Random Access

Three songs into the playlist, this song came on.
And, it’s Friday.

Make it a great one.

Thursday
I almost typed that as “Thudsday.” *shrug*

All-in-all, it wasn’t a bad day. My left bicep is still sore from Tuesday’s workout. Tonight was the dreaded leg workout; I’m sure that they’ll be achy in the morning. *sigh* Bowling this weekend ought to be interesting…

Stray Toasters

• The sun made an effort to break free of the haze once again…
• Utah drivers. Again. *sigh*
• Naughty Number Nine
• There are two rather angry-looking Bionicle® figures staring down from my monitor at me. Back away slowly. And non-threateningly.
• It’s apparently been a rather long time since I played the bass.
• This is Bishop. He’s not very happy. I would advise against getting on his bad side today. Or any other day, for that matter.
• A tip of the hat and a wave of the cane to for posting a link to Skippy’s List. I’d completely spaced off doing so.
• Tasty iced creams! (Let the jealousy rain down…)
• The horrid movie Wild Wild West was on tonight; I caught part of it at the gym. I paid to see that movie. It could also be said that I paid for seeing that movie. *twitch* I was very tempted to rename the “Cool World-Long Kiss Goodnight Scale” in honor of that movie. It was another case of “The best part of that movie was ‘THE END’ and the soundtrack.”

See ya space cowboy…

Namaste.

How tired am I of the dull grey fishbowl that that Salt Lake Valley has become?

Boat Drinks
-Jimmy Buffett

Boat drinks
Boys in the band ordered boat drinks
Visitors scored on the home rink
Everything seems to be wrong

I gotta go where there ain’t any snow
Where there ain’t any blow
’cause my fin sinks so low
I gotta go where it’s warm

Wednesday
Better than halfway to the weekend. Amen.

The sun made an all-too-brief appearance through a hole in the inversion today. And then, almost as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

Tonight’s workout went well. It’s going to take time to get back into this routine again, but at least it’s not something that I don’t like. Except the cardio. I have never really been a big fan of the cardio. But, it’s a necessary evil. *shrug* Jess and Gala did my back and tri routine with me. I’m pretty sure that they are both going to hate me in the morning… even though I started them on light weights.

NPR and PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation – American Nomads
All Things Considered – Analysis: Careful Language in State of Union
All Things Considered – Study Tallies Medical Mistakes

On Thursday’s Fresh Air: Robert Plant (the former lead singer for Led Zepplin)

Stray Toasters

• To those of you who celebrate the Chinese New Year: Happy New Year. May the Year of the Monkey treat you well.
• The Weasel War Dance and Gothic newts. O_o
• RIAA’s at it again, it seems…
• This is for .
• Cardio. BAH!
• It seems that Homicide: Life on the Streets is on the air once again. I caught part of an episode at the gym.
• Utah Drivers. No, I can’t just leave it there. ONE Utah driver in particular. The person driving the Express Shuttle on I-215 around 6:50 tonight. The one who didn’t want to let me merge into his lane… even though he had an empty lane into which he could have moved. The one who tried to shove his van up my car’s tailpipe. The one who finally changed lanes and still almost caught my rear bumper in the process (I had to seriously speed up to keep him/her from hitting me). And the one who almost rear-ended a car in the other lane. Bastard ass.
• I am eating tasty popped corns from the Lord of the Rings bucket that I got at the movie theatre a few weeks ago. Tasty. Popped. Corns.
• M.A.S.H. parody on Futurama. Heh.

Namaste.

Tuesday
Ow.

Tonight was my first night back in a gym in… over a year. And it feels like it. Tomorrow, I should feel the full brunt of the workout. But, I also get to go in for my favorite workout series, too: Back and Triceps! Hoo-AH!

NPR and PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation – Celebrating 20 Years of the Mac
(…including a link to Apple’s 1984 Macintosh Super Bowl ad)
Talk of the Nation – A Brief History of the Smile
All Things Considered – Matrix Shares Crime Data
All Things Considered – Commentary: Germany’s Rhineland Blacks

Stray Toasters

• Neon Genesis Evangelion feature film concept art
• …with assloads of monkey robot fun!
• Elf Only Inn As much as I have grown to enjoy this comic, I like it even more since they also mock She Who Exists Solely for Me to Ridicule.
• A Modest Destiny ended its run last month. Sean Howard’s new comic is The Starship Destiny. And it makes me laugh just as much.
• Morgan Freeman… being considered for the role of Lucius Fox in the new Batman movie? That would be quite cool.
• Sign Language They Didn’t Teach You in School

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

A friend showed me this article on the Salt Lake Tribune’s website today. And that lead to my leaving a post on the email discussion group of which I am a member. That diatribe follows and I will apologize now for its length, but it is behind a cut tag, at least!

