I just got off the phone with Robinder from Mumbai, India. We just had a 30 minute cross-cultural phone experience. I wished him and his family the best.

I had originally started out calling Earthlink to talk about my account. Then, after business, I started with, "So are you in the north or south of India?

I told him I didn't know where Mumbai is but he didn't know where Seattle Washington is either.

"It's north of California." 

"Oh. I know the Beach Boys!"

Anyway, did you know in a couple of months it will be monsoon season and then it's winter after that? We talked about seasons (they only recognize 3, no autumn) and flowers. Religion too. He's Catholic, which surprised me. 

So, I guess I'm weird like that. Anytime someone calls to sell me direct TV, I'm totally psyched. I usually end up talking politics and religion with the Indian fellow on the other end of the line for 30 minutes. My longest such call was well over an hour.

On every such call, they usually ask when I am coming to India to visit and I find that completely cool.

So if you have the time and the inclination but just never thought of it - the next time Robinder calls you with a sweet deal on DirecTV, take some time to say "hello" from America.

Here's the number I called for Earthlink 1-888-327-8454 

The Lights & Sirens News Tribune blog has a copy posted today 02:05:22 pm of the press release:

Washington State Patrol troopers arrested two people late last night, after catching them in the act of vandalizing the State Capitol building.

The two were seen using chalk to draw on the walls and ground adjacent to the front doors. They were quickly arrested on felony vandalism charges

We have no tolerance for this,” said WSP Captain Mark Couey, head of the agency’s Special Operations Division. “These are historic buildings with great meaning to many people. There is no justification for defacing them.”

Because special techniques are needed to repair damage to the building’s sandstone walls, repair costs make virtually any vandalism rise to the felony level. In this case, repair and clean up cost over $750.

The incident began at about 11:50 p.m., when the two were spotted on surveillance cameras acting suspiciously. Troopers responded, and observed the vandalism happening. The two subjects noticed the troopers approaching, and tried hiding between pillars. Along with possession of the chalk, troopers saw indications the two had been drinking.

The male was identified as X, 23, and the female as Y, 25, both of Olympia. The two were booked into the Thurston County jail for investigation of Malicious Mischief 2nd Degree, Defacing a State Monument and Trespassing.

Investigators will be reviewing the nature of the drawings to determine if they are related to other incidents of vandalism that have occurred on the Capitol Campus.

Goal is to eventually gather most everything on OlyBlog concerning The Evergreen State College here in one place.

For more follow tags such as Evergreen, also run searches on terms such as TESC, The Evergreen State College, and Evergreen.

1:00 pm on Red Square—Rain or Shine

No tickets required for the ceremony

A sociologist, historian and professor who taught race relations for 20 years at the University of Vermont, James Loewen co-authored, Mississippi: Conflict and Change, which won the Lillian Smith Award for Best Southern Nonfiction, but was not approved for use in the Mississippi school system because it was considered too controversial and placed too much focus on racial issues.

Read more

(I've mentioned Loewen's work in Sundown Town Olympia)

This is one of my favorite things about Olympia:

I've always been fascinated by it. Idle time is spent in my house staring at the copy we have hanging in our front room. I've pondered the birds eye view of Olympia to the point I've spent time thinking about how I could reproduce it today.

Anyway, earlier today I came across a series of photos (here, here and here) that when joined together create a panorama simliar to the one above, just a hell of a lot less idyllic.

Check it out (click for larger image):

SDS is extending open invitations to a party today in Art Costantino’s office. Plans are in store for a series of live concerts on the roof of the SEM I building today.

The sit-in surrounding the office of Art Costantino, Vice President for Student Affairs at the Evergreen State College (TESC) goes into its second day. There are approximately 20 to 30 students and community supporters at any given time occupying the top floor and roof of the SEM I building on the Olympia campus, with an alternating cast of approximately 50 to 60 people taking shifts, and additional people outside providing support. The sit-in, which was organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), is an attempt by the group and its supporters to draw attention to the diminishing rights of students at TESC and to regain SDS’ status as a student organization. The students occupying the hallway surrounding Costantino’s office have refused to move until SDS is immediately reinstated as a student group. Costantino has been unable to access his office since the beginning of the sit-in.

Near the beginning was the Police Department's presentation: "Telling our story." The Chief of Police, Gary Michel, told of some of the recent accomplishments of the department, including the city's very low statistics for certain crimes, like burglary for example. I couldn't find information about the presentation in the council meeting packet (I didn't take notes, sorry.). The Chief's presentation made the police department sound very good. If all I had to base my understanding on was the presentation, I might think that there were very few to no problems with the police department's operations.