So first off, the reason we can't read is that the judge wants everyone to pay attention. The way she runs voir dire in her courtroom is that she questions the panel aloud en banc, and should any of us not yet in the privileged seats move up, she wants us to be aware of what we are going to be asked. It saves time in questioning the people who get seated later.

So I have been learning a lot about my fellow jurors. Seems there are a lot of people who have really negative opinions about cops and judges and attorneys. And a lot of people who have been harassed by cops or know someone who has.

This is one hundred percent outside my worldview.

It's an interesting exercise in psychology listening to people talk about their experiences and feelings, and then to see the judge and attorneys' reactions. And it certainly makes things less boring, especially for a people-watcher like me.

And, I get to go back in Tuesday morning. As expected, they have already chewed through 36 of the original 55 of us, and the last 7 of those are still actively in voir dire. I expect the jury will be picked and sworn Tuesday, whether or not I get chosen. At this point, I'd almost RATHER be chosen, as it will be 3 days out of my life already, and I'm interested to find out what happens.....

But, joy of joys, I GOT A METRO PASS!!!! No more $5/day to go back and forth. No more bums staring at me while I feed bills into the ticket machine.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 06:16 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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So I am not on a jury, yet. I am, however, in a jury pool for a particular case which I may not discuss except to say it's a criminal matter. I must return to the Courthouse of Doom tomorrow for further waiting around with my thumb up my butt sitting in a courtroom with nothing to do but listen to idiots spew their biases in an effort to get out of service, as reading in the courtroom is prohibited and I suspect that if I piss this judge off it won't be that good for me....

And, joy of joys, it might go through to Tuesday before they actually get around to picking a jury. So much for work this week and next.....

The only bright spot is that I am 7 from the back of the queue....

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In the left sidebar, below Fred and the Sudoku game is a new AIM widget.

Since AIM is now included in Gmail Chat, I'm available whenever I'm logged in to mail. And you don't have to be an AIM clone either, you can sign in as a guest. But either way, be sure to tell me who you are, as I don't see your screenname on my screen.

Chats are private, as well, no one else visiting the site can see the conversation.

So say "Hi" sometime if you see me online.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:00 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I see it, but it's just a big blue box. Is it supposed to look like that?

Posted by: Amanda at January 16, 2008 07:03 AM (ay+rD)

2 I see it and it looks good, as in 'ready for input'. Cool idea.

Posted by: dogette at January 16, 2008 07:52 AM (q/UVc)

3 Neat!

Posted by: Richmond at January 17, 2008 07:28 AM (elWJy)

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Nature, folks, never underestimate it.

Here's a vocabulary word for you: Albedo

There's a natural cause that may account for much of the Arctic warming, which has melted sea ice, ice sheets and glaciers, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature. New research points a finger at a natural and cyclical increase in the amount of energy in the atmosphere that moves from south to north around the Arctic Circle.

But that energy transfer, which comes with storms that head north because of ocean currents, is not acting alone either, scientists say. Another upcoming study concludes that the combination of both that natural energy transfer increase and man-made global warming serve as a one-two punch that is pushing the Arctic over the edge.

Scientists are trying to figure out why the Arctic is warming and melting faster than computer models predict.

The summer of 2007, like the summer of 2005, smashed all records for loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and ice sheet in Greenland. In September, the Arctic Ocean had 23 percent less sea ice than the previous record low. Greenland's ice sheet melted 19 billion tons more than its previous record.

The Nature study suggests there's more behind it than global warming because the air a couple miles above the ground is warming more than calculated by the climate models.

Climate change theory concentrates on warming of surface temperatures and explains an Arctic that is warming faster than the rest of the world as mostly because reduced sea ice and ice sheets means less reflecting solar rays.

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In honor of New Year's, two stories of old investigations being re-opened:

First, the FBI has decided that they really DO want to know whatever became of DB Cooper, even though they think he's dead:

The FBI is making a new stab at identifying mysterious skyjacker Dan Cooper, who bailed out of an airliner in 1971 and vanished, releasing new details that it hopes will jog someone's memory. The man calling himself Dan Cooper, also known as D.B. Cooper, boarded a Northwest flight in Portland for a flight to Seattle on the night of Nov, 24, 1971, and commandeered the plane, claiming he had dynamite.

In Seattle, he demanded and got $200,000 and four parachutes and demanded to be flown to Mexico. Somewhere over southwestern Washington, he jumped out the plane's tail exit with two of the chutes.

