Yesterday, while the Republicans attempted to use 9-11 as justification for reelecting President Bush, I made my own trip down to Ground Zero. I was in the neighborhood, attending a training session in Lower Manhattan for the City’s 3-1-1 system. Since I was only two blocks away from the former World Trade Center site, I took a walk over to assess the scene. Since the tragedy, I’d been there twice before. The first time was in October, 2001, less than 4 weeks after 9-11, when the smoke and ash was still visible. The second time was in January, 2002, where a viewing area had been erected above the debris. Since then, I’ve avoided the scene only to return yesterday. A huge fence was put in place along Church Street, providing a good view of the gaping hole and the construction that is underway. Signs are attached to the fence with photographs and written histories of the WTC site. The WTC PATH train station was open for business. A disheveled looking man sat on the ground playing "Amazing Grace" on his flute. Tourists, many of whom were probably RNC delegates, were standing in awe and taking pictures. Cops were aplenty including one who was holding an AK-47! After looking around for a bit, I went to the Burger King directly across the street from Ground Zero and then went back to my meeting. It’s odd to have the normalcy of everyday life in such close proximity to such a historic and hallowed location.

The polls are not looking good for John Kerry and I am officially concerned. He says that he’s a good closer, having done it against William Weld and Howard Dean. Well he’d better kick things into gear pretty soon.

The Olympics ended with no terrorism! How about that? Wheaties announced that they’re putting Michael Phelps, Carly Patterson and Justin Gatlin on their boxes. But not Paul Hamm. Poor guy’s getting wrecked by the gymnastic medal controversy.

US Open results from Arthur Ashe Stadium : Amelie Mauremso, Roger Federer, Jennifer Capriati, Serena Williams and Andre Agassi all won their first-round matches. At Armstrong Stadium, Todd Martin lost his first-round match and then announced his retirement from tennis.

Good protest! Sunday's RNC protest organized by "United for Peace and Justice" went just about as well as could be expected. Despite concerns that it would degenerate into rioting similar to Chicago '68, the protestors were well behaved and the police demonstrated discretion. The organizers are estimating that 400,000 people attended and there were only around 200 arrests - none of which were for violent activities. All of the controversy about Central Park's Great Lawn wasn't a factor either. After the march, many of the protestors went to Central Park anyway but they blended in with the sunbathers and joggers. The lawn should survive. I'm sure that many other protests will occur over the next four days and I hope that they remain peaceful as well. It's imperative to get our message across without being portrayed as radicals or extremists. So far so good.

In case you're wondering, no I was not at Sunday's protest myself. Instead I relaxed at home, watching both "Kill Bill - Volume 1" and "Kill Bill - Volume 2." Good movies! I really enjoyed how Tarantino told the story, using flashbacks, animation and black and white photography when appropriate. But I was in the city on Saturday, as indicated by the picture posted below of me showing my disapproval at the MSNBC studio set in Herald Square Park. I looked around for Chris Matthews but the only people around when I was there were producers and techies.

Remember how I posted important quotations on this blog from the major speeches of the Democratic Convention? Well you can forget it if you think I'm going to do the same with the Republicans! Fair and balanced I am not. However, the U.S. Open tennis tournament is starting this week in Queens. Maybe I'll post in-depth match reports instead. Tomorrow night's schedule : Serena Williams and Andre Agassi. I'll take them over Rudy Giuliani and John McCain.

Down with the Republicans!

Have you ever been to a party where you put your bag in someone's bedroom and then when it's time to leave, you notice that the person whose bedroom it is and a certain "friend" of theirs has mysteriously left the party. And the door to their bedroom is closed, making for quite an uncomfortable situation. Do you knock? Do you wait until it's...over? Fortunately the dilemma did not last too long as the people in question were found to be somewhere else entirely. Just another case of one's imagination getting ahead of themselves.

Arrests continue in NYC. 250 people were arrested yesterday in a cycling rally. Police said that the bicyclists were obstructing traffic. Seems they are too eager to fill up the special detention center & holding cells that were erected just for the occasion.

