Free speech
Topic: ramblings
I witnessed this morning one of the greatest examples of free speech I have seen in a long time...

I was listening to the radio station Z100 (100.3) this morning. They're usually a decent radio station. They started playing a crappy song so I decided to flip over to 101.1 where Howard Stern talks in the morning. I'm not a big fan of Howard, but when Z100 sucks bad enough sometimes I switch over out of curiosity.

Anyway, the first thing I hear from Howard Stern's show is (verbatim) "F you, F you, F you..."

Then, Howard begins to play a song to the tune of The Beatle's "Hey Jude."

"F you, you mother (beep)-er..."

Howard interrupted the song by mentioning that when he goes to Sattelite Radio he's going to play this song in "honor" of Clear Channel Radio (where he currently works, mind you). "Only, on Sattelite Radio I won't beep out anything," he said.

Now there aren't many nations you can do this very thing without worrying about losing your job (or, in some places, your life). Gotta love America huh?

Graduation!!!
Mood:  happy
Topic: informative
Well, it's finally done. I officially am done with my bachelor's degree! I went during my lunch break and picked up my diploma downtown. I returned to work and showed it to a few people...whoever I felt was interested enough to see it.

Let the parties begin :D

Trip to Sacramento...
Mood:  happy
Topic: ramblings
I just finished writing this even though I started it over two weeks ago...

Here it is in all its glory...the story about hanging out with the best friend in the world in my recent trip to Sacramento...

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I had an absolute blast hanging out with my best friend, Joe, on Friday. I hadn't seen him in, easily, 6 or 7 years. We had met in the 5th grade when I first moved to California back in 1992. I was 10 when we moved there, and only 14 when we moved out of California to live in Utah. I'm not sure which year Joe came to visit me in Utah but I think it was my sophomore or junior year, so probably 1998 or 1999.

Anyway, this last weekend I traveled down to Sacramento to go to a wedding for a friend of the family. When I was born my parents lived in a cul-de-sac and all 5 of the families were good friends and actually have stayed good friends even 20+ years later. My parents were the first to move out in 1984. Anyway, one of the kids in the families just got married and my mom, dad, sister, niece, and I all came down for the wedding. I had met Joe when we moved back to California in 1992. Joe and I planned to meet up on Friday afternoon.

He and his brother, Jonathan, showed up at around 3pm. They had to drive from Fresno (a 3 hr trip according to mapquest, a 2 hr trip according to them). Everyone else at Susie and Walt's house were gone: headed for the rehearsal dinner that night. So Joe showed up and I asked him what he'd like to do. We went over our options and eventually decided it would be an awesome idea to drive (another hour and a half mind you) to Travis AFB where we used to live. So we all hopped into the Nissan truck that Joe and Jonathan showed up in and chugged our way west to Travis. We showed up just as the sun was going down. The whole car ride over was spent talking about the "old days" and laughing about various things. It was so much fun to get to hang out with Joe again, and I hadn't seen Jonathan since we left in 1996. He is 19 now which means he was around 9 or 10 when I left.

Most of the ride from Sacramento towards Travis I didn't recognize. The first point that I remembered anything was when we drove by Vacaville (east of Travis) and I saw a sign for the Nut Tree. The Nut Tree was a really cool gift shop type store that had all sorts of different things to buy and look at. A "specialty" merchandise store. I remember when mom would buy some unusual hot sauce there. It's also where I've seen my first (and so far only) real life Venus Fly Trap.

Anyway, we drove by Nut Tree and I remembered that there was an In-and-Out Burger nearby; we later verified that when we were driving back the other direction. I think there was a Target being built when I was moving ten years ago; now there was a whole plethora of commercial development there. That's when I first started tripping out...

When we got onto base I start remembering things that I had long forgotten about. The only way I could describe it would be an acid flashback; only in my case without the acid. Slowly my mind started to remember roads and buildings. The main gate was closed (and apparently has been for a while due to construction/reconstruction) so we entered through the nearby "Hospital Gate." Our first stop was the Base Exchange (BX). A civilian equivalent would be...well...Wal-Mart I suppose. They sell almost everything there, from clothes to electronics; even furniture. They have convenient store type food available, but most food can be found at the Commissary (across the street). We went into the BX and looked around and reminisced. Then we all ate a Cinnabon (compliments of Joe). We stopped by the liquor store and picked up a couple little (50mL) liquor bottles: Grand Marnier, Courvoisier, and two Capt Morgans. The first two Joe and I shared straight; the rum we mixed with the Dr. Pepper we drank while watching a pretty good movie by the name of "Hitch." I would even say it was a borderline "great" movie.

