If, in 1958, you drove an old V8:
From where were you heading?
To where had you made it to within a mile from?
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Quote of the Day
"The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star."
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Like Father, Like Son
From the time The Lad was a very tiny baby, I would hold him while cooking. And it's already rubbed off on him. Kitchen utensils (no, not the sharp ones -- I know how you people's minds work) are among his favorite toys. And after TFR made a comment to him about the whisk with which he was playing this morning, he's added a new word to his vocabulary -- "roux".
That's my boy.
That's my boy.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
The First Cut is the Deepest
Another day of classes has passed, and it finally feels like we're actually culinary students. It was our first day in full brigade. It was the first day where homework was due. It was the first day we actually got to do hands-on work in the kitchen, practicing using our steels and then peeling and dicing onions.
And most importantly, it was the day that First Blood was drawn. One of my classmates went to loan her knife to another, and forgot to hand it to him grip first. Voila! Two stitches on his index finger. I helped him out of his apron and toque and escorted him to the school clinic (interesting that it's situated only one building over from Culinary Arts).
It was the first wound of our school careers, but I'm sure it won't be the last. Though at least the suspense is over.
The part that bothered me and some of my fellow students was that the young woman who handed the knife improperly took offense when one of us said something to her. Perhaps she felt it wasn't his place as a classmate to say something, but the fact is, he was right -- she SHOULD have practiced proper safety techniques.
And most importantly, it was the day that First Blood was drawn. One of my classmates went to loan her knife to another, and forgot to hand it to him grip first. Voila! Two stitches on his index finger. I helped him out of his apron and toque and escorted him to the school clinic (interesting that it's situated only one building over from Culinary Arts).
It was the first wound of our school careers, but I'm sure it won't be the last. Though at least the suspense is over.
The part that bothered me and some of my fellow students was that the young woman who handed the knife improperly took offense when one of us said something to her. Perhaps she felt it wasn't his place as a classmate to say something, but the fact is, he was right -- she SHOULD have practiced proper safety techniques.
Monday, September 25, 2006
You Asked for It...
So here it is, my culinary uniform (aka "brigade", pronounced "BruGawd"), including "funny hat" (culinary toque):
Today was my first day of classes. It was exhausting, but exciting. I've already made some friends, and one girl has already made enemies -- she wants to get degrees in the cullinary arts AND journalism and become *spit* a food critic *spit*.
Today was my first day of classes. It was exhausting, but exciting. I've already made some friends, and one girl has already made enemies -- she wants to get degrees in the cullinary arts AND journalism and become *spit* a food critic *spit*.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Hells Bells
Save #479, baby.
I love Oregon, and I don't regret moving back here for a minute, but sometimes I do miss going to Padres games. I hated calling it Qualcomm, to my dying day the stadium in Mission Valley will be the Murph, and I'm happy that they got such a beautiful new park. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to enjoy such a special occasion.
Oh, and the Dodgers still suck.
I love Oregon, and I don't regret moving back here for a minute, but sometimes I do miss going to Padres games. I hated calling it Qualcomm, to my dying day the stadium in Mission Valley will be the Murph, and I'm happy that they got such a beautiful new park. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to enjoy such a special occasion.
Oh, and the Dodgers still suck.
Fantasy Football: Week 3
Early showings:
I'm up 19.7 to 12.7, so definitely not out of the woods. Grossman's hit a wall vs. the Vikings Defense, and my opponent has Mark Bulger coming up for him later today. My best hope is another good showing by Seattle's offense (Morris and Jackson start for me) and Baltimore's defense.
Update:
An ugly win is still a win. My team had the worst showing yet, but I won because my opponent failed to bench his players who were off for a bye week. Oh, well. At least I'm 3-0.
I'm up 19.7 to 12.7, so definitely not out of the woods. Grossman's hit a wall vs. the Vikings Defense, and my opponent has Mark Bulger coming up for him later today. My best hope is another good showing by Seattle's offense (Morris and Jackson start for me) and Baltimore's defense.
Update:
An ugly win is still a win. My team had the worst showing yet, but I won because my opponent failed to bench his players who were off for a bye week. Oh, well. At least I'm 3-0.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Play MST for Me
Inspired by comments by readers Nightfly here and Angie Schultz at It Comes in Pints, I give you one of my favorite Mystery Science Theatre 3000 shorts ever:
UPDATE:
Oops, wrong one. Here ya go:
UPDATE:
Oops, wrong one. Here ya go:
Dissent is the Highest Form of Patriotism
Except, of course, for dissent amongst the dissenters.
