Jenny from the Blog

English Roses sounds good, but Mr. Peabody ???

Fans Mob Madonna Book Signing
By Robert Kahn, NYDailynews,
September 29, 2003

About 250 winners of a telephone lottery gathered Monday at the Rockefeller Center Barnes & Noble to hear Madonna read from "The English Roses," the first of five books addressing adolescent challenges.

Those lottery winners with children had no qualms about exposing them to the woman who made her name on sexuality.

The second book from Madonna's series, due Nov. 10, is called "Mr. Peabody's Apples" and is about the damage done by false rumors and gossip

Rising Sun, Sinking Hiro

I feel like I keep losing money... In the past couple of weeks, Japanese yen has been getting more and more expensive. One dollar was 120 yen in early August, but now 1 dollar is 112 yen, expected to be 110 yen in October. Think about it:

Assuming you are making 40K (for calculation purpose only!!) a year and will buy Japanese yen.
When 1 dollar = 120 yen, you can buy 4800K yen.
When 1 dollar = 110 yen, you can buy 4400K yen.

This means you have lost 400,000 yen, which is worth one-month income. I try not to think yen is going up to 100 or mor

What are they doing???? And what am I reading????

Ben Affleck Buys Truck in Ga.
Friday September 26, AP

For car salesman Greg Stanley, it started as a call like many other calls he gets at work: A man asking for a Dodge Ram pickup truck, with four-wheel drive.

OK, sure. We've got some on the lot. Name please?

"Ben Affleck."

Yeah, right. "And my name is George Bush," Stanley thought to himself.

Sure enough, Affleck AND Lopez showed up in a black Range Rover, followed by a small army of photographers.

The deal was done. And the Hollywood stars were on their way.

But, it's not that too simple...

World Bank faults the rich countries
Compiled From Dispatches
Tuesday, September 23, 2003, AP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates The World Bank opened its annual meeting here on Tuesday with a blistering attack on rich countries for spending hundreds of billions more on their militaries and their farmers than on helping the poor.

"Our planet is not balanced," the bank's president, James Wolfensohn, told delegates from 184 countries. "Too few control too much, and too many have too little to hope for. Too much turmoil, too many wars. Too much suffering."

"It is inconsistent to preach the benefits of free trade and then maintain the highest subsidies and barriers for precisely those goods in which poor countries have a comparative advantage," he said.

I want to buy...

In French Deck, Bush Is King of Diamonds
By Associated Press
September 25, 2003

PARIS -- The ace of spades? Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld gets the honor in a new French deck
of cards. President Bush is the king of diamonds and Osama bin Laden the joker.

"I found it completely indecent to present a manhunt as a game," said Thierry Meyssan, the man behind
the French deck. "We thought this card game would allow us to ... explain why we consider the
government of George Bush a threat to international security."

Each card carries a photo of the official and a text explaining the choice. Bush, as the king of diamonds, is described as "the president of a baseball club."

http://www.reseauvoltaire.net/bushregimedeck.html

Veerrry complicated....

A Hil run? We're of two minds
By THOMAS M. DeFRANK and MICHAEL R. BLOOD
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Thursday, September 25th, 2003

They like her - but they don't want her.

Sen. Hillary Clinton should stay out of the 2004 presidential race - but if she gets in, she would be the favorite of New York's Democrats by a wide margin, a new poll found.

New York's junior senator, with 46%, topped her closest rival, Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, in a primary matchup by more than 30 percentage points.

But despite her popular showing, seven of 10 registered voters don't want her to run and nearly an equal percentage predict she will stick by her word and skip the 2004 White House sweepstakes.

Asked if there were any circumstances under which she might run, she replied, "I've said the same thing consistently for ... four years, and I have nothing to add to my continuing position that I'm not running."

Asked again if anything might change her mind, she said, "No.

What are they doing?!

Lopez, Affleck Seek Gun Permit in Ga.
By Associated Press
Staff Writer, September 23, 2003

Hollywood's most overexposed couple set gossip pages aflame anew on Monday when they popped into a South Georgia courthouse near Affleck's island home.

But apparently it was a gun license, not a marriage license, that the on-again, off-again super couple was seeking.

