Our three previous holiday letters have focused on culture shock — first, returning to the United States, and then settling into the suburbs. This year, now that we are about as Americanized and suburbanized as we’re ever going to get, we want to reassure you that we are focusing on raising our children with traditional American family values. This is not to say we agree on everything within the family. Nancy, for example, thinks the most important parenting tools are the threat and the bribe. Tim, on the other hand, prefers to rely on a subtle balance of tyranny and neglect.

Jonathan has become a very loyal 8-year-old. Unfortunately, he is loyal mostly to certain items of clothing, and wants to wear nothing else — ever, no matter what the occasion — than a certain pair of deteriorating warmup pants, a certain fading red T-shirt and a certain worn fleece sweatshirt. He is relatively flexible on undergarments, however: any one of four pairs of boxers is acceptable. Our resolution for 1997 is to get him to start wearing other clothes, or teach him to do his own laundry. He has already learned a lot about another practical topic, first aid, as a result of many self-inflicted wounds on the bike ramp — make that crash ramp — he and other young kindred souls of Evel Knievel built on Ridge Road.

Lizzie turns 11 in February, the magic age for taking the Red Cross babysitting course and hanging out her shingle. We look forward to her earning her own money and contributing to the HBGDP (Harper Bobrowitz Gross Domestic Product), though not to the inevitable shopping trips into town — it’s a short walk down the hill, past the train station — where she will choose her own clothes, CDs and garish fingernail polish. We are pondering why a kid who loves to “borrow” her mom’s sweaters and her dad’s beer T-shirts always wants to buy stuff that neither parent would be caught dead in.

This is not to say, of course, that the kids didn’t have triumphs outside the home. Jonathan got second place in his Cub Scout troop’s Pinewood Derby, and Lizzie was elected vice president of her Student Council. We reckon they would have gotten first place and president, respectively, if their dad hadn’t helped Jonathan build his race car and helped Lizzie with her campaign. Thankfully, she wrote her stump speech by herself, including a promise to investigate Ridge School’s “deep dark secret” — that school lunches are actually leftovers from the Ridgewood High School cafeteria. (Stunningly, her investigation found that the lunches are actually leftovers, but from the junior high.)

Sarge, incidentally, had a relatively successful year, for him. He shed no less, and howled no less at everyone who came to the door, and seemed to be — if possible — even more underfoot, especially when people were over for dinner. On the other hand (make that thigh, actually), he bit one less mailman.

Among the ostensible adults, where increasingly middle-aged appearances clash with perpetually adolescent attitudes, Tim felt obliged to help Nancy undertake the year’s most severe test of her managerial skills: a family garage sale. It was an act of desperation, but she turned out to have a real knack (knicknack?) for selling off some of the junk Tim accumulated from other people’s garage sales over the past three years. A moratorium has now been declared on garage sales, ours and other people’s.
Nancy has learned to avoid feeling guilty about ignoring the Nordic Track in the basement by avoiding the basement. Besides, the laundry room is down there, too. She spent the autumn pondering whether she personified a new national icon: the soccer mom. Granted, Saturdays were bracketed sunup to sundown by the kids’ soccer, softball, basketball and other games. But since we don’t have a sport utility vehicle and Nancy whiles away her week in corporate America, vice-presidenting for Reuters, we decided that she was at best a part-time member of the demographic category that now supposedly determines the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections.

Tim spent much of the year — more than necessary, truth be told — co-authoring a book about good beer. He spent many sessions on research and development, including a number of field focus groups, intentionally informal and inevitably ineffectual, to come up with the inspired title: The Good Beer Book. His other main gig this year involved writing about pretty much anything, but mostly kids, technology and/or education, for Sky, Delta’s in-flight magazine. This work yielded a new cyberwave of feedback from readers: e-mail written at 33,000 feet.

And that pretty much sums up our 1996. We hope yours was as much fun as ours, and we hope you’re looking forward to 1997 as much as we are.

Happy Holidays!

In its heyday, Donruss Studio was known for an all portrait-style base set and some incredible inserts (Heritage and Masterstrokes being some of my all-time favorites). Each studio set had its own unique design and background. Some background examples included a city skyline, the player’s locker, an actual studio backdrop, and Old Glory itself. Oh yeah, there was also this ridiculous idea. I recently broke a box of the 1996 edition of Studio. The background for this set? Extreme close-ups of the players! This box contained 24 packs of 7 cards each. I paid $24 for this box. According to the wrapper, inserts are found 1 in every 9 packs. Here’s the good stuff…

Base cards: There are 150 cards in this set including a couple checklists. I completed the base set with 14 duplicates left over. Doesn’t the Big Unit look weird without a scowl on his face?

