http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/Raves, rants and random observations of an American ex-pat in Sweden.Copyright 2009 shazzerspeak.blog-city.comSat, 11 Jul 2009 13:36:00 GMThttp://server1.blog-city.com/images/bc_v5_logo_small.gifhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/360http://backend.userland.com/rsshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with FeedLoungeSubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Yourminis.comSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with ParticlsThanks for subscribing to ShazzerSpeak!http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/that_which_does_not_kill_us_makes_us_stronger.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/that_which_does_not_kill_us_makes_us_stronger.htmSat, 11 Jul 2009 13:36:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=that%5Fwhich%5Fdoes%5Fnot%5Fkill%5Fus%5Fmakes%5Fus%5FstrongerShazzer<p><font size="3">So the nephew&#39;s first weekend stay at The Penthouse-Nordic is going well, unless you count an incident that involved whacking my boss&#39;s son with a hockey stick last night...which we don&#39;t because we&#39;re pretty sure it was an accident.</font></p><p><font size="3">Goodness this lad is BUSY. It&#39;s just now lunchtime and I&#39;m exhausted...and that&#39;s with <em>Dr. Darling</em> doing most of the heavy-lifting. I don&#39;t remember getting this worn out when looking after my nieces and nephews back in the U.S., but then again, I was 10 years younger then.</font></p><p><strong>LATER THAT SAME DAY... </strong></p><p><font size="3">I started this entry while sitting at a Malm&ouml; Public Library study table overlooking the the park where the two Swedes were romping (and getting filthy in the process).</font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="kwiclick-action-container visible" style="left: 0px ! important"><img id="kwiclick-action-1" class="kwiclick-action-button" 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we&#39;ve picked up McDonald&#39;s, walked home, inhaled the food, and then parked the little man in front of Nickelodeon so we can prepare for this evening&#39;s activity; a picnic with some friends in Folkets Park.</font></p><p><font size="3">I suppose I shouldn&#39;t have been surprised to find out that <em>Dr. Darling</em>&#39;s prep work includes a nap. </font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=that%5Fwhich%5Fdoes%5Fnot%5Fkill%5Fus%5Fmakes%5Fus%5Fstronger'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/kidproofing_the_penthousenordic.htm'>Kid-proofing the Penthouse-Nordic</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/myersbriggs_soothes_the_savage_swede_1.htm'>Myers-Briggs soothes the savage Swede</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/lego_grows_up.htm'>Lego grows up</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/domestic_bliss_dr_darlingstyle.htm'>Domestic bliss, Dr. Darling-style</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/dr_darling_single_malt_swede.htm'>Dr. Darling, single malt Swede</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/do_not_question_me_on_matters_of_ice_cream.htm'>Do NOT question me on matters of ice cream</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/dr_darling_down_for_the_count.htm'>Dr. Darling, down for the count</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/a_valentines_day_to_sneeze_at.htm'>A Valentine's Day to sneeze at...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/of_pants_and_power.htm'>Of pants and power</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/my_brother_is_coming.htm'>My brother is coming, my brother is coming!</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=uKFb4BHhSTI:otWYBxQsjK8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=uKFb4BHhSTI:otWYBxQsjK8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=uKFb4BHhSTI:otWYBxQsjK8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/uKFb4BHhSTI" height="1" width="1"/>dr darlingfamily funnieshttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/kidproofing_the_penthousenordic.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/kidproofing_the_penthousenordic.htmThu, 09 Jul 2009 20:35:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=kidproofing%5Fthe%5FpenthousenordicShazzer<p><font size="3">Our five-year-old nephew is coming to stay with us for the weekend. It will be his first solo-visit to our place, and the first time <em>Dr. Darling</em> has ever been on kid-detail for more than a few hours at a time.</font></p><p><font size="3">Let&#39;s just say the Ph.D in Molecular Medicine is in for a whole different kind of education.</font> <img src="/console/admin/common/tinymce_2_1_0/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-surprised.gif" border="0" alt="Surprised" title="Surprised" /></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=kidproofing%5Fthe%5Fpenthousenordic'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/that_which_does_not_kill_us_makes_us_stronger.htm'>That which does not kill us makes us stronger...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/myersbriggs_soothes_the_savage_swede_1.htm'>Myers-Briggs soothes the savage Swede</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/lego_grows_up.htm'>Lego grows up</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/domestic_bliss_dr_darlingstyle.htm'>Domestic bliss, Dr. Darling-style</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/dr_darling_single_malt_swede.htm'>Dr. Darling, single malt Swede</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/do_not_question_me_on_matters_of_ice_cream.htm'>Do NOT question me on matters of ice cream</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/dr_darling_down_for_the_count.htm'>Dr. Darling, down for the count</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/a_valentines_day_to_sneeze_at.htm'>A Valentine's Day to sneeze at...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/of_pants_and_power.htm'>Of pants and power</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/my_brother_is_coming.htm'>My brother is coming, my brother is coming!</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=kxKkgeSvMUk:Qe0D0K5KZmg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=kxKkgeSvMUk:Qe0D0K5KZmg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=kxKkgeSvMUk:Qe0D0K5KZmg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/kxKkgeSvMUk" height="1" width="1"/>dr darlinghttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/just_call_me_encyclopedia_shazzamica.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/just_call_me_encyclopedia_shazzamica.htmTue, 07 Jul 2009 20:40:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=just%5Fcall%5Fme%5Fencyclopedia%5FshazzamicaShazzer<p><font size="3">Back in the days before everyone had access to the worldwide web at home or on their mobile phone, it was not unusual for friends and family members to call me for random bits of information. Often it was for help with written communication along the lines of, &quot;<em>I&#39;m working on a cover letter and I need another word for...</em>&quot; I guess it was just easier to ring me than to crack open a thesaurus, probably because they had trouble finding the ones they used in college.</font></p><p><font size="3">I was also a very popular teammate in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivial_Pursuit" target="_blank">Trivial Pursuit</a> and had a reputation for being a fount of knowledge on popular culture.&nbsp; Besides my own personal interest, I had worked in news media for a lot of years which pretty much required that I keep up with it.&nbsp; I basically served as a trivia &quot;lifeline&quot; for my circle of peeps long before &quot;<a href="http://www.millionairetv.com/" target="_blank">Who Wants to Be a Millionaire</a> &quot; hit the airwaves. </font></p><p><font size="3">But that changed when I moved to Sweden, due in large part to the 6-hour time difference and the price of long-distance calls. And in the time I&#39;ve been here, I&#39;ve definitely lost my edge when it comes to American pop culture. Plus nowadays most folks have <a href="/console/admin/v5/edit/www.wikipedia.org" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> or the <a href="/console/admin/v5/edit/www.imdb.com" target="_blank">Internet Movie Database</a> at their fingertips 24/7. Which is why I was so surprised last Saturday when I got <strong>not one but three</strong> requests for random info in a matter of hours.</font></p><p><font size="3">The first call was from an IT colleague who was attending an American-themed 4th of July picnic. He was making Jell-O from a package that had obviously been imported from the US because the instructions for preparing it used Imperial rather than metric measurements, and he needed help with the conversion.</font></p><p><font size="3">The 2nd inquiry came via text message from a Swedish friend who was in the the middle of an argument with her sister about the proper conjugation of an English verb. The final request was from my fellow-expat American pal Nicole who needed to know the name of the condition that soldiers often suffer from after doing a tour of duty in a combat zone. (For some reason the term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder just would not form in her head.)</font></p><p><font size="3">It was just like old times! Though afterward I could not help but wonder outloud to <span style="font-style: italic">Dr. Darling</span>, &quot;<em>Was the internet broken today</em>?&quot; </font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=just%5Fcall%5Fme%5Fencyclopedia%5Fshazzamica'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/crapping_the_digital_slide_1.htm'>Crapping the digital slide</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/techsupport_with_a_twist.htm'>Tech-support with a twist!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/mutual_admiration_society_20.htm'>Mutual Admiration Society, 2.0</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_g33k_in_me_just_loves_this.htm'>The G33K in me just LOVES this</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/another_reason_to_love_lincoln.htm'>Another reason to love Lincoln</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/google_street_view_can_even_capture_the_future.htm'>Google Street View can even capture the future!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/crack_mac_team_stymied_by_a_windoze_white_house.htm'>Crack Mac team stymied by a WinDoze White House</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/see_mom_skype.htm'>See Mom Skype</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/what_a_difference_4_years_makes.htm'>What a difference 4 years makes</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/i_want_my_bpp.htm'>I want my BPP!!!</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=HDPcW62eWDE:ctaL1tKpvcI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=HDPcW62eWDE:ctaL1tKpvcI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=HDPcW62eWDE:ctaL1tKpvcI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/HDPcW62eWDE" height="1" width="1"/>internettechnologytrivial pursuithttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/sweet_cloudcovered_relief.