European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=24644

on a lighter note, here is a lady with 130 cats at feeding time:

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 03:28:55 PM EST

BBC NEWS | Europe | Russia sparks Cold War scramble

it looks like cats in a tornado ;-)

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:51:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 1)

before my girlfriend has any ideas, 4 is more than enough.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:27:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What war? (4.00 / 4)

Russian bombers have flown to the US island of Guam in the Pacific in a surprise manoeuvre reminiscent of the Cold War era.
Two Tu-95 turboprops flew this week to Guam, home to a big US military base, Russian Maj Gen Pavel Androsov said.

"It has always been the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet [US] aircraft carriers and greet [US pilots] visually," he said at a news conference.
"Yesterday [Wednesday] we revived this tradition, and two of our young crews paid a visit to the area of the base of Guam," he said.
"I think the result was good. We met our colleagues - fighter jet pilots from [US] aircraft carriers. We exchanged smiles and returned home," he added.

The cold war is final over.
We have a smile-contest now.

The struggle of man against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting.(Kundera)

by Elco B (elcob at scarlet dot be) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 03:41:09 PM EST

I wonder if the Russians are planning to take over the world by irritating the bejeezus out of us until we capitulate. lol.

"Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.

by poemless on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 03:45:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

we are not all from the USA. they aren't irritating me.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 03:57:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Oh, they are doing a pretty fine job of irritating Europe as well. And Canada. And who knows who is next on their list. They are obviously intent on world domination. Don't you read the papers?

"Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.

by poemless on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 03:59:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I'm European AND Canadian. They aren't irritating me.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:02:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Nor I. Sometimes I take it for granted that everyone here is familiar with my writing & know that I have a tendency to veer toward sarcasm. I actually fall into the "Russia love fest" camp at ET. I thoroughly enjoy their antics.

"Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.

by poemless on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:07:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What war? (4.00 / 3)

i know what most Canadians think about Russians: they are really fine skaters and puck handlers but won't go into the corners, and won't take the hits in front of the net. They also have a tendency not to be up for the big game.

If the USA appreciated the fine game of ice hockey a little more, they might be seeing the situation in the same way.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:10:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Meh (none / 1)

North American hockey is just fighting and individual posturing. Eastern European hockey is skating and teamwork. I know which one I enjoy watching.

I remember watching a major game in 1987 between TsSKA and Spartak (it may have been a final or something - it was in early March) and it was an absolutely stunning display of athletic performance, speed and grace, with no violence - in fact, almost no physical contact - whatsoever.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:53:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Meh (4.00 / 3)

not really. European hockey has a lot more interference in it than the North American game.

Also, from watching a year's worth of Swiss hockey, the game doesn't take as much of the ice in Europe as it does in North America.

The players are more skilled in the NHL, because even the European stars make more there, so the level of the game is much better in North America.

Hockey is meant to be a physical game which a lot of Europeans don't seem to understand but of course, there is a difference between a clean hit and a penalty. The physical aspect of hockey is what makes this such a difficult game to play - without worrying about a check, most players can skate circles around each other. But to be a truly great hockey player, one must be agile but strong, graceful and coordinated, but still be able to hold one's ground when hit, able to manoeuver, but also be able to stand in someone's way to stop them. It's really the most fun you can have playing any sport, and I've played a lot of them.

As for fighting, I understand why it happens, because the game is so passionate, but it's been way down ever since the Europeans have arrived :-) No passion?

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:00:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Fighting (4.00 / 2)

has indeed been way down since the Europeans arrived, and the game has become better.

Europeans went to North America because they got paid better (because there are more advertising dollars in NA than in the Czech Republic or the FSU) - and because they were easily good enough.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:33:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 1)

ummm. the money's there, the Europeans have the skills but tend to get injured a lot - a lot of joint injuries and groin problems (which can be greatly improved through physical conditioning). Also, the Russians seem to have motivation problems. In fact, some coaches would rather not deal with the Russians at all because they tend to poison the morale of the entire team.

Personally, I think the Canadians could learn a lot from the Russian training for teaching children hockey skills, but the Europeans need to learn to improve their physical conditioning in order to prevent injuries and for the Russians, perhaps improve their mood.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:42:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 1)

with regard to the fighting, the rules have really changed, so the game has speeded up. fighting has little to do with it.

most people will agree that the best era for hockey was when the intensity of the game was such that players from opposing teams wouldn't sit in the same room - the era of Rocket Richard, Gordie Howe, Boom Boom Geoffrion, Jacques Plante, etc.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:44:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (4.00 / 2)

Some of those names are names from my childhood. You can't be that old.

