Oversensitive, sun-addled L.A. men

Great column in the L.A. Times. A woman is the thirties posted a personal ad on Craigslist: "Is there a man in L.A. in his 30s who knows what he wants to be when he grows up?", she asked. Her condition for the blind date: "My only physical requirement is this mystery man must be taller than 5'10". No disrespect to the vertically challenged, but I don't like guys talking to my nipples." The reaction was rather worrysome. She received tons of emails in which short man complained about her requirements. Shortly after that he posted the same ad also on Craigslist New York. The reactions were overwhemly positive. Her conclusion: "Sun-soaked and self- absorbed, the Angelenos were caught up in the pursuit of nonexistent perfection.(...) The New Yorkers were more based in reality. Perhaps Craigslist can develop free, online counseling for the L.A. community."

Information Anxiety

A study by Xerox recently found that people spend 30 percent of their workday just hunting for documents - and that 60 to 80 percent still feel they're missing the most important stuff. According to University of California at Berkeley estimates, we're producing 610 billion e-mails and 7.5 billion documents a year; in the midst of this swamp, Xerox discovered, workers feel they're being productive only half the time. [...]
Seven years ago, the Brooklyn-based writer David Shenk wrote the book "Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut", in which he pondered the central paradox of our era: A little information makes you smarter, but a ton of it leaves you confused. "It's worse than ever [today]," Shenk says. "We're getting more plugged in, but the level of distraction is increasing. And so the question is, are you going to be plugged in or not? If you decide not to be plugged in, you're separating yourself from culture."

Reshaping L.A. downtown

Revitalizing the center of L.A.

Philip Anschutz (short bio), the most invisible billionaire and the 18th richest person in America (according to Forbes), plans one of the largest projects ever proposed for Los Angeles: a massive $1 billion hotel, entertainment and residential district for downtown L.A., with a towering 55-story hotel-condominium complex dominating the area around Staples Center.

Quote of the day

"The president may be too busy to speak to you now, but I've got news for you. He's going to have plenty of time after November 2."
Presidential Candidate John Kerry at the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Threats from the White House

Just arrived this morning...

We have a information leak in our house! How does George W. know that we will host a John Kerry House Party this upcoming Sunday? I've always thought that on of our cats - the fat, greedy and noisy one - is Republican...(with compliments to george-says.com)

Again: Trouble at Los Alamos National Laboratory

L.A.Times : The Los Alamos National Laboratory has been dogged in recent years by one embarrassment after another, from credit card fraud and allegations of espionage to disappearing files and safety lapses. The latest flap: two missing computer disks full of nuclear secrets.

Obesity now offically a disease

Obesity is officially a disease now, according to the largest US government health care plan, which will pay for some treatments for overweight Americans, now in epidemic numbers.The number of obese Americans has more than doubled since 1980, affecting one out of three persons, or a total of 59 million adults.Direct economic losses from obesity total some 120 billion dollars annually, and are growing

Five months for Martha

NYT: Martha Stewart is sentenced to five months in prison. I wonder: how long will (waaay much) bigger white collar criminals like indicted Enron Ex CEO Kenny Lay - one of the largest financial backers of George W. Bush - be behind bars?

A daily dosis beach

Webcam from the Del Mar Beach in San Diego, California (link on the upper right).

More atrocities in Iraq prison scandal

Seymor Hersh, the reporter from the "New Yorker" who broke the news about the Iraq prison scandal, told at the ACLU convention that the U.S. government has videotapes of boys being sodomized at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "The worst is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking," the reporter said. Hersh says there was "a massive amount of criminal wrongdoing that was covered up at the highest command out there, and higher." EdCone.com has a summary, DailyKos a video clip of Hersh's speech. - It made me totally sick listening to these atrocities. How has it all come to this? Why does nobody intervene - and hold those people responsible who are really in charge? Guess what: There is a growing number of people who think Bush should be impeached (my post from June 22). These websites offers more in-depth information and urge to sign their petitions: Democrats.com, Vote to Impeach and Impeach Bush Now.

The search for the dream house

House on Annan Way

We looked at this house in our neighbourhood on Annan Way tonight. Is this a beautiful craftsman, or what? Price: $ 395000. Let me check what I have in my wallet...

Summer rumor: Dropping Mr. Cheney

The N.Y. Times writes: "It may be inside the Beltway, but in recent days the Washington summer clamor about dropping Mr. Cheney has so greatly intensified that Mr. Cheney himself was forced to address it on Wednesday. Asked in a C-Span interview if he could envision any circumstances under which he would step aside, Mr. Cheney replied: 'Well, no, I can't. If I thought that were appropriate, I certainly would.' (...) Last month, a New York Times/CBS News poll found that 21 percent of voters had a favorable impression of Mr. Cheney, compared with 39 percent for Mr. Bush."

