"And if we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women and if people aren’t involved in helping godly men in getting elected than we’re going to have a nation of secular laws. That’s not what our founding fathers intended and that’s certainly isn’t what God intended."
I don't know what God intended, but I'm pretty sure that is what the founding fathers intended. In Article VI of the US Constitution, our founding fathers wrote "...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Sounds pretty clear to me.
I could go on about different parts of the interview, but you should really read the whole thing. Not surprisingly, politicians from both parties are distancing themselves from Representative Harris, who two days after Witness published the interview, was at a gun show in Orlando (apparently she can separate legislating 'sin' from showing her support for gun owners/collectors/users) and defended herself by saying that her "comments were specifically directed toward a Christian group."
I may be one of the many "average citizens who are not Christians" and who doesn't "know better" (couldn't help quoting her one more time), but I know when I see someone who doesn't represent me, or anyone I know. Representative Harris has no business in the federal government. I don't think she belongs in any local government either, at least not in a country that is supposed to be inclusive and tolerant.
Is this the end of Katherine Harris' political career? Let's hope so.
The President of the United States is a busy guy. The number of issues he has to deal with in the Middle East alone is enough to break most men. He has the war in Iraq, even though he proclaimed it was "one victory in a war on terror..." on May 1, 2003, and there is a growing nuclear threat in the region in Iran. At least Hezbollah seems to have taken his advice and stopped 'doing this shit', for now.
President Bush also has issues to deal with here at home. This week is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the surrounding region, and Mr. Bush has made time in his crazy schedule to visit some of the places that were most affected. It would be nice if he could meet with some of the 250,000 people displaced by Katrina who are now living in Texas to discuss what will happen when their FEMA checks stop coming in February, or maybe just some of the 5,000 in Houston whose FEMA checks stop tomorrow, but he's busy. So, if the President is too busy to come to you, why not go to him?
Rockey drove his replica FEMA trailer to D.C. (it's illegal to move a real FEMA trailer) to thank the President for the "millions of FEMA trailers" (in fact in January of this year the number was slightly less than 21,000) and to let the him know that "there's some people down there still hurtin'."
Rockey is an optimist. He said,"I was confident I could meet President Bush." I don't know why he was so sure. When Cindy Sheehan camped outside of President Bush's ranch in Texas last summer to tell him how much she was hurting from losing her son in Iraq, he wouldn't speak to her. Maybe she should have told the President she was there to thank him.
For those of you who logged on to my blog earlier today and noticed the title change (to 'enter the jewfro') I thought I would give an explanation.
My friend Eric (who, like me, is Jewish) was trying to be funny, creating a title that referred to a particular kind of hairstyle while simultaneously referring to the Bruce Lee movie 'Enter the Dragon'. I'm sure Eric knows all too well about Jewfros.
If you have never seen a 'Jewfro', you have missed out on a truly amazing thing. A Jewfro is essentially a Jewish Afro, most famously sported by musician Bob Dylan and actor Gabe Kaplan from the '70s TV series 'Welcome Back Kotter'.
I also have sported a Jewfro, but not since my mother was the one who determined when I got my hair cut.
A couple of months ago I heard that an old high school friend of mine, Dan Seals, was running for a seat in the US House of Representatives. Dan and I went to high school together on the south side of Chicago. Like most of the people I knew in high school, we lost touch during University; we last saw each other at a mutual friend's wedding in 1994. Since that time, Dan has been up to some pretty impressive things. This November, Dan will be running as the Democratic nominee for Illinois' 10th Congressional District against the Republican incumbent Mark Kirk.
If there were ever a time for change in the US, it's now.
I'm asking you to support Dan in his bid to become the next Representative from the 10th Congressional District of Illinois. The most obvious way to show your support is with a financial contribution, but there are plenty of other ways to contribute. If you know someone who lives in the 10th Congressional District of Illinois, give them a call. If you live in Chicago, or have family and friends who live in Chicago, call and ask them to help out.
America needs a new direction, and that starts with new leadership. I believe Dan will help lead the US in a direction that will benefit everyone.
There are a lot of sushi restaurants here in New York, and if you're in a rush you can get takeaway sushi from just about any grocery store. The quality is good too; for less than $10 you can have a nice mix of salmon, tuna, and eel. But when a Japanese person recommends a sushi place, it's worth checking out. So when Volker told me he really likes sushi, I immediately thought of trying one of the recommendations of Tomoyo, a postdoc in my department at work.
Chiyoda Sushi New York, Inc. 16 E. 41st Street New York, NY 10017
I'm not even sure WHAT neighborhood this is - midtown? Who cares. It's worth the visit wherever you're coming from. When Sean, Volker and I walked in, we didn't see much. Basically something resembling a Japanese grocery store. Actually, it was something resembling an empty Japanese grocery store. Sean asked,"Can we eat here?" At the very back of the room there was a little curtain, and through there was a very basic restaurant. Simple and peaceful, and not an American (or German or Englishman) to be seen. Volker and I both ordered the sushi deluxe, while Sean had a plate of tempura. The sushi was fresh and the portions were extremely generous. The piece of eel was the largest I've ever seen (maybe it was a whole eel), and had me wondering exactly how I was supposed to pick it up with the chopsticks. I wouldn't go to this place for an upscale, romantic dinner, but for a really nice, good quality Japanese meal, I'm not sure you'll find better.
