1st? Hi, Martooni, Hi, Cassandra.

Real Front Page Alert! Now we have to keep track of the boodle and the loonies that comment on the news stories. Fortunately, Joel gave us plenty of pointy headed boodle bait to keep us from going all Coulter.

Wyoming delegate selection? Tracking that is sort of like tracking the members of the Icelandic forces involved in the Coalition of the Willing (or whatever it is now) in Iraq.

Oh, for those people tracking the forces from Iceland, she went home--so they are down to zero.

yellojkt,

what's going on, just in case that the sales traffic wants to talk about the news?

Woo! Right under the masthead! Way to go Joel!

And it's a surprise that Granite Staters are brilliantly obtuse?

*TGIF Grover waves*

:-)

I enjoyed catching the story from Tulsa OK about their new law about aliens. The cure can often be worse than the problem, eh?

Joel,

Two environmental prizes include the Goldman and Tyler awards...I think the winner takes about 100k. Also the Asahi Glass Foundation may award a prize but I am not sure that is always environmental....perhaps also humanitarianw

I always like it when the MacArthur Genius grants include an environmental thinker.

Now, is this where were I drop the line -- casually -- that I was in room with Al Gore once? During the transition from the Bush I to Clinton White House, my boss was on the environment transition team. Mr. Gore was there. He is warmer in person, but he does move someone woodenly.

The Michigan joke is that Al Gore is leading in the state in a poll. The other poll laugh is that John McCain is running for President, but is trailing in his own state by a hair right now to the Governor.

As a point of clarification, I agree with both polls that I mentioned.

CP, what's the story with the group or committee with whom Al Gore shares the award?

Should that be Dauphin Michael, as in the French "Prince of Wales"?

The IPCC (Intergovermental Panel on Climate Commission) is a top-drawer group of scientists who consult with the UN on climate science, and both adaptation and mitigation strategies. At last count, this body represents over 4,000 separate scientists from all over the world. The panel has been working through smaller sub-groups for more than 15 years. If you count an earlier incarnation, the group might be as old as 25 years.

Expertise is huge: geologists, oceanographers, atmospheric chemists, conservation biologists, epidemiologist, foresters, energy specialists, entomologists, climate modelers, economists,paleontologists, cryologists, glaciologists, psychologists, ichthyologists, -- you name it, they got it -- a real pantheon of thinkers.

Off to work with my junior-thinkers...Hey, I have now been in rooms with three Nobel Prize winners:

Schelling (my teacher)
Mather (physicist)
Gore (environment-man)

On a personal note, the prize must be a balm for the Gores.

The implications of this story fascinate and alarm me. It is theoretically possible that Bill Gardner could determine the next President of the United States. Granted, this is unlikely, but the mere possibility highlights the complexity of power.

Small quirks of law and procedure can create unexpected nodes of influence in any large bureaucracy. (I'm sure there is a darn good Master's Thesis in there somewhere.) It is well known to those in government, or any large organization, that the most powerful person isn't always the one with the biggest office or the fanciest title. The secret is to identify such people, and keep them happy.

Nifty news about Gore and the Peace Prize. Of course, now he has to figure out how to make interesting small talk with Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger at those tedious Peace Prize cocktail parties.

G'morning. I overslept this morning and am not upset by that at all. :-)

Cassandra, I figured Bruton Smith was bluffing about moving Lowe's Motor Speedway. He's 80, and it's the biggest place of public assembly in the state. He may live to be 100 but he would never be able to reproduce what he's got there, someplace else. Not just the speedway but all the development around it, like Concord Mills and the hotels and car dealerships. So the Concord City Council caved. No surprise either. I can't really feel sorry for the people who were complaining. They knew their proximity to the racetrack when they bought their houses.

Yay for Al Gore. The Noble Prize is nice consolation for the 2000 election. Oh, I wish we could turn the clock back and let him be president. What a thought, not to be in the mess we're in, in Iraq and in the federal budget.

Hey, CP, a two-time winner used to visit my family's home.

Thanks for the info.

... if we are entering the sphere of Nobel dropping. Of course, I would love to hear about Joel's list (or just as importantly) all the other lists of brushes w/ science or creative fame.

Good point there about naming rights. I know that I will be pretty steamed when the Sentient Moose from Space land to inform us that we are all living on the planet of Snorkgrass.

Still, the opening lines of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem do have an other-worldly feel about them:

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree
Where Alph the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea."

And then there is the movie with Olivia Newton John. Clearly not of this earth.

slyness,
I am listening to the author John Nichols talk about the Gore award and he is saying what I have blog'ed about already this morning... that this is the Nobel Committee doing what the USA couldn't, which is to realize that we have some great leaders in this country and we need to be made aware of this. Further, it is pretty much what they were trying to say with the Jimmy Carter award.

I am more amazed that Georgie gave our highest honor to Brownie ... who unfortunately will go down in history as the "anti" Gore. He became the face of the amazingly still on-going situation in NOLA.

RDP, please don't forget Rush's treatment of the stately pleasure-dome...

:-)

RD, somehow, as a result of being a non-linear thinker (I compliment my own lack of mental organization), I started reading about another politician that I worked for in my youth who I consider to be most like Al Gore... Eugene McCarthy.

Interestingly enough, as we may know, he was a poet. He was a damned good tradition poet and a very thoughtful essayist. There is probably some sort of word that describes a semi-successful national personality and leader who doesn't quite make it to the leadership position, but does impact the general direction of a nation.

Gore is at a crossroad right now. He teased on running a couple of months ago. Now, I wonder if you can actually run for President w/ a Nobel Prize. I guess he can.

It must be ok, since Gibbs returned to football.

Brush with fame? I know two of the people in that Titan press release... and I have met a few Nobelists. I would not expect any of them to remember my name. Well, maybe Townes. Oh, yeah, and then there's my mother-in-law. I expect that she should count.

DM,
I'm just saying we need to keep the bunker well stocked now that Joel is National Enterprise Reporter and gets stories above the fold. That kind of exposure brings out the various ranters that like to trash the MSM.

If, for example, Wonkette links to the NH primary story, Pop Socket would be contractually obligated to snark about the non-newsiness of a story about someone that MIGHT change a primary date but hasn't yet.

It's just tough keeping all the voices in my head form arguing amongst themselves.

slyness,

Yesterday, in an interview on the young turks, 2002 Nobel Peace Price winner Jimmy Carter was asked some great questions and handled them with some amazing thoughtfulness... which seemed foreign for today's FOX world...

1. first, Carter was asked "was there anything you would have done differently in your Presidency?" ... to which he simply answered, "send another helicopter."

2. Second, Carter was asked one of those goofball questions that could become thoughtful, "If you had could either re-do your own re-election compaign or the 2000 race between Bush and Gore, which would you do?"

Carter was channeling you by saying Gore in 2000. He said, since I left the government, I think I have done many things that have helped the people of the world (I paraphrase), but if we could have redone 2000, we would have been much better off. (slyness-eyes)

D Michael, I am sooo there. I hope the next president can undo SOME of the damage GWB has done. It will be difficult, and we will have to support her/him.

I voted for Gore in 2000 and I would vote for him again.

Xanadu was also the name of the mansion of Charles Foster Kane in "Citizen Kane". We used to see Al Gore jogging with his SS protectors on Arlington Ridge Road back when he was Veep. He runs with the grace of an arthritic wildebeest.

Tim!

As a low-life non-scientist, I remember my impressions of scientists visiting our house (like Pauling) and how much they were interested in others views--even little kids. My dad was a chemist and he held some strong but quiet beliefs about "the bomb" and knew many of the players who developed it.

Unlike many of the scientists he fought in WWII in Europe. He was present when we openned up a couple of the concentration camps and helped deal with the remaining humanitarian disaster. I could be wrong, but a trait of the very good scientists are more than willing to discover that they were mistaken in some belief, with the understanding that their extended knowledge of a subject matter will allow them to jump back into the process of expanding our understandings.