After the BX we drove and got some gas (and our Dr. Peppers) then went and drove by my old house. It looked almost the exact same as it did 10 years ago. Well, what I could see anyway. We couldn't quite pull into Cannon Drive because the road was blocked off. Construction of some sort. We did drive by the side of it after we did a U-turn but nothing too exciting there. As we drove back we passed by "No Name Lane" which was a street where one of our former priests lived: Father Bruce Brown. I have become accustomed to calling him "Father Bruce" but when I mentioned him to Joe and Jonathan, they didn't remember any Father Bruce. After a while I was like "come on, Father Bruce Brown...you have to remember him!" "Oh yeah, Father Brown, yeah!" Apparently I'm the only one on a first name basis with him? They remembered him then, and I mentioned that "Father Brown" is now up in Portland and I go to his mass occasionally.

We then drove around base a little bit and ended up parking at the youth center that Joe and I used to hang out at. Joe's mom used to work there. The second we went inside the building (which was open just 5 more minutes) we took a whiff of the same scents that lingered in the hallway when we were there 10 years ago. The girl still working there that evening didn't seem to recognize the name of Joe's mother or the two other women Joe mentioned; nor did she seem to care. We walked around the youth center a short while and then eventually made our way into the gymnasium. I'm not sure if they lowered the rims or not, but it seemed like the rims went from about 12 feet off of the ground to just about 6 feet. Could have just been that we are twice the height we used to be. *shrugs*

After we visited the youth center we left and walked around Travis. We went first to the new skate park across the street between the baseball fields. Then we ventured back to Joe and Jonathan's old house (just behind the youth center a little bit). The house was obviously not occupied by anyone. Neither were the houses surrounding it for that matter. From the looks of the other houses on base it looks like Joe's old house was now one of the oldest buildings on base. There were probably plans underway to build new houses there. We then walked around Travis a little more and ended up circling our old Sunday School building and reminiscing about all of that.

After a few hours on base we ended up venturing off base and ended up visiting our old middle school: Golden West. It was around 7:30 or 8 or so by this time. Of course no one was there, but we just went ahead and snuck onto campus and shared stories of different classes we had together and separately. I still remember the room where our math teacher, Mr. Deter, laughed so hard that Hi-C came out of his nose and when our history teacher, Mr. Noble, would tell jokes like "what did the hat say to the hat rack? you stay here, I'll go on ahead (on a head)." We circled around the back of the campus, and Joe reminded me of the spot where we stood during a solar eclipse. We wandered by the gym and talked about the time he slam dunked a basketball and broke his wrist. See we were only in the 7th or 8th grade, which would have made Joe about 12 or 13. Not quite the right height to be able to slam dunk a basketball. It's because the bleachers were drawn back at the time, as were the basketball hoops. Which meant he could climb up on top of the bleachers and slam it; the broken wrist, however, meant he shouldn't have.

We then headed out to Vacaville to find the movie theater. Joe and Jonathan had been back to Vacaville more recently than I had, of course, so they recognized things better than I did. We eventually drove over the back roads east through Vacaville and by the area where the Nut Tree was. The movie theater that used to be there had been converted into a church. So, we stopped by a nearby Harley Davidson motorcycle dealership and asked one of the salesmen inside where we could find another. He directed us to a theater not too far away and that's where we headed. We stopped by the theater and Joe and I bought the tickets while Jonathan parked the car. It was one of the most crowded movie theater parking lots I had ever seen. After he found a parking spot, and Joe and I got the tickets, we walked to a nearby Quizno's Subs shop and ordered tuna sandwiches (it was a Friday during Lent, which meant no meat). The subs were actually really good. We then grabbed our Captain Morgans and our Dr. Peppers and headed to the theater. Don't worry, though, Jonathan was our DD and didn't drink anything.