Out of town guests are the perfect excuse to try a new place. Last week Anja and Volker (two members of the London lab) visited. We ate very well, but one place we went to definitely makes the 'cut' for Restaurant of the week - my first New York Steakhouse.
Dylan Prime 62 Laight Street New York, NY 10013
Dylan Prime is in Tribeca (or TriBeCa, which stands for 'Triangle Below Canal'), an area that I seldom get to, at the end of a street that seemed to be mostly warehouses/loft apartments. There didn't seem to be a lot of foot traffic in the area, but the place was busy in spite of its location. Instead of the main dining room, we opted to eat in the bar/lounge area, which was much less crowded (only a couple of tables had people). The menu looked more or less exactly as you would expect in a steakhouse - lots of meat. They had some fish options as well; perfect for the non meat eaters in the group. I had the 'small' New York Strip steak (12 oz. - the large was 16 oz.!), cooked 'medium'. They have a 32 oz. Porterhouse steak, which the waitress told me that we could share (I honestly can't imagine any human can eat a 32 oz. steak on their own). We all shared some of the 'Accessories': creamy yukon gold mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and sauteed green beans with almonds and garlic. Everything was amazing, and everyone enjoyed their steak (or fish) and washed it down with a bottle of red wine. I don't know how meat can melt in your mouth, but my steak certainly felt like it did. Everything together came to less than $60/person (with tip), and I still can't help thinking of how much a meal like that would cost back in London...
There are so many products for the computer that it's rare to find one that actually: 1) works, 2) is easy to use, 3) does something that you didn't have a way of doing before. Honestly, I could spend the rest of my life trying out the latest web tool or computer gadget (instead, I just ask Giovanni; he's probably already tried it!). So, while I don't want to turn my blog into an online advertising site, I have to plug a program that really works and that I think more people should use.
Sightspeed is a relatively new player in the VoIP (Voice over IP) market; a lot of my friends currently use Skype, which is one of the market leaders. Like Skype, sightspeed has free computer-to-computer voice or video chatting. The major difference is for Mac users. Skype just introduced video chatting for Macs, and quite frankly the quality sucks. Sightspeed's video is amazing, and works just as well with a Mac as it does with a PC. You can also leave a video message for your friends who aren't online or who don't pick up when you call them. It's absolutely worth trying.
You go into Starbucks, line up (queue) like everyone else, wait for your turn, and order your coffee of the day, mochafrapuccino, or whatever you're into. You get your drink and you're finished, right? Wrong. You forgot about the condiments counter. Although this counter is barely big enough for two people to stand side-by-side, it has everything: 3 types of milk (skim, whole, and half & half (which is half cream and half milk)), sugar and sugar substitutes (I've seen at least three substitutes: Splenda (sucralose), Sweet'N Low (saccharin), and Equal (aspartame)), powdered cinnamon, powdered vanilla, powdered chocolate... you get the idea. The problem with the condiments counter is that there really is no line (queue); some people (like me) just want to put a little milk in their coffee and move on. Others like to make their coffee taste a certain way, and are not satisfied (i.e., won't move) until it does. The typical method for modifying the flavor of a Starbucks drink seems to be:
1) Add a bit of this and a bit of that (should include at least one item that is powdered) 2) Stir, stir, stir 3) Taste 4) Pause to reflect 5) Repeat 1) - 4)
If the person is alone at the condiments counter, this would be acceptable. However, when there are a lot of people waiting to modify their drinks this behavio(u)r is extremely annoying. Therefore, I would like to propose the following 'Rules of Starbucks Condiment Table Etiquette':
1) Add items to your drink in a timely manner 2) Step to the side of the condiment table while you are tasting to allow others to add items to their drink 3) If you have to add more of an item, excuse yourself before reaching across or ask someone to pass you the item 4) Try to remember what you added (and how much you added) to your drink so that you can modify your drink more quickly the next time you visit
If we would all abide by these simple rules, the Starbucks experience would be better for everyone.
Summer in London is a special time. But it's short. Those couple of days in July or August, when it's sunny and clear, feel like the most perfect days you've ever seen in your life. It's often sunny here in New York, but it seems that with the sun comes extremely high temperatures and humidity. This weekend was different. For two days it's been sunny and in the mid to upper 80s (30-32C) and dry; perfect park weather. Like London, it's about an hour to get to a decent beach from Manhattan. So Central Park, like Regents Park on a warm day in London, turned into a beach with people (including myself) in swimsuits sunbathing and reading magazines, playing frisbee, and just enjoying the beautiful weather.