Today’s top story on the homepage of the Salt Lake Tribune reads: “Living in the Beehive State still a challenge for blacks” Read the story here (http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Jan/01192004/utah/130518.asp).

Hmm. I read this and nodded in agreement to many things that were noted in the article.

A question that I have received is “What is it like to be Black in Utah?” While I understand what the question was supposed to ask, there are more appropriate ways to phrase the question. Someone suggested that if I ever face that question again, that I should respond,”Well, compared to the time when I was White, it’s a little different.”

Yes, there is a small population of African-Americans here.
Yes, there are still people who look askance at me when I go some places.
And I still have a hard time finding Afro Sheen® (the real reason that I shaved my head when I moved here).

But, I don’t find it to be a bad place to live. Nor do I find it a challenge.

The article presented some information of which I was not aware:

Meanwhile, Utah continues to resist the passage of a hate crimes law with teeth. The current version on the books is unenforceable, prosecutors say, because the definition of minority groups that would be protected under the law is too vague. So, in 1998 when a man burned a wooden cross in the Sugar House yard of an interracial couple, the district attorney did not press charges. Instead, federal prosecutors filed the case under the Fair Housing Act.

…and…

In 1983, President Reagan signed the bill that established the first Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday, but for 17 more years the debate in Utah centered on two issues: whether adding a paid state holiday would be too costly and whether King deserved recognition. Utah’s second black state legislator, Terry Williams, regularly urged his colleagues to follow Reagan’s lead.
On Williams’ final attempt, in 1986, Utah lawmakers instead gave the state Human Rights Day, but not before one of them refused to greet King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, when she addressed the House and Senate.

“It’s shameful to think we had perceptions like that,” Dew says. “It is not just a time for blacks, it is a time for everyone to pause and think and value the diversity that America has to offer and recognize Dr. King’s message.”

Utah’s third black lawmaker, Rep. Duane Bourdeaux, D-Salt Lake City, finally pushed a Martin Luther King Jr. Day bill through the Legislature in 2000.

“…too costly?!”
“…whether King deserved recognition?!?”
*blink blink*

One day. One. Day. It’s not like they were trying to push for more broad recognition of Black History Month (which also gets minor note here, but that’s a tirade for another day). Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Pioneer Day get all of the fanfare – if not more – that some of the other national holidays that are celebrated here? *braincramp* “Human Rights Day” wasn’t “perfect,” but it was a good start. I was glad to hear that the legislature had a rectal craniotomy and renamed the holiday in accordance with the national holiday… although it is not uncommon to still hear it referred to as “Martin Luther King Jr. – Human Rights Day.”

Reading this article also reminded me of something that I noted to a friend of mine about living here. She had recently moved to Phoenix from Baltimore and found a post in the LiveJournal AZJournal community that posed the question: “who loves black people!?!!!” She then posted that link in her journal under the topic “People in AZ are strange.” Naturally, I clicked it; so did other friends of hers.

One of the respondents asked: “what are black people like novelties in az?”

I responded: I’m not sure that I would use the word “novelty,” but you could say that we are… “rare” in the desert southwest. I remember when I would come Utah to visit (before moving here), I would actually count the number of blacks that I saw. I think that in six (6) trips, I managed to get up to thirty-eight (38) people. The Hispanic, Native American and Polynesian populations are relatively large, though.

Here are the population comparison figures from the 2000 Census:
Maryland (African-American population: 27.9%)
Arizona (African-American population: 3.1%)
Utah (African-American population: 0.8%)

“Far and few between,” indeed.

While we are still “…one nation, under God,” the “…indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” part still needs a little work. Dr. King was working to make that dream a reality. Maybe we’ll see that dream fully-realized.

And that’s my 2¢ for today.

