Torrential Rain, Wars and Football...Whew!

Wow, what a day...so much has been happening in the world and in my life lately that I'm not even sure where I'd begin. Well, where I'd begin maybe isn't tough...it's where I'd go from there, and from there, and from there without being too damn random.

I guess I'll start with the usual conversation set piece. You know, the thing that people with nothing to talk about always wind up talking about...the weather.

Yea, so I live in Washington, DC...otherwise known as Flood Zone #1. The rain has been absolutely ridiculous around here lately. I was walking down Wisconsin Avenue this afternoon and got caught in this downpour that was straight out of a Kurosawa film (think Rashomon). It was incredible...I actually saw the rain approaching me from further down the street. Granted, I knew it was coming by the wind and the heavy, dark clouds, but right before it hit I looked up the street and saw that this gray curtain had descended over the scene a few blocks ahead of me. My jaw dropped as I realized a near solid wall of water was rapidly approaching me.

Within seconds I was drenched. Nonetheless, I quickly darted under the awning of the nearest shop, which happened to be a little place that sold Persian rugs. So there I stood for a full fifteen minutes admiring the beautiful rugs, poofs, and clothing with one turn, and the awesome torrent, the actual streams of run-off rolling down the sidewalk, and the vast lake that had formed at the nearest intersection with another.

I really enjoy storms. Never mind that I was going to be late for my other job.

So, then I check the BBC News website later tonight and find out...Israel has invaded Gaza. They almost stayed out for a year. Almost a whole year! I shudder to think of what the abducted soldiers' captors did with him once they heard that the IDF tanks were rolling in. Do they really think that they'll find him alive? I hope they do. I hope he is shown mercy...he's just a kid. I also hope that Palestinian civilians are not harmed in this incursion...my hopes are dim, however.

The chances for peace are also fading rapidly. How many more will have to die? It pains me to think that the United States may be creating another seemingly intractable conflict by its actions in Iraq. The sheer ignorance and incompetence of the Bush administration with regard to Iraq is simply staggering...and appalling in its consequences. Tens of thousands of people have paid with their lives because the administration did not want to bother with such silly things as "facts" and "knowledge" and "experience in the region." They knew nothing about Iraq, but, by golly they were going to bomb the hell out of it and call in Halliburton to build a nice new Mall of America over there...or...well, maybe a Mall of Iraq, too to please the locals. C'mon folks, that's what democracy is all about!

They make me sick...I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about them later, but I don't want this to be solely an anti-Bush blog. There are a ton of those, I'm sure, so I'll try not to let my rage boil over onto the "page" too often. Once I get started, though...

Finally, I'm so psyched for the quarterfinals of the World Cup!!! Germany vs. Argentina should be one of the best games of the tournament, while I think that, if they keep it up like they did against Spain, France may give Brazil a run for their money. England vs, Portugal promises to be a hard fought match and you never know with Ukraine...will they pull off the upset? We shall have to see what Italy has to say about that. Zidane, Henry, Beckham, Rooney, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Klose, Podolski, Messi, Totti, Shevchenko...this is what the World Cup is all about!!!

Inaugural Address?

Hear ye, hear ye. This blog is now in session. Blah, blah, blah...some more nonsense...*shuffling noises*...facts and figures...*sounds of stultifying boredom*...pompous promises...obscenities...wait, what? Eh, that's enough of that.

So, this will be my attempt at sharing my own personal thoughts (both random and those that have spent countless years in gestation) with the wider web-world. More to come...