Chapel Hill Treehouse

More tank carcasses for Half-Dome

2006-08-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

All in the Panjshir valley - Afghanistan (August 2006)

Afghan pics (2)

2006-08-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

View from Massoud's tomb of the panjshir valley

Local boy

Me at valley entrance

Afghan Pics(1)

2006-08-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

Running
Panjshir valley
Tank play in the Panjshir

Trailhead report - Afghanistan

2006-08-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

I maybe a newbie but I know enough to know that trailheads sneer at roadrunners, have veiled contempt for track-letes and only passing toleration for those who tread the grass.

Running on a treadmill, a machine, indoors, without shouts of ‘turtle!’, ‘head!,’ or ‘why is Sqounk running so slow!’ are reason for expulsion. But prey let me finish my Carolina friends, give me a chance. Yes, my ‘trail run’ was on a big black machine in the basement of the UN operations guest house in the Shar-e-naw district of Kabul, but frankly it is a miracle I’m running at all, here in this bastion of democracy.

Running outside in Kabul has three significant flaws: 1. Kabul is at 2,000m and the altitude makes you queasy. 2. The roads look like campus construction on a good day. 3. There is about at 98% risk of being bundled into the trunk of a Honda by the kindly gentlemen of the Taliban. While (1) and (2) I have ignored in other places, and (3) gets you on TV; for Willow and baby Willow’s sake I promised not to run outside. Monk and Ding could outrun al Qaeda but I’m not speedy enough.

My ‘trail runs’ have consisted of driving to a UN guest house about 20 minutes away through survival-of-the-fittest Kabul traffic, saying ‘salem’ to the armed guards and then hanging out with the white people in an improvised gym. I have actually run 60k over the last week – all on the machine (averaging about 7.40 mile pace, gearing up for the Outer Banks in the Fall). I saw beautiful white walls, listened to Rufus on my ipod, and noted the delightful ceiling architecture. Ok, enough pathetic trail report…but at least I can attach a photo of me in the gym garden proudly wearing Willow’s Trailhead shirt…is this the first trailhead sighting in Afghanistan I wonder? Shouldn’t there be a ‘pics of trailheads on vacation runs’ page on the website?

To pad out my report I’ll offer some reportage on my trip. I am here working with the Independent Electoral Commission, helping them to re-write the national electoral law. It is my third trip here – I enjoyed the Afghan winter in 2005 and the Fall in 2004. While security is deteriorating dramatically in the South and East of the country, effectively a low level war now between the Taliban and Coalition forces, Kabul remains comparatively safe. Of course, ‘safe’ if you are not in uniform or unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are improvised explosive devices (ieds) almost every day aimed at the tanks of the European ‘peace-keeping’ forces and the US-UK soldiers. Tanks and big guns are pretty ominous when you see them up close, especially when those carrying them have that hunted look of those who never know where the attack will next come from. Yesterday I drove through a battalion of my British army squadies on foot patrol…fully armed, fully kitted out, looking down the road through the sights of their machine guns. My Afghan colleague couldn’t understand how I could tell they were British…I said “look at them…pasty, mean, teenagers, who are my height but about 100lbs of muscle heavier.” The next day at the heavily guarded ISAF ‘soldiers’ market I felt so at home with the pride of England around me…guys remarkably well trained in the art of using the word “fuck” and its derivations, as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective and vowel. On the way I enjoyed watching three sandy American hummers speeding towards me with a gun turret nicely aimed at my passenger seat…couldn’t they tell I was UNC faculty!!? What is wrong with these guys?

As part of my work I’ve been speaking to a lot of people. In and out of parliament -- which inspires just because it is there. A lecture at the University of Kabul which used to be more of al Qaeda madrassa. And brainstorming sessions with the leaders of civil society – lawyers, teachers, doctors.

Malalai Joya is a small raven haired woman of 28 with large brown eyes and a mouth that on occasion breaks into a grin despite the fact that she lives under constant threat of assassination. She first hit the headlines in 2003 at the loya jirga in meeting in Kabul to confirm the transitional government of Hamid Karzai. She brazenly denounced the warlords, in particular the notorious Abdul Sayyaf. A shocking move for an Afghan woman to do in public.

Riding on the backs of anti paramilitary and drug lord sentiments last year she was elected to the new Afghan National Assembly from her home province of Farah, which is deep in Taliban land. In April she tried to speak in parliament and was shouted down, with threats of rape and murder made against her by her parliamentary colleagues. Behind barbed wire and multiple bodyguards she said she is a marked woman – there is no reason to disbelieve her. We followed a car to her heavily guarded house and then spent an hour discussing politics. Her passion and quiet bravery makes her seem so much larger than her little body. She makes an immediate impression…in a land where almost everyone plays nice with the warlords she offers no accommodation – women must be respected, the law of the gun must be ended, and the ugly mafiosi of drug lords and militia commanders (many of who remain at the highest level of government) must be kicked out permanently-- no ifs, no buts, no ‘but the reality is you must accept the men of the past otherwise they will bring down the state.’ My questions are translated into Dari for her, but she answers in English.

Today we headed north to the Panjshir valley – home of the ‘Lion of the Panjshir’ Ahmed Shah Massoud – the leader of the Northern Alliance and the man assassinated by al Qaeda on Sept 9^th 2001 as a precursor to 9/11. Now THIS is the place for our next international trail run. The Panjshir valley runs along a stretch of imposing mountains which was Massoud’s fortress in the war against the Soviets in the 1980s and against the Taliban in the 1990s. The valley itself is only about a mile across and has a single road that winds along the river. The journey here is relatively safe because the Panshjiries hate anyone who is not from the valley. But the only people they hate more than anyone who is not from their valley are the Taliban, and so because the Taliban hate us, the Panshjiries would die for us to avoid even a paper cut. It’s the age-old logic of the ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend.’

The valley is such a change from the dry dusty yellow around Kabul. It is a mini grand canyon with sheer mountain cliffs and a lush green floor. Stunningly beautiful. The white-water river that runs the length of the valley would be terrific for rafting but I don’t see the tourists hitting it hard just yet. Half way up the valley we visited Massoud’s grave and patted the camels of the nomads. You can imagine that it all seems quite far from Wilson Park.

Good start for Norwich

2006-08-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

My team: Norwich City Football Club, Championship league, England (I did my undergrad degree in Norwich, 1985-88).

Three games into the season and they have made a solid start. After losing to Leeds in the opening match of the season they beat Preston 2-0 and Luton 3-2 in a thriller. Only downside is that we might be selling our England third string keeper to Charlton.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/n/norwich/default.stm

Gardens-from Kabul to Chapel Hill

2006-08-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Dry dusty and yellow Kabul actually has some great walled gardens...often roses but today I saw a whole line of sunflowers (in front of the Uzbek embassy).

This reminded me I forgot to post pictures of my Chapel Hill vegetable garden.

It was an experimental garden this year, I planted lots to see what would flourish. The cucumbers did well, the tomato and aubergine grew like wildfire but never fruited, and I sowed the carrots, leaks and spring onions too close together. A couple of months ago I planted a few pumpkins and said "go for it" and they really have. They have just run rampant over the whole garden...which is fine. If they fruit they'll make 100lb pumpkins in the fall.

