Arun with a View

Giving Back: My Favorite Nonprofits

2011-12-30T21:58:00.000-05:00

Exactly a year ago, I write a blog entry about my charitable giving. Well, here is this year's edition.

Every year, I try to back a few charities, causes, and other nonprofits. Usually this means writing a few checks for relatively small amounts of money. If I were richer (and spent less money on coffee and running shoes), I would be more generous.

These are some organizations, charities, cultural institutions, and other entities I have supported in recent times (or will soon support) via donations, fundraising, admission fees, memberships, volunteerism, promotion, and retail shopping. (I may be forgetting some museums and such that I have visited but can't recall right now.)

As I have said before, I do not vouch for any of these charities. If you choose to give, I encourage you to do some due diligence and only give to causes you believe in.

What are your favorite nonprofits?

Be Thankful

2011-11-23T16:15:00.001-05:00

Pvt. Jackie L. Diener II was 20 years old. I say "was" because he is dead. The high school graduate and Cavalry scout from Boyne City, Michigan, died in Afghanistan this week.

At 20, Diener should have had decades ahead of him to do stupid but fun things, make friends, find a life partner, travel the world, lay down roots, make a career... you know the spiel.

Instead, this Thanksgiving Diener's parents will be in mourning.

I am thankful this Thanksgiving. Thankful for my health. For my family. For my girlfriend. My freedom. My paycheck.

I am also very thankful that I haven't had to face a reality that THOUSANDS of American families are asked to endure: Having a loved one in a war zone... And I am also thankful that I personally have not been asked to leave my family behind and fight a war in a strange land.

Part of my job is to write/post stories about service men and women either from or stationed in or with ties to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. A danger exists when positing these stories; one can become a bit desensitized to what the press releases from the DoD mean for the real people behind the names.

These soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen would probably say they do not need to be idolized or lionized. And in fact we shouldn't gloss over the truth that they -- like us -- are simply human, with all the flaws and strengths and hopes and dreams of humans.

But the big difference is they are doing something we aren't being asked to do and bearing a burden we don't have to worry about. They leave home -- often small towns they have lived in their entire lives -- and are put in harm's way for causes, missions, and goals that sometimes are debatable and vague and fleeting.

What we should do is simple: Remember and appreciate what they and their families go through -- after 10 years of war and counting -- and find some way to say thank you and help.

To that end, these are some organizations that do help; consider volunteering or donating:

www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
www.dav.org/
www.uso.org/

For an amazing perspective on what war in Afghanistan is like for U.S. troops, read Sebastian Junger's "War."

ArunwithaView's Fall TV Predictions

2011-09-02T18:51:00.002-04:00

(1) "Pan Am" will feature a mile-high-club scene within the first 2 episodes, horny and chauvinistic men pilots will objectify the stewardesses (yes, they will be referred to as such), and the characters will been seen smoking on the airplanes… A LOT.

(2) "X Factor" will feature Simon Cowell alternating between making contestants cry with mean-spirited critiques and making them smile with "You're going to be a big stah, Love."

(3) Despite the presence of the uberhot (and newly single) Minka Kelly, "Charlie's Angels" will be so cringe-inducing GOD-AWFUL that ABC will cancel it midway through the airing of the first EPISODE.

13.1 Marathon New York

2011-05-04T23:22:00.001-04:00

I ran my first half-marathon back on April 2, 2011. Wow! It was challenging, but oh so fun. The wacky course was in Flushing Meadows Corona park in Queens.

A Memorial in Arizona

2011-01-13T14:20:00.005-05:00

"We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame -– but rather, how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better."

--President Barack H. Obama, Tucson, January 12, 2011

What touched me the most about this line from President Obama's remarks at the memorial service for the victims of the massacre in Tucson is a subtle but important point: He said what matters is how "WELL" we have loved -- not how "HARD" or "MUCH."

A Year at the Races

2010-12-31T14:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm ending 2010 on somewhat of a low note, having barely run a few miles in December. But I hope to get a great start 2011 and begin training in earnest for my goals: To run a half marathon in March (hopefully the NYC half), complete the Nautica New York City Triathlon in August, and participate in a few other shorter races.

Meantime, I am proud of my 2010 achievements: 663.42 miles, which include three 5Ks, one 8K, one 10K, one sprint triathlon, and one biathlon.

Giving to Charities and Nonprofits

2010-12-30T18:04:00.008-05:00

Every year, I try to donate some money to various charities and nonprofits I believe in. I fully admit I spend far more on coffee and DVDs than I give to charity. But that's life. I hope that what few dollars I manage to give helps a little.

Since 2010 is almost over, we don't have much time to make donations to benefit your taxes for this calendar year. I have sent checks throughout the year, but today I plan to log on to a few of these and make last-minute contributions.

I do not give to all these causes every year; as you can see many of them are military-related, so I have alternated years for some.

Also, I do not vouch for any of these charities. If you choose to give, I encourage you to do some due diligence and only give to causes you believe in.

Happy New Year!

LOCAL

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

National September 11 Memorial & Museum

City Harvest

The Children's Aid Society

American Red Cross in Greater New York

INTERNATIONAL

U.S. Fund for UNICEF

Save Darfur Coalition

MEDICAL/HEALTH

Livestrong

American Diabetes Association

National Kidney Foundation

MILITARY

Coast Guard Foundation

Disabled American Veterans

USO: United Service Organizations

Wounded Warrior Project

Veterans of Foreign Wars

Amid the Anger of the Mosque Debate, One Man's Quiet Statement

2010-08-27T22:53:00.001-04:00

This morning, Fox 5 reporter Carolyn Gussoff was doing a live report from outside the so-called mosque near Ground Zero.

Behind the reporter stood a man holding up a sign saying he was on a hunger strike.

Carolyn interviewed him -- not for TV, but for a possible story here on MyFoxNY.com.

My boss, Luke, said it could make a nice video/text story, so he asked me to write up something.

I could have written a quick summary, but when I watched the interview, something really moved me about what this young man was saying in his quiet act. It prompted me to write an article with a little more depth than a quick summary.

I freely admit this piece is modeled after the work of New York Times's Clyde Haberman, a master of the metro news column.

I'm sure I'll get some negative feedback and maybe even hate mail.

But I wasn't preaching an opinion; I simply wanted to tell this one young man's story. You would think this concept would be non-controversial.

Anyway, here it is:

Rancor Over Mosque Prompts One Man's Quiet Hunger Strike

Immelted Cheese

2010-07-12T20:25:00.003-04:00

This is an essay my dad wrote this week. I thought I might share it.

It was back in mid-2007 that I thought a manufacturing revival in the U.S. was on its way. Then came the Great Recession, of which I was only vaguely aware at the time. We are now four quarters into an economic recovery in the U.S. and though doubts about its strength and durability have begun to emerge and there is talk of a double dip, so far the recovery seems to be holding. Where then is the manufacturing renaissance that I foresaw? It doesn’t seem to have fallen into place.

A recent article in “Bloomberg Businessweek” points out that, in contrast to 2008 and 2009, when the U.S. trade deficit shrank, the country’s dependence on foreign goods is deepening as the economy recovers. “True,” the report says, “manufacturing is rebounding from its recession trough, and exports are growing. They rose 14 per cent in the 12 months through February.” And yet export growth has not become vigorous enough. China, India and other Asian economies are growing briskly, but they are increasingly sourcing their imports within Asia. A good market for American goods, Europe, is still weak. A third factor is that the big American manufacturers produce their products for foreign customers not in the U.S., but in locations abroad. Yet another culprit is raising imports. “Imports for the 12 months through February grew faster than exports, increasing 21 percent,” the Businessweek article says.

The same article also argues, “The recession didn’t reduce U.S. overdependence on imports; by permanently closing many factories, it probably helped hollow out the U.S. economy, making it harder to balance trade.” Manufacturing’s share of GDP was 25 percent in the 1960s; by 2008 this had shrunk to 11 percent. The article draws attention to a recent speech by GE’s Jeffrey Immelt; he pointed out that within a few years China is likely to overtake the U.S. in industrial output.

Immelt’s views on America’s manufacturing sector again made the news less than two weeks ago. According to a Financial Times news report of 2 July, in remarks to Italian business leaders, Immelt not only accused the Chinese government of becoming hostile to foreign multinationals, he “also had harsh words for Barack Obama, US president, lamenting what he called a ‘terrible’ national mood and expressing concern that over-regulation in response to the global financial crisis would damp a ‘tepid’ US economic recovery.” Calling upon the U.S. to become an industrial powerhouse again, he said this couldn’t be done “when government and entrepreneurs are not in synch.” Through GE’s annual report for 2009, Immelt shared the following view about government-business sector partnership in the U.S.:

“The interaction between government and business will change forever. In a reset economy, the government will be a regulator; and also an industrial policy champion, a financier and a key partner.”

Though Immelt sits on Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board and was invited to participate in a recent Ex-Im Bank conference, the GE chief executive must feel that the kind of partnership he envisioned has not yet materialized. GE has charged the FT with selective and out-of-context reporting but the newspaper is sticking to its guns. There must be something to its story. Immelt probably feels Washington is not doing enough and he may have wanted to goad Obama to do more.

Well, Jeffrey Immelt may have got what he wanted, or at least a move in the direction he desired. On the 8th, Obama announced the naming of 18 business, labor and government leaders to a new presidential advisory council on exports to be led by the heads of Boeing and Xerox. While Immelt may not have been nominated to the council, surely he must be pleased with its formation and the signal it gives of Obama’s determination to galvanize the country on the export front.

Just last Friday (9 July), Nobel prize-winning economist Michael Spence, who chairs the Commission on Growth and Development, welcomed Obama’s council but said something bolder is needed. Writing in the FT (“America needs a growth strategy”) and echoing proposals made recently by Pimco’s Mohammed El-Erian, he called for reversing a pattern of underinvestment in infrastructure, attention to energy pricing issues that have caused neglect of urban infrastructure and transport, and fixing the education system’s problems with efficiency and effectiveness (see my July 10 note). But, most of all, what he wants is a new “public-private partnership to invest in the development of technology in parts of the tradable sector where there are opportunities to make advanced countries competitive.” “The goal,” Spence argues, “must be to create capital-intensive jobs that have labour productivity levels consistent with advanced country incomes.” New growth strategies such as this, he further says, are needed not only in the United States but also in the other advanced economies. Spence makes another important point: “A targeted programme would leave the vast majority of labour-intensive manufacturing right where it is now: in the developing world.” So, developing countries’ interests would not be jeopardized.

The question of course arises: For such a broad and far-reaching public-private partnership where will the fiscal space come from? Spence says, “To finance growth-supporting long-term investments, domestic private consumption has to shrink. This means higher taxes. In addition, existing government expenditure must be shifted away from consumption and towards investment, meaning fewer government services.” Such macro-economic and fiscal policy rebalancing will be difficult to pull off politically. Spence recognizes that “restoring fiscal balance in a way that supports longer-term growth will…be painful.” So, is Spence’s strategy a non-starter? For the sake of social peace in the advanced countries and global welfare as a whole, we cannot allow his ideas to languish. New national compacts in America and other developed countries and a new global compact between these countries and developing countries are both needed. Let the needed national and global debates begin!

Fitness: Focus and Refocus

2010-03-03T16:56:00.002-05:00

In late 2008, I was not doing well. I had ballooned to a crazy weight; I had trouble walking up subway stairs without feeling back pain and experiencing shortness of breath. I was drinking too much alcohol. My blood work showed elevated cholesterol and liver enzyme. An ultrasound showed that I had fatty deposits on my liver.

My cardiologist was worried. She said I needed to get serious about losing weight and getting in shape. She warned me that if I didn’t make an effort to lose a significant amount of weight, I would need to seriously consider gastric-bypass surgery.

So, in November 2008, the week BEFORE Thanksgiving, I rejoined Weight Watchers. (I had been a member in 2006 and had lost then regained weight.)

Things went really well. I lost 72 pounds through the fall of 2009. I was diligent about watching my portions as well as walking and swimming. I joined the NYC-owned fitness centers, and used the public pool on East 54th Street.

But in the fall I started to falter and found myself overeating on certain days, especially on weekends. I also hurt my arm/shoulder and swimming became a bit painful.

I gained back about 10 pounds.

Finally I realized I needed renewed motivation – as well as a concrete athletic goal to inspire me to step up my exercise.

Late last year, while shopping for Christmas presents, I found a book at Barnes & Noble called “Slow Fat Triathlete,” by Jayne Williams. Her funny and honest book inspired me to think about actually doing a triathlon, so I did some research.

For Christmas, I asked family for gift cards to buy sports gear at Paragon Sports… and have stocked up on supplies. I even got swim goggles with corrective lenses so that I’m not blind in the water. I bought light-weight workout clothes, running socks, and even GlidePro goop to prevent chafing!

I decided to train for a sprint-distance triathlon. I found one called the Mighty North Fork Triathlon in Southold, Long Island, on July 11 – my 37th birthday. It’s supposed to be beautiful out there – it’s Long island wine country. It’s a very manageable 500-meter swim, 8-mile bike, and 3.5-mile run.

So it seems like the perfect birthday present to myself: An athletic goal.

A few weeks ago, I couldn’t run 2 blocks without gasping for breath. Now I’ve worked up to running for 20 to 30 minutes at a time without stopping. That isn’t much for serious runners, but for me that’s a minor miracle, given my chronic back problems and weight.

My next steps are to get back to swimming and also begin bike training… and then before I know it, it’ll be off to wine country for the tri.

Good Night, Professor Parker

2010-01-19T19:45:00.007-05:00

Robert B. Parker -- the novelist who created Spenser, Jesse Stone, and Sunny Randall -- has died. He was 77.

I cannot even begin to express how much his books have meant to me. The Spenser novels gave me hope, direction, and even creative inspiration when I needed them as a teenager who lacked a real role model.

His characters and themes taught me about honor, truth, courage, commitment, friendship, and loyalty -- and how these values are central to being a man.

