WalkAmerica 2007

Achive from MySpace blog
Current mood: optimistic
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

It's coming up on that time of year again. On April 29th, I will again participate in

This year, I am lucky to be participating in WalkAmerica with my loving girlfriend Molly, and a great friend Angela, as well as participating in the Drop a Dime for March of Dimes benefit show.

Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death and many lifelong disabilities. You can help the March of Dimes fight prematurity by taking steps in WalkAmerica. Join WalkAmerica and a million compassionate people nationwide who care about saving babies. Do it in the name of someone you love: a premature baby, a healthy baby, your own baby, or the baby of a relative or friend.

Even before Kayden was born, I've been involved with WalkAmerica and the March of Dimes, but her birth 2 years ago steeled my resolve in regard to this cause. Kayden was born 15 weeks premature. She came into this world at a baffling 1 lb. 10 oz.

Through the excellent care available at Yale New Haven Hospital NICU, research funded by the March of Dimes, and her own amazing will to be, Kayden made it out of the hospital in about 6 months time.

So, in March 2006, I decided to once again participate in WalkAmerica. In Kayden's name... but not for Kayden. Kayden was home, and would end up coming with us for the walk. Not for Kayden, but for every little one like Kayden who'd yet to be born, for those in the NICU who, like Kayden, wouldn't see home for 6 months, and for their parents and families, who, like me 17 months earlier, needed that extra bit of hope.

In April, my roommate Timmy brought to me the idea of running a benefit to boster extra support for that year's Walk. In 17 days of scrambling we put together the first Drop a Dime event.

So, again I find my self reaching out, asking you for support in my efforts to help those to small to help themselves. Every little bit helps. Together with Timmy, Angela, and Molly, between the benefit and individual sponsors for WalkAmerica, we've set a lofty team goal of $10,000 this year, but I know we can do it.

It is going to take help, though, and there's a number of ways to do so:

First, you can sponsor my walk. Or, if you want, you can sponsor Molly, Angela, Timmy, or our Walk Team directly. Or, if you happen to be in the Grater New Haven area, please come check out Drop a Dime for March of Dimes.

This is for a great cause, to help prevent premature birth. If you're wondering how he got involved with March of Dimes yourself, or walk yourself, information is also available on their site.

Thank you all for any and all support you can give.

The Lost Blog

Archive from MySpace blog
Current mood: reminiscent
Category: reminiscent Blogging

OK, no... I know Molly has told many of you of our newfound obsession with the TV show LOST... but that's not what this blog is about. Instead this is the blog I never got to 2 weeks ago, when this story occurred.

So, without further ado... here we go.

Cape Fear
February 18, 2007

Have you ever got that call? You know, the one where you can win some vacation / trip / prize if you attend their seminar where they try to sell you vacation property. Yeah. What kind of person says yes to that? Well... we found out.

4 free plane tickets, anywhere in the US and Europe. The exchange: a 90 minute sales pitch for a Vacation Club, on Cape Cod. Granted, we'd just won 4 plane tickets with far less strings attached, but really, can one have too many free plane tickets? And what the heck, I'd never been to Cape Cod.

So, 9:30 Sunday morning, we hop in the car. An hour later, we're in Wyoming, RI, home of one of our favourite Tim Horton's. 2 coffees, a water, a croissant, and fruit punch, 10 TimBits, a Canadian Maple doughnut, and we're back on the road. It's a Sunday, but we're making great time to and through Rhode Island. Even a pretty serious car accident outside Cranston only delays us about 15 seconds.

Not too long later, and we're in Falmouth, MA, and at the InnSeasons Resort. Umm... looks like a motel to me, actually. Who cares, check-in time. Present ID, and a credit card. The letter states a credit card or check book must be provided as a second form of ID due to the valuable nature of the gifts, but I learn later, they just want to make sure you bring your money so you can buy at the end. Don't worry, no one swept or got the numbers off the card.

