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Mongolia Focus
Strategic Analysis: Contemporary Mongolian Politics, Resources, Society
About Brandon Miliate
About Marissa Smith
About Byambajav
About Julian Dierkes
Why am I interested in Mongolia?
Яагаад Монголыг би ингэтлээ их сонирхох болсон юм болоо?
Transparency and Independence
Судлаачын хараат бус байдал
About Mendee
About Bulgan
Ikh Khural 2020
Presidential 2017
Mongolia Scorecard
← Historical Memories: Contemporary Perspectives on Choibalsan
Covering 2020 Election →
Guest Post: Dragged into a Power Struggle: Mongolia caught between the Dalai Lama and Beijing
Posted on May 18, 2020 by Julian Dierkes
By Manlai N
On January 28th 2020, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala, India has announced that the long-awaited Tibetan Policy and Support Act was passed in the US House of Representatives. The bill was sponsored by Senator James McGovern and it is the most comprehensive policy bill on Tibet since the Tibet Policy Act of 2002. The bill has ensured that any involvement from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on decisions regarding the selection, education, and veneration of Tibetan Buddhism will be a violation of human rights and religious freedom, ruling out Chinese claims over the selection of the next Dalai Lama. The selection processes surrounding Dalai Lama is a highly politicized matter involving not only Beijing and the CTA but also other major actors like India and the US who all have a stake in the matter to varying degrees. Beijing and Dharamsala each claim authority over the selection of the next Dalai Lama. As the current Dalai Lama approaches his 85th birthday, the dispute is spilling over to third party-actors like Mongolia with its special ties to Tibetan Buddhism. While issues like these often used as a bargaining chip among great powers, specifically today in the midst of US vs. China standoff, more immediate impact often falls on weaker stakeholders like Mongolia who has more to lose than to gain.
Counter Claims
The main rationale behind Beijing's claim to select the Dalai Lama lies in the selection system known as the "Golden Urn", a process introduced during Qing dynasty. As a successor to the Qing, both, ROC (Taiwan) and the PRC have adopted the Golden Urn procedure.
The Golden Urn was first used in 1758 to appoint the third Jebtsundamba Khutukutu, the highest-ranking lama among Mongols. His predecessor, who sympathized with an anti-Qing rebellion, was put to death in 1756, and the Manchu emperor decreed that all subsequent reincarnations should be born in Tibet, not in Mongolia.
From 1792 on, all the highest lamas of both Tibet and Mongolia, including Dalai and Panchen lamas, were selected through the Golden Urn. In 1926, with the birth of the socialist Mongolian People's Republic, the government declared that the Jebtsundamba institution had ended. During this time, the ninth Jebtsundamba was "found" by the Dalai Lama in Tibet in 1933. His identity was kept secret over decades. Only when the communist bloc fell apart in the 1990s and Mongolia brought back religious freedom, did the current Dalai Lama reveal his name.
The Golden Urn was legalized in the PRC Reincarnation Law in 2007 and since then it was used only once to select the second-highest lama in Tibetan Buddhism – Panchen Lama, when the Dalai Lama-promoted Panchen suddenly disappeared at the hands of CCP.
Mongolia's Part in the Process
For the past few years, the battle over legitimacy between China and the CTA has been stuck in deadlock. Recently, however, the dispute is spilling beyond to third-party actors who can play role of a tiebreaker between the two parties. For both CTA and Beijing having support of the third party actors means an important acquisition strengthening their cause going forward. Similar to the another politicized case of Karmapa – one of the historically high ranking lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, Mongolia's involvement in the matter has further fragmented already broken religious circles forming various religious and political interest groups.
With its historic role in reincarnation politics, Mongolia was dragged into this geopolitical chess game when the Dalai Lama visited Mongolia in 2016 to reincarnate the tenth patriarch of Mongolian Buddhism. For Beijing, however, the Jebtsundamba institution had been dead since 1926. By "reinvoking" reincarnations himself, the Dalai Lama effectively undermined the Golden Urn and with it, Beijing's claim to legitimacy over the reincarnation process.