Bronze Press Proofs (2,000 made): There are 3 parallels which mirror the entire set: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The print runs for these are 2000, 100, and 500 respectively. It sounds odd that the Silvers would be rarer than the Golds, doesn’t it? The Silver Proofs were a retail exclusive. I didn’t find any Gold Proofs in this box but there were 2 Bronzes: Jeffrey Hammonds and Latroy Hawkins. :yawn:

Stained Glass Stars (1:24 packs): The Stained Glass Stars inserts fall at a rate of 1 per box. This was a very creative 12-card “see through” insert by Donruss/Leaf which depicted the player in front of a stained glass window with his team’s name on it. I pulled a Hideo Nomo. Leave it to Topps to take this idea and expand on it with the Gallery of Heroes insert the following year. Yeah, that’s Gallery of Heroes, not “Beam Team” like in the brand new “Stadium Club” joke of a product.

Hit Parade (5,000 made): Hit Parade is another example of 1990’s creativity. Limited to 5,000 (and falling roughly in every other box), this 10-card set has the design of a vinyl record coming out of its sleeve. Very cool! I pulled an Albert Belle. The back of the card shows his stats from 1995 and features an in-depth analysis of his .317 batting average that year. This card lets me know his specific average when facing a lefty, facing a righty, at home, on the road, during a day game, during a night game, when swinging at the first pitch, when facing a two-strike count, with runners in scoring position, and after successfully clobbering Fernando Vina.

What WASN’T Pulled: Like I mentioned earlier, I did not receive a Gold Proof card. I also did not receive a Masterstrokes card (link in opening paragraph). Masterstrokes is an 8-card set printed on canvas. They are limited to 5000 copies. Beautiful stuff.

Final Thoughts: I love this set. This box just reminded me of how awesome Studio was at one time. I finished the base set and got some sharp, unique inserts. I probably won’t be busting any more ‘96 Studio, but I’d sure love to get my hands on some boxes from other years!

As always, thanks for reading and good luck with your own breaks!
-John

MD42 just off the old N8 in Co. Tipperary

This photo was one of the very earliest to appear on this site back in 1996, being used to illustrate the typical Bus Eireann school operation of the time. the scene is indeed very typical, complete with rusting corrugated iron roof on the building to the right.

The location is a small side road about halfway between Cahir and Mitchelstown along the N8 (the main road is just behind the car that you can see in the photo). The MD lasted there for a number of years, and later KCS188 was to be found close to this location, but I’m not sure what, if anything, is there now.

Dieser Track ist eine Gemeinschaftsproduktion des niederländischen Produzenten Orlando Voorn und Detroit Techno Legende Blake Baxter aus dem Jahr 1996.

We live in three worlds

The real, the imaginary, and the dream

The real has nuts and bolts and such

And quit clutters our lives with lint

The imaginary we can fill day or night

With things we like to invent

But the world of dreams is different

Its neither tangible nor created by us

It opens without our behest

And closes again without fuss

It is peopled by friends know long ago

Or by strangers, strangers who came at night

Dreams mix-up our acquaintances

Until, though out of place, seem right

Dreams can scare us into awakening

So glad the cliff or lion scene

Was not quit completed, or is so

The lion wasn’t even mean

Or dreams can send us into a humorous world

Where logic can go or stay

And we ‘waken ourselves laughing

And wonder why its colored this way

Oh, we live in three worlds here and now

The real the invented and dreams

But in the one we control least of all

Is the one famous for its night-time themes.

