I should let Becky render the verdict on this one, but I think her 25th birthday has been a pretty good, if laid-back, one. When we got up this morning around noon :), I gave her her two presents: Season 1 of Kyle XY on DVD (she’s been intrigued by the TV ads) and two tickets to the PBR rodeo in Nashville on Sunday. (Becky was all jealous when I went to the rodeo in Denver with Kristy and V, so I jumped at the chance when I saw the PBR tour was stopping in Tennessee on her birthday weekend.) We then went out to our local IHOP for brunch, which was a nice little treat. After coming home for a while, we went to see Surf’s Up, which was surprisingly good (though I’m pretty sure the concept for the movie originated with a bunch of Hollywood stoners sitting around smoking weed, and one of them said, “Hey man, I have this awesome idea for a movie! See, there’s this penguin, and he surfs! And then there’s this other penguin, who’s a washed-up former surfer! And they’re friends with a chicken! It’s gonna be awesome, man!”). When we came home from that, I made Becky a birthday dinner of Kraft Mac & Cheese and cantelope. I know, very fancy and romantic. :) Anyway, it’s been a fun day, and the weekend in Nashville should be great. Yee-haw!

In keeping with the recent trend of posts about First Amendment rights, Becky has a post about a freedom-of-the-press snafu involving Angelina Jolie. The actress, who plays Daniel Pearl’s widow in a new movie about the Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded by Islamic extremists, has ironically decided she can order the press around:

[Jolie’s] lawyer required all journalists to sign a contract before talking to her, and Jolie instructed publicists at first to ban FOX News from the red carpet of her premiere. …

Reporters were asked to agree…that “the interview may only be used to promote the Picture. In no event may Interviewer or Media Outlet be entitled to run all or any portion of the interview in connection with any other story. … The interview will not be used in a manner that is disparaging, demeaning, or derogatory to Ms. Jolie.”

If that wasn’t enough, Jolie also requires that if any of these things happen, “the tape of the interview will not be released to Interviewer.” Such a violation, the signatory thus agrees, would “cause Jolie irreparable harm” and make it possible for her to sue the interviewer and seek a restraining order.

I am told that USA Today and the Associated Press were among those that canceled interviews, and eventually Jolie scotched all print interviews when she heard the reaction.

“I wouldn’t sign it,” a reporter for a major outlet said. “Who does she think she is?”

Obviously, this isn’t actually a constitutional issue, but it’s “the most hypocritical move ever,” in the words of a blog called The Superficial, which notes that “the premiere was a benefit for the organization Reporters Without Borders and she’s got a tattoo on her back that says ‘Know your rights.’ How did she go from the hottest woman on the planet to the most annoying one? Nobody would even care about this except that she’s running around the world pretending to be better than everybody else.”

As I said, Becky has more.

And away goes the PowerBook… back to repair. :(

UPDATE: The Work Authorization form says “PROPOSED RESOLUTION: diagnose/replace.” Hmm. Replace? I wonder what that means. (The “ISSUE” is described as “Repeat repair - Unit made a popping sound and now is a dead unit wont turn on at all. Plastic above optical drive is sagging.”)

After 4 days of infighting between Fatah and Hamas in the Palestinian territories, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed the Hamas led government and declared a state of emergency. Hamas had declared today that the territories are now under its Islamic rule which led to the declaration.

The European Union has suspended all aid to the territories and Israel has expressed grave concerns over the development.

More details here

I talked to Anne today, and as Brooke mentioned, the lockers were cleaned out by a member of the custodial staff. Neither Anne nor anyone else has any idea why this was done, because it’s not something the custodians were supposed to do. She said she found a few books in a bin, and that supposedly the custodian who did the cleaning still has all the books, but for now she doesn’t know where they are.

It’s surprisingly difficult to come up with a fitting birthday tribute to the love of one’s life. Nothing seems adequate! I could write a silly (or sappy) poem about Becky, or post a cute picture of her, or just say “I love you, honey bunny! Happy birthday!” … but surely there’s something more meaningful I can post, especially on a birthday that feels like something of a milestone (a quarter century!). Yet I’ve been sitting here, staring at this screen for the better part of the last hour, and I’m still at a loss.

Hmm, well, here’s an idea. Maybe it would be fun to think about where we were, both geographically and in our lives (now our life) as a couple, on each previous Becky birthday since we met. Cue the BrendanLoy.com time machine…

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