E. Michael Harrington

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End of 2005, Beginning of 2006 Part 1

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This begins a multi-part series that will include

How I will change
How I will not change
How I should change
What went right in 2005
What went wrong in 2005
Predictions for 2006 (only fools write predictions)

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This is my first New Year's Eve having a blog. It could be my last as this blogging/diarizing thing could come to an end this year.

I find myself suddenly wordy. Uh-oh. Ye have been warned.

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HOW I WILL CHANGE in 2006

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I will eat smaller portions.
I will work out more.
I will resume using my exercise wheel.
I will walk Radnor Lake more.

I will try not to be irritable, mean spirited or angry over the leap second that will be added on to our lives tomorrow as TIME WILL STOP due to the slowing of our Earth's rotation. Even though 2005 will be the longest year of my life, I will not shave an extra time tonight but instead will use that extra time to let my beard keep growing.

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I will try to see any FILM that is directed, produced, written by or features:

Michael Moore, Michael Moore, Michael Moore

I own everything he has done from ROGER and ME to F 9/11. For fun, at the expense of a careless with the facts kind of person, do fact checking on Michael Moore and then do fact checking on Bill O'Reilly. When delving into Bill O'Reilly, make sure not to read the 80 + page lawsuit filed against him. O'Reilly's dirty talk with a woman who is not his wife, especially as O'Reilly is one who has written a survivor's guide for CHILDREN (he's got some even though he does phone sex with a woman who is not his wife), is really deplorable stuff. How can a guy who cheats on his wife write a book for children? Bill Clinton, who has also cheated on his wife, never had the gall to write a survivors' book for children.

And these others who might direct, produce, write or work in a film:

Robert Redford
John Turturro
Rob Reiner
Tim Robbins
Christopher Guest
Harry Shearer
Sean Penn
Spike Lee
Parker Posey

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I will buy any music by Frank Black, Youssou N'Dour, Josef Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Baaba Maal, Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso, Outkast, Brazilian Girls, Gilberto Gil, Luciana Souza, Bebel Gilberto, Elvis Costello, Beck, Ozomatli, Cafe Tacuba, Carlinhos Brown, David Byrne, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, They Might Be Giants, Chuck D, Prince, Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, Eminem, Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny, Randy Newman, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty and U2.

I will buy any new music from great dead people including Frank Zappa, Beatles (individually and together), Miles Davis, Luiz Gonzaga, Gonzaguinha, Tupac, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Elvis Presley and others.

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I will not break any more teeth. [I last broke a tooth in 2004.]
I will not sprain my ankle.
I will not walk in a car wash.

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HOW I WILL NOT CHANGE in 2006

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I will continue to love the U. S. Constitution, immigrants and our geography.

I will continue to download copyrighted material everyday and will not ask permission for copying this copyrighted material. I will continue to carefully consider each of the four factors from Section 107 of the U. S. Copyright Act before I download copyrighted material and then go ahead and download the copyrighted material as I do everyday. (I will surmise that these past few statements will irk the hell out of certain readers and encourage those annoyed to assume the worst about me, however, there could be a catch!)

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I will continue to love life, work hard, be as kind as I can to people, and lead a PURPOSE-LESS life.

I will keep loving my PURPOSE-LESS life and resist any temptation to have a purposeful life.

If at any moment I start to have what appears to be a PURPOSEFUL life, I'll stop and change and try to revert to a PURPOSE-LESS life.

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I will keep trying to respect and defend the definition and meaning of words in the English language, for example, LIBERAL and CONSERVATIVE.

I will continue to use primary sources and not secondary sources.

I will continue to be as non-Fox Television-like as I know how. This will be accomplished by three (3) principal means:

1. Respect the meaning of words in the English language
2. Use primary sources
3. Be courteous and kind, especially to those with little or no power

My father would be proud of me if I adhered to the above three.

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I will continue to love the unknown.
I will continue to be thrilled when I wake up, and excited about what the new day will offer.

I will continue to hope that we leave Iraq and apologize and pay off those we have injured. Money is great for stuff like that. Money matters. Money is very good at fixing things. Just look at guys who buy flowers a lot.

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I will continue to hope for religious tolerance, justice, better wages and peace in the world.

I will try to be polite and friendly.
I will smile more.
I will laugh more.

I will drink the same amount of liquids as I did this year. I drink the right amount. If I had to change, I would drink more.

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I will watch and read anything that Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell or other PREACHERS, RABBIS or CLERICS WITH PUBLICISTS, or the Pope, think I should not.

And if CULTS - the Church of Scientology or the Unification Church (Moonies) - are opposed to ANYTHING, I will embrace it wholeheartedly.

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I will not attend strip clubs.
I will not attend NASCAR.

I will not attend comedy clubs. Instead, I will continue to laugh at the following:

Fox Television, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell (please stay in good health), the New York Post, Sony BMG, the Recording Industry Association of America (the RIAA), the Motion Pictures Association of America (the MPAA), the President, his Cabinet, the White House, Congress, Church of Scientology, the healthy trend of children desecrating their Barbie dolls, Barbie and her Mattel Corporation, Britney Spears, Donald Trump, White House press secretaries, those who purport to know when the world will end, the next religious cults to shed their containers and the others I forgot to mention.

I truly thank all of those listed in the prior sentence, from the bottom of my heart, for providing me with humor throughout the past year, and in many of these cases, for the past several decades.

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I will not shop at Wal-Mart.

I will not shop at women's stores.

I will not go to shopping malls.

I will not buy flowers.

I will not buy pork rinds.

I will not have a wardrobe malfunction.

I will not smoke.

I will not go near smoking.

I will not play cards.

I will not play poker.

I will not gamble.

I will not have a heterosexual marriage.

I will not have a homosexual marriage.

I will not buy the services of a prostitute.

I will not care what adults do behind closed doors.

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I will not use Vice President Dick Cheney-style profane foul abusive language, as I will not tell anyone to go F____ themselves.

I will rightly be tempted to use Vice Presidential-style four-letter word language on DELL COMPUTERS. Dell Computers are the surest proof that SATAN exists.

DELL rhymes with HELL. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Dell Computers deserve Dick Cheney style street talk, people do not.

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I will not use illegal drugs.

I will not own or shoot a gun.

I will not use a gun (I will be strongly tempted however) to shoot my TV even when it plays Vonage commercials with that enemy-of-music horrendous wordless singer who sings sharp during that terrorist-inspired 12-bar blues that accompanies Vonage commercials. Cheney the singer and those who made that Cheney-ing commercial.

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I will not play video games.

I will not read a novel.

I will not use an ATM card.

I will not have credit card debt.

I will not borrow money. (My last loan was to buy my house in 1993.)

I will not sleep in a snow bank.

I will not sleep on a street.

I will not vacation in Africa, Europe or Asia. That is stated with regret.

I will continue to hope that the civil war we have started in Iraq will end.

I will not eat at McDonald's or any other fast food chain with the possible exception of Arby's (Horseradish-----Good) and Taco Bell (Beans----Good).

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I will NOT see any film that is directed/produced/written by or features:

Tom Cruise
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sylvester Stallone

Anyone named Spears, Simpson, Richie or Hilton

Anyone who wins, places or shows in a reality TV show
(EXCEPT for William Hung who can do no wrong)

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I will not attend a Broadway musical as I did not attend one in 2005.

I will not miss an episode of Season 6 of the Sopranos.

I will not even be near my computer when an episode from Season 6 of the Sopranos is shown.

I will not try to fit in although I will not try to fit out.

I will not move to California because I still take the following seriously --- earthquakes, high prices and congestion due to that GO FORTH AND MULTIPLY advice.

I will not move to Florida or New Orleans because of hurricanes and bad weather.

I will not move out of the United States.

I will not become a rock star in an Asian country.

I will not get a business card. I have never had a business card.

I will PROBABLY not join a union, but the chances are greater this year than ever that I might join a union.

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More nonsense and words in this vein tomorrow.

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Posted by EMH at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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GEORGE BUSH DID NOT CARE ABOUT THE LEAK OF Mrs. Wilson's identity as a CIA agent but he is mad as hell about the leak that he has been spying on his enemies, who happen to be U. S. citizens. George Bush, in the words of John Dean, is the first president to publicly admit to an impeachable offense. The Bush Administration has found one (1) legal scholar that backs them.

If you visited the NSA website, you had a cookie installed in your computer. You look at them, they'll look at you. This violates our government's guidelines. But this is small compared to what George Bush is doing to his PETA and Quaker enemies.

