Soho Street - Taichung

In the foreground with the patio umbrellas is PJ's, watering hole for guys, men and other types of males. Soho Street is more like an alley, about the same width as the ones back home in Lubbock, only shorter and bricked with most of the trash being kept on the inside during the cold and rain. Invisible on the back right is Salut Pizza - the only other food/bar venture other than PJ's able to survive for any reasonable length of time. Back even farther on the right corner is the equivalent of the Philadelphia Eagles or the Buffalo Bills: an organization that looks really promising, tempts patrons and ultimately ends up collapsing like a Don King second-tier stable boy. Various names, same result - nada. Close up and leave the equipment for the next sacrifice. However, and that is a caution-laden optimistic however, within the week that all could change. Many have eyeballed the corner lot and thought about what if. This week, we should know if that becomes a what will. That's enough for now except to say that if it does work out, we will have a place to resume watching the playoffs together while enjoying our morning, frosty, adult beverages.

Red A at 12

Watch the Kid from the Man Show in the Beer Stand and Try to Get a Date .

Red A

Have lost your email, please send it along.

Northern Command Meeting

There will be a meeting tonight of the Northern Command at N.C. Headquarters ( 8 Drunken Fairies). D-Wayne (NOT in Canada) will be there. Start time is 5:30 for me and later for yall. Bring books for swapping. We will suspend the "Hey this is a book exhange. I don't care how many books you bring" rule of taking only one book. I might even bring some barbecue for take home. If you want some, let me know before 5:00.

Christmas 'Cue

8 pounds of beef chuck, only hours away from being served. This was my first attemp at barbecuing chuck. Brisket, yes. Ribs, yes. Chuck, nay. However, with a little help from Smoky and my custom-made barbecue grill, I was able to get it done within Smoky's time parameters, but not my wife's. She quickly recanted after chomping down on a mouth chock-ful of chuck. We were joined by Kevlar and Kaia, Jimbo and Rye. We all thanked God for the barbecue, Petra for the jalapeno corn bread and the Green Giant for the corn. While it's wonderfully edible without any finishing sauces - well, okay, one light coat - I did provide one at the table. It's a Smoky recipe, both very easy and superior to store-bought stuff. Almost anything is if you make it yourself and can still eat it. With regards to Smoky, here is the finishing sauce of his that I used.

Mid-South Finishing Sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
4 Tbs. Worcestershire
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
4 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. black pepper
1 Tbs. Tabasco
2 lemons, juice of
3 Tbs. yellow mustard
1 Tbs. salt

Mix and simmer 10-20 minutes

The only changes I made were to use apple cider vinegar and add some pure chipotle chile powder. Try it out and let me hear back. Remember, this is a finishing sauce and will burn unless applied at the tail end of cooking.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Thinking of visiting Taiwan? Why not? After all Taiwan boasts some of the most creative minds in fashion and nouvelle fusion cuisine. The epitome of this renaissance resides in the heart of Taiwan itself, Taichung. And nowhere else is more representative than PJ's Cafe. Our longtime friend and holder of our tabs, PJ boldly experiments with new concepts and dishes. But we all know how some of these highfalutin prima donnas can be. At times, PJ is no different. He has a tendency to be a wee bit garrulous. We're talking bite-the-gun-and-pull-the-trigger verbosity. So we have prepared a list of words, phrases and topics to avoid, lest you want to void your life insurance policy.

NOT SAFE

cabins n painting (house) n Barney and/or the Flinstones n hitchhiking n backpackers

High School football n massage therapy n real estate n the Irish (not Notre Dame) n the KMT

the exchange rate n the smell in the bathroom n drug dealer Kevin n gangsters n UFOs

the 1st week in Taiwan n defending Taiwan n service n tipping

We have deemed the following SAFE - 3 sentences or less in reply

ice hockey n food safety procedures n suppliers' identities n sci-fi n Malawi n mullets

Santa and his reindeer (tee hee)

This guy is collecting the wrapping papers. The price of cardboard recycling must have gone up. There are alot more people recyling/

Mashed Taters and Carrots for Kevlar

This is the base from which you add your own variations.

