Lick your wounds

I heard yesterday on Living on Earth that histatin, an ingredient in human saliva, contains healing properties.

In experiments conducted by scientists in the Netherlands, wounds treated with saliva healed faster than wounds not so treated.

I find it very satisfying when observed behavior like a dog licking its wounds ends up having a scientifically provable beneficial basis.

My Guantanamo Diary by Mahvish Rukhsana Khan

Mahvish Khan was the rare combination of a law student and a fluent Pashto speaker. This made her attractive to the pro bono habeas lawyers who were attempting to represent the detainees at Guantanamo. While still in law school, she signed on with a firm to serve as its interpreter.

This book is the result of her observations and experiences in Guantanamo, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Khan is a less than artful wordsmith. She ends up coming off a bit like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, young, at times shallow and yet at other times startlingly graphic and nuanced. Her book alternates between being painful due to her prose and painful due to her subject while also managing to work in a surprisingly personal perspective and a deep degree of empathy for the detainees with whom she deals.

Khan claims to be objective,

Though it may appear to some readers that I give ample, and perhaps naive, credence to prisoners' points of view, I have made every effor to verify their accounts and to explore the military's contrasting perspective . . . My objective is simply to tell the stories of some of the men held captive by the United States at Guantanamo Bay, the stories they themselves have never been able to tell.

but saying it's so doesn't make it so. She is clearly charmed by all of the detainees she met, even Taj Mohammad, the suspicious "goatherd" whose story, she admits, never added up. She concludes by stating,

I can honestly say that I don't believe any of the Afghans I met were guilty of crimes against the United States. Certainly, some of the Guantanamo detainees were, just not the men I met.

Were the men she met truly not guilty or were they simply not guilty because she met them?

And yet, that's not the point. Guilty or not, the abuses that Khan details are appalling. Members of the US military performed ghastly acts. Commander Jeffery Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, comes across as particularly ignorant, defensive and asinine.

And in the end, there is no disagreeing with Khan's central point,

Some readers may also argue that detainees, or "enemy combatants," as the Defense Department calls them, aren't entitled to the protections of U.S. law. This is an argument I reject. While I believe that Guantanamo may hold evil men as well as innocent ones, I also believe that only a full and fair hearing can separate the good from the bad.

And that is the point.

The Terrace Bar at the Little Nell

Steve and I ended up at the Terrace Bar at the Little Nell this evening to have a quiet drink before heading home after work. We first headed to 39 Degrees at the Sky Hotel but it was packed and loud and not really what we were looking for. Much more of an apres ski crowd which often is what we're looking for but not tonight.

Since I really wanted a glass of Riesling which many bars don't serve, our options were more limited than they might otherwise be. As we walked by the Little Nell, we popped in to peruse the bar menu and were in luck. They serve a Betts & Scholl Riesling by the glass and weren't too crowded so we stopped.

We sat in the window overlooking the pool area which was nicely lit with steam rising from the various pools and fountains. Good ambience.

The wine? Not so much. It was too dry for my taste. I prefer a sweeter taste with a finish with a nice acidity for complexity.

The yellowtail tuna crudo however was heavenly.

And my followup drink, the Rossini, strawberry puree, St. Germain and Prosecco served in a champagne flute, went down quite nicely.

Flinty Chicago Toughness

I grew up in Chicago.

I lived in DC for 12 years.

I never ceased to be amazed and amused by DC's fear of snow. The government and schools would be cancelled at the sight of a flurry. They had to have rolling release for the federal agencies so that the Metro wasn't overwhelmed. People would abandon their cars in the middle of the Beltway. They'd empty the grocery stores if there was a hint of a winter storm on the way. I loved driving around during a snowstorm 'cause the streets were empty.

I so identify with Obama's mystification. The last time Chicago public schools closed because of the weather was a decade ago. The snow had to be outrageous before it was even considered.

Happy 17th Birthday!

Rachel's a good sport.

She met us on the bus on our way to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for her birthday celebration. I immediately pulled out the gawdy happy birthday tiara that Steve and Rachel had bought for me to wear (at home!) for my birthday last year. (Steve accused me of being vindictive; I think I was just being celebratory.)

With a minimum of fussing, Rachel put it on right there on the bus. And continued to wear it without complaint for the rest of the evening.

Several times, she forgot that she was wearing it and was surprised when people knew that it was her birthday.

