ScaramoucheBlog

Oh yeah, yes, it is true....

2008-11-04T23:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, Yeah, Sure. Yes, Yeah, Sure. Yes, Yeah, Sure. Yes,Yeah, Sure,Yes, Yeah, Sure. No other words. OMG it's true.

Techie Tuesday: Ready for the Digital Conversion?

2008-10-30T00:42:00.000-07:00

Get rid of those Rabbit Ears...

Techie Tuesday: Can't Tase Me Bro

2008-10-21T23:46:00.000-07:00

Groundbreaking technology as reported by Gizmodo, the Thor Shield:

The "Thor Shield" was designed for police officers but sure to be more popular amongst protesters and other people who piss off police officers. It uses a layer of foil in the vest to draw the current of the taser, keeping your body nice and jolt-free.

Or as it says at it's own site:

Thor Shield (TS) is a protective fabric lining that provides protection from non-lethal energy weapons such as TASER(TM)*, Stun Guns and animal control devices such as cattle prods. The product has been tested with stun products up to 900,000 volts.

I wrote about Taser company over 4 years ago. They are still using the same Matrix, "be agent Smith" animation. Either they are cheap in the online marketing, or they still think that message still resonates.

Barak Saves McCain

2008-10-20T23:16:00.000-07:00

Great photoshops from WFMU's Beware of the Blog:

(via Everlasting Blort)

Exhaling into Palin

2008-10-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Gotta love the American knack for making a buck. As Topco Sales says in their press release:

The sexy 'This is Not Sarah Palin Inflatable Love Doll' won't debate you—and that's a good thing. Her wide-open mouth doesn't spew political bipartisanism because she's just waiting for you to 'drill baby, drill.' Two other openings offer alternate ways to lay a pipeline in this Alaskan MILF.

Reminds of the old song by the Police, Be My Girl

Excerpt:

And so I sit her in the corner
And sometimes stroke her hair
And when Im feeling naughty
I blow her up with air

Shes cuddly and shes bouncy,
Shes like a rubber ball,
I bounce her in the kitchen
And I bounce her in the hall

Dastardly Joe Cassano - Culprit

2008-10-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight Anderson Cooper led with the story that Joseph Cassano is the face responsible behind the failure of AIG.

Countdown until we find out that Cassano contributed to Obama's campaign: 3...2...1...

At first blush, he left the company a while ago. However he could not have operated in a vacuum to drive the company to ruin. Without the deregulation, repeal of the Glass-Steagull Act, AIG could never have over extended themselves to the point of ruin.

He is most likely another asshole who gamed the system, but who the hell wrote the rules of the game? Does Phil Graham, the GOP, John McCain and all those other champions of reduce-taxes-free-market-deregulation ring a bell?

That said, I think Obama's campaign should forward a check equal to that of this asshole's campaign donation to the US treasury.

Just sayin'...

Halloween: Sarah Palin

2008-10-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin costume for Halloween or Gay Pride:

(via Other Crap & Gawker)

Winkers for Wankers

2008-10-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

That's right, Winkers for Wankers.

Sad, but true...

Dow Goes South

2008-10-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Remember 10 years ago when this was a concern that rivaled the Y2K glitch:

Programmers in the stock and securities industries, never anticipating the meteoric rise of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, have written some applications that support only four digits, experts said. If the Dow hits 10,000, and it was hovering at around 9,200 last week, certain automated trading operations might not work properly, they said.

"Trading organizations face massive exposure if the [Dow] passes 10,000 and their systems interpret it as 1,000 or 0,000," said analyst Andy Kyte in a Gartner Group report. "Computer-based trading systems could interpret the '10,000' event as a catastrophic crash."

Thank god we have nothing to worry about...

Unfortunate Pick of Covers

2008-09-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

How similar are the front and back covers?

(via DailyMail)

Free Market Ain't Free if it Costs us a Trillion Dollars

2008-09-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Email making the rounds:

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

(via The Nation)

Mariachis for Obama

2008-09-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

(via Presurfer)

Where Republicans are Hiding During Current Crisis

2008-09-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Keeping up with the Memes

2008-04-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

Even the Muppets...

If you don't get it, here's a hint.

Jeriamiah Wright is a Bull Frog

2008-03-21T02:59:00.000-07:00

Let the YouTube do the talking...

Update: (h/t Mad Kane)

Obama Sings: ‘Jeremiah’s Bull is My Bog’

Jeremiah’s Bull is my bog
He WAS a good friend of mine
I never did endorse a single word he said
‘Bout the whites he did malign
And he seemed to cross a mighty wide line
Singin’…

Joy to McCain
Helping the insane, now
Joy to the haters in the deep red sea
Pain for you and me

If I were, the Prez of U.S.
Tell you what I’d do
Throw away the scars, gas guzzling cars and the war
And give peace doves to you
Sing it now…

Joy to McCain
Helping the insane, now
Joy to the haters in the deep Wright sea
Electoral loss for you and me

You know I’d love the ladies
To dump Hillary just for fun
I’m a unifier, rainbow coalition rider
I’d like to shoot that son-of-a-gun
Er, I mean a straight shootin’ son-of-a-gun

Joy to McCain
Helping the insane, now
Joy to the haters in the deep red sea
Suicide for you and me

The Perfect Democratic Candidate?

2008-03-16T23:13:00.001-07:00

(via the Presurfer)

Barack Obama is not the Anti-Christ

2008-03-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

This tiny blog has been getting an ginormous amount of hits from Google searches for Barack Obama antichrist. This started when I reported back in August, 2004, the reaction to Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention.

C'mon, wouldn't the Anti-Christ come as a wolf in sheep's clothing? Profess to be an agent of the Lord and then unleash the dogs of war; go back to the cradle of civilization and kill innocents; deny health care to impoverished children; pollute the very earth that we hold stewardship of; imprison and torture people and then not visit; or put the mark on everyone for surveillance?

That doesn't sound Like Barack Obama, nor Hillary Clinton. Sounds like someone else.

Also, the revered and great theologian, John Hagee (John McCain supporter), said the same on tape that Obama is not the Anti-Christ>

If that is not enough, take comfort in the idea that Obama is really the Kwisach Hadreach .

I Always Like Mary Ann Better Than Ginger

2008-03-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Report: Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," is serving six months' unsupervised probation after allegedly being caught with marijuana in her car...

Woot! Finally a New Democratic Sex Scandal!

2008-03-11T20:23:00.001-07:00

There has been a decade drought, nay, a dearth of sex scandals by Democratic politicians. Until now, we sex scandal aficionados have only been offered the tawdry pablum of GOP officials caught with their drawers down engaging in some kinky shit, or upgrading their wives after cheating on them. It has been a long while since we have had a real good sex scandal by a Democrat.