Hey, Grandma Moses started late!

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:58:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (4.00 / 1)

I met Gordie Howe when I was very little. Have an autographed photograph of me with him, one of only two famous people I have met like that.

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:01:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 1)

when they moved the Montreal Canadiens from the Montreal Forum to the new arena, the crowd gave the longest standing ovation for the Rocket, who had been retired for about 30 years. Most people had never seen him play in person but everyone has seen plenty of clips of games in which he played.

I have seen a lot of these ex-greats around. There's a dinner that is given every year in Montreal, called the Beaver Club Dinner and it started as a way for the English people in Montreal 200 years ago to have something to do in the winter.

It's rather exclusive but I attended with my ex several years running. One year, the theme was winter sports. Before the dinner started, there was a parade with all the animals representing all the NHL hockey teams - panthers, hawks, bruins, etc. There was a skating rink made of plexiglass or something where figure skaters were performing while we ate supper. The Duchesnay's (the French/Canadian figure skaters) were sitting right beside me. And, I had the opportunity to speak with the Rocket, the Pocket Rocket, le gros Bill (Jean Béliveau), Boom Boom and many others.

I didn't want to ask for their autographs but I have many pictures of me with them. I really loved the Rocket as a human being.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:11:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 0)

I'm agree with Jerome on hockey. From the U.S. you grow up with the NHL and the constant fighting and play interruptions. I had the opportunity to go to the Winter Olympics in Alberville France and went to a number of hockey games. The rinks were larger and the play was more open and exciting. Some people were hurt on checks but there was not one fight. The speed and finesse of play was exciting and was not something you saw in the NHL. While there are many European players now in the NHL I still think the style of game allows for too many fights and has hurt the sport in most cities. The NHL has also done a terrible job in promoting the players.

by BJ Lange (langebj@gmail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:35:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 1)

You see, I don't like the international game. I find it slow and kind of boring.

The NHL rinks probably have to be a little bigger because players have grown a lot since the game started, but the physical aspect to me is the part of the game that distinguishes a good player from a great player because the mix of athletic skills required is so difficult to find - graceful and tough?

Without physical contact, we just call it figure skating.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:39:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 0)

"Figure Skating" I don't mean THAT civil :):).

by BJ Lange (langebj@gmail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:43:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 0)

really. it's no physical feat to skate around with a puck if nobody's going to try to physically stop you. you can do figure eights around people. I know because most women's hockey has no physical contact at all, including women's hockey at the Olympics.

try doing the same thing while being knocked off balance and you'll understand why I say that that's the interesting part of the game, that really makes the excellent skaters stand out. there really is no comparison between the two.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:50:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 0)

Do you remember the France/US warmup game prior to that, I believe it was in Quimper, somewhere out west anyway. It was on tv in France, I watched it, Philippe Bozon was on that team, last Frenchman in the NHL before Cristobal Huet the star netminder of the Habs today.

Benchclearing brawl. One for the ages. And France came up quite well in it.

Quite memorable.

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:40:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 0)

I wish I saw that one. No I only saw the games during the Olympics. They might have different rules for Olympics that bans fighting altogether.

by BJ Lange (langebj@gmail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:46:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 0)

never saw that one.

I remember once going to a Flyers-Habs game at the Forum, and my ex wanted to be there early. By the time we got there, which was during the pre-game warmup, the fight was already over.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:54:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (4.00 / 2)

You mention Gordie Howe. We met at a week long tournment and boondogle in the Caribbean in the early '90s. He was a very nice and humble person, but his hands were enormous. It was a week long basketball tournament and he ended up on my team. I found out he had never played basketball in his life and I made it a mission in our second game to make sure he hit a basket, which he did. So to this day I can tell people I gave Gordie Howe his first assist!

by BJ Lange (langebj@gmail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:29:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 1)

that's a very nice story.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:31:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 1)

when the Rocket died, Gordie Howe came to his funeral in Montreal. They were big rivals.

Gordie Howe sat with Jean Béliveau. The Montreal Gazette story said it was the only time in his life that Howe had his elbows done while surrounded by Montreal players ;-)

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:35:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fighting (none / 0)

sorry, elbows down

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:58:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Meh (none / 0)

Don Cherry covers it pretty well here

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:27:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Meh (none / 1)

thanks for the hockey talk redstar. It was really quite fun.

