September 17, 2004

Garrison Keillor is mad, and he's not gonna take it anymore!

"I have to spend a second saying what has been on my mind for much more than a second, and that is to remind us all that 1,000 American soldiers dead in Iraq doesn't mean 1,000 but it means a thousand ones, a thousand separate young (and sometimes middle-aged) men and women with families and futures and winter clothes hanging in a closet somewhere and books stacked to be read on some day when life wasn't so rushed and a drawer with a corsage or a boutonniere saved from a special dance and ticket stub, and a too short lifetime of memories. They stood for something bigger than themselves, and they took the risk that it might knock them down."
--Elizabeth Edwards

September 15, 2004

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. This week, I announce the return of Holiday Jade.

* James Fenimore Cooper - 9/15/1789
* Agatha Christie - 9/15/1890
* Kevin Tisserand - 9/15/66
* John Knowles - 9/16/26
* Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - 9/16/50
* Elizabeth Delisi - 9/17/55
* Samuel Johnson - 9/18/1709
* Mike Royko - 9/19/32
* Upton Sinclair - 9/20/1878
* H.G. Wells - 9/21/1866
* Fannie Flagg - 9/21/44
* Stephen King - 9/21/47
* Fay Weldon - 9/22/33

September 14, 2004

Mike and Jill Selby of Delmar, Iowa, lost their teenaged son, Cory, to a heart ailment. To memorialize him, the couple gave $10 to every member of his graduating class and asked them to spend the gift in a way that would reflect Cory's values. You'll be amazed at what the grads did with the donated dough.

* random acts of kindness
* lemon fizzies
* blue time
* Paris
* sharing stories with friends
* Häagen-Dazs chocolate chocolate chip mint ice cream

September 13, 2004

One of my favorite actors, Gerard Butler, received a lovely write-up in The New York Times this weekend. They declared him "one to watch." (Tell me something I don't know.)

If you haven't seen the trailer for "Phantom of the Opera" yet, check it out on the Apple Website. As I've mentioned before, it's definitely a "Jade" movie.

What are the best places to meet your future mate? According to announcements listed on The New York Times Wedding pages:

* band practice
* reunions
* med school
* parties
* college

September 12, 2004

Spc. Ryan G. Anderson, a 27-year-old National Guardsman from Lynwood, Wash., was found guilty in a court-martial on Sept. 2 of aiding the enemy. Anderson gave undercover agents, who he believed were al Qaeda terrorists, information about U.S. troop strengths. He also offered them tips on how to defeat U.S. military vehicles and kill American soldiers.

"The one thing we can say about George W. Bush is we will be forever in his debt."
--Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), after the Bush administration announced that this year's deficit, an estimated $445 billion, will set a red-ink record. (Thanks to Gene Cowan)

Past Afterthoughts