In a move that will disappoint several burgeoning conspiracy theorists, President Barack Obama, retook the oath of office today (on Jan 21, 2009).
This time around, both CJ Roberts and the President said it flawlessly standing inside the White House. However, this time around he (BHO) did not use a bible, so the extreme "conservatives" are going to be whining anyways.
But that is not a big deal, because according to the US Constitution, Obama became the president automatically at 12 noon on 20th January. So the oath is mainly a symbolic gesture.
I also found out that the phrase "so help me God" is nonobligatory!
A satirical piece on the same news
Your learn something new everyday!
Hat tip: Times of India
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Obama Inauguration
Wow. It happened!! Obama is now the P.O.T.U.S. or President of the United States. I should like to give a shout out to my parents who called from India to make sure I am watching it. [I wasn't when they called, as I was tied up with some work.
Since it was close to lunch time, I gave in and decided to watch history being made. I googled "live feed of inauguration" and went to the usual sites like cnn, foxnews, nyt, cspan, etc. But all of these sites were incredibly slow and choppy, and were lagging the live event by several seconds. I expected this as the popular sites are where all the people would go first.
Then, I went to the 2nd or 3rd page of search results and stumbled upon the good folks of Daily Press. Thanks to you guys for a high speed, trouble free coverage on windows media player.
My lab office colleagues also watched with me. Interesting fact is that when Obama mentioned about Christians & Muslims and Jews and Hindus and non-believers, I looked around and realized that the three of us were each from a different faith, one Christian, Jewish and Hindu. If only my friend Mohammed had been there, we would have encompassed all 4. lol. Add to the fact within a 200 ft radius there is probably Buddhists, one or two Sikhs, other religions and plenty of non-believers :).
Just finished watching the inauguration, best thing I liked was the 'Benediction: The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery", tha man totally rapped at the end and I loved that more than the poet just before!
You can listen to the benediction here on NPR.Or in the embedded video
[Edit] The South Asian blog Sepia Mutiny carries a special post on exactly this subject. Thanks to them (abhi) now the exact transcript is available.
Some things I caught from this ending note and am trying to remember, sounded like this:
If a man is black, he is not held back
If a man is brown, he can still get around...
Exact text from transcript
A little note about Obama's fumbling with the oath, it seemed a little funny, both to see him start soon after Justice Roberts started saying his name, as well as his pause when he wanted Roberts to repeat the phrase about "that I will execute the office of the president of the united states faithfully". It seemed unrehearsed, but perhaps it was. You also have to cut him some slack for the enormity of the occasion and the thousands of things going through his mind (or so say my office mates.) I also realized when I played back the video, that Roberts also had some contribution to messing up the oath. But, hey no big deal, in the long run these minor things do not matter.
Highlights in Obama's Address:
Obama saying that
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. "
drew lot of applause.
"With hope and virtue, let us endure the icy currents".. etc.
I liked it.
He also mentioned something about people listening to him, son of a man who 60 years ago might not have been served in a restaurant in the Mall area, and listen to him (Barack Obama) take the most sacred oath. I was't able to find that text in the transcript, but I heard it and then listened at ~ 20:00 on the C-Span video replay.
This also drew good applause.
That's it folks. Back to work now. Today has been decent till now on the work front!
Thanks and Credits to:
Daily Press
Dallas News (transcript)
C-Span (pdf transcript)
C-Span Video Playback
Since it was close to lunch time, I gave in and decided to watch history being made. I googled "live feed of inauguration" and went to the usual sites like cnn, foxnews, nyt, cspan, etc. But all of these sites were incredibly slow and choppy, and were lagging the live event by several seconds. I expected this as the popular sites are where all the people would go first.
Then, I went to the 2nd or 3rd page of search results and stumbled upon the good folks of Daily Press. Thanks to you guys for a high speed, trouble free coverage on windows media player.
My lab office colleagues also watched with me. Interesting fact is that when Obama mentioned about Christians & Muslims and Jews and Hindus and non-believers, I looked around and realized that the three of us were each from a different faith, one Christian, Jewish and Hindu. If only my friend Mohammed had been there, we would have encompassed all 4. lol. Add to the fact within a 200 ft radius there is probably Buddhists, one or two Sikhs, other religions and plenty of non-believers :).
Just finished watching the inauguration, best thing I liked was the 'Benediction: The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery", tha man totally rapped at the end and I loved that more than the poet just before!
You can listen to the benediction here on NPR.Or in the embedded video
[Edit] The South Asian blog Sepia Mutiny carries a special post on exactly this subject. Thanks to them (abhi) now the exact transcript is available.
Some things I caught from this ending note and am trying to remember, sounded like this:
If a man is black, he is not held back
If a man is brown, he can still get around...
