One for the "Totally Useless But Still Cool Bits of Trivia" files: our friends at TheForce.net reported that as of yesterday (October 10, 2004) it has been exactly 10,000 days since the first Star Wars movie (now referred to as Episode IV: A New Hope) debuted in theaters. Ten thousand days of Star Wars. Eight-hundred sixty-four million seconds give or take. Probably more dollars than that in action figure royalties alone that "Uncle George" has raked into the bank.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Might as well get this over with
Twice in the past few weeks I've hinted about having a story about George W. Bush. The first thing I wrote was a long essay on why my motives have to be pure in sharing what happened: that it can't be out of anger or malice or spite. Either at him or the cronies he sent. Then it was another post about if I were to do this, that I should be prepared for repercussions from his followers and maybe even his campaign (again). In that one I made it known that if anyone has a charge to bring up against me, especially with anything that I've written online, that I'm going to own up to it. I know I've made mistakes... but I'll be darned if that stops me from publishing the things that have been on my mind for some time. Before going any further, I had to do those two things: make plain my desire for this to be the right thing to do, and pre-emptively confess that my on-line attitude has been far from perfect, lest any of that be thrown against me later.
Waiting until October 11th to write this seemed ideal, that being the fourth anniversary of the scales falling from my eyes because of this, after all. But I first noted this a few weeks ago and could have done something then, and maybe I've protracted this out because of fear: either of my own motives, or because although I don't mind being attacked, I've been most reluctant to subject my loved ones to any possible reprisals. Holding out 'til the 11th seems like just another excuse to run away from what I need to do and if I didn't do it then... well, when would I do it?
So my next blog entry, barring the Apocalypse and any inclination to comment on it, will be the full story, as best as I can relay it to anyone who might be interested. About the night that George W. Bush himself apparently sent a goon to tell me to "Get the fuck out of here!" Doctor Strangelove is about to come on the t.v. to my right, I figure that's a pretty appropriate thing to have on while doing at least part of this thing.
It'll be up soon. I promise.
Waiting until October 11th to write this seemed ideal, that being the fourth anniversary of the scales falling from my eyes because of this, after all. But I first noted this a few weeks ago and could have done something then, and maybe I've protracted this out because of fear: either of my own motives, or because although I don't mind being attacked, I've been most reluctant to subject my loved ones to any possible reprisals. Holding out 'til the 11th seems like just another excuse to run away from what I need to do and if I didn't do it then... well, when would I do it?
So my next blog entry, barring the Apocalypse and any inclination to comment on it, will be the full story, as best as I can relay it to anyone who might be interested. About the night that George W. Bush himself apparently sent a goon to tell me to "Get the fuck out of here!" Doctor Strangelove is about to come on the t.v. to my right, I figure that's a pretty appropriate thing to have on while doing at least part of this thing.
It'll be up soon. I promise.
"Doctor Strangelove" on at 10 PM EST on Turner Classic Movies
Just saw this listed and told my wife that I gotta watch. Doctor Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb has to rank as one of the funniest satires of all time, if not the darkest. What an amazing cast: Peter Sellers (in three roles), George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens, and a very young James Earl Jones headline this scathing (but hilarious) indictment of the Cold War mentality. I watched it for the first time during my first year of college as a critique for a history class and wound up searching high and low for a widescreen VHS version (there was one, by the way) 'cuz I wanted to have it as complete as possible. Heh-heh... I must have ended up with the largest collection of widescreen movies on videotape in the days before DVD. Anyhoo, it's a classic so catch it tonight and if not buy it off of Amazon or something so you can watch it later.
Government Hobgoblin Alert: They're coming for your CHILDREN!
From the Associated Press via Yahoo!...
Take the president's last name and strategically insert two "l"s and an "it" and that's what this warning is full of.
Oh man, where to begin...? I spend a lot of times in public schools: my wife teaches at one and a few years ago I taught in some as a substitute teacher. And nothing has convinced me yet that what happened at the school in Russia is anywhere likely to happen here.