On Monday, the FBI released drawings that it said probably are close to what Cooper looked like, along with a map of areas where Cooper might have landed.

"Who was Cooper? Did he survive the jump? We're providing new information and pictures and asking for your help in solving the case," the FBI said in a statement.

The FBI said that while Cooper was originally thought to have been an experienced jumper, it has since concluded that was wrong and that he almost certainly didn't survive the jump in the dark and rain. He hadn't specified a route for the plane to fly and had no way of knowing where he was when he went out the exit.

"Diving into the wilderness without a plan, without the right equipment, in such terrible conditions, he probably never even got his chute open," Seattle-based agent Larry Carr said.

He also didn't notice that his reserve chute was intended only for training and had been sewn shut.

Several people have claimed to be Cooper over the years but were dismissed on the basis of physical descriptions, parachuting experience and, later, by DNA evidence recovered in 2001 from the cheap tie the skyjacker left on the plane.

Since 2005, students at Bauder College have sifted through old evidence and case files from unsolved crimes as part of the school's Cold Case Investigative Research Institute. This year, Levy's homicide and the disappearance three years ago of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba are on their agenda.

The 50 students will not be graded or get course credit for their work interviewing experts associated with the cases, preparing timelines and looking for clues in Levy's computer, but plan to turn their findings and recommendations over to Washington police and prosecutors at the end of the term.

Levy, 24, had just finished working as an intern for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in May 2001 when she disappeared from her apartment. Her body was found in a D.C. park a year later and her death ruled a homicide, but no one has been charged. The case attacted widespread attention because of allegations that Levy was romantically involved with Congressman Gary Condit when she went missing.

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TBS set records with this year's "A Christmas Story" Marathon:

The marathon scored its best-ever average delivery in total viewers (2.8 million) as well as in such key demos as adults 18-34 (775,000), adults 18-49 (1.6 million) and adults 25-54 (1.5 million), according to Nielsen Media Research.

For the marathon's entire 24-hour run, TBS ranked as the No. 1 ad-supported cable network in 18-34, 18-49, 25-54 and total viewers. (Ad-supported networks include most basic cable outlets with a few exceptions like Disney Channel.)

During the marathon, the most-watched airing of "Christmas" in total viewers was the first telecast (8 p.m. December 24), which averaged 4.4 million viewers. The 10 p.m. telecast that followed was the most-watched among 18-34 (1.2 million), 18-49 (2.2 million) and 25-54 (2.1 million).

The 10 p.m. showing also beat all broadcast programming on Christmas Eve (8 p.m.-midnight) in the 18-34 demo.

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Warning: disjointed thoughts ahead!

Over the last few days I've been thinking a lot about the amazing bumper sticker of awesomeness and how we parent our children. When I say "parent our children", I mean in the general sense, that is, how ADULTS guide and direct children towards what's right and instill in them a sense of right and wrong. Not just their parents, biological or otherwise, but grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, mentors, and friends. Hillary said that it takes a village to raise a child, and although her application of that message was far more socialist than I agree with, her point is well-taken. Children grow up surrounded by adults. ALL of those adults have something to do with raising them, even just reinforcing proper behavior.

I've often heard it said (and I believe it) that parenting is an act of will. As a parent, you are the boss, and what the kids want is secondary. It seems to me that a hell of a lot of ADULTS are abdicating this responsibility because they just don't want to "hurt the kid's feelings" or they'd rather let someone else be the bad guy.

See, here's the thing, and this is what has come up over and over and over in conversations about the bumper sticker, good kids are NOT kids who never think of doing bad things. Good kids are not kids who say "it's wrong, so I won't do it." At least not all the time. Good kids are good simply because they know what will happen to them if they get caught doing what they want to do that their parents disapprove of. They have rules and boundaries and consequences. Consistent, very negative consequences. I was one of those goody-two-shoes kids. But sure as hell NOT because it was wrong to do bad things. Oh hells no. I was terrified of what my parents would do if they caught me.

Good parents make it possible for their kids to reach the stage in their life, where as adults, they can recognize all of their right and wrong steps in the past and use that knowledge to "parent" other children: their own, nieces and nephews, students, mentees, etc.