This instigated full-scale Chinese activity in Mongolia through all channels, from statements, sanctions and border closures to long-term campaigns aimed at the Mongolian public. This included "proper" portrayal of Tibet for Mongolian worshippers by putting on at least one Tibet-related event in a year. The homepage of the Chinese embassy in Mongolia now has a permanent section of Tibet-related materials on "Chinese Tibet in the eyes of Mongolia". These were the results of the works of several influential Mongolian reporters, researchers and other personalities who travelled under the embassy organized trip to Tibet. Upon return, they were tasked to produce various Tibet-themed contents to promote the development and progress in Tibet under PRC. In addition to circulation of various media contents across Mongolian media, a photo exhibition was the final piece of the last year's Tibet program.
While campaigns such as these are generally considered to be legitimate channels of influencing in the capacity of public diplomacy, China has been accused many times of overstepping the mark. The "Dorje Shugden" controversy is one such example. Starting from 1976 this controversy split the Dalai Lama's followers and the followers of a Tibetan deity called Dorje Shugden. The dispute revolves around the correct path for Yellow Hat Buddhism (Gelug sect) – the current dominant sect which Dalai and Panchen lamas all belong to. The Shugden followers insist upon an aggressive purge on other sects while Dalai Lama kept more progressive stance calling for non-sectarian cooperation among all the other branches of Tibetan Buddhism.
The most prominent figure in the International Shugden Community in Mongolia is Zava Damdin, the reincarnation of one of the high-ranking Mongolian lamas. He is a controversial figure with his lavish lifestyle and luxury store in the central Ulaanbaatar, openly opposes Dalai Lama, declaring himself – a real Mongolian lama, calling for Mongolian Buddhism's break away from Dalai Lama's institution. There are rumours that supporters of the main monastery in Mongolia – Gandan Tegchlen Khiid have distrust with Zava Damdin and his Shugden followers with occasional Shugden rituals in Amarbayasgalant khiid as a front for Chinese politico-business interests that pose a threat to Mongolian sovereignty.
While these are all alleged rumours put against China with United Front Work Department in the lead under Central Committee of CCP, cultivating ties with Dalai Lama-unfriendly monasteries, exploiting and fostering sectarianism and religious nationalism seems to be consistent with tactics deployed in countries with Shugden controversy.
If these allegations are proven to be true, for China in the midst of global discussions around 5G, BRI and the influencing campaigns in the post-COVID-19 world, its meddling, intended or not, in the internal affairs of its immediate neighbours, will have negative implications not only for a target country but to China itself. With ongoing problems in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, China risks not only causing instability in the region but also losing its hard-earned soft power it may have gained in the recent years. As with the discussion around Chinese influencing, Chinese campaigns in Mongolia are the prime examples of the most recent, up-to-date technique deployed from Beijing through all channels which rest of the world with its complex relations with China should be aware of.
About Manlai Nyamdorj
Manlai Nyamdorj holds an M.A in Contemporary East Asian studies from the University of Duisburg-Essen. He wrote his master thesis on China's soft power potentials and limitations from its societal resources. He can be found all across social media @mchonos
Julian Dierkes is a sociologist by training (PhD Princeton Univ) and a Mongolist by choice and passion since around 2005. He teaches in the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He tweets @jdierkes
View all posts by Julian Dierkes →
This entry was posted in Buddhism, China, Dalai Lama, History, Manlai Nyamdorj, Religion, Social Issues, Society and Culture, Tibet. Bookmark the permalink.
2020 Mongolia Focus in Review January 4, 2021
Podcast: 77Nation December 25, 2020
Guest Post: Spirituality and Wisdom Cherished by "The Legend of the Shaman" December 15, 2020
Democratic Convulsions November 7, 2020
Panel: New Film "Echoes of Empire" October 23, 2020
2020 Local Elections October 20, 2020
Interview with B Tsogtbaatar: Public Health and COVID-Response October 13, 2020
Geopolitics of Mongolia Podcast October 5, 2020
Friends in Defence of Democracy? September 25, 2020
Blip or Shift in Sino-Mongolian Relationship? September 17, 2020
Topics for Mongolia Focus
Mining Governance
Mongolia and ...
