"But when I say a 'size 10', I just want you to know I wear a 12, heh heh..."

I'm not sure how many dozen times I've seen the clip of Dubya getting shoes chucked at him yesterday. But it ain't going away any time soon. Right after it happened, I thought it was shocking and hilarious. Now, given Dubya's attempt to spin it so clumsily I'm convinced it is an incident that will live on along with the worst of the worst gag reel for this era. The fact that Dubya tried to joke initially is the strongest indication of how little he understands about the Middle East. Anyone who's read a newspaper since Baghdad fell in 2003 (remember that Saddam statue?) knows that being hit with a shoe or even just being taunted with the sole of a shoe is like flipping someone the bird while taunting yo' momma's past work as a prostitute. Why are the Arab media and cities throughout the region so all over this story? Because even a blind street urchin knows what an insult this was to have thrust fully into a final stupid photo op for Dubya. To try to make it into a non-issue by way of dismissal...well, that worse than turning around a whipping a cowboy boot back from the podium.

Speaking of street urchins - we saw "Slumdog Millionaire" last night. A small gem of a film that receives a very high recommendation. My rating - an A-minus. Romantic, uplifting, sad and beautifully shot. My only question leaving the theatre is whether Regis Philbin has seen it yet. If you've done so, you might get my drift. Hint - the Indian Regis portrayal maybe says something about both characters.

Another quickie review for folks here in Seattle. After the movie, Sarah and I had a delicious date dinner at Cafe` Spinasse on Capitol Hill. Their pasta is masterful. Everything else we tried we'd try again. By far the best Italian food I've ever had in Seattle. My rating - a B-plus with a few caveats. First of all, I want to go back and try more. Second, it's pretty spendy. But for a special meal, it's worth every nickel.

Seattle's frozen somewhat solid after getting a few inches of snow and much lower than normal temps over the weekend. The pipes at Maya's daycare froze this morning. All we heard at holiday parties over the weekend was plans to head to warmer climates soon. My reaction? Eh. Maya and I head to Wisconsin this weekend where daytime high temps appear to be hovering around zero. Makes 30 degrees and crystal clear sound like t-shirt weather, doncha know.

Hope your own aim on that second shoe is a bit better this time around. Rock on.

Bowling for Crandon

It's so typical that it barely makes the front-pages of America anymore - a killing spree in a small town due to some sort of hothead snapping like a treebranch in a light wind. But the massacre of 6 people and the killing of the cop who murdered them over a stupid argument surely caught my attention. Because it occurred in a small town in Northern Wisconsin much like the one I grew up in. Crandon, Wisconsin. Just outside Rhinelander on Highway 8. Full of people that live to hunt and fish and snowmobile and cheer for the Packers. In the early morning hours after the Homecoming game and dance, a jilted boyfriend got insulted by an ex-girlfriend and the friends she had over for pizza and movies. He went back to his car and grabbed this gun.



Then he killed everyone in the room except one who was critically wounded. The shooter was a 20-year-old off-duty cop. The town is devastated. And the Nation shrugs. There's a GOP debate in Michigan tonight. Do you think anyone's going to ask that field of gun nuts to comment? Me neither.

Hope your own weapons are locked not loaded today. Rock on.