I would suspect that a few Republican senators and Colin Powell are being wiretapped as well.

I was told of a very funny and apropos bumper sticker:

BUSH - NIXON WITHOUT THE BRAIN

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The NEW YORK TIMES spent most of the past year in cahoots with the Bush Administration as they slept with this Secret Police secret. The NY TIMES sitting on the Secret Police's spy campaign is the work of the LIBERAL MEDIA? "Liberals" would protect the Secret Police and keep information from the public? The NY Times was always my favorite newspaper. They deserve what should be coming their way now, however.

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WE HAD A GREAT TIME AT THE MIDDLE EAST in CENTRAL SQUARE LAST NIGHT. Cambridge is fantastic and Central Square has in many ways surpassed Harvard Square. Central Square is even more ethnically diverse and best of all, has the Middle East, an excellent restaurant with great music venues.

http://www.mideastclub.com/

LAST NIGHT, all the members of Mission of Burma, the legendary rock band, were at the Middle East to see one their band members' new band and to hang out. I enjoyed getting to know them - we had a lot of similar music and life experiences.

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Roger Miller of Mission of Burma also had another band - Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - that recorded a "Reader's Digest" version of Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." My old rock band, GO TO HELL ICE CREAM MAN, many years earlier, used to perform my Reader's Digest version of Igor Stravinsky's "Petrouchka." From one great condensed Russian ballet to another! Of course that led to discussions of Louis Armstrong, Duke Elllington, Beethoven and a lot of other music.

http://www.matadorrecords.com/mission_of_burma/

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LEGOS at CHANUKKA

As always, the audiences and those who just go to the Middle East restaurant are as much a show as the bands. I learned a lot - the world's largest CHANUKKA MENORAH made of LEGOs (Yes, Legos) is in a temple in Needham, Massachusetts. It sounds like iti is drawing a lot of attention. I may try to go there as well. We are in the 8 days - I'll need to do this soon.

LEGOS found here:

http://shop.lego.com/?CMP=KAC-GOOGUS&HQS=legos

From a quick Google search, it seems that menorahs can be quite diverse and that this temple is not the first at having a Legos menorah:

http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=234178

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HI-FI

AFTER THE MIDDLE EAST, there is a great final step - Pizza at Hi-Fi. Hi-Fi is excellent pizza, better than most of the great New York stuff even, and is on the same side of Mass. Ave. as the Middle East, just across the street.

In the film, MYSTIC RIVER, Clint Eastwood's insightful work about working class Boston (Eastwood directed it and composed the soundtrack!), one of the characters refers to going to Hi-Fi for a slice. I found that interesting that these Boston kids preferred pizza in Cambridge to the local stuff on their side of the Charles River.

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HAIKU

I'll need to write some
haiku soon. I'm feeling strong
urges to spew forth

I should assess the
year in review and do it
by means of haiku

The foolishness of
George Bush - "Brownie you're doing
one heck of a job"

That line has been called
the most memorable line
of 2005

Mike Brown himself is
a great subject, his email
reveals callousness

As people died he
worried about finding dog
sitters, and his looks

His assistant told
him to roll up his sleeves as
that would enhance him

He was frustrated
by not being able to
get reservations

He wanted to eat
and enjoy his cushy job
before he helped them

More later.......

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A complex multifaceted (three-prong) SPINAL TAP question:

How did large retail store chains __________ and _________ handle the new Spinal Tap album?

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Posted by EMH at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I SPENT AN EXCELLENT MORNING IN HARVARD SQUARE. You know life is going to be great when you get your choice of two-hour parking spots on Plympton Street with meters that only cost 25 cents for 30 minutes! 50 cents per hour parking in Harvard Square in late 2005. God is great. Hold the 76 virgins. I prefer 50 cents per hour for parking.

HARVARD YARD, THE HARVARD CAMPUS and HARVARD SQUARE get even cooler at Christmas time and especially when life is quiet like it is the last week of the year. Sanders Theatre, on the campus, is my favorite (and I think the most beautiful) concert hall anywhere and seeing it again brought back hundreds of great memories.

http://www.pbase.com/image/47199872

I assisted a few tourists by answering questions and taking photos of them. One was of a young couple from Tokyo who wanted to take the photo of John Harvard and have one of them taken with John Harvard. It came out well but it got me thinking, and laughing, about JOHN HARVARD as the UNABOMBER. If you don't know what I am talking about. M. I. T. is down Mass. Ave. from Harvard. The two schools have a funny rivalry and MIT usually get the better of Harvard.

Check out this photo - MIT students dressed up the John Harvard statue to look like Ted Kaczynski. Notice that MIT lauds the fact that the Unabomber was a Harvard grad! LOL

http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1996/unabomber/index.html

MIT even has a special section devoted to "Hacks on Harvard," and begins with the Harvard "VE-RI-TAS" logo changed to "HA-CK-US."

http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_topic/harvard.html

Ah, the Republik of Cambridge. Life is always fun there.

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MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM A NEW YORK (and New York Times) SPORTS WRITER. Murray Chass wrote this yesterday about Johnny Damon:

"And in his years with the Yankees, Damon can reasonably be expected to be a good center fielder but not a great one."

Go, Murray! There's some realism for you, Evil Empire fans! LOL

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/27/sports/baseball/27chass.html?pagewanted=all

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TODAY IS A SAD ANNIVERSARY. Dennis Wilson, drummer and one of the original Beach Boys, drowned on this day in 1983. Dennis was underrated as a non-drummer, i.e., in his role as songwriter, artist and singer. His solo album, "Pacific Ocean Blue," is a gem. It was one of the first things I looked for on Napster 1.0 back in 1999, way back in the last century. "Pacific Ocean Blue" is virtually unavailable (I have my old vinyl and it is in perfect shape) and a few MP3's from it.

It happens to be available here ---------

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/offer-listing/B000008MDK/qid=1135808278/sr=1-1/ref=sr_pb_a//102-6559643-2348909?condition=all

------- at prices rannging from $139.25 to $179.99.

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BECAUSE I AM STILL IN BOSTON and Cambridge, I HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COUNTRY'S BEST MUSIC, VIDEO AND HIPNESS RETAIL STORE --------

NEWBURY COMICS

So I bought some new old music - the new release of some never-before-heard Miles Davis music from 1970, the 6-CD "The Cellar Door Sessions." The musicians include Miles, Keith Jarret, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Bartz, Michael Henderson and Airto Moreira. All that's missing is JOSEF ZAWINUL and WAYNE SHORTER, who recorded with Miles on BITCHES BREW, but fortunately, although they are not playing, their music is being played - Zawinul's "Directions," and Shorter's "Sanctuary."

I've heard the first of the six CD's and am thrilled. I wish I could write a review of it but copyright work is getting in the way.

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I ALSO BOUGHT MUSIC BY OTHER ARTISTS, LIVING AND DEAD, who I have seen before. I saw Miles twice. The last time I MIles was his penultimate performance. I saw him at Grant Park in Chicago in August, just after his final Montreux, Swsitzerland concert and just before his final concert.

I ALSO BOUGHT THE SHANACHIE DVD of the late great NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN, the world's greatest Qaawali singer. The two concerts I saw of his were among the best events of my life. (I drove to Atlanta to see him; another time, I flew to Boston to see him. It was never convenient!)

And I bought the new CD by Uncle Earl. Sadly, the group of five talented beautiful women are now only four talented beautiful women (at least on this recording) as Sharon Gilchrist is not on this CD.

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And because I am a nerd, I bought a few law books and one about the future of the music industry.

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Posted by EMH at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

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THE FIRST THING I SAW ON TELEVISION THIS MORNING WAS A STORY about Patricia Santangelo who is being sued by the RIAA for having downloaded songs on her computer. She is a forty something divorced mother of five and very computer ignorant. One of her kids or kids' friends may have done the downloading.

She turned down the RIAA's "benevolent" offer to pay more than $4,000, and sign an agreement saying she was wrong and would never do it again, before she was named in the lawsuit. She rightfully and intellectually properly would not sign a document stating that she would stop doing something she had not been doing.

Also on CNN to give the other point of view was Carey Sherman of the RIAA. Miles O'Brien of CNN who was moderating the live event, noted that Carey Sherman refused to appear in the same studio with Patricia Santangelo but instead appeared via camera at another location and did not participate in any exchange.

