Almond joy

Michelle on Taking Responsibility for Her Own Happiness:

In The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama recalls how unhappy Michelle was when he decided to run for Congress in 2000—a race he would go on to lose. "My wife's anger toward me seemed barely contained," he writes. "'You only think about yourself,' she would tell me. 'I never thought I'd have to raise a family alone.'"

It seems logical to assume that if things were that bad in their marriage before, a presidential run would make them exponentially worse. But Michelle says that's not so. "There was an important period of growth in our marriage," she tells me, as matter-of-factly as if she were discussing her morning commute. "He was in the state senate, we had small kids, and it was hard. I was struggling with figuring out how I was going to make it work for me." It was during this period that Michelle started going to the gym before dawn. "This was the epiphany," she says. "I am sitting there with a new baby, angry, tired, and out of shape. The baby is up for that 4 o'clock feeding. And my husband is lying there, sleeping." That's when it struck her that if she weren't there, he would eventually have to wake up. It worked. "I would get home from the gym, and the girls would be up and fed. That was something I had to do for me."

But even as she was getting out of her own way, making room for her husband to step up, she was realizing that it wasn't his job to make everything perfect. "The big thing I figured out," she says, "was that I was pushing to make Barack be something I wanted him to be for me. I believed that if only he were around more often, everything would be better. So I was depending on him to make me happy. Except it didn't have anything to do with him. I needed support. I didn't necessarily need it from Barack."

Michelle the Guidance Counselor:

"You've got to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. All right?" she told the girls with sudden sternness. "Trust me, I was right where you guys are. I grew up in the same kind of neighborhood. The thing that made me different from a lot of other kids who didn't have opportunities was that I tried new stuff and I wasn't afraid to be uncomfortable. You guys have got to do that, because the things you want in life will not get handed to you. There is a lot of opportunity out there. But you've got to want it."

Michelle on Motivation:

"I've come to realize I'm stuck about every five years, when I hit a point of stagnation and need to grow. The first time, I was working at a big, prestigious law firm, and I wasn't happy. I needed to consider what I really cared about, which was work that had a community-based feel, using my education to benefit others. So while I was still at the firm, I spent about a year meeting with people like general counsels for universities. The goal was to find out, "What do you do? You're a lawyer, you're not in a firm, how did you structure your life?" I developed such an interesting network that people started calling me with job offers. I ultimately decided to become an assistant to the mayor of Chicago. It required a temporary financial setback, but in the end, when you're living your dream, the economic stability comes.

"I've also had stuck moments in my marriage. Going from being an independent professional to being the mother of two little kids with a husband in politics, I was feeling like Where am I in all of this? I was spending a lot of energy focusing on fixing my husband, fixing the way I mother. What I finally recognized is that I wasn't spending enough time on me. One thing I did was take my diet and exercise into my own hands. It required getting up at 4:30 A.M. and working out and making sure that every day I did something for myself, as opposed to worrying, Well, why is Barack now going to run for that office? My happiness isn't connected to my husband's or my boss's or my children's behavior. You have control over your own actions, your own well-being. And if you spend the energy on that, you get unstuck."

White House Snacks:
OPRAH FLUNKY: what snacks did [Michelle] serve [when you visited the White House]?
OPRAH: almonds.
GAIL: they were really good.
FLUNKY: that tells you everything you need to know about a host---what snacks they serve.

Our bad

A sampling:


The problem with most of the Seventies retro you see today is that everyone is too damned attractive; Milla Jovovich duded up in willfully hideous bicentennial-wear is still beautiful because she’s Milla Jovovich. In truth, everyone who actually lived through the Seventies was, for that period, ugly and misshapen—even exercise models, as this fitness portfolio from our February ’73 issue demonstrates. In the sequence of photographs shown here, our Avery Schreiber doppelgänger performs a maneuver called the “sun exercise…a daily must for yoga practitioners.” (Note the beaded necklace.) The issue’s other highlights: enormous patterned bow ties paired with plaid shirts; a baggy-trousers fashion spread entitled “Pick Your Bag.”


