| DAY ONE: My brother Aziz, who lives a little further up the road in Benicia, Cali, has three kids. They are alright, as kids go. They ain't too loud, they don't cuss, and get the average amount of love so they don't have attitudes. I got to give Aziz that: he raised his kids alright... "Family Ties" RADIO RAHEEM More
CARTOONS BY GASPIRTZ: A droll sense of humor, a twist of fate. OLIVER GASPIRTZ. MY GLASS HOUSE: I had a poignant e-mail "conversation" this week with a woman who attended high school with me. Talk about going into the WayBack Machine! It was tough to talk about all those people from years ago, some of whom I'd NEVER want to see again ... ROD AMIS "You Can't Go Home Again" - More POWERSSOUND: Bobby Gordon certainly has been there and done that. He studied the clarinet with the great Joe Marsala. He has worked with Wild Bill Davison, Bobby Hackett and Muggsy Spanier. Gordon also worked extensively with Jim Cullums Jazz Band and with blues singer Leon Redbone. Gordon definitely paid all sorts of dues. Dave McKenna, now considered one of the originals in jazz piano, has worked with a long line of names, including Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Zoot Sims, and Bobby Hackett. McKenna is a strong believer that two hands are required to play jazz, and his left hand has been described as "a rhythm section unto itself."
These two jazz wheels are accompanied with a sense of perfection by Frank Tate on bass and Joe Ascione on drums. "Clarinet Times Two" BOB POWERS - More
SUBJECT: Richard O'Meara - Who is Observing Whom? Sir, I have just read the above article and I was amazed at the shallowness of the analysis. In fact I thought at first it might have been some form of joke. However, I have just checked on the internet and I see that he is really whom he claims to be. Normally I wouldn't respond to an internet article but I am concerned to note that Mr. O'Meara is now writing and giving lectures on Northern Ireland, and other hot spots. I can only hope his knowledge of the other hot spots is rather deeper than that on NI, otherwise I fear for the future of his students as they may find their education is sadly inadequate. There are plenty of good sources for information on NI - apart from the internet sites "Newshound" and the "Cain Project", I would recommend as primary background information the books "Northern Ireland Politics" by Aughey & Morrow (Eds.) or, one of my favourites, "A History of Northern Ireland" by Thomas Hennessey. I do hope the quality of the work of the other "international observers" is rather more thorough than that of Mr. O'Meara. I have never been to America however I have visited France and Spain (and other countries) upon several occasions. Nevertheless, I would never presume to be able to claim from such visits that I gained anything other than a very superficial, and probably inaccurate, insight into the nature of French or Spanish society; certainly not enough to enable me to overcome my existing preconceived, although not necessarilty negative, views. Unfortunately, I rather suspect much the same flaw may apply to the "international observers". I can see a very useful function for such observers - when they restrict their activites to very limited objectives, such as overseeing that election procedures are fairly applied. ( I apologize if I should have used the title of Brigadier General - I am not sure if the title is retained in the USA after retirement - no discourtesy is intended)
Preston G. More
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 AMERICAN DREAMS:
Being Joe EszterhasBOB POWERS
Well, success has been achieved. His new book, American Rhapsody quickly reached lofty heights on the New York Times bestseller list. You wouldn't think that anyone would want to read another book about Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp and Ken Starr.
The people who spent $25.95 for a copy of American Rhapsody must be questioning their own sanity. The book seems entirely made of "news" that was easily available in press clippings and earlier books by a phalanx of authors seeking the Big Bucks. More
We've Got Game - Part 2 or 2Members of the MOIA Discussion ListA secondary concern of this MOIA investigation was how gaming was shaping the Web. Porn sites have gotten multiple props for being the edge of the envelope for Web innovation, but gaming sites --- at least in my view --- have never been recognized as leading-edge. So I turned to the members of the MOIA Discussion List for insights.
The first Survey question in this seque-section was: Do you believe the the future of Web interfaces are being driven by gaming technology?
Graeme Smith wrote in: "NO - They are there but I have recently gone broadband and I think news, movie and music media are way ahead of games as drivers of the net right now. When working and surfing I can't remember the last time I stopped to visit a games site I came across, but news and MP3's get me every time..." More
Sex with a Side of CommitmentED CANTARELLAIt was a Friday afternoon, the phones were forwarded, the secretaries were all gone, and a male co-worker and I were sitting in the lounge/lunchroom - just shooting the breeze. I had indicated to him that I was in no hurry to join the rush-hour traffic, as my wife and kids were going to be gone until very late in the evening - Dinner Alone. I suggested to him we could retire to the new pub down the street for a cold beer before heading out. That's when my co-worker, an pretty decent looking, lifelong bachelor in his mid 40s, started into his usual suggestion that we hop in his car and drive out to a local, legendary "strip and dinner club". Basically, from what he tells me, they have an "all you can eat" dinner buffet, and your beverages are brought to you by an either "topless" or "bottomless" waitress. (Seriously. One end or the other must be covered to comply with local ordinance).
Many of my casual acquaintances would be surprised that I, of all people, would pass on such a "feast" for the eyes; especially, considering my love of "off-color" jokes. It wasn't that the thought of eyeing the well-endowed young women who are inevitably employed at strip clubs (been there, done that) failed to interest me, or that it would rack me with terrible guilt (Oh dear, a married "nature lover" in a strip club!); it was the buffet aspect, the looming excess, both visually and gastronomically, that turned me off. More
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Generating energy for the 21st Century. GENERATOR 21 A.K.A. G21
FEED THE HUNGRY. You can help someone else in this world and IT WON'T COST YOU A DIME. If you simply remember to drop by The Hunger Site every day that you surf and click a simple button ONE LESS PERSON WILL GO HUNGRY. The food is distributed by the United Nations World Food Programme and paid for through the sponsorship of companies that care. Do your part.
OTHER EDITIONS
THE PREVIOUS EDITION
(An IRISH EYES SPECIAL REPORT: Brig. General Richard O'Meara reports as a human rights observer to the "Marching Days" in Northern Ireland; RADIO RAHEEM kicks off the week's RDR with a homage to horror films --- and more, yes! more!)
THE NEXT EDITION
| The WRITERS | SEARCH ENGINES | TALKBACK | AWARDS |
| MY GLASS HOUSE | THE PREVIOUS EVENT | COMING ATTRACTIONS | THE WRITERS/GUIDELINES | |
Eszterhas no longer managed to be in the Hollywood headlines on a regular basis. Then came word that Joe was working on a new book. That book would be an exhaustive look at the scandals that involved President Clinton. Suddenly, Eszterhas seemed about to become "hot" once more. He continued to reinvent himself, and it looked like it was happening again.
I was surprised at what I learned. The seque from discussing computer/console/video games to talking about "virtual" (VRML) environments seemed natural to me.
