tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124854482011-12-14T18:53:40.578-08:00Stories. Music. Politics. Technology. Baseball. Friends. Family. Potrzebie.Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.comBlogger1081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-15492260151328799692007-12-25T14:19:00.001-08:002007-12-25T15:10:10.133-08:00

Family :: ChristmasHow good was I? Well, I'm not sure, but I must have been pretty darn good, because I got the three things I really wanted for Christmas this year.First off, I got to sleep in a bit this morning, but that wasn't what I wanted. When everyone finally got up and started stirring this morning, my son came into the kitchen where I was squeezing oranges (fresh-squeezed orange juice

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-30398465914256491642007-12-19T16:07:00.000-08:002007-12-19T16:11:39.370-08:00

FamilySome of the things I like least about Christmas:Stress.Feeling like I have to spend money. I'm working on it; at least this year we have managed to avoid going overboard in an orgy of spending. So far.Related to this: Watching kids go into overload as they open present after present after present, when they just want to play with what they've got.Gaining weight and having my blood sugar go

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-3696418735731983512007-08-15T12:02:00.000-07:002007-08-15T12:39:36.161-07:00

FamilySo things are going nice and happy, I get an offer for a full time job, the landlord is talking about extending our lease another year or two, life is good, right?That's on a Thursday.The next Thursday my wife calls up the landlord to see if they got the rent check. Oh yes they did, the landlord says, and by the way we've decided we want to live in your house, so we will need you to be out

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-21519801537724099252007-03-24T09:39:00.000-07:002007-03-24T10:17:53.414-07:00

TechnologyAbout five months ago my trusty UED started falling apart. What is a UED? I asked my friend Nathan that same question one time when he said I had a nice UED. I looked a bit puzzled and asked him, "What's a UED?"He pointed to my Tungsten E handheld computer. "Useless Electronic Device," he replied.I'd had it for about three or four years. I'm not sure how many, but I have a backup I made

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-18679429173299598422007-03-21T07:52:00.000-07:002007-03-21T07:57:40.255-07:00

MetaAnybody have any idea why I'm getting a bunch of hits from people who searched Google for a picture of an elephant I posted a couple of years ago?It's interesting to see how the people who found this blog got here. Other than blatant self-promotion, I don't do any real advertising, because this blog is an on-again-off-again kind of thing, but it shows up on Google searches occasionally. One

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-90140461476788661442007-03-19T21:29:00.000-07:002007-03-19T22:57:46.481-07:00

MusicOne of the things I love about the Internet is that I get to run into new things all the time. That's one of the reasons I want to save Internet radio -- I'm always running into music I otherwise would never have heard of. Thanks to the CBC's Vinyl Cafe, I've been introduced to acts like Rufus Wainwright and Mike Ford (formerly of Moxy Früvous, who I learned about over the Internet when

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-53217566931826471352007-03-17T09:51:00.000-07:002007-03-18T00:02:55.001-07:00

Technology::RadioOnce upon a time radio was exciting and interesting and full of characters . . .There was this guy named Bob Smith. He was a Brooklyn kid who fell under the spell of Alan Freed, the Moondog, whose 50,000 watts of sheer radio power from Cleveland blanketed the East Coast and corrupted generations yet unknown. Bob decided he wanted to be a DJ too. There was just this one little

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-3135028706999283182007-01-28T10:10:00.000-08:002007-01-28T10:23:57.273-08:00

TechnologyOkay, probably not. But this was just too weird. I was going through my mailbox just now, and came across a piece of . . . I kid you not . . . Islamic spam. And it looks eerily like the mailarounds you get about the miracles of Jesus. In fact, the spam was entitled "Jesus and Miracles," even though I don't think Jesus was mentioned at all in the spam.The Qur'an gave the news that the

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-11064322472552396482007-01-27T12:32:00.000-08:002007-01-27T18:53:11.213-08:00

FamilyMy son is a Myspace junkie. When he's working all alone at the pizza joint at night he occasionally amuses himself by taking these Myspace surveys his girl friend sends him and filling them out. Occasionally I amuse myself by doing the same. Here's an example.1. Do you give the peace sign a lot?some, man2. How many Abercrombie polos do you own?you're kidding, right?3. When was the last time

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-22541055547663596612007-01-20T11:40:00.000-08:002007-01-20T12:19:23.145-08:00

BaseballI hear rumors they're going to build a new Yankee Stadium. I hope they keep the old one.Here's why.OK, before we start, most of you who know me know that my favorite teams are the Mariners, whoever's playing the Yankees, and whoever's playing the Athletics. (If the Athletics are playing the Yankees, well, that's sort of like the hillbilly watching his mother-in-law wrestling a bear.) But

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1164664965388870382006-11-27T14:00:00.000-08:002006-11-27T14:15:53.486-08:00

PotrzebieThere's this group called WATCH, see, and they publish an annual list of ten dangerous toys for kids. I applaud this sort of thing, actually; I just found it rather interesting that one of the items on this year's list is a bow and arrow set. See, back when I was your age, cowboys and Indians was still a big-time kid game. It wouldn't have been all that surprising to see something like

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1164656689241266092006-11-27T11:00:00.000-08:002006-11-27T11:44:49.316-08:00

PotrzebieWhen you're married to a doll collector, some things just can't help but rub off. Case in point: A number of years ago I was introduced to the American Girl phenomenon, a series of interconnected books, dolls and movies. Yesterday the third in the American Girl movie series aired, and each time I see one of them, I am impressed anew.The American Girl movies are formula, but that's OK.

