Dawn thinks Oprah should invite a blogger on her show.

i think Oprah should invite Dawn.

Posted by: annika at 01:23 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 I think so tooooooooooo!

Posted by: Dawn Summers at March 24, 2005 02:13 PM (HLOeu)

2 Oprah knows better than to invite some Crazy Ol Fool on her show.

Posted by: ken at March 25, 2005 11:50 AM (xD5ND)

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It almost seems as though Ken Wheaton has gazed into my own soul (a la Bush & Putin) with his latest column on The Non-Dating Life. i know he was describing someone else, but this quote could just as eerily apply to yours truly:

She claims to despise 'suits' but is destined to mate with one and produced baby suits. Still, she hangs out in Lower East Side and Williamsburg bars, trolling for too-skinny, geeky musicians who never fail to disappoint because, well, they're musicians, hipster-wannabes and she, deep down inside, is only now realizing she's not exactly compatible with those people. That's not to say she has to end up with a frat boy. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. She needs someone sort of in the middle. But, for now, like a lot of us out there, she's frustrated by running into the same type of guy over and over and over again.

Posted by: annika at 12:09 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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1 aw, not you too, annika? not you too!?

Posted by: ken at March 18, 2005 12:39 PM (xD5ND)

2 It's a terrific observation he's got... Annie, you and my kid sisters have something in common...

Posted by: Hugo at March 18, 2005 12:50 PM (ANywC)

3 hmm. sounds like the typical misinformation propogated by men who never talked to women who've actually had a relationship with a real musician. hipster wannabe indeed!

Posted by: Publicola at March 18, 2005 03:35 PM (DQj8i)

4 actually, all of my information about women in relationships with musicians comes directly from women in relationships with musicians. from new york to nashville to new orleans, it's the same damn story over and over. and, as a "writer" i can say i'm not a hell of a lot better than musicians on the whole mental health/need for constant attention thing. i just don't have the temptation/curse of groupies to deal with. of course, i'm not talking about "serious" (ahem) musicians.

Posted by: ken at March 18, 2005 03:46 PM (xD5ND)

5 Ok Poem Gyrl. It is time to throw in the lyrics from one of my favorite songs "Love is a Battlefield" We are young, heartache to heartache we stand No promises, no demands Love is a battlefield We are strong, no one can tell us weÂ’re wrong SearchinÂ’ our hearts for so long, both of us knowing Love is a battlefield YouÂ’re begginÂ’ me to go, youÂ’re makinÂ’ me stay Why do you hurt me so bad? It would help me to know Do I stand in your way, or am I the best thing youÂ’ve had? Believe me, believe me, I canÂ’t tell you why But IÂ’m trapped by your love, and IÂ’m chained to your side We are young, heartache to heartache we stand No promises, no demands Love is a battlefield We are strong, no one can tell us weÂ’re wrong SearchinÂ’ our hearts for so long, both of us knowing Love is a battlefield WeÂ’re losing control Will you turn me away or touch me deep inside? And before this gets old, will it still feel the same? ThereÂ’s no way this will die But if we get much closer, I could lose control And if your heart surrenders, youÂ’ll need me to hold We are young, heartache to heartache we stand No promises, no demands Love is a battlefield We are strong, no one can tell us weÂ’re wrong SearchinÂ’ our hearts for so long, both of us knowing Love is a battlefield We are young, heartache to heartache we stand No promises, no demands Love is a battlefield We are strong, no one can tell us weÂ’re wrong SearchinÂ’ our hearts for so long, both of us knowing Love is a battlefield Written by: mike chapman & holly knight

Posted by: Jake at March 18, 2005 06:48 PM (r/5D/)

6 Ah, its so rewarding to see another one realize life with us "suits" is so much more fun and rewarding. Ya, it was bizarre in college watching otherwise intelligent women date hipster dufusses, but hearing the cries of "what went wrong" from these same women now who never really figured it out provides some comfort. Even more so when I come home to my beautiful wife and family

Posted by: Pursuit at March 19, 2005 06:45 AM (VqIuy)