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/sweet_cloudcovered_relief.htmSun, 05 Jul 2009 11:49:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=sweet%5Fcloudcovered%5FreliefShazzer<p><font size="3">I seem to lament annually on the challenges of being an expat on the 4th of July.&nbsp; There&#39;s just no way to create even a reasonable facsimile of this most American of holidays here among the Vikings.</font></p><p><font size="3">And for me, it&#39;s doubly tough to be so far away from home on Independence Day because it&#39;s also my birthday. Let&#39;s just say you learn to have certain expectations when your birthday falls on a day that&#39;s a holiday for all of your friends and family as well. When I lived in the US, the whole country partied with me. Here in Sweden, July 4th is just a regular day...though at least this year it fell on a Saturday so I didn&#39;t have to go to work.</font></p><p><font size="3">But there was one element of July 4, 2009 that was reminiscent of many I have spent in the midwestern US. <span style="font-weight: bold">It was miserably hot.</span></font> <font size="3">In fact, the entire week leading up to it was warmer than usual for this part of the world, and because the sun is still up at 10 p.m., it doesn&#39;t really cool down in the evenings as much as you need it to in order to sleep. We usually do okay </font><font size="3">(even though we&#39;re on the 6th floor directly under the roof) </font><font size="3">because the Penthouse-Nordic has excellent cross-ventilation.</font></p><p><font size="3">But even more unusual than the heat was the fact that there has been <em>little to no wind</em> all week. We live on the coast so there&#39;s pretty much a near-constant breeze. Visitors never fail to remark on it, usually with something along the lines of, &quot;Gee...it&#39;s quite comfortable here when you can get out of the wind.&quot;</font></p><p><font size="3">So Saturday was hot, with not even a hint of a breeze (I believe sailors call it &quot;dead calm&quot;) and in that regard it kind of reminded me of July in The Heartland...except without the option of cranking up the air conditioner. Ironically, virtually everyone who called me from my hometown reported rainy and cool weather that was threatening all outdoor activities including the local fireworks display. I would have gladly traded them some of our sunshine for a decent night&#39;s sleep.</font></p><p><font size="3">Birthday highlights included opening gifts from my Mom while on Skype video with her.&nbsp; In another ironic twist, she sent a beautiful quilt that she made with squares contributed from several other members of the extended family. She was very understanding about the fact that it won&#39;t be going on our bed until October at the earliest. She also sent a box of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap%27n_Crunch" target="_blank">Cap&#39;n Crunch</a> cereal that will be consumed LONG before October. In the evening we dined al fresco with the <a href="/were_officially_networked.htm" target="_blank">Alpha Geek</a> and his family, though in hindsight perhaps Indian food was not the best choice. But we rationalized that folks in India eat curry in temps much higher than it was here, so what the hell.</font></p><p><font size="3">Upon returning from the restaurant we parked ourselves directly in front of an oscillating fan and held <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin_and_tonic" target="_blank">gin &amp; tonic</a> contest that pitted recent-favorite Tanqueray against Gordon&#39;s and Finsbury. To the spend-thrift Swede&#39;s delight, the Gordon&#39;s...which is considerably less expensive than the Tanqueray but a little pricier than the Finsbury...won the blind taste-test, leaving <a href="/dr_darling_single_malt_swede.htm" target="_blank">more money in our liquor budget for single malt whisky</a> apparently.</font> </p><p><font size="3">Around 11:30 p.m. the breeze returned and a forecasted temperature drop came with it, thankfully. It was finally cool enough to attempt to go to sleep around 1 o&#39;clock this morning. It&#39;s much more comfortable today, which is a good thing since we&#39;ve got the usual list domestic chores to tackle. And the weather forcast is calling for cooler conditions and even some rain this week, which would be great because I could really use the rest!</font> </p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=sweet%5Fcloudcovered%5Frelief'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/irony_is_often_lost_on_swedes_2.htm'>Irony is often lost on Swedes</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/midsummer_weekend_survived.htm'>Midsummer Weekend Survived</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/swedes_say_marriage_for_everybody.htm'>Swedes say "marriage for everybody"</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/my_adopted_country_rocks.htm'>My adopted country ROCKS!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/an_unexpected_consequence_of_darkness.htm'>An unexpected consequence of darkness</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/expat_american_stash.htm'>Ex-pat American stash</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/i_wonder_if_this_would_work_in_sweden.htm'>I wonder if this would work in Sweden?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/time_for_us_all_to_be_patriots.htm'>Time for us all to be patriots</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/just_how_lazy_do_they_think_i_am.htm'>Just how lazy do they think I am?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/summer_weather_took_a_vacation_instead.htm'>Summer weather took a vacation instead</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=K9Y0nm1KHkM:caaJY9HPnXs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=K9Y0nm1KHkM:caaJY9HPnXs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=K9Y0nm1KHkM:caaJY9HPnXs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/K9Y0nm1KHkM" height="1" width="1"/>july 4expatliving abroadswedencapn crunchhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/relationship_rescue_for_obama_and_teh_gays_1.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/relationship_rescue_for_obama_and_teh_gays_1.htmFri, 03 Jul 2009 13:42:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=relationship%5Frescue%5Ffor%5Fobama%5Fand%5Fteh%5Fgays%5F1Shazzer<p><font size="3">There&#39;s a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-rowe/why-its-time-for-lgbt-dem_b_222099.html" target="_blank">GREAT piece by Michael Rowe posted at The Huffington Post </a> right now in which he likens the relationship of LGBT Americans with the Obama White House as being that of a battered spouse. Pretty insightful stuff.</font> </p><p><font size="3">From the article:</font></p><p><font size="3">&quot;One would be hard pressed to imagine any other group with substantial economic clout being told to sit tight and wait their turn by the administration of a president they helped to elect---not women, not Jews, not African Americans. No other group would tolerate it.</font></p> <p><font size="3">There is a great deal that can be done <em>now</em>, and if there is to be a culture war, it&#39;s an inevitable one. The quest for &quot;bipartisanship&quot; should not be an excuse for sacrificing political integrity, or honoring a long-overdue commitment to a long-loyal and significant voting bloc. Ignoring the problem isn&#39;t going to make it go away, nor is pointing out the obvious fact that the Republicans are no friend of the LGBT community, or that a McCain-Palin administration would have been an express train to oblivion for gay rights. LGBT Americans voted for Obama to be <em>their</em> president too, not just the lesser of two evils.&quot;</font></p><p><strong><font size="3">Amen to that.</font></strong><br /> </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=relationship%5Frescue%5Ffor%5Fobama%5Fand%5Fteh%5Fgays%5F1'>Leave Comment</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=jrcx3wOkfus:NOEWe6Ut734:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=jrcx3wOkfus:NOEWe6Ut734:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=jrcx3wOkfus:NOEWe6Ut734:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/jrcx3wOkfus" height="1" width="1"/>http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/vertigo_sufferers_nightmare_opens_in_chicago.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/vertigo_sufferers_nightmare_opens_in_chicago.htmThu, 02 Jul 2009 20:21:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=vertigo%5Fsufferers%5Fnightmare%5Fopens%5Fin%5FchicagoShazzer<p><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090701/capt.00e8206ccc7f4decaca5e4c5e38f94d4.sears_tower_ledge_cx101.jpg?x=400&amp;y=262&amp;q=85&amp;sig=.GysLfnGzUoWMwrzlvLesQ--" alt="" width="399" height="262" align="right" /></p><p><font size="3">There&#39;s a new attraction on the Skydeck of <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/us_sears_tower_ledge" target="_blank">Chicago&#39;s famed Sears Tower...glass balconies</a> that literally let you step out over the city from 103 floors up.</font></p><p><font size="3">This is pretty ingenious if you ask me. I&#39;ve visited the Skydeck close to a half-dozen times (usually with first-time visitors to the Windy City), and these babies have me ready to pay the price of admission again! </font></p><p><font size="3">Though I do have to admit that I am disappointed to learn that the building&#39;s owners still intend to go forward with a plan to <a href="/wuh_chew_talkin_bout_willis.htm" target="_blank">rename the historic landmark &quot;Willis Tower&quot;</a> later this year. I was sincerely hoping that was just a joke.<br /></font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=vertigo%5Fsufferers%5Fnightmare%5Fopens%5Fin%5Fchicago'>Leave Comment</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=wbOclZT-YIM:d9lIhyMYL0U:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=wbOclZT-YIM:d9lIhyMYL0U:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=wbOclZT-YIM:d9lIhyMYL0U:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/wbOclZT-YIM" height="1" width="1"/>chicagosears towerhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/crapping_the_digital_slide_1.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/crapping_the_digital_slide_1.htmWed, 01 Jul 2009 20:27:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=crapping%5Fthe%5Fdigital%5Fslide%5F1Shazzer<p><font size="3"><em>FYI: the names in the following entry have been changed to prevent potential lawsuits.</em></font></p> <p><font size="3">I was having breakfast at the office with two of my favorite colleagues a couple weeks ago when the subject of nursery school came up. Given that I don&#39;t have any kids myself, I pretty much just sat back and listened to the conversation...which they naturally carried on in lightening-fast Swedish.</font></p> <p><font size="3">At one point Anna was describing an incident on the playground several years ago in which a child at her sons&#39; school had a rather embarrassing &quot;accident&quot; from which her parents had yet to recover. Initially I thought I had missed a pertinent detail of the story due to the rapid-fire Swedish, but it turned out Anna was being purposefully coy about the precise nature of the &quot;accident&quot; because, well, we were having breakfast after all.