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Bad Boys: Michoacn Takedown
2008-04-12 08:14:00
Yesterday's apprehension of the North Carolina Marine just outside of Tacambaro put Michoacán once again in the spotlight. Today my inbox was filled with URLs forwarded by Estadounidense friends, lawyers all, bringing old news to my attention, just in case I hadn't read the local newspaper. In these parts, we were still exchanging the chisme over the latest nab: a gringo living in Patzcuaro calling himself "Montana" who'd walked away from an Oregon prison farm where he was supposed to have been serving a prison sentence imposed by a federal court in Montana. And before that, there was the capture in Tangacicuaro of David Sauceda, who tricked Bexar County, Texas, jailers into letting him go while he was awaiting trial on murder, armed robbery and other nasty charges. And yet another Estadounidense outlaw found his way into the arms of Mexican law enforcement authorities. Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do...
More About: Boys , Takedown

Sex, Compulsion and Kodachrome
2008-04-12 07:26:00
If you're a wedding photographer in New Mexico, and you refuse to photograph same-sex commitment ceremonies, be prepared to break out your checkbook. The New Mexico Human Rights Commission forced Elane Photography to fork over $6,637.94 in attorney's fees and costs when its owner, Elaine Huguenin, told a bride that her small firm only photographs traditional weddings. You'd think there was only one wedding photographer in all of Albuquerque. This reminds me of the female Massachusetts lawyer whose practice was restricted to representing only women who found herself in big trouble for turning down a guy who wanted to be her client a few years back. Is Massachusetts suffering from a dearth of divorce lawyers these days? Now, I can certainly see calling some businesses "public accommodations," but forcing a photographer to take shots he or she doesn't want to take it is taking it just too far. Would you...

My Google Twin
2008-04-11 21:49:00
Yesterday, The New York Times had a front page article about the growing trend of people searching thru Google for people with the same name. The people with the same name are called "Googlegängers," and the Times recounts stories of people with the same name meeting each other and even forming emotional bonds. I've checked up on my namesakes, and it isn't a pretty picture. Just go to www.davidleffler.com and you'll see what I mean. Invincible Defense Technology Command Center is what you will see in big, bold letters at the top of the page. Then you are informed of the following: How do we stop war, prevent terrorism and make our homelands secure? How can we achieve invincibility? There is a nonlethal approach to achieve this goal. It is called Invincible Defense Technology. I will spare you the rest. Why couldn't this site be host to someone slightly more...
More About: Twin

Ordinary Lives in Mexico
2008-04-10 07:25:00
Last weekend in San Miguel de Allende, as I walked over to Starbucks for my daily caffeine fix, I passed the much-photographed old lady selling dried flowers, and I reflected upon the usual newly-landed expatriates' proclamations about how Mexico fueled their senses, awakening spirits and urges long dormant. I asked myself whether the sight of the flower seller in indigenous garb, the church bells jangling and jacaranda trees in full bloom invigorated me. A resounding "no" echoed in my brain. And then I had to tell myself that all of that might be something special to someone who'd toiled away long hours in Peoria. Heck, the right moment in a place like Matehuala just might have the right affect upon some desperate soul. Today one of the e-mails that hit my inbox asked the usual questions about what my life was life in Michoacán and whether I lived with all...
More About: Lives , Ordinary

Maybe NYC Losing Olympics 2012 Wasn't So Bad After All
2008-04-09 23:55:00
Looking at the situation now, congestion concerns aside, I think that it was a good thing that New York City lost out to London for the 2012 Olympics . Something tells me that the Olympic games immediately following those in China will see a significant downturn in sponsorship revenues. Why? Because with all of the bad press that the Olympic torch is getting due to protesters of China's actions in Tibet repeatedly putting out the flame, I bet that the sponsors will have their reputations tarnished rather than enhanced by associating themselves with this year's Olympics. Considering the millions of dollars these sponsors pay for their sponsorships, companies such as Coca-Cola, Kodak, Lenovo and Visa might be more careful before stepping up to the plate for future Olympics or at least those for 2012. Technorati Tags: Olympics 2012, London, NYC, China, Tibet, Coca-Cola, Kodak, Lenovo, Visa