The other pic shows the first two peppers harvested - they will be lovingly hung from the rafters.

Music sharing

2006-08-11T03:08:00.000-07:00

I realise I have never blogged about music. For those of you who have had to endure a 7 hour car trip signing festival with me you will know that music is almost as central as Henrik, electoral systems and, errr, layna...to my life.

So let us share...and share back. What are you listening to right now?

For me...the last three things played on my ipod.

John Ritter - 'California'
Rufus Wainwright - the 'Want One' album
Wilco and Billy Bragg - 'California stars'
(not sure why there is so much california in there?)

Kabul arrival

2006-08-11T02:57:00.000-07:00

Three days to get here (way too much time stuck in Chicago) a night in Dubai and then that classic Air Arabia flight from the UAE to Kabul across Iran and the mountains of Hazara-land (I'm sure their air-safety score is really unfair).

Now sitting in hot dry heat surrounded by blue minarets, german tanks, and foreigners loitering around a murky green pool. Tomorrow I begin barnstorming the election commissioners but today it is the weekend. I missed the Kabul desert golf classic today! Shame :( I really must try and play the course next weekend - 9 holes of landmined rough and sand shots all the way.

Lectures are being set up at the university, for the womens groups, civil society institute and think tanks. But for now I am listening to Rufus Wainwright's 'Oh What a World' as the burkha's go by (isn't that what Afghanistan is *so* all about :)

Scenes from Ocracoke 2

2006-08-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

Scenes from Ocracoke 1

2006-08-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

Our fifth consecutive year holidaying on the island of Ocracoke North Carolina which we adore. !2 miles of protected (uninhabited) beach and a quaint little village. This year we went with our best friends John and Wendy, and their son Sam. The pics of us all -- attcius, maddy, layna, I, Themba and the Wolford-Lynch's (plus their dog Terra)-- require little commentary. A fine time was had by all.

Pabble Pics

2006-08-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Pabble

2006-08-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

The sport of Pabble was invented in 2005 by Andrew Reynolds (of Chapel Hill, NC) while on vacation on the island of Ocracoke NC in the Atlantic (closer to America than to Britain).

It is a beach sport owing its geneology to paddle-ball, badminton, table-tennis and the Paris-Dakar rally.

The first international match (or 'sandy' as it is known in pabble terminology) was held in August 2005 between Dr. John Lynch and the above named inventor. It was a close fought battle with Reynolds ultimately coming out on top with a 7-6 victory (subsequently Lynch objected to Reynolds making up the rules mid game).

Pabble is played on a rectangle of sand - 10 paces by 7 paces. The court (or 'platter') is then divided into four with a small semi-circle (the 'serving platter') drawn in each back corner. The middle line is the net, which has no height, in fact it has negative height as the net is the indenture made by the pabble bat as it draws the line.

The serving pabbler must have one foot planted in the serving platter and serve the ball to the diagonal quadrant (e.g., as in tennis). The pabbler has free choice as to which quadrant they wish to start serving from, then they must alternate sides.

A pabble point is only scored on a service. A pabbler has to win back service before winning a point.

A game is won when a player reaches 7 points. There is no two-point margin required for victory.

If, at any stage of the game, the ball lands directly on a line both pabblers must exclaim "pabble!" and the point is replayed.

The first international round robin Pabble tournament was played in August 2006 at the site of its invention (one past pony beach, Ocracoke, NC).

Aug 2006 Pabble League Table

Pabbler Pl Won Lost Pts

Atticus 5 3 2 6
Andy 3 2 1 4
John 2 1 1 2
Layna 1 1 0 2
Maddy 1 0 1 0
Wendy 2 0 2 0

(Wendy continues to be the 'greatest pabbler never to have won a major').

Henrik crashes out of Buick Invitational

2006-08-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

The man started well on Friday and was 2 under par through 11 but then 4 bogies and 1 birdie left Henrik 1 over for the two rounds, missing the cut by 4 shots. This is the second cut missed in a row, making 5 cuts missed out of the last 7 (Mr.Bjornstad is not making my weekends exciting right now).

Next week its the International in Colorado...I'll sing HB John Denver songs from Kabul to give him that extra (bizarre) edge.

Bad news from the Bear

2006-07-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Henrik - Day 1 - US Bank Championship in Millwaukee - 76 (+6) - Third from last - Disaster!

http://www.pgatour.com/scoring/leaderboard/r029

Scenes from the San Juan Islands

2006-07-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Pictures from our recent holiday on the Islands of Ocracs, San Juan and Lopez just in between Washington State and Vancouver Island, Canada.

Kyaking with killer whales in the straits between San Juan and Victoria.

The view from Mount Constitution on Orcas to the Rocky Mountains (Mount Baker in the center).

Cornflower blue on Lopez.

The Great Game

2006-07-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Open is underway with Tiger looking very impressive. Warren Bladon (the fat guy from Big Break IV) is looking slightly less impressive at +5 (but then again he did qualify unlike me who couldn't qualify for the Nova Scotia under 12s pitch and putt championship, although I did shoot 76 with Layna on Monday - that makes the last 4 rounds 75-76-77-76, not bad for a little elderly person).

http://www.golfweb.com/tournaments/britishopen/leaderboard

My new Norwegian correspondent Magnus (who turns out not to be such a shabby golfer himself) offers some videos of Henrik for those of you suffering withdrawal symptoms while he is back in Norway building his muscles.

http://atvs.vg.no/player/player.php?id=3063

http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/sport/golf/article1300234.ece

Looking back on Beirut

2006-07-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

I was in Beirut just two weeks ago and it was a great vibrant city of street cafes, bustling coastline runs and exotic nightlife. It is remarkable and depressing how the turn of events have turned the city almost overnight back to the dark days of the war.

My IFES colleagues had to be driven out through Syria and are now in Amman. The two Lebanese staff members are hunkered down in their homes (in the case of the christian) and on the IFES office floor (in the case of the Sunni woman who lives in Sunni South Beirut).

The photos illustrate how Beirut felt 14 days ago.

Final Round-John Deere

2006-07-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Sadly Henrik was unable to capitalise on his two good opening rounds, he ended with two 70's placing him in a tie for 39th, which left him stuck on 124th on the money list.

http://www.pgatour.com/players/intro/459559

But there are positives.
a) he got back in the habit of making the cut again (after missing 3 of the last 4 cuts).
b) His -8 total was his 3rd lowest tournament score of the year and only the second time he was under par in all four rounds.
c) last, but most crucially, he showed true grit. With 6 holes left to play in the final round he was 1 over for the day and out of it, then he struggled back to birdie 3 of the final holes to make his score and final position respectable.

Bjornstad v Reynolds MatchPlay (4)

2006-07-14T14:54:00.002-07:00

This week:

Me:July 7, 2006
Course: Orcas Golf Course, WA
Par: 72
My score: 77 (+5) (net:71)

Henrik: July 13, 2006
Course: TPC Illinois
Par: 71
Henrik's score: 67 (-4) (net:67)

Bjornstad takes his first victory.

