Aloha Daze

Doctor Who, one of the longest running sci-fi television shows in history, has returned to the BBC.

As of March 2006, America gets to catch up with the Doctor with new episodes for the first time in years.

Taken from Sci-Fi Wire:

12:00 AM, 13-JANUARY-06

SCI FI To Air New Doctor Who

SCI FI Channel announced Jan. 12 that it will air the first season of the BBC’s hit SF series Doctor Who, starting in March. The 13 episodes, starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, will air as part of SCI FI Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The series, from head writer and executive producer Russell T. Davies, ran originally in the United Kingdom last year and was one of the network’s biggest hits ever. An update of the classic Doctor Who show, the series continues in the U.K. with an upcoming second season that will star David Tennant as the Doctor.

“The Doctor’s made all sorts of journeys in time and space, but this is one of his most exciting yet!” Davies said in a statement. “I’m a huge fan of the SCI FI Channel, and I’m delighted that Doctor Who is appearing on a channel that supports and enhances the entire genre.”

“With its rich history of imaginative storytelling, Doctor Who is a true sci-fi classic,” Thomas P. Vitale, SCI FI’s senior vice president, programming and original movies, said in a separate statement. “We’re excited to add the show to our lineup.”

Meanwhile, BBC Video announced that it has moved the proposed U.S. release date of the Doctor Who first-season DVD set to July 4 from its originally planned February launch.

Cool. Someone get me my TARDIS key. (Or, at least, let me set my VCR.)

RLR

In a previous post, I suggested that, instead of a filibuster, the Democrats should just go ahead and confirm Judge Alito’s confirmation to SCOTUS (Supreme Court Of The United States.)

Then there is John Kerry. What would the Democratic party do without him? (Celebrate, I’d guess.)

From a distant mountain top, somewhere on vacation, a voice said “Filibuster!” The voice was Kerry’s.

There was no echo from either mountain or valley in the land of the Democrats.

Why? Because even they recognize a lost cause. Why further embarass your party? Just confirm Alito, and be done with it.

But instead, the Dems are yap yap yapping about how Alito is going to shift the balace of SCOTUS to the extreme right, forever corrupting the court, the people, religion, and the human race in general.

Dem leader Harry Reid of Nevada said during a U.S. Conference of Mayors event that, “Everyone knows there are not enough votes to support a filibuster, but it’s an opportunity to people to express their opinion on what a bad choice it was to replace Sandra Day O’Connor.” (see article)

Oh, shut up.

I’m sick and tired of hearing how the Dems, now being lead around by the noses by the extreme, left-wing, moonbat cheeseball wackos, keep saying how Alito is going to shift the balance of the court to the right.

Nobody is saying word one about how O’Connor, for the last – what?… 10 years – has shifted court opinion over to the left. Who knows how many decisions were made that made the left-wing moonbats happy.

Alito shifting opinions to the right? Poo. More like shifting the opinions back to center, where they belong.

Now if we can just get Roe vs. Wade tossed out, because that was bad law, then we’d be cooking with fire.

RLR

What a surprise!

“A thousand demonstrators from the defeated Fatah Party protested Friday outside the Gaza City home of beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a day after a strong victory by the opposition Hamas Party.” (see article)

So, basically, one set of terrorists is unhappy that the other set of terrorists are now in power.

With any luck, they’ll destroy each other, as opposed to focusing on Israel.

RLR

In the back of my mind, I saw it coming the moment that the situation was set in motion:

“Eight Hurricane Katrina refugees who are members of rival New Orleans gangs were arrested in connection with 11 recent murders and other violent crimes, Houston police said Friday.”

For more, see the article posted over at FoxNews.com.

RLR

I thought about posting this – or not – for the longest time. Then it occured to me that if I can’t post articles that mean a great deal to me, then I have no business posting anything.

Those that know.. those that don’t.. pardon my absense. My lack of anything to read mirrors my mindset of not being able to put many thoughts together in a straight line as of late.

Even now, I stare at a blank screen. I’ve got a lot to say. I’ve got no idea where to start. Everything that comes to mind seems to be… insufficient to the cause.

Ok. Let me try and start somewhere.

My good friend Ken Jr., whom I met in college back in 1988, loves to go bowling. So do I. In the beginning, I’d spend some late nights – Mondays, as memory serves – watching him and the rest of his family bowl as a team. (That would be sister Kenna, mother Sharon, and father Ken Sr.) I probably spent a season or so just watching them play. Together, they played as team “Alley Cats.”