Finally we've got some British-tabloid level crank with a guv'nor, no less. If you don't know what I'm talking about just turn of your TV.

Alright then, the story as we know it today: Eliot Spitzer, the first-term Governor of New York has been implicated in using the services of Call Girls, Hookers, Whores what have you provided by an outfit known as the Emperors Club. Their rates went by a rating only the Michelin Guide could envy - Diamonds in lieu of forks.

Commercial Break: Diamond Girl by Seals & Croft

These Diamond Girls cost plenty and, who knows, maybe they are worth it.

But what make this scandal luscious is how many rhymes match his name with the added bonus that with all the calls for resignation or his impeachment, he has yet to be indicted for anything.

Amongst all the clamor and criticism, Dr. Laura takes the cake.

Shorter version: If his wife was a swallorer and not a Spitzer he wouldn't be going to other women...

Knowledge You Can Live Without

2008-01-20T16:30:00.001-08:00

Dr. Zachary Smith's Monikers for the Robot

Science: Resistance is Futile

2008-01-20T13:26:00.000-08:00

Fighting: Bring Both

2008-01-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

Fischer: Check and Mate

2008-01-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

Xmas Cruelty to Pets

2007-12-23T16:16:00.001-08:00

Here is a load of pics showing what some people will do to their pets...

War on Christmas Gone Wrong

2007-12-23T13:48:00.000-08:00

Somehow the rest of the world doesn't get it.

(via The Presurfer)

Sex - Not Writing About It!

2007-12-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

A lot of politics, some religion and not so much about sex. Why is that?

Well, for the most part all the clips and articles about sex are mostly about Republican sex. Lurid shit. And badly done at that. Wide stance, indeed!

It reminds me of a Human Sexuality seminar on a college campus where the guest speaker starts off with one of those public speaking tricks to increase interaction with the audience:

"So, by a raise of hands I would like to conduct an informal survey. Who has had sex in the last week?"

The crowd goes nuts with waving hands.

"No honestly, who has sex in last month?"

The crowd, still rambunctious erupts in a lot of hand waving.

"I'm serious about this, how many only have had sex once every six months?"

Properly chastened, in the crowd only a few brave souls raise their hands.

"Well, who has sex only once a year?"

Unexpectedly, from the back row is a voice saying, "Me, me!"

The speaker taken aback asks, "Why are you so exited?"

"It's tomorrow, it's tomorrow!"

Youtube Morning: Some Papa John Creach

2007-12-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning feeling somewhat nostalgic. I had a hankering for a bit of the wicked violin rifts of Papa John Creach with a side dish of Hot Tuna:

Not totally sated I thought I'd follow through with a smattering of John Barleycorn:

That flute music sprung up a desire, for what might seem a odd choice, for Xmas music:

Poli-Sci-Fi: Planetary Politics

2007-12-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

I don't know how I missed this one from a few weeks ago from the WSJ:

Have the worlds of science fiction and presidential politics ever been more closely aligned than they were in 2007?

I ask myself that every other day...Yet here are some choice tidbits from the article worth reading.

But really, is it all that remarkable that Romney would identify with the story of a virtuous hero who saves Earth from a foreign invasion force? Or that several candidates have embraced science fiction when so many of them could benefit from its lessons? As the primary season approaches, we offer a few sci-fi suggestions to some of the Democratic and Republican contenders — and to a few major players on the periphery who could use the remedial reading.

Now let's get down to the recommended reading list, shall we?

RUDOLPH GIULIANI
Former mayor of New York

Should tell reporters he’s read “Childhood’s End,” by Arthur C. Clarke: An advanced intelligence arrives from above, creating a utopia by integrating all of humanity into a single mind that thinks and acts as one.

Might also consider reading “The War of the Worlds,” by H. G. Wells: During a cataclysmically destructive event, an observant bystander happens to be in the right place at the right time and thereafter never stops talking about it.

Not to be partisan, or such:

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Senator from New York

Should tell reporters she’s read “Dune,” by Frank Herbert: Left adrift to wander in a desert wasteland, the scion of a deposed dynasty retakes the family’s lost throne in thrilling and violent fashion.

Might also consider reading Herbert’s “Children of Dune”: A calculating despot undergoes the ultimate act of political triangulation by transforming himself into a part-human, part-worm creature and going on to rule for what feels like 3,500 years.

This one takes the cake and the spikes punch bowl with it:

GEORGE W. BUSH
President of the United States

Should tell reporters he’s read “Ender’s Game,” by Orson Scott Card: A gifted child from a privileged family defeats a race of inhuman warriors without ever having to leave the comfort of his war-simulator machine.

Might also consider reading “A Scanner Darkly,” by Philip K. Dick: A troubled law enforcer invites a series of increasingly desperate, damaged characters into his home and lives to regret the decision.

Funny read with lot more of your favorite pols...

(via sfsignal)

What if Jesus was running for Prez?

2007-12-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

Could Jesus be are our next President?

Apart from the minor constitutional issues:

-Not Born in America
-Not quite 35 years of age

Could Jesus be be elected in the current political climate?

Let's examine his reported political convictions:

-Political terrorism: Live by the sword die by the sword...
-Taxation: Render unto Caesar that which is Cesar's...
-Health Care for Kids: Suffer the little children...
-How they will know they are Christian: By their love, by their love...
-America: Forgive them Father for that which do not know...
-Hardest thing he has accomplished: Tied his ass to a tree and walked into town...

Well, could he be elected or get serious TV coverage?

Probably not, as he has not proposed a serious tax reduction plan. Talking about the poor, the meek, the down-trodden (fancy word for stomped on) does not fit into the media playbook about 'serious' candidates.

Jesus sounds too much like a populist, a rabble rouser, and his name sounds too much like an immigrant to gain any traction with our nativist crowd. Plus that kind of talk will get you strung up around these parts.

Peace on earth is not once mentioned in the Gospel alongside the word Democracy, or in any religious text I have ever read.

So, Jesus would probably have not run on the issue of Democracy in the Middle East, but on a platform that promised peace and goodwill to all mankind...

Mormons Can Rock

2007-12-12T23:22:00.000-08:00

Not sure if they can dance...

Seriously, WTF?

2007-12-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

Awesome New Invention: The Back Up - Watch more free videos

America Doesn't Torture

2007-12-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

We honestly don't do torture and we destroyed the pictures to prove that. I mean, without pictorial evidence no one will ever believe we engaged in such nefarious conduct.

Besides, if we did engage in torture (not saying that we did) it was done with the best intentions. It would have, if we did it, saved the lives of countless AMERICANS, and the children of of Americans, or American children, so what's the harm? Did I mention children?