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1164123121202049342006-11-21T07:18:00.000-08:002006-11-21T07:32:01.440-08:00

PoliticsThose of us on the left have been somewhat schizophrenic regarding the election victories this month. On the one hand, there's a great deal of euphoria about the fact that Democrats control both houses of Congress (so long as Joe Lieberman caucuses with the Democrats, anyway). There's also a great deal of angst about what's going to happen next, what course this new Congress should take,

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1163778129222589362006-11-17T07:31:00.000-08:002006-11-17T07:42:09.236-08:00

PotrzebieI don't suppose dreams are all that unusual. What's usual is that I remember part of this one.I remember I left the house and just started walking. I don't remember there being any sort of sensation of warmth or cold. Maybe you don't get those when you're in a dream. I hope it was warm, though, because I was apparently only wearing a blanket and carrying my clothes. This is also odd,

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1137612961173273402006-01-18T11:20:00.000-08:002006-01-18T11:36:04.353-08:00

PotrzebieAwhile back I dreamed up a PSA that will probably never be aired. It showed a bunch of street toughs in Bulls jerseys, muscle shirts, bandanas -- you know the drill -- playing basketball on an asphalt playground, when suddenly the game stops. They look out through the chain-link fence surrounding the playground at five bad-looking cops in uniform. It looks like a hot, sweaty day. Kind of

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1136660602300511592006-01-07T10:45:00.000-08:002006-01-14T16:34:40.616-08:00

PotrzebieI have been tagged by the Citizens' Self-Disclosure Committee to come up with five weird habits. It was unclear whether I should post them here, mail them to the Committee members who asked me to come up with them, go to the top of the Space Needle with a megaphone, or what.This sounds a bit like something we did back in my role-playing days. Steve Jackson Game's GURPS roleplaying system

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1136136350281056922006-01-01T08:19:00.000-08:002006-01-01T09:25:53.586-08:00

StoriesIn 1874, inventor Lewis Bishop and Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent created the Chautauqua Institution as sort of a summer retreat for Sunday school teachers. The Institution put together a program of cultural events open to the community at large, and soon the word "chautauqua" spread across the United States as the name of a form of entertainment featuring plays, music, and

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1135520327218744192005-12-25T06:11:00.000-08:002006-11-21T16:20:26.116-08:00

StoriesAll my life I was surrounded by violence.When my father wasn't fighting with my mother, he fought with me.The kids in our neighborhood sharpened their claws on each other, the better to defend ourselves from outsiders.When I was old enough I joined the Army of Rome. I fought hard, and I fought well, but in the end I was brought down by the one enemy I couldn't see or swing a sword at. The

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1134342815355462512005-12-11T06:25:00.000-08:002005-12-11T15:13:36.793-08:00

StoriesOnce upon a time there was a horse who roamed free over a wide pasture. He claimed as his own a particular watering hole, and was able to kill or drive away any animal who tried to use it, with one exception. There was a stag who used to drink from the watering hole with impunity. The horse would chase the stag off, but it would never be long before the stag returned, always staying just

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1133716350176684302005-12-04T08:55:00.000-08:002005-12-11T15:16:05.913-08:00

StoriesAldo was a young man in trouble.His troubles were very personal, and he was reluctant to talk about them. Luckily for him, he had a friend named Nicholas who could tell that something was wrong, and urged him to talk about it.Finally, after some persuasion, Aldo sat down with his friend to unburden himself. "It's Anna," he said. "We are in love and we want to get married.""That's wonderful

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1133107290489142562005-11-27T07:38:00.000-08:002005-12-11T15:14:57.640-08:00

StoriesBack in the time of legends there was a princess named Deianira, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Now because she was so beautiful, she had many suitors, and they all fought among themselves for her hand. Eventually the list of suitors came down to two, and the two suitors stood before Aeneus, the king of Aetolia and Deianira's father, to claim her hand."Great Aeneus,"

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1132498375267620312005-11-20T05:57:00.000-08:002005-12-11T15:14:05.756-08:00

StoriesMany years ago, there lived a young boy named Wenze. He was a good boy, mindful of his duties and respectful of his parents. Wenze's family was poor, but his father made do the best he could.The children he played with would often ask the boys of the tribe, "When you are old enough you will go into the woods to fast and ask the Great Spirit for a vision to guide you for the rest of your

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1131899298246883672005-11-13T08:19:00.000-08:002005-11-13T08:28:22.270-08:00

StoriesAll his life William had wanted to be a musician. H.e had a natural affinity for the trumpet, and by the time he reached young adulthood he had gotten pretty good at it.Then the war came along and William volunteered. He figured that as a trumpeter, he had a good chance of becoming a bugler, which would lessen his chances of having to do any actual fighting. His three primary jobs, as he

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1130688722420698122005-10-30T08:00:00.000-08:002005-10-30T08:12:02.493-08:00