(Thanks for the Memory to Steve-O at The Llama Butchers)
(Thanks for the Memory to Steve-O at The Llama Butchers)
Lead, and I Will Follow
Thanks for the Memory to Rachel Ray.
I want to work for this man!
Greg Higgins, owner of Higgins restaurant in Portland, believes in using local ingredients, and his menus highlight the foods and flavors that make the Northwest great. It was a joy watching the episode of $40/day that featured him, and to see our region, my state, and the foods about which I'm passionate being featured.
I want to work for this man!
Greg Higgins, owner of Higgins restaurant in Portland, believes in using local ingredients, and his menus highlight the foods and flavors that make the Northwest great. It was a joy watching the episode of $40/day that featured him, and to see our region, my state, and the foods about which I'm passionate being featured.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
American of Middle Eastern Descent Persecuted for His Views on 9/11
That Damned BushHitler and his Rethuglican stormtroopers!
Right?
Thanks for the Memory to Dr. Vinnie Huskerfan at the Jawa Report.
Right?
Thanks for the Memory to Dr. Vinnie Huskerfan at the Jawa Report.
Sympathy for the Devil
Thousands of Americans took to the street today, rioting in protest of Hugo Chavez' speech at the UN, in which he said of U.S. President George W. Bush, "The Devil was here yesterday. You can still smell the sulphur."
In Mobile, Alabama, members of American Legion Post 1234 burned an effigy of Chavez, along with a Venezuelan flag and their Citgo gas cards.
Cletus T. Dukeboys, of Deliverance, Georgia, leads a group of proestors in a chant of, "Y'all 'r infidels, Y'hear?"
Oh, wait... Never mind.
In Mobile, Alabama, members of American Legion Post 1234 burned an effigy of Chavez, along with a Venezuelan flag and their Citgo gas cards.
Cletus T. Dukeboys, of Deliverance, Georgia, leads a group of proestors in a chant of, "Y'all 'r infidels, Y'hear?"
Oh, wait... Never mind.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
The Devil is in the Details
Update:
Thanks for theMemory to Hot Air via Ace of Spades:
I originally posted this on December 7 of last year (interesting choice of dates, eh?). The reason I'm updating it today has to do with new information put out in the above blog entries, and I will address it as an update withing the post:
Thanks for the Memory to Bluto over at Blogfather Rusty's.
MSNBC reports on the interesting results in an AP-Ipsos poll:
Most Americans and a majority of people in Britain, France and South Korea say torturing terrorism suspects is justified at least in rare instances, according to AP-Ipsos polling.
Note the "At Least" part. Of that majority, as Bluto points out, the breakdown is 27%% supporting torture "often", 11% "sometimes", 23% "rarely, and 36% "never".
I've been avoiding commenting on this issue for some time, because I wanted to make sure I was expressing myself clearly when I did, and because the issue is so emotionally charged that most of the traffic regsrding it has far too low a signal to noise ratio. But the results of this poll lead me to believe that perhaps many more of my fellow countrymen feel as I do than I first suspected. Do we support torture? That depends.
Part of the problem I have with the debate, or at least, with one side's argument in the debate, is failure to address what I consider to be some important questions. How do we define torture? Do we delineate between different degrees of coercive techniques that fall short of that definition and true torture? Do we recognize varying extremes even among those measures we do define as such? Do we hold to different standards of treatment based on the status of the individual detainee, particularly their prior actions before capture? Do we hold to different standards of treatment for punitive measures than we do for interrogation? For enforced compliance or subdual of disruptive captives?
My position is one of answering "Yes" to all those questions. It seems, at leat to me, that many on the other side of the debate are inclined to answer "No" to most if not all of them. The extreme of this is the reaction people wo agree with me receive when they point out the difference between much if not all of the treatment for which the US has recveived criticism, and the actions of our enemies (both the former Baathist regimes plastic/people shredders and the current "insurgency's" fondness of beheading). The almost universal and instantaneous response is that such comparisons are nothing more than moral equivalence. The argument goes something along the lines of, "So you're saying that since Saddam tortured people worse than we torture people, then torture's ok?"
