Ontario Empoblog

I took this picture on July 29, 2006 from Primm, Nevada. Primm, for those not in the know, is a town on Interstate 15 just over the Nevada border. There are three casinos, a shopping center, and several other businesses in Primm, catering to the crowd of people heading up from Southern California toward Las Vegas. Some of them don't even get to Vegas; Primm is a destination in itself. But this is not a picture OF Primm; it's a picture taken FROM Primm. The business in the picture is on the California side of the border. And it does a thriving business. Because while there are three places in Primm that you can gamble (not counting the discount shops), the business in the picture is the ONLY place where you can buy California lottery tickets! From the Ontario Empoblog (Latest OVVA news here )

In an article announcing that Survivor's segregated tribes had desegregated by the third episode, E Online cited the following: Before the new season aired, major advertisers, including General Motors, Proctor & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson and Home Depot, pulled their sponsorship, taking nearly $26 million in ad revenue with them, though the advertisers and CBS claimed the mass exodus had nothing to do with the show's controversy. Viewers, too, have jumped ship. About 17.7 million tuned in for the season premiere--the smallest audience for a Survivor premiere since its inaugural season--and 17.4 million stuck around for week two. This week's episode drew 16.6 million, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen Media Research. But I half wonder if the whole Survivor concept has run out of steam. Choose an area in the tropics, put a bunch of people there, etc., etc. But it's not the only reality show that may have lost steam. I regularly watched the f...

In a couple of blogs, I noted that al-Masri's recent statements did not result in mass protest in the Muslim world. In all fairness, however, I should note that the Council on American Islamic Relations issued this press release on September 11, 2006: News Releases Monday, September 11, 2006 CAIR: U.S. Muslims Repudiate Al-Qaeda Rhetoric, Worldview CAIR 'We will not allow terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda to be the voice of Muslims' (WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/11/06) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today released a statement repudiating the rhetoric and worldview expressed in an Al-Qaeda videotape released on the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. In his statement, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said: "As we commemorate the 5th anniversary of the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization in the United States, would like to use this opportunity to c...

Quickie thoughts on this God and reason thingie. From the Wikipedia biography of Thomas Aquinas : Aquinas defined the four cardinal virtues as prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude. The cardinal virtues are natural and revealed in nature, and they are binding on everyone. There are, however, three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. These are supernatural and are distinct from other virtues in their object, namely, God: "Now the object of the theological virtues is God Himself, Who is the last end of all, as surpassing the knowledge of our reason. On the other hand, the object of the intellectual and moral virtues is something comprehensible to human reason. Wherefore the theological virtues are specifically distinct from the moral and intellectual virtues." From the Augustine Club at Columbia University : The promise of Christ is that if we die to ourselves, we will rise to live eternally with him: unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it r...

Because Blogger is especially slow today, I went to MySpace to write my comparison of the Pope's recent remarks with al-Masri's remarks . If you're not familiar with the latter, here's part of the story: In a new audio message Thursday, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq called for explosives experts and nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war against the West. "We are in dire need of you," said the man, who identified himself as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir — also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri — the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. "The field of jihad (holy war) can satisfy your scientific ambitions, and the large American bases (in Iraq) are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty, as they call them." He also said that more than 4,000 foreign militants have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 — the first apparent acknowledgment from the insurgents about their losses. It was unclear why al-Masri wo...

Newspaper editors know that they will sell papers if they characterize Anna Nicole Smith in as trashy a manner as possible. Thus, coverage of the death of Daniel Smith, Anna Nicole's son, has included lines such as this: Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son died from a lethal combination of a drug that treats heroin addiction -- methadone -- and two antidepressants, pathologist Cyril Wecht says. This was the opening paragraph in the news story, and for those of us who just read the opening paragraphs of stories, the implication is clear - Smith was a recovering heroin addict. The text above is what displays when you perform a Yahoo search . But when you go to the article itself, the text now reads slightly differently: Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son died from the "accidental" effect of methadone and two antidepressant drugs interacting in his system, according to a well-known American pathologist who conducted a private autopsy. And later in the story, the ar...

All baby seal clubbers unite and pledge support for the greatest country in the world! And tell the Communists that they have no place in the land of the free: 7-Eleven Inc. is dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier after more than 20 years as part of a previously announced plan by the convenience store operator to launch its own brand of fuel. 7-Eleven officials said Wednesday that the company's decision was partly motivated by politics. Citgo Petroleum Corp. is a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-run oil company and 7-Eleven is worried that anti-American comments made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez might prompt motorists to fill-up elsewhere. Chavez has called President George W. Bush the devil and an alcoholic.... "Regardless of politics, we sympathize with many Americans' concern over derogatory comments about our country and its leadership recently made by Venezuela's president," said 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabr...