Stories"And that's why beavers have flat tails," Kelly concluded. The other boys around the campfire hooted, laughed and applauded appreciatively."How about you, Cap?" one of the boys asked the scoutmaster as the noise died down. "You got a story for us?"Cap poked at the embers at the edge of the campfire with the stick he'd used to roast marshmallows. "Naah," he said, "I don't think you guys are

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1130078856572431512005-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:002005-10-23T07:47:36.656-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time there was a city. It was a very beautiful city and people from all over the kingdom admired it greatly.One day the people of the city, as people in cities occasionally do, voted on a mayor. This mayor was a college boy who had promised, among other things, that if he were elected mayor he would protect the city. Once he was in office he began to appoint his friends to

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1128867901847017022005-10-09T08:00:00.000-07:002005-10-09T07:25:01.856-07:00

StoriesArthur was of course surprised at Ragnell's request, and had Sir Gawain protested he would have asked her for a different favor. But Sir Gawain finally found his voice and said, "It shall be as she wishes. Fetch a priest. We shall be wed here and now."Surely the wedding of Ragnell and Sir Gawain was the most unusual ever to be seen at Carlisle. A priest was hastily summoned, and to his

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1128266133559554012005-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:002005-10-02T08:15:34.026-07:00

StoriesOur story thus far:King Arthur was caught unwittingly poaching a stag on the land of a mysterious dark knight. The dark knight was within his rights to kill Arthur on the spot, but promised to spare his life if Arthur could find an answer to the riddle, "What is it that a woman truly wants above all else?" that would satisfy most of those who hear it. Unable to find a suitable answer,

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1128261591106583982005-10-02T06:56:00.000-07:002005-10-02T06:59:51.113-07:00

PotrzebieLately I've gotten several pieces of comment spam. Now those of you who know me know that I hate spam, and I find few things worse than coming across something that looks like a comment but is actually an ad for something I don't want, don't need, and probably can't afford. So, I've turned on word verification for my weblog. I hope this doesn't seriously inconvenience any actual human

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1127842217996106322005-09-27T09:46:00.000-07:002005-09-27T10:30:18.336-07:00

PotrzebieIf you ever have the chance to go see a silent movie the way it was meant to be seen -- in an opulent theater on a big screen with a live organist playing an instrument designed to accompany the silent movies.Our friend Margaret celebrated her 87th birthday yesterday. She loves the Mariners so we often go to the ballpark on her birthday, but this year there was no game on the 26th, and

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1127661239064458162005-09-25T07:33:00.000-07:002005-09-25T08:13:59.106-07:00

StoriesLike most of the noblemen of his day, King Arthur was a huntsman. He didn't hunt so much for food -- he had others who did that for him -- as for the companionship, for the challenge, and for the sharpening of his skills. On one particular day, the challenge was certainly there, but the companionship was not. The truth is, on this day Arthur was more interested in solitude than anything

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1127055224322918092005-09-18T08:00:00.000-07:002005-09-18T07:53:44.330-07:00

StoriesIt was a beautiful day in the jungle.It was one of those days where the scent of the air, the calls of the birds, the buzzing of the insects abd the voices of the animals all combined to make a symphony of perfection.It was one of those days that makes you feel good.In fact it was making Lion feel better than good. Lion was feeling royal, and he decided he was going to go out and hobnob

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1125884290669863972005-09-04T18:15:00.000-07:002005-09-04T18:38:10.683-07:00

PoliticsThere are a lot of people out there who are saying that those who stayed behind in New Orleans in spite of the warnings to leave before Katrina hit are "stupid" and deserved their fate.I have two words for those saying this:Shut up.The reason I am saying this is that had I been in New Orleans when Katrina hit the likelihood is, I would be dead right now.There are a few things some people

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1125847980571979662005-09-04T08:28:00.000-07:002005-09-04T16:27:49.830-07:00

StoriesOne day in late summer in India, a donkey was trotting down the road, pulling its cart behind it, when it heard a great commotion to the rear. It stopped, and with great difficulty turned itself and the cart around, and saw the most amazing sight. An elephant was coming up the road in the same direction the donkey had been traveling. But what an elephant! Its sides were decked out with a

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1125244070046764132005-08-28T08:44:00.000-07:002005-09-04T16:33:43.160-07:00

StoriesThe sky was as black as the inside of a slavedriver's soul. Rain continued to come down in torrents, as it had all week. The radio and TV had been saying it for days, the mayor had been saying it for hours, and now Jim's neighbor was saying it to Jim. It was time to leave the city before the levee broke and the flooding started."C'mon, Jim, get in the car!" the neighbor yelled over the

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1125125261046222952005-08-26T23:26:00.000-07:002005-09-04T16:34:29.726-07:00

Family; actually, all over the mapYou may not know it unless you live here, but Seattle is quite the theater town. Back in the day producers used to try out their shows bound for Broadway in places like Philadelphia, New Haven and Boston; these days, tryouts are as likely to occur in Los Angeles, Chicago or Toronto. Or at Seattle's Fifth Avenue Theater, where the Tony-award winning musical

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1124943404060156182005-08-24T21:16:00.000-07:002005-08-24T21:17:56.850-07:00

Stories::MetaWith the publication here of "Passover In Hell," the story that to date has generated the greatest amount of positive reaction of any I've done, I have now posted all of the Sunday Griot stories to this weblog. Break out the champagne, or sparkling cider, or the Cherry Seven-Up Plus Calcium (which I have just discovered, and like very much).What this means, I'm not sure. I will

