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Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 224)

This is another scene we encountered along the Inside Passage of the Alaska Panhandle and coastal British Columbia. Like last week's photo, I took this from our balcony on the Norwegian Pearl during our first day of the cruise. We were headed north, on our way to Juneau. I'm pretty sure we were still in Canadian waters at this point. From time to time, we saw eagles and seabirds, and once, people saw a bear along the shore, but I didn't get my camera out quick enough and, to be honest, I couldn't tell it was a bear. Those patches of clear sky along the left and the top-center are what locals liked to call "blue clouds."

The water was so smooth, I wanted to go skiing. Then, when we got to Juneau, I felt the water and erased all thoughts of waterskiing from my mind. It was finger-numbing cold. I can't imagine letting other parts of me in water that cold.

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 223)

This is one of the scenes we encountered along the Inside Passage of the Alaska Panhandle and coastal British Columbia. Our ship, the Norwegian Pearl, was sailing through a brisk rainstorm, but as you can see, blue skies and puffy white clouds were not far in the distance. Notwithstanding the heavy rain near our ship, the seas were quite calm.

I'm on the verge of booking my big summer vacation for this year, and I'm leaning toward a return to Alaska. Traveling with a baby under a year old will be challenging, and to lessen the challenge, we're thinking cruise, and we're thinking familiar destinations. Last time, we did the round-trip out of Seattle, but this time, we might do a one-way between Seattle or Vancouver and Anchorage.

Ranking ten movies I recently watched on DVD (No. 20)

Here are another ten recent pulls from the Netflix queue, with my one-to-five plus rating, and the IMDB users' score.

1. The Express (7.0) ++++ Awesome movie. Now my second-favorite football flick ever.
2. The Duchess (7.0) ++++ Very good English period piece
3. War of the Gargantuas (6.0) ++++ A classic Japanese monster movie now on DVD
4. Brideshead Revisited (6.8) +++ A very good story, but not my cup of tea
5. Horton Hears a Who! (7.3) +++ Animated for the little ones
6. College (4.2) ++ Stupid, but at least I laughed a few times
7. Anger Management (6.1) ++ I waited 5 years to see it. Coulda waited 5 more.
8. The House Bunny (5.6) ++ Stupid, and I didn't laugh
9. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (6.8) + Stupid. This cost me brain cells.
10. High School Musical 2 (4.5) + Beyond stupid. Even my teenager hated it.

Free Disneyland

Happy Birthday to me! Thanks, Cousin Walt!

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March Madness 2009

I filled out 6 different brackets, with at least four different winners (Pitt, North Carolina, Duke and Oklahoma - I might have even gone with Missouri in one), but all have the same pick in the first round: #10 USC winning against 2.5 point underdog, #7 Boston College. For the first time in a long time, I did what I bragged (back in 1996) that I would do every year - make sure NOTHING was scheduled for the first two days of March Madness. If I get work done, great. If not, so be it. Today will be awesome, and tomorrow, if the Trojans win, it will be awesome, too.

First thing's first, however. My daughter is getting an Academic Excellence Award at school today. That means straight A's in all of the core academic subjects. Yay, her!

Lex TV 203

Here are another dozen videos:

Counselor at Planned Parenthood tells pregnant 13 year old to lie about her 31 y.o. boyfriend's age.

Remember how you thought lemmings committed suicide? It was a Disney Film setup.

This video makes the end of the world look beautiful.

But for accident of birth, you might have ended up in a place where this is great music.

Faking soccer injuries sinks to a new low. WTF?

Can't keep up with the Jones anymore?

I love Jesus, but I do drink a little.

Video of a sound barrier halo around a fighter jet.

Woman goes insane at HKIA after missing her flight.

Pregnant white chicks should neither rap nor dance.

Bring back Titan football!

Next up, eveningwear. Very nice.

The Unknown Year and Four Other Thoughts on the Passing Parade

Only 53% of American adults know how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun. Gulp! And these people vote!

You shouldn't necessarily twitter about everything, including, for example, the time, right now, that a dude is breaking into your home.

They are talking about making "It!" into a feature film. That will scare the hell out of me, I'm guessing. The TV movie was the scariest thing I've ever seen on a TV or screen.

Old and busted: George Bush being considered an idiot for not having an exit strategy for Iraq. New hotness: Barack Obama being considered a genius while not having an exit strategy for Afghanistan.

If you hate Rush Limbaugh for saying he hopes Obama fails, what was your take when James Carville talked about how he hoped George Bush wouldn't succeed?