Reynolds 3
Bjornstad 1

Another solid day for Henrik

2006-07-14T14:54:00.001-07:00

Round 2 at the John Deere Tournament in Illinois and Henrik held it together with a 2 under par 69.

http://www.pgatour.com/scoring/leaderboard/r

Everyone is scoring low but littlebear is -6 and tied for 16th. He acually hit terrific approach shots today but couldn't covert a bunch of 10-16ft putts. Nevertheless he is putting better than he has in months and scoring better than since the very start of the season.

A strong weekend will earn enough money to give him some comfort zone in the money order (remember the top 125 retain their cards for next year and right now Henrik is 124th).

Beirut election systems

2006-07-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sure it is the furthest thing from the average Lebanese mind right now but the proposed new election system is parallel. 77 Block Vote seats in 1-6 member districts, 51 list PR seats in 6 districts, with a sort of open (2 vote) list...while under both methods seats have to be allocated back down to the confession/sect/ethnicity and single member seat (or qada)...Yes, its really complex! Perhaps the most complex system I have ever seen.

I'm writing up my review for IFES now...More details here if anyone is truly interested.

Beirut, Henrik and apologies

2006-07-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

Apologies for such a gap in postings. Much has occurred in my absence - all of which I shall follow up on.

1. I am writing up my review of the proposed Lebanese electoral system...when I was in Beirut a week ago it was beautiful and calm, now my friends can't even leave the city.

The photos illustrate two sides of Lebanon. One is of my IFES friends relaxing on a beach last week south of Beirut (later on this day we watched England get knocked out of the world cup in a beach cafe). The other is of the crater in downtown Beirut left by the bomb that killed Hariri and 30 others last year.

2. Layna and I had a wonderful hiking/running/kayaking with the orcas trip to the San Juan Islands off Washington State.

3. Henrik had his best round for months yesterday in the John Deere classic in Illinois. At 4 under par he was 3 off the lead and in a healthy position to make the cut for the second week in a row. Praying he holds it all together today!

2006-06-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

Beirut

2006-06-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

Arrived in sunny Beirut sans luggage but with laptop so a couple of pics from my 15th floor hotel balcony looking out over the med(?). Beirut has returned to its status as the 'Paris of the Mid-East' and its certainly a vibrant city. Tomorrow begins a round of meetings with politicans, diplomats, the media and civil society on the proposed new constitution/electoral system. Should be fascinating.

Chapel hill/Carrboro Trail heads

2006-06-23T06:41:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was my first outing with the 'Trailheads' who run on the glorious miles of wooded single track trails around town.

5.30pm, 95 degrees, 45 minutes...exactly why did we do that???

Layna has been running with them for a while and we struggled to keep up with her.

You are given a special 'trailhead' name which becomes your only identification - I think you have to be assessed for a few months before being deemed worthy of a name.

http://www.trailheads.org/

Lebanon Constitution

2006-06-23T06:41:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I leave for Beirut as part of an IFES team to review the constitutional proposals by the 'Boutros Commssion.' I am (surprise, surprise) the electoral systems guy. The Lebanese 'confessional' legislative electoral system (64 Muslim, 64 Christian seats) has long been discussed, vilified and applauded in each measure. After the Hariri assassination they are considering institutional reform across the spectrum. As yet I cannot reveal what the new electoral system proposals are: but they are interesting! ;)

Reynolds v. Bjornstad (revision)

2006-06-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

There must have been an error in the pgatour.com tourcast shot tracker as Henrik in fact scored 74 (+3) instead of 75 yesterday. The cut line will be around Even par and littlebear tees off at 1.20pm.

Bjornstad vs. Reynolds Week.3

2006-06-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

Once again we return to our weekly Bjornstad v. Reynolds golf head to head.

As you will recall (from posting on May 18) we take my score from the current week and compare that against Henrik's Thursday round in whatever tournament he is playing (this week the Booz Allen in Maryland).

http://www.pgatour.com/scoring/leaderboard/r

Then we take into account our handicaps (me: 6, Henrik 0)

This week:

Me:
June 21, 2006
Course: Finley, UNC
Par: 72
My score: 76 (+4) (net:70)

Henrik:
June 22, 2006
Course: TPC Avenel, Potomac, Maryland
Par: 71
Henrik's score: 75 (+4) (net:75)

Another Reynolds victory...maybe Henrik can practice while I am in Beirut next week.
Reynolds 3
Bjornstad 0

Conference of the Association of New, Transitional and Disappearing Democracies

2006-06-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

Ulaanbaatar June 2006

Atticus' Braves win world series

2006-06-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

England 2 Trinidad and Tobago 0

2006-06-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

Positives:

1. Lennon was a revelation
2. Crouch's goal was excellent
3. Gerrard showed why he is so needed.

Negatives:

1. errr...everything else.

England 1 Paraguay 0

2006-06-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

There were flashes of intensity by Cole, Beckham and on occassion Crouch but overall it was an underwhelming performance. But 3 points is three points. Hopefully things will pick up against Trinidad.

Henrik- Another missed cut

2006-06-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

A 73 Thursday (+2) followed by a 76 Friday (+5) put Henrik Bjornstad 6 shots over the cut line. Hopefully the break for the US Open (which HB did not qualify for) will allow littlebear to regain his confidence. He sits at 108 on the money list with the top 125 retaining their playing priviledges at the end of the year.

I think he needs one good (top 20?) finish to get back into the game.

Strong Garden Growth

2006-06-09T05:37:00.003-07:00

While I was in Mongolia we saw strong growth across the board in the virgin secret garden.

The cucumbers are going great guns, the eggplants look strong and the surviving corn are doing their best. Tomato crop (Roma shown here) may be huge. As an added bonus the transplanted pumpkin plants seem to be doing well.

Bjornstad v. Reynolds (2)

2006-06-09T05:37:00.002-07:00

We return to our weekly Bjornstad v. Reynolds golf head to head.

As you will recall (from posting on May 18) we take my score from the current week and compare that against Henrik's Thursday round in whatever tournament he is playing (this week the Barclays Classic in New York). Then we take into account our handicaps (me: 6, Henrik +2-- Although after some complaints from the viewing public I have agreed from now on to change Henrik's handicap to scratch (i.e., 0) to give him a better chance).

I won the first challenge (me: 6 over par, Henrik just 1 under).

This week:

Me:
June 07, 2006
Course: Finley, UNC
Par: 72
My score: 75 (+3)

Henrik:
June 08, 2006
Course: Westchester Country Club, NY
Par: 71
Henrik's score: 73 (+2)

Not even close this week littlebear.
Reynolds 2
Bjornstad 0

(I must remind readers of how much more challenging this competition is for Bjornstad, see deails in May 18th post :)

Mongolia-See below

2006-06-09T05:37:00.001-07:00

Back in the Treehouse-Mongolia & the Block Vote

2006-06-09T05:37:00.000-07:00

Apologies for being slack in my blogging since Mongolia. Here are a couple of pics of bucolic life on the high plains for your enjoyment.

Matt S asks me to say a few words on why I was there. I spoke at a conference of New and Transitional Democracies (of which Mongolia is the current chair). The meeting was focused on the problems of detailed democracy assessment methodologies and we reviewed the assessment of Mongolian democracy which had been done (with some international assistance) by the Mongolians themselves. They basically found no real threats to democracy (as opposed to the rest of central Asia) but growing distrust in parties and politicians (where have we heard that before??)