Most recently, his western "Appaloosa" was adapted into a wonderful movie directed by Ed Harris. And his character Jesse Stone has come to life on TV in a series of films starring Tom Selleck.

Parker changed the world of crime fiction in the 1970s when he published "The Godwulf Manuscript" (the first Spenser novel) in 1973. It was the Northeastern University professor's debut novel. He was 41 when the book came out, which should inspire every unpublished writer to not give up hope.

If there is a heaven, I hope Parker is there enjoying beer and whiskey with the late Robert Urich, who played Spenser in the TV series "Spenser: For Hire." (Even though Parker famously said that he didn't like the show.)

Good night, Professor Parker. I will miss you, your words, your characters.

Three-Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Salad

2009-10-12T00:16:00.002-04:00

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup roasted red peppers (from a jar)
2 Tbsp crushed almonds
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Cumin, to taste
Paprika, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Lemon juice, dash

Makes 6 cups

WW POINTS value: 5(ish) per 1-cup serving

Jeter's Grace

2009-09-11T23:00:00.000-04:00

He did it.

Derek Jeter broke Lou Gehrig's record of most hits by a New York Yankee with a single in the 3rd inning of Friday's game against the Baltimore Orioles.

It's been so great to watch at least two future Hall of Famers -- Derek Jeter and Mariano -- come up and develop right from the start.

As a kid, I do remember watching Reggie Jackson and Dave Winfield, both now Hall of Famers, play for the Yankees.

But both of them came up with other teams and were already stars when they joined the Yankees, and both ended their careers elsewhere. Plus in 1985, when I was 12, my family moved to Italy and I completely fell out of touch with baseball.

Now, it is true that Jeter and Mo might end their careers in a different uniform, but being able to watch them mature and lead the Yankees for all these seasons, including through four World Series titles, have been a real joy.

My Head Is Spinning...

2009-06-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

Well, this was some week for news -- from the monumental (Iran elections and protests) to the silly (another affair on Capitol Hill -- that never happens!).

Check out these highlights...

Folks walking through SoHo either hated or loved a new Calvin Klein billboard, showing a topless girl kissing a guy as she lies on top of another guy. Below them on the floor is another guy who is lying with his pants and shirt unbuttoned. For shame! Well, you can weigh in here.

Check out the Nonsense in Albany, as I like to call it. The GOP staged a leadership takeover with the help of two "renegade" Democrats (puh-leeze), but the result was the Dems walked out and nothing has happened in the state Senate since.

Pedro Espada, one of the turncoat Dems, says his fellow party members need to step up, accept the change in leadership and get to work. The Dems refuse. Meantime, there is a renewed interest in Espada's actual residency. He says he lives in a Bronx co-op, but no one ever sees him there. Instead the D.A. is looking into whether he actually lives in a big house in Mamaroneck -- which is outside his district. Al I can say is Oy. What is it with politicians and trouble with residency? (See Euguene, Mathieu.)

Now to the world.

From the man who almost was president comes a commentary about why a careful response from the White House to the extraordinary events in Iran is crucial: Sen. John Kerry writes: "If we actually want to empower the Iranian people, we have to understand how our words can be manipulated and used against us to strengthen the clerical establishment, distract Iranians from a failing economy and rally a fiercely independent populace against outside interference."

Oh, and let's end on a light note.

President Obama spoke at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association Dinner, and as usual he killed. The best part is watching Obama crack up at the jokes he's telling -- it's as if he can't believe that his handlers are making him recite such crazy lines... like this one: "In Egypt, we had the opportunity to tour the pyramids. And by now I'm sure you've all seen the pictures of Rahm on that camel. I admit, I was a little nervous about the whole situation. I said at the time, 'This is a wild animal known to bite, kick, and spit. And who knows what the camel could do?' "

At the dinner, JibJab released its latest animated parody video, He's Barack Obama. It has funny moments, but feels a bit of an unnecessary retread of well-worn jokes/jabs at the president (He's a superhero! He has big ears!). Eh, watch it anyway.

The World's Most Nutritious Salad

2009-05-19T01:49:00.000-04:00

Last week I bought a copy of "The Belly Off! Diet" by Jeff Csatari and the editors of Men's Health. It has a ton of great information and advice. With some minor adjustments, the plan seems compatible with Weight Watchers.

Anyway, there's a section called The World's Most Nutritious Salad. Here are the ingredients:

Spinach
Broccoli
Red kidney beans
Yellow bell peppers
Swiss cheese
Carrots
Extra-virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Sunflower seeds
Flaxseeds
Almonds
Tomatoes
Chunk light tuna
Red-leaf lettuce

The book explains the nutritional value of each ingredient. Check it out.

See http://www.menshealth.com

6 Secrets of Weight Loss

2009-05-10T14:21:00.000-04:00

According to "The Belly Off! Diet" from Men's Health, these are the six weight-loss techniques that many people who have lost weight say was crucial to their success:

1. Cut back on foods with refined flour and added sugars and replace with fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

2. Eat more lean protein and healthy fats.

3. Eat more often to space out calories and keep metabolism revving high.

4. Do muscle-building exercises 3 or more times a week.

5. Do cardio exercises such as running, biking, swimming, etc.

6. Practice portion control.

See http://www.menshealth.com

Post-Weekend-Yankees-Suck Playlist

2009-05-05T02:18:00.001-04:00

Duran Duran "Wild Boys"

AC/DC "Hells Bells"

Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms"

Def Leppard "Die Hard the Hunter"

David Bowie "Space Oddity"

Marc Cohn "Paper Walls"

Bob Marley "Redemption Song"

Boston "More Than a Feeling"

Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer"

The Police "Message in a Bottle"

The Police "King of Pain"

Prince "When Doves Cry"

Marc Cohn Live

2009-05-05T02:04:00.001-04:00

I have seen Marc Cohn in concert at:

Town Hall, NYC, 2005

Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, Conn., 2006

Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, NYC, 2007

Highline Ballroom, NYC, 2007

Capital One Bank Theatre, Westbury, N.Y., 2008

Paramount Center for the Arts, Peekskill, N.Y., 2009

Late Night in NYC

2009-04-25T01:18:00.001-04:00

I narrowly missed trodding on a steaming pile of what must have been human feces while zipping down the subway stairs at 59th Street after a 10-hour work day to close an exhausting week. God, I frakking love this town.

In the News

2009-04-24T16:38:00.002-04:00

Working at a news organization isn't as glamorous as it sounds, but it's certainly never uninteresting. Every day, we hear tragic, bizarre, funny, uplifting, weird, disturbing, scary, exciting, inspiring, and yes boring stories from around the world.

Here are some of my faves from this week...

I love baseball, tennis and some hoops. I don't really follow football, but I admit Fox 5's Lisa Evers had a cool assignment Thursday night. She got exclusive access to The Draft Classic, a party hosted at the M2 Ultra Lounge in Chelsea ahead of the NFL draft.

More about sports: I went to the Yankees-Indians game at the new Yankee Stadium last Saturday... Yes, the Bombers lost with a pathetically lopsided score of 22-4. But the new ballpark is beautiful. However, my friend John and I couldn't help but notice the empty field-level seats. Those are the seats that sell for up to $2,625 each for ONE GAME. Oopsy. Commissioner Bud Selig suggested that the Yanks and Mets need to "discuss" the ticket situation, but the teams say a price change isn't coming. Whatever.

Here's a story of a parking lot attendant who had one scary experience: He backed a Mercedes out a parking garage window -- five stories up! The car was trashed... but the worker thankfully survived with minor injuries. Proof that ANYTHING can fall out of the sky in New York.

Earlier this week was Earth Day. Did you know the Chelsea Piers sports and entertainment complex along the Hudson River is New York City's largest commercial user of 100 percent wind power? Now you do.

How's this for a kooky "employment" story? The Bronx Zoo is "laying off" hundreds of animals because of its $15 million budget hole. The zoo, which is run by the fantastic Wildlife Conservation Society, is closing four exhibits and shipping hundreds of critters to facilities around the country.

Here's another story for the birds: Con Edison is fighting a losing battle with parrots in Queens. Yes, parrots. The tropical birds have made Beechhurst their home for years. Legend has it they are descendants of a shipment of pet parrots that escaped from a cargo delivery at the airport a long time ago. They might be an interesting sight, but problem is they nest on Con Ed equipment. That has caused electrical fires and power outages. Fox 5's Dick Brennan checked this one out.

Columbia University, my alma mater, announced its Pulitzer Prizes this week. The New York Times always wins a few; this year photojournalist Damon Winter won the prize for his fantastic pictures from Barack Obama's historic presidential campaign. One of the winning photos was this iconic shot of Obama, soaked by the rain, at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Props also go to Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post who won the prize for commentary for his columns on the 2008 presidential campaign. I got a bit choked up reading his post-election column. Here's an excerpt: "For me, the emotion of this moment has less to do with Obama than with the nation. Now I know how some people must have felt when they heard Ronald Reagan say 'it's morning again in America.' The new sunshine feels warm on my face."

Check this new blog about wine called Vinitrek from my friends Mark Joyella and Tiffanie Wong. Mark and Tiff write: "We enjoy wine, and find that the places where wine is produced are some of the most beautiful places on Earth, so here at Vinitrek we focus on finding those places–the best known, and the ones off the beaten track–and sharing some of the wine, the food, and the atmosphere in case you might want to take a trek of your own." Also check out Mark's blog about the TV news business, localtvnews.

And I must give it up to my boy Shepard Smith from Fox News. Shep does a good job of being non-ideological, delivering the news with a little humor and stark truth. This week, when covering the news about the torture memos, he said one can debate the definition of torture, but that America should not torture as a matter of law and principle. Indeed he pointed out that many Dems and GOPers agree on this -- including John McCain. On the air, Shepard invoked none other than President Ronald Reagan with the quote of America being the "shining city on the hill." Shep got pretty heated on TV and then even more (f-bomb) explicit on the FoxNews.com Strategy Room Web show.

Finally here's a plug for myself. The Auto Show ended last weekend, but you can still check out photos, videos, and articles here. I had the pleasure of attending and I shot some of the pix and vids myself.

So check out all these stories and feel free to comment.

4/21 Playlist

2009-04-21T03:14:00.001-04:00

AC/DC "Hell's Bells" (of course)
Led Zeppelin "Whole Lotta Love"
Ben Harper "Amen Omen"
Boston "More Than a Feeling"
Journey "Don't Stop Believin'"

5-Minute Full-Body Workout

2009-04-16T00:13:00.003-04:00

I saw this on wikiHow. I might try it soon.

How to Do a Full Body Workout in Less Than 5 Minutes

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Do you ever tell yourself you don't have enough time to exercise? If you can't spare enough time for a jog or a trip to the gym, this article will provide a routine that can be over and done with in less than 5 minutes. You'll do 8 exercises for 20 seconds, with 10 second breaks in between. You can mix and match exercises according to your fitness level. It's not a substitute for a trip to the gym, but it's certainly better than nothing!

Steps

Do as many push-ups as you can in 20 seconds. It works the chest, shoulders, abs, and triceps. See How to Do a Push Up. As you get better, you can also Vary the Push up Routine.
Rest for 10 seconds.
Do the "mountain climber" for 20 seconds. This will work your core and legs, as well as your lungs!

From the push-up position, bring one leg forward to your chest and put your weight on it briefly.
Switch with the other leg.
Repeat swiftly.

Rest for 10 seconds.
Do reverse rope pulls for 20 seconds. This is done to work your upper back. If you don't have the means to do this, replace it with another upper back exercise. One option is pilates: How to Strengthen Your Back with Pilates.
Rest for 10 seconds.
Do burpees for 20 seconds.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bring your hands down to the floor.
- Send your feet back and come down to a push-up position.
- Bring your feet back forward and stand up.
Rest for 10 seconds.
Repeat steps 1-8.

Tips

Drink plenty of water after this routine. Try not to drink too much before this routine or during breaks. Also it's best to do on an empty stomach so that you aren't revisited by your breakfast!
Memorize the routine and do it to the same, 4-minute song every time. Eventually you'll know exactly when 10 or 20 seconds have passed just by listening to the music, and you won't have to check your watch anymore.

Warnings

This is an intense routine, so don’t even try unless you are reasonably fit!

If you start to feel dizzy or faint, stop.
Burpees put a lot of strain on your back, you shouldnt attempt them if you have any back pain.

Sources and Citations

FitnessBootCampProfits.com - Original source of video screenshots.
SimplyFitnessGear.com - Original source of content, shared with permission.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Do a Full Body Workout in Less Than 5 Minutes. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

A Good Day

2009-03-15T22:27:00.001-04:00

Road trip up the Hudson Valley with a good friend... Deep and light conversation.

Chris Cornell playing on car stereo.

Huge 24-ounce gas station coffee.

Sunshine and crisp air.

Pancakes-and-eggs brunch at homey diner in a hamlet in Greene County, N.Y.

Shopping jaunt at The Home Depot (caulk and silicone sealer--score!).

Relaxation and more conversation at friend's cottage.

Quick car washing at the self-serve, coin-op car wash.

Return drive down the NYS Thruway.

U2, Patty Griffin on stereo.

Grocery shopping while on phone with awesome lady friend.

Pizza dinner... Then Cutty Sark Scotch and Michelob Ultra beer.

TV shows on Hulu.

I love this city, this state. My car. My Sunday.

Another Short Playlist

2009-03-01T05:24:00.001-05:00

The Police "Message in a Bottle"
The Police "King of Pain"
Madonna "Frozen"
Prince "When Doves Cry"

Quick Playlist

2009-03-01T04:52:00.001-05:00

AC/DC "Hell's Bells"
Journey "Don't Stop Believin'"
Foreigner "Juke Box Hero"
Live "White, Discussion"
Led Zeppelin "Dazed and Confused"

Arun's Three-Bean Salad

2009-02-02T02:59:00.008-05:00

I had a few cans of beans in my pantry, so suddenly I decided to make a three-bean salad in the middle of the night. Here's what I came up with:

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white kidney (cannellini) beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup salad olives (with or without chopped pimento)
3 celery stalks, chopped
6 mini peppers, chopped (I don't mind the seeds)
4 artichoke hearts (from a can or jar), drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
Black pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
Salt (optional)

Toss all the ingredients insieme. You get about 8 cups, which is a hearty 4 servings.

