Jim Capozzola ponders religious proselytising.

And yesterday, while taking care of some errands I was stopped by a young woman who appeared to want to ask me for directions or the time. I was wrong.
“Do you know Jesus?” she asked me.
I paused, and, not having blogged anything particularly snarky that day, my sarcastic streak emerged: “You mean the guy who owns that electronics store on Walnut Street?” I responded.
She was not amused. But then, neither was I.

Yes, but have you ever been proselytised at on a bus where you can't make an easy escape from the proselyte? I have. It was not pleasant. However, I eventually took my vengeance on him by writing him into a story wherein I made him a follower of an evil alien deity who comes to an untimely and violent end at the hands of a minion of another evil alien deity.

posted by James Russell | 5:38 PM

Fancy a drink of this?



Via Tony T.

posted by James Russell | 5:08 PM

And I'm starting to get pretty fed up with Shane Warne too. Here's his statement after being banned the other day.

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm absolutely devastated and very upset at the committee's decision in suspending me for 12months and I will appeal.

Understandable, of course. I don't think he'll get off on appeal, but if he has the legal right to pursue it then he's quite right to. But:

I feel that I'm a victim of the anti-doping hysteria. I also want to repeat: I have never taken any performance enhancing drugs and I never will.

Uh, Shane, mate, I don't recall anyone saying that you did. The only reference to performance-enhancing drugs I read in this whole debacle of yours was that diuretics can mask them, which is why diuretics are banned. I don't recall anyone accusing you of actually taking steroids or anything like that. And:

My shoulder comeback was exactly as my surgeon and physio predicted. I'm proud of the dedication I've shown in my rehabilitation and fitness regime over the past 12 months. The tablet I took on the 21st of January was a fluid tablet. I did not know it as a diuretic. I knew it as a fluid tablet.
I feel that a 12-month suspension is a very harsh penalty for not checking what I took with anyone.

With those words, poor Shane just condemns himself as an idiot out of his own mouth. THAT'S THE WHOLE FUCKING POINT, SHANE. You DIDN'T check the tablet was OK. You SHOULD have done, according to the RULES. Maybe it is a harsh penalty, but it's in the RULES, and you got off LIGHTER THAN YOU COULD HAVE DONE anyway. And what's this "I only knew it was a fluid tablet, not a diuretic", eh? You didn't realise there was NO DIFFERENCE between the two? Idiot.

posted by James Russell | 4:31 PM

The Grammys: to protest or not to protest? First they apparently said:

A senior CBS executive warned that microphones might be unplugged if any performance turned political. He said: "There is a time for political commentary. This is not one of them."
There were reports that at least one of the acts performing at the ceremony was planning an anti-war gesture.

Then later they apparently said:

"There will be no restrictions on artistic expression or opinions expressed during acceptance speeches," said CBS spokesman Chris Ender.

Of course I'm sure everyone appearing there will have been advised to not express those opinions anyway. The Grammys aren't going to be THAT politically open...

posted by James Russell | 4:10 PM

Is there snow on Mars?

posted by James Russell | 3:53 PM

Surprise surprise.

A teenage girl who underwent a second heart-lung transplant after doctors bungled the first one by giving her mismatched organs died yesterday from complications of her surgeries, officials said.
Jesica Santillan, 17, was pronounced dead at Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C., at 1:25 p.m. after she suffered brain damage following the second operation, and repeated tests failed to find blood flow to her brain or any brain activity, officials said. [...]
"All of us at Duke University Hospital are deeply saddened by this," the hospital's chief executive officer, William Fulkerson, said in a statement. "We want Jesica's family and supporters to know that we share their loss and their grief. We very much regret these tragic circumstances."

I'll just bet you regret them, especially since I reckon there's going to be a king-size malpractice lawsuit come out of this one. The hospital's basically already admitted guilt, so I suppose it's just a matter of which lawyer can chase the ambulance the fastest...

posted by James Russell | 3:50 PM

Iraq really loves us.

So yesterday, buoyed by the protests, Iraqi Trade Minister Mohamed Saleh sent what amounted to a massive thank you note.
He announced that Iraq had decided to resume all orders for Australian wheat - worth up to $800 million a year - out of respect for Australian farmers, the Australian Wheat Board and the Australian public's clear opposition to war.
"We still respect the position of the wheat board, who have stayed with us in difficult times," Mr Saleh said.
"For this reason we have kept our (trade relationship) with Australia open, not in favour of the Government of Australia but in favour of the farmers of Australia and the Wheat Board of Australia.
"After the demonstrations which have taken place against the Prime Minister in Australia, we have decided to resume our normal orders."

This is just hilarious, especially coming only the day after his Howardship accused the anti-war protesters from last week of giving comfort to Saddam. Kind of puts them in a difficult spot, eh... cos one could argue that selling wheat to Iraq is technically also giving a form of comfort to Saddam, and yet they can't exactly cancel the sale without pissing off the farmers... and what do they do when war is declared? This could become fun...

posted by James Russell | 12:01 AM