Norlos

FYI — if you’re ever approached by a representative of FARC who wants to purchase arms from you, I would recommend thinking twice about it.

From the March 5th issue of the New Yorker:

The D.E.A. agents concocted a scheme, borrowing heavily from the scenario that had netted Kassar. Undercover operatives, posing as members of Colombia’s main rebel group, the FARC, would entice Bout, through intermediaries, with the prospect of a multimillion-dollar arms deal…[t]he undercover agents would insist on meeting Bout somewhere outside Russia, and catch him on tape discussing a shipment of surface-to-air missiles to the FARC, for the purpose of killing American troops in Colombia.

From the April 9th issue of the New Yorker:

When an F.B.I. agent named Jack Garcia posed as a representative of Colombian FARC guerrillas and asked for weapons, Horng sent him a catalogue, and Garcia ordered anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers, submachine guns, and AK-47s. To lure Horng and others to the United States for arrest, the agency staged a mock wedding for a male and a female agent involved in the sting. Horng and other guests received elegant invitations to a celebration aboard a yacht moored off Cape May, New Jersey.

The one silver lining to Mr. Guapo, Dr. No, Jebus and TSI! moving out of New York is that I’m no longer forced to be “sociable” during KU games by watching the games “with other people.”

I am now free to follow KU games where I feel most comfortable: lying curled in a fetal position on my bed and listening to the game on the radio while clutching a bottle of red wine.

The Doctor Who Themes 1963-2010

The NCAA maintains an online archive of former tournament games called The Vault. To get myself in the mood for the game later today (I’m writing this at about 3 AM EDT), I just finished watching the 2008 KU-UNC game and am now watching the 1991 KU-UNC game.

(I’m skipping the 1993 game)

During KU’s devastating 40-12 run to start the game, I started thinking about watching the game at the Dram Shop with Mr. Guapo and Dr. No. I think we all went into that game with some apprehensions about how KU was going to play.

KU’s start was solid, but then they went on their epic run. I’ll always savor that moment sitting at the bar with Mr. Guapo and Dr. No as KU’s lead ballooned as we mocked Roy’s tie.

As I get older, experiences don’t always stick as vividly in my memory as they once did. It’s something that happens.

That’s why I love the fact that that night watching KU beat UNC is so vivid in my memory.

We’ve made a new baby. He came on December 7 (“A day that will live in infamy”). His name is Luke and he likes to sleep. Yay!

Balloon Logging

Why am I linking to a song that appeared in the movie Rubber?

No reason.

while i was folding my laundry tonight, one of my youtube playlists provided the soundtrack to that mundane task. this song made me terribly sentimental for mr. guapo and the honey badger because they were the brooklyn who took me in.

(my laundromat is next to franklin park, so the time i spent there during the dry-cycle might my nostalgic mood.)

Warning: Discussion not suitable for work.

The phrase “niubi” in Chinese means, as far as I can tell, alternately “cow vagina,” “badass” and “stuck up.” It’s fairly common to see people adopt variants of the word for their online name and to use the phrase and knockoffs on the Chinese Internet.

I’ve asked co-workers to explain, which makes for awkward office conversations. “It’s because it’s sooo big,” said one.

Eric Abrahamsen, in an old post, fills in many of my questions.