I remember listening to the discussions about the Vietnam War way back when, early on. At least, at the time, I knew to listen. ... and with an educator as a father, you also learn to read. I ask a question that my father could easily answer in a second and he would just point at a book. Read and findout for yourself.

Tim, what makes me feel pain about America today (maybe nothing has changed) is that (1) we don't listen with any notion that what we hear will change our opinions; (2) we are not intellectually curious--we don't seek out alternative approaches even for the purposes of disproving their validity; and (3) we no longer enjoy the art of civil discourse.

AND, off topic, it is great to read your posts. You constantly have me scurrying off to Google.

I voted for Gore in 2000 too, and I'd vote for him again. I think he's doing his party a disservice by refusing to run this time around. All joking about the Internet aside, I think he's more electable than Hillary. I'm a Democrat, but something about her has *always* rubbed me the wrong way.

No bar results yet. Boo. The tension builds...

This is one of the more interesting opinion pieces regarding the results of Our Executive Decider's policy on torture and our resultant standing in world opinion. Grrrrrr.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/10/11/torture_letter_to_hughes/

A bleary-eyed mornin' to all. I was up until the very wee hours, helping my youngest daughter cram for her first Calculus 101 quiz. It was a nice father-daughter bonding time, reminiscent of teaching her third-grade fractions. At least this time she didn't cry with frustration, or kvetch that the teacher doesn't like her.

Nonetheless, *I* haven't used d(y)/d(x) or the chain rule or the quotient rule in, what, 40 years. My brain muscles are now as cramped as my body muscles are from running.

Zzzzzz.....

PLS,

While I can understand why Hillary is running, my real problem with her candidacy is that, when we need Bill Clinton to take on a more active and vocal role as ex-President in the face of some sturringly shocking (one would have hoped) displays of misgovernment, we have him sitting on his hands and everything else because of Hillary. He should be standing in the line of fire on a national basis, but he is forced to limit (and I have no reason to think that he would have if she weren't running) the civil rights abuses in this nation.

One might be able to make the case that ex-Presidents are more important than current Presidents. They should be the moral guides that we all turn to for reality checks. They are no longer beholding to anyone or any donor or any party operative.

Carter is holding up his part of the bargain, but he is pretty much--within our borders--margainalized by the press.

I never met any Novel laureates in person, so I have nothing useful to contribute on that score. I once read James Clavell's "Noble House," if that counts for anything.

I don't have any problem with the Titan Chamber of Commerce calling their continent Xanadu. What I want to know is, do they call the wind Mariah?

I could probably get more work done if I didn't sit around all day and have these kinds of deep thoughts.

SCC: Nobel laureates

Mudge, I once almost choked myself trying to learn how to jump through a Nobel Laureate. It is much harder than skipping rope.

Yet another variant on the decider theme: deciding what to eat. I personally have no use for mustard. Bugs won't eat it, so I won't eat it. Salad mustard is so yellow that it must be toxic. I have to admit, though, I did consume copious amounts of purple ketchup one time to test the durability of the pigment in the digestive tract.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/dining/10pick.html?em&ex=1192334400&en=5dd8c17d1ba41949&ei=5087%0A

Did I understand Tim to say that his mother-in-law is Nobel laureate?

There's a joke in here somewhere about Nobel medals, noble gases, and Titan, but I just can't find it.

Joke: So these two Cesium atoms are walking down the street. Says the first Cesium atom, "oh my god! I think I'm missing an electron". Says the second, "are you sure?" Says the first, "I'm positive."

Just when I was feeling a little left out that I have not met a Nobel Laureate, Mudge reminds me that read Nobel House is just as good. I am redeemed - thank you!!

the Crafoord Prize is a sister of the Nobels. It rotates among astronomy and mathematics, geosciences, and biosciences. In January 2007, the 2006 and 2007 prizes were awarded in geosciences and biosciences. The winners got $500,000 each.

http://www.crafoordprize.se/

You'd think Wyomingites would chose delegates in a primary with a mail-in ballot to minimize driving, but I guess that would also minimize schmoozing. Can Joel go to check it out?

dmd, my close personal friend Dirk Struan says "No worries, lass."

dmd,
You are just fine in my book, and that is no bull, or even no bullmoose.

Colleges of the type my son is applying to like to brag about their Nobel winning professors that still teach freshman {insert field they won prize in}. Does that make them a good teacher, or is it just name dropping?

Good morning, all.

Need to do a little backboodling to catch up from yesterday.

Is it OK if I recite "Jabberwocky" to myself while I do so?

bc

No. You need your full powers of concentration on the backboodling.

I think I've boodled about the great spectroscopist Gerhard Herzberg, Nobel in Chemistry 1971. He was regularly giving talks (scientific and otherwise) to graduate student at the University of Ottawa in the mid-late 80s. He was himself in his 80's... Great individual, as interested in listening to us as he was to give individual advice. He's the man who entered Canada in the late 30's as a "watchmaker" because the immigration official didn't know what a physicist was.
I was in the same room as John Polanyi, Nobel Chemistry 1986. I just can't warm up to the man. He's done some good things (lots of nuke and chemical war protests in the 60's and 70's) but he often comes across as an arrogant b@stard.

The yellow color of traditional American mustard (I think it was invented by French's) comes from turmeric, the powdered underground stem of a plant in the ginger family. It's definitely good for you, as is the mustard itself. Think of mustard as broccoli seeds.

As for ginger, the really edible form is candied, from Australia.

Shriek, is that the Herzberg of the Herzberg building at Carleton?

The very same dmd. The man never retired, he kept working on significant work at the NRC Pure Physics dept.(now the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics) well into his 90s I believe. He had his entries at Carleton as well, quite a few of the professors in both chemistry and physics were his disciples.

dmd, yes.

I had classes in the building (lest there be confusion Law or History classes not Physics - although I am sure that is obvious). So I have a Nobel link :-)

Tumeric, shmoomeric. My name is jack and I'm a picky eater. Growing up, I ate pbj sandwiches, plain baloney, plain cheese, meat and bread, wouldn't eat broccoli until I discovered the wonders of cheese sauce in my 20's, gagged on cauliflower (even under duress from Dad, who insisted that I eat something of eveything on my plate, 'cause it's good manners), reeled at the sight of mayo or mustard. When the Y would take us to White Sox Park during day camp baloney with mustard sandwichwes would end up being tossed form the upper deck into the reserve seats, because that's what they deserved for being touched with extract of brassica.

Jack, much of your mustard problem comes from Canada. We are the second world producer and first exporter of mustard seeds, yellow, brown and oriental. G.S.Dunn, the largest mustard miller in the world, is in dmd's backyard in Hamilton ON. Nuke Canada and the mustard problem is almost gone.

Don, my mother-in-law is not a Nobel laureate, but she is famous enough within her field. Time for my annual mother-in-law's name-dropping: http://www.carolkaye.com/

Send her some business, folks. I'm sure she'll appreciate the traffic and the income.

Yellow Mustard Hot Dog Style

33.60% Vinegar
33.60% Water
27.06% Ground Yellow Mustard
0.94% Sugar
3.62% Salt
1.07% Turmeric
0.05% Pepper
0.01% Allspice
0.05% Cloves

tumeric must be one heck of a magical spice

So all, I arrived in Philadelphia yesterday afternoon, to be met by the very hospitable dbG. We've been out for dinner, have played with the dogs (a lot) and are now off to the beach. Cape May and Ocean City are on the itinerary. Doesn't that sound like a good day?

I'm sure we'll Boodle together later. Have a great day!

Jack please don't nuke Hamilton, trust me it has suffered enough already. Think Pittsburgh but not so picturesque :-)

I did not know we produced so much mustard.

