Incoherent ramblings of an overworked computer geek who rarely has the sense to keep his mouth shut!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
All Hallow's Eve
History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.
-- Lazarus Long
And on that note arise pagans and let the party begin.
Tomorrow marks the 80th anniversary of Houdini's death (besides being Halloween).
Fearing spiritualists would exploit his legacy by pretending to contact him after his death, Houdini left his wife a secret code - ten words chosen at random from a letter written by Doyle - that he would use to contact her from the afterlife. His wife held yearly séances on Halloween for ten years after his death, but Houdini never appeared. In 1936, after a last unsuccessful seance on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel, she put out the candle that she had kept burning beside a photograph of Houdini since his death, later (1943) saying "ten years is long enough to wait for any man." The tradition of holding a séance for Houdini continues to this day, and is currently organised by Sidney H. Radner.
Never was a big fan of 80's Rock. In the 80's the guys I listened to never produced music that became known as 80's Rock. But there are exceptions...
I choose STM just because it's so weird, funny but still catchy. Of course PG had lots of great stuff, click the pic to go to you tube and find lots more.
Is Rush Limbaugh the biggest ass on the planet? Rhetorical question of course. And Hannity jumps right in.
ABC talk radio host Sean Hannity told "Good Morning America" that Fox deserved to be criticized.
"Michael J. Fox admits now that he stopped taking his medication prior to testifying before Congress," Hannity said. "You have a right to speak up, but he also has a right to be criticized."
Fox cut a highly emotional spot for several Democratic candidates, including Missouri's Senate candidate Claire McCaskill.
Limbaugh questioned whether Fox's very real physical tremors had been faked.
"In this commercial, he is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He is moving all around and shaking. And it's purely an act," Limbaugh said.
I'm no fan of public money for these causes either. http://indigenousgeek.blogspot.com/2004/10/calif-propositions.html as you can tell from this post 2 years ago. It's not about the science or morality but the way taxeaters lure us with promises then waste the money on themselves. You know, big research grant then a need for a conference. How about Pebble Beech? Big resort, I need a suite so I can work. Does that come with a complementary round of golf? Only $800 a night, let me get my expense card out.
I am against Bush and his fundamentalist supporters blocking research.
Yes, Fox may have an agenda and may have over done it but please where did Rush & Sean get their info. Simply made up to refute someone whose opinion differed from theirs. And a pretty fucking low blow to boot.
I had a very busy weekend including Friday so I really had not read much when I discovered Black Dog had removed his blog and I posted about it yesterday. Well catch up time and I looked at Howard Owens' Blog then went over to nl's and now I guess I have some insight.
What a fucking mess all that has become. I'm not sure I should comment too much as I'm not too sure I see the whole picture.
I didn't see much hope for The Elitist Press to begin with. Hey, myspace as a site to promote an alternative publishing source for Bakersfield? That place is a fucking mess. Teen hormones raging with pages so busy that content is rarer than meat at a Chinese buffet. (my apologies to those who have ms sites that are not - you know who I mean.) Well really, it might have been cool to see what they could have done after the demise of the Black Board. I guess there is no point in judging them when there was nothing to judge them by.
n.l., you shameless self promoter. How dare you question their motives. How dare they question yours. How dare either not. How can you have an alternative press and not be paranoid. (to think I quit smoking that shit years ago - I'm regressing)
Yep. Looking back on recent posts it's me posting You Tube. What can I say? We're getting down to crunch time on the election and where is all my ranting? Dunno. I just am not getting that worked up and that alone should make my family and friends suspicious. The prozac must be working.
The circle of life on the Internet is very cruel: When giant corporations take interest in online cultural phenomena, they instantly become exponentially less cool. From Napster to MySpace to "Snakes on a Plane" -- all stopped being a good thing once the Man showed up in the room.
