The calls for Rumsfeld's resignation seem to be nearing the point of critical mass. i'm as yet undecided on the issue. i've always liked the guy, and i think he's been a great Secretary of Defense. i think it's unfair to blame him for what happened at Abu Ghraib, yet i understand the doctrine of accountability. The demand that he resign is mainly hardball "gotcha" politics, in my view.

Yet i don't see the demands lessening any time soon. Rummy did not make friends among the uniformed elite, with his abrasive management style. i doubt they'd go to bat for him. The left is salivating at the chance to force a resignation, because they so desperately want to recapture the power they think they had back in the days of Vietnam.

Ideally, i'd like to see Rumsfeld stay, but CENTCOM go, along with a lot of the top brass over in Iraq. Sacrificial lambs? Maybe, but i think there's plenty of legitimate criticism regarding the post "end of major combat" phase, which would justify an overhaul of the leadership now. Often in war -- and you saw this in WWII a lot -- turnover at the top is the only way to get younger, more effective officers into command positions.

However, i'm afraid that the chant "Rumsfeld must go" may get so loud that politically, Bush may have no choice but to get rid of him. Unfair as i think that would be, it might also be the best thing for our country.

Posted by: annika at 12:04 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Trying to get her living situation in order. Trying to find a roommate and an apartment by long distance. Trying to spend the last few weeks of quality time with family, best friend, cute/sad boyfriend, without crying all the time. Trying to figure out how i'm going to afford everything: rent, food, books (text, horn, fiction, etc.), beer, DVDs, gasoline. Deciding whether to continue working, blogging, exercising, smoking, dancing, reading, writing, shopping, etc.

Posted by: annika at 11:33 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Here's a bit of good news out of LAX, if you can believe that. Six French journalists were arrested and deported when they tried to enter the country to cover a trade show.

Six is definitely a good start. Now, how quickly can we round up the rest of the journalists and Frenchies and kick them out too?

Posted by: annika at 11:42 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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"Here is the most powerful guy in the world, and he wants to make sure I'm safe."

Via Blogs for Bush.

Posted by: annika at 09:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A lot of people don't realize that i was originally cast for the role of Phoebe in the very first Friends pilot episode. Yes, it's true. They saw me in my high school production of Camelot, and apparently thought i'd be great for the dumb blonde part.

Another little known fact is that the series was originally set in Cancun. This was simply an excuse to keep us all in bathing suits, for marketing reasons. We filmed the pilot during one hazy debauched weekend on the beach and at a club called, coincidentally, Los Amigos. Matt LeBlanc does look great in jammies, by the way.

The reason they decided not to use me in the final cast might have had something to do with my well known weakness for tequila. Plus the fact that i kept shouting "lime!" then giggling uncontrollably when i'd forget my lines. Matt Perry thought that was hilarious.

i'm dissapointed that they fired me, of course. A million dollars an episode would come in handy right about now. But it's for the best, i guess. i would have spent it all on rehab anyway. i am glad that i did leave my own little mark on the show when i came up with the genesis for Phoebe's famous "Smelly Cat" song.

It was originally entitled "Shitty Cat," which was changed to "Crappy Cat," when the network decided that they needed to air the show before ten o'clock at night. i wrote that song during my "cat poetry" phase. Another fine example from that genre can be found here.

i still keep in touch with my "friends" and usually find myself calling on them when my gambling debts become a bit unmanageable. Jeniffer Aniston is always willing to spare me a few c-notes when she can, usually sending them over through an intermediary since she, for some reason, refuses to meet with me in person anymore.

i don't know how many times one should be expected to apologize for an innocent question to someone's husband. i simply asked Brad about the extent of his knowledge of Trojans. You know, he plays a trojan in that movie, so i didn't see what the big deal was, but she made such a stink about it.

But i'm really closest to David Swimmer, who let me in on a little secret about tonight's finale episode. i can't reveal too much, but i will tell you that all six characters end up in a small-town jail, accused of the crime of "criminal indifference."

Wait a minute, that's not right.

You know, a lot of people don't realize i was originally cast for the role of Elaine in the pilot episode of Seinfeld . . .

Posted by: annika at 10:44 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Thanks to Sarah for pointing out this heroic member of the Salvadoran military, serving in Iraq. It's a story you won't hear Don Rather talking about, or Seymore Hirsch writing about.

Posted by: annika at 09:44 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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i should do a Friends post. But really i'm waiting for Ginger and Candace to weigh in on tonight's historic end to the iconic TV sitcom. i'm torn between wanting to watch it and wanting to resist participating in a cultural phenomenon. i watched the Seinfeld final episode and i felt robbed afterwards. If i refuse to watch Friends tonight, it will be my curmudgeonly protest over all the hype surrounding this show, which "jumped the shark" years ago. But since the Lakers aren't on tonight, i'll probably tune in for a little bit, just so i'll be able to participate in the watercooler debriefing tomorrow at work. Maybe the cast will get drunk and make fools of themselves in the final minutes, like they did when Cheers ended.

Posted by: annika at 09:35 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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This idea is not only idiotic, it makes me a bit queasy in the tummy just thinking about it.

A Dutch artist has used a flap of her own skin to make a replica pistol to be shown at an Amsterdam art show. . . .

. . .

[S]he made the tiny replica pistol with a piece of skin . . . surgically removed from her abdomen. The puckered skin was stretched and sewn over a plastic and fiber pistol mold.

Meester said she had the flap of skin removed under local anaesthetic to allow her to make the pistol. The surgery left her with 16 stitches. She froze the skin, then defrosted it to make a replica weapon preserved in formaldehyde.

And here's the funniest quote i've seen in a long time:

If everyone made a pistol from their own skin, I think they would think twice about using a gun. I think there would be less violence in the world.

Posted by: annika at 01:04 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Yes they did. And this Ananova story informs us that a prostate professor is "particularly proud of the pickled penis."

Well, who wouldn't be proud of a penis that gives rise to inflated comments like the following:

"Napoleon's penis is but a small pod - it cannot stand comparison to our organ of 30 centimetres."

Posted by: annika at 12:42 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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i've been away for so long it's hard to get back into the swing of blogging. Mainly, i've been preoccupied with planning for my move back north again. But if there's one subject that is always easy to blog about, it's the American Skankwoman.

Here are some recent news stories, which at first might seem unrelated, but nothing gets past my uncanny ability to analyze and dissect the news:

Brad Pitt quits smoking (i assume he means cigarettes).

Brittany hires a hypnotist, says she wants to quit smoking too.

Brad openly questions monogamy, amidst rumors of trouble in his storybook marriage.

More rumors circulate about Brad and a famously tattooed actress named Angelina.

Brittany decides to get some new tattoos, but the job is hilariously botched.

Suddenly Brad declares that he wouldn't mind a "romp with Brittany."

Around about that time, Brittany exclaims her belief in the power of God! ("Yes! Oh God! Yes!")

Brad takes up cigarettes again.

Hmmmm, interesting. You do the math.

Posted by: annika at 11:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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