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September 27th, 2008

10:06 am - So long, Butch, and thanks. "I have vision, and the rest of the world wears bifocals." RIP Paul Newman, dead at 83. Current Location: Two foot, three inches to my left. Current Mood: sad Current Music: BJ Thomas - "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"... please shoot me, now.

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September 26th, 2008

02:57 pm - "The economy is passing a kidney stone." This is possibly the most insightful item I've yet read about the economic crisis. It's certainly the funniest. "So how do we inflict some badly-needed pain on people who need to feel it, without hurting the rest of the good and honest folks who pay their bills responsibility? Well, there are three simple rules that we must follow. Unfortunately, no one knows what those three rules are." Current Location: USBA - the United States of Bankrupt America Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: Dean Martin - Ain't That a Kick in the Head?

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September 18th, 2008

02:13 pm - Quote of the Day I just had to snicker at this, a bit: "If we're going to ask questions about who has been promulgating negative ads that are completely unrelated to the issues at hand, I think I win that contest pretty handily." - Barack Obama Yeah, yeah... I KNOW what he meant. Considering his recent "Let's make fun of the crippled veteran" ad, though, it's still funny :) Current Location: Here, there and everywhere. What's new? Current Mood: amused Current Music: Dean Martin - Ain't That A Kick in the Head?

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September 6th, 2008

10:01 am - The media? Biased? I don't know what could possibly give you that idea... And before you ask, no. I'm not planning on voting for McCain - if for no other reason than the fact that I live in California, which epitomizes the old joke of "You'd vote for Satan himself if he were a Democrat, wouldn't you?" - "Well, not in the primary..." If I'm going to vote for someone who's not going to get California's electoral votes anyway, I may as well throw it away on someone I actually like. But my point is that yes, the media across the board has been showing a massive bias toward Obama coupled with massive scorn for Palin, and if the Democratic candidates don't acknowledge that - and take steps to rein in the more transparent character assassination attempts - it will bite them in the ass come November. PS - I might point out, as a side note, that US Magazine is owned by Jann Wenner, an outspoken supporter of Obama who has contributed multiple times to his campaign fund. Which he's perfectly welcome to be and to do, of course. But can you imagine the massive (and justified) furor if a nationally syndicated magazine with an eight million plus weekly readership, one owned by a conservative and McCain supporter, had done such an obvious hack job attack at, say, Joe Biden? No, no...seriously. If you can't then there's a double standard at work. If you can, then please discuss. I would love to hear a logical defense for this type of 'journalism'. Current Location: Physically? Living room. Mentally? Arecibo, PR... sigh. Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: Niels Gade - "Symphony No. 3.14159..."

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September 1st, 2008

09:02 am - I... um... I have no reaction to this. Wait. What!?!? (no pics, but the concept is certainly NSFW, I would think.) Does anyone have ANY idea how this is supposed to work (other than "if your hands are full, you can't pick up a gun"*)? This is hands down the most bizarre "anti-war" concept I've ever seen. * - On second thought, I may need to rephrase that... Current Location: Not participating, not PLANNING on participating. Current Mood: confused Current Music: Either Blondie's "I Touch Myself" or Cyndi Lauper's "She Bang" - you pick.

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August 18th, 2008

08:35 am - Sails of (bumbumBUM) Blood! A friend of mine just put the first four pages of Sails of Blood, his graphic novel, on line. The remainder will be posted as they finish being drawn, colored and - where necessary - exorcised, at the rate of a page a week. You can RSS it to your LJ account, if you're so inclined. Give it a read. It's fun, well drawn, extremely well written, and twisted in that certain way that only Jason (the writer)(duh) or Clive Barker on powdered toad AND sixteen triple espressos could create. Plus, I'm sure he'd appreciate the hits :) Current Location: A small shack hidden in the bayous of Southern California Current Mood: impressed Current Music: Marilyn Manson - "Shiny Happy People"

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July 29th, 2008

08:21 am - "Come, Josephine, in my flying machine..." "To rise off the ground wearing a jetpack is to feel the force of dreams. Very, very noisy dreams." This is just a half dozen different kinds of cool. We do live in wondrous times. PS - My second favorite quote from the article was "Mr. Martin has somehow made the future look both sleek and nerdy." Current Location: Standing in line, waiting for my jet pack. Current Mood: impressed Current Music: See subject line. I mean, duh.