Rob
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

P.S.
It wasn’t really Afro Sheen. It was Dudley’s Hair Care products. And it had nothing to do with the fact that my hairline was already receding. No matter what anyone else tells you.

That got me the following response (excerpted):

So yeah, I agree with you. It sucks. But as for comparing Pioneer Day to
“Human Rights” day… this is really not a fair comparison, Rob.

The “big scenes” from the civil rights movement didn’t happen
here — they happened primarily in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and
Washington DC. We just didn’t really have enough racial tension between
the white folks and the white folks to result in something noteworthy
happening on Utah soil. Utah statehood and the arrival of Utah pioneers
is a much more personal issue for a lot of Utahns–it marks events that
happened to people from their family lines. To some, it’s a marker for a
day that their church found a permanent, safe home.

Yeah, okay, in the grand scheme of things it’s lame that we’re culturally
isolated like this. But if we were going to have a civil rights parade
down State Street on a Monday in January (and thank goodness it’s always a monday–what’d happen if the holiday fell on sunday?)– who would you have in it? Probably the Navajo and Ute tribes, though civil rights wasn’t quite exactly their movement, and uhm. what. Mike Leavitt? the Eagle forum? Much like Mardi Gras, we just don’t have the cultural resources to pull that kind of thing off with any sort of grace or style.

…to which I replied:

You’re right: It isn’t a fair comparison. Not exactly. But, you are missing the point that I was trying to make.

Yes, the “big scenes” occurred elsewhere. Does that mean that they shouldn’t be acknowledged? And by that I do not mean a parade; personally, I could give a damn about a parade. That’s not what the day is about.

I recognize how important Pioneer Day (parades and all) is to the descendants of those who made the journey from the east and midwest to escape persecution. The country was founded on tolerance for all people regardless of religion. The idea about racial – and gender – equality came much later. Dr. King was advancing the principles of equality and freedom. The same things that the LDS pioneers sought.

A major difference: The pioneers had the west into which they could expand and make a new start. Blacks had… whatever they could get. And to say “Well, they could have gone back to Africa” is a statement that has been made all too often. Yes, they could have done so. But, this was a country that they helped to build, so why should they have to go anywhere else?

It’s been said that one man can make a difference. Dr. King tried to be that man.

And “Martin Luther King Jr. Day” was established to commemorate his efforts.
Not “Human Rights Day.”

And with that, I’ll stand down.

Rob

Be well and be good to each other.

Namaste.

…I kick my feet up and say “This was a good Sunday.”

I watched football all afternoon. There’s a two-week hiatus until the Super Bowl, so I may go to a bookstore next weekend and do some drawing during the early part of the day.

Tonight we had dinner with and at Cafe Med. and Larry joined us. It was my first time eating there. And it was rather tasty. We headed back the Nyx and Nox’ place and chatted for a while… as 80s/90s music videos played in the background.

Football Wrap-Up

Carolina at Philadelphia
NFC Conference Championship
Score: 14 – 3
I don’t know what John Fox told his team this week but they played like men on a mission. They were all over the Eagles’ game. Both the offense and defense played a solid game. Donovan McNabb, Koy Detmer and the Eagles just couldn’t seem to pull it together and play effectively. Thus, the upstart team from Carolina is heading to Houston to take on the Patriots.

Stray Toasters

• “Sh’mo” and “Zig-a-zig-ah” (for Nyx)
• While he is a very… unusual… individual, I have to admit that Michael Jackson is a good entertainer.
• Monkeys and Kali. O_o
• In tonight’s “Oddly Enough” news category: This.
• The Utne Reader

…and that’s it.

Namaste.

…but it’s warm inside, so I’m good with that.

At the suggestion of and , there’s a new user icon.

Football Update

Indianapolis at New England
AFC Conference Championship
Current Score: 0 – 15
To say that the Patriots are dominating this game would be a gross understatement. They are systematically picking the Colts apart. If you are a Colts fan, this is not a pretty game. I don’t have an overwhelming preference as to who wins this game. It would be nice if the Colts could pull it out and win, though. No, not because they were the former team from Baltimore. But, because I would love it if head coach Tony Dungy could engineer a Super Bowl bid with them and thumb his nose at Tampa Bay and the way that they ignominiously dumped him.