I've gone down the road before about no consequences for kids and how THAT turns out. But I'll sum up. Kids who don't understand that their actions have consequences CAN NOT succeed in life. They don't turn in homework, but they expect an A. They can't show up to work on time, but they'll sue you for firing them. They expect hand up after hand up and if they don't get one, it's YOUR fault. Mom and Dad fix everything, from a bad grade to a parking ticket to getting kicked out of college because of academic dishonesty. Kids who don't understand that actions have consequences are precisely the ones who will take a gun and try to make their own.

It's a simple principal of Psychology: Associative Learning. If I get zapped every time I press the red button, pretty soon I'll learn not to touch it any more. It's not just a fancy trick, either. This is how the mammalian brain is wired. We learn by experience, both positively and negatively.

Which brings me to a recent experience. I was involved with a community outreach program sponsored by our school a few weeks back. Two groups of high school students were assigned to be helpers to the college students and faculty involved with the program. One group of kids was from a high-achieving science-related magnet school. The other was from a "cultural" charter school. The difference between the two groups was remarkable, and not surprisingly, correlated with the expectations of the adults around them AND the consequences of their actions.

The "magnet" kids were friendly and polite, they pitched in to clean up without being asked. They were creative and helpful and spoke respectfully to each other and to us.

The charter kids were (with a few exceptions) just the opposite. They were loud and lazy, they yelled at each other and spent their time making messes and trying to break things rather than helping out, and when faced directly with consequences, they ignored requests to sit down and/or be quiet from their teachers and principal. Which, I later understood, because the threatened consequences never materialized.

What you don't know is that these kids all come from the same background: ethnically diverse, lower-middle-class and underprivileged homes. They all live in the same neighborhoods, have the same kinds of "stereotypical" families. What's different about them is the expectation that positive and negative behavior each have their own set of consequences. It couldn't be more striking.

So yeah, it's not about the damn guns. It's about shitty adults who think "kid gloves" means "use with children" instead of "made from baby goats".

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:00 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 EXCELLENT POST! Yeah, I just yelled out loud 'excellent post'.

Posted by: pam at December 10, 2007 12:42 PM (l6NIn)

2 Yeah, apparently most people don't know what "kid gloves" means anymore. Even my husband just learned, when my mom had hers from when she was younger out to look at them. I think he just pictured kid-sized boxing gloves with extra padding or something. But you're 100% right. I could see it from watching the people i was in school with -- especially college. The kids who were pre-med (cough) and just whined themselves to better grades. I saw a lot of it in the undergrads at JHU, too. Um, not to pick on pre-meds. Or doctors. It's just the people I found were around me who did it most!

Posted by: silvermine at December 10, 2007 01:07 PM (4gdyI)

3 Warning: disjointed thoughts ahead! Disjointed? Beg to differ, dear. Very nicely done, and I say that as the father of two wonderful adult children.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at December 10, 2007 08:22 PM (Yh9SA)

4 As someone who works with kids in a certain capacity, but does not have kids of her own, I have to admit I sometimes take a bit of issue with the "it takes a village" mentality. An example: some of the kids in my youth group are whispering in church. I specifically DO NOT sit with them (they sit near their parents) because I have other duties during the course of church and I feel that, if their parents are there, it is not my job to "parent" them. But then someone comes up to me after church..."Those darn kids where WHISPERING again. Can you not DO something?" No. When I go to church, I go to worship. I do not go to be the parent, when the parents who are there choose not to. I feel it would be overstepping my bounds to sit behind the kids and knock their heads together...er, hush them...when they are whispering. But, because I'm the Youth Leader, because these individuals know me (and don't necessarily know the kids' parents), and because they know I won't lash back at them, they come to me and make me feel guilty for not being Mama Hen 100% of the time. The lives of those of us who work with students (either little-kid, teenaged, or college-aged) would be SO much easier if parents just took on the responsibilities they are supposed to, and don't let their kids run wild, and expect someone else will be the "bad guy" with the discipline. I've come so close to resigning as youth director BECAUSE it seems that every misbehavior of the kids is somehow my fault, that I could stop it if I really wanted to...even if the parents are sitting right there, oblivious.

