We can all agree that duty free booze is a beautiful thing, but this is a little ridiculous.

BERLIN - A man nearly died from alcohol poisoning after quaffing a liter (two pints) of vodka at an airport security check instead of handing it over to comply with new carry-on rules, police said Wednesday.

The incident occurred at the Nuremberg airport on Tuesday, where the 64-year-old man was switching planes on his way home to Dresden from a holiday in Egypt.

New airport rules prohibit passengers from carrying larger quantities of liquid onto planes, and he was told at a security check he would have to either throw out the bottle of vodka or pay a fee to have his carry-on bag checked as cargo.

Instead, he chugged the bottle down — and was quickly unable to stand or otherwise function, police said.{...}

I suppose that's one way to get around fluid restrictions.

Awfully rough on the liver, though, eh?

Posted by: Kathy at 09:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I present with minimal comment, because I used to live there, the New York Post's Cindy Adams, on the Iowa Caucuses.

Ahem.

WHO the hell cares about Iowa? Barring a caucus every few years, who even thinks of Iowa. All it's ever brought us is corn, Herbert Hoover, the Wright Brothers, Ashton Kutcher and "The Music Man." Its main attraction is an airport in Des Moines that gets you out.

And this state with less people than I have in my kitchen is determining the future of our most powerful nation on Earth?

OK, first off, in Algonquin "caucus" means "a tribal gathering of chiefs." In Iowa, it means a grass-roots get-together. In truth, it means a load of BS. The history of their caucuses (caucii?) comes down to the fact that Ronald Reagan lost in them. Twice. Bill Clinton came in fourth. But they did deliver us Jimmy Carter. So what's that tell you?

This first step toward occupying the White House begins in maybe a firehouse. Farmhouse. High school gym. Just being able to write your name is the first plus toward eligibility. The event begins 6:30. Registration starts at 6. Not like this is a big long line or anything. You needn't even be 18 to register. Needn't even be a Republican, Democrat or Independent. You can decide when you get there. Besides, after you decide and after a piece of pie you can change again. We are not talking deep convictions here. For all anybody cares, a body can even stick up a finger for Ross Perot.

And, please, the eyes of the whole world are on this come-as-you-are operation, where the next president of the United States of America can be picked by a show of hands?{...}

But wait, there's more...

{...}Hey, this incredibly fabulous area is only important because we made it important, not because it is important. Ask what's it really known for and a local might boast, "We're the only state whose name begins with two vowels." Wow-ee! Take that, Ahmadinejad! The whole deal in Iowa is a hustle. It gets this state farm subsidies and fortunes in advertising. With tubloads of volunteers, gurus, journalists and specialists piling in, this translates to hotel rooms, restaurants, drivers. It brings Oprah to the plains and bread to the cornfield.{...}

I repeat: Yeeee-ouch. Can't wait to hear what Russ has to say about this one.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:02 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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The neighborhood in which the husband's shop resides, Bryn Mawr, is hosting a "Saturnalia" (yeah, don't start with me about it. I UNDERSTAND.) event on this coming Saturday, December 15th. It's meant to drive traffic into the neighborhood stores, and quite a few people show up. Last year, I made the huge and horrible mistake of supplying the husband with homemade caramels to give away, along with hot cider, to those who passed by. It was a huge success, and now I have been asked, very politely indeed, to make them again. So I will. And then I will make another batch, next week, to give out with the rest of my Christmas goodies. These are pretty tasty, and if you've got some spare time on your hands---and I mean a lot of spare time---make for a delicious Christmas treat.

Golden Caramels

(Makes about 150. Caramels should be individually wrapped in cellophane or waxed paper, so they keep their shape.)

4 cups heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 cups light corn syrup
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb. unsalted butter (two sticks) cut into sixteen pieces
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil cooking spray

1. Spray an 11 3/4-by-16 1/2 inch baking pan (a half-sheet pan) with vegetable oil spray. In a 2qt saucepan, combine cream and sweetened condensed milk; set aside.

2. In a heavy 6-to-8qt saucepan, combine corn syrup, 1 cup water, sugar and salt. Clip on candy thermometer. Over high heat, cook until sugar is dissolved, stirring with a wooden spoon, 8 to 12 minutes. Brush down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to remove any sugar crystals.