7 Pursuit, I could write thousands of words on the whole hipster/suit/fratboy/whatever subject. I wouldn't consider myself a suit ... mostly because I can't afford good ones, but isn't it amusing how the same sort of people (hipsters) who run around saying "The clothes don't matter, it's what's inside" turn right around and judge others on... their clothes. What's especially funny is that at least the hipsters have a choice in wardrobe. Not many people are running around in a suit because they woke up and said, "Man, I feel like wearing a starched shirt, wool pants and a noose around my neck. That's hot!" I like ratty jeans and old t-shirts. Don't get me wrong. And if I were 19 today, I'd probably have an entire trucker hat collection (and for some reason, it's the trucker hat more than anything that drives me absolutely batshit). After all, when I was in college, my hair was long and curly, I wore flannel and thought I was Eddie Vedder. At the end of the day, though, I hang out with people who dress LIKE hipsters and who dress IN suits. But they all have the same qualities. As we say in Louisiana: They like to get drunk and pass a good time.

Posted by: ken at March 19, 2005 07:28 AM (9WeJO)

8 i'm trying to imagine how the Paris-ism "that's hott" would sound with a cajun accent. but i'm not having much luck. ; )

Posted by: annika at March 19, 2005 10:01 AM (LrQx6)

9 Ken, Agree on a lot of points, except one. Increasingly even us suits have a choice in what to wear. Unfortunately for mosts "suits" they choose chinos and a golf shirt, instead of anything that actually looks nice, but at least it is their choice. Further, I think the traders and technologists that I work with would be amused to hear your thoughts on what people are forced to wear. We've hired them for their brain, not their dress. That said, we do ask that they dress for clients from time to time. Here is the weird part: I miss wearing a suit and will put one on from time to time, because it looks great and is comfortable.

Posted by: Pursuit at March 19, 2005 12:15 PM (VqIuy)

10 Thanks for speaking up for the grownups Pursuit.

Posted by: Casca at March 19, 2005 10:02 PM (cdv3B)

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i urge all bloggers and those who care about the new media to read this post by Kevin at Wizbang, regarding our right to Freedom of Speech as bloggers, and to sign the Online Coalition letter to Federal Election Commission chairman Scott E. Thomas.

Mine is the 1,531st signature.

More: Here's the Democracy Project's comprehensive summary of the threat facing us.

And liberal blogger Markos, of Daily Kos, notes that a number of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have also added their welcome voice to the cause of internet freedom. Where are the Republicans on this?

Posted by: annika at 08:51 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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How'd you like to start a blog, write two paragraphs, and get a hundred and one comments in your first forty-eight hours on the blogosphere. And not spam comments either, i'm talking very nice comments of encouragement from all over the world.

Well, go say hi to Waheed, Afghanistan's first blogger.

Hat tip to Bruce at AWH, via Chrenkoff.

Posted by: annika at 07:09 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Bloggers as spies now?

Could the American spy community improve its intelligence activities through blogging? A captain in the U.S. Army Reserve thinks so and says as much in the March issue of Wired magazine.

Capt. Kris Alexander, a millitary intelligence officer, argues in an essay that blogs should be incorporated into the intelligence community's classified computer network , Intelink, and that the community should cultivate bloggers outside itself to gain additional insights and analysis.

. . .

'Why not tap the brainpower of the blogosphere as well?' he asks. 'The intelligence community does a terrible job of looking outside itself for information. From journalists to academics and even educated amateurs -- there are thousands of people who would be interested and willing to help.'

'It seems to me,' he said, 'that the government is faced with some stark choices. They can 'get with the program' -- realize they have lost control and try to capitalize on that -- or they can pretend they still control the flow of information and enact all sorts of Draconian regulations that aren't going to work anyway.'

Stephenson admitted that working with bloggers can be challenging. 'It's a headache,' he confessed.

'You get a lot of these obsteperous guys who don't defer to hierarchy, but smart executives all over the place now are trying to figure out ways to capitalize on people like me and others,' he continued. 'It's just dumb to filter out that potential information just because the people who are offering it are not like you.'

[cross posted at A Western Heart]

Posted by: annika at 10:18 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Come and check out annika's Blogversary Poker Party on Yahoo! Poker. Everyone is invited. Sit down and play a few hands, or just stop by to say hi. No money is involved, just bragging rights.

