cherries, berries, avocados plus alfalfa and clover seed for cattle feed are dependent upon honeybee pollination. The economic importance in North Carolina alone is $80 million and the national economic impact closer to $15 billion.Honeybees in Crisis
During the past twenty years, populations have declined worldwide with U.S. populations declining by approximately fifty percent. Imported and pesticide-resistant pests, shrinking habitat, and diseases have devastated the honeybee despite the best efforts of beekeepers. Farmers that have traditionally relied on both wild and domestic honeybees to pollinate orchards and fields are now dependent on the managed hives of beekeepers to successfully pollinate their crops.Collony Collapse Syndrome
You may need to sit down for this news.
For the past two days, I have lived WITHOUT AN INTERNET CONNECTION! While this little problem started as an annoyance, I pulled a John Kerry and didn't deal with it swiftly. Consequently, I had much bigger problems on hand.