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The entire thing reminded me of George Bush and Cindy Sheehan - there was a lot of power and very little power in an indirect "confrontation," without an exchange. George fears Cindy and Carey fears Patricia - white guys scared of "powerless" white women.

And Carey Sherman invoked the RIAA's usual chestnut - "you wouldn't want your daughter shoplifting a CD from a store, would you?" That's like WMD. Both are arguments that are seriously flawed. When a physical CD is stolen, it is gone. When an MP3 is copied, transmitted and downloaded, nothing is missing. Someone has gotten something for free and no one has been paid.

GETTING STUFF FOR FREE AND MAKING SURE MUSICIANS DO NOT GET PAID is exactly what Carey Sherman and thousands of employees at the record labels do every day. But when members of the public get music for free, it is considered a federal crime (copyright infringement) and something that all three branches of government must work hard to stop.

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ON THIS DAY IN 2000, parts of an interview with me were reprinted at www.office.com:

2000: Royalty Rules Unclear as Year Ends (Dec 27, 2000)

"In July, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction against Napster, ordering a shutdown, but her order was stayed by the appellate court, saving Napster, at least for the moment. But that reprieve won't be permanent if RIAA has its way, and with a court still in deliberation months after fast-track oral arguments, the outcome is unclear.

"I think it is technology that can't be stopped," says E. Michael Harrington, professor of music theory and intellectual property. Harrington says he is sympathetic to the plight of Napster fans, and he notes that the RIAA is traditionally hostile to new methods of transmitting tunes that it perceives as a threat to its profitability.

"(Napster's) a big deal around college kids who have broadband and have more time on their hands than adults do. As soon as they have money, then they are not going to want to spend hours downloading songs."
-- E. Michael Harrington
The RIAA would be better poised for the future, says Harrington, if it embraces technologies and companies who offer them. "I think it's much easier to try to deal with them rather than trying to sue them," he says.

Harrington also believes the Napster lawsuit will blow over, and he expects a time when music sharing over the Internet will be as usual as turning on the radio. In the meantime, he suggests that the RIAA and others who control musical copyrights could actually see their cash flow increase as a result of Napster-type services.

"It's a big deal around college kids who have broadband and have more time on their hands than adults do," Harrington says. "As soon as they have money, then they are not going to want to spend hours downloading songs. They'll buy a good thing or order it."

At least one major media player opted to join Napster rather than trying to beat it. On Oct. 31, with the outcome of the court case still pending, Bertelsmann eCommerce Group formed a strategic alliance with Napster to establish a secure, membership-based file-sharing service. The partnership may help Napster avert an estimated $500 million in payments to the RIAA and others for copyright infringement."

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I LIKE THAT STORY and had forgotten about it until a search for something else buried in my computer yielded that. I feel it is appropriate to reproduce a part here after having seen Carey Sherman this morning.

The damn fools in the RIAA would have been so much better off IF THEY HAD LEARNED TO PLAY WITH NAPSTER instead of suing it out of existence. It featured a simple central directory and every transaction could have been so easily traced and monetized. That is only one of many potential better scenarios than the P2P-Darknet-Freenet-Next Cool Underworld world that replaced Napster 1.0.

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THE ROTARY CLUB flew four Iraqi children to the Bronx for heart operations. Everything went well - the children and their families are extremely happy and recovering.

I know very little about Rotary but have been most fortunate to have spoken to them on three different occasions. I congratulate them on such kind and wonderful actions.

One account of this is found here:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--iraqikids-surgery1227dec27,0,7873689.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

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Maybe the children will return to Iraq, receive computers, visit P2P sites, download music and get sued by the RIAA. At least these children will be happy, healthy and able to withstand any RIAA lawsuit, unlike the late West Virginia octogenarian, Gertrude Walton, who was sued for downloading music a few months after she died. Gertrude died in December 2004 and was sued by Carey Sherman's RIAA in February 2005.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050204/ap_on_fe_st/music_lawsuit

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Posted by EMH at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I FLEW ON TWO AMERICAN EAGLE FLIGHTS yesterday, again to a MAJOR TARGET type of city, Washington, DC. When we left DC, we turned sharp left and flew low over the Pentagon. I got to see where the 9/11 attack occurred. Also looking into the gigantic Pentagon courtyard, I noticed about 6 or 7 cars driving around in there.

DCA, the code for National Airport in Washington, DC, now ironically known as Ronald Reagan National Airport, has improved over the years. Its restaurants, stores and bars are excellent and span the gamut from LEGAL SEAFOOD to the Smithsonian Store to the Foggy Bottom Brew Pub. It's a great airport for a layover.

http://www.mwaa.com/concessions/dcavendors.htm

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I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO BE CONSIDERED NORMAL and not a potential terrorist yesterday. There is a lot to be said for showing up to the actual airport from where you are flying. The airline tends to treat you as ordinary. YEA Ordinary! I passed on through security. No Bounce dryer sheet inspections and no rub downs or touches of the good parts with the backside of the hand. To paraphrase, I was the Intentional Tourist.

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I TOOK MY MOTHER to MICHI KUSA, one of our favorite restaurants, last night immediately after I got home. Brian the owner is ridiculously cool and very kind and sweet to my mom. He is also completely irreverent and one naughty character. He is from Okinawa, and a retired pharmacist. Everyone who goes into Michi Kusa has no choice but to get to know Brian. Michi Kusa is stunning and beautiful, the staff is tremendous, the food is perfect and the clientele are always at ease and willing part of the evenings goings on. I also had tempura banana for the first time.

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I GOT A VERY NICE PERSONAL EMAIL from American Singles today. Their logo:

Look. Connect. Love.

What are they doing sending this stuff on Christmas Day? Oh, I can figure that out. It must be that Christmas is a lonely time for some or that being with too many relatives or spending too much time with a few relatives can make one miserable, or make one yearn to Look Connect Love. I think too much family is what makes Thanksgiving and Christmas such great days for attending movies - one gets to escape those accidental byproducts of marriage, RELATIVES.

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Here is the ad I just got.

http://www.americansingles.com/?prm=31156&lpid=6&

I like Cindy - she has a beautiful smile although there might not be teeth in her mouth. She might have the biggest non-teeth showing smile I have ever seen. She seems sweet and lovely. I guess her full name is CINDY, ONLINE. [Maybe her last name is Cindy and her first name is Online?] She is 22 and asks, "Any cool guys available?" I don't think she has uttered a complete sentence here but I can figure out what she means.

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The other singles at this site are Linda, Susan and Angela. Linda Online is 26, Susan Online is 28 and Angela Online is 21. There are also some guys online but I am a flaming hetero. I did not choose this heterosexual lifestyle. It just happened. I go to sleep and when my dreams are erotic (they surely are involuntary) they are of females.

From this ad, it seems that these Online sisters (with a last name, ONLINE, they just might be sisters) are looking to meet males. I would prefer to meet one of their older sisters, perhaps in her thirties or even older. Maybe there aren't single women over the age of 28 who are looking for males? That could be what it is.

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Out of these women, I stand a chance with two of them - Linda and Angela. Linda wants someone fun and Angela wants someone nice. I cannot satisfy Cindy, even though I like her looks, because I am not COOL, and I cannot satisfy Susan because she wants to make a match and I am not into manufacturing matches or any other products.

I DON't LIKE TO JOIN clubs so I have probably just wasted a few minutes thinking about the Online sisters.

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I WILL BE VERY GLAD WHEN CHRISTMAS is over as I no longer like the Christmas season.

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I THINK BUSH HAS BEEN SPYING ON EVERYBODY and that there will be some amazing revelations coming in 2006. I think Republicans ESPECIALLY who always seems to be against BIG GOVERNMENT, should be really angered over Bush's making big government much bigger, more secretive and unaccountable.

It is amazing that even a conservative pro--business publication such as Barron's have called Bush to task for making up laws. Bush seems to be LEGISLATING FROM THE OVAL OFFICE or worse. Bush and his friends love to rant about those judges who LEGISLATE from the BENCH and are JUDICIAL ACTIVISTS. But how can Bush claim with a straight face (let us ignore www.busuorchimp.com) that he is protecting the American people and that the law is on his side? For the law to be on his side, one would have to be wildly the opposite of one of their mantras ---------- STRICT CONSTRUCTIONIST -------

No matter what Bush says, he is not a strict constructionist or conservative, if Eisenhower is a conservative.

