Better Living Through Introspection

Okay, so I’m against war in general and this war specifically, but I have to admit that David Bloom has got to have one of the coolest jobs ever. Ever. By far, he is one of the best embedded journalists yet.

And for the record, I’m not crazy about Peter Arnett, though he’s got some brass ones to be able to report from The Hotel Baghdad (note: probably not its real name) without going stark raving mad from all the explosions. That’s gotta keep you at night. Wonder what the room service is like.

The part that bothers me (okay, there are several, but here’s just one for you) is that the coverage is a little too play-by-play sports-coverage-ified, if you know what I mean. Getting a little too close to entertainment to be news. Does that scare you? Scares the crap out of me.

On a lighter note, one friend had this to say about the coverage:

We’ve been watching BBC because we just can’t take the blather of the networks, cable and otherwise. At least BBC shuts up once in a while and just shows pictures with vaguely techno music. And Al-Jazeera with subtitles. (Universal Reaction: the war is bad) The announcers all look slightly disheveled in that British-bad-teeth sort of way and say great things like “I have no idea when that video was shot, or even if it’s live.”

Best line so far (from Ari “Uriah Heep” Fleischer): “[Iraq is evil because] they are a rich country, but they spend all their money on the military instead of feeding their people.” Hmmm.

So, I’m gainfully employed now — no longer self-employed. The toughest part, as some will agree, is getting used to a commute that’s a tad longer than getting out of bed and walking over to the computer.

Anywho, now that I’m working 9-to-5 (and more) I’m finding it difficult to finish off the updates to this site. Ironically, I was having the same problem before last week, so take that as an excuse only if you want to buy a bridge as well.

I’m uploading some new templates, so don’t freak out when everything goes haywire.

Just wanted to give you a heads-up.

Update: Still working on it! Since I only work on this during the “between” times, it might look a little piecemeal for the next few days. The important thing is that all the content is still here, for you “way back machine”-type history buffs.

The height of ridiculousness? Quite possibly.

Wave the flag and pass the ketchup was the order of the day yesterday in House of Representatives cafeterias, where lawmakers struck a lunchtime blow against the French and put “freedom fries” on the menu.

And for breakfast, they’ll now have “freedom toast.”

The name changes follow similar actions by restaurants around the country protesting French opposition to the administration’s Iraq war plans.

You can find this story in about a billion places. Better just start here. (Above text from this version.)

But I have to admit, I really like this memorial. Check it out:

Reaching for the Sky
Air Force Memorial Is a Soaring Design By James Ingo Freed

The Washington skyline is due for an exhilarating lift in three years or so, when a spectacular memorial honoring men and women of the U.S. Air Force rises on a hill just west of the Pentagon.

Unveiled yesterday, the memorial design by architect James Ingo Freed appropriately is a soaring thing, an airy triumvirate of stainless steel pylons ascending in gentle arcs into the Virginia sky.

The highest of the spires will ascend 270 feet above a granite-paved plateau on a promontory overlooking the Pentagon and monumental Washington. A second arc comes in at 230 feet, and the third tops off at just above 200.

Full story on washingtonpost.com.