Olympic notes : US Mens Basketball team eliminated! Iraq soccer team loses bronze medal match! Misty May and Kerri Walsh remain hot!

It's Attack of the Killer Mosquitoes!!! Last night I was ambushed. Woke up this morning with itchy bites on hand, forehead and calf. Sons of bitches...

So a judge ruled that Central Park is a no-go for the protest, but a compromise was then announced that the march would culminate in Union Square Park. It's a smaller park but it has a rich tradition of protests and rallys. Yesterday seven people stripped naked in front of Madison Square Garden. They said they were protesting AIDS and the deficit but I think they were just protesting clothing. Then a huge banner was draped over the Plaza Hotel with two arrows. One arrow said "Truth" and was pointing one way, and the other arrow said "Bush" and was pointing the other way. It's just begun folks...

I have some new blogs to plug. The first is Jess, who I've known since high school. The second is Heather, who I met in college. She just eloped. Read all about it.

Know where I’ll be on Sunday? Home. As far away from the protests as I can get. Maybe I’ll watch the protests on TV and join them in spirit by yelling "Yeah, you tell them!" But that’s as far as I’ll go. Check out this article from The Village Voice. It’s about what foods you can expect to be served in jail if you get arrested.

These past couple of days I’ve been getting phone calls from various Republican delegates. Since the calls are related to my line of work, I have to present a cheery, welcoming attitude. It has required me to summon each of the skills I learned in acting class.

The high-carb diet continues. (Minus the daily loaf of Italian bread... bad idea.) Yesterday, my co-workers and I picnicked in Prospect Park. Then I had dinner with Jess at my favorite Chinese restaurant. Tomorrow I’m meeting Ben for lunch and going to my boss’s house for a BBQ dinner.

Olympic Update : Misty May and Kerri Walsh won beach volleyball gold and they are HOT!!! The U.S. mens basketball team beat Spain this morning to move on in the tournament, despite their earlier losses. Israel won its first Olympic gold medal. Iraq lost its soccer semifinal but is still in the running for the bronze.

You've all heard about low-carb diets, right? Well I am about to embark on a high-carb diet. I am just too thin for my own good. Maybe its my fast metabolism that prevents me from gaining weight, but I am going to try eating as much bread, rice, pasta and potatoes as I can. I am starting today by eating an entire loaf of Italian bread on a daily basis. This is something I've done in the past. In high school, I'd rehearse after-school for three or four hours for our musical theater productions. To get the energy, I'd buy a loaf of Italian bread each day at the nearby bagel store. Hopefully this strategy and some light weight training exercises will do the trick.

My trivia team came in second last night out of 14 teams. Upon learning that part of the 2nd place prize included Nestle Crunch bars, we obtained the desired result. My favorite team names were "You're Not a War Hero Unless Bob Dole Says So" and "The Titsberg Feelers."

Remember I mentioned last week that I was whistled at during my Tuesday night trip home from trivia? Well when I arrived at the exact same spot last night, someone pointed their red laser pointer straight at me. When I looked around I didn't see anyone but I did hear laughing. Too funny.

This Circle of Hell thing has been going around on the blog circuit so I thought I'd give it a shot. Had I had more time to think, I'm sure I could have thought of more creative annoyances...

The New York Yankees, The Atlanta Braves
Circle I Limbo

PETA Members
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

Bill Gates
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Parents who bring squalling brats to any-rated movies
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Religious zealots
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Uday Hussein, Militant Vegans
Circle VII Burning Sands

George Bush
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

Osama bin Laden
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

I'm so excited! My best friend from college, Ben, has moved to New York City!!! After graduating Vassar, he lived in Boston, Poughkeepsie and Los Angeles. But now he has moved into Astoria and it won't be long before we tear up the town!

Me & Ben from VC's reunion

Happy 27th Birthday, Jessica!!!