Really, who among us hasn’t harbored a secret desire to have a little fun with prosthetic sideburns? Let’s see what a moustache looks like…with muttonchops! What if I had a goatee…and lobe-length ‘burns! Whoa—check out these big, fluffy, L-shaped jobbers that go right up to the corners of my mouth! In our September ’68 issue, we went unashamedly sideburn-wild, slapping all sorts of bristly prostheses on our model and talking about the “exhilarating self-expression” they offered. We even trumpeted the virtues of actually wearing false facial hair instead of growing one’s own: “[Some men] find their employers frown on hirsute features, and false facial hair provides them with the opportunity to become weekend and evening swingers.”


No. No. This can’t be. Surely, we did not ever use mimes to model clothes. Even in May 1961, we had better judgment than that. We would never have devoted a full eight pages of an issue to a mime modeling knit shirts—complemented by leotards, no less! Nor would we have written a caption like “Harlequin is naturally delighted with the exuberant blocks of light blue, royal blue, pale green and black set on the white body of his cotton pullover.” Uh-uh. Just not something we would do. Sorry, this never happened. Must be from some other magazine.


“KENYA!” screamed our April ’68 cover. Obviously, we were a little overexcited; hence the dead zebra, left. What we meant to embark upon was “Our Great Sport Shirt Hunt.” In this photo, our man has bagged a “caftan-shirt—punjab-collared, longer-lengthed [and] Indian-printed with hero-sized paisleys.” Elsewhere in the issue, we lamented the emergence of a new hairstyle, the “Zulu Look,” arguing that it had been “introduced by comic Marty Allen—but for laughs” and was now being affected by “innumerable photographers, art directors, and even Tony Curtis!” By the way, death was not the only indignity we inflicted on the zebra. In the caption that accompanied this picture, we dismissed him as “second prize on the plains (she, obviously, is the first).”

It’s a classic question: “Should I smile with feeling, or should I just stare at the camera with my dead, dead eyes?” We feel your pain, Disingenuous Rictus Man. It’s not easy trying to balance a Jheri curl with so many shades of salmon. Nor is it easy dealing with that orange-clad homunculus and tiny version of yourself in leather pants so tight they’re sold with application oil. Still, it’s a great rictus. Keep up the good work.

He’s a vision, sporting pirate boots, split ends, and two creepy hand pendants—because, damn it, some days one creepy hand pendant is just not enough. This Age of Aquarius fashion plate was photographed for a story in our March 1971 issue titled “On the Job,” featuring real men in their preferred work attire. John here was a publicist for a record company and had a style reminiscent of a randy Charles Manson, with the soulless stare to match. We feel his own words express it best: “I want to see more robes. I’d really like to wear them all the time. I’d also like to go naked.” Whoa, John…whoa.


Which is more deeply embarrassing: a wrestler-governor or a wrestling-singlet bathing suit? Our June 1970 issue stayed on the newsstands for only a month, not a political term; nevertheless, we milked this item for every last ounce of cringe-worthiness. The cut alone would have been enough. The tablecloth-print fabric would have been enough. The blinding bright orange would have been enough. And certainly one image would have sufficed. However, we reproduced it both on the cover and inside the oddly conceived Israeli-themed fashion issue—just in case it somehow escaped our readers’ notice.

Where to begin? When the combination of socks and sandals is the least of your problems, you know you’re in serious trouble. Clearly, the alternate reality of Club Med went too far: Pretending that plastic beads are money is the first step; convincing people it’s OK to wear brassiere-style knotted shirts is the last. Ultimately, we, and not the location of this 1974 shoot, must bear responsibility for this ensemble, having hired the lady in the bandeau top to goad this poor guy. She cooed into his ear, “Why don’t you wear wedge shoes like mine and the stockings I made out of my grandmother’s kitchen curtains?”—all the while leaning against a pole of unidentified patriotism.

Suggestion

Herf, if your coiffure channels the inimitable Mary McDonnell,



maybe the time is ripe for a Personal Day. No one wants to see that.

photo courtesy of this guy.

(For LW: "Viggo Mortensen was originally cast to play John Dunbar. Mortensen will, however, be playing John Dunbar in the upcoming sequel to this movie, The Holy Road (2009), as Kevin Costner has stated that he will not be reprising his character." --imdb.com)

Fraternal something-or-other

Take the time.

