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| Monday, October 6th, 2008 | | 3:06 pm |
Wuht wud it bee liik if English wuhr a fuhnetik langwuhj with kuhnsistuhnt rulz? Wuhd it bee eezeeuhr tu kuhmuunikaat if wee ahl nuu thuh nuu rulz?
In mii theeooretikahl wuhrld, foor instuhns, duhbuhl vahwuhls wud indikaat thuh lahng vahwuhl saunds and thuh vahwuhl bii itself thuh shoort vahwuhl sauhnds. An aach aftur aa vahwuhl wud indikaat thee oopen saunds uhv thuh vahwuhl. Yuu, thoo, wud bee sliitlee difruhnt -- "uh" foor shwah saunds, "u" foor thuh saund in "flut," "uu" foor thuh saund in "chuu," as in mastikaat.
Thuh letuhr see wud bee uhneseseree -- it is kuhvuhrd bii kaa and es ahlredee. Wii wud fuhnkchuhn oonlee as aa kahnsoonuhnt.
Ii doont noo -- this is pretee difikuhlt tu reed.
(This is what happens to me when I start questioning the origins of our alphabet and its consistency. Yeah, I actually DID start thinking about this at school today. No, no particular reason -- I'm just weird that way.) | | 7:43 am |
Sign held by a Vanderbilt fan at this weekend's Vandy-Auburn football game:
What's worse: Auburn's offense or the economy?
*Love* it. More erudite than the typical college football fan, eh? | | Friday, October 3rd, 2008 | | 11:48 am |
I know I'm going to get raked over the coals for this, but...
Hmm....
Does legal change precede societal change, or the other way around?
Is it necessary for the government to recognize gay marriage in right and name before society will? Or is it necessary for society to accept gay marriage for the laws to be changed?
Or perhaps there is some interplay? Perhaps getting equal rights -- FULLY equal legal rights, but without adopting the term "marriage" -- is a gateway into societal acceptance? A step? A circumstance which, 30 years later, would lead people to say, "now, wait a minute -- these things are equal. Why don't we *call* them the same thing? Let's fix that?"
Some change is thunderous and sudden. Other is gradual and acclimatizing. Both have proven effectual in the past.
Which is best here?
I support receiving full legal rights of married couples without getting the name marriage -- for now. This doesn't mean I'm into accepting second-class citizenship; it means that I understand how crowd mentalities work. We either gain equal rights and wait for the terms to gradually change (acclimatization), or we wait the same amount of time for the older generations to die out and for younger generations more exposed to gay rights to come into power, then shift the entire definition at once (thunderous). Forward steps are forward steps, big or small.
Personally, as a 34-year-old man, I'd rather see some change happen *now* rather than having to wait on it all *later.* I know that's a selfish view, but I'm a selfish person right now. | | 8:15 am |
Great line from a sports story this morning.
If you've ever been in Tropicana Field in Tampa, you'll know it's an odd place. One of the strange features are a series of catwalks ranging from 65 to 225 feet above the field's surface off which balls carom all the time.
In describing Tampa Bay Rays rookie Evan Longoria's performance in the team's first-ever playoff game at their home, cnnsi.com writer Jerry Crasnick wrote this gem:
"Heck, even Heidi Klum doesn't perform this well around catwalks."
**************
BTW -- Palin held her own last night. Then again, so did Biden.
To me, it was a draw. | | Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 | | 2:43 pm |
I love how so many people in my FL are so excited about the Veep debates, thinking Sarah Palin will come across as a complete idiot and sink McCain's campaign completely. Be careful. Number one, I don't necessarily trust Biden. He has a tendency to say things that are, well, not exactly true or intelligent. The bigger concern, however, is expressed very well in this article. ( What it's like to debate Sarah Palin ) The article's author, Andrew Halcro, served two terms as a Republican member of the Alaska State House of Representatives. He ran for governor as an Independent in 2006, debating Sarah Palin more than two dozen times. He blogs at www.andrewhalcro.com. And here's another article from AP analyzing Palin's debating skills in her run for Alaska governor: ( On small stage, Palin scored big debate wins ) | | 9:49 am |
I've decided I'm going to let my beard grow out until I can't stand it anymore.
I'm ready to be an educated mountain man. (Though, since I'm short, does that make me a hill man instead? I'm not sure.)
The hairs are currently an inch and a half long. (Yeah, I measured. I'm a math teacher. I have rulers, and I know how to use them.)
I wonder if anyone at work will object? I wonder if I care this morning?
Current Mood: over it | | Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 | | 2:04 pm |
And right after I make my post, this article appears on a local news site: ( Gas Pipeline To Atlanta Running At 100 Percent Capacity )My favorite line is the snarky but accurate last sentence of this paragraph: "Motorists are rising before dawn so they can be at filling stations when the delivery truck arrives. Some are skipping work or telecommuting. Others are taking the extreme step -- for Atlanta -- of switching to public transportation."Let's see how long it takes Atlanta drivers to stop panicking. | | 10:52 am |
People on my FL have wondered if the gas situation here in Atlanta is as bad as it seems.
Well, judge for yourself:
1. In my area of town, there are 5 gas stations within 2 miles. None of them have gas currently.
2. When they get shipments in, lines immediately form. I passed a line on Saturday that stretched -- no exaggeration -- a quarter-mile from the station.