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 222)

Happy St. Patrick's Day. This statue of St. Patrick sits in the middle of the "Teamhair na Rí" or Hill of Tara, which was the seat of the ancient pagan kings of Ireland. On the eve of Easter in 433, the pagans dwelling on Tara looked over the plains of Royal Meath and saw a light upon the nearby Hill of Slane as they awaited the king's lighting of a fire on the Royal Hill. The fire was lit by St. Patrick, whose flame burned to disprove the righteousness of the pagan gods and promulgate the gospel of Jesus Christ in honor of the Paschal feast. King Laoghaire's priests attempted to thwart St. Patrick, but failed, and today, his is the only likeness to be seen at this former pagan hold site.

As any schoolchild can tell you, St. Patrick is well known for using the three-leafed clover as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. These fields are full of such clovers. I nabbed a couple on the day I took this photo. They are all over the place in this scene. Anywhere there is green, there be clovers.

War and Beatings, and Four Other Thoughts on the Passing Parade

Much like war is God's way of teaching American's geography, violence and arrests are God's way of teaching me about hip-hop artists.

Remember the Democrats mocking gun users who were worried about Obama restricting purchases of guns. If HR 45 passes, they'll have underreacted. Its sponsors literally want to take away people's existing handguns.

I feel bad that some poor mom got cheated out of $2,000 in an internet scam, but how in the hell does a single mother of six, who is on welfare, get $2,000 to piss away in an internet scam?

This headline doesn't seem to match the rest of the story: "How much are you paying for cell service? Would you believe $3 a minute?" No, I wouldn't. The example offered is someone who pays $40 a month for 450 minutes, many of which go unused. So? To be $3 a minute, you'd have to spend only about 13 minutes a month on your cell phone. I don't know about that author, but I spend way more minutes than 13 per month.

Perhaps 40 isn't the new 30. Perhaps 27 is the new 40.

We'd Have to Convince the Jurors that What???

If you were completely aghast and confused about NBA player Marko Jaric wedding and bedding supermodel Adrian Lima, this story will confound you even more:

Jaric was accused of sexual assault earlier this month.

Prosecutors will not be taking the case, possibly because you can't possibly convince 12 ordinary people to decide, beyond any reasonable doubt, that someone that ugly, with someone as beautiful as Lima at home, would waste his time tapping any other ass.

USC 66 Arizona State 63

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Now this was fun. Being a soccer dad and all, I wasn't able to get to Staples Center to watch the Pac-10 tournament finals. The last time I went to the conference finals was a few years back when USC lost to Oregon. I wanted to go this time, but the soccer game ended at 2:30, and the game started at 3:00. Not enough time. I did get to watch most of the game on TV, however. The Trojans were down 15 at the half, then mounted a furious comeback, finishing on a 7-0 run in the last 1:04 to win by three. This is USC's first conference tournament win in the 12 years of the Pac-10 tournament (they lost in their first three trips to the finals). It's also the first time USC won Pac-10 titles in football and basketball in the same school year since 1984-85 (they also did it in 1927-28, 1929-30 and 1939-40). The Trojans find out at 3:00 p.m. today where they will play in the NCAA tournament. I might take the day off to watch if it is on Friday. Maybe I'll even go. Maybe.

The USC women play for the conference title tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the Galen Center, having beaten #12 Cal last night. It would be a huge upset if they knocked off #2 Stanford.

I'm a Soccer Dad

I am now, among other things, a soccer dad. My younger daughter is on her first soccer team. They are 1-0-1, although the win was a forfeit (not enough players) and the other team, with a higher-level replacement player and a sub from our team, managed a 1-1 tie in the game they played in spite of the forfeit. No one, other than me, is really keeping track, however. It takes a lot of time, with practices and Saturday games to schedule around, but it's fun, and she loves it, and I've added another rich life experience. (Less blogging time, but I'm not an elite blogger anyway, so it doesn't matter).

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 221)

This is a cemetary surrounding the disused Saint Patrick's church, built on the site of ruins of a medieval church, adjacent to the Hills of Tara. The Hills of Tara were the seat of the ancient Kings of Ireland, and were one of the most important sacred sites of pagan Ireland. Druid priests roamed this site long before any Irish had ever heard of Jesus Christ, but now the church, which serves today as a visitor's center, is as much a relic as the mounds and monuments of Tara.

From a few yards off from where I snapped this photo, it is said that you can see as much as a quarter of the Emerald Isle, including the "plains of Royal Meath" from which strong men came hurrying through, while Brittannia's huns, with their long range guns sailed out o'er the Foggy Dew.