Denizen, that's a great story. To think of all those names that you were one degree removed from when listening to Herzberg.

Fantastic. BTW, I feel that there may be a sense that i am a namedropping dope, but just meant to make the point that there are amazing people that we may have a chance to meet who have so much to offer us all. There are Jacka$$es as well as wonderful people.

In this world of celebrity and sports stars, scholars are so undervalued. Same with writers and poets and visual artists. Often, they are right there for us to meet.

There is ONE comment on my Trail item I posted today. Does anyone read that blog? I think I am starting to hate the Trail and I've only posted two items so far. Why don't I just go find a streetcorner and shout at passersby? Or better yet, a forest, and argue with the trees? Lordy.

Come on people, go over and check it out. I'll cross-post it here later this afternoon.

Joel, I think everyone became leery of The Trail after it forced those who posted there to post under their own proper names everywhere on the WaPo site, instead of under our chosen pseudonyms.

I wouldn't think of bringing harm to Canada except maybe Sudbury on account of that nasty smokestack. Ship all of the tumeric you want. Do your worst. I still won't eat it.

Among the rotating pictures of Big Al on the WaPo home page, I especially like the one in which his eyebrows are weirdly arched, as he reaches out his hand to manipulate the air. Surely, he is extending his control of the Force to increase the social consciousness of a Hummer driver. Or, maybe just to choke a disobedient underling.

Tim, thanks for MIL link. Fantastic! Great list of fellow performers. So many names that I haven't seen in a while. I spotted Clare Fischer amongst keyboards and now want to find my old albums in storage.

Glad you made it safely, Yoki. You'll love Cape May--dozens of "painted ladies" (Victorian houses, for you uninitiated). And I always liked Ocean City, NJ (very different from Ocean City, MD). When you come off the Garden State Parkway, ask dbG to make one lap around the traffic circle at Somers Point. Just off that circle (north side, IIRC) there used to be a nightclub called Tony Mart's, featured in the movie "Eddie and the Cruisers." It was where Bob Dylan first heard The Band, and only slightly less important, where I used to hang out way back when. The diner there on the circle is (or at least was) pretty good.

When you go through that whole area, recall that all of it is Mudge summer territory, as well as Error Flynn and dbG territory. And possibly some of omni's old stomping grounds, too. We'll all be with you in spirit (even Eddie--he's still "out there," you know).

I was just about to post a comment over on The Trail, really...

:-)

Boss, we're too busy here, sling'n mustard and dropin' names.

Can I tirade once again on the complete chaos of the WaPo front page design? It's impossible to find anything without clicking on everything in sight. The Trail is but one little quasi-site in a huge emporium. It needs to be spun off into it's own sub-site with a distinctive style and a lot less clutter.

Joel, I think you are being too hard on yourself regarding comments on The Trail. You must realize that the high number of comments here is freakishly unusual. Just keep writing good stuff and like wildebeest to a watering hole the eyeballs shall come.

Joel, you can take the high road, or you can approach it like Coulter, another book; another insult.

Someone above mentioned Ms. Coulter. Did you catch the interview she did recently where she said that the Jews needed to be "perfected"? I don't have a link handy, but the transcript was on AOL last night. Reinforces any who think she is a bleeping wingnut of the first order.

omni, can you compare mustard and catsup?

Again, regarding registration. You can register as many times as you want so long as you supply a unique email. Set up a registration with your handle. Do NOT check "remember me on this computer." Sign in. Post your comment. Sign out. 'tis easy.

ebnut, it "seems" to be part of her MO whenever a book comes out. The completely outrageous statement is sure to come out to get the press to cover her.

If Hallmark needed to come up with a line of insulting cards, they only need to tap into Coulter's mind to get their material.

In the mode of "Whenever a child says they don't believe in fairies, a fairy dies" ... everytime Coulter releases a new book, you could probably count on Media Matters hiring a new employee.

Casteroil, catsup in all its forms is an abomination except one: as an ingredient in Shrimp Cocktail Sauce. But if I had my druthers I would use chili sauce instead.

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

mix all ingredients and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

When I look at the ingredients for mustard and imagine making it my mouth waters. When I do the same for catsup my stomach turns.

I wasn't reading The Trail because I was over at the New Republic reading Steven Pinker's article on "swearing." (I think that's an imprecise term for profanity or offensive speech.) Good article, though:

"...another mystery about swearing: the bizarre number of different ways in which we swear. There is cathartic swearing, as when we slice our thumb along with the bagel. There are imprecations, as when we offer advice to someone who has cut us off in traffic. There are vulgar terms for everyday things and activities, as when Bess Truman was asked to get the president to say fertilizer instead of manure and she replied, "You have no idea how long it took me to get him to say manure." There are figures of speech that put obscene words to other uses, such as the barnyard epithet for insincerity, the army acronym snafu, and the gynecological-flagellative term for uxorial dominance. And then there are the adjective-like expletives that salt the speech and split the words of soldiers, teenagers, and Irish rock-stars."

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20071008&s=pinker100807

But I'm hitting the trail, now...

aren't your chili sauce and mustard recipes almost the same but swapping ground mustard and tomatoes or tomato paste?

C'mon, you can't go to Cape May without having some drinks on the boats at the Lobster House, can you?

Or one of those Schooner Dinners there, too.

Joel, I'll check out the Trail shortly...

bc

Joel, I echo what ScienceTim has said regarding username in the Trail. In your Two Cents if we have the option of using a name of our own choose instead of the registered name into the WaPo, I would feel much more easy in posing a response or to dare to opine.

Jack, any vegetable tastes good with Thai masaman curry sauce. The little cans of paste from Maesri are good; lite coconut milk seems to work as well as regular.

Username in the Trail is indeed a problem. Of course I could re-register under my Achenblog name.

RD-I wish it were as easy as you describe, and thought it was until I got caught in that Trail Hell not long ago. It took several reboots of the 'puter to purge my other ID.

Jack-you sound like a condimentaphobe. I grew up with a mom who will not eat mustard, mayonaise, catsup or salad dressing of any flavor. I grew up using all sparingly, if at all.

Mustard is a must though on hot dogs, as well as sweet pickle relish and onion. A good Vietnamese garlic paste is a tasty finale to the combo, but optional.

Ingredients in common: Water, vinegar, salt and sugar.

Mustard has five ingredients that catsup doesn't and catsup has 4 ingredients mustard doesn't.

Four things in common, nine things different.

How many ways do you really want this comparison broken down? I think I'm done.

frostbitten - it shouldn't be hard as long as you don't have the 'puter remember who you are. But, of course, it might also be a function of browser settings. Mine are set on seriously paranoid.

Howdy y'all. Here I've finally mastered the Achenblog (except for linking) (and that witty sciency part) and Joel wants me to visit somewhere ELSE? Gallivanting in the wilds of the Internet. Geez. As a friend said, I have a job and a child to support.

Ah well I can at least have a look, I suppose. My powers of concentration are weak right now. For instance, I just heard a radio person announce she was playing Vivaldi's Concerto for Three Goldfish. I find the mental images thus conjured so pleasing that I don't even want to know if I heard her correctly.

You know what, while taking a walk I realized the boodle has its own Nobel Prize winner. SonofCarl. If I remember correctly he was posted in Cyprius as a Blue Helmet. The UN Peacekeeping force got the Nobel Peace prize in 1988. There yo go.
Breathing real air is much better for the brain than the thinned-out recycled stuff we are allocated in cubicle world.

Ivansmom - that is the seldom played companion piece to Vivaldi's Third Opus of the Plecostomus. It's part of his famous ichthiology cycle.

Hey, what can I say. I love Vivaldi.

The lack of a disguise (and the lack of time to set one up) stops me from posting on The Trail, so I'll post here.