By the way, I like to rinse the beans and artichokes to wash away some of the sodium and whatever other crap is in the juice.

WW POINTS value: 6 per 2-cup serving

MLK: On the Eve of History

2009-01-19T03:16:00.008-05:00

Another year, another day to commemorate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And in a fitting coincidence, it is just one day before the inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th president. Here is a quotation from King and the lyrics to a beautiful song written by Patty Griffin.

--------

"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land."
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968

Up To The Mountain
By Patty Griffin

I went up to the mountain
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere

Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be walking
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to

Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so

The peaceful valley
Just over the mountain
The peaceful valley
Few come to know
I may never get there
Ever in this lifetime
But sooner or later
It's there I will go
Sooner or later
It's there I will go

Listen to the song on MySpace.com.

--------

DON'T LET THE DREAM DIE

Peanut Butter Oatmeal with Fruit

2009-01-12T02:23:00.006-05:00

I wasn't sure I'd like this, but I did. It's sort of like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a bowl of oatmeal -- very satisfying.

1 packet or serving plain oatmeal
3/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 cup berries (fresh or frozen) or 1/2 banana, sliced

Prepare oatmeal as directed with the milk.

Stir in the peanut butter and the fruit.

Weight Watchers POINTS value: About 6 (if you make the oatmeal with water, you save 2)

NOTE: I suppose you could substitute jam or jelly for the fruit, just recalculate the Points value.

Crunchy Fruit and Yogurt Bowl

2008-12-30T21:57:00.005-05:00

This is a great breakfast or dessert.

I made it tonight while at work. I brought the yogurt and raspberries from home and bought the banana and puffed wheat while taking my break. Total WW Points value is 5, but it's all good stuff.

1 (6 oz) light yogurt (such as Dannon Light & Fit), any flavor
1 cup raspberries (if you use frozen, thaw them first)
1 large banana, sliced
1 cup unsweetened puffed wheat

Mix all the ingredients in a good-sized bowl and enjoy. You can substitute puffed rice or corn for the puffed wheat, just recalculate the points. I chose puffed wheat for the higher fiber and whole grain benefits.

Stay Tuned...

2008-12-16T02:00:00.003-05:00

... changes are afoot.

I haven't blogged in a while because I've been so busy. I do have things to share, including some recipes and menu ideas, but I've got a lot going on right now. I plan to blog more regularly about my efforts to improve my health (fitness, cooking, Weight Watchers, etc.) but I want to organize/coordinate the blog better.

My ideal blog would be a combo of written posts, videos, Tweets, and whatnot about my good-health effort and how it relates to my life as a whole -- including some funny stuff.

So now it's just a question of finding the time to fit the blogging in with everything else I do. I'm hoping that the blogging will become an integral part of my health journey -- so that it's something that actually helps me stay focused, and isn't just a chore or whatever.

Barack Obama Ran...

2008-12-06T02:52:00.002-05:00

Lance Armstrong supposedly posted this photo on his Twitpic (I say "supposedly" because how the hell do I know if it's really Lance...):

Apple-Raspberry Yogurt Cup

2008-12-04T03:34:00.003-05:00

Here is a seemingly indulgent dessert that really isn't. It gives you your necessary daily servings of dairy as well as fruit.

It's sort of like a yogurt parfait, but without the granola. Make this the night before and put it in the refrigerator (I'll explain).

2 small apples
6 oz light yogurt, any flavor (try Dannon Light & Fit or Weight Watchers brands)
1 cup frozen raspberries

Slice the apples into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a tall glass or plastic container.

Pour the yogurt over the apple slices.

Top with the frozen raspberries.

Total WW POINTS value: 4

The reason I use frozen raspberries instead of fresh (you can if you want) is because as the fruit thaws overnight in the frig, it releases a colorful juice that beautifully stains the yogurt. That's the other reason it's good to make it the night before -- gravity causes the yogurt (and the thawing raspberry juice) to wonderfully flow into the space between the apple slices. Also, I've read articles about how frozen berries can often be better quality than fresh ones.

You can substitute frozen blueberries or strawberries if you wish. And, of course, you can use different fresh fruit instead of the apples.

Now, if you do want to make it a true parfait with either low-fat granola or a low-sugar/high-fiber cereal, just make sure to add the Points value.

Spicy Skillet Turkey Macaroni and Cheese

2008-12-01T01:52:00.010-05:00

Here is my version of the dish found in Stir It Up! from Weight Watchers. The book says one 1-cup serving has a POINTS value of 6. My adjustments might actually make it more healthful (I used extra-lean turkey and cut the sodium).

(In fact, I did some calculating of my own, and I'm getting a POINTS value of about 4 per 1 cup serving... hmm.)

1 cup elbow macaroni noodles (or any short pasta -- whole wheat would be best)
1 lb extra-lean (99% fat-free) ground turkey
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 cup green beans, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 can (14 oz) no-sodium-added diced tomatoes, with juice
1 small can (8 oz) no-sodium-added tomato sauce
2 oz jalapenos, chopped
1 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
Fresh sage (for garnish)

1. Cook the macaroni; drain.

2. While the pasta is cooking, spray a nonstick skillet with a nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and cook, crumbling the meat, until no longer pink (about 8 minutes).

3. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, beans, chili powder, cumin. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and jalapenos. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. If the mixture gets dry early on, add 1/4 cup water. You may need to cook it a bit longer to reduce the liquid.

5. Stir in the macaroni and the cheese.

6. Garnish with the sage.

WW POINTS value: About 4 for a 1-cup serving

This makes a lot of food. It can easily serve four folks with some leftovers.

I served it with a glass of Natural Light, of course (2 more WW Points).

Vegetarians/vegans take note: Try substituting the turkey and cheese with tofu products (hat tip to the cuter half of American/Mexican).

A Good Sunday

2008-11-30T23:59:00.001-05:00

I seem to be getting into this Sunday routine that involves getting up late... eating a late brunch at a diner... shopping at Pathmark and/or Costco... and making food for dinner and the week.

It's not a bad way to spend a Sunday, especially since the food consumption has been sensible and the shopping -- while expensive -- has been for stuff that is helping me stay on track with Weight Watchers.

Today I had brunch at the Cup Diner in Astoria, where they will make egg-white omelets with salad greens on the side instead of home fries for no extra charge. While eating, I perused the Stir It Up! cookbook from WW, flagging recipes I want to try and making a shopping list for the ingredients.

The dish I picked for dinner was the Southwestern Skillet Macaroni and Cheese -- mainly because the directions sounded easy and the photo looked yummy. It was fairly simple, though I made some of my own adjustments (I added more bell pepper than called for and also threw in some chopped green beans because they were in the refrigerator and needed to be used soon).

Dinner was awesome. (See my adapted recipe in the next blog post).

I wanted to go for a walk, but it was getting late and it had been raining all day. But then I decided to not make excuses and got my gear together and took off. Don't laugh, but I listened to a motivational audio exercise program that I ripped from the WW Walking Kit CD. The disc features a 20-, 30-, and 40-minute walk, narrated with the sultry voice of Ellen Barrett. The music is a bit cheesy, but I have to admit -- it works. The beat made it easier to maintain a steady pace -- and it's quite challenging.

I walked 2.5 miles, and toward the end the drizzle increased into a steady light rain -- but I didn't care. It felt good.

When I got home I had 2 cups of fruit salad (left over from Thanksgiving) mixed with a 4-ounce light yogurt.

Not a bad Sunday.

Insane Chicken and Veggie Salad Recipe

2008-11-25T03:09:00.009-05:00

I got home from work past 1 a.m. as usual and decided I had to prep lunch for the day anyway because I wouldn't feel like doing it before work.

I love chicken salad. But any you buy in a deli is packed with fat and calories because of the mayo.

Instead, I made my own using canned chicken breast from Costco (Kirkland brand -- don't laugh, it's good).

The can has a lot of chicken in it -- about 7 ounces drained. If I am to believe the nutrition label, that's only 4 Weight Watches POINTS value.

The trick is to use relatively little mayo and instead fill it with chopped veggies. Here's what I out in there:

1 can Kirkland chicken breast, drained (4 POINTS)
2 celery stalks (0)
1/2 yellow bell pepper (0)
Small bunch fresh scallions (0)
Small dill pickle (0)
2 Tbsp. Miracle Whip or light mayo (2)
1 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard (0)
1/2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil (1)
Black pepper or paprika (or both!), to taste

Dice the celery, scallions, bell pepper, and pickle.

Toss with the Miracle Whip, mustard, soy sauce, and oil.

Add the chicken breast and mix with a fork until the pieces of chicken are mashed up to your preferred texture.

Add the pepper or paprika.

Total WW POINTS value: 7

This makes enough chicken salad for 2-3 sandwiches. Obviously, remember to calculate the POINTS value of the bread.

I spread it over the same high-fiber roll-up bread I used for the Turkey and Swiss Wrap. I topped it with Boston lettuce, sliced tomato, and some sliced jalapeno peppers.

You can also spread it over a bed of lettuce and tomato.

Turkey and Swiss Wrap Recipe

2008-11-24T00:23:00.006-05:00

I stuffed this wrap with tons of veggies. The ingredients barely fit in the wrap. You can substitute whatever veggies you want. Watercress or sprouts would be good, too. Eating different colored veggies is important, which is why I put yellow bell peppers in there. They add crunch, too.

Here we go:

Turkey, cold-cut, 3 oz. (3 POINTS value)
Light Swiss cheese, 1 slice (1)
Wrap bread, whole wheat/high fiber (2)
Miracle Whip or light mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp. (1)
Spicy brown mustard (0)
Tomato, sliced (0 )
Boston lettuce (0)
Jalapeno peppers, sliced (0)
Yellow bell pepper, sliced (0)
Dill pickle chips (0)

Spread the mayo and mustard on the wrap, pile on the other stuff, and roll it up -- if you can!

Total WW POINTS value: 7

Weight Watchers

2008-11-24T00:21:00.002-05:00

I decided to rejoin WW last week. The first few days have been tough-ish.

Sunday evening I went shopping at Pathmark... I was there for almost 2 hours and spent $145. Crazy.

For dinner, I made an insane turkey wrap. I'll post recipe soon.

Windy City

2008-10-21T19:35:00.001-04:00

Damn it's windy. That's all.

Overnight Playlist

2008-10-21T05:10:00.000-04:00

Played at O'Hanlon's in Astoria.

AC/DC "Hells Bells"
Boston "More than a Feeling"
Bob Marley and the Wailers "Redemption Song"
Dire Straits "Money for Nothing"
Blind Faith "Presence of the Lord"
Live "White, Discussion"
The Police "Wrapped Around Your Finger"
Prince "When Doves Cry"
U2 "Pride"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "Free Fallin'"
U2 "Electrical Storm"
The Who "Baba O'Riley"
Fatboy Slim "Right Here, Right Now"
Ben Harper "Power of the Gospel"

Powell, Obama and the Muslim-American Soldier

2008-10-20T02:52:00.006-04:00

This is the photo that Colin Powell was referring to on Meet the Press, when he endorsed Barack Obama for President. I saw this photo a couple of weeks ago and then just happened to look at it again on Saturday when I was sifting through recent New Yorker issues -- I paused on this very photo and got a bit emotional -- and then lo and behold Powell talked about it the next day. Amazing.

Powell's words:

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

--Gen. Colin Powell, U.S. Army (Ret.), U.S. Secretary of State, 2001-2005

CAPTION: Elsheba Khan at the grave of her son, Specialist Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. (Photo by PLATON/Published in the New Yorker)
>>SEE SLIDESHOW

Debate Excerpt

2008-10-08T02:53:00.001-04:00

Here's an excerpt from the debate, with video courtesy C-SPAN:

What a Wacky Election

2008-09-29T00:43:00.001-04:00

Does anybody remember when everybody assumed this election would be Hillary Clinton versus either Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney?

What crazy business. We have the the guy who would be the first African-American (and biracial, thank you very much) president versus the guy who would be the oldest first-term president.

The polls have been swinging like a 1970s rock star... with states in play that haven't been battlegrounds in forever... we have polls that might be (1) hiding racial prejudice and (2) undercounting the youth vote... we have a former Democratic president who every day seems to be undermining the party's nominee while lionizing the other guy... we have one VP candidate who thinks "I'll get back to ya" is an acceptable campaign promise while the other veep wannabe thinks FDR went on TV to reassure the nation after the 1929 market collapse -- 3 years before he was elected and more than a decade before TV broadcasting was common...

Obama is leading McCain in the polls in the last few days... but they've been overtaking each other a lot lately... Though Obama has been up most of the summer, so why is often being called the underdog?

I honestly don't know what's going to happen, but my gut says that when zero hour arrives, many undecideds will break for the "safe guy." I'll leave it at that.

Just Do It... Do It Now!

2008-08-22T02:52:00.003-04:00

I waffle between having good ideas... to not having a decent thought in my head. Truth is, if I kicked myself in the ass a bit I might actually come up with some interesting stuff to work on... outside of my job. Say, a book idea... or a hobby... or a TV script...

(This is really just a test blog entry to see if the automatic Facebook note importer works!)

New SpringWidget

2008-08-21T19:02:00.001-04:00

Get this widget!

Finito

2008-07-29T01:52:00.005-04:00

Well, I'm back in NYC. The UNITY convention is over... >Sigh<

I really enjoyed myself, though the trip home on Sunday was ridiculous. The journey took about 12 hours door to door because of American Airlines flight delays due to weather. At least my flight wasn't canceled, though.

What annoys me is that I had to miss Barack Obama's talk at UNITY because I had a flight to catch. But then I ended up spending about six hours at the Cincinnati airport, waiting for my connecting flight to New York.

In retrospect I just wish I could have found away to take a later flight (my choices were limited because my ticket was bought with frequent flier miles).

