Egads!

Two San Diego koalas are setting up residence for the summer at the Kansas City Zoo. They were previewed last night on the eve of the exhibit opening to the public today

This is also my first attempt at uploading and adding a slideshow to a blog entry. The pictures feature one koala - Miimi - and some meercats and lemurs. Here it is…

| View Show | Create Your Own

How many times do experts have to conclude that “humor is the best medicine,” before we stop laughing at them?

An article last week, ala USA TODAY, said that a light heart helps people live longer. Since cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer in the U.S., we might want to take that prescription straight to the problem spot.

With that in mind, got a joke?? Please contribute to the mother load of humor healing!

Here’s one of my favorites:

Guy walks into a bar. It’s mid-afternoon and he’s just gotten out of a rough meeting. He needs a drink.

The bar is empty, but he hears the bartender in the back. So he sits at the bar and waits.

All of a sudden he hears….”Nice tie.”

He looks around. No one’s there. A bang from the kitchen takes his attention, then he thinks maybe he just imagined it. He waits.

A moment later he hears, “You look like a great guy.”

He whips around. No one. He looks over the bar. Nothing. He looks towards the kitchen…maybe there’s a radio or television playing? He waits.

Just as he’s settling into a comfortable state of denial, he hears, “You must do good work.”

Right then, the bartender comes out and sees the perplexed look on the man’s face. “Is everything ok?” asks the bartender.

“I keep hearing this voice.”

“What does it say?” asks the bartender.

“It says I have a nice tie and I’m a great guy…”

“Oh,” the bartender chuckled. “It’s the peanuts. They’re complimentary.”

It’s not just a shelving device…it’s the state of the Middle East.

Enjoy THIS.

Seymour Hersh’s articles are must-reads for everyone who wants to be better informed about what’s really going on within the U.S. government.

Hersh’s current article in The New Yorker examines the Bush administration’s redirection in the Middle East. From Hersh’s assessment, it would seem as though the gates of hell have been opened. Hefty food for thought.

FROM THE NEW YORKER:
Annals of National Security
THE REDIRECTION
Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?

No, not ANOTHER all-video, all-the-time, blog!!!! Yes. And I’m the culprit.

I’m not sure how it will evolve, but Seeforyourself is a site devoted to viewing and discussing online video and its peripheral issues.

Take a look and please leave a comment about what you think. Feel free to pass along the link to anyone you think might be interested.

Calling all This American Life fans. Any thoughts about the first episode of Ira Glass’s tv show? Haven’t seen it? Watch it here.

My thoughts: First segment: Peezilla, a total reenactment. Verdict: Leave it on radio. My bias is that reenactments are basically cheesy – they’re in that presentation purgatory – trying to be a documentary without documentary footage.

Second Segment: Second Chance. Some reenactment parts, but more documentary than reenactment. Verdict: Liked it.

Third Segment: The Spy Who Loved Everybody. Even less staged – or at least whatever was reenacted blurred well into live and archived footage. Verdict: Liked it. Check out Improv Everywhere (they’re expecting us to visit) and Ghosts of Pasha here and here (they weren’t expecting anything).

Of course, they were all strong stories. That’s Ira’s deal. But the question is: What is it? Is the tv version just going to mimic the radio version or will it turn into a separate, distinct partner show? What would it take to do that? In the Ira Glass style, are some stories better served on radio and some on television?

This week Bush made his first appearance at an automotive plant – and he went to not just one but two in the Kansas City area. Making up for lost time. (Although, among all the abysmal actions he’s taken and all the helpful things he’s not done, a presidential visit to see cars being made really wasn’t on my radar of actions of national importance. Details.)

Noted: the local NBC-affiliate reporter said that he’d covered several presidential visits over the past decades and Bush’s appearance was the only one that was not attended by a full-house - and, in fact, the audience was scant.

So, to celebrate, it happened that I had a copy of Who Killed the Electric Car? and took the auspicious occasion to watch it. I highly recommend it, although it wasn’t the best-made film, it offers good information and testimonials and ideas to consider.

The most interesting point to me was the contention that, although the hybrid was also slated to be a non-product in the U.S., the discussion of the format put the Japanese in a competition frenzy, so Honda and Toyota got to it immediately and developed the Prius and the Honda hybrid models and put them on the U.S. market before America could say, “Texaco.”

LESSON: In the future, perhaps, if our government isn’t supplying something we need, should we alert the international competition? Thinking outside of the borders.

In a fluke of opportunity, I also had on hand the DVD Why We Fight - the perfect way to celebrate this week’s 4th anniversary of the Iraqi War. The talented Eugene Jarecki’s Why We Fight (take a glimpse here) is an insightful, well-stitched, fine film. The interviews are gorgeous and intelligent. The historical footage is helpful in drawing the path from the start of the industrial-military congressional complex (yes, “congressional” - learning in progress) to the situation we’re in now. The film makes sense. Of course, I’m receptive to a solid, rational, well-documented explanation, of the state of the world. I wonder what others who give blind support to “the gov’ment” might say about Why We Fight. Have you seen it? What did you think?

In the extras section, there was a piece – with lousy sound, albeit – showing a Q&A session with high school students. One student stated that he was “patriotic” and if drafted, of course he’d go because that’s what you do as an American. Jarecki was well-expressed and shrewd in asking the young man to think about situations in which he might disagree with his country. I hope that kid becomes a thinker, or at least considers thinking about what’s going on, before signing up for whatever bill-of-goods he’s (i.e. we’re) offered.

Ah, I’m exhausted from all the celebrating this week, I might actually get the work done this weekend that I was supposed to get done in the last five days. In politics and life in general, hope springs eternal.

Sure, I’m absent when EVERYTHING is going on!!

-Libby’s convicted
-Libby defends (different Libby
-Walter Reed scandal
-Gonzales in hot water after cleaning house
-Missouri loses the Penguins to, well, their home roost
-and if that wasn’t enough, this early day-light-saving time’s well, early!

What do you think about this and every other little thing?! Have at it…

We’ll all have a better time this summer when we get those vile jello-shot slurping hoodlums off Missouri rivers.

Apparently, jello-shots are a major problem in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways park system - so much so that a new regulation has banned them from the area, along with jello-shot pals: beer bongs and kegs. The rivers in southern Missouri were being misused, according to superintendent Noel Poe. Poe thinks the new regulations will create a more peaceful, safer experience for vacationers. Now, alcohol will still be legal in the park - it’s just the jello-shot that’s outlawed. Goodbye Mr. Cosby; hello, Comrade Absolut.

Check out the list of new regulations for Controlling Rowdy Behavior on The Rivers.

The sun is shining, the snow’s a memory, time to hit the courts! Mesh Tennis speeds up that process by helping you find tennis buddies in your area. Very cool tennis networking site - but it needs more people to sign up. More tennis for everyone! Check it out here. If you’re in the Kansas City area (and not an ace) let me know when we can play!