A work colleague and I eat at Everest Cafe a lot.  Back in 2004, I posted a review.

They serve some excellent Nepalese cuisine, and their lunch is an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Sure, no one really needs to eat multiple heaping plates of anything, but it may be the healthiest all-you-can-eat in town. They’ve recently added some fried zucchini to their offerings, but that is the only fried food they have.  They have actually been updating their menu regularly, so that each time we come, there seems to be something new to try, which only encourages us to come back more often.
Today I saw fellow stlblogger, CasaChristy there.  I knew it was only a matter of time, as she’s said before that it was one of her favorite restaurants too.

As you may have read, actor Mel Gibson was allegedly pulled over Thursday driving drunk, and is alleged to have made comments to the police that appeared in an initial police report, then were removed in a later one.

Let’s go over some of the facts first, as not every news story I have read seems to do so.  Of course, the final police report hasn’t been released yet, and all the facts aren’t known.

What did Mel Gibson say?

TMZ has the alleged initial police report.  Here’s an excerpt:

S/Gibson almost continually threatened me saying he owned Malibu…S/Gibson blurted out a barrage of anti-Semitic remarks about “Fucking Jews”.  S/Gibson yelled out, “The Jews are responsible for all of the wars in the world.”  S/Gibson then asked, “Are you a Jew?”

(I’m not overly familiar with police reports, but my assumption is the S stands for Subject.)
The San Francisco Chronicle has his complete apology,

“After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed,” Gibson said in a statement. “I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the LA County Sheriffs. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person. I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said. Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse. I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health.”

What did Abraham Foxman from the ADL say?

The Scotsman claims:

Calling for a criminal investigation into the Oscar-winning actor and director’s remarks, Abraham Foxman, the national director of the US Jewish Anti-Defamation League, said: “We believe there should be consequences to bigots and bigotry.”

A look at the ADL press release shows that no suggestion of a criminal investigation was made. Foxman and the ADL have said stupid things in the past, they are fairly extreme, but I don’t think anything quite as stupid as suggesting hate speech is the same as a hate crime.
What do I think? 
Oy.  Where to begin?  Let’s go back in time 10 years.
In 1995 Michael Jackson released his album HIStory.  In April 1996 the single from the album, “They Don’t Care About Us” was released.  (dates according to wiki).  It contained the lyrics “Jew me, sue me.” and “Kick me, Kike me.”  After complaints, he agreed to change the lyrics to the less offensive “Do me, sue me,” and “Kick me, hike me.”  The ADL was grateful, with Foxman saying,

“We are pleased that Michael Jackson will be re-recording, They Don’t Care About Us, and removing the anti-Jewish lyrics from his hit album HIStory. We have always believed that Mr. Jackson never intentionally meant to be offensive, yet the anti-Semitic words cut deeply.”

Let’s be completely clear.  Michael Jackson was 100% sober when he recorded the original lyrics.  An apology and an agreement to re-record with different lyrics was sufficient for Foxman to say that he believed Jackson never meant to be offensive. Gibson was extremely drunk, has apologized, and Foxman is sure Gibson was revealing his true self.

Other press releases in their archives show they were quick to accept apologies from Ted Turner, Barry Bonds, and Rev. Billy Graham.  Upon the release of some Nixon tapes, he was referred to as, “a great man, flawed.”  And when anti-Semitic comments were found in Truman’s diaries, he was referred to as “a man of the times.”

What’s different with Mel?  My guess is it may have something to do with The Passion.
I am in the strange position of thinking that the ADL was extremely generous with Jackson and some of the others above, but are holding an unfair grudge against Mel.

It is generally considered true that alcohol removes inhibitions, but I’m not inclined to accept as fact that the things one says while drunk are the ‘true’ inner-self.  I know that in my day-to-day life I will have waves of irrational thought. In 1993, I first started going to the open mic at the Wabash Triangle Cafe. The Wabash was located where The Pageant is now, and that section of Delmar was a little more run-down than it is now.  The first few nights I was scared walking to my car at midnight when the open mic was over.  Rationally, I knew there wasn’t much to be afraid of.  I wasn’t the only one exiting the building.  The parking lot was well lit.  But I had grown up a sheltered suburban childhood, and I am sure some would say my fear had racist underpinnings.  And I won’t argue with that.  But the point is that my brain wasn’t racist, and overpowered the fear, and I kept coming back.

Alcohol does more than lower inhibitions, it stops the rational part of the brain from functioning.  I believe there is a psychological argument that what one says while drunk isn’t necessarily a good indication of what one truly believes.  And when Gibson says in his apology that he doesn’t believe the things he said, and finds them despicable, I am willing to believe him.

I am certainly more willing to believe him, than I am to believe any of the apologies Michael Jackson has given over the years for the things he has said while in complete control of his mouth.

Daniel Radcliffe has decided to shed his Harry Potter image by – naturally enough – shedding his clothes.  He’s 17, and has signed to star in a West End Production of Equus,
which will require him to be naked on stage.

Someone should have told him there are other ways to shed an image.

Milton Caniff was a well-known cartoonist.  His cartoons of Terry and the Pirates, and later, Steve Canyon, were extremely popular newspaper strips in their day.  I remember seeing the Steve Canyon strip as a child, even though I didn’t read it.  I was more interested in Stan Lee’s Spider-Man.  Caniff passed away in 1988.
Today, however, Caniff’s name is most often seen in connection with a WWII pamphlet he put together for the US Army entitled: How to Spot a Jap. 