(By the way, I found out later that the Cincinnati airport is actually in Kentucky. Go figure.)

The Boat Tour

2008-07-26T21:54:00.003-04:00

So after the main UNITY stuff ended I decided to do something touristy.

Chad, a friend of mine who is originally from Chicago, suggested a boat tour.

I'm so glad he did.

It was a lot of fun and informative, and the views of the Chicago skyline were fantastic. The great thing about Chicago is that the river cuts right through the downtown area, so you get such an up close and personal look at the fantastic architecture. The boat tours in New York are good too, but imagine if the Hudson or the East rivers cut right through Lower Manhattan -- no more than a couple dozen feet from the facades of Wall Street. That's the effect we're talking about.

But the boat also heads through the river lock out to beautiful Lake Michigan... So then you get the wide-angle view of the entire skyline -- an amazing perspective, too.

Keep in mind that I'm a New Yorker and it takes a lot to impress me.

So all in all the 90-minute tour was so worth the $23. The docent, Sarah, was funny, friendly and (seemed) knowledgeable.

And, oh yeah, she was adorable too.

Almost Over

2008-07-26T17:42:00.001-04:00

Well this certainly went by quickly! The workshops, media expo and career fair portions of UNITY are over for me... Now all that's left are the 'closing parties' tonight. Barack Obama is giving a talk tomorrow morning -- but unfortunately I won't be able to make it because of my flight.

I must say it has been very rewarding. The expo was great and the workshops I attended were helpful. I think I will bring back to work some important skills and ideas, which is why it's a shame that my company didn't pay for my trip. Oh well. It was still worth it for my overall growth as a journalist.

Now I'm heading back to the hotel briefly and then I'm doing something touristy -- a boat tour on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.

Dith Pran

2008-07-26T09:38:00.005-04:00

Last night AAJA gathered at the Hyatt Regency Chicago for its awards and scholarships gala.

The emotional highlight of the night was the moving tribute to the late Dith Pran, the New York Times photojournalist and survivor of Cambodia's killing fields. His ordeal at the hands of the Khmer Rouge was chronicled in the film The Killing Fields, and any regular reader of the Times is also familiar with his beautiful photographs.

He died of cancer earlier this year, and AAJA posthumously honored him with its lifetime achievement award.

Accepting for him were his son and widow, who were so gracious and appreciative. His son gave such a simple but powerful speech, which was simultaneously a tribute to his dad and his work as well as a thank you to AAJA and even to America for welcoming them after escaping the atrocities in Cambodia. (He recounted how his dad would proudly decorate their entire house in Brooklyn with flags every Fourth of July.)

I don't think there was a dry eye in the ballroom during the tributes and speech.

When he was dying of cancer, Dith said his "spirit will be happy" if someone could continue his work to stop genocide around the world and remember the story of his people.

The Journalism School

2008-07-25T14:10:00.003-04:00

I spent about forty grand on my journalism education at Columbia. And I get no shortage of folks who tell me it was a waste of money. I suppose that argument has some merit from a certain perspective, but I will never believe it.

Others say the price of the degree is worth the network you build at the school and beyond. In other words, it's a very expensive club.

I'm happy (and honored) to be a part of it. My feelings were reinforced by the fellowship I have shared with classmates and other alumni here at UNITY.

Last night the school hosted a reception for alumni, organized by my classmate Irena who happens to be director of alumni affairs. It was a lot of fun, and I got a chance to chat with some classmates I hadn't seen since the last reunion and even graduation. Plus I talked to a few graduates from other classes. A woman from the class of 1946 was there!

The dean, Nick Lemann, said a few words. I finally met him for the first time. He became dean 5 years ago during a time of 'transition' at the school (some might have thought of it as time of turmoil). He has done a lot to make a difference there by modernizing the program and expanding the curriculum to include a master of arts degree in addition to the M.S. while reaffirming a commitment of high-quality reporting regardless of medium.

Anyway, this may sound like a cliché but meeting journalists of different ages, backgrounds, locations and media who all have at least one thing in common - the Journalism School at Columbia - is enlightening and empowering.

That's part of what makes it all worth it.

UNITY Convention Floor

2008-07-24T13:16:00.007-04:00

Wow! This is like an auto show convention or something... Booth after booth after booth of reps from various media outlets and other companies -- even the CIA has a booth here (are they recruiting journos to be spies, or do they just want to influence coverage?).

This is my first journalism convention and I had no idea how huge it would be. Some media companies (NBC Universal) have so much interest that they have a velvet rope line and ushers with walkie-talkies to manage all the foot traffic!

My alma mater, Columbia Journalism School, is here recruiting potential students. I caught up with some folks I know, including a classmate, Irena, who now runs the alumni office. Last night we had dinner at Gino's -- yummy Chicago-style deep-dish pizza...

OK, now back to the professional stuff...

Conventions

2008-07-24T00:59:00.003-04:00

So I'm getting the sense that these big conventions involve a lot of food and booze.

I'm not judging. I'm just making an observation.

The Windy City

2008-07-23T15:35:00.004-04:00

Does anybody other than tourists (and news anchors) call Chicago that?

Anyway, I'm here for the UNITY journalism convention. I'm really excited because it's my first visit to Chicago.

The convention promises to offer some interesting panels and useful workshops.

Plus Obama and McCain are supposed to be speaking at a forum (I hope I get in).

And of course this is a chance to check out what I'm told is a fantastic city with lots to soak up. (I am going to a Cubs-Marlins game at Wrigley Friday!)

I don't think I'll be sleeping much this week...

'The Dark Knight'

2008-07-20T03:38:00.008-04:00

Oh my.

I'm not sure I can fully express the effect The Dark Knight had on me.

Batman Begins was in many ways the more poetic of the two films, the more lyrical... The journey we take with the development of Bruce Wayne from frightened boy to angry young man to Batman is powerful.

The Dark Knight was something else. It was a different journey... through the twisted mind of the Joker, but also of Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. All the talk about the late Heath Ledger's Oscar-worthy performance as the Joker has eclipsed the amazing job Aaron Eckhart did with Dent and his transformation into......... Two-Face. Until very recently I didn't even know that this was a plot point of the film.

Anyway...

The Dark Knight in many ways is a very different film from Batman Begins, and I really respect director Christopher Nolan for taking a risk and trying something grander, more complex with the scope of the story and even the visual canvas.

I'm not sure which is the better film. And I'm not sure if I'll decide that until I've had time to digest the sequel.

What I do know is that both movies deserve to be considered outstanding FILMS, period, and not just good "comic book" adaptions.

Buon Compleanno

2008-07-11T02:30:00.000-04:00

So today I turn 35.

Oh joy.

I'm so excited.

It seems like it was just yesterday that I turned 30 and started to freak out that I was wasting time.

Damn, and now here I am five years later!

What have I accomplished in half a decade? Two promotions, I'm proud to say. But my life seems stalled in other areas... Health, romance, emotional enlightenment...

Well, for now I'm just here at O'Hanlon's, under the Ditmars Boulevard subway station, enjoying a glass of The Macallan, 10 year, neat, courtesy of Lynda Mullane of County Cork, bartender and healer of Astoria's ills.

The rest of my worries will have to wait.

(Especially since I think a bar fight is about to break out...)

Lest We Forget

2008-06-26T06:29:00.011-04:00

I get Pentagon 'casualty reports' from Iraq and Afghanistan delivered to my e-mail every day.

Every day.

This is my part of my job.

I read them and see if the service members named in these reports are from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or parts of Pennsylvania.

In other words, I'm supposed to breathe a sigh of relief if the fallen 22-year-old Marine corporal is from Memphis and not from Yonkers.

Does that make any sort of frakking sense?

In the last three days I've gotten word of the deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq of five service members with ties to New York and New Jersey --- including one man from Queens, where I currently make my home. Sgt. Andrew Seabrooks, 36, of South Ozone Park, Queens, had re-enlisted in the Army National Guard hoping to make enough money to help pay for his childhood home that had fallen into foreclosure.

I don't think I'll ever really understand what moves men and women to surrender to something greater than themselves.

Is their motivation practical, patriotic, desperate, devotional, philosophical, misguided, moral... or something intangible and ephemeral?

I simply offer a link to the staid, neutral article that I wrote about their deaths... plus the lyrics to a song by the amazing Brendan James, a singer-songwriter I recently discovered. His music moves me to no end.

-----

FROM MYFOXNY.COM: Three soldiers from the New York Army National Guard were among four troops killed in an attack in Afghanistan on June 21. One was from Queens, one from Long Island and the other from Massachusetts.

>>READ THE ARTICLE

-----

HERO'S SONG
BY BRENDAN JAMES

Here I am
In the desert again
A compass and a weapon
A lost American

I started out with a simple plan
And a locket in my hand
But the sun is so unforgiving
And the wind so hard to stand

Fall out, fall out
With the rest of your brothers
With the rest of your sisters
Heroes on the line

Carry out what your leader says
For what his leader says
Is that his leader says
This is right for the people

No one will ever understand why
Thousands of beautiful healthy young statues must fall

Smoke and explosions surround me
A flood of hate, it drowns me
I cannot live this way
No I cannot live with
Doubt and confusion
They find me
They run up right behind me
I cannot die this way
No, I cannot die this way

In the water, in the sand
Is the blood of a culture
Is the blood of an ancient people
In whose holy war I stand

I hear the world like a cannon roar
Say I can't win this war
I promise them this
Isn’t what I signed up for

No one will ever understand what
Thousands of beautiful healthy young statues must fall

Smoke and explosions surround me
A flood of hate, it drowns me
I cannot live this way
No I cannot live
With doubt and confusion
They find me
They run up right behind me
I cannot die this way
No, I cannot die this way

No one will ever understand why
Thousands of beautiful healthy young soldiers must fall

Smoke and explosions surround me
A flood of hate, it drowns me
I cannot live this way
No I cannot live
With your doubt and confusion
They find me
They run up right behind me
I cannot die this way
No, I will not die this way

>>LISTEN TO BRENDAN JAMES

Cool Public Radio Widget

2008-06-25T14:59:00.004-04:00

I came across this cool widget on Minnesota Public Radio... Check it out (sorry, it doesn't quite display correctly in this blog):

Your Web browser software doesn't support frames, but you can visit The Your Economy Idea Generator at &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.americanpublicmedia.org/engage08/economy/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; www.americanpublicmedia.org/engage08/economy/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;.

Tom Selleck Is Awesome

2008-06-22T03:28:00.002-04:00

I just finished watching "Sea Change," a TV movie that originally aired on CBS starring Tom Selleck as Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone. I'm a HUGE Parker fan, and I'm so impressed with the Jesse Stone movies. Tom Selleck really gets the character. Although Jesse Stone in the books is in his late 30s/early 40s and Selleck is in his 60s, he really nails the tone of the character. Selleck may have missed his shot at being a huge movie star (he famously was forced to turn down "Raiders of the Lost Ark" because of his commitment to "Magnum, P.I."), but he deserves kudos for his performances in a number of film and TV projects over the years.

Debut Album by Brendan James

2008-06-09T01:25:00.006-04:00

I've mentioned Brendan James before in this blog. Well, his debut album -- The Day Is Brave -- dropped this past week. I picked it up at Best Buy on 23rd Street on Saturday and have listened to it at least five times, mostly in my car. It's fantastic.

I do NOT give free publicity to folks, but in this case I want to give props to a newish artist who deserves accolades.

Check out the album, that's all I have to say this time out.

Myanmar Crisis

2008-05-09T19:14:00.002-04:00

Hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar (Burma) are suffering and could die if they don't get the help they need after the devastating cyclone.

The country's military government is resisting help from outsiders, though some aid is getting in. If you can, please consider donating to a reputable relief agency or fund.

UNICEF has done some great work around the world. The agency is well-funded, so perhaps you might contribute elsewhere. But here is the link if you do want to make a donation:

>>INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT OF U.S. FUND FOR UNICEF

>>DONATING TO OTHER RELIEF AGENCIES

Things That Make No Sense at a Yankee Game

2008-05-04T12:21:00.002-04:00

1. Fans who wear jerseys and caps of sports other than baseball. Dude, I get it, you like the New York Rangers. Get your ass down to MSG then.

2. (Corollary to #1) Fans who wear jerseys or caps of baseball teams other than the two on the field. Listen, there's no rule you have to be a Yankee fan to go to Yankee Stadium -- but what's with the Mets gear? Fly your colors at Shea or at a Subway Series game, but other than that you look like a jackass. Worse still is the dumbass who flaunts the Diamondbacks jersey at a Yanks-Orioles game. Seriously? At least the Mets are a local team. If I were at Wrigley Field for a Cubs-Cardinals game, I wouldn't wear a Yankee cap. Why not? Because I'm not an asshole.

3. If a jackass insists on wearing Red Sox gear at a Yankee game EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE PLAYING THE TIGERS, why would said jackass sit in the bleachers? Do you WANT to get heckled or stomped on? Now mind you, I'm not condoning violence, I'm just making an observation.

4. Tickets for left field upper deck that are labeled with instructions to enter at Gate 6, which turns out to be at right field... forcing the ticketholder to shove his way from one wingtip of the stadium to the other through pre-game crowds? Why the hell wouldn't the Yankees let the fan enter at Gate 2 at left field?

5. Uniformed police officers that remove their hats and place them over their hearts during the National Anthem. Nope. You're not civilians AND you're in uniform. Keep the hats on and render a hand salute. You'd never see a full-dress Marine remove her 'cover' outdoors. Ever.

Screwed by the Subway

2008-04-19T02:17:00.002-04:00

Normally I have few complaints about the subway system in New York. Most of the time it gets me to work and back pain-free.

But I just experienced an example of what drives New Yorkers insane about the MTA and why so many are outraged by fare hikes and broken promises of improved service.

I waited almost an hour on the N train platform at 59th Street - from about 12:40am till about 1:35am - waiting with dozens if not more than a hundred people ... all the while listening to an announcer assure us that N service to Queens was running, but would be arriving on the downtown side.

We waited and waited and waited.