There was the occasional injury. Junior would pull a muscle, or break a bone… so he’d switch between right and left handed bowling. Or, he’d just sit out the game because one side and the other would be hurt. These things happen to any team, in any sport that involves skill, luck, and a little muscle.

As the years passed, the Alley Cats would move their game night around. Sometimes Monday nights. Sometimes Thursday nights. Sometimes both.

I began to bowl with Ken Jr. and Ken Sr., when they would head out to the bowling alley on a Saturday night, and we’d enter into Saturday night competitions, bowling for money. It was always nice to make money, of course, but it was always fun just to go bowling.

My memory on the specifics over the last several years is fuzzy. With any luck, I’ll get Ken Jr. to fill in the blanks later on a followup comment or update. In the meantime, I’ll do the best I can to remember what I can.

Things change. Time passes. Ken Jr. got married, and bowling on a team took a backseat for him for about a year or so.

After many years, Junior suggested that we join a league. Sounded like a good plan to me.

So, a new version of the Alley Cats was born. This one included Ken Jr., his wife Antonia, Ken Sr., and myself.

I’d been bowling on and off for years. Nothing serious, and nothing noteworthy. I rolled a ball. It sometimes hit pins. That was my strategy.

Then I began bowling with Junior and Senior, and found my game moving up to a new level. I began bowling using a “hook,” as opposed to a plain plastic ball, a straight line, and a prayer.

I can safely say that while my dad introduced me to the game I loved so much, it was Ken Jr. and Sr. that helped bring my bowling game up to a professional level.

In between all this bowling was not a void. Ken’s family and mine became close. Celebrations were shared. Birthdays. Anniversaries. July 4th. Christmas. New Year’s.

As time passed, and our families became closer, we continued bowling. Two seasons in a row, we would take the championship in the league we were playing.

Things change. Time passes. The families remained close. But the bowling took a backseat. The Alley Cats went, once again, into hiatus.

Several things have changed since we played our last game in a league. Ken Jr. added to his family by one, now having three children. After being laid off, I moved from Dallas, Texas to my new home on the island of Oahu, in Hawaii.

Things change. Time passed. I’d been in Hawaii for over two years. I finally returned to Dallas this past Christmas, to spend time with parents and friends, and generally catch up. I returned to my island home after spending a month in Dallas.

Thursday, January 12, 2006. Ken Jr. sends out an email to everyone. His dad was found passed out in the floor of their house. After a call to 911 and a trip to Baylor Dallas Hospital, it’s determined that Senior had a brain hemmorage. A stroke.

Change.. waits. Time slows down. Everything is in slow motion.

A week goes by.

Thursday, January 19, 2006. Ken Jr. sends another email… Ken Sr. has passed on.

Change… blinks. Time stops.

Having just spent money on a plane ticket to and from Dallas, I couldn’t afford to return again so soon. For me, the services will have to wait until I return to Dallas. In the meantime, this blog entry will be my eulogy. My small contribution to a life of a really good man.

For Ken’s family… and mine… services were planned, and attended. Ken Sr. was laid to rest on Monday, January 23, 2006.

He was buried with his bowling shoes on.

Things continue to change. Time, slowly, begins to move forward.

For those that didn’t know the man, but are looking to advance their bowling career, I offer you a simple piece of advice that Ken Sr. offered me on several occasions:

“Hit the head pin, dummy.”

RLR

Taken from CNN’s website:

Iran: CNN banned over translation error

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iran’s government banned CNN journalists from working in the country Monday after a translation error broadcast by CNN mistakenly quoted Iran’s president as saying his nation has the right to build nuclear weapons, the state-run news agency said.

CNN was not informed directly by the Iranian government that it was banned from the country.

The dispute arises from a moment of simultaneous translation Saturday.

As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was speaking, an interpreter working for a translation company hired by CNN misquoted him as having said Iran has the right to build nuclear weapons.

In fact, he said Iran has the right to nuclear energy, and that “a nation that has civilization does not need nuclear weapons.” He added, “Our nation does not need them.”

The incorrect translation was aired on CNN later Saturday.

As soon as it was alerted to the error, CNN on Sunday corrected the translation and clarified Ahmadinejad’s remarks. The network also apologized.

In a written statement, CNN said it “apologized on all its platforms which included the translation error, including CNN International, CNNUSA and CNN.com, and also expressed its regrets to the Iranian government and the Iranian ambassador to the U.N.”

