AMF: Themed Road Rage and Long Distance Radio

Yesterday was pretty satisfying, in part because I got pictures processed and can now grace this post with the picture of M@, Mrs. Mike Nelson, and myself. For the record, Mrs. Mike Nelson is much prettier than that in person; M@'s about the same.

Here are the handful of news stories that are worth posting.

Torture in Mauritania "routine"

NATO tells Georgia to behave (but they're not letting them in any time soon whether they behave or not)

The Eccentricity of [astronomer] Tycho Brahe

Jonathan the Tortoise - World's Oldest Living Mammal

Israelis threaten to fire on Libyan ship (if it tries to deliver supplies to Gaza - devil's in the details)

Yesterday, I talked about picking up The Nightside Project from Salt Lake City when I was driving through Northern California a couple of years ago. On Wednesday night, I decided to switch things up a bit. Instead of listening to Chant II by the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos, or Gregorian Chant for Meditation, I set my Grundig/Etón GS350DL shortwave radio up at the head of my bed. Much to my surprise, I was almost effortlessly able to tune in a station that's tough to find, and that gets terrible reception in Van Diemen's Station being so far away from its source: the so-called "Voice of Justice", Iran's lame brained attempt at anti-American propaganda. Why was this so entertaining last night? Because the election of Barack Obama, that was supposed to be so great for our relations with the Middle East, is a total joke. As if it's any surprise, they're still bad-mouthing America, both President Bush and President-Elect Obama. Hilarious - Radio Iran is always good for a laugh. And speaking of clandestine radio, I wish I'd stumbled across this site a couple of years ago when it was still active.

Today's video is the finale of U2's Zoo TV Live in Sydney, the 2003 concert that concluded the Zoo TV tour phenomenon that spanned the entire world and three years of the band's career.



Okay, so one more thing, and then I'm going to bed without having accomplished much of anything this evening beyond sending a long E-Mail, writing a blog post, and cropping a picture. I've developed a strange habit lately: when I get road rage, I get themed road rage. For example, last Friday, when I was fueling up and heading out for a birthday dinner and a hockey game, people were driving poorly, and I started screaming at them in an Indian accent - that's right, me, the Fly, shouting like a Hewlett Packard tech support call center staffer! Today, when I was on my way to the Y after work, I was shouting in a pirate accent! I have no clue what's next - Arab? Brit? Frenchie? God only knows!

Have a great weekend, folks, and check back on Monday for more from your most excellent host, the Fly.