3. Last night, I finally braved a line to get gas. It was 11:40 p.m. I waited 30 minutes.
Given that information, I'd say it's pretty bad. Part of it is a shortage -- the two main pipelines serving the Atlanta area need to get back to full capacity -- but a lot of it is panic buying. Then again, I guess you can't really expect anything different, with everyone on edge for reasons from terrorism to shaky economy. | | Sunday, September 28th, 2008 | | 1:40 pm |
Chanukah with Goldberg -- from The Man Show
OMG! I had no idea this existed....
Lots of eye candy (if you ignore Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corolla) and pretty funny, too.
I have to say that the combination of wrestling trunks and matching yarmulke has probably never been pulled off so effectively.
Oh, and there's a cute little cuddle scene near the end.
Enjoy!
| | 12:19 am |
 So ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) bearfuz has been in town playing Les Mis this week. I've had the pleasure of hosting him the past few days. Doesn't it look like we've been having fun? Why, yes, I *can* take a picture in which I'm not goofy. See below.  BTW....I've shamelessly lifted these from Chip's Flickr. So there. | | Friday, September 26th, 2008 | | 8:50 am |
 I am fortunate to have some great people in my life. happyhead64. My friend Rick. My college friends. And great online friends. I don't acknowledge this enough in my own head, let alone here, methinks. I spent a great long weekend with tolkiencub. We did game-ish things, touristy things, and other things. Alex is that great combination of cute and uber-smart, ya know? You can see Alex's entire photo set of the trip here. We were a little busy to remember the camera at all times. :D ****************************** I'm currently hosting bearfuz as he finishes up the last leg of Les Mis. His schedule and mine prevent us from spending a whole lot of time together -- I get home in late afternoon, he's off to theatre in the early evening -- but it's been a pleasure to get a few hours around him. The internet has been such an important social tool for me in the past few years. It's not a perfect tool -- nothing is -- but I find the groundwork one can lay online as a great foundation for further friendships. As an aside -- people are good, ya know? I grew up thinking we were all inherently evil. I now think we're all inherently flawed, but want to be good to each other at heart. It's a much more comforting world view. ****************************** Further aside: I *must* do something about my eyebrows. | | Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 | | 10:29 am |
Why is this Cherry Garcia so strangely comforting? ( PETA Urges Ben & Jerry's To Use Human Milk )Creepy. Perhaps healthier, but creepy nonetheless. I don't think this really helps PETA classify themselves as anything but loony. | | Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 | | 10:13 am |
90's picture meme OK...I think it's necessary to present my looks in the 90s as a progression. You'll see that, bodily, I was like bell curve -- small at the ends, big in the middle (of the decade, not my body). ( Join me on a journey behind the cut... )If you look at the pics, you can tell why I've struggled with self esteem so much. ;) (Though I DO really like the way I look in the last one...) Oh, and behind this cut is the first guy my age I ever remember having a crush on: ( See? ) | | Sunday, September 14th, 2008 | | 11:01 pm |
| | 2:53 pm |
Oaxaca Fudge Bars.
Primary ingredients: cashews, chocolate, cinnamon, chipotle powder.
Verdict: tear-your-tongue-out good.
My little contribution to the 90's pic meme will be coming shortly. I don't have instant access to a scanner like some of y'all. :P | | Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 | | 10:46 am |
Wow.
I had no idea Elizabeth Hasselbeck, the conservative chick from The View, got her start as a Survivor contestant. | | 7:52 am |
I love posting things that fall outside the normal perspective of most of my readers. Articles like this remind me to be fair, as well. ( Conspiracy rumors plague Palin )I'll reiterate, for the hundredth time here, that I don't like Palin's politics, and I'll be voting for Obama. But people, if you hear a rumor about the woman, and it sounds a bit farfetched, would you please go check out www.snopes.com or a similar website rather than taking it at face value? Those people have a better handle on the truth than the grapevine ever does. If you go around repeating rumors as if they're true without corroborating them, then you're no better than the fear-mongers on the right. Remember all the shit about Obama being a Muslim and not an American citizen, and you'll see how easily smear tactics work on both sides. | | Monday, September 8th, 2008 | | 11:55 am |
OK, for those of you who are killing time before heading home to work and need something to occupy you, here's a simple puzzler from the latest edition of NCTM's Mathematics Teacher:
To the nearest second, at what time between the hours of 4 and 5 o'clock do the minute and hour hands point in exactly the same direction?
Bonus points for deeper accuracy.
(And BTW, before I get any snark, yes, I *did* figure this out on my own. So nyah.) | | 8:47 am |
"FRESNO, California (AP) -- Authorities say they've arrested a man who broke into the home of two California farmworkers, stole money, rubbed one with spices and whacked the other with a sausage before fleeing.
Fresno County sheriff's Lt. Ian Burrimond says 22-year-old Antonio Vasquez was found hiding in a field wearing only a T-shirt, boxers and socks after the Saturday morning attack.
He says deputies arrested Vasquez after finding a wallet containing his ID in the ransacked house.
The farmworkers told deputies the suspect woke them Saturday morning by rubbing spices on one of them and smacking the other with an 8-inch sausage.
Burrimond says money allegedly stolen was recovered."
Wow. Whacked with an eight-inch sausage. What a crime. | | 7:48 am |
"If the words you used would be sexist when applied to Hillary Clinton or your Mother, they are also sexist when applied to Sarah Palin. Just sayin': Misogyny is an ugly thing, even if she is a ***** *****."-- zurcherartI couldn't agree more. 'Nuff said. *************************************** Scott and I went to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain yesterday. 'Twas a cool arts and crafts festival, far larger than I expected. Weird things happen when people try to update and make relevant certain rural art forms. Case in point: hip-hop clogging. I kid you not -- I saw it. |
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