Buon onomastico, caro

G quoted:

In Sicily---where St. Joseph is regarded by many as their patron saint---and in many Italian-American communities thanks are given to St. Joseph (San Giuseppe) for preventing a famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages. According to legend, there was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain. They promised that if he answered their prayers, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint. The fava bean crop saved the population from starvation and is a traditional part of St. Joseph's Day altars and traditions. Giving food to the needy is a St. Joseph's Day custom. In some communities it is traditional to wear red clothing and eat a Sicilian pastry known as zeppole on St. Joseph's Day.

Upon a typical St. Joseph's Day altar, people place flowers, limes, candles, wine, fava beans, specially prepared cakes, breads, cookies (as well as other meatless dishes), and zeppole. Foods are traditionally served containing bread crumbs to represent saw dust since St. Joseph was a carpenter. Because the feast occurs during Lent, traditionally no meat was allowed on the celebration table. The altar usually has three tiers, to represent the Trinity.

Some villages like Belmonte Mezzagno used to burn wood and logs in the town squares on the day before St. Joseph in thanksgiving to the saint. This is called una vampa di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph's bonfire).

Pretty boys

". . . The Sound of Music. [beat] And, yeah, that's gonna mess up whatever street credibility I've been working on."

--Gaius Charles telling The New York Times about the first movie he ever saw

btw, i wasn't aware previously, but i just might have to foster a crush on joshua jackson. who knew?

Produktiv

Dubya continued his staggering display of contempt for his workplace by sending:

DJ wrote:

i love how you're all, "shut up! eff off! you don't own me! i'll send jpegs to my am'rk'n friend on work time if i want to! blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

For Dubya

Icing

Dubya offered:
http://www.badpaintingsofbarackobama.com/

DJ wrote:

oh. em. gee. you have just made me the happiest stalker in, like, the entire D.C. metro area.

Sickly sweet

DJ: dijew see my blog post about valencia?

Roo: Yes, very funny.

DJ: CONFESSION: i didn't come up with the saying myself. it was VALENCIA.

Roo: I know.

DJ: CONFESSION: on my blergh? sometimes i appropriate other peoples' funny for my own uses.
DON'T. TELL.

Roo: What? No way. That's plagiarism.

DJ: great. now i'm going to have to silence you. forever. *mopes* *moves in with bat*

Roo: And you call yourself an English major!

*hides behind her kid*

You wouldn't really hit me, would you, Aunta Dee?

DJ: yes. *proffers cookies*
*noah runs to cookies*
*hits roo with bat*

Roo: Aunta Dee! What did you do to my Mommy?!?!? I'll never talk to you again, even though I'm the cutest ever!
I'm going to live with Aunt Hannah.
*Roo smiles smugly from the afterlife*

DJ: but, little noah, you can't live with aunt hannah. she had a mysterious accident with a baseball bat. *smiles to camera, wickedly*
*entraps noah, gingerbread house-style*
*begins referring to him as Hansel*

Roo: Grandma!!!!! Daddy!!!!!

DJ: *bat*
*bat*
there there, little bug. let me comfort you.

Roo: *Roo haunts said gingerbread house*

DJ: NOAH: i'm the happiest little bug ever! i get to live in an edible house, full of candy, and my mom is here, too! i wish i'd changed my name to hansel YEARS ago. *eats pie*

Roo: You, dear soeur, are sick.

DJ: i, dear sewer, am creative.

Roo: Yes, 'tis true. We have that going for us, don't we?

DJ: it will comfort us from our padded cells. we'll live INSIDE OUR HEADS. the warden will be shocked at how well we withstand Solitary.
i predict.

Roo: Interesting.

Note to CPS

Valencia offered the following:

QUESTION: is it really drinking alone if your kids are watching?

Snee the next

"Does Friday Night Lights capture something about being a teenager that a real live teenage girl can relate to? (Yes, and its name is Tim Riggins.)"

--Meghan O'Rourke, writing for Slate.com

All the mavericks in the house, put your hands up

Tee shared:

Freud said he didn't know what women wanted. I know what women want: a whole lot of people to talk to. What do they want to talk about? They want to talk about everything.