It would bite my butt something fierce if my thoughts and ideas weren't discussed and dissected on their merits, but merely held up as contrary to those of my spouse. Or worse, used as some kind of proof that I wasn't being consistent with past behavior...his past behavior.

Sheesh.

Hello All.

Drive-by boodling to say hi. I haven't had a chance to post for a while. Darn work!

Maybe next week I'll be more visible. Darn tax deadlines!

Have a good weekend and take care.

Mudge, you really cracked me up with your moose comments in the last boodle!

omni, ??? many chili sauce recipes resemble mustard, but w/ tomatoes. That's all. I was just pointing out why you may prefer the chili sauce version if at all.

Thanks for reminding me, RD. As I recall that Vivaldi cycle begins with the Octopus in E and ends with the ponderous Leviathan symphony.

I get it now, thanks Caster.

Another odd quirk is that news story comments are in reverse chronological order and blog comments are sequential. Very confusing.

Is it actually possible to feel depressed while listening to Vivaldi? Seriously, no matter how dreadful I might feel,it takes just a brief infusion of "The Four Seasons" to cheer me up. If only for a while. There are several songs that do this for me including Bach's Air and "Casino Royale."

Cheaper than Zoloft, fewer side effects, and doesn't freak out the men in black.

RD, I had the same experience last night driving home, sky was a lovely bright azure colour, and the sun was just heading into a big grey autumn cloud. On the Radio was Pachobels Canon, even though it was not one of the best versions I had ever heard it was lovely all the same. At the time I thought to myself of Bach's Air or Vivaldi and how perfect they would have been as well.

Dave Brubecks "Take Five" also works for me.

The Prodigy's "Firestarter" is a good pumper-upper for me. That and Phish's "You Enjoy Myself." Sounds like the soundtrack of an opening looooong-pan shot from a really good movie to me.

Yes, some pieces of music (including Vivaldi's) just revive the spirit. With some songs and pieces, the effect may depend on my mood at the time, but others always lift me up.

I'm taking notes. I might compile a CD called "music to break a blue mood."

I couldn't cook without mustard, especially dijon--as part of a glaze on grilled salmon, in baked beans (!), on glazed ham, in Steak Diane, in some salad dressings. And in many dishes you'd never quite know it was there. And of course on hot dogs, hamburgers, ham-and-swiss-on-rye, pastrami-on-rye, and pretzels--why, they'd all be inedible without a glop of one type or another of mustard. Even on a cheesesteak (though not mandatory like on the others). (A piping hot Aunt Annie's pretzel WITHOUT honey-mustard dip? Qu'elle domage!!!)

Yeah, I tend to agree, but there's a big difference between say, tabasco sauce with its vingeary base, and a fine chili sauce.

I refuse to touch tabasco sauce. It's lightly flavored vinegar. A fine vietnamese chili sauce, I would use over ketchup anyday.

I didn't use ketchup much growing up after I read how much salt it had. Now and then I use it on certain dishes, if I'm in the mood, but routinely eat fries plain without it.

Mustard, hot dogs, and sweet pickle relish are a culinary trinity. None of these ingredients tastes quite as good combined with anything else... except I'll admit a roast beef sandwich with mustard is very fine.

Turmeric is a wonderful spice. My friend routinely cooks Indian food with only chili, turmeric, and salt, and it turns out wonderful. Turmeric is very lightly flavored, slightly bitter and adds an "bottom" note to make dishes more robust in flavor-- helpful for vegetarian dishes. It doesn't taste like mustard.

It seems to have anti-inflammatory properties, and the heaviest turmeric eaters also have the lowest incidence of alzheimer's.
The yellow in turmeric is also the same kind of yellow in eggs-- lutein, which is key for your retinas' health and to prevent macular degeneration.

We can bicker about condiments, meanwhile Joel is worrying that his Trail post didn't cut the mustard.

As for me, I wonder how bad my take-off on Kubla Khan was...

(by the way, I liked Weremoose of Bangor... would have gone with "Big Moose of Bangor" tho).

Condimentiphobe. That's the condition I've been enduring fro the past half century. Duh. I think I have a boodle handle. Just don't shorten it to Condi.

In an effort to conserve resources (not sure which ones, tho), allow be to recycle a few Boodle topics:

I find it incredibly soothing to listen to the opening bars of Rush's "Xanadu," particularly the live version, while eating a hot dog with non-yellow mustard and relish, at the Balsams in Dixville Notch, N.H. (first official vote in national elections), watching a moose.

:-)

allow me, of course...

Please excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/11/nuclear.commentary/index.html

*SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*

Seven guards and one nurse, and all found not guilty of manslaughter in the death of a boy at a boot camp in Florida. So, I guess the boy killed himself, while these folks stood around and watched. One could almost feel the hurt through the television of African-Americans standing in the courtroom. And every one had to stand around and watch this all white jury parade out the courtroom, after declaring that this young man's life counted for absolutely nothing.

The lump in my throat will not go away.

RD add Moondance by Van Morrison, always makes me want to get up and dance, then I remember I am extremely rhythmically challenged so I just enjoyed the song.

Bertooch, I agree with your comment on the Trail (where I now refuse to comment until I get the handle thing figured out) that the working poor need more attention than the middle class. But I think a large part of *that* problem is the difficulty of campaigning on a platform aimed at poor people: nobody wants to hear it, even if it ahppens to be true (and "right" and the "proper thing to do," etc.). And clearly, Dems especially need to counteract the Bush record of buttkissing the rich. So that leaves Hillary with no place to go *except* the middle class. (And I'm not sure where the distinction between the "working poor" and the lower end of the "middle class" is anyway.) John Edwards has been (admirably) hammering away at the Haves-and-Have-Nots issue for quite a while -- and it's gotten him pretty much zero traction.

Say what you will about politicians saying "what they think people want to hear." There's still always the conundrum about getting oneself elected. I think there may have been a small window of time when an anti-poverty campaign had some play, but I think that window closed a long time ago. (I wish it weren't so, but I'm afraid -- IMHO -- it is.)

That whole SCHIP child's insurance thing is aimed at the working poor AND the middle class--and even so it's gonna be a barnyard fight to get 60 senators to override Bush's veto. That's a measure of how sad the state of affairs is. We may not be able to get less than 40 senators to support kid's health. If ever there was a home/motherhood/apple pie issue, that ought to be it.

//I never met any Novel laureates in person, so I have nothing useful to contribute on that score. I once read James Clavell's "Noble House," if that counts for anything.//

Mudge, I feel so silly sitting here, all by myself, laughing out loud. But I sure did!

Jack-you would do well in the frozen north. Mr. F is just now learning, after many years, that if a menu says a sandwich comes with "lettuce, tomato, and onion" there will be no sauce-like substance on it of any kind. Catsup may be on the table, but mayonaise or mustard will have to be fetched from the kitchen-and you must always specify real mayonaise not Miracle Whip.

The boodle induced a terrible craving for a ham and mustard sandwich. I am eating from a far out of date jar of Hot Maui Onion Mustard-basically a honey onion mustard with chili. I have duplicated this discontinued favorite from our days in Hawaii in the Frostbitten Test Kitchens but what's a few years in the "best if eaten by" scheme of things?

Cassandra, I am sorry to hear the outcome of that trial, from what I remember of that story it does not seem right.

I went into fully cloaked mode and went over to The Trail, but then I didn't have anything to say. The ID on the test message I previewed was ok though so I will be less timid about visiting.

Thank you, Nellie.

*faxing poor Scotty a couple of Tylenol, for his head*

Scotty, I like Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash--but reading that commentary of theirs I kept coming across problem after problem after error after bad argument. I don't blame you for headbanging.

*sigh, and a "There, there" pat on the shoulder*

I believe a videotape of the incident was used as evidence in the trial, at least they showed it a number of times on television.