"Hitch," as I had mentioned, was actually a really good movie. I suggest you go see it :)

Anyway, after the movie we drove back to Sacramento. It was on the drive home that I learned the hard way that "Jackson Blvd" is the one that turns into Highway 16, not "Jefferson Blvd." After driving a few miles down the wrong road I called Annie (the daughter of the couple we were staying with in Sacramento) and she informed me of my mistake. So, we turned around and made it back around 1:30.

As we were pulling up to the house I asked Joe if he wanted to come in and see if anyone was awake or, cause of the time, if he'd rather get started on his way back home. He opted to go in and that's what we did. Susie was still awake. My mom had just gone to bed so I went and got her up and the 5 of us stayed up another half hour telling stories and laughing it up.

And that, in a nutshell, was my daily excursion with Joe...

2.10.05

Linguistically Violent
Topic: quotes
"If I'm linguistically violent, then you're a fucker..."

Phone call I received...
Mood:  happy
Topic: funny stuff
I just received a call from someone at work...

"Hello this is Bryan, how may I help you?"

"Yeah, I was wondering, how much does it cost to open up an account there?"

"A savings account requires a minimum of $5; a checking account is a minimum of $20."

"Oh ok. Do you guys sell tools there?"

"I'm sorry, tools? What kinds of tools?"

"You know, tools..."

"Ummm...no we don't sell any tools here."

"Ok, thanks..."

(The best part then happens...the person doesn't quite hang up and I hear in the background...)

(Extreme laughter) "I can't believe you just asked him that!"

"I know...I'm so stupid..."

Pope John Paul II Has Tracheotomy
Mood:  sad
Pope Has Tracheotomy, Now on Respirator

Feb 24, 6:02 PM (ET)

By VICTOR L. SIMPSON

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope John Paul II underwent a successful operation Thursday night to insert a tube in his throat to relieve his breathing problems, hours after he was rushed back to the hospital for the second time in a month with flu-like symptoms of fever and congestion, the Vatican said.

The pope was conscious and back in his hospital room late Thursday, breathing with the help of a respirator, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

A top aide to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who visited the pope said John Paul was "serene" after waking up from the anesthesia. The pope raised his hand and attempted to speak with doctors but was told not to try, Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta told reporters at Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the tracheotomy lasted 30 minutes and the outcome was "positive." The pope had approved the procedure, which the Vatican characterized as elective - underscoring that it was not done as an emergency measure.

The frail, 84-year-old pontiff, who was taken to the hospital shortly before 11 a.m. in an ambulance, will be spending the night in his hospital room, Navarro-Valls said.

But the tracheotomy may require a longer hospital stay and have serious consequences for the pope's abilities to carry out his duties since he will not be able to speak, at least initially, while the breathing tube is in his throat.

Before the tracheotomy, outside medical experts had said John Paul may have pneumonia. However, Navarro-Valls' statement made no reference to pneumonia, saying the pope suffered a narrowing of his larynx.

President Bush, flying home from a European trip, said in a statement: "On behalf of all Americans, Laura and I send our heartfelt best wishes to Pope John Paul II. The Holy Father is in our thoughts and prayers and we wish him a speedy recovery and return to the service of his church and of all humanity."

The pope's sudden turn for the worse alarmed the faithful from Nigeria to the Philippines to St. Peter's Square, and raised more doubts about his ability to carry on.

"We have prayed for the pope to live as long as possible so we can still share our joy with him," said Zofia Gebala, a 73-year-old retiree, as she left a church in Wadowice, the pope's birthplace in southern Poland. "We are praying for him every day, for his well-being. But it's all in God's hands now."

John Paul, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, had greeted pilgrims twice at the window of his studio at St. Peter's Square since his release from the same hospital on Feb. 10. On Wednesday, he made his longest public appearance - 30 minutes - since he fell ill more than three weeks ago.

With each successive appearance, he seemed a little stronger, a little more alert, and his voice rang out with greater clarity.

That made Thursday's reversal all the more shocking for the faithful.

"We are so scared because he has been sick in the past," said Vanessa Animo Bono, 32, a Catholic being treated at Gemelli. "He is one of the few popes who is actually able to listen to people."