3. Stop stirring, reduce heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until temperature reaches 250 degrees (hard-ball stage), 45-60 minutes. Meanwhile, cook cream mixture over low heat until it is just warm. Do not boil. When sugar reaches 250 degrees, slowly stir in butter and warmed cream mixture, keeping mixture boiling at all times. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thermometer reaches 244 degrees (firm-ball stage), 55-75 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Immediately pour into prepared pan without scraping the pot. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 24 hours without moving.

4. To cut, spray a large cutting board generously with vegetable oil spray. Unmold caramel from pan onto sprayed surface. Cut into 1-by 1 1/4-inch pieces, or other shapes. Wrap each in cellophane or waxed paper.

So, a few tips from moi, because I've made this recipe a few times and I just happen to have a few handy, dandy tips to pass along. First, this recipe takes HOURS to complete (and then you have to wait a full twenty-four hours before cutting them up) so wear comfy shoes, have good music on the radio and a cocktail in hand (with a full shaker nearby). Second, you don't need a half-sheet pan to use this recipe; a jelly roll pan does nicely, although the caramels do come out a little thicker than what I think they were originally intended to, so do take that into account when you cut them up. Third, this is not a recipe for novice candy makers. If you are not familiar with what "hard ball" and "firm ball" mean, ahem, in relation to candy making, this is not the recipe for you. Practice on some peanut brittle and then take this one on. Fourth, you can buy waxed paper wrappers at a kitchen specialty store, like Williams and Sonoma; I would not recommend being cheap and cutting up squares from a roll of waxed paper---they don't work nearly as well. Fifth, and final, they're not kidding when they instruct to spray the cutting board with Pam. The caramels warm up as you work with them and they start sticking. The Pam prevents this, so use it.

Other than that, well, enjoy! And if you're out and about on Saturday afternoon, December 15th, and happen to live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, drop by Bryn Mawr Computer Support to enjoy the Saturnalia festival. Hit the corner of Penn Ave and South Cedar Lake Road, and you'll find the merriment.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:26 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So, have you ever had a loved one go flying about the country, and then wondered where, precisely, they were in the course of their journey?

Well, wonder no more, my devoted Cake Eater readers, for, hark, there is Flight Aware. All you need to do is enter in an airline and the flight number and, voila, a handy dandy little map comes up, and shows you the flight's progress, with the information coming directly from the air traffic control system. For instance, I can tell that the husband is, currently, about to land at O'Hare. His plane is cruising at 1600 ft., is going 176 knots, and has sixteen miles to go before landing. Impressive, no?

I suspect that in twenty minutes or so, he'll be texting me that he's landed and is wandering around O'Hare, looking for a cup of coffee.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:52 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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When did A Few of My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music become Christmas music?

Posted by: Kathy at 04:45 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Vlad the Impaler finally made his move yesterday and announced his "heir": one Dimitry Medvedev, St. Petersburg lackey, first deputy Prime Minister and---surprise, surprise, surprise---the Chairman of Gazprom. Today, Medvedev made it apparent that he appreciated the support by announcing he'd hand dear old Vlad the post of Prime Minister if he were elected President in March.

{...}Mr Medvedev said that he would ask Mr Putin to take the post of prime minister as a way of ensuring continuity in the country’s economic and political course. “I consider it principally important for our country to keep in the most important position in executive power – in the post of chairman of the Russian government – Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin,” Mr Medvedev said in brief televised remarks on Tuesday.

The announcement came just one day after Mr Putin endorsed Mr Medvedev, a soft-spoken ally from St Petersburg, as his preferred successor as president, in a move hailed by investors as signaling a continuation of Mr PutinÂ’s policies by a figure seen as less hawkish than his potential rivals for the post.

{...}“This means the team will remain,” he said. Putin will retain leverage he will also have the parliamentary majorty behind him. Medvedev will be the head of executive power. But he will not have experience with the siloviki. They will continue to see Putin as their de facto leader. "Putin will remain the real leader,” he said..

Sergei Markov said the tandem of Mr Medvedev as president and Mr Putin as prime minister would leave Mr Putin with more leverage, at least for an initial period, because Mr Medvedev had no experience of dealing with the crucial “power ministries” – the Interior and Defence Ministries, the secret services and the prosecutor general’s office.{...}

Well, no one's really surprised at this development, are they? Everyone knew that Vlad would retain power; it was simply a matter of waiting to see precisely how he would do it. About the only interesting thing about this is his choice of Medvedev, who is pro-western and not a member of the siloviki---members of Putin's entourage who are former KGB or were associated with other security services, such as Sergei Ivanov, yet another first deputy prime minister and much-banger-on of the "new" Russia's power. I find it curious that Vlad passed over Ivanov, who is much more hawkish, and whose views are much more in line with Vlad's. One could perhaps surmise that, with this move, Vlad thought Ivanov wouldn't be as pliable as previously thought, but who knows for certain.

