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Sunday, August 24, 2003

The Ten Commandments You know, you read a lot of nonsense about how the 10 Commandments are part and parcel of our legal system. (Though it's awful hard to even see how they get the number to be 10). But if that's the case, where are any of them represented in, say The Bill of Rights? Or what do they have to do with, say, representative government? Is there anything in the bible about a balance of powers?  (Or, for that matter, where in the bible is there anything about any of this stuff?) And I read some nonsensical Christian whiner asking why we don't take the Jews to task about the commandments. Well, the answer t that is that, at least in this country, the Jews don't seem to be the ones in power who want to insist on inflicting their god on all of us (and don't try to shirk that one: what else does the first commandment mean). 10:39:34 PM  Permalink  comment []

Adaptation I'm sorry I didnt't see Adaptation in the theatre.Not that it's a better movie to see in a theatre (as, say the Lord of the Rings movies are), but that I would have seen it sooner. Watched it on video last night and enjoyed every minute of it. It's a smart, clever (but not too clever for its own good) film with great peformances from Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper. Almost Nabokovian in the way it plays with point of view and structure, especially since you really get to see the fabric of the movie change as it takes place before you. 10:31:37 PM  Permalink  comment []

CEO of Amazon in "sexpot shock" after meeting Kournikova [FARK] Follow the links; the picture's great. 10:10:06 PM  Permalink  comment []

Enjoy Every Sandwich and Keep Me In Your Heart For A While I'm watching the VH1 Inside Out show about Warren Zevon and the recording of his final album. It's a very moving, intimate portrait of the man. he has more great lines in this show than you can remember. I heard the album last week, and it's highly recommended, too. "I'm fading faster than the flowers of early spring." 7:57:27 PM  Permalink  comment []

Hot hot day here today, about 82 in Albany, which is hot indeed. This morning my bike riding pal Ken and I drove down to Jack London Square in Oakland, and caught a ferry to San Francisco. From there, we rode our bikes through Fisherman's Wharf, Fort Mason, the Marina Green, and across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. After a brunch there, we headed back, went the same route, and ended at PacBell Park in San Francisco, just before the Giants/Marlin game began. They have free managed bike parking there, so we stashed the bikes and watched three games from the free portholes in right field. That's really lots of fun. Then back along the Embarcadero and to the East Bay on BART. About 26 miles of bike riding on a beautiful day. Great people-watching. terrific weather, makes you really glad you live in the Bay Area. 5:37:48 PM  Permalink  comment []

Crime Continued to Drop in 2002, U.S. Reports. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Violent and property crimes dipped in 2002 to their lowest levels since records started being compiled 30 years ago, and have dropped more than 50 percent in the last decade, the Justice Department reported Sunday. By The Associated Press. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] 5:30:42 PM  Permalink  comment []

© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.