Papal officials played down the seriousness of the hospitalization, saying a patient of the pope's age is always at risk from the flu. Vatican aides said the pope had a fever and congestion in addition to the breathing problems.

ANSA reported the pope was conscious when he arrived at Gemelli and that he was sitting upright in a stretcher. According to the report, people who saw him enter the hospital said his face looked "quite relaxed."

Before the operation, the pope was well enough to joke with his medical team, Letta said. When doctors told the pope that the operation would be a small one, the pontiff retorted: "Small, it depends for whom," he said, citing doctors' accounts.

Earlier Thursday, Vatican officials had said the pope suffered from a "syndrome of influenza."

Chile's ambassador to the Holy See, Maximo Pacheco, told The Associated Press that the pope suffered a "bad relapse," citing a conversation he had with the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

But outside experts said people don't get a relapse of influenza itself. Instead, flu can lead to a bacterial infection such as pneumonia or bronchitis, which is an inflammation of the tubes that carry air into the lungs, or to congestive heart failure, a treatable condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.

Thursday's hospitalization was the pope's eighth since his election in 1978.

The pope's common touch and his willingness to travel to remote places, despite serious health problems that include knee and hip ailments, make him much loved among Catholics.

As with the previous hospitalization, which lasted 10 days, the latest was certain to fuel speculation about whether he could continue as pope, and what would happen if he was incapacitated.

In the clearest sign that the Vatican may be taking the eventuality of papal resignation seriously, Vatican No. 2 Cardinal Angelo Sodano declined to rule out the possibility during John Paul's first hospitalization this month, saying it was up to the pope's conscience.

Thursday's news spread quickly, with the pope's illness flashed on television just as news shows were ending in the Philippines. Church officials relayed a prayer request to the faithful by text message on their cell phones.

Brigid Nolan, 73, saw the news on television in Dublin, Ireland, and walked to St. Columba's church. She lit a candle and offered a five-minute prayer for the pope and her own struggle with Parkinson's.

"I do draw inspiration from his own fight for life," she said. "He is suffering, but he's surviving, and more power to him. I get angry when people say he should quit. He should keep going for every minute God gives him."

Tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter's Square expressed alarm.

"I'm sure he wants to return to the Vatican because he has spent so much time there," said Ornella Lisandrello, 29, an Italian physician. "I'm sure he would like to die at the Vatican."

In the pope's hometown of Wadowice, worshippers offered prayers at St. Mary's church, where the young Karol Wojtyla was baptized.

"This is a very emotional moment for me," said Zdzislaw Szczur. "His suffering really moves me. It's all God's providence now."

Work conversation
Topic: funny stuff
Trudi: "My car needs a bath..."

Jason: "So does mine...can our cars bathe together?"

Trudi: "Yes but my car is a girl so she needs to go first..."

We all chuckle and ask why.

Trudi: "She needs to go in first cause she might need some private time alone first."

After they play-fought about whose car should go first, Trudi replied with, "remember my car is a little younger than yours so be gentle..."

Lawsuit Over Surprise Pregnancy
Topic: people who need help
I for one think the woman has issues, needs help, and the man should not be forced to pay child support due to her actions. Whether or not he gets punitive damages is another thing...

***************************************************

Court: Man Can Sue Over Surprise Pregnancy

Feb 24, 12:55 PM (ET)

CHICAGO (AP) - An appeals court said a man can press a claim for emotional distress after learning a former lover had used his sperm to have a baby. But he can't claim theft, the ruling said, because the sperm were hers to keep.

The ruling Wednesday by the Illinois Appellate Court sends Dr. Richard O. Phillips' distress case back to trial court.

Phillips accuses Dr. Sharon Irons of a "calculated, profound personal betrayal" after their affair six years ago, saying she secretly kept semen after they had oral sex, then used it to get pregnant.

He said he didn't find out about the child for nearly two years, when Irons filed a paternity lawsuit. DNA tests confirmed Phillips was the father, the court papers state.

Phillips was ordered to pay about $800 a month in child support, said Irons' attorney, Enrico Mirabelli.

Phillips sued Irons, claiming he has had trouble sleeping and eating and has been haunted by "feelings of being trapped in a nightmare," court papers state.