C'mon, the average Marine goes through a simulated regimen of torture to toughen them up in case the are ever interrogated by the enemy. There is nothing like breaking a recruit down and building them back up to be tough ass-kicking soldiers.

Never mind that some lily-pansied peaceniks consider it a war crime that might be punishable by death, we are extracting information that will make you safe. Because somewhere you want us there - standing between you and the savages that will come and destroy the comforts that we have given you, while grotesque to you, it saves lives!

If not, take up a rifle and stand guard, because you need us there, because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want us there doing that.

But that is all a hypothetical, since we do don't do that. We don't torture.

God Bless America!

Dogs of War

2007-12-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

I keep coming back to this site and laughing uncontrollably: Dog Armor

The accompanying text: I can make you a set of steel dog armor like this for 500$. Your dog will need to be a pitbull shaped dog around 65lbs or Ill need your dog here in person to get the fit right.

But it doesn't stop there.

Bonus Pic:

I think this is Susie Madrak's worse nightmare!

Where I've Been

2007-12-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

Today I was asked where I've been. Then, "I thought you died," she said.

My response, "Worse. I got a new job!"

Poli-Sci-Fi: Time Travel

2007-10-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

Al Franken and Ann Coulter were once on panel and were asked the hypothetical if you could go back in time a be someone who would you be? Their answers are very telling, in a left-right sort of way, of what are the priorities for each.

This reminded me of a post I drafted back in October of 2004. There was an exchange of messages between 2 guys who changed, reversed actually, their political leanings between 9/ll and the invasion of Iraq. One says he grew up a liberal and be came a Bush supporter after the terrorist attack. The other grew up conservative and became much more progressive after seeing the disastrous course Bush plunged the country in the aftermath of donning the mantle of Commander-in-Chief.

Their discourse reached a pinnacle in this missive from the newly born-again conservative to his newly born-again liberal friend*:

If I had a time machine...and it only had enough power to be used once...I would not go back in time and play the stock market... I wouldn't kill Hitler as a baby... Nor would I do what any sensible straight man would do, fuck Madonna before she got famous...

No...I would go back to 1993...walk into the OHP offices and show you that one day you would have a web page with all of your political/social/economic views... and that it's linked with other web pages such as leaningleft.com and liberalnews.com... and watch you slit your wrists...

Personally I'm not a fan of time travel fictions. Most of it seems trite and repetitive. But, then again, I never imagined I use it to go back to win an argument - that seems to be a conservative mind set.

The simple message is conservatives can't be trusted with time machines.

*I think I found this at the now defunct Jon's Mind.

Coutler Perfected and Naked Michele Malkin

2007-10-20T00:53:00.000-07:00

Maxim offers their version of Ann Coulter Perfected:

Promised bonus - the naked soul of Michelle Malkin.

Christopher Hitchens is all tinglely...

2007-10-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Halloween, the formerly hirsute Christopher Hitchens, has a makeover:

Hitchens, who's writing a three-part series in Vanity Fair on self-improvement, visited the J Sisters on Friday for a full male Brazilian bikini wax, which his editor-in-chief Graydon Carter gleefully described four months ago as "the back, the crack and the sack."

I guess this is his costume this year.

Chess for a Crack Master

2007-09-09T01:10:00.000-07:00

The ultimate for a handicapped game of chess

(via Grow-a-Brain)

New Rules

2007-09-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

Bill Maher's latest

I liked this quote:

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. - Bertrand Russell

Fred Thompson is Smoking Hot

2007-09-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

Smoking hot? Maybe smoking pot!

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Freshly minted GOP White House hopeful Fred Thompson puzzled Iowans yesterday by insisting an Al Qaeda smoking ban was one reason freedom-loving Iraqis bolted to the U.S. side.

"They said, 'You gotta quit smoking,'" Thompson explained to a questioner asking about progress in Iraq during a town hall-style meeting.

Thompson said the smoking ban and terror tactics Al Qaeda used to oppress women and intimidate local leaders pushed tribes in western Anbar Province to support U.S. troops.

But Thompson's tale of a smokers' revolt baffled some in the audience of about 150 who came to decide whether the former Tennessee senator is ready for prime time.

I guess he bought into what Lindsey Graham was selling about his latest bivouac in Iraq:

...They tried to impose a lifestyle that is counter to what Iraqis wish for themselves," he said. The Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq even tried to ban smoking, he noted

Often I think Graham has a secret life...

as this guy...

Joke , Not a Joke...

2007-09-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

Young George Bush Drinking Joke

George W Bush, back when he was a "drinking man", walked into a bar.
He ordered five beers and drank them all down.
He then ordered four beers and proceeded to drink them as well.
With a confused look on his face, he stared down at the empty beer bottles in front of him.
He ordered another three beers and finished them of as before.
Now he looked really confused.
Looking around in bewilderment, he cautiously ordered another two.

The bartender, curious at the young George W's confusion asked him what was the matter, to which George W replied 'I don't know what's going on but, the less beers I drink, the more drunk I get'.

This not a joke:

Even for someone as gaffe-prone as US President George W Bush, he was in rare form on Friday, confusing Apec with Opec and transforming Australian troops into Austrians. President Bush’s tongue started slipping almost as soon as he started talking at a business forum on the eve of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Sydney.
“Mr Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction,” he told Prime Minister John Howard. “Thank you for being such a fine host for the Opec summit .”
As the audience of several hundred people erupted in laughter , Mr Bush corrected himself and joked, “He invited me to the Opec summit next year.”Australia has never been a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Later in his speech, Mr Bush recounted how Mr Howard had gone to visit “Austrian troops” last year in Iraq. There are, in fact, no Austrian troops there. But Australia has about 1,500 military personnel in and around the country.

Still confused...

Premature Conflaguration

2007-08-29T00:51:00.000-07:00

Burning Man came a few days early.

BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada -- Flames engulfed Burning Man's giant namesake sculpture five days early during a rare total lunar eclipse early Tuesday. Fire crews put the fire out, while onlookers cheered. Details remain sketchy at this time, although there have been unconfirmed reports of arson or a possible electrical malfunction. One person was arrested, according to a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal.

OK, here's the perp!

Paul Addis, 35, of San Francisco, was booked into the Pershing County, Nev., jail on suspicion of arson, illegal possession of fireworks, destruction of property and resisting a public officer, according to the sheriff's department. He posted a $25,632 bond, a sheriff's dispatcher said.

An arsonist at Burning Man, what are the chances?

My prediction is his defence will be it was a total eclipse of the heart!

Summer Vacation is Over

2007-08-29T00:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the hiatus. Time to get back to writing on this blog - if I am still able.

Well, here goes...

Wine and Laments

2007-07-05T02:22:00.000-07:00

I killed my ol' trusty laptop with the help of some stemware and an errant hand, knocking the shiraz on to the keyboard.