Exact text from transcript
black will not be asked to get in back,he really rhymed well and everyone was laughing by the time he finished! I guess Mr. Joseph Lowery clearly overshadowed Rick Warren's invocation in the process.
when brown can stick around
when yellow will be mellow
when the red man can get ahead, man;
and when white will embrace what is right.
A little note about Obama's fumbling with the oath, it seemed a little funny, both to see him start soon after Justice Roberts started saying his name, as well as his pause when he wanted Roberts to repeat the phrase about "that I will execute the office of the president of the united states faithfully". It seemed unrehearsed, but perhaps it was. You also have to cut him some slack for the enormity of the occasion and the thousands of things going through his mind (or so say my office mates.) I also realized when I played back the video, that Roberts also had some contribution to messing up the oath. But, hey no big deal, in the long run these minor things do not matter.
Highlights in Obama's Address:
Obama saying that
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. "
drew lot of applause.
"With hope and virtue, let us endure the icy currents".. etc.
I liked it.
He also mentioned something about people listening to him, son of a man who 60 years ago might not have been served in a restaurant in the Mall area, and listen to him (Barack Obama) take the most sacred oath. I was't able to find that text in the transcript, but I heard it and then listened at ~ 20:00 on the C-Span video replay.
This also drew good applause.
That's it folks. Back to work now. Today has been decent till now on the work front!
Thanks and Credits to:
Daily Press
Dallas News (transcript)
C-Span (pdf transcript)
C-Span Video Playback
Thursday, January 15, 2009
$1CinemaTix
Just read on the "Collegian" (Penn State's College Newspaper) that Carmike Six Cinemas (Nittany Mall) is offering weekend deals of $1 movie tickets to "second run movies". That includes movies that are past 3-4 months after their release, new enough, but not brand new. [Link]
This weekend (Jan 16, 09) the movies that will be screened at Carmike 6 are Quantum of SolaceJames Bond movie], and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa [Family movie/animation].
The news report did not mention if the promotion was only [for college students or if anybody going to Cinema 6 on weekends would get the $1 tix. I will be calling the Carmike Cinema 6 office [Ph: (814) 237-1998] on Friday to clarify this issue. Once I have the full information, I will update this post. Note, from the Carmike 6 Cinema website it appears that all movies tickets are down to $1,(+ appl. taxes, so carry change, and oh..they accept only cash). Who would whip out plastic for $1 and change anyways?
By the way, my personal opinion is that Carmike 6 (at the Mall) does not compare very well to the newer Premiere 12 (near the Nittany Mall) and the College 9 ($6 to $6.75 w/Student ID, near Lowes on N Atherton). I personally did not like the sound system at Carmike 6, so I have not been there in the past 7-8 months. Also all these three cinemas are far away from campus, so they may not suit many students at Penn State (those who don't have a car).
Tip: However, for students who rely more on walking and the bus to get anywhere (the M bus by CATA takes you to the Mall), the movie options close to campus are at: State Theatre ($6 w/ Student ID downtown on College Ave) and the HUB Auditorium on most weekends when Late Night Penn State is active.
How to get to Cinema 6
1. Take the M bus (schedules)
2. Convince friends who have a car to join
3. Bike in summer, fall.
Till then, enjoy cheap movies.
Carmike 6 Local Wiki
Madagascar on IMDB
Trailer:
This weekend (Jan 16, 09) the movies that will be screened at Carmike 6 are Quantum of SolaceJames Bond movie], and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa [Family movie/animation].
The news report did not mention if the promotion was only [for college students or if anybody going to Cinema 6 on weekends would get the $1 tix. I will be calling the Carmike Cinema 6 office [Ph: (814) 237-1998] on Friday to clarify this issue. Once I have the full information, I will update this post. Note, from the Carmike 6 Cinema website it appears that all movies tickets are down to $1,(+ appl. taxes, so carry change, and oh..they accept only cash). Who would whip out plastic for $1 and change anyways?
By the way, my personal opinion is that Carmike 6 (at the Mall) does not compare very well to the newer Premiere 12 (near the Nittany Mall) and the College 9 ($6 to $6.75 w/Student ID, near Lowes on N Atherton). I personally did not like the sound system at Carmike 6, so I have not been there in the past 7-8 months. Also all these three cinemas are far away from campus, so they may not suit many students at Penn State (those who don't have a car).
Tip: However, for students who rely more on walking and the bus to get anywhere (the M bus by CATA takes you to the Mall), the movie options close to campus are at: State Theatre ($6 w/ Student ID downtown on College Ave) and the HUB Auditorium on most weekends when Late Night Penn State is active.
How to get to Cinema 6
1. Take the M bus (schedules)
2. Convince friends who have a car to join
3. Bike in summer, fall.
Till then, enjoy cheap movies.
Carmike 6 Local Wiki
Madagascar on IMDB
Trailer:
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