No, that's not what we're saying. That's a straw man, and furthermore, it's a hyperbolic oversimplification of the issue that adds nothing to the discussion. Yes, we would argue that because our actions are less extreme, they are less deserving of criticism than Say, Hussein's or Pol Pot's, but it's a little more complex than "He started it, mom!" Let me try to lay it out:
There are a variety of methods that have been and used by governments and other entities to punish individuals, extract information from individuals, for subduing violent or unruly individuals, and for coercing individuals into complying with the will of those employing these methods. These methods range in the amount of force employed and the effects rendered all the way from something as simple as fining an individual for failure to comply with a jaywalking law to killing a criminal who fails to comply with a police officer's order to drop his weapon. Some of these methods can be defined as torture as it is understood by any reasonable person, and some cannot. However, there are some methods whose definition as torture is open to debate among all but those holding extreme views of torture and it is also arguable that even among those methods that clearly fall into the category of torture, there are varying degrees of severity.
It is furthermore my belief and contention that like all other methods of enforcement, the question of whether torture is justifiable or not depends on many factors, including the severity of the torture, the ends of which the torture is being employed as a means, and the identity and status of the subject. Just as it is reasonable to argue that deadly force or incarceration is justified in some cases but not in others, so it is reasonable to argue that the amount of discomfort, displeasure, and even pain and anguish which is justified varies depending on the circumstances. And while I don't believe there is any hard, fast set of criteria, I do believe that some general guidelines can be outlined:
1. I believe that the level of guilt or innocence of the subject of such treatment is the most important underlying factor. The treatment of innocents who find themselves caught up in circumstances not of their own making should be far, far gentler than the handling of a hardened, murderous terrorist. Between the two are shades of gray.
2. With regards to punitive measure, here is where I come closest to agreeing with the other side. I believe that the application of torture for no other purpose than to punish should be very limited in scope at the extreme. That's not to say I don't think that some treatments defined by some people as torture aren't legitimate means of punishment, but my limits here are much stricter than in other cases. However, it is to be remember that the line between punishment as an end in itself and punishment as a means to cause compliance is a blurry one.
3. That brings us to coercion. It is my belief that unpleasant punishment techniques and even some techniques considered torture, when used to force a subject to comply, should vary according to the following criteria: The level of guilt of the subject; the level of resistance of the subject, and the consequences of failing to obtain compliance. If I need someone to move so I can see the stage, I'll say "excuse me. If I need the Al Quaeda member we captured this morning to get in his cell to help quell a riot, I'm going to beat him with my baton. Again, there's a lot of territory to be covered in the middle.
4. Subdual of the unruly or violent I consider to be a subset of coercion, and I have nothing to add.
5. When it comes to interrogation and information extraction, again, I believe that that depends on who has the information, how immediate the need for the information is, what other sources of the information are available, and what the results of failure to obtain that information will be. If Joe (or rather, Muhammed) the Janitor knows where they dumped the documents from a bioweapons program, I'm not going to be as harsh on him as I am on Andy (or Ahmed) Al Quaeda, who knows the time and place of the next IED attack.
There are some who add to their argument against torture the claim that "Torture Doesn't Work". My first response was to reply that that is a separate point from whether or not it is justified. But I have to acknowledge that if torture doesn't work, it goes from being a means of coercion or interrogation and is nothing more than a form of punishment, and that would diminish its justice. I am not advocating vindictive cruelty just for the sake of satisfying one's own lust for vengeance.
Of course, the real problem with that argument is that it is as broad and generalizing as "Torture is wrong". What do you mean, torture doesn't work? Are you saying that no form of torture ever accomplishes any of the ends for which it is intended? That's ridiculous. You might as well say "Force doesn't work". But while it is true that certain forms of torture have been used for certain ends, and failed miserably, there are also stories of certain coercive techniques, of varying levels of severity, accomplishing their intention. I'd argue that the effectiveness of torture, like its morality, is dependent entirely on the situation, the subject, the ends, and the means employed.
MSNBC reports on the interesting results in an AP-Ipsos poll:
Most Americans and a majority of people in Britain, France and South Korea say torturing terrorism suspects is justified at least in rare instances, according to AP-Ipsos polling.
Note the "At Least" part. Of that majority, as Bluto points out, the breakdown is 27%% supporting torture "often", 11% "sometimes", 23% "rarely, and 36% "never".
I've been avoiding commenting on this issue for some time, because I wanted to make sure I was expressing myself clearly when I did, and because the issue is so emotionally charged that most of the traffic regsrding it has far too low a signal to noise ratio. But the results of this poll lead me to believe that perhaps many more of my fellow countrymen feel as I do than I first suspected. Do we support torture? That depends.