Mongolian People's Party
Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party
Oyu Tolgoi
Research on Mongolia
This work by http://blogs.ubc.ca/mongolia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada.


Technology chiefs lobby lawmakers to leverage IT for power consumption efficiencies.
WASHINGTON -- Not so long ago, any sort of "green" discussion on Capitol Hill between the IT industry and lawmakers would have meant only one thing: the size of the political donation.
"We have enormous opportunities to reduce energy use while increasing productivity," Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell said Feb. 6 at a press conference across the street from the White House. "We need officials here in Washington to support policies that spur the development of those technologies.
Dell and other industry leaders used the occasion to promote a new study from the ACEEE (American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy) that found technology enables a "dramatic" increase in energy efficiency and is actually a net saver of energy.
"Achieving greater levels of energy productivity requires that we start asking the right set of questions about the relationship between ICT [information and communications technology] systems and total energy use," said John Laitner, the ACEEE's director of economic policy analysis.
"Rather than focusing exclusively on the energy consumed by ICT, we should instead recognize the ways in which these technologies have helped our production processes become dramatically more efficient."
The tech chiefs also issued their own study focusing on specific technology energies, including how virtualization allows companies to run multiple systems on remote computers and, in turn, reduce energy demands. According to the Gartner Data Center Conference, 1.2 million servers have been virtualized, creating savings of 8.4 billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year.
"IT energy efficiency and data center power consumption have emerged as a top priority for CIOs and within the corporate boardroom," said EMC Chairman and CEO Joe Tucci. "Server virtualization and more efficient disk drive and flash technologies are extremely energy efficient when implemented in power-intensive data centers."
The Technology CEO Council members hit Capitol Hill pitching the idea that the private sector should not only talk green, but also walk green and cited virtualization and other technologies as perfect examples.
"Many of our nation's companies have demonstrated that through technology they can do more business with less energy," said Applied Materials CEO Mike Splinter. "Now we must ensure that we maximize the energy efficiency and environmental benefits that technology brings to our economy and that those benefits are shared by all."
The government, the tech leaders said, should lead by example by setting high but flexible goals for its own use of energy-efficient technologies and by re-evaluating its energy policies.
"The government is the largest energy user," said Splinter, who also proposed the government grant tax incentives for companies that demonstrate efficient energy use over time.
"Companies like ours will use renewable energy and power-saving software to lower our power consumption and costs, and we'll continue to develop smart technologies that maximize energy use," Dell said.
He added: "There's two kinds of green, the environment and the money you save."


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Knowledge about selected streaming services in Denmark 2018
Published by Julia Stoll, Oct 16, 2019
In 2018, most of the people in Denmark stated in a survey to had heard about the streaming services Netflix and DR TV, at respectively 82 percent and 81 percent. In contrast, only 16 percent of the respondents had heard about the Danish broadcasting service Dplay.
Share of people who are aware of the following streaming services in Denmark in 2018
Q2 to Q3 2018
Number of Netflix paid streaming subscribers in the U.S. 2011-2019
Media Usage
Audio podcast consumption in the U.S. 2008-2019
Most popular music streaming services in the U.S. 2018, by reach
Digital music revenue in the U.S. from 2008 to 2018, by type
Statistics on "Streaming in the U.S."