Carolina at Philadelphia
NFC Conference Championship
Today at 6:48 PM EST
I don’t think that it’s a big secret who I want to win this one. (Hint: Carolina)

Back to football…

Saturday
Today started somewhere around noon. I woke up to the realization that I had already missed any morning toonage that I had hoped to see; hopefully, someone will have captured it and post it on a newsgroup in the next day or two…

Then, I remembered that the AFC Conference Playoff Game would start at one. After a little bit of lazing around, I took a shower and prepared myself for gridiron goodness. Yet, there was none to be found. Instead, the CBS affiliate was showing some other sport and the Fox affiliate was showing Mad Max. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?! So, I consulted NFL.com for clarity. The AFC game (and the NFC game) are Sunday afternoon. *duhr*

I lounged around for the next few hours until it was time for us to head to dinner with Teresa (an ex-coworker), her husband and family. The occasion: Teresa’s upcoming birthday. We met at the restaurant to find it quite full of people. *sigh* We decided to try another, nearby restaurant. Also packed… and with an hour-and-a-half wait. *twitch* We settled for the IHoP that was next door; this was also a good choice as there were five kids in the group. All was proceeding apace… until Sharon, our waitress, spilled a glass of water down my back. It didn’t feel like it was a lot of water, but that’s not the point. She was very apologetic. For the rest of the evening. Not quite ingratiatingly so, but close. The rest of dinner was fine.

On to Best Buy! There was a lot there that I considered getting, but I managed to walk away with only a package of blank CDs and some paper for the printer. Speaking of which: They had 30-packs of Imation 80 minute CDs for $13.99 and 50-packs for $14.99. Maybe I’m missing something, but a $1 price difference for 20 CDs seems a little “off” to me. *shrug*

Bowling wasn’t too bad, but I wasn’t on my game tonight. I bowled six games: 131, 124, 125, 151, 113 and 126. I ran into another ex-coworker at the bowling alley. I think that we left the employ of the USPS around the same time. From there, on to breakfast. drew on me again.

Home again, home again… Jiggety-jig.

Stray Toasters

• Singing like Elmer Fudd can make almost any song hysterically funny.
• Nyx drew tonight’s piece as we were sitting in Cheers after breakfast. There were people who would try to steal glimpses of what we were doing… but would quickly turn away if I looked in their direction while she was working on the artwork. Especially two gentlemen sitting a couple of tables away from us. I caught one in mid-stare; I thought that he might get whiplash as suddenly as he turned away. As Nyx would say: “Ass monkey.”
• Best Buy had Shaft’s Big Score. I may have to add it to my 1970s Shaft collection.
  Who is the man who would risk his neck for his brother man…?

• I’m considering adding this as a user icon. Possibly with a lens flare in the eyes…
• ::: This space for rent :::
• Classic Jonny Quest episodes on Boomerang.

And that’s all. At least, that’s all for now.

Namaste.

…Friday was a good day.

After work, it was off to Borders for Friday night coffee and chat. Quite a few people made it tonight… and even made it this week. The conversations were as random as ever. And, courtesy of , This was an ad for Bio-Fem Actigel.

Keep Vagina Happy

She’s your best friend, but sometimes she may get a bit irritable. So if things become uncomfortable between you, here’s what could be upsetting her:

Washing with soap could be causing her pH levels to become unbalanced.

With such a busy life, stress and tiredness is taking its toll.

Even sex could be changing her mood and creating a hostile environment between you.

You may think that you look fab in that tight pair of jeans with the thong showing, but they really irritate her.

To soothe all her worries, be a good mate and offer her some Bio-Fem Actigel. It’s a new gel developed with GPs and Gynaecologists to relieve vaginal irritations. It will help restore the pH balance of your vagina, stop any uncomfortable itchiness or soreness and get you both back on track.

. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?! According to the ladies present at coffee tonight, that would never make it to print in an American publication. That kind of puzzled me since we see ads for all kinds of feminine products. When are guys going to get “equal time” and get to have male-related ads on TV and the radio?