Day Labor for CPAs and CEOs
2008-04-09 19:18:00
When this video came around a few weeks ago, the politically incorrect lawyer pals to whom I forwarded it just weren't impressed. But heck, they're not Mexican, so what do they know? Besides, they hardly ever read this blog. This morning, Mi blog es tu blog was impressed enough to pass it on. Technorati Tags: Mexico, recession, unemployment, immigration
More About: Labor

Absolut Weenies
2008-04-09 07:20:00
Every Mexico-themed blog was talking about it last week. I was about to blog about Mi blog es tu blog's post about the Absolut Vodka ad, which revealed a 19th C. map of Mexico, but life distracted me. 224 other people commented. By Friday, Absolut Vodka was wringing its hands in abject apology, promising sensitivity the next time around, yielding some 2664 comments. By Sunday, Absolut Vodka issued a sincere and genuine apology (What, the earlier one wasn't enough?), saying it had withdrawn the advertisement, generating some 1452 comments so far. Absolut Vodka is known for provocative and creative advertising. What's the big deal? Why do so many people have to get their knickers in a twist over a simple and clever ad? Technorati Tags: vodka, Mexico, U.S., map, advertising

Orphans of the Storm
2008-04-08 18:57:00
Last night my wife and I saw the 1922 classic silent film Orphans of the Storm , directed by D.W. Griffith with sisters Lillian and Dorothy Gish. The film, playing at the New York Film Forum, was accompanied by Steve Sterner on the piano, whom The New York Times refers to in a recent review as "gifted and scholarly." We happen to be friends with Steve, and having second row seats, we were about 10 feet away, so we chatted with him before the movie started. I commented on the NY Times quote, to which Steve, in his typically modest manner said, "'Gifted' I understood, but 'scholarly'?" It has been a while since I've seen a silent film with live accompanist, and it suddenly occurred to me when Steve started playing as the film began that here was another experience which created a certain intimacy which no longer existed. Recently, I...

Another Great Free Movie Site
2008-04-03 19:14:00
Now that Stage6.com is gone, which was a great collection of feature length films, commercials, cartoons, etc., in the divx format, I thought I'd suggest another web site that offers good quality films for nothing, Archive.org. They've got a very broad collection, from feature length films to ephemeral films, which are those hysterical science instructional films that used to keep you amused in high school science class (I think they've got some driver's ed and other types as well). All films can be downloaded in various formats. My one disappointment with this site is that they have available one of the scariest films I've ever seen, the 1962 film Carnival of Souls, but every time I click on the link to the web page for the movie, the browser freezes up. Oh well, perhaps they will have that fixed by the time you get there. Enjoy! Technorati Tags: movies, archive.org,...
More About: Movie , Free , Great , Site

How to be Happy
2008-04-02 22:31:00
In today's Wall Street Journal there is an article about a recent study which concludes that how you spend your time will determine whether or not you are happy. In surveying 4,000 Americans, the study found that when we are "'engaging leisure and spiritual activities,' things like visiting friends, exercising, attending church, listening to music, fishing, reading a book, sitting in a cafe or going to a party" we are "typically happy, engrossed and not especially stressed." This certainly is not something new. Robert Putnam states in his path-breaking book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, published in 2001, that Americans engage in fewer and fewer group activities such as monthly bridge clubs, Sunday picnics with friends or membership in the Shriners, thereby leading to isolation and unhappiness. What are we doing more of? Watching TV, which may be low stress, but is not as engaging as...
More About: Happy

Nudity Autism?
2008-03-31 18:02:00
If you'd say that the two don't go together, you'd be wrong, at least according to this U.K. fundraising effort. It's actually an amusing, and somewhat bizarre, clip. Technorati Tags: autism, nudity, United Kingdom, fundraising
More About: Autism , Nudity