First of all, the hostage-takers in Beslan had a location from which to plan their attack. That's not so easy to pull off here, particularly if the supposed target is a school in a rural area or a small town. Those responsible for the Russian school incident had come from nearby Chechnya: they had ample opportunity to scope out the school and lay out details for the assault, all the while remaining inconspicuous. It would be VERY difficult for any group of people approaching the profile of the 9/11 terrorists to find a place in the United States from which to attack a school. Such a thing would require a minimum of ten such people (there were thirty of the Chechen group that held the school in Russia captive) and although a few might conspire to take over a few airliners, it would take MUCH more planning and coordination to consider a school as a target while keeping a low profile. That rules out any cause for concern on a national level.
Terrorists wanting bus routes?! Any given school system will have that information posted on its website. Not to mention that most publish their routes in newspapers prior to the beginning of each school year.
When was the last time you saw a shoe shiner or a flower peddler? For that matter, when was the last time you saw one named "Mohammad Atta"? To be succinct: just how DUMB does the federal government think we are?! Look, terrorists are NOT stupid: Boris and Natasha might get away with dressing like hobos to steal Bullwinkle's magic hat, but not a 27-year old man looking for potential sniper positions. They're smarter than that. And, they know that we're usually smart enough to KNOW that they're smarter than that.
"Observations of security drills"? Okay, what exactly is a "security drill"? My wife's school has fire drills and tornado drills, but this is the first I've ever heard of a "security drill". And they don't exactly come with much forewarning either. So unless a "street sweeper" is spending three weeks standing on the curb waiting for a school to have its monthly fire drill, there's nothing to worry about.
"People staring at or quickly looking away from employees..." So which is it? And "foot surveillance of campuses involving individuals working together" doesn't pass the smell test the least bit. Even when I was in elementary school many moons ago, ANYONE who looked out of place in a school without a visible visitor's pass of some kind was grounds for being halted by security or police. I saw it happen more than once. A public school isn't a place you can just walk around inside of without being noticed by the close-knit faculty and staff of the place... and if an individual couldn't get away with it, how could two or three or more? It's not like a group of Middle-Eastern strangers standing next to the water fountain aren't going to arouse some curiosity, after all.
Folks, this thing reeks of desperate electioneering on the part of the Bush campaign. This administration has spent the better part of the past three years creating and maintaining an atmosphere of dread and despair in this country, trying to make us paranoid enough to trust and rely on them without question. Heck, they don't even pretend they're not doing that anymore either: Vice-President Cheney practically threatened Americans with terrorism unless he and Bush were re-elected. And now these fearmongers are using public schools - and the children within them - to cultivate even more anxiety.
There's no sale here, 'cuz Bush's boys are hawking a bill of goods with this but I ain't buying.
U.S. Alerts Schools About Terror Threat
Thu Oct 7,12:28 PM ET
By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON - The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.
The warning follows an analysis by the FBI (news - web sites) and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan last month.
"The horror of this attack may have created significant anxiety in our own country among parents, students, faculty staff and other community members," Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said in a letter to schools and education groups.
The safety advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia incident. But there is "no specific information indicating that there is a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States," Hickok said.
Federal law enforcement officials also have encouraged local police to stay in contact with school officials and have encouraged reporting of suspicious activities, the letter says.
In particular, schools were told to watch for activities that may be legitimate on their own — but may suggest a heightened terrorist threat if many of them occur.
Among those activities:
_ Interest in obtaining site plans for schools, bus routes and attendance lists;
_ Prolonged "static surveillance" by people disguised as panhandlers, shoe shiners, newspaper or flower vendors or street sweepers not previously seen in the area;
_ Observations of security drills;
_ People staring at or quickly looking away from employees or vehicles as they enter or leave parking areas;
_ Foot surveillance of campuses involving individuals working together.
The effort is the latest by the Education Department and other federal agencies to encourage school officials to maintain and practice a plan for responding to emergencies.
After the terrorist takeover of the Russian school, President Bush (news - web sites) asked his top advisers to review their strategies for dealing with hostage situations, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has said.
The federal government is advising schools to take many steps to improve the security of their buildings. Those include installing locks for all doors and windows, having a single entry point into buildings and ensuring they can reach school bus drivers in an emergency.
The Education Department sent its letter by e-mail Wednesday to school police, state school officers, school boards, groups representing principals and many other organizations.