Sweet!

Rachel and I are going to London for Spring Break.

This is all well and good except that Rachel's passport expires two weeks after we return and I remembered that with some countries, your passport has to be valid for 6 months after your travel is completed or you could be denied entry.

I googled and googled but couldn't find a definitive answer so was getting ready to try to get a rush passport renewal. To add to the level of difficulty, since Rachel's passport was issued before she turned 16, she has to renew in person. And the local Mail Boxes Etc. where we could easily get passport photos done closed recently.

As a last ditch effort before I jumped through all the passport renewal hoops, I emailed WorldBridge Services, the UK Border Agency's commercial partner which handles such inquiries. I didn't hold out much hope of hearing back or at least hearing back before I had to start the renewal process but I sent off the email anyhow.

Oh, ye of little faith.

This morning (at 10:39 am, to be exact), I received a response. Not only did I receive a response but it was the response I had hoped for. In order to enter the UK as a US tourist,

a bona fide passport or travel document should . . . be valid for long enough to cover length of intended stay in the United Kingdom.

Woo-hoo!

Brian & Miriam, here we come!

This week's favorite

X Games

Went to X Games this evening to go stand on the Superpipe, something I'd never done before. We were watching the Men's Snowboard Superpipe qualifier which is quite the big name event. Shaun White, Mason Aguirre . . .

At one point, we were watching Superpipe qualifiers (snowboarders), Big Air practice (skiers) and Snocross (snowmobilers), all laid out in front of us.

We barely even had to turn our heads.

I did learn that if you're going to go watch anything from up on the Superpipe, you really need to wear your crampons. It's bloody slippery up there (literally bloody too).

The crowd was very young and very drunk, although not so much up at the top of the Pipe. You had to work to get up there so it kinda weeded out the riff-raff.

Heading home, rather than deal with the obnoxiousness, we walked the three miles back to Aspen which was very nice and quiet. But once I got to town, I couldn't resist walking around to check it out and it was quite the mob scene. The line at New York Pizza was down the stairs, out the door and down the block.

ESPN and Aspen SkiCo have just announced that X Games are going to be in Aspen until at least 2012. I'm ok with that. It is obnoxious but it's only four days a year.

I don't see the problem

In his inaugural address, Obama said:

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers.

Other than the fact that perhaps he left some people out (Buddhists?), how is this statement inaccurate?

And yet, Obama's Nonbeliever Nod Unsettles Some.

How about you . . .

Cute.

Light.

Definitely not puzzling.

One sentence synopsis from At the Movies:

A young woman is left in charge of four grumpy retirement home residents . . .

Another dysfunctional family movie but, unlike Monday's, this one didn't involve any heavy mental lifting.

Recovery

Watched the Inauguration at my parents' place while trying (fairly unsuccessfully due to a weak wireless router) to work remotely.

Headed back to the office and watched part of the parade on cnn.com.

Next, off to Takah Sushi, the only restaurant in town advertising an Inauguration Night party. Since Takah's my favorite, it would have been my first choice anyhow. Awesome Obama roll, yellowtail, albacore and nori on the outside with snow crab and cucumber inside. Takah did a nice job of showing some spirit with all of their staff dressed as someone who has slept in the Lincoln Bedroom (or some loose interpretation thereof).

3 glasses of Riesling later, we decided to move on to Belly Up for Jes Grew, a local band comprised of friends.

Since it was a bit early for the show to begin, we stopped at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for another drink. Another Riesling and a few sips of Steve's Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey.

Finally, Belly Up just as the band started to play. Another glass of wine (Merlot), lots of dancing until I hit the wall.

Sitting on a stool, leaning on a wall, falling asleep in the middle of a concert . . .

Hey, in addition to 5 glasses of wine and some whiskey, I did get up at 5 am!

Ducked out during the encore and just caught the bus home as it was pulling away.

Woke up with a killer headache and putzed around all day.

You know, 'cause I'm in recovery . . .

It's a Republican Conspiracy . . .

The Bush appointed Republican Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, misquotes the Presidential Oath of Office which is set forth in the Constitution.

Accidental? Nerves?

Or A Republican Conspiracy??

Granted this is the Chief Justice's first Inaugural go-around. But he is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. And the oath is clearly set out in the Constitution. The oath is 35 words long. Too long for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to memorize?

Robert's misquote then leads President-elect Barack Obama to incorrectly restate the oath.