My other reason for going was to pick up info on the electoral system question which is pretty central in Mongolia. They began in 1992 with the Block Vote (districts between 2 and 4 in size) which led to the former communists (MPRP) winning a 70 of 76 seats with 57% of the vote. This is, of course, how we would expect the system to work. So they switched to Anglo FPTP for 1996, 2000 and 2004 which still led to wild swings in vote and seat share. In '96 the Democrats won 50/76 seats with just over half the votes, in 2000 the MPRP came back and won every seat bar 1 with around 60%! Then in 2004 there was pretty much a dead heat -- the MPRP won 39 seats, the Democrats 36 and others 3. A coalition govt was formed but it fell apart in 2006 and the MPRP seized back majority control. Now, in a strange choice which I'm trying to understand, Mongolia is returning to the Block Vote for 2008. You can guess that I have some serious misgivings about that!

UlaanBaatar-Day 2

2006-05-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

5pm - Walked back from meetings in the parliament in a mix of freezing rain/snow under black clouds - temperature approximately -7 degrees.
5.30pm - fell asleep.
8pm - Woken by phone call summoning me for dinner and it's bright and sunny outside.
Conclusion: bizarre country.

UlaanBaatar-Day 1

2006-05-29T00:41:00.000-07:00

I have to say that Ulaanbaatar is not the most beautiful capital I've ever been to. OK, let me rephrase that, it is probably the ugliest by a long way. My last three trips (to Sana'a (Yemen), Rangoon and Kabul) were cities that looked like Paris in Spring compared to UB. Sure it has its charms (if you like soviet apartment buildings and statues of Lenin) but its not going to win any Prince Charles architecture prizes. The addition of green space might of helped, or that crazy new fangled fad of pavements, ah well it may just be the jet lag making me mean. But, if Mongolia *is* indeed the most beautiful place in the world then the countryside must be pretty terrific (this, I can believe).
I managed to bump into a small demonstration in the main square with compelling pulsating soviet style nationalist music but I have no idea what it was all about. Was the man waving the Green Tree flag from the Mongolian Green Party? Is there a Mongolian Green Party? Are they as powerful as their German comrades? (I can answer one of these three questions).

To be fair the Mongolians have been very friendly and relaxed. They even laughed with me as I ran my 4 miles through the car fumes and debris amidst the thunder storm. One check in the good things about UlaanBaatar column maybe the fact that the police wear high heeled boots and skirts (but of course I didn't notice).

My conference doesn't start til Wednesday so tomorrow I will endeavor to explore further (if the arctic rain eases off).

Sunday 4am-Beijing Airport

2006-05-28T01:05:00.000-07:00

Relaxing with a latte a dsl connection at a cafe in Beijing airport. Strangely enough the Mongolian airlines staff with their funny hats and jet black horses won't let me check in yet.

The genius of Beijing being 12 hours ahead is that you don't have to change your watch.

I shouldn't have checked in on Henrik. While I was flying over Siberia he managed to shoot a 6 over par in Memphis and is now almost last...I can't turn my back for a moment!

Updates from the land of Ghenggis Khan to follow.

Fleeing to Mongolia

2006-05-27T04:07:00.000-07:00

Off to Mongolia this morning (as one does). Two hours to Chicago, 17 to Bejing and then a few more to Ulaanbattar. I shall endeavor to blog when I am in the land of ger and yaks.

Bjornstad-Friday Update

2006-05-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

In the conditions, Henrik posted a very solid even-par 70, which left him +4 for the Fed-Ex Memphis PGA tournament, tied for 65th and through to weekend play and a check on Sunday. Again he found the water (leading to a double bogey) but three birdies and some long early putts kept him in the game. He is showing poise, maturity and the return of his putting touch. I hope that he climbs the leaderboard over the weekend and earns enough to catapult him forward from his 100th position on the money list.

Fed-Ex St.Jude Classic Leaderboard

Daw Suu Kyi to be released tomorrow?

2006-05-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

Will Daw Suu Kyi be released tomorrow?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5019024.stm

Not that it would be enough for us celebrate on the streets (the tatmadaw are quite likely to let her out for a few months and then come up with some other ruse to return her to Inya Lake when they realise that she remains an icon to the Burmese).

Above is a photo I took of the back of her house (across the lake from the Sedona Hotel) in August of last year. Suu Kyi's house is mostly hidden by the trees in the right side of the frame.

Henrik-Thurs Fed-Ex Classic Memphis

2006-05-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

It was the hardest day on the tour so far for all the players. Only 23 (out of 150) golfers were under par. It was gusting wind enough to put the Penzance lifeboat back in dock. Littlebear shot a 4 over par 74 which sounds bad, but he had some amazing up and downs and sank some great putts. In some ways it was one of his best rounds of the season. He held it together and is just one shot off the cut line. I think he needs to shoot at least a 69 (-1) today (Friday).

Southern Sudan

2006-05-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

Susan in Southern Sudan sends some pictures of a porridge line and school in Eastern Equatoria which the quiz night's have raised some money to help out in a small way (and hoping to do more).

Taylor Wins-Justice is done

2006-05-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

You all know my irrational passion for McPheever but it was just and right that Taylor won. Both will do just fine professionally and Taylor, on average, was the better performer. I'm guessing it wasn't even close last night. Well done Taylor! I shall now miss Tuesday's with John but I'm sure we can find a new sliver of high culture to obsess about on a weekly basis.

Hippo's Soccer Season ends

2006-05-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

The Hippo's last match was Saturday bringing to a close another successful season (about 5-1-2 by my estimation). The last game was a thriller with my team managing to pull out a 3-2 victory in the dying minutes. Even sweeter as it was the best goal of the season -- Phil played an inch perfect ball over the back four to the goal line, I crossed to a crowded box and John scored with the most terrific header in the top right corner.

All very satisfying.

Quiz Night

2006-05-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

In a tight battle the Eastern Euro/Pakistani grad students team beat out the American/Argentinian/SouthAfrican grad students to take the mugs in the #5 Mosley-Reynolds quiz night. Around 30 quizees joined us at the treehouse and a significant number of those actually enjoyed themselves.

The borders round proved pretty easy but Layna's Flora and Fauna round was clearly a killer.

$160 raised for a Burmese refugee school in Chaing Mai (Thailand).

Henrik-Saturday Update

2006-05-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

Bjornstad held it together in the third round of the Colonial in Texas. A solid 69 (-1) with a few great putts and par scrambles. He is now tied for sixth and two shots off the lead with the final round tomorrow. A top ten finish will be fantastic if he can hold it together for one more day. But is it too fanciful to hope for Henrik's first PGA tour victory on my birthday!?

Sunday Melt Down

2006-05-19T17:14:00.002-07:00

Well, tis was not to be. Henrik Bjornstad blew up big time shooting a 76 (+6) in the Colonial final round and slipping all the way back to -2, tied for 4oth place.

We shall not focus on the negative, rather delight in the fact that Henrik shot his best round of the season (64) on Friday, was in contention til this morning, and made some money. This all bodes well for next week. I am off to Mongolia on Saturday but I'm sure they follow Henrik in Ulaanbaattar too!