</font></p> <p><font size="3">So I waited until both she and Eliza had finished eating before asking, in English, for a clarification.</font></p> <p><font size="3">&quot;Are you saying that the kid crapped the slide?&quot;</font></p> <p><font size="3">At which point they both burst out laughing because evidently the phrase &quot;crapped the slide&quot; is a lot funnier than its Swedish equivalent. My colleagues liked it so much that we decided to start a campaign to make it part of the company lexicon as an idiom for an incident so mortifyingly embarrassing that you and your family end up being scarred for life.</font></p> <p><font size="3">We were still laughing about it a couple of days later when Eliza and I were experimenting with a new feature of the content management system we use to run the company websites. It allows you to place a block of text in quote format so that it stands out in a client case or customer reference page.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Using <strong>a draft of a client case page that had not yet been published</strong> on the site, Eliza added the following text:</font></p> <p><font size="3"><em>&quot;Oh Lord...I&#39;ve really crapped the slide. Sure wish there was a Global Company XYZ service technician on hand to give me advise.&quot;</em></font></p> <p><font size="3"><em> -- Shazzer MyRealLastName</em>&nbsp;</font></p><p><font size="3">The new quote box rendered just as we expected it to and we had a nice chuckle over how &quot;official&quot; it looked on the dummy page, in spite of the typo...which we didn&#39;t bother to correct. It was just a draft, after all.</font></p><p><font size="3">Fast-forward to yesterday afternoon when I was working on a different client case page. After hitting the &quot;publish&quot; button, I noticed a link where there shouldn&#39;t have been one. That&#39;s right...the draft page with the &quot;crapped the slide&quot; quote attributed to me <em>had been<strong> LIVE on our corporate website for about 3 weeks.</strong></em></font></p><p><font size="3">Worse yet, neither Eliza nor I could not get the content management system to take it offline no matter what we tried! Panicked (and yet still laughing uncontrollably) we ended up having to delete the page entirely just to get it to go away.</font></p><p><font size="3">Later I sent the following text message to my co-colleague in crime:</font></p><p><font size="3" style="font-weight: bold">&quot;You do realize that accidently publishing the &quot;crapped the slide&quot; quote on the corporate website is a perfect example of actually CRAPPING THE SLIDE?&quot;</font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=crapping%5Fthe%5Fdigital%5Fslide%5F1'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/just_call_me_encyclopedia_shazzamica.htm'>Just call me Encyclopedia Shazzam-ica!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/mutual_admiration_society_20.htm'>Mutual Admiration Society, 2.0</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_g33k_in_me_just_loves_this.htm'>The G33K in me just LOVES this</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_cake_decorator_was_just_following_instructions.htm'>The cake decorator was just following instructions</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/see_mom_skype.htm'>See Mom Skype</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/what_a_difference_4_years_makes.htm'>What a difference 4 years makes</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/i_want_my_bpp.htm'>I want my BPP!!!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/spending_your_economic_stimulus_check.htm'>So how are YOU spending your economic stimulus check?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/matts_dancing_badly_again.htm'>Matt's dancing badly again!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/roadtrip_recap_twitter_style.htm'>Roadtrip Recap Twitter-style</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=jbtzUcaS7mw:mAto60xWAKQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=jbtzUcaS7mw:mAto60xWAKQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=jbtzUcaS7mw:mAto60xWAKQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/jbtzUcaS7mw" height="1" width="1"/>embarrassing momentsinternethttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/techsupport_with_a_twist.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/techsupport_with_a_twist.htmMon, 29 Jun 2009 11:36:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=techsupport%5Fwith%5Fa%5FtwistShazzer<p><font size="3">This past weekend marked the third one in a row in which we entertained out-of-town guests...not a record by any means, but kind of stressful none-the-less.</font></p> <p><font size="3">This is because <em>Dr. Darling</em>, <a href="/myersbriggs_soothes_the_savage_swede_1.htm" target="_blank">a classic INTJ</a>, is physically exhausted by any kind of prolonged social interaction and I am driven crazy by my in-laws&#39; unwillingness to let us act as actual hosts. And by that I mean the simple things like having a vote as to whether or not we should attempt to have a cook-out in a windstorm. At the beach. Hauling everything (including the grill) by bike so that they can have wine or beer w/dinner. I wish I was kidding.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Now I need to be clear that I&#39;m talking about my father-in-law and his wife, not my mother-in-law...who is a pretty easy-going house-guest by comparison. She was down from <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halmstad" title="Halmstad" class="zem_slink">Halmstad</a> <a href="/midsummer_weekend_survived.htm" target="_blank">the previous weekend for Midsommar</a> and we had a very nice visit. My father-in-law, and more specifically his wife, are much higher maintenance in spite of the fact that <a href="/bringing_in_the_sheets.htm" target="_blank">they always bring their own sheets and towels</a>.</font></p> <p><font size="3">First off, they always invite themselves, though I can&#39;t really blame them for that because the Swede -- whose responsibility I believe it is to issue such invitations -- never seems to get around to it.&nbsp; So I don&#39;t really mind that part, especially since they tend to give us plenty of notice. But once they arrive, they totally run their own agenda...which was even more aggravating than usual on Friday night since it was <em>Dr. Darling</em>&#39;s birthday.</font></p> <p><font size="3">This visit, besides the ill-timed BBQ at the beach (which did not happen courtesy of the weather, thank you Mother Nature), their plans included watching the <a href="http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/index.html" target="_blank">EUFA Under 21 soccer</a> match between Sweden and the UK (which we had to record so as not to interfere w/dinner), getting a tutorial with how to organize pictures on their laptop, and having us explain of all the accessories that came with their latest mobile phone, including installation of the accompanying software on the aforementioned computer. Oh, and did I mention it&#39;s a WinDoze machine equipped with Vista? I wish I was kidding.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Now why they rely on us for this kind of technical assistance is kind of a mystery considering that my step-mother-in-law has two highly tech-savvy sons of her own, and <em>Dr. Darling</em>&#39;s brother, <strong>a mobile network engineer</strong>, lives less than a half-hour away from them. The only thing we can figure is that none of those guys have the patience to explain things to them in terms they understand. Score one for the &quot;alternative lifestyle&quot; branch of the family that includes the foreigner.</font></p> <p><font size="3">They left about 3 p.m. on Saturday, which means they accomplished a hell of a lot in less than 24 hours. We, on the other hand, were left exhausted and kind of dazed, actually. On the plus side, they did give us our birthday presents (mine&#39;s this coming Saturday) in the form of cash, but it was tempting not to see it as &quot;payment for services rendered.&quot;</font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=techsupport%5Fwith%5Fa%5Ftwist'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/just_call_me_encyclopedia_shazzamica.htm'>Just call me Encyclopedia Shazzam-ica!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_g33k_in_me_just_loves_this.htm'>The G33K in me just LOVES this</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/another_reason_to_love_lincoln.htm'>Another reason to love Lincoln</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/google_street_view_can_even_capture_the_future.htm'>Google Street View can even capture the future!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/crack_mac_team_stymied_by_a_windoze_white_house.htm'>Crack Mac team stymied by a WinDoze White House</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/hostess_with_the_mostest_not.htm'>Hostess with the mostest -- NOT!!!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/small_children_and_big_festivals_dont_mix.htm'>Small children + big street festival = Danger, Will Robinson!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/halmstad_trip_recap_twitterstyle.htm'>Halmstad trip recap, Twitter-style</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/where_the_air_is_70_proof.htm'>Where the air is 70-proof</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/to_be_or_not_to_be_in_denmark.htm'>To be or not to be, in Denmark</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=PDfYwqXTkNY:DhTblQ5nO78:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=PDfYwqXTkNY:DhTblQ5nO78:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=PDfYwqXTkNY:DhTblQ5nO78:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/PDfYwqXTkNY" height="1" width="1"/>inlawstechnologyhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/secondclass_still_1.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/secondclass_still_1.htmSat, 27 Jun 2009 15:49:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=secondclass%5Fstill%5F1Shazzer<p><font size="3">Many thanks to New York Times columnist Frank Rich for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/opinion/28rich.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=1" target="_blank">this Op-Ed piece </a>commemorating the 40th anniversary of the <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots" target="_blank" title="Stonewall riots" class="zem_slink">Stonewall</a> Riots in Greenwich Village, New York.&nbsp; He offers a couple of plausible scenarios for why the Obama Administration has been so completely flat-footed regarding &ldquo;the gays&rdquo; since the inauguration.</font></p> <p><font size="3">He also rightly notes that even with the progress being made in places around the U.S. (besides Washington D.C.), full civil rights are still far from being available to gay citizens.</font></p> <p><font size="3">From the article:</font></p> <p><font size="3"><em>It&rsquo;s a press clich&eacute; that &ldquo;gay supporters&rdquo; are disappointed with Obama, <strong>but we should all be.</strong> Gay Americans aren&rsquo;t just another political special interest group. They are Americans who are actively discriminated against by federal laws.