December 31, 2004

Josh Waitzkin, an international chess master and the subject of one of my favorite films ("Searching for Bobby Fischer"), became the Middleweight World Co-Champion in Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands this month at the Chung Hwa Cup International Tai Chi Chuan Championships in Taiwan.

Waitzkin has also signed a $300,000 deal with Simon & Schuster's Free Press for a nonfiction book about the learning process and performance psychology. It is scheduled for publication in 2006.

"If you're never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances."
--Julia Sorel

* J.D. Salinger - 1/1/19
* Isaac Asimov -1/2/20
* J.R.R. Tolkien - 1/3/1892
* Jakob Ludwig Carl Grimm - 1/4/1785
* Michael Stipe - 1/4/1960
* Umberto Eco - 1/5/32

December 29, 2004

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. It's a morbid piece, but anyone who knows me well understands that it's just a reflection of my darker side.

As a die-hard "Law & Order" fan, I've probably spent more time watching you than I have with most of the men I've dated.

Mr. Orbach, you will be truly missed.

December 28, 2004

Clarion, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers' Workshop, will hold a 48-hour e-mail auction Jan. 28-29. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the 2005 class. Currently, Clarion is short approximately $17,000 to cover this year's operating costs.

"The older I grow, the less important the comma becomes. Let the reader catch his own breath."
--Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart

December 27, 2004

The massive undersea earthquake that sent tsunamis into coastlines from Indonesia to Africa over the weekend may be the costliest natural disaster in history.

Millions face a future filled with funerals, polluted drinking water and minimal sanitation and health services. To date, more than 15,000 people are dead in Sri Lanka, 5,000 in Indonesia and 4,400 in India. A third of the dead are said to be children. Diseases like malaria and cholera could add to the death toll. The cost of rebuilding damaged homes and businesses will be in the billions.

To help the victims of the Asia earthquake, consider donating time/money to these organizations:

* The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the world's largest humanitarian organization guided by seven fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

* Action Against Hunger is an international, non-governmental, non-religious organization that saves lives by combating hunger, malnutrition, physical suffering and the associated distress that endanger the lives of children, women and men in emergency situations.

* Direct Relief International is a non-profit, non-political and non-sectarian organization that provides assistance without regard to race, ethnicity, political or religious affiliation, gender or ability to pay.

* Doctors Without Borders is a private, non-profit organization that delivers emergency aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics and natural and man-made disasters, and to others who lack health care due to social or geographical isolation.

* The International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, non-political, non-sectarian, non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training, relief and development programs.

[Update - Dec. 28, 2004: The death toll from the disaster has climbed to 44,000 people in 11 nations.]

* On Dec. 15, the First Amendment became 213 years old.

* Webb City, Mo.: Brad Mathewson has joined forces with the ACLU to sue the Webb City School District. The assistant principal at Webb City High School prohibited the junior from wearing a Gay Pride T-shirt to school because it might offend someone. On Nov. 30, 10 students were also reprimanded for wearing T-shirts with slogans supporting Mathewson.

* Northborough, Mass.: Ned Gallagher, the principal of Algonquin Regional High School, has instituted a new policy that requires the school to send a letter home to parents if their children refuse to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

* Oxford, Pa.: The Oxford Area School District has agreed to pay Robert E. Stewart, a former assistant football coach, $12,575 for violating his First Amendment rights. The school improperly banned Stewart from setting foot on any property owned by the school district without a hearing or criminal charges.

* Lexington, Ky.: Jacqueline Duty, a 19-year-old former student of Russell High School, is suing the Greenup County School District for violating her right to free speech and expression. Last spring, the principal and two police officers barred her from attending prom because she was wearing a dress styled as a large Confederate battle flag. Duty is seeking actual and punitive damages in excess of $50,000.

December 26, 2004

The American Civil Liberties Union recently posted more than 50 government documents on its Website that reveal how Army commanders may have interfered in military investigations into the deaths of Iraqi detainees in American custody. The files from the Army's Criminal Investigation Command (CID) were released by the Defense Department in response to a court order issued under the Freedom of Information Act.

One file details the suspected murder of Obeed Hethere Radad, a detainee held in Tikrit. On Sept. 11, 2003, an Army specialist allegedly shot and killed Radad with an M16 rifle, without giving any verbal warnings.

CID, which wasn't notified until four days after the event, later determined that there was probable cause to charge the specialist with murder. The soldier never faced a murder charge, however, or any court-martial. Instead, he was charged with voluntary manslaughter, demoted to the rank of private and discharged from the service before the CID even had a chance to finish investigating the case.

I'm not sure what's more offensive:

* receiving a copy of the New Testament from the International Bible Society with my daily newspaper, or

* receiving an application from the KKK (encouraging all white and non-Jewish folks to join if they want to end gay marriage) with my daily newspaper.

Either way, I'd be canceling my subscription.

Past Afterthoughts