From Stacy Nadeau to the real catwalk. Credit Jeff Pope and Evelyn Erives for alluding to this September 10 story on KGGI-FM this morning: Madrid fashion show snubs skinny models Organizers of the pageant, known as the Pasarela Cibeles, used a mathematical formula to calculate the models' body mass index -- a measure of their weight in relation to their height -- and 30 percent of the women flunked, said the Association of Fashion Designers of Spain. The association said Friday it wanted models at the show running Sept. 18 to 22 to project ''an image of beauty and health'' and shun a gaunt, emaciated look.... [T]he Madrid regional government decided to...pressure organizers to hire women who could be positive role models for girls obsessed with being thin and prone to starving themselves, said Concha Guerra, deputy finance minister of the regional administration. Fashion shows, Guerra said, ''are mirrors for many young women.'' [Jesus] Del Pozo s...

I confess something. As a Redskins fan, I confess that I was very happy when Terrell Owens signed with the Dallas Cowboys. And I confess the reason for my happiness. I figured that Owens would be a huge distraction to the Cowboys, thus reducing their winning chances. But when I thought of "distractions," I thought of Owens mouthing off at the quarterback or the coach or something like that, or possibly refusing to play for some reason. But I didn't dream that a distraction like this would occur: Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens tried to kill himself by overdosing on pain medication, police said, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened. A Dallas police report released Wednesday morning said Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the report were first released by WFAA-TV. The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that (his) prescription pain medication was empty and observed (Owens) putting...

But I did find this nice version of the Backstreet Boys' "Incomplete," courtesy Katie Couric's former employer. More interesting musically than their Top of the Pops appearance . From the Ontario Empoblog (Latest OVVA news here )

Get this video and more at MySpace.com Enough said. Taken at the Los Angeles County Fair. From the Ontario Empoblog (Latest OVVA news here )

Now I don't know if they were stones or papers - you be the judge. In the Ontario Logoblog I quoted from Wes Morriston's paper that quoted from the Rabbi Simcha Bunam. Out in the Quad Cities, here's how Rabbi Karp presented the issue back in 1998: We come to Yom Kippur, searching out our souls. Asking the questions, "Who are we? What are we?" We stand between two infinities; the infinity that is beyond us and the infinity that is within us. We stand at the center of the universe. So who are we? What are we? Are we the center of the universe? Or are we a nearly invisible dot, lost within the cosmic grandeur? Or are we the culmination of creation, the very home of infinity itself? Perhaps we are one. Perhaps we are another. Perhaps we are all three. Each one of us must seek out our own answers on this day of Yom Kippur; on every day of our lives. Perhaps we will find that our answers reside somewhere in between them all. As Rabbi Simcha Bunam was fond of telling h...

I now have a MyChurch profile . If you don't know about MyChurch, go here . I previously commented about MyChurch here . In response to my "unepiscopal" comment, one of the MyChurch people noted the following: In terms of theology, we treat the churches as autonomous entities. So the members do rule the roost, but we also have some high-level guidelines. We don't allow for LDS, Jehova Witness, and other church denominations that do not fall in line with mainstream Christianity. So, for what it's worth, MyChurch is a reflection of the views of the people within the churches, and not specifically the official views of the churches themselves. This in itself is not necessarily "good" or "bad," but it should be noted. Red Herring published an entire article on the trend: Launched earlier this month, MyChurch is one of the newer contestants to join the littered playing field of Internet social networks. The site is targeting younger generations i...

The minions who do Oprah's bidding have created a public relations nightmare for her: Oprah Winfrey says her lawyers shouldn't have gone after the man who is trying to promote her as a candidate for president. Not because she's running, mind you. "I feel flattered by it," the 52-year-old talk-show host told The Associated Press on Monday. "My lawyers overreacted, I think, by sending him a cease-and-desist order because it really is a flattering thing." It should have been handled in a phone call, said Winfrey, who said she's thinking of calling Patrick Crowe of Kansas City, Mo., herself. Crowe has been campaigning to urge Winfrey to run for president for years, setting up a Web site that has its own campaign song. A month ago, Winfrey's lawyers sent Crowe a letter demanding that he remove her picture from his Web site. Winfrey's smiling face remained on http://www.oprah08.net Monday. Now we have to wonder what will happen next. Oprah has sai...