Lost data and regrets that I didn't backup the hard drive.

It's amazing how much time you can waste on getting a legacy machine to work on the intertubes...

Still, no YouTube for me till I come up with a better plan, i.e. $$$.

Romney Does Not Believe in Dog

2007-06-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Would you strap your family pooch to the roof of your station wagon for a 12-hour family trek from Boston to Ontario?

Emotion-free Mitt Romney would, and did:

Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack. He'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog.[ed. Aw, that's nice of him]

Then Romney put his boys on notice: He would be making predetermined stops for gas, and that was it.[ed. Did you tell Seamus? Did you?]

The ride was largely what you'd expect with five brothers, ages 13 and under, packed into a wagon they called the ''white whale.''[ed. "Mom, he's looking at me." "I gotta pee." "Stop looking at me, queer-bait!" "Are we there yet?" "Dad, what's queer-bit?"]

As the oldest son, Tagg Romney commandeered the way-back of the wagon, keeping his eyes fixed out the rear window, where he glimpsed the first sign of trouble. ''Dad!'' he yelled. ''Gross!'' A brown liquid was dripping down the back window, payback from an Irish setter who'd been riding on the roof in the wind for hours.[ed. Yep, Seamus the Setter sadly soiled himself in payback.]

As the rest of the boys joined in the howls of disgust, Romney coolly pulled off the highway and into a service station. There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, then hopped back onto the highway. It was a tiny preview of a trait he would grow famous for in business: emotion-free crisis management.

In all fairness, the straight-forward and vacuous Mitt probably asked the dog where he'd like to sit.

And Seamus responded,"Roof, roof!"

(Via Swampland)

Anne Coulter Rehabiltated

2007-06-27T02:14:00.000-07:00

After a semi-exile, Ann Coulter is back and working the circuit. First she goes on Good Morning America and says, “if I’m going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot.”

Then she is on Chris Matthew's Hardball while taking a call from Elizabeth Edwards, who asks politely asks Coulter to stop the personal attacks bcause it lowers our political dialogue precisely at the time that we need to raise it.

The final exhcange went like this:

E: …the language of hate, and I’m going to ask you again to politely stop using personal attacks as part of your dialogue.

C: Okay, I’ll stop writing books.

E: If you can’t write them without them, that is fine.

The problem is Counter can't write her books (or open her trap) without the bilious blabber she is famous for spewing, it's her thing, her schtick, her raison d'etre. The old saw of,"If you don't have anyhing nice to say, then don't say anything at all." Juz' plain doesn't work for her.

That's why she's back. It's infotaiment mascarading as information.

Engaging & to the Point

2007-06-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

This animation is awesome.

The best part is, after trying to kill each other, they shake hands - that really captures the essence of the sport.

Incarcerex: Watch Out for the Side-Effects

2007-06-22T00:20:00.000-07:00

(via MeFi)

Bush's Missing Watch for Sale on eBay

2007-06-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

The purloined timepiece is now being offered on Ebay by two different sellers.

One is from the Australia: George Bush's Watch - Awaiting arrival from Albania (via Kazakhstan).

The other is from UK: George Bush's watch, barely functional but a good laugh .

This is further fodder for my thesis that all outstanding news stories find their way to eBay.

Update: On a slightly related tract, this is kind of weird, "There were grumblings over its parliament's decision to strip Albanian security forces of their weapons during President Bush's recent visit, but support for the U.S. remains high."

Is Google Sexist?

2007-06-11T23:21:00.001-07:00

Click to enlarge.

Stuffed Toy Urn - Worst Idea Evar...

2007-06-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

This is not as weird as snorting the remains of the departed, but stuffing the cremated remains into a teddy bear, creeps me out.

Boy! I have never talked to my Dad so much in my whole life as I have since he passed. Not only has he guided me every step of the way in the creation of Huggable Urns but he also has guided me in my personal life.
(snip)
It gives me such comfort to be able to pick up my Teddy Bear and give my Dad a hug anytime I want to especially during my personal hard times. By having my Dad in my Huggable Teddy Bear I can bring him with me to all of our family gatherings.

I can see that family gathering where you try to take this on an airplane. Then stopped at securty to explained what all the powder is in the toy bear.

I hope Pops doesn't end up in the ol'Eureka courtesy of the TSA.

He ain't heavy, he's my brother...

2007-06-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

My big brother slipped away yesterday. His heart gave out while waiting for the surgery to fix the defect.

Only nine years older than me, he was the male role model in my life. A single mom raised two boys with no father. He stood in when I was small, carrying me to the house from the car when I feigned sleeping.

He sparked my interest in fencing. We used to battle in the backyard with pots on our heads, using garbage can lids as shields and slats from peach crates, which we carved into swords. Big brothers teach little brothers to duck, swerve and run real fast.

We didn't always get along, I still hold the grugde about when he shot me in the back with the BB gun when I was nine. Yet we were close. He lived with me for the last 6 years after our mom past away. During the last 6 months of her life, he quit his job to take care of her. The homecare nurses were astounded that the boys took care of the ailing mother. I'm suprised that they found it unusual.

Lately, his health had been poor but his death was unexpected for me. It had been at the back of my mind in a "what if" scenario. Yet my big brother should have won this round. Even though for last two months I helped him up and down the stairs protecting him against a fall.

In a funny way, I became the "big" brother.

The title of this post refers to song that I never read the lyrics before. I always joked with him about the line, but I didn't really understand the underlying meaning.

So when I read, earlier today, these lines the tears finally burst through:

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

He had a big, big heart. A heart that eventually gave out.

God, I miss him...

Prime Numbers Blogrollo Meme

2007-05-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

Tired of visiting the same old blogs? Missing a bit of the ol'serendipity?

Try this voyage:

Start with your favorite blog (probably your own)and visit the number 2 blog on their blogroll. Then go on the to the 3rd blog on the next blog's blogoll. And so on, like 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 113...until you crap out.

Then tag them with this meme.

However, if you feel like it, you start counting from the last blog blogrolled.

Let me know how it turns out, OK?

Stuff and random thoughts

2007-05-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

Does the number 1 Google search result on hernia need to defy all web design principles and be so ugly?

Those poor whales, who decided to name them after a shitty Helen Reddy hit deserves to be tossed into the bay and swim home.

Who would Jesus Napalm?I hope this Liberty University student gets fined above and beyond their regular infractions.

Anniversary Post

2007-05-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

It's been 3 years since I have opened this online epistle.

I started out with vim and lately lost the vigor, or the other way around.

I have thought of pulling the plug on this humble blog due to real life exigincies.

Where to start? My brother's health has taken a turn for the worse. Heart surgery is planned soon. Besides his double hernia, it seems that he suffered a couple of heart attacks, but with the pain and vicodin, it went un-noticed.