The Homeland Security Department also sent a bulletin Wednesday to federal, state and local emergency officials to provide fresh guidance based on the review of the school siege in Russia.
Take the president's last name and strategically insert two "l"s and an "it" and that's what this warning is full of.
Oh man, where to begin...? I spend a lot of times in public schools: my wife teaches at one and a few years ago I taught in some as a substitute teacher. And nothing has convinced me yet that what happened at the school in Russia is anywhere likely to happen here.
First of all, the hostage-takers in Beslan had a location from which to plan their attack. That's not so easy to pull off here, particularly if the supposed target is a school in a rural area or a small town. Those responsible for the Russian school incident had come from nearby Chechnya: they had ample opportunity to scope out the school and lay out details for the assault, all the while remaining inconspicuous. It would be VERY difficult for any group of people approaching the profile of the 9/11 terrorists to find a place in the United States from which to attack a school. Such a thing would require a minimum of ten such people (there were thirty of the Chechen group that held the school in Russia captive) and although a few might conspire to take over a few airliners, it would take MUCH more planning and coordination to consider a school as a target while keeping a low profile. That rules out any cause for concern on a national level.
Terrorists wanting bus routes?! Any given school system will have that information posted on its website. Not to mention that most publish their routes in newspapers prior to the beginning of each school year.
When was the last time you saw a shoe shiner or a flower peddler? For that matter, when was the last time you saw one named "Mohammad Atta"? To be succinct: just how DUMB does the federal government think we are?! Look, terrorists are NOT stupid: Boris and Natasha might get away with dressing like hobos to steal Bullwinkle's magic hat, but not a 27-year old man looking for potential sniper positions. They're smarter than that. And, they know that we're usually smart enough to KNOW that they're smarter than that.
"Observations of security drills"? Okay, what exactly is a "security drill"? My wife's school has fire drills and tornado drills, but this is the first I've ever heard of a "security drill". And they don't exactly come with much forewarning either. So unless a "street sweeper" is spending three weeks standing on the curb waiting for a school to have its monthly fire drill, there's nothing to worry about.
"People staring at or quickly looking away from employees..." So which is it? And "foot surveillance of campuses involving individuals working together" doesn't pass the smell test the least bit. Even when I was in elementary school many moons ago, ANYONE who looked out of place in a school without a visible visitor's pass of some kind was grounds for being halted by security or police. I saw it happen more than once. A public school isn't a place you can just walk around inside of without being noticed by the close-knit faculty and staff of the place... and if an individual couldn't get away with it, how could two or three or more? It's not like a group of Middle-Eastern strangers standing next to the water fountain aren't going to arouse some curiosity, after all.
Folks, this thing reeks of desperate electioneering on the part of the Bush campaign. This administration has spent the better part of the past three years creating and maintaining an atmosphere of dread and despair in this country, trying to make us paranoid enough to trust and rely on them without question. Heck, they don't even pretend they're not doing that anymore either: Vice-President Cheney practically threatened Americans with terrorism unless he and Bush were re-elected. And now these fearmongers are using public schools - and the children within them - to cultivate even more anxiety.
There's no sale here, 'cuz Bush's boys are hawking a bill of goods with this but I ain't buying.
"M-O-O-N, that spells 'dumb, dumb scientists'!"
Come on baby... Don't fear the Reaper
Baby take my hand... Don't fear the Reaper
We'll be able to fly... Don't fear the Reaper
Baby I'm your man...
Geez, has it really been over ten years since ABC first broadcast The Stand?
I first read the novel during spring break of my senior year of high school back in 1992, and to date it's the only Stephen King novel that I've read (apart from maybe 1/3rd of Dreamcatcher). The book is widely considered to be King's finest novel ever, and the t.v. movie was a ratings smash when it premiered in May of 1994. But in case you've never seen or read either, The Stand is about what happens after a strain of the influenza virus that was created for biowarfare by the U.S. military gets loose. During the first 300 pages or so of nearly 1200 from the uncut edition the virus (nicknamed "Captain Tripps") wipes out 99.9% of humanity... leaving the survivors to face the really bad stuff.