You have to have a Yahoo! id first. Then log on to Yahoo!, go to the Games page and click on Hold 'Em Poker in the Card Games menu. Then look for me in the room called "Angel." Sorry, i fucked up. i'll be in the room called "Social Lounge 2," at table 26, and i'll be using the Yahoo! id annikagyrl.

Hope to see you there!

Update: It's pretty busy in there. Social Lounge 2 is full. We're going to Beginner Lounge 2 now.

Update 2: Okay, it's full now too. Use this backdoor site, if you haven't given up yet. Click on Beginner Lounge 2.

Update 3: Well, that was pretty much a bust. Only Casca and Lawguy were able to get into the room before it closed. i got booted a few times, and even the backdoor was screwy. i never seen Yahoo! Games be so difficult. Oh well, sorry to everyone who tried but were unable to log on. Maybe next year.

Oh, i broke even, too.

Posted by: annika at 06:52 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 So far, this sucks... which lounge?

Posted by: Casca at March 09, 2005 07:05 PM (cdv3B)

2 Happy Blogversary.

Posted by: Wayne at March 09, 2005 07:20 PM (DXzYo)

3 Where are you at?

Posted by: BD at March 09, 2005 07:35 PM (q88ZG)

4 I'm gettingdrunktryin to logon to the severer. Anyway, Happy blogversary!

Posted by: d-rod at March 09, 2005 08:53 PM (MpV/L)

5 Dammit, and I wore my white silk jammies with the blue piping for this? sheesh!

Posted by: Casca at March 09, 2005 10:58 PM (cdv3B)

6 I could not get in! You should come some real poker with me online. Let me know and I will give you all the 411.

Posted by: Frisbeedude at March 10, 2005 07:43 AM (KRtuM)

7 "No, u should cum, i got a real poker." Would be the correct approach.

Posted by: Casca at March 10, 2005 04:21 PM (cdv3B)

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Our peach tree is in bloom. It's beautiful. i thought it was dead. Shows how much i know about trees.

Today is the two year blogversary of annika's journal. A Yahoo! Poker party celebration will be held tonight at 7:00 p.m. California time. Stop by if you can. Just say hi, or sit down and play a few hands. i will post the name of the room just before it starts. BYOB.

Today is also poetry day. Who's your favorite poet? i haven't picked a poem yet, so why not suggest someone?

Have you pushed Elton John for UN Sec Gen to your friends and co-workers yet? People are talking.

And there are still two more spots open in MLBloggers, my fantasy baseball league. Email me if you're interested.

Posted by: annika at 12:35 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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i'm a big milblog fan. i have my favorites: Blackfive of course, and fellow Munuvians Trying to Grok (Go share Sarah's joy at her husband's safe return. i'm so happy for them.) and SlagleRock. Also some newer faves like Armor Geddon (who's an amazing diarist) and Risawn.

Now check out a new milblogger, Danjel, who's in Iraq right now. The site is appropriately named 365 and a Wakeup, which is a phrase that i believe dates back to the Vietnam War. (But you already knew that.)

i thought this bit from a February post called "The Ride North" was interesting:

Southern Iraq completely surprised me if for no other reason then the people. All along our route of march children would come running up to the vehicles waving and laughing. They were poorly dressed, and several of them alternated between waving and pointing to their mouth to ask for food. As heartwrenching as it was to ignore their request we were under strict orders not to throw food out so we responded with smiles and waves of our own. I questioned the order later and found that several children had been run over because they would run in front of a vehicle to get food. It was a far cry from what we had been briefed we would see and I resolved to do my level best to not break the trust our nation had made with the people of Iraq. I wish I could have taken a film crew with me on that leg of the trip, it would go a long way towards dispelling the skewed viewpoints that America sees on the news.

There are mornings where the steady throb of traffic pulses through the streets like a metal river and others where the hum of people and commerce is torn apart by the earsplitting roar of a VBIED. These wheeled bombs exist for the sole purpose of rending equipment and shredding flesh with impunity. In their wake they leave physical scars on the survivors and mental scars on the community.

Rather then let the insurgents continue to inflict casualties whenever and wherever they want there are checkpoints scattered across BaghdadÂ’s highways to intercept VBIEDs. In most cases these checkpoints are actually two distinct checkpoints, the first manned by the Iraqi Army and the second manned by US soldiers. The Iraqis have shown their mettle in the last few weeks and they have absorbed the bulk of the casualties when VBIEDs attempt to hit a checkpoint. But they arenÂ’t perfect, and so the US troops manning the second checkpoint are always at the ready.