Does this mean he's not really president?

A Christmas Tale

I spent this whole movie puzzled.

Just puzzled.

Suzannah says, like most French movies, its message seems to be that we're all just fated to be who we are and there's no escaping it.

It is what it is.

The French, at least in their movies, don't seem to believe in resolution.

A dysfunctional family with one son dead and another banished is brought back together over the holidays in order to face the matriarch's cancer and need for a bone marrow transplant match. There's sibling rivalry, infidelity with no drama, teenage angst, paternal love, redemption (of a sort), and yet no resolution.

I didn't dislike the movie but I was puzzled.

This week's favorite

I wasn't going to pick this one because I don't really think it qualifies as a secret but was hooked when I discovered (through the file name) that on the back, it says Make sure you call him Mr. President.

Iron Man

Watched this tonight on DVD with Rachel.

Good adventure comics stuff.

Robert Downey Jr., as Tony Stark, was fun as the uber intelligent playboy prankster tough guy.

Gwyneth Paltrow, as Pepper Potts, was good as the loyal assistant, although slightly less believable when it came to the whole lonely thing.

Jeff Bridges, as Obadiah Stane, nailed the bad guy vibe.

Some of the plot development dragged a bit especially as the movie was building to its climax. There was a bit of a disconnect in the tempo between the slow buildup of the tension and moving the movie forward to the fast-paced action scenes, particularly in the scenes between Obie and Pepper in Tony's office and between Obie and Tony in Tony's living room.

Fun, smart and irreverent. A good combination.

Eh.

The Wienerstube in Aspen, an Austrian restaurant, is a long standing institution. It's gone through a few different owners and permutations. Since I've been in town for the last 10 years, they've tried dinner in the past but it's never seemed to work out.

There's now another new owner, Harald, and he's trying dinner again. He's very enthusiastic and seems very interested in making it work.

However, we went last night and I'm in no hurry to go back.

The food was good, if overpriced. But, it's Aspen, so this is not unexpected.

The service was pleasant although she did forget to bring my second glass of wine. Again, not a big deal.

But, at the end of the meal, when our little party of four received our check, we were shocked to see that the gratuity had been added. On the way out, I double checked the menu but there was no mention of adding gratuity for any size party.

Aspen does have a fair number of foreign visitors who are less than familiar with our customs regarding tipping so a number of restaurants do have a statement on their menu that they reserve the right to add gratuity for large parties or for foreign guests.

During Christmas week, we took a party of nine to the Steak Pit and I so appreciated the fact that the server didn't add on the gratuity that I tipped him 20+%.

But I have never had a gratuity added on for a party of four.

Sorry, Harald, but I doubt that I'll be back for dinner.

Picky?

I've skied three days so far this season. That's not very many.

Two of them were pretty awesome powder days and the third was a beautiful Colorado bluebird day. Sunday, December 14 at Highlands, powder and fresh tracks galore, Friday, January 9 at Snowmass, 13 inches of new snow after 5 am and Wednesday, January 14 at Ajax, bluebird skies and powder stashes here and there.

On both Snowmass and Ajax, I skied areas of the mountain that I'd never skied in all my years of skiing in Aspen (since 1977).

But, most notable, as of yesterday, my brother who lives in Nigeria has skied as many days as I have.

Attribution

See this photo? I took this photo. This photo is in today's Aspen Times, on page A13. My name is not in today's paper. I just want you all to know.

Bill of Wrongs by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose

As a bit of a latecomer to Molly Ivins, I'm sure that I'm just discovering what others have known for some time. Molly Ivins was fabulous. Three pages into the introduction, I was exclaiming out loud that everyone should read this book.

Witty, compelling and with no fear of skillfully using profanity to make their point, Ivins and Dubose shine a light on the crimes of the Bush administration against the constitution, American citizens and people of the world.

They present a picture that is at times triumphal and at times frustrating but is always appalling.

They also provide a vision of hope in the courage and strength of everyday Americans willing to stand up to the abuses of a rogue administration.

Growing up in a relatively conservative environment, I used to be frustrated by the ACLU's interventionalism in various matters which I saw as ridiculous meddling. After reading this book, I say, thank god for the ACLU.

Wall-E

Finally got a chance to watch this on DVD.

I don't know if my expectations for Pixar movies are rising unrealistically, but I wasn't blown away.