Part of the problem I have with the debate, or at least, with one side's argument in the debate, is failure to address what I consider to be some important questions. How do we define torture? Do we delineate between different degrees of coercive techniques that fall short of that definition and true torture? Do we recognize varying extremes even among those measures we do define as such? Do we hold to different standards of treatment based on the status of the individual detainee, particularly their prior actions before capture? Do we hold to different standards of treatment for punitive measures than we do for interrogation? For enforced compliance or subdual of disruptive captives?
My position is one of answering "Yes" to all those questions. It seems, at leat to me, that many on the other side of the debate are inclined to answer "No" to most if not all of them. The extreme of this is the reaction people wo agree with me receive when they point out the difference between much if not all of the treatment for which the US has recveived criticism, and the actions of our enemies (both the former Baathist regimes plastic/people shredders and the current "insurgency's" fondness of beheading). The almost universal and instantaneous response is that such comparisons are nothing more than moral equivalence. The argument goes something along the lines of, "So you're saying that since Saddam tortured people worse than we torture people, then torture's ok?"
No, that's not what we're saying. That's a straw man, and furthermore, it's a hyperbolic oversimplification of the issue that adds nothing to the discussion. Yes, we would argue that because our actions are less extreme, they are less deserving of criticism than Say, Hussein's or Pol Pot's, but it's a little more complex than "He started it, mom!" Let me try to lay it out:
There are a variety of methods that have been and used by governments and other entities to punish individuals, extract information from individuals, for subduing violent or unruly individuals, and for coercing individuals into complying with the will of those employing these methods. These methods range in the amount of force employed and the effects rendered all the way from something as simple as fining an individual for failure to comply with a jaywalking law to killing a criminal who fails to comply with a police officer's order to drop his weapon. Some of these methods can be defined as torture as it is understood by any reasonable person, and some cannot. However, there are some methods whose definition as torture is open to debate among all but those holding extreme views of torture and it is also arguable that even among those methods that clearly fall into the category of torture, there are varying degrees of severity.
It is furthermore my belief and contention that like all other methods of enforcement, the question of whether torture is justifiable or not depends on many factors, including the severity of the torture, the ends of which the torture is being employed as a means, and the identity and status of the subject. Just as it is reasonable to argue that deadly force or incarceration is justified in some cases but not in others, so it is reasonable to argue that the amount of discomfort, displeasure, and even pain and anguish which is justified varies depending on the circumstances. And while I don't believe there is any hard, fast set of criteria, I do believe that some general guidelines can be outlined:
1. I believe that the level of guilt or innocence of the subject of such treatment is the most important underlying factor. The treatment of innocents who find themselves caught up in circumstances not of their own making should be far, far gentler than the handling of a hardened, murderous terrorist. Between the two are shades of gray.
2. With regards to punitive measure, here is where I come closest to agreeing with the other side. I believe that the application of torture for no other purpose than to punish should be very limited in scope at the extreme. That's not to say I don't think that some treatments defined by some people as torture aren't legitimate means of punishment, but my limits here are much stricter than in other cases. However, it is to be remember that the line between punishment as an end in itself and punishment as a means to cause compliance is a blurry one.
3. That brings us to coercion. It is my belief that unpleasant punishment techniques and even some techniques considered torture, when used to force a subject to comply, should vary according to the following criteria: The level of guilt of the subject; the level of resistance of the subject, and the consequences of failing to obtain compliance. If I need someone to move so I can see the stage, I'll say "excuse me. If I need the Al Quaeda member we captured this morning to get in his cell to help quell a riot, I'm going to beat him with my baton. Again, there's a lot of territory to be covered in the middle.
4. Subdual of the unruly or violent I consider to be a subset of coercion, and I have nothing to add.
5. When it comes to interrogation and information extraction, again, I believe that that depends on who has the information, how immediate the need for the information is, what other sources of the information are available, and what the results of failure to obtain that information will be. If Joe (or rather, Muhammed) the Janitor knows where they dumped the documents from a bioweapons program, I'm not going to be as harsh on him as I am on Andy (or Ahmed) Al Quaeda, who knows the time and place of the next IED attack.
There are some who add to their argument against torture the claim that "Torture Doesn't Work". My first response was to reply that that is a separate point from whether or not it is justified. But I have to acknowledge that if torture doesn't work, it goes from being a means of coercion or interrogation and is nothing more than a form of punishment, and that would diminish its justice. I am not advocating vindictive cruelty just for the sake of satisfying one's own lust for vengeance.
