For being one of the more noted democracies, this country sure is starting to take a rather Medieval attitude about its rulers. I suppose having people vote for her was just God’s will. Why bother with the charade then? Let’s just crown Bush emperor of the Christian American Empire. *sigh* Here’s hopin’ November shuts these people up…
Oh, and I forgot to link the Onion, which tipped me off to the whole farce to begin with.
What is up with Middle Eastern leaders in Axis of Evil nations wanting to debate Bush? First Saddam, now Ahmadinejad. I just do not understand the attraction of such an event. Watching Bush debate anyone is like watching the captain of the football team debate the captain of the debate team. Then again, maybe that is why they want to debate him… But that’s just cruel. Still, watching two religious zealots bicker over foreign policy issues might be rather entertaining.
I agree with the press that the debate challenge is just a stall tactic. August 31st is comin’ up quickly. The question is then, can Russia and China be coerced into not vetoing a resolution against Iran? And will Ahmadinejad end up like Saddam, being found in a hole in the ground outside his hometown, disheveled, led away by US Special Forces? If so, I better get used to wearing ACUs, since I do not see the US invading Iran without calling up the draft. How would the Republican party fare then?
冪 - to cover with cloth, according to the Hong Kong Yahoo! dictionary. It also means a veil and the mathematical concept of power (as in x to the power of y: x^y). I find it interesting how in some languages a compound action (like covering with a cloth) can be expressed in one word, whereas that same action takes several in English. While making learning a second (or third or nth) language difficult, I find that is what makes it enjoyable, because it is different, and you can learn a lot about a culture through its language. And, yes, I do look up random words in the Hong Kong Yahoo! dictionary. Gotta love traditional Chinese…
All of you amazon.com fans may have noticed that they recently revamped their recommended section. It is quite nice, actually. The main recommendation page has links to categories of things in which you might be interested. For example, on my page the list includes such categories as ADV films, Experimental Rock, Geneon, Japanese, Chinese, Television, &tc. And the items in these categories are pretty good; some I would consider buying, others not so much. I will admit, I think amazon could do a slightly better job on that. Netflix actually has a very good system, and a number of their recommendations have gone on my queue. However, to refocus, one of the categories in my recommendation page is literature, of which I am rather fond. So, when I clicked on the literature link I expected to find, well, literature, books by Joyce, Faulkner, or Conrad. Instead, I found a bunch of links to manga and the hardcover edition of The Chamber of Secrets (which I already own in softcover). Now, I do enjoy some manga, and given that I have been buying quite a bit recently from amazon it is to be expected that they would be recommending manga to me out the yin-yang. But putting it under literature? A fallacy, I say! Manga, and other graphic novels, while good reading, are not what I want to see under literature. This is not to discount them on their literary merits in any way. Just, I expect the classics there, is all. Needless to say, amazon’s recommendations could stand some improvement. And a frank discussion on what “literature” truly is!
I thought when you evolved, your species improved…
Krispy Kreme and 叉燒包? Screw DC, I’m movin’ to Hong Kong!
Don’t you hate being born in the wrong century? The following is my autobiography from a certain messageboard hosted by a certain Tamil:
Born in the British territory of Malacca, I spent my formative years sailing the nearby waters with the occasional jaunt down to Singapore for a spot of civility. My education consisted of 12 years at the Johor Grammar School, followed by a stay at Oxford where I studied Biblical Hebrew and Assyrian history. I was commissioned in the British Royal Army as a Lieutenant, stationed in Kowloon. There, I learned the joy that is char siu bao and Cantonese. After seeing action in Afghanistan, I retired to the family estate in Devonshire, where I wrote a lengthy tome about the Indus River culture. Its acceptance in academic circles allowed me to move to Annapolis, where I sail a sloop carrying spices from the East Indies.
Back in the land of warm showers, air-conditioning, and stores being open on Sunday. I’ll post more on my trip to Germania later today. Suffice it to say, it was hot, humid, and terrific…