I expected to be blown away.

The first part of the movie was well done. It felt fresh and new, for the most part (except for the cutesy spork nod to the Little Mermaid). Much was communicated with no dialogue.

Moving further into the movie, we experience more retreads, the Island of Misfit Toys, 2001 A Space Odyssey's Hal . . .

Wall-E himself exudes personality and tugs at the viewer's tear ducts.

But overall, the movie, while a fine enough way to spend 98 minutes, doesn't grab. I'm not likely to watch it again, unlike, say, Toy Story.

Today's PostSecret favorite

Whiplash!

Fantastic day skiing yesterday. Met some out of town friends at Snowmass at their request and what a great call it turned out to be. Started snowing sometime after 4 am and ended up with more than a foot. Conditions were fabulous everywhere and we just kept going and going.

These friends grew up in Aspen so are extremely familiar with Snowmass (except for some of the newer on-mountain improvements). While I've been skiing Snowmass since 1977, for most of that time, I was stuck at the advanced intermediate level which basically means a lot of groomed blue runs. I'm no longer an advanced intermediate (I call myself a beginning expert now) so I've graduated to blacks and double blacks. Being that I mostly ski at Aspen Highlands since Steve works there and my gear lives in the locker room at the base, when I get over to Snowmass with expert skiers who know the mountain, it's a completely new experience. I get introduced to areas of the mountain that I never knew existed.

Steve and I felt like we were on a ski vacation yesterday.

The only downside was the hard (I mean HARD!) fall that I took towards the end of the day on the Edge. Gave myself a slight case of whiplash so felt it prudent to beg off skiing today.

But it was kinda interesting skiing to the base after the glass (mug?) of hot spiced wine on an empty stomach at High Alpine.

Damn lens fog!

Left the house at 8:15 am to ski Snowmass and got home at 8:30 pm. I'm exhausted so this is what you're getting today. Riding the Cirque poma lift for the first time.

Well, that's one way to do it - Part III

Yesterday, Steve shoveled the snow off the roof.

This is a kinda sucky job. It's cold, it involves high places and heavy lifting, it's dangerous . . .

I was feeling very appreciative. So appreciative that I was seriously considering skipping my workout in order to take him to dinner to express my appreciation.

Did I have an ulterior motive? Was I practicing avoidance? Possibly. But so what?

So anyhow, in the midst of my plan to skip my workout, I mean, express my appreciation, I picked up on his mood.

Which was annoyance.

With me.

For something I didn't think he should be annoyed at me about. (Isn't that always the way?)

So, I got annoyed right back, put on my workout stuff in a huff and walked out the door to catch the bus.

I told my instructor that she had my husband to thank for my attendance last night . . .

Disenchantment

I've been very enamoured of Facebook.

It turns out that it may not be reciprocated.

*Sigh*

I recently stumbled upon the fact that two acquaintances "unfriended" me.

This is really no big deal. These are friends of friends whom I have met twice.

No hard feelings. Really.

However, I was surprised by my initial reaction to this. The insecure little pre-teen I thought I had left behind long ago popped in for a short visit. She kinda stuck out her tongue and waggled her fingers in her ears at me, saying nah-nah, until I kicked her back out the door.

Be gone, you pest!

Overheard in the bar tonite

Guy #1: "There's so many diseases in this town."

Guy #2: "Dude, just cause you make bad choices, don't diss the whole town."

Guy #3: "You can't catch it twice, can you?"

(courtesy of the classy crowd at Bentley's)

Critical by Tom Daschle

It's difficult for me to be objective about this issue.

It is not difficult for me to be pessimistic about this issue.

I truly get the feeling that the people who realize just how complicated this issue is are exceedingly rare. And this is what leads to my pessimism.

And yet, I don't question in the least that the system is broken. In fact, I often can be heard telling people just that.

And perhaps it'll take someone or some ones willfully ignoring the depth of the complexity of the situation to fashion a workable solution. Because, god knows, it certainly seems an insurmountable problem to most who pay attention to the details.

With his thin book, Daschle can't be accused of getting mired down in details. It is a superficial look at the problem. The anecdotes he trots out to illustrate his points are compelling on the surface but frustrating in their omissions. Omissions which are not obvious to most but will strike those who work in the industry.