So, we're sitting in the "living room" and in walks our... guide... salesman, whatever, Harry, an 80-something guy in a bow-tie. Harry owns a pharmaceutical R&D company, but chooses to spend his retirement years hocking "memberships" in this "vacation club". Hey, to each his own. But this self-made entrepreneur, a man who graduated MIT in the 40's, is oddly impressed with my last name. Fascinated even. Fascinated... in a vaguely senile way. He wants to know if I've ever talked with my famous Arctic (Antarctic, actually Harry, but close enough) exploring Great-Uncle, who died about 45 years before I was born. OK, maybe the MIT grad is bad a math. Hell, at 80, Harry would have been like 10 when Sir Ernest died.

But I digress. Harry got down to business, and through some amazing computation -- hey, he went to MIT -- he calculated that at approximately $150 a trip, 2 or 3 times a year, Molly and I will somehow spend $867,000 in vacations by the time we're sixty. The be honest, even Harry seemed slightly shocked by the result of this computation. But $867,000 is what the computer said we would spend, and he was certain he could save us money with the InnSeasons program.

The program is simple, you buy a time share in a resort. Then you pay to maintain your share. Then you pay to use your share. Then you pay to have the right to trade your share for somewhere else. Then you pay to trade your share. Then you pay for the right to trade your share internationally. Then you pay to trade your share internationally. Then you pay for the agent that arranges your airfare. Then you pay for your airfare. Then you pay for an extra calculator to help you figure out what on earth you just paid. But fear not, this is the greatest bargain in the vacation world.

Harry takes us on a tour of the local facilities, 3 resorts in Falmouth, all of which are full. It's Mid-February, and all three resorts -- on Cape Cod -- have no vacancies. What on earth would be our chances of actually booking a vacation in the summer?!? Scary. Scarier still is the fact that, aside from the 3 resort properties, everything in this town is vacant, abandoned, and boarded up. It almost looks like we're driving through a Scooby Doo episode, except instead of a talking dog and an arrogant blonde man in an ascot, we have Harry, and possibly the oldest man on Cape Cod driving the van.

At one point, after explaining the fees schedule, Harry asked what I would pay for the actual property. I really thought the answer was supposed to be 0. Alas, it wasn't. Before any of the fees listed above, the initial property (which really isn't property at all) was going to cast us $143,000. Don't worry, they finance on an 8 year term at 15% interest!

So, we politely tell Harry that -- and we blame my upcoming educational costs -- we can't afford this deal at the moment (not like we ever intended to buy 0, and wait for the delivery of our plane tickets. But the plane tickets don't arrive yet. No. First, the Arab horse-trader.

Now I have nothing against persons of Middle Eastern descent, but it does seem when you need someone to wheel and deal and barter and swindle, you just have to bring in the Arab. So "what if I offer you half the points? And see this number... gone. See this... I pay this for the next 5 years. And this fee... you don't pay it. I pay that. And I pay this for 3 years. And I give 3 bonus weeks. And this... no, don't pay that; that you pay in names. You give me 10 names... paid. You give 20 names... I give you $50. You give me 30 names... I pay this, give you $75 dollars, and you get this camel." OK, he didn't offer me a camel, but it was that bad. At the end, the numbers still seemed unreasonable -- not that anything was truly reasonable, since we had no intent to buy anything.

So we thank them both for their time again, and we sign off on the declination of our special deal, and we get our gifts. $25 in dinner, $100 in gas rebates, and 4 round-trip airline tickets. So, being rather hungry since the 90 minute tour took us an hour and 20 minutes, we roll of to get lunch.

The $25 meal certificate is for a place called the Carolina Bar-B-Q Barn Restaurant and Bar. We pass. We're sure we can find something good in Hyanis. So up Falmouth Road we go. And as we do, we pass Cape Mac. At first I thought Molly said Cape Mack, and just thought it was some little town, but it turns out it's a computer store she regularly does business with. We try to stop in and say hi, maybe get a good tip on a place to do lunch, but alas, they're closed. Little did we know that would be the theme of the day.