The appearance has unleashed a horde of paparazzi and celebrity reporters onto the small town of Hinesville, where a court clerk verified Tuesday morning -- apparently not for the first time -- that the couple did not apply for a marriage license

That's interesting!!

Two Dems beating Bush
By THOMAS M. DeFRANK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2003

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released yesterday found both Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who has been a declared candidate for less than a week, are running ahead of Bush. Clark beat Bush 49% to 46% in a trial heat. Kerry nosed out Bush 48% to 47%.

The new numbers seem likely to rekindle speculation about Hillary Clinton's presidential aspirations.

That view was endorsed yesterday by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who called Clark "something of a stalking horse" for Hillary Clinton. "If one of [the Democrats] starts to emerge with the possibility of being able to defeat President Bush, then I think she may just jump in right now," Giuliani said.

"I think he has stated the reality that it is up to me, and I have made a decision," she said. But she ducked when asked whether she'd rule out a draft by her party.

So, is she running?

Bill wants Hil to run
By JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Monday, September 22nd, 2003

Two sources told Time magazine that Clinton has been urging his wife to reconsider her decision not to take on President Bush next year, despite Bush's shrinking approval ratings tied to Iraq and the economy.

A Newsweek poll over the weekend showed Wesley Clark a leading favorite among 14% of registered Democrats, beating Howard Dean (12%) and John Edwards (6%). But if Clinton joined the race, she would be the first choice of 33%.

But one Democratic insider who has counseled several campaigns said Hillary Clinton, who is widely believed to be looking ahead to the 2008 presidential race, would make a good GOP target, allowing Bush to bash the Clinton White House for leaving the country open to the 9/11 attacks and reminding Americans that the economy started to tank at the end of her husband's watch.

Rep. Charles Rangel, who pushed Clinton to run for the Senate in 2000, said talk of Bill Clinton urging his wife to break her word "could be the basis of a good novel." Rangel (D-Manhattan) is backing the new Democratic front-runner. "I expect soon to be endorsing Gen. Clark.

Mariachi
The guitar is literally getting painful!!! In order to play some particular chords, you have to forcefully bend your fingers completely unnaturally. I bet those fingers will eventually get discomposed into what human beings are not supposed to possess. Anyone who decided to use such fingers must have been crazy. I reckon s/he was similar to the person who first ate mushroom, which possibly includes poison. Very dangerous mind.

Outlook for UN: 'radical' overhaul
Felicity Barringer/NYT
Saturday, September 20, 2003

A mood of skittish uncertainty
has descended on the leaders of the United Nations. They are eager to overhaul their institution, but worry whether any change can give it the freedom it needs to survive without being seen as either a lackey of the United States or an easily swattable gadfly.

Today, Europeans view the United Nations as the embodiment of international law and world order. The United States seems to view it as a tool to be used when handy. Africans and Asians tend to have more case-specific uses for UN diplomacy and its general advocacy for the poor and disadvantaged, who are not much on the minds of rich nations.

But for UN officials, many of whom have never worked anywhere else, the bottom-line question remains how to relate to the United States.

Washington moves again to isolate France
Steven R. Weisman/NYT The New York Times
Friday, September 19, 2003

WASHINGTON The Bush administration, incensed by France's demands for greater United Nations oversight in Iraq, is working to isolate France and win a majority at the UN Security Council for the American approach, according to administration officials.

In effect, administration officials say, the policy now is to enlist the Germans in negotiating a possible compromise resolution and to offer Russia a chance to take part in Iraq's reconstruction - as well as get a share of the lucrative contracts to be offered. Powell has repeatedly praised Russia and Germany for trying to work out a compromise.

A diplomat familiar with administration thinking summarized the American policy as: "Talk to the Germans, buy off the Russians and isolate the French." Another was less polite, saying that Condoleezza Rice, the White House national security adviser, had characterized the approach as "ignore, reward and punish."

Lawsuit against file-downloading (Neil Strauss NYT
Monday, September 15, 2003)

...with the escalation of the battle last week (with lawsuits filed against, among others, a 71-year-old grandfather and a 12-year-old girl), some musicians say they are beginning to wonder if the actions being taken in their name are a little extreme.