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Here is the Barron's eeditorial:

Unwarranted Executive Power
The pursuit of terrorism does not authorize the president to make up new laws
By THOMAS G. DONLAN

http://online.barrons.com/article_email/SB113538491760731012-lMyQjAxMDE1MzI1NDMyODQ0Wj.html

Bush firmly believes that the law and the Constitution allow him to ignore the law and the Constitution. Law does not apply to the President. Oh but if this was Bill Clinton, Republicans would be mad as hell.

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CHASTITY

"We may eventually come to realize that Chastity is no more a virtue than malnutrition." - Alex Comfort, 1968

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Posted by EMH at 03:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

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I FLY TO BOSTON TODAY. I have spent every Christmas but one in Massachusetts. When I was not there for one December 25, it was only because I was in Hawaii. That was quite a day as my friend and I went swimming and body surfing around most of Oahu, especially the northern side as that was where the waves were really wild and there were warnings to stay out of the water. The next day we were on the Big Island ignoring police barricades and flirting with lava flows from the erupting Kilauea. Madame Pele did not get us that day but it was one of the most dangerous and foolish things in the long and often foolish life I've led! That was crazy and risky but damn fun!

http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/photogalleries/a/kilauea_photos.htm

But I have never flown on December 24. I hope that I do not seem like a security threat today as I did last week in Newark. There is only one large airport in Nashville so I will be going to the correct airport. I don't think I'll bring sharpened scissors or tools or any of the other now permissible weapons.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1814, the War of 1812 ended. Historians never had a better name for the War of 1812?

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Red Sox Nation will survive the departure of Johnny Damon. Johnny Damon will have one good year for ther Yankees but will fade during the second half of next season and the rest of them.

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THE MOST RECENT BUMPER STICKERS include:

Marriage equals man + woman - (actually it was marriage equals stick figure plus stick figure in a dress) Now that is confusing as there are many men who wear dresses, here in the U. S., Scotland and elsewhere. I think the sign is trying to say that when same sex or different sex couples get wed, one of them should be wearing a dress and the other should be in regular sticks. But, it was sponsored by the 700 Club, so perhaps it meant that marriage should be between people of different genders.

This car insured by Smith and Wesson - And quite surprisingly a redneck was driving a pickup truck.

W The President - Yes, this is Bush country. There were a lot of these stickers here. I never did buy one of those parodies of that bumper sticker - M The Moron. I should but I only have one bumper sticker and do not want to get into plastering my car or tattooing myself to broadcast some messages. I do have one bumper sticker - a red, black and white EFF bumper sticker. It reads, "EFF -- Proud Member http://www.eff.org/"

Yes I am an extremely proud member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge, and many other organizations as well. Two of my memberships are becoming troublesome to me and I might quit in the coming year. More on that later…..

Kerry Edwards - Yes, Democrats happen. There are a few here.

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THE NEXT GREAT CHARACTER ASSASSINATION is coming

Lawrence B. Wilkerson, former chief of staff for Secretary of State COLIN POWELL, will be the next victim of the Republican Assassination machine. He will join the ranks of other military men who will be attacked as cowards or unpatriotic or dangerous or worse - LIBERAL. The list includes Sen. John McCain (remember George W. Bush's vicious 2000 South Carolina primary campaign?), Sen. Max Cleland, Sen. John Kerry, General Wesley Clark and others.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/politics/24wilkerson.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1135431635-5lOR86hS3UOFtwpvn2oJlg

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INNOCENCE

"We have no choice but to be guilty. God is unthinkable if we are innocent." Archibald MacLeish, 1958

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Posted by EMH at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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BREAKING NEWS - CNN IS REPORTING from the A. P. THAT papers written by Judge Alito have surfaced in which Alito stated that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.

I suspected that that is how Alito feels. Too bad he has to be so squirrely (sorry to offend squirrels) and just be honest and admit it. This type of dodging truthfulness is what gives lawyers and politicians such a bad name. And law and politics are supposed to be truly noble callings.

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I GOT TO EXPERIENCE ONE OTHER GOOD THING ABOUT LIVING IN MY HOUSE. I woke up this morning (warning, blues song approaching) gathered the clothes from the floor, walked on down the hall (from Jim Morrison's song, "The End"), came to a room, looked inside (more of "The End"), found a washer and dryer, there were no clothes in them and they did not require change to use, there were no cleaning women looking at me to make sure I wouldn't use their better and cheaper units, stuffed the clothes and liquid in, turned it to the "permanent press" position, heard the rush of water, and experienced a rush of euphoria. I did not have to walk a hundred yards to the elevator, go down 21 floors with the right change and all of the rest. YEA!

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I'm sitting here drinking (almost a blues song) my Trader Joe's just-ground in my Williams Sonoma BA all-purpose coffee machine French Roast coffee with my MoMA cup placed on my CENTRAL PARK BOATHOUSE coaster with my clothes spinning freely (double entendre) in the room next to the kitchen pondering whether I should use both bananas in my soon-to-be-made pancakes with pure maple syrup from Vermont.

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Congratulations to my New York friends on the subways and buses rolling again. YEA!

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Great news! The nasty behemoth has been caught. Wal-Mart is so bad in so many ways for the U. S. as well as international workers. I stopped buying Wal-Mart stuff the day after they announced that they would no longer carry two "unfit" magazines that I occasionally read, ROLLING STONE and SPIN. They stopped carrying these magazines because of the influence of the dishonest wife cheating minister, Jimmy Swaggart, who had publicly outed them for carrying these magazines. That was, of course, before Swaggart was caught fleecing his flock and using his congregation's money to buy prostitutes and before that tearful, "I have sinned," national performance.

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From today's NY Times:

BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 22- A California jury on Thursday ordered Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, to pay $172 million in damages for failing to provide meal breaks to nearly 116,000 hourly workers as required under state law.

AND THERE ARE ABOUT 40 MORE CASES against Wal-Mart in other states.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/23/business/23nwalmart.html

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Is THOMAS KINKADE the KENNY G of the art world? How do either of these THINGS occur? Thomas Kinkade and Kenny G are the best examples of why there needs to be music and art education in the United States (and anywhere else where people would buy, look at or listen to this). Thinking anymore about this is too sad. I want to have a good day - time to move on.

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I SEEM TO USUALLY BE AT ODDS WITH HOW THE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT industry operate - their normal assumption that everyone wants to steal their product, that all of their customers are crooks, that the Internet is nothing but an illegal digital flea market/swap meet, and that any product released has to be so damaged and captured in digital controls that it will not function as well or as in diverse ways as it should.

I want them - the creators, performers, management, etc. - to do well. I have been a professional musician since I was 12, and work and have worked in film and ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT. I have purchased (not gotten for free) more than 6,500 CD's and hundreds of DVD's. I have used this stuff primarily as a professor. But, sadly, I am forced to view the music and entertainment industry in the same way that David would view Goliath or that someone with chickens would view wolves in the neighborhood - they are not to be trusted. THEY WERE OPPOSED TO THE iPOD. They have hated every new technology and are at this moment hard at work to halt progress as they view their customers as inherent crooks who are waiting to use new technology for what the industry considers bad purposes.

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So it is with great joy that I read about what is going on in France - French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres wanted to crack heads (not a double entendre) and crack down on digital piracy. His proposal was extreme and mega draconian - $360,000 in fines and up to three years in jail (why not torture the closest living relative as well?) for these EVIL CITIZENS/EVIL DOERS!

The rational and reasonable reacted in a wildly opposed manner - they "would legalize file-sharing by anyone paying a monthly royalties duty estimated at $8.50."

This might be drastic but something along these lines would GENERATE MONEY for those in the music and entertainment fields. Something sensible will come from this side of the debate.

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To quote someone with whom I always agree -

"THERE IS NO COMBINATIONATION OF LAW, POLITICS, TECHNOLOGY and worst of all, EDUCATION that will stop file sharing. It is here to stay. Every new technology THREATENS business as usual and then BECOMES business as usual."

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Here is the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051222/ap_on_hi_te/france_piracy_vote

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NEGATIVE THOUGHT for the day

THINKING "Most people would die sooner than think, in fact, they do so." - Bertrand Russell, 1925

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Posted by EMH at 08:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I WAS ON MY WAY OUT THE DOOR yesterday when I got a call from The City Paper asking my opinion about a recently filed lawsuit against Napster. I am not a fan of the new Napster, would never subscribe to the service, find the price for individual songs and the subscription itself too high, the selection (like every other subscription service) miniscule and laughable when it comes to my needs and those of zealous music fans with BIG COLLECTIONS, and have debated one of their vice presidents at a conference. Having written that, I found myself in the funny position of defending the new Napster.