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July 26th, 2008

08:51 am - Never thought I'd say it. To the statements "Hand me that piano", "Please saw my legs off" and "I'll have the vegetarian plate, please", I'd like to add the following additional Thing I Never Thought I'd Say (tm): "I agree with Pat Buchanan". Honorable Exit From Empire by Patrick J. Buchanan As any military historian will testify, among the most difficult of maneuvers is the strategic retreat. Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, Lee's retreat to Appomattox and MacArthur's retreat from the Yalu come to mind. The British Empire abandoned India in 1947 -- and a Muslim-Hindu bloodbath ensued. France's departure from Indochina was ignominious, and her abandonment of hundreds of thousands of faithful Algerians to the FALN disgraceful. Few American can forget the humiliation of Saigon '75, or the boat people, or the Cambodian holocaust. Strategic retreats that turn into routs are often the result of what Lord Salisbury called "the commonest error in politics ... sticking to the carcass of dead policies." From 1989 to 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Empire and breakup of the U.S.S.R., America had an opportunity to lay down its global burden and become again what Jeane Kirkpatrick called "a normal country in a normal time." We let the opportunity pass by, opting instead to use our wealth and power to convert the world to democratic capitalism. And we have reaped the reward of all the other empires that went before: A sinking currency, relative decline, universal enmity, a series of what Rudyard Kipling called "the savage wars of peace." Yet, opportunity has come anew for America to shed its imperial burden and become again the republic of our fathers. The chairman of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang Party has just been hosted for six days by Beijing. Commercial flights have begun between Taipei and the mainland. Is not the time ripe for America to declare our job done, that the relationship between China and Taiwan is no longer a vital interest of the United States? Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government wants a status of forces agreement with a timetable for full withdrawal of U.S. troops. Is it not time to say yes, to declare that full withdrawal is our goal as well, that the United States seeks no permanent bases in Iraq? On July 4, Reuters, in a story headlined "Poland Rejects U.S. Missile Offer," reported from Warsaw: "Poland spurned as insufficient on Friday a U.S. offer to boost its air defenses in return for basing anti-missile interceptors on its soil. ... "'We have not reached a satisfactory result on the issue of increasing the level of Polish security,' Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference after studying the latest U.S. proposal." Tusk is demanding that America "provide billions of dollars worth of U.S. investment to upgrade Polish air defenses in return for hosting 10 two-stage missile interceptors," said Reuters. Reflect if you will on what is going on here. By bringing Poland into NATO, we agreed to defend her against the world's largest nation, Russia, with thousands of nuclear weapons. Now the Polish regime is refusing us permission to site 10 anti-missile missiles on Polish soil, unless we pay Poland billions for the privilege. Has Uncle Sam gone senile? No. Tusk has Sam figured out. The old boy is so desperate to continue in his Cold War role as world's Defender of Democracy he will even pay the Europeans -- to defend Europe. Why not tell Tusk that if he wants an air defense system, he can buy it; that we Americans are no longer willing to pay Poland for the privilege of defending Poland; that the anti-missile missile deal is off. And use cancellation of the missile shield to repair relations with a far larger and more important power, Vladimir Putin's Russia. Consider, too, the opening South Korea is giving us to end our 60-year commitment to defend her against the North. For weeks, Seoul hosted anti-American protests against a trade deal that allows U.S. beef into South Korea. Koreans say they fear mad-cow disease. Yet, when a new deal was cut to limit imports to U.S. beef from cattle less than 30 months old, that too was rejected by the protesters. Behind the demonstrations lies a sediment of anti-Americanism. In 2002, a Pew Research Center survey of 42 nations found 44 percent of South Koreans, second highest number of any country, holding an unfavorable view of the United States. A Korean survey put the figure at 53 percent, with 80 percent of youth holding a negative view. By 39 percent to 35 percent, South Koreans saw the United States as a greater threat than North Korea. Can someone explain why we keep 30,000 troops on the DMZ of a nation whose people do not even like us? The raison d'etre for NATO was the Red Army on the Elbe. It disappeared two decades ago. The Chinese army left North Korea 50 years ago. Yet NATO endures and the U.S. Army stands on the DMZ. Why? Because, if all U.S. troops were brought home from Europe and Korea, 10,000 rice bowls would be broken. They are the rice bowls of politicians, diplomats, generals, journalists and think tanks who would all have to find another line of work. And that is why the Empire will endure until disaster befalls it, as it did all the others. Current Location: Somewhere in the Empire Current Mood: surprised Current Music: Oddly enough, Audrey Hepburn singing "Wouldn't it be luverly" (?)

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July 23rd, 2008

04:49 pm - "Has that ever happend to YOU?!?" An actor friend recently made an ad for an online ticket company, and now needs hits at YouTube to drum up interest in the site. If you've got two minutes to spare, and want to be amused, give it a watch. If you like it, pass it on. Thanks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRBj8Gitpbw Edit: Don't embed, link. Otherwise, he doesn't get the hits. Which is, after all, the point. Current Location: Home after a long day Current Mood: awake Current Music: Take me out to the ball game.

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July 22nd, 2008

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July 4th, 2008

04:49 pm - In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Two hundred and thirty two years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote a remarkable document, one Americans celebrate every year on this day. If you're an American, it might be a while since you've read it. Take a minute or two to do so. If you're not an American, you very probably never have. Again, take a minute or two to do so. It might give you a better insight on what we are and why. It's a clear and concise listing of why they felt they had to do what they did. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Good words. "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." Happy Forth of July, everyone. Current Location: The United States of America. I mean, duh. Current Mood: peaceful Current Music: John Cougar Melonhead - Pink Houses

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June 26th, 2008

10:35 am - Interesting. Very interesting. Or to use the colloquial: 'Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit'. "The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a constitutional right to keep guns in their homes for self-defense, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun control in U.S. history." You can hear the sound of the city legislatures in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago (where Mayor Daly's fascinatingly eye-watering response to the SCOTUS ruling was to note that Americans traditionally exported guns and violence into peaceful fellow countries like Mexico)(Um, right.) and New York - whose Sullivan Act is THE prototypical ban in the U.S - pulling their metaphorical wagons into a circle in anticipation of the lawsuits from assorted gun rights advocates. Man, can I do a run-on sentence or what? At this point, I think it's a reasonable assumption to say that it will take an actual amendment to the Constitution to remove that right. And I'm okay with that, 'cause that's how the system is supposed to function (and because it'll never happen - altering the constitution is only slightly easier than walking to the moon). Hooray for our side. Current Location: In that chair with the cushion. Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: Handel's Messiah - I mean, duh.

