Dave Mancuso dot Com

For any of you who don’t get to Josh’s site (that would be the three readers who know me but not Brad or Josh), check out this revamp of The Matrix:Reloaded fight as performed by Super Mario Brothers.

Josh’s site is a good read, by the way. It’s hard to believe that this guy came from that den of iniquity known as Glenolden. Bet he misses good hoagies and cheese steaks over here in Fasnacht-land.

Drew: Daddy, what does Knee-Whomba mean?

Me: What does what mean? Drew, did you make that word up?

Drew: No, Daddy, Knee-Whomba–the special word.

Me: Oh. The sacred word. Um, that’s just a made up word, Drew. The knights just made it up to be silly.

I’ve got to stop expsong my kids to snippets of Weird Al Yankovic and Monty Python.

Check out these two studies on low carb diets. Good info, and the part about low carb cutting bad cholesterol and triglycerides is nice to see in print. When I had blood tests before and after low carb dieting, my cholesterol went from way high risk down to normal on my diet.

I’m back on the diet, after being off it for a couple of months. I hope to really peel back the pounds again. I’ve been toying with the idea of posting my weight daily on the site here, but I don’t know if I want to make it that kind of site. I’m 249 today, though–lost 5 lbs. since last Wednesday. I need to get to the 180s (or at least 190s) and stay there like Brad.

To quote little Rob, check this out: Colin Powell’s aide trying to chop off an interview with Tim Russert and Powell straightening her out (“Emily, get out of the way.”). The first movie link has been disabled, but check the mirror sites lower down on the page I linked you to.

It’s hard to hear the exchange, but you can hear the aide saying something about perhaps Russert asking questions he wasn’t supposed to? And then Powell saying “but he’s still asking questions.” An audibly angry Powell told his aide to get out of the way and had the camera put back on him for the final question.

My only guess is that the aide didn’t like Russert’s question, or Russert asked an embargoed question and Powell answered too much. But to pull the camera off indicates some alarm or anger on the part of the aide with respect to the interview. Powell’s answers do contradict testimony of Rumsfeld’s aides in front of Congress, so perhaps that could have been a factor. A shame. Powell seems to have a lot of integrity–I think he’s a man caught in political situations where he’s been forced to unneccesarily break his code of ethics. Then he gets dinged for speaking the truth.

Update: the NYT has more.

Alyssa: You better watch out Drew, or I’ll put evil on your hiney!

Me: (choking) What?

Alyssa: You know, Daddy! Put evil on your hiney!

Me: What are you talking about? Where did you get that from?

Alyssa: Daddy, you remember! That song we heard. A long time ago.

Me: Alyssa, that was Weird Al Yankovic, and it was “I’m gonna get medieval on your hiney.”

Alyssa: Right. That’s what I said.

Me: Well, don’t say it anymore. Denise, stop laughing. Drew, it’s not funny. Ok–everyone…oh, forget it.

I must begin to fill the blog, since it’s emptying itself out (it only displays the last ten days of posts).

Well, at least I’m beginning to feel human again. Lots going on in the last few weeks, but nothing earth-shaking.

Visit the Khaaaannnn!! site for some simple sound bite hokeyness. It’s a one trick pony, but it made me laugh.

The fact that it makes us the bad guys.

I know it’s more complex than that, but when you take it down to brass tacks that’s the gut feeling I have. When I read about the scandal, I feel like we’re the bad guys, the bullies that the insurgents say we are.

It makes it worse that the guards seem to have been encouraged by intelligence personnel.

It really puts a black eye on the face of America, and makes it that much harder for us to earn trust and respect elsewhere.

The soldiers who did this should be made an example of. They’re not US soldiers; they’re thugs, and deserve to be treated like the criminals that they are.

This article from an American professor in Central Asia is interesting. I wish more of this discussion would go around the world. From the blog:

“In Bosnia and Somalia, we were supporting Muslims,” I said. “And in the war against Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait, we were supporting Muslims who were attacked by other Muslims.”

A stony silence, more of bewilderment than hostility, enveloped the room, as if I’d just announced to a group of American students that the earth wasn’t round, or that Utah was just a cartographer’s fantasy. It was the first of many retreats in the face of an unaccustomed challenge to official truths.

This site is a good read as well–it’s about the new Iraq by Iraqis. Here’s an excerpt from a Iraqi family discussion about Americans in Iraq:

“Then why do you hate the Americans you son of a b***h!? I couldn’t get you a bicycle a year ago, I could hardly feed you and your brothers and sisters. You didn’t know what an apple or a banana tasted like, I couldn’t buy you a damned Pepsi bottle except in occasions, and now you can have all that you wish, and a car of your own! Who do you think made that possible!?” My cousin’s face turned red and didn’t answer as we laughed and I said “What do you think Ibrahim?” He said, “Well it’s true but it’s our money. They are not giving us a charity” and I said “Of course it’s our money, so let’s forget the Billions of dollars they are giving to rebuild Iraq and the efforts they are making to cut down our debts and lets talk about our money. Why didn’t your father, I, my brothers and all the Iraqis have anything worth mentioning before the Americans came?” He said, “Because Saddam used it to buy weapons and build palaces”. “There you have it Ibrahim, but Americans are not touching our money. Can you tell me who’s better; the “occupiers” who are helping us or the “patriot” who did all that you know to us?

Denise and I must be the only ones who aren’t riveted to the Friends series finale (or American Idol, but that’s another matter). It’s not that I never watched the series. It was funny for the first two episodes, but then it got boring. I’ve seen a couple of funny episodes this past two years, but the last episode is on right now and I find myself yawning and tuning to another show. Yes, even for me, TV isn’t everything.

Now music or movies, that’s another story.