Local business check: Is it true that The Londoner has closed its doors for good? If so, where are Taichungers going to go for cricket, rugby, bad pizza, FES*, and other staples of British culture? Was it a victim of **** *** *******'s campaign to clear out the competition before opening his own pub? Wouldn't an appropriate name for such a pub be **********? Yeah it would.

Tonight, the peripatetic menace known to the world as Malv shall meet his demise over the Axis & Allies board. This is the new version, with destroyers, artillery, victory cities etc., but since neither of us have any idea how the game dynamics have changed with the new pieces and rules, there is no advantage to either side. The only important fact is that Malv has absolutely no chance of winning, evidenced by his being a bald Republican. No way am I going to lose to a bald Republican. No Way.

On this blog, I seldom talk about what books I'm reading and my thoughts on them. You don't care what I'm reading, and to be honest, I don't have that good of taste in literature anyway. I am departing from this tradition because the book I am reading right now demands special commentary. I am reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Here's the commentary: It is shite. (that's a quaint English way of saying 'shit'). The fact that it made the New York Times Bestseller List is comforting only in that it tells me that there are people out there with worse taste in books than me. If I start smoking again in the next few days, I'm gonna blame this book. Or maybe Malv.







* Failed Empire Syndrome. Don't even ask.

8 days and something. How in the hell do you people go your ENTIRE LIVES without smoking? If you don't smoke, you can get bored! I haven't been bored since 1988, at least until until last night at the airport when I was waiting for our customer to arrive. Waiting for two hours is no problem with a pack of cigarettes. If I have smokes and a book, I can stretch a wait into four hours before starting to wonder: "When is this person going to get here?". Last night I had no smokes, and the book I am reading is The Davinci Code. Long wait indeed.

This weeks theology discussion will center around the growing threat of Unitarian Jihad.

We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the secretary.

Heh. And heh again. Reminds me of the only Unitarian joke I know:

An eccentric man purchases an expensive Lamborghini sports car and decides that such a fine car should be given a religious blessing. The guy drives around town. First he stops at a Catholic church and asks the priest to bless his Lamborghini but the priest asks, "What's a Lamborghini?" Same response from the rabbi at the synagogue and from other religious leaders at their respective houses of worship. Finally, in a last ditch effort, the man pulls into the driveway of the Unitarian Universalist church, where he chances upon the UU minister exiting from her car. "Nice Lamborghini!" the UU minister exclaims. "Thanks," says the man, "I was hoping you might give it a blessing." The UU minister replies, "What's a blessing?"

5 days, 19 hours, I don't know how many minutes because it is Sunday morning.

Disregarding Aaron's advice, I went to poker with a few Budweisers under my arm and a pack of gum in my pocket. I should have listened to Aaron. Not that I started smoking again, but I was unfortunate enough to witness our cherished poker game get utterly wrecked by the rude stupid newbie brought to the game by Pimp. Any single attribute (rude, stupid, newbieness) is acceptable in itself, but combine all three and you've got a guy who doesn't know the rules, can't understand the rules when you explain them, and insists that the way he and his friends play is the only right way and the six of you have no idea what you are doing. I left at 11:13pm. Pimp, if you brought that blockhead to chase me away from the game to make sure I didn't start smoking again, then Thank You. If not, then what in the hell were you thinking?

In the news: China Protestors Attack Japanese Targets. The government of China thinks that by allowing these protests, it can pressure Japan while at the same time letting the Chinese people direct their frustrations toward an outside target. I have seen this before, and that shit's gonna backfire.