.   -eab,  2/1996

 Written while pastoring the Bible Holiness Chapel in Olerichs, South Dakota

Lots have been told and written about this fabulous character in the past few weeks. I would like to take turn to salute this character who has given India a roller coaster ride in the game of cricket. There were lots of captains India had, Sourav had given captaincy a new meaning rather lifted it to new height. Everyone knew he debuted in 91 Australian series, but no one during that time even knew of seeing his face. It was 96 he broke many claims and challenges thrown on him, a test century in lords is not something every crickets gets on his first day. (I am still to forgive Dravid for missing a century and also missing a record for 2 centuries on debut which eventually went to Pakistan and not many know it was the last test for Dickie Bird). The selection has be controversial thanks to Mr. Dalmiya & Co. but this lad proved everyone wrong, that was the period when India didn’t have even one left hander except for Kambli. He was dropped after that series (reasoned as injury), but he busted  into one day scenario in such a way that he cannot be sent out. He grabbed the 1 opening slot where no one shined and played extremely well. India had not witnessed anything like that for almost 8 years then, because of Sachin dominance. It was the period when public switched off TV’s when Sachin got out. Azhar’s, Jadeja’s were already pulling big money in the wrong way. Sourav bought confidence and belief in this billion people country. He dominated the proceeding even when Sachin was playing opposite to him. He’s the first to break the Sachin Monopoly in 96-97, then after Sachin’s resignation from captaincy and betting paralysing Indian cricket, India turned towards Sourav to carry the torch. And what a decision was that it changed Indian cricket on global front. Only Kumble was a competitor for Sourav for captaincy during that period since Dravid was not a regular in one day side. The transformation was very evident and visible. Test wins in almost all the overseas tours where in Azhar’s period we even struggled to win in Zimbabwe. The aggression, do or die attitude passed on to the members of the team, rather to all Indians. Expectations raised and 50 – 70% expectation was also delivered by Sourav’s Team. All were fine till Wright was the coach of Indian Cricket Team. The Ian Chappell entry & Dalmiya decline contributed for Sourav’s low and he was written off by many including me. If there was some who can be compared to Mohinder Amarnath for comeback it has to be Sourav may be he overtook him. The South Africa, Pakistan series were proof of his cricketing abilities. He was always a treat to watch, his off side game was something public can never forget and lofted sixes were huge. He had wiped off some spinners who bowled to him.

He played in style and now he retired in style (He does also has some luck in captaincy but not in finals). He deserved a century in the final game, but like many say cricket is a funny game.  Sourav was one of the best one day player to have ever played and India’s best Test/ One day captain till date.

Things for which Sourav will be remembered.

1. Debut century in lords.
2. 2001 Australian series win.
3. Captained India in a record 49 Test matches
4. Led India to a record 21 Test wins
5. 183 against SL in Taunton.
6. ICC Champions Trophy win 2002 along with SL
7. Lead India in the 2003 finals in South Africa. Lost only to Australia twice including the finals.
8. Century in the first test in the 2003 Series to Australia.
9. Ian Chappell issue & Come backs.
10. Shirt off in the Nat West series England.
11. Lost record number of finals while captaining India.

Brittany Cage: kom je ook?

NRFilmhuis

- UFO - the greatest story ever denied (NIEUW)
- 1932 - a true history of America
- zeitgeist: addendum
- money as debt (NL)
- suspect nation
- america: freedom to fascism
- dust to dust
- fiat empire
- Mike C. Ruppert: the truth & lies of 9/11

NRSpreekkamer

- Hans Rosling - myths developing world (NIEUW)
- Luis von Ahn - human computation (NIEUW)
- Eckhart Tolle - enlightenment
- Noami Wolf - the end of America
- Morgan Reynolds - what planes
- Dr. Judy Wood - 9/11 the new Hiroshima
- Cohen & Palast - democracy in danger II
- David Icke - big brother, the big picture
- Elisabeth Warren - the coming collapse of the middle-class

NRSeries

- 1929 stock market crash slotaflevering
- zeitgeist: the federal reserve slotaflevering
- 9/11 coincidences deel 13

Tiedän, olen sanonut, etten tiedä milloin ja missä, mutta loppujen lopuksi olen luvannut luokkatoveri näyttää hänelle minun pukeutua jo ennen kävelyttää niin tässä olen lähetetty sitä. Se ei ole iso juttu … tykkään ja mitä enemmän se on musta ruusu se, joka tekee siitä erityisen.Toivottavasti kukaan ei usko, että olen hullu, vannon se ei valittu, koska musta ruusu. Ja tässä yksi lisää kuvia siitä: Picture
Ok, this wasn’t supposed to be the one post i have promised of being in Finnish, just a try for it, but we are getting closer and closer…I’m just training myself for it .
In case anyone wondering about the site why isn’t all in English… oh well yeah, it’s Finnish before you ask it, i just switched to it to get accustomed with it. Sometimes you have to think about the future too as Lauri said in one of the songs back in 1996 (song title: Shame; “hey, you better be thinking ’bout your future”). Why this? Because i have just found on the site of the University i want to attend that even if the students start to learn the language only that year during the second semester lessons are held only in Finnish without any translation. Oh, well if it happens to not to be true then at least i know the language and i have high chances to get high marks and why not even certificate or hell knows what else they give.
Honestly… i shouldn’t be here now totally calm and writing but be learning but somehow i’m just not in the mood of doing it…not homework, not learning for exam…nothing…just seems too boring for me and i can’t stand it anymore to see myself sitting near something i don’t like and doing it. Ok, i like learning English when i’m in the mood, but as i looked through the tests of the exams they just seem easy for me.Ooops, i think this will be my dying thing…i will fail it because i say it’s easy…well then…vittu!!! it’s not easy!
An advice from someone wise…in form of a song  ;)  Click here to listen to it!
The Rasmus - Shame