</em></font></p> <p><font size="3">I hope the President read it. In fact, I think I&rsquo;m going to e-mail it to the White House.</font><em><br /></em></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=secondclass%5Fstill%5F1'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_violets_in_the_mountains_have_broken_the_rocks.htm'>The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/fierce_advocate_my_ass.htm'>"Fierce advocate" my @$$</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/make_that_a_half_dozen.htm'>Make that a half-dozen</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/because_theres_a_whole_choir_of_fat_ladies_still_singing.htm'>Because there's a whole choir of fat ladies still singing</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/grateful_hopeful_mindful.htm'>Grateful, hopeful, mindful</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/and_then_there_were_five.htm'>And then there were five...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/des_moines_likely_not_the_next_san_francisco.htm'>Des Moines likely not the next San Francisco</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/hyterical_autotuned_take_on_recent_news.htm'>Hysterical auto-tuned take on recent news</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/miss_ca_was_hot_until_she_opened_her_mouth.htm'>Miss CA was HOT until she opened her mouth</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/from_the_folks_at_wwwgiantgayrepellentumbrellacom.htm'>From the folks at www.giantgayrepellentumbrella.com</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=hCNBNMZtC60:zA-Lk0sfzZ0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=hCNBNMZtC60:zA-Lk0sfzZ0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=hCNBNMZtC60:zA-Lk0sfzZ0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/hCNBNMZtC60" height="1" width="1"/>gay lifegay marriagehttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/irony_is_often_lost_on_swedes_2.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/irony_is_often_lost_on_swedes_2.htmWed, 24 Jun 2009 11:04:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=irony%5Fis%5Foften%5Flost%5Fon%5Fswedes%5F2Shazzer<p><font size="3">My Swedish &ldquo;hometown&rdquo; of <a rel="homepage" href="http://www.malmo.se/" target="_blank" title="Malm&ouml;" class="zem_slink">Malm&ouml;</a> has been in the country&rsquo;s news a lot lately for reasons that my American readership will likely find somewhat entertaining.</font></p> <p><font size="3">The first instance is a story about a cost-saving measure implemented at the city&rsquo;s main police station in which several of <a href="http://www.thelocal.se/20206/20090622/" target="_blank">the building&rsquo;s restrooms were closed for the summer</a>.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Nothing wrong with the plan in principle considering that much of the administrative staff will be on vacation during some portion of July and August. No, the problem was with the execution of it. Turns out the folks in charge of building maintenance didn&rsquo;t bother to inform the affected departments before they locked them out of the toilets.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Don&rsquo;t get me wrong&hellip;in these tough economic times, I truly do appreciate <em>any</em> government agency&rsquo;s efforts to save tax money. But I&rsquo;m not sure that forcing police to search a huge building (it serves as headquarters for regional law enforcement operations in this part of the country as well) just to find an open bathroom is making our streets any safer.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Then a few days later, the Malm&ouml; sports and recreation committee ruled that <a href="http://www.thelocal.se/20250/20090624/" target="_blank">women have the right to swim topless in the city&rsquo;s public pools</a> if they want to, a ruling that can reasonably be considered more of a victory for teenage boys than for the women who filed the discrimination complaint.</font></p> <p><font size="3">And finally, on the VERY SAME DAY, Malm&ouml; customs officials were in the news for a seizure of <a href="http://www.thelocal.se/20248/20090624/" target="_blank">9,000 Viagra tablets</a> </font><font size="3">that someone was trying to smuggle into the country through the mail. Talk about bad timing&hellip;the topless female bathing policy will probably cut the demand for erectile disfunction medication by at least 50%.</font></p> <a href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/26d5e1cc-04cc-4b72-a50a-5d230ef2ec0f/" target="_blank" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-a"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=26d5e1cc-04cc-4b72-a50a-5d230ef2ec0f" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=irony%5Fis%5Foften%5Flost%5Fon%5Fswedes%5F2'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/sweet_cloudcovered_relief.htm'>Sweet, cloud-covered relief</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/midsummer_weekend_survived.htm'>Midsummer Weekend Survived</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/swedes_say_marriage_for_everybody.htm'>Swedes say "marriage for everybody"</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/of_course_the_naked_golfer_had_to_be_swedish.htm'>Of course the naked golfer had to be Swedish</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/officer_id_like_to_make_a_citizens_arrest.htm'>Officer, I'd like to make a citizen's arrest!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/my_adopted_country_rocks.htm'>My adopted country ROCKS!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/new_years_resolution.htm'>2009 Resolution: Keep my hands to myself near naked strangers</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/an_unexpected_consequence_of_darkness.htm'>An unexpected consequence of darkness</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/i_wonder_if_this_would_work_in_sweden.htm'>I wonder if this would work in Sweden?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/time_for_us_all_to_be_patriots.htm'>Time for us all to be patriots</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=aogcLmo2MQI:Vlt3BDLtDGs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=aogcLmo2MQI:Vlt3BDLtDGs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=aogcLmo2MQI:Vlt3BDLtDGs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/aogcLmo2MQI" height="1" width="1"/>nakednessswedesswedenviagrahttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/midsummer_weekend_survived.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/midsummer_weekend_survived.htmSun, 21 Jun 2009 11:38:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=midsummer%5Fweekend%5FsurvivedShazzer<p><font size="3">Today marks the <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice" title="Solstice" class="zem_slink">summer solstice</a> for 2009, but Swedes have been celebrating since Friday. They have a talent for conveniently re-scheduling their holidays so that a 3-day weekend results. It is also Swedish custom to celebrate the &quot;Eve&quot; of the designated holiday, presumably so that the holiday itself can be used to recover from the previous night&#39;s party.<img src="http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:FbyvY5iLSURqEM:http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A1113/111379/300_111379.jpg" alt="" width="113" height="117" align="right" /></font></p> <p><font size="3">This means that the summer solstic, which actually occured this morning and marks the BEGINNING of summer for the rest the Northern Hemisphere, was celebrated on Friday here in <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden" class="zem_slink">Sweden</a>, where it&#39;s considered the &quot;middle of summer&quot;. Are you confused yet? Welcome to my world.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Since both <em>Dr. Darling</em> and our <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer" title="Midsummer" class="zem_slink">Midsommer</a> party host, AKA the Alpha Geek, work in Denmark (where it&#39;s not an official holiday), we gathered on Saturday for lovely meal with family and friends. The menu featured four different kinds of herring and two different strawberry-centric desserts...both Swedish Midsommar staples. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Saturday also happened to be the 7th anniversary of my move to Vikingland from the United States. Back in 2002, I thought it was a good idea to have my arrival in Sweden coincide with the country&#39;s biggest holiday outside of Christmas, but in hindsight...not so much. The anniversary of the start of my life here gets lost in chaos of party planning and trying to remember the holiday opening hours for the the state-run liquor store. In fact, I&#39;m not even sure <em>Dr. Darling</em> would remember if I didn&#39;t happen to point it out.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Good thing I&#39;m not &quot;the romantic type.&quot;</font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=midsummer%5Fweekend%5Fsurvived'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/sweet_cloudcovered_relief.htm'>Sweet, cloud-covered relief</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/irony_is_often_lost_on_swedes_2.htm'>Irony is often lost on Swedes</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/national_day_faceoff.htm'>National Day face-off, Sweden vs. Denmark</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/swedes_say_marriage_for_everybody.htm'>Swedes say "marriage for everybody"</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/a_valentines_day_to_sneeze_at.htm'>A Valentine's Day to sneeze at...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/my_adopted_country_rocks.htm'>My adopted country ROCKS!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/epiphany_always_is_one.htm'>Epiphany always is one</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/an_unexpected_consequence_of_darkness.htm'>An unexpected consequence of darkness</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/i_wonder_if_this_would_work_in_sweden.htm'>I wonder if this would work in Sweden?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/time_for_us_all_to_be_patriots.htm'>Time for us all to be patriots</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=xBEWOz73jSY:8c_R5ycadKM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=xBEWOz73jSY:8c_R5ycadKM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=xBEWOz73jSY:8c_R5ycadKM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/xBEWOz73jSY" height="1" width="1"/>swedish holidaysswedish foodswedenmidsummerhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_violets_in_the_mountains_have_broken_the_rocks.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_violets_in_the_mountains_have_broken_the_rocks.htmSat, 20 Jun 2009 21:29:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=the%5Fviolets%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fmountains%5Fhave%5Fbroken%5Fthe%5FrocksShazzer<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dxgijRfFchI&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dxgijRfFchI&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object> <br> Actress Patricia Clarkson's speech at the 2009 HRC Dinner in New Orleans.