The most important thing to understand about US checkpoints is that soldiers manning them have specific ramp up procedures when they feel threatened. Soldiers donÂ’t just blithely take aim at traffic and fill the air with lead. The procedure drilled into every soldierÂ’s head is to meet the threat with an increasingly forceful response. As the threat escalates so too does the response.

Which brings us back to the threat of VBIEDs. The only warning of a VBIED is a vehicle attempting to rapidly close with the checkpoint – which is exactly what Giuliana Sgrena’s vehicle did. Put yourself in the boots of the soldier manning that checkpoint. You see a vehicle approaching that seems to be gaining speed as it nears. You signal the driver to stop but the car plummets on. You fire a warning shot, and then another into the engine block but the car doesn’t slow. What would you do? Don’t just give a cursory response – think about it for a moment. If you are at work imagine having your life, and the fate of all your coworkers tied to your decision. Would you gamble all those lives by giving the vehicle the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you would, but I’d be willing to bet after seeing the bloody wake of a VBIED you would have pulled the trigger too.

Posted by: annika at 12:34 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Here are some thoughts that occurred to me while watching last night's Nighline special on bloggers, which was very well done, in my opinion.

One might get the impression that bloggers are all frustrated journalists. In fact, many bloggers probably think of themselves that way. Speaking only for myself however, i am most definitely not a frustrated journalist.* To me, the very word "journalist" would be an insult if i ever heard it applied to me.

Don't get me started on journalists. A journalism degree is nothing more than a four year general education degree plus a couple of courses on how to meet a deadline. The vast majority of journalists are complete idiots. Trouble is, they don't realize it.

Bloggers are modern pamphleteers. One of the bloggers in the Nightline report expressed a hope that the blogosphere might mature as time goes on. Nonsense. That's not only an impossibility, it's antithetical to the nature of the medium.

We're supposed to rant. We're supposed to shoot from the hip. The blogosphere is the essence of free speech. That Virginia politician who got upset because some liberal blogger didn't follow journalistic standards by contacting him before publication needs to get his head out of his ass. The politician wrote a stupid bill, and that particular blogger called him on it. Good for her. The politician didn't like the strong language in the emails he got, but guess what? He pulled the bill, didn't he? Welcome to Dan Rather's world.

No we're not journalists, we are activists. Unpredictable, uncontrollable anarchists. May we always be.
_______________

* Frustrated comedienne, maybe.

Posted by: annika at 12:28 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Yesterday they mentioned my idea on MSNBC, and now today they're talking about me on Fox News! Click on the picture to see the clip.

Fame! i wanna live forever!

Remember the annika's Blogversary Poker Party is Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. California time.

remember... remember... remember...

Posted by: annika at 08:01 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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This is big.

i thought he was joking when James Ozark, who runs A Western Heart, alerted me to the fact that Jeff Jarvis had mentioned my Elton John for U.N. Secretary General idea on MSNBC today.

But it's true! Here's the Quicktime video to prove it.

i'm so jazzed, i'm gonna have that .mpg file bronzed and hang it on the fucking wall!

i told you my idea would catch on like wildfire. Dinitellyou? i sure did! And you know why? Because it's a great idea, that's why. Singers and international politics go together like liver and onions.

Check it out. Now they want Bono for president of the World Bank, and Bush just named Michael Bolton as Ambassador to the U.N.

Ha ha, and i started the whole ball rolling! Me, me, me, me, me!

Tip of the hat to Jackson's Junction.

Posted by: annika at 08:40 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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i've started a fantasy baseball league for bloggers on Yahoo! The League is called MLBloggers (Major League Bloggers, get it?).

It's a rotisserie league with a non-live draft. Rotisserie is cool because it's less time consuming than head-to-head leagues. You can tinker with your line-up as much or as little as you want.