Continuing on we pass a number of oddly names towns and hamlets. It's odd... we settled this land, drove off the Native Americans, yet kept all their hideously unpronounceable names. Onward we drive. The Old Abandoned Concert Pavilion. Where's Old Man Wiggins? And this place... ah yes, this place...

Something completely awesome about a place called "3 Way Liquors". If only liquor was spelled a little different. OK, 6th grade, I know. Anyway...

Hyanis. Umm... that's what the sign said. OK, I'll roll toward the Center. Umm... OK I'll roll toward the beach. Yup... it's a beach. Sand washing across the small town street, boarded up building line either side... a bustling metropolis. OK... here's my advice here: Don't, under any circumstances, waste your time traveling to Cape Cod out of season. Spring: Great. Summer: Awesome. Fall: Wonderful. Winter...

In the Winter, Cape Cod transforms to an odd coastal version of Appalachia, North of the Mason-Dixon line. Rednecks, in salt-rotting pick-ups, park the clam boats on their front lawns while their teen children congregate at combination grocery-liquor-pizza shops that dot the otherwise abandoned thoroughfares.

OK, I said this blog isn't about LOST, but if any of you do watch LOST, think back to "The Others", when they find the raft and kidnap Walt... "We're gonna hafta take the boy." Yeah, that's Cape Cod in February. We were kind of afraid to get out of the car, so after an hour loop of the Cape Cod beaches, again passing (and finally taking a picture of) 3 Way Liquors, and coming right back to the Carolina Bar-B-Q Barn Bar and Restaurant, we just decided to stop at the local 99 Restaurant. At least it was familiar.

Mindcrime II, Take II

-or-
Why the Venue Makes Everything Different

Archived MySpace blog
Category: Music

It's been a while since I've written a blog, and it seems odd that what should inspire me to write now is something I wrote a blog about not 2 months ago. But... here we are.

September 22nd, I saw Queensrÿche perform Operation: Mindrime and Operation: Mindcrime II at the Nokia Theater in New York. I went with my friends, and brothers, Jim and Joe, and had an amazing time, which you can read about here. Not long after, and after posting the above mentioned blog, I learned that my friend Phil was regretting that he didn't make the show. So, knowing that there's only a limited amount of Queensrÿche left to see, and that I would love to see the show again, I invited Phil, and of course my girl Molly, and got tickets for the show at the Chevy (Oakdale) Theatre, in Wallingford.

So, about 6:30 we depart West Haven, having picked up Angie -- who had gotten tickets with other friends, and would later have her own separate story to tell of her night. Here's your Kudos, Angie! -- and Phil, and were en route. It's about 10 or 15 minutes to the Oakdale, so after a brief discussion of that fact that we shall not "be that guy" and play any Queensrÿche on the way to the show, and a couple of running Ren and Stimpy references, we found ourselves there.

So now we are there, and of the reason why this is indeed a separate blog, and my friend Clint can now attest, a venue can make or break a show. This is by no meas a tear at the Oakdale, it has it's up points and its down points, but it simply amazes me how different the experience was at a different venue.

We arrived, and after out quick walk over from Premier Parking, we found ourselves inside the theatre. The Oakdale has a large, if slightly crowded, lobby, ringed by concessions. The beer is only slightly overpriced, and true to it's theatre roots, also has the more typical concessions like popcorn, nachos, and coffee. I can't be certain, but I do believe the merch booth was even a bit cheaper than in New York, and I did find myself buying a t-shirt from the tour.

Our seats were excellent, aisle seats right near the front of our level, and with no seats in front of us as we were at the edge of the pie-wedge shaped section 207. The view was amazing, and in stark contrast to the New York show, where we did not have seats at all until the second act.

By the time Anarchy-X came up, and I could actually see the stage set and the incomparable Scott Rockenfield wailing away at that telltale drum lick, I realized the value of our seats. I was able now to see that the sets... and moreover some of the images on the projection behind the set... had been changed since the original Mindcrime production I had been lucky enough to see a couple years back. The band sounded awesome as always, and the house sound, although maybe a touch scaled down from the Nokia, was clean and clear.