Yet, with this appointment, I don't think we'll be seeing the end of the "agree with us or we'll shut off your heat" blackmail Gazprom is so fond of using on its former republics (and Europe, to some extent.). If anything, that will be worse. If Medvedev doesn't resign his chairmanship of Gazprom, that would mean Gazprom (and Rosneft, the state oil company) wouldn't just be rumored to be carrying out Russia's foreign policy goals, the arrangement would be formalized. While I don't know if this is possible under Russian law, it would make things very tidy, which, as we all know, is how Vlad likes things. This wouldn't be any different than when Gazprom was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Soviet Socialist Republic. If I were in charge of a major multinational oil company, you can bet that the last thing I would consider is dumping any money into developing Russia's oil and gas reserves. Considering what Russia's done in the past in terms of "repatriation" of developments like Sahkalin 2 ("environmental damage" my ass), I can only think the situation would be worse if Medvedev retains the chairmanship, is elected president, and takes his orders from Vlad.

This situation may be disturbing to those of us who remember the Cold War---and it IS disturbing---but I have to say, I'm finding this whole thing somewhat fascinating. I can't outthink Vlad on the chess moves (I suspected he'd pull something along these lines, but the specifics were beyond me, and it's not like I was alone in that, either.) but find myself watching nonetheless. You can appreciate the brilliance of the moves, even if you don't agree with the moves themselves. He's one canny bastard, that's for sure.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So, if you hadn't already figured it out with my kvetching about bereavement fares, we've had a death in the family.

The husband's grandfather, aged eighty-four, passed away last week. In many ways this is a blessing. Grandpa hadn't been doing so well lately, and had been moved into a nursing home. He received phenomenal care, not only from the nursing home, but from the hospice organization, which helped to organize his care. (Seriously, folks, if you are, sadly, in need of a hospice for one of your loved ones, we highly recommend Odyssey Hospice. The organization is located in several states and they have bent over backward to make Grandma comfortable when she passed away this spring (they even had a harpist in to play for the patients, because hearing is one of the last senses to go. This pleased my mother-in-law to no end and helped Grandma to find peace.) and to organize Grandpa's care, even on visits to their home in the DFW metroplex. They also sent a nurse with the in-laws while they were trying to find a nursing home for him, to answer questions and help them evaluate a situation about which they knew very little. They have our sincere gratitude for making a difficult year a little better. ) But Grandpa was missing his wife of sixty-five years terribly, and he finally decided it was time to go and be with her. While he was a cantankerous soul at times---well, who am I kidding? He wasn't exactly a cuddly sort---he will nevertheless be missed.

So, while Grandpa's passing is a blessing, the time that we've been dreading has come. It's time to divvy up the estate. Fortunately, the potential fraud that I alluded to in that post never showed up. That's fortunate, but the ghouls are already at it, and have been since before Grandpa's body went cold. They've been harping on about travel costs to the funeral, which is being held in Illinois, not Arizona, where Grandma and Grandma retired, and where the ghouls had settled, as well, presumably to be closer to the cash. Apparently, they thought they shouldn't have to fork out to travel to their own father's funeral. Then we have the added joy that one of the ghouls is, apparently, worried about taxes from his inheritance, because "he just doesn't have the money to pay them," working off the assumption that the payday was going to happen right after the funeral. Evidently, there have been plenty of other rude and presumptuous statements made, but the father-in-law has chosen not to share them for fear of upsetting the applecart.

I'll repeat: I just DO NOT GET THESE PEOPLE. The funeral is on Thursday and I'm not going, but I can only imagine what it will be like. The ghouls are crass people. They are uncouth and have no class whatsoever. Undoubtedly, at the funeral they will make statements along the lines of "I can't believe how much this costs"---even though the funeral arrangements were made and paid for long ago. Undoubtedly, they will also whine about the cost of the casket, and will wonder aloud why their father needed to be buried in such an expensive box. They will comment on who is there and who isn't there, and will make foul statements about them. They will whine about how much the trip is costing them and will try and freeload meals and rooms and rides from anyone they think is responsible for paying for it (i.e. my in-laws). I'm not exaggerating about this either. They are actually this crass. If, God forbid, there actually happens to be a meeting with the lawyer about the estate, they will want checks cut, right there and then, and will whine, volubly, when the wheels of the legal system do not move as quickly as they'd like. Their life's work has been waiting for their parents to pass away so they can cash in, and now that the moment's here, it's going to get ugly if they can't get their filthy paws on what they think is owed them right away. (Particularly because one of them is, I believe, counting on it for gas money for the trip back to Arizona.) God help us when they find out that the amount they think they should get is different than what it is in actuality.