That was the fiction about thirty years ago. Now check out what some guys who obviously never read The Stand have done in reality (full article at BBC)...
Killer flu recreated in the lab
Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions.
A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice.
Animals exposed to this composite were dying within days of symptoms similar to those found in human victims of the 1918 pandemic.
The research is published in the journal Nature.
On the plus side, messin' around with flu like this could yield better vaccinations, especially when the next pandemic hits. But the bad thing is the flu virus mutates slightly - but just enough for any current vaccinations and antibodies to be useless - every few years... and anyone who's helping the virus shift its antigens like that wouldn't be doing us any favors if this bug got loose. But, just in case security around it does break down and you're one of a handful of people out of billions that might find this blog, here's some advice...
If you start dreaming about this guy...Run!! He promises wild times in Las Vegas but mostly attracts losers calling themselves "Trashcan Man" before getting crucified or incinerated. Don't be fooled by that smiley-face button he wears on his jacket either. Instead, look for this lady (if you're lucky enough to dream about her)... 
Mother Abigail is her name. She's a hundred and eight years old and still makes her own biscuits. Look for her in Hemingford Home, Nebraska. She's usually playing her guitar on the porch of her old house in the middle of a cornfield. You come see her... you and all your friends. 
(Images from The Stand from Melnik's The Stand site.)
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Do you know of ANYBODY who walks around dressed like this?
More evidence of my longstanding belief that fashion designers are terminally insane and should be dragged out into the street and shot for the good of mankind.
Even for a black-tie affair, this seems like more than a little overkill. I can't tell if that's supposed to be a man or a woman in that getup. Hit here for more follies from those feckless French fashion experts.
Even for a black-tie affair, this seems like more than a little overkill. I can't tell if that's supposed to be a man or a woman in that getup. Hit here for more follies from those feckless French fashion experts.
John Edwards meets Dick Cheney... almost 2 years ago!
The photo that EVERYONE will be looking at soon...
I've seen it pop up in a few places during the past couple of hours but Daily Kos (I'm gonna have to check this blog out more often: just discovered it a few days ago and this guy runs a good site) has good dirt on Edwards and Cheney meeting in January of 2003. Earlier tonight Cheney said that until this evening's debate he had never met Edwards before...
...which boggles my mind, 'cuz Cheney did pretty well in holding his own tonight (I took a break tonight, and just watched the repeat a little while ago). He certainly did better than Bush last week. I couldn't really tell where one candidate was better than the other though, though Cheney seemed more seething than the collected Edwards.
Still, why wouldn't Cheney remember meeting Edwards at least as recently as January 2003? And then the answer hit me...
Dick Cheney is a Time Lord from Gallifrey! Of course!
Explains a lot, doesn't it? Cheney obviously arrived sometime recently, met Edwards tonight and came to understand how big a mess the United States has become involved with in Iraq. He must have stolen Doctor Who's TARDIS (no wonder the poor guy's been on hiatus for the past 15 years) and gone back to the 1990s and taken over Halliburton so that he could later exploit all the money that the war had coming in. Y'see, the Cheney we saw tonight was the Cheney before he became Vice-President!
And those heart attacks? Why should he worry: Time Lords have two hearts after all.
Now, what would Cheney's "title" be as a Time Lord? I mean, on "Doctor Who" we saw the Doctor, the Master, the Raini, the Valeyard, the War Chieftain... how about "the Scowler"? Seriously Mr. Vice-President, you came across WAY too bulldogish tonight. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and you need attract all the flies you can get right now.
But if one needs any more proof that Cheney is a Time Lord, I offer up this photo evidence that proves Cheney is not only a Time Lord, but an evil one also, like the Master! Why else would he ally himself with the creator of the Daleks...
(Makes ya wonder if the Bush-bots are really hideous green blobs, doesn't it?)
I've seen it pop up in a few places during the past couple of hours but Daily Kos (I'm gonna have to check this blog out more often: just discovered it a few days ago and this guy runs a good site) has good dirt on Edwards and Cheney meeting in January of 2003. Earlier tonight Cheney said that until this evening's debate he had never met Edwards before...
