Oh yeah, I forgot. I owe you some rants.

So, clearly Karl Rove needs to go. You've heard enough of the headlines to get the message - he leaked sufficient classified information to screw a couple over. He covered it up. The cover up relates to nuclear weapons in Iraq, and that there were none. We all know Bush lied, on purpose, or by "accident" in the now infamous Iraq war justification SOTU speech. There's plenty of duplicity to go around. But, just as it looks like Rove might take some serious front line heat, Bush nominates his supreme court candidate. Intially Roberts looks bad, but perhaps palatable, but it would appear that his Federalist membership, and his significant role in the 2000 Florida election scandal (or, "recount" as the other side refers to it) as a top republican team player make him look considerably more frightening. I watched Sen. Chuck Shumer discuss nominee Robert's evasivenesss to direct questions on C-SPAN the other day (go here and scroll down to use RealPlayer). It looks like we are in for a long, drawn out fight, and hence the "cover up Rove with a giant smokescreen" appears to be working.

One good source for some of this rant is from another great blog: Daily Kos

First, let me say that I wholeheartedly join my wife in her skepticism of the fluoridation of drinking water. I found the information at this link to be particularly striking. So, while I suspect that topical fluoride can be useful to prevent dental caries, it would appear that a dramatic decline in tooth decay does not correlate directly with fluoridation of drinking water, but rather people brushing their teeth, or at least a decline in sugary food consumption.

Anyway, my primary reason for this post is to complain to you the reader. Are you terrified your ideas and comments will sound stupid, inane, boring, ill-posed, poorly written, or perhaps fear them coming back to haunt you? Let me assure you that my blog is only visited by people who can not get you into trouble, and will not judge you on your grammar. Oh wait, actually, a lot of my friends and family have pet peeves with poor grammar and crummy sentence structure. But then, if those friends are reading my stuff, and then not commenting on it, how am I supposed to get better? And, I have friends and family who work for the governement (MN Dept of Health, US Department of Homeland Security, for example), but I am sure they won't turn you in without first consulting me.

Which means, if you want to stay on my good side. You should comment. Even if the comment is "this post sucks". I can handle the criticism, although I prefer it be constructive.

So, by all means, if reading my blog makes you think of something...comment on it! You only need to click the 0 comments link to make me happy. You can comment anonymously, which means no one will know who you are! I've gotten email from a couple of people who should really post a comment so that others may benefit from their wisdom.

While you are at it, comment on jitterbug's blog as well.

Thanks.
Love,
Fishdaddyo.

My new steed has arrived. I have not had a bicycle for nearly a year, which is surprising given how much of my life has been devoted to bicycle riding, maintenance, leg shaving, admiring, and TV watching. Way back in my teen years I worked at a bicycle shop. I always thought the dorks who came in with single speed bikes had a screw loose. I mean, why limit yourself to one gear? Don't the hills suck? Are you wearing underwear beneath those bike shorts?

OK, fast forward to today. The bike pictured above has only one gear. It does have brakes, so I am not a purist, but I dig the single gear. It is simpler to "just pedal". But, the hills do suck.

Two notes for anyone thinking of taking the single speed plunge.

• 48 x 16 gearing is a bit to high of a gear ratio. I suffer on the hills, and the first couple miles of any ride are tough
• Running shoes are not the best - I swear I can feel every corner and divot of the pedal cages

Today I also owe you a correction. My linguistic skills are poor when it comes to Italian/Spanish/Latin. You mean they aren't the same? The mother-in-law rightly pointed out that The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars, and A Few Dollars More were in Italian, and not Spanish. If you also noticed this, then go treat yourself to a full fat latte with extra foam.

As my wife, jitterbug, has done, I too have a movie oriented post, albeit with different themes.

Movies I should have walked out of, with the benefit of hindsight:

1. Pulp Fiction - violence and gore cloaked in humor
2. Natural Born Killers - violence and gore cloaked in artistic colors
3. Forest Gump - just plain dumb
4. Basic Instinct - ditto, with a crotch shot
5. Saving Private Ryan - I can never see another war movie, but maybe I should be grateful?
6. Thin Red Line (1998) - if I had seen ...Ryan first, I could have spared myself
7. Fortress - for some reason, I am a sucker for Lambert, probably thanks to Highlander (1986)
8. Highlander II, the Quickening - see above. I see there's Highlander: The Journey Continues in the works. Sheesh? Can there be only none?
9. Pet Sematary - at least I read the book first. The only redeeming scene is the sliced achilles, which will haunt me forever.
10. Indecent Proposal - Robert Redford's only bad movie?

Movies I wish I could have seen on the big screen:

1. The Shining - I think I would have enjoyed an eight foot tall Jack face
2. Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il, Per qualche dollaro in più, Per un pugno di dollari - do I have to explain? did I test your Spanish?
3. Blade Runner - the best sci-fi movie ever, and a great book adaptation
4. Shichinin no samurai, aka The Seven Samurai - Mifune's character is pure genius
5. The Thing (1982) - so creepy, I can only imagine it gets better with size
6. The Exorcist - same as above
7. Apocalypse Now - alas, my only big screen image of Brando is Island of Dr. Moreau, and I need to be cleansed
8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - those aliens would look much taller and brighter on a big screen
9. Monty Python and the Holy Grail - most people don't know how much of a ...Grail lover I am

I goaded Bree into starting a blog, and so, I suppose I should follow suit. Today feels like the right time to reflect upon the recent Tour de Lance...

Predictable and boring should not be the words that best describe the "world's greatest sporting event", but these are the words that come to mind when reflecting on the last three weeks. Yes, it is a great feat for LA to break his own record and achieve what will likely not ever be seen again, a least in my lifetime - seven consecutive wins. But, we already knew he would stand on top of the final podium the moment he passed Jan in the opening time trial. I'm glad he's retired. My viewership of the Tour has been a constant event, since I was 15 years old in my best friend Allen's basement (Greg Lemond won that year, and like Lance almost did this year, Greg didn't win a single stage). As a lifelong cycling fan, and an occasional participant, I can only say I am relieved that next year's Tour will be without Lance. The battle between Jan and Ivan, and who knows else, will provide for much greater entertainment, and better filler between OLN's terrible commercials (for which the mute button was designed).

I promise my blogs won't all be rants. And, I promise to say something about Karl Rove, so I look like I know about current events :-)

- fishdaddyo