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118468381864112152005-08-24T21:05:00.000-07:002005-08-24T21:04:26.536-07:00

StoriesIt was a spring night, just after sundown, and a group of Jews had assembled together. This, however, was no ordinary assembly, nor was it a happy occasion. These men had been rounded up, separated from their families, and removed to camps far away from their homes. It was 1944, and the Nazis had gathered them together in a concentration camp. "Tonight the Passover begins," one of the

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1124637875791334802005-08-21T08:00:00.000-07:002005-08-21T08:24:35.826-07:00

StoriesRemember back with me to the 1930s . . . for all I know, Americans may soon know this time as the First Great Depression. Times were very hard, work was scarce, and many an honest man was reduced to going from door to door, looking for any work he could find to get money and food. Sometimes the money took second place.One such man was a fellow by the name of Stan. Stan was in his

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118467983753851702005-08-17T21:32:00.000-07:002005-08-17T21:34:44.223-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time, the chimpanzees and the monkeys got along much better than they do today. They lived in a great jungle. Bananas grew on one side of the jungle, and dates on the other. In the very oldest times the chimpanzees would just take any food they wanted, but long before my story begins they had come to an agreement with the monkeys. If the monkeys would stay on the side of the

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1124032880972168422005-08-14T08:13:00.000-07:002005-08-14T08:21:20.980-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time a flock of birds was flying south for the winter. They had gotten a late start, and many other flocks had gone before them; and those earlier flocks had eaten all the food that was easily had. The birds flew on, getting hungrier by the minute.Suddenly one of the youngest of the doves called out to the leader. "Look! Down there!" he shouted. "I see some seeds. Suppertime!"

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1123973669773466032005-08-13T15:39:00.000-07:002005-08-13T15:54:29.783-07:00

Stories, sort ofOK, I'll admit it. Every now and then I'll go out to the movies and watch some mindless piece of eye candy. What can I say?So anyway, last night we went to see Sky High, a recent teen flick from Disney. Hey, my wife wanted to go. My daughter wanted to see it. My granddaughter wanted to see it. And truth be told, I thought it looked like a couple of hours of just turning my brain

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1123821301969803522005-08-11T21:24:00.000-07:002005-08-11T21:35:01.983-07:00

BaseballYou can guarantee that when a story on the P-I web page has a teaser that reads Ex-Mariner Cameron hurt in collision, it's going to get my attention.Here's the short version of it: Cammy and fellow outfielder Carlos Beltran were both going for the ball full tilt, neither one saw the other, and they ran into each other. Beltran got up and got off the field on his own several minutes later.

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1123428325434647772005-08-07T08:00:00.000-07:002005-08-07T08:25:25.520-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time there was a man who had a five-year-old son. He loved his son very much, of course, and cared for him as any parent would.One day when he had to leave his village on business, the man left his son in the care of a neighbor. The neighbor had a son just the same age, and the two of them were happy to have some time to spend together.While the man was gone, the village was

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1123280477244926922005-08-05T15:03:00.000-07:002005-08-05T15:21:51.770-07:00

PotrzebieIt may seem as though I've been neglecting this blog lately, but in reality I . . . uh . . . um . . . oh look, shiny things!I added a couple of my stories to the mix and backdated them to their publication on Daily Kos/Booman Tribune/My Left Wing. I hope nobody minds. Grandmother Cedar is a retelling of a First Nations story that I heard from Johnny Moses, a storyteller born on the west

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118468045187013702005-08-05T14:30:00.000-07:002005-08-05T15:02:45.330-07:00

StoriesIn 1859 in Alabama, there was a farmer who worked a small plot of land with his son. They raised just enough to get buy, and to sometimes sell a little for some extra money. One day the farmer's son came home leading a colt. Don't ask me how he got the colt. You can't always know everything about a story. The farmer asked around to make sure the colt didn't already belong to somebody else

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1123278217914973272005-07-31T08:00:00.000-07:002005-08-05T14:44:16.520-07:00

StoriesThe frogs have lived in their ponds almost from the Beginning, and as long as frogs have lived in ponds, they have sung a song:Knee-deep! Knee-deep! Better-go-round! Knee-deep! Knee-deep! Better-go-round!Well, one day as the frogs splashed happily in a pond made just for them, stocked with their favorite foods, they decided they wanted a king. Now don't ask me why they decided they wanted

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1123278601386130302005-07-24T20:00:00.000-07:002005-08-05T14:50:01.390-07:00

heading goes hereOnce upon a time there was a great and strong cedar tree who lived in the forest.But even though the cedar tree was great and strong, she was lonely. In fact, she was so lonely that sometimes she felt as though she would drown in her own tears.And the Creator looked down and said: This is not right.So he caused a cedar seed to blow upon the south wind, and it settled and took

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1122061754470953302005-07-22T12:28:00.000-07:002005-07-22T12:49:14.480-07:00

PotrzebieI'm not sure if this fact should worry me or not.I don't always remember my dreams, but I remember dreaming last night that I lost my hat. Now if you know me, you know this is not necessarily unusual. "Do what you do best," that's what I say, and I excel at forgetting where I put things. When I forget that I put them under my seat at Safeco Field until two days later, or that I put them