Posted by: ricki at December 11, 2007 10:04 AM (O5SYw)

5 For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I press a key, a letter appears on the screen. At the age of 13, my parents punished me for something I did for the last time. It made an impression. I don't remember what I did wrong, but it must have been bad, and the consequences fit the offense. The punishment, a few licks from my fathers FRATERNITY PLEDGE PADDLE. Nothing excessive, but enough to make a deep and lasting impression on me to never ever do what I had done again. And I never gave them a reason to punish me again. Another highly effective consequence I received was "wash your mouth out with soap." At the age of 8 or 9, I cussed at a video game, while my mother was in the other room. She was into the room I was in in a flash, had me by the hand, and into the bathroom for a mouthful of softsoap. I took profanity out of my vocabulary for a long time after that (now I do use it sometimes, as a stress reliever, much better than losing my temper). From my perspective, it comes down to making sure that when a child does something they know is wrong, the consequences should make a deep and lasting impression on their mind, such that when the situation arises again, they have a moment of pause to think, "wait a second, if I do this, it is going to make my life really SUCK afterwards."

Posted by: Petey at December 12, 2007 09:01 AM (tmnSV)

6 well said

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 12, 2007 02:30 PM (+MvHD)

7 It doesn't take a village, it takes a boot-camp. Adults who in their moral vanity busily impress themselves with their own sensitivity and broadmindedness do no service to kids - and produce poor, nonperforming results.

Posted by: DirtCrashr at December 12, 2007 04:31 PM (VNM5w)

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In the 80's and 90's we had Limousine Liberals.  Now we have Gulfstream Greenies:

Tempo Interaktif reports that Angkasa Pura - the management of Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport are concerned that the large number of additional private charter flights expected in Bali during the UN Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) December 3-15, 2007, will exceed the carrying capacity of apron areas. To meet the added demand for aircraft storage officials are allocating "parking space" at other airports in Indonesia.

The operational manager for Bali's Airport, Azjar Effendi, says his 3 parking areas can only accommodate 15 planes, which means that some of the jets used by VIP delegations will only be allowed to disembark and embark their planes in Bali with parking provided at airports in Surabaya, Lombok, Jakarta and Makassar.--emphasis mine, Ed.

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Since we'll be busy with family stuff until Sunday, and I'm pretty sure I won't get a chance to post anything, I thought I'd leave you with this.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 06:52 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Posted by: pam at November 20, 2007 07:22 PM (l6NIn)

2 Hilarious! Happy Thanksgiving to y'all as well.

Posted by: beth at November 20, 2007 07:51 PM (mL6ts)

3 Back atcha!

Posted by: dogette at November 21, 2007 07:10 AM (q/UVc)

4 Gobble gobble!

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at November 21, 2007 09:03 AM (+MvHD)

5 Happy Thanksgiving!!

Posted by: Richmond at November 21, 2007 01:53 PM (6QRLC)

6 Happy Thanksgiving. Very funny cartoon.

Posted by: Lukie at November 21, 2007 05:21 PM (WXIEq)

7 TAG! (it isn't happy when I try to include the URL)

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at November 21, 2007 09:17 PM (0Pi1o)

8 Love the cartoon. Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by: vw bug at November 22, 2007 05:05 AM (FPOeI)

9 Frickin' great! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Posted by: That 1 Guy at November 22, 2007 06:39 AM (NJMQg)

10 Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by: Jill at November 22, 2007 05:08 PM (yaQm/)

11 Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by: Bou at November 22, 2007 06:19 PM (DWOkQ)

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So you may have noticed that much of today's posting was an attempt to laugh at a bad situation.

I am recovering from a Complete Fuster Cluck of a weekend.  As I described it in an email to a friend: Cheating, Cleaning, Family Drama, and a Prostitute, none of which are in any way related to each other.

Bear with me as I attempt to screw my head back on straight, because as you may have guessed, it went al 'splodey and needed to be replaced......

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I've never thought of photocopying my monitor.... but I can so relate to beating the pencil thrower.

h/t Contagion

and as a bonus, because I can't resist a good Milton moment, "I believe you have my stapler.":

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Singer and actor Robert Goulet has passed away at age 73.

Robert Goulet, the handsome, big-voiced baritone whose Broadway debut in "Camelot" launched an award-winning stage and recording career, has died. He was 73.

The singer died Tuesday morning in a Los Angeles hospital while awaiting a lung transplant, said Goulet spokesman Norm Johnson.

He had been awaiting a lung transplant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after being found last month to have a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis.

I hope he'll still appear at 3pm..... ghost Robert Goulet is even scarier.....