Of course, the real problem with that argument is that it is as broad and generalizing as "Torture is wrong". What do you mean, torture doesn't work? Are you saying that no form of torture ever accomplishes any of the ends for which it is intended? That's ridiculous. You might as well say "Force doesn't work". But while it is true that certain forms of torture have been used for certain ends, and failed miserably, there are also stories of certain coercive techniques, of varying levels of severity, accomplishing their intention. I'd argue that the effectiveness of torture, like its morality, is dependent entirely on the situation, the subject, the ends, and the means employed.
UPDATE (as promised): And here's where the latest information is important to consider: In an interview with Bill O'Reilly, ABC Correspondent Brian Ross admits that the interrogation methods used by the U.S. on individuals like Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, some of which qualify as "torture" by many definitions of the word, worked.
So if you ask me if I am for torture, my answer is, it depends. Who is being tortured? What do you mean by torture? Why are you torturing them? I've already established that I am not opposed to using force, even violent force, to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. Like Churchill, now I'm "just negotiating a price". The Devil is in the Details.
So if you ask me if I am for torture, my answer is, it depends. Who is being tortured? What do you mean by torture? Why are you torturing them? I've already established that I am not opposed to using force, even violent force, to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. Like Churchill, now I'm "just negotiating a price". The Devil is in the Details.
That'sh Shwell, Shweetheart....
Did I mention that during the last term of my second year at culinary school (Spring 2008), one of the elective courses will be Culinary Competition? I'm looking forward to taking that one, especially considering my knack for coming up with recipes on the fly. Tonight was no exception. Lately I've been too busy playing Mr. Mom to do any serious recipe developing, but TFR is on vacation. Tired of the same old dishes, we went to the store to shop for tonight's dinner. She had no idea what she wanted, so it fell onto me to develop a recipe. This is what I came up with while scrambling around Fred Meyer (yes, the same store that I developed the port chocolate recipe in):
4 bone-in pork loin chops, medium cut
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sweet yellow onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup Chardonnay
2 tbs apple sauce
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp dried rosemary
salt
pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add onion. While the onion is sauteeing, season the pork chops with the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and rosemary. When the onions are transparent, add the pork chops. Brown pork chops on both sides, then remove from skillet. Deglaze skillet with Chardonnay or other dry white wine. Stir in applesauce and dried cranberries. Return pork chops to skillet, simmer 5 for 5 minutes. Turn chops and simmer 5 more minutes. Plate chops and spoon sauce over the top.
I paired this with baked potatoes, sauteed green beans, and the same Chardonnay I used for the deglasse', and it was delicious.
4 bone-in pork loin chops, medium cut
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sweet yellow onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup Chardonnay
2 tbs apple sauce
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp dried rosemary
salt
pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add onion. While the onion is sauteeing, season the pork chops with the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and rosemary. When the onions are transparent, add the pork chops. Brown pork chops on both sides, then remove from skillet. Deglaze skillet with Chardonnay or other dry white wine. Stir in applesauce and dried cranberries. Return pork chops to skillet, simmer 5 for 5 minutes. Turn chops and simmer 5 more minutes. Plate chops and spoon sauce over the top.
I paired this with baked potatoes, sauteed green beans, and the same Chardonnay I used for the deglasse', and it was delicious.
The Sooner You Get a Life, The Better
Please, Oklahoma fans, seriously -- seek help.
A little background for those not paying attention: On Saturday, Oregon came from being down 33-20 to defeat Oklahoma 34-33. The pivotal play of the comeback was an onside kick after Oregon scored a touchdown with 1:12 left in the fourth to make the score 33-27. Oregon recovered the onside kick, and went on to score another touchdown, winning the game 34-33. The problem is, that footage revealed that an Oregon player touched the ball before it had gone 10 yards, as required by the rules. If that had been caught by the officials, Oklahoma would have received the ball, and the game would have ended with Oklahoma winning 33-27. Unfortunately, neither the officials on the field or in the replay booth saw things that way -- they ruled that the ball was first touched by Oklahoma, and the call stood. It was only after the game was over that the mistake was revealed.
I can understand the frustration of the Sooner fans -- it was a bad call, and I'll be the first to admit that if it had been made correctly, we would have lost. But that's the way things go in football -- referees make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes cost teams points -- earlier in the same game, for instance, the refs failed to flag OU for Delay of Game on a play that got them out of a deep hole and led to one of the scores that UO had to overcome later. Sometimes bad calls cost a team a game. It shouldn't happen, but it does. This isn't the first time it has happened, and it won't be the last.
