Malcolm X

Black History Month ends today, so I watched Malcolm X on campus. Yes, I know the movie is from 1992. I haven't seen it in about 10 years I think. Denzel Washington really had a phenomenal performance.

When you watch the movies again after a long time, you forget the little parts, and one of those little parts I had forgotten in this movie was when young Malcolm is with a foster mother. The local school he goes to is nearly all-white. When the teacher asks Malcolm what he wants to do, he replies that he wants to be a lawyer. "I have the highest grades in class," pleads Malcolm. He's discouraged from doing this because being a lawyer is not a good profession for a "colored" he is told.

I believe the greatest loss of 20th century racial discrimination may be the brain power of those who were deprived the opportunity to be great. How many young boys and girls were told to "become carpenters" simply because they were Afro-Americans? How many of the same boys and girls could have gone on to become doctors, teachers, lawyers or engineers...successful professionals that can uplift an entire community.

By letting our schools fall into disrepair, not paying teachers what they deserve, and not equipping our schools with the latest and best in books and other technology, we're not giving our future leaders the tools they need to become successful. Racial discrimination of the 1900's aside, the current state of our education system is depriving us of great doctors, teachers, lawyers or engineers of the future, no matter if they're white, black, yellow, green or blue. Because now it's not a teacher telling them "you're not good enough," it's society telling them "you don't have enough money for college" or "we rather give ourselves tax breaks on dividends."

Another thing that Malcolm X made me think about was the number of leaders we never hear about. Malcolm X was controversial, so there were efforts on all sides to not really remember him for his leadership...let history just kind of forget about him. Since history is written by those who can approve or disapprove what goes in, I wonder how many other important but slightly controversial leaders are never read about. There are probably countless people in history who had a smaller stage, but were instrumental in bringing great change to people. But we never hear about them.

Smokers: Pay up

Keeping with the trend at most corporations, my employer now requires smokers to pay an extra $20 per month for health insurance. I'm not a smoker. I believe smoking is a personal decision and it has been proven to lead to increased health expenses, so I can understand where the increase in premiums is coming from.

I do have two concerns regarding this selective increase, though.

First, what kind of can of worms are we opening? As many different companies and business sectors develop more creative business models to increase revenues, what kind of convoluted mess will we be living in soon? Will health insurance companies start looking elsewhere to curb costs? For example, generally women have higher healthcare costs than men. Does this mean women will start having to pay more? How about once genetic testing really starts getting popular...do you have to pay more if according to heredity you are at a greater risk for heart disease?

Secondly, why smokers? There are lots of medical ills. Doing drugs, for example, is a personal decision and it leads to significant healthcare costs as well. Alcoholism is a disease that leads to increased healthcare expenses. But instead of charging alcoholics an increased premium, there are usually programs and classes that are sponsored to help alcoholics recover (which I think is a good idea).

With the extra $20, may be Blue Cross and Blue Shield can throw a few pennies to helping customers who smoke quit instead?

I'm too scared to ask the question, "Is it okay if I enjoy a cigar when we beat LSU?" Or perhaps I should expect to pay $20 extra that month...

I, Claudius

(Bored) Men's Night Out took a somewhat intellectual turn tonight. We ended up watching two episodes of "I, Claudius." Originally a novel by Robert Graves published in 1934, the BBC made it into a television series in 1976. It went on to become one of the most successful BBC productions of all time.

The series (and book) focuses on the Roman Empire with special focus on Claudius I. It begins at Julius Casesar's assasination in 44 B.C. and ends at Caligula's assasination in 41 A.D. The obvious theme in this series, as you may have guessed, is that after a few emperors, no one really wants to be emperor because more than likely they'll end up assasinated.

The two more interesting quips in the episodes from tonight:

Claudius I is forced to become emperor by the Roman military. His qualifications are challenged when he first faces the Senate. Claudius has a speech impediment and is partially deaf, so one serious question is that he is half-witted, to which Claudius replies, "What can I say, except that I have survived to middle age with half my wits, while thousands have died with all their wits intact. Clearly its not the quantity of wits, but the quality..." Ironically a very witty statement.

In a later scene, two Roman contractors (who surprisingly have very good British accents just like the rest of the Romans, by the way...) are discussing a construction project that must be presented to Claudius. One of the contractors, not wanting to see the project come to fruition because it will hurt his family business by lowering the price of corn, says to the other that they will give an artificially high cost to discourage the construction. The other replies "but that is selfish!" The first contractor then says something to the effect of,
"selfish, yes, but is the entire populace wanting lower corn prices not being more selfish than just me wanting higher prices?"

Wow...never really thought about it that way. All of us combined wanting lower gas prices is collectively more selfish than a handful of gas companies wanting to charge more? Interesting view.

Portly issue

When the Dubai Port World deal to take control of six U.S. ports became public, the rhetoric was very interesting. It was as if the government of United Arab Emirates was taking over our eastern shore.

One couldn't help but notice that a great deal of value was being placed on the "Arabness" of the deal.

Well, I can give you 3.85 billion reasons why this deal will go through no matter what Congress thinks or the public thinks. There is someone, or a lot of someones, who stand to take part in a $3.85 billion transaction, and people who deal on that level of money know enough movers and shakers to get what they want. In fact the entire transaction of DP World purchasing P&O Steam Navigation Co. is $6.8 billion.

And why not? If the deal has been properly vetted, then why can't a Dubai company conduct business on our shores? I've heard that, "well, they were involved in 9-11." Wow, is there a real-life corollary to Godwin's Law dealing with 9-11 yet? It's a damn shame...soon we'll be using 9-11 as an excuse for everything. The people that died on 9-11 were real, so let's not disgrace their sacrifice. Why don't we really investigate who was involved?

Besides, the previous company to have the contract was based in Great Britain, and their more recent terrorist attacks were carried out by British citizens. Does that mean that the U.K. shouldn't have control either?

How do we get ourselves into these situations? We've got a Southern lady cursing at the president, and proud of it. We have a president who only found out about the entire deal through the news. We've got Treasury Secretary John Snow, who conveniently used to be CEO for CSX (an American transportation company which was subsequently acquired by Dubai Port World), and President Bush's nominee for Maritime Administrator is Dave Sanborn, who leaves his post as a DP World executive to assume his new duties.

The truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

So what does it all mean? Crap, really. Like I said, there's $3.85 billion on the line, so get used to the idea of DP World being in charge at the ports. May be the fact that Dave Sanborn has been tapped by the President means that this company really does have its act together. Take a look at their management team...it's got an international flavor and the bios show nothing but experience.

What really impressed me about the company? If you watch television, you can almost tell the exact moment that the company turned on its public image press. The statement they issued was being referred to as from "DP World." No longer was the company's name being referred to as "Dubai Port World," and United Arab Emirates wasn't being mentioned in the same sentence anymore. Clearly they know what they are doing.

Rasheeeeem Tha Dreeeeam

My man Rasheem Barrett had 22 points, 5 rebounds and a steal in 23 minutes of play last night versus Mississippi State.

It gave me plenty of occasions to yell out "Rasheeeeem Tha Dreeeeeam Barrett" as is customary now whenever he scores, steals or rebounds.

The team finishes the regular season at home next Saturday versus South Carolina.

Brain Teaser: Everybody has to cross the river

Apparently this is an IQ test given to job applicants in Japan:

"Everybody has to cross the river".

The following rules apply:

• Only 2 persons on the raft at a time
• The father can not stay with any of the daughters, without their mother's presence
• The mother can not stay with any of the sons, without their father's presence
• The thief (striped shirt) cannot stay with any family member if the policeman is not there
• Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft

To start click on the big blue circle on the bottom right side of the window after you click the link below.
To move the people click on them.
To move the raft click on the pole on the opposite side of the river.

http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf

Random: "Dr. Phil's Personality Test" : 55

Here's a good forward I got today. It's been pretty accurate so far from what friends have sent me. I got a 55. Remember, only losers cheat at these things.

Below is Dr Phil's test. (Dr. Phil scored 55; he did this test on Oprah - she got a 38.) Some folks pay a lot of money to find this stuff out.

Don't be overly sensitive! The following is pretty accurate and it only takes 2 minutes. Take this test for yourself and send it to your friends.


The person who sent it placed their score in the subject box. Please do the same before forwarding to your friends. (Send it back to the person who sent it to you) Don't peek but begin the test as you scroll down and answer.

Answers are for who you are now, not who you were in the past. This is a real test given by the Human Relations Dept. at many of the major corporations today. It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and prospective employees.

It's only 10 Simple questions, so..... grab a pencil and paper, keeping track of your letter answers to each question.

Begin...


1. When do you feel your best?
A. in the morning
B. during the afternoon and early evening
C. late at night

2. You usually walk...
A. fairly fast, with long steps
B. fairly fast, with little steps
C. less fast head up, looking the world in the face
D. less fast, head down
E. very slowly

3. When talking to people you..
A. stand with your arms folded
B. have your hands clasped
C. have one or both your hands on your hips
D. touch or push the person to whom you are talking
E. play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair

4. When relaxing, you sit with..
A. your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
B. your legs crossed
C. your legs stretched out or straight
D. one leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, you react with...
A. big appreciated laugh
B. a laugh, but not a loud one
C. a quiet chuckle
D. a sheepish smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering you...
A. make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
B. make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
C. make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted...
A. welcome the break
B. feel extremely irritated
C. vary between these two extremes

8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
A. Red or orange
B. black
C. yellow or light blue
D. green
E. dark blue or purple
F. white
G. brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep you are.
A. stretched out on your back
B. stretched out face down on your stomach
C. on your side, slightly curled
D. with your head on one arm
E. with your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are...
A. falling
B. fighting or struggling
C. searching for something or somebody
D. lying or floating
E. you usually have dreamless sleep
F. your dreams are always pleasant


POINTS:
1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6
2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1
3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6
4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1
5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2
6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2
7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4
8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1
9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1
10. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1

Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS: Others see you as someone they should "handle with care." You're seen as vain, self-centered, and extremely dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS: Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who take chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding, someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people think you're boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.

Tech: DesktopStandard PolicyMaker

I'm just coming from a demonstration of DesktopStandard's PolicyMaker Standard and PolicyMaker Application Security.

We first became interested in the utilities after using the free version of GPOVault made by the same company.

PolicyMaker Standard is a very handy utility for an Active Directory administrator, or anyone who writes Group Policy Objects. It has many features that can be very useful. Several of note that I really liked:

• Essentially eliminate login scripts
  
• Do functions such as map network drives, TCP/IP printers, and push out folders or files to end users or machines
• Filter all functions based on many different variables, such as Security Groups, OUs, time (apply certain settings at certain times), and even how much RAM a machine has.

The only hurdle in using it seems to be the need to install a dll file on all client machines. So if you manage hundreds of machines in AD, making sure all the computers have the dll file installed is critical.

PM Application Security is equally impressive. The biggest challenge that a network/systems admin faces internally with end users is permissions: giving the users just enough permissions so that they can do everything they need to, but nothing that can compromise the machine or your network. PM Application Security lets you select certain applications or tasks that limited users can run with administrative access. The amazing thing here being that when the application starts, any additional processes that it spawns are also run with the same admin abilities so the application won't break.

All in all, I was impressed with both of the products. I have a feeling the price will give us sticker shock.

Thought: Importance of Self-Reflection and Meditation

I had dinner with a friend today who is having trouble acting like "she thinks she should." She feels that she is actually this amazing, smart, deep person (and she is) but she is having trouble portraying herself as such through her actions, and in fact she feels that what she is able to portray herself as is not really her. Interesting conundrum.

I think we all, well, at least those of us that are self-aware, come to this realization regularly in our lives. When you get into a rut, or a cycle of doing the same thing and acting the same way over and over, and you think you should be getting more out of life. Eventually you feel that there is a whole lot more to you than people recognize and are giving you credit for.

In all cultures that exist today, religious or otherwise, there is a certain level of self-reflection and meditation involved. I can't think of one off-hand that doesn't put at least some value on these or dispels them completely. So cultures and religions that have evolved over hundreds, or even perhaps thousands of years, all have an element of "tuning" yourself. I think that shows that there is some value to this practice. Religiously, meditation is done to realize more how to glorify God.

So my suggestion? If you feel like you're not quite in sync with yourself, explore the power of prayer, meditation and self-reflection. It helps bring your life back into perspective.

Book: 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny

I'm stuck at home again trying to recover from being sick, so I thought I'd pass the time by reading a book I actually bought for a friend.

The book is 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching by Phillip Done. I read a few pages of it while at the bookstore and immediately realized it was perfect for a friend of mine.

I really enjoyed most of the book. I'm not a teacher in elementary school, but I definitely have the desire--only if it paid enough to feed my expensive taste. Phillip Done's stories from teaching third grade for 25 or so years are a great read.

He's got plenty of tips that actual teachers, especially new ones, would find helpful. But for someone like me who appreciates the roles that teachers play in society, I really enjoyed the brief journey into the mind of a teacher and what kind of challenges elementary school teachers come across on a daily basis.

"Mr. Done" writes about several teacher-stories, like the time a student brought his pet snake as a gift to the class. But many of the stories are great life lessons for all of us. He talks about how he was getting frustrated with a student not reading anything at home with his parents, and eventually finding out that his mom was not able to read. Or how he takes French lessons and it ends up giving him great insight into how his just-arrived-from-Japan student must feel in class, and how that same student has made amazing strides towards learning English. These stories help us realize to not judge others too quickly.

If you happen to be stuck at home sick, this is a fun book to read.

Stock: HPQ

Yeah, okay, so Dell looked pretty today with its $1 billion in quarterly profits, but today's quarterly earnings reports really gave me a good chance to feel happy about one of Dell's competitors.

It was about a year ago that Hewlett Packard let go of Carly Fiorina and gave stock buyers everywhere the delicious opportunity to buy part ownership at about $20 a share. HPQ is trading at about $34 now and I don't think it's done going up. It's also one of the few technology stocks that also pays a dividend.

Thought: The Three R's

I have an acquaintance who is having attitude problems particularly when it comes to dealing with others. For the life of me, I don't understand why people are mean to others. I know none of us are perfect and I probably rub people the wrong way occasionally...we all do that sometimes.

But it seems to me that some people on God's green Earth are simply intent on being ugly to others. And I think it comes from a feeling deep inside of them that they are better.

So I'm proposing the three R's. I thought about it during this morning's time on the john. Okay, so it's a given that we all have tremendous purpose in our lives and we spend our entire lives usually trying to figure out what that purpose is. But I think the basic reasons for us being on Earth can be narrowed down to three R's: Reverance (of God), Raising (our collective offspring), and Respect of both ourselves and others in our midst.

I'm not proposing any "levels" of each in our lives. Most of us probably focus on one or two and that's it. I think if we all have an element of all three in our lives, and every morning have the intention that today, in all that we do, we will revere God, spend time raising our children, and treat ourselves and others around us with respect, we'll be well on our way.

Random: Love is like a game of pinball...and I'm the Plunger Ass

I'm helping a friend feel comfortable talking to a girl he's really been into. So I told him to call her. I used a pinball machine to setup the metaphor of what I was doing...so I sent him an email and started off with the "you're the ball."
And see, as the ball, your goal is to get into the lights and be bouncing all around earning the points. And so I said, "that makes me the shooter"--you know, the thing that you actually shoot with. Well, I thought that it was called a shooter. But it turns out, that part on a pinball machine is called the plunger ass. You think I'm joking? That's what google told me to call it. So I guess if I was really pushy with him, it's only natural that as the plunger ass I actually act like an ass.

So, what would the flipper thingies be in this metaphor?

Random: Bird poop

It took them 37 days, but the birds definitely found my new car. They really like it, too. I awoke today to find eight "incidents" of bird poop on my car.

I'm guessing that the birds must have heard the story of Dick Cheney shooting his hunting buddy instead of his intended target of a quail. Lucky me that this particular group of birds heard the story just as they were flying over my car and crapped all over my car as a result of uncontrollable laughter.

Movie: Firewall

Harrison Ford is awesome. I love the movies he's done in the past. And to be sure, the previews for Firewall looked very cool.

Duped. Okay, so the movie is terrible. I'll try not to spoil it for anyone here, but if you name a movie Firewall, and your main character is a smart guy whose title is "Vice President of Security" for a major bank, well, you don't expect the ending to transpire quite like it did.

It's a terrible movie. The screenwriter(s) and producer(s) showed their lack of any sort of technical understanding. For example, the iPod/scanner device thing that Harrison Ford's character builds is completely unbelievable.

I haven't had the desire to go ask for a refund for a movie since Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Well, this one qualified. I definitely went and got a refund. No sense in paying so much money for such useless effort on the movie writer's part.

If it wasn't for the Now and Laters and the light snow on the way home, this would have been a complete waste of time.

Boy Scouts like Freezers

Today I had fun volunteering at the food bank on behalf of Rotary. They needed extra help because today the Boy Scouts did their annual "Scouting for Food" drive where they drive around neighborhoods and pick up sacks of canned food. Then all the troops, dens, packs get together for hot dogs and chips and time to run around and be silly. They compete between each group to see who was able to get the most poundage of food. All told, they raised nearly 11,000 pounds of food, which is quite impressive.

Some observations:

• When the scouts come to the food bank, they go on a tour (which they've already done the year before). The entire reason they go on the tour again is because they get to go into the gigantic freezer and play around. Even though it was nearly 40 degrees and COLD outside, you can bet your last dollar that every scout was more than eager to go inside the freezer.
• If you pick up sacks of food that total 11,000 pounds, about three of the bags that you pick up will be dirty diapers. Disgusting? Yes. That's just based on statistics from today.

Judge Greg Mathis: Danger of Inaction

Another interesting point Judge Mathis made tonight was the danger of inaction. He referred to black history following the Civil War. There were lots of African American owned businesses (such as the Freedman's Bank), blacks were congressmen, blacks were governors of states. Blacks played important roles in society back in the late 1800's.

Judge Mathis then pointed out that, just as now, presidents in the late 1800's appointed a slate of very conservative Supreme Court justices who went on to make decisions on the Jim Crow laws, and the seperate but equal is equal doctrine. He discussed that because many blacks in the late 1800's and early 1900's had become apathetic when it came to preserving their rights, they lost them. There wasn't a black person elected to congress again, or a black person elected governor of a state again until the late 1900's.

So no matter how "good" things seem to be, ennui is always dangerous.

Judge Greg Mathis: Crowd Reaction

I went to my second Black History Month event this evening. I had a front row seat to listen to Judge Greg Mathis in an auditorium of about 800 people. Out of those eight hundred, probably about 700 were African Americans.

Judge Greg Mathis is a remarkable story. He grew up in downtown Detroit and was caught up in gang violence. At a young age, he was arrested and found guilty for a weapons charge I believe. The judge in his case, instead of locking up a 17-year old Greg Mathis, ordered him to get a G.E.D.

Greg Mathis finished his G.E.D., and went on to college where he began as an engineering student. He switched majors after figuring out that his strengths were in reading and writing, and went on to law school. He was later elected as a judge in Detroit. Talk about a 360! Remarkable.

Naturally Judge Mathis's life had many challenges along the way, and he talked to the audience about how to face challenges and persevere. His primary point was the importance of education. He chided America as a country for not placing more importance on education and pointed out how earlier today in USA Today it was reported that the U.S. ranks as 39th out of the industrialized countries of the world in science and math education. Which, if you think about it, if blacks and hispanics on average are receiving a worse education than whites, then where would just the blacks and hispanics in the U.S. rank in the industrialized world?

I also liked how Judge Mathis pointed out that white people are not the enemy. After all, it was a white judge who ordered Mathis to get a G.E.D., essentially giving him a second chance in life. Furthermore, whites were strongly involved in the establishment of the NAACP and other movements.

The two main threats that Judge Mathis pointed out to blacks today were the negative aspects of the hip hop culture, and blacks hating blacks. Mathis pointed out how youth today called each other the n-word and "dawg" and referred to women as hoes...clearly signs of disrespecting each other. And if they are willing to disrespect each other, then how can they expect others in the world to respect them. I agree with this point to a large extent. Although we do have to point out the positives of the hip hop culture, it is true that the negative baggage that comes with it is a real threat to young black men and women.

Judge Mathis then pointed to the problem of white supremacy brought on by blacks. For example, a black person driving on the street saying "I'm not taking my car to that black mechanic; he ain't touching my car," or going to a Jewish lawyer instead of a black one, etc. The entire crowd stood and gave an electrifying applause and boisterous laughter to the last comment. In fact, as Judge Mathis continued on his point regarding the problems within black America, he was greeted with much laughter and agreeing "yeahs" throughout the auditorium. I almost felt like the crowd may have been watching a comedian.

This was very disturbing to me. You see, Judge Mathis was accurately and clearly pointing out the problems that exist within the African American community in the United States. He was painting a somewhat bleak picture when it comes to the negatives (although he was balancing his speech with plenty of positives as well). None of what he said was humorous to me. And I don't think he was trying to be funny. I don't think the resounding agreement amongst the crowd was a good reaction. I think a better reaction would have been of shame and a desire to search for answers--for both blacks and non-blacks. For me, the reaction was not "yeah!" but the evening left me a more subdued "wow, how can I help education for blacks and latinos because clearly there is a problem."

Thought: A Kind Truth is Better Than Lying

I know the general saying is that if you tell a little lie, then it's okay in case the truth hurts. Case in point, a friend of mind had a waiter who was hitting on her. She instead told him that she was seeing someone already. The truth of the matter was that she wasn't interested at all. I think a kinder way of saying "I'm sorry, I'm not interested" would be better than for her to lie so openly.

I think we as a country, especially the men, are too concerned with how their feelings are hurt. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for respecting others' feelings. But I think we're getting a bit out of hand if we're willing to lie so we don't come off being too forward. And I think a kinder truth does more in the long run for people's feelings than lying does. So hence my new saying:

"A Kind Truth is Better Than Lying"

I understand there may be an exception or two because life is that way. If you can think of one, share away in the comments. So if you see someone looking very unkempt, but they've got nice shoes on...well, of course a truth is "You look ridiculous," but a kinder truth is "I like your shoes." Which, in my opinion, is a better comment than "My, you look lovely today."

Happy Sesqua...sesque... Happy 150 Years!

My alma mater and employer celebrated 150 years of being founded toay. It was very cold...but the activities were very enjoyable. There was a gigantic cake served--the second one of the week...one was on the actual day of the birthday earlier this week. A lot of the different areas of campus were out strutting their stuff. There was also a "time period" tour earlier in the day. There were actors and actresses throughout campus dressed as important people through history. Each told their story. It was a fun day with good activities.

It was an interesting coincidence that this week in my management class we learned about the importance of creating a positive work culture. One of the main suggestions was to throw parties to celebrate important milestones such as birthdays. I guess someone in the Administration here was paying attention that day in class.

The Cartoons

Although Danish papers originally published inciteful cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad several months ago, this issue is just starting to boil over. I want to address a few concerns and outlooks on the matter.

The primary concern here is freedom of speech/press. I worked for a newspaper for nearly four years, and recognize the value of freedom of speech and press. Newspapers and other news outlets serve a very important purpose in society (and could do a better job, but that's another discussion) and should be afforded the luxury of being controversial if needed. Controversy can create action and can serve a constructive role in society. However, newspapers and news outlets do not have the right to purposefully incite violence under the cover of freedom of press. One of the biggest goals of journalists after pursuit of truth is to make sure that they aren't the news. Furthermore, inciting violence instead of discussion no longer serves society a purpose.

Secondly, there are currently laws in most European countries against writing anything anti-Jewish. I'm not questioning these laws, but the very existence of these laws shows that Europeans are conceding that there is a such thing as "unprotected speech" when it comes to religion. I believe Muslims are not off-base in requesting similar cover for taboos in their religion, namely the drawing of any prophet or messenger or God.

Lastly, I want to personally address the millions of Muslims who are protesting in the streets all over the world: "Seriously guys and ladies, where is this outrage when others pervert the teachings of Islam? Where is this rioting and protesting when terrorists start causing innocent people harm in the name of our religion?"

Update: I haven't been able to confirm it, but I hear that the reason the cartoon issue is on the forefront again is because a few Danish clerics drew even more distasteful pictures of the Prophet in order to incite such a storm of protests. If that is the case, then may they all be given a first-class ticket to hell.