Halfhearted Violence for Boneheaded Reasons

A NYTimes op-ed piece puts the latest incident of rap-world violence in perspective:

"On one level, the combatants' absorption with artistry is striking. A critical comment in a song and talk of a creative collaboration were adequate cause for gunfire. (How many of Lorenz Hart's admirers began shooting Oscar Hammerstein's fans when word hit the street that Hammerstein was writing 'Oklahoma' with Richard Rodgers?)

Yet while both Hudson Street shootings point to the importance of the music in hip-hop culture, they also point to the glibness of that violence. After all, when dozens of pistol shots at relatively close range lead to one minor wound, it would seem that the gunmen really don't have their heart in it."

Newsflash! Snowball Melts in Hell!

Yahoo News threw me for a loop yesterday, with this strange story:

Bono won't be saving the world at the helm of the World Bank. The lobby group co-founded by... U2's lead singer on Thursday knocked down media reports that he was a serious contender to head the global institution that provides billions of dollars annually to help the world's poorest countries.

Disclaimer: I'm not a fan of Bono, mostly because I find his "look at me, I'm savin' the world!" posturing rather shameless. However, as much as he'll take just about any opportunity to bathe in the spotlight, I can't believe that anyone seriously believed he would be considered to head the World Bank. For one thing, it's the World Bank - they generally don't staff a lot of aging leather-pantsed rockers.

All ranting aside, the bloggable part of the article, for me, was this fantastic quote from the head of Bono's non profit, who sounds as baffled as I that the rumour picked up so much steam:

"I can't believe I need to say this, but there are no circumstances in which Bono would be nominated or accept the World Bank job."

God's White House vs God's Green Earth

The Times reports, "A core group of influential evangelical leaders has put its considerable political power behind a cause that has barely registered on the evangelical agenda, fighting global warming."

I'm curious to see how this lobby will play out. Bush was quick to tie his electoral fortunes to the whims of the evangelicals when gays and abortion were on the line, but I don't think he ever counted on a green push coming from them. Given his administration's complete disdain (they're well beyond neglect at this point) for the environment, this is a great test of the Christian lobbyists' true influence on American governance.

I imagine the American left is also interested in the results of this challenge. After all, here's one of their favourite causes put forth by their least favourite opponents. If the evangelicals don't get their way, they lose their last hope for green action from the Republican administration. However, if the churches get their way, the environment may be their last chalk-mark in the win column for a long, long while.

In fact, given the suddenness of the Christian Right's interest in the environment, might this be a construed as a deliberate shot across the Democrats' bow?

A Hard Day's Era

I recently watched A Hard Day's Night for the first time since I was a kid. As usual, I made a point of reading Roger Ebert's review after my viewing, and enjoyed his summary of its place in Beatles history:

"The innocence of the Beatles and 'A Hard Day's Night' was of course not to last. Ahead was the crushing pressure of being the most popular musical group of all time, and the dalliance with the mystic east, and the breakup, and the druggy fallout from the '60s, and the death of John Lennon. The Beatles would go through a long summer, a disillusioned fall, a tragic winter. But, oh, what a lovely springtime. And it's all in a movie."

Matzoh-l Tov

Having attended a high school that pretty well emptied out during the Jewish holy days, my introduction to matzoh was hearing all my schoolmates moaning about the stuff for the duration of Passover. I just assumed it was as awful as they said, and since the look doesn't add to its appeal, I avoided trying it until the other year. Until my friend Mike brought me round to the wonders of tasty matzoh - like just about everything else in life, it tastes amazing when drenched in chocolate and caramel.

In honour of my newly appreciative sweet tooth, I might take a stab at these neat matzoh-based recipes next month:

• Asparagus with Lemon Matzo Crumble
• Black Forest Passover Brownies
• Cinnamon Apple Apricot Cake for Passover
• Leek and Potato Fritters

Next on my "to Jew" list is to wangle my way into a seder!

I'm At A Loss (10 Fingers Later, So Is He)

I don't even know what to make of this story:

"Charles Gonsoulin, 41, will have the fingers and toes amputated because of severe frostbite suffered during a 100-hour trek from Pembina, North Dakota, across the border to Emerson, Manitoba, where he was found wandering on a golf course on Feb. 23, suffering from hypothermia.

'It is better to have loved and to have lost than never to have loved at all,' the Sun quoted Gonsoulin as saying. 'It was all worth it for me. It's the difference between sitting around dreaming about things and going out and getting them...'"

Gonsoulin could not enter Canada legally because he was convicted of robbing a Pizza Hut in Arkansas in 1984, the newspaper said...

He still has not met his girlfriend face-to-face but they have spoken on the phone and Gonsoulin said they are still in love.

Crazy American with checkered past loses all fingers and some toes trying to walk from Winnipeg to his online girlfriend's place in Quebec.

Yeah, honey, you've found yourself a real winner, there...

Haiku and Ebert

*ahem*

Witty, clear, concise;
There ain't nothing better than
Haiku film reviews:

"E.T. :)
performed miracles,
was killed by feds, rose again
... sound familiar?"

STAR WARS ATTACK OF THE CLONES :(
How long will it take
for Star Wars fans to realize
that the Dark Side won?

WAKING NED DEVINE :)
Call me a cynic
but inflation's going to
tear that town apart.

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST :(
We just couldn't watch,
but our friend suffered for us.
"It was god awful."

WMDs Found!

Psst! Bush administration! Is this what you guys were looking for?:
"New satellite images show a heavy water plant in Iran, intended to supply a research reactor that could eventually produce plutonium for one atomic bomb a year, is nearly complete, a U.S. think-tank said on Friday.

The photos of the plant in Arak, 150 miles south of Tehran, were taken in February by the U.S. commercial satellite firms DigitalGlobe and Space Imaging and provided to Reuters by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a U.S. think-tank."

Arak, Iraq... Understandable error, really. It's easy to mix them up. Even easier when you consider that it's the US "Intelligence Community" that's supposed to be uncovering this stuff...