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118467926131098232005-07-21T14:31:00.000-07:002005-07-21T15:40:43.216-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time there was a king. He was not a kind king. In fact he was kind of a cruel king, and he loved playing nasty and sometimes fatal tricks on those around him. For instance, one day he called his royal advisor in to him. The royal advisor bowed low before the king. "Yes, your majesty?" "I'm bored," said the king. "Let's play a game." Uh oh, thought the royal advisor. "Yes,

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1121582179067286772005-07-18T13:00:00.000-07:002005-07-18T13:11:08.463-07:00

PoliticsCongress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. U.S. Constitution, Amendment IWhat country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Thomas JeffersonDissent is

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1121568850934987742005-07-16T19:39:00.000-07:002005-07-17T08:20:25.586-07:00

StoriesIt seems there is nothing too outrageous or odd for television. One day, a producer for a cable TV network -- it doesn't really matter which one -- decided he was going to hold a debate. He contacted a young conservative and a young liberal, both prominent in their movements, who readily agreed to the debate. Not until they had signed the contract, however, did the producer reveal the

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1121360238362279552005-07-14T09:50:00.000-07:002005-07-14T10:18:18.996-07:00

FamilyLast night started out as more or less a typical night at Chez Omir. I was taking in the events of the day on the computer before I went to bed. My daughter was out in the living room watching cartoons with the Queen of the Universe. My wife had gone up to bed already (not typical, but she'd had a long day).About 8:30 or so my daughter wandered into the computer room to check her mail on

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118467834442967362005-07-13T13:30:00.000-07:002005-07-13T13:22:54.300-07:00

StoriesAnd behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Jesus to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" And he answered and said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1120978374429980842005-07-10T08:00:00.000-07:002005-07-10T07:57:01.240-07:00

StoriesMany many years ago, the bats thought they had it made. Whenever there was work for the beasts to do, the beasts would go to the bats and say, "Hey, come give us a hand here. After all, you look very much like beasts to us.""Nope, can't do it," the bats would say. "See these wings? That makes us more like birds than beasts." And they would go off and leave the beasts fuming and

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1121006041500762772005-07-10T07:55:00.000-07:002005-07-10T07:57:19.573-07:00

Stories::MetaI first decided this story from Aesop was going to go into Sunday Griot several months ago. I had been following the antics of certain of our elected officials; I'm not going to name names, but anyone with the candlepower to be reading Sunday Griot in the first place can supply their names. These officials say they are friends of the people, but then go out and side with the current

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1120978645738776052005-07-09T23:53:00.000-07:002005-07-09T23:57:25.743-07:00

BaseballWho are these players who have been wearing the Mariner uniforms the past few days?The ones who scored 26 runs against the division--leading Angels, winning three games in three days.The ones who are hitting balls into the gaps.The ones who are hitting the ball with runners in scoring position.The ones who are scoring runs for Ryan Franklin.Ryan Franklin! The original Mister I Get No Run

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118467780100740252005-06-29T14:00:00.000-07:002005-06-29T13:18:41.846-07:00

StoriesMany years ago in China, a boy named Liao lived with his mother and father. They raised pigs and chickens, and vegetables, and grew enough to feed themselves and to trade in the market in town for rice every month or two. They didn't have much, but they were happy. One day Liao's mother died. This of course made Liao and his father sad, but they continued to work the farm. Now as it

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1119982096680736302005-06-28T10:54:00.000-07:002005-06-28T11:08:16.686-07:00

StoriesThis story has apparently been making the rounds in email. I remember hearing a story like this back in the Vietnam era, and there was a similar story from World War Two. For all I know it was told about a Hittite and a Samarian.A convoy on patrol north of Basra stopped at an all too familiar but unwelcome sight. At the side of the road lay an Iraqi insurgent and an American Marine, both

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1119386277456136712005-06-26T08:00:00.000-07:002005-06-26T08:01:05.503-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time, but maybe not so long ago as you might think, the king was riding down the road with his entourage when he came upon an old man by the side of the road. The old man had a burlap pouch at his side, and as he walked through the field, he would take his walking-stick, burrow a hole into the ground, reach into his pouch, drop a seed into the hole, and then cover up the hole.

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1119196541583876642005-06-19T08:00:00.000-07:002005-06-19T08:55:41.650-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time, but not really all that long ago, there was a little boy with a big problem. OK, he wasn't all that little, and his problem wasn't all that big, but to him it seemed like a big problem."Mom," he said to his mother, "I don't know what to get Dad for Father's Day.""Bud, he'll like anything you get him," she said as she put the dishes away."I know," he replied, "but I want

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1119157858551786042005-06-18T22:07:00.000-07:002005-06-18T22:10:58.556-07:00

BaseballSo . . . not only did the Mariners beat the Mets . . .Not only did the Mariners beat the Mets in a relatively convincing fashion . . .Not only did the Mariners beat the relatively convincing fashion and score four runs for Ryan Franklin in doing so . . .The Mariners beat the Mets in fairly convincing fashion, scoring four runs for Ryan Franklin in doing so, against Pedro Freakin'

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118467721202454502005-06-15T13:30:00.000-07:002005-06-18T22:19:15.626-07:00