My tenure as Class Notes correspondant for Vassar's Alumni Magazine has officially come to an end. I know this because I got a very nice hand-written thank you note from the Assistant Editor. Actually, the note was written in one person's handwriting, and the signature is signed in a distinctly different handwriting. Which leads me to wonder - huh? Is it that much of an effort for the Assistant Editor to do it themselves? Or do they have a whole staff of people writing the notes because there's just so many? Something to keep in mind when you get married and have hundreds of thank you notes to write.

I haven't talked about politics much these past few days but there's a couple of things I wanted to touch on as August comes to a close. The first is the attacks on John Kerry's war record by "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." It's reminiscient of how the Bush campaign used surrogates to attack John McCain's record during the 2000 South Carolina Primary. Bush claims that he would never slander Kerry's war record, yet he simultaneously refuses to denounce the ads. Trying to have it both ways. Yesterday, the editor of the Chicago Tribune spoke out that he was a Swift Boat captain and witnessed the incidents himself. He verified that Kerry earned his medals and that the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" have it all wrong. Hopefully this smear campaign will subside soon enough.

The second thing I wanted to mention is the upcoming protests against the Republican Convention in NYC. The organization "United for Peace and Justice" has been trying for months to obtain a permit to protest in Central Park. The City has denied them, claiming that the crowds would damage the renovated lawns, and has offered the West Side Highway instead. But now the organization has filed a lawsuit insisting that they be able to use Central Park. I'm concerned that they're going to try entering the park, permit or no permit. If that happens, I just hope that calm and order is preserved by both the police and the protesters. Any confrontation will just play into the G.O.P.'s hands. More on this as details become available.

Olympic notes : The Iraqi soccer team keeps winning! The U.S. basketball team keeps losing! Gymnastics judges mess up and deprive Korean of the gold that went to Paul Hamm! Marathons are being run in 103 degree heat! Female judo wrestlers are lacking in the looks department!

Today is a big reorganizing day in my office. Different divisions are moving around and so is their stuff. It’s a good opportunity to throw out old junk, put things in storage and basically make everything look nice and presentable. So I spent the morning making runs up and down the flight of stairs to our storage closet. Am a little tired right now.

I’ve decided to take a break from online dating. It just hasn’t been working for me. I don’t know, maybe it works for some people but I haven’t connected with any of the girls I’ve met through it. So it’s back to the drawing board, hopefully with opportunities to meet new people in a "real world setting." But I will NEVER act like this guy, described in the article pasted by The Anonymous Blogger.

Congrats to Carly Patterson, gold medal winner in women’s all-around gymnastics. First to do it since Mary Lou Retton. The two countries atop the medal standings are the U.S. and China. You know that China will make it a goal of theirs to win the most medals in 2008 when the Summer Games take place in Beijing.

Have a great weekend!

We’re having some electrical work done in our office today. So the electrician comes in, sees my desk plate, and says to me, "I can see your name in print one day as a published author." Mind you, I have never seen or met this guy before in my life. Considering that I indeed WOULD like to be a published author, I was very flattered by his odd, unprompted statement.

The Olympics have been entertaining thus far. Last night, Paul Hamm became the first American to win the men’s all-around gold medal in gymnastics. He did this despite falling off the mat and onto his ass in an earlier round. Then the shot put competition was held in Olympia – the original site of the Ancient Olympics. Unlike those games, athletes did not compete in the nude and they did not break into spontaneous orgies. Poor NBC, that would have been a surefire way to get ratings. But my favorite sport to watch at 7 in the morning on Bravo? Badminton!

Good news. Paris Hilton’s dog has been found. Call off the search. Resume your everyday lives.

My team, "Flames of the Week : The Olympic Torch & McGreevey", came in second last night at Trivia. Special thanks go out to A.K.A. Chris for delivering the Greek Mythology category and to new teammates Sy & Mehta for the 80s Music category. Our prize was a $15 discount on our bar tab and a baggie of M&Ms! Val and Eric came up with some challenging yet fun questions and they correctly awarded the best team name to "New Jersey doesn’t suck but its governor does." And Caren showed off the Spanish translation version of "Carrie Pilby", with a cover illustration of Carrie that looked remarkably similar to the author.