...which boggles my mind, 'cuz Cheney did pretty well in holding his own tonight (I took a break tonight, and just watched the repeat a little while ago). He certainly did better than Bush last week. I couldn't really tell where one candidate was better than the other though, though Cheney seemed more seething than the collected Edwards.
Still, why wouldn't Cheney remember meeting Edwards at least as recently as January 2003? And then the answer hit me...
Dick Cheney is a Time Lord from Gallifrey! Of course!
Explains a lot, doesn't it? Cheney obviously arrived sometime recently, met Edwards tonight and came to understand how big a mess the United States has become involved with in Iraq. He must have stolen Doctor Who's TARDIS (no wonder the poor guy's been on hiatus for the past 15 years) and gone back to the 1990s and taken over Halliburton so that he could later exploit all the money that the war had coming in. Y'see, the Cheney we saw tonight was the Cheney before he became Vice-President!
And those heart attacks? Why should he worry: Time Lords have two hearts after all.
Now, what would Cheney's "title" be as a Time Lord? I mean, on "Doctor Who" we saw the Doctor, the Master, the Raini, the Valeyard, the War Chieftain... how about "the Scowler"? Seriously Mr. Vice-President, you came across WAY too bulldogish tonight. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and you need attract all the flies you can get right now.
But if one needs any more proof that Cheney is a Time Lord, I offer up this photo evidence that proves Cheney is not only a Time Lord, but an evil one also, like the Master! Why else would he ally himself with the creator of the Daleks...
(Makes ya wonder if the Bush-bots are really hideous green blobs, doesn't it?)
All they need are dilithium crystals and Starflee... I mean Air Force will be in business
Interesting science being reported in the San Francisco Chronicle: the U.S. Air Force is looking into harnessing antimatter for wartime use...
Ooh-boy... this can't possibly be a good thing. I mean, the scientists working on something like this are just as likely (more?) to blow themselves to Kingdom Come before any weapons even reach the battlefield! Mash here for the rest of the story.
Air Force pursuing antimatter weapons
Program was touted publicly, then came official gag order
Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Monday, October 4, 2004
The U.S. Air Force is quietly spending millions of dollars investigating ways to use a radical power source -- antimatter, the eerie "mirror" of ordinary matter -- in future weapons.
The most powerful potential energy source presently thought to be available to humanity, antimatter is a term normally heard in science-fiction films and TV shows, whose heroes fly "antimatter-powered spaceships" and do battle with "antimatter guns."
But antimatter itself isn't fiction; it actually exists and has been intensively studied by physicists since the 1930s. In a sense, matter and antimatter are the yin and yang of reality: Every type of subatomic particle has its antimatter counterpart. But when matter and antimatter collide, they annihilate each other in an immense burst of energy.
During the Cold War, the Air Force funded numerous scientific studies of the basic physics of antimatter. With the knowledge gained, some Air Force insiders are beginning to think seriously about potential military uses -- for example, antimatter bombs small enough to hold in one's hand, and antimatter engines for 24/7 surveillance aircraft.
More cataclysmic possible uses include a new generation of super weapons -- either pure antimatter bombs or antimatter-triggered nuclear weapons; the former wouldn't emit radioactive fallout. Another possibility is antimatter- powered "electromagnetic pulse" weapons that could fry an enemy's electric power grid and communications networks, leaving him literally in the dark and unable to operate his society and armed forces.
Following an initial inquiry from The Chronicle this summer, the Air Force forbade its employees from publicly discussing the antimatter research program. Still, details on the program appear in numerous Air Force documents distributed over the Internet prior to the ban.
These include an outline of a March 2004 speech by an Air Force official who, in effect, spilled the beans about the Air Force's high hopes for antimatter weapons. On March 24, Kenneth Edwards, director of the "revolutionary munitions" team at the Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida was keynote speaker at the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) conference in Arlington, Va.
Ooh-boy... this can't possibly be a good thing. I mean, the scientists working on something like this are just as likely (more?) to blow themselves to Kingdom Come before any weapons even reach the battlefield! Mash here for the rest of the story.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Rodney Dangerfield has passed away
Just now hitting the wires...
I don't care about the Vice-Presidential Debate anymore. I'm going to go to my bed and cry.