I don't fully understand that.

There is more, which I don't feel like talking about right now. Maybe soon, when I get a grasp on how things will turn out...

I love you all.

Visible Progress in Iraq

2007-04-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Take a look how we've converted one of Saddam's palaces. Click on the change view button.

It sure looks like we've let the lawns go to hell....

If you don't see a picture try this link, also for more info.

(via grow-a-brain)

Man is wolf to man

2007-04-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

Thirty-three killed and 15 wounded during a few hours of Horror at Va. Tech. Lives irrevocably changed, for the survivors and the families in mourning.

Violence and violent death scars a community. Grief counselors are already rushing to the scene to console and counsel those impacted. At the same time every idiot with an agenda wants to make point. More guns, less guns, more police and so on...

Politicians will join in with their pet policy proposals and surf this wave of grief. And most of country will get days of news flashes with predigested points of view and be told that something must be done. Done now, Damnit!

What will be lost is that each person dead will have a circle of family and friends grieving and being affected in their way; the injured will have scars to carry for life.

Will they react with thoughts of fear, revenge, or empathy for fellow sufferers around the world?

Will the national news descend like crows and document their despair? How will the paparazzi of tradgedy treat their stories?

I am not optimistic that this will not be exploited.

Will anyone notice that nearly 300 Iraqis Killed or Wounded in Day of Rage just this last Saturday?

I doubt it...

Kilgore Trout is in a Better Place

2007-04-11T23:44:00.000-07:00

And so is Kurt Vonnegut - Dead at 84 :

Mr. Vonnegut suffered irreversible brain injuries as a result of a fall several weeks ago, according to his wife, Jill Krementz.

Mr. Vonnegut wrote plays, essays and short fiction. But it was his novels that became classics of the American counterculture, making him a literary idol, particularly to students in the 1960s and ’70s. Dog-eared paperback copies of his books could be found in the back pockets of blue jeans and in dorm rooms on campuses throughout the United States.

May his next Breakfast with Champions be in Vahalla...

Why Does Anyone Listen to Him Anymore?

2007-03-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

Pushing his new book, the increasingly paranoid Tom DeLay Thinks Dems Are Now Like Hitler:

The book, “No Retreat, No Surrender,” has generated a bunch of press, but it’s clear that Jewish Democratic activists haven’t read it. Or else they would have jumped all over this graff…

“I believe it was Adolf Hitler who first acknowledged that the big lie is more effective than the little lie, because the big lie is so audacious, such an astonishing immorality, that people have a hard time believing anyone would say it if it wasn’t true. You know, the big lie — like the Holocaust never happened or dark-skinned people are less intelligent than light-skinned people. Well, by charging this big lie” — that DeLay violated campaign-finance laws in Texas — “liberals have finally joined the ranks of scoundrels like Hitler.” (emphasis added)

The man is certifiably nuts! Why the hell is he still on TV and not in a rubber-walled room, somewhere, being treated?

(via Other Crap)

Organ Leggers and Their Pound of Flesh

2007-03-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

Via the ever astute Avedon Carol comes this notice from Martin Wisse. To wit:

Lawmakers are considering legislation that would let prisoners donate organs or bone marrow in exchange for time off their sentences.

A state Senate panel on Thursday endorsed creating an organ-and-tissue donation program for inmates. But legislators postponed debate on a measure to reduce the sentences of participating prisoners, citing concern that federal law may not allow it.

In Niven's universe it was about living longer through an "Organ Draft" where the young and healthy gave up their organs to the older and more productive members of society.

Soon, capitol crimes were punisment by forfeiting useful parts - not quite the death penalty, think of it more of as a piece-meal approach.

Sure as hell, the Invisible Hand took root. Black market organs were snatched and sold by organ leggers. Mush like the urban legends of tequila-fueled weekends ending up in in a tub of ice with a scar on the side.

One story that chilled my bones (organs?) was the protaganist was subject to dismemberment due to numerous unpaid traffic violations...

Presenting the iRack

2007-03-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

More lazy and remedial blogging:

Feel the surge...

I Got a Fortune Cookie

2007-03-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

My Fortune Cookie told me:
There is a radio in your head, but Henry Kissinger does not have the controls.
Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

Two Minutes of Poli-Sci-Fi

2007-03-10T22:48:00.000-08:00

There is a new video campaign to combat anti-Americanism. It posits the idea if there was no America one might see such news broadcasts such as this:

In the vein of atrocious alternative history sci-fi (e.g where Hitler wins the war, or the South won the Civil, etc) this video has so many inherent problems with logic that any editor of a fantasy mag would relegate it to the slush pile.

First off, it seems that Stalin's Army defeated Hitler without U.S. support of the Lend Lease program and liberated Paris by 1939.

Second..., Oh hell...Just document the atrocities...

Does this kind of ~~pub~~ advertising work?

Freidman's Follies

2007-03-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

I just love reading Matt Taibbi. take a look t this piece,NYT's Tom Friedman and the Pundits Will Blame Us for Iraq - The Smirking Chimp:

The notion that our problem in Iraq is a resource deficit is pure, unadulterated madness. Our enemies don't have airplanes or armor. They are fighting us with garage-door openers and fifty year-old artillery shells, sneaking around barefoot in the middle of the night around to plant roadside bombs. Anytime anyone dares oppose us in the daylight, we vaporize them practically from space using weapons that cost more than the annual budgets of most Arab countries to design. We outnumber the active combatants on the other side by at least five to one. This year, we will spend more on the military than the rest of the world combined -- more than six hundred billion dollars. And yet Tom Friedman thinks the problem in Iraq is that we ordinary Americans didn't tighten our belts enough to support the war effort.

Friedman should be hung upside down and have holes drilled in his skull for even suggesting this, of course. We're talking about one of the richest men in media, a guy who in recent years got still richer beating the drum for this war from his $9.3 million, 11,400 square-foot mansion in suburban Maryland. He is married to a shopping mall heiress worth nearly $3 billion; the Washingtonian says he is part of one of the 100 richest families in America. And yet he has the balls to turn around and tell us that the pointless, asinine war he cheerleaded for failed because we didn't sacrifice enough for it. Are you reaching for the railroad spike yet?

Yes Spike, the man is an ass.

Revoked: blogging license

2007-02-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

When are you no longer a blogger? Once a blogger always a blogger?

Lately I have found it hard to comment on current events, let alone comment on the commenters of current events. Few things have made me feel like ranting or snarking, maybe it's a phase or it's time to turn in my blogging credentials and join the non-commentariat.