NPR and PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation – Science Friday: Cancer Biology
Talk of the Nation – Science Friday: Return to the Moon
All Things Considered: Revamped U.S. Citizenship Tests to Stress Concepts
All Things Considered: Death Row Inmates Challenge Lethal Injection

Stray Toasters

• The media circus that was the Michael Jackson arraignment was ludicrous. I caught a small portion of it on the news this morning before heading to work. And I commend the judge for “explaining” the nuances of courtroom protocol (like showing up on time). And turning his post-hearing exit into an ‘impromptu’ exhibition? *sigh*
• “10 and 2” redux.
• Behold the works of , ye mighty… and despair!
  
  From Wired: CBS Shields Pigskin Fans from Ads
  Utah drivers. *twitch*
  She packed my bags last night
  Pre-flight,
  Zero hour, nine A.M.
  And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then.

  From Slashdot: Get your game and your exercise on at the same time
  Sinfest. It amuses.

And with that…

Namaste.

As I was driving back to the office this afternoon, I saw three things that made me laugh:

1. The kid in Taylorsville Park snowboarding down a very small hill…
2. The people at the UTA bus stop at Redwood and 53rd South gettin’ their dance on.
3. The girl in the car behind me (at a red light on 53rd South) dancing in her seat.

Yep. It’s Friday. And that’s good.

Nothing like hearing

• Skillet
• The Perfect Drug and
• Arlington

to get your Friday morning going. The only thing “missing” was All Fired Up.

Have a good one.

Thursday
Today wasn’t a bad day.
Work wasn’t bad and post-work was quiet… and non-stressful. Add to that CSI and various Adult Swim toonage. Shake well. Serve chilled.

I am now officially sick of the inversion that has taken over the Salt Lake Valley’s weather. It has been foggy and grey and just… bleh… for the past week and some odd days. It’s like living in a cloudy fish bowl. It’s bad enough that the mountains are only visible as outlines at some times. It’s times like these that I miss the rolling hills (and lack of inversion and ability to see the sky) of home.

NPR and PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation: College Admissions and Legacies
Talk of the Nation: Party of the People (A look at the Democratic Party)
Talk of the Nation: Party of the People (A look at the Republican Party)
All Things Considered: Mormon Cinema, a Growing Indie Scene
All Things Considered: Commentary – Thumbs and Fingerprints

Stray Toasters

• If you are on a low-carb diet, I commend your choice and wish you well, but I think that every food-related stored saying that they have a “Low Carb Diet Menu” just sounds like they are trying to be trendy or jump on a bandwagon. We aren’t even three weeks into the new year and you can’t turn on the radio or television or read something without hearing/seeing an ad for “New Low Carb Diet.” I’m sick of it already. And seeing a sign that said “Join the Low Carb Revolution” on a local 7-11 didn’t help matters much. Seriously… of all places… 7-Eleven?! Nine Hells.
• States Meme
  

  Bold = Places I’ve been…
  Italics = Places I’ve lived…
  Alabama	Alaska	Arizona	Arkansas	California
  Colorado	Connecticut	Delaware	Florida	Georgia
  Hawaii	Idaho	Illinois	Indiana	Iowa
  Kansas	Kentucky	Louisiana	Maine	Maryland
  Massachusetts	Michigan	Minnesota	Mississippi	Missouri
  Montana	Nebraska	Nevada	New Hampshire	New Jersey
  New Mexico	New York	North Carolina	North Dakota	Ohio
  Oklahoma	Oregon	Pennsylvania	Rhode Island	South Carolina
  South Dakota	Tennessee	Texas	Utah	Vermont
  Virginia	Washington	West Virginia	Wisconsin	Wyoming

• The Family Guy makes me laugh.
  

  “Optimus Prime! He’s Jewish?!”
  (…and a cameo by The Penguin!)

• Planning on going streaking? Leaving your clothes in the car? Read this.
• Trick of light
  Moving picture
  Moments caught in flight

• Lost Episode of Doctor Who Found
• Cowboy Bebop “The Real Folk Blues (part II)” Non-animated television (and movies) should be written this well.
• And, speaking of animation, Disney Shuts Down 2-D Animation Studio
• After making a statement last week saying that they were going to stop producing all of their non-basic building block lines (movie tie-ins, etc.), Lego now says that it will continue its MindStorms line.

Hey, … does this qualify as “a decent post?”

Namaste.

Wednesday
Not much to report, so I’ll make a decent post tomorrow.

We interrupt this post for this bit of late-breaking news…

New icon:

We now return you to your regularly scheduled LiveJournal.

Namaste.