Godspeed, Rodney. You may have never known it, but you always had our respect.
EDIT 10/5/2004 09:12 PM EST: No comment necessary. From Rodney Dangerfield's official website. No notice of his passing yet but there is today's "Joke of the Day":
I don't care about the Vice-Presidential Debate anymore. I'm going to go to my bed and cry.
Godspeed, Rodney. You may have never known it, but you always had our respect.
EDIT 10/5/2004 09:12 PM EST: No comment necessary. From Rodney Dangerfield's official website. No notice of his passing yet but there is today's "Joke of the Day":
Promise to vote and Michael Moore might give you clean underwear
Parse this as you will...
Hit here for the rest.
State GOP says Michael Moore illegally offered underwear in exchange for voting
October 5, 2004, 6:19 PM
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The Michigan Republican Party is asking four county prosecutors to file charges against filmmaker Michael Moore, charging that he illegally offered underwear, noodles and snacks to college students in exchange for their promise to vote.
"We want everyone to participate in this year's election, but not because they were bribed or coerced by the likes of Michael Moore," said Greg McNeilly, executive director of the state Republican Party.
The GOP said it asked prosecutors in Wayne, Ingham, Antrim and Isabella counties to charge Moore with violating Michigan's election law. The law prohibits a person from contracting with another for something of value in exchange for agreeing to vote.
Moore, a native of Flint, is touring the country and imploring "slackers" who usually don't vote to head to the polls this year, saying they could make the difference in the presidential race.
Hit here for the rest.
"Team America: World Police"... rudest movie ever? Kewl!!
Seems like only yesterday that "The Spirit of Christmas" was still just an underground video we were downloading in those pre-Kazaa college days. Before "South Park" was even a glint in the eyes of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The boys have come a long way since then and with "Team America: World Police" it's sounding like they're gonna cement themselves as THE premiere satirists of these United States.
In all honesty, I never "got" the whole "South Park" craze. It was vulgar, but it could also be very funny and pointed at things that needed some jabbing anyway. But when your religion professor walks into the classroom one day and screams "BEEFCAKE!!" well... it all seemed a little nutty. To this day a Cartman t-shirt has never seen the inside of my closet. But I do still have my Bart Simpson shirt circa 1990: now THERE was a rebel that a guy could emulate!
Anyhoo, Stone and Parker are still working on it before the October 15th release date but I've heard enough good things about "Team America: World Police" already that I'm planning to catch it opening day next weekend. Take a gander at the trailer here but what REALLY sold me is the review on Ain't It Cool News by Moriarty, one of the movie authorities that I most respect. He's echoing what everyone else is saying: that "Team America" might be the crudest, rudest, most disgusting and offensive movie in the history of anything! F'rinstance, how does this sound as the refrain of a song:
Make of that what you will (and remember this movie is from the same two guys who used the word "sh-t" one hundred and sixty-two times during one 22-minute long episode of "South Park"). But if they're offensive, Stone and Parker are at least equal-opportunity offenders and will put the screws to anyone - be they Democrat, Republican or dumb animal - for sake of the high-brow/low-bar laugh.
In all honesty, I never "got" the whole "South Park" craze. It was vulgar, but it could also be very funny and pointed at things that needed some jabbing anyway. But when your religion professor walks into the classroom one day and screams "BEEFCAKE!!" well... it all seemed a little nutty. To this day a Cartman t-shirt has never seen the inside of my closet. But I do still have my Bart Simpson shirt circa 1990: now THERE was a rebel that a guy could emulate!
Anyhoo, Stone and Parker are still working on it before the October 15th release date but I've heard enough good things about "Team America: World Police" already that I'm planning to catch it opening day next weekend. Take a gander at the trailer here but what REALLY sold me is the review on Ain't It Cool News by Moriarty, one of the movie authorities that I most respect. He's echoing what everyone else is saying: that "Team America" might be the crudest, rudest, most disgusting and offensive movie in the history of anything! F'rinstance, how does this sound as the refrain of a song:
"The gays and the straights/The whites and the spades/Everyone... has AIDS!"
