Thanks Forgiving

I had a good holiday. I would mention the name of the holiday, but I am part of the War on Thanksgiving, so I'm obligated to call it a holiday.

The past always creeps up on holidays no matter how much I try to stay detached... and I never try to stay detached. This year I stumbled across two interesting things. The first was a folder-full of e-mail paper copies from my 4th girlfriend, Cyndi, during the post-relationship-but-can-we-still-be-friends days of the very late 90's. The only page I read by her began with, "Look you fuck!" and only got more distant from there. In case you were wondering, it was the last page of the stack. The second item of interest I found this holiday was the online resume, with e-mail address and phone number, of my first girlfriend, Kathy.

By the resume, she seems to have become very much the success I always knew that she could become. I'm very happy for her. Her name is the same, so it populated my computer simply by a Google search of her name. Yet I am disturbed, as usual.


A part of me is Rob from High Fidelity - wondering what the hell happened to me where women are concerned and who can give me the best objective review. But part of me just wants to know that Kathy is doing well.

In case you were wondering if I were foolish enough to send her an email, I did. It was a holiday greeting, brief and confusing. I don't fully expect her to reply, and I'm not so sure I want her to. There is nothing I want from her. There is nothing I really feel I need to tell her about myself. I think I just wanted her to know that I'm still alive and I hope she feels the same. Being Rob isn't really that much of me anymore.

Can you see it now, Mr. Bush?

I've criticized the war in Iraq since before it began. In conversations with friends of apposing views, I argued that our forces would not be met with flowers, but that there would also be a Vietnam like guerrilla war once we got to Baghdad. All the while I was told that it would be a quick victory and that everything Rumsfeld had claimed before the war would prove true. Where I was wrong in my arguments, was the timing of the resistance. I thought it would be immediate, but as we know, it built over time. I also didn't believe that elections would occur, but at this point that seems irrelevant as well.

My opposition to the war was not due to my politically Left nature per se, but I think it allowed me to play devil's advocate and assume a realistic, not nationalistic point of view when considering our invading force. We all know that Bush has been trying to secure his place in history, and I think he has done that. He got us into a mess that his brand of politics cannot get us out of. Bush isn't one to admit defeat and reverse course, but now even Henry Kissinger has doubts:

In a wide ranging interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Kissinger presented a bleak vision of Iraq, saying the U.S. government must enter dialogue with Iraq's regional neighbors — including Iran — if any progress is to be made in the region.

"If you mean, by 'military victory,' an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don't believe that is possible," Kissinger told the BBC's "Sunday AM" program.

Although Kissinger also said that immediate withdraw would also have devastating consequences, there are very few beyond our President who think that this is still a winnable situation.

My cousin is in Iraq and is scheduled to come home in January. I worry for him daily, and I support him fully. That, of course, is the thing we must say when we appose the war, but it is true. I know that my cousin's intentions are true as I believe the intentions of the bulk of our troops as well. But I have never supported the war itself, and I think it is time for it to end.

I would not say that our troops presence has been in any way a waste of their lives and limbs, but the horrible mismanagement of the war from Washington has put such a cost on our people, that I hope history, at the very least, will remember George W Bush as our worst president. I hope that this designation comes swiftly and within his lifetime. This is what he deserves. I'm sure if he were a riverboat captain and decided to take an alternate tributary, only to find that a waterfall were straight ahead, he would still shout out, "Stay the course!" For this is what he has been doing all along with this war.

There is no king to capture in this game, it is an ideology we are against. It is the fear of a people who don't want to be controlled by what they see as an imperial and evil force. How are we supposed to win a military victory unless we destroy half of the population?! Unfortunately continuing on this military course will result in just that.

I hope someone can find a way out of this mess soon and find a way to make it all work out. I want peace in the Middle East and I want democracy there as well, but we have been on the wrong course for nearly four years. It's time to change course. It was time a long time ago.

Good For God

Newsweek had an article recently about how top ranked Atheists in the Great Hierarchy of Heresy recently met to discuss the good and bad of silly religious belief at the "Beyond Belief" conference.

Now I'm not exactly a believer in... well, anything, but it bugs me when atheists start to get superior about their beliefs, or lack there of.

The fact is that belief in the "otherworldly" is not only a natural thing, it's what has saved humanity from extinction. Science has had its share of benefits from those who dared to imagine the improbably.

We can't exactly blame religion as the cause of hate and death in the world. It's just the catalyst. It's human nature to be anti-whomever's-different. If wars weren't over religion, they'd be over politics or economies, or did we forget about the last 50 years already?

More importantly, I would not dare take God away from many who need some sort of hope. We're all going to die anyway. At least let some of people keep their heads out of the oven.

Marathon Memories

Here's a picture of me (top left in cool shades) and a bunch of the nut cases... er, amazing people I worked with at the marathon in the heart of NY's Central Park. The clear bags behind us (picture top right) were full of the belongings of marathoners who would arrive exhausted and confused, needing assistance reuniting with their belongings. It was fun, rewarding and maddening at the same time. I'd like to do it again next year.

This picture shows only a small portion of the tireless individuals who worked hard to make the marathon a success. These orange-clad people were part of the New York Road Runners Foundation and Team For Kids groups who work provide opportunities for kids in poorer public schools in NYC. I had a great time working with them, and I'll have to say goodbye this week. It has been a short time, but I'll miss them.

Thanks for the jacket!

The Justice League of Jerusalem

Toys for Tots, a branch of the Marine Reserves for draft dodgers, rejected 4000 of the above pictured bible-quoting talking dolls when offered to the charity by the manufacturer, one2believe, a division of the Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co.

Michael La Roe, director of business development for both companies, said the charity's decision left him "surprised and disappointed."

"The idea was for them to be three-dimensional teaching tools for kids," La Roe said. "I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible."

Much in the same way the Iraqis did not greet American troops with flowers, it's shocking how people never seem to know what's best for them when it's being shoved down their throats. Okay, really what's shocking is that there are adults who have a hard time understanding that not everyone is just like them, and maybe their way is not the best or the only way. Morons.

I'm An Apeman... But Not This One

I just read an article from Live Science (through MSNBC) titled, "Early pre-humans enjoyed extensive diet," and subtitled, "Ancestors ate fruit, leaves, grasses and grazing animals, researchers say."


The article is about a species of "apeman" called, Paranthropus robustus. Upon reading I discovered that there is mention that Paranthropus became extinct about a million years ago, but the title is misleading. The creature was NOT an ancestor of humans, but a dead link. The reason for the article is clear (although not explained), that scientists have long thought that the reason for the extinction of Paranthropus was due to a specialist diet which did not change with the environmental shifts of the animal's era. Early human ancestors, such as Homo habilis, were thought to have survived due to an ability to adapt around changing food sources because of an ability to take nutrition from a variety of sources. Study of the teeth shows that the diet may not have been so limited, which creates questions about why Paranthropus went buh-bye.

I find that the title is misleading and irresponsible for a science news report.

What? You were expecting me to write something about the recent elections? I'm too mellow, man. I can finally concentrate on higher thinking!

New York City Marathon

I'm proud to say that I'll be a staff member of the ING New York City Marathon this year. I'm going to try to get my friend, Jon, to get a picture of my official badge and jacket for a little proof, but I'm really thrilled to be a part of it... even though it means being ready to work at 5 AM in the morning this Sunday... and missing a killer party with Columbia University students on Saturday. Oh well. The lovely ladies will just have to catch me the next time.