Otis Chandler 1927-2006
Topic: In Memoriam
A Lion of Journalism

With the passing of Otis Chandler, former publisher of the Los Angeles Times, California has lost one of its greatest and most emblematic citizens.

I was shocked and saddened to read of his death. I thought that he would easily make it to 100, living life to the fullest all the way. This was truly a great man. At least he left behind a magnificent legacy. Whenever anyone speaks of the golden age of the LA Times, it is always in reference to the years when Otis Chandler was at the helm. He will always be a Los Angeles icon, and a role model for anyone who strives to inform and to educate.

God bless his family.

John Spencer 1946-2005
Topic: In Memoriam
'West Wing' actor dies at 58

What a terrible shame. He was a terrific actor.

Click to enlarge
Topic: (Lame attempts at) Humor
Nearly one in four Britons fat

What struck me about this article was the picture on the left. It shows a plus-sized Englishwoman in a swimming pool; below it is a hyperlink labeled, "Click to enlarge". Wouldn't that just be contributing to the problem?

The buck stops here
Topic: Miscellaneous
Presidents to appear on dollar coins

"The U.S. Mint beginning in 2007 will start striking new dollar coins featuring the pictures of dead presidents for the first time in decades. The dollar coins are expected to save the government about $500 million a year because they last longer than paper dollars."

These coins should be very lucrative for the government, since so many people will want them to collect, not even to spend.

Dollar coins, to me, make sense. They last for decades, and they're convenient. Besides, the dollar today has the same spending power that a quarter had in 1974.

The old Eisenhower dollars were great. I like the Sacagawea dollars too. I look forward to the Nixon dollar.

Topic: News and Politics
Bush's Tookie

A short but interesting piece on two governors and the death penalty.

What is up with Hotmail?
Topic: Computers
I will no longer give out my Hotmail e-mail address -- at least, not to people who I want to be able to contact me.

Last semester, one of my computer science teachers sent an e-mail to his students. I never got the e-mail. I figured he just got the address wrong. But then, this semester, more e-mails from another teacher never arrived. Fortunately, I was expecting the e-mails, so when they didn't arrive, I gave the teacher another e-mail address (not on Hotmail), and that time they did arrive. I don't know what's going on. It's not my spam filter; I have it set to a low setting. I'll tell you, it's pretty aggravating wondering how many e-mails I may have missed over the last couple years.

11:14
Topic: Movies
Saw the movie "11:14" tonight. It was decent. It aspires to be like "Crash" or "Memento", progressing in a non-linear fashion, tying up loose ends as the picture goes on. It's not the equal of those two films, but I still liked it. The acting (from a cast that included Hilary Swank, Barbara Hershey and Patrick Swayze) was solid. Rachel Leigh Cook was de-glamorized for this role, but she still looks great.

Recent video releases
Topic: Movies
Saw a couple movies last night: "War of the Worlds" (with Tom Cruise) and "Constantine" (with Keanu Reeves). Both were decent flicks. "War of the Worlds" was the better one, though perhaps not as good as I expected.

"Sin City" was a good movie. Extremely violent, so be warned. (The fact that Quentin Tarantino was "guest director" should be warning enough.) "The Aviator" was another good one; Cate Blanchett deserved her accolades for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn.

Angela in charge
Topic: News and Politics
Germany gets first woman leader

Wow -- they beat us to it by 3 years!

It must have been awkward being the daughter of a pastor in communist East Germany.

"Merkel has vowed to resuscitate the economy -- once Europe's motor but now one of the most sluggish in the 25-nation European Union". That is still amazing. Not that long ago, Germany looked unstoppable economically. Maybe if BMW would drop that lousy iDrive system, Germany would be back on top.

With friends like these...
Topic: News and Politics
Venezuela sending cheap oil to Massachusetts

This is truly something. All sorts of political overtones to this one. It's somewhat disconcerting that we had to go to Hugo Chavez, of all people, in order to obtain reasonably-priced heating oil. Nonetheless, I'm glad that poor New England residents will be getting a price break. Now if only Exxon/Mobil could be persuaded to give up some of their $9.9 billion in quarterly profits and extend a helping hand of their own.

Here's something that surprised me: "Citgo is the Houston, Texas-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company".