<p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=the%5Fviolets%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fmountains%5Fhave%5Fbroken%5Fthe%5Frocks'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/secondclass_still_1.htm'>Second-class still...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/fierce_advocate_my_ass.htm'>"Fierce advocate" my @$$</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/make_that_a_half_dozen.htm'>Make that a half-dozen</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/because_theres_a_whole_choir_of_fat_ladies_still_singing.htm'>Because there's a whole choir of fat ladies still singing</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/grateful_hopeful_mindful.htm'>Grateful, hopeful, mindful</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/and_then_there_were_five.htm'>And then there were five...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/des_moines_likely_not_the_next_san_francisco.htm'>Des Moines likely not the next San Francisco</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/hyterical_autotuned_take_on_recent_news.htm'>Hysterical auto-tuned take on recent news</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/miss_ca_was_hot_until_she_opened_her_mouth.htm'>Miss CA was HOT until she opened her mouth</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/from_the_folks_at_wwwgiantgayrepellentumbrellacom.htm'>From the folks at www.giantgayrepellentumbrella.com</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=lMWIctzbgu8:ZKHw0UgKXa8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=lMWIctzbgu8:ZKHw0UgKXa8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=lMWIctzbgu8:ZKHw0UgKXa8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/lMWIctzbgu8" height="1" width="1"/>gay marriagehttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/tales_from_the_commute_nightmare_edition.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/tales_from_the_commute_nightmare_edition.htmThu, 18 Jun 2009 07:32:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=tales%5Ffrom%5Fthe%5Fcommute%5Fnightmare%5FeditionShazzer<p><font size="3">It all started a week ago Tuesday when my monthly commuter card mysteriously disappeared from its specially designated pocket on my backpack. Which of course I didn&rsquo;t realize until I was already sitting in the <a href="/ive_become_a_quiet_car_nazi.htm" target="_blank">Quiet Car</a> on the way to Landskrona. This prompted me to hide from the conductor in the unisex bathroom, which already smelled like old pee at 7:10 a.m. NOT a nice way to start the day, I can assure you.</font></p> <p><font size="3">And yes, I could have paid the conductor for a ticket, but they charge you an obscene amount extra to buy it on the train&hellip;and as far as I was concerned, I&rsquo;d already paid for the trip, I just didn&rsquo;t have the card on my person. When the commuter card did not turn up at my office, I rode &ldquo;stealth&rdquo; on the way home, hoping to find it on the dresser in The Batcave. No such luck. And there was no point in buying a new monthly card since the transportation company&rsquo;s discount Summer Card was going to be available on the 15th.</font></p> <p><font size="3">So I spent the remainder of the week either paying for single trips at 62 SEK (a little over $8) a pop and resenting the hell out of it, riding &ldquo;stealth&rdquo; and sweating the possibility of facing a big fine if caught, and hitching a ride with my scary-driving boss who sees her commute as &ldquo;work time&rdquo; and spends the entire drive on her mobile phone (hands-free, but still a HUGE distraction).</font></p> <p><font size="3">So needless to say, I was very relieved when the week was finally over and I could anticipate starting Monday with a Summer Card.&nbsp; I should have realized it wouldn&rsquo;t be that simple when <em>Dr. Darling</em> and I went to the ticket office on Sunday afternoon and had to wait in a queue over 30 people deep to buy it.</font></p> <p><font size="3">This is a prime example of customer service in Sweden&hellip;on a Sunday afternoon at the start of tourist season, <em>the day before their hugely popular discount Summer Card becomes valid</em>, the ticket office thinks it&rsquo;s okay to have just two windows open to serve customers.</font></p> <p><font size="3">I&#39;d had a similar experience on Thursday morning when my rebate card (which has been loaded with money that can be used to buy tickets at a discount) suddenly stopped working in the station&#39;s self-service machines, and I had to go in to the ticket office to get it straightened out. On a week day, during the morning rush hour, they had just one customer window open despite there being at least three other staff members on hand...two of which had to <em>interrupt the clerk</em> when it was finally my turn to be served. Needless to say, I missed my train and was late for work that morning.</font></p> <p><font size="3">So I guess it shouldn&#39;t have been much of a surprise when my brand new Summer Card wouldn&#39;t work in the self-service machines on Monday. Unlike my monthly commuter card that&#39;s valid for unlimited travel for a specific period of time and can just be shown to the conductor after I board, the Summer Card is only good for 50 trips. You have to put it in a self-service machine, which then issues you a &quot;ticket&quot; that shows how many trips you&#39;ve got left. Failure to get this ticket before getting on the train means you&#39;ll be charged the highway-robbery price to buy a regular ticket onboard.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Fortunately, in this case it was a problem that virtually every other Summer Card holder had...so we all got a &quot;free&quot; trip while the train company fixed the technical glitch.&nbsp; Tuesday was amazingly trouble-free, and then Wednesday morning a switching-error put my Landskrona-bound train on the tracks headed for Copenhagen. That&#39;s right...<strong>the train took a WRONG TURN</strong>. We had to wait for clearance to reverse direction...and then get in a queue behind several other trains that left the station AFTER we did. Another day late for work.</font></p> <p><font size="3">On the way home, my Summer Card was rejected by the ticket machine in Landskrona, but the train was so crowded that the staff onboard didn&#39;t even bother to check if people had them. Once in Malm&ouml;, I went straight into the ticket office and remarkably, there wasn&#39;t an interminable line for service. The clerk informed me that the card had become de-magnetized, probably from being too close to my mobile phone or iPod. GREAT.</font></p><p><font size="3">So they replaced the card, which I promptly shoved in my pocket <em>next to my mobile phone</em>.&nbsp; Quickly realizing the folly of that, I started to move it to the outside pocket of my backpack...<em>where my iPod was parked</em>.&nbsp; Clearly keeping my Summer Card separate from my electronics was going to be tougher than I thought. So when I got home, I traded my backpack for a messenger bag that has an outside pocket so narrow that ONLY my Summer Card will fit in it.</font></p><p><font size="3">I set off on Thursday morning confident that I finally had my commuting act together. The Summer Card worked as expected and the train was only 5 minutes late departing Malm&ouml;. I strode up to my office relatively on time and ready to have a productive day. </font></p><p><font size="3">And that&#39;s when I realized that the key-card I needed to get in the building had not made the transition from the backpack to the messenger bag.</font></p><font size="3">Thank God tomorrow is a holiday.</font><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=tales%5Ffrom%5Fthe%5Fcommute%5Fnightmare%5Fedition'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/tales_from_the_commute_stinky_edition.htm'>Tales from the Commute: Stinky Edition</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/last_night_an_ipod_saved_my_life.htm'>Tales from the commute: Last night an iPod saved my life</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/halmstad_trip_recap_twitterstyle.htm'>Halmstad trip recap, Twitter-style</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/cruising_the_lake_of_zurich.htm'>Cruising the Lake of Zurich</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/sunday_morning_in_zurich.htm'>Sunday morning in Zurich</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/commuting_chaos_continued.htm'>Commuting chaos continued...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/slow_train_to_clarksville.htm'>Take the SLOW train to Clarksville</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/where_silence_is_not_negotiable.htm'>Where silence is non-negotiable</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/so_this_is_what_its_like.htm'>So *this* is what it's like to work full-time...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/bookends_of_stupidity.htm'>Bookends of stupidity...</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=s4i9W6IHzx4:0uZgA8blcAI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=s4i9W6IHzx4:0uZgA8blcAI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=s4i9W6IHzx4:0uZgA8blcAI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/s4i9W6IHzx4" height="1" width="1"/>public transportationcommutinghttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/fierce_advocate_my_ass.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/fierce_advocate_my_ass.htmTue, 16 Jun 2009 04:12:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=fierce%5Fadvocate%5Fmy%5FassShazzer<p><img src="http://www.hillaryis44.org/wp-content/themes/spirit/images/ObamaFraud.jpg" alt="" align="bottom" /></p><p><font size="3">Gay rights advocates in the US were already getting impatient with the Obama Administration&#39;s lack of action on their issues, but even the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/opinion/16tue1.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> thinks the recent DOJ brief defending DOMA was the equivalent of taking </font><font size="3">a big dump on gay citizens.</font></p><p><font size="3">Now a lot of high-profile gays who were scheduled to attend a DNC fundraiser co-hosted by the three openly gay members of Congress later this month <a href="http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/dnc-treasurer-defends-embattled-gay.html" target="_blank">are calling in with regrets</a>. Maybe hitting Democrats in </font><font size="3">their pocketbooks will finally get their attention.</font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=fierce%5Fadvocate%5Fmy%5Fass'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/secondclass_still_1.htm'>Second-class still...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_violets_in_the_mountains_have_broken_the_rocks.htm'>The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/make_that_a_half_dozen.htm'>Make that a half-dozen</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/because_theres_a_whole_choir_of_fat_ladies_still_singing.htm'>Because there's a whole choir of fat ladies still singing</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/grateful_hopeful_mindful.htm'>Grateful, hopeful, mindful</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/and_then_there_were_five.htm'>And then there were five...