An all-White jury can never bring themselves to find their peers guilty of killing a Black person, for the simple reason, and this really isn't that simple, that life (Black person) is not seen in the same context as their own. It is lesser. It is beneath. It's value is not the same. Bottom line, it's okay. And please, if they have badge, all bets are off.

In the videotape, these guards are not wimpy or frail looking dudes. And it just begs the question, if the guards and the nurse did not play a part in the killing of this boy, why didn't they at least help him? For me, that's just as bad as the other end of the equation. They certainly did not seem to be in a hurry when moving him to the rescue vehicle. Possibly they knew he was already dead?

I am afraid of death,really afraid of it. Pray all the time for courage, but the longer I live, living seems to be gaining on death. Scary.

'Mudge;

At least the comments below the article show people understand celebrity doesn't confer knowledge...

:-)

ScottyNuke, sadly, the debate is sometimes dominated by people who's major exposure to the issues is having watched "The China Syndrome."

Frosti: I miss the autumn upp North, and seeing the Northern Lights. Miracle Whip shouldn't be used as a substitute for mayonnaise. It's a salad dressing. Of course, italian dressing is used on hoagies, but that's ok only on Italian subs. Oddly enough, I'll have bleu cheese dressing with Buffalo wings. People that use ranch dressing with wings ought to be flogged. Right there at the table. I swear if ranch dressing was available at breakfast people would put it on their corn flakes. Thankfully my phobic tendancy wasn't passed to my children. They like their food ATW.

I am sorry for your pain Cassandra. I like to think that I would always do the right thing on a jury, regardless of race.

Jack isn't the dressing that comes with the wings for the carrots and celery not the wings?

Jack, could you come and explain to my mom that Miracle Whip is NOT mayonaise?

I've tried to tell her for over 5 years that Hellman's is REAL mayo. I developed a phobia of mayo from a child because of Miracle Whip. It took real mayo at Subway's to help me see the light.

I loathe miracle whip-- I have a thing about dill in anything but pickles.

On the essential matter of condiments.

To me Mayo is wasted calories. It adds nothing to the culinary experience. The same for its many doppelgangers.

Catsup I like about the same as Ketchup. Which is not that much.

Mustard is my special friend. The more intense the better. Chinese encouraged to apply.

Horseradish sauces, such as cocktail sauce, are a source of great passion. My indulgence in them is limited only by my concern for social niceties.

Wasabi - even more so.

Thai curry. Oh how I swoon for thee.

And, of course, I never met a source of capsicum I didn't love. Texas Pete's my bud.

dmd: . . . Thank you, that's a song that can take me away from all of this today! One of my favorites.

martooni: You and yours are in my thoughts and meditation/prayers--just tie another knot at the end of your rope and hang onto it--rainbows will appear. I know because a leprechaun told me so when I was a little girl. (Close relative to fairies, right?)

Cassandra: Just keep the eyes on the prize; anything truly valuable and real isn't achieved quickly. Lots of it just means we have to get more people to wake up and be involved. Caring is difficult--you are dealing with people after all, and lots of us resemble stubborn--fill in your own adjective--people.

Scottynuke . . . I know, I know, we just have to keep trying--even if we have already "been there and done that!"

Curmudgeon: I hope you are incorrect (me--thinking you perhaps could be incorrect--who has been alive/present down through the ages) but I understand your point, quite logical, practical, and very "nuts and bolts" in the best sort of way. Some of the idealists just have to keep dreaming.

kbertocci: Over there, on "The Trail" I posted under my real name, a few entries before yours today, as I did once before when the Boss so requesred, and I think you are "spot on."

"Getting more fearless" even though I'm posting from work and have no PC at home.

Right now, I have no time to fiddle with protecting my identity by signing in and out, etc., and if this keeps up I'll be approaching *immortal/ageless/hopelessly lost in time* status take your pick much sooner than I would like.

Dmd, it's for the wings to help douse the spiciness. As little or as much as you like.

Bleu cheese, bleech. Given the choice I'd have ranch.

Jack should never go to a certain pizza place in Idaho I know which serves over 50 types of pizza-- including pizzas made with ranch cheese instead of pizza cheese; cheescake pizza. I found the california ranch vegetarian pizza surprisingly delicious. Sunflower seeds, broccoli, ranch... ummm....

Cassandra said, "An all-White jury can never bring themselves to find their peers guilty of killing a Black person, for the simple reason, and this really isn't that simple, that life (Black person) is not seen in the same context as their own. It is lesser. It is beneath. It's value is not the same. Bottom line, it's okay."

Ouch, what a stinging indictment of an entire race of people. And I thought we were supposed to be working toward a prejudice-free world. Think what you will about this case or that one, and I have no details about the one you reference, but I resent your idea that all white people are out to get black people and to protect our own. That said, no jury, if it is truly "of our peers", should ever be made up of only one race, creed or color.

RD, you must have better-protected olfactory bulbs than I have. I can down chili, but I can't take horseradish straight at ALL... it causes severe pain in my nose for the next 5 minutes.

I'll just pass the wasbai to you, then.

I don't really know. I think that the veggies are there because the sugars counter the capsicum RD referred to. I've always seen the wings get dunked. Consider that the recipe originated somewhere in western NYS, very possibly in a bar, and correlate that with a higher than average consumptin at the functions at which wings are served and, Voila! Someone picked up a wing, thought it was a carrot and dunked in in the bleu cheese.

I tend to agree with Gomer on that one. Maybe it's true in your town, but it's not true everywhere.

I guess at some point we all will get to that place where living is more frightening than death. And death may become the very thing we embrace. It may become our friend. As one gets older, the body becomes weaker, and this is not something that can be hid. Older people are seen as easy prey. When you look at it really close, those on both end of the spectrum are weak and easy prey, children and old people.

I've seen cancer patients in so much pain, they were literally begging God to let them die. When I was a child, there weren't that many pain medications on the market, and the ones that were available, many of my people could not afford them. So they suffered, and suffered real bad. My great-great grandmother was in so much pain when she died, her daughter could not sit in the same room with her. There wasn't a hospice and the hospital sent us home to die.

I've probably killed the boodle. I just don't take some stuff well, maybe be quiet.

Yoki, have a good time and enjoy yourself. You too, dbg.

Scotty, I saw that CNN thing, and I feel for you, brother.

Posted on the Trail, FWIW.

bc

Mmmmmmmm, wasabi... *wiping chin* :-)

It's my opinion that you eat the wings as they are with out the dressing and if you need to cool down you use the celery or carrot as a dressing delivery mechanism. But I'm also of the opinion that if you can't handle the heat, you'd better stay out of Buffalo. Another opinion is Buffalo style wings should never be breaded, blech. On a more personal note I like my wings suicide style +3:1 Burn baby burn

Could be a border thing Jack, Wings always come with carrots and celery and "sauce", not sure I have ever seen wings dipped.

Cassandra it is possible the jury did not consider the life any lesser but merely that on the charges they had to decide on could not find them defendants guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That does not make it right that they go free, I would think finding them guilty on assault would not be difficult if the jury had that opportunity.

Can they be tried again on lesser charges?

*donning my bus driver's hat and running to ferry the MS band kids*

Wilbrod - you refer to this nasal pain as if it is somehow, you know a bad thing.

Yes, when it comes to strong flavors I can be a bit of a masochist. I dunno. I guess I just groove on the intensity.

Gomer, I concede your point, yet it is rare to find the opposite of what happened today in Florida. And I'm doing what those folks were doing probably, lumping it all together. Every one is not like that, and I've experienced so much of that here on the boodle. Yet there is still much to be done, so very much. And much of that work here in the South. It is all over, but it just seems to be entrenched here, and perhaps that is because so much of the history is here.

