A truly UNIQUE gift idea from Amazon.Com

Let me just say, "WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE THEY THINKING?" Oh, well. I guess Iran had to find some way to make its nuclear program profitable.

China Turns Away Our Ships

For the third time this month, China has denied our Navy's ships from docking at Hong Kong. This time it is a frigate, the USS Reuben James. Before it was two minesweepers and the USS Kitty Hawk. Now, China is a sovereign country. They can choose who to allow into their ports. At one point, the denial of the docking of the USS Kitty Hawk was claimed to have been a misunderstanding; however, China Daily has quotes of China explicitly stating that this is not so. You may remember the USS Kitty Hawk from this previously posted story. That only makes the story more interesting. I doubt that China is doing more than trying to show off its muscles, but it's a reminder that China's friendship is really only a friendship of convenience.

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Republican Debate

I did not get to see the CNN/YouTube debate, but I did read the transcript and watched some of the question videos. If nothing else, you should check out the GOP Debate Song for a chuckle. All-in-all it was a pretty good debate. There was some avoidance of questions, but it was nice to hear some straightforward and direct answers as well. I'm not sure who I'll vote for, but it reaffirmed good feelings about Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson. The biggest surprise was that I found myself being OK with John McCain getting the nomination based on his responses tonight.

Rock Band vs. Real Band

I love music, all sorts of music. I used to play many different instruments and sincerely appreciate the skill it takes to play an instrument with skill as well as the skill required to compose and spontaneously create music. For some reason the video game marketers decided that we needed a way of imitating all the things about music that I love. First there was Guitar Hero and now EA is releasing Rock Band. The guitarist for Sleater-Kinney (a band I know only by reputation) has taken on the challenge of comparing Rock Band to what it's like to be in a real band. It's an interesting article that makes some good points for the music aficionados amongst us. (Note: there is one instance of crude language). It's worth a read.

And, really, if you are going to play the game with a group of friends for more than a night, shouldn't you just form a real band? There is something sad about the thought of four teenagers getting Rock Band for Christmas and spending all of their after-school time pretending to know how to play.

Jesus loves OBL

It is definitely an interesting sentiment, and unarguably true. But a lot of people are being angered by a sign in Sydney, Australia which declares that Jesus loves Osama Bin Laden. Personally, I have no problem with it, and hope OBL one day repents and turns to the Savior. I have little hope that this is the way it will go, however.

Hollywood Writer's Strike Nears End?

CRChair and I were bemoaning only yesterday the lack of news on progress for the Hollywood writers, and now there is news that progress may actually have been made. Apparently, while the writers and hollywood studios have been mostly posing for cameras, the unsung middleman - the agent - has been working hard to get the cash flowing again.

"It's already done, basically," the insider describes. That's because of the weeks worth of groundwork by the Hollywood agents working the writers guild leadership on one side, and the studio and network moguls on the other. I was told not to expect an agreement this week. But my source thought it was possible that the strike could be settled before Christmas.

While the writer's strike is hardly on the same level as any strike that actually impacts SERVICE, it is nice to see that Hollywood is not COMPLETELY incapable of resolving its own problems. At least its labor problems. When it comes to quality, the jury is still very much out.