sdWhy You Treat Me Like a Dog?: March 2006 .comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}
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Tuesday, March 28, 2006
 
Jew GoogleBomber Jew
As of March 20th, an antisemitic website, not to be named here and operated by a white power nationalist who is also not to be named, has again taken the top spot in the Google search results for the word, "Jew." In 2005, a campaign started by the blog Jewschool helped knock the antisemitic website down to the lowly second position by early 2006, and brought the Wikipedia description for Jew up to its rightful place at number one. Unfortunately, the antisemitic site is now back at number one. The technique used to rearrange the Google results is called Googlebombing.

As described in Wikipedia, due to the way that Google's PageRank algorithm works, a page will be ranked higher if the sites that link to that page all use consistent anchor text. A Google bomb is created if a large number of sites link to the page in this manner.

So my friends, what we all need to do is link to that same Wikipedia description for Jew in the same manner and embed it in our blogs (for the correct way to do it look at the right hand column of this page under "Googlebomb"). The more we link to it, the higher it'll go in the Google results.

You can even do this: Jew, Jew, Jew!!! I'm not sure more than one link per blog makes a difference, but I don't think it hurts either!

Give it a try!

Hat tips: Jewschool and Life-of-Rubin.
- posted by wanderer @ 5:03 PM 5 comments
Saturday, March 25, 2006
 
A Film For a Saturday Night
The main actor in this week's film is one of my favorites, and this film came out relatively early in his career. The still image shown below is from one the film's most memorable scenes. (I also know that goldstone enjoys this film immensely).

Identify the following:

1) Who is the main actor?
2) What is the name of the film?
3) What is the famous line that is repeatedly being said during the scene pictured here?

Good luck. This one is a little tougher...



Previous flicks:

Saturday Night Movie I
Saturday Night Movie II
Saturday Night Movie III
Saturday Night Movie IV
Saturday Night Movie V
Saturday Night Movie VI
- posted by wanderer @ 9:52 PM 17 comments
Thursday, March 23, 2006
 
History Was Made Today
As some of you may know from previous posts, I have had issues with contractors. Well, our latest home improvement project started today and I am amazed to report it got off to a great start.

The first contractor was scheduled to arrive at 7 AM. Of course, our baby son normally wakes up at 6 AM, but today decided to sleep in... Anyway, the first contractor actually arrived at 7:20 AM which in Pacific Standard Contractor Time is within one standard deviation of arriving on time, so not too bad.

And then, things really got amazing.

The second contractor, who was scheduled to arrive at 10:30-11:00 AM, actually arrived at 9:55 AM. It was so incredible, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him. My wife is still choked up about it.

Then, I called the third contractor, who wasn't even really supposed to come today, and told him he could come by and pick up the old window frame so he could start working on the new one. His response: "I'll be right over."

My response: "What did you say?' .

He said, again: "I'll be right over."

And he came right over.

Contractors #2 and #3 finished their work in about 20 minutes and left. Contractor #1 boarded up the old window space, and he just left as well.

I am beside myself. I don't know what to do. I had cancelled my office hours until 2 PM today so I could be here to help supervise and now all the contractors are gone, having shown up on time and efficiently getting their work done!

Something is terribly wrong here, but I haven't yet put my finger on it...


- posted by wanderer @ 11:54 AM 10 comments
Saturday, March 18, 2006
 
Saturday Night at Da Movies
The tagline for the film pictured below is:

The robbery should have taken 10 minutes. 4 hours later, the bank was like a circus sideshow. 8 hours later, it was the hottest thing on live TV. 12 hours later, it was all history. And its all true.

I won't insult you by asking you to identify Al Pacino in one of his greatest roles, though he didn't want an Oscar for this one (he was nominated). Identify the film, and tell me why Pacino and his costar (John Cazale) were robbing the bank in the first place.






Past Saturday Nights Flicks:

Saturday Night Movie I
Saturday Night Movie II
Saturday Night Movie III
Saturday Night Movie IV
Saturday Night Movie V
- posted by wanderer @ 9:57 PM 12 comments
Thursday, March 16, 2006
 
On My Mind
Borrowing from posts on Stacey's Shmata here and here, where she just lists stuff going on in her life, I've decided to do something similar. So without further ado, I bring you:

Five Things On My Mind

1) Is Elliott Yamin Jewish?

Those of you watching American Idol know who I'm talking about. Unconfirmed reports elsewhere in the blogosphere report that his real name is Ephraim Yamin and that he is in fact a member of the tribe. Elsewhere in the blogosphere also states that he has a face made for radio, which means he probably won't win. I predict either Chris Daughtry or Katherine McPhee.

2) There have now been three shootings at Denny's.

In Pismo Beach, Ontario and Anaheim - I've never been to any of them.

3) No one will buy the rug we're trying to sell on Ebay.

We bought a Pottery Barn wool rug on Ebay for our son's room a few weeks ago and it turns out that it sheds worse than an Old English Sheepdog. We're trying to sell it (at a loss!) and its been listed for a second time now without any bidders. For now, its sitting wrapped and rolled up in our entrance hallway, waiting for a buyer. I've sold many things on Ebay before, and this has never been a problem. Aaargh!

4) We're having a leaky window in our house removed, rebuilt and then reinstalled next week.

It's got me scared - let's just say I've had some bad experiences with contractors.

5) Will Doctor Bean ever blog again?

He's the one who got me into this crap, and though he does scatter comments around the blogosphere, I must admit I miss his Reaganesque, smirky posts. I'm thinking of starting a Bring Back Bean campaign.

So there you have it - feel free to take any of these on (or none!).
- posted by wanderer @ 10:47 PM 4 comments
Sunday, March 12, 2006
 
They're Baaaaackkkk!
Who you ask?

The Sopranos!!!

And what a great episode it was tonight! It just reminds me what a great show we've been missing for the last two years or so. I'll be looking forward to Sunday nights now, that's for sure.
- posted by wanderer @ 10:12 PM 3 comments
Saturday, March 11, 2006
 
Flick of Da Week
I reckon this week's flick should be a little easier considering its a little more recent than the last couple of films we've discussed. Mmmm, or maybe not...

The still you see below is from this week's film, which was written and directed by the actor who plays the main character. The film won the Oscar for best screenplay, but I also think he deserved the best actor award, for which he was nominated. (He was beat out by Geoffrey Rush in Shine, in another excellent performance).

Who is the actor-writer-director? What did the main character particularly enjoy eating?


Image hosting by Photobucket



Past Saturday Nights at the Movies:

Saturday Night Movie I
Saturday Night Movie II
Saturday Night Movie III
Saturday Night Movie IV
- posted by wanderer @ 9:31 PM 6 comments
Thursday, March 09, 2006
 
This is Bella
I would like to take this opportunity to formally introduce you all to Bella, our family beagle.





Bella is a purebred, American Kennel Club (AKC) registered beagle. Her official AKC name is actually GEM's Bella Rina (kinda like ballerina, get it?). She is a 13" beagle (they also come in a 15" variety) and has tricolor markings (beagles also come as red & whites, "blueticks" and "lemons"). There were only two pups in Bella's litter, and her brother unfortunately died within hours of birth. Luckily, there were other puppies at the kennel for Bella to grow up with, and she is very social. Bella joined Bella's Mom and me about about a year and a half ago, when she was 12 weeks old. We had lost a pregnancy quite far along, and were recovering from the trauma of it all. Bella helped save our mental health.




Top Ten Factoids about Bella:

1) She was born in a small town near Eugene, Oregon at GEM Beagles.
2) Bella claims that her real name is "Lady Jean Casilbury" and that she is actually not from Oregon, but is one of the Queen of England's Royal Beagles, well-known throughout all of Nottingham Forest as a champion fox hunting hound. (I made this all up, she's really from Oregon).
3) Bella's father "PD" was the Best of Breed at the 2004 Wesminister Kennel Club Dog Show and the 2004 National Beagle Club Best of Breed (really!).
4) Bella has eaten two of her mom's cell phones. The cell phone insurance company has cancelled our policy because of her. Bella has also eaten one pair of Adidas and one pair of Nikes.
5) Bella has a theme song, Tiny Dancer, by Elton John. "Bella Rina, you must have seen her. Dancin' in the sand..."
6) Bella enjoys eating diapers, preferably used diapers. I can vouch for the fact that diapers are not digestible, and emerge from the dog's digestive tract unchanged.
7) Bella has eaten a tube of Desitin. There is such thing as Animal Poison Control. They charge $55 for a consultation, and are very helpful. They said beagles eat everything, and they never die from anything they ingest, no matter how toxic. Other breeds apparently do.
8) Bella has a very precise biological clock. She wakes up at precisely 7 AM, and expects to be fed at precisely 8 AM. Dinner must be served at precisely 6 PM.
9) Sometimes Bella gets gas. Bad gas.
10) When our baby son got his last set of vaccination shots at the pediatrician's office, the only thing that made him stop crying was a picture of Bella.


Bella really is our first child, and we love her very much. Despite the fact that she drives us crazy at times, she enriches our lives in many ways. She is a loving, loyal pain in the ass, but we could never imagine how things would be without her. She's glad to meet you!

- posted by wanderer @ 11:09 PM 9 comments
Saturday, March 04, 2006
 
Saturday Night Flick
The scene you see below was almost left out of the film because the studio thought it to be in bad taste. Luckily, the writer-director had final say, and the scene remained. It is a classic film from the 1970's.

Identify the film, the writer-director and, most importantly, what's going on in the scene.

Good luck!



Prior Saturday Night Flicks:

Saturday Night Movie I
Saturday Night Movie II
Saturday Night Movie III
- posted by wanderer @ 9:23 PM 9 comments
Thursday, March 02, 2006
 
The Clash Between the Middle Ages & the 21st Century
Wafa Sultan is a Syrian expatriate Arab American psychologist who has been critical of Islamic fundamentalism for some time. She has bravely debated members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic fundamentalists on several occasions. Her bravery is not only remarkable for its unapologetic and direct anti-Islamofascist stance, but particularly in that it comes from a woman, which particularly enrages many Muslim fundamentalists. Most recently she appeared on Al-Jazeera TV:

http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=null

Excerpts include:


The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand.

The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people.

Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them.

Many have spoken of the need for a Muslim reformation before there can be an end to the war between Islam and the West. Voices like Wafa Sultan's must continue to be heard and amplified throughout the Muslim world, so that this spiralling madness we are witnessing can hopefully soon come to an end.

Link and transcripts from MEMRI.
- posted by wanderer @ 10:04 PM 5 comments

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