That is the very thing that we all have to work on, not lumping every one in the same box. I do it, and we all, at some point do it. And it's hard not to when you see an all-White jury doing these kinds of things. We will never let it go, we just move on from one thing to another, doing what we do, the same way, the same outcome. Somewhere it has to stop. I try, I really do, but sometimes the hurt is so great, so deep, that it touches a hurt already there from somewhere long ago, and I am back at square one. I am being honest, and in being honest, I am naked, but I never cared for a lot of clothes anyway.

Of course, I met my capsicum Waterloo with Buffalo Wings. An alleged friend made some with these peppers called "Habaneros." I should have been worried when the sauce was orange.

dmd, I've seen wings dipped and that has awlays confused me. I mean why not just order the Chicken Caesar Salad

Habanero peppers: 200,000 and 300,000 Scoville units
Cayenne peppers: 40,000 to 90,000 Scoville units

Actually, I once raised Habaneros. I referred to it as the garden of pain.

RD, being the pointy-head(no offense intended) that you are, I would never think that of you. I believe you would be looking for facts, evidence, etc.

You Wings folks might find the Wikipedia entry interesting (as I did): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_wings

Cassandra, I can certainly understand where you're coming from, and I think what you said about all-white juries certainly used to be quite true, at least in your region of the country. And even now, in certain places and in certain cases, it might have some truth to it. I confess I don't know anything about the Florida case, so don't have an opinion one way or the other. (And whoever said there's no excuse for an "all-white" jury in any place but, say, North Dakota, in this day and age is quite right.)

But I know where you're coming from, and in if I was in your shoes, I'd probably agree with you.

I remember years ago, about 1987 or so, a friend and I going out for drinks and insisting we go to hooters. The wings then came mild,medium,hot or TMI (Three Mile Island). I got the TMI and the waitress couldn't believe it. Now it seems they've added three more since then: 911,cajun and samorai.

First time in SoCal I stopped into specifically get their wings. The bartender looked at me funny when I said I wanted TMI wings. I clarified by saying the hottest Buffalo style wings you got. They served breaded fried chicken wings drowned in tobasco sauce. It was disgusting. Turns out not all chains are the same I guess...

The only time I've had better than TMI was when I made them my self on the grill.

Off to Philly, have a great weekend all.

oh, and technically I didn't really do Buffalo style as I used ground cayenne pepper but no butter. But they were closer to Buffalo style than that SoCal carp.

Oops, time for me to run for the train, then a skip for the bus and couple of hops home.

Have a great time, dmd, and pass my regards to everybody.

RD, for me, it's 9 out of a scale of 10, even with cocktail sauce that's just a bit short on the ketchup. It's not like chili pain at all. Haberneros are easier for me to eat than horseradish.

Interestingly, I just found out horseradish IS contraindicted for my health conditions. I'm not sure why yet.

Capsicum, I easily build up immunity to. At one point I was eating curry like it was water, so I detoxed until I could once again appreciate the bite of chili. By now I may have detoxed enough that my palate is wussy.

By the way, Researchers at M.I.T. claim that the enzyme "horseradish peroxidase" removes a number of pollutants from waste water.

It's been used medically to help treat many conditions, as well as being used as an early form of ben-gay by the Greeks.

However, it is contraindicted for many health issues, and can be poisonous in excess.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/horseradish-herbal-remedies1.htm

Speaking of pain, TRPA1 is activated by horseradish. Congential defect in this can lead to serious pain insensitivity and deafness.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050525155140.htm

Not sure if we've already done this quiz:

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/elementary/?page=Quiz14&Quizid=14>1=10488

9/11

Couldn't recall how long the Articles of Confederation lasted...

:-)

Wilbrod - That's interesting about you and the horseradish. Even the straight ground-up "Amish Style" stuff does little more to my than clear my sinuses. It is entirely possible that I simply can't taste certain food chemicals as much as do some folks. Sort of like why I love Brussel's sprouts while my wife considers them a violation of international law.

dmd, have a great time, and in answer to your question about a lesser charge, I'm not sure about that. And thank you. Tell every one hello, and have a ball.

Cassandra - Why yes, I am terribly proud of my pointy head. Hope the weekend brings you something to smile about.

Indeed, a great weekend to everyone.

Hooray! I'm enttitled to citizenship. 11/11.

RD, I had to laugh, and thank you for that, at your reference about brussel sprouts. I like them too, and your wife's description of them is funny.

11/11 on the Citizenship test

I am a a buffalo wing dipper and my wife is a celery stick dipper. If we are sharing a bleu cheese she will make me spoon it onto the wings so that the hot sauce does not contaminate the bleu cheese.

Only bleu cheese can be served with Buffalo wings. Chicken fingers and other breaded poppers can be served with ranch or marinara.

I invoke Weingartenian absolutism on these rules.

The g-girl is gone. On her way to see her mother. I'm out of here. Have to run on an errand. Have a great weekend folks. And yes, RD, the fact that I am here alone will make me smile. I can do absolutely nothing. And for this tired frame, that sounds fabulous.

I go for a walk and come back to find such spicy chat!

11/11 on the quiz. I think we may have done this one before.

Sounds like the prosecutor didn't do an adequate job, Cassandra. There is such a thing as district attorney incompetence. That's no excuse, of course.

You folks have a good time in Philadelphia!

Cassandra-

I meant no offense, and I am certain that your american experience has taken many different roads from mine. The pervasive racism of the south is indisputable, but there are those of us out here trying to make it better.

To the boodle, I like wasabi, especially when the sushi chef hides some under a piece of sushi.

Wasabi surprise!

I like brussel sprouts-- properly done. Broccoli, mustard, etc. is fine.

I am also prone to olfactory migraines and pain from other causes, so maybe there's something else going on for me.

By the way, TRPA1 is not triggered by capsicum-- chili trigger TRPV1 (aka V1) channels instead, which detect heat and pain, hence the feeling of heat and pain.

Menthol (mouthwash or ben-gay) trigger the TRPM8 channel, which control cold and pain sensation.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530132405.htm

Of course, we don't know how those receptors are heat-sensitive; we do know they work to gate various ions such as magnesium or calcium, and they have a certain complex configuration in the cell membrane that is like a big spring or accordion.

It's easy, looking at a diagram to visualize if the cell was warmer, the capiscum receptors might stretch, opening up to gate more ions in, and that a capsicum molecule may well "jimmy" the channel open as well.

Pain is still not well understood, but dying cells explode and often release ions and other factors in the extracellular membrane. This is thought to perhaps activate pain receptors in healthy cells.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transient_receptor_potential

Thus it is possible a lower overall body temperature would by nature make TPRMV1 receptors less sensitive (because of an altered matrix), and the cold receptors thus more sensitive.

I don't know what affects TPRA1, if anything. I still don't know if there's anything that neutralizes horseradish. Fat?

From the Tallahassee Democrat:

"Six jurors cleared the seven former Bay County juvenile boot camp drill instructors and a camp nurse not responsible for the 14-year-old boy's death. They were seen on a video kicking, kneeing and punching the boy, but the defense proved he died from a benign blood disorder, sickle-cell trait, not by the guards' actions.

"The case has been racially charged since five of the defendants were white, two black and one Asian.

"The prosecution had one medical examiner testify Anderson died from suffocation, while another disagreed and said the boy died from lack of oxygen."

I have no idea how any prosecutor let an all-white jury get seated, but the defendants clearly had the better lawyers.

Maryland had a series of youth offender boot camps. I'm not sure why treatment that would raise eyebrows at Gitmo is considered therapeutic on minors. Clearly boot camp style centers for youthful offenders do more harm than good.