Cool side
Moby: "How can a 14-year-old who has an allowance of $5 a week feel bad about downloading music produced by multimillionaire musicians and greedy record companies." "The record companies should approach that 14-year-old and say: 'Hey, it's great that you love music. Instead of downloading music for free, why don't you try this very inexpensive service that will enable you to listen to a lot of music and also have access to unreleased tracks and ticket discounts and free merchandise?'"

Dark side
Metallica and Loudon Wainwright 3rd: "If you're going to break the law, the hammer is going to come down."

Mediocre
Rodney Crowell : "I see both sides."

In fact:
Artists do not receive royalties for a CD until the record company has earned back the money it has spent on them. "I don't have sympathy for the record companies," said Mickey Melchiondo of the rock duo Ween. "They haven't been paying me royalties anyway."

Curse of Black Pearl

Transportation was horrible today. At first, I was waiting for 6 train at 116 st. for 30 minutes. Everyone was cursing and spitting around. Then finally-coming-train ran smoothly to 86th st, where it was announced that was the last stop. Everyone was cursing and running to 4,5 train. Then it was announced there was no train service. Everyone was cursing and getting out of the station. Then we were on TOO long line at the bus stop. Of course everyone was cursing and talking on the phone. The bus was too packed for people to move by any inch. It was like mad hell. Since the driver skipped several bus stops, one guy was trying to open the door, one old woman started crying, and driver was cursing... I love NY.

P.S. I saw a guy selling t-shirts, which says "We Survived Blackout"

So, she is not running?

Bill backtracks, says decision made

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD
DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Yesterday, the former President's spokesman issued a one-line statement that tamped down any suggestion that Clinton was thinking about running.

"He has said it is her decision, and she has decided," said the spokesman, Jim Kennedy.

Isabel, where is she??? I was so excited to see windier day, how disappointing... Who is naming those hurricanes? In Japan, it's just Typhoon 1st, Typhoon 2nd, 3rd...so on. Very boring. But I loved going to see sea on the typhoon day because it's too windy. And something weird always flew to the beach like soap bottle made in Korea. Also, the most exciting was Big Thunder Mountain in Tokyo Disney Land on the very typhoon day. I would have died if possible. I hope she is coming tonight.

So is she running?

Bill on Hil: It's a maybe
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD
DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Clinton loyalists were startled yesterday to hear former President Bill Clinton suggest that his wife hasn't made up her mind yet about running for the White House.

Former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, who moderated the Monterey event, said the ex-President's remarks should be taken "at face value. In the end, she's going to make the decision."

Joseph Mercurio, a political consultant in Manhattan, said talk of a Clinton candidacy would pay political benefits.
"I don't think she's going to run, but I think she's loving the coverage," Mercurio said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/118624p-106901c.html

I am wondering how many people read both Harry Potter & Hillary Clinton this June. People who love both Harry and Hillary would enjoy the arcticle from Villege Voice "Hillary Potter and the Senate Chamber of Secrets."

--------
"You know I can't run," she told him (Nearly Headless Bill). "I'm only a third-year Hogwarts Senator?not even a prefect yet. I haven't even learned the Immunization Spell. And I can't go against the Prophecy."

"But what if Eleanor was wrong about the year?" he urged her. "Hagridlock says that in the Forbidden Forest, the ashcrofts are growing wild. Anyway, if you do decide to run, I wanted you to know I'm with you."

"That's my problem," Hillary very nearly shouted, her headband indentation going scarlet. "Oh, leave me alone, Nearly Headless Bill! I need to think. Go talk to Dumbledole."

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0337/carson.php

OK, this is the first post, so I have to write about the reason of this title. Obviously, the Bennifer affairs made me come up with this very smart title. I wonder if J.Lo will sue me for violating intellectual property right. But in that case, I may be able to connect her and even see her, which will be very exciting. Anyway, I can't believe Ben damped her. When they got engaged, I was so shcked that my friend A.CM comforted me, saying "They will break up soon." Which was true.

Oh my god, does anyone think I can continue this blog thing?