In between my visit to the Empire State Building (see previous blog post) and Trivia, I had some time to kill so I went to see "Garden State." Very well done. Zach Braff pulled off the trifecta of acting, directing and writing. A new Orson Welles / Woody Allen? In the film, he had amazing chemistry with Natalie Portman’s character. And yes, that was Bilbo Baggins playing his father.

On the way back home last night in Brooklyn, a couple of young girls sitting on their stoop whistled at me and made kissing sounds with their lips. From across the street I grinned at them and one of them shreiked "Oh my god. He smiled at me!!!" I’d never before felt like such a piece of meat. But I kinda liked it!

A big welcome to those of you who may be finding my blog through pressing the "Next" button on the top of Blogger. It’s a fun and convenient way to see who else is out there. Hey, it beats those "Pro Bush" advertisements that annoyingly used to be at the top of this page.

Paris Hilton lost her dog Tinkerbell, the chihuahua who was featured in "The Simple Life." A $5000 reward is being offered. That’s it, Paris? Unless you raise it, I’m keeping the dog.

Today I met my uncle for lunch. He works at the Empire State Building and after lunch we went up to the Observation Deck. It's a good thing he has a V.I.P. pass that let us bypass the lines, otherwise we'd have been waiting for hours! I couldn't believe how mobbed the place was with tourists - then again, it is the peak of tourist season. They're everywhere I tell you! Anyway I took lots of pictures and posted some of them below for all to enjoy!

Lower Manhattan (orange denotes WTC site), Statue of Liberty

Brooklyn Bridge leading to Brooklyn

Flatiron Building

Macy's & Herald Square

Madison Square Garden, West Side, New Jersey

Central Park

Chrysler Building, Roosevelt Island, Queens

Mmm, Red Lobster... You can't beat it. First you start off with the hot buttery rolls, right out of the oven. Then a salad with lots of croutons. Then comes the main dish -- "The Ultimate Feast." Lobster tail, snow crab legs, fried shrimp, shrimp scampi, and a potato. Drool... Red Lobster - share the love.

Hurricane Charley was pretty intense last night. Florida suffered a lot of damage and here's hoping the best for its residents. No doubt, any voting snafus on Election Day will be blamed on the hurricane.

The Summer Olympics in Athens are underway and I thought they did a very nice job with last night's opening ceremony. The show was classy with an impressive parade. It demonstrated the history of Greece with actors clad in garb that gave the impression they were moving statues. The Parade of Nations followed as the Greek crowd gave all 202 countries a very nice reception. Even the U.S. was greeted warmly. It was good to see women marching with the Iraqi and Afghan delegations. But it was not so good to see Iran - one of their athletes (a wrestler) withdrew from the competition because his 1st round opponent was scheduled to be an Israeli - and Iran refuses to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. The parade culminated in the lighting of the torch - a task that fell to a substitute Greek athlete. The original honoree refused to take a drug test and then got into a vehicular accident as he was fleeing. Go Olympic Spirit!!!

Today I am feeling much better! Thanks to those who offered the good wishes.

Tonight is the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. Between the terrorism threats and the drug scandals, it’s easy to forget that sports will be played. But I intend to watch the hours (and hours and hours) of coverage whenever I’m able to. Between NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo and Telemundo, there won’t be any lack of options.

Yesterday while I was lying delirious on my couch, I saw some of the Iraqi soccer team winning their first game against Portugal. It’s really cool to see the Iraqi team succeed, particularly since they had been unable to practice in their war-torn country, and since they no longer have to fear torture by Uday Hussein should they lose.

So Jim McGreevey is a gay American. When I heard that a tri-state area governor was resigning, I had hoped it would be Pataki. No such luck. I suppose it’s a good thing that McGreevey came out of the closet but that’s tempered by the knowledge that he never would have come out if he wasn’t being blackmailed. And then there’s the knowledge that he gave a $110,000 job in homeland security to his lover. Shady. But it makes one wonder how many gays have lived closeted lives, married out of convenience and denied their true selves. Some good recent films that explore this topic are "Far from Heaven" and "The Hours."