What do men want? They want a lot of pals, and they wish people wouldn't get so mad at them.

Why are so many people getting divorced today? It's because most of us don't have extended families anymore. It used to be that when a man and a woman got married, the bride got a lot more people to talk to about everything. The groom got a lot more pals to tell dumb jokes to.

A few Americans, but very few, still have extended families. The Navahos. The Kennedys.

But most of us, if we get married nowadays, are just one more person for the other person. The groom gets one more pal, but it's a woman. The woman gets one more person to talk to about everything, but it's a man.

. . . A husband, a wife and some kids is not a family. It's a terribly vulnerable survival unit.

I met a man in Nigeria one time, an Ibo who had six hundred relatives he knew quite well. His wife had just had a baby, the best possible news in any extended family. They were going to take it to meet all its relatives, Ibos of all ages and sizes and shapes. It would even meetother babies, cousins not much older than it was. Everybody who was big enough and steady enough was going to get to hold it, cuddle it, gurgle to it, and say how pretty or how handsome it was. Wouldn't you have loved to be that baby?

I sure wish I could wave a wand, and give every one of you an extended family, make you an Ibo or a Navaho---or a Kennedy.

--Kurt Vonnegut, A Man without a Country

Motion

LW wrote:

PROPOSE: That Hanson is infinitely superior to the Jonas Brothers.

DJ beckons her dear reader to:

discuss.

A little bit p0rny

Hoser offered:

this is how the wife and i figured it out.

to which DJ responded, weeping:

nein! nicht doch---am donnerstag ist der himmel wechselnd bewölkt. . . . *sob*

Coping mechanisms

Valencia reports:

that little almost-two-year-old vincey blows a plastic recorder at top volume when frightened by tense moments in movies.

All well-ordered households are attributable to excellent red sauces

Jak wrote:
Pizza sauce recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

Mix. Let set for at least 30 minutes for flavors to blend.

DJ wrote:
jak, that sounds delicious. come here and make it for me. sadly, we no longer have our kick-ass pizza stone, as it was Defeated by our mouse problem. so upsetting. but:

GOOD NEWS: our microwave drawer is really fun. automated open and close buttons. if you come visit me i'll let you play with it.

you know, i was JUST talking to the owner of our favorite local italian place (a guy from positano, near naples), and he was telling me that the best way to remove the acid taste from canned tomatoes is to finely, finely chop a quarter or a half (at most) of a sweet red pepper and saute it in the beginning with whatever aromatics you're using. my friend gianluca, from rome, used to shave a bit of dark chocolate in his sauces as they simmered. i have tried sugar and find it too cloying. i think the honey idea is a good one. and i like the addition of the anchovy paste. sounds fun.

Valencia wrote:
Well, El just made a kick-ass red sauce out of organic tomatoes grown in our own garden. That is totally the best way to avoid the acidity of canned tomatoes. Beat that, Positano Pizza Guy and Gianluca.

Aunt Petunia is coming into town tomorrow, and we will serve the sauce then. :) She'll be here for a long weekend. Probably the rest of the time I will serve PB&J or "Chicken Window" (as Madeline used to call it), because it is too hot to cook here and I am too lazy to clean.

By the way, I just found out that Vince and I are following in Mom's footsteps. We are officially the Ignatian Kindergarten librarians for this year. While I help the kiddies to select books and sign them out, Vince will be ferverently redefining the Dewey Decimal System. Wish us luck. Sister Katherine Agnes gave me special permission to have Vince as my assistant, as younger children are typically not permitted during volunteer hours.

Lilly is really happy that I will be helping at her school. There are parent volunteers who do all sorts of jobs, and today, while I was taking the picture of the Student of the Week (don't laugh too hard, but I am the Kinder Web Master), Lilly assumed that I was the parent volunteer who was working in the classroom today. She was disappointed when I left, and said she wants me to help more at her school. (Interesting, as she vows that she will not love me any more whenever I lay down the law about something -- like eating food groups other than veggie chips; and yet she wants me at school with her. Such is the challenge of age five.)