Excerpt:

To quote Shakespeare, “the good is oft interred with the bones.”

But not completely interred.  I mentioned this in passing back in March, but there is another pamphlet Caniff put together that isn’t as well-known.  Reading it today, one cringes slightly due to some poliical incorrectness, but overall the message is still praiseworthy.  He put it together for Goodwill Industries.  The Will to Win.
Excerpt:

There are a handful of Goodwills around the country that still use the image of Good Willy in their promotions, but very few of them.  Most likely their annual campaign has been going on for decades, and they don’t have the ‘will’ to update the imagery.  Still, Caniff deserves to be praised for this work, and perhaps it counterbalances the propaganda he created for the government.

It was Sunday, July 23, 2006. I was waching the 7061st performance of Les Miserables by the Marius Company, accompanied by a friend from my writer’s group. There have been three US national tours, overlapping each other, named after three of the main characters: Valjean, Fantine, and Marius. Combined, there have been performances nationwide from November 1987 until Sunday night.

One trivial fact the playbill gives is that the turntable upon which the stage for Les Miserables is built revolves 63 times each performance, and if you stood still, you would travel half a mile during the course of a show. Over 7061 performances, that would have been 3530.5 miles.

The actors who played Thenardier (the innkeeper), and Madame Thenardier (the innkeeper’s wife) were from the original Broadway Cast. Jennifer Butt was reprising the role she originated on Broadway. I remember relishing her performance in 1988, and she was as good Sunday night. However, Norman Large was originally the Bishop. The Bishop and Thenardier are very different roles, and while I can’t say I remember him very well as the Bishop, he was a great Thenardier.

I’m no expert, but the best voice may have been Melissa Lyons, who played Eponine. Eponine is one of the characters who undergo a significant change from the novel. She is a much more sympathetic character in the musical.

I was disappointed with the kid they had playing Gavroche. I know it’s difficult enough to find a kid who can sing, and Anthony Skillman (who also played Chris Partridge in the shortlived The New Partridge Family) did an admirable job. However, he just wasn’t believable as a young Thenardier. He’d be a good Oliver Twist, but he wasn’t Puckish enough for Gavroche.

I purchased a new shirt last night, as the one I got almost 18 years ago is feeling its age.

I have heard some rumors that CW (the combined entity of the former WB and UPN) has ‘picked up’ The Wilton.

I can’t find it in any news source that is indexed by Google, but the news does come from ‘pretty reliable sources close to the show’. The only thing online I’ve found is a conversation on the Lucy Walsh fansite.

If someone from CAA is posting the information on fansites, I am going to assume this isn’t something I need to keep quiet on. (Though I do find it funny that the individual from CAA referred to the tv station as the WB, which no longer exists)   Yes, Lucy is the lead female character of the show.
The Wilton is the current name for the show I’ve blogged about in the past as The Wilton Hilton. For some strange reason, they’ve had to change the name.

As I understand it, this means CW is asking my cousins to write/film some more episodes, and they’ll make a judgment on the show after that. Probably can’t expect it to appear on tv until next season (07-08).

I have heard some rumors that CW (the combined entity of the former WB and UPN) has ‘picked up’ The Wilton.

I can’t find it in any news source that is indexed by Google, but the news does come from ‘pretty reliable sources close to the show’. The only thing online I’ve found is a conversation on the Lucy Walsh fansite.

If someone from CAA is posting the information on fansites, I am going to assume this isn’t something I need to keep quiet on. (Though I do find it funny that the individual from CAA referred to the tv station as the WB, which no longer exists)   Yes, Lucy is the lead female character of the show.
The Wilton is the current name for the show I’ve blogged about in the past as The Wilton Hilton. For some strange reason, they’ve had to change the name.

As I understand it, this means CW is asking my cousins to write/film some more episodes, and they’ll make a judgment on the show after that. Probably can’t expect it to appear on tv until next season (07-08).

Wednesday night there was a storm in St. Louis. It knocked my power out.

Thursday and Friday night I spent at my parents. Friday night I shared a room with my one-and-a-half year old nephew. He’s a sweet kid. However, he does ‘talk’ a little bit in his sleep, which is funny. I wish I could understand what he was saying. And he snores. An impressive snore for someone his size.

This morning (Saturday) at 1 am my power came back on. I know this, because the clock by my bedside resets to midnight, so it’s easy to figure out how long it’s been on if I catch it within the first 24 hours after a power failure.

This morning I helped the folks at Enterprise Rent a Car wash cars to benefit Goodwill‘s Sheltered Workshop.

As of a few minutes ago, according to AmerenUE, there are still 342,000 people in Missouri without power. Some of these are due to a second storm we went through on Friday.

The Cardinals won today (11-3), and I had an opportunity to watch the game from a box seat.  Unfortunately, I had to stay home, with a stomach virus.  There were two things I am grateful for.

1) My mother…who even though I am 37…still made me some jello.  Though she didn’t make me chicken broth….she went to the store and bought me a carton.

2) It’s not next weekend.  Missing a Cardinals baseball game is one thing.  I have tickets to the Fox next Sunday night for the Les Miserables Au Revoir performance.  I was unable to make the trip to New York for the final Broadway performance back in May, 2003.

However, the Broadway revival begins in October, and they decided to use the sets from the National Tour, so the National Tour had to end.  And they chose St. Louis for the final performances.  I don’t think there was any way for me not to buy tickets.