Share of adults who subscribe to a streaming service U.S. 2019
Monthly price paid for streaming services in the U.S. 2019
Time spent by Asian Americans streaming vs. watching live TV in the U.S. 2019
Gen Xers watching TV and digital video monthly in the U.S. 2017-2019
Frequency of watching and/or streaming sporting events U.S. 2019
Online radio reach in the U.S. 2018-2019, by age group
Weekly time spent with online radio in the U.S. 2008-2019
Leading online radio companies in the U.S. 2019, by active sessions
Audio streaming service usage U.S. Q1 2018, by ethnicity
Streaming music revenue in the U.S. by source 2015-2019
Forecast of Digital Music users by segment in the United States 2017-2024
Paid streaming music subscribers in the U.S. 2014-2019
Most popular online music videos in the U.S. 2018
Most important features in a streaming music service U.S. 2018
Reasons for changing streaming services in the U.S. 2018
Number of podcast listeners in the U.S. 2014-2023
Podcast reach on weekdays in the U.S. 2018, by daypart
Share of U.S. consumers who listen to audio podcasts 2006-2019
Apps used to listen to podcasts in the U.S. 2019
Devices used to play podcasts in the United States in 2019
Frequent locations for listening to podcasts by U.S. 2019
Leading U.S. video streaming services 2018, by monthly average users
Share of households streaming SVOD daily in the U.S. 2019, by user age group
Most in-demand video streaming services in the U.S. 2019, by share of demand
Likelihood of subscribing to Disney+ in the U.S. 2019
Corded pay TV subscribers using streaming services in the U.S. 2018
Frequency of streaming TV shows in the U.S. 2019, by age group
Streamed content viewing time share among Latinx Millennials U.S. 2019, by platform
Frequency of streaming movies in the U.S. 2019, by age group
Monthly movie streaming volume in the United States 2018, by age group
Most common devices to watch online video on television in the U.S. 2018-2019
Common devices used to stream or download TV series or movies in the U.S. 2018
Roku total hours streamed in the U.S. Q1-Q3 2019
Roku average daily time streamed in the U.S. 2016-2019
Smartphone users watching selected TV networks online U.S. 2018
Streaming via a connected device in the U.S. 2018, by age group
Mobile-only music streaming service users in the U.S. 2018
Subscriptions to selected streaming services in Denmark 2018
Daily coverage of selected streaming services in Denmark 2017-2018
Number of streaming services used by people in Denmark 2017-2019, by age
Weekly consumption of selected streaming services in Denmark 2018, by gender
Weekly consumption of selected streaming services in Denmark 2018, by age
Daily usage of streaming services in Norway 2019, by age
Daily use of traditional TV and streaming services in Denmark 2018, by gender
Online TV players viewing time in the United Kingdom (UK) 2018, by platform
Unsubscribe from streaming services after launch of Disney+ in Norway 2019
Unsubscribe from streaming services after launch of Disney+ in Denmark 2019
Unsubscribe from streaming services after launch of Disney+ in Sweden 2019
Unsubscribe from streaming services after launch of Disney+ in Finland 2019
Ranking of most used online video platforms in Norway 2018
Ranking of most used online video platforms in Sweden 2018
Ranking of most used online video platforms in Denmark 2018
Ranking of most used online video platforms in Finland 2018
Most used streaming services in Denmark H1 2018
Online TV revenues in the United Kingdom (UK) 2006-2018
Preferred paid streaming services in households in Norway 2017-2018
Share of children using online TV services in Sweden from 2019, by frequency
Preferred streaming or online TV services in Norway 2017
Online Videos in China Amazon Mobile internet usage worldwide Social networks in China E-Commerce in China
Kantar Gallup. (February 6, 2019). Share of people who are aware of the following streaming services in Denmark in 2018 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved January 20, 2020, from https://cdn1.statista.com/statistics/1029038/knowledge-about-streaming-services-in-denmark/
Kantar Gallup. "Share of people who are aware of the following streaming services in Denmark in 2018." Chart. February 6, 2019. Statista. Accessed January 20, 2020. https://cdn1.statista.com/statistics/1029038/knowledge-about-streaming-services-in-denmark/
Kantar Gallup. (2019). Share of people who are aware of the following streaming services in Denmark in 2018. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: January 20, 2020. https://cdn1.statista.com/statistics/1029038/knowledge-about-streaming-services-in-denmark/
