Laura and Matthew took me to sushi tonight. It was my first legitimate foray into the sushi genre. I knew Matthew and Laura would be good sushi teachers and that they would be sensitive to my aversion to all sorts of foods and food, um, concepts. So here is what I had tonight:
We started off with, of course, edamame and the three of us shared Asahi beer.
Then we got a veggie roll (it was a safe back up) and we also got shitake mushroom nigiri. Yum.
We had spicy scallop nigiri. Wow...I had no idea raw fish could be this tasty! If that was all we had, the evening would have been a success (Dayenu!).
We also had hamachi and maguro, which I really liked, much to my surprise.
We had a Dragon Roll, which was crab, unagi and avocado and a bunch of the little orange fish eggs (not a big fan). That was good but not my favorite.
Finally, we had hamachi tempura roll, also good but texturally it reminded me of chicken fingers, which I didn't really enjoy.
Overall, a great meal! The company was fabulous and so the fact that I was able to expand my horizons made it even better!
Then we went back to their place and played Scrabble...so fun. I actually won - a total come from behind victory!
I love my married friends!
Saturday, March 22, 2003
I am trying hard not to turn on the television. I am already thoroughly displeased by NPR...It's fascinating to hear the BBC broadcasts...those Brits (or at least the ones running the BBC) are clearly not fans of Americans! Everywhere you look it's war war war. Obvoiusly, right? I mean, that's what's going on these days...kind of makes you long for the days of blow jobs in the Oval Office and classic phrases like, "Depends on what your definition of is is." Much better than phrases like, "shock and awe campaign" and "embedded journalist."
So I am trying not to turn on the television. I really don't believe a single word anyone on TV says. The only thing I know for sure is that bombs are flying and US Marines are dying. Beyond that...I just don't trust anyone. Is Saddam alive or dead? Pictures of him having meetings with his aides do not convince me that he is still kicking...but remembering that we STILL haven't found Osama bin Laden makes me think Saddam is probably just fine.
I have struggled for months about this war, trying to come to grips with what I think is the "right" thing to do. I am conflicted because George W. Bush is a fraud bordering on theocrat and I do not believe a single word that comes out of his mouth. I am telling you, I could be standing in the rain and Bush could say, "It's raining," and I would not believe him - and that's the truth. That being said, Saddam Hussein is bad bad bad. Don't get me wrong, I do not think they are equivalent. And I won't say either of them is evil because the good vs. evil doctrine is irrelevant and inappropriate. In any case, I can't be against the war simply because I oppose George Bush and all that he represents. But I can't be in favor of it simply because Saddam is bad - there are so many bad "leaders" in the world...some, I am sure, who I have never even heard of!
There are a lot of reasons to favor this war:
Saddam is a tyrant. He tortures and murders Iraqi citizens for sport, and has been doing so since he came to power several decades ago. While he probably has no actual link to Al Qaeda, he does offer compensatoin to the families of murderous "suicide" bombers who want to see nothing more than the destruction of the State of Israel. And a terrorist is a terrorist anyway you slice it. He sits on incredible amounts of wealth (oil) yet starves his people to death because of his greed. And the list goes on and on. In short, Saddam Hussein is a murderous dictator and we should do all we can to liberate Iraqis from his stifling oppression. We need to foster democracy and freedom of speech in the Middle East where dissension is ruthlessly punished. Iraqi citizens deserve to have their government back, to reap the resources of their land, to build a country for their children and their children's children.
HOWEVER...
Why now? I mean, we have known about Saddam Hussein and his murderous ways for decades - shit, we left him in power after the first Gulf War when we could have "easily" taken him out. So why are we going in there now? And exactly what is the objective? Is it disarmament? Is it regime change? Is it revenge? How many Iraqi civilians will we kill and maim? What role is oil really playing in this? How many American soldiers will die? Why do so few other countries support us in this war? What will this war, at this time, do to international relations? What and who are the hawks going to go after next? If our government can't honor the tenets of democracy we are supposed to enjoy here at home, what makes them think they can install democracy in a society whose traditions date back thousands of years?
So I am conflicted. It is clearly not a black and white issue (what is?). With all that being said, I think it sucks. I am opposed to the policy of preemptive war. That's not war to me. That's invasion. That's attack. I am opposed to it and I can only hope the attacks end quickly, that all the protesters and anti-war activists (and don't get me started on the San Francisco action) hold the Bush administration - and the U.N. - accountable for the rebuilding and redirecting of Iraq, and that Islamist terrorists don't use it as an excuse to carry out attacks against us.
It feels awfully cliche to spend my first blog ranting about the war. I thought for sure I would muse on life, love and my awesome bike ride today!
So I am trying not to turn on the television. I really don't believe a single word anyone on TV says. The only thing I know for sure is that bombs are flying and US Marines are dying. Beyond that...I just don't trust anyone. Is Saddam alive or dead? Pictures of him having meetings with his aides do not convince me that he is still kicking...but remembering that we STILL haven't found Osama bin Laden makes me think Saddam is probably just fine.
I have struggled for months about this war, trying to come to grips with what I think is the "right" thing to do. I am conflicted because George W. Bush is a fraud bordering on theocrat and I do not believe a single word that comes out of his mouth. I am telling you, I could be standing in the rain and Bush could say, "It's raining," and I would not believe him - and that's the truth. That being said, Saddam Hussein is bad bad bad. Don't get me wrong, I do not think they are equivalent. And I won't say either of them is evil because the good vs. evil doctrine is irrelevant and inappropriate. In any case, I can't be against the war simply because I oppose George Bush and all that he represents. But I can't be in favor of it simply because Saddam is bad - there are so many bad "leaders" in the world...some, I am sure, who I have never even heard of!
There are a lot of reasons to favor this war:
Saddam is a tyrant. He tortures and murders Iraqi citizens for sport, and has been doing so since he came to power several decades ago. While he probably has no actual link to Al Qaeda, he does offer compensatoin to the families of murderous "suicide" bombers who want to see nothing more than the destruction of the State of Israel. And a terrorist is a terrorist anyway you slice it. He sits on incredible amounts of wealth (oil) yet starves his people to death because of his greed. And the list goes on and on. In short, Saddam Hussein is a murderous dictator and we should do all we can to liberate Iraqis from his stifling oppression. We need to foster democracy and freedom of speech in the Middle East where dissension is ruthlessly punished. Iraqi citizens deserve to have their government back, to reap the resources of their land, to build a country for their children and their children's children.
HOWEVER...
Why now? I mean, we have known about Saddam Hussein and his murderous ways for decades - shit, we left him in power after the first Gulf War when we could have "easily" taken him out. So why are we going in there now? And exactly what is the objective? Is it disarmament? Is it regime change? Is it revenge? How many Iraqi civilians will we kill and maim? What role is oil really playing in this? How many American soldiers will die? Why do so few other countries support us in this war? What will this war, at this time, do to international relations? What and who are the hawks going to go after next? If our government can't honor the tenets of democracy we are supposed to enjoy here at home, what makes them think they can install democracy in a society whose traditions date back thousands of years?
So I am conflicted. It is clearly not a black and white issue (what is?). With all that being said, I think it sucks. I am opposed to the policy of preemptive war. That's not war to me. That's invasion. That's attack. I am opposed to it and I can only hope the attacks end quickly, that all the protesters and anti-war activists (and don't get me started on the San Francisco action) hold the Bush administration - and the U.N. - accountable for the rebuilding and redirecting of Iraq, and that Islamist terrorists don't use it as an excuse to carry out attacks against us.
It feels awfully cliche to spend my first blog ranting about the war. I thought for sure I would muse on life, love and my awesome bike ride today!