Mystery Solved... Maybe

A Vanity Fair article claims to revealthe identity of "Deep Throat," who leaked information on the Watergate scandal to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward. W. Mark Felt, formerly "second-in-command" at the FBI told his family about his role a few years ago, and is not proud of what he did. The Washington Post and Bob Woodward, who has vowed not to reveal Deep Throat's identity until after DT's death or voluntary unmasking, have not commented yet, so its possible Felt is not the mystery figure.

Watergate was a bit before my time, and I never really speculated about who might have been Deep Throat. But I did read an article about a year or so ago that indicated that former President and then director of the FBI George H.W. Bush was a possibility. Felt fits the profile set forth in that article, a high-ranking official with access to confidential files. But, in comparison to finding out that the mystery man meeting journalists in D.C. parking garages later became President, Felt's identification seems kind of anti-climactic.

Update: Bob Woodward has confirmed Felt was Deep Throat.

Memorial Day

Executive Mansion
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864

To Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Mass.
Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln

Huh?!?

I don't know why my sidebar is suddenly screwed up. And I certainly have no idea why/how all these visitors are getting here from pages that don't link to me.

I'm confused. But I need food now.

Wwwhhhiiiiinggg....

I contributed my $18 to the record $150 million Revenge of the Sith made over the weekend. It was a pretty good movie, but it was also sort of sad since it is the last movie of the saga. I guess we could always look forward to the Star Wars TV series Lucas wants to make. Hmmm.... Yeah, maybe not....

Anyway, I read a few excerpts of Revenge reviews before I saw the movie. A couple said it is the best of the six films or that it at least rivals The Empire Strikes Back. It is a pretty good movie, but I don't know... I guess it depends on whether you prefer to see a dying Yoda lieing, joking, and wisecracking or a more vibrant Yoda in a lightsaber duel. Of course if you like lightsaber duels (involving Yoda or not), you absolutely love this movie.

There was also a review that complained because we never see what we are continually told about, Anakin being seduced by power. Without ruining the movie for anybody who has not yet seen it, let me just say... WHAT?!? I mean, Good God, man! Were you in the bathroom for a large chunk of the movie? I almost felt like we were being beaten over the head about his temptation. I understand that's what the movie is supposed to be about; I'm not complaining. I'm just saying, how can you say we never see it?

The Dreaded Post

Okay, maybe you don't dread this post, but I do.

I start a new job tomorrow morning. Between that and bar review, I'm sure I won't have much time for blogging through July. I may be able to sneak in a post here and there and on the weekends. I'll do my best for the pair of you who read this blog.

Lions and Tigers and Bears

ThatWunWife and I went to the Indianapolis Zoo Saturday. It was her first trip to any zoo, so she was excited.

The weather was perfect and the zoo was beautiful. The seahorses and sea dragon were interesting, but I think my favorite animals were the polar bear (who was swimming laps in his habitat with the return laps under water) and the elephant who was swaying back and forth and appeared to be dancing. ThatWunWife liked the walruses (walri?) because they would swim up the glass next to you and kiss the glass.

It made for a good day, and is definitely one of those things you should do at least once while you live in Indy.

Warning

I'm in a sarcastic mood today. Keep that in mind as you read the two posts below.

Republicans want a Communist Dictatorship

At least that's the overall message of a commercial I saw this morning. . .

The Senate's fight over the use of the filibuster to block judicial nominees is headed toward a climax this week as the two sides continue to fail to reach a compromise. The commercial was paid for by a PAC and shows cartoon elephants rampaging through a cartoon Washington, D.C., and tearing apart the capital. The narrator points out that the Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, and that a majority of federal judges were appointed by Republican presidents. "But that's not enough." What? Was this PAC founded by Ron Popeil? 'But wait! There's more!' The narrator continues that the Republicans are trying to break the rules (it may have been merely "change," I only saw it once) to gain more control over the country. The narrator mentions "a few brave Republicans" who have stood up to the party and tried to stop them. We get a Batman TV-series style angled close up of a nervous looking cartoon guy in a suit, then a wider view of the elephants walking down the middle of the street and the guy standing in front of them in a parallel of the incident in China's Tienamen Square where a man stood holding his grocery bags in front of advancing tanks. Finally the narrator tells us to contact our Republican Senators and ask them to stop trying to break the rules, and Senator Lugar's name and a toll-free number appear.

So, as you can see, the Republicans are clearly a bunch of cleverly (or not so much, depending on your p.o.v.) disguised Communist dictators. You'd better call your Republican Senator before you have to stop the elephant on your street!

Yeah, I know, you do what must be done to get your message across, but that seems sensational even for a PAC.

Everyone Wants into the Act

Revenge of the Sith hit theaters last night. Yeah, like you didn't know that with all the hype and tie-ins from everything such as Burger King and Pepsi. Anyway, my dog made me feel like Charlie Brown again, getting caught up in all the hoopla, like Snoopy decorating his doghouse for Christmas. Not that I'm upset like ol' Chuck. I wanna see the movie, I'm a geek too!

Anyway, this is not a posed picture. He did this stuff all the time as a puppy. I even came home from a job interview Tuesday afternoon and found him doing it again. I just couldn't get to the digital camera in time. So, I give you...

Padawan Puppy

Good grief.

Begun the Clone Wars Have

I watched the "Star Wars: Clone Wars" series on Cartoon Network over the weekend. I had watched the episodes from Volume I a few months ago, but never tuned back in for Volume II, so I decided just to watch it all together.

It was a pretty exciting show (and it was better without the Clone Wars intro before each chapter), maybe even better than Episode I or II. I know, that's not really much of a compliment. It shows the progress of the Clone Wars, Anakin's training and lack of patience, a bit of the romance between Anakin and Padme (is it wierd that it comes off as more believable and touching in cartoon form?), and the Sith scheming. It was actually a pretty good preparation for watching Episode III, except that now I really want to see the movie and I don't know when I'll get to.