StoriesOnce many years ago, a man was friends with a lion. This doesn't happen much anymore, and I think it's a shame, don't you? Things might be better in this world if we befriended more animals. Anyway, the man was showing his leonine friend around the ancient city of Athens. The lion marveled at the magnificent caves the men had constructed to live in. He saw the market where they obtained

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118583685382136162005-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:002005-06-12T07:45:54.210-07:00

Stories"I quite disagree," said Horace."But why should he?" said Horace's friend. "If a man has done nothing, why should he worry? The facts of it will come out."The year was 1909. Horace was a student at Cambridge, and keenly interested in politics. He happened to be in London that day, and had met up with a friend of his, a member of Parliament from Leeds. The topic of discussion had turned to

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118587465854327462005-06-12T07:55:00.000-07:002005-06-12T07:45:35.723-07:00

Stories::MetaWhenever a list of great hoaxsters and pranksters is compiled, a few names invariably turn up. Alan Abel, the mad genius behind the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals; Hugh Troy, who spent part of World War II traveling ahead of ethnologists studying the lives of South Pacific islanders and bribing children with chocolate bars to tell the ethnologists outrageous and completely

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118508702960439812005-06-11T09:41:00.000-07:002005-06-11T09:51:42.966-07:00

PotrzebieSometimes, though, you have to be reminded of just how weird. For instance, as a guy, I knew girls were evil, but until just now I didn't have proof.I found that proof, by the way, through an interesting site called StumbleUpon. It's a . . . well, it's a little hard to describe. You choose things that interest you from a menu, they give you sites that fit your category, and then you rate

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118426984961966442005-06-10T10:45:00.000-07:002005-06-10T23:46:59.683-07:00

PoliticsI've been doing a bit of thinking about Howard Dean's latest comments about Republicans. You know the ones: how they're the party of white Christians. How he hates everything they stand for. Stuff like that. Apparently, so has the press. The other day about sixty of them crowded into Harry Reid's office (meant to hold about 20 people). Did they want to talk about jobs? Healthcare? Iraq?

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118082217471737242005-06-06T11:04:00.000-07:002005-06-06T11:23:37.476-07:00

PotrzebieSo I'm sitting at my computer this morning, getting ready for the day, when I hear a scrabbling sound at the window. I look up and there, sitting in the lower right hand corner of the window that looks out of the office onto the patio, is this squirrel.Now I have nothing against squirrels, really I don't, except that they are destructive little rodents. I'm happy enough to have them as

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1118011853630229512005-06-05T15:37:00.000-07:002005-06-10T11:11:40.796-07:00

Technology::RadioThe other day I said some rather unkind things about radio in the United States. I meant them, too. So just now I was wandering around one of the Internets, looking for interesting stuff to waste time on and trying to find a station that would play My Word and My Music (a couple of highbrow quiz shows from the BBC) when I stumbled across the wonderful Public Radio Fan site.It

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1117982766230565852005-06-05T08:00:00.000-07:002005-06-05T08:22:46.393-07:00

StoriesWay back in the Beginning, the Creator created the first man, and he created the first woman.Now the story of how and why He created the first man and the first woman is a good story, and one well worth telling; but it is not the story I am going to tell today. No, I am going to tell a story of what happened afterward.The first man and the first woman lived in a beautiful garden. Of course

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1117983925969846582005-06-05T07:46:00.000-07:002005-06-05T08:37:40.076-07:00

Stories::metaMy house has no yard to speak of. We like it that way, because none of us particularly likes yard work. We have a garden of sorts, though; scattered around the deck in the back are several planters, some of which grow things like chives and the sage we use for our Thanksgiving stufing every year, and some of which grow flowers. They haven't really started in yet this year, but from

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1117571121556541902005-05-31T13:06:00.000-07:002005-05-31T14:33:06.006-07:00

Technology::RadioEvery so often I am reminded just how much potential the medium of radio carries, and how little of that potential is realized here in the You Ess of A.Case in point. Last week I was casting around for stuff to listen to. A while back I built myself a Linux app based on perl, mplayer, oggenc, cron tabs, duct tape, baling wire and potrzebie, that records programs off of Internet

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1117351847325949052005-05-29T08:00:00.000-07:002005-05-29T16:48:01.100-07:00

StoriesThe battle of Fredericksburg had been fierce. It was not the bloodiest of America's Civil War, but it was bloody enough, with over 7,000 casualties on the Union side against 1,200 Confederates. General Jackson occupied the high ground of Marye's Hill and his men had the Union army pinned down behind a four-foot stone wall 150 yards away. The ground between the two sides was literally

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1117352912964728372005-05-29T00:31:00.000-07:002005-06-01T13:18:58.976-07:00

Stories::MetaMemorial Day was the brain child of one Henry C. Welles, a druggist from Waterloo, New York. In 1865 he suggested a holiday to remember those who had fallen in the Civil War. The idea gained immediate traction, and by 1868 communities outside Waterloo were celebrating Decoration Day, as it was then called. General John A. Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116364649723522812005-05-25T08:16:00.000-07:002005-05-25T08:08:20.343-07:00

StoriesOne day many years ago, farther back than even the oldest and wisest of men can remember . . .The animals were bored.It was a hot day in the jungle. In fact it was so hot, Leopard was chasing Gazelle . . . and they were both walking. (Thank you Henny Youngman, wherever you are.)It was so hot the animals just didn't feel like doing anything.Finally, along toward evening, when things began