Another Sign of the Times

Our kid's school had its annual charity auction tonight. A lot of stuff had one or fewer bids. This autographed photo of one of those Nickelodeon teen heartthrob Drake or Josh dudes had no takers at $25. Maybe someone grabbed it at the last second. I got a signed USC football with Pete Carroll's signature for a hundred bucks. Long gone are the days when the rich families bid thousands of dollars for a reserved parking spot at the school parking lot.

Defective Rum Label

I tried to get a discount, but they made me pay full price unless I planned to eat the label.

Beheadings of Peace and Four Other Passing Observations

PR tip: if you want to promote positive images of Islam in America, don't behead your wife. Best photo caption since forever: "The couple in happier times, before Hassan removed his wife’s head."

In 2000, federal spending was 18.4% of GDP. It's now 20.9%. This year, it could be 28% and 39% in 2010. Socialist nations run about 48%. Final text of the stimulus bill can be downloaded now. Perhaps now, finally, is the best time to vote on it. But, no. Instead, it is law, and we are talking about another $410 million spending bill, this time with even more blatant earmarks.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said recently that some of the spending in the $819-billion stimulus passed by the House of Representatives last week represented important federal spending priorities needed to “make-up for a starvation diet under the Bush Administration."I have a show for her to watch. It's called "The Biggest Loser." Tell her it's about George Bush to trick her into watching.

Congress couldn't read the Stimulus Bill before voting on it, but you can read it all now: (http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf) and (http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_B.pdf)

Obama's chief tax man, the Secretary of the Treasury, really wants you to do a better job of paying your taxes than he did paying his. Actually, he wants a lot more than that, too.

Lex TV 202

Here are another dozen videos:

Allah respectfully disagrees with this muji.

Here's Rick Santelli's freakout, in case you haven't seen it yet.

This illustrates why I turned down Harvard. Seriously.

The Easter Bunny hates you. He'll be back soon.

The mustard comes off the motorcycling hot dog.

John Travolta pimps "Tokyo Drink."

Joe Scarborough drops an F-bomb on live TV.

PSA: Do not let your little kids back up to the big fence at the edge of the big cliff.

I haven't the first clue what Dennis Hopper is selling in this ad.

I still want my personal jetpack, but in the meantime, my personal Hindenburg would be cool.

I wish Mickey Rourke had won Sean Penn's Oscar. This is why.

This isn't the first time Sly Stallone offered people a tiny sausage.

Shamu Plane in the Rain

Heh. Pretty neat trick.

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 220)

One of best ways to get around on Inisheer (Inis Oírr), the smallest and most eastern of the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland, is on the back of a cart pulled by horses. Then, when you get to a shipwreck or a beach, you tell them to stand there and wait.

The dark horse was named "Rosie." I don't remember the white one's name.

February Linkin' Log

My link log for February. Not as many this month, because I'm putting more of them on Twitter: http://twitter.com/OCLex.