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/des_moines_likely_not_the_next_san_francisco.htm'>Des Moines likely not the next San Francisco</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/hyterical_autotuned_take_on_recent_news.htm'>Hysterical auto-tuned take on recent news</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/miss_ca_was_hot_until_she_opened_her_mouth.htm'>Miss CA was HOT until she opened her mouth</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/from_the_folks_at_wwwgiantgayrepellentumbrellacom.htm'>From the folks at www.giantgayrepellentumbrella.com</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=cKuT5tXFL7c:XtqRlCIjGyw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=cKuT5tXFL7c:XtqRlCIjGyw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=cKuT5tXFL7c:XtqRlCIjGyw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/cKuT5tXFL7c" height="1" width="1"/>gay marriageobama administrationbarack obamahttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/myersbriggs_soothes_the_savage_swede_1.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/myersbriggs_soothes_the_savage_swede_1.htmSat, 13 Jun 2009 20:48:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=myersbriggs%5Fsoothes%5Fthe%5Fsavage%5Fswede%5F1Shazzer<p><font size="3">Dr. Darling came across the <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator" title="Myers-Briggs Type Indicator">Myers-Briggs</a> personality test this weekend and, having never heard of it before,&nbsp; decided to take the online version to see what career field best suited her.&nbsp; You know, in case the<a href="/dr_darling_phd_postal_carrier.htm" target="_blank"> junk mail delivery by bike </a> thing doesn&#39;t work out.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Not surprisingly, the results came up <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INTJ" title="INTJ" class="zem_slink">INTJ</a> and pointed to &quot;Scientist&quot; as the top field for persons of that personality type. This was something of a disappointment since her Ph.D in molecular medicine has proven to be even less than useless over the last couple years. Adding insult to injury was the discovery of an official online forum for INTJ&#39;s touting itself as a hangout for &quot;<strong>masterminds, innovators, villains and virgins</strong>.&quot; <br /></font> </p> <p><font size="3">On the plus side, she did learn that the ideal partner for an INTJ is an ENFP, and guess what I happen to be?&nbsp; BIGTIME.</font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=myersbriggs%5Fsoothes%5Fthe%5Fsavage%5Fswede%5F1'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/that_which_does_not_kill_us_makes_us_stronger.htm'>That which does not kill us makes us stronger...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/kidproofing_the_penthousenordic.htm'>Kid-proofing the Penthouse-Nordic</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/lego_grows_up.htm'>Lego grows up</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/domestic_bliss_dr_darlingstyle.htm'>Domestic bliss, Dr. Darling-style</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/dr_darling_single_malt_swede.htm'>Dr. Darling, single malt Swede</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/do_not_question_me_on_matters_of_ice_cream.htm'>Do NOT question me on matters of ice cream</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/dr_darling_down_for_the_count.htm'>Dr. Darling, down for the count</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/a_valentines_day_to_sneeze_at.htm'>A Valentine's Day to sneeze at...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/of_pants_and_power.htm'>Of pants and power</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/my_brother_is_coming.htm'>My brother is coming, my brother is coming!</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=2-bJ8WsbYa4:LH6lcOECHGk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=2-bJ8WsbYa4:LH6lcOECHGk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=2-bJ8WsbYa4:LH6lcOECHGk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/2-bJ8WsbYa4" height="1" width="1"/>dr darlinghttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/russians_lead_feet_warmed_by_brad_pitt.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/russians_lead_feet_warmed_by_brad_pitt.htmThu, 11 Jun 2009 13:15:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=russians%5Flead%5Ffeet%5Fwarmed%5Fby%5Fbrad%5FpittShazzer<p><font size="3">It seems that police in <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia" title="Siberia" class="zem_slink">Siberia</a> have come up with a novel way to get speeding drivers to slow down.</font></p> <p><font size="3"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Angelina_Jolie_and_Brad_Pitt.jpg"><img style="border: medium none ; display: block" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Angelina_Jolie_and_Brad_Pitt.jpg/300px-Angelina_Jolie_and_Brad_Pitt.jpg" border="0" alt="Actress Angelina Jolie and Actor Brad Pitt" hspace="10" vspace="5" width="300" height="404" align="left" /></a>According to <a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/apweirdnews/story/797927.html" target="_blank">this news item</a> in the Idaho Statesman, cardboard cutouts of <a rel="imdb" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000093/" title="Brad Pitt" class="zem_slink">Brad Pitt</a> dressed in a traffic cop&#39;s uniform are being credited with reducing the number of a</font><font size="3">ccidents at some of the most dangerous intersections in the Siberian city of Omsk.</font></p><p><font size="3">Now I&#39;m one of the few people in the world (apparently) who is not instantly transformed into a quivering puddle of goo at the thought of Brad Pitt, though I do admit that a police uniform would up the stakes considerably.</font></p> <p><font size="3">But based on this information and the gratuitous photo to the left (<em>have mercy!</em>) I think we can safely surmise the following:</font></p> <p><font size="3">1. A cardboard cutout of <a rel="imdb" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001401/" title="Angelina Jolie" class="zem_slink">Angelina Jolie</a> would have a related but opposite effect...slowing drivers down to the point of causing a chain reaction of multiple-car pile-ups.</font></p> <p><font size="3">And...</font></p> <p><font size="3">B. It was a very slow news day in Idaho.</font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=russians%5Flead%5Ffeet%5Fwarmed%5Fby%5Fbrad%5Fpitt'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/angelinas_in_the_hague.htm'>Angelina's "in The Hague"</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/was_anybody_even_surprised.htm'>Was anybody even surprised?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/these_ruffles_have_ridges.htm'>These ruffles have ridges!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/early_angelina_is_it_any_wonder.htm'>Early Angelina: Is it any wonder?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/jezebel_asks_is_this_woman_even_human.htm'>Jezebel asks: Is This Woman Even Human?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/not_so_gratuitous_angelina_shot.htm'>Not-so-gratuitous Angelina shot</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/why_do_my_girl_crushes_always_end_up_with_billy_bob_thornton.htm'>Why do my girl crushes always end up with Billy Bob Thornton?</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/angelina_earth_mother.htm'>Angelina, Earth Mother</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/100000_more_reasons_not_to_hate_brad_pitt.htm'>100,000 more reasons not to hate Brad Pitt</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/know_and_viv_test_tube_twins.htm'>Knox and Viv: Test Tube Twins?</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=YN937-XzChY:vrlzpopGLLY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=YN937-XzChY:vrlzpopGLLY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=YN937-XzChY:vrlzpopGLLY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/YN937-XzChY" height="1" width="1"/>angelina joliebrad pittbrangelinahttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/some_vikings_go_pirate_2.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/some_vikings_go_pirate_2.htmTue, 09 Jun 2009 12:03:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=some%5Fvikings%5Fgo%5Fpirate%5F2Shazzer<p><font size="3">It appears as though <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Party" title="Pirate Party" class="zem_slink">Pirate Party</a> has secured at least one seat in the <a rel="homepage" href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/" title="European Parliament" class="zem_slink">European parliament</a> based on yesterday&#39;s election results here in Sweden.</font></p> <p><font size="3"><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/04/tpb.jpg" alt="" width="391" height="251" align="right" />As a strong supporter of having many different kinds of voices in government, I was quite delighted by this outcome even though I did not happen to cast my first-ever <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union" class="zem_slink">EU</a> vote for their candidate.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Of course this will probably come as a surprise to some of my friends, who know me to be both an internet junkie and a vocal defender of the <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_law" title="Privacy law" class="zem_slink">right to privacy</a> (a major plank of the Pirate Party&#39;s platform).</font></p> <p><font size="3">But just imagine the expectations of the poll workers who watched me cast my ballot <a href="/colour_me_miserable_matey.htm" target="_blank">wearing an eye-patch</a>.</font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=some%5Fvikings%5Fgo%5Fpirate%5F2'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/ill_not_be_missing_it_this_time_mateys.htm'>I'll not be missing it this time, Mateys!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/you_like_me_you_really_like_me.htm'>"You like me! You REALLY like me!"</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=wg5SEWmTYxg:Grh892k4dEc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=wg5SEWmTYxg:Grh892k4dEc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=wg5SEWmTYxg:Grh892k4dEc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/wg5SEWmTYxg" height="1" width="1"/>pirateshttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/it_will_be_mine_1.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/it_will_be_mine_1.htmMon, 08 Jun 2009 03:33:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=it%5Fwill%5Fbe%5Fmine%5F1Shazzer<p dir="ltr"><font size="3">Holy crap am I glad <a href="/my_iphone_envy_is_approaching_critical_mass.htm" target="_blank">my spend-thrift Swede guilted me into waiting</a> to get an iPhone.</font></p> <p><img src="http://images.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3g-s/images/hero-intro-20090608.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="266" align="middle" /></p> <p><font size="3">Better camera, video recording and editing, digital compass, voice control. SO SWEET!!!