Whatever Napster's shortcomings, NAPSTER is going about its business legally.

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From the article, it seems that a Nashville attorney has decided to shoot first and ask questions later, i.e., file the lawsuit rather than talk, listen and fix things/negotiate. Sadly, that is typical of some attorneys and music industry people in Nashville. And of course, the Nashville publishers claim that their damages are EXTRAORDINARY and worth $150,000.00 per infringement.

When plaintiffs start waving the $150,000.00 per offense flag, they lose their credibility. No rational/reasonable person could find that each offense is worth $150,000.00. At that rate, if one were to download 10 songs from an album, for example, one should have to pay $1.5 million. This lawsuit is about hundreds of songs (too bad the attorney does not have an exact count) and multiple uses of all of these songs. BIG MATH, BIG EGO, small minds, and smaller ethics are at work here, but that happens often in Nashville.

NAPSTER MUST BE AS DANGEROUS AND UNLAWFUL as Quakers, Greenpeace and PETA. Perhaps Napster also has weapons of mass destruction somewhere? How will we know if we don’t inspect? Perhaps Napster should be wiretapped.

The article is here:

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section=9&screen=news&news_id=46733

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MAKE SURE TO LOAD UP ON SCISSORS AND SCREWDRIVERS WHEN you fly today. We have gotten used to packing tools, scissors, box cutters, knives and more in baggage to be checked but now we can go back to the pre 2002 pack some weapons.

My first job, other than the typical Boston jobs for teens and pre teens - mowing lawns, shoveling snow from driveways and off department store roofs, and raking leaves - was as a stock boy at the New York Store, a women's dress store. I opened boxes, pulled out the dresses and put a strange transparent plastic cover over the shoulder of these dresses and then hung them up and brought them upstairs. (In between the last two steps, Janet would price the dresses. Oh Janet. Oh Paula. I had such a crush on Paula that I bought her the Flying Burrito Brothers' third album, even before we ever kissed. There are many great stories involving Janet M., and then Paula G., and then Jane G., but those need not be written now.)

My principal tool at the New York Store was a box cutter. Those are great devices with very short razor blades that tear the hell out of a box. But when I would misplace my box cutter, I would grab a scissors as that was as effective (and dangerous).

People using box cutters with very small razor blades, killed many people. People who use scissors and tools have the potential to wreak havoc just as well.

PEOPLE SHOULD CONTINUE to pack their weapons in their checked luggage and not carry them on to planes.

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Yesterday, Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska said, "THIS HAS BEEN THE SADEEST DAY OF MY LIFE." For more than 25 years Stevens has been trying to open up beautiful land (one always uses the word PRISTINE to describe wilderness land) in Alaska for oil drilling. Yesterday, every Democrat and enough Republicans joined forces to stop Stevens who had tried to sneak his beloved oil drilling in to the military budget.

But how could a day in which his sneaky add on was defeated be worse than a day in which Stevens experienced the death of either of his parents or friends or loved ones or relatives? Ted, that is as credible as a downloaded song being worth $150,000.00. Stop the SILLY HYPERBOLE, Ted. Coming from an 82 year old VERY OLD SENATOR, you seem even more pitiful.

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JOHNNY DAMON IS A (Dick Cheney style profanity) DISHONEST BASTARD

In May 2005, Johnny Damon, speaking to MLB.com, said:

"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they're going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need."

BASTARD

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As my friends know, I would rather be in New York than in my dull neighborhood in Tennessee. Lately, my work load has increased and I have little time for love, exercise, meeting new people, seeing the new AARON DROZIN film, Fun with Dick and Jane (I did not get to see it yesterday as I have too much copyright work right now) and so on. But I am trying to pay attention to the strike in New York as well as news and Red Sox and Boston news.

A friend wrote to me yesterday. This is from her email and part of her experience with the transit strike. She too is in love with life in New York and her optimistic perspective is great to read.

"The Manhattan Transit Strike is now finishing its second day. No end in sight, but for those of us who reside and work on the island, it is the Next Big Thing. Madison and Fifth Avenues were completely void of traffic, becoming the most exclusive rollerblading domain in the world. A trip to the bank yesterday afternoon became a visual throwback to the 1800's. I was at 69th.Street, on the summit of one of the famous ""slants" and only foot traffic was meandering along Madison. Vendors ran out of coffee, my patients canceled and a certain kind of bonding occurred with everyone I encountered."

There are always great moments and fun to be had during blackouts, strikes and even disasters. I only wish I was in Manhattan right now. If things go right, I will be in Manhattan some time between December 27 and January 5.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO DICK CHENEY who yesterday cast the tie breaking vote for fiscal responsibility. This fiscal responsibility did not delay or cancel the next tax cut (to come in 2006), but made sure that life would get more difficult for college students trying to get loans, the poor, the middle class and senior citizens.

It must be heart warming for DICK CHENEY's warm heart to raise the interest rates for students who want to go to college. Don't we have too many college students who all live in grand luxury, and too many graduates in technical fields already? And isn't it true that most of the world - India, China and Japan - offers us no real competition for jobs in any technical fields?

Every Democrat voted against making it more difficult for students to get loans. This is one of many reasons why I much more often support Democrats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/politics/22student.html

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NEGATIVITY, in case there has not been enough above:

HARPSICHORD - "The sound of a harpsichord - two skeletons copulating on a galvanized tin roof." - Sir Thomas Beecham, 1976

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Posted by EMH at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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YESTERDAY HAD ITS UPS AND DOWNS. The good news? George Bush not only committed what many of us consider IMPEACHABLE offenses but videotape of his lying about it (possibly his first coverup) surfaced in Buffalo. The President has the power to spy, given a half second impulse, and then within 72 hours ask for a court order. That would leave no excuse for breaking the law. As we learned during Watergate, not even the President is above the law. Interestingly, John Dean, Counsel to President Nixon, stated that this is the first time that a President has ever publicly admitted to impeachable offenses.

This White House cannot use the excuse that they are too busy or that it is too difficult or time consuming as THIS WHITE HOUSE has had the time to PRODUCE SEVEN (7) "BARNEY AND MISS BEAZLEY'S VIDEOS" Podcasts. (These are available for free from the Apple iTunes Store.) This White House also did a very professional long video for the White House Correspondents Dinner in which President George W. Bush repeatedly looked under his desk and in other parts of the White House and would say after each, "no weapons of mass destruction here." It is amazing that THE WHITE HOUSE has the time, energy and insensitivity to indulge in this tasteless humor in wartime and in view of the relatives of thousands of injured and dead military.

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Spying on people in other countries is normal. Even friendly nations spy on each other (Israel spying on the U. S. and vice versa). But spying on U. S. citizens by the U. S. governnment, without court approval, is completely wrong and indefensible. The spying now, just like in the recent past with another law breaking paranoid power hungry president, Richard Nixon, is also on U. S. citizens who have done nothing to harm our country. PETA, Greenpeace and other groups should be left alone. Spying on them is a waste of tax players' money and the government's resources.

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THE OTHER GOOD NEWS

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled against Intelligent Design ("Sophisticated Fashion," as I like to call it) yesterday. His decision applies to the School Board of Dover, PA but will be important elsewhere.

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My three favorite quotes from Judge Jones' more than 100 page decision are below:

"We find that the secular purposes claimed by the Board amount to a pretext for the Board's real purpose, which was to promote religion in the public school classroom, in violation of the Establishment Clause."

"Repeatedly in this trial, Plaintiffs' scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and that it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator."

"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy. It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy."

And this comes from an "activist judge" (whenever one disagrees with a court's decision, one should mindlessly call the judge an "activist judge" and blindly state that "he has legislated from the bench"), appointed by George Bush.

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The BAD NEWS - the New York City transit strike. I am almost always on the side of the downtrodden or the powerless. I usually am pro-student, pro-worker, and pro-union. But this strike is illegal and will cause these union workers a lot of money, two days pay for each day on strike, and the union as a whole $1 million per day. Once I learned that the transit workers wanted to have retirement at age 50, and are now pushing for age 55, I lost my empathy for them.