A daily dosis beach

Webcam from Laguna Beach, California.

Summer pizza

Who wants a bite?

I am an complete addict to our barbecue grill. Last night we even baked a couple of pizzas "Coringa style" on the barbecue. Yummy.....

Fuck you Cheney, says the dog

"Cheney's curse: "Fuck yourself" T-Shirts for dogs.

There you have it, Dick Cheney. Only because a Democratic Senator blamed you of your oily war profiteering politics you cursed him on the Senat's floor by saying "Go fuck yourself" (blog post of June 25). Your outburst was apparently so inspiring that a fashion company decided to eternalize it with a an entire extended line with t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, bags, and and other stuff designed with the famous curse. The ultimate must-have: A cool "Fuck yourself" T-Shirt for your dog - "made of 100% ring spun cotton. I hope your proud of yourself, Dick!

Terrorist arrests on demand?

For two and a half years the U.S. has been hunting for the 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden - without any success. Most of the American soldiers are busy to deal with the mess in Iraq. Yet a report by CBS News insinuates that twenty thousand American soldiers and Marines who are currently serving in Afghanistan are very close to catch Bin Laden - since he is believed to have found refuge with a single family and has isolated himself from the outside world.
Guess what: Last week the “The New Republic” (TNR) revealed in a great article that the Bush administration has been trying to arrange the capture of a top Al Qaeda chief in Pakistan - specifically timed to have an effect on the upcoming election. TNR reported George W. & Co. "significantly increased its pressure" on Pakistan to capture bin Laden or another "high value target" (HVT). A Pakistani security official told TNR that they had "been told at every level that apprehension or killing of HVTs before the election is an absolute must." Not only that, but a White House official apparently told Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence director that "it would be best if the arrest or killing of [any] HVT were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight July." That's right in the middle of the Democratic National Convention. And what does Pakistan get in return for pulling Osama out of a hat at just the right moment? According to TNR, "during his March visit to Islamabad, Colin Powell designated Pakistan a major non-NATO ally, a status that allows its military to purchase a wider array of U.S. weaponry. In addition, the administration is pushing a five-year, $3 billion aid package for Pakistan through Congress over Democratic concerns about the country's proliferation of nuclear technology and lack of democratic reform." - No further comments necessary...

Postpone the presidential elections?

Dubya just doesn't stop surprising us! Newsweek reported on Sunday that the Bush administration officials requested for detailed analysis what legal steps would be needed to permit the postponement of the election were an terrorist attack to take place. postpone the 2004 election represents an implicit threat to abrogate the US Constitution, dispense with democratic rights, and establish a dictatorship based on the military and police. Axis of Logic thinks that this is nothing else but "the desperate action of a deeply discredited and unpopular regime that fears, not merely electoral defeat, but an explosion of social and political unrest in the United States". Bush’s national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, meanwhile, said in a television interview: “No one’s thinking about postponing the election.” Plus: The Bush camp could actually gain from a postponement of the presidential election, writes the great journalist Joe Conason in his New York Post column. Speaking of: When will Conason's insightful book "Big Lies - The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Destorts the Truth" finally become available at my library?

Hunt for the dream house

House on Burwood Ave

We looked at this house in our great neighourhood on Burwood Avenue. Price: $400000. Did we buy it? No. Our dream house looks different, despite the charm of this 80 years old Californian bungalow...

No equality in White House

Equal rights between the sexes? Apparently a negectable issue for the "leader of the free world". According to the Washington Post there is a big disparity in the President’s staff’s salaries between female and male employees. Men in the Bush White House earn an average of $76,624 a year. Women earn $59,917 on average. Bush women earn about 78 percent of what Bush men earn.

Comback of the draft?

The Defense Department denies it's considering reinstating the military draft, which ended in 1973. But the multiple recalls of active units to combat duty, and recent call up of thousands of former soldiers who thought they'd retired, is fueling fears that the draft will come back, reports (audio) the radio station NPR. Plus: The guys from the parody website Whitehouse.org launched a scarily realistic looking draft registration site with a funny "pre-screening" questionnaire.

Good-bye Mr. Gold

Bummer. One of the pioneers of the fitness movement, Joe Gold, died.

Sharon picks the ice, part 2

O no. Who says you can't bury the ice-pick? Now it's official. Sharon Stone has signed on to make the sequel to the 1992 thriller "Basic Instinct".

Average price for L.A. home: $414,000

Gosh. The heat is really on in the L.A. real estate market. More home sales closed in L.A. County in June than in any June since 1989, but the average home price still jumped by 32% to $414,000, according to the L.A. Times. It's the first time that the median has soared over 400 grand. The big questions: Is it a bubble? Will the market cool off - and become a little bit more affordable for us??