When the Emails Stopped
2008-03-30 07:26:00
Email overload is a common complaint these days. People's email inboxes are loaded with hundreds and even thousands of emails, most never to be read. My wife had a friend who regularly sent her a dozen or so emails a day which alerted her to various events around town and political posts by various commentators. My wife would sigh every time she saw her email box full of these messages, and finally one day I said, "Why don't you tell her to stop? If you don't want to get them, tell her to stop sending them." But my wife did not want to offend, especially since this friend lived alone and seemed to thrive on mass emailing all of her friends these messages. At first, I thought this was silly of my wife to continue to suffer under this barrage of emails, and that she should have enough courage to...
More About: Emails

Betting on the Bridge
2008-03-28 19:22:00
Jesus del Monte denizen Raymundo Young de la Vega says he's not a betting man, but he's asking others to place their bets on how the rest of Morelia will reach Paseo Morelia, destined to be one of Latin America's latest megamalls. Last year's idea of burrowing a tunnel to connect the rest of the city with La Nueva Morelia just didn't seem to fly. But there's always more than one way to scramble up the mountain, and betting is now open on whether a Megapuente will be the answer. The green tendrils shown at Young's blog post is Campestre Morelia, our town's first golf course. It all makes me think of the Three Billy Goats Gruff: was the tunnel notion just a red herring? Technorati Tags: Morelia, Altozano, Paseo Morelia, Michoacan, megatunel, megapuente
More About: Bridge , The Bridge

It's Too Early to Hide the Matzo
2008-03-28 18:30:00
The only time of year that I really spend much time thinking about matzo is Passover. This year, my annual spring trip to Chicago came earlier than the usual official opening date for spring, and Passover got itself scheduled later than usual this year, which meant that the window of opportunity to even think about buying any kind of matzo passed me over. But it’s just as well. Manischewitz put its production of my below white grape matzo on hiatus. Who cares about the Tam Tam shortage of 2008? I’m bereft and verklempt over not having white grape matzo, a variety so rare than many Jews aren’t even aware that it exists. And yes, I know that the white grape matzo isn’t even kosher for Passover except for the sick and the old. It’s the thought that counts in my book. Oh, well. There are never any matzo to be...
More About: Early , Hide

Fat City Mexico
2008-03-27 20:42:00
David Simmonds over at Mexico Premiere points his fingers in both directions, blaming both the U.S. and Mexico for bad food habits now that Mexico's been named the first runner-up in the international fat folks competition. Unquestionably, obesity is at crisis proportions in this country, but the blame goes far beyond Coke and McDonald's. This is a country where Coca-Cola Light, as Diet Coke is known in these parts, sells for more than the old-fashioned sugar-laden version. McDonald's isn't exactly affordable for the rank-and-file. The traditional foods of the popular class are laden with carbohydrates and grease and short on protein, because those ingredients are cheap and filling. Tamales, gorditas, chicharrones, and fried tacos are cholesterol bombs, but they're also a means of making a little bit go a long way. Even the sopa secas are culprits, intended to fill the belly with something cheap and easy before venturing on...
More About: City

How to Make a Real Impact
2008-03-26 16:52:00
The other morning when I woke up I thought of something which I wanted to say to one of my sisters who was dealing with a challenging situation. I could have written her an email, but this was a personal message to my sister, so that seemed too impersonal. I could have typed up something on my word processor and mailed it to her, but again that didn't seem like it would do the job. Then I thought of writing a handwritten letter to her. Wow! How do you do that? My mind busily began planning - first I would type out my letter on my word processor and then when I had it right, I would copy it over by hand and mail it to my sister. But then I thought, "I'll never get this done, I'm making too big a deal of it. Why not just simply write...
More About: Real , Make

I Haven't Seen This Before
2008-03-24 16:25:00
There's not too much that I see on web which surprises me, but I have to admit that the faux home page for the Dutch department store HEMA impressed me. Go there and wait a minute for the effect to load. Technorati Tags: HEMA, Dutch