Maddy-Atticus sporting achievements

2006-05-19T17:14:00.001-07:00

Playing at short stop Atticus had a terrific pop up catch and scored the only run of the lightening called Braves v. Brewers game last night.

In her Tuesday track meet with the wonderful Chapel Hill Pacers running club, led by layna's icon (Olympian) Joan Nesbit-Mabe, Maddy posted an 8.01 minute mile (beating her previous record by 16 seconds! (Sub 8 is only a stride away).

So proud of both of them.

Oh Happy Day!

2006-05-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

Henrik's best round of the season! A stellar six under par 64, one bogey, and seven birdies, and puts sunk from all over the place - littlebear's best putting round in the U.S. without a doubt. His first nine was a creditable 35 (-1) but then he played the first nine (his second) in 30 with 5 tough birdies.

He has shot up the leaderboard to a tie for 8th and is three off the lead at -7.

Let's hope he can hold it together for the weekend.
A pic of the treehouse on this fair summer's evening to celebrate.

Henrik versus Me

2006-05-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, a new competition to watch as American Idol goes off the air. It may not have 50 million viewers as yet but I have high hopes that it will spread like bird flu among the viewing public on both sides of the Atlantic (and of course in Palau which remains one of my chief constitutional design cases for my new book Doctors of Design, Sultans of Systems: Seeing the ailing nation through the eyes of the medicine man (forthcoming when written)).

The competition is this - each week I shall post my score and Henrik has to beat it in his Thursday round. Now Henrik is a lot younger (do I hear 'a lot better/more attractive'?) than I so we shall play with our handicaps. I play off 6, and Henrik (being a professional) I estimate plays off +2 (that means he should shoot two under par for a given round). Therefore on a par 72 course I should shoot 78 and Henrik should shoot 70 - if we did it would be a tie. If he shoots 9 or lower than I then he wins that week.

Now there are some obvious riders:
1. Henrik doesn't know we are playing (advantage Henrik, less pressure).
2. Henrik plays courses which are much longer, much harder, and much more tricky than I do (advantage me).
3. I only have to play in front of three people max - [oh hold on, so does Henrik -- Ola, Jan-Erik and the guy from the country club in Charlotte] (its a wash).
4. Henrik gets to practice all the time whereas I only get to practice 3/4 times a week (advantage Henrik).
5. Henrik isn't unhinged (advantage me).
6. Henrik rarely gets to take mulligans under official PGA rules (advantage me).

So, we begin:

Me:
May 17, 2006
Course: Chapel Hill Country Club, NC
Par: 72
My score: 78 (+6)

Henrik:
May 18, 2006
Course: Colonial Country Club, TX
Par: 70
Henrik's score: 69 (-1)

Ooohhh so close. Unlucky littlebear.

Reynolds 1
Bjornstad 0

Better day for Henrik

2006-05-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Good scrambling, great putting and a more confident mind set gave Henrik a one under par 69 at the Bank of America tournament in Fort Worth TX today (Thursday). Another good round tomorrow and he should make his first cut in a month.

Leaderboard here

Katie vs. Taylor

2006-05-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

The 33% three way split between Katie, Taylor and Elliott was remarkable. That's 17 million votes each and glory or disaster was only measured in the thousands. While I expected Elliott to go the closeness was a surprise - he was a stellar participant and no doubt he will do just fine for himself.

Much as I adore Katie I have to be honest and say that on the basis of the competition so far Taylor deserves to win. When he's in his Joe Cocker, Bruce Springstein, Doobie Brths zone he is terrific.

Vegetable Garden Armageddon

2006-05-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

The insurgency began slowly. A dislodged corn leaf, a nibbled pumpkin seed, a loose sunflower sprout discarded.

I strung around rope and hope to deter the deer from leaping but they sent in their quisling minions under the cover of darkness. Perhaps they are rabbits in disguise as hares? The black and tans of the rabid raccoons or is it the Ghengis Squirels who torment the Cardinals at the bird feeder? Who knows? But what I do know is that the conflict has moved to high intensity and the insurgents are winning.

Pumpkin seeds have been ripped from where they nestle, sunflower sprouts do not last the night and then yesterday the final coup de grace -- the rebels devastated the month old corn rows. The crime scene photo above is the only one I could show - the others were just too upsetting for young eyes.

So what is to be done? The evil attack furries just seem to go for the pumpkin,sunflowers and corn. Any advice on my defensive strategy now? I am at a loss.

Bjornstad-maybe next week

2006-05-13T05:53:00.000-07:00

Cest la Vie. Henrik didn't make the cut for the third week in a row. He never recovered from a double bogey on the first hole of his second round and ended up with 73-75 for +8 mssing the cut by a full seven shots.

http://www.henrikbjornstad.no/wip4/

Littlebear says hes just not feeling right - thnking to much, not letting himself flow into the game and having a tough time with his confidence on the greens.

Next week it is the Bank of America Colonial Tournament in Ft.Worth TX.

I feel like HB needs a solid Thurs-Fri and a cut made to regain his fragile confidence.

As ever, I remain loyal.

Another tough day for littlebear Henrik

2006-05-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Tournament: Byron Nelson in Texas
Round 1 score: 73 (+3)
5 bogies 2 birdies.

Once again Henrik struggled with his putter. Averaging 2.2 putts per green in regulation and hitting only 50% of the greens in regulation. He usually averages 1.7 putts (which is still only 110th on tour) 2.2 would put him dead last among all players on tour - so today was a poor putting round even for Henrik.

To make the cut tomorrow I guessing Henrik needs to shoot 68 (-2) or lower - we keep the faith!

Idol - A great injustice has been done.

2006-05-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot for me to say this but Katie should have gone. It was quite remarkable that Chris (of the three remaining guys) should have got the lowest number of votes. The last Carolinian falls :(

My new hypothesis is roughly this: Chris and Katie have core constituencies that are less vulnerable to mood swings in public opinion; Taylor has a core that is a little more open to fluctuate depending on his performance on any given Tuesday; while Elliott has the most elasticity in his vote share. All that means that Chris's rocker constituency maxed out when it came to a four way race and despite how good he was he didn't have the base to keep him in. Katie could sing poorly and her base kept her in at third. Elliott has to sing well (which he did on Elvis week) to supplement his smaller core and remain in the hunt.

Think of it this way - let say 70% of voters are 'core' and always vote for their candidate ('yellow dog idols'), while 30% vote on the basis of performance on any given week (rational idols).

This week the 'core' voters might have looked like this:

Katie: 30% (21%) of core - 10% (3%) of float = 24% overall
Taylor: 25% (17%) of core - 30% (9%) of float = 26% overall
Chris: 25% (17%) of core - 20% (6%) of float = 23% overall
Elliott: 20% (14%) of core - 40% (12%) of float = 26% overall

Thus Chris is last despite winning twice as many of the performance based votes as Katie.

If this were true, and Chris's core voters equally scattered to become core voters for the remaining three, it would suggest a core that broke down the following way next week:

Katie: 40% of core (28%)
Taylor: 33% of core (23%)
Elliott: 27% of core (19%)

If the yellow dog core voters remained 70% of the total then Elliott would have to take about 12% more of the floaters than Taylor to beat him and around 30% more than Katie to beat her. Clearly it is possible but for Elliott to stay in he needs to sing better than taylor and MUCH better than Katie. (Although I'll grant that Chris core voters are more likely to defect to Elliott or Taylor than they are to switch to Katie).