But, when Geoff Tate stumble on stage to belt out the first notes of Revolution Calling, they all but weren't there. By midway through the song, they had his vocals up, and a couple songs in, they seemed to be EQ'd perfectly, but then, when Pamela Moore came on for Spreading the Disease, it was the same old thing all over again.

Pamela's vocals would unfortunately never be spot-on, and the issues the wireless headset mics seemed to be causing only came out more in contrast to the crystal clear canned vocals of The Chase, featuring Ronnie James Dio, in the second act. In fact, even the band's synch with the the other prerecorded orchestration and effects seemed just a hair off.

The inferiority of the vocals, though, was set off by the visual superiority of the show from my much better vantage point. Visually, the show was stunning, and this was the first time I got to see the performance in its entirety without impediment. Geoff's performance was brilliant, and he moved about the stage with an energy and showmanship rare in this day and age -- rarer still when not 5 hours earlier he appeared on WCCC sounding like he was in fact dying of his head cold.

Against my better judgment, I did not mug Angela for her backstage pass, nor did I have an opportunity to acquire any of the Queensrÿche money from I'm American, but I still had a phenomenal time.

Kudos to you, Queensrÿche!

Currently watching :
Queensryche - Operation Livecrime
Release date: 20 November, 2001

To Protect and Serve, and share a laugh

Archived MySpace blog

OK, so I've been tagged, and should be writing another blog... but I wanted to tell this little story first. So... tough; my blog, you read what I type. OK, no, I will get back to being tagged later. But, for now, let me tell you about last night.

So, Molly and I are coming home from Brian's Birthday party. Kudos to Brian and moreover Jack, for putting together such an amazing party. But, as happens, the night wore on, and it was time for us to make the trek back from Norwalk to Branford.

We decide to drive up Rte. 1 for a while, instead of getting straight on the highway, in hopes of finding Dunkin Donuts on our way... and, about a mile up, in the sleepy town of Westport, we do.

Two coffees now on board, back onto Rt. 1. About a quarter mile up, on the right, in a gas station that seems to have been closed for hours, I spy one of Westport's Finest. No worries. Just going a half mile to the highway entrance, it's late, doing nothing wrong.

"That's odd." "What's that?" "The lights on the top of his car... he doesn't seem to have any." "Oh I've seen that. Some of..." "I think they're on the sides." "Makes sense. Whalen is making... oh, he's following us." "Why?" "No reason, I'm sure. Just gotta earn his donut."

Turn right toward the highway, 5-0 still following. I've known he's there for the last 1/2 mile or so, no way I've stepped over 40. Lights: red and blues. Pull over. Grab my license, and reg and insurance card from the glove box. Window down. See the usual swagger up, and the mag-lite.

"Mornin' Officer." "Morning. You got a taillight out. Just have to harass you for it." 'Harass.' Yes he said 'Harass'. "Oh." Kinda sighed, kinda laughed. Wow they really have nothing to do in Westport at 1 in the morning. "I'll get that fixed tomorrow." "Been drinking tonight?" Molly gives a no; I tell him "had a beer and hour or so." "Got any warrants?" "Nah... I work for the State's Attorney's office; couldn't let that happen." "OK, I just gotta run these [license and reg], and you're all set."

"He pulled me over for a taillight. Wow, these have nothing to do out here. Told you... just gotta earn his..."

"OK, you're all set. This is a written warning; just gotta prove to my boss that I did something tonight" "OK, is this the kind I have to bring to DMV?" "No, I didn't check off 'defective equipment'. I just need something to give to my Sergeant. Just throw it away. You can just toss it out the window when I turn around." Ummm... so you can pull me over again for littering?" "Nah... I'm turning right around as soon as I'm back in my car." "OK. Have a good night." "Hey," Molly interjects, "did you see this?" The mag-lite shines back in the car. "This", as she reaches for my air freshener. It's a picture of this Officer Friendly looking cop, with the words 'Police Are My Favorite People' "That's great. Where'd you get that?" "Some little shop in Newport. Horribly... it's donut scented." "That's great. I have to get one."

