I haven't been diving back into political blogging since my holiday hiatus, but I have been keeping up with my reading, and there's lots of juicy stuff I'd like to share. Let's start with this quirky Dana Milbank column in which he assures us that the President's attention is focused on issues other than Iraq--no, really--especially the crisis situation in Korea, while vacationing at the Crawford, Texas ranch he acquired early in his Presidential campaign. "This president," Milbank notes, "it would seem, has been engaged more often than Elizabeth Taylor."
A couple of obituaries this morning...WWII fighter ace Joe Foss has died at 87. Foss received the Congressional the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart while a Marine fighter pilot active in the Guadalcanal campaign. He went on to be elected governeor of South Dakota.
I got one, too. But I've hardly had a chance to boot it up yet. Maybe I should have a couple of kids so I'll have more free time...? :-)
I replied:
I know you're kidding, Dodd (at least I hope you are*), but such isn't the case at all. Having kids is not at all conducive to free time, as I'm sure you know. I've been playing my PSX/PS2 between, say, 10:30 and 1 a.m. or so. The only difference kids make is that it reconciles one much more to staying home in the evenings.
Snow began falling just about as I woke up this morning, and by the time I left for work, roads had become treacherous. I made it safely, thanks to the very slow pace of traffic--about 20 m.p.h. I also took the opportunity to wear my truly excellent boots.
I have a project I need to complete and various settling-in and catching-up activities, so posting will likely be a little slow the first part of the day.
Update: Here's another Indianapolis Star story on the snow. It's still all over the ground as of Friday morning, but the streets are much more clear.
Champagne normally gives me a wicked hangover, but as I only downed about three glasses of the stuff last night (after returning from dropping off the babysitter, of course), I feel just fine (now that I've had my morning coffee, anyway). If you aren't as lucky as I, MSNBC provides some tips for curing the morning-after* woes.
*I can't hear that phrase without thinking of the closing theme to The Poseidon Adventure...now it'll be stuck in my head all morning. Still, it's better than a hangover, if only barely.
FlyGuy is a charming little minimalist, black-and-white app that lets you maneuver a suit-clad fellow as he soars about the sky, interacting with various denizens of the air.
My lovely wife and I got out last night to enjoy a little New Year's Eve celebration. We enjoyed a superb dinner of Indian cuisine downtown, and then took in a repeat viewing of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. We returned home in time to toast the arrival of 2003 with a little champagne, then I took the babysitter home.
One final comment: I love my wife for many, many reasons, and last night as we traipsed around downtown, I realized another: She's sensible enough that if she wears a little black dress to go out on a chilly New Year's Eve, she'll wear a doggone coat over it.
And guys, a little tip: If your girlfriend is turning blue because she doesn't have enough sense to wear a coat over her low-cut, sleeveless black mini-dress, a real man would lend her his own.
Happy New Year! Planet Swank wishes everyone a simply marvelous 2003!
I don't really beleive in New Year's resolutions, but as far as this Web log is concerned, I do have one exception: I downloaded Movable Type, and I'm definitely looking at migrating this site to it.
As you know, I've posted a couple of Xmas songs over the past week or so. Before traveling to Louisville for the holiday to spend time with my family, I decided to burn a CD combining some of the swank tracks from Xmas CDs I own with some anime and kpop seasonal tunes I've downloaded. Here's the playlist of the 2002 Planet Swank Xmas CD:
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Bruce Springsteen Santa Claus Is Back In Town - Elvis Presley The Christmas Song - Mel Torme White Christmas - Tony Bennett Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Ella Fitzgerald Winter Wonderland - Connie Francis Rosemary Clooney - White Christmas O Come All Ye Faithful - Bing Crosby Winter Wonderland - Robert Goulet Jingle Bells - Dean Martin Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Frank Sinatra Adeste Fidelis - Luciano Pavarotti March of The Kings/ Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Robert Merrill Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Cyndi Lauper Silent Night - Cyndi Lauper Space Christmas - Shonen Knife Love Hina - Merry Xmas To You Silent Night - Tenchi Muyo The Christmas Song - Sailor Moon December Hwesang - Turbo Wedding Xmas - Hot December Love - Fin.K.L. Snow Xmas - S.E.S.
Obviously, I didn't get anything posted yesterday, as we spent the day preparing for dinner with our good friends Qing and Lifang and their son George. It was a very pleasant evening; we made a turkey breast, and I spent the afternoon making sausage dressing, sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. After dinner we had coffee and Qing picked out my DVD of Battle Royale to watch. After our guests left, I spent some time with my lovely wife and also playing with my Xmas presents. More on that in a moment.
Thanks to my friends who have dropped by this site over the holidays. I hope everyone is enjoying a great holiday season!
We've been to Louisville and back over Xmas. We're home now and basically enjoying a few days of holiday chillin'. I plan to begin posting again tomorrow, or perhaps later today if I spend some time surfing my blogroll. In the meantime, I hope everyone is having a very happy holiday!