Kantar Gallup. "Share of People Who Are Aware of The following Streaming Services in Denmark in 2018." Statista, Statista Inc., 6 Feb 2019, https://cdn1.statista.com/statistics/1029038/knowledge-about-streaming-services-in-denmark/
Kantar Gallup, Share of people who are aware of the following streaming services in Denmark in 2018 Statista, https://cdn1.statista.com/statistics/1029038/knowledge-about-streaming-services-in-denmark/ (last visited January 20, 2020)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Phox Pop magazine
'Makers Gonna / Gotta Make' Enamel Pins (multiple variations)
Anatomical Heart Enamel Pin Badge
Avocado Enamel Pin Badge
Full Moon Enamel Pin
Geometric Squirrel Enamel Pins (red / grey)
Graphic Art Print, 'Write On!' (multiple variations)
Pencil Set: 'Write Drunk, Edit Sober'
Photographic Art Print, 'Nostalgia' (multiple sizes)
Published by Born Free Press
Phox Pop magazine Issue 5
Inside, you'll discover: a scientist who applied her experience with animals to plants, and found some shockingly similar characteristics. An ex-officer investigating what happens to literature and language when it becomes digitised. The gender stereotype-redefining research…
Inside, readers will: meet an artist whose work knows no limits (not time, not space, not scale), and the pensioner who didn't let bureaucracy (or the 500-year-old foundations of a building) stand in her way. Hear from two different women finding fascinating connections…
Inside, readers will: meet an amateur collector who inspired a state-of-the-art museum, and a man on a mission to right a single grammatical wrong. Learn about leading women behind the lens through history, and a banned spirit brought back to life and legality…
Inside we examine: made-up musical instruments, and personifications of nature in Nordic folktales. The on-again, off-again relationship between Britain's first astronaut and her interstellar attire, and the scientist who's spent 50 years studying "the most remarkable…
Inside, readers will: take a journey through the history of a "heathenish liquor" that brought inspiration to 17th Century London, and the forgotten feminine origins of beer. Celebrate the enduring legacy of an instant icon, and hear a typographic…
Hi, we are Born Free Press. We design pins, stationery, prints, and things. All Born Free Press products are manufactured in the UK. We're driven by curiosity and creativity. We make things I'd like to buy ourselves; we hope you will, too.
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Strap in for summer fun in the Verona women's sandal from Eurosoft. Elastic straps are accented by a faux leather strap. The cork midsole adds contrasting color, with a wrapped wedge heel finishing off this design.


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Profile of Dreamcast Gamer »
Topics - Dreamcast Gamer
Retro Media. / Dreamcast Gamer: The Movie
A new full-length retro gaming movie has just been announced! This one is nothing like Pixels, Wreck-It-Ralph, or Atari: Game Over, as this is a free YouTube film starring...ME!
https://youtu.be/Ua5epFu1iEQ
This is really happening. I can't say much about it yet, but I will say that several YouTubers like The No Swear Gamer are in this film.
More details coming soon...
Here's some info from the descrition
"If you're new to the series, please watch these videos to understand the events leading up to this movie. Dreamcast Gamer is a fictional series about a teenage retro game reviewer who became famous after ranting about how awful games based on Garfield are. In recent episodes, he's encountered a mysterious organization (who's leader is wearing in a Garfield costume) that has been following him around. What does any of this mean? Watch these episodes and the movie to find out!"
Garfield - The Search For Pooky Review - Dreamcast Gamer Episode 18
https://youtu.be/0K1kfpi58lk
Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge Review - Dreamcast Gamer Episode 19
https://youtu.be/jxtcbaIxTdg
Altered Beast Review - Dreamcast Gamer Episode 21
https://youtu.be/rFjYY7hunfY
P.S. If this should be in the YouTube forum instead (since it's a movie, I figured it belong here) then please move it. Thanks
Retro YouTube Forum / Dreamcast Gamer: The Dreamcast Gamer Series, Game Reviews, Drum Covers, And More
Hello Everyone. I've been running a YouTube channel for almost a year now with some great stuff relating to retro games. Although my channel is called "Dreamcast Gamer", I'm not strictly Dreamcast. In fact, I mostly focus on consoles older than the Dreamcast. As new videos are uploaded, I'll post them here for you guys to see.