Ingredients:

• 4 lb large boiling potatoes such as Yukon Gold or russet (baking) potatoes: NOTE - 6 large potatoes is roughly 4-4 1/2 lbs.
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Destructions:

To peel or not? Most people peel the potatoes, however, I don't. The skin adds a texture I like with little discernible color to the taters. Strictly your call. Place the cut potatoes in cold, salted water to cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until tender. The size of the cut doesn't matter as much as making the pieces as uniform as possible so they will all cook the same. Drain and return to pan. Add butter and room temperature ( or even warmed ) milk, salt and pepper and mash the bejeezus out of them. If you don't have a potato masher, a fork will suffice if you put a little elbow grease into it. Makes about 8 servings.

Variations:

When in Puerto Galera, you, me and the boys sampled some truly fine mashed potatoes made from scratch per order. The owner and cook of the Sinandigan Lodge, Fred, allowed me into the kitchen to show me his method. He simply substituted cream for the milk and added a touch of nutmeg. Both can be found easily in Taichung.

Roasted garlic is easy to add and always wonderful. Get a couple of heads of garlic and cut the heads off - just a little bit - and leave the skins on. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap them in foil and put in a oven safe dish and cook at 350F / 175C for almost an hour. The skins will be brown and the garlic will squeeze out like toothpaste. Mix it into the potatoes to suit your taste.

Carrots

I'm going to give you the links to the search results of two good cooking sites: Epicurious and Southern Living. Kevlar, you could also just steam them. Put the sliced carrots on the steaming rack of your rice cooker and have at it. Throw some salt, pepper and any herbs you have on top. Herbs, tea leaves, broth and wine could also be added to the steaming water. The texture of steamed veggies is always superior to boiling as well as most other methods. Be creative, have fun and good luck.

Tramp to part with

The dumpster diving Canadian scored a cool guitar and a trampoline in the orginal box. It has some dust and zero to little usage. Interested parties let me know. Free to me, Free to you.

Yo creo en Pancho Clos!

Feliz Fiesta? No sir! It's Feliz Navidad! Definitely so in Lubbock, Texas. We'll keep using Christmas and Navidad when appropriate. To my soon-to-be-perplexed compadres in the North, East, West Coast, college coffee houses...I offer this story of multiculturalism originating from the Hub City, the story of Pancho Clos. The story was written in Spanish by Jesse Reyes from Lubbock, Texas, based on an older song. It's downright confusing, but, in the link below, look for the burritos, fuel sources, collective bargaining and the development of elves and women. Here is the thorough(ly challenging ) explanation of the story from from El Editor newspaper in Lubbock.

We'd like to wish a Merry Christmas to our friends who are not on the island at the moment - Bread and Ex-Gentleman Chris, Frenchie, D-Wayne, Tall Karl , Tom-u, English John and D.U.G. - as well as to those still here and those never destined to visit.

If you'll be in Taichung for Christmas, don't have plans and would like to celebrate, let me know - quickly. My wife is pushing me to get a turkey. I was thinking of barbecued chuck or a Boston butt (pork shoulder for all you wise acres). PJ will be showing the football games in the morning and Deshea will be making breakfast for anyone who would like to join. Please let her know before showing up and demanding some of her very good grub. I think I'll stay around the house - I can always sneak upstairs to watch the game.

The Lynch's Christmas Trees

Christmas tree, Tassy, Tassy's yurt and Tassy's tree.

Dutch Christmas traditions

Last night I spent some time talking with an acquaintance of mine, Aad, from the Netherlands. I was on my way to buy some decorations for our Christmas tree and that prompted him to point out the way it was - not so much anymore - done in Holland during Christmas time.

I am telling this according to his recollection of how it was actually practiced, historical inaccuracies and ignorance included.

The Dutch celebrate Christmas in two parts, and when you think about it , you wonder why it's not like that everywhere. At least I did.

The first celebration is on December 5th. This is Saint Nick's birthday and it's all his day. This is the day of receiving presents and it's done a bit differently than in North America. On this day, Saint Nick comes to town with a book of all the children's names indicating their behavior for the year. Good ones get the goodies while the bad ones get beaten or taken away with Saint Nick's helper, Black Peter. Now Aad wasn't sure about Black Peter's origin but he stated Saint Nick was believed to come from Spain and hence his helpers were Moors from Spain. Here's a concise explanation of his true origins.