• Things that make you go "Ewwww!": Octuplets mother offered $1M porn contract
• Lawyer says Guantanamo abuse worse since Obama
• Celtics lose to Clippers, then Celtics drink and drive
• Your California Tax Hike Calculator
• 5 Myths About Those Tinseltown Liberals
• Recession's Hidden Virtues
• Islamic radicalization is on the rise
• Jim Bunning is a dick. Long live Justice Ginsburg.
• That's Lobdell in the corner, that's Lobdell in the spotlight...
• Italy passes emergency rape law, which apparently does not allow Italians to rape during emergencies.
• Court orders pastor to start jail sentence, which is totally unfair, because every other pastor has engaged in lewd conduct, too, right?
• Obama tells mayors not to waste stimulus money. Only the Feds are allowed to do that.
• O.C. is Ground Zero of housing mess
• Father of octuplets' mother calls her "absolutely irresponsible"
• Biofuel may be sinful for Muslims, because it contains alcohol
• Chimp attack story takes another turn for the wierder
• Girl Scout cookie sales this year: more thin than mint
• Correction: "John Gibson Did Not Compare Eric Holder To Monkey With Bright Blue Scrotum"
• Meet the poster idiots for our current economy
• ‘Obama Coins’ are 100% scam
• This is the worst appellate decision I have read ever, bar none.
• Best photo caption since forever: "The couple in happier times, before Hassan removed his wife’s head."
• Dubai's economy is collapsing like a house of cards.
• Welcome back, welfare queens
• All-Star game perfection: West dominates, Kobe & Shaq co-MVPs.
• Vikings make false suggestion that they would move to Los Angeles
• Octuplets' mom's PR agency quits due to death threats, suggests that further death threats be directed to Wes Yoder.
• Remember how Obama promised to allow 5 days of public comment before signing bills? That promise lasted 0 bills
• There once was a time when a weekend in Rosarito Beach was fun
• If Fitna was about Christian extremism, would the U.K. have banned Geert Wilders?
• Amazingly, Maxine Waters may be even more stupid than Barney Frank
• 3 formats forthcoming Depeche Mode album 'Sound Of the universe'
• A real life "Dude, where's my car?" The answer is pretty funny.
• Octuplet mom's wants to go into counseling, but as a provider, not a patient. Chick, you're doing it wrong.
• Crashlanding on Friday the 13th tempts fate.
• Senator Dianne Feinstein, you ignorant slut!
• This just in: don't take piss intravenously
• Quick, someone "vet" Julio Osegueda and make sure he doesn't have any tax liens or anything.
• How to Say No, Except for Girl Scout Cookies. Get the Thin Mints.
• Lawsuit claims that Roberto Alomar has AIDS
• I apparently missed this murder by just a few minutes.
• Barney Frank: Bonuses to Financial Executives Are Bribes. Dumbass....
• U.S. Woman Swimmer's Trans-Atlantic Odyssey Questioned. 2500 miles in 24 days? Seriously?
• Another not-that-hot virgin is getting seven figure bids for her overpriced and underused vagina.
• Barney Frank: TARP's comp curbs could be extended to all businesses.
• What funeral for a little girl wouldn't be complete without the "God Hates Fags" idiots outside?
• Vlad Radmanovic, whose only D is in his name, says buh-bye to the Lakers.
• $10,286 for Every Middle Class Family? Or "the Stimulus?"
• Old & Busted: President calling for military action w/o thinking it through. New hotness: Same thing.
• No, it's not the worst recession since the 1930s. Yet.
• "Poor" old man who froze to death after losing utilities because of $1K delinquency had over $600K in the bank.
• Translate the Quran? Prepare to die.
• CBS > NBC. CBS gets an exclusive with Captain Sullenberger. NBC gets an exclusive with the octuplets' mom.
• Your twitter history, on Twistory.com
• President declares that organizations can discriminate on the basis of faith and still receive federal funding, but this time it's Obama, so it's okay.
• It's all zen.
• Brooks is dead.
• Lakers > Celtics
• RIP, Casual Friday
• No, Barney Frank, we are not "starting" to hate you. Your ratings are worse than GWB's.
• Meet the strange woman who is addicted to babies
• Idiot Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) advises foreclosed homeowners to squat: "possession is 99% of the law"
• Suddenly, those 12,000 calorie Michael Phelps daily munchies make sense.
• A call for 3% mortgages rates
• 'What Ever Happened To?' and 'Where Are They Now?'
• Jesus Saves. Good Americans spend.
• It looks like the Obama cabinet has its second tax cheat.
• Daily Kos congratulates the GOP on their new "token black" chairman.
• Old and Busted: Billy Carter, Roger Clinton. New and busted: George Obama.

Holy Jim Falls

I set out this morning to hike to the top of Santiago Peak, Orange County's highest point. It didn't work out. We got a late start, compounded by a deep muddy puddle on Trabuco Creek Road's dirt, boulder and water road and drenched the truck with a coating of liquid topsoil. But we arrived around 8:30 ish and started walking. We found that we had only made it about a third of the 7.5 miles to the top by 10:00 a.m., and my pace was definitely slowing. By the time we had gotten close to 3 miles, it was hot, late in the morning, dry and hot. Plus, it was hot. I wasn't sure whether or not I could make it, especially with my bad knee and worse ankle. In my head, I did some math and concluded that a return to the parking lot before sundown was less likely than a return in the dary. My heart was racing and my chest was thumping, but my legs were weakening and my ankle was getting sore. So we decided to turn back and go to Holy Jim Falls.

The waterfall was great. Cold, but great. Caught a couple who looked eager to commit lewd acts, We all took turns dunking out heads, then munched on some snacks, and left. After the hike, we drove out Trabuco Creek road, but it was a mess, and eventually, my truck died. It felt like running out of gas, but I had plenty. The battery died, during mid-drive. It was the carburetor. Dead. Thank God, I have AAA. Take back the thanks when we have to wait an hour and a half to get home. But eventually, we got home from our adventure with little more than a slight limp. Oh, and torn jeans. I killed the jeans, too. That story is less interesting.

The hike to Holy Jim Falls is great this time of year. It's a short easy hike with a 2.8 mile roundtrip. You can carry babies, and any toddler can walk it. You might get wet if you aren't careful. Or, of course, if you want to. For more information, go here: http://www.localhikes.com/hikes/holyjimfalls_4472.asp