But the Iranian government, in the report by the state news agency IRNA, said it took a punitive measure against CNN, invalidating press cards of CNN journalists in Tehran.

The Foreign Press Department of the Ministry of Culture and the Islamic Guidance said it will not extend permits to CNN journalists because of the violation of “professional ethics,” the IRNA report said.

The network, in its statement, said, “CNN is very disappointed that this action has been taken.”

The translation company, Lesley Howard Languages, apologized to CNN.

“Obviously, we’re taking it very, very seriously. We will never use him again,” said owner Lesley Howard, referring to the interpreter.

She said the same interpreter, who like other interpreters is contracted for individual projects, has done good work in the past, including for CNN.

She added that there is no reason to believe the interpreter purposely gave the wrong translation.

“We pride ourselves on having incredibly high standards,” Howard said.

Somewhere, FoxNews executives are laughing their butts off… And praying the same thing doesn’t happen to them.

RLR

UPDATE

Looks like the ban didn’t last for long. From UPI:

Iran lifts ban of CNN over mistake

TEHRAN, Jan. 17 (UPI) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered the ban on CNN reporting lifted Tuesday after learning a translation mistake was behind a false report.

In a statement, Ahmadinejad said “… considering its apology, CNN office is allowed to continue with its operation in Iran,” the FARS news agency reported.

The ban was imposed Monday after an instant translation error broadcast by CNN Saturday mistakenly quoted Ahmadinejad as saying his nation has the right to build nuclear weapons.

What he actually said was that Iran has the right to nuclear energy, and that “a nation that has civilization does not need nuclear weapons.”

In a written statement on Sunday, CNN apologized and expressed its regrets to the Iranian government and the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations.

The network said it had received an apology from the private translation service, with assurances the translator would no longer work for them.

RLR

What an interesting week it’s been.

When Monday arrived, and it was the first day of Judge Alito’s..what? Incarceration? Although interrogation may be closer to it. Anyway, I figured the next three days would be of interest. I know how much I enjoyed watching Roberts not only answering questions during his confirmation hearing, but verbally slapping the liberal Democrats for asking dumb-arsed questions. They could put the best of that on DVD, and I bet it’d sell easy with a bag of popcorn and a soda.

So I was expecting a show from the Democrats this time. I had no idea how much of a show it’d be. The infighting. The yelling. The whining. The complaining. Why, it was like watching Bill and Hillary again. But without Monica.

What I expected is what I saw: Alito giving the Democrats exactly what they deserved. Again.

And when the Dems didn’t like it… When the left-wing extremist groups that the Democrats answer to started to complain that not enough was being said or done… The questions got ugly. Real ugly. Like Ted Kennedy before his morning martini.

Things backfired when the questions – which were intended to rock the stability that is Mount Alito – rocked his wife.

What did they expect? And by the next day, those same left-wing extremists that wanted their Democrat puppets to raise the level of questioning to another level were saying that the tears being shed were just for show.

Nevermind what they say. They’re on planet Dumb Dumb. They insulted a good man, with a lifetime of good work, and got caught for the entire country to see. No amount of excuses from the moonbat left will do when they lose the next election. Hanging chads will have nothing to do with it. Unless Chad was the name of the guy that came up with the dumb idea of insulting a good man on live television. In that case, Chad needs a new name, and a one-way ticket to Canada. Now.

So what does the next week have in store for the world of politics? Well, the Dems have lost this round, care of themselves. I expect that Judge Alito will be confirmed, and that should be that. The Dems have said that they’ll filibuster, and try and delay the confirmation vote by a week. Why? Why pour salt on an open wound? I suggest that they should agree with the Republicans, and vote the man in. Even if they do delay the vote by a week, I expect Alito will still be confirmed.

That leaves the same old tired rants and raves for the Dems to get back too. I expect more of the same, but hope for better. After all, how tired can the same old song and dance be getting for the American public?

What I think does need to happen is that an official investigation needs to be opened, and find out who it is that is leaking information to the press. Fire whomever is responsible. Consider charging them with treason. Consider the same for the nitwits in the press that thought printing this information would be cute. No? Freedom of speech, you say? Freedom of the press? Bullchips. Those freedoms are in serious danger of being lost to the people that want to kill us because we don’t eat, drink, sleep, pray, or murder for the same reasons that they do.. making us “infidels.”