As evening approaches, children gather together in their houses and start to sing carols. They have to balance their ardor with trying to discern the distinct sounds of Saint Nick's arrival. In Holland, there is no sleigh but a white horse that Santa uses to cross the roofs and drop sacks of toys down the chimney. Children leave wooden clogs stuffed with hay and carrots for his horse. If you sing long and loud enough, you might receive a personal visit from Saint Nick himself. If not, Black Peter will leave a bag of gifts in front of the door and disappear after a rap on the door. Here is where it sometimes gets a bit tricky. Parents need to arrange for a neighbor, friend or relative to don the costume and visit their houses and bring the sack of gifts. No problem, yet. There are also...umm... freelance Santas roaming the streets listening for the sounds of carols so that they might visit the house. According to Aad, it is customary to give Santa a shot or two of some local spirits and a little tip when leaving. You can't turn Santa away, so you have to go along. After several visits, it's possible that some of the Santas are bursting with liquid Christmas cheer. Parents' creativity is tasked as they have to explain why Santa keeps returning, looks different and doesn't seem to be able to speak any recognizable language - Of course you don't understand! He's speaking Santa language! They must also guard against the children going outside when there are multiple Santas in the area, lest they witness rival Santa and Black Peter gangs duke it out over their turf. However, parents are usually more than up to the job and judging by Aad's smile and bright eyes, it was a truly wonderful occassion.

The second celebration is for Christmas, the birth of Christ, itself. Trees go up after the 5th, sans presents underneath. There is no rush to buy anything - everything has already been bought. Christmas day is reserved for Christ and the celebration of his birth at church. Time was running out on me, so I did not get as many details about the particulars of this day, but the simple idea of splitting the two struck me. Why not? When the two are together, one or the other, or more probable, both will become diluted.

Time to finish trimming the tree. Merry Christmas!

Bikini clad women teach calculus

Watch and learn.

Delayed Partial Live Blogging Pavarotti

What you see is what I got. A blurry, indistinct sight of a large man who was much warmer than I.








Luciano Pavarotti came to Taichung, Taiwan this last Wednesday, December 12. It was the final concert of the Asian leg of his farewell tour. Why did he come to Taichung and only Taichung? In December? Outside? Well, I think that is due to the influence and work of our mayor, Jason Hu. While not able to do much about crime or scooter punks, he has made it a nicer environment for shootings and rat racing. Nicer parks and all sorts of concerts. In 2001 he got Jose Carreras to perform in Taichung Stadium, and I truly believe he enjoyed it as much as the audience (I was seated in a much closer location than for L.P.). Anyhoo, I think J.H. talked to J.C. and he swayed (very carefully,from a safe distance) L.P. into opera-ing out in Taichung. What follows is my song by song replay, according to my notes. Yes, I took notes and damn near ruined my eyes.

• Song 1 - We are at the very top of the stadium. Pimp and his girl are already seated there. My wife found a seat next to them and I found the wall to lean against and look down and try to figure out who the hell was selling Taiwanese sausages at a Pavarotti concert.
• It starts to drizzle. Great. It's cold. Nipple cracking cold. I wanna go...Wait! The curtain opens and not more than 3 seconds later, the Big Man starts to sing. What the hell is he wearing? A huge beach towel? Is he standing or sitting? It looks like some sort of throne. This question will plague me all night.
• Okay, Song 1 is over. He's saying something. Oh, it's "Thank you." I have been told Pavo is the master of the high C. Or is it Hi-C? I think his fluorescent toga suggests the latter.
• Pimp informs me that it's the former and will help me keep a High C watch.

• Song 2 - No notes for song 2. I checked with Pimp. Yeah, I missed the song, but no High C. I did catch 4 more "Thank you's", however. I decide to keep a tally. So far, no other words.

• Song 3 - Nada. It's over and again I didn't notice. So far, the songs have been soft and lilting. Like a feather in the wind, cradle-rocking back and forth with an occasional quick twirl, the songs lull you into a 4-beer complacency. I want a pick-me-up or at least some dark, brooding, Godfather killing music. The Thank you meter continues to roll.

• Song 4 - Almost tapped my foot. Song ends, I reach for my boot to procure my flask of Jim Beam and Pimp turns around immediately and asks " Got any whiskey?"

• Songs 5-about 7 - A duet with a soprano - Ave Maria. Luciano speaks! " I...peace..umm...like grrrmph world...aaimmth peace" At least that's what I got out of it. The chick is good and belts it out. Sounds like she's covering for Pavarotti on the high notes. An orchestra song. Pimp (ax man for a heavy metal tribute band) assures me that they are gooood. The overs for the Thank you's are in the bag. The chick , probably not good form to call her a chick but it will stand until I buy a program, is singing alone. What happened to Pavarotti? I never see him leave. How does he...What the hell was that? During the middle of the chick's song, Pavi is illuminated and cough/sings out a "Braaahh." That's it. One...umm...word, I think. Maybe he has voice activated lights and some dumplings were backing up on him. Thank God he didn't have any yams. Could this song be considered a duet? Okay, now they're doing a proper duet. Not bad. Could fit in MTV's rotation if it were in English. The screen just showed a partial, full body shot( Yeah, a partial, full - It's acceptable grammar to say that about Luci P. ). He's not standing, but not really sitting, either. Sort of a standing recline. Haven't seen him move anything other than his mouth.