As a teacher of "bad kids" in alternative programs, and veteran, I've always felt boot camp style programs were both misguided and misnamed. First of all, boot camp is not about humiliation, fear, or even all that intense a physical work out. It is about team building and working toward a common goal. When a soldier leaves basic training he/she then goes on to further training and a unit which continues to build on good things basic started. Periodic scandals (and our current goat rope) aside, this works pretty well and I believe a big reason it does is because it is just the first 8 weeks of a long period of training and support. Juvenile "boot camps" on the other hand are supposed to change a kid's outlook in a short period without replacing the former motivation to act badly with a greater goal. I've always been concerned that at best they just give already charismatic thugs some additional leadership skills, at worst they kill kids.

Mudge-even a North Dakota jury should include an American Indian or Latino.

Speaking of race, in our fair city we seem to be making headway in doing just that, I mean speaking about race. Our racial divide is between American Indians and whites, is a mile wide and a mile deep, and very painful. However, the chair of the Local Indian Council and I have made crossing the divide an explicit part of our respective way of doing business. It has taken us a solid year+ but we are finding others who are tired of it and ready to do something about it. I expect it will take us another year+ for some influential folks in our area to even acknowledge the problem. They have a big surprise coming if they think we're just going to give up.

Good for you, Frosti! And good luck with your endeavors.

SciTim, you might want to read the following--it is poorly written, but it gets the point across--and then consider again WAPO's pictures of Al Gore.

http://www.dailyhowler.com/

Note that there is also a front-page article questioning the information presented in "An Inconvenient Truth". There are unrelenting penalties for not drinking the kool-aid, not joining the pod-people, when up is down and right is wrong.

Cassandra, continue to believe in the songs of innocence, even as we live the songs of experience. You know where solace lies; use it.

For the rest of you: "Laughing Song"

When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;

When the meadows laugh with lively green,
And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene,
When Mary and Susan and Emily
With their sweet round mouths sing "Ha, ha he!"

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread:
Come live, and be merry, and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of "Ha, ha, he!"

Hah! And you thought Cass was depressed!

Who knows if the prosecution sunk the case by murder as opposed to manslaughter? I say guilty of manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Habaneros have a distinctive and delicious flavor but that flavor does not go well with many foods. There is at least one habanero mustard on the specialty market and it is really, truly delicious, as well as hot as hot can be. On sausages one approaches Nirvana, if heat be appreciated.

Chicken barbecue sauces also go with the flavor of habanero. I think habanero is totally wrong on beef.

Original Tabasco is the only hot sauce I know of aged in oak barrels and it indeed has a strong taste of white oak. It should be used only if this flavor is sympathetic to the rest of the dish.

I'm starting to think that anything commonly eaten with ketchup or mustard would, if dipped in a sauce of vinegar, salt, sugar, and onion powder, taste just as good.

And whatever happened to Dixville Notch?

The "Fact Checker" column on the WaPo home page spells out the 9 "errors". There is one on which I disagree with the judge (about the inundation of Pacific atolls), and 3 (I think) on which I would judge Gore's statement to be somewhat exaggerated but within the reasonable bounds of compelling speech. That leaves 5 in dispute. I agree with the judge that they are a bit overstated. Unfortunately, this puts us in this position in which childish disputants will find a lone error sticking up from an ocean of accuracy and claim that the lone error invalidates all the rest.

Tim, I looked at that column today (the fact checker). All I can say is that what we are now, this year, finding as alarming, as I am told, would not have been concieved of last year.

I went to a leadership camp that was run boot-camp style-- no verbal abuse, just calisthenics and a grinding schedule. The worst was that I was sleep-deprived for nearly a month, which I do think triggered my autoimmune disorder. I slept for a month afterwards. We had a camper go home after she got back spasms on a swimming test. Another came in already depressed, but she seemed to get into the camp as best as she could.

Sickle cell trait is NOT inherently lethal.
http://sickle.bwh.harvard.edu/sickle_trait.html

However, I would like to see more people understanding that teenagers have physical needs that won't be solved by yelling at them. A sulky, ill-attituded kid may be depressed, sick, or hurt.

I do believe the "whip them in shape mentality" as Frostbitten says, leads to thuggery rather than honest leadership. None of us went there because we were considered "problem kids"-- but rather, we were there to learn some things about leadership and survival.

Even then, it could have been done better. I completely believe that. My parents weren't pleased with some of the things that weren't disclosed to them as part of the camp program.

If more parents demanded full disclosure from those programs, maybe camps would improve.

In any case, dying from a disablity that was aggravated by the actions of a camp that were intended to take care of the child's welfare is reprehensible. Under normal circumstances, this child would not have died if he was at home and allowed to back off from overexertion and save face as well.

Teens are very vulnerable to peer pressure. All it takes is a desire to be one of the group.

If the camp lacked full knowledge of the disability, that's one thing. Yet, I could still see a lawsuit if the answer to the following questions were "no": Did the camp have a nurse? Was there any meaningful oversight of the children's health and safety? Was there procedures in place for a teenager to get help immediately if he was overheating?

However it could be that nobody knew he had sickle cell trait. A few deaths have occured in Air Force training in otherwise apparently healthy men, according to this... this is how sickle cell trait was first found to put youths at risk of death.

"The risk of exercise-related death for sickle cell trait was 28-fold." But that was 41 exercise-induced deaths in 37,300 recruits, or around 1 in 3,000.

It's still not common, and mortality risk actually increases with age, so for a younger person, the risk would be lower. The calculated risk was 1 death per 60 to 90,000 person-hours of exercise.

This is much higher than for middle-aged distance runners, but not certain.

"Non-sudden exertional heat illness deaths and idiopathic sudden death each accounted for about one-third of Exercise-related death."
In other words, watching exercise in hot weather would cut risk by at least 1/3.

Moreso, it was observed in their survey that at least two-thirds of all sudden deaths occured under conditions of high risk for extreme heat illness... even if it was under temperatures considered safe enough (hot summer day, but early morning when cooler).

They tested this hypothesis about heat by implementing new protocols. The preliminary study showed that the control group had the same death rate as predicted, while the new, more cautious protocols resulted in zero sudden exercise-related deaths... down from a high of 15.

In short, there is no excuse for blaming an hidden genetic disorder for a sudden death.

Here's what it said:
"Important risk factors for Extreme heat illness which have been associated with ERD (exercise-related death) of young adults with sickle cell trait include inadequate hydration, environmental heat stress with a WBGT of at least 75ûF during the preceding 24 hours (18), heat retaining clothing, sustained heroic effort above customary activity, incomplete acclimation to heat, obesity with poor exercise fitness (22), inadequate sleep, and delay in recognition and treatment of EHI."

All factors which a "vigorous boot camp" can easily involve-- and also prevent. Teenagers need 10 hours of sleep a night, not less than 8.

I can see it was probably luck my camp didn't have such a death on its hands. Although they did have a nurse who was very watchful for signs of heat-caused illness, and we didn't exercise in excess heat at all-- morning temps were 60 degrees, ample hydration was not always available at hand, and sleep was in short supply, and exercise was quickly ramped up.

I don't think it was overt murder or manslaughter, but if I was the boy's family, sue the rectums off the boot camp designers and runners... and make sure everybody running a boot camp has awareness of this.

There are other ways to build a positive experience for an surly teen than exercising or overheating them.

Wow, I can't believe I forgot the URL I was summarizing from.
http://sickle.bwh.harvard.edu/sickle_trait.html

And yes, the boy could have overheated from the assault in a hot room.

A german shepherd once died from being alpha rolled and pinned down for a hour-- the poor dog overheated because of the high level of adrenaline and fear aggression. He was muzzled so he couldn't pant.
Guess what, the trainer was ordered in to "fix" the dog's aggression caused by the family basically tying the dog up and not socializing the dog in the first place. The family was upset-- and adopted another german shepherd puppy. The trainer was upset about it... but blamed the dog for being fear aggressive, etc.