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How do you market a revolutionary product that crosses generational boundaries and reaches beyond its traditional audience successfully and efficiently? You simply let people tell their own stories. Nintendo is doing that at MyWiiStory.com. Possibly the smartest advertising campaign for a video game EVER.

It's easy to see why you might want a Wii in your home if you can read the stories of dozens of families and how the Wii has become an integral part of their family time, and even how it is a positive influence on their lives.

Yep. I said positive influence. From a video game.

Here's my favorite Wii Story (posted by Chris Whitaker):

My son brought his new Wii to Easter Dinner. My mother in law, Dorothy, was so impressed she wanted to buy one for each of nine grandchildren. She called and traveled East Tennessee and KY buying them where she could find one. She had purchased seven and needed two to complete her task. It was a stormy night in April, a tornado touched down in our neighborhood, two miles from Walmart. Dorothy, knowing the local Walmart was expecting some Wii's on this date, called to see if they had arrived. The sales associate said they had and she could get them tomorrow. Dorothy stated she would come now. The sales associate said, "maam we are having a tornado". Dorothy said, "I know but I'll be there anyway". She drove to Walmart during the tornado just to purchase your product. The tornado did over 1 million dollars damage across the street from Walmart, but no damage to my 71 year old mother in law as she walked out of the Walmart carrying her three Wii purchases (1 for herself).

And because I can't resist, one more (posted by Carol Toy):

My son found his Wii when we were in Oregon on vacation. That was the start of our awesome Wii story. Although the whole family and all our friends enjoy playing, the most amazing players are "Grandpa Bill" and "Grandma Bert". Both are in their 80's. Grandpa has Parkinson's disease, Grandma has difficulty walking without a cane. Both can be found staying up late swing a golf club with Tiger Woods or bowling with the Mii family my son has created. Grandpa has, since the Wii came into our life, returned to hitting real golf balls at the driving range and uses his "skills" from bowling in is real-life senior bowling league. The sequencing, use of controls, etc. is helping to keep us all more alert. The friendly competition, laughter and time spent together are priceless. Thank you Wii for getting us out of our chairs to enjoy each other while keeping minds and bodies active. Wii should be prescribed by physicians for the increased well-being of all types of patients!

Here's my Wii story:

I'm a member of Generation X, or so they tell me. The video game generation, right? But not me. My parents refused to buy me a game console, and it turns out that was ok, because I am PATHETIC at traditional games. Oh, I can run the maps and mazes, and strategize with the best of them, but I have rheumatoid arthritis, and I can't use the traditional controllers. I can't run the joystick and hit the buttons and shoot and duck and everything else all at the same time. I used to be the backseat driver in Nintendo land. I would call the shots and point out the bad guys and bonuses to get and where to move, and someone else would work the controller. Wii changed all that. Yeah, there are traditional elements to the controller, and many games require you to do many things at once, but the way you hold and use the Wii remote and nunchuck controller makes it easier for me to play the games myself. And games like Wii Sports don't require all that coordination, just holding the remote.

My husband is amazed. His wife, who could never play a game harder than Yoshi, Kirby, or some other game designed for a 5 year old, is kicking his ass at real video games. And I don't bitch when he plays, because I get to play, too. I can't even tell you how much fun we have together playing Wii.

Wii is also the star at every get together. Even our least outgoing friends can't resist an evening of Wii. And let me say, for the record, that since half of the games are apparently designed simply to make the player look like an idiot using the Wii remote, Wii and alcohol go pretty well together (I suggest Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and Rayman's Raving Rabbids for drunk Wii-ing) just be sure to wear the wrist strap and drink responsibly! We've laughed harder (even sober!) at the Wii, and the person playing at the moment, than we have in a long time.

It's amazing how a small change in the hardware can make such a difference in way we use and appreciate the game console... Thanks, Nintendo, for making a game I can play, too!

Oh, and for the record, this is a personal, unpaid endorsement. LOVE my Wii, and I think the ad campaign is just SMART.

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Joanie is almost literally liveblogging the fires from Northern San Diego County.  Lots of pictures, information, and links on her site.

Be sure to scroll down through the posts over the last few days!

Stay safe, Darlin'!

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Dozens of wildfires all over the Southern California area.

View Larger Map

Most seem to be natural or accidental in nature (mostly from wind-downed high voltage lines), but the Santiago Canyon fire near Irvine was deliberately set. Bastards.