In the wake of Google's acquisition of YouTube, parents groups are already calling for a safety czar to regulate the user-built video library, much like the one that MySpace appointed when News Corp. purchased that site. And is there anything that kills a party faster than a safety czar? In a sense, Google's purchase of YouTube will almost certainly kill YouTube.
Not economically, of course. After seeing photos of the company's free snack room for employees on Valleywag.com, I have little doubt in Google's ability to make money hand over fist for as long as I'm alive. As a physical presence, YouTube will be bigger than ever, becoming as trendy as "High School Musical" videos, screw-top wine and "Vote for Pedro" T-shirts.
I'm going to do a little more thinking, lay off the drugs and maybe get my rant drive going. Maybe make some political bs for all three of my regualr readers.
Supreme Court rejects Texas sex-toy case WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider whether a Texas law making it a crime to promote sex toys shaped like sexual organs is unconstitutional.
An adult bookstore employee in El Paso, Texas, sued the state after his arrest for showing two undercover officers a device shaped like a penis and telling the female officer the device would arouse and gratify her. ..... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ ap/20061002/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_sex_toys
As someone noted it's easier to buy a gun than a vibrator in Texas.
"CNN is reporting that former Congressman Mark Foley's instant messages were not only sexually inappropriate, but were also full of typos. In his own defense, Foley said, 'It's hard to type with one hand.'." --Conan O'Brien
If democracy can be said to have temples, the Lincoln Memorial is our most sacred. You stand there silently contemplating the words that gave voice to Lincoln's fierce determination to save the union - his resolve that "government of, by, and for the people shall not perish from the earth." On this latest visit, I was overcome by a sense of melancholy. Lincoln looks out now on a city where those words are daily mocked. This is no longer his city. And those people from all walks of life making their way up the steps to pay their respect to the martyred president - it's not their city, either. Or their government. This is an occupied city, a company town, and government is a subservient subsidiary of richly endowed patrons.
Once upon a time the House of Representatives was known as "the people's house." No more. It belongs to K Street now. That's the address of the lobbyists who swarm all over Capitol Hill. There are 65 lobbyists for every member of Congress. They spend $200 million per month wining, dining and seducing federal officials. Per month!
I've lived in Bakersfield long enough to know that talkin' 'bout Texas can bring y'all a heap o' trouble. (did I get enough apostrophies in there?) It seems we have our share of natives or sons of here. It's been years since I visited the Lone Star State (and that ain't much of a beer either). It always seemed a world apart, but so does most of the South to this pure in the wool left coaster.
As such, neither of these stories surprises me. Just keep remebering this is the state that elected the loser GWB and finally brought him to the White House.
FRISCO, Texas -- An award-winning Texas art teacher who was reprimanded after one of her fifth-grade students saw a nude sculpture during a trip to a museum has lost her job.
The school board in Frisco has voted not to renew Sydney McGee's contract after 28 years. She has been on administrative leave.
The teacher took her students on an approved field trip to a Dallas museum, and now some parents are upset.
The Fisher Elementary School art teacher came under fire last April when she took 89 fifth-graders on a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. Parents raised concerns over the field trip after their children reported seeing a nude sculpture at the art museum.
The parents had signed permission slips allowing their children to take part in the field trip. .....
Last week a parent in Texas decided he wanted a book banned from the school curriculum. Turns out he should have read it first... Posted by amused Klep on Oct. 02, 2006. ..... Turns out the Verms should have read the book first, and maybe paid attention to the date. You see, last week was Banned Books Week, a week in which the ALA celebrates the first amendment and cautions against the dangers of banning books. As though that weren't amusing enough, this particular book: Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.
Fahrenheit 451 is a classic novel. You probably read it yourself in school; I know I did. In it, Bradbury paints a dystopian future, one in which the job of a fireman is not to put out fires, but rather to set them in order to burn books, as all books have been banned. That's right. Alton Verm chose Banned Books Week to seek the banning of a book, the major theme of which is the problems to be faced by a society when access to literature and similarly recorded knowledge is restricted or entirely curtailed.