Florida is bracing for Hurricane Charley. It’s supposed to hit the Citrus State today and it’s supposed to be the worst storm that Florida has seen in 50 years. With all the time that the presidential candidates have been spending in Florida, maybe we’ll get lucky and the hurricane will blow them away.

Watched an...interesting...program last night. It was on TRIO and it was called "Good Clean Porn". The concept is they take classic porn films from the '70s, such as "Debbie Does Dallas", edit out all of the porn & nudity and only show the bad acting scenes. And are they bad! "Boogie Nights" did a great spoof of the cheesy porn acting trend with their Brock Landers & Chest Rockwell scenes.

4-day weekend coming up for me! Taking off on Monday and Tuesday. So if anyone’s free those days and wants to do something, feel free to get in touch with me!

Ugh. I'm sick. Woke up this morning with a monstrous headache. Called in my place to say I wouldn't be in and took a long nap. Woke up but am still in pain. Time to take more Tylenol. I just hope I'm not getting a fever or something. That would suck. OK, back to bed. Check ya later.

The Blogger Party. Coming soon, to a condo or apartment near you. Check out the webpage and particularly the comments section of The Anonymous Blogger for details as they develop.

My team, "Fay Wray Dead – King Kong Arrested," came in 4th place last night at Trivia. Disappointing because we were tied for 1st at the intermission. But we were sunk at the final visual category where we had to identify obscure character actors. Perhaps if my teammates weren’t so busy passing junior high school notes! Val did a good job with hosting and she’ll be back again to co-host next week.

Poor Tom Glavine. Not only is he stuck on a losing baseball team that always fails to give him run support, but yesterday he was involved in a car accident that caused him to lose his two front teeth. He was riding in a cab and an SUV smashed into them. Fortunately noone was seriously hurt. Amusingly, the cabbie complained that while all the police and medics attended to the celebrity Glavine, noone went to check on him until afterwards.

What is wrong with Jason Giambi? The Yankee first baseman came to spring training carrying far less weight and mass than usual. It was whispered that he was a user of performance enhancing drugs and his reduced size resulted from his no longer using them. Then he goes on the disabled list with an intestinal parasite. It was assumed that he ate something bad in Japan as teammate Kevin Brown also had a parasite. But then, after the antibiotics failed to help, he announced that he has a benign tumor but instead of operating on it, it would be treated with medications. His return to the team is questionable. Although Yankee brass are optimistic that Giambi will return by next month, his friend Eric Chavez said in an interview that after speaking with Giambi, he doubted he’d be back this year at all. So what exactly is wrong with him? When the Yankee G.M. was asked if he knew where the tumor was, he said that he did but that he would not disclose it to the public, in keeping with Giambi’s privacy rights. I completely respect their desire to keep Giambi’s ailment private but the mystery just raises some anxious questions. The Yankees didn’t hesitate to announce David Cone’s aneurysm, Joe Torre’s prostate cancer or Darryl Strawberry’s colon cancer. So, what is wrong with Jason Giambi?

Blog reader Tex referred me to this website, Election Projection. It analyzes polls from each individual state to determine who would win the Electoral College if the voting were held today. Basically, it all boils down to the swing states of Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. Whoever wins the majority of those states wins the election.

Over the weekend, the City Council and its speaker released a report slamming the cleanliness of NYC’s beaches, particularly Coney Island. It’s ridiculous. I’m at Coney often and can attest as to how clean it’s kept. Parks crews thoroughly clean the beach each night between 9:30 P.M. and 6:00 A.M. During the day, there are thousands of trash cans on the beach. It reeks of political motives for the speaker of the City Council to release this unscientific and unfounded report. Oh yeah, he’s running against the mayor next year.

I took a little break from blogging yesterday as it's hard to think of things to put on here everyday. Especially on Saturdays when I wake up from a long sleep with my mind operating in slow motion. But Sitemeter tells me that my blog viewership decreases drastically during the weekends so I suppose it's no big loss if I skip a day or two.

The weather has been great in NYC this weekend. Unseasonably cool for early August, which is just fine with me. So I went into Manhattan both yesterday and today just to relax and hang out. On the recommendation of Gabe, AKA Chris, and The Anonymous Blogger, I went to see "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle." Pretty funny stuff! Although it wasn't wall-to-wall laughs as my referrers claimed, it was still plenty of laughs to qualify as an enjoyable flick. (My personal favorite scene : The worker at the burger place that replaced White Castle screaming that he was going to burn the place down) I left the theater STARVING, and craving White Castle. But I didn't know of any that were around so I ate at Wendy's instead. I actually do know of a couple of White Castles in Brooklyn but they're in ghetto neighborhoods. So I'll stick to the microwaveable White Castle burgers that I can buy in the supermarket.

An excerpt of dialogue from tonight's episode of "Entourage"...
"Hey Turtle, where'd you guys meet?"
"Uh... JDate."
"Isn't that for Jews?"
"So?"
"She's wearing a cross."
"She's reform."

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
--- George W. Bush, August 5, 2004

I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.

My efforts to do more new things continue. Last night I went to a local Democratic club, to visit a friend from my internship days and to introduce myself to the local councilman. It was a cool place but not somewhere where I can see myself spending too many social hours. Basically, the politicians and judges hobnob with each other and the senior citizens stuff envelopes. I might have to look into some social events for younger Democrats.

I have a relaxing weekend coming up with nothing planned in particular. Perhaps I’ll see some movies (i.e. "White Castle") or visit some museums that I haven’t been to in a while. Visiting the Met last week has put me back on a museum kick.

Two of my favorite topics in recent months have been politics and blogging. Combining the two is this hilarious article that I just saw in "The Onion". I've pasted it below for all to enjoy...

CIA ASKS BUSH TO DISCONTINUE BLOG

WASHINGTON, DC-In the interest of national security, President Bush has been asked to stop posting entries on his three-month-old personal web log, acting CIA director John E. McLaughlin said Monday.

According to McLaughlin, several recent entries on PrezGeorgeW. typepad.com have compromised military operations, while other posts may have seriously undercut the PR efforts of White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

A July 24 posting read, "Just got back from a lunch with Colin and Adil Moussa (one of Prince Saud al-Faisal's guys). Colin wants the Saudis to send some troops to Najaf-so some of the soldiers are Arab, I guess. This Moussa guy sure wears a lot of jewelry. A golden chain, a golden ring with his initials or something, and some other sparkling stuff-kinda effeminate. Anyway, best of luck in Iraq, Iyad."

McLaughlin, normally hesitant to express public disapproval of the president, said the blog was "ill-advised."

"I would hate for the president to inadvertently put American soldiers at risk," McLaughlin said. "We work hard to maintain the integrity of state secrets. When we see the president posting details of troop movements, international counter-terrorism negotiations, and even the nuclear launch codes, as he did on Monday, we have to step up and say something."

Bush said he could not understand McLaughlin's anger, characterizing his blog as a "personal thing written for friends and family or whoever" and therefore "none of the CIA's business."
Nevertheless, U.S. Secret Service director W. Ralph Basham objected to the blog, as well.

"He is compromising his safety and the safety of those in my department," Basham said, citing a post from last Thursday in which Bush revealed that he "had to go to some secret meeting with Norquist at some Marriot [sic] over in Virginia." "Someone could uncover some serious state secrets, if they took the time to wade through all of those photos he posted after he got that digital camera in June."

On Saturday, Basham asked to pre-screen all blog activity before Bush posts it online.
Bush rejected Basham's request and later that day wrote in his blog that "Some people who shall remain nameless apparently do not know there is such a thing as free speech in this country."

Members of Bush's re-election team have urged the president to exercise caution with his blog, perhaps because of posts like the one dated July 8, 2004: "Another long day of speeches and fundraisers. Met with all these phony media company execs. Had to promise them some bill next term and shake a lot of stupid hands, but they did bring in two or three million or so. Whatever. Karl keeps a list. I got big laughs during my speech, so I'm happy."

Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie said he spoke to Bush about the blog last month.

"After he mentioned our Monday message-of-the-day in a Saturday post, we've really been pushing him to not talk about campaign strategy," Gillespie said. "He's not that involved in the planning anyway, so it shouldn't be too much to ask."

"We're not trying to stifle the president's creativity," Gillespie added. "We think it's great he's taking an interest in writing."

Bush maintained that he's doing nothing wrong.

"I know so many people, but I'm way too busy to keep in touch with all of them," Bush said. "Whether I'm talking about our strategies in Gitmo or my dogs down in Crawford, the blog is an easy way to let everyone know what's been up with me. If I've just had a really good lunch at a new restaurant, or something funny happens in a briefing from the NSA, I want to let my friends and family know about it."

McLaughlin said it's likely that Bush will eventually agree to submit his blog for review by the Secret Service.

"Right now, the president insists it's his right to have it, as long as he doesn't work on it during White House work hours," McLaughlin said. "But I believe we'll be able to convince him, if we let him calm down. And even if we don't, frankly, I can't see the blog holding his interest for too long."

My trivia record is 1-0 after a big win in my debut last night! Thanks go out to my smart teammates Val, Anonymous, Claire, Eric, chemistry professor and Republican dude in a suit. When it came to the team name I said that we should make a pun off of Paris Hilton's black eye and bruises. Val then came up with "Paris is Bruising" and we won the best team name prize. Then we won the trivia contest, despite my shih-tzu / lhasa apso mixup, which my team took great delight in berating me for. I remind them that Claire and I gave us all of our points in the Liberal Arts College question! A fun time was had and props go out to Sarah and Caren for co-hosting (even if Sarah didn't know that the 9/11 Commission Report was paperback) I noticed a few cute girls at several of the tables so I just might have to go back!

Bob Murphy sadly passed away yesterday. He was the radio voice of the Mets from 1962-2003. He was a pleasure to listen to and will be missed. Bob, here's to many "happy recaps!"

Tonight Sarah and Caren will be hosting Tuesday Night Trivia at the Baggot Inn. I’ve been hearing about this event for months but have yet to go... until now! With these two co-hosting, it’s got to be fun. I just hope I’ll be able to harness all of the useless knowledge I’ve accumulated and answer some of their questions.

The rest of this blog posting will be me bitching about the utter downfall of the Mets. Fred Wilpon said that his goal for the team was "to play meaningful games in September." Well, the best they could do was play meaningful games in July. A winning record at the All-Star break, only two games out of first, has dissolved into a record of six games under .500 and nine whole games behind the first place Atlanta Braves. Sigh, why should this year be any different? The players may change but the results stay the same. In better news, my Fantasy team is making a comeback. I’ve moved up from 7th to 4th place. Even if I don’t win, I’m definitely in contention for the "Most Improved" prize.

I'm currently eating the best tasting onion roll I've ever had...

I forgot to mention yesterday that upon leaving the theater where I saw "The Village," a Loews staffer was handing out free samples of Advil. To which I said to him, "Hey, the movie wasn’t THAT painful!" All around laughed at my ingenious one-liner.

With the Democratic Convention all said and done with, I thought I’d offer my list of the Top 10 Speeches. They are...
1. Barack Obama
2. John Kerry
3. Bill Clinton
4. John Edwards
5. Wesley Clark
6. Jimmy Carter
7. Al Sharpton
8. Ron Reagan
9. Max Cleland
10. Teresa Heinz Kerry

Another hot and humid day in NYC. The dog days of August have begun. Woof.

The plan for today was to see "Much Ado About Nothing" performed in Central Park. Unfortunately, by the time Jess and I got there, all of the tickets for this evening's performance were gone. Sadness. But Jess will go back later this week at an earlier hour and hopefully we'll see it before it closes! Instead we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and we saw "The Village." The film was certainly different. And interesting. I'm not so sure how good a film it was but it sure was... interesting. For that reason alone, I'd recommend it.