The Nether-World: Palestine in a state of collapse
Array Speaking of the venerable tradition of Friday recalls, did you hear that 78 tons of ground beef had been recalled for E.Coli contamination? (That’s right, seventy-eight freaking tons of beef - well over the amount the average American consumes in a full year!) What’s that?
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North Hollywood, CAMost old folks spray their neighbors with the hose, shake angry fists and call them incomprehensible names between loose fitting dentures.But not 78 year-old Hual Sriptech (10 points if you can say that without spitting).
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Unidentified Hominids of the African Forest Author Dies The author of Les Hominidés non-identifiés des forêts dâAfrique or The Unidentified Hominids of the African Forest (Edirions Robert Laffont, 1990) has died. The book, first researched in the 1970s and based on years of fieldwork, brought together seven-five eyewitness testimonies of what the author Jacqueline Roumeguere-Eberhardt called X - unknown hominids or missing links in some media reports.
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He’s just 2 for his last 28, and is hitting .114 for the year.Kris Benson lost his last start against Boston, and is now 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA on the season. He’s 1-2 on the season, getting a no-decision in his last start on May 3rd, and will start tonight against Houston.
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(my nod to chronological sequence - this may be the only time!)Credo: I believe in something far greater than us. I believe that Music is one of the first gifts this Creator bestowed on humanity, whether you see us as perfected Adam and Eve, or some descended-from-apes Version 5.0 of sentient life. Caroles kids are all talented - Steve is a drummer with whom I’ve had the good fortune to play in several bands. There was a sterility about it I hated, and a purity about it I loved, all at once.Most of the music I heard was of others’ choice when I was little - my mother’s opera music, the standards on the radio stations my father worked at, the folk music my sister favored, the surf music more to my brother’s liking. In fact, I remember when I was 12, taking a bus to Los Angeles from my sister’s home then in Fresno, entertaining my fellow passengers by playing and singing various songs by the likes of Credence Clearwater Revival and Bob Dylan - stuff that was easy on acoustic guitar. I quickly learned to enjoy the combination of music and travel.In junior high, at 12, I paired up with a classmate, Deanna, for my first attempt at a garage band. During those, I found ways to stay sane, whether practical jokes or exploring local culture.By high school, I was having difficulty finding other musicians nearby who were interested in the same music I was. It was complete physical expression of the emotions I felt through music, and I loved it from the first modern dance assembly I’d watched. It actually turned out to be a good thing - the Music department at Santa Ana College was two years of absolute, Animal House hilarity as well as good basic education in Music Theory, History and Composition. Now, this was altogether different from my 1971 Hawaiiam stint with the Fullerton-based New Sounds - that had been two shows a day most days, (three one day), a radio show on the way to the hotel from the airport, and a TV taping on the way to the airport from the hotel. We only had three gigs in a week - what else were college-aged music kids to do in Paradise but have a bit of fun?University was far different. Cal State Fullerton’s music department was far from what I’d expected, headed by a faculty that seemed to resent gigging (how does a real musician resent the chance to perform?!) and anything associated with contemporary music. (Truthfully, I wanted to step back and try my hand at Music again at Pierce College, but circumstances never permitted.) I was one of the first female athletic training students at Fullerton. I also supplemented my softball, fencing, hoops, and failed attempts to get a women’s soccer team going at the school (on the suggestion of a few male players who I guess I’d impressed during some impromptu practice sessions) with belly-dancing lessons, an activity I fell in love with on many levels - the physical, the mental, the sensual, the spiritual, and of course the musical - learning to play odd-meter patterns with finger cymbals!Things changed immensely after I graduated in 1977……but that’s another chapter.
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After winning nine in a row, I was excited to watch the Phils go for a double digit win streak for the first time in at least 15 years against the 78-year old Tom Glavine and the Mets last night. This is an important start early in the year for a young kid like Gavin Floyd, who is going up against the also 78-year old (i.e., savvy veteran) Steve Trachsel).Speaking of the Philberts, they called up Cole Hamels yesterday. Look for him to be in the rookie of the year conversation this year. Except maybe Edmonton/San Jose, which had a great three overtime thriller last night, with Edmonton becoming only the 5th of 8 remaining teams to win a game in this round, despite the fact that everyone has had three tries at it. Not that I think it is a bad show, it is just that in my priority order of stuff to do, it comes in after stuff like chasing my three year old back to bed for the 23rd time of the night.
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The situation in occupied Palestine is going from desperate to catastrophic. The decision of the USA and the EU to cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority in order to punish the Palestinians for electing a government which does not meet with the approval of Israel, America and the European Union has plunged the region into chaos. The Association of International Development Agencies recently issued a press release warning against the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza six months after the Israeli redeployment according to a group of 36 international aid agencies working in the Palestinian territories. He said: “All the international aid agencies put together will not be able to replace the services that the Palestinian Authority provides to the people in the Gaza Strip.”(My emphasis)The critical situation has led to violence erupting in Gaza with clashes between Hamas and Fatah as any semblance of law and order breaks down. Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Association of Palestinian Community, Palestinian Return Centre, British Muslim Initiative, Friends of Al-Aqsa and the Palestinian Forum in Britain, Stop the War Coalition.
