1,000 Words

Have a look at this photo .

Comment and context here.

Comments

[Deus ex Machina]

I fear that the kid is going to end up with a lot of sexual and gender issues when he grows up.

[Zeno]

What did they fear that the child would do?

[madpad]

As a parent currently experiencing the joys of toilet training 3-year-old boy, this picture has special meaning to me.

I'm think gonna put this pic on the Gold Star chart for extra motivation. Waddaya think?

[Eddy]

Especially now that his pecker has been blown off.

[*]

It's no big deal that the officer is pointing a gun at a defenseless child. After all, police officers never accidentally discharge their weapons. Oh, wait.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Perfect. Even without the comment or the context.

[David]

"What do you mean you can't go? What're you afraid of?"

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Mad, everyone talks about the Terrible Twos but I say three is much worse. What say you?

BTW, when my boy was 3 it seemed like if he hit something he was happy. Sometimes it would be the toilet.

BTW, WTF are they doing to this boy? Giving him a piss test? Keeping him from flushing the crack down the crapper? I mean, come on.

[M]

Looks to me like a tutoring session.

[M]

As in modeling proper technique, I mean.

[Karen]

Jeez, I thought my two sons were tough to potty train. (Madpad, I soooo feel -- and smell -- your pain. Wise of you to wait until the kid was three, though. Also, my younger son got it in no time, but backslides still, especially when he's tired. I do lots of laundry.) We just relied on withdrawing television privileges, never needed to call the SWAT team. Then again, even with the unwarranted assumption that the officer won't shoot the boy, I'd still worry about the damage a high-powered rifle would do to my bathrooms. I'm pretty sure insurance wouldn't cover it, either.

[thoreau]

I am being completely serious when I say that whoever took the photo of a young child in the bathroom took a big risk, and anybody who posts the picture also takes a big risk these days. What if that picture is construed as indecency related to a minor?

I'm not defending such an interpretation of the picture, but in today's world I think we should be wary. Who's to say they wouldn't do a raid on the home of the photographer?

[Karen]

TWC, three was definitely worse than two. For one thing, both of mine had just enough language skills to be unbearably whiny. In fact, the older one, he's eight, is just now outgrowing that. If this is typical, you get about four years between whiny little kid and snarly, silent adolescent. I'm considering a new career in polar exploration then.

[Aresen]

I kinda hope the camera distracted the kid, causing him to turn towards it, which, in turn, caused him to pee on the officer's boot.

[Rick Barton]

The government's "war on drugs" is a war on liberty. Let's make peace.

[Warren]

This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of my enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.

[MarkV]

Occupied America.

"We have met the enemy, and he is us."

Looks like we've lost the "War on Terror".

[sage]

"Hey kid, yours is bigger than mine."

[Jon H]

"What if that picture is construed as indecency related to a minor?"

Can't be, there was a cop present. Therefore, it must have been legal.

Right?

Um... right?

[jkii]

I don't know how the kid did, but I would have a very difficult time peeing in this situation.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Warren, You Funny Guy.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Karen, shall we call it The Uncooperative Threes?

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Warren, you must have done some time with Uncle Sams Misguided Children.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

I actually do have a life, it just so happens I'm sitting here at the computer spinning Christmas tunes for the House Blond and my son as they drift off to Nah Nah land (Sleepy Bye).

Bing is putting us into the 1940's currently but were moving on now to Skynard's Run, Run Rudolph. Best rendition of that song ever.

[madpad]

Warren, are you referring to the officer's rifle or the little kid's pecker? Seriously, nice shout out to either the USMC or Kubrick.

Wine, I thought two's were a challenge...then the little spittin-image-of-his-ol-man turned three last month and it's just two amplified. The kid is frighteningly smart but seems to adapt well to negotiation - a born capitalist. His older brother, on the other hand, could not be bought. So I shamelessly bribe him when I can.

Funny you should mention hitting something. We're tring the cheerio trick to give him something to aim for. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for the sympathy, Karen.

Since David and Sage have started a caption contest, here's mine...

"Give me bubbles in ten or the Yellow Wiggle gets it in the skull!"

[jb]

This is my ****. There are many like it but this one is mine. My **** is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my **** is useless. Without my **** I am useless. I must pee with my **** true. I must pee straighter than my enemy, who is trying to pee on me. I must pee on him before he pees on me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my **** and myself are defenders of my manhood, we are the masters of my enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.