I haven't realized how much I missed hockey and hockey culture.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 07:30:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Meh (none / 0)

Don Cherry might be my favorite Canadian. Hockey has been pretty low on my sports radar, even growing up in MN, but live hockey is some of the most exciting sports action there is. I went to a few U of MN hockey games while I was a student there...that was crazy fun.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 09:59:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Meh (none / 1)

As for fighting, I understand why it happens, because the game is so passionate, but it's been way down ever since the Europeans have arrived :-) No passion?

i recc'd your comment for the positive attitude and good description of how you see this game you love so, but i was struck most by this phrase, and believe it encapsulates the psychological ocean between very core narratives twixt europe and the usa.

anger and passion are not the same thing, unless you believe they are.

violence is not graceful, it's adrenalin psychosis.

brute force is boring, and when wedded to courage becomes a bulldozer that reveals nothing humanly fine, as it crushes the weaker.

i lived in the usa, and i saw it all the time, in the first gulf war, the aggressive bliss shared through the collective idea that kicking ass was a soul-purifying experience, rah rah...

passion in the grip of anger is a sad waste of good energy, unless it has a compassionate outcome, the exception rather than the rule.

david is a better model than goliath, and a perfect metaphor for this onstitutionalisation of simple thuggery, atavistic territorialism for a powerspot on the game field, rink, whatever.

it's also revelatory how fascism has always glorified sports...

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do." Jim Hightower

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Aug 10th, 2007 at 03:54:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Meh (none / 1)

I think you've got me wrong. I don't believe in violence at all, in any circumstances. The smiley face I put into my comment was supposed to be a wink.

Body checking is not violence. If one doesn't want to be subjected to it, one shouldn't play hockey. Grabbing, elbowing, tripping, charging (where one jumps to hit another player), spearing, cross checking, etc. are all considered dirty hits and if injury is intended, severely punished.

By the way, Don Cherry is always saying that Europeans play a nastier game of hockey than do Canadians because they are more prone to using these illegal means to stop someone rather than using a good clean check.

And I have rarely seen hooligans at a hockey game. Entire cities don't have to be mobilized to protect themselves from hockey fans.

So please, no facile categorizations. Last I heard, Canadians had never started a war, and were the peacekeeping nation for the UN, and even invented the idea, for which our Prime Minister won the Nobel Peace Prize.

by zoe on Fri Aug 10th, 2007 at 05:51:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Canadians don't start wars (none / 0)

And aside from a few who grew up on the border, the US doesn't exactly produce the best crop of players.

Yet, who starts all the wars and has the mass psychosis of getting all riled up behind those wars? And Americans generally don't even watch hockey, I've got a BellExpressvu satellite dish so that I can.

Personally I think it's a mental maturity thing. It's one thing to keep the edge on your game, quite another to spill over into fighting, which I understand the role for, but which you see far less often the higher level of play. Fights are endemic in juniors - want to see a game certain to have a few fights, watch Drummondville Voltigeurs v Drakkar de Baie-Comeau, the smaller the town the more there will be. Get to the elite level, with older players, there are far less, though given the chippy play of some of those who don't check well (and I'm not necessarily pointing to a particular world geographic region) and the need to protect stars, there's always going to be some of that.

This being said, as a player hitting was my favorite part of the game, and my son finds the same to be true (we are both defencemen). I had a decent hipcheck before I broke it, Duncan at his age (he's 11) is really good at standing people up on open ice, it's his favorite part of the game (and I had nothing to do with this as my wife is the one who carts him to games and practise most of the time). It's a team sport; not everyone is a finessy goal-scorer despite what a lot of the European players think, and a major part of the game is defence.

And as long as this is the case, the game will be physical. I really can't wait for summer to be over...

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Fri Aug 10th, 2007 at 07:52:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Canadians don't start wars (none / 0)

If Europeans want to see a violent game, they should watch a game of lacrosse! Now, that's violence.

It was invented and is still played a lot by the First Nations people, or as Europeans like to call them, Indians. Many of the teams and a lot of the professional players are from the First Nations. Does that make them fascists?

by zoe on Fri Aug 10th, 2007 at 08:38:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Canadians don't start wars (none / 1)

way to twist what i was saying!

water is wet, does that make a raindrop equal an ocean?

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do." Jim Hightower

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sat Aug 11th, 2007 at 10:26:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Canadians don't start wars (none / 0)

I didn't twist a word of what you were saying but perhaps you didn't express yourself correctly.

Sumo wrestling is violent but it is considered to be graceful nonetheless.