• Intermission to finale - If Pavarotti didn't demand a break the Taiwanese would have taken one anyway. I've never seen so many Taiwanese not smoke for this long in my life. The lights come on. Nope, my bad. That's the illumination of about 20,000 lighters. Now, the lights come on. Pimp thinks the chick is outshining L.P. He also thinks he is lip-syncing. Resuming the concert, there's a couple of short songs, the orchestra and a duet.Not getting much out of it. Hey, he's moving.Doing an over-the-head clap. Trying to get the crowd going? No, just one of those embarrassing I'll-clap-for-myself claps. The chick sings another and nails a high something! The guys watching from a building behind me give her a lot of Wooos! Wow, she does it again and the guys really like it. Big Man back singing a song 1 livelier than death. Next song features flutes, happy violins and bells or spoons or something like that. Makes you want to saunter. Pavlovrotti now singing about Vento? Sounds like a jingle. Shorten it and edit it and I'd probably buy one. What? No friggin way! Pimp says he just hit the High C.I was listening and didn't hear anything above a...um...well, whatever two below a high C is. I finish Jim Beam while he prepares his encore.

• Encores - Thank God it's almost over. Got a long day tomorrow. OOHH! He's talking. Dedicating the next song to Taichung and Mayor Hu. It's Granada. Sounds sorta like Volare, but more up tempo. Next song is dedicated to an Italian inn. I would love a transcript so I could know just what he's saying. His English is just broken and mumbly enough for the Taiwanese to understand and for me to not. Finale Encore - Slips into good English and prefaces this song by asking the audience to "Whatever you do, please, please do not clap." He then goes on to demonstrate what not to do by very deliberately and theatrically clapping for all to see on the two large stage screens. He sings. We all clap - he had it coming.

• Exit - At the end of the final encore, Dean wanders in front of me a offers me a beer in a PJ's coozie. I accept.

Conclusion - While I was underwhelmed, I still mildly enjoyed it. Carreras was better, but Pavarotti is older and more infirm (Wow! There wasn't even a bit of faint praise in that but). I predict Mayor Hu will have Placido Domingo here within 2 years and then I can pull off the 3 Tenors hat trick.

Ugly tree contest

It is difficult to get a good picture of an ugly tree. Don't worry the candycane is still in the plastic. Anything else you find fault with was photoshopped into the picture.
So lets see some Christmas tree picture cheer, Rye told me "If you are cold" he still has plenty of Breads socks that he is not using. Great socks for stuffing and mounting on the mantle.

If your tree is not ugly, it is ok to post a picture. ( Come on Bread).

Never Let Your Kid Party with Kirk

Well, at least make sure your kid never drinks whiskey with Kirk.

Unless you like your kid surly, mean, and going on about bands.

Sorry to Kirk for using you as a paragon of bacchanalian* virtue.



*Gunning Fog bastards

Sunday Sunday Sunday

An eight tile game, that arrived on the scence before mahjong.
800 000 Nt and you can have no cusotmers too.
The cats are growing big. The peppers seem to be stunted.
How would you like to ride this to work on a cold day?
What J-hole needs in his garage.

This must be just like living in Paradise!

Ah.... I remember this. Not even a year ago. Beautiful Boracay island. Well that time of year has arrived. Time to start planning a trip. Tickets are booked. Manilla.....Well for about two hours anyways. Now readers (Brett), I'm thinking of planning a trip to El Nido, based of course on the beautiful white beaches, food and quiet. Is it as easy as boracay? Any feedback from readers as to a place to go, and simplicity of getting a place to stay would be well appreciated. I have the lonely planet. Tips from friends are always best. Thanks! Also if you have been to the two islands, which is more beautiful. I was really happy with my trip to Boracay last year. I have no problem returning.

Friday Personals Ad

Collected Wisdom of Yahoo Personal Ads

"Life is a gift, milk it!" Nice bikini shot for an amateur.