Volume 1 is on DVD, or you can view all 25 chapters of the "micro-series" here.

A Time of Firsts (and a second)

I had my first foreign visitor yesterday. It was also the first time someone found my blog through a search engine. Someone from Canada surfed in after searching for "narf poit." A canuck Pinky & the Brain fan . . . Sorry this page probably wasn't quite what you were hoping to find.
I also had a second search visitor last night. This one searched for . . . well . . . the celebrity subject of What Were Their Thoughts?, the kind of film you hope your parents don't find in your living room, and the word "star." Hmm . . . I probably should have known that would happen . . .

What Were Tony Danza's Thoughts?

Those One Thoughts presents a new feature: "What Were Their Thoughts?," examining what was going through the minds of those who make boneheaded decisions.

The subject of the first edition of "What Were Their Thoughts?" is Tony Danza, who was not wearing a helmet when he flipped during a go kart race on his show. I will avoid taking the easy route to a laugh and simply saying Danza was thinking "Angela . . . Mona . . ." etc. So, I now give you Tony Danza's thoughts:

It's okay. My hair will act as a helmet.
I'm Tony Danza. What can
happen to me?
Helmets are for wusses.
If I can star in two hit series with
characters named Tony, I can survive a measly go-kart crash.

Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Andy Griffith Never Enforced This Law

ACLU challenges North Carolina cohabitation law

"I hear the lub, but where is the dub?"

I just finished my last law school exam. I feel excited, but I don't feel any of the sadness I expected. (See here.)

My last exam didn't have the anti-climactic problem Brian D. had with his last class. It was an appropriate and fun class on which to end. And it was an all day exam. Even my last class wasn't really anti-climactic; maybe unclimactic or non-climactic in the sense that the situation lacked a climax, but not anti-climactic because it was not a boring or intolerable class.

It's possible this being basically the end of my education hasn't sunk in yet and that it won't until after graduation. It's also possible that it won't sink in until August rolls around and I don't have to be back in class. Either way, I'm not waiting for the other shoe to fall.

One More and Miscellaneous Tidbits

I have a few different things to post about, but I only feel like doing this once tonight, so I'm just jamming everything together.

• First, I don't know what's going around, but I've caught it too. On my exam yesterday, there was mention of an attorney being disciplined (no, not a PR exam) for inappropriate sexual behavior with a client under Rule 69. I managed not to laugh out loud, but I'm pretty sure I smirked at it. Also, I was watching a cooking show with ThatWunWife this afternoon, and the host was making honey nut chicken. I giggled inside every time she said something like "I love nuts!" or "I don't wanna burn those nuts." Yeah, I know.... I think I'm just exhausted.


• When I turned on the vcr last night, the beginning of a West Wing episode came on. It just happened to be one of my favorite episodes, where President Bartlett is running for re-election and giving interviews on different local tv station morning shows. At the end of one interview he makes a comment about his opponent's lack of intelligence ("a .22 caliber mind in a .357 world", classic Bartlett), and Toby is upset because the station got it on tape. Of course at the end of the episode we find out that the President knew exactly what he was doing.


• I have just one more exam. Woo-frickin'-hoo. Seriously. I may even do a jig tomorrow when I'm finished. Then again, maybe not. I just hope I finish in time to turn my lock in to Therese and make a clean break.

Well, that's all for tonight.

The Dark Side is Not for the Weak or Faint of Heart

Reporters have seen their sneak peek of Revenge of the Sith, and say it deserves (WARNING!!! This story has spoilers for the new movie.) its PG-13 rating, a first for the Star Wars saga. Lucas defends the movie by saying that the disturbing parts are necessary to tell the tale of Anakin's descent to the dark side.

Revenge sounds really interesting with the transformation and the events leading up to it. I just hope it's better than the other two prequels. Anyway, I'm still counting down to the opening and preparing my lightsaber. (Okay, not really. I don't have a lightsaber, but I have thought about building one. I know it's not on the list, but that still makes me a bit of a geek, I know.)

All Apologies

My blog sucks lately, I know. I blame it on having to study for 4 finals on consecutive days. Either way, sorry to anybody who has been reading. Maybe I'll be more interesting after graduation.

I guess it beats sticking your foot in a door

I got an e-mail the other day with a subject that sounded like a thinly veiled reference to porn: "The Blonde and the Sheep." Since I was checking my mail through Outlook I got the little preview of the message when I went to delete it, and I couldn't help but read the first sentence or so. Turns out it was indeed spam, but not for a porn site. The spammer had just decided to put a joke at the beginning of the message. It was a blonde joke, of course, and not a great one, but worthy of a chuckle. Since everyone could use a laugh, especially law students around finals, I decided to share. Unfortunately I deleted the document I copied the joke into, so I'll have to recreate it from memory. Enjoy.

There once was a blonde who was so tired of hearing blonde jokes and comments that she decided to dye her hair brown. A few days later she was driving through the countryside when she had to stop to let a flock of sheep cross the road. As she watched the animals, she became enchanted with them. She stepped out of her car to speak with the shepherd.

"Say, I have an idea," she said. "If I can guess the exact number of sheep you have, can I keep one?"

The shepherd thought for a minute and, being a gentleman, agreed to the deal the woman had proposed. The woman looked over the flock for a moment, then said for no apparent reason, "382." The shepherd looked at her shocked because she had guessed correctly, then told her to take her pick of sheep. The woman surveyed the flock for several moments, then chose the cutest and most playful one of all.

The shepherd smiled and said, "Okay, now I have a proposition for you. If I can guess your real hair color can I have my dog back?"