In commemoration of the two year anniversary of the anti-christ stealing his second election

So this whole John Kerry flap. Notwithstanding the fact that what he said is exactly correct...does anyone now doubt that he’s a secret Republican? I mean really. Could he have chosen a more muddled, wrong-spirited way to say something? Not to mention the timing. The one thing the Dems had going for them was the war. That’s it. (Well, the pedophiles and overt racists in Florida helped too. But you know what I mean.) And now the GOP has this stupid sound-bite to play over and over, distracting attention from the real issues about the war...seriously, Kerry is a Republican.

But back to what he said. It’s no secret that the armed forces are peopled by the poor and under-educated. Well, strike that: the people who are on the front lines fighting the actual hand-to-hand (for lack of a better phrase) are the poor and undereducated. There are of course others, working the computers, listening to chatter in Arabic and monitoring web sites, or else they’re making $10G a month as private contractors. But isn’t it a pretty well-known fact that the vast majority of the people who actually make up the armed forces are there because they’re poor and undereducated? Isn’t that the whole point? That’s how they sell the fucking program, for god’s sakes! "Need to learn a marketable skill? Can't afford college? We can help!"

Of course, nobody likes to be overtly told they’re stupid trash, especially by a Senator from New England. But whatever. Anyone who thinks the Democrats are going to save this country, fix the problem in Iraq, stop recruiting poor people into the armed forces...well, I respectfully disagree. As my esteemed brother likes to say, the Democratic party is where social movements go to die. Nope, what we need is a complete overhaul. I for one nominate Bill and Melinda Gates as the new presidents of everything.

What else is going on. Ah, this is fun:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6105412.stm

More good news for alcoholics! Here’s the line that really gets me:

“They discovered the mice given resveratrol alongside their food...showed decreased glucose levels, healthier hearts and liver tissue, and better motor function compared with the mice on the same diet but without the supplement.”

So now drinking is good for your liver? And motor functions, for god’s sakes? So, like, you should be able to drink a bunch of red wine and, say, go for a drive or something? I believe the appropriate phrase is "tell it to the judge."

It’s been a quiet week. Sunday a bunch of us went to Park Guell, that big park on the “mountain” (snicker) in the middle of town. It hasn’t rained here in awhile so the air quality sucks, but you could still see the whole city stretched out on all sides. I took some hazy pictures. It was a nice hike up the “mountain” (guffaw), and there was a lot Gaudi sculptures up there, too. I know, big surprise, huh? Gaudi in Barcelona??? No WAY. If I may paraphrase the great Jonathan Richman, Gaudi loved color and he let it show. His sculptures have twice the colors other sculptures have. Anyone know the etymology of the word “gaudy”? I think it might derive from “Gaudi.”

Actually, there's a rumor/urban legend that Gaudi was color-blind, and only did his best work at the end of his career with a young apprentice...check out the crazy lizard at Park Guell and it's not hard to believe.

Watched the Champions League futbol match between Chelsea and Barcelona the other night, that was fun. As you may recall, this was the first match-up I attended the week I got here, too. Chelsea won that one in London, and the rematch was here. A very important game for many reasons. Exceedingly chippy. The ref lost control early. Good times. There were some amazing plays, though, including the prettiest goal you're ever likely to see. It gets better every time I watch it.

Anyways, the game ended in a draw when Drogba equalized in the sixth minute of extra time. That's a helluva lot, by the way. And then the ref inexplicably called time at the 5:19 mark. Very odd. So, what this means is that, since I got here, FC Barca has lost twice and drawn at home to their two biggest rivals, Chelsea and Real Madrid. A little secret: I'm rooting against Barca. I mean, if I moved to Boston I wouldn't suddenly become a Red Sox fan, right? I'm funny like that. I will almost invariably go against the popular opinion. I'm sure if I moved to London instead I'd now be rooting for Barca. But seeing as how I'm here, I naturally tend towards the side that nobody in the room is rooting for. I am actually beginning to like Chelsea...the Russian mafia ties are just the icing on the cake. They're like an all-star team.

Yesterday was a bank holiday here. I tell ya, if you think it sucks when you can’t go the bank in the states on bank holidays...imagine if you couldn’t go the grocery store. Or anywhere else for that matter. It’s actually kind of refreshing, to tell the truth. Not quite so materialistic; the need to buy anything you want at any time you want. Not that they’re not getting the idea, of course. I went for a wander yesterday and most everywhere was closed...but I’m sure if I went to some of the bigger shopping malls I could have gotten a cell phone and a Big Mac. You know what? Damn. I walked by a Burger King the other day and completely forgot to check if they had a Royale con Queso. I’ll do some research and get back to you on that one.

Hahaha, check it out:

[Middle English gaudi, gaud, prank, trick, possibly from Old French gaudie, merriment.]

Gaudy really does derive from Gaudi. Suh-weeeeet...