For reasons that are obscure and mysterious, I suddenly started thinking about a mindless TV show that I watched 40 years ago called Daktari. Is this what happens as the mind melts in the late Boomer midlife? Has anyone else out there in OlyBlog had the joy of being contacted by the AARP Mafia yet? Have you succumbed to their blandishments? I'm not retired, and I'm not old, so go away AARP!

Oh sweet Jesus, now the $#@&%$ lyrics of Petticoat Junction are running through my head! Must ... resist ... but ... force ... is too ... strong ...

Come ride the little train that is rolling down the tracks to the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
Forget about your cares, it is time to relax at the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
Lotsa curves, you bet. Even more when you get
To the junction, Petticoat Junction.
There's a little hotel called the Shady Rest at the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
It is run by Kate, come and be her guest at the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
And that's Uncle Joe, he's a movin' kind of slow at the junction,
Petticoat Junction.

AAIIIEEEEE!!!!! Stop! Stop! Will this nightmare never cease? Will my brain cells ever cleanse themselves from the hours of primitive garbage (excepting JP Patches, naturally) I soaked up during the late 1950s and through the 1960s from that infernal black and white Motorola that had no remote control and we had to actually change stations (all three of them) with our own *sob!* *choke* HAND?

Help! When we Boomers start filling up the nursing homes, we're going to be sitting in our wheelchairs and drooling and reciting the same TV lyrics over and over, because like it or not that was the culture that united us and it got drilled into our heads during the pioneer era of television. So have pity on us and when we ask for a cigar, like Jedediah Leland in Citizen Kane, be a sport and humor our little foibles.

The Olympian published an interesting opinion today. Evidently, the Olympian endorses corporations that engage in all of the following behaviors:

Under the plan, a report card would be used to grade businesses on whether they discriminate against employees, pay a living wage, pay overtime, allow workers to join unions and give part of their profits back to the community.

And again, the paper flogs that old fallacy about how low paying jobs are better than no job at all. Except the facts don't support it. For example, the introduction of a Wal-Mart results in a net loss of jobs in a community.

Go read it. It's heady stuff. There is a good comment by Drew Hendricks in the comments.

You are invited to attend a public presentation by Bill Curtsinger, a photographer that specializes in underwater subjects. He has photographed 33 articles for National Geographic Magazine. His recent book is Extreme Nature: Images from the World's Edge. The lecture will be next quarter, Tuesday of Week Two (April 11) in Lecture Hall 3. at 7 pm. Everyone is welcome. Tell your students, put it on your syllabus, bring family and friends. Save the Date!

The background noise of this talk of whether to give more money to the PBIA (and here) and the demise of free parking downtown is that someday, in the future, we'll build a parking garage downtown. Which makes me scratch my head, because it seems like somone has already built a parking garage downtown. As I pass Chesnut on my way to the library, I take a look at the new building, known as Cherry St. Plaza, and notice an attached 540 stall parking structure there.

So, instead of  building a new, public parking structure downtown or charging for parking so some day we can build one, wouldn't it be easier to gain access to the parking structures that already exist downtown? Maybe open them to public parking during the evenings and weekends?

In addition to the new Cherry St. Plaza parking garage, there is also a huge parking garage underneath the east end of the Capital Campus. Wouldn't it be easier to open up that garage at night and extend Dash Service to 9 p.m.? 

CELEBRATE SPRING AND THE COMMITMENT TO END HUNGER IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH THE GLEANERS COALITION

We hope that you can join us this Saturday, March 25th as we celebrate spring and how Evergreen Students and the Organic Farm are joining local farmers and gardeners, service providers, meal programs and community members from all walks of life in the active commitment to end hunger in our community.

Free
Food
Music
with Fast Rattler
and The Grizzle Grazzle Trash Can Band

Silk Screening & Activities for All Ages...

Come and learn about how The Gleaners Coalition distributed over 11,000 pounds of fresh, locally grown produce last year to the growing number of hungry in our community. Learn about how we are planning to double our harvest this year, and about the new programs and projects we will be starting. Learn about how Evergreens very own student gleaning group The Evergleaners and Evergreen's Organic Farm are working with the growing collaboration in our community to end hunger...AND HOW EASILY YOU CAN PARTICIPATE...

To Volunteer to Help with this event
or for more information contact:
Barry Cannon 705-2375
canbar11@evergreen.edu

Associated Press:

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan man facing a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity may be mentally unfit to stand trial, a state prosecutor said Wednesday.

Police arrested him last month after discovering him in possession of a Bible during questioning over a dispute for custody of his two daughters. Prosecutors have offered to drop the charges if Rahman converts back to Islam, but he has refused.

I think it's becoming clear that building democracy in the Arab world is not worth our effort. A country like Turkey (working toward joining the West) is the exception, not the rule. It would take far too many US dollars over an extremely long period of time to even begin to bring these countries closer to Western standards (as we saw with the Palestinians, the opportunity to vote doesn't mean the management is going to change).