"Cuddling is non-negotiable! If you are a pothead, please don't message me."

"I like men who are sweet and sensual. They know what they want. they would have to be demanding and not act like a punk or some little boy."

"I believe in complimenting, compromising and even competing…the difference between “United” and “ Untied” is where you put the “I”, right?"

She forgot "There's no I in Team." Hey honey, are we complimenting tonight or compromising? Oh, I can see from the way you are matching me beer for beer it must be competing.

If you took the quiet, geeky girl next door, melted her down in a big pot, added three cups of diced adventure, one cup of unrefined curiosity, one cup of raw passion, one cup of well sifted sensitivity, and a dash of surliness, mixed well, then let cool, the resulting dish (for all you gastronomes) would resemble something very close to me.

Check this girl's pics...man she really does like the outdoors!

Have a nice week-end!

Happy Birthday RYAN !!!!

Mr. Rye is celebrating a birthday today. What would be an appropriate gift? Nice but not too nice. Manly but caring. Nothing too nipple-ly. It will have to be a day late whatever it is. Hmm . SUGGESTIONS?

China Post steals Ni Howdy writers

I'm not sure what concerns me more about this article from the China Post: the content or the writing style. The content suggests that any of the foreign musicians could be deported. Exempting folk singers and The Deported, that is a little troubling. The writing style and the fact that it appeared in Taiwan's oldest English daily as a bona fide news story is downright creepy. However, a quick click on their link explained the matter.

Official interpreters in Taiwan courts are often known as interrupters
2005/12/7The China Post staff

Interpreters are often known as interrupters.
They are, if they do not understand what they have heard or are unable to say what they mean.
Most, if not all, of official interpreters in courts of law in Taiwan definitely are.
Most of the time, however, their interruption matters little. Those foreigners they have interrupted in court, more often than not, do not complain. There were exceptions, of course. One of them occurred only a couple of days ago.
An American, known only as Scott, will have to be deported shortly.
The reason: Scott sang to entertain guests at a restaurant in Taitung free of charge.
Scott was arrested on charges of violating the alien service act. He entered Taiwan not as an entertainer. He was questioned by Taitung police, none of whom spoke English.
By gestures and other body languages, investigators got answers from Scott, who was then asked to sign the police report on his "crime."
He refused to sign, because he knows his answers were concocted by non-English-speaking cops. One of them, however, knew enough English to tell the American, "You in big trouble."
The American was.
He filed complaints with the administrative court, where an interpreter was an interrupter.
The Taipei high administrative court finally ruled Scott was guilty as charged. The deportation was ordered, plus a proviso that he should never come back to Taiwan again.
That is not an isolated case, according to a well-known attorney who helped write up a report on the quality of judicial trials involving aliens.
Quoting the 2001 report, the attorney says "few interpreters at all levels of law court know enough English or Japanese or even their own language (including such dialects as Hoklo and Hakka) to perform their functions."
Well, practically all court interpreters are interrupters.

Hook 'Em

Lifestyle Copyright Violation

Apparently they are making a movie about English teachers and other expats in Korea. From the plotline, it's obvious they stole the story of our lives and just changed countries from Taiwan to Korea. (Korea, how original!)

It will star Chris Klein who by the way gave an amazing interview in Elle magazine. Must read. Really. Okay, if you don't believe me, here is a sample.

CK: I don't need food to impress, man. It's a flash of a smile and a nice conversation. And at the end of the day, she's cooking the food.

Israel-Palestine

Has anyone else noticed a lack of bombings in Israel in the news lately? It used to be a weekly thing for a bus, cafe, or check-point to blow up.

I guess it's true what people say.

Fences make good neighbors.

Post-Election Analysis

The winning candidates showed their respect to the voters by firing up the sound trucks and drum teams to drive around town on Sunday and thank us for electing them.

Fireworks were set off as well, to inaugurate the new era of Clean Government and Rule of Law in Taichung. Let this be a warning to those who think they can ram blue trucks into the courthouse gates or fire bottle rockets into the canal by Riverside. Yes, Rye Guy and PFP supporters, we have it all on video.

Human Interest Angle: The wife informs me that a DPP candidate was so distraught by losing, he/she wanted to kill themself with a knife. "If I can't be a city councilor, life is not worth living!"

Hi Teacher John!This is Peter from Tourism III!My number is 69.I like your blog. I learn many things. I want to go to America and learn myself at UC San Diego!