Still, I am predicting a Taylor-Katie final two.

'Littlebear' - Henrik & I Story

2006-05-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

Ola blogs about Henrik and I...can anyone translate from the Norwegian?

http://www.vgb.no/4

A little Norwich Good News

2006-05-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

Very exciting news that Robert Green is in the World Cup Squad as England's third goalkeeper. As Sven has decided to take only four strikers (one disabled [Rooney], one injured [Owen], one freakishly tall [Crouch], and one who hasn't played football before [Walcott]) its highly likely Robbie Green will be playing up front by the end of the tournament.

Thank you Sven.

Provisional squad:
Robinson (Tottenham), James (Manchester City), Green (Norwich); G Neville (Manchester United), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Terry (Chelsea), Cole (Arsenal), Campbell (Arsenal), Carragher (Liverpool), Bridge (Chelsea), Beckham (Real Madrid), Carrick (Tottenham), Lampard (Chelsea), Gerrard (Liverpool), Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jenas (Tottenham), Downing (Middlesbrough), J Cole (Chelsea), Lennon (Tottenham), Rooney (Manchester United), Owen (Newcastle), Crouch (Liverpool), Walcott (Arsenal).

Standby:
Carson (Liverpool), Young (Charlton), Reo-Coker (West Ham), Defoe (Tottenham), Johnson (Crystal Palace).

Henrik Bjornstad, I presume?

2006-05-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I drove down to leafy Charlotte NC to see up close for the first time the object of my obsession, Mr Henrik Bjornstad, professional golfer, carpenter, Norwegian. The Quail Hollow Golf Club home of the Wachovia Open is a really lovely mix of lush green fairways, heavy woods and ponds. It was about 90 degrees in the shade and I'd smartly left my sun block back in the car in the park and ride a good 15 miles away.

Hendrik was teeing off at 1.50pm so at about 12.30pm I made my way to the driving range where golfers and their entourages were warming up. I found Henrik in the middle and stood behind him for about 10 minutes watching him power crisp irons to a green apparently miles away. Then I befriended Ola, a journalist from the main Norwegian newspaper VG whose fun job is to follow Henrik around to satiate the insatiable Norwegian desire for Henrik updates. Then thrill of thrills Henrik walked over to say hi and after a brief discussion with Ola in Norwegian (where I'm pretty sure I picked up the phrases "American fan" "blogger" "be careful, could be a stalker") the Bear-man himself shook my hand and thanked me for coming to see him. I then joined the Norwegian crew (initially four of us: Ola, the 'Team Norway Golf Coach' Jan-Erik, and a Norwegian tennis pro at a Charlotte Country Club) to walk Henrik around the course. It was *so* much fun and the Norwegians really made me feel like part of the pitt crew holding a backstage pass as part of the entourage.

Henrik and Jan-Erik http://www.vgb.no/2273/perma/59569

(credit: Ola Stenberg)

Henrik didn't have the greatest day scoring wise but in parts he hit the ball very nicely. He is incredibly focused on the course, showing that renown Norwegian stoicism that drove Thor Heyerdahl to naviate the globe in a tea-cup and their cross country snow-swushers to dominate all before them. He was level par on his front nine, hitting from tee to green solidly but not able to make any putts. Sadly he then let it slip on the second nine dropping 4 shots and shooting 76. He may have been somewhat distracted by the club assistant pro he was paired with who managed to hack his way around to a horrible 84 on the first day, and an amazing 88 the next day (frankly, with my 6 handicap, I could have given this guy a game).

Even though he didn't play so well it was still a delight to walk around and see Bjornstad play -- much better than following the little red man on the PGA's tourcast website. After signing my hat Henrik even had the class to apologise to me for the way he played at the end of the round...how often does Vijay or Sergio do that!? As I said, "Henrik, I am loyal...I'll be as supportive when you shoot 76 as when you shoot 59" - well it may not be strictly true, but you get my drift.

(Above: Apparently the 'best' pic Ola took of me at the tournament - if this is the 'best' I am hugely worried about the level of stress I am under).

Crucially, I have great new nuggets of information for the Bjornstad files.

1. His nicknames are 'littlebear' and 'uncle henka' (not clear which is to be used by non-family members)

2. Henrik has a webpage:

http://www.henrikbjornstad.no

and a blog!

http://www.vgb.no/2273/perma/59569/

(Yes, I realise its in Norwegian but I'm working on translation software)

and his own wikiepedia entry:

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Bj%C3%B8rnstad

3. If you can cope with the Norwegian there appears to be real time updates by Ola on the VG website

http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=115516

Next week Henrik is playing at the Byron Nelson Championship in Texas...lets hope after two missed cuts he can make one. I think by far the chief area for improvement is his putting. He really has great skill and distance from tee to green and even when he is slightly offline with his drives he can still usually muscle the ball out of the rough to the green. But his putting average of 1.78 per hole ranks his 110th on tour and you just get the feeling that his confidence on the green is not quite where it could be. My prediction is that as soon as uncle henka gets on a putting streak and feels like he's going to make those long putts he will start to do very well. We live in hope.

Forget Paris-IDOL

2006-05-04T05:04:00.000-07:00

No surprise that Paris was in the bottom two but I think Elliott should have really gone first. Paris is a great singer (as shown in her second song on Tues) but she was really caught inbetween a teenage persona and adult vixen, neither quite worked and thus her likeability was ultimately not high enough to carry her into the top four.

I have to believe Elliott is next, but if he steps up next week and someone does poorly, it is anyone's guess.

Still hoping Katie makes it through to the head to head....the Mcpheever is now more of an long term illness than bird flu.

American Idol-5 remain

2006-05-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

An up and down show last night, the judges patter is getting tired and Ryan needs to do something new with simon, he's losing me.

Elliott: Pretty mediocre this week, first song was too trembly, second was too boring and unfamiliar. Is it finally his week to go home? For someone who looks like a Mossad agent he's gone a surprisingly long way.

Paris: First song was really a bit weird but the second one was very strong. I thought the second time at bat kept her in the competition. Plus the SNTV electoral system which discriminates against minorities (when there are multiple candidates and they are splitting the vote) doesn't hurt her when she's the only African American left in the race.

My Katie (shown): Alright, so I'll admit, the first song was not great - was she nervous? Lost Focus? Who knows...but what i do know is that she doesn't look like Phil Collins...Phil Collins is not what I think of when my katie appears (self-censoring here). But the second song was SO good. Well sung, sassy, different. If she goes tonight I'll be shocked.

Chris: Look (said in a very South African way) This is what he does - he does hard/classic rock and he does it well. If the constituency is there he's not going home.

Taylor: "Play that funky music white boy"? Well, he got away with the first song and then (despite much nervousness on our part) he performed the only major Beatles song to be written by George Harrison very nicely. Quality entertainment.

Paula drunkeness meter: Blue-Not high

Who is going home?: I have to say Elliott, but who knows at this stage.

Peace in Sudan?

2006-05-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two years now since I was last in Kenya floating around the fringes of the Sudan peace talks and advising the SPLM on democratic design/election issues but since then very little has changed when you look at the reality as opposed to the pact on paper.