Daschle's basic idea is that a board akin to the Federal Reserve Board should be set up to manage health care decisions, just as the Fed manages interest rate decisions. Given the current financial crisis, the suggestion that anything should be modeled after the Fed is a bit unfortunate. And yet, the reasoning behind his approach seems sound. A board of qualified individuals in position to make difficult and painful decisions, insulated from political pressures but with transparency so there is trust and buy-in.

It does seem utopian. I don't much trust utopian . . .

It's a scary time to be in the industry and to be trying to make decisions with long-term repercussions when the premises upon which those decisions must be based have their foundations in shifting sand.

I'm just going to hang on tight for a wild ride.

That's one way to do it . . .

I like Takah Sushi. No, I really like Takah Sushi.

If it were up to me, I'd eat there often.

But, even though it's not too expensive as sushi places go, between Steve and me, we can drop $100+ when we eat there.

So we don't go all that often 'cause that's a bit rich for us to do on a consistent basis.

But, when I go by myself (which I have been known to do), it's much more reasonable. I can get away for under $30.

Last night, by chance, I happened upon a possible solution (although Steve's skeptical).

We can afford to go to Takah more often if Steve pre-eats.

He can fill up at home or a less expensive restaurant and then I can go to Takah.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Hey, we used to pre-drink in college when we were going out to the bars . . .

Tomorrow's PostSecret Favorite

Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides

Another one of our purchases during our Santa Fe trip.

Blood and Thunder tells the story of Manifest Destiny and the expansion of the United States using Kit Carson as its fulcrum. Sides follows Carson from his birthplace in Kentucky to his childhood home in Missouri and then, finally in his myriad, fascinating journeys around the West as Carson, sometimes unwittingly, serves as one of the key architects of Westward Expansion.

A master storyteller telling an epic story, Sides enthralls the reader by weaving a complex tapestry filled with illuminating detail. Sides never takes the easy way out of making any of the players one dimensional. There are no absolute villains or no heroes, although there is plenty of villainy and heroics.

Freaky s**t

You may have heard on the news that Aspen had a bomb threat yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure how it's playing in Peoria but let me tell you, here in Aspen, on so many levels, it's some freaky s**t.

4 bombs, real incendiary devices, were left around Aspen yesterday afternoon, two at banks and two abandoned in an alley. 16 blocks were evacuated and cordoned off. Due to the fact that Aspen is not much larger than 16 blocks, these devices effectively shut down the city on New Year's Eve. The repercussions will be felt for some time.

At 2:30 pm, employees at Wells Fargo noticed a suspicious package with a note, a "credible" threat, which resulted in the evacuation of the bank. A few minutes later, the same thing occurred at Vectra Bank.

At 2:44 pm, Steve and I were in the ATM foyer of Wells Fargo with about a dozen people. We were making an ATM deposit. The majority of the other people were trying to get in the bank. There were signs on the door stating that the bank would be open until 4:30 pm on New Year's Eve and there was much confusion regarding why the doors to the main lobby were locked and the place was deserted.

There was no one telling us not to be there. There was really no indication that we shouldn't be there. But I had had a similar experience with Wells Fargo in the past. That time, it ended up being a gas leak at a nearby construction site. As I related that story to Steve, he decided that it might be wise to continue on our way.

And so we did. (If we had left it up to me, my nosiness would have kept me there until I was told by the authorities to leave. Not much of a self-preservation reflex there.)

We walked back into (or I should say, around the outskirts of) downtown at about 8:45 pm to see if any of the New Year's Eve activities were taking place. The bonfire at Wagner Park was limping along with a meager turnout but the 8:30 pm fireworks were delayed, then merged with the midnight fireworks which were then canceled in toto.

The evacuation wasn't lifted until early this morning. The whole incident has had a horrible impact on businesses in Aspen. New Year's Eve is one of the biggest days for the restaurants and stores in the downtown core. Restaurants which are struggling this year were looking forward to tens of thousands in food and beverage sales. Servers were looking forward to hundreds of dollars in tips for one night of hard work. Food will be wasted, payrolls might not be made, bills may not be paid.

I know that many people consider Aspen to be the land of the rich and famous but Aspen is really home to thousands of hardworking people trying to scratch out a living and make a life. Many, many of those people are now going to suffer.

All because of some troubled soul, some crank who was thinking god knows what. I've posted his letter to the banks and his note to the Aspen Times below and as far as I'm concerned, they are very disturbing.