Yet, I feel the Scaramouche character must live, phoenix-like, starting from the most primitive state and offer the most puerile of blogging cliches - Cats and YouTube:

Update: I think maybe to avoid the "blogger" nomenclature, I'll just call myself a purveyor of online mischief. As far as I know there are no licensing requirements.

New Addition to the Family

2007-02-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my niece in Ohio gave birth to an eight-pound baby boy. It's nice to know the circle of life continues.

Axel Saul is the name they gave him. I hope he is is not overly teased growing up.

Well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and all that...

Welcome to the world, little Axel, and Rock On!

Mon Oncle, Mio Zio

2007-02-02T14:45:00.000-08:00

Passed away...

One of the downsides to calling distant relatives (or relatives who are distant) during the holidays is you find they have died.

After leaving messages throughout December, on a hunch late on Christmas day, I decided to call the manager of the mobile home community where my uncle lived to see if he was off gallivanting in Mexico, as he often did, because we hadn't heard from him.

That's when I learned he was no longer among the living. In the next days I learned that he was going to be buried as an indigent and they were going to auction of his few belongings to reimburse the county for his burial.

Needless to say, I took off a few days later to take of his affairs. Normally my uncle prepared for life calamities but he didn't lay the ground work for this eventuality. He was a fiercely independant man, and he fought his battles without ever asking for help.

Going through his papers and journals I saw that he was logging his workouts at the gym and as a fit 82 year old he put this youngster to shame with his the amount of weight he worked out with. As his neighbor said, it appears he didn't plan on giving up anytime soon. Although he did get closer to his catholic upbring and had sevaral catecism tracts and rosaries spread throughout his house. But that didn't stop him from chasing, as he would say, after the senoritas in his twilight years.

It's amazing how one can piece together a life from the documents left behind. They answered questions he never would. Like, "what happened to you in WWII?" Something he rarely talked about.

Let me back up for a moment to paint a picture of this man:

Born in Oakland, CA, in 1925 as the result of beautiful love story between a Hungarian immigrant and a Scotch-Irish suffergette, who met working at Sherman & Clay, then a sheet music shop, in the heady days of rag-time jazz. (As defacto family historian, I must say, the grandparent's love letters I've seen were quite passionate, if somwhat chaste, but with incredible penmanship). He was my mother's older brother by 5 years.

My family left the Bay Area and moved to Hawaii in 1940 and was there during the attack on Pearl Harbor. I have picture of my uncle with a long board that is twice his his height and another with his arm around his little sister. It was in Hawaii that he tried to become a jockey, which led him to join the calvary. Yes, the army still had a calvary and fought some of its first battles in the Pacific with horses included.

Dropping out of high school he enlisted and served as rifleman in the First Calvary Division. He fought in the Admiralty Island Campaign. He never talked about it, but my my mom told me once that it was horrific jungle figting that left my uncle changed as one of survivors of his platoon.

Yet he would never talk or brag about it.

Returning from the disruption of war he got his high school diploma at the age of 20 and went on to graduate from USF with a BS.

He worked as a forest ranger in Yosemite for few years and then got his contractor's license. He constucted custom homes from Marin to Tahoe; if had held on to any of them he would have been a millionaire. As my mom once told him while he was in one of his funks, "with the houses you've built, you are a millionaire many times over." I don't think it helped...

My earliest memory of my uncle was an outing on his yacht when I was 6 year old. I was trussed up in a harness so I wouldn't fall oveboard. Yet my brother, the teenager, was allowed to drink beer, got drunk, and went into the drink once we got back to the dock. That is also when he promised me he would bring me back an elephant from Thailand as that was his next construction gig - back when the US was still winning the war in Vietnam.

From Thailand he sent postcards, gifts, but no elephants. When he returned he told me that he tried to get the baby elephant up the gang plank on to his yatch but it broke and the baby elephant had to stay behind. I remember crystal clear that lie - the adults laughing at the presumptuous child who dared ask for his promised elephant -once again on the yacht, everyone drinking, and in hindsight this is the first time in my life I know I'm being lied to! The big-beyond-belief kind of lie! And all the adults in the conspiracy, laugh and lie to a child. (It is was unfair, but hey, life goes on...)

Some of the first jobs I ever had were due to my uncle. They were construction jobs. Carry supplies, dig a ditch, pack that fiberglass insulation in the attic. Hard sweaty jobs that every pre-teen should do to learn what the future holds: life-long physical work leads to bad backs and hip-replacements. That's something I did learn from my uncle.

Throughout his life he was an unyielding man, very old school with the inherent racism of his generation. Suffice to say he was not enamored with the changing demographics in California. Yet he was married for 25 years to a woman born in Mexico and loved her deeply. She passed away eight years ago after they moved down to the desert near Palm Springs. He still kept the ashes and they will be buried together.

I was not as close to my uncle as I wish. In my adult years we spoke about all the places we had been in the world (he was well travelled) and compared notes on what we'd seen, although there was about 20 years difference in when I finally got to those places. My brother was closer and is also more distraught we didn't have a chance to say our final good-byes.

Rest in Peace, Uncle Phil. Rest in peace...

Where I've Been

2007-01-31T02:45:00.000-08:00

Late on Christmas Day I found out my uncle passed away.

The strange part is when he went to the hospital he did not leave any record of next of kin. So by the time we found out the coroner's office was prepared to bury him as an indigent and sell off his few remaining assets at auction.

The even stranger part is our phone number was taped to his telephone and they never called us.

So I've shuttled down to So Cal to arrange for the disposition of the remains and tie up the loose ends.

There is much more to this story, which I will tell in time.

Just to say, blogging hasn't been priority for me lately.

"Clarence, Clarence! I wanna go back!"

2006-12-25T11:34:00.000-08:00

How many times have you seen "It's A Wonderful Life?"

But have you see the original trailer, the Alfred Hitchcock version, or the Bunny Parody in 30 seconds?

Here's a different take on the story. It's a Wonderful Internet is an interactive narrated storybook. When the narration ends explore evey page as hidden surprises abound!

Also, did you know that FBI Considered "It's A Wonderful Life" Communist Propaganda:

Perhaps the FBI was (and still is) correct when it said It's a Wonderful Life did not reflect American values.

Me, meme, mine...

2006-12-23T13:23:00.000-08:00

Like chain letters and herpes, internet memes are the gift that keeps on giving. Now thanks to my distinguished Barbarian colleague, mrgumby2u, I've tagged with this meme:

- Find the nearest book
- Name the book
- The author
- Turn to page 123
- Go to the fifth sentence on the page
- Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
- Tag three more folks.

Well, here goes.

The nearest book* is Catilina's Riddle, by Steven Saylor (in hardcover).

"Political alliances are not always founded on hard logic, Gordianus. Sometimes they grow out of shared distress." He looked at me steadily, as if to to emphasize his words

.