In the town of Westport, busted taillights are considered especially heinous. At 1 in the morning, these cases are handles by the men and women of the Special Taillight Unit. These are their stories.

Speak the Word...

REVOLUTION
...The Word is All of Us.

Archive from MySpace blog
Category: Music

So here it is, the first big show of the Fall... OK, last of the Summer if you want to get technical, yesterday was actually the first day of Fall. But this one... well this one's been planned for so long... I heard about it at the end of a show at the Webster last year, and knew I was going.

And so it was, that Jim and I were taking a trip to New York. I love New York -- yeah, I know that sounds trite -- I just can't think of another city with that much energy. And I think you bring that energy with you when you go to New York to do something, especially to a show. And so, this is how we find ourselves on the 4:52 out of New Haven.

I left work a bit early, just so I could catch the right train. Changed clothes in the parking garage; what a sight that must have been if anyone was looking. Run to track 14; Jim had already bought my train ticket for me. The train ride was uneventful -- crowded, but average -- highlighted in the first 3 stops by Jim trying in vain to see if his brother had caught the same train in Milford.

Somewhere down the line, Fairfield County, "You're gonna have to get on or off the train." "You have to clear the doors; ON or OFF." The on-board loudspeaker, to some teenager in Greens Farms; he and his friends couldn't figure out which car they were getting on. Our, it seemed, was the answer, and 3 girls and a guy, armed with large bags, proceeded to walk up and down the aisle of the train, bumping into as many people as possible on the way. "Sorry." "Oops, sorry." Where is... who's the Mayor of Green's Farms, anyway?

On to New York. Jim's brother Joe caught a later train. He'll meet us at the theater. Smoke break at Grand Central, then back underground, we're on an S train, Times Square bound. It's a small, tightly packed subway train, one stop. OK, so it's only a 5 block walk... but when in Rome, ya know?

Times Square is truly and amazing place. I've been there a few times, and to New York many more... but Time Square always impresses me: A giant Mecca to industry and popular culture. At 2 in the morning, it still looks like broad daylight. So there we are, looking up -- everything is up in Times Square -- asking "where is the Nokia Theatre?" I suggested in jest that if the Cingular building is beside us, the Verizon building to our right, LG straight ahead, Nokia must be up and to the left. Who'd have thought I'd be correct? Times Square may indeed be laid out by market share.

No Joe yet, and no phone to call Ang, Dre, or Pete, so... break for dinner. When the plan is to meet 5 or 6 people in New York when we're all taking different transportation, it's unfortunately a bad time for your phone to run out of juice. But, food in our bellies, we returned to the Nokia, undaunted.

Fantastic venue. At least that's my opinion. I think it's shared by those I've spoken to. Small, intimate, very few bad views... and excellently set-up hall. Even at the security end, the venue is well designed, and very efficient. Once you're pasted the front doors, you don't need your tickets, you don't interact with the security. They're there, but very unobtrusive. A variety of bars along the way to the main hall keep the crowds down. All in all, one of the best venues I've ever been to.

But at 8:05 the lights dropped. Joe's not yet to be found, nor have I spied anyone else. It no longer matters. From this point on it's about Geoff Tate, Mike Stone, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, and Scott Rockenfield. Last year we saw Operation: Mindcrime live. At the end of the show we saw a trailer for the very long-waited sequel. Now it was here. Not only was Mindcrime II finally a reality, but it was in fact presented in the best way possible, both shows, full rock opera format, back to back with only a show intermission. In short: Queensrÿche, Operation: Mindcrime I & II. And it was awesome.

Remember Now, Anarchy-X, Revolution Calling; the audience singing along. The stage show getting harder to see over the assembled crowd. Operation: Mindcrime, Speak; by now the room is packed, ever giant word flashed on the screen echoing through the crowd. Spreading The Disease, The Mission, Suite Sister Mary.