Okay, I just held El's issue of Blue and Gold Illustrated hostage until he swept and washed the kitchen floor. Ahhh, marital balance and harmony. Off to finish cleaning the house and maybe even myself before the next wave of company comes in.

Heard through grapevine

Valencia wrote:
WHY I AM OUT OF TOUCH AND OTHER THINGS:

Hello Family!

We hope that you are all doing well! Many of our freinds and family are wondering where we are as they haven't heard from us lately. Let me explain to you why we haven't been picking up the phone for a simple phone call with an excerpt from last night's family drama:

Last night at dinner, Lilly started to explain to me that she didn't really like what I had made for dinner, she didn't want to eat it, this dinner did not make her happy, and she really didn't think that I was a very good cook. Before I even had time to respond, Vince stuck a raisin in his nose which then became lodged in his right nostril.

Hope you all are having a great time.

Talk to you in a few years when things simmer down,
Valencia

Because obviously

But Kiwi, ever the iconoclast:
meditates to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnMDrv8Mx3E.

How Kung Fu was invented

HANSON FAN: *meditates* ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm(bop)
TIBETAN MONK: *rages*

--The end

Underrated

Silence your false outrage, cretin!
Mute your sham cavil!
Capitulate, and prize this prize, this masterstroke, a gem:


Click.

Good boy. Now kiss my glove.

What all the KIDS are eating

Beezar wrote:

I CC DJ on this rambling, since she knows by now how to make sense of my gibberish and also B'cause her sense of humor is so good---practically an Honorary Hungarian (a.k.a. HH).

DJ wrote:

sweet. does this mean someone is *finally* going to send me a good recipe for goulash? i've been waiting, and i'm not horribly patient.

Beezar wrote:

Nobody told you how to make gulyas? Wow, shame on all the fake Transylvanians around you.

I'll provide you a recipe on the condition that you make your Facebook avatar a pic of you snarfing down a trough of this.

For nothing better, here is an excerpt (typeout or wipeout?) from Susan Derecskey's Hungarian Cookbook. It is probably the closest to being doable after raiding some soulless yuppiemart.

"True Hungarian goulash is a spicy, rather thin stew to which potatoes or other vegetables are added shortly before serving. Traditionally, it was cooked in a bogracs, or cauldron, over an open fire. In a modern kitchen it should be cooked slowly in a heavy pot on a low, steady source of heat. It cannot be rushed, but the results are worth it. A good goulash is a meal in itself, needing nothing more than a fresh bread to soak up the sauce. The inspired cook can invent scores of variations on the basic gulyas recipe, despite conditions of life in the supermarket era.

[Next comes some royal bullshit about drinking dry white wine with gulyas. . . . Susan must have been sniffing something wacky when she wrote this. Dry red wine goes with it, cabor syrah, but not necessarily merlot, and certainly not pinot noir. But this is a matter of taste. You might find that Susan is right and an ice-cold grigio does marvels. --Beezar]

Ingredients:
1 large onion, finely chopped [very finely. --Beezar]

about 3 T cooking oil or lard [lard is authentic but makes it very heavy; sunflower oil will do. --Beezar]

1.5 lbs lean stewing beef, cut in 1-inch cubes [I cut it smaller---easier for the kids to swallow, and cooks faster; I would go with the not-totally-lean meat, as it makes the gulyas even better, although not so healty; but if you want healthy, don't eat Hungarian, dear HH. --Beezar]

1 t paprika [MUST be Hungarian paprika; use anything else, and you are eternally doomed; btw, one could ratchet up to 1 T, but try less first. --Beezar]

1/4 t caraway seed, mashed with the back of a spoon [this is a must; could try 1/2 or even 1 t. --Beezar]

a pinch of marjoram

salt

2 cloves garlic, peeled [I usually leave them in until they dissolve while slowly cooking the stew; others want to take them out, so they stick 'em on toothpicks for easy retrieval. --Beezar]

4 c beef stock or canned beef broth [use low-sodium version so that you can control the saltiness; you can always add salt if necessary. --Beezar]

