Month: January 2005

January is already more than half over. I don’t feel like I’ve wasted it, but I do feel like I want to try some new, different things very soon. Any ideas?

Time Magazine named President George W. Bush “Person of the Year” and praised him for “reframing reality to match his design.” [CBS News] Fourteen U.S. Marines were convicted of abusing Iraqi prisoners, including one soldier who used an electronic device to make a detainee “dance.” [New York Times] The ACLU circulated memos, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, that suggest President George W. Bush directly authorized torture against detainees in Iraq.[ACLU] A new species of monster cockroach was discovered in Indonesia. Adoptees and adoptive parents were calling on Fox TV to stop the broadcast of a game show called “Who’s Your Daddy,” in which an adopted woman has to pick her biological father from a line-up; she wins a prize if she picks correctly.[Reuters] A 9.0 magnitude earthquake created a tsunami that ravaged south and southeast Asia, as well as parts of Africa.[NYTimes] The wave reached from Somalia and Kenya to Malaysia. Thousands of fatalities were reported in the Maldives, Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.[Wikipedia] Three-story waves washed sunbathers into the sea, carried away snorkelers, and swallowed up Hindu ritual bathers celebrating Full Moon Day. A prison in Sumatra was torn open by the tsunami, and hundreds of inmates fled. [NYTimes] Entire towns were turned into rubble. Corpses hung from trees and fences, and the rotting bodies of humans and animals threatened to pollute water supplies.[Reuters] It was difficult to bury the dead for lack of dry ground.[MSNBC] The earthquake was the largest since 1964, and slightly altered the rotation of the earth.[NYTimes] Studies showed that the terminally ill do not, as is commonly believed, hold on to life until major events, like birthdays or holidays, transpire. Rather, they simply die.[Reuters] Other studies found that half of American food goes to waste. NASA announced that a 400-meter asteroid had a good chance of striking the earth in 2029.[NASA] Director Oliver Stone blamed audiences and the critics for the box office failure of “Alexander.” [New Age Media Concepts] Krispy Kreme Doughnuts announced that it has bad credit and that the Atkins diet was not to blame. [The New York Times]

Marlo read to me some thing about cats with separation anxiety and behaviour problems just need a cat buddy. And to think when Stewie asked about bringing a kitten into our home I didn’t think it was a good idea.

I had dinner with Marmar last night at Cipriano’s, which is a really good pasta restaurant on main. It was expensive, but you basically get two meals worth. It reminded me of an article on watching your weight that informed that your body takes a while to tell you that you’re full, and that if you stop eating before you’re actually finished your big meal, you’ll find that you’re already finished your big meal. It suggested that when you go to a restaurant, ask the waiter to put half of the order in a takeaway before you even get the meal. I don’t think I would ever do that, but it’s a good idea.