Make of that what you will (and remember this movie is from the same two guys who used the word "sh-t" one hundred and sixty-two times during one 22-minute long episode of "South Park"). But if they're offensive, Stone and Parker are at least equal-opportunity offenders and will put the screws to anyone - be they Democrat, Republican or dumb animal - for sake of the high-brow/low-bar laugh.
Remember John Wayne Bobbit? Well...
...I never thought that a real-life story involving the penis could be any weirder. Leave it to our friends in Eastern Europe to prove us wrong. From IOL:
Look at the bright side: at least the chicken was spared.
Dog has feast with owner's penis
October 04 2004 at 04:41PM
Bucharest - A elderly Romanian man mistook his penis for a chicken's neck, cut it off and his dog rushed up and ate it, the state Rompres news agency said on Monday.
It said 67 year-old Constantin Mocanu, from a village near the southeastern town of Galati, rushed out into his yard in his underwear to kill a noisy chicken keeping him awake at night.
"I confused it with the chicken's neck," Mocanu, who was admitted to the emergency hospital in Galati, was quoted as saying.
"I cut it... and the dog rushed and ate it."
Doctors said the man, who was brought in by an ambulance bleeding heavily, was now out of danger.
Look at the bright side: at least the chicken was spared.
Monday, October 04, 2004
"Don't Vote"? Might as well...
An associate sends along this from Daily Kos:
Kos is tending to think it's either a liberal or a conservative plot. I'm wondering if it's either: it sounds more like a stunt to pitch something (although Clear Channel has said that it's not for a product). Maybe it's for a new t.v. show: THAT has certainly been done before. When the original miniseries V ran back in 1983 NBC hired guys to put up "Visitors are your friends" posters then a few days before broadcast spray-paint the blood-red "V" all over 'em. More recently the marketing guys for the X-Men movie got a mob waving anti-mutant signs outside the Today Show window. What I'm trying to say is, I seriously doubt this is a legitimate thing to discourage some people from voting. It's more likely than not a clever marketing scheme, nothing more.
Although if there has been any election where "Don't Vote" is not only a viable choice but an attractive one, this year's is it.
Mysterious ad campaign: "DON'T VOTE"
by kos
Mon Oct 4th, 2004 at 06:15:45 GMT
This is weird.
A series of billboards around the Twin Cities that brazenly declare "DON'T VOTE" have angered civil rights activists.
Fifteen of the billboards have sprung up in Minneapolis, St. Paul and its suburbs in the last few days. Several are in areas with large minority populations, including the Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis, leading the NAACP and other groups to criticize even the suggestion that citizens shouldn't exercise the right to vote [...]
The billboards are owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc. Lee Ann Muller, the company's general manager for outdoor advertising in Minnesota, wouldn't say who is paying for the billboards, but said it's a "teaser" campaign and its full meaning would become clear soon.
"I made the judgment call that the end of the campaign has value and a positive message, positive benefits for the community," Muller said.
Kos is tending to think it's either a liberal or a conservative plot. I'm wondering if it's either: it sounds more like a stunt to pitch something (although Clear Channel has said that it's not for a product). Maybe it's for a new t.v. show: THAT has certainly been done before. When the original miniseries V ran back in 1983 NBC hired guys to put up "Visitors are your friends" posters then a few days before broadcast spray-paint the blood-red "V" all over 'em. More recently the marketing guys for the X-Men movie got a mob waving anti-mutant signs outside the Today Show window. What I'm trying to say is, I seriously doubt this is a legitimate thing to discourage some people from voting. It's more likely than not a clever marketing scheme, nothing more.
Although if there has been any election where "Don't Vote" is not only a viable choice but an attractive one, this year's is it.
WOO-HOO!!! NASA's monopoly broken! Private spaceflight begins TODAY!
368,000 feet straight to the bank. To the tune of $10 million.
A little while ago SpaceShipOne landed in Mojave, California. Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites has now won the Ansari X Prize, barely two months before the deadline. After more than forty years, manned spaceflight is no longer the sole province of major governments: anyone with a lil' creativity and the backing of a few investors can now soar past the atmosphere.