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116795787421167412005-05-22T14:01:00.000-07:002005-05-22T14:03:07.426-07:00

Stories::MetaI don't remember where I first heard this story. I think it was in church, but I'm not sure. I do know that it's all over the Internets, and one of the versions has an attribution. I wish I could find it; I like to give credit where credit is due. This story has a bit of an Oriental feel to it in its coming around to the point where it started. I've been thinking about stuff like

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116774232602165132005-05-22T07:30:00.000-07:002005-05-22T08:03:52.606-07:00

StoriesA Harvard MBA only a couple of years out of school was at a conference in Mazatlán, Mexico, and instead of going to yet another panel discussion on adminstering loans to third world nations on Saturday morning, decided to go visit the parts of Mexico that aren't given over to the tourist trade. He drove up the coast for an hour or so and found himself at a fishermen's dock. He stopped his

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116738614274618792005-05-21T21:59:00.000-07:002005-05-21T22:10:14.283-07:00

TechnologySo, since other people are looking for "Omir" on Google I thought I would too. I was playing around with a bit of Google hackery and found a neat trick. Go to Google and type this into the search field:inurl:omir(Or just click the link) This returns a list of documents with the word "omir" in the URL. The first document links to a "name poem," an acrostic in which the first letters of

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116489739883160382005-05-19T00:47:00.000-07:002005-05-19T01:02:19.886-07:00

PotrzebieThe little "Site Meter" icon at the bottom left corner of the page tracks who's visited the site and some other interesting stuff like what time zone they're visiting from and what browser they're using. It's a fascinating combination of interesting information, depression, and humor. Depression because, like all other bloggers, I secretly wish hundreds of visitors would throng this blog

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116364565723908602005-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:002005-05-18T11:36:07.930-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time . . . ever notice how all good stories happened once upon a time, even if it was just last week? Ahem. Anyway, once upon a time, much longer ago than last week, I assure you, there was a wolf who lived in the forest. His usual diet was squirrels, rabbits and other small creatures that couldn't outrun him, but he liked larger meals when we could get them. And at this very

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116360422342230412005-05-17T13:04:00.000-07:002005-05-17T13:07:02.346-07:00

FamilyAm I the last person to learn everything? I just found out my daughter has a blog. If you happen to see this, you might throw a bit of mojo her way. She is a bit down at the moment.

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116339655543542912005-05-17T07:17:00.000-07:002005-05-17T07:20:55.546-07:00

PotrzebieSo a few minutes ago I got up and did a blood test, and came up with a reading of 76. If you don't know, this is on the low side. Considering that my diabetes has been under pretty poor control for the past couple of years, this is great! The reason is a new drug called Actos, which works with the insulin and metformin to help unlock my cells to insulin, and therefore glucose.There's no

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116139147833589082005-05-15T08:05:00.000-07:002005-05-15T07:54:30.910-07:00

Stories::MetaThis week I went back to Aesop. Not because I'm lazy, although I am that and then some. I'd been thinking about this story for a long time, what with the debate on the so-called "nuclear option" and all. I write these stories to promote progressive values, but today's story is also aimed at Republicans in the Senate who want to push the big red button, not that they pay the slightest

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116138087159041372005-05-15T08:00:00.000-07:002005-05-15T07:54:03.926-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time, the animals got along much better than they do today. That doesn't mean they didn't eat each other, of course, but they would sometimes get together like civilized creatures to enjoy each others' company. Kind of like the Chuck Jones cartoon where when the whistle blew at 5:00 PM, the coyote would knock off trying to steal the sheep and the sheepdog would stop beating the

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1116017864070182652005-05-13T13:39:00.000-07:002005-05-13T15:11:35.063-07:00

Technology::RadioOf course for some of us it never left at all, but that's beside the point.Yesterday the fact that I hadn't read Bill Virgin's weekly radio column in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in several weeks percolated through the cheesecloth of my consciousness. So I went to the P-I site and searched for Radio Beat (the name of the column, as I remembered) and the last entry I found was

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115937105641443312005-05-12T15:07:00.000-07:002005-05-12T15:32:26.176-07:00

BaseballNow I will admit to not having watched or listened to any games recently, so I don't have a good answer to that question, but as I write this the Mariners have lost 10 of their last 11 games. By my count that means they started this skid at 12-11. They were almost even with California Anaheim Los Angeles Disneyland the Angels. Now they're about six games back.On paper this team looks good

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115931074992366302005-05-12T13:41:00.000-07:002005-05-12T13:51:15.050-07:00

Stories::MetaThis was the third story I did for Daily Kos and the second under the banner of Sunday Griot. Unlike The Wolf and the Dog, which was more or less a straight retelling of Aesop, The Cowboy and the Rattlesnake was an adaptation. The original version had a woodsman meet up with an adder along the side of the road. He took the adder home and killed it when it threatened one of his

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115929853596582212005-05-12T13:24:00.000-07:002005-05-12T13:37:57.726-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time not too far from here there was a cowboy. This cowboy was a kind man, and liked animals, and animals seemed to like him. So they all got along pretty well.Now this particular day had started out fairly warm, but a cold front had moved in and it was threatening to snow. That's the way it is sometimes in those parts. So, as the cowboy was out making the rounds, he noticed

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115929478812602062005-05-12T13:23:00.000-07:002005-05-12T13:38:30.090-07:00

PotrzebieLike they say, life is what happens to you when you're making other plans.