</font></p><p><font size="3">Now I just have to figure out the fastest way to get my hands on an unlocked one here in Vikingland. </font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=it%5Fwill%5Fbe%5Fmine%5F1'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_onion_nails_college_cellphone_culture.htm'>The Onion nails college cell-phone culture</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/my_iphone_envy_is_approaching_critical_mass.htm'>My iPhone envy is approaching critical mass</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_onion_on_technogadgetry_definitely_nsfw.htm'>The Onion on technogadgetry, definitely NSfW!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/president_obama_wins_first_major_policy_battle.htm'>President Obama wins 1st major policy battle!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/crackberry_addicts_unite.htm'>Crackberry Addicts Unite!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/see_mom_skype.htm'>See Mom Skype</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/iphone3g_campout_in_copenhagen.htm'>iPhone3G camp-out in Copenhagen</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/how_did_i_survive_so_long_without_an_ipod.htm'>How did I survive so long without an iPod?!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/monday_morning_mindfulness.htm'>Monday morning mindfulness</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/springing_forward_sorta_sucks.htm'>'Springing Forward' sorta sucks</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=x_54RJduvkI:_vwa8GIH05s:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=x_54RJduvkI:_vwa8GIH05s:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=x_54RJduvkI:_vwa8GIH05s:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/x_54RJduvkI" height="1" width="1"/>gadgetsiphonetechnogadgetryhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/national_day_faceoff.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/national_day_faceoff.htmSat, 06 Jun 2009 22:25:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=national%5Fday%5FfaceoffShazzer<p><font size="3">I am in the middle of another 3-day weekend thanks to the back-to-back scheduling of&nbsp;<a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark" title="Denmark" class="zem_slink">Denmark</a>&#39;s and <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden" class="zem_slink">Sweden</a>&#39;s National Days. Normally we would not celebrate the Danish holiday (June 5), but given that<em> Dr. Darling</em> works in Copenhagen, it made sense for me to take Friday off, too. Besides that, Sweden&#39;s National Day falling on a Saturday this year meant we all got rooked out of a paid holiday on this side of the <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund" title="&Oslash;resund" class="zem_slink">Oresund</a>.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Dr. D usually takes the exclusively Swedish holidays off as well, though there aren&#39;t nearly as many of those as there are exclusively Danish ones. The Danes really have it all over Swedes (and pretty much everyone else in Europe, save maybe the French) when it comes to work-life. In addition to more paid holidays, they have a shorter work week (37 hours) and earn significantly higher salaries than Swedes in similar jobs (as much as 25% depending on the field/industry).</font></p> <p><font size="3">So we celebrated Danmark&#39;s National Day yesterday by sleeping in late, running some errands, meeting some friends for coffee and then dining on <a href="http://www.tweetphoto.com/14289brg" target="_blank">Danish Red Sausages</a>.</font></p> <p><font size="3">We celebrated Sweden&#39;s National Day today by sleeping in not quite as late, running some errands, meeting friends for champagne and dining on sushi before watching Denmark beat Sweden in a World Cup qualifying match.</font></p> <p><font size="3"><em>Dr. Darling</em> was NOT happy about this, but then she&#39;s been a Swede a lot longer than I have. She also has to go back to work on Monday <strong>in Copenhagen</strong>.</font></p> <p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Denmark-Sweden.svg/120px-Denmark-Sweden.svg.png" alt="" width="120" height="120" align="text-bottom" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=national%5Fday%5Ffaceoff'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/midsummer_weekend_survived.htm'>Midsummer Weekend Survived</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/a_valentines_day_to_sneeze_at.htm'>A Valentine's Day to sneeze at...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/epiphany_always_is_one.htm'>Epiphany always is one</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/biking_come_hell_or_high_water.htm'>Bornholm-bound, come hell or high water</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/drunken_swede_tries_to_row_home_from_denmark.htm'>Drunken Swede tries to row home from Denmark</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/midsummer_in_sweden.htm'>Midsummer in Sweden</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/where_the_air_is_70_proof.htm'>Where the air is 70-proof</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/to_be_or_not_to_be_in_denmark.htm'>To be or not to be, in Denmark</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/denmark_this_could_be_dangerous.htm'>Denmark, this could be dangerous...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/sweden_screws_with_yet_another_holiday_tradition.htm'>Sweden screws with yet another holiday tradition</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=qPnrPWlphLY:i0YYOkU3zxQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=qPnrPWlphLY:i0YYOkU3zxQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=qPnrPWlphLY:i0YYOkU3zxQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/qPnrPWlphLY" height="1" width="1"/>swedish holidaysdenmarkhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/26yearold_bonnie_tyler_video_suddenly_makes_total_sense.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/26yearold_bonnie_tyler_video_suddenly_makes_total_sense.htmThu, 04 Jun 2009 07:02:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=26yearold%5Fbonnie%5Ftyler%5Fvideo%5Fsuddenly%5Fmakes%5Ftotal%5FsenseShazzer<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lj-x9ygQEGA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lj-x9ygQEGA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=26yearold%5Fbonnie%5Ftyler%5Fvideo%5Fsuddenly%5Fmakes%5Ftotal%5Fsense'>Leave Comment</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=e6_t4PHHj8w:TDjBabM858A:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=e6_t4PHHj8w:TDjBabM858A:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=e6_t4PHHj8w:TDjBabM858A:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/e6_t4PHHj8w" height="1" width="1"/>http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/make_that_a_half_dozen.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/make_that_a_half_dozen.htmWed, 03 Jun 2009 06:39:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=make%5Fthat%5Fa%5Fhalf%5FdozenShazzer<p><font size="3"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/04marriage.html?hp" target="_blank">New Hampshire has become the sixth U.S. state to recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry</a>...the 4th state to do so in the last two months, and 3rd to do it via its elected legislature rather than the decisions of so-called &quot;activist&quot; judges that neocons like to complain about.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Here&#39;s a map showing the status of marriage rights around the continental US right now, and <strong>it&#39;s looking pretty rainbow-like to me</strong>.</font></p> <p><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.politicsdaily.com/media/2009/06/wikimedia_gay.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="261" align="middle" /></p> <p><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.politicsdaily.com/media/2009/05/key.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="174" align="middle" /></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=make%5Fthat%5Fa%5Fhalf%5Fdozen'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/secondclass_still_1.htm'>Second-class still...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_violets_in_the_mountains_have_broken_the_rocks.htm'>The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/fierce_advocate_my_ass.htm'>"Fierce advocate" my @$$</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/because_theres_a_whole_choir_of_fat_ladies_still_singing.htm'>Because there's a whole choir of fat ladies still singing</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/grateful_hopeful_mindful.htm'>Grateful, hopeful, mindful</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/and_then_there_were_five.htm'>And then there were five...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/des_moines_likely_not_the_next_san_francisco.htm'>Des Moines likely not the next San Francisco</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/hyterical_autotuned_take_on_recent_news.htm'>Hysterical auto-tuned take on recent news</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/miss_ca_was_hot_until_she_opened_her_mouth.htm'>Miss CA was HOT until she opened her mouth</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/from_the_folks_at_wwwgiantgayrepellentumbrellacom.htm'>From the folks at www.giantgayrepellentumbrella.com</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=lsebt39jTks:6l_i-ssKRZs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=lsebt39jTks:6l_i-ssKRZs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=lsebt39jTks:6l_i-ssKRZs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/lsebt39jTks" height="1" width="1"/>gay marriagehttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_onion_nails_college_cellphone_culture.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_onion_nails_college_cellphone_culture.htmSat, 30 May 2009 16:06:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=the%5Fonion%5Fnails%5Fcollege%5Fcellphone%5FcultureShazzer<object width="480" height="430"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/onn_embed/embedded_player.swf?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theonion.com%2Fcontent%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FAPARTMENT_FIRES_article.jpg&videoid=95143&title=Police%20Slog%20Through%2040%2C000%20Insipid%20Party%20Pics%20To%20Find%20Cause%20Of%20Dorm%20Fire" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/onn_embed/embedded_player.swf"type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" width="480" height="430"flashvars="image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theonion.com%2Fcontent%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FAPARTMENT_FIRES_article.jpg&videoid=95143&title=Police%20Slog%20Through%2040%2C000%20Insipid%20Party%20Pics%20To%20Find%20Cause%20Of%20Dorm%20Fire"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/video/police_slog_through_40_000?utm_source=videoembed">Police Slog Through 40,000 Insipid Party Pics To Find Cause Of Dorm Fire</a><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=the%5Fonion%5Fnails%5Fcollege%5Fcellphone%5Fculture'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/it_will_be_mine_1.htm'>IT WILL BE MINE!!!