Talking about life, what it was ‘n’ what it’s gonna be
Get ready for the best time
He’s a friend of mine born in the ‘79
‘n’ there will be a day when he hears me when I say:
hey, you better be thinking ’bout your future
There will be a day when he hears me when I say:
you’re spoiling your life, you won’t have another
You ain’t thinking ’bout your friends, do you hear me brother?
I have just one thing to say to you:
shame! (shame!) You can’t fool me
let me show that the whole thing sucks
shame! (shame!) You can’t rule me
I’m saying no to the drugs

Living is hard, sure I know, but yet
if you listen to my rule number one, I bet
positive attitude will carry you through your life
Think it through before you take your first high
One day you are a winner, next day you’re a loser
Don’t spoil your chances by being a user
I have just one thing to say to you:
shame! (shame!) You can’t fool me
let me show that the whole thing sucks
shame! (shame!) You can’t rule me
I’m saying no to the drugs
You can’t fool me! You can’t rule me
I’m the king of the new generation

(1915-1996) Jurista de reconocido prestigio, había militado en el Partido Comunista desde la época de la clandestinidad. Entre 1945 y 1951 trabajó en el Ministerio de Bienestar del Pueblo, cuando fue detenido y encarcelado bajo acusaciones falsas. En 1954, una vez liberado, se vinculó al grupo de Imre Nagy. Con mejor suerte que los restantes miembros del mismo, después de la derrota de la insurrección de 1956 se dedicó al mundo del cine y posteriormente fue nombrado embajador de Hungría en la UNESCO.

Arguably the most successful Indian skipper ever, Sourav Ganguly says he sees a lot of himself in Dhoni

Arguably the most successful Indian skipper ever, Sourav Ganguly says he sees a lot of himself in
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and reckons that the charismatic new captain will go on to better his record and further enhance India’s stature in international cricket.

“He has done fantastically well. Captaincy is a task, it’s not just about being a good player. He will be tested when India plays abroad and if the boys do well under him then it will be great. I am sure he will take Indian cricket forward,” said Ganguly, whose last Test saw India clinching the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by winning the fourth and final match.

“I did what I felt was right. I’m a captain who did not believe in the drawing board but react to what happens on the field of play. I see a lot of myself in Dhoni. He also doesn’t like meetings. In fact he sees things better than me. He has also had a bit of luck that a captain needs,” he added.

Ganguly said a captain is only as good as his team but he did have a huge role to play in enhancing India’s reputation. “Most important thing is that a captain is as good as a player. Raising India’s image in world cricket especially as a touring side is my legacy in Indian cricket. We, at present, are a formidable side both home and away,” he said.

Ganguly said he would not be missing the Indian dressing room as he was leaving with happy memories of being part of a team that beat the world’s best side 2-0 in the series. “I don’t think I would miss the dressing room. I have had a good innings and it’s time to leave. I am leaving with happy memories that it ended with a win for India. A 2-0 win over the world’s best team was the best that could have happened after all the doubts arising after the Sri Lanka series (where India lost)”, Ganguly said.

“I have played well and the team has played outstandingly well. To win the series 2-0 was very satisfying. We had dominated (the proceedings) after the first Test (at Bangalore),” said the former captain. Ganguly, who was asked to lead the team on the field for a brief while when India was close to winning the fourth and final Test against Australia before being chaired off the ground after India’s 172-run win, said he would forever cherish the moments that he lived today.

“In terms of team performance the way this Test has finished was one of the best ever. I want to cherish it for long. Everyone has chipped in throughout the series. Somehow we manage to pick up when we play against Australia,” said the veteran of 113 Tests. “I enjoyed my last few days and the last few hours. I was
asked to lead for five overs, did it for three overs and then told Dhoni that it was not my job,” he said.

The stylish left-hander side-stepped queries on past controversies like his public spat with former coach Greg Chappell. “Let’s keep the controversies aside. It’s a happy day for Indian cricket. The past is past, let’s not talk about it,” he said.

Ganguly said the first-ball duck in the second innings didn’t disappoint him as much as missing a hundred by 15 runs in the first innings. “I am not disappointed with the first-ball duck, getting out on 85 in the first innings was more disappointing as I was so close to a hundred. I don’t think the last duck has made it (my career) any more dramatic, it’s been dramatic anyway,” he put it succinctly.