The appalling destruction of humanity and livelihoods in the West (Darfur) continues virtually unchecked, the south remains a pandora's box of challenges, while there are growing tensions between Khartoum and the Beja in the East.

Having been there, and being so close to decisions being made about the future of the country, this of course makes me feel so exasperated. In there photo above are Lam Akol and Riek Machar of the SPLM - we worked closley together on their ideas for how the Sudan should be politically arranged but Darfur was a subject off the table. Today Lam is the Foreign Minister of the Sudan (in the new power sharing government) while Riek is the Deputy President of the South. I have *no idea* what they are doing behind the scenes but I do hope that they are pressing as strongly for minority rights, inclusion and decency in Darfur as they did when they spoke to me so passionately about the rights of African-Sudanese in the South and pockets of Khartoum.

Behind the scenes the Bush administration has just as much influence over the SPLM as you might expect, and while the southerners are only one part of the jigsaw which leads to overall Sudan government policy - they are now a part. So let us hope that they can help Bashir and his thugs realise that the space for them to behave without regard to law or morals is getting smaller (even if that space for evil has not been completely as yet).

The Secret Garden

2006-04-28T18:43:00.001-07:00

One of the greatest unfulfilled yearnings resulting from moving from town to town (London-Cape Town-San Diego-Stockholm-South Bend-Chapel Hill) was always moving on before getting to see the flowers that I had planted acually bloom. But now, after a year in the first house I have ever owned, you can imagine how joyful it is that the Treehouse came with a beautifully planned, rugged, sloping garden of dogwoods, redbuds, magnolias, azeleas, bulbs and ferns. To this I have already seen the fruits of my daffodil enrichment, tulip festival and soon to be poppies (Afghan?) and glads.

But the real pizza restistance has to be my embryonic vegetable garden which lives behind the green shed in a glade of tall lush trees that let slivers of hot Carolina sun through to bathe the dirt in warmth. The vegetable garden is a folly of love on a number of levels: a) I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, b) the site may not be sunny enough, c) I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

I began after the last frost churning up a 10x15ft square and clearing out the red clay, dead pets and metamorphic rocks that lay within. After getting The Vegetable Gardener's Bible (Ed Smith) suitably muddy and creased I prepared two raised beds of topsoil, fertiliser and hope. I had visions of building a delightfully crumbly brick wall around the whole thing and staging vinettes of Room with a View (with my ex-gf Helena Bonham-Carter) but my neighbour Coulter wisely pointed out that I should see if anything grew first before taking out planning permission for the Great Wall of Carolina.

So today the raised beds are surrounded by mesh and green posts - leaving enough room for adventrous gophers, rabbits and snakes to dig up the seedlings while keeping out only the most disabled deer. It is not very well fortified but now has a very scary scarecrow named 'Sophia' which actually keeps me away, let alone the animals.

Like any virgin gardener I have planted every vegetable know to humanity. The photo above shows corn, radishes, Brussels Sprouts, lettuce (mix), leeks, basil, tomato plants and a pepper. In the unseen bed to the right are cucumbers, spring onions, eggplants, more corn, a melon, pumpkin, carrots and a strawberry bush (dying). But all in all everything is doing great...neat rows of greenness and we will be feeding the 5,000 during one week in the Fall at this rate.

It is all very exciting and I go out and do detailed study of the garden twice a day at least. Updates will follow.

My one issue is with thinning (see radishes and lettuces above) I know I should be taking a chainsaw to the 1cm apart sprouts but its so HARD to murder them! (But I do understand that I must :(

Bad Day for Henrik

2006-04-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, No weekend Henrik watching for me. Another cut missed sadly. He was floating along quite nicely at -3 when he came to the par 5 15th hole at English Turn CC in New Orleans. The 15th has lots of water so....you can guess the horror story that ensued (see previous post re: Henrik's love of water on par 5s).

Two rounds and +1 total of 145 - missed the cut by 5 full shots. Ah well maybe Henry can earn some money nect week in the Wachovia Open in Charlotte.

Henrik Watch -Round 1 New Orleans

2006-04-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday and that means a visit to Beartown.
Henrik set off at 1.40pm today in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans - by the time I had returned from my own golf outing and switched on my pgatour.com 'Henriktracker' he was -1 and on the green in two on the par 5 11th. I was poised to celebrate another Norwegian birdie (a parrott?) and a leap up the leaderboard. But what does Henry do? Four putts!
Classy Henrik, way to go on deflating my Thursday afternoon. But wait, the man from Oslo fought back with an eagle and a birdie to remain in the hunt at -2 on the day.

Round One
Score: 70
Tied for 57th
Emotional stress metre - High

By end of play tomorrow Henrik must be tied 70th or better to make it to the weekend.

PGATOUR.COM Leaderboard

Pickler Goes...shock

2006-04-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well truthfully I am surprised...despite two weeks of avoiding 60% of the notes plus the disastrous hair choice yesterday, I still thought the Eastern Carolina coastal vote would carry her through. Mind you, in the face of much naysaying (later retracted by Mr.Cowell) and the derision of my closest friends and family Mcpheever still managed to place in the top two. This bodes well - her constituency is solid and need not be redistricted - I also see some Pickler votes crossing over to Katie M (especially if she discovers a folsky grandpa and forgets her bourgeoise background). AND there were 47.5 million votes this week. I'm trying to recall national elections which have bigger votes? Sure 122 million turned out in the last US Presidential, 110 in Indonesia, 389 million in India, but there were only 47.2 million in the last German Bundestag election, and a paltry 23 million odd in the UK. This weeks popular referendum has got to make the top ten. Pickler no doubt received more votes than Allende, de Gaule, and Churchill (but I'm guessing).

American Idol (#1)

2006-04-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

As we enter the final half dozen shows of this season's Idol I am reticent about boring you with the evolution of my intense interest in the show but I've been a loyal follower in the US since season two (sometime in the 1970s). But I was really gripped by the bug in New Zealand in 2000 watching the UK forerunner 'Pop Stars" where the whole format (1 nice judge, 1 nasty judge, 1 drunk judge) was honed.

Over previous seaons I have railed against the voting system (effectively SNTV) and how it discriminates against minorities, supported Fantasia and hated (in no particular order) John Stevens, Ace, and Kevin...and been left baffled by how ugly democracy looks in practice (maybe I need a new line of work?).

Tuesday nights are spent at John's house shouting at the TV and making cutting, yet inappropriate, comments.

So - this season we are left with six.

Katherine McPhee - Ignore what I say about Mcphee bc I have the mcpheever bad and I have no critical judgement when it comes to her - there is a running debate in Carrboro about why I have this sickness but no one has yet come up with a satisfactory answer. Last night my Katie was fine...she looked amazing (great hair) and while the judges hated her (for once I have to part company with my man Simon) she still sang her heart out. I'm a little worried she might go but its too awful to countainence.

Elliot is actually a good singer - if you close your eyes and just listen when he sings you'll like him much more - he was ok last night - I hope he doesn't go, but he might.

The Pickle has been awful two weeks in a row and the hair was a DISASTER last night (an ACE level of hair misjudgement) but you know what, it doesnt matter, she can sing like a donkey and still get 117 million votes. Her baseline constituency is huge.