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115565428828296152005-05-08T08:05:00.000-07:002005-05-08T08:46:22.266-07:00

Stories::MetaThis story is based on an old tale from India. In the Indian story there are two herds of deer, and in the end the king of the golden deer succeeds in securing safety, not only for both herds of deer, but for all animals, even the birds and the fish. I simplified the tale quite a bit for today, in part because I wanted to put forward the idea that a king should be willing to do

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115533212603496452005-05-08T08:00:00.000-07:002005-05-08T08:29:48.253-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time a herd of deer lived in a forest in the realm of a human king. These deer had beautiful blonde coats, almost the color of gold. Their coats were prized by hunters, who would come from great distances to hunt the golden deer.At length the numbers of the golden deer dwindled, until they became what today we would call an endangered species. So it was that the human king

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115526823189695272005-05-07T21:24:00.000-07:002005-05-07T21:33:43.206-07:00

PotrzebieSo I was all set to write this diary at some point, bewailing my lack of visitors and comments, when at the bottom of the comments to my first post I find this. And it is the funniest thing I've seen all day, and when I say that you have to take into account that my entire family was gathered together in one place this afternoon.Nick Danger said...Omir, praise allah I have found you at

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115403284300535522005-05-06T10:39:00.000-07:002005-05-06T11:14:44.323-07:00

BaseballSo we got the news this morning: Dan Wilson is out for the season.Given that he's 36 years old and a catcher, this may mean he's out of the lineup for good.Now that Edgar has retired, Dan Wilson holds the title of "ancient Mariner." He's been with the team since being traded from the Reds in 1993 and is the last link to the Cinderella team of 1995. I have no idea how many games he's

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115331570419448632005-05-05T15:16:00.000-07:002005-05-05T15:19:30.443-07:00

Stories::MetaThis was the first story I did for Sunday Griot over on Daily Kos. I figured storytelling was a good way to frame arguments, and this was a good place to start. The story is straight from Aesop, just rewritten in my own words.

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115329087287815552005-05-05T14:33:00.000-07:002005-05-05T15:20:12.586-07:00

StoriesOnce upon a time, many years ago when the forests still came right up to the edge of the city, a wolf who lived in the forest was near starvation. Winter had come early and hard, and the wolf had not been able to find enough to eat.In fact times were getting desparate enough that the wolf had started to venture outside the forest. On one particular cold morning, tired and with his belly

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1115186979830540212005-05-03T23:04:00.000-07:002005-05-03T23:09:39.856-07:00

MusicHis name is Roy Zimmerman, he lives over at royzimmerman.com, and he's wicked funny. Give a listen to these two songs and see if you don't agree:ChickenhawkAmericaThese links require an MP3 player, and they're complete songs, not crippled clips. Pass 'em around and tell everybody where you got 'em (Roy's site, not here). (well, OK, you can tell 'em about here, but . . . well you know.)

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1114996396159288502005-05-01T18:05:00.000-07:002005-05-06T13:41:01.683-07:00

Stories::MetaInspiration strikes in the strangest places and at the strangest times. Last Thursday morning I was up for a half hour at about 4 in the morning. Sometimes I can't go right back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night, so I got up and worked on the new computer I've been setting up for my wife and made a post here. Then, after I'd shut off the monitor and was halfway up

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1114995836401759902005-05-01T18:02:00.000-07:002005-05-01T18:03:56.403-07:00

BaseballAfter winning three in a row, the Boys in Blue lost two at the hands of the evil Athletics. And one-run decisions at that.This is why I call the Mariners the most exciting -- and most exasperating -- team in baseball.

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1114718285895453592005-05-01T08:00:00.000-07:002005-05-01T08:13:40.130-07:00

StoriesThings were not going well in the Land of the Idiot King. It was a hot, dry summer. The terror level had been raised to plaid based on reports from the Ministry of Truth that someone was deploying a weapon that was a clear and present danger to the Kingdom. The portion of the Army that hadn't been sent overseas to expand the Kingdom's borders was busy scouring the cities, looking for the

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1114787063631529522005-04-29T07:57:00.000-07:002005-04-29T08:06:21.956-07:00

FamilyIn a rare fit of stepping away from the keyboard, I'm going to two plays and a movie in the next two days. Tonight we're going to go see Miss Saigon at the Fifth Avenue, then tomorrow afternoon my wife and I have a date to go see a play called Beau Jest. I've seen it already but she was sick when we were supposed to go the first time, so I'm going again. And finally, tomorrow night we're

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485448.post-1114754427477533782005-04-28T22:56:00.000-07:002005-04-28T23:00:27.480-07:00

Baseball The Mariners redeemed themselves tonight with a 4-1 victory over the Rangers. This puts them back at .500 (11-11). Ichiro hit a home run.Notably, this was the first series win for them that wasn't the sweep in Kansas City. It also breaks the string of series with only one win each (broken up, again, with the sweep over the Royals).

Omir the Storytellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410935444359576717noreply@blogger.com0