How sad I feel after looking at these photographs of Chernobyl, via Annika. But life is not always about feeling comfortable, and these photos deserve attention.

Posted by: Sarah at 09:26 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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An observant reader sent me a great link. Take that, European Jerk.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:02 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm proud to live in the same America as Tim and Smash.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:32 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I almost cried I laughed so hard. Thanks, Rocket Jones. Also thanks for pointing me in the direction of a surprising article by Jimmy Walker.

I work 13-hour shifts today and tomorrow, and after I get off work I sit in German class for three hours. I'd love to blog, but my splitting headache says otherwise.

Posted by: Sarah at 11:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Figures that Saddam would have a French lawyer.

And do we have to throw the no-WMDs-yet paragraph into every single article?

Posted by: Sarah at 05:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Thank the lord for Victor Davis Hanson...

Nor do we have anything to apologize about to the Europeans. We liberated the continent, sent it billions in aid, protected it from Soviet Communism, supported the EU and German reunification, created NATO in part to keep internal peace, intervened in Kosovo to stop more European genocide, and have well over 100,000 troops there still to protect it sixty years after it nearly destroyed itself. We no longer expect gratitude or even memory of the past, but we do expect maturity and not the patronizing lectures from a Spanish or French foreign minister who should know better — given the respective histories of their countries and our own during the last century.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:51 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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NotDeskmerc is just as witty and biting as Deskmerc:

I grow tired of the finger pointing over who is to blame for 9-11, and I havenÂ’t even really listened to any of it. Just listening to people talk about listening to it is enough to make me want to read the Food and Wine section of the paper, instead.

Posted by: Sarah at 07:17 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I sent the new Bleat to my co-worker in an email since we were talking about Clarke yesterday and he gets his info from those horrible articles at MSNBC. I shock myself with my newfound gutsiness...

I'm also wearing my new Home of the Free t-shirt today.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:35 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Bunker tries to help us grok the life of a soldier.

Posted by: Sarah at 12:34 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Blueshift responds to my a priori post.
I must say that the more I read about current events,
the less strongly I feel I can believe in the goodness of people.
But the more bloggers I meet,
the more I believe in the goodness of some.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:53 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Spectra is more than just a fun sounding name. It is really how I (try) to view humanity. Every single person is different. We think differently about the same situation. Our range of thoughts runs from one extreme on one side, to the opposite extreme on the other, no matter the issue. You can find anyone who will say and believe anything. Together we form the whole spectrum, its good and bad points are integral as they define the median. Ying-yang-ish if you will. I'll leave off now, before I get into the whole emission and absorption lines part. Might have to post it sometime, but not this week.

Posted by: Blueshift at March 25, 2004 07:20 AM (crTpS)

2 "I'll leave off now, before I get into the whole emission and absorption lines part." Do explain how that applies to humans, Blueshift! I like your analogy. It reminds me of my own approach to linguistics which is based on individual users of language rather than on a priori idealized models. Each of us DOES "think differently about the same situation." Of course, those differences are constrained by our shared biology, so not literally everything is possible - but what is out there is a lot more diverse than most think. No two people have the same language; even twins have different experiences which they associate with the "same" word.

Posted by: Amritas at March 25, 2004 08:57 AM (9gJFi)

3 ... argh, left out /i twice on the same night! (I erred earlier at LGF.) I empathize with Sarah's observation. I never did believe in the a priori goodness of people, but now I think people as a WHOLE are worse than I ever imagined. OTOH, I think there are a lot good more people (present company, for instance!) than I used to. I don't feel alone anymore. Blogs are bringing us together.

Posted by: Amritas at March 25, 2004 09:01 AM (9gJFi)

4 Well, it is an astronomy related analogy. Emission lines are peaks in the spectrum of materials heated until they give off light. Each natural element gives off a unique signature of peaks at certain frequencies. Thats how we determine the material makeup of distant objects (stars, galaxies, nebula). Absorption lines are the opposite, when a cold material (not glowing from heat) is between the observer and the object emitting the light, the freqencies are absorbed depending on the material, and thus missing from the light source. People also have emission and absorption spectra. When you believe in a concept, and are a proponent/advocate, you emit those aspects. When you disbelieve and try to disabuse people of what you see as a false notion, you absorb that particular 'frequency'. Either way, you end up with an indentifying unique spectrum.

Posted by: Blueshift at March 29, 2004 01:31 PM (mTwk/)

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I like the new An American Soldier blog run by Drill Sergeant Rob. He answers questions about Basic Training that are funny. My favorite bit so far:

I'd like to make a complaint. My little sister is in Jackson right now and she called to tell me about all the fun and "privlidges" she has. So, when you get a chance, tell C company, x/xxth Inf Reg, 3rd Platoon that they are a candy cane unit.