The Dreamcast Gamer episodes have a story to them that's part fiction, but with real game reviews. Everything else (except for random stuff like The Search For The Floppy Disk) is real life.
Introductions / Hello Everyone!
I'm the Dreamcast Gamer, a 16 year old that's obsessed with retro gaming, particularly anything made by Sega. I was searching the internet this morning to find a random retro gaming forum and found this awesome place.
Anyway, I'll be back later today. See ya!
Dreamcast Gamer


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Rarely senselessly vulgar; frequently slightly tacky
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What you don't say to women: a dirty old man case study
Annoyances, Consumption, Family, Language, Leisure, Popular Culture, Professional No Responses »
On a recent family excursion out to eat, our server was an attractive young lady of perhaps 22. I'll call her Lisa. She was comely, but also witty and warm. She was fun to talk to, and she did a fine job.
We had been there perhaps ten minutes when a guy came in by himself and sat at the bar (some distance from us but well within earshot). Now my immediate inclination is to describe him as "some older guy," but the truth is he had maybe ten years on me at most. I'll call him Ralph.
So we're there at kind of an off time, so Lisa's the server, bartender, and hostess. So she drew Ralph too. And as Ralph started talking to her, I could tell he was a smidge overly excited to be doing so.
Ralph opened with too much chit-chat about this offering or that on the menu, then progressed into excessively extended conversation about his beer selection. She/we eventually heard about where he lived, what he liked to do, where he'd traveled, how he'd like to build a shop because he liked to work on old cars…you get the idea. Lisa engaged him expertly. She was preserving her tip, to be sure, but I think she was also just a nicer person than I am.
Then Ralph said something about watching his weight. Lisa commiserated, which he took as a license to begin discussing her figure.
Now he was never out and out gross. But the truth is, there's really not anything a 50-something guy can say to a 20-something girl about her body that she wants to hear. (It's a perilous topic for any man to any woman, but the inescapable dirty old man vibe super-nastifies it, don't you think?)
Lisa was a pro, never hinting at any offense. I noticed she brought her boyfriend up pretty quickly when the conversation took that turn, though. I'm sure that's a standard and effective play for her.
It's just a shame she has to have it.
I wrote once of being a bad storyteller and not realizing it. I definitely don't ever want to be a dirty old man and not realize it. I love women, and I enjoyed interacting with Lisa. I think if you described our encounter to her, she would remember me, and she would recall that I liked her. But I think her assessment would be based in that we conversed relevantly and cheerfully, that we laughed together, and so forth.
(As opposed to that I dug her butt or helped myself to a glance down her shirt.)
Really, I'm not that worried about sliding down this slope. I'm 46 years old. I think if I were headed in that direction, there would be some clear indications, and I don't think there are.
But I do appreciate the reminder to keep my self-awareness charged up. It was also a good opportunity to talk to the boys about how we do and don't talk to women.
(I was truly heartened by how yeah-Dad-we-know they were about it.)
Posted by Bo at 10:21 am
Find your old elementary school readers to go straight back to childhood
Bo's Favorites, Consumption, Language, Leisure, Memories, Popular Culture No Responses »
At the end of ninth grade, Mrs. Austin went to collect our literature readers. If yours was lost, you had to pay a fee, but it was a pittance—nowhere near the replacement cost. Like $7 or something, OK?
So she asked for mine, and I gave her $7 instead and said mine was lost. She said no, I see it right there on your desk, Bo. I said no, it's, uh, lost. Here's my fee for being so irresponsible with it. She smiled and took my money, allowing her admiration of my desire to keep the book to very slightly defeat the cloudy ethics of the transaction.
So then several months ago I got to wondering about some of my other reading and literature texts, but from earlier in my childhood. I headed back to the Episcopal Day School in my head—to the Camelot days. I remembered that they were all of a series year to year. I remembered that they were published by Houghton Mifflin. And, I remembered a couple of titles.