A bit of background explanation is probably necessary. For many years I have been a big fan of the Marcus Didius Falco Series, by Lindsey Davis, about sleuthing set in Vespasian's Rome.

I rarely read mystery novels as I'm more inclinded towards historical fiction and sci-fi. But since I've read all 16 of Lindsey Davis' gum-shoe (tar-sandal?) novels published so far, I wanted to keep reading in the same genre and came across the Roma Sub Rosa Series. The investigations of Gordianus the Finder takes place during the last years of the Roman Republic, beginning with Sulla through the rise of Caesar.

If you love Roman history and/or mystery novels, I heartily recommend both of these series.

Now for 3 hapless bloggers on whom I bestow this gift of memus indestructibilis:

- Chuck Dupree
- Jackson West
- The Token Reader (who should back for the holidays)

*Which I just finished and it's now awaiting its return to the library.

The Power of Love

2006-12-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

It's time for some Xmas music and I don't mean the canned crap playing overhead at the mall.

The Frankie Goes To Hollywood video below is quite a departure from their previous controversial hits like Relax and Two Tribes.

Enjoy.

The Fashion Sense of Barack Hussein Obama

2006-12-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

Has anybody noticed that Obama dresses like Gaius Baltar?. Like the Baltar who became the enemy of mankind when he sided with the Cylons?

Potentially, Obama is sending us a secret message by the way he dresses that he wants to see us all exterminated just like in Battlestar Galactica.

Maybe he is the Antichrist, afterall...

(edited because the reference was too obscure)

As a Believer in Dog

2006-12-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

This could truly be the End of Times - when cats take over the world!!!

(via everlasting blort)

He gets it, he really gets it...

2006-12-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

A Bushism from today:

"The truth is a lot of reports in Washington aren't read by anybody. To show you how important this report is, I read it." -- Pres. Bush, on the ISG report.

A picture from yesterday.

Could be another Lincoln with thoughts he'd be thinkin'...

2006-12-05T07:38:00.000-08:00

What if Bush were president in 1861?

Now that is funny.

(via The Daou Report)

An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

2006-12-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

This may be more fun than silly string in the bedroom. Now there is a spray on condom product that goes From Liquid Rubber To Sweet Love in One Second:

A German firm has developed a spray-on condom for all your lifestyle needs. The liquid condom comes in an aerosol can that you spray onto the organ in question. A few seconds later, the liquid solidifies into the familiar latex and forms a tight seal. The company says it's a great time saver and is easier to use than traditional condoms.

The only thing I can't find out in all this hype is, "How do you get the damn stuff off?"

Desperately Searching for Consevative Humor

2006-12-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

No such thing you say? Yet, watching them try is like watching a drunk cross an icy street. You really don't want to laugh but, c'mon, you know you will...

Check out the latest buzz, Funny Republican T-Shirts and Mentally Ill Bush Supporters.

There are a few buried gems there.

The Screwfly Solution: Masters of Horror

2006-12-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

Last year I read the short story by Raccoona Sheldon, The Screwfly Solution, written way back in 1977, who also published under the macusline pen name James Tiptree Jr, about an epdemic where men inexplicbly start killing women.

As far as the short story goes, the clues are revealed slowly. The truth emerges in a series of correspodences between a husband and wife team of bio-engineers about the progress of anti-sex gene altered fly to combat the screwfly infestation in South America.

This falls upon the background of the rise of a new mysoginistic cult, The Sons of Adam, that are involved in a series of gruesome murders of women. The rhetoric of this cult is like a Cistercian commentary on how Eve is responsible for the fall of Man's grace from the Garden and must be punished.

The story sent shivers through me when I read it.

Finally you'll be able to see it. In this Masters of Horror series, they have reunited the team of Joe Dante and Sam Hamm (who helmed last year's Homecoming) to make the first cinematic version of this story. It will be shown on December 8, 9, 10 & 12. Check your local listings.

In this rendition Elliot Gould shines in a way to test your Gaydar and, finally, Jason Priestly is playing a role where he looks like an adult.

While they do service and capture the horror of the original story they do not fulfill the extreme viciousness and brutaltity of the original tale. But then it would never have been filmed, let alone shown on cable.

This is a must watch show as it raises questions about the origin of male on female violence and the future of the species.

Oh, did I forget to mention this is science fiction?

Update: Avedon Carol has a terrific Interview with Sam Hamm about scripting The Screwfly Solution

Army Ranger Buddies Rob Bank

2006-12-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

A South of Tacoma Bank of Amercia branch was robbbed Aug. 7, by four well armed men,with military-like precision. They wore ski masks, had automatic rifles and soft body armor under their jackets.

They were in and out in 2 minutes and 21 seconds - almost qualifying for the FBI's 2 minute rule, a term coined by the FBI in a reference to the minimum arrival time for first responders to a robbery-in-progress.

What sound like a bad script for number of films I've seen, they originally planned to rob a casino, these caught-on-tape commadoes were all caught within days of the caper. Besides not being old enough to legally buy beer, there is something else sets apart these not-so-special forces, these Soldiers of Fortune:

Not that the case needs another strange twist, but the real reason for the BOA raid, the accused man insists, was to expose war crimes and other military secrets.

The team 'purposely' got caught, he says, so they could draw media attention and be assured of coverage when they eventually air their allegations in court. To avoid going to prison, he intends to present issues of national security that would be embarrassing to the Army and Bush administration, he claims. His tortured logic: To expose abuses, he first had to get public attention, hence the bank job.

'One of the people implicated in the robbery is a witness to rape and the murder of 16 people at a battlefield interrogation facility, which makes Abu Ghraib [prison] look like kindergarten,' said the accused man, who spoke at times in the third person and referred to 'hypotheticals' when discussing the heist so as not to directly admit any role.

'Another [accused robber] has electronic access to the locations of 65 CIA prisons around the world. Sixty-five! There's a lot of shit out there that has to get said.'

He wouldn't discuss why robbing a bank seemed the best way to expose such allegations, and didn't respond when asked if he had tried any other way to get the information out. He insisted he wasn't making it up as a last-ditch defense.(emphasis added)

This is one of the most unusual excuses for a crime I have ever heard of, however if their reason is true, surely there must be less demented ways of getting attention to their story.

What's stranger is the get-a-way driver was member of Pat Tillman's Batallion of Rangers and he used his own car. That kind of stupid can get someone killed.

Anyhow, it will interesting to see what develops from the follow up - if there is any.

(via Akkam's Razor)

Hussein on the Membrane

2006-11-29T13:40:00.000-08:00

According, Josh Marshall the newest GOP schoolyard taunt for Brack Obama is His Middle Name is "Hussein!".

This should fit well with the membrane's of the insane who think Obama is preternaturally calm and the Antichrist.