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The much worse bad news - Johnny Damon, the Red Sox centerfielder, signed with the Evil Empire. Again, New York, a city of 8,000,000, and Steinbrenner are playing Goliath and trying to spend their way to the top. As one who always likes the underdog, I wish the Yankees all the worst.

If I was not a relatively decent and polite person, I would indulge in Vice President DICK CHENEY-style profane language. But I must resist that temptation and anger.

Last night, Johnny Damon, who I thought was a nice guy, called himself, "the best lead off hitter in the game." I think he has jinxed himself with that remark. The Yankees' gigantic payroll has not bought the type of success that it should and it will be great to cheer against them, and big insurance and big banks, again.

I am certain of one thing - the New York Yankees will not win the World Series. I've been predicting that since 2001 and I have been right.

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AS USUAL, my mother got it right. She said that Damon has not been the same since his head injury (when he ran into the centerfield wall at Fenway Park this summer), and that this is also the bad influence of his new meretricious (my word, not hers) wife. LOL

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I am getting hooked on walking Radnor Lake, especially the South Cove trail, while listening to podcasts, and in particular, TWIT, an acronym meaning, "This Week In Technology."" Leo Laporte is the host and John Dvorak, one of the guests. Although Dvorak has at times expressed foolish "lock 'em up and throw away the key" copyright maximalist viewpoints, he is tolerable and occasionally worth hearing.

The special guest for this podcast was STEVE WOZNIAK, the best of the brains from Apple's early days and the guy who made the Macintosh. (It was podcast 35, only the second I have gotten in my subscription.)

For tech talk it was enlightening and current and often off the wall and funny. For instance, Wozniak talked about his Segway Polo life and that the NY Times called him "the Wayne Gretzky of Segway Polo." There were also reports of prankish behavior as Wozniak would take sheets of $2 bills from the Treasury, segment and cut them up in front of store clerks and use them as currency.

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A FRIEND OF MINE BEGINS TO BECOME FAMOUS TODAY. I have known him all his life and he has always called me by what he first thought was my real name, a one word name. No, I am not Madonna, Britney or Paris. Aaron Drozin calls me

"MichaelHARrington"

a five syllable word with an accent on the third syllable.

Aaron Drozin is 7 years old and plays the son of JIM CARREY in the new film, FUN WITH DICK AND JANE that is released today. I will go see the film today just to see how that great chick magnet, large brain, sweet adorable pal of mine steals the show in the film, or so I will expect of him. LOL

Aaron is the son of my two very good friends, Garth and Renee Drozin from Los Angeles.

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Posted by EMH at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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It has been more than 24 hours since my Fed Ex packages left Independence KY and there is no word on there whereabouts. If you come home, I won't do this to you again.

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Mrs. Anthrax and Dr. Germ, two of the most wanted in the infamous Iraqi PACK of PLAYING CARDS, have just been released as they are no longer important to the United States. I think that Sarah Scurvy and Melissa Mold might be next.

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George Bush is giving a press conference now. This is quite a rare event for him. For a reason unknown to me, CNN seems to be airing this live without delay, while MSNBC has a two second delay. I think MSNBC is rightfully worried that George Bush might use foul language again as he did when he called Adam Clymer, of the New York Times, "a major league asshole." http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/09/04/cuss_word/

Bush's friend Dick Cheney used even more offensive foul language when, at a photo op, told Senator Patrick Leahy to "f***k himself." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3699-2004Jun24.html

After Cheney had a day to reflect on this, he said that he did not express regret, instead was glad he said it and that others in the room wished they had said it as well.

Many consider Bush and Cheney to be good Christian men and of the family values breed but if the two foul mouth guys were Bill Clinton and Al Gore, there would have been a great deal of outrage. Congratulations to MSNBC on protecting the airwaves from possible foul language.

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Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates are Time Magazine Persons of the Year. Despite all of the harm Bill Gates has done to computers and computing, he has been a good philanthropist.

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Major Tammy Duckworth will run as a Democrat for Rep. Henry Hyde's seat. Henry Hyde, who is retiring, is a conservative Republican and one of the staunchest anti-abortion Congressional representatives. When Hyde was 43, he impregnated a woman who was not his wife. He said that having sex with a woman outside of your marriage when you are 43 years old is a "youthful indiscretion." I wonder how many others are as understanding.

Tammy Duckworth is a 37 year old National Guard helicopter pilot who lost both legs during an attack in Iraq. After having seen her interview yesterday on ABC This Week, I am extremely impressed and think that as an Illinois Democrat, she is the next big thing, as if Senator Barack Obama http://obama.senate.gov/ was not enough. Of course there will be Republicans who will attack her as being unpatriotic - one can never underestimate, or in the words of the Chief Elocution-er, "misunderestimate," what chicken hawks can do via character assassination. Look at what the Georgia Republican party did to triple amputee war hero, Sen. Max Cleland.

http://www.dod.mil/news/Jan2000/n01272000_20001274.html

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MoMA

"Safe: Design Takes On Risk" is an extremely original exhibit with great color, humor and surprises. It occupies most of the 6th floor at MoMA, where some of the largest works usually get displayed. MoMa's description is found here:

http://moma.org/exhibitions/2005/safe.html

and is partially reprinted here:

"SAFE: Design Takes On Risk," the first major design exhibition at MoMA since its reopening in November 2004, presents more than 300 contemporary products and prototypes designed to protect body and mind from dangerous or stressful circumstances, respond to emergencies, ensure clarity of information, and provide a sense of comfort and security. These objects address the spectrum of human fears and worries, from the most mundane to the most exceptional, from the dread of darkness and loneliness to the threat of earthquakes and terrorist attacks."

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But this does not address the great HUMOR found in this exhibit.

For example, "Suited For Subversion" is a suit designed for civil disobedience and made of nylon reinforced PVC padding complete with a secret wireless video recorder, speakers and microphone. It is worn to protect protestors from police and to record what the police are doing. It looks as if the person wearing it is in a gigantic cross between a fluffy red potato and the Andy Warhol Rolling Stones lips. It measures 47 x 31 x 23 inches - only the user's legs, arms and faces are showing.

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Other SAFE favorites of mine

"Ballistic Rose Brooch" is a 5 inch black rose made of Kevlar, the stuff that comprises bullet proof vests. It is humorous as it is a black rose that will stop any bullet penetration that hits this very small object. May the rose be with you.

"Safety Gear For Small Animals" is what it purports to be - small protective and or safety devices for small animals. The designer has an otter in a gas mask and a raccoon wearing a reflective vest and other safer animals.

There is a gigantic paper log cabin that is about half the size of my studio apartment at W. 51st. The cabin looks like something kids would do with enough gigantic Lincoln Logs made of cardboard.

Butterfly barbed wire, a water filter straw, a snow blizzard suit, five inch stuffed giant microbes, and many more.

Most of the devices, gadgets and designs are functional, essential and beautiful. As one who has bicycled across the United States three times and driven through, slept in and endured weather from 15 to 115 degrees, I can really appreciate the high tech artistic and utilitarian aspects of this great stuff. Go see this exhibit!

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YESTERDAY, I RETURNED TO MY FAVORITE PLACE IN NASHVILLE Radnor Lake. It has been called Nashvilles Walden, and better and worse, but it is a beautiful lake surrounded by hills and forests. Radnor Lake is man made and has deer. Central Park is man made but without deer. Radnor is quieter but I prefer Central Park. Still, any time spent at Radnor Lake or Central Park is sublime.

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/nh/natareas/radnor/

http://community.webshots.com/album/125315038PJMGog

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Posted by EMH at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

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My Fed Ex boxes left Independence, KY yesterday at 8:12 AM. I hope they are enjoying the sunny weather down here. It's an odd coincidence that I flew Independence Air and they drove to and from Independence KY. My Independence experience lasted for seven hours - the boxes' Independence experience lasted for five hours. The coincidence does not stop there as I am certain that we've both been x-rayed, touched in unusual places, questioned and treated as inhuman objects designed for someone else's pleasure.

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BREAKING NEWS - Los Angeles is now Boston West as four important Red Sox guys (three players and a manager) have joined the Los Angeles Dodgers The most recent, announced this morning, is Nomar Garciaparra, a name many people love to hear us Bostonians pronounce. Nomar now joins ex-Red Sox manager Grady Little, a guy who was fired because he did not take a weary and ineffective Pedro Martinez out of the year's most important game with the New York Yankees - the Red Sox lost and Grady was fired. Bill Mueller, third baseman and the most unknown batting champion in decades, also signed with the Dodgers. Last year, Derek Lowe, World Series hero but also a guy considered psychologically/emotionally challenged, signed with the Dodgers. Thank God Nomar, even though he is no longer a great player, did not sign with the Evil Empire.

