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Klingon Interpreter Needed In Oregon
myrashka writes "CNN has a report of a position available for an Klingon-English interpreter by a mental health office in Oregon (how apropos). Could this be the start of the next hot job market (perhaps they'll need Nebari-English interpreters next)?"
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The jockey who won the Kentucky Derby aboard Funny Cide is being investigated by track stewards who examined a photo of him possibly holding something besides his whip as he crossed the finish line.
Santos
Besides Jose Santos' whip, officials are looking at this Getty Images photo, wondering what other object he was holding before crossing the finish line.
The investigation will focus "most particularly on the actions" of Jose Santos at the race, chief Churchill Downs steward Bernie Hettel said Saturday. The stewards scheduled a meeting for Monday with Santos and Funny Cide owner Jack Knowlton, said Karen Murphy, the jockey's lawyer.
Knowlton said any accusations that Santos might have cheated are "just absolutely, totally ridiculous." Funny Cide, a 12-1 shot, became the first New York-bred horse and first gelding since 1929 to win the Derby, holding off favorite Empire Maker by 1 3/4 lengths last Saturday.
The stewards decided to investigate after The Miami Herald published the photo, along with a story. A reporter from the Herald brought the image to the attention of the stewards Thursday night.
The investigation gave Empire Maker's trainer, Bobby Frankel, second thoughts about his decision to skip the Preakness. He told the Blood-Horse Web site he was going to enter Empire Maker, after all, but later he decided against it.
"I don't think there'll be any change," Frankel said, referring to the possibility that Funny Cide could be disqualified in the Derby, "so I'll stick to my original plans."
Kentucky Racing Commission rules do not prohibit a jockey from holding an object besides his whip, other than those specifically prohibited, such as an electrical device that might make the horse run faster.
The Getty Images photo, which ran in several newspapers the morning after the race, depicts a dark area in the space between Santos' right hand and his whip. It is unclear whether the area is a shadow, the green background of another jockey's silks or something else.
Rick Leigh, a Churchill Downs steward, told the Herald the photo looks "very suspicious." The stewards, who have ultimate authority over a race's results, set no timetable for their investigation.
"It takes as long as it takes," track spokesman John Asher said. "If there is a next step, it could be a formal charge or a hearing. But we are nowhere near that."
Knowlton
Jack Knowlton, one of the owners of Funny Cide, answers questions from the media at Belmont on Saturday.
The stewards could take away Funny Cide's victory and award the Derby to another horse if they find that Santos violated racing rules. There has been only one Derby winner disqualified, Dancer's Image in 1968 after he was given banned medication. Forward Pass was declared the winner.
Knowlton called the investigation "an unneeded distraction" as he prepares to take Funny Cide to Baltimore for the Preakness.
"We're trying to get the horse and all the horse's connections ready for the second leg of the Triple Crown," he said by phone from the horse's barn at Belmont Park in New York.
"There's absolutely, positively not one iota to this and we're very, very disappointed that an individual can take the luster off what we all consider to be a great victory."
The Herald reported that Santos said he carried an object in his hand during the race and that he described it as a "'cue' ring" to alert an outrider to his presence. An outrider is a rider aboard a pony who can guide a thoroughbred before and after the race.
However, Santos told the Daily Racing Form that the Herald misunderstood. The jockey, who is from Chile and speaks English with a heavy accent, said he was talking about a ``Q-ray'' bracelet he wears for arthritis.
Frank Carlson, the Herald's horse racing writer, told New York Racing Association vice pr
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The Iranians I've met are light years away from being terrorists.
Yes because we all know terrorists act like terrorists all the time. I live here in Laurel, MD, where the hijackers that crashed into the Pentagon lived. In fact, the Motel they stayed at, the Valincia is about 3 miles from my house.
Everyone around here was questioned by the FBI after they found out they were staying here, and everyone said the same thing, they were polite and very nice gentlement. The only thing odd was during the final weeks they became very secretative. But still rather polite. Some of the vendors at the food court in the mall remember them coming in an eating frequently here. They all said they were very friendly.
Just because of how someone acts isn't an indication of the kind of person they are. Take that kid in Red Lion PA that shot the principal and then shot himself. He was a straight A student, well liked by teachers and students, he was an average kid. He wasn't like the kids at Columbine, he didn't dress in black or listen to death metal music, or play excessive amounts of violent video games. Yet he walks into a cafeteria with 3 guns, uses one to kill the principal, and one to kill himself.
Not to say all Iranians are terrorists or all kids are bad, but it just goes to show that anyone is capable of this.
..There's a-dooin's a-transpirin'
If you speak English clearly and grammatically, and don't use slang or colloquial expressions, and are willing to contribute a lot of intellectual energy, you are highly qualified to help someone with his or her English.
Everyone who learns a language goes through a phase where they need to practice speaking with a native speaker. It's sometimes called conversation class.
I'm in that phase now, trying to learn Brazilian Portuguese. I know the grammar. I know a lot of vocabulary. I just need to continue practicing. Practicing means spending a lot of time alone with attractive Brazilian women; you can, no doubt, appreciate how difficult this is for me *grin*.
I never learned a word of Farsi (the language spoken in Iran). I have a book on it, but, being realistic, it requires a huge investment in time and energy to learn any language, and at the time it was not safe for an American to spend much time in Iran.
It all got started because I was spending Saturday mornings at a place where volunteer teachers and prospective students would meet. One Saturday I arrived and the coordinator assigned me a very attractive (married) Iranian woman. I was at that time 100% ignorant about Iranians. I thought they were Arabs; I knew something about the Arab culture. (I never worry about meeting an interesting married woman; for sure she has single friends who look a lot like her.)
After about 20 minutes of trying to communicate with my Iranian student, I realized something was very wrong in my understanding. She was too passionate and emotional and warm and friendly to be Arab. I asked her and she said Iranians were Persian, not Arab. (Arabs reading this: Don't complain. Arabs are not as passionate as Persians. Check it out. Italians are more passionate than Americans; I have never seen an American become upset when someone says this.)
When someone is first learning a language, he or she can talk about family and culture and personal likes and dislikes better than other subjects. This was excellent for me, because I wanted to understand her.
I found that the Iranian culture is very sexist; Iranian women, in a hidden way, think they are superior to men. (If you live in the U.S., and pay attention to social things happening below the surface, this will probably sound familiar.) I have a high tolerance for people thinking that they are better than me, so I was able to cope with that. Besides, I think, maybe they are better than me in some ways.
She was upper class Iranian, and class means a lot more in Iran than it does in the United States. Mostly, crazy elements of culture work against everyone, but sometimes cultural craziness actually helps particular people in particular situations. Since I was not part of the Iranian culture, I was culturally insignificant to her. Since I was a man, and she already had a husband, I was irrelevant to anything an Iranian woman thinks is important. So, I would ask many, many questions about personal things, and, since she did not know enough about English to talk about anything else, and since she was interested in the subjects of the questions, she would answer them. I was irrelevant in her social system, so she would be more frank with me than she would with another Iranian. She would also accept me being frank with her.
Through her I met other Iranians. I began socializing with them. I began helping another Iranian woman student, too. Iranians in Portland have huge parties to which everyone is invited. I like parties.
Ideas about teaching English conversation classes: 1) Pick a student who is interesting. I usually picked attractive women. 2) Pick someone who is well educated; it's more fun to talk to them, generally. 3) Talk about things that are of central importance to people, such as the feelings of women toward men, or the difficulty of finding someone suitable to marry.
Another time, I began hanging around with a very attractive 19-year-old Korean woman named Go-oon. I told her