This unfortunate middle name will give fodder to "Barack Obama is the Antichrist" believers.

It's funny in a way; expect it to morph into "Hussein Osama" if he announces a run for the White House.

In essence they are really playing this name game:

Obama, Obama bo Bobama
Banana fana fo fobama
Fe fi fo fobama
Obama!

And that's all they got!

Motivation Maker

2006-11-19T00:53:00.000-08:00

Make your own custom motivational poster.
Here's mine, and yes, that is me when I was still modelling.

Batteries Not Included

2006-11-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

Toys that make kids happy and gay, just like SpongeBob!

Talk to them and they'll respond!
Feed and play with them!
They respond to your voice and other Aquapets!

What are Aquapets, you ask? Watch the video!

If your tastes runs differently you can choose the Dora the Explorer Aquapet.

I don't know if the batteries provide a dynamo hum, but as Frank Zappa would say, "Kiss my aura...dora...
M-m-m...its real angora
Would yall like some more-a?
Right here on the flora?"

(h/t BoingBoing)

Bush Missing in Vietnam

2006-11-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

Breaking News:

Bush Goes AWOL in Vietnam - Pays Emergency Visit to Alabama

President George W. Bush raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles over the weekend when he inexplicably went AWOL during his historic first visit to Vietnam.

The president had been expected to discuss such pressing issues as trade and security with Vietnamese leaders, making his mysterious disappearance all the more controversial.

But according to reporters traveling with Mr. Bush on Air Force One, the summit was ill-fated from the start, as the president was overheard muttering, 'How the heck can I get out of going to Vietnam?'

Shortly after his arrival in Hanoi, Mr. Bush craftily eluded his Secret Service escorts, escaping through the window of his hotel room via a makeshift rope of bed sheets.

When the president was a no-show at a state dinner later that evening, it fell to White House spokesman Tony Snow to report to the gathering of dignitaries and reporters, 'I'm afraid the president has flown the coop.'

According to Mr. Snow, Mr. Bush left behind a scrawled note on hotel stationery indicating that he had to attend to an 'emergency' in Alabama.

The mystery deepened, however, when Alabama authorities issued a statement indicating that there was no evidence that the president had shown up in their state at all.

(via Other Crap)

A Concession Letter

2006-11-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Read this unbelievable letter from the loser of a Minnesota State Senate race where she 'Concedes':

Congratulations on winning the District 50 senate race. Your phone is “busy”…no doubt with good wishes!

I’ve enjoyed much of this race, especially the people I’ve met…even you! I see your deficits—not all of them, and your potential—but not all of it. Only your Creator knows the real potential He’s put in you. Get to know Him and know yourself…you’ll be more interesting even to you!

The race of your life is more important than this one—and it is my sincere wish that you’ll get to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He died for the sins of the world, yours and mine—and especially for those who accept His forgiveness. His kingdom will come and His will be done—on earth as it is in heaven. There’s more….I love belonging to the family of God. Jesus is the way, the truth and offers His life to you and each human being. Pay attention…this is very important, Satveer. Have you noticed Jesus for yourself…at some moment in time, yet???

God commends His love to us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Death came upon all and was defeated by the superiority of Jesus’ life and His tomb is empty. God in Christ is reconciling the world back to Himself, with offered forgiveness—this is one choice we get to make nose to nose with the living God—fear Him and you need fear no other. Become His family and know the love of God that passes knowledge. See Isaiah and the Gospel of John…good reading while waiting for fishes to bite.

God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:17

Jesus Christ lives in His earth family by His Spirit. He said He’d be back, and He said it first. You could invite Him to make the race of your life ‘eternal’. God waits to be gracious to each person that knows they need to be forgiven. Do you? I think you do. Just ask. Christ won eternal life for you and said so. Take Him at His Word. Take some time to get acquainted with this power-filled Jesus…God with us. You could be a temple of the living God, by invitation—-yours, TO GOD. :) There’s nothing like belonging to Christ…not winning, not money, not degrees…it’s the best.

Good wishes and better wishes…until you wish for the best!
Rae Hart Anderson

Newly elected State Senator Satveer Chaudhary is a praticing Hindu.

America Under Bush

2006-11-16T23:44:00.000-08:00

Possibly NSFW.

(via Suburban Guerilla)

"Stand up or you'll be tased again!"

2006-11-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

Watch this video of a handcuffed student getting tasered multiple times, it'll send chills down you spine.

According to UCLA's Daily Bruin:

At around 11:30 p.m., CSOs asked a male student using a computer in the back of the room to leave when he was unable to produce a BruinCard during a random check. The student did not exit the building immediately.

The CSOs left, returning minutes later, and police officers arrived to escort the student out. By this time the student had begun to walk toward the door with his backpack when an officer approached him and grabbed his arm, at which point the student told the officer to let him go. A second officer then approached the student as well.

The student began to yell "get off me," repeating himself several times.

It was at this point that the officers shot the student with a Taser for the first time, causing him to fall to the floor and cry out in pain. The student also told the officers he had a medical condition.

UCPD officers confirmed that the man involved in the incident was a student, but did not give a name or any additional information about his identity.

Video shot from a student's camera phone captured the student yelling, "Here's your Patriot Act, here's your fucking abuse of power," while he struggled with the officers.

As the student was screaming, UCPD officers repeatedly told him to stand up and said "stop fighting us." The student did not stand up as the officers requested and they shot him with the Taser at least once more.

Tasers are dangerous but are increasingly used like cattle prods to force compliance from suspects or protestors.

In the last five years there have been over 200 Taser-related deaths and the still the maufacturer suggests their tasers be used on Passive Resistors:

While Taser’s materials have always focused on the need for “less-than-lethal” weapons to take down even the most violent, intoxicated and determined of assailants, the company also advocates use of their weapons on far less dangerous populations.

“Crowd Control: Passive Resisters,” a section of a CD-ROM Taser distributed to law enforcement agencies, intersperses footage of protesters at various demonstrations with instruction on how Taser stun gun probes can be used “to separate linked protesters.”

I find their marketing a bit odd as they employ a Matrix like flash animation to push their product. It's as if they're appealing to all the Agent Smiths out there.

The shock it delivers will stop an enraged pit bull and, even, knock over an adult bull. So how can they demand someone to stand up after given them 50,000 volts?

Shocking this student repeatedly is plain torture.

(via MetaFilter)

Liberal Advice for the GOP

2006-11-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

Susie Madrak, the uberblonde over at Suburban Guerilla, covers a whole decalogue of advice for how Republicans can recover Congress. However, she left out the part about not coveting their neighbor's ass.

How Awkward!

2006-11-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

In a revealing article about what the GOP hopes to push through a Lame-duck Congress this caught my eye:

