How About This One

You Kennedy lovers will surely hate this joke, but it really does ring true.


"What the American people have seen is this incredible disparity in which those people who had cars and money got out and those people who were impoverished died."
- Ted Kennedy on Hurricane Katrina

"Ditto"
- Mary Jo Kopechne

I came across this joke somewhere on the internet and found it amusing. It is always good to be able to laugh at one's self.

How many Sewanee students does it take to change a lightbulb?

Seven – The five-person Honor Council to decide if it is against the Honor Code to change lightbulbs, one to find a reference in Faulkner to lightbulb changing, and one to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased bulb

Chris' Guest Post

One of the most structurally unsound dining establishments in the state of Tennessee rests at the intersection of Highway 41-A and University Ave. Blue with brown trim and a slight (34 degree) lean to the right, Shenanigans restaurant serves an extensive selection of grilled goodies, from the "Skinny Bob's Meat Melt" to the classic fried mushrooms. Sober or intoxicated, the gastronomic options of Shenanigans calm the stomach with egrigous servings of grease. Other items to be considered for consumption include the reasonable, inexpensive pitchers of beer. A pitcher of Miller Lite or Budweiser will run you $5.74, while microbrews and imports such as Blue Moon cost $7.55, which still beats the heck out of bar prices for a beer. The front porch, which faces the highway, provides a great view for those who don't mind the stiff wrought iron furniture, but that's where the memories are made (wow, that sounded gay). One time last spring, after the English oral comps, a number of us parked ourselves on the front porch to consume a few celebratory pitchers, when out of nowhere, the sky unleashed a blanket of hail on the area. While the sky was still coral pink and vanilla during the hail, this unforseen weather pattern surprised us, and made us realize just how unique Sewanee is, not only in its biospherical oddities but in its opportunities for fellowship, inebriation, and admiration for the natural and simple parts of life.

A Few Things

Being it Friday, and now officially the weekend, the word of the day is QUAFF.

quaff \KWOFF; KWAFF\, transitive verb:
To drink with relish; to drink copiously of; to swallow in
large draughts.

intransitive verb:
To drink largely or luxuriously.

Additionally, the song of the evening will be Blinded by the Light, by Bruce Springsteen. Most people believe that this song is done by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO); however, that version is really Manfred Mann and the Earth Band. Springsteen is the one who originally wrote and performed this song.

Here are the lyrics of the first little bit. Enjoy the music while quaffing a stein on this pleasant Friday evening.

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older, I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing, the calliope crashed to the ground

Some Hope After All?

Alright, here we go - The most liberal place in the whole nation, booing Kanye West for his anti-Bush rhetoric, concerning the Katrina response. As a friend of mine put it, its "nice to know even the flaming liberals in Boston can smell bulls**t...guess there's still hope for the country."

The Double Cheeseburger Conundrum

A customer can walk into a McDonalds and purchase a double cheeseburger for $0.99, while a regular cheeseburger costs $1.05. This incongruity in pricing has always attracted my attention, and I have often wondered why any rational customer would ever purchase a regular cheeseburger. If anyone has any thoughts regarding this question, I would love to hear them.

Katrina Info Map

Here is a remarkable website that is set up wiki-style, in that individual users can post comments about the effects of Katrina at different geographic locations. There are thousands of entries. Here is an article about the website, which some more background a explanation.

A side question - Would the rescue efforts of the refugees in New Orleans have been quicker and better organized if the refugees were not poor and black?

Here is another blog that includes a list of all the damage that New Orleans has experienced. This disaster is mind-blowing.

Looters in New Orleans

I was reading this article about the looters who are stealing clothes, jewelry and food from stores all over downtown New Orleans. In this article there was the following quote regarding the looting:

"To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society."

What?? How did society ever oppress someone such that it makes it right to steal other people's belongings? So this man may have had a tough life, but to blame it on society...give me a break. These people think it is everyone else's fault for their plight in life. I honestly can't believe somebody said this. Here, there are tens if not hundreds of people dying, billions of dollars in damages, and this guy thinks it is an opportunity to "get back" and the institution, by stealing other people's possessions. Simply unbelievable.

- Here is the blog to read about Hurricane Katrina.

A little Thought

I was just thinking at lunch today that when Tara Lipinski won the gold medal in ice skating several years ago, she was only 15 years old. I always knew this, but never really thought about how incredible it was. To put it into context, Lipinski was the best ice skater in the whole world when she was 15. How many professions are mastered by people who are only in their teens? I can't think of any other. Other athletes usually peak in their mid-twenties or sometimes even later, and otherwise "normal" jobs such as lawyers and doctors don't reach excellence until their 40s, 50s, or 60s. However, ice skaters peak in their mid-teens. I feel quite confidant that excellence in a field cannot be gained in any other profession at so young an age. How remarkable.

Word of the Day

tryst \TRIST; TRYST\, noun:
An appointment (as between lovers) to meet; also, an appointed
place or time of meeting.

And it bothers me that I begin to worry if she's planning a
tryst with my handsome neighbour.
--Anita Nair, [1]The Better Man

Would you like Frys with your McMansion?

Here's a nice little article I found over at wsj.com concerning the evolution of the McMansion. Apparently the big home building companies have been changing the plans of their largest houses to include extra bathrooms, closet space, mudrooms, etc. Everyone needs a good bathroom, but these designs call for two different toilets in the master bath suite - a "his" toilet and a "her" toilet. Unbelievable. The article is good. Below is the introductory paragraph.

Even as economists debate whether discounts on some high-end homes signal a broader softening in the housing market, one indicator continues to rise: The biggest homes in suburbia are getting even bigger. The nation's largest builders of luxury homes say their top-selling designs lately have expanded to include more bathrooms, giant master-suite closets and extra rooms designated as teen dens, hobby rooms or even "bonus" rooms. Toll Brothers, of Horsham, Pa., says its best-selling plan this year has a base size of 4,800 square feet -- 1,600 bigger than its top seller of five years ago. WCI Communities, of Bonita Springs, Fla., says the most popular plan in its Mid-Atlantic region measures 5,425 square feet, up 250 square feet from its 2000 bestseller.

Freakonomics authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner were guest bloggers for Google several days ago. I have not read Freakonomics yet, but plan to do so in the fall. Self-proclaimed rogue-economists, Levitt and Dubner apply economics to practical, everyday issue. The book tackles such questions as:

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?

These two guys have done a great deal to popularize economics and generate some interest in the field. The stuff they study is fascinating. Note, I have a link to their blog (and website) under my "Other Sweet Blogs" section. Check it out. You will learn.

Back in Action

I'm back from the sweet trip and on to more adventures. I'll keep writing about things that interest me. Last night I went to the Cheesecake Factory and as delicious as the cheesecake was, I found the dining experience a little bit disturbing. I had been before, and this recent trip made me think a little about our culture. Everything was so damn enormous, from the building itself, to the size of the entrees. It was almost sickening. The place was so "American," in that it pandered to the masses who thing that bigger is inevitably better. I mean, who wants to go and order a meal that could feed a small African family? What ever happened to subtlety and understated elegance. Those days are long gone, and have sadly been replaced with the biggest masses of food that can be fit onto a platter.

Heading Southbound

Bright and early tomorrow morning I am heading down to the deep south - southern Georgia - for a couple weeks. It will be a nice relaxing break from the farm work and everything else here in town. I'll be posting some more of the cool stuff when I get back...Check back then.

A Few Funny Things

A toilet broke today in a bathroom of ours and the water is now shut off to the house. I am about to go over to our country club to use their facilities to bathe and clean up. This strikes me as being almost as hilarious as the picture I posted yesterday.

Speaking of hilarity, I was at McCarthy's Bar downtown and this fat Irishman began singing Irish folksongs in the middle of the establishment. After a little while, he broke into a spirited rendition of "American Pie" by Don McLean, and before long the whole bar was joining him in the chorus.

I can't explain exactly why, but I find this picture to be absolutely hilarious. Especially the guy in the top left corner.

Word of the Day

propinquity \pruh-PING-kwih-tee\, noun:
1. Nearness in place; proximity.
2. Nearness in time.
3. Nearness of relation; kinship.

Following the race he took umbrage at Stewart's rough
driving so early in the day, and the propinquity of the two
drivers' haulers allowed the Kid to express his displeasure
up close and personal.
--Mark Bechtel, "Getting Hot," [1]Sports Illustrated,
December 6, 2000

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This book is selling at astounding rates - 250,000 sales per hour, and reportedly earning JK Rowling $36 million in one day. I admit, I actually went out yesterday and bought the book; albeit, not for myself. Rather it was a gift, but I did still feel like a member of the millions of other people that were clambering over this Potter Madness. When I first walked in to the Barnes and Noble Bookstore, I was confronted by an enormous pyramid created with hundreds of Harry Potter books. I luckily did not have to take part in the midnight mania, which apparently included costumes and characters, face painting, readings from the book, and other activities. The Harry Potter phenomenon really is intriguing. My favorite part is the fact that 7 years ago JK Rowling was a poor, single mother. She is now one of the wealthiest members of our society, and she achieved this based on her own brilliant ideas, hard work, and determination. In my humble opinion, JK Rowling is the living embodiment of the American Dream.

- Here is what the wait to Potter Midnight Madness was like at Joseph-Beth, here in Lexington, KY.

- These are a few knicknacks concerning the release of the newest Harry Potter.

Roald Dahl's Writing Hut

This article in The New Yorker, describes Roald Dahl in depth, and takes you into his world of exciting and bizarre children's stories. Included below is a small excerpt from this terrific critique of Dahle and his writing.

Roald Dahl, the British author of children’s books, wrote in a tiny cottage at the end of a trellised pathway canopied with twisting linden trees. He called it the “writing hut,” and, since Dahl was nearly six feet six, he must have inhabited it like a giant in an elf’s house. Dahl died in 1990, at the age of seventy-four, but one day a year his widow, Felicity, invites children to the estate where he lived, in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, and local families swarm in like guests at Willy
Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.