The University of Southern California (abbreviation: "UCLA") has some fairly comprehensive trademark and identity protection and branding provisions , as a recent grad informed me. The USC Graphic Identity Program is composed of a system of coordinated graphic elements, including the USC Logo, the USC Monogram, the University Seal and the Trojan Head, as well as the official colors and typefaces. The goal of the Graphic Identity Program is to distinguish all university print, digital and product applications as clearly recognizable USC products. When consistently applied with the university’s full name, the Graphic Identity elements work together to convey the unique qualities of the University of Southern California and to create a coherent USC image. Here's part of what they say about colors : The university's official colors, USC Cardinal and USC Gold, are a central component of the Graphic Identity Program for all print, product, stationery and Web applications. ...

We often assume that the right to privacy is a First Amendment right, handed down by the Founding Fathers, for which brave men hath spilt their blood. Well, I don't know the legal justification for the right to privacy, but in essence there is no such right in many circumstances. Take, for example, Pinellas County's Who's in Jail website. I only know one person in Pinellas County, and he works for the Sheriff's Office and (hopefully) isn't in the database, but it's amazing what information can be found. For example, I can see all people who were booked by the Florida Highway Patrol on September 1, 2006. Here's an example of what you can find: Name Docket No. Booking Date Arresting Agency Address City State Zip Code Race Sex DOB Place of Birth Arrest Age Eyes Hair Complexion Height Weight Scars, Marks & Tattoos You can also find the offense description, as well as the statute under which the person was arrested. And people are worried about information t...

When I've had to work very late, I've felt "entitled" to come in to work a little late the next day. Lucky I didn't work for this company: When I’d been there a few weeks, [IT Director] Edmund called a meeting...[T]he project seemed to be going smoothly, and after he relayed the good word to LaceLand’s CEO, she was so pleased she gave our entire migration team tickets to the Super Bowl game.... Unfortunately, as game day approached -- with our deadline only one week behind it -- we hit a snag....I didn’t care about the game that much, so I volunteered to work on the problem while the rest of the crew enjoyed their party weekend. For the next two days, working at home, I dissected the data and finally managed to convert it to a format that the new system would accept. At midnight on Sunday I stumbled into bed, fully expecting to be hailed as a hero the next morning. I figured it would be OK to show up a few hours late. But when I walked in, Edmund started yelling ...

I wrote an entire post about moves to get the United States out of the United Nations , and Blogger lost the whole thing. That does it. Get us out of there now. Here's some of the links that I pursued while writing the original post. I'm not gonna recreate the entire post, however: http://oemperor.blogspot.com/2005/05/when-will-non-americans-chant-un-out.html http://oemperor.blogspot.com/2005/05/when-will-non-americans-chant-un-out_09.html http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r109:FLD001:E00382 http://www.nevadagop.org/About/Default.aspx?SectionId=290 http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=528 http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=2581 http://www.thebatt.com/news/2004/11/15/Opinion/America.Should.Withdraw.From.The.United.Nations-804663.shtml http://amitghate.blogspot.com/2006/07/withdraw-from-united-nations.html http://www.local4all.com/view_newsstory.php?news_id=305 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_from_the_United_Nations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_...

I couldn't figure out why my Michelle Lissel searches had suddenly spiked. Then I saw this post at Soccer Golazo: [I]t is with no small amount of sadness I am reporting that one of our favorites is moving on to bigger and better things. Michelle has joined the Media and PR department of the new MLS franchise, Toronto FC. Her last show on the FSW Report will be Friday 22 September 2006. Of course, more people probably read the blog report of one Bobby McMahon : Michelle's last week with the FSWR...it is true. Sep 17, 2006 | 6:31PM | report this Michelle will be doing her final Fox Sports World Report show this coming Friday. After five years she is off to Toronto to join the Media and PR department of Toronto FC who will be making their MLS debut in 2007. We will all miss her but it is a fantastic opportunity for her and she will do a wonderful job for the newest member of the MLS family. As I write this, Jeremy St. Louis hasn't updated his blog since August. And the only ...

OK, not everyone is enamored with the song, or the video . For example : Scandinavia - the strong hold of design and style and impecable taste. This stereotype is true, apartments are stylishly decorated, people are tall blond stunning and oh-so-stylishly dressed. It is enough to give anyone else an inferiority complex . . . The Danes are not the only ones responsible for bad pop music. The Swedes are still going strong! Another big song here at the moment is "Boten Anna"by Basshunter. You have to watch this one as well. I've linked to the English subtitled version, so you can truly appreciate how cheesy this song is. Whilst Boing is just cringingly awful, this one has a cute cheesy appeal. Many Danes originally thought this song was about a boat, a super boat that cleans up channels, but no, it is about a 'bot', of course, what else. How can anyone have a hit singing about an IRC application!!! This guy needs to get out more. You'll notice in the film clip no...