So is a nice hip check in hockey.

And Canada is a peace-loving country.

by zoe on Sat Aug 11th, 2007 at 10:48:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Meh (none / 0)

points taken, i should have known better than to comment in the middle of sports-talk.

i've seen - and treated-too many adults who screwed up their knees permanently from the great gusto they put into....winning?

as if that trophy was going to compensate for the lack of physical freedom they had to live the rest of their lives with.

so i guess it's too personal for me to be truly objective, and i overstated my case, if i have one...

i guess kids are really susceptible to the pleasure of pleasing the adults around them, and i feel they are mostly far too young to make choices that are going to affect the rest of their lives.

perhaps redstar's breaking a hip is a minor inconvenience, compared to the joy he gets out of the game, so who am i to judge?

i still can't help feeling something's not quite right with this picture, but it's certainly not worth arguing about, especially on a politics/energy weblog!

it certainly bothers me to listen to intelligent adults lauding such sheer physicality in sports, not for them, but for the effect that kind of talk has on impressionable kids, wanting to emulate what seems 'cool'.

my problem, sorry for going over the top.

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do." Jim Hightower

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sat Aug 11th, 2007 at 10:23:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Meh (none / 0)

oh I've screwed up my knees, and ankles, and fingers playing sports but I think it was my coaches didn't know how I should be conditioning myself and protecting my joints.

there is no physical contact allowed in hockey for younger people, and none at all in most non-professional leagues and women's leagues.

by zoe on Sat Aug 11th, 2007 at 10:43:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ha!

You're forgetting Dariusz Kasparaitus!

Oh wait, that's right, he's an ethnic Lithuanian who refused to give up his Soviet citizenship.

Damn communist. ;)

Good in both corners and in front of net.

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:46:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Kasparaitus was a madman. He is the one who knocked out Eric Lindros and gave him the concussion that almost ended the big E's career.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:50:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

he also looked like a madman, I remember, with the bulging eyes. He also wore those old Soviet helmets. Good times.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:54:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

it was a clean hit, by the way. a shoulder check to the chest.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:58:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yeah, I remember. Here's the youtube.

The man had a helluva hipcheck. So did Vlady Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov for that matter...

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:03:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I didn't see too much of these guys because the English CBC would broadcast the Habs in Quebec too, so didn't get to watch too many Dead Things' games.

Now you guys can watch at least 3 different games at the same time with ESPN, RDI, TSN and CTV, depending on the days.

Lindros skated with his head down too much.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:20:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Well, we don't have ESPN but there's SRC, RDS and RIS in french, and of course CBC, TSN and CTV/Rogers Sportsnet in English.

You can always subscribe to the NHL package but why bother, there's enough on regular channels.

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:34:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

And Lindros was always a bit soft. Wouldn't play in Quebec, the ass.

Remember the worlds?

Oh how I love youtube.

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:04:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I can't wait for summer to be over actually.

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:10:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

you are either a Canadian or a Russian ;-)

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:12:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

nobody else loves winter like Canadians or Russians.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:51:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

or a Minnesotan.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 07:15:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

yeah, what an asshole. they could have won the Cup those Nordiques.

you should post a rant of Don Cherry's about Europeans who don't know how or don't want to fight. or about how Europeans insist on wearing visors to protect their eyes. that will scare everyone!

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:15:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Here's Coach's Corner from that game with the Kasparaitus/Lindros fight

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:19:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Don Cherry's rants have been preserved for posterity!

By the way, I used to live less than 1 km away from the spot in the closing shot.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:28:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Have you ever seen Alan Partridge? The look of growing discomfort on the face of the presenter on the left....as the guy on the right says, "Forty eight stitches! They never won another game!"

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:36:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What war? (4.00 / 4)

They have been irritating the Georgians and Norwegians lately. And before that, the Finns.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:28:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

the Finns? non - they just had that Festival of Finnic and Ungaric peoples.

Georgians seem to manage to be able to irritate themselves, as there doesn't seem to be any Russian involvement in that incident.

Norwegians - that was a little fly-by.

and the UK is not on the European continent and are always irritated, so they don't count.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:36:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Finns had their fair share of fly-by's and actual incursions IIRC, and I'd love to see how the Georgians managed to bomb themselves with Su-24's, considering they don't have any.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:38:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

there was one missile. easy enough to find I am sure.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:43:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What war? (4.00 / 1)

'SU-24' comes from Georgians themselves, as far as I understand. As is becoming a habit in that part of the world, the missile was destroyed before eyes of wrong (Russian and international observers) specialists were allowed to see it and investigate an issue.