So far ten bloggers have signed up:

Dawn Summers' of Clareified has the East Coco Beach Metropolitans;

Victor the Rat-Boy of Publius and Company has the Rats of Chaos;

Ted of Rocket Jones has the Rockets;

Paul of Sanity's Edge has the Sanity's Edge... ers;

Matt of Irreverent Probity has the Biloxi Turds (eeew);

Greg of The End Zone has Hank's Homey's, and explains the name thusly;

Zombyboy of Resurrection Song has the Zombyesque Zombies;

The Maximum Leader of Nakedvillainy has the Bashers;

Physics Geek of Physics Geek has the Physics Geeks;

And then there's my own annika's A's.

There's room for two more bloggers in the league. If you wanna join Major League Bloggers just shoot me an email and i'll send you the password. You have to have a Yahoo! id to sign up.

Fantasy baseball is a grat way to follow the season, and it's fun to get interested in different players that you wouldn't normally care about if they're not on your hometown team.

Oh, and as an added inducement, i'll award a championship stein from cafepress to the winner at the end of the season. As if bragging rights weren't enough!

On a related note, don't forget this Wednesday is the annie's journal blogversary poker party. Details will be posted later on.

Posted by: annika at 09:06 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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i was one of those who thought that Martha got railroaded. But still, i am sad to see her get out of prison for the sole reason that Jeff's hilarious series of blog posts must now come to an end.

And, he's a Prufrock fan!

Posted by: annika at 10:20 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Jake is the annika's journal Man of the Year!

Congratulations, Jake on this great honor!

: )

Posted by: annika at 07:49 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Next Wednesday is my two year blogversary! i never thought i'd make it past one year, but here i am. i'd like to celebrate with a party for you all as my way of saying thanks. It don't matter if you're a new or old visitor, or even if you've never left a comment before. Everyone is invited. Once in the distant past, i held a Yahoo! pool party that was really fun, although only sparsely attended because i didn't give much notice. Now with the popularity of online poker, i'm considering the idea of an annika-versary poker party on Yahoo! Either that or pool. The advantage to a poker party is that everyone can participate at the same time, instead of one-on-one competition while everybody else chats. Of course, no money changes hands in Yahoo! poker, but that's okay, since i suck at poker anyways. It's all about the bragging rights, and the chance to socialize in cyberspace with my blog pals. And of course, since the money isn't real, drinking a large quantity of alcohol while playing shouldn't be a problem. Let me know what you think.

Update: Poker it is.

Posted by: annika at 01:16 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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1 Congrats!

Posted by: JD at March 02, 2005 04:46 AM (pQrtL)

2 Is this from the beginning of your BlogSnot blog, or your citizenship in Munuvia? Either way, congratulations, and an online poker tourney sounds like fun! I'll try to make it if you announce the where and when. (NOTE: You know if you try to put "p0ker c0m..." in the comments of a Munuvian blog, it won't go thru? Heh.)

Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at March 02, 2005 05:45 AM (L3qPK)

3 Thanks, JD. Victor, it's 2 years from the beginning of the Glogspot days. We'll do it next Wednesday, probably starting at like 7:00 pm California time. i'll post an announcement next week about which Yahoo! room, etc.

Posted by: annika at March 02, 2005 07:36 AM (N1ocN)

4 Not to sound repetitive or anything, but yet another "Congrats!" 7PM your time's only 10 here on the east coast, so it shouldn't be any problem: I'll try to be there. Should be fun.

Posted by: Dave J at March 02, 2005 08:27 AM (CYpG7)

5 I will consume mass quantities for the occasion.

Posted by: d-rod at March 02, 2005 09:51 AM (CSRmO)

6 Strip, right? I'll be there in my silk pajamas.

Posted by: Casca at March 02, 2005 06:02 PM (cdv3B)

7 I missed poker night last time, someone please remind me when it happens...

Posted by: Chris at March 02, 2005 10:32 PM (kkrSe)

8 Try to choose one of the less-populated social lounges, so we don't have to worry about back doors. I'm going to be busy in theatre rehearsals until after 10, but if I'm not completely burnt out (smoked out?) I'll try to join. I've met some good people via Yahoo! Poker.

Posted by: Ontario Emperor at March 03, 2005 12:24 PM (v9NCH)

9 I'm in!

Posted by: Karol at March 05, 2005 06:13 PM (NFi+H)

10 I'm in! And I plan on taking all your Yahoo Money!~

Posted by: Frisbeedude at March 08, 2005 08:09 AM (KRtuM)

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