But Oklahoma -- both the University and its fans -- need to get some perspective. Oklahoma is threatening to cancel a game with Washington unless the PAC-10 changes its rules for who officiates home games ("We'll take our ball and go home!"). They also requested that the game be stricken from the records as neither a win nor a loss for either team.
Here's an idea, first suggested by my friend Lurch: How about a joint resolution by the Pac-10 and the Big 12 that IT'S JUST A GAME!? Seriously, this is the biggest case of being sore losers I've ever seen. I'm also a Seahawks fan, and to this day believe that crappy officiating cost them the superbowl. But you know what? That's the way it goes. The Pittsburgh Steelers won that game, and they're the Superbowl champs -- not the Seahawks. Sportsmanship means you accept the outcome of the game, and you strive to make sure that next time it doesn't happen like that again. I agree with the PAC-10's suspension of the officials who made the call, and there's a valid argument for reviewing how officials are assigned. But threatening to cancel games? Pretending they just didn't happen? DEATH THREATS?????
You really do need to get a life.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The instant replay official whose failure to overturn a bad call led to a narrow victory for Oregon over Oklahoma said he feels like he is under siege after receiving menacing phone calls and a death threat.
A little background for those not paying attention: On Saturday, Oregon came from being down 33-20 to defeat Oklahoma 34-33. The pivotal play of the comeback was an onside kick after Oregon scored a touchdown with 1:12 left in the fourth to make the score 33-27. Oregon recovered the onside kick, and went on to score another touchdown, winning the game 34-33. The problem is, that footage revealed that an Oregon player touched the ball before it had gone 10 yards, as required by the rules. If that had been caught by the officials, Oklahoma would have received the ball, and the game would have ended with Oklahoma winning 33-27. Unfortunately, neither the officials on the field or in the replay booth saw things that way -- they ruled that the ball was first touched by Oklahoma, and the call stood. It was only after the game was over that the mistake was revealed.
I can understand the frustration of the Sooner fans -- it was a bad call, and I'll be the first to admit that if it had been made correctly, we would have lost. But that's the way things go in football -- referees make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes cost teams points -- earlier in the same game, for instance, the refs failed to flag OU for Delay of Game on a play that got them out of a deep hole and led to one of the scores that UO had to overcome later. Sometimes bad calls cost a team a game. It shouldn't happen, but it does. This isn't the first time it has happened, and it won't be the last.
But Oklahoma -- both the University and its fans -- need to get some perspective. Oklahoma is threatening to cancel a game with Washington unless the PAC-10 changes its rules for who officiates home games ("We'll take our ball and go home!"). They also requested that the game be stricken from the records as neither a win nor a loss for either team.
Here's an idea, first suggested by my friend Lurch: How about a joint resolution by the Pac-10 and the Big 12 that IT'S JUST A GAME!? Seriously, this is the biggest case of being sore losers I've ever seen. I'm also a Seahawks fan, and to this day believe that crappy officiating cost them the superbowl. But you know what? That's the way it goes. The Pittsburgh Steelers won that game, and they're the Superbowl champs -- not the Seahawks. Sportsmanship means you accept the outcome of the game, and you strive to make sure that next time it doesn't happen like that again. I agree with the PAC-10's suspension of the officials who made the call, and there's a valid argument for reviewing how officials are assigned. But threatening to cancel games? Pretending they just didn't happen? DEATH THREATS?????
You really do need to get a life.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Apparently, I Don't Know Jacks
TFR and I were just watching an episode of one of Rachel Ray's 1,294 shows, $40 a Day, I think, and she was in Antigua. At one point she approached a young man with a very Commonwealth sort of accent, and asked him for lunch advice. His boat had an interesting ensing -- obviously from somewhere very British, but I can't figure out from where. It wasn't Gibraltar, Malta, Bermuda, The Bahamas, Antigua, Nevis, St. Kitts, or the British Virgin Islands. I'm hoping someone (maybe my Tory friends at the Llama Butchers) can ID it for me. It was a red ensign with the Union Jack in the upper Left. In the main area of the red field was a yellow cross, with equidistand arms, thin and square.
Avast!
In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I shall today refer to changing The Lad's diaper as "Swabbing the Poop Deck".
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