Ganguly said he rated the 100 on debut at Lord’s against England in 1996 as his most cherished innings. He said the blazing century he made against Australia as captain in the 2004 series at Brisbane was also close to his heart. “The first Test hundred at Lord’s is always special to me. The 2001 series against Australia here and the 2004 series against them in Australia are my best series. We have won in Pakistan and England but to win against Australia is always special,” he said.

(1910-1996) Estaba vinculado de antiguo al círculo de confianza más próximo a János Kádár, y fue Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores entre 1949 y 1951. Abandonó el cargo acusado injustamente de actuaciones contra el Partido, pero en 1954 fue rehabilitado. Dos años más tarde, en julio de 1956, fue elegido miembro del Comité Central del Partido Obrero Húngaro. En la insurrección de 1956 apoyó a Kádár, que el 4 de noviembre lo nombró miembro de su Gobierno. Por decisión de Kádár presidió la Comisión gubernamental encargada de negociar con Nagy y sus compañeros una vez recluidos éstos en Rumania. El 5 de abril de 1957 Kállay presentó en nombre del Gobierno la acusación que abrió el proceso criminal contra el grupo de Nagy. Años más tarde, entre 1965 y 1967, ocupó el cargo de Primer Ministro y se mantuvo como miembro del Comité Central del Partido Socialista Obrero Húngaro hasta 1989.

Uno degli intro più belli degli anni ‘90 al cinema.

In sottofondo Lust for Life di Iggy Pop che accompagna il monologo di Rent nella sua dissacrazione della normalità borghese.

Una vera e propria poesia del nichilismo del medioevo di fine millennio. Pensando a chi non lo ha superato, a chi si ostina a viverlo, alla mediocrità che ancora continua ad imperare e a chi cerca strade da percorrere che non siano quelle dettate dall’eroina.

Rigorosamente in italiano, perché è così che lo abbiamo adorato.

Artisten Dub-L-V har en udgivelse på vej som byder på 6 spændende numre fra den blot 24 årige artist / songwriter.

Produceren bag den musikalske del af projektet står Galimatias for.

Du kan finde mere information om Dub-L-V på hans Myspace hvor du også kan hører gamle numre som frit kan hentes til download.

Så skynd dig forbi og hent føde til din iPod i dag!

Til dem der ikke kender noget til Dub-L-V har vi valgt at ligge lidt kilde henvisninger så i kan læse lidt mere om Dub-L-V og hvilke projekter han har været inde over gennem tiden.

Kilde Henvisninger:

Soundvenue // MC’s Fight Night - klar til battle

Flavourz // Artikel om MC’s Fight Night 2004

RapSpot.dk: Frisk Mælk Mixtape Vol. 2 online!

Dub-L-V // Myspace Side

My retarded clever gene has struck again.

I’ve tried three times to start this post in a clever way and nothing seems quite right, so I’m just going to be straight… eh’hem.  So to speak.

The love of my life is coming to town.  I’m totally stoked!  She’s bringing her boyfriend.  I could do without that.  Not that there’s anything wrong with him, he’s actually a really nice guy, but her having a boyfriend means she’s not pining away for me and I’m not loving that.  Her name is “Eve” (as in “All About… “).  OK, it’s not really, but I call her that here because she will be the first person to tell you that “it’s all about me”, and she won’t be kidding.  It would be annoying and a real turn-off except that part of what is all about her, is her genuine interest and care for the people in her life.  She has an amazing ability to turn that “it’s all about me” selfishness right on upside down into a selflessness that is completely unparalleled.  I also call her “Eve” here because, well, even though it is an actual real name (the only one you’ll find in my cast of characters, thus far) it is absolutely nothing like her real name which makes it sufficiently anonymous while still being slightly clever.  (Seriously folks, I need someone besides me to validate my cleverness.)

Now, if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, you should be!), I’m sure I can imagine what you’re probably saying to yourself right now.  “This dude is gay.  Why is he talking about a woman as the love of his life?”  And you’re probably right.  It’s a little bit odd.  But I guess you’d have to know us.

Eve has a far clearer picture of the real me, than anyone else in the world, I think.  I shudder at the thought that maybe she doesn’t know it all, and if she did, I’d finally succeed in driving her away.  Lord knows I’ve worked pretty damn hard at it over the years.  But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

I met Eve around the middle of 1995, I think (may have been 96, I’m bad with this stuff.  But she’s not.)  I was working as an Assistant Manager at the Men’s Clothing Store that happened to carry a moniker deceptively similar to but has no affiliation with that of a former NFL Running Back but which has since gone out of business, when Eve transferred in from the Salt Lake City store.  She was a year younger than I which is to say, she moved to Tulsa, because she still lived with her mother and her mother moved to Tulsa for work so therefore Eve moved to Tulsa as well.  Eve was essentially placed in our store by the District Manager who didn’t ask the Store Manager for her opinion or an interview and therefor Eve was starting out on the losing end.