Fires in LA in October is as natural as Hurricanes in Florida in August. Northeasterly winds, called the Santa Anas bring hot dry air down from the high desert into the valleys and foothills, and well, it doesn't take much to start a big fire.

The LA Times has a good round-up and photo galleries. KCAL 9 is on the air live with updates, as new fires continue to pop up every hour or so in addition to the major fires in Malibu, Castaic, Canyon Country, San Diego, Irvine, Ontario, and Lake Arrowhead......

Here's links to information on School Closures and Evacuation Centers.

Folks with large animals can take them to the Ventura County Fairgrounds, the Orange County Fairgrounds, or Pierce College Equestrian Center. Bring Food, Water, Water Tubs, and Medicine. Many animal shelters and vet offices will care for smaller pets, too. Call around for information. In emergencies, pet owners can call (81 991-6384 to set up an emergency rescue in the Malibu OR Agua Dulce areas. For more animal info, check here.

It goes without saying, folks, but if you're in the fire area, get out when they tell you to leave, and if you're not in a fire area, stay the hell out. The firefighters need to get in and out without having to drive around your looky-loo ass.

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Like Ricki, I HATE that phrase. Hate it.

But EVERY student, without exception, seems to utter it at one point or another during the semester. And they'll go the extra mile to get it, too. Troy University Professor Richard Scott Nokes writes:

Why is it that students who wouldn't scratch their bottoms to get a final exam grade will do anything for extra credit? Last week, I had midterm exams, and many students put, at the most, an hour's worth of effort into the take-home project (worth 25% of their grade). This week I gave an opportunity for extra credit, worth only a tiny fraction of the midterm, and the students are meeting after class and going to the Writing Center to work on it. Maybe I should start calling my regular assignments "extra credit."(h/t Prof. Taylor)

Interested, I decided to see if anyone has written a scholarly article on extra credit, and the psychology behind why students prefer it over just doing their work.  A quick google search turned up page after page of syllabi with possible extra credit assignments from psychology classes at universities all over the country.

There are only a few articles looking at extra credit, and those look at it as a motivating factor, not why it is preferred.

(I put the rest of what turns out to be a longer piece than I had planned to write below the jump!)
more...

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So last night we saw this week's South Park.  Every imaginary or animated character you can think of shows up, and more you didn't previously know.  Hubby and I ran it over and over and over, literally squealing at each new character that came on the screen.

So for your viewing pleasure, here's Imaginationland parts I-III (the usual South Park language and content warnings apply)....

Some interesting thoughts on terrorism, too, no?

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My Mother always told me that people who pick on you are just jealous. Same applies to the Presidential race. Jackie Mason NAILS it:

h/t Fred, of course. Well, Sean Hackbarth blogging at Friends of Fred.

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1 That was outstanding! And maybe, if not Tancredo, Jackie for vice president? Hey, the guy was right on.

Posted by: Erica at October 19, 2007 05:48 AM (QPJM+)

2 Hahahaha! GAWD I love Jackie Mason!

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at October 19, 2007 06:36 AM (PvqFn)

3 LOL... he does nail it. But Fred could step it up a bit.

Posted by: Jenn at October 19, 2007 09:22 AM (sSCF/)

4 I love it! (and Fred, too)

Posted by: Tammy at October 20, 2007 06:39 PM (rRfK1)

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I get all of these jokes....

Lifted shamelessly 100% from FCBlog.  For all you SoCaler's:

With all the talk about the Rose Parade and the China controversy and our fearless (?) leaders international dealings..it's time for another Top Ten.

From the home office in Beijing, China:

TOP TEN FLOATS THAT WON'T MAKE IT INTO THE ROSE PARADE
10. Chris Hansen's Dateline NBC Decoy Float For Internet Pedophiles
9. The Ad Hoc Committee On Floats Float
8. The Other Guy In Wham! Float
7. The Turkish-Armenian Friendship Float
6. The Float Put Together By PUSD Kids Who Get All F's
5. The Sid Tyler Float Of "Tobaccy & Shoe Polish"
4. Al-Qaeda's "Death To America" Float
3. Sock On Float
2. Anthony Portantino Ate My Float
1. Robin Salzer's Float Of Roses Smothered In Brown Mustard & BBQ Sauce

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Fuck off and Die. And that Honorary Turk, George Bush, can FOAD too.

That is all.

Love,

The Armenians

P.S. Remember who said "...Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"  It was some German dude named Adolf.

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