And it turned out that was enough for me to locate and purchase a couple of them from independent sellers on Amazon.com. Behold my copies of Panorama and Images!
Panorama and Images. (Click for larger.)
Oh, these are such great fun to look through. They're in fine condition, Images in particular. It's worn from handling (being moved around in stacks and so forth) on the outside, but I don't think the pages have ever been turned in it. (The virginal issuance panel on the inside cover lends credence to this supposition.)
I think Images is intended for fifth grade, and Panorama third. Seems like Fiesta was between them. Here's a page showing them all.
There is a lot of great literature here, as well as wonderful artwork. And there is the occasional little flash when I'll turn a page or read a sentence, and really remember, viscerally, what it was like to be nine years old.
From Panorama. (Click for larger.)
I'm not sure how many of those moments await me here. That's why I haven't just sat down and read them straight through, and have no plans to. I want the buried treasure to last as long as possible.
Thursday miscellanea #449
Menagerie No Responses »
I went to Walgreens at Jordan and University this morning. The woman who rang me up sang to me instead of talking to me. How pleasant and unexpected!
Sounds like Neil Diamond will get a lifetime award at the Grammys this weekend. I may actually have to watch for that.
My friend C.C. Fridlin just published an Italian cookbook! I bought a signed copy yesterday at lunch. I'm looking forward to getting into it.
Vince McMahon today announced the return of the XFL. Yawn. The word "safer" popped up a time or two, but given that one of the central points of the original league was violence, how seriously should we take that?
The particularly rough cold and flu season has generated increased visibility on my feeds for a product called Oscillococcinum. Couldn't recall ever having heard of that. When I looked into it, I found that it was expensive, fraudulent garbage. I'm sad about the number of people I see recommending it.
Taco Bell just started serving fries again. They did this once before for a little while, remember? Apparently they're different this time, being seasoned all TexMexy and served with nacho cheese. I'll have to see a bunch of raves before I'll even consider such.
After all of the unambiguous cold we had, it seems the weather won't make up its mind for the next several days. Swings of nearly 30 degrees in a day are forecast. Good luck!
Posted by Bo at 5:14 pm
Neil Diamond retires from touring
Consumption, Current Events, Family, Leisure, Memories, Popular Culture 3 Responses »
Citing doctor's advice following a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, Neil Diamond has abruptly retired from touring just a couple of days shy of his 77th birthday. In doing so he abandons the Australia-New Zealand leg of his 50th anniversary tour.
Neil Diamond's Twitter profile photo
Neil Diamond is one of the greatest showmen of my lifetime. If your first time to see him was forthcoming on this tour, then you've missed him, Aussies and Kiwis. I am disappointed for you. Lea and I got to see him in Nashville with Dad and Martha, and it was a fantastic show.
I'm sad that he's ill, but so relieved he's still with us. I clicked his name in my Trending Now list on Twitter last night with more than a little dread.
That got me thinking again about how we can be "close" enough to celebrities that their deaths actually affect us emotionally. Before the fact I never would have guessed I'd cry when Prince died. And I didn't, until I got under the headphones, by myself, with "Let's Go Crazy."
(I saved that song for a quiet experience alone, so part of me probably knew it.)
No, the people aren't there with us. But, sometimes, if their influence is great enough, they can be directly adjacent to our experiences in our hearts, and we naturally get an emotional tendril or two into them.
I've written before of Neil Diamond. He's been right there, my entire life. He's in otherwise good health, and he believes (and has said as much) that he will remain prolific for years to come. So hopefully it will be a good while before we have to say goodbye to him. But when that day comes, I expect he'll be one of the few who upset me to that degree.
Exercise-induced water retention? Let's pull for that
Annoyances, Consumption, Leisure, Memories 4 Responses »
Well, I'm 16 pounds off my all-time high. I weigh less than I have in over a year.
Sadly, I'm apparently to the part where I stop losing weight because my body is getting used to exercise again and wants to protect the muscles it is rebuilding, so it hangs onto water like grim death.