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May 23rd, 2008

04:53 pm - RIP Bob Asprin Science fiction and fantasy author Robert Asprin died yesterday, of natural causes, while reportedly sitting quietly at home reading a Terry Pratchett novel with his cat in his lap. I suppose I can think of worse ways to go. We'll still miss him, though. Current Location: The Recliner Current Mood: sad Current Music: Klaatu - "Dr. Marvello"

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May 16th, 2008

09:30 am - Someone who actually gets it. "Head's up, y'all: The South is a huge and vast swath of the United States, extremely varied in its landscape, attitudes, accents, and architectural styles and – here's a real shocker – it's filled with intelligent, well-read, thoughtful people." It's nice to know there's someone out there - someone not born in the South - who never the less doesn't believe that "Southerner", "ignorant", "racist" and "redneck" are all synonyms :) Current Location: Sadly, not in the South. Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: The Mills Brothers - "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?"

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May 3rd, 2008

11:11 am - XKCD Okay, can someone explain why I find this so damn funny? Current Location: The green chair. Current Mood: amused Current Music: Danny Kaye - Never Outfox the Fox

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April 7th, 2008

08:54 am - Powdered pig bladder for the win! "Your finger grew back," Andrews asked Spievack, "flesh, blood, vessels and nail?" "Four weeks," he answered. Kids, we live in wondrous times. Current Location: The future, which appears to have arrived. Yay! Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: Something Copelandish would be appropriate, I think.

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March 23rd, 2008

01:05 am - The right to keep and arm bears. I've honestly never been much of an Edward Abbey fan*. Among other things the man is pretty much responsible for single handedly parenting - if not directly starting - the ecotage movement. I think I would probably converse with him at a high volume about a number of things, probably over an empty bottle of JD while sitting around a fire somewhere deep inside Monument Valley at three in the morning. Hand waving and gestures would in all likelihood be involved. But I couldn't possibly argue with him about this: "If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military. The hired servants of our rulers. Only the government--and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws." Would you? Be among the outlaws, that is? Why? Or, why not? Discuss. After - and only after - you're posted how you feel about Abbey's anarchic essay**, read this paper. Do you still feel the same? Again, why? Again, why not? Discuss. I like saying "discuss"***. Why? Discuss. * Though I must admit The Monkey Wrench Gang is a cast iron hoot. ** You have read the essay linked to by the quote, haven't you? *** I also like footnotes. Current Mood: curious Current Music: Charles Gounod - Funeral March of a Marionette

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March 20th, 2008

10:22 am - "Are you now, or have you ever been, a gun owner?" Okay, so you take your five year old to the doctor's office for a checkup, and the doctor asks your kid "Does your Daddy own any guns?", and your kid says yes, and the doctor then grills you and your child about how many, what kind, where they're stored, etc. You then find out that, after you left, your doctor filed a report with the police detailing everything he learned about your perfectly legal guns. How would you feel about this? Discuss. PS - I know there are those among you who might tend to automatically discount the article, since it is at foxnews.com, but it was written by John Lott, one of the more well reasoned academics writing on the pro-gun side. Current Location: Sideways Current Mood: curious Current Music: For some bizarre reason, I can't get "Tubthumpin'" out of my head. Shoot me.

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March 18th, 2008

06:54 pm - Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it. Rest in peace, Arthur C. Clarke. Damn it. Current Location: A Clarke-less world Current Mood: sad Current Music: I don't know - can you think of anything appropriate?

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March 13th, 2008

08:07 am - For your musical consideration. I ran across blender.com's "50 Worst Songs Ever!" and just had to share their ear-bleeding goodness. I don't necessarily agree with each, but the comments are snarky enough to still make them worth reading. Examples: "... recorded at a point during the White Album sessions when the Beatles would happily have beaten one another to death if only they had had some clubs on hand." "... a blues riff like someone explaining ZZ Top to an accountant." "If Frasier Crane were a song, he would sound like this." And my personal favorite: "The chorus denies responsibility for any events mentioned, clearing up the common misconception that Billy Joel developed the H-bomb." And those are just out of numbers 41 to 50 - there's another forty to go! Go hork up some enjoyment! EDIT: Okay, I had to come back and add one more, from number 39: "... percussion played by a crateful of ADD-afflicted chimpanzees." Current Location: Nowhere near the fire that Billy Joel didn't start. Current Mood: crazy Current Music: Pick one of these beauties. They're all in there now, screaming at me.

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