"Don't ever trust..." By The Needle Lies the crowd is in a fervor. Everyone is completely into the show. There is the guy next to us -- awesome guy -- he must be 70, in an AC/DC t-shirt, with his sweet, grandmotherly wife, headbanging and completely rocking out. I want to be that guy when I'm his age... I really do.

Electric Requiem, Breaking the Silence, I Don't believe in Love; at this point we take our exit. No we didn't leave for good... quite the opposite. But we've seen Mindcrime before. We listen to Waiting For 22, My Empty Room, and Eyes Of A Stranger from outside the main hall so we can grab a smoke. We're heading back to the hall right as everyone's leaving, right in time to spot Joe, and perfectly to snipe 3 prime seats, just left of center, in the front row of the seated tier. Still no sight of the rest, but Jim, Joe and I are in perfect position to see every moment of what we came there to see: Operation: Mindcrime II.

Freiheit Overture began, and the energy was incredible. Convict began, and Geoff Tate comes out on stage in an orange jumpsuit.I'm American; throwing funny money into the audience. One Foot in Hell, Hostage, Hands, Speed of Light; everything with the clarity you can't just get by listening to the album. Signs Say Go, Re-Arrange You, Chase; Ronnie James Dio up on the screen, while his canned -- yet wonderfully produced -- vocals meshed perfectly with the live instrumentation. The opera itself was less intense; less characters and lacking the style of Tate singing and interacting with Nikki, but still captivating, still strong. Murderer?, Circles, If I Could Change It All, An Intentional Confrontation, Junkie's Blues; a strong finish.

The house music came up, but the lights did not. There's still a treat in store. Jim asked another fan -- one he'd gathered had been to last night's show as well -- and discovered that indeed there was an encore. Three songs, including Jet City Woman, and... thankfully... no Silently Lucidity. The audience got into the encore possibly even more strongly than the show itself. Not out of dislike for the performance, but during the Mindcrimes you had to watch and listen, during the encore... just sing along... just Speak the Word.

Currently listening :
Operation: Mindcrime
By Queensrÿche
Release date: 06 May, 2003

In Bloom

Archived MySpace blog
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

I may complain about it, but my job does have its unique perks. One of which is that nothing goes on in this city without the cops knowing, and everything they know gets passed on to me.

So this month's interesting new haven news is that filmmaker Vadim Perelman has decided to film his latest work on the streets of the fair Elm City. Based on the prop ambulance, the upper Chapel Street area around Yale is actually supposed to represent the Big Apple for this film, but nonetheless, principal photography is occurring a couple blocks from my office.

So today we get the word, that they're filming a principal scene out in front of the Union League Café. So off we go. It's lunch time, why not watch the making of a film. Why not see if we can meet Uma Thurman.

So, it's 1:05, and we're walking up to the corner of Chapel and Temple, and bullshitting with a couple cops, when a trailer door opens, and out walks the statuesque Uma Thurman -- much prettier than I'd formerly believed when viewed in person, and she proceeds to walk by the 25 or so of us on the corner, pause and say hello, and stroll up to the set on the next block.

Not close enough, or enough time for autographs, but close enough for a very nice, very friendly, brush with stardom.

So 25 feet up the road, dollied steadi-cam, 1000 candlepower floods, a big lighting reflector on a crane, a tent full of directors of photography, light and sound guys, Ms. Thurman's stunt double (all dressed), and somewhere Vadim Perelman -- if I knew what he looked like I might have seen him.

The assembled group of cranky production assistants are trying to keep the 100 or so people congregated out of the way of filming, while my boss, looking like over-dress paparazzi, is snapping pictures with his telephoto lens. All this while a 6 second shot commences 5 times in a row: Diana (Thurman) walks diagonally across Chapel, turns, and looks into the camera with horror. The next scene will be Uma's double being run over by a car, but lunch wasn't long enough to stay for them to set up that shoot.