1 medium green pepper, cored and cut in 1/2-inch strips

2 pounds (about 8 or 9 medium) potatoes

csipetke [pinched noodles, spaetzle in german, optional. if need be, I can have another momentary lapse of sanity and type that recipe in. . . . --Beezar]

Preparation:
Using a Dutch oven or a heavy casserole [cast iron rules! --Beezar] with a cover, saute' the onion in 3 T of oil or lard until it wilts. Remove to a side dish. Pat the meat dry, and brown it, using more oil or lard if necessary. Put the meat in the side dish. Pour 1/2 c of water into the pot, scrape up the juices, and stir in the paprika, caraway seeds, marjoram, and 1 t of salt. Add the garlic. Put the beef and the onions back in the pot, and add enough stock to cover the meat by 2 inches. Simmer for 1 hr, covered, adding more stock as necessary to keep the meat well covered in sauce. Mix in the green pepper strips and the tomatoes, and continue simmering. Peel the potatoes, and cut them in 1/2-inch dice; keep them in cold water until ready to use. When the gulyas has been simmering for 1.5 hours, stir in the potatoes and 1 t salt and enough water to cover them. Simmer for another 25 minutes, partially covered, or until the potatoes are done. Ideally, gulyas has the consistency of a good Manhattan clam chowder, though it can also be a bit thinner. If it is too thick, add some hot water, a little at a time. Discard the garlic [not me! --Beezar], degrease [only recently in practice here. . . . --Beezar], and taste the sauce. It may need more salt. Stir in the csipetke (spaetzle), and serve. Gulyas is usually brought to the table in the cooking pot and ladled out into soup bowls."

Happy stewing, HH,
b'EE'zar

Beautiful or beastly?

Co'dia wrote:

the other day i was minding my own business, when i heard my adorable spawn calling to me from the kitchen: "mom, i am drawing an animal. it's dead. it has a body, a head, but no legs."

"why doesn't it have any legs, sweetie?"

"because someone ate them. it's dead."

aww. how sweet. my little boy is so happy. but then (in a much more harvard-worthy display), he says, "mom, i drew a letter."

"ooh! come and show mommy." before me, on a crumpled page, i see a beautiful letter H. "good job, baby! that's an H---like in hello or house."

"aha."

mom then flips the paper, sees circles, eyes (?), mouth (?). "oh! ah, is that the dead animal?"

"yes."

"so, why don't you give it any legs?"

"i can't. somebody ate them."

*waters up* my son is so happy. so well-adjusted. that said, i must say i am relieved that he has two more years before he starts school and will, before then, hopefully decide to draw some happy, living animals. or do you think i ought to start saving up for therapy now?

Bear down, Cali crew!

DJ wrote:

Valencia, could you please forward this useful link to your spouse before he departs on his next Great Adventure?

Marv wrote:

I will just bring my trial-sized sister-in-law with me where ever I go. She is all the protection I need, because she knows Kung Fu. And because she fits in my pocket.

DJ wrote:

handy!

Valencia wrote:

Well, the spouse is going on a business trip tomorrow. But let's hope that he does not have to employ such tricky moves.

DJ wrote:

or that if he does his clients are forgiving.

Valencia's spouse, El, added:

There will be no hugging where I'm going, but there could be some eye gouging (sometimes that's what it takes to get R&D to see things my way).

DJ wrote:

re: R&D

TRY:

-ringing a bear bell

-steel-jaw trap

-similar

Time saver

Recommended:

http://www.someecards.com/

Unholy mess

Hoser found the following in his morning paper:

The UN may be about to endanger free speech

TheRecord.com - Opinions
Richelle Wiseman
Troy Media Corporation

Freedom of speech is a core value of democracies around the world. The debate in Canada has surfaced around such questions as:

Should buses carry ads promoting atheism or any religious belief, for that matter? If not, why not?

Should students on university campuses be allowed to espouse views which are not mainstream?

Should limits to freedom of expression be arbitrarily assigned by human rights commissions?

A look at some free-speech first principles would benefit all of us, but especially those making decisions regarding this cherished Canadian value.