Paris was solid...paris is always solid. Very Dionne Warwick like last night...but to me she just doesn't have the pizazz of a Fantasia (or Mandisa for that matter).

Taylor - the thing with Taylor is you just have to get with it at the end...he is always awesome at the end - it wasn't the greatest song for him (he can't do Joe Cocker all the time) but I'd be shocked if he goes tonight.

Chris - he wasn't bad - he played to his fan base and will do ok. Once again I'd be shocked if he goes...but...we'll see.

Bottom three?: Elliot, Pickler and Katie (but there is no way Pickler is going home).

Idol on Fox

Running races

2006-04-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

Layna and Themba are the real runners

"Mosley Crushes Opposition in Pittsboro"
http://www.runnc.com/exec/young/pdf/reindeer05.txt

"Mosley wins Kidney Kare 5k"
http://www.offnrunningsports.com/results/2006/2006_04_01_kidneyag.htm

but she (and the chocolate dog) drag me round the trails of Chapel Hill huffing and puffing behind them. Now I have entered the track and field circuit I am competing against other old people due to the glorious invention of "age groups." My age group is 35-39 and over the last three races (8k Carrboro, 5k in Meadowmont, and 5k at UNC) I have managed to win that age group -- which sounds good but then you realise that the 35-39 year olds are the slow pokes of the running world. The early 30s are faster (no surprise there) but so are the 40 year olds! What's the deal? Why should men in the second half of their 30s be slower than everyone else?

Evidence:

Kidney Kare - 8k Run (April 1, 2006)

30-34 Group

Place    Name                    City              Age   Overall       Time      Pace
 1    Patrick Archdeacon      Chapel Hill  NC     34        2     29:23.10    5:55/M
 2    Andrew Fedoriw          Durham  NC          30       11     34:05.00    6:51/M
 
35-39 Group
1    Andrew Reynolds        Chapel Hill  NC       38       13     34:27.10     6:56/M
2   Howie Kashefsky                               36       17     35:56.30     7:14/M

40-44 Group:
1    David Holmes                        NC       42        8     33:45.00     6:47/M

Girls on the Run 5k Meadowmont (April 22, 2006)

30-34 Group:

1    Brian Smith             Durham  NC          34        2        17:53    5:46/M
2    Ronnie Weed             Chapel Hill  NC     31        4        18:19    5:55/M
3    Josh Edwards                                31        7        18:43    6:02/M

35-39 Group:

1    Andrew Reynolds         Chapel Hill  NC     38       25        20:33    6:38/M
2    Jared Resnick           Chapel Hill  NC     38       47        21:46    7:01/M
3    Joe Deehan                                  37       51        21:49    7:02/M

40-44 Group:

1    Bob Callanan                                41       18        20:02    6:28/M
2    Robert Vonalten                             40       84        23:13    7:29/M

This inequity troubles me.

obessions/hobbies #1 Henrik

2006-04-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

As I watch from the treehouse screened porch, Atticus and Maddy return from a gruelling scavenger/easter egg hunt guided by prosaic clues and crossword puzzle answers. With candy and money (yes bribery with change) in hand they return with the mud of the vegetable garden on their sandals and no doubt the poison of ivy on their skin...ah but the joy of being 10 and 8 and having to work as a team with your brother/sister.

I myself, am distracted by Henrik on my pgatour.com "tour-cast" shot tracker which lets me follow Henrik (as a tiny little stick figure) around the Houston golf course in the final round of the Shell Houston TX open. As he hits his shot ("Henrik Bjornstad has hit shot 3, 254 yards to the 'unknown'") the little red man that is H spins his little legs and walks through the lush green that are the computer graphics of hole #8.

My thought in the winter was to embrace the need for compulsive obsessions and channel such genetical inevitabilities into manageable and non-destructive adictions - err, I mean 'hobbies.' So alongside my obsessive interest and passion for Dr. Mosley, Henrik is coming a close second (although with stiff competition from my vegetable garden, Norwich City Football Club, winning the 35-39 age group 5 and 10k races, and all things Burmese).

But anyway, back to Henrik. Last December I scanned the entrants to the PGA's qualifying school and chose a player (almost at random) and vowed that if he made it through the Q-school to the tour I would originate his fan club and follow him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer. Mr. Henrik Bjornstad - the wonderfully named 'Henry Beartown' - was chosen in part because of my Scandinavian links and the fact that, if successful, he would be the first Norwegian to play the US PGA tour. In a land where the snow makes golf only possible about 3 days a year I thought the boy deserved some support.

Henry of Beartown did not disappoint. Placing a worthy 10th in the notoriously tense 6 round Q-school and earning his card at the first attempt.

Then the fun really began. I felt I was the *only* one tracking him (outside of 8 million inhabitants of Oslo) in his first PGA tournament in Hawaii where he made the cut, tied for 59th and won almost $11,000...enough to celebrate and eat herring with the Norwegian cross country skiing persuit team (womens). But then the Beartown Cubs fan club-Chapel Hill Branch almost jumped through the skylight as he tied for 10th at the Buick Invitational (earning 3/4 of a million Norwegian Kroner - yes 750,000 K!) and followed that up with a 12th place the next week at the FBR open (another $109,000). Since then Henrik has cooled off a tad -- missed 3 of the last 7 cuts - but I still remain loyal and follow every little stick figure whack on my computer screen Thursday, Friday (and if Henry is playing well) Saturday, Sunday too.

To my chagrin I still haven't seen Henrik in person (on TV) as yet. For a brief moment before he saw the leader-board he was leading the Buick with 10 holes left in the tournament but NC State-Wake Forest hoops had gone into overtime and so there was no way CBS was going to switch to Norwegian golf on a Sunday afternoon -- this is, of course, ACC country. The only other hope I had was to spy him in the Peeble Beach Pro-Am - and the TV did indeed show his group, it was just that they showed Carson Daly, his celebrity partner, and nada of the man from Beartown - oh the ignomy of it all.

So alls I know is that Henrik is 26, a former carpenter, hits the ball a bloody long way, tends to be streaky in his putting, and has developed a worrying tendency to find every patch of water on every par 5 from Florida to Texas. Once day his fame will grow and I shall no longer feel the same type of ownership, but for now I am happy to be a fan club of the Power of One.

If you would like to be added to the list of Beartown Cubs let me know. HB's flag, photo and stats are here: http://www.pgatour.com/players/intro/459559

I intend to offer more commentary Thurs-Sun when appropriate during the season.

As Michael O'Hanlon might note- in a nice NTY Op-Ed Graphic:

Beartown Watch Apr 16, 2006
Highest position: T10th
Money list: 71st
Prizewinnings: $347,551
Official World Golf Ranking: 291
American fan club membership: 1 (unless of course there are competing civil society groups I am unaware of).

First Post

2006-04-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

7.17pm in Chapel Hill NC as the hot rain thunders around the tree house. When the spirit moves I intend to share on issues such as:

1. politics with a big and small P
2. the embryonic saga of my slightly obsessional following of Henrik Beartown, PGA professional.
3. important american idol commentary
4. running
5. Norwich City Football Club, trials and tribulations
6. living with my loves in chapel hill NC