So I live vicariously through the lives of others attending a rave...in Vermont: During: oh man, it was so great....I king of spun near the table all mu crud was on cause it was really dark, and not many people were there, but i got sooo many compliments from people. I was so happy, all my practice wasn't in vain.... During one song, i dont remember which, a giiiiant circle formed. Like, everyone formed this circle, and of course people were going in and stuff while everyone cheered, and Eddie told me i should go in but i was like "^_^;;;" but after someone came out and no one was going in, Ryan basiclly pushed me in. Lol, so i started spinning and everyone cheered, oh man.. it was so great. I didn't mess up at all while i was in there, and when i got back out a bunch of people were liek "DUDE! That was CRAZY!" lol. i felt really awesome, hahaa.... aaanyway, the last hour finially came around but i was sooo exhausted. Spinning takes so much out of you, x_x....

In an interview at Culture Bully, Gary Numan said the following: I see very little in the charts that has the depth or the power to interest me. So much of today’s chart music is based on looking backwards for ideas rather than forwards and I hate that. It’s too light weight, too wimpy. The heavier, more interesting things struggle to get heard so it never seems likely that they are just about to break and find a bigger audience. Still, it happens from time to time so perseverance obviously has a lot to do with it. So Numan is criticizing those who look backwards for ideas. Wha? Numan wore heavy make-up and was clearly inspired – self-admittedly so – by David Bowie, Marc Bolan and contemporary electronic acts such as Ultravox! and The Human League, both in their pre-fame incarnations....The music which brought him fame was groove-based, riff-based music performed with synthesisers, Numan's distinctively reedy, cockney voice delivering lyrics which seemed to have been read from the...

One of my MySpace friends lives far away and all that junk, and the current song on this friend's MySpace page is a song called "Boten Anna." It was like foreign and stuff, so I had to search to figure out what the song was about : "Boten Anna"...is a song by Swedish dance musician Basshunter. Due to the song, Basshunter became a noted artist in his native Sweden, as well as Denmark and Norway after the release of the single in 2006.... The Swedish lyrics of Boten Anna tell the story of a female IRC user mistaken for an IRC bot by the vocalist who later finds out the truth; subsequently, however, he states that she will always remain a bot in his eyes. Despite the esoteric subject of the lyrics, the song was well-received by mainstream media, albeit the word bot was frequently mistaken for boat (as many people don't know how to pronounce bot correctly), and the double meaning of channel (IRC channel mistaken for the water body with the same name - channel). ...

09/16/06 00:01:08 can I enter naval academy with a deviated septum? (Google) From the Ontario Empoblog (Latest OVVA news here )

Celebrity Smack references a new protest website , TellParisNo.com: TellParisNo.com Someone Has To: Tell Paris No! Demand Paris Hilton Stop Collecting Illegal Wildlife Free Baby Luv The Captive Rainforest Kinkajou! Alleged singer and celebutante Paris Hilton, desperate for attention – any attention – has recently inflicted her lifestyle on a succession of exotic pets as a publicity ploy. The latest victim of her affections is a captive “pet” kinkajou cloyingly named “Baby Luv,” which has appeared in public draped across Paris as if it were the latest fashion trend. A kinka-what? The kinkajou (Potos flavus), also know as the “Honey Bear,” is a nocturnal tree-climbing mammal related to the raccoon that lives in the rainforests of Central and South America. Although kinkajous may appear cute and cuddly, they are wild animals that belong in the rainforest eating tropical fruit, not ducking from flashbulbs on fashion runways or sipping lattes in the cafes and trendy clubs of Los Angeles. I...

We'll get to today's Hitler in a moment. But first, before we consider the allegedly offensive statement that the Pope quoted, I'd like to present something written by a theologian. I'll tell you which theologian wrote it at the end of this post. [T]he world’s profoundly religious cultures see this exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason as an attack on their most profound convictions. A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures. This theologian was speaking of multiple "profoundly religious cultures," including three of the cultures in question here - Islam, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Roman Catholic Christianity. But we'll return to this quote later. Now we'll get to today's Hitler, Pope Benedict. The sound bite version of the story : Benedict quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine ...