The idiot in the Oval Office gets a chance to talk to people tomorrow night, without college kids peppering him with hard questions that he can't answer. (Great editorial in the globe here...)
I'm curious to see what he has to say for himself. In the past year, we've discovered that the President doesn't follow the laws of his country, that there was no evolution, that George Bush doesn't care about black people, that there were no weapons of mass destruction (oops, everyone knew this already), that Congress and the Senate was full of people taking bribes, etc etc.
So seriously, is there a year on record that sucked more? Honestly, the first time I see any possibility for optimism is in 2008 when we might have someone better in charge. I am sincerely scared shitless of the damage that Curious George could do when he's not worried about getting re-elected.
So I will be watching the State of the Union tomorrow night to find out if putz boy is cutting our funding again. Dumb fucker. I'm sincerely worried that my head will explode if I watch Bushy mumble his way through lies and incompetence. This is going to require alcohol.
Fortunately, the next day Bumbling Bush will announce his budget. If last year holds true, this won't be anywhere close to what the actual budget for 2006 looks like, but it should be suitably horrifying.
---
In other news, according to the Chronicle for Higher Education, we have finally reached the point where more than half of all people receiving financial aid grant monies are middle income or above. The Buffoon in DC calls this "Merit" based aid, but what it really means is that the only way for poor people to graduate from college is with heavy loan debt. Sweet! for more opinions, read the article that I linked to above, and you all no doubt skipped over.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Baseball vs. Football
Regarding yesterday's rant about the Town of Orono.. I talked to someone with relatively insider knowledge, and was told that the reason the town told the state to check out the Bear Brew is because their liquor license was up for renewal, and it is routine to check on the food license at the same time. I was also told that one of the reasons the town hates the Bear Brew and Ushuaia is that the owners of both establishments act like pompous assholes at the town meetings. Having met both of them.. Let's just say I have no trouble believing that. None of this changes the fact that Orono refuses to admit that it is a college town.
--
In a new and interesting (at least to me) topic, Jim Caple at ESPN takes on the argument that football isn't actually more popular than baseball.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/060124
He makes some good points anyways. Not sure which side I fall on, except to say that baseball is probably second to soccer internationally, followed by basketball, tennis, golf, and many more before you would get to football. Hell, swimming might be more popular internationally.
--
In a new and interesting (at least to me) topic, Jim Caple at ESPN takes on the argument that football isn't actually more popular than baseball.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/060124
He makes some good points anyways. Not sure which side I fall on, except to say that baseball is probably second to soccer internationally, followed by basketball, tennis, golf, and many more before you would get to football. Hell, swimming might be more popular internationally.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
borono intentionally
So.. I realize it's been some time since the last blog. I started writing a few, but then got distractimicated by my real life, or more specifically, my real work. Trust me, I would really rather be writing useless blogs about all the random shit that annoys me.
Sometimes, things pop up that just require my comment. Sometimes this is a pressing political event, possibly an important cultural milestone.
Sometimes, the town of Orono once again forgets that there is a college in it's midst. For those of you that don't know, for some time we have know that Ushuaia has lost their liquor and special entertainment licenses. (They were granted a 30-day extension by the state.) Apparently the town is concerned about the growing number of violent incidents occuring there. (47 this year, including several stabbings and one death, of an asthma attach after a stabbing.) This is more than any year in recent memory. More on Ushy boo boos in a minute.
This past Friday, the Bear Brew was temporarily closed for six hours for "cleaning." Apparently the state department of health received a tip that the Pub might not be up to par in meeting some of the general health requirements. They received this tip from someone connected to the Town Police. Also, the Pub apparently forgot to update their food license. Oopsies! For now they can serve pizza and beer, but no other dinner. They are up for renewal in all of their licenses later this winter, and it's not looking good.
----
So.. the town of Orono, after a brief surge of having more than one place to go at night, is once again faced with the very real possibility of having nowhere for the hockey players to hunt down their prey after games. Now let's be honest here. I haven't gone out on the weekends in Orono while school was in session since the last time someone visited and wanted to go out, so I'm hardly crushed by the loss of two places I won't go to anyways. But, there is a matter of principle involved here. Also, the possibility that if the places scumbags go are closed, than they will try to go to the other places. For example, people might actually show their faces in Margarita's again.
Now, I understand that these two places probably did everything that they've been accused of. The Bear Brew, for one, has never had the cleanest kitchen on record. To be honest, that bathroom being located so close to food has always bothered me a little bit. BUT... never did the town give a shit before! Ushuaia has always been a place where it was just as easy to get punched by a football player as it was to get an std on the dance floor! (I mean talk about unclean, Geddy's wasn't closed down for that fucking bathroom???) If anything, the owner of Ushuaia's has improved things. Not that I've been to the place in three years, but I understand that he's gotten his people security training, installed security cameras, and wands people for metal objects as they come in. (All instituted since the stabbings.) What else is he supposed to do?
So, good work Town of Orono. You've closed the two places college students like to go the best. I'd believe your claims of good intentions if you ever checked the cleanliness of the kitchens in let's say, oh, Pat's Pizza. Instead, I'm just going to go on believing that Orono refuses to admit it's a college town.
Sometimes, things pop up that just require my comment. Sometimes this is a pressing political event, possibly an important cultural milestone.
Sometimes, the town of Orono once again forgets that there is a college in it's midst. For those of you that don't know, for some time we have know that Ushuaia has lost their liquor and special entertainment licenses. (They were granted a 30-day extension by the state.) Apparently the town is concerned about the growing number of violent incidents occuring there. (47 this year, including several stabbings and one death, of an asthma attach after a stabbing.) This is more than any year in recent memory. More on Ushy boo boos in a minute.
This past Friday, the Bear Brew was temporarily closed for six hours for "cleaning." Apparently the state department of health received a tip that the Pub might not be up to par in meeting some of the general health requirements. They received this tip from someone connected to the Town Police. Also, the Pub apparently forgot to update their food license. Oopsies! For now they can serve pizza and beer, but no other dinner. They are up for renewal in all of their licenses later this winter, and it's not looking good.
----
So.. the town of Orono, after a brief surge of having more than one place to go at night, is once again faced with the very real possibility of having nowhere for the hockey players to hunt down their prey after games. Now let's be honest here. I haven't gone out on the weekends in Orono while school was in session since the last time someone visited and wanted to go out, so I'm hardly crushed by the loss of two places I won't go to anyways. But, there is a matter of principle involved here. Also, the possibility that if the places scumbags go are closed, than they will try to go to the other places. For example, people might actually show their faces in Margarita's again.
Now, I understand that these two places probably did everything that they've been accused of. The Bear Brew, for one, has never had the cleanest kitchen on record. To be honest, that bathroom being located so close to food has always bothered me a little bit. BUT... never did the town give a shit before! Ushuaia has always been a place where it was just as easy to get punched by a football player as it was to get an std on the dance floor! (I mean talk about unclean, Geddy's wasn't closed down for that fucking bathroom???) If anything, the owner of Ushuaia's has improved things. Not that I've been to the place in three years, but I understand that he's gotten his people security training, installed security cameras, and wands people for metal objects as they come in. (All instituted since the stabbings.) What else is he supposed to do?
So, good work Town of Orono. You've closed the two places college students like to go the best. I'd believe your claims of good intentions if you ever checked the cleanliness of the kitchens in let's say, oh, Pat's Pizza. Instead, I'm just going to go on believing that Orono refuses to admit it's a college town.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Holy Crap
This is some funny shit. If you ever owned a Nintendo, or if you ever even played one, click this link. Trust me.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Old age causes Rambling...
So. Somebody's been a-slackin on the old blog again. It's not that I have anything better to do, that's quite obviously not the case. It's just that some things are more insistent, like for example, writing the renewal grants that (will hopefully) continue to pay my salary. Lot's of fun working for a grant-funded non-profit, let me tell you.
---
In related news, word is that Bush may once again be zeroing out funding for the TRIO programs this next budget cycle. What a numnuts. For those of you that don't know, the TRIO programs, two of whom are my employers, are college access programs for low-income people from Middle School on up in age. Almost all of the people we work with come from families where no one has ever received a degree beyond High School.
I'm not sure why Bush thinks this is a good place to make budget cuts, but to me it represents everything that is wrong with his presidency.
---
Pat's beat the Jaguars. Like that was a surprise. The Broncos
---
The gf has mandated that I no longer talk about Johnny Damon. Apparently, I was making too much sense, and as a Red Sox fan, she couldn't handle that. Or something like that.
---
So I turned 28 the other day. This one stung a bit. For the last few years, I could use the "Well at least I'm still very immature" line of reasoning to fight the "You're getting old argument."
Well, over the past year, I've bought a house, a truck, and a dog. My girlfriend's moved in, and along with the dog, taken control of the house. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've gotten drunk on back to back days. I've taken on more responsibility at work, I've started developing a pot-belly. If I ever combed my hair, I might notice that I was starting to lose recede a bit.
Fuck it.
I'm getting drunk tonight, just because I can.
Possibly a nice shiraz would do the trick.
---
In related news, word is that Bush may once again be zeroing out funding for the TRIO programs this next budget cycle. What a numnuts. For those of you that don't know, the TRIO programs, two of whom are my employers, are college access programs for low-income people from Middle School on up in age. Almost all of the people we work with come from families where no one has ever received a degree beyond High School.
I'm not sure why Bush thinks this is a good place to make budget cuts, but to me it represents everything that is wrong with his presidency.
- Lack of foresight. These programs work, but can't show immediate results. There are no tests that kids can take when they're in 7th grade to prove that they'll go on to college.
- Lack of caring for people unlike himself. Where are the tax cuts for the people that can't afford to pay their taxes?
- Being stupid.
---
Pat's beat the Jaguars. Like that was a surprise. The Broncos
---
The gf has mandated that I no longer talk about Johnny Damon. Apparently, I was making too much sense, and as a Red Sox fan, she couldn't handle that. Or something like that.
---
So I turned 28 the other day. This one stung a bit. For the last few years, I could use the "Well at least I'm still very immature" line of reasoning to fight the "You're getting old argument."
Well, over the past year, I've bought a house, a truck, and a dog. My girlfriend's moved in, and along with the dog, taken control of the house. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've gotten drunk on back to back days. I've taken on more responsibility at work, I've started developing a pot-belly. If I ever combed my hair, I might notice that I was starting to lose recede a bit.
Fuck it.
I'm getting drunk tonight, just because I can.
Possibly a nice shiraz would do the trick.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