The fact is Eve had everything you want in a “sales girl” in a men’s clothing store you want to be viewed as “young and hip.”  (Just to remind you that I am gay, and just how much, it popped into my head and I started to type, “now Eve Peron, had every disadvantage, you’ll need if you’re gonna succeed.”) (and that’s an Evita reference for those who don’t know.) She was young (19), beautiful and very flirtatious.  Before her mother’s job brought them to Tulsa, Eve was the strongest seller in her store.  This is the reason there was no question whether she’d be brought onto our staff when the call came in.

Eve was instantly disliked by the Store Manager, Jodi (I’ll use her real name because we aren’t friends, I don’t know where she lives and I doubt she’ll ever see this) because Eve was “forced” upon us, and by the First Assistant Manager, Paul (I’ll use his real name for all the same reasons) because of no reason that I can identify.  It’s possible that Paul was just loyal to Jodi and that was all it took.  I don’t know.

Eve has an amazing memory.  Stunning even.  She remembers specific events, and specific things that were said that I have no recollection of whatsoever.  She consistently blows me away with the things she pulls out.  I on the other hand, can’t seem to remember jack shit!  I don’t really remember how I came to be friends with her.  In fact, I thought things were somewhat tense between us.  I remember more than one occasion when Eve drove me to my car at the end of our shifts.  It was the holidays and the lowly mall employees were relegated to parking in the middle of BFE so that the precious patrons wouldn’t have to walk very far.  On more than one occasion we had conversations about why she was having trouble with Jodi, and what Eve could do differently to win her over.  Eve tells me, however, that there was rumor and speculation about me having had feelings for her.  Looking back, I realize that’s probably true.

Jodi quit soon after Eve joined us and we got a new Manager named Becky (Oh. My. God.)  I remember that Becky and Eve usually worked the day shift together which did not make Eve very happy because there was far less business in the day time than there was any other time, but that’s how the schedule usually came together.  I remember walking into the store one late November afternoon and finding Eve standing in the front window, waste deep in a gold leme faux gift box.  Becky felt that Eve would be fairly artistic and that she should do the holiday window display.  I have two specific memories from this day and no idea what order they come in.

Memory #1:  I’m somewhere in the store, doing something store-like, and I hear a yelp.  I look toward the front of the store as Eve slowly turns around to face me, biting her bottom lip and a glisten of fought back tears in her eyes.  When she could speak again, after the bleeding had stopped she revealed to me that she had been holding a piece of our semi-industrial strength packing tape in between her lovely lips while arranging the tissue paper she was about to tape in place and when she literally yanked the tape out of her mouth, some of the flesh from her lip came with it.  It was one of those things that we knew we’d laugh at some day, but you should have seen her face in the moment.

Memory #2:  (I’m guessing this one comes first.)  Eve is in the window up to her eyeballs in paper and gift wrap and clothes and mannequins and I hear her say, “Oh sure!  Make the Jewish girl do the Christmas display!”

That year we decided to have a “Secret Santa” gift exchange in our store.  The rule was that we would not spend more than $10.00 and there was a sheet behind the register where we were supposed to put down ideas about what our Secret Santa could get us.  I remember very little about how the whole exchange went down but I remember that I had picked Eve’s name.  Most of the staff went into the thing with limited (read: negative amounts of) gusto and most of the gifts amounted to $10.00 gift certificates (yes!  Certificates, not cards!) to Blockbuster, or a music store, or McDonald’s (actually some of those college kids really appreciated the McD’s certs) or a $10.00 bill stuck into an envelope.

By this time Eve and I had become friends and there was no tension that I can recall, so I really wanted to give her a good gift.  I didn’t care about the Secret Santa.  I didn’t care about the $10.00 limit.  I wanted to give my friend a good Christmas gift.  You see, gift giving is a major weak point of mine and I’m always disappointed by my own poor gift giving acumen.  But Eve had let something slip.  “James and the Giant Peach” was coming out in the movie theaters and she wanted to see it.  She mentioned one day that “James and the Giant Peach” had been her favorite book growing up.

It was one of my good days and I was paying attention.  I made a mental note and when I got the chance I went and found a pristine, hard cover copy of “James and the Giant Peach.”  Now, as I’m writing this I’m realizing, I may even have special ordered it.  You know, it’s funny!  To me, giving a book as a Christmas gift isn’t a big deal.  That has a lot to do with the fact that Dead Beat Dad’s parents used to send us books from foreign countries, travel guides I think they were, all the time.  Every Birthday and every Christmas we could count on getting a book from the grand peeps.  And to tell the truth, it sucked!  So big deal, I thought, so I got you a book.  It’s only special ’cause it’s your favorite and I thought it’d be nice for you to have a pristine copy. But to hear Eve tell it, it was a big deal.  It seems like she’s told me it had to have been expensive.  Whatever was so special about it, it was certainly grist for the rumor mill.  I didn’t care.  I’d done something nice for my friend and she was grateful.