Congrats to Rutan and his entire team! They not only achieved all the goals of the Ansari X Prize, they also shattered the high-altitude record for an airplane. Now to break the next flight barrier: when individuals can hack out their own spaceships in their garages. Maybe this guy'll be the next pioneer.
A little while ago SpaceShipOne landed in Mojave, California. Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites has now won the Ansari X Prize, barely two months before the deadline. After more than forty years, manned spaceflight is no longer the sole province of major governments: anyone with a lil' creativity and the backing of a few investors can now soar past the atmosphere.
Congrats to Rutan and his entire team! They not only achieved all the goals of the Ansari X Prize, they also shattered the high-altitude record for an airplane. Now to break the next flight barrier: when individuals can hack out their own spaceships in their garages. Maybe this guy'll be the next pioneer.
It's not called the ASS-imilator for nothing
Spent the past few days since Saturday morning out of town, which included spending part of the day yesterday at Paramount Carowinds on the NC/SC border near Charlotte. We rode just about all the big rides 'cept the Vortex (the very first looping coaster that I ever rode) because it started raining. There's one I WON'T be riding again anytime soon: the new Borg Assimilator. Sorta like the Superman coaster at Six Flags in Atlanta, but you tilt backward instead of forward. This thing is scary as hell. I think it almost gave Lisa's Dad a cardiac infarction. Probably the first time in over ten years that something of Star Trek seriously frightened me.
And at the encouraging good word of a friend that I highly trust, I have started reading a new book: Black by Ted Dekker. I started reading the first 2 chapters Saturday night and had to give up 'cuz of drowsiness... which didn't help that in those first two chapters I wound up with no idea what this is supposed to be about. Still, it's part 1 of a trilogy that someone said was much like The Matrix saga, so my curiosity is piqued. I'll post a review later.
And at the encouraging good word of a friend that I highly trust, I have started reading a new book: Black by Ted Dekker. I started reading the first 2 chapters Saturday night and had to give up 'cuz of drowsiness... which didn't help that in those first two chapters I wound up with no idea what this is supposed to be about. Still, it's part 1 of a trilogy that someone said was much like The Matrix saga, so my curiosity is piqued. I'll post a review later.
Friday, October 01, 2004
So how come Charles Manson doesn't get to be a Supreme Court Justice?
Antonin Scalia. Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Probably THE most powerful conservative-leaning jurist (along with Clarence Thomas) on the bench anywhere in America.
He said the following earlier this week while speaking at a forum at his alma mater, Harvard University:
As noted by Vincent Bugliosi in his book Helter Skelter, encouraging orgies was one of the primary methods that Charles Manson used to re-program his disciples, even to the point that some of them would kill at his command. If I recall correctly, witness (and former Family member) Paul Watkins testified that Manson would get an orgy going and pass out LSD for everyone to use... except for Manson. He used a far less amount of acid so that he could maintain his faculties while controlling the orgy.
But I wouldn't really worry about Scalia's comments. At least, not until he starts playing the White Album over and over while claiming that the Beatles are sending him "vibes".
Mash here for more about Scalia at Harvard.
He said the following earlier this week while speaking at a forum at his alma mater, Harvard University:
"I even take the position that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged," Scalia said.
As noted by Vincent Bugliosi in his book Helter Skelter, encouraging orgies was one of the primary methods that Charles Manson used to re-program his disciples, even to the point that some of them would kill at his command. If I recall correctly, witness (and former Family member) Paul Watkins testified that Manson would get an orgy going and pass out LSD for everyone to use... except for Manson. He used a far less amount of acid so that he could maintain his faculties while controlling the orgy.
But I wouldn't really worry about Scalia's comments. At least, not until he starts playing the White Album over and over while claiming that the Beatles are sending him "vibes".
Mash here for more about Scalia at Harvard.
"It's made out of PEOPLE!!"
So, earlier tonight AMC was showing Escape from New York.
Then the tube was dominated by the Presidential Debate.
And now, right this moment, Turner South is running something I never thought that network would even know existed: Soylent Green.
There's a pattern at work here, I'm sure of it...
Then the tube was dominated by the Presidential Debate.
And now, right this moment, Turner South is running something I never thought that network would even know existed: Soylent Green.
There's a pattern at work here, I'm sure of it...