The ugliness is at the doorstep, knocking on the door, and because of the way things work, the husband's family has no choice but to open said door and let it in. All we can hope for in the meantime is that, hopefully, the ugliness is survivable.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:02 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Go here. A lot.

Aw c'mon. Don't look at me like that. You know you already go to those kinds of sites. This is your one-stop-shop. You know this will shortly become one of your favorites, because, well, it's just so functional.

And if you're wondering what the hell kind of site it could possibly be, well, click on over, kids and keep clicking. Suggest feeds. Vote for your favorites. Visit the sponsors. {wink, wink, nudge, nudge}

The husband thanks you for your support and promises that the more you visit, the prettier it will look.

And, yes, I did have fun p-shopping Tommy Boy Cruise's head onto a casserole.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Why is it, with the airlines, that you can only purchase bereavement fare airline tickets over the phone, and they then turn around and nail you with a ten dollar "purchase by phone" fee?

Is the phrase, "Bait and switch" ringing anyone's bell? You know, other than mine?

Posted by: Kathy at 02:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Toward the end, I was sincerely hoping her arm was going to be pulled right out of its socket. Because, it's apparent, she deserved some pain for inflicting that on the rest of us.

After watching that, the Guns-n-Roses' version is growing on me.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:12 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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The Christmas season can officially start now.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Because it's time to stop watching NBC.

Why did NBC refuse to air these ads? Well, because they include the URL of Freedom's Watch website.. Which, according to NBC, is "too political."

WASHINGTON - NBC has rejected a TV ad by Freedom's Watch, a conservative group that supports administration policy in Iraq, that asks viewers to remember and thank U.S. troops during the holiday season.

NBC said it declined to air the ad because it refers to the group's Web site, which the network said was too political, not because of the ad's message.

{...}The spot was to be part of a seven-figure campaign that includes newspaper ads and television commercials. The ads are to run on CNN and Fox News Channel and are running in various newspapers. The New York Times ran a full-page Freedom's Watch ad Friday that said "Thank You!" and depicted a soldier reading a letter. The newspaper ad also contained the Web site address.

Alan Wurtzel, NBC's head of standards and practices, said the network decided not to run the Freedom's Watch ad because the group insisted that the spot contain the URL address of its Web site.{...}

What offense is to be found on Freedom Watch's website?

{...}It also contains a welcoming message that states: "For too long, conservatives have lacked a permanent political presence to do battle with the radical special interests groups and their left-wing allies in government."

"We have a policy that prohibits acceptance of advertising that deals with issues of public controversy," Wurtzel said. "This particular ad, in and of itself, is fine. It thanks the troops for their action overseas. We asked them to eliminate a URL address where a person is asked to contact elected officials and told not to cut and run on the war on terror."{...}

{my emphasis}

To be fair, a quick Google search will show you that NBC has refused to air any number of uber-liberal Moveon-dot-org ads. Yet, curiously enough, in the course of my search, I couldn't find any mention of NBC ever saying to Move on-dot-org, as they did to Freedom's Watch, "Hey, remove the political content on your website and we'll let the ads air."

What does that tell you?

Sunday, December 9th Update: NBC caved!

WASHINGTON -- NBC reversed course Saturday and decided to air a conservative group's television ad thanking U.S. troops.

The ad, by the group Freedom's Watch, asks viewers to remember the troops during the holiday season. NBC had refused to air the ad because it guides viewers to the Freedom's Watch Web site, which NBC said was too political.

But in a statement issued Saturday evening, NBC said:

"We have reviewed and changed our ad standards guidelines and made the decision that our policy will apply to content only and not to a referenced Web site. Based on these amended standards the Freedom's Watch ad will begin to run as early as Sunday."{...}

And NBC did, indeed, run the ad this morning---with the URL present and accounted for---during Meet The Press, or so the husband, who is the one person in the Cake Eater Pad who actually watches that show, informs me.

