Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Pope Is (a) Dope

So, you may have heard about the Pope's recent comments about Islam. Believe me, I'm no fan if his. In fact, I'm no fan of any organized religion (more on that in a bit). But part of me (yikes) agrees with the Pope. I mean, just look at the reaction. The Pope--and I'm paraphrasing--quoted a Byzantine scholar from ages ago who equated Islam with violence and hatred. So to protest this depiction, Muslims, uh, set fire to shit, rioted, the usual insane VIOLENT reaction they have when anyone dares say anything at all about their religion.

Believe me, I'm no fan of the Pope. I hate him, actually, especially because of his backward views on gays and the world in general. And he should have kept his mouth shut in his position. But I'll just say it, I hate the Muslims, too. I'm about as liberal as they come, and I know I should be tolerant and all that jazz. But why? They want nothing more than to wipe the rest of us--non-Muslims, aka infidels, be they American, or gay, or Korean, or Danish, anyone and everyone--off the face of the earth. Why should we tolerate that?

Yeah, yeah, not ALL Muslims are evil. Not all Christians are bigots. I know. But I'm reading a fantastic book right now called The End of Faith by Sam Harris. I'll write about it later, because so far it's blowing my mind. But he argues that even religious moderates a troublesome, because they aid and abet the religious extremists, who, if we're not careful, will destroy all of us in the end. I've also been persuaded by people like Ayann Hirsi Ali, a Dutch-Somalian woman who has written about what an oppressive force Islam is and how Westerners should stop tolerating it, at least within their borders. More on her later, as well.

In the end, Harris argues for the end of ALL religions, except for those that are more spiriutal and internal, like Buddhism. He's pretty damn persuasive. Meanwhile, I hope no Muslims read this, because they'll probably put out a hit on me. Because, you know, they're NOT a religion of violence and hatred at all.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Yeah, Yeah, We Know!


I just watched the U.S. Open men's final, which Roger Federer won by beating Andy Roddick. It was a good match, but I was rooting for Roddick. Federer is a great player. But I am sort of tired of hearing about it. Yeah, yeah, we know he's great. Now stop creaming in your pants about him. Throughout every broadcast I have to listen to that again and again. I'd watch the matches on mute, except I want to at least her the balls striking the racquets and the court.

Also, this weekend Federer had Anna Wintour in his box, and today it was Tiger Woods (another tiresome winner). I didn't know a star could be a Star Fucker, but I guess you can. Anna Wintour? What the fuck? I guess the Williams sisters are star fuckers, too. Hell, maybe they all are. I just find it amusing—and annoying.

And oh yeah, we KNOW Maria Sharapova is pretty, oh so pretty. We get it. Now shut up about it. To her credit, she actually cares about tennis and has a game to back it up. But every commercial reminds us of how bad-ass beautiful she is. Are there that many dogs on the women's tour where she gets elevated to Goddess status?

And of course they would NEVER objectify a male player. I want to see a commercial where Dmitry Tursonov (see above)—a Russian hottie, maybe the male version of Sharpova—shows his abs and bends over a lot and is basically ogled by the camera. He's quite dreamy, I think. Sigh. (Roddick ain't bad either. My other tennis crush is Richard Gasquet. Hell, even Federer is pretty damn cute. Okay, I'm being shallow and vapid, but if males can be that way about women, then I can be that way about men!)

Friday, September 08, 2006

Chapter 7

I'm on Chapter 7 of my novel. I think it will ultimately be 12 chapters, so I'm a little over half-way there. So far, so good. Of course, it could all turn out to be rubbish in the end! But I must say, I feel like I'm on the right track. And when I reread stuff, I think it's good. Or, at least, it doesn't make me cringe. I hope to finish two chapters each month, which is a tall, exhausting order. But I can get about 3 decent pages done in about an hour, if I focus, so I should be able to manage it. I want to be mostly done by Christmas, so I can just go home and enjoy the holiday and celebrate.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Farewell, Agassi


Last week I had the pleasure of being able to watch and witness--in person--Andre Agassi's last victory as a professional. This was last Thursday, a balmy night, and he was playing a young player from Cyprus, Marcos Baghdatis, who is actually #8 in the world. No slouch.

It was amazing--vintage Agassi, vintage late-night U.S. Open. I went with my friend Amy's boyfriend, Robert, a cute Irishman. Our seats were high up, but still decent. The best part was the energy, rowdiness, and excitement of the crowd. From point one, the place was nuts. Almost unruly, like we were at some Davis Cup match in South America or something.

WE didn't get out of there until about 1:00am, and then the subway ride back to Grand Central was packed and took a long time. All in all, I didn't get home until 2:30am. So the ride home from Flushing Meadow sucks, esepcially at night. But it was all worth it. Even if Agassi had lost (which he did in his next match), it would have been worth it, because then we would have seen his very last match, ever. It was historic, anyway you looked at it.

I've been a fan of his since the get-go, even when he had really bad hair and bad clothes. He's just such an exciting player--his power, his grit, his mental game. No one will ever compare, probably. I do love Andy Roddick, but he has a long way to go to achieve what Agassi did. Plus, Agassi had to rely on a lot more than just a serve.

Don't even get me started on the women's game now, which is sort of a snoozefest. I miss Monica Seles the most. And will anything ever compare to Martina vs. Chrissie in the 1980s? I know, I'm old...