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I HAD A GREAT TIME BACK IN NASHVILLE Friday night especially once I stopped comparing it to NY. My neighborhood is perfectly dull - it strives to have no character or individuality - there's an awful document that makes all of us living in this subdivision follow rules. You must agree with everything George Bush and his favorite philosopher, Jesus Christ, tell you to do. No. Just kidding but it seems that way. This is the heart of Red in a Red state.

I have to drive one mile just to get to a main road and leave my neighborhood. Restaurants and stores are almost three miles from my house. On Thursday night at 10:00 PM, there are no restaurants open, except for a few fast food chains.

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I attended a graduation and an art opening before ending the night with four great friends who are also excellent classical music pianists. It was great to see my friends, and even those who do not like me (who were at the first two), at these events.

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I WAS HAPPILY SURPRISED TO WAKE UP IN AN ENORMOUS HOUSE, one with four bedrooms and three full bathrooms. To get a drink of water, I had to leave the room walk into the hallway, turn right and way down to the kitchen, turn right into the kitchen, walk further to a cabinet to get a glass, walk way over to my new exciting refrigerator (a kick ass machine that has filtered water that comes out of the left door), activate the water flow by pressing the glass against the white thing, and then drink.

This sounds crazy and complicated and it is. In New York, I had to get out of bed and walk four steps to the sink. That's all. That place was very small - this place is very large.

AND THEN CAME THE NEXT BIG JOY - in my gigantic kitchen, there are cabinets everywhere and lots of cooking/mixing/shaking/baking/slicing/dicing/espresso-ing devices. THE NOVEL THOUGHT CROSSED MY MIND -

I CAN COOK!!!!! There are the right devices, space and best of all - real maple syrup and pancake mix and frozen blueberries. I correctly assumed that this stuff, which I had not seen since early August, would still be fresh enough. Of course, I could not keep this all straight so I cooked my pancakes and could not find the maple syrup for a awhile.

BUT cooking can be fun and I really liked that. Even with eating in right places in Hell's Kitchen, cooking your own food feels great and can save money. And with my great new refrigerator that dispenses filtered water from its door, there will be great culinary moments in my future.

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In 1787, the Constitution of the United States of America was signed by 38 of 41 delegates present at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Virtually everyone hails this document that is the basis for our government and its laws.

The U. S. Copyright Office, which once proudly quoted its charge, from Article 1 Section 8 of this all-important document, has reversed itself and gone to great lengths to disavow the U. S. Constitution.

Article 1, Section 8 states that Congress shall have the power... to promote the Progress of Science and useful arts by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

The UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE has decided that the United States public should not know why there is copyright or a copyright office. The USCO has fallen into bed with the music and film industry and they can't get out. With no public notice or explanation, they have decided to hide this quote/their justification from the public.

Visit this website: http://web.archive.org/web/20020810214905/http://www.copyright.gov/index.html

and then visit today's U. S. Copyright Office website and notice the missing quote from the U. S. Constitution:

http://www.copyright.gov/

Look at what's missing - the Constitutional basis for copyright. Perhaps the original document - the U. S. Constitution - was forged and the new "scholars" and rabid lawyers at the U. S. Copyright Office have only now uncovered that copyright is not about promoting the progress of science and the useful arts but rather keeping Hollywood, with its many wealthy beautiful starlets and ethically bankrupt executives, happy.

If federal employees, entertainment executives and fanatic lawyers, can't be as good looking as movie stars, they can at least suck up to them.

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I NEED TO DISCUSS HOW GREAT the newest MoMA Exhibit is. Before I left New York on Thursday, I saw "SAFE: Design Takes On Risk," on the 6th floor of MoMA. It is excellent and really surprising.

To be continued....

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Posted by EMH at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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The following was written yesterday (12/15/2005) on the second leg of my flight, so today means yesterday and yesterday means the day before yesterday, etc.

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I MADE AS MANY ERRORS AS I COULD TODAY and others made a lot as well. I think it is an omen I should not leave New York. It all started two days ago. Fed Ex had told me that they would be at my place between 8 and 5 to pick up the 7 boxes, also known as my life for five months. They could not be more specific. Damn it - on my last free day in NYC I do not want to be waiting for someone and being confined to my room, a place with 7 large boxes and chaos everywhere. Fortunately, I am in good with my friends, Jesus and Jack, the doormen who are working until 3 PM. At 3 PM, the complete pain in the ass, Dave the Republican, was scheduled to get to work, along with the greatest doorman of them all, my dear friend, Corneliu. I rarely ask anyone for favors so I thought it would be OK to ask my pals, Jesus and Jack, and not surprisingly, they were as great as ever.

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While they watched out for them, I did one more great round of Central Park. Maybe I'll write more about that later but I want to get to today's fiasco caused mostly by my stupidity.

I checked back yesterday and the boxes had not been picked up by 4 PM. Corneliu was fine about it and Dave was predictable trying to make me feel bad that I was causing him trouble. The boxes did not talk or walk and they were not in the way but some people like to revel in misery and D the R is good at it. I checked FedEx.com and they indicated that I had had only one box, not seven, and that it had been picked up and was residing in Brooklyn! What????? One box and it was hanging in B-lyn? Like hell!

I called them and the woman was nice but not helpful. She told me that they had not been picked up but that no one was answering the phone so she couldn't tell me more. She said that they might be late (that was a bit obvious) and that if they did not come by tomorrow, to call back.

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I NEEDED TO DO MORE FUN THINGS so I did more of the Park and then went to see friends near Columbus Circle,

By 7 PM, I returned to my place hoping to see that Corneliu and hoping the D The R would be having his supper break and would be gone, unfortunately it was just the opposite and D The R was his thorny self. So I left for the night knowing that something would likely happen somewhere to someone and maybe someone's boxes could find a home in a place other than Brooklyn and maybe my boxes would get lucky and leave for NashVegas.

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My final night was amazing as I met a lot of people all of them irreverent and quite nuts. NUTS IS GOOD and Hell's Kitchen was perfect on my last night in New York.

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Now cut to today. I have been flying Independence Air since they started in 2004. I have flown them a lot. It always goes like this

- you board in Newark and fly to Dulles and then Nashville or you do those steps in reverse. It does not change. They only served Newark so I got quite used to whole routine. I know where to eat and drink in the Newark Airport and look forward to it.

TWO DAYS AGO I MADE MY USUAL RESERVATIONS FOR A CAR WITH 212-777-7777. It is a very good service. They pick you up early and take you to LaGuardia, Newark or JFK. The drivers are from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Russia, Japan and many other places and are very interesting characters. I look forward to them as well.

Because I was flying Independence Air, I thought, NEWARK. INDEPENDENCE AIR EQUALS NEWARK in my mind. Thats just the way it has always worked.

We got to Newark very quickly, with about 2 hours to spare. I knew that with bad weather coming, the height of tourist season, and only hours before the NYC Transit strike, it would be good to have spare time and get there early.

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The line at the IA counter was very slow but after 30 minutes, I got to check in. The woman could not find me in the computer. I told her I had confirmed it last night. She asked if I had written proof. I told her that my entire life was in my laptop and that I would show her momentarily that this proud I Club member was to be on this flight.

HERE IS WHERE MY STUPIDIITY, OR POSSIBLY MY TOO HECTIC LIFESTYLE, KICKS IN.

I WAS AT THE WRONG AIRPORT!!! I had booked it from LaGuardia. I found out they served LaGuardia, most New Yorker's airport of choice, so I had the intelligence back then to book it from LGA. Unfortunately, I never gave it another thought until I read my confirmation stuff from my laptop in Newark NJ today.

The woman at the desk told me to call this IA 800 number and change things. I called them and they told me that everything was booked and that I would not be able to fly that day. Uh oh, Not good. And it would be easier and faster to get to Miami from Newark then to get from the Newark Airport to LaGuardia, especially at rush hour and having to do it in less than one hour.

FORTUNATELY, the woman in Newark took pity on me. But.....

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I was really singled out for this and after I left the desk, unbeknownst to me, the nice woman STUCK SPECIAL "C" LABELS ON MY LUGGAGE. I was now deemed very suspicious. I think I know why.

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1. I had booked a one way flight and was flying alone. Hijackers book one way flights.

