2 Stars for Peace

Just heard about this incredible idea -- make Israel and Palestine into US States... Here is a brief article explaining the idea and pointing to a book by Martinne Rothblatt -- The Case for Using U.S. Statehood to Achieve Lasting Peace in the Middle East

Party like its 1999

Revision 3 @ Slide
Originally uploaded by valleywagprime.

One of the things that is different this time around is that Silicon Valley has its own party venues... during the bubble we had to crash established silicon valley or san francisco haunts with our Internet craze... now people like Jonathan Abrams have started bars like slide... leading to Internet parties like the one I attended last night for Revision 3 (some sort of "new" Internet TV thing)... But some things stay the same. A bunch of geeks standing around in a bar trying to talk about technology over loud music looks the same in 2007 as in 1999...

Matt Damon == Capt Kirk ?? WTF!

Please say its not so. Please say that they have it wrong... Could it really be true that they have cast Matt Damon as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise!!?? Ahhh... he hasn't been cast yet! Shooting hasn't begun!! Its not too late for us to launch a "please not Matt!" campaign... IGN writes:

Confirming rumors that have been making the rounds for some months now, IGN has learned that Oscar winner Matt Damon is indeed in talks with Paramount about playing the role of Jim Kirk, previously immortalized onscreen by Emmy winner William Shatner.

In TALKS... ok. Deep breath. Titanic boy [oops Dan reminds me this is Leonardo...] Good Will Hunting Boy [doesn't have the same ring to it] doesn't necessarily get to sinkshoot [huh?] the Enterprise... and what else did they say? King Kong's Adrien Brody as Spock!? WTF!!?

For the part of Kirk's Vulcan first officer Mr. Spock, IGN has been told that none other than Oscar winner Adrien Brody (King Kong, The Pianist) is in talks with Paramount to play the role. If cast, Brody would succeed Leonard Nimoy in a role that forever marked Nimoy's career.

OK... "if cast" the said... deep breath... OK now the campaign is "Please NOT Damon and Adrien!"

Jim Zumbo Dixie Chick'd

I am not a hunter. But I respect their right to hunt. And to express their views about hunting. That seems to be what sets me apart from the "mainstream" of the gun culture in this country.

Jim Zumbo has been a lifelong hunter and a spokesperson for this sport. Recently he decided to express his opinion about assault rifles. On his blog (on Outdoor Magazine's website but here is a link since that site has been removed) he wrote:

I call them “assault” rifles, which may upset some people. Excuse me, maybe I’m a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity. I’ll go so far as to call them “terrorist” rifles. They tell me that some companies are producing assault rifles that are “tackdrivers.”

Sorry, folks, in my humble opinion, these things have no place in hunting. We don’t need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I’ve always been comfortable with the statement that hunters don’t use assault rifles. We’ve always been proud of our “sporting firearms.”

Because of his comments, reports the Washington Post, Jim Zumbo has been attacked by the hunting community, he has lost his job as a writer for Outdoor Magazine, Remington has canceled their business relationship with him, the Outdoor Channel has canceled his show... and the NRA has severed its ties to him.

What happened to an America in which we are willing to accept differences of opinion, embrace diversity, defend each other's right to free speech?

This week my wife and I watched "Shut Up and Sing" - the documentary on how the Dixie Chicks were treated by the country music industry when Nicole, their lead singer, said on a stage in London that she "...was ashamed that our President is from Texas." The personal attacks included death threats. Worth watching, by the way, if you want to see an ugly side of America.

I am personally very disturbed by this lack of tolerance. I believe it is the greatest threat to our way of life -- not "terrorism."