(That is what I am telling myself. Of all the narratives I have encountered I find that one the most agreeable, so it must be the right one. Hmmm.)
I have to keep doing what I'm doing for another two weeks or maybe a little longer, and then I'll be rewarded. That's what it says here on the screen, so I know it's true.
I'll finish Ozark this week. Have to find another treadmill show.
I don't think I've ever used a treadmill seven days in a row. Heh.
Talladega infield 2017: still full of breasts?
Killed my grill, and I'm so thankful that's all
Review: Mountain Dew Zero Sugar
My expired nicotine patch
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Review: EXO Protein whole roasted crickets
Do it, Danica!
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In praise of Dirk
Posted on June 6, 2012	by redfloyd
It was on the cards for most of last season and sure enough, after six years in a red shirt, Dirk Kuyt left us this week Fenerbahce.
I was hoping he'd sign for Leeds, Spurs or Real Madrid so the headline could be "Dirk Wears White Sox" (Google it!). However, the rumours were about a return to Feyenoord, his old club, or Hamburg. None of this materialised as the lure of Champions League Football with the Turkish club and a better deal (three years and presumably more wonga) prevailed. Who can blame Dirk on the latter as at 31 years old this will surely be his last big move?
When he first joined Liverpool Dirk took some time to settle in. I remember my friend's wife, who is Liverpool fan, calling him Dirk Sh*t however, this couldn't be further from the truth.
I've said this before Dirk has his limitations for example you won't see him chipping the keeper from the half way line just as Suarez did at Norwich recently and you won't see him executing a Jan Mobyesque and Xavi Alonsoesque pass right into the space, no the blade of grass, where the on running player wishes it to be. In that respect he is very much like Kevin Keegan, what he lacks in "skill" or "Hollywood Football" he more than makes up for in other areas such as commitment, keeping it sensible and simple and, above all, sheer hard graft.
The end product is often the same, it's just that Dirk has a different way of getting there? An example? Take Luis Suarez's hat trick at Norwich, two long range shots and that audacious chip. Dirk got a hat rick against The Mancs last season which involved a series a short range tap ins. Which of the two was the more commendable Suarez's unique piece of inspiration or Kuyt's clever knack of being there in the right place at the right time? The answer to me is neither, both will do which his why both players, in their own individual ways, are/were just as valuable.
Liverpool over the last five years or so have been accused of being a one man team (Gerrard) or a two man team (Gerrard and Torres). This suggests that these players have carried the team to the places where its' been over that time with others hanging in it's wake. This is nonsense, especially as Gerrard and Torres have suffered long lay offs through injury. Moreover I would lay odds that Dirk Kuyt scored more vital goals during this time than Torres, Gerrard or anyone else you want to include put together. The list is impressive and if you are anorak enough to find out just type "Dirk" or "Kuyt" or "late" into the search engine on this blog to see some of the examples and if you still don't believe me I'm more than happy to list them to prove my point!
Many of these goals have been scored in the last twitchings of the game which says a lot about Dirk's fitness and his determination to see things through to the end and give 100%. Dirk didn't feature too much in the side last season however given the habit I've just described one wonders how many of our draws, especially at home, might have been turned into victories had he played? Underused and undervalued? Whatever the case it seems this made up his mind to move?
'My last season at Liverpool wasn't the best one, I thought that I should've played more so, after six years, I just had a feeling I needed to change something in my career, a new experience, a new country, new people around me, and that's why I made the decision to leave. I had a great time and I had great team-mates. The club was great, the people were great and the people from Liverpool – the text messages, the phone calls, the e-mails, all the tweets I had on my Twitter account – it's unbelievable how much respect they showed me and it's also a bit emotional."
Dirk Kuyt deserves every bit of it, I wish him good luck at Fenerbahce, their gain is very much our loss!
1 Response to In praise of Dirk
ratty jean says:
I will miss u my mentor, i love u Kuyt up till now i couldn't believe d story till next season kick off


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