{ht: Ace}

Posted by: Kathy at 05:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Oh, bite me.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Once again there has been a mass shooting in the United States, this time in a Nebraska shopping mall. Once again there is no national outcry for gun control.

Hmmm. Why do I get the feeling Mr. Trotta is a wee bit disappointed with this development? Maybe he's not disappointed. Maybe, just maybe, he's just reporting the facts of the situation? Could it be?

A 19-year-old man shot and killed eight people and then himself in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday with a semi-automatic AK-47 that police say he stole from his stepfather.

Leading presidential candidates for the November 2008 U.S. election issued statements expressing sorrow and support for the victims. None called for tighter gun laws, which are traditionally left to state and local authorities.

The crime revived memories of a massacre in April at Virginia Tech university, where a student killed 32 people.

There has been a string of such shooting sprees in recent years, but little resonance among national politicians.

Well, that's "factual" enough, but why am I still getting a faint whiff of disappointment that a national gun control melee hasn't broken out?

The right to bear arms is fiercely defended as a U.S. constitutional right by large numbers of collectors, hunters and advocates of home security, cherished the way civil libertarians champion the right to free speech.

Yet the issue is controversial enough to draw in the Supreme Court, which said last month it would review an appeals court ruling that struck down a 31-year-old ban on private possession of handguns in Washington, D.C.

"Although people who favor increased gun control in the United States are a substantial majority, those who oppose it are far more intense in their opposition and far more likely to vote on the basis of that issue alone," said Bill Galston, senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.

He cited the 1994 elections when the Democrats lost control of both houses of Congress. Some political analysts attributed the rout to backlash against a Democratic-led ban on assault weapons. That law was allowed to expire 10 years later.

"I might want to qualify that judgment, but the fact that it's widely believed and that there is some basis for it is enough to determine political behavior," Galston said.

Hmmm... still that faint whiff of disappointment. Maybe he'll present the opposing side in the next little bit? Ya think?

A Pennsylvania state representative who last month helped defeat a proposal to limit hand gun purchases to one per person per month said he would support tougher sentencing laws for people who acquire and use illegal guns, but that law-abiding citizens should not have their rights infringed.

"I received thousands of e-mails with some of these gun control measures. Once again, it's the right to bear arms and many of our citizens don't want that right taken away," said Ron Marsico, chairman of the state House Judiciary Committee and a Republican.

Besides, he said, no law may have prevented the Omaha tragedy.

Wow. A bit of fairness has been introduced. A nasty mean legislator who helped defeat a measure in the Pennsylvania legislature that would have kept people to one handgun a month was quoted. Wooh. I'm impressed. Let's see how he finishes up. Who do you think he'll quote next? Someone from the NRA, perhaps?

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, disagrees. He said European countries have enacted effective gun control laws and that U.S. politicians are cowed by the gun lobby as exemplified by the National Rifle Association.

"There is the mythology advanced by the gun lobby of the Wild West and the individual frontiersman single-handedly holding off the British and the Indians and the bears simultaneously," said Helmke.

"They've got politicians nervous about anything that's even got the word gun in it."

Ah, he blew it. He went to the people responsible for the Brady Bill, who then played the stereotypical gun lobby/owner card. He might as well have said everyone wants a gun to go with their coonskin caps, because it's fashionable. And he brought up the all holy Europeans and their attitude towards gun control. Never mind the fact that while European countries have enacted strict gun control legislation, ahem, people are still being murdered in said countries. They're just being offed via knives, mostly, and other, more creative means of murder.

It's quite amazing to me that Trotta never really hits the reason why there hasn't been a revitalization of the gun control debate in the wake of the shooting in Omaha and that is, ahem, because the shooter was not right in the head. Increased gun control might have kept Hawkins from shooting shoppers and employees at Westroads, but who's to say that he wouldn't have done the same thing with a knife? Or some other deadly instrument? Yet, because the guy used an AK-47 that he stole, apparently we're supposed to be outraged enough to ban all handguns and assault rifles, despite the 2nd Amendment. That would be the logical response, evidently. That people aren't baying for Charlton Heston's blood seems inconceivable to Trotta.