Freedom of speech is actually referred to in a number of ways in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Freedoms. Article 18 states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

Article 19 states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." There are now efforts at the United Nations, however, to curb freedom of speech about religion, though it is disguised as an effort to preserve religion. It is ironic that the very organization to enshrine freedom of speech and religion is playing a dangerous game.

In April, the UN will hold its Durban II Conference which has as its purpose the promotion of anti-racism. In its first conference of this nature, Durban I, which took place in 2001, delegates singled out Israel as a nation guilty of promoting racism toward Palestinians. Representatives from Israel and the United States walked out of the meetings.

Canada, Israel and the U.S. have stated they will not be sending delegates to Durban II because they fear the meeting will be a repeat of the first one, with a focused attack on Israeli policies to the exclusion of dealing with other human rights violations by other member countries, particularly the ones criticizing Israel.

But in addition to what will likely be an impassioned discussion of the recent events in Gaza, there is another item on the agenda of Durban II that should concern us -- an effort to have the UN enshrine the condemnation of the defamation of religion.

The UN General Assembly has approved the non-binding resolution -- put forward by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which is a group of 57 Muslim member states -- which urges member states to provide: "adequate protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general."

Several western nations and groups, including the Organization of American States and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, have opposed the resolution as contrary to freedom of expression. One concern is the definition. Just what is defamation of religion? Who gets to decide what constitutes "defamation?" and will it be defined the same way in say, Iran, as it is in Canada?

It is not hard to connect the dots between this initiative by the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the worldwide protest to the publication of the Danish cartoons.

But other religious groups have also marshalled substantial global protests to material deemed offensive to their religion. For example, the Hindu community mounted a vast and concerted effort to ban the Hollywood film The Love Guru because of its offensive nature to Hindus. Christians protested the movie The Da Vinci Code because of its blasphemous portrayal of Jesus Christ. The danger of pitting freedoms of speech and expression against the prevention of defamation of religion is that practitioners of one faith may no longer be able to express any concerns or critique or even dissent with the tenets of another faith in certain countries.

This could clearly exacerbate the existing blight of persecution of people of one faith by people of another or no faith on the grounds that their beliefs amount to "defamation." In many countries, religious persecution is already a major problem.

Unless it provides more clarity on "defamation," the UN Human Rights Council is in a compromised position.

Instead of protecting the rights of individuals who espouse unpopular or controversial viewpoints and beliefs, the UN might actually be limiting those very freedoms.

Richelle Wiseman is executive director of the Centre for Faith and the Media.

to which DJ replied:
okay. my garbled, off-the-cuff thoughts follow:

while i don't *like* that people chose to protest the da vinci code and think it's *silly* that they protested the love guru, i think preserving their right to protest is paramount. but i am more than a little concerned about codifying the protection of religion from criticism. that is, when a religious body is offended by a work of art (or similar), the proper (if annoying, occasionally) response is to stage mass protests, write letters to the editor, lobby for change, et cetera.

but i think going further than that---somehow making it illegal to criticize or otherwise prohibiting perceived criticism---is not appropriate. we don't need to outlaw such expression, even if it's offensive. popular mores will temper and nudge the media in the long run. that is, if the majority of people hate the movie (or cartoon or sermon or book or . . .), such works of art won't be produced in the future. if a loud but vocal minority hates it, the work will get some headlines, but ultimately the scandal will fade away, and such works will continue to be created in the future.

i don't equate democratic voice with right. that is, sometimes i think the majority gets it wrong. but i guess in those cases i just have to work to be heard and do my durndest to convince the majority, don't i?

i guess what i'm saying is that i believe that freedom of the press and freedom of speech are sufficient counters to defamation of religion. we don't need the government to force us to play nice with people of other faiths.

i realize a lot of that syntax was really garbled. did that make any sense?

and she asks you, gentle reader:
what do you think?

Newly appreciated

wasabi peas

Get your kit off

. . . my hot tin roof!

Arrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhh!

Alec, what is "how a tauntaun says happy birthday, cutest ever"?

Undying, everlasting shame on Chris Brown

From CNN.com:
The argument that led to singer Chris Brown's arrest on felony assault charges began when his girlfriend found a text message on his cell phone from "a woman who Brown had a previous sexual relationship with," according to a sworn police statement.