Something to Laugh About
2008-03-24 03:01:00
The New York Times, in their Sunday "Week in Review" section, features Laugh Lines, which has a selection of the prior week's political cartoons from newspapers around the country and excerpts from television comedians' routines. My favorite this week was from Jay Leno: Even President Bush is starting to get worried about the economy being out of control, you know. I mean, gold is over $1,000 an ounce. Oil, over $100 a barrel. Hookers, $5,000 an hour. Who can afford this? We all know who can afford this. Technorati Tags: New York Times, Week in Review, Laugh Lines, Jay Leno, Bush, economy, hookers, oil, gold

Richardson = Judas; Clinton = McCarthy; HRC = AMLO?
2008-03-23 18:13:00
James Carville compared Bill Richardson to Judas. An Obama aide compared Bill Clinton to Joe McCarthy. Will Hillary, like failed Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, insist that she's the Legitimate President of Los Esados Unidos for the next four years? Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, Obama, AMLO

The Heathen of Santa Maria
2008-03-22 03:34:00
Shortly after noon today, I considered going to Centro to buy myself a Judas, not wanting to risk the good ones all being sold out by tomorrow. But then while I was debating over whether to drive or take a taxi, I talked myself out of the proposition, deciding to rent a couple of movies and grill a steak instead. If it’s really a life-size Judas I want, then I should spring for something custom-made instead of street-quality. The one day of the year that you can count on peace and quiet in Santa Maria de Guido is Good Friday. The buses and combis don’t run, no one’s gunning an engine, the leaves in the trees don’t rumble, no music rings through the air, and even the dogs don’t bark. There is no sense in wasting that moment of stillness by leaving the house. I did have to leave the...
More About: Santa Maria

Beyond the Browser
2008-03-21 18:52:00
For those of you who view a lot of photos online, go to Cool Iris to download and install PicLens, which transforms your web browser experience into a magical world of flying photographs. With PicLens, rather than photos lying static on a page, they line up in three dimensional rows of photos that fly across your screen. Click on one and it comes to the forefront. You can also turn your viewing experience into a slide show if you prefer. PicLens does not work with all web sites, but works with the more popular photo sites such as Flickr, Photobucket and Google. Try using PicLens with the over 31 million photos which are found when typing "sunrise" into Google's image search feature. Technorati Tags: Cool Iris, PicLens, Flickr, Photobucket, Google
More About: Browser

Speedtest - how fast are you?
2008-03-21 01:17:00
57 words That's 57 words with 4 errors if you want the whole truth. Go ahead and see if you can do better. Technorati Tags: Speed, typing test
More About: Fast

Arthur C. Clarke - R.I.P.
2008-03-19 12:59:00
Arthur C. Clarke is dead, and with him goes one of the most creative and visionary minds of our times. You can read his obituary in today's New York Times. I grew up reading science fiction, and Arthur C. Clarke was one of the masters of this literary form. For me, science fiction was an escape from the ordinary, limited world in which we live. Science fiction had no limits - anything was possible. Anything you could imagine could be. I loved that. The genre will go on without him, but the world indeed will be a smaller, less exciting place without him. Technorati Tags: Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction
More About: Arthur

Great New Site for Movies TV Shows
2008-03-18 21:43:00
Hulu is a great new site that has a whole range of first rate films and TV shows (some current and some much older) that you legally can view for free. What's the catch? There is "limited commercial interruption." It really is limited, and each commercial has a countdown meter showing how many seconds are left until the show resumes. Not only can you watch shows, you can also embed them into your blog and edit and republish them for your own site. So, if I want to make the really great film "The Usual Suspects" available to folks who read this blog, all I have to do is embed some code and you can watch the entire film right here, at Staring at Strangers (except, of course, you'll be staring at a movie). Here you go: How about a television program? ER is pretty popular: If you want to...
More About: Movies , Great , Site , New Site

Old Lawyers Really Like Us
2008-03-17 22:32:00
In his Winter 2008 Making Technology Work for You column in Experience magazine, published by the American Bar Association Senior Lawyers Division, California lawyer Jeff Allen (who also is editor-in-chief of GP|Solo Technology & Practice Guide and Technology eReport) has some good things to say about Staring at Strangers. Including SAS among the interesting blogs he recommends to readers, he writes: Staring at Strangers. A blog written by two, often politically incorrect, attorneys who comment on whatever strikes their fancy. It's too bad that Experience magazine isn't accessible to anyone online. The Senior Lawyers keep those issues locked up to those who aren't members of the club. Heck, I'm not even a member of their club. Technorati Tags: ABA, Jeffrey Allen, Graves & Allen, blogging for fun

Client #10 - Hey folks, I was just kidding!
2008-03-17 20:09:00
When the other day I post my exclusive interview with Client #10, I figured that everyone reading it would know that I was doing a humor piece and not a real interview. But now that there is speculation all over the Internet about the identity of Client #10 (see here, here, and here), I feel it necessary to make it perfectly clear that I have never spoken to Client #10 and do not know who he is. Unless, of course, knowing the true identity of Client #10 will increase the traffic on this blog, then give me a couple of days and I'll get back to you. Technorati Tags: Client #10, Eliot Spitzer, Emperor's Club, prostitution, New York, Governor
More About: Kidding

JEWNO
2008-03-17 19:42:00
For all those who have tired of the movie Juno, take a look at Jewno, a takeoff with a decidedly different point of view. Technorati Tags: Juno, Jewish, Jewno, parody

One More Roadblock for Mexican Truckers
2008-03-16 05:45:00
Estadounidense bureaucrats have ants in their pants once again over the matter of allowing Mexican truckers to traverse the highways and byways of Los Estados Unidos. First, there was the fret and worry over how safe those trucks might be. Would Mexican truckers be able to live up to the code of professional Estadounidense truckers? Now, they're in a dither about how well Mexican truckers will be able to speak and understand the English language. Mexico Trucker, a English-language blog devoted to Mexican trucking issues, takes on the matter of the mother tongue. Thousands of Mexicans drive to Los Estados Unidos every year, and thousands to Estadounidenses drive to Mexico every year. None of them are required to prove proficiency in a language other than their own. There are states in Los Estados Unidos which will administer driver's license exams in languages other than English, and even the Internal Revenue...
More About: Truckers

Exclusive Interview with Client #10
2008-03-14 16:44:00
Here over at SAS, we have managed to get an exclusive interview with Client #10, a patron of the Emperor's Club, the high-priced prostitution service used by former Governor Eliot Spitzer, which assigned him the code name"Client #9." SAS: So, has life changed for you at all since the revelations about the former governor's dalliances? Client #10: No, not really. I tried to get #9, but the Emperor's Club said that they are retiring it in honor of the Governor. SAS: Too bad. Think of all the endorsement deals you might have picked up with companies thinking that you were Eliot Spitzer. So, given that you are #10 and immediately followed Client #9, did you ever bump into the Governor on your way to an appointment? Client #10: Surprisingly, no. Once left his briefcase behind and I arranged for its safe return to him. Of course, I had to take...
More About: Exclusive , Interview

A Clean Wipe
2008-03-12 23:26:00
The Florida legislature wants to mandate that restaurant patrons have enough toilet paper when they use state-inspected bathrooms. Don't restaurant inspectors have enough on their plates just verifying that eateries are maintaining the minimum level of rat infestation and E. coli without having to count and squeeze the Charmin? Now, we can understand the need for restaurant inspections, since sausage-making is something that many chefs prefer to do away from the prying eyes of patrons, but can't patrons be left to their own judgment about how well a dining establishment maintains its loos? Or at least come prepared with their own stash of papel higénico? Los Estados Unidos is on the slippery slope to installing washroom attendants who dole out the Petalo in two-square rations for two bits. On the other hand, it could provide some employment opportunities. We Mexicans know enough to always go armed with tissues. Oh, I...
More About: Clean , Wipe