I've said it before: I don't like guns. They scare the crap out of me. I've held a 9mm Glock in my cold, sweaty hands, and I did not like it one bit. Particularly after I found out that it doesn't have a safety on it. But my dislike of guns does not mean I'm going to impinge on someone else's right, by the Constitution of the United States of America, to have one. If they feel the need to defend themselves, and want a handgun to do it, so be it. If they feel they need a rifle to kill Bambi on a regular basis, well, since I'm a fan of venison, so be it. As long as they're law abiding citizens, I don't see what the problem is. Gun control laws only regulate people who purchase guns legally. It doesn't control the people who steal guns and then use them. Like Robert Hawkins. Who stole a n AK-47 and killed and wounded a goodly number of people. Trotta would seemingly have us believe that Hawkins---and all other shooters---is irrelevant, but that the bloody gun---and all other guns---are the most relevant things in the world.

I think not.

Posted by: Kathy at 02:24 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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For those of my devoted Cake Eater readers who are bakers in their off hours, are you one of those people who has to make sure every bit of batter/cookie dough is out of the bowl, in a waste-not-want-not fashion? Or do you scrape the sides and, if there's stuff left, let the dishwasher take care of it?

Posted by: Kathy at 01:10 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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A couple of interesting news items I thought I'd pass along.

It's an attack against Christmas!

And, yes, if you hadn't already figured it out, I'm being sarcastic. Billy Bob O'Reilly can go ahead and bite me if he's got a problem with my attitude.

Now for the Silly Germans. Apparently, a Berlin hairdresser found the plans for the Bundesbank's sooper sekrit safety vault---and included in the package were all the safety precautions the bank had in place---in a garbage can outside her shop.

The mind reels with the possibilities, doesn't it, my devoted Cake Eater readers?

Posted by: Kathy at 12:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Gunman kills at least 8 at Omaha Mall.

OMAHA, Neb. - A man with a rifle opened fire at a busy shopping mall Wednesday, killing eight people before taking his own life. Five more people were wounded, two critically.

Shoppers and employees ran screaming through the mall and barricaded themselves in dressing rooms after hearing gunfire. The gunman was found dead on the third floor of the Von Maur department store in the Westroads Mall, in a prosperous neighborhood on the city's west side.

{...}Sgt. Teresa Negron said the gunman killed eight people, then apparently killed himself. His name was not immediately released, and authorities gave no motive for the attack and did not know whether he said anything during the rampage.{...}

Holy Shit, my devoted Cake Eater Readers. HOLY SHIT!

A gunman shot up Westroads? Good God. I'm just stunned.

And I cannot even begin to tell you how pissed off I am at the mainstream media right now. I was practicing a little radio silence earlier, to get some work done, and I missed this story as it broke. But there hasn't been ONE GODDAMNED WORD about this on either Brit Hume's or Wolf Blitzer's respective programs. But there's been plenty about Mike Huckabee's Willie Horton moment. Never mind that the AP has, as part of its "slideshow", no less than four maps showing just where Omaha resides in flyover land. Because, apparently, everyone in New York needed a little geography lesson. I just want to know what happened, people. Give me some freakin' video!

I don't know how many times I've been to Westroads. Thousands, probably. But not as many times as I've been to The Center or Crossroads---my mother's chosen malls. She hates Westroads; it's "too big and too far out." Westroads was the mall when I was growing up. And it had an entire store devoted to "Hello Kitty" merchandise...it was cool. I haven't been there in years---I don't go to Omaha to shop---but damn. I feel as if a big chunk of my childhood has been attacked.

The family that still lives there is ok. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

UPDATE: It appears as if one of my sister-in-laws was caught up in the melee at Westroads yesterday. Apparently, she'd just entered Younkers (or Yoinkers in Cake Eater Lingo, because I hate that department store), with my four-year-old nephew in tow, when someone came flying by her and told her to get out because someone was shooting in the mall. She turned to leave, but apparently, the nephew didn't want to have anything to do with leaving and was not cooperative, dragging his feet the entire way. Fortunately, the sister-in-law is bigger than the four-year-old (not by much though! she's tiny!) and won the argument with brute force. They got out and are fine, if not a little shook-up.

Posted by: Kathy at 05:23 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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For the love of Christ...

{ht: wwtdd}

Posted by: Kathy at 12:41 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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If you're in the market for a sweet, custom built rig that's just perfect for all things gaming/multimedia this holiday season, may I be so bold as to direct you here?

They're having a sale. And I know for a fact that they do excellent work. *

They also sell gift certificates, if you'd like to protect your friends and family from future hard-drive crashes.