And then tragedy struck.  Eve decided to take up her Dead Beat Dad on an offer to come to Idaho where he lived and work in his office.  Two years earlier I had taken up my own Dead Beat Dad on a similar offer for many reasons. I couldn’t blame her for going.  I had already done the same thing.  But as I recall it (which is admittedly probably faulty) this is the moment that it hit me.  This woman matters to me. And I was about to lose her.  I was terribly sad she was going and didn’t really know how to tell her.  I wanted to ask her not to go, but I had nothing to offer her to make her stay.  So I said nothing.  And she went.  And we lost touch.  I was never very good at long distance relationships.  Even my relationships with my various family members have suffered from distance.  With one notable exception, I’m not convinced that’s a bad thing.  But I digress.

Eve left me and I was devastated.  But two years in Idaho was enough for her and she moved back to be with her mother, and Eve and I were back on…  So to speak.  There was no aspect of our relationship that pointed at romance.  Eve never expressed that kind of interest in me and I certainly didn’t have the cajones to try and make something happen, so there we were, smack dab in the middle of friend central.  A few years ago I asked her in an instant message conversation if there was any chance we would have ended up  together if I had not moved to California.  She told me “I don’t know.  It’s possible.  But I’ll tell you this much.  You wouldn’t have stayed a virgin for so long.”  (You should have seen the looks on my co-workers faces when the realized that boom they heard was me falling out of my chair.)

Something unusual happens when Eve drinks alcohol.  She gets very drunk, very fast, on very little.  And then a half hour or so later she’s perfectly sober.  No doubt a breathalyzer would disagree, but for all intents and purposes she’s good.  After she moved back to Oklahoma Eve met a guy and despite his name, he did not live in a giant peach, and despite his not living in a giant peach, I’m still going to call him “the Pitts”.  (Hey my clever gene is waking up.)  The Pitts was an ex-husband and a father of two children, and a carrier of a nasty little venereal disease, none of which did he bother to mention to Eve.  So on one particular evening when they were together and Eve’s odd metabolism had done its worst, she convinced him they should have sex.  The Pitts, apparently resisted (only a little I’m sure) but she told him, “C’mon.  You know we’re gonna do it eventually, why wait?”  So they did.  Under protected.  If ya know what I mean.

The Pitts left her with two “gifts” that night.  Not long after that, he just left her.  When Eve knew she was pregnant, she told me about it.  I was a terrible friend, for I was still under the influence of Vengeful Mother and had not yet learned to form my own ideals and principles (yes, even in my early 20s).  Eve told me, “I don’t know if I can do this.  I’m not sure I can keep it.  I’m thinking of having an abortion.”  I don’t know what I said, or how I reacted, but I know something in me changed that night, at least for a time.  Abortion, I thought, how can she consider an abortion?  Abortion is wrong.  If she does that, she’ll be wrong.  I can’t be friends with someone who has an abortion! Far be it from me to just support my friend through whatever she may be going through without judging her actions.

We drifted again.  At the time that she told me this I was contemplating a change of my own.  I soon made my move to California, and while we talked some after that, we lost touch again.  The few times that we did talk after that I never asked, and she never said, what she’d decided about the baby.  It wasn’t until the following October that she made contact with me again and told me that she and her parents… and her son were coming to California the week of Thanksgiving to visit her grandparents and that if I wanted to we could get together while she was here.  It was at that moment that I realized just how much I missed her, how much she had meant to me and how I had just walked away from it. I’d like to think that I’d have felt this way regardless, but I admit that when I heard her say “my son” and I knew she had not had the abortion, my heart skipped with joy and relief.  I guess somehow that made her acceptable again.  I’m a terrible friend.

There is more to this story I haven’t the time to tell now, but suffice it to say, Eve is my dearest friend!  She means the world to me, and we have a relationship that defies explanation.  We hardly ever talk to each other, probably more my fault than hers, but when we do see each other, every year, the day after Thanksgiving, like clockwork, set your watch by it, for ten years running?  It’s like we never missed a day.  It’s awesome and I wouldn’t give it up for the world!  Vengeful Mother asked me to come “home” for Thanksgiving, the other day.  I told her, “No.  I have a prior engagement.”