2. I had gotten to the airport without a valid reservation. I was supposed to fly from LaGuardia to Dulles but this middle aged guy, who seemed intelligent, had some crazy story about confusing Queens Long Island with Newark New Jersey and that he had accidentally gone to the wrong airport. Damn it, this is not looking good. I fly a lot. I've never gone to the wrong airport. I think they considered me a desperate man in his last afternoon on earth. Maybe they thought Al Qaeda has entered the new phase where they convince middle aged Irishmen to do their evil deeds and get rewarded with 72 or 76 virgins after death.

3. And I was first flying to Dulles just outside Washington DC. It was not like the plane was going to Brattleboro Vermont or some non-strategic city.

Finally after some very kind, sweet, apologetic talk from me, the woman got me a ticket from Newark to DC.

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When I got to security, they asked me why my boarding pass said New York LaGuardia, and not Newark. I had to explain it many times and have them call her. Eventually I got to the x-ray machines when they told me that I would have to get out of line and get checked out.

The checking out was insane. The guy was professional, probably too much so. He waved that wand all over me - arms out, hands open (of course I should open my hands so I could drop boarding passes, phone, license and money).

He did not say, "cough," but did tell me that he would have to touch me all over but would use the back of his hand for my private parts. WHAT?????? Yup. That is exactly what happened. He used the back of his hand on the parts I like best and the front of his hand on my legs, knees, ankles... and he touched me everywhere while a lot of people watched. He instructed me to open up my belt making sure one end went east and the other went west (like a flasher would).

The three of us (the computer, the guy and I) then had to walk together to a special machine as it was her turn (my lovely 17 inch Mac) to be violated. He took that special stick with the Bounce dryer sheets attached and rubbed her in ways I never had. I may have felt jealous but I had not yet passed all of my tests so I had my ALREADY-TOUCHED-ASS to still consider.

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He did most of this without speaking but when he first spoke more than the commands, he asked me where I was from. He could not understand why a Tennessee resident who had done this many strange things already would have a Fast Pass transponder because this only works on toll booths in New England, NY, NJ and PA. The day was still going downhill and I was looking more unusual.

Eventually despite seeming suspicious, the feds gave up on me and let me go to the gate.

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Of course the flight was 45 minutes late leaving so I got to go the Garden State Pub, my favorite spot at that airport. J, a really good guy and Senior Legal Counsel for the Nature Conservancy, was seated next to me. Because a very lovely and funny woman was running the bar, all of the televisions were tuned to Oprah and not sports (how bizarre is that - all of the patrons in this New Jersey bar were men and all were watching Oprah, and the bartender) and J and I got to know each other well. We are extremely alike with respect to the important stuff - political views, we are both green tree-hugging environmentalists, he is good friends with the President of Berklee (a place that is very dear to my heart), and best of all -------- he grew up behind enemy lines in New York City and is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. THAT IS SUCH A HEROIC STUFF - GUTS AND GLORY. J is a hero of mine for having that great sense of morality (hating the Yankees) amongst enemy combatants in New York.

Another guy joined us. He remember we from the IA ticket counter, with my open laptop and strange stories of being lost, as well as from the complete PUBLIC GROPE DOWN from TSA agents. He was also in some trouble as his carry on stuff was too high tech for words and puzzling to the TSA.

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EVENTUALLY I got back to Nashville. From Dulles to Nashville, I sat with a wonderful young woman from Senegal who was going to check out med schools in Nashville. She was amazed that I had so many Senegalese CDs including everything by Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Ismael Lo and others, had met many of them, and even knew a few words of Wolof.

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A FEW THINGS WENT WELL SINCE getting back - it was great to see my friend, have her take me home, hang with her, and Coffee Beanery this morning has free wifi and refillable coffee.

I'm actually leaving out the crazy complications with Time Warner Cable on the day I left and a few more details of the GROPE DOWN.

But I miss the great people of New York. I couldn't love that city more.

To be continued.

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Posted by EMH at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

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I WENT THROUGH A FEW MORE GOODBYES AND LAST TIMES last night. I had hoped to go to an art opening at the Atlantic Gallery on Wooster Street but could not make that. Instead, a friend and I went to MELI MELO to see Evelyn, Sasha and Bernard, the owner. The beautiful women from Poland who work at Meli Melo are enough of a reason to be there but there is also Chef Bernard, his gang of friends who always show up, and the other assorted unique characters. One of last night's guests was Theo, who came to the U. S. from Greece in 1960, and is involved in many business ventures involving computers, digital editing and film.

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EVELYN AND SASHA were very happy when they heard I was coming to Meli Melo and were very welcoming, very good for my ego. My friend & I had our usual champagne and then I moved on to mojitos as I saw Evelyn make one. She made a fantastic one for me. And she knows this cool little trick that I had not known - instead of just sugar, mint leaves, lime, rum and soda water, Evelyn adds a little triple sec. WOW - it was fantastic. I had done so many things with mojitos - carresssed my mint leaves, tore them into little pieces by hand (I like the parallel with Cuban cigars and the by hand process), shaken them wildy in a metal shaker (as well as plastic shaker and glass shaker), experimented with different types of rum and sugar, etc. But a little bit of triple sec..... is fantastic! It took this international effort - the Poliish bartender in the French restaurant making a Cuban mojito - to improve on a great Cuban export.

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My friend and I then went to one of our neighborhood spots, Brazil Grill, to see my most blogged about person, Juliana, and take part in that always crazy place. Juliana told us about a possible change that could be coming - there is thought that they might change how they make caiparinhas. OH NO. This could be much worse than NEW COKE. These are the best caiparinhas anywhere - don't mess with them. She made them in the new style for us and wanted to know what we thought. We told her - they're too sweet and too easy to drink (there is less cachaca in them). Not to fear though as we asked her to make her style and she did.

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We were having a great conversation when a mid-30's ish guy came in and sat near us. This is the kind of guy I rarely see but when I do, I know it's not good. To paraphrase the Supreme Court, I can't define a creepy deviant pervert but I know one when I see one. He reminds of the type of guy your parents warned you about, the type you should never be alone with, and here he was with one target - JULIANA.

He had no redeeming qualities. He has a repulsive personality, was physically ugly, sweaty, fat, balding and, technically speaking, creepy and deviant. He was wearing a wedding band (creepy factor increases) and began his full frontal frightening verbal seduction of Juliana. I had never seen such polar opposites of beauty in this close proximity. His lines were really absurd - he attended the best parties in Manhatttan every night and he asked her to come to them, his friends are the most important people in New York and especially his great looking celebrity friend who was going to meet him soon. He tried everything and said everything. Juliana would usually just walk away or when she spoke say something either not encouraging or offensive, offensive if you get it and this guy never got it. After he couldn't get her approval, he told her that he would like to hire her. This guy was an absolute ass.

Other people started to notice the Deviant and were also as shocked and put off as nothing like this happens at Brazil Grill.

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Finally the big moment came and the Deviant's famous lawyer friend showed up. He was a thin deviant with black shoe polish covering every strand of his hair. He was a thinner but as creepy version of his fat friend. The Deviant bragged about him as being world famous, great looking and had appeared on Celebrity Justice. No one seemed to recognize him, and I doubted every part of the story.

But these two did inspire me to write haiku. I grabbed two napkins and wrote one haiku on each. The first haiku was for the Deviant, the other for the shoe polish haired "lawyer."

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He thinks one of these
lines is gonna work but he's
terrifying her

If this idiot's
got a law practice, then I've
got a vagina

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A FUNNY Tattoo STORY

My friend, JERI, a mega-female from Texas, was living in Germany. A German guy named Tom fell for her. He fell so hard he had to tattoo their names on his chest. So he went to a German tattoo shop and had the words, 'TOM and JERRY," not "TOM and JERI," pierced into his skin - this from a proud German heterosexual. Either Tom or the tattoo artist or both needed a few more chapters of English. One of the things I'll never do is tattoos as I don't think there is much permanent about me, or at least nothing for which I need to broadcast to the world. Blogs are tattoos enough.

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LAST NIGHT WAS REALLLY MY LAST FULL NIGHT HERE. It was a fitting and great finale. More on that later. I am waiting for Time Warner to come to my place and disconnect me (Oh, the humanity!). I still have to pack, take my final trip to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA to its friends, and I am a double member), Hell's Kitchen and Central Park.

To be continued further south....

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Paul Hinman correctly answered the last Sp