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Array Speaking of the venerable tradition of Friday recalls, did you hear that 78 tons of ground beef had been recalled for E.Coli contamination? (That’s right, seventy-eight freaking tons of beef - well over the amount the average American consumes in a full year!) What’s that?
link
North Hollywood, CAMost old folks spray their neighbors with the hose, shake angry fists and call them incomprehensible names between loose fitting dentures.But not 78 year-old Hual Sriptech (10 points if you can say that without spitting).
link
Unidentified Hominids of the African Forest Author Dies The author of Les Hominidés non-identifiés des forêts dâAfrique or The Unidentified Hominids of the African Forest (Edirions Robert Laffont, 1990) has died. The book, first researched in the 1970s and based on years of fieldwork, brought together seven-five eyewitness testimonies of what the author Jacqueline Roumeguere-Eberhardt called X - unknown hominids or missing links in some media reports.
link
He’s just 2 for his last 28, and is hitting .114 for the year.Kris Benson lost his last start against Boston, and is now 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA on the season. He’s 1-2 on the season, getting a no-decision in his last start on May 3rd, and will start tonight against Houston.
link
(my nod to chronological sequence - this may be the only time!)Credo: I believe in something far greater than us. I believe that Music is one of the first gifts this Creator bestowed on humanity, whether you see us as perfected Adam and Eve, or some descended-from-apes Version 5.0 of sentient life. Caroles kids are all talented - Steve is a drummer with whom I’ve had the good fortune to play in several bands. There was a sterility about it I hated, and a purity about it I loved, all at once.Most of the music I heard was of others’ choice when I was little - my mother’s opera music, the standards on the radio stations my father worked at, the folk music my sister favored, the surf music more to my brother’s liking. In fact, I remember when I was 12, taking a bus to Los Angeles from my sister’s home then in Fresno, entertaining my fellow passengers by playing and singing various songs by the likes of Credence Clearwater Revival and Bob Dylan - stuff that was easy on acoustic guitar. I quickly learned to enjoy the combination of music and travel.In junior high, at 12, I paired up with a classmate, Deanna, for my first attempt at a garage band. During those, I found ways to stay sane, whether practical jokes or exploring local culture.By high school, I was having difficulty finding other musicians nearby who were interested in the same music I was. It was complete physical expression of the emotions I felt through music, and I loved it from the first modern dance assembly I’d watched. It actually turned out to be a good thing - the Music department at Santa Ana College was two years of absolute, Animal House hilarity as well as good basic education in Music Theory, History and Composition. Now, this was altogether different from my 1971 Hawaiiam stint with the Fullerton-based New Sounds - that had been two shows a day most days, (three one day), a radio show on the way to the hotel from the airport, and a TV taping on the way to the airport from the hotel. We only had three gigs in a week - what else were college-aged music kids to do in Paradise but have a bit of fun?University was far different. Cal State Fullerton’s music department was far from what I’d expected, headed by a faculty that seemed to resent gigging (how does a real musician resent the chance to perform?!) and anything associated with contemporary music. (Truthfully, I wanted to step back and try my hand at Music again at Pierce College, but circumstances never permitted.) I was one of the first female athletic training students at Fullerton. I also supplemented my softball, fencing, hoops, and failed attempts to get a women’s soccer team going at the school (on the suggestion of a few male players who I guess I’d impressed during some impromptu practice sessions) with belly-dancing lessons, an activity I fell in love with on many levels - the physical, the mental, the sensual, the spiritual, and of course the musical - learning to play odd-meter patterns with finger cymbals!Things changed immensely after I graduated in 1977……but that’s another chapter.
link
After winning nine in a row, I was excited to watch the Phils go for a double digit win streak for the first time in at least 15 years against the 78-year old Tom Glavine and the Mets last night. This is an important start early in the year for a young kid like Gavin Floyd, who is going up against the also 78-year old (i.e., savvy veteran) Steve Trachsel).Speaking of the Philberts, they called up Cole Hamels yesterday. Look for him to be in the rookie of the year conversation this year. Except maybe Edmonton/San Jose, which had a great three overtime thriller last night, with Edmonton becoming only the 5th of 8 remaining teams to win a game in this round, despite the fact that everyone has had three tries at it. Not that I think it is a bad show, it is just that in my priority order of stuff to do, it comes in after stuff like chasing my three year old back to bed for the 23rd time of the night.
link
The situation in occupied Palestine is going from desperate to catastrophic. The decision of the USA and the EU to cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority in order to punish the Palestinians for electing a government which does not meet with the approval of Israel, America and the European Union has plunged the region into chaos. The Association of International Development Agencies recently issued a press release warning against the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza six months after the Israeli redeployment according to a group of 36 international aid agencies working in the Palestinian territories. He said: “All the international aid agencies put together will not be able to replace the services that the Palestinian Authority provides to the people in the Gaza Strip.”(My emphasis)The critical situation has led to violence erupting in Gaza with clashes between Hamas and Fatah as any semblance of law and order breaks down. Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Association of Palestinian Community, Palestinian Return Centre, British Muslim Initiative, Friends of Al-Aqsa and the Palestinian Forum in Britain, Stop the War Coalition.
link