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Monthly Archives: January 2004

Takin’ a Break

29-Jan-04

I won’t be posting much for the next week or ten days. I’m working on some other writing projects, and I’ve also got some travel coming up next week. So hasta February, mis amigos. I leave you with these links:
–More on the exploding sperm whale in Taiwan–Kaba Kick: “Russian roulette for kids”–Miles B. responds to […]

My Next Destination: Kaohsiung, Taiwan

28-Jan-04

“Bird Flu” is raging in nearby Vietnam. SARS is still a danger. And China’s got missles pointed in its direction.
I ask you this: could there possibly be a better time for me to move to Taiwan? The answer, of course, is no!
In early March, I’ll be heading to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where Jill A. and I […]

The American Imperium

27-Jan-04

Josh Marshall, who writes about American foreign policy better than anyone I’ve read (including Tom Friedman, who I simultaneously love and hate), writes in the current New Yorker:
American power is magnified when it is embedded in international institutions, as leftists have lamented. It is also somewhat constrained, as conservatives have lamented. This is precisely the […]

A Few Things

26-Jan-04

1) First of all, Jordan M. sends along this excellent article from today’s NY Times. “Someone Is Stealing Avocados, and ‘Guac Cops’ Are on the Case.” (Loyal readers know that I make a mean guacamole. Or at least I think I do. And also, I like to compare avocado prices throughout the Americas–they’re about 25 […]

Miscellaneous Stuff

23-Jan-04

–I predict great things for Wonkette, a DC political gossip blog brought to you by the fine folks at Gawker.
–What happens when you eat nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days? Nothing good, that’s for sure.
–Google’s just launched their own version of Friendster.
–My Yahoo! now features RSS feeds.

You’re Not Fooling Anybody…

22-Jan-04

…with that storefront (via TMN).

The Jayhawks

22-Jan-04

I saw the exceptional Jayhawks perform at the storied 9:30 Club last night. Lots of fun.

“Meet the Fockers”

21-Jan-04

Sweet Jesus, there is a God.
Hollywood Reporter: “Dustin Hoffman has been cast as Ben Stiller’s father in ‘Meet the Fockers,’ the sequel to the 2000 comedy hit ‘Meet the Parents.’”
No word on whether or not Mr. Jinx will be returning.
(P.S. Further evidence of a higher power here.)

Dean’s Primordial Scream

20-Jan-04

Jack W. writes:
I don’t know how to link directly to it, but on www.DrudgeReport.com you can get a link to an audio of Dean’s concession speech last night in Iowa, where he starts shouting out the names of states that he is going to win, and then lets out this guttoral Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! sound. It’s […]

Huffin’ Down the House

16-Jan-04

Wow. Jack W. sends along this breaking news item from Roll Call:
House Pages Expelled for Chemical AbuseBy Jennifer YachninRoll Call StaffFriday, Jan. 16; 09:44am
Seven students were expelled from the House Page School last Friday after they were found abusing household cleaners. School officials discovered the students apparently using aerosol dust cleaner — which can contain […]

The News from Ecuador this Week

16-Jan-04

My weekly Ecuadorian news round-up is over at Southern Exposure. Sneak preview: it contains volcanic eruptions and naked prison protests. (Southern Exposure, by the way, is now a part of Living in Latin America.)

El Nino, Lightning, and Civil War Ninjas

16-Jan-04

These are the best couple of essays I’ve seen since Civil War Ninjas.

“Wimps and Barbarians”

15-Jan-04

Terrence O. Moore says boys today too often don’t grow up to be real men of character. But he’s got a solution: teach them to be neither wimps nor barbarians.

Limecat

14-Jan-04

FYI, Limecat is not pleased.

More Notable Items

14-Jan-04

–Yikes: The NYTimes’s David Carr reports that “the legacy of the Lingua Franca, a literate magazine for academics and like-minded folks that closed in 2001 and went into bankruptcy, lives on, but perhaps not in the way that its contributors may have hoped. The bankruptcy trustee in charge of the case, Robert Geltzer, has served […]