Dear French Peter,

Thanks for the interest in our blog. I am happy that you are considering studying at UC San Diego. However, I would like you to make a fully informed decision. After all, San Diego is a long way from Canada Taichung. But, Pierre, should you decide upon UC San Diego there are many great things there to do. It is very close to an international border with Mexico, and as long as you're not Canadianer, you can cross freely. Their film school is renown for it's defiance of convention. Click here for a possible title and fluffer for your movie. In the meantime, study hard, shut up in class and watch out for winter. I hear it gets pretty darn cold in southern Canuckistan.


A new poll is up. After considering choices such as winless Japanese, women's and Pop Warner teams, I decided (after losing all input data) to let you do it. Just choose Other and enter a team in the comments box. I will amend the poll accordingly.

Election Liveblogging, Condensed Version

Sound trucks are fucking annoying. (Sorry Tourism 3B.)

Municipal elections are boring. They feature candidates with these kinds of slogans.

a. 'Yes, I Do.' (in English) Yep. That's the guy's slogan. "Shr de, wo yuan yi" his team thoughtfully translates for us through the marvel of modern technology that is called the small blue truck with massive loudspeakers mounted on every side.

b. 'Young, Fresh, Active' (in Chinese) Am I voting for a candidate or a tampon?

c. Jason Hu called up my house and told me that even though he'd been to 160 countries, Taiwan was most important to him...and this really inspired me to vote for him. After all, he must know that sounds trucks are not used in at least 150 out of those 160 and be willing to bring Taiwan up to an international level of sound pollution control. Rigggght?

But don't worry Taichungers, no matter who you vote for, they ALL offer great service to the people of Taichung...In fact, I am confident my suggestion to ban sound trucks is being implemented as we speak.

The only one candidate whose advertising proposed anything concrete was the DPP mayoral candidate whose campaign featured billboard ads stating a various goals, and the phrase, "It's what I have to do." Wow, sounds so substantial! What's he promising?

50,000 job opportunities. (Do the math...at NT$ 20,000 salary per month times 50,000 people, in city of one million people...NT$ 1,000 per person every month to pay for this.)

10,000 surveillance cameras. (Again, that's a lot of cash, and 10,000 is butt load of cameras.)

Bike paths. (Yep. Right. Sure. Let me know when you have solved the double parking problem and banned sound trucks.)

Finally, are any of the candidates aware that firecrackers and bottle rockets are ILLEGAL in the R.O.C.?

Dialed and Armed

I found the sweet spot on the chair, and then hit it really hard with the ugly stick.

Billy Joe Cuthbert

Just practicing screen captures. Does BJ remind you of anybody?

P.S. - Sent Frenchie some of BJ's basketball video tips.

Courtesy of Ken at Shallow Waters

I present to you Nihowdy in jive. You can translate to most any dialect, including redneck, just click on the dialecticize button.

Friday Personals Ad

I have to interrupt the usual Friday personal ad because we have something much better to show you:

My alma matter, U.C. San Diego, which used to be the serious university without a football team that was always mistaken for the notorious party school of C.S.U. San Diego, has lately become quite famous.

No, not because the world discovered that we have nobel scientists or are at the cutting edge of biotech research. We're famous because our student-run TV station broadcast amateur hardcore porn.

Oh, and for good measure, once the student council banned the show, the guys broadcast the porno flick again, except that time they photoshopped one of the student senators into the movie.

Since NiHowdy is now a family-oriented community web-site being used as a homework assignment by area teachers, it would be very wrong of me to link to the NTSFW site that shows the screenshots, etc.

If you are done now, you can see what other wonderous programming they came up with here.

Take that Chico State!

My discovery of videos on Ni Howdy coincided almost simultaneously with The Fifty Greatest Independent Films of All Time. Weird. Nice going JW.

On Nov. 11, Red A posted that the reading level of our blog was about a 4th grade level, according to the Gunning Fog Index. In acknowledgement of that fact, I posted what I though was an appropriate puzzle: a one-word crossword. To help our readers, I even posted down clues to ensure success. However, most I asked about it complained that it was only one word across, and, oh yeah, there's only five blanks but six letters. That's not a crossword, man.

Okay. Fair enough. But let's take a look at some of what our Taichung Crossword Kings had to say.

Honest(ly soused) Jim's answer. Click here to view video.

Mathematically-challenged Elizabeth's answer. Click here for her giggling.

Maybe PJ shoulda taken Jim's cue. Click here if you must.