Irons responded that her alleged actions weren't "truly extreme and outrageous" and that Phillips' pain wasn't bad enough to merit a lawsuit. The circuit court agreed and dismissed Phillips' lawsuit in 2003.

But the higher court ruled that, if Phillips' story is true, Irons "deceitfully engaged in sexual acts, which no reasonable person would expect could result in pregnancy, to use plaintiff's sperm in an unorthodox, unanticipated manner yielding extreme consequences."

The judges backed the lower court decision to dismiss the fraud and theft claims, agreeing with Irons that she didn't steal the sperm.

"She asserts that when plaintiff 'delivered' his sperm, it was a gift - an absolute and irrevocable transfer of title to property from a donor to a donee," the decision said. "There was no agreement that the original deposit would be returned upon request."

Phillips is representing himself in the case. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

"There's a 5-year-old child here," Mirabelli said. "Imagine how a child feels when your father says he feels emotionally damaged by your birth."

4 year old painter...
Mood:  irritated
Topic: people who need help
Let me ask you this: when you give a pencil/pen/crayon/paintbrush etc to a 2 year old...what do you assume they'll "draw"...something that resembles real life images/objects, or squiggly lines and odd shapes?

Most would answer that they would be mostly squiggly lines and odd shapes. Those who might even vote in favor of "real life images/objects" would most likely agree, at least, that the objects would not be very life-like. And if they were, than the 2 year old (we should all be able to agree) is a DAMN good artist.

Anyway, back to my point. Most children aren't painters; most lack the skill to be a real painter. Yet those children who do draw either professionally or for the fun of it (except those few true talents) could only succeed in one category of art: abstract art. Enter...well...whatever the name of the 4 year old's name was on "60 Minutes." She is a successful abstract artist. Some call her a "prodigy." Others prefer "genius."

Side note: you may wonder why I asked about a 2 year old to begin with. Answer: the 4 year old started painting when she was 2.

Further side note: She has drawn 50 abstract paintings, sold her first for $250, her highest selling one was $25,000 and so far (in just two years' time) she has sold $300,000+ worth of paintings.

Now, in case you didn't know, I think abstract art is the most ridiculous thing in the world. I mean ANYONE could paint what she does (and far too many people could paint much BETTER than her). I don't say these things to put her down. I mean I have better things to do than point to a 4 year old and say "I know someone better than you." My point is, not only do I think that abstract art is ridiculous (and a waste of money) but I think it's ridiculous that people should even be discussing whether a 4 year old literally just making a mess on a canvas is a "genius" or a "fake."

Obviously these people on the show disagree with me about abstract art. They think that there is such a thing as "good" and "bad" abstract art. And many people compared this little girl to Pablo Picasso (no doubt the most popular abstract artist) and a few others (who were obviously less popular).

Then there was the psychologist they interviewed. This is what irritated me the most. First they showed the psychologist the paintings. "Beautiful" and "amazing" were the words I remember her using. She said that this 4 yr old was like no other because children tend to try to draw things they know/see (i.e. houses, trees, flowers, etc) rather than just squiggly lines.

I agree with her on that to a point. Very young children start with squiggly lines but eventually, I'd guess between ages 3 and 5 they start to attempt to draw things they see. Obviously most don't have the talent to professionally draw a perfect flower or animal...many could probably do better than me though. So I can see where she is coming from there. What she didn't realize, I think, is that this 4 year old's dad is also a painter. Combine that with the fact that she was 2 when her first abstract painting sold, I think it only makes sense that her parents would encourage her to do more of the same.

However, right after saying what the psychologist did, they showed her video of the 4 yr old actually painting and *suddenly* the psychologist exclaims how she's not a "prodigy" and that the 4 yr old doesn't paint like abstract artists do. The 4 yr old "wouldn't focus" she said...whereas other abstract artists (she claims) would be focused on just their work and their work alone.

She is a freakin' 4 year old! Is anyone surprised that it takes her days or months to finish a painting; her quickest painting she ever did (black canvas with white paint slopped on it) took hours? It would take you or I 20 minutes at most. Took her hours. Why? She's 4! And, not surprisingly, she has the attention span of a 4 year old. She starts painting, gets bored, and moves onto something else. Give me a break!

What to drink...what to drink...
Topic: pictures

My niece Kylie looking for something to drink on the way home from cali...