I deleted the unit to protect the guilty. No they are not a candy cane unit. The proper military term is a candyass unit. And yes...they are. Don't worry, we already make fun of them enough. Unfortunately there are big differences in units here as far as how easy or tough the training and discipline is. There are even differences between Companies and Platoons. My unit has a pretty good reputation compared to a lot of units here. And my Platoon is definitely one of the most disciplined in the Battalion. I can't help what other commanders and Drills let their soldiers get away with. I am still going to do my best to turn out tough, disciplined, highly trained, physically fit, morally sound soldiers.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If there's a bad blog post lambasting France, I've never seen it! Thanks, Kim.

By the way, Kim brings up National Piss Off Michael Moore And Buy A Gun Day on April 15th. After reading his blog for a couple of months, he's basically convinced me: I want to learn to handle a weapon. I realized the day my husband deployed what an irrational fear I have of weapons. I flinched every time my husband and fellow soldiers slung their rifles over their shoulders, even though I knew they were not loaded. In fact, I realized as my husband was showing off his pistol that day that it was the first time in my life I had ever touched a weapon. I have this hold-it-like-it's-a-baby-chick attitude about weapons that I'd like to overcome. Kim has convinced me that people should know how to respect weapons, and I want to learn that skill.

But we're in Germany, and guns are a strict no-no over here, so we'll have to wait until 2006 before I can even learn about weapons. Once we get home, maybe Kim can give me some pointers.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:25 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Wow. Wow.

Charging people money for being wrongfully imprisoned.

Wow.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:24 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Hi. Sorry, wore myself out yesterday.

Big news, eh? Saruman is dead. Good riddance. If you think I'm going to feel any solidarity or sadness for these people, you've got another think coming.

What does that expression mean, anyway?

You know, I don't really feel like blogging tonight. I feel like chillin', watching a movie and then reading some 1984 before bed. I think I will.

More tomorrow.

Posted by: Sarah at 01:56 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Ed's birthday was Thursday, and his children wrote him a blog post that made me smile. My favorite bit:

Dad, I am trying to be the Man of the House while you are gone and it is hard. Mom will not listen to me. I am trying to grow up and do your job and do not want it any more. Come home and take your job back, please. I love you. Happy Birthday.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Oh, this is rich. Germany wants our help getting a seat on the UN Security Council.

As Schröder himself said, "Es gibt Fälle, in denen die bewusste Nicht-Beteiligung auch Ausdruck verantwortlicher Politikgestaltung ist."

Posted by: Sarah at 04:01 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Victor Davis Hanson is awesome. I'll read anything he writes, but I have been especially impressed with this interview with him. I'm even printing it and mailing it to the husband.

Good bit:

A final example: the President has raised domestic spending by 8% per annum, lavished funds on health care and education, offered near amnesty to illegal immigrants from Mexico, appointed a plethora of minority judges, cabinet officials, and administrators, and committed more AIDs relief funds than all prior administrations put together-and is still hated by our Left, simply because his demeanor, accent, religion, and even appearance don't validate the aristocratic Left's rhetoric about sex, class, gender, and the other. It really is a make-believe world in which a Barbra Streisand, Gore Vidal, or Arianna Huffington cheaply sound off from their estates about some purported cosmic evil fostered by poor deluded Americans hooked on K-Mart and NASCAR.

That's what I was trying to say yesterday. Naturally Hanson says it better.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:14 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Via Amritas I found a run-down of life in the Netherlands. It sounds almost identical to Germany, except for a few minor details.

-- Here, Americans are the only ones who ask for tap water in restaurants. The Germans I know think this is disgusting, and a waiter in an area that doesn't have many Americans will stare at you incredulously when you ask for it. "Why don't you get bottled water?" they ask. Uh, because it costs nearly four bucks -- more than the beer -- and the tap water tastes fine to me.

-- In Germany, you are responsible for celebrating your own birthday. You provide the cake and the party and you pick up the bill. My co-worker says she often has to take 10 people out to dinner on her birthday. I made her a cake this year, and she said it was the first time she could remember where she didn't have to make her own cake. I don't like that tradition at all. I laughed when I tried to imagine what would happen in an American company back home if an employee brought in a huge cake for his own birthday! Ha.

-- Recycling is equally serious here. I am required to recycle since I live on post, but I completely agree with the policy. Not because I'm some tree hugger, but because the American government has to pay the German government for every pound of refuse they dump in Germany. This amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, which is another good reason why our military should get the heck out of dodge. I try to be meticulous about recycling so I'm not wasting taxpayer dollars, but sometimes I get annoyed: separating glass by color is just busywork.

-- You can also pay your bills at the German bank here, but they charge you a three-Euro fee. Added up monthly over three years, that comes to an extra hundred bucks you're forking over for nothing, but most people just go ahead and do it. I set up a special account here just for our German phone bill so we don't have to pay the three Euros. I'll keep that for myself, thank you.

Posted by: Sarah at 12:26 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Little Green Footballs is chock full of good stuff today and yesterday. Go over there and just keep scrolling.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Today I noticed that I had a good number of hits from the comments section of an LGF post. Curious, I checked it out. Seems Amritas has called on my Swedish language skills to investigate how the explosives that detonated in Madrid came from Sweden.

Hur säger man "bring it on" på svenska?

Posted by: Sarah at 04:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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