dourly amused

I spent the night before I hit Dallas in a smaller city. I was carrying a block of Book 2 in my second bag. The books are thick, heavy and shrinkwrapped into a big bundle of five. It’s a massive block of paper, basically. I was very surprised to discover – unpacking my bags in Dallas – that the second bag not only had that TSA “we searched your stuff” notification, but that the shrinkwrap on the books was torn open. It wasn’t a “shifting around in the bag” rip, it was completely open and the top book had certainly been riffled through. This happened after flying out of the smaller city to Dallas.

The questions I’ll never get answered: was is simple suspicion of an explosive? Or real interest once they saw the book? Or were the books looked at by an unfriendly?

superior scribbler

My friend Casey honored me with this badge. I might be a Superior Scribbler, but I’m a very Late Scribbler too (check the date on her post).

I’m very grateful for this, of course, even if belated. And, for the record, Casey is indeed a truly Superior Scribbler (currently on vacation).

Passing on Superior Scribbler to (in no order):
1. Alexa — of The Real Princess Diaries
2. Lia — formerly of Starlight Ministries and now Rogue Reverend
3. Beth — Tales of Urban Wonder and Decay
4. Aspasia — of La Libertine’s Salon
5. the whole crew of Yes Means Yes!, though particularly eroticundulation

terrorism is obviously a priority

Reading news about the presidential-pardon applications crossing Bush’s desk (he does not seem inclined to make many pardons right now), one caught my attention. It seems John Walker Lindh, who was picked up a few years ago fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan, wants a pardon. He’s serving a 20yr prison sentence.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey (aka The DC Madam), was facing a possible maximum sentence of 55 years when she was killed/committed suicide (take your pick). She, of course, ran an escort agency/fantasy-sex service/prostitution ring (take your pick). Article-writers covering the story said she realistically faced anywhere between 4-15 years in prison.

All this over $2 million in income she paid taxes on, with a stable of consensual employees and a very consenting clientele.

And Lindh wants a pardon because his prison sentence is obviously a bit much for him. Perhaps he feels like the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

tonight

Filmed in July, I almost forgot that it was real. But I’m going to be in a CNBC documentary on high-end prostitution. Sometimes I’m excited about it, sometimes not.

It airs tonight at 10pm. I don’t even watch TV and don’t have cable (I was given a TV, but my DVD player is still in storage in another state).

And it seems that the blog post I wrote about “Amanda Brooks” was prescient (thanks to a friend for the link).

FYI: The show will re-air a few more times over the month of November. Go to its web page for the schedule (link above).