Yeah, BMCS is the husband's shop, but they really do good work for a fair price. Just compare their prices with Geek Squad. And know that they won't go nuclear on your machine with the system restores if they don't absolutely have to---like Geek Squad does.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Steve-o thinks it's this one. Furthermore, he thinks it's the "greatest play in American Sports history."

While undoubtedly impressive, I think it's this one.

I remember watching this game, and being stunned, much like everyone else, that Flutie managed to get that pass off, let alone that he got it to the receiver---and that Phelan managed, somehow, to actually catch it.

What I also remember is Vinny Testaverde's soul-wrenching expression of pure stunned, gaping-mouthed disbelief at the outcome, which, before that pass, had been pretty much in his favor (not only game-wise, but Heisman Trophy-wise, as well), but unfortunately, I couldn't find a video which covered that particular moment in time.

Both are flukes, obviously. But does the fact that the Stanford band was on the field trump Flutie's mad pass throwing skillz? I don't think so.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Not here, but in Venezuela.

Betty Rojas has every reason to feel disenchanted with the government of President Hugo Chávez. A resident of the sprawling La Pedrera shanty town in the south-west of Caracas, Ms Rojas says Venezuela’s government has been slow to help after landslides last month made her home unsafe and cut off supplies of water and other services.

She now faces the prospect of eviction and a spell as a resident in a former pasta factory that has been converted into a centre for the homeless, and is bewildered by the prospect. “Nobody is providing any answers,” says Ms Rojas, a 32-year-old dressmaker.

But her disenchantment with the government will not lead her to vote on Sunday against the president’s plans to change the constitution and accelerate Venezuela’s transition towards 21st century socialism. “I voted for Chávez last time but I will not vote at all on Sunday.”

Other residents of La Pedrera are equally exasperated by official inaction and complain that lack of maintenance made disaster inevitable. Norma Valero, 40, who sells clothes on a market stall, is upset at the prospect of living in the refuge. “Chávez builds houses in Bolivia and Cuba. Why doesn’t he do something for us. We are forgotten. They move at the speed of a tortoise,” she says. But angry though she is, Ms Valero says she will abstain rather than vote against the government. “I have no time for any of them.”

{...}But it is not clear that this will be enough to defeat Mr Chávez’s project to reshape the constitution. Even in La Pedrera Mr Chávez can still count on many votes. Margarita Lopez Maya, a sociologist who has studied La Pedrera for many years and says its problems could easily have been avoided, says the unwillingness of the residents to oppose Mr Chávez is hard to believe. But for “the poor people there still really is no other option”.

{my emphasis}

There's no other option? Really? Maybe---and I would like to emphasize this is only a suggestion---you might want to ditch the victim mentality and go out and do something for yourself. Like protesting or even---gasp!---voting against constitutional reforms which would guarantee you'll never have the chance to get out of the slums you live in.

Because, if it hasn't already dawned on you, Lippy McLipster wants you to be in the slums. He wants you running to hell and back simply to obtain milk, bread and other daily necessities. Why would someone who's so fond of claiming he's fighting for social justice (!) seemingly want these things? Why, it's really quite elementary, my dear. You're easier to control that way.

UPDATE: Well, way to go Venezuela. I'm happy to be proven wrong.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Humbled by his first electoral defeat ever, President Hugo Chavez said Monday he may have been too ambitious in asking voters to let him stand indefinitely for re-election and endorse a huge leap to a socialist state.

"I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense," he said after voters narrowly rejected the sweeping constitutional reforms by 51 percent to 49 percent.

Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight — with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena.

Narrowly defeated, yes. But who the hell cares? Lippy McLipster is actually recognizing the vote and isn't claiming that the US meddled with the election as an excuse to nullify the returns. That's progress!

Of course, there are still some who aren't happy:

{...}Nelly Hernandez, a 37-year-old street vendor, cried as she wandered outside the presidential palace early Monday amid broken beer bottles as government workers took apart a stage mounted earlier for a victory fete.

"It's difficult to accept this, but Chavez has not abandoned us, he'll still be there for us," she said between sobs.{...}

{my emphasis}

No, Lippy hasn't abandoned you. As if. Sha. He needs you. After all, what's socialism without idealistic people who willingly sign up to be impoverished in the name of social justice (!)? I'm sure he'll promise you an overarching subsidy within days, just to keep you satisfied, so that you'll vote for whatever "reforms" he proposes next.

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