In light of John Amaechi, a former NBA player who recently came out of the closet, Timmy Hardaway decided to grace us with his intelligent comments de jour stating frankly that “You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known,” Hardaway said. “I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.” Since gay-bashing is sooooooo 2004, you’d expect the denunciations to be fast and furious.

Update: Salon made my letter an Editor’s Pick.

The Article: In today’s edition of Salon, Gregory Levey evaluates in Israel’s Surge of Despair Israeli politics following the war against Hezbollah and Israeli diplomacy as the United States sinks further and further into Iraq. The article can be summed with the authors own anecdote:

In a stunning revelation this afternoon, it appears that Mike Tyson and Mr. T have been involved in a serial and public monogamous relationship. Word is that Tyson can be considered the “power bottom” in this hook-up.

No, seriously… don’t believe everything wikipedia tells you kids! It’s can be difficult to tell what’s real life and what’s just Mike Tyson’s fantasy.

Wikipedia: Mike Tyson

UPDATE: Apparently Mr. T and Mike Tyson’s love child is NOT homosexual. [Egotastic]

The Stage: Valentine’s Day, 2001. I am a high school senior, I do not have a valentine, and I have oddly colored hair. I do not like society or its make believe holidays

The Victim: A decorated ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ banner and the 900 or so cohabitants of the cafeteria during the lunch period.

The result:

Freewill v. Determinism: I am determined to make the wrong choice.

News of note:
Communism, lol. I would like to learn more economics.

Mccain, creationism. Today is Darwin day, btw. Celebrate science.

People suck. Also, people suck.

Computers:
Yahoo! pipes is a pretty interesting idea.

Nerf + Wii is also cool.

I bought 3 WD 250GiB HDs today, but they were out of WD, so I got an upgrade to Hitachi. The amount of porn I will be able to store will be a beautiful site. Speaking of which, I would really like to go to Hawaii some day.

Porkchop sandwiches!!!!!!!!

You know who else needs a good sense of humor? The city of Boston. Fuck! You blew it. You got fooled by cartoon characters with their middle fingers up. Bruce Schneier, a security expert, has an excellent post entitled “Non-Terrorist Embarrassment in Boston”, that pretty much sums up mine and a lot of other people’s feelings about the matter:

The story is almost too funny to write about seriously. To advertise the Cartoon Network show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” the network put up 38 blinking signs (kind of like Lite Brites) around the Boston area. The Boston police decided — with absolutely no supporting evidence — that these were bombs and shut down parts of the city.

The 2005 version (and check out the 2006 one if you haven’t yet):

4. You

Charges: Silently enabling and contributing to the irreversible destruction of your planet. Absolving yourself of your responsibility to do anything about it that your immediate neighbors don’t. Assuming that it’s normal behavior to spend several hours each day totally inert and staring into a cathode ray tube. Substituting antidepressants for physical motion. Caring more about the personal relationships of people you will never meet than your own. Shrugging your shoulders at the knowledge that your government is populated by criminal liars intent on fooling you into impoverished, helpless submission. Cheering this process on.

The current highly charged international political climate and the rapidity with which changes of epic proportion are made has provided me with a sense that my role as an individual deserves further reflection.
I’m now 23. Yesterday for the first time, sitting down with my mother (52?), I somehow felt like a peer. I guess I’ve come across enough bullshit in my life to connect with her on that basic level. Talking about the advance of technology brought further realizations. For one, there is a generation younger than myself. Across the modern world they have access to a world of technology and resources that were only first becoming available to a priviliged few during the time of our childhood. There was a time when we were that younger generation with new technology and resources but those were not as developed and as widely available.
Sounds like a History Lesson… I know. That is why this is so striking to me. We are now a generation with a few lines in the history books. We’ve seen some History made in our time, we’ve been a part of History in our time, now it is our time and it is within our means to create History. What defines our generation and what resources are available to us? Will we sit back passively and watch as our history unfolds on the television? Alternatively, will we actively pursue the opportunities provided to us? What will our chapter in History reveal about human nature, what secrets will we unlock? And what role as individuals will we take as we shape the character of the human species and the complex natural systems of our Earth.

The Article: ‘Sold on a Stereotype’, that was on the front page of yesterday’s business section of the Washington Post. It details in depth how self-help books based around the idea that Jews make lots of money are a huge enterprise in China. I’ll leave you to read it, followed by analysis:

SHANGHAI — Showcased in bookstores between biographies of Andrew Carnegie and the newest treatise by China’s president are stacks of works built on a stereotype.

One promises “The Eight Most Valuable Business Secrets of the Jewish.”

If there’s one thing that wakes me up in the morning, it’s a delicious jihad video that casually shows all of the non-believers as the pig dogs that they are:

This comes to me by personal screening of Obsession (THE MOVIE!!!), subtitled ‘Islam’s War Against the West’. According to them, ‘Today, WWIII is raging, but few are aware of it’, but thankfully for their well-spliced together shots of those crazy Muhammed lovers doing all their various terrorist things, all of my worst fears and biases have been confirmed in the comfort of my own home. And the only solution is more high school drop outs joining TSA to look inquisitively at my Gatorade bottle.

The Kingdom Poster, put up by I Watch Stuff, helps succinctly expose why America is beloved in the Middle East, has a well-informed constituency, and is still being greeted by the Iraqi public as liberators:

I like my heroes to be overtly heroic and my enemies to be faceless villains from a foreign culture. That’s why I like this poster and American politics.

Check out the trailer, it looks like 90 minutes of feeling good about GI Joe! Get er done! Iraq didn’t happen! The government isn’t full of lackadaisical sycophants who only care about their own interests! Team USA!

I just want everyone to know that I went start to finish with a pot of boiling water and that saying is false.  Let me know some other cute witticims that I should debunk while I have tons of time on my hands.

Also, today I taught a 3rd grade class the American ABCs to practice standing in front of class. I feel that it went well.  Here´s to practice!

There is one thing you always want to read when you catch up on sports: “Minnesota high schools grappling with herpes”. Apparently, all of those after-practice shenanigans (read: GAY ORAL SEX WRESTLING HIGH SCHOOL PARTIES!!!) are getting out of control. And the definitive question is asked:

“I think it’s a bold step,” he said. “How else are you going to get this thing cleared up? How do I explain to a mom that her kid has herpes forever?”

…Anderson said the greatest concern is an infection of the eye, which can, in rare cases, lead to scarring or blindness.

After seeing Little Children, I decided that my favorite scene (one of two wonderful MALE MASTURBATION moments), including quote, needed to be on IMDB.com. Check out my thoughtful contribution 2 weeks ago:

Update summary

Little Children (2006)
Quotes - Add
{Haley, Jackie Earle@Ronald James McGorvey}: You aren’t going to tell anyone, or I’ll get you.
{Haley, Jackie Earle@Ronald James McGorvey}: ::furiously jerking off::

And yet the quote page remains free of the wonder of the beat off.