Chris Brown is charged with felony counts of assault and making criminal threats.

Authorities charged Brown on Thursday with felony counts of assault and making criminal threats, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

The charges are in connection with an alleged attack last month on "his girlfriend," the office said.

It identified the woman only as Robyn F., but sources close to the couple have told CNN the alleged victim was singer Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty.

Brown was scheduled to appear in court later Thursday.

Rihanna, 21, was allegedly attacked by Brown on February 8 on a Los Angeles street before the two were to perform at the Grammys.

Brown apologized for the incident last month.

"Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," the 19-year-old said in a statement released by his spokesman. "I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God's help, to emerging a better person."

A search warrant used by police to obtain cell phone records related to the case included the sworn statement by Los Angeles Police Detective DeShon Andrews in which he detailed what allegedly happened in the early morning hours of February 8.

According to the statement:

"Brown was driving a vehicle with Robyn F. as the front passenger on an unknown street in Los Angeles. Robyn F. picked up Brown's cellular phone and observed a three-page text message from a woman who Brown had a previous sexual relationship with.

"A verbal argument ensued and Brown pulled the vehicle over on an unknown street, reached over Robyn F. with his right hand, opened the car door and attempted to force her out. Brown was unable to force Robyn F. out of the vehicle because she was wearing a seat belt. When he could not force her to exit, he took his right hand and shoved her head against he passenger window of the vehicle, causing an approximate one-inch raised circular contusion.

"Robyn F. turned to face Brown and he punched her in the left eye with his right hand. He then drove away in the vehicle and continued to punch her in the face with his right hand while steering the vehicle with his left hand. The assault caused Robyn F.'s mouth to fill with blood and blood to splatter all over her clothing and the interior of the vehicle.

"Brown looked at Robyn F. and stated, 'I'm going to beat the s--t out of you when we get home! You wait and see!'"

The detective said she then used her cell phone to call her personal assistant, Jennifer Rosales, who did not answer.

"Robyn F. pretended to talk to her and stated, 'I'm on my way home. Make sure the police are there when I get there.'

"After Robyn F. faked the call, Brown looked at her and stated, 'You just did the stupidest thing ever! Now I'm really going to kill you!'

"Brown resumed punching Robyn F. and she interlocked her fingers behind her head and brought her elbows forward to protect her face. She then bent over at the waist, placing her elbows and face near her lap in [an] attempt to protect her face and head from the barrage of punches being levied upon her by Brown.

"Brown continued to punch Robyn F. on her left arm and hand, causing her to suffer a contusion on her left triceps that was approximately two inches in diameter and numerous contusions on her left hand.

"Robyn F. then attempted to send a text message to her other personal assistant, Melissa Ford. Brown snatched the cellular telephone out of her hand and threw it out of the window onto an unknown street.

"Brown continued driving and Robyn F. observed his cellular telephone sitting in his lap. She picked up the cellular telephone with her left hand and before she could make a call he placed her in a head lock with his right hand and continued to drive the vehicle with his left hand.

"Brown pulled Robyn F. close to him and bit her on her left ear. She was able to feel the vehicle swerving from right to left as Brown sped away. He stopped the vehicle in front of 333 North June Street and Robyn F. turned off the car, removed the key from the ignition and sat on it.

"Brown did not know what she did with the key and began punching her in the face and arms. He then placed her in a head lock positioning the front of her throat between his bicep and forearm. Brown began applying pressure to Robyn F.'s left and right carotid arteries, causing her to be unable to breathe and she began to lose consciousness.

"She reached up with her left hand and began attempting to gouge his eyes in an attempt to free herself. Brown bit her left ring and middle fingers and then released her. While Brown continued to punch her, she turned around and placed her back against the passenger door. She brought her knees to her chest, placed her feet against Brown's body and began pushing him away. Brown continued to punch her on the legs and feet, causing several contusions.

"Robyn F. began screaming for help and Brown exited the vehicle and walked away. A resident in the neighborhood heard Robyn F.'s plea for help and called 911, causing a police response. An investigation was conducted and Robyn F. was issued a Domestic Violence Emergency Protective Order."

Age ain't nothin' but a number