Her words made her choice all the more inexcusable to me. The case didn't go to trial.

http://dogblog.dogster.com/2006/07/20/owner-says-dog-exorcised-to-death

One wonders if the family learned from the experience to say, TRAIN and socialize their new puppy?

Likewise... RAISE your kids. A boot camp won't fix mistakes overnight. If anybody is promoting a technique to "fix a kid" they MUST take responsibility for damages and deaths caused by that technique or program that would not have occured otherwise.

Congress held hearings about the youth "boot camps" last week. My heart goes out to families that have lost a child in that way - can you imagine the guilt they must feel for putting their child through such a thing? I bet it weighs on the counselors, or whatever they're called, too - even if they're acquitted, it cannot be an easy thing to deal with the rest of your life.

Tim, I have to say that knowing Carol Kaye ups your "cool" quotient by magnitudes. As if it wasn't already way up there because you're an astrophysicist *and* a storyteller!

Are there breadcrumbs to the Trail?

I'm just back from viewing George Clooney's (and others)film Michael Clayton. Damn the lack of italics! It's good to see a grown up movie. I enjoyed it (especially George).

Cassandra and others, if you haven't read Ernest Gaines A Lesson Before Dying, you should. It's great and illuminating and affirmative.

Very tired from a long week, so here are a few waves:

RD, I, too, am in the fondness-for-brussels-sprouts club. Shall we share call a meeting, sharing a steamer or two with drawn butter, white pepper and a soupcon of horseradish?

Cassandra, I feel very sad about that boy: the circumstances do seem bad from the event to the trial outcome. God bless his family in this ordeal of grief, loss, and wild pain.

Frosti -- glad on what you say. The crucible I grew up in included tribal and white people. I did not see a black person besides Charley Pride until I was 19 years old. The tribal stories have not been told, and yet they are deeply ingrained in our past and present. Whenever white people consider their pedigree and history against the shame of slavery, I know that my family did not live here yet. So that is not my personal inventory of collective ancestral conscience. HOWEVER, my immigrant family beginning in 1867 and peaking in 1882-1890 homesteaded out west on land that was primarily Lakota holdings. So, I know that my family benefits still from the largest "takings" of land by crook, deceit and conceit, sleight-of-hand, and the misunderstood banality of evil within all of us.

Frosti, I think it's wonderful the things you are doing to close that gap. It takes guts and determination, and you certainly don't seem to lack either.

Gomer, not offended. We have to talk, and talk honest. If we offend, we apologize, but we keep talking. Honest conversation can hurt, on both sides, but anything less isn't worth the air needed to blow it out. Racism is still very much a part of the American experience. It's not as bad as it has been, but there is certainly room for improvement. The generation coming up will probably do better than old timers like me. When I decided to go back to school while my children were in school, that was my first experience going to school with a mixed population. It was so hard for me. And not because of the young people, but because of me. Here I was going to school with children wherein more than likely I had worked for their grandparents or maybe their parents cleaning their homes or working in their fields. For me, it felt odd and uncomfortable because of my history. I went to segregated schools and there was a different feel to that experience.

I haven't talked on the boodle at night in a long time. I am so sleepy, boodle. I think it is night, night for me. I hope all of you have a good weekend, and enjoy your families, get some rest, and last, but not least, give God some of your time.

Where is Loomis? And martooni? Slyness, are you a race fan? I never could get into that. Looking at cars going around in a circle just does not do it for me.

I am glad Al Gore encouraged us to think about global warming and the environment. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing. I'm pretty sure those folks that are making money will continue to make money, even while the planet burns someone will make a profit. If they can do it in war and killing, I'm pretty sure it can be done in stagnant and polluted air. Now if the planet starts to flood and water is every where, all bets are off.

I wish I could tell a joke, so you folks don't think I'm gloom and doom all the time. I know some of you are saying, get that woman some meds. I am not gifted with the jokes. I did tell a joke the other morning about myself. You know the one about the elephant with the robe on? I didn't get one hit, not one. Hey, if I can't laugh at myself sometimes, meds wouldn't help. I would need shock treatment!

Sweet dreams, boodle. Now if I can just slide off this chair, and slide in my bed. Doesn't look promising.

Cassandra, thank you for that wonderful post. I was raised in a region without many black people. I will not say it was white, because it contained many Asians and American Indians. This includes my first great love, a girl of Filipino extraction to whom I would have gladly devoted my life. Of course, we were seven at the time. But I digress.

I was raised on a steady diet of Sidney Poitier movies and the "black saint" image prevalent in the 60s and 70s. I developed an idealized version of black people, few of whom I actually met until I was in college. I worked as a tutor for the black student union, as I did as a graduate student.

I gradually began to develop a realistic picture of black people. I began to see them as individuals. Some good. Some not. The hardest thing for me to do was to dislike a black person and realize that it wasn't because he was black, but because he was a jerk who happened to be black.

And of course, when I moved to the multiracial world that is Northern Virginia, the whole notion of a universal black and white identity faded.

And today, as difficult as it may be to believe, I sometimes fail to notice anymore who is black and who is white. I see it, of course, but it no longer seems significant compared to other features.

Such as the content of their character.

I just hope they judge me the same way.

CP - oh you temptress you. Drawn Butter. White pepper. Horseradish.

I, I, I feel so faint.

I think I'm going to have to reluctantly join the "club" a couple others of you on the Boodle are going through: impending deaths in the family.

When we were driving home from Martha's Vineyard last week, we had intended to stop in Pennsylvania and visit my aunt (father's side, his younger sister), who is 92. She lives with her youngest son, my cousin Tom. When we called to say we'd like to stop by, we learned that Tom was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, metastasized. At the last minute, Tom's wife called and said he wasn't feeling good and asked if we could postpone the visit. So we did.

When I got home tonight there was a phone call from my Uncle Marty (mother's side, her younger brother). He's 80, and called to say he has lung cancer caused by asbestos, and (though he didn't say it) doesn't have long to live--he's already on Tylenol III with codeine, etc., and getting hospice care. We had a nice long talk, and we're going to go up and visit him a week from tomorrow. His wife (who is 85) has had a pacemaker for the past 11 years, and the battery has run out; she's having a new one put in on Monday.

So it's a race to see who dies first: my cousin on one side of the family (who doesn't want to die), or my uncle on the other side (who is happy and at peace and says he's quite ready to go), with my 92-year-old aunt and my uncle's 85-year-old wife also in the running after the first two go.

Exyhaustion does not begin to describe. Husband and I off the plane late this afternoon from San Diego/Oceanside. Highlight of this return flight was having Eric Swansson (with two s's), 81, born on July 4, 1926 (and proud of it) seated to my right. He formerly was a payload integration engineer with Rockwell and worked on the first manned space flight to the moon (1969, Apollo 11).

Of spreading my mother's ashes at sea? I hate to say this, but the ocean motion caused much commotion--to my husband's stomach.

Oh Mudge, how difficult it mus be to have so many so close to the end. Those I have lost have always been considerate enough to spread themselves out. But I am confident you will find the strength to weather these losses. I get the feeling you can be pretty darn tough when needed.

About socializing dogs, which Wilbrod spoke of earlier: While walking My Little Poodle©, a woman walked down to us with two of those naked Chinese dogs whose full name escapes me. They wanted to meet my dog. We let the dogs meet. One of the Chinese dogs snapped right in the face of My Little Poodle©, causing him such distress that he fell on to his back. Flat. Or sort of flat, all his feet were in the air.

Chinese dog owner says, "*My* dogs aren't socialized."

Oh, really? I never would have noticed!

Off to bed for me. On the morrow we are taking part in the annual community yard sale. It is scheduled to start at 8AM, although I suspect the "early birds" are parked out in front even now.

Welcome back, Loomis.

Red Sox Win!!!!

although it was scary at the end.

RD... I'm