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/des_moines_likely_not_the_next_san_francisco.htm'>Des Moines likely not the next San Francisco</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/ill_take_my_march_madness_with_onion.htm'>I’ll take my March Madness with Onion</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_onion_on_technogadgetry_definitely_nsfw.htm'>The Onion on technogadgetry, definitely NSfW!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/its_a_small_world_after_all.htm'>It's a small world after all!</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/obama_promises_to_stop_americas_shitty_jobs_from_going.htm'>Obama Promises To Stop America's Shitty Jobs From Going Overseas</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/bush_surveys_damage_of_disastrous_presidency.htm'>Bush tours US to survey damage from his disastrous presidency</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/dead_end_career_tops_dead_end_relationship.htm'>The Onion: Women choosing dead-end careers over dead-end relationships</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/this_onion_has_me_crying.htm'>This onion has me crying...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/from_the_cunning_linguists_at_the_onion.htm'>From the cunning linguists at The Onion:</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=6hj5t5Fxuwk:4TRqLiVXEFE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=6hj5t5Fxuwk:4TRqLiVXEFE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=6hj5t5Fxuwk:4TRqLiVXEFE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/6hj5t5Fxuwk" height="1" width="1"/>gadgetsthe onionhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/cameron_frye_will_soon_be_homeless.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/cameron_frye_will_soon_be_homeless.htmFri, 29 May 2009 14:07:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=cameron%5Ffrye%5Fwill%5Fsoon%5Fbe%5FhomelessShazzer<p><font size="3">Hopefully <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_Bueller%27s_Day_Off" target="_blank" title="Ferris Bueller's Day Off" class="zem_slink">Ferris Beuller</a>&rsquo;s best friend has some new digs lined up, because his house is for sale&hellip;.</font></p> <p><img src="http://towleroad.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c730253ef011570a9f0b6970b-800wi" alt="" width="410" height="303" /></p> <p><font size="3">The stunning Ben Rose Home in <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park%2C_Illinois" target="_blank" title="Highland Park, Illinois" class="zem_slink">Highland Park, Illinois</a>, can be yours for a cool 2.3 million USD.</font></p> <p><font size="3">I first read about the house being on the market at <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5270778/ferris-buellers-ferrari-house-now-for-sale" target="_blank">Gizmodo</a>, which refers to it as &ldquo;architectural porn.&rdquo; Details on the amazing property can be found in the actual real estate listing <a href="http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/370-Beech-Street_Highland-Park_IL_60035_1109385563" target="_blank">here</a>.</font></p> <p><font size="3">As Ferris would say, <em>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one up.&rdquo;</em> (Of course he was referring to Cameron&rsquo;s Dad&rsquo;s red <a rel="homepage" href="http://www.ferrariworld.com/FWorld/fw/index.jsp" target="_blank" title="Ferrari" class="zem_slink">Ferrari</a>, rather than the glass garage it was stored in, but it works anyway!)</font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=cameron%5Ffrye%5Fwill%5Fsoon%5Fbe%5Fhomeless'>Leave Comment</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=vm-PXlQfass:X0hi9oEpeCg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=vm-PXlQfass:X0hi9oEpeCg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=vm-PXlQfass:X0hi9oEpeCg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/vm-PXlQfass" height="1" width="1"/>architecture pornferris buellerhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/because_theres_a_whole_choir_of_fat_ladies_still_singing.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/because_theres_a_whole_choir_of_fat_ladies_still_singing.htmWed, 27 May 2009 11:30:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=because%5Ftheres%5Fa%5Fwhole%5Fchoir%5Fof%5Ffat%5Fladies%5Fstill%5FsingingShazzer<div class="photo"> <a href="http://gawker.com/5271151/california-dreaming"><img src="http://9.media.tumblr.com/2cCc9W8kynzjtnc18R6D62iUo1_400.jpg" alt="Because there&amp;#8217;s a whole choir of fat ladies still singing." /></a></div><div class="photo"><font size="3">&nbsp;</font></div><div class="photo"><font size="3">It&#39;s been about 24 hours since the monumentally disappointing ruling by the California Supreme Court upholding a VERY narrowly voter-approved amendment to the state&#39;s constitution that stripped same-sex couples of their right to marry.</font></div><div class="photo">&nbsp;</div><div class="photo"><font size="3">I couldn&#39;t imagine that the justices would allow the amendment to stand because of the precedent it would set...essentially making the rights of every other minority group vulnerable to the whims of an intolerant and under-educated majority...no matter how slim that majority may be.</font></div><div class="photo">&nbsp;</div><div class="photo"><font size="3">But after reading the specifics of the ruling, I now understand why so many legal eagles predicted this outcome. The decision the court was asked to make had nothing to do with marriage equality, but whether or not the California&nbsp; constitution can be amended by a simple majority citizen vote. They decided that it could.</font></div><div class="photo">&nbsp;</div><div class="photo"><font size="3">Which means this isn&#39;t over yet.&nbsp; In fact, based on the reaction in California and the rest of the country, I&#39;d say <span style="font-style: italic">IT&#39;S ON</span>. </font></div><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=because%5Ftheres%5Fa%5Fwhole%5Fchoir%5Fof%5Ffat%5Fladies%5Fstill%5Fsinging'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/secondclass_still_1.htm'>Second-class still...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_violets_in_the_mountains_have_broken_the_rocks.htm'>The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/fierce_advocate_my_ass.htm'>"Fierce advocate" my @$$</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/make_that_a_half_dozen.htm'>Make that a half-dozen</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/grateful_hopeful_mindful.htm'>Grateful, hopeful, mindful</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/and_then_there_were_five.htm'>And then there were five...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/des_moines_likely_not_the_next_san_francisco.htm'>Des Moines likely not the next San Francisco</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/hyterical_autotuned_take_on_recent_news.htm'>Hysterical auto-tuned take on recent news</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/miss_ca_was_hot_until_she_opened_her_mouth.htm'>Miss CA was HOT until she opened her mouth</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/from_the_folks_at_wwwgiantgayrepellentumbrellacom.htm'>From the folks at www.giantgayrepellentumbrella.com</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=RWFNTXENJ4Q:sDpYD7s03BA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=RWFNTXENJ4Q:sDpYD7s03BA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=RWFNTXENJ4Q:sDpYD7s03BA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/RWFNTXENJ4Q" height="1" width="1"/>gay marriagecaliforniahttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/grateful_hopeful_mindful.htmhttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/grateful_hopeful_mindful.htmMon, 25 May 2009 05:51:00 GMThttp://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=grateful%5Fhopeful%5FmindfulShazzer<p><font size="3">It&rsquo;s <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day" target="_blank" title="Memorial Day" class="zem_slink">Memorial Day</a> in the United States, and while I haven&rsquo;t lived there for quite a few years now and I have been a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq for nearly all of that time, I am very grateful to those who serve in our armed forces. I have enormous respect for their commitment and am humbled by the sacrifices that they and their families make every day.</font></p> <p><font size="3">I am also hopeful that this is the last U.S. Memorial Day during which the commitment and sacrifice made by gay and lesbian service members is deemed of less value than those of their straight comrades-in-arms.</font></p> <p><font size="3">I&rsquo;m also hopeful that the California Supreme Court rules on the side of justice tomorrow when it announces its decision on the challenge to <a rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_%282008%29" target="_blank" title="California Proposition 8 (2008)" class="zem_slink">Proposition 8</a>. I have a very positive feeling that the court will toss it, if for no other reason than the dangerous precendent that letting it stand will create.</font></p> <p><img src="http://cache.thephoenix.com/secure/uploadedImages/The_Phoenix/News/Talking_Politics/rainbow_flag_1024_768%282%29.jpg" alt="" width="429" height="272" align="middle" /></p> <p><font size="3">Of course I&rsquo;m also mindful of the fact that although a court decision can change a law, it can&rsquo;t change hearts. Win or lose tomorrow, the fight for full civil rights for gay Americans will continue.</font></p><p><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/console/comments/popup/?f=grateful%5Fhopeful%5Fmindful'>Leave Comment</a></p><p>Related Entries:</p><ul><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/secondclass_still_1.htm'>Second-class still...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/the_violets_in_the_mountains_have_broken_the_rocks.htm'>The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/fierce_advocate_my_ass.htm'>"Fierce advocate" my @$$</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/make_that_a_half_dozen.htm'>Make that a half-dozen</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/because_theres_a_whole_choir_of_fat_ladies_still_singing.htm'>Because there's a whole choir of fat ladies still singing</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/and_then_there_were_five.htm'>And then there were five...</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/des_moines_likely_not_the_next_san_francisco.htm'>Des Moines likely not the next San Francisco</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/hyterical_autotuned_take_on_recent_news.htm'>Hysterical auto-tuned take on recent news</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/miss_ca_was_hot_until_she_opened_her_mouth.htm'>Miss CA was HOT until she opened her mouth</a></li><li><a href='http://shazzerspeak.blog-city.com/from_the_folks_at_wwwgiantgayrepellentumbrellacom.htm'>From the folks at www.giantgayrepellentumbrella.com</a></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=mfNN1zrKcJI:H9eI7OjYuMY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?a=mfNN1zrKcJI:H9eI7OjYuMY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Shazzerspeak?i=mfNN1zrKcJI:H9eI7OjYuMY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Shazzerspeak/~4/mfNN1zrKcJI" height="1" width="1"/>gay marriagedadt