The love of my life is coming to town, in 16 days.  I’m totally stoked.

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth must enter politics, and he should decide about it now. That message comes from Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi, who formed his own political party this year.

“I think he (Rajinikanth) should have joined politics. I think he should have come (into politics). He has got some much charisma—people expect him,” said Chiranjeevi in an interview.

Asked whether he had discussed the issue with Rajinikanth, he said: “Yes, oh yes! Several times—we discussed it. We discussed it many times. He said when I enter 60 years it would be the right time.”

Chiranjeevi wanted the Tamil actor to decide about joining politics now. “Yes. You are right—something like that,” he said when asked if Rajinikanth should make a decision now.

Rajinikanth has refused to accept his fans’ plea to enter politics at least thrice since 1996. Last month, his fans formed a ‘political party’ but he scolded them and warned no one can “force” him to enter politics.

He also warned of legal action against people using his name for political gains.

“While no one can stop me from entering the political arena, nobody can force me to do so as well. Legal action will be initiated against those who use my name for political ends,” the actor said on October in a statement to media organisations.

Chiranjeevi, who for years had been under similar fan pressure, jumped into politics when he formed the Prajarajyam party in Tirupati on August 26.

Chiranjeevi has promised that his party will work for the poor and the landless but is yet to sketch out a clear political ideology.

Okay, the election’s over and my Presidential candidate lost.  I was disappointed about that, but glad nearly all of the other candidates - state and county - that I voted for won.

As an official Presidential Elector in 1996 (6th District), I went through much the same feelings.  The ceremony in Columbia where the eight of us cast our official ballots was elaborate, fairly formal, attended by high school and college classes, many elected officials, and news media.  We signed multiple copies of documents (Certificate of Ascertainment, Certificate of Vote), had our photos taken, and afterward enjoyed lunch compliments of then SC Secretary of State Jim Miles.

But we knew the nationwide results meant that our votes wouldn’t “count,” we had lost the election.  Okay, I’ve heard some so-called pundits opine that some votes don’t count - some votes aren’t even counted.  Late-arriving absentee ballots, for example, when no matter who they were for the quantity of them wouldn’t change the election outcome, so they’re just discarded without being counted.

I voted absentee this year - by electronic machine in person at the Election Commission, not by paper - and I’d hate to think my vote didn’t count.  The news media said all the absentees (machine and paper?) were counted last, although that’s not what we were told ahead of time.  By then the outcomes of most statewide races were known as well as the margins of victory.

But the vote totals for many county races were small enough that the absentee votes could change the results.  Just look at what happened in the primary for Florence mayor… so the absentee ballots had to be counted for their sake.

On another, sort of related subject - was the national outcome a done deal?  Is there a vast conspiracy out there?  Is our voting just a “circus act” designed to keep the uninformed (you and me) occupied?

Until somebody proves that to me, I’ll still vote.  I still believe voting matters. I still believes every vote counts and should be counted.

Acht Jahre habe ich jetzt schon meinen E-Mail Account bei einem großen Freemailanbieter.
Acht Jahre, eine lange Zeit, oder? Angeregt durch diesen Hinweis des Freemailanbieters machte ich mir mal bewußt, seit wann ich “online”, bzw. im Netz bin.
Seit August diesen Jahres bin ich genau 12 Jahre online. 1996 habe ich meine ersten Schritte im WWW gemacht. Chatten, schauen, Homepage bauen. So, oder so ähnlich war meine vorgehensweise damals. Den Zugang ins Netz ermöglichte mir damals noch MSN von Microsoft zu einem Preis, der einem heute die Haare zu Berge stehen lässt (wohlgemerkt, nur den Zugang, die Telefonkosten nicht eingerechnet).
Um das damalige Budget nicht zu sehr zu strapazieren wurde ich eine Art Mitarbeiter bei MSN, hostete Chats (nach festen Dienstplänen, kennt noch wer MSN All-Talk, Herzflimmern, etc?), führte User durch die Unwegbarkeiten des WWW und der Zugangssoftware. Dies und noch einiges mehr reduzierte die monatliche Belastung um die Zugangsgebühren (das waren noch Zeiten), dafür hing ich Ewigkeiten vor dem 14″ Monitor.
1996 stellte ich auch meine erste eigene Seite ins Netz. Vier Jahre später betreute ich mit einem Arbeitskollegen eine Tarifvergleichsseite (Rainbowtarife.de). 2004, also weitere vier Jahre später habe ich das bloggen für mich entdeckt (Cinemaxx bei 20Six).
Die Internetseiten sind Geschichte, das bloggen ist geblieben.

Kinder, wie die Zeit vergeht….