Finally the announcer - whom we could barely understand because the PA system in the subway is for shit - said that because of a broken-down train, service was interrupted... and that we should head downtown to Grand Central on the 6, transfer to the Queens-bound 7, and pick up the N at Queensboro Plaza.

Screw you, guys, in other words.

Some folks began to curse and groan and make their way upstairs... Others just stood around, obviously not understanding what was said.

And of course upstairs at the 6 platform, a garbage train was blocking the tracks so who knows when the next train would come.

So up to the surface I went, hoping to catch a cab... But of course traffic was insane even at that hour because it's Friday night in NYC, there's construction on the 59th Street Bridge... and, oh yeah...

THE POPE IS IN TOWN.

Certain streets in Midtown and the East Side are closed.

And all this happens to me on the one night I really needed to get home and into bed because I had to get up at 7:30 Saturday morning to report for duty as an auxiliary police officer doing crowd control for said Pope.

What irony.

Thanks, MTA.

So much for the "stick with mass transit when the Pope is in town" advice.

The Music of Brendan James

2008-04-14T05:28:00.004-04:00

Just when I think there's nothing new to discover in music, I'm proven wrong. I have fallen in love with the words and music of singer-songwriter Brendan James. He 'friend-requested' me on MySpace. I'm usually skeptical of those requests because more often than not the request is from some amateur wannabe whose music sucks. But I clicked on Brendan's link... and I'm so glad I did. Here are the lyrics to "All I Can See." I also love "Hero's Song."

Listen to his music at http://www.MySpace.com/BrendanJames.

ALL I CAN SEE
By Brendan James

I want to walk through this doorway
I want to open my mind
I want to pledge my allegiance to all I can find.
I want a car that will crash through the barriers
to a road no one knows.
I want to feel less control,
want to bend and I want to land far from home.

The revolution of the earth around the sun
is the perfect lesson of how it should be.
So if i cannot learn
to journey and return,
to never rest till I've seen all I can see...

I want to learn a completely new language,
one I don't understand.
I want to help someone lost, someone helpless,
with the strength of my hand.
I want to come to the base of a statue built
before they counted the years,
and there i'll fall with my face in my hands and cry
and feel their hope in my tears.

The revolution of the earth around the sun
is the perfect lesson of how it should be.
So if I cannot learn,
to journey and return,
to never rest till I've seen all I can see...

Train rides and pastures colliding...
colors and customs i've never seen...
I know I, yes I know I,
I know I will stumble
but time is precious my friend.

Those who journey can easily understand,
the more they see the more they'll learn,
the more that they will be.
So this I swear to you, and this I swear to me,
I'll never rest till I've seen all I can see.
No, I'll never rest till I've seen all i can see.

I want to know where the strength of a person lies,
in their past or their future.
Is it in the way that they hurt or they love themselves
or is it all an illusion?
I want to crawl from this skin that I'm painted in...
Body, please let it give.
I want to find the creator of all good things
and ask what it means to live.

http://www.MySpace.com/BrendanJames

Iron Man

2008-04-06T15:00:00.001-04:00

This looks cool...

MLK: 40 Years Later

2008-04-04T23:34:00.003-04:00

There isn't anything I can write about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that people far smarter than I haven't already written. Instead I offer this short quotation and lyrics from two U2 songs about the slain civil rights leader.

--------

"When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice."
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968

MLK
By U2

Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thunder cloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Rain down on me
Mmm...mmm...mmm...
So let it be
Mmm...mmm...mmm...
So let it be
Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thundercloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Let it rain
Rain on me

-------

Pride (In the Name of Love)
By U2

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One come he to justify
One man to overthrow

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love...

-------

DON'T LET THE DREAM DIE

Al Gore in'08? In a Way, I Wish... but Nah.

2008-03-27T17:57:00.001-04:00

For the guy who came THISCLOSE to becoming president 8 years ago but then left elective politics behind to become a movie 'star' and lecture about the environment, global warming, the Iraq War and President Bush, former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Albert Arnold Gore Jr. still makes headlines about the 2008 presidential race -- even though he's not campaigning for anybody. Maybe it's because he hasn't endorsed anybody yet that commentators, pundits and speculators are wondering what Big Al is up to, what surprise he's planning or what impact he might eventually have. Though I admit I'd have liked to have seen him as president, I think his time has passed and these articles are basically just fantasy... But still, they make for good readin'.

Check out these links:

FROM TIME'S JOE KLEIN: IS AL GORE THE ANSWER?

FROM TCPALM.COM: DON'T DISCOUNT GORE-LED TICKET

FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST: AL DE GORE

FROM THE DRAFT AL GORE CAMPAIGN: WATCHING AND WAITING...

And finally this humorous take on the whole idea:

FROM WONKETTE: WHITE MALE RESTORATION: COULD LIBERAL ELITIST AL GORE WIN NOMINATION?

By the way... here is what I'd say is definitive proof that All Gore will never run for president again. In a video from Current TV, his network, Gore has the courage to say he is FOR GAY MARRIAGE. How about that.

Post-Decluttering Playlist

2008-03-25T00:15:00.000-04:00

OK, so the decluttering of my apartment isn't done... But after a very productive Stage 1, I took a well-deserved break. It's weird to be able to let go of crap that was once so important to me. But it's good, too. It proves that things change and so do we (trying not to sound to cliché). What is important to us at a certain point in our lives often just isn't later on (deep thoughts!).

Anyway, here's my unwinding-time playlist, paired with a glass of The Macallan 10-Year (neat).

AC/DC "Hell's Bells"
One Republic "Apologize"
Bob Marley "Redemption Song"
Led Zeppelin "Since I've Been Loving You"
Led Zeppelin "Whole Lotta Love"
Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight"
The Police "Wrapped Around Your Finger"
The Police "King of Pain"
Prince "When Doves Cry"
Rolling Stones "Sympathy for the Devil"
Amy Winehouse "Rehab"
U2 "Electric Storm"

That's it...

New York Auto Show

2008-03-22T16:06:00.003-04:00

I went to the Auto Show at the Javits Center on the West Side, and what I love about car shows is that they feature really cool vehicles that are way too expensive... but also show case the latest models in MY budget, too. Yes, it's great to dream about owning a Porsche or Ferrari... but the truth is even if I had a lot of money, I'd probably spend it on a luxurious but practical car like a BMW 7 series or (if I had an extra $64,000 lying around) the brand-new BMW X6, which is a beautiful compact car-based SUV.

BMW calls it a sport activity coupe. It has a hatchback with a decent amount of cargo room, but the back seat is a bit cramped. Still, the cockpit is awesome and it features BMW's X-Drive.

MYFOXNY.COM AUTO SHOW PAGE

The Incredible Hulk Trailer

2008-03-14T03:22:00.001-04:00

I never saw the Ang Lee directed "Hulk" starring Eric Bana, but I definitely want to see this version. Ed Norton is always worth seeing on screen.

Hillary on SNL

2008-03-02T16:12:00.001-05:00

Hillary Clinton seems most charming when she dials down the campaign stuff and just has fun, like on her latest appearance on "Saturday Night Live"...

Hillary Clinton Doesn't Get It

2008-02-23T03:48:00.002-05:00

This week I was moved to write a commentary about the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The essay appears on the MyFoxNY.com You Decide 2008 Website.

Here's a taste of it and the link:

Hillary Clinton deserves a lot of respect for everything she has accomplished and she would probably be a hard-working, effective president. But her troubled campaign seems to have devolved into a chorus of misguided and ultimately self-defeating jabs at Barack Obama, repeating this "nice speeches won't get things done" nonsense.

CLICK READ THE FULL COMMENTARY

Marc Cohn's Angels and Ghosts

2008-02-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

I love Marc Cohn's new album, Join the Parade. It's in my car and I listen to it almost every time I drive. But I noticed that Marc uses a lot of imagery of ghosts and angels in many of his songs, dating back to his first album.

I saw Marc live in Westport, Conn., back in October 2006 and he actually joked about it, saying he was toying with calling the new album Songs from a Haunted Jew. That got great laughs from the audience! What's also interesting is that Marc has publicly said that he's "not very religious," whatever that means. So I think the angels and ghosts are really more about the images of mystery and beauty that they evoke than any overt religious theme.

Anyway, I had nothing better to do recently, so I sifted through all his lyrics and came up with this list of songs with "Ghost" and "Angel" lyrics.

Join the Parade alone has THREE "Ghost" songs (if you count the iTunes bonus track, "You're a Shadow") and TWO "Angel" songs. That makes sense in a way, considering that the theme of the album is death and life. He wrote many of the songs after getting shot in the head in Colorado almost three years ago (he was wounded only superficially) and also after watching the devastation of the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina.

GHOST IMAGERY

Ghost Train: "Riding on the ghost train/And she keeps on riding"

Giving Up the Ghost: "I'm giving up the ghost/Giving up the ghost"

Lost You in the Canyon: "Now all these things we leave unspoken/Seem to haunt me like a ghost"

The Calling: "He did not know that the ghost of Charlie Christian/Was riding to"

Three Steps Down: "The dead are dancing 'cross the room/Where candles burn and shadows loom"

Walking in Memphis: "Saw the ghost of Elvis/On Union Avenue/Followed him up to the gates of Graceland/Then I watched him walk right through"

You're a Shadow: "You're a shadow/You're a ghost"

ANGEL IMAGERY

Angelsong: "Old man said, 'What do you think an angel is?'"

Baby King: "But the angels whispered in his tiny little ear, 'Get ready for a baby king' "

Burning Bed: "I'm stumbling where angels fear to tread"

Fallen Angels: "We're just fallen angels/Straight from heaven"

From the Station: "I can see you with the angels/Flying off the tower"

If I Were an Angel: "If I were an angel/I would have earned my wings today"

Live Out the String: "Who knows if we got angels on our shoulders (move on)/Right now with the devil in the street"

Saving the Best for Last: "Said, They got mansions in heaven/Yeah the angels are building one for me right now"

She's Becoming Gold: "And she goes down to the end of the drive/With her friends on the phone/And her angels on guard"

True Companion: "Sometimes I'm an angel/And sometimes I'm cruel"

Turn to Me: "Fallen angel, come to me/Give me something to believe"

Walk Through the World: "I know the angels have seen us... seen us, baby"

Valentine's Playlist

2008-02-15T03:45:00.005-05:00

OK, so I had no Valentine's Day plans as such, although I did have lunch with my dad, mom, sister and niece at the Jackson Diner in Jackson Heights, Queens. I know it sounds schmaltzy, but that was all the love and affection I needed on this day. That my almost-4-year-old niece loves me is plenty.

Anyway, I was at work till about 12:40AM and took the subway to Astoria, where I stopped in O'Hanlon's under the Ditmars subway station for a drink with local friends. (Something else happened before that, which I may blog about later.)

This is the playlist I punched into the jukebox... With no discernible Valentine's Day theme, since I tend to think V-Day is BS and so is love. At least at this moment in life I feel that way:

AC/DC "Hell's Bells"

U2 "The Hands That Built America"

Tom Petty "Free Fallin'"

DNA/Suzanne Vega "Tom's Diner"

The Rolling Stones "Sympathy for the Devil"

The Police "Message in a Bottle"

Led Zeppelin "Dazed and Confused"

Live "White, Discussion"

Journey "Separate Ways"

Jimi Hendrix "Purple Haze"

Foreigner "Juke Box Hero"

Derek and the Dominoes "Layla"

Elton John "Tiny Dancer"

Female Bartenders

2008-02-12T03:03:00.001-05:00

Why are women bartenders so hot?

Is it the sexy, revealing outfits they wear... hoping to elicit higher tips?

Is it the fact that they serve us liquid that comforts, soothes, mentally alters us?

Is it simply that we see them through booze goggles?

Is it that they smile at us, ask us about our day, console us about heartbreak, call us "love" and "darlin"... Often in an Irish brogue?

Or is it that they are doing a traditional male-dominated job, often standing up to obnoxious and aggressive drunks? (Or at least it's what we in our ignorance perceive to be have once been a male-dominated job)...

Well whatever it is, we undeniably respond to the charms of the female bartenders we have known (yes, we know that they work on tips and that 99% of the time they will NOT come home with us)...

Here's a special shout out to Linda and Debbie at O'Hanlon's in Astoria--two of the coolest bartenders we know, who manage to charm us with their sincere warmth and smiling conversation while serving us affordable booze in an unprententious environment under the Ditmars Boulevard station of the N train (helping us ignore the strange, can't-quite-place-it odor...)

Ah, this is true outer-borough neighborhood living.

(The preceding may have been written with the assistance and consultation of one John Walker of Scotland.)

LiveNewsCameras.com

2008-02-08T16:12:00.000-05:00

This is a new Website in beta testing that my station is affiliated with... It collects live streams from around the country, including the 2 streams that MyFoxNY.com provides. It's awesome... check it out at LIVENEWSCAMERAS.COM.

The Taj Mahal

2008-02-01T04:44:00.000-05:00

New Delhi, India

I visited the Taj Mahal in Agra a few days ago with my father and aunt. It was the second time I had seen it (the first was in 1986, I believe). I don't think photos do it justice, but here is one anyway. It is very hard to describe the majesty of the place or even its scale. When you first see it from the gate, it almost looks like an illusion... a figment of your imagination or a memory from a postcard... the tomb seems to hover on the horizon... then you realize it's very much real and tangible........ and HUGE.

And as you approach the monument, it just gets bigger until finally you arrive at the base and suddenly... it doesn't seem so big anymore because you are staring up at it and you can't see the top anymore. I will say that the inside is a big disappointing... the interior is dark (it's barely lit) and photography is not allowed... and perhaps that's why it seems small inside.

After my father and I strolled around the base, we began to walk back to the gate of the grounds where my aunt was waiting for us... and I found that I kept turned around to look at the Taj every few seconds as we receded. Almost just to make sure I had actually seen it, touched it, experienced it.

SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM MY TRIP

New Hampshire: Obama Defeats Clinton... Oh Wait

2008-01-09T16:43:00.000-05:00

Manchester, New Hampshire -- Thomas E. Dewey was a crime-busting prosecutor who rose to be a three-term governor of New York. In 1944 he won the Republican nomination for President, but lost to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Four years later he was the prohibitive favorite to unseat Harry Truman. The pollsters agreed. Elmo Roper even stopped his polling in early September, because it was going to be such a blowout.

On Nov. 2, 1948, voters went to the polls. At 4 a.m. the next day it appeared Truman would win. The Chicago Daily Tribune went to press. Their now infamous headline read: DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.

So some 60 years later, how come we STILL can't get it right???

READ DICK BRENNAN'S BLOG ENTRY

Clinton Beats Obama in New Hampshire

2008-01-09T00:14:00.000-05:00

After Hillary Clinton's third-place finish in Iowa, some pundits said that Barack Obama was unstoppable.

Here's a thought: Maybe pundits who keep making big, bold predictions about each race should calm down a bit and pay closer attention to what folks on the ground are saying. Oh and, how about NOT calling the election or declaring the nominees 6 months, 10 months, 2 years ahead. And I mean this in terms of ANY prediction, not just "Clinton this and Obama that."

WATCH THE REPORT
VICTORY SPEECH: HILLARY CLINTON
VICTORY SPEECH: JOHN MCCAIN

Live NH Results

2008-01-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

You can tracks the numbers coming in from New Hampshire here:

LIVE RESULTS

Iowa: Don't Eat The Sausage

2008-01-04T16:30:00.000-05:00

From Fox 5 political reporter Dick Brennan:

DES MOINES -- Now that Iowa has completely upset the Presidential calculus, a word on the insane calculus that is the caucuses. There's a saying that if you knew how they made the sausage, you wouldn't eat it. They make plenty of sausage out here, and sometimes make or break Presidential candidates. And trust me, if you knew how they did it, you'd wonder who invented this insane system.

Caucuses have their origins back in the prairie days, but only became really hot when Jimmy Carter ran and won in 1976 and became an instant sensation. Much like in New Hampshire, this is retail politics. Unlike New Hampshire, this is wholesale mayhem, and impossible to call a genuine representation of who votes in Iowa.

READ DICK BRENNAN'S BLOG ENTRY

Huckabee, Obama Win Iowa

2008-01-03T21:59:00.000-05:00

Wow.

So this is an interesting race. Neither so-called party front-runner took the nation's first major contest in the presidential election.

Could this be a preview of November?

Huckabee -- the former Baptist preacher... Bass guitar player... Social conservative who doesn't believe in evolution... Ex governor of a small southern state (can anyone say "Bill Clinton"?)... A guy who went on a fitness crusade and lost 100 pounds and ran a marathon...

Obama -- the Harvard Law grad... Former state lawmaker... Son of a white woman from Kansas and a Muslim professor from Africa... Best-selling author... Oprah's hero... Self-proclaimed "skinny kid with a funny name"...

Don't count Romney, Giuliani or Clinton out yet...

VICTORY SPEECH: BARACK OBAMA

VICTORY SPEECH: MIKE HUCKABEE

LOOKING PAST IOWA: HILLARY CLINTON

A New Year

2008-01-03T02:06:00.001-05:00

So 2008 is here. So what. We wish each other happy new year, make resolutions, promise to be better about staying in touch, blah blah. All because a measure of time has elapsed according to a calendar.

But every day a new year begins, doesn't it? Today is the end of the year of time that began on Jan. 4, 2006, isn't it? So does that mean that every day we should make resolutions, make promises, and, heck, offer good wishes to a loved one?

Why not--after all, if we think this way then there is no excuse not to try to improve one's life on any given day. Because every day I can say to myself: "It's the start of a new week, a new month, a new year, a new decade --and I want to be a better man."

Who Is Your Political Soul Mate?

2007-12-31T17:16:00.000-05:00

Are you confused by all the different candidates for president and what they stand for? Check out the MYFOX CANDIDATE MATCHMAKER -- answer some questions to see which White House hopeful most closely matches your beliefs.

Want to watch a video of how it works before you dive in?

(But take this with a grain of salt; nothing beats researching the candidates' views, watching the debates and reading coverage on MYFOXNY.COM.)

Top Spirits

2007-12-27T18:15:00.000-05:00

If you want to build a high-class, sophisticated home bar and you have a few grand to spare then check out these pricey spirits on this list, as compiled by Chris Rubin of Novusvinum.com.

VODKA

U'Luvka, $60

COGNAC

Rémy Martin Extra, $379

SCOTCH WHISKY

Chivas Regal 25 Year Old, $300

RUM

Maui Dark Rum, $20

GIN

Bluecoat American Dry Gin, $30

TEQUILA

Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Silver, $70

LIQUEUR

St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, $28

CACHAÇA

Beleza Pura, $30

BOURBON

Woodford Reserve Sonoma-Cutrer Finish, $90

IRISH WHISKEY

Bushmills 1608, $100

Read the full article with capsule reviews at NOVUSVINUM.COM.

Juke Box Tunes

2007-12-22T00:10:00.000-05:00

I've been spending too much time in bars lately... but it has allowed me to ponder the issue of jukebox bands.

Every notice how there are certain bands that just sound great on a jukebox in a seedy bar? Sometimes the band isn't even that great, but they rock a jukebox!

Of course I pick some of my all-time favorite bands and songs to play, but sometimes I pick tunes from CDs I don't even own, but I just love to hear on the jukebox.

Here is the playlist I selected at O'Hanlon's in Astoria the other night:

1. AC/DC "HELL'S BELLS" (Frakkin', scream it!)

2. THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND "RAMBLIN' MAN" (Southern rock at its best)

3. BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS "REDEMPTION SONG" (At least one tune from the Caribbean poet is a must)

4. BOSTON "MORE THAN A FEELING" (I've loved this song since seeing the "Air Band" episode of "Scrubs" -- check it out)

5. DEF LEPPARD "ROCK OF AGES" (Or any of the songs from "Pyromania")

6. DIRE STRAITS "BROTHERS IN ARMS" (This song prompted a stranger to hug me and proclaim his friendship by buying me a Johnny Walker Red Label on the rocks... Thanks, Hakim from Morocco!)

7. FOREIGNER "JUKE BOX HERO" (Well, duh!)

8. JOURNEY "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'" (ARUN'S RULE: If a bar jukebox has this song... it WILL be played)

9. LIVE "WHITE, DISCUSSION" (Lyric: "Look where all this talking got us, baby!"

10. U2 "WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME" ("The Joshua Tree" is one of the top 10 rock albums of all time)

So what are your favorite juke box bands and songs? Comment away!

Caribbean Black Cake

2007-12-20T21:57:00.000-05:00

So I know that people make fun of fruit cake around the holidays (see Rudy Giuliani's ridiculous new X-MAS AD). But the truth is if you get your tastebuds on the RIGHT kind of fruit cake then you won't be so quick to smirk.

My friend and former classmate Ramin Ganeshram, a journalist and author of SWEET HANDS: ISLAND COOKING FROM TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, has a recipe for Caribbean Black Cake, which has its origins in English plum pudding.

Check her excellent ARTICLE on Newsday, then watch her recipe video below, and also log on to her cool new Website, CARIBBEANFOODGUIDE.COM, which features more recipes and a sign-up for her e-newsletter.

Whiskey/Whisky Bars

2007-11-30T16:34:00.001-05:00

When I was younger I never thought I'd appreciate let alone ENJOY a glass of whiskey. It has that "tastes like medicine -- yuk!" reputation.

Then I hit 30 and something prompted me to give Scotch a shot, so to speak. I read somewhere that Frank Sinatra would order his Scotch on the rocks in a tall glass and "let it lie down" -- meaning instead of adding water or club soda, he'd let the Scotch melt the ice just a little before throwing it back.

Now, I'm not that into Sinatra's music, but I do think he was one cool dude.

I tried it and enjoyed it. My friend Justin (who is of Scottish extraction) is also a Scotch drinker and he influenced me as well. We once went to one of those Johnnie Walker marketing events where they give you free samples of each label and brainwash you into buying their brand. To a certain degree, it worked.

Anyway, I'm far from a whiskey connoisseur, but I do like to try different Scotches and to a lesser extent Irish whiskeys and bourbons (which are from Kentucky).

I came across a cool article in amNY about some places in New York to enjoy whiskey. It reviews Brandy Library, Whiskey Ward, Ginger Man and d.b.a.

I've been to and enjoyed Ginger Man and I definitely will check out the others.

This week, the Eric Asimov of New York Times had an interesting article about bourbon makers and their push to re-gain some lost market share.

Read the amNY article: ORDER IT NEAT AND HAVE A SEAT: WHERE TO GET YOUR WHISKEY ON

Read the NYT article: SPIRITS OF THE TIMES: BOURBON'S SHOT AT THE BIG TIME

Newsweek: Giuliani Shaped by a Family of Cops and Hoods

2007-11-26T22:12:00.001-05:00

MYFOXNY.COM -- Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani has earned a reputation as a hard-nosed law enforcer from his years as a federal prosecutor who put mobsters behind bars and his two terms as mayor of New York City, which saw a huge decline in violent crimes.

But his career in law enforcement was undoubtedly informed by his childhood in Brooklyn and on Long Island. His connection to a number of police officers -- good and bad -- and his exposure early on to a Catholic culture with a strict moral code are examined in an extended investigative profile in Newsweek.

Four of Giuliani's uncles were police officers, as were four of his cousins. But he also had family members who skirted the line of the law, such as uncle Leo D'Avanzo, a loan shark and a bookie with mob connections. Giuliani's cousin Lewis D'Avanzo did time for armed hijacking and selling stolen cars. And Giuliani's father, Harold Giuliani, was a wannabe boxer who served more than a year behind bars for mugging the milkman, according to a biography. Although Rudy Giuliani has said he knew little of his father's life.

Giuliani's most recent association with a tough but tainted cop is of course Bernard Kerik, who served as both correction commissioner and police commissioner. Kerik, who is under federal indictment on corruption and tax evasion charges, has long denied wrongdoing or any connection to organized crime. Giuliani's relationship with Kerik could cost him on the campaign trail as Rudy tries to present himself in as the presidential candidate who will be tough on terrorism and crime, Newsweek reports.

LINK - NEWSWEEK: GROWING UP GIULIANI

LINK - VILLAGE VOICE: GIULIANI'S FIVE BIG LIES ABOUT 9/11

"Upstate New York"

2007-11-23T20:00:00.000-05:00

I am writing this from Upstate New York, whatever that means.

I hear that term used a lot, since I am both a New York resident and a member of the so-called working press, and the term appears online, in print on over the air.

I've been using the term since I was a kid when my family spent summers in and around a hamlet in Sullivan County, N.Y., known as Callicoon. We used to say that we'd go "Upstate" on vacation. The irony is that the home in which we stayed was actually across the Delaware River -- and thus in Pennsylvania!

Now, my parents own a small home on 2.7 acres, also near Callicoon -- but on the New York side of the river.

Folks in New York City and Long Island tend to call anything north of, say, Westchester and Rockland Counties as "Upstate," though I'm not sure that residents of Warwick (in Orange County) or Carmel (in Putnam County) would consider themselves "Upstate." Maybe it depends how far north in either county you go.

So what about REALLY far Upstate? Is Buffalo "Upstate New York" or is it just "Western New York"? Or is it "Downstate Ontario"? ;-)

Are the Adirondack Mountains "Upstate"... or just really frakkin' far north?

Wikipedia has an interesting article on this very topic, outlining the different definitions of the term "Upstate."

* * *

I remember waaay back in 1999 and 2000 when Hillary Clinton was first running for the U.S. Senate, experts and commentators said she wouldn't have "Upstate appeal" and that Mayor Rudy Giuliani (who at that time was running against her) would have strong support "Upstate" because he's a Republican (even though he's from Brooklyn). Rep. Rick Lazio stepped into the race when Giuliani dropped out when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he too was expected to get good Upstate support............. Well Clinton trounced Lazio in urban areas AND beat or held even with Lazio "Upstate."

So much for that theory.

The Webtender

2007-11-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

OK, so maybe this is sign that I take too much pleasure in alcoholic beverages... but I found a Website called that's pretty cool... It has cocktail recipes and more. Today I finally learned what a "7 and 7" is (Seagram 7 and 7-Up --- DUH).

(The Ryan character on "The O.C." ordered it in an early episode and ever since then I've wondered... Of course I could've just asked a bartender...)

New Body Armor

2007-11-21T21:12:00.001-05:00

Last Friday before work, I subwayed down to the NYPD's 7th Precinct station house to pick up a brand-new ballistic vest.

You see, I'm an NYPD auxiliary police officer, which is a part-time, volunteer thing. We wear a uniform and badge, carry a wooden baton and police radio, and walk the streets acting as the "eyes and ears" of the NYPD. We do not carry firearms.

[Watch a REPORT about the Auxiliary Police]

After two auxiliaries lost their lives back in March, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced the department would issue the vests to all auxiliary officers.

[Watch a REPORT about the issuing of the vests]

APO Nick Pekearo and APO Yevgeniy Marshalik were killed in the line of duty when a crazed gunman charged at them and then shot them at close range.

[Read my ESSAY about their deaths]

I was grateful to get my new vest -- it's a very high-quality model. It's the Summit MON-IIIA++. Rated IIIA means it is supposed to stop a 9mm or a .44 Magnum handgun round. It will not stop a rifle round.

When on patrol, I had been wearing a vest I had purchased on my own from a dealer in Israel. Although that vest is also rated IIIA, it doesn't have side panels like the Summit. That is a crucial feature.

After the NYPD's ballistic vest team made sure the vest fit me correctly, I got back on the subway and headed to work. That's when I read the booklet that came with the vest. A section inside called "Warnings - You Must Read!!" (yes, it has TWO exclamation points...) had a long litany of warnings and disclaimers. Here's a taste:

"...body armor is not bulletproof and can not protect against all threats. Impact forces can result in serious injury or death."