Sorry, I hope I didn't spoil the movie with that tidbit of info there, but by 2007 when In Bloom opens, you'll likely have forgotten this little blog.

Hopefully in a couple days, I can update with some of the pictures my boss took. The previews looked really good.

5 Years Later and Where are We Now?

Archived MySpace Blog
Current mood: pondering
Category: pondering Blogging

So, yeah, this is a September 11th blog. 5 years ago today... we all know what happened... or do we? I'm not going to debate that. A lot of opinions to be had. I'm not endorsing any opinions here, just making some observations.

So, 5 years later...

Osama Bin Laden... still somewhere... still out there... maybe. Maybe he died of the renal failure already. Maybe his videotaped messages were recorded 3 years ago. Do we know? Will we ever?
Saddam Husein... captured... deloused... standing trial before a jury of his peers? Who are his peers anyway? Well, there's one less Jerry Garcia look-alike in power in the Middle East. That's a good thing, right?

And that brings us to Iraq... still there. I think we just found a WMD... no that was just a Pepsi can from the last time we were over there. The Right still argues that we need to be there... The Cradle of Civilization is the Cradle of Terror. The Left still argues against... Bush knew there was no connection... where are the WMDs? I don't know... if this war is really about oil, why am I paying 3.07 a gallon?

Positive effect: Sales of American flags at their highest point since World War II.

Negative effect: I haven't seen an American flag flying at the top of its pole in 5 years.

And of flying... oh let's please talk about air travel. I so love flying barefoot and parched. My sandwich was confiscated as I might have used Enriched Uranium peanut butter and explosive jelly. I wanted to wash it down with a Gatorade. Sorry. My luggage is still being sent to the wrong coast, but now when I get of the plane I have to have long fingernails, unmanageable hair, and bad breath. But I feel so much safer after being harassed and having my $200 suitcase destroyed by the highly trained members of the TSA.

TSA, DHS, NSA, ICE. Yes ICE. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Formerly 2 different organizations: INS and Customs. One about Immigrants, legal and otherwise, and one about taxation. Now we've combined the both into one super-agency... all under the control of Homeland Security. Both simultaneously checked and balanced, right?

Homeland Security took over FEMA too. So glad. September 11th proved that all disasters are caused by terrorists, right? And because terrorists caused Hurricane Katrina, the new Homeland Security run FEMA was incredibly prepared to handle the situation. See, the system works.

The Patriot Act works, too. So many terrorists have been caught because they borrowed "Al Quaeda's Guide to Terrorism" from their local libraries.

I'm beginning to feel that my right to Patriotism no longer exists. The original patriots of this nation spoke out against the things that didn't like in the existing government. If I do that, I'm called unpatriotic. Hmmm... My head is getting sore from scratching it. Sometimes I think the Constitution has been tossed out the window. But we did elect Mr. W; he represents the opinions of the majority. Right? I think so. In 2 more years we get to elect another monarch... sorry, President. Anyone but Cheney, 2008. The mantra of the politically disaffected. Voting in the negative. Kerry because he's not Bush, even if he looks like lurch from the Addams Family. I could end up voting for Steve-O from Jackass just because he's not Dick Cheney. I'm sorry, but I don't think the 2 party system adequately represents the political consciousness of my generation. Know what? I'm voting Whig!

5 years later... still not sure if it was a plane or a missile that hit the Pentagon.

5 years later... not sure if the whole event was foretold by the proper folding of a $20 bill.

5 years later... Toby Keith still wants put a boot up my ass.

5 years later... half my friends list is inundating me with video bulletins about how George Bush is a Nazi in league with the Pope and Emperor Palpatine, while the other half is sending me pictures of the Statue of Liberty flipping off terrorists.

5 years later... where are we? Afghanistan? Iraq? Lebanon? Korea? The most powerful nation in the world or the largest terrorist nation in the world? Maybe we're just as the movie put it... Team America: World Police.

I don't know, and I don't think I care anymore. I don't think it matters. If Al Gore is right, we'll all be under water in 10 years anyway.