Georgian opposition (including the party headed by former foreign minister who was leased to Georgia by France...) announced they wouldn't be surprised if Saakashvili himself produced this little spectacle: if successful, he'll get UN Security council denouncing Brother Bear, and NATO will become more aware of Georgia's pressing need to become a member. And this comes after UN refused to point a finger regarding March helicopter attack in the Kodori Gorge.

Information is too unreliable to make a conclusion one way or another. But a la Le Carre plots are spinning in my head...

by Sargon on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:43:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

and as for the radar record, I used to produce these for testing weapon systems so that the fact that a radar record exists doesn't prove anything

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:46:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What war? (4.00 / 3)

I first misread that as 'imitating the bejeezus out of us' and thought it a good point ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Aug 10th, 2007 at 02:30:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What war? (4.00 / 3)

I think they're called incidents at sea. There was an average of 250 a year between the Russians and the Americans back in the eighties. Some of them could be quite stunning such as when several migs managed to "sink" the Kitty Hawk three times off Korea just days after 9-11 before the crew caught on. Pranks and fair play. Happens all the time.

by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:39:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

That's one sleek looking plane.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:41:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I thought you might find the aerodynamics of the propellers interesting considering your interest in wind turbines.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:45:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

To Matt (4.00 / 8)

I remember you wrote a comment, on a cold Sunday, about making yourself a yummy brunch that sounded so good, I could almost taste it.

Wherever you are, Matt, thank you! and please send your positive energy to this earthly, progressive project.

Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.

by metavision on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 03:45:34 PM EST

Re: To Matt (4.00 / 6)

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 03:53:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 7)

Matt, our path crossed on a few sites and I always enjoyed your comments. I hope were you are now there is peace and happiness for you and if there is some left, we could use some of that down here. :-)

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 03:54:34 PM EST

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 6)

That's... harsh. Condolences to Matt's family.

And it's good that he'll be leaving a legacy of hundreds of thousands of people who read him, and will remember him.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:00:58 PM EST

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Very sad news. Matt was definitely a better educated and smarter guy than myself.

And now for some materialistic soma to cheer me up...

My new backpack for the trip I'm planning to take starting late next year arrives today. I bought it early because I'm going to take it with me to Hawaii this September so that I can avoid bringing regular luggage with me.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:06:21 PM EST

sounds like fun.

by zoe on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:16:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

So Long Matt thanks for all the fine comments and humanitarian thinking. We need more like Matt, not less.

"I said, 'Wait a minute, Chester, You know I'm a peaceful man...'" Robbie Robertson

by NearlyNormal on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:19:41 PM EST

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 6)

I'm deeply saddened. It's uncanny how our mortality hits so strongly over the net, a person that I liked and respected so much- and looked forward to reading- yet I had never met him nor heard his real voice. But the voice that came through his writing is strong and present.

I'll miss you, Matt.

by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:31:16 PM EST

Looking for someone? (4.00 / 4)

by Laurent GUERBY on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 04:53:08 PM EST

Re: Looking for someone? (none / 0)

Look in Switzerland?

Sooo cute.

Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.

by metavision on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 05:10:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Back to city life. (4.00 / 3)

At Galleries Lafayette.

Hey, Grandma Moses started late!

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:17:51 PM EST

Matt (4.00 / 7)

I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. This is terrible news. I'm devastated -- and at a loss for how to explain how I can feel so devastated by the death of someone I've never actually met, but it does feel like I've lost a friend. Matt, you will be mourned and missed here, intensely.

Deepest condolences to Matt's family, and to his friends both in the real world and the virtual one.

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:18:14 PM EST

Re: Matt (4.00 / 4)

Very touching. It reminds you that these blogs are communities and like the community you live in you share many things with people including the fact that this is real life.

by BJ Lange (langebj@gmail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:41:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

2nd time in a week. 2nd site in a week. 2nd good person who I'd only known online in a week who I won't get to speak to again.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 06:36:46 PM EST

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Sorry to hear about Matt in NYC. Good thoughts to his friends and family.

by lychee on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 07:29:45 PM EST

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

Hat tip to rememberinggiap at moon of alabama for this one:

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2007 at 08:31:55 PM EST

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

I'm very sad to hear that. He was one of the good guys.

Money is a sign of Poverty - Culture Saying

by RogueTrooper on Fri Aug 10th, 2007 at 03:49:07 AM EST