(Nice... a bullet I might survive, but a sledgehammer could kill me.)

"Ballistic panels do not protect the neck or any area it does not cover. Strenuous movements or physical altercations may cause ballistic panels to shift on the wearer's body thus affecting actual coverage... Substantial weight gain or loss... can also cause previously protected areas to become exposed."

(Wow, is that a reason to NOT lose weight??)

"The greater the angle at which a round strikes the vest, the greater the possibility the round may ricochet or slide off the side of the vest. A ricochet may travel at a high rate of speed which could result in severe injury of death."

(Great, a bullet that doesn't even penetrate the panel could bounce off and slam into my head.)

And the best one:

"...multiple rounds striking the vest in a tight shot pattern may result in a penetration of the vest causing severe injury or death."

(In other words, I'm hoping whoever might open fire is a terrible shot or has only one round in the chamber.)

So basically I started freaking out a bit when I read all this and then it really hit me: I COULD GET SHOT. It's not that I didn't already know this, but after the "cool" factor of getting the new vest wore off I really began to digest the notion of what this all means.

And I only go on patrol about twice a month.

Regular police officers suit up every day for 8-10 hours a day, putting themselves in harm's way. Sure, they have more training and carry guns, but that puts them in much more danger since they are sworn to take action when needed.

When I wear the vest, I will think about APOs Pekearo and Marshalik. I will remember their bravery and sacrifice. I will think about the fear they must have felt in those final, horrible moments and what their families must still be going through.

I am grateful to have the vest, Commissioner.

Gruesome Corpse-Sex Case

2007-11-21T21:08:00.000-05:00

We who work in the news business see crazy, bizarre and sad stories every day, and yes, to a certain degree we have become numb to their impact.

But every now and then we come across a story that still manages to shock us.

This week, it was news that a young lab tech at a hospital in New Jersey was arrested and accused of having SEX with a CORPSE. That's right -- a security guard said he saw the guy inside the morgue having sex with the body of a 92-year-old woman who had died only a few hours before.

READ THE STORY HERE

If the accusations are true, then I want to know how in the world can someone be so screwed up that they have the urge to do something so awful, so disgusting, so frighteningly obscene. What possesses a person to succumb to such an urge? What happened in this man's life, in his past, his childhood or whatever that molded him into such a person? It is truly disturbing.

Here's another crazy thing: The crime he is charged with is "with sexual penetration of human remains." In other words, there is an actual LAW on the books that SPECIFICALLY makes sex with a corpse a crime. That means that lawmakers at some point were forced to create the law because there were enough sickening cases of this to warrant action. That is truly frightening.

I know this is a gruesome topic, but the case really troubles me.

NYPD Auxiliary

2006-02-27T16:23:00.000-05:00

APO Cruz and APO Das at end of tour, 19 PCT/NYPD, February 20, 2006.

Coast Guard Auxiliary Swearing-in Ceremony

2006-02-27T16:15:00.000-05:00

First District Southern Region/Division 5 Change of Watch, New Rochelle, NY, January 30, 2006.

2005-10-15T02:11:00.000-04:00

Talking Foreign Affairs with Thomas L. Friedman/ Oct. 14, 2005

What Was I Thinking? Here's What.

Don H. Doyle, Columbia, S.C.: "I know you have warned everyone about the complications and dangers of our nation's current adventure in the Middle East, but you have also expressed great confidence and assurance that this is a project we must undertake to save the Arab world from its unfortunate drift in the wrong direction. Iraq may have been in bad hands but it was not a danger to the United States until this war. The war was an egregious act of imperialism, and its purpose is clearly to control oil, not enlighten people in the western ways of democracy -- unless that would help us control the oil. This has all been a very bad mistake, and it has come about due to a misguided enthusiasm for remaking people in our own image, something you have encouraged in your columns in my view."

Tom Friedman responds: I have gotten a ton of mail along these lines: Why did you ever support the war in Iraq and why won't you throw in the towel and admit you were wrong? So let me devote this week's blog to trying to explain where I was, and am, coming from.

Let's start at the beginning. I was never part of the neo-con drumbeat to invade Iraq that emerged in the 1990's. For those of you keeping score, I am a neo-liberal, a Tony Blair Democrat. That is, I am someone who believes that to be a liberal today is to embrace globalization and free trade, and try to get the best out of them and cushion the worst, and to exercise the judicious use of force in confronting the very real enemies we have in the world today. I am not a neo-con.

As readers of my column know, I barely even mentioned the word Iraq for the first eight years that I was a columnist. I really only came to the Iraq issue when the country came to it, post-9/11, when the Bush administration decided it was going to invade Iraq come what may.

Let me repeat that. It was my view that the Bush team was going to invade Iraq no matter who was against it -- Congress, columnists or whoever. I am flattered that some people think my column was so influential that had I come out against the war, it would have made a difference. Unfortunately, I don't believe that. It would have made no difference. Therefore, from a columnist's point of view, I felt I had two choices: One was to come out squarely against the war and throw my body in the way. Many of my colleagues did that. I believe that was a noble position. I have nothing but respect for them. It's where my own wife was. But I had different point of view.

My view was that the Bush people were going to launch this war no matter what I wrote. But because I believed that if this war were mounted in the right way for the right reasons, it could have a truly important outcome, I wanted to use my column to do what little I could to try to tilt the administration to fight the right war, the right way.

So in the run-up to the war, my columns oscillated from trying to explain why this war could be really important, to why some things are true even if George Bush believed them, to why this war would be really hard and therefore had to be prepared and prosecuted in just the right way.

Why did I think this was important? It had to do with 9/11.

The events of 9/11 highlighted something fundamental, as far as I was concerned. It highlighted the fact that for the last 50 years we, the U.S., have treated the Arab states as a collection of big gas stations. That's all. And our basic message to them was: Guys, just keep your pumps open, your prices low and -- in recent years -- be nice to the Israelis, and you can do whatever you want out back. You can treat your women however you want as far as we are concerned. You can teach your children to hate Christians, Hindus and Jews however much you want. You can preach from your mosques whatever intolerance you want. You can deprive your young people of any chance to engage in free and democratic elections as much as you want. You can indulge in however much corruption you want. You can print whatever conspiracy theories and lies about America in your newspapers that you like. You can choke your universities with almost all religion classes and nothing that will prepare your young people for the 21st century as much as you want. Yes, you can do all these things "out back" -- just keep your pumps open, your prices low and be nice to the Jews out front. That was our message.

It is my view that on 9/11 we, America, got hit with the distilled essence of everything that was going on out back in the Arab-Muslim world. That is where Al-Qaeda emerged -- from the swamp of pathologies that were bubbling out back in that world. Therefore, it seemed to me that we had both a moral and strategic interest in fundamentally shifting policy from preserving the status quo to overturning it. That is, we had a fundamental interest in trying to collaborate with Arabs and Muslims -- in this case the Iraqi exiles -- to see if we could actually produce a decent government in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world that would begin to take on the pathologies and dysfunction there that were producing a generation of young people who hated us, hated their own governments, were totally humiliated and were ready to commit suicide almost at the drop of a hat.

Because when you have a civilization that is spinning off so many young people ready to commit suicide, you have a real threat to open societies as we know them. When you have people ready to blow themselves up using instruments from our daily lives -- the cellphone, the shoe, the backpack, the car, the airplane -- you have people who are destroying the very thing that keeps an open society open, and that is trust.

I trust when I get on an airplane that the person next to me doesn't have exploding shoes. I trust when I walk to my office the person next to me is not carrying a bomb-laden backpack. Without trust there is no open society, because there are not enough police to police every opening in an open society. So you will pardon me if I feel that we, the residents of every open society, faced a fundamental danger, post-9/11, from the pathologies going on out back in the Arab world.

It was for those reasons that I was ready, after 9/11, to entertain the idea of invading Iraq and, in collaboration with Iraqis, trying to build a new model in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world. As readers of this column know, I never believed or wrote that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that could threaten us. I never believed or wrote that invading Iraq on the pretext of W.M.D. was legitimate. In fact, I wrote a column before the war urging the president to "tell the truth" [Feb. 19, 2003] that the right reason for the war was not W.M.D. It was to deal with the problem of P.M.D. -- people of mass destruction. They were the real threat to open societies, and they were coming from out back in the Arab-Muslim world.

But, as much as I felt that the Iraq war if done right could be really important, I also knew that it would be really hard. That was why I coined my ''Pottery Barn rule": You break it you own it. (I told it to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage; he told it to Colin Powell; Colin Powell told it to Bush and to Bob Woodward, without saying it came from me, and that is how it ended up in Woodward's book in Colin Powell's voice.)

I knew from living in Beirut in the midst of the civil war there that it would take a lot of troops, a lot of money, a lot of domestic sacrifice, a different energy policy, a different approach to the Arab-Israel question and a lot of international cover to make this work. Everything I wrote before, during and after the war stressed those points. One in particular that I repeated was that there is no country in the world that we could not destroy on our own, but there was no country in the world that we could rebuild on our own. We needed allies to both share the cost and buy more legitimacy for the time it will take to transform Iraq.

My anger at the administration derives from the fact that I thought Iraq was so important that, as a columnist, I was going to set my own personal politics aside as I weighed the pros and cons. I checked my politics at the door. What I so resented -- and anyone who wants to call me naive on this is fully justified -- was that the Bush people never checked their politics at the door and that these people actually thought this was going to be easy.

They sent many political hacks to run the post-war in Baghdad, and Don Rumsfeld used Iraq as a lab test to try to prove that the Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force was no longer valid. He gave us instead the Rumsfeld Doctrine, what I call "just enough troops to lose." I believe, and have written, that Rumsfeld should have been fired a long time ago. He is the most overrated man in Washington, and young Americans have been killed and maimed because of his stubborn foolishness.

Let me repeat, anyone who says I should have known this before the war that these guys would never deliver the kind of war I advocated has a point. I placed my hopes over my experience. I assumed that given how important Iraq is to the Bush legacy, the president would never tolerate the sort of incompetence he has tolerated. I was wrong.

As for the overall enterprise, though, I still have a glimmer of hope that we can get a decent outcome in Iraq, one that will, over time, help tilt the Arab-Muslim world from the downward slope that it is on now onto a more positive track. And I believe that if we do that we will have done something very, very important both morally and strategically.

So to all of you who are writing in asking me to give up, let me simply say: I will give up when Iraqis give up and when the young Americans over in Iraq give up. My sense in talking to both of them is that they too still feel that, despite all that has happened, a decent outcome is still possible. As long as that is the case, I am going to hang in there.

I am not trying to win a debate. I am trying to report and write in a way that might make a little contribution to getting this thing right and on the right track - because I think it really could be that important for the world that my kids and yours are going to grow up in. That is my focus. I may be all wrong, but I did not come to this position frivolously or by just following my political loyalties. I know what I think and I know why I think it. And if I draw the conclusion that there is no hope for success, I will say that. But I am not there yet.

2005-09-26T14:26:00.000-04:00

From Bob Herbert of the Times...

The New York Times/ Sept. 23, 2005
Baseball's Finest Moment: Pee Wee Reese
By Bob Herbert

In the spring of 1947, when it became widely known that the Brooklyn Dodgers were about to bring Jackie Robinson up from their Montreal farm club, a group of players on the Dodgers began circulating a petition. One of the players who was asked to sign was Pee Wee Reese.

The writer Roger Kahn, who would later become close to Reese, told me a few years ago that the petition said, in essence, "If you bring up the nigger, trade us. We won't play."

Reese, the team's shortstop had grown up in the Jim Crow atmosphere of Louisville, Ky., and had never so much as shaken hands with a black person. He was considered a lock to sign. But he wouldn't. He didn't make a big deal out of it. He just refused to sign. The petition died.

When the Dodgers brought Robinson up a short time later, they put him at first base. (Eventually he would play second.) As is now well known, the abuse he took as the first black player in the modern era of the major leagues was grotesque. Pitchers ignored the strike zone and threw directly at his head. Base runners tried to gouge him with their metal spikes. People spat at him, threw garbage at him, and shouted every disgusting epithet imaginable.

In his book, "The Boys of Summer," Kahn noted that the sportswriter Jimmy Cannon spent a day with the Dodgers in 1947 and concluded that "Robinson is the loneliest man I have ever seen in sports."

One day, in Cincinnati, when the abuse had reached a fever pitch, Reese decided he had had enough. The Dodgers were on the field and the players in the Reds' dugout were shouting obscenities at Robinson. Fans were booing and cursing Robinson, who was standing at first and trying, amid the chaos and the rising heat of his own anger, to concentrate on the game.

Reese called time. And in a gesture that is deservedly famous, he walked across the infield to Robinson, placed a hand on his shoulder in a very public display of friendship, and offered him a few words of encouragement.

"It gets my vote," said Kahn, "as baseball's finest moment."

Reese and Robinson eventually became very close. So close, in fact, that Reese could needle the high-strung Robinson in ways that others didn't dare try. Robinson was often difficult to get along with, and Reese once told him, "You know, Jack, some of these guys are throwing at you because you're black. But others are doing it because they just don't like you."

Kahn remembered another time when someone had threatened to shoot Robinson if he played in an exhibition game at Atlanta. Reese sidled over, in the midst of tremendous tension, and said, "Do me a favor, Jack." Robinson said, "Yeah, what?" Reese said, "Don't stand too close to me. We don't know what kind of shot this guy is."

When Jackie Robinson died in 1972, he was just 53 years old. Pee Wee Reese, teammate and friend, was one of the pallbearers at his funeral. Reese died of lung cancer in 1999. He was 81.

Nepotism/Cronyism in Gov't = Lives Destroyed

2005-09-25T19:14:00.000-04:00

Frank Rich of the Times... Read this... Unbelievable...

===

The New York Times
September 25, 2005
Bring Back Warren Harding
By FRANK RICH

THERE are no coincidences. On Monday, as L. Dennis Kozlowski was slapped with 8 to 25 years in jail for looting Tyco International of some $150 million, the feds were making their first arrest of a high-ranking member of the Bush administration. The official was David Safavian, the chief of White House federal procurement policy who once worked for Jack Abramoff, the sleazy Republican lobbyist whose disreputable client list, in another noncoincidence, included Tyco. While it's an accident of timing that Mr. Safavian was collared at his suburban Virginia home just as Mr. Kozlowski was sent to the slammer in New York, the two events could not better bracket a corrupt era worthy of the Gilded Age.

Ours will be remembered as the Enron era. Enron itself is a distant memory - much like all that circa 2000 talk of a smoothly efficient C.E.O. presidency led by a Harvard M.B.A. and a former chief executive of Halliburton. But even as American business has since been purged by prosecutions and reforms, the mutant Enron version of the C.E.O. culture still rules in Washington: uninhibited cronyism, cooked books, special-favors networks, the banishment of whistle-blowers and accountability. More than ideology, this ethos has sabotaged even the best of American intentions, whether in Iraq or New Orleans. Unchecked, it promises greater disasters to come.

As recently as 10 days ago, when he resigned before his arrest, Mr. Safavian was the man who set purchasing policy for the entire federal government, including that related to Hurricane Katrina relief. The White House might as well have appointed a contestant from "The Apprentice." Before entering public service, Mr. Safavian's main claim to fame was as a lobbyist whose clients included Indian gaming interests and thuggish African regimes. Mr. Safavian now faces charges of lying and obstructing the investigation of Mr. Abramoff, the Tom DeLay-Ralph Reed-Grover Norquist pal who is being investigated by more agencies than looked into 9/11. Mr. Abramoff's greasy K Street influence-peddling network makes the Warren Harding gang, which operated out of its own infamous "little green house on K Street," look like selfless stewards of the public good.

You know that the arrest of Mr. Safavian, one of three known Abramoff alumni to migrate into the administration, is the start of something big. Alberto Gonzales's Justice Department announced it only after Mr. Safavian had appeared in court and had been released without bail. The gambit was clearly intended to keep the story off television, and it worked.

It won't for long. The Enron odor emanating from Mr. Safavian is of a piece with the rest of the cronyism in the Katrina preparedness package. The handing off of FEMA from President Bush's 2000 campaign manager, Joe Allbaugh, to Mr. Allbaugh's even less qualified buddy, Michael Brown, in 2003 is now notorious. (The two men have been friends for 25 years but were not college roommates, as I wrote here last week.) But that's only the beginning: the placement of hacks like "Brownie" and Mr. Safavian in crucial jobs hasn't been slowed one whit by what went down on their watch in New Orleans.

Witness the nomination of Julie Myers as the new head of immigration and customs enforcement at the Homeland Security Department. Though the White House attacked the diplomat Joseph Wilson for nepotism because he undertook a single pro bono intelligence mission while his wife was at the C.I.A., it thought nothing of handing this huge job to a nepotistic twofer: Ms. Myers is the niece of Gen. Richard Myers and has just married the chief of staff for the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff. Her qualifications for running an agency with more than 20,000 employees and a $4 billion budget include serving as an associate counsel under Kenneth Starr; in that job, she helped mastermind the costly and doomed prosecution of Susan McDougal, and was outwitted at every turn by the defense lawyer Mark Geragos.

Ms. Myers is only the latest example of Mr. Chertoff's rolling the dice with Americans' safety during his brief tenure in Homeland Security. After the bombings in London in July, he vowed to maximize his department's "finite human and financial capital to attain the optimal state of preparedness." Yet the very same day, the president nominated Tracy Henke as Homeland Security's new executive director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness. Ms. Henke, a John Ashcroft political appointee at the Justice Department, has since been unmasked as an Enron-style spinner of numbers. As Eric Lichtblau of The Times reported in August, it was she who ordered the highly regarded nonpartisan head of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Lawrence Greenfeld, to delete a reference to politically embarrassing data in a government press release for a report on racial profiling. When Mr. Greenfeld complained, he was demoted.

Imagine Ms. Henke, in her Homeland Security job, having sway over press releases about our disaster readiness. There is likely to be nothing but good news until it's too late. But if the hiring of the likes of Ms. Henke, Ms. Myers and Mr. Safavian is half of the equation in Enron governance, the other half is the punishing of veteran civil servants like Mr. Greenfeld for doing their jobs honestly. Even as it fills its ranks with Abramoff golf-junket partners, political flunkies and underemployed relatives, the administration silences those who, like Sherron Watkins at Enron, might blow the whistle on any Kozlowski or Ebbers or Rigas fleecing or betraying the taxpayers. Three weeks before Mr. Safavian's arrest, the Army Corps of Engineers demoted another procurement official, Bunnatine Greenhouse, who was a 20-year veteran in her field. Her crime was not obstructing justice but pursuing it by vehemently questioning irregularities in the awarding of some $7 billion worth of no-bid contracts in Iraq to the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root.

Ms. Greenhouse and Mr. Greenfeld are only two of the many whistle-blowers done in by this administration so far. (Congressman Rahm Emanuel, Democrat of Illinois, lists nine on his Web site.) Even top government officials who are not whistle-blowers, merely truth-tellers, are axed. Lawrence Lindsey, the president's chief economic adviser, was pushed out after he accurately projected the cost of the Iraq war at $100 billion to $200 billion. Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, was shunted aside after he accurately estimated the number of required troops ("several hundred thousand") for securing Iraq. Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld, who presented rosy scenarios of getting the job done with Iraqi oil income and low troop deployments, stayed on to bungle the war.

Their errors were compounded when the administration staffed the post-Saddam American occupation with exactly the same kind of appointees it would later bring to homeland security: the two heads of "private sector development" in Iraq were a former Bush fund-raiser in Connecticut and a venture capitalist who just happened to be Ari Fleischer's brother. As The Washington Post reported last year, major roles in the L. Paul Bremer regime were given to 20-somethings with no foreign service experience or knowledge of Arabic simply because they had posted their résumés at the Heritage Foundation, the same conservative think tank where Mr. Bremer had chaired a task force.

The damage done to the mission in Iraq and homeland security alike by Enron governance is immeasurable. Administration apologists who now claim that hurricane relief will bring still more examples of innovative, C.E.O.-style governmental enterprise (Mr. Bush's "Gulf Opportunity Zone," for instance) conveniently sidestep the harsh truth that such schemes are destined to be as empty and corrupt as Andrew Fastow's Raptor partnerships at Enron once they're staffed from the apparently infinite crony talent pool.

YET it's not only the administration that is to blame, any more than it is only the executives who are at fault when a corporation rots. Culpability also belongs to the board that rubber-stamps the shenanigans - to wit, Congress. Republicans in the Senate are led by Bill Frist, who, in the grandest Enron manner, claimed last week that it was to avoid a conflict of interest that his supposed "blind trust" unloaded all of his holdings in a Frist family-founded company just before its stock tanked. (Federal prosecutors and the S.E.C. are investigating.) As for the Democrats, they are nonpareil at posturing about the unstoppable nomination of John Roberts - a conservative, to be sure, but the rare Bush nominee who seems both qualified for his job and unsullied by ethical blemishes. Yet when David Safavian was up for a job involving hundreds of billions of dollars, and much of his dubious résumé was fully known, he was approved by the ranking Democrat, Joe Lieberman, and all his colleagues of both parties on the Governmental Affairs Committee.

Which is to say that the rest of us, the individual shareholders in government who have voted in our Enron-era politicians, are responsible, too.

'Intelligent design'

2005-09-24T23:53:00.000-04:00

Are we in the 21st Century?

==

'Intelligent design' faces first big court test ?Parents sue after alternate to evolution added to science curriculum

By Alex Johnson
Reporter
MSNBC

A federal judge in Pennsylvania will hear arguments Monday in a lawsuit that both sides say could set the fundamental ground rules for how American students are taught the origins of life for years to come.

At issue is an alternative to the standard theory of evolution called "intelligent design." Proponents argue that the structure of life on Earth is too complex to have evolved through natural selection, challenging a core principle of the biological theory launched by Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species" in 1859. Instead, contend adherents of intelligent design, life is probably the result of intervention by an intelligent agent.

Intelligent design has been bubbling up since 1987, when the Supreme Court ruled that public schools could not teach the biblical account of creation instead of evolution, because doing so would violate the constitutional ban on establishment of an official religion.

Critics deride intelligent design as creationism gussied up for the courts; advocates say it is an explicitly scientific construct that makes no supposition about the identity or nature of the designer.

The disagreement has led to anguished public debates and hearings before local school boards for almost 20 years. While judges have considered smaller questions barnacled to the issue, the trial that opens Monday is believed to be the first time a federal court has been asked to decide the fundamental question: Is intelligent design religion or science?

Finally, a chance for a definitive ruling?
The Pennsylvania case "is probably the most important legal situation of creation and evolution in the last 18 years," said Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, which opposes challenges to the standard model of evolution.

"This will be the first legal challenge to intelligent design, and we'll see whether they have been able to mask the creationist underpinnings and basic orientation of intelligent design," she said. Regardless who wins, "it will have quite a significant impact on what happens in American public school education."

The suit, brought by 11 parents, challenges the Dover Area School District's adoption last year of an addition to the science curriculum directing teachers -- in addition to teaching evolution -- to tell students about intelligent design and refer them to an alternative textbook that champions it. Three opposing board members resigned after the vote.

The parents contended that the directive amounted to an attempt to inject religion into the curriculum in violation of the First Amendment. Their case was joined by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation for Church and State, with support from Scott's organization.

The school board is being defended pro bono by the Thomas More Law Center, a Christian law firm in Ann Arbor, Mich. The case is being heard without a jury in Harrisburg by U.S. District Judge John Jones III, whom President Bush appointed to the bench in 2002.

Science organizations have generally turned their backs on forums in which they have been challenged to defend Darwinian evolution, on the theory that engaging the intelligent design school in any way is to take its ideas too seriously. For example, when the Kansas Board of Education held hearings this year on new science standards that criticized evolution, science groups boycotted.

The Pennsylvania case, however, gives scientists the chance to go on the attack, forcing intelligent-design advocates to defend their beliefs. But because local school boards have almost complete latitude to set the content of the curriculum, the plaintiffs must navigate a narrow path.

It isn't enough for them to discredit intelligent design -- indeed, that is almost irrelevant to the legal question. Instead, what they must do is show that the school board's decision would have an unconstitutionally religious purpose and effect, Scott said.

Even so, Scott and others make no bones about their principal motivation: Intelligent design as science is bogus, they insist, and teaching it is a grave disservice to students.

"Intelligent design is simply the most recent version of creationism, which is admittedly a religious concept," said Alan Leshner, chief executive of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science and publisher of the journal Science. "There is no scientific basis to intelligent design."

Debating the terms of the debate?
This is where things get sticky, because it all boils down to a basic argument over just what is evolution and what is religion.

Advocates have labored for years to have intelligent design be taken seriously as science. Although many of the leading thinkers in the movement openly acknowledge their Christian faith, they also sport Ph.D.s in hard science and maintain that their suppositions are rooted in principled observance of the scientific method.

And they generally have no problem with much of evolutionary theory, which can -- in part --be stated as the change of species over time. Evidence, they agree, amply bears out this observation, which is known as micro-evolution.

Where they dissent is in what's known as macro-evolution -- the transformation over time of a species into another species. The distinction is drawn in "Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins," the alternative text endorsed by the Dover school board:

"Intelligent design means that various forms of life began abruptly through an intelligent agency, with their distinctive features already intact -- fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks and wings. Some scientists have arrived at this view since fossil forms first appear in the rock record with their primitive features intact, rather than gradually developing."

In other words, their argument is not so much with evolution per se as it is with what they see as the failure of evolution to account for how it all started. It is perfectly reasonable as science, they believe, to explore whether an outside agent triggered diversity of complex biological structures seemingly engineered to sustain life on Earth.

Intelligent-design supporters are careful to say they don't know who or what that outside agent was, but to the large majority of biologists, that's beside the point: Science is concerned with the natural world, while intelligent design supposes an agent independent of the natural world.

You can teach such concepts, Leshner and Scott say; indeed, you should -- just do it in philosophy and religion and literature classes. Don't do it in science classes, because, by definition, that's religion. It isn't science.

"If we human beings evolved as a result of natural cause, are we special to God? Does life then have some sort of purpose?" Scott asked.

They're legitimate questions, but "these are issues that are outside of science," she said. "These are not issues that should be part of the science curriculum."

Tough spot for ID crowd?
The Dover case raises difficult issues for many advocates of intelligent design, who sometimes feel as if they're dismissed as rubes or Bible thumpers trying to wiggle God back into the classroom in a white lab coat.

Indeed, the Discovery Institute -- the Seattle-based think tank that is the intellectual engine of the movement -- finds itself opposing both sides. While it criticized the ACLU for pursuing an "Orwellian" stifling of scientific debate, it also disagreed with the Dover school board's vote last year.

"Discovery Institute strongly opposes the ACLU's effort to make discussions of intelligent design illegal. At the same time, we disagree with efforts to get the government to require the teaching of intelligent design," the institute said in a statement this week.

"Misguided policies like the one adopted by the Dover School District are likely to be politically divisive and hinder a fair and open discussion of the merits of intelligent design among scholars and within the scientific community, points we have made repeatedly since we first learned about the Dover policy in 2004."

Regardless, the end result could be some judicial proclamation of that kind. Because the losing side is likely to appeal every step of the way, the case may well end up at the Supreme Court, leading to a ruling that could set a national precedent.

That is "a disturbing prospect," the Discovery Institute said -- judges should not be telling scientists "what is legitimate scientific inquiry and what is not."

© 2005 MSNBC Interactive

NYPoDcast

2005-09-23T04:02:00.000-04:00

Boy am I lovin' PODCASTING!

The NYPD has a Podcast, too... Check it out at iTunes or click here.

Barack PODbama

2005-09-23T03:58:00.000-04:00

U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is a truly committed, competent, and intelligent lawmaker. The fellow Columbia U. grad now has a PODCAST. It's well worth listening to:

http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/

Or subscribe through iTunes...