[highnumber]

Play by play of The Wine Commonsewer's Sunday evening. Fantastic! What are you drinking? More importantly, what are you wearing?

[The Wine Commonsewer]

High, not drinking anything memorable and fully dressed. Mrs TWC got stuck in the snow in Vermont Friday cuz JFK was closed so last night..wait...never mind.

But the week of Thanksgiving I met an old friend (The Kosmik Kid--yeah he did a lot of acid and he's a libertarian) in Palm Springs for an afternoon of wine and good food. The second bottle we had was Ferrari Carrano Tresor, which is a Meritage, in the Frog Bordeaux style, that was absolutely liquid velvet. Tresor means Treasure and they weren't kidding.

Oh, we've moved on to John Lennon's Happy Christmas for those who are keeping track at home.

The wine was pricey and you couldn't drink it everyday but for a special occasion.......

By then, The Kosmik Kid was telling the hostess how gorgeous she was. She took it well...with a big smile. Couple of old guys soaking up the sun. Jesus Chrysler.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Mad, Cheerios? LOL Cheerios? No way. I wish I'd thought of that. Do you, like, float them in the toilet?

Tell you what, I'll never, ever, have carpet in a bathroom again.

[madpad]

Wine, I've had the Ferrari-Carrano Chardonnay. Pretty good stuff. The Tresor is a bit pricey for my current tastes though I spring for a bottle of something really nice here and there. I'll have to live vicariously through you.

I survive on a number of of $10 a bottle Italian wines - I'm a sucker for a good chianti.

[madpad]

Do you, like, float them in the toilet?

Yep...drop 'em right in - just one though. Gives 'em something to aim for and keeps them focused. I just tried it for the first time yesterday with mediocre results (he ate half of them).

But I did get him to try, which was a bit of a minor victory.

[Aresen]

My entry for the caption contest:

"Fill the sample bottle, kid, or else!"

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Mad, the Tresor is on my Christmas list and, well, I got to live not-so-vicariously through the Kosmik Kid who was gracious enough to pop for lunch and wine. Good friends are hard to come by. Especially winos.

See, it's also good that you had that Chard, because...Lips that touch white wine shall never touch mine (except Sandra Bullock's). That sentiment is a big relief to all my friends, gay, straight, whatever, and their wives.

I like a good chianti too.

[highnumber]

I'm following the toilet training advice for future reference, but I have to ask (8 month old boy here)

Yep...drop 'em right in - just one though. Gives 'em something to aim for and keeps them focused. I just tried it for the first time yesterday with mediocre results (he ate half of them).

Was he bobbing for Cheerios?

[The Wine Commonsewer]

he ate half of them

Oh thanks, I love snorting cheap wine outta my nose all over the monitor. Glad it wasn't Coke. Not that kind of coke.

You guys will all laugh, but we're doing Karen Carpenter's Ava Maria. Yeah, I know.

Fill the sample bottle, kid, or else!

Lemonade.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

bobbing for Cheerios

What? Are we doing stand up here?

More wine on the monitor.

Leesa! Get me a towel.

[rm2muv]

My first thought was that I'd have a hard time peeing under those circumstances. But, upon reflection, I'm pretty sure I would have peed my pants long before I got to the toilet.

[Aresen]

TWC

This atheist is listening to Handel's 'Messiah'.

I just go for baroque.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

rm2muv,

It's like those Elian Gonzalez photos only real. Wait...........

[madpad]

highnumber, I had about 6 or 7 Cheerios. I dropped one in the potty (for dmonstration purposes) and he munched 3 out of the bowl I had on the toilet back.

TWC, I love red wine but I love a good white as well. In fact, I'm pretty much an equal opportunity wine lover. I came up in the restaurant business and learned to love quite a variety of wines.

My faves are, by and large, Italian wines. But I've tried something from everywhere. Love good California Chardonnays and Pinot Niors. Love Chilean and Australian Cabs. I've had Hungarian (Bull's Blood - trippy) and all sorts of others.

I got started on German wines (which are usually too sweet for my now-more-experienced palate) but I'll never turn up my nose at such a rarity as a Trockenbeerenauslese or an Eiswein. Sweet yes, but delicious.

Biggest let down was a white, though - Conundrum. Biggest misty-eyed, leaves-me-breathless wine memory was a red - Opus One '91 I drank in 1995.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Aresen, The Flying Burrito Brothers snuck in here. Don't know how that happened.

The Messiah. My son, who is a little bit in need of large quantities of Ritalin (but he ain't getting them) has always had this incredible appreciation for classical (using the term loosely) music. I swear, if I could keep him still for 20 or 30 seconds at a time, he could learn piano in no time. Swear, take that kid to Nordstroms and he'd sit in the stroller by the piano guy and listen for as long as you wanted to sit there.

Oh, and we've moved on to Little St Nick.

Sheesh, I think those guys are asleep by now.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Mad, MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Opus One.

Hear that in Homer Simpson's voice.

[Warren]

TWC,
In a previous life, I use to be a squid, but you can thank Stanley Kubrick for the inspiration.

[madpad]

Wine, sound's like our kids would either get along great or kill each other. My kid digs anything I put on from my ridiculously diverse CD collection. I play the piano at home and half the time my littlest wants to play with me...the other half I tend put him to sleep. Go figure.

[madpad]

TWC...are your eyes rolling back in your head?

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Mad,

My kid's godfather, who is no longer with us, once asked me if I was raised by wolves.

That was in response to a disparaging remark I made about white wine.

[Aresen]

TWC

Kid sounds like me at that age. I once crawled out of bed at 2 AM & put my dad's prized LP record of Beethoven's 9th on at full volume.

Meanwhile, Handel has signed off and now, so am I.

G'night all!

[Godfrey]

"Interrogating Mr. Tinkle."

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Ah, Warren, a squid. You know what we were told about Swabbies. Don't You? There's only two kinds and one of them is Corpsmen.

Full Metal Jacket was as close to a real presentation of USMC basic training as I've ever seen. The only flaw was the bullet. We never could have smuggled a live round off the firing range because every last round and every last empty round was accounted for. Cuz they knew we'd kill us a got dam DI (Jack Webb's a DI, I'm a fucking Drill Instructor) if we could just get one little live piece of ammo. Shit, our M-14's didn't even have firing pins until the rifle range.

[Jonathan C. Hohensee]

Michelle: kids at that age usually need someone to go with them
Michelle: and you never know
Michelle: what he's trained to do
Jon: the kid whips out an uzi.
Michelle: LOL
Jon: "This is what you get when you fuck with my mom and dad!"
Michelle: they could teach him where the drugs are and to flush em
Michelle: dummy
Jon: Blast three holes in the nearest cop, dives out the window and heads into the woods where he has a box with a drop gun, a clean pair of clothes and enough money to get him to Canada.

[madpad]

Wine, I understand being passionate about reds. But I don't understand dissin' whites. Feel free to expound.

BTW, although it's entirely possible you were raised (and suckled) by wolves, I'm sorry about your son's godfather. No doubt his spirit is somewhere having a good laugh at your expense as he swills downs an artfully crafted Pinot Grigio you denied yourself of.

[Warren]

madpad,
I think it works best if you can hear them both praying in unison.

And now I must tell this joke I haven't told in twenty years.

A Marine goes into the head (that's the bathroom to you) and there's a little boy in there. The boy walks up to the jarhead and says "Wow, are you a real marine?"

"Sure am" he replies "would you like to wear my hat?"

"Oh boy! Can I" says the boy

A few seconds later a sailor walks in.
"Wow, are you a real sailor?" asks the boy.

"Sure am kid" comes the reply "would you like to give me a blowjob?"

"Oh no!" the boy retorts "I'm not a real marine, I'm just wearing the hat."

THANK YOU!
and Good Night

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Mrs TWC is asking how many glasses of wine I've had. I told her: two.

G'night Areson, Dude, Radley is going to be pissed in the morning when he sees how cavalier we've been about this serious post.

Mad, eyes okay. BTW, my buddy Stevie Crown, actually sleeps with his eyes open. After passing out from, well, Crown (Royale). It is wicked weird and cost him his Taiwanese wife. Not before pulling his eyelids a number of times though. She was kind of mean.

[madpad]

Great one, warren...I'm off to bed as well. Good Night.

[madpad]

I've heard of that...but how does one sleep with their eyes open?

[Jonathan C. Hohensee]

His friend is a dolphin.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Warren, Got Dam It, I just barely avoided spewing wine all over the monitor again. Because I was expecting that other joke.

The Marine doesn't wash his hands after using the head and the Navy guy says......

Well, in the Navy they teach us to wash our hands after we piss.

Jarhead: Well, in the Marine Corps they teach us not to piss all over our hands.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Mad, I've seen it. It is one weird thing to see, the guy is sound asleep and his eyes are wide open.

G'night Warren. G'night Mad. G'night Jonathan. G;night Aresen, G'night all.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Mad, Jim is somewhere in another life swilling down an artfully crafted Montrachet if I know him.

[Akira MacKenzie]

The Officer is just taking James Dobson's advice to make sure the boy doesn't catch The Gay:

"Look son, [Ziiiiip!] I've got a penis too! LOOK AT YOU LITTLE MAGGOT! I SAID LOOK AT IT OR I'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!!!"

[Doctor Duck]

From the 'context': The exercise is dubbed "Operation TIPS," short for "The Aggressive Police Strategy."

Hard to believe these people sometimes get an address wrong.

[Gerry Tripwell]

What really happened was the boy and his family were passing through security at Newark Airport and he is merely being subjected to a "routine, additonal" search.

[toddfrye]

"I can't go with you pointing an M16 at me."

[Dan T.]

The policeman clearly has the weapon pointing down and his finger is not on the trigger. Everyone please calm down.

[Luke]

It's a Heckler & Koch MP-5 submachine gun, not an M-16. Seems to be the weapon of choice for jack-booted thu... uh, I mean, heroic SWAT personnel, all over the country.

[jgray]

"policeman?" when was the last time you saw a policeman in military BDU's, body armor, tactical gear, ballistic helmet, and submachinegun in your bathroom with your little kid? kid's scarred for life

[edna]

twc, i hope you were kidding about that opus 1. overpriced crap for the tourists and label-drinkers. the vineyard is not a good one (valley floor, poor site). the winemaking, despite the show, is very manipulative to try to cover the flaws. conundrum is a horror show.

to get me calmed down after my kid's party last night (he's 6 and can knock a crumb off a cheerio from three feet away), a nice pair of pichon condrieus, '02 and '04. that's real wine, mes amis, despite its whiteness.

we diverge from the topic at hand because the point of the post is so awful, and there's absolutely zero that we can realistically do about it.

[Jennifer]

One part of me keeps thinking "we must be getting close to the Rosa Parks moment that makes everybody say 'enough!'" but then I remember again how all the cops have to do is shout "drugs!" to short-circuit everyone's thinking process. Maybe we never will say "enough."

[P Brooks]

"we diverge from the topic at hand because the point of the post is so awful, and there's absolutely zero that we can realistically do about it."

edna- Well stated. I must say, toilet training and wine snobbery are not what I anticipated when I clicked on "comments."

----------
re: the photo- My first guess was that it was a coercive urine test; if the kid tests positive, it's capital punishment time for Mommy and Daddy.

I am beginning to honestly think we might be better off if we disbanded the police and went back to lynch mobs. And we could start off by lynching the police en masse.

[Ron]

Thoreau: Radley is taking a big risk here, but he does have a "freedom of the press" argument that the rest of us don't have. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't have posted it. Of course, now that the image is on all of our computers in "temporary" files, we are all liable to prosecution.

[Isaac Bartram]

The reason there is not going to be a Rosa Parks moment is that there is no sympathetic group opposing any of this.

Remember in the 1950s there was a substantial number of Americans who thought "It really is unfair that Negroes are treated this way". The only people with any sympathy for junkies are a binch of crackpots.

Also Rosa Parks only got arrested. Imagine how it would have been if you got shot if you didn't go to the back of the bus.

[Ron]

Isaac & Jennifer: I would also add that Rosa Parks could only change the color of her skin with great difficulty, while drug use is, for the most part, a voluntary endeavor. The level of perceived unfairness is different. Radley is scoring more points by going after cases where people who need pain medication aren't able to get it. That's where the "Rosa Parks" type of sympathy lies.

[madpad]

edna- Well stated. I must say, toilet training and wine snobbery are not what I anticipated when I clicked on "comments."

First, P. Brooks, if you looked at the picture before clicking on "comment" and some thought of toilet training didn't occur to you, there's something wrong with you.

Second, I think I established for TWC that I am NOT - in fact - a wine snob. But it's quite obvious edna is one.

As for your child's aim, edna, my congrats. As for you opinion of Opus One, overpriced maybe, but crap? Nah. Don't think so. Though the '97s are supposedly much improved over the '91 I referred to.

I will be on the look out for the pichon condrieu though. Thanks for the rec.

[P Brooks]

"P. Brooks, if you looked at the picture before clicking on "comment" and some thought of toilet training didn't occur to you, there's something wrong with you."

The same thing that was wrong with W C Fields, I suppose.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Edna, the last Opus I had was good. It wasn't the best wine I've ever and it probably cost more than it should have, but it was pretty good.

People also say that Caymus is overpriced crap as well but I've had several that were pretty good.

I will say this: The Ferrari-Carrano Tresor (2002) that I had with the Kosmik Kid in Palm Springs blew away the Opus and the Caymus.

One thing about wine, the price/quality correlation is only marginal. I've had many wines in the 10-15 range that were superior to their expensive cousins.

Mad--I'm not a wine snob neither (well except for poking fun at white wine, but that's mostly just a schtick). I am, in fact, a Wine Common Sewer. Just a guy who likes red wine.

The same thing that was wrong with W C Fields, I suppose.

Only thing wrong with WC is that some scoundrel stole the cork to his lunch.

TWC

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Oh yeah, and the Tresor was much less expensive than any Opus or Caymus.

[z]

I've had the Tresor, and believe me, it's no Opus.

[madpad]

Yeah, TWC...us red wine drinkers are a hardy breed, though I still fail to understand your exclusivity.

PB, your bond with WC Fields makes your skewed perspective understandable. Which do you hate more...children or animals?

[The Wine Commonsewer]

See, now we have another opinion of the Opus. Z is a little more positive than Edna.

Mad, I think children are great, particular when served well done.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Z & Edna: Each of you should send me a bottle of Opus for my review. Yeah, that's the ticket. Send me two bottles. It has been a while since of tasted it and I may need to revise my opinion, either up or down.

[Jennifer]

Isaac & Jennifer: I would also add that Rosa Parks could only change the color of her skin with great difficulty, while drug use is, for the most part, a voluntary endeavor.

Except that the cops have gone so out of control that merely being "drug-free" is no guarantee the cops will leave you alone. Maybe the warrant has the wrong address on it. Maybe an informant pulled your name out of his ass in exchange for a lenient sentence.

I live in a brick apartment building next door to another, identical, brick apartment building. Furthermore, I live in a city whose cops behave like Machiavellian anti-cop advocates, deliberately striving to destroy any sense of respect people have for cops. Finally, the people who live in the apartment building next to mine belong to a certain minority group that is loathed by our local cops.

I haven't done anything lately that would make the cops show any interest in me, but I'm still surprised that my door hasn't been battering-rammed down.

[Aresen]

Jennifer

"I haven't done anything lately that would make the cops show any interest in me, but I'm still surprised that my door hasn't been battering-rammed down."

Hopefully, they don't read "Hit & Run." 😉

[P Brooks]

"Which do you hate more...children or animals?"

I find both quite delightful, when properly prepared. Just back from breakfast, actually.
And I decline to answer...

[edna]

trust me, i'm no snob, i just work in napa in the wine biz. ate at slanted door on saturday and drank beaujolais. j-p brun, terres dorees. cheap and about a million times more enjoyable than the overpriced, hot'n'flabby crap we grow around here. on my desk, waiting for noon to hit, a bottle of edmunds-st-john bone-jolly. a case of that will set you back less than a bottle of dalle valle maya. my 6 yr old loves it, and it keeps him quieter than cap'n crunch.

[madpad]

Beaujolais? My guilty pleasure is the B&G. Not bad at $8 a bottle. Glad to hear you're not a snob (even though you riff off vintners faster than Miles in Sideways.)

Enjoy your lunch.

[edna]

snobs eschew gamay. it's a good marker.

[Stevo Darkly]

Occupied America.

Ah, that would explain all the "ocupado" signs I see on restroom doors these days.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

I've got a 1973 Beaujolais. Saved it because I knew a chick that was born that year. Yes, I know it ain't no good, but it's a nice conversation piece. Got a lot of sediment in it and the label is pretty moth eaten.

[Eddy]

Say officer, is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to be there?

[J sub D]

Even if a raid doesn't turn up anything, presence and show of force sends a hard message to the neighborhood that gang and drug activity will not be tolerated.

Can somebody, anybody, come up with a more bullshit, totalitarian justification for violating peoples rights? We just treat you like shit, so you will know that can treat you like shit.

Obligatory disclaimer follows; I hate saying this, but FUCK THE POLICE!

Somebody, please give me a good reason to recant the aforementioned (in bold) statement.

[edna]

twc, ya never know. sometimes, those under-ripe high acid vintages will surprise you. then again, more likely it's magically transmuted to bad madeira.

[Aresen]

J sub D

Well, for one thing, most of them are guys and I'm not gay.

[J sub D]

The more this stews in my brain, the more pissed off I get. I have never seen a similar photo involving the Nazi SS, the KGB, the NKVD, PRC secret police, SAVAK, etc. etc. etc.

But the Durhan N.C police department leads the way in totalitarian intimidation.

I'm not gonna be in a good mood for a long while because of this.

[J sub D]

Aresen, I'm also straight, but I meant using nightsticks or broom handles.
What goes around, should come around.

[kofu]

I can imagine the scenario, and it's not so scary in its everyday people side. In a drug raid (SWAT-type) everyone in the premises must be watched, particularly in the bathroom where evidence can be flushed. No cop in SWAT clothes is going to take off his mask, etc. and put down his gun to accompany a kid to the toilet. He's trained to hold the weapon a certain way, and it's not pointed at the kid (zoom lens can confuse that issue). But at that point in the raid, there's no reason to think the officer is going to be mean to the kid or threaten him...

Take a big step back and look at what the "war on drugs" is doing to us, and it's a scary picture, but there's no need to read that story into this particular snapshot.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Prolly too late for this but I like Charlie Wagner's advice about wine.

"If a wine doesn't appeal to your palate, it's not your wine."

Charlie was the founder of Caymus.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

You guys are right, this is a piss poor picture of the drug war and the unintended consequences. I am not impressed but I know people that might think the photo was cute. And, as angry as it makes me, the anger is more an outgrowth of the symbolism of the picture and what that represents.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

J sub, I know your pissed and I don't blame you but you should come over and I'll show you some pictures of what the Nazi's and the Rooskies are/were capable of. Or you could just google nazi concentration camps and then click on images.

[J sub D]

J sub, I know your pissed and I don't blame you but you should come over and I'll show you some pictures of what the Nazi's and the Rooskies are/were capable of. Or you could just google nazi concentration camps and then click on images.

The Wine Commonsewer: Yeah, you're correct on this. I too, have seen the photos of the concentration camps, and this doesn't really compare. But I'm still pissed! The longest journey starts with a single step.

[Ron]

Jennifer: There will never be a Rosa Parks moment in the WOD? Why? Because overwhelming majorities of Americans think getting high by any means other than alcohol is "wrong", and because people believe there is a direct link between crime and drug use (why they fail to see a link between crime and alcohol use escapes me). See:

http://www.musc.edu/catalyst/archive/1998/co3-27despite.htm

[Phil]

Toilet Training American style. Wey hey!!!!!!!

[The Kosmik Kid]

Just wanted to drop by and let The Wine Commonsewer know that I'm lurking...

Yeah mon, that Tresor was stone bitchin'. At $50 Americano, not a great bargain, but hardly ripoff. Not an Opus? Never had one, can't compare, but have had better reds at less money, although $50 then was more like $100 now, ya know.

Tell'em about the bistro, TWC -- the California Bistro on the main drag in Rancho Mirage, somehow great ambiance in spite of the holiday rush and the fact we had lunch outside, with plenty motor traffic whizzing by. Eighty and cloudless on the 20th of November had something to do with it. The company and conversation of the redoubtable TWC (once known as Danger Mouse, but I'll let him tell that story), the excellent lunch fare, and the savory delights implied by that waitress's smile were the other factors.

Ah, to be younger again...

The Kosmik Kid

[Lambda]

The photo can be still viewed in the judging video for spot news at -

http://www.cpoy.org/index.php?s=Podcast

I must say I find it interesting that a photo "journalist" reacts to this sort of controversy with self-censorship. God forbid your photo send a message you can't find in it.