Think I’m overreacting? I’ll leave you with this wonderful little image: Imagine a press that, in June 1944, had received some information that the Allied forces were thinking about landing, en masse, on Normandy. Imagine a press that printed that information. Imagine the death toll because the Axis were expecting that attack, and was able to mount a defensive that stopped it. Or, imagine the plan being scrapped altogether because the press had printed it, and the surprise attack was no longer viable.

Would life would be a little different now? Yavolt, Kommandant.

RLR

I thought to myself the other day, “How long before the wackos out there on Planet Moonbat blame President Bush for this tragic loss of 12 miners?”

The answer is, not very long.

RLR

Flipping channels, preparing for my exit from Vacation-dom, and a return to real life… I came across a Town Hall Meeting on CSpan2. Hosted by Jim Moran and John Murtha, they fielded several questions from the audience.

Jim Moran had to correct a question from an audience member, who wondered where a missing 1-point-something-or-other TRILLION dollars that the government had “misplaced.”

“It’s not ‘trillion,” Moran responded. But the girl – who was reading her questions from a piece of paper – argued with Moran that it *was* a ‘trillion.’ Apparently she had the evidence, straight from a left-wing wacko source… (maybe from the same source that Mary Mapes got her information from?)

Another member said the war was senseless, and let’s get around to impeaching Bush/Cheney. Still other audience members – from the military – told stories of their buddies in hospitals that ask “why?” in regards to the war on terror in Iraq, and questioned the validity of not only the war, but of their commanders. Gee, how patriotic.

Murtha said that the Bush administration is now working on a plan where they can “claim” that the Iraqis are getting trained, and therefore it’s now time for the United States to get out of Iraq. “My plan is the only plan that is viable.” (Speaking about his plan to move troops out of Iraq, to surrounding countries, unless and until they’re needed back in Iraq.) Murtha then immediately excused himself, saying that [paraphrased] “Jim [Moran] seems to be handling things well [at this meeting].”

John Murtha must have been the main attraction, as everyone except a few left the room. The emptying room wasn’t lost on Moran, who commented that they can tell the people in the adjoining rooms that there is “plenty of seating now available.”

Another audience member got up and said some mumble jumble about reining in the Bush administration because they’re wire-tapping phones. (Nevermind that the administration couldn’t give a fart about this guy’s phone conversations.) Perhaps this guy would have been best satisfied if he’d been given a foil hat to wear.

The more I watched this joke for a town meeting, the more I realized I was watching “Left Wing Extremist TV.” The next guy that got up and said something helped solidify my opinion, when he said something about troops using chemical warfare… or maybe it was the release of 25 top Saddam loyalists from Abu Ghraib… or maybe it was just my personal opinion that the guy forgot to take his meds.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more kook, left-wing extreme… some cheeseball got behind the mic and started yapping about “Bush Lies!” (™), “Let’s throw Bush out!”, and finally a request to the audience to meet with this moonbat and his fellow moonbats for the State of the Union address. (These wacko’s goals? They want to – literally – drown out President Bush’s address when he presents the State of the Union address.) Where was this goofball from? WorldCantWait.org… where, on their website, they suggest to students to “Resist or Die!” The banner on their site says “Drive Out the Bush Regime!” Regime? I realize that there are gullible people around, but do they really think that America is the same thing as, say, the Nazi Regime? Well, yes… because a further glance at this king moonbat’s website gives us other topics such as “Alito: the Masking of a Conservative or the Showboating of a Nazi?”

I couldn’t watch any more of this so-called meeting. Obviously there was a badge check at the front door, and only card-carrying, left-wing extremists, liberals, and their moonbat friends were allowed in. I don’t know that for a fact, of course, but I found it interesting that every question, statement, or grand applaud came from those groups. Were I to have attended, I probably would have laughed myself out of the room at some of the questions [such as the examples above]. Or, I would have asked a question that would have likely not been appreciated by the hosts or members of the afore-mentioned groups.

In all fairness, finally, at nearly the end of the “meeting,” an angry man showed up, defending the death of a man who died today. In short, he put it to Moran [and his ilk] that they’re making life very dangerous for our troops, by basically supporting the enemy. In response to this, Moran had several “uh’s” and “ah’s,” but very little answer. The moonbat audience didn’t like having this man, who dared question the great Moran [and his ilk], and the man left the room. (I wish I knew who this man was, and a transcript of what he said, because it was fantastic stuff.)

Another year, and it looks like the left-wing wackos are already warming up for more political fun. With that much hot air coming out of the mouths of the moonbats, maybe America *is* responsible for global warming after all.

RLR