Intelligent Design

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GI01Ak01.html

"One other thing worth mentioning is that Iraq’s will probably be the only constitution in the world that enshrines “fighting terrorism” as one of the state’s objectives. Given how “terrorism” in Iraqi discourse has been used by pro-occupation Iraqis and US officials to refer to the resistance movement, the clause could be invoked to legally justify continuing military offensives against political forces that refuse to come to terms with the occupation and the political process it has bred. As has happened in other countries, the “war against terror” could also conceivably be used to justify continuing US military presence in Iraq."

We've got company

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 31 -Refugees from Hurricane Katrina who sought safety in the New Orleans Superdome will be taken by bus to the Astrodome in Houston under a plan worked out by state, federal and other rescue agency officials, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said today.

The refugees will make the 350-mile trip from New Orleans to Houston on 475 buses provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the governor said. The Astrodome will be available to house them at least until December, and longer, if necessary. He also said he would open the doors to Texas' public schools to children from out of state whose families were left homeless by the storms.

"By the grace of God, we could be the ones who have this extraordinary need," Mr. Perry said. "This happened hundreds of miles to our west; these are our neighbors. These are people in need and Texas is going to do everything we can in our power to help."

I particularly like Gov. Perry's silent admission of his slightly skewed sense of direction

Viva Mexico

So the Polish princess and I have successfully embedded ourselves into Mexico City. We've decided that a short-term goal is to live here for a substantial amount of time. There is just so much in this city and we only have two days left. Fresas y cremas, pomegranate seeds with chile, gringas, tortas on the side of the street, the sting of pollution in the eyes, Kubrick films and free hardcore porn in our hotel room... There´s just not enough time to enumerate all the reasons you (whoever you are) should be here.
I would definitely agree with my counterpart and dear friend Misty that this is an extremely user-friendly city. All the stops on the metro are identified with icons that make navigation of the city incredibly easy, even for two gringos with marginal command of the Spanish language.... btw, does anybody know of good psy-trance clubs in Mexico city. If so, you should comment and let me know. I will then be indebted to you by exactly 10 ducats.

paces.

I Hate dicking around with HTML table data

Indeed, that is one of the many nuances that I get to wrestle with in the course of my job. Still, I continue to remind myself of the folks in Beijing who ladle human waste from septic tanks into metal drums mounted on the back of their tricycle carts.
Corporate culture is not the environment to foster the spark of creativity, or perversely I lack the creative spark to understand how to go about doing so. My co-worker Richard and I have come to the conclusion that the true function of the Illuminati is to create enough minor inconveniences throughout the course of any typical day that the individual becomes paradoxically overwhelmed and bored simultaneously. Laugh if you will, but all the signs are there. On that slightly paranoid note, I re-discovered the site They Rule recently. They've updated their interface to allow for more user interface, so that YOU too can build your own maps of corporate and political world domination.
Mexico City is four days away... Aga and I will be traipsing around Mexico City and Oaxaca for two weeks. Any suggestions/recommendations/cautionary tales from you folks would be profoundly appreciated.

A certain... special... song...

Among the many responsibilities of Agnes's job this summer was the task of attending to 8 college-age kids from Shanghai who were part of a summer program at UT. They all came over to the homestead on Friday night and we manufactured and then ate spring rolls. At some seminal moment in the evening they discovered my cache of neglected Chinese study materials and proceeded to quiz me on chengyu's (chinese aphorisms) for about a half an hour, deriving great enjoyment from the fact that I recalled something on the order of 10%. White folks speaking Chinese continues to be one of the most entertaining sites for Chinese folks it seems. The summer has been lazy and I must say Austin is the best place I've encountered to pass time in such a way. Days on end have been passed at Barton Springs and Hamilton Pool, soaking in deep the profound radiation that permeates a Texas summer. There has been much ado about the current cohabitation situation of myself, Aga, Cristen, Kasia, and her stallion of a man from Ireland, Stephen. Living with five people in a 3-br house can at times generate a certain novel type of honesty. As there is little opportunity to look away from the qualities of those you are co-habitating with, their persona is something that you can be less selective about viewing and the full-spectrum begins to enter the picture. Still, I prefer knowing folks as they are rather than as I would have them be.
I just finished reading Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and would recommend it to any and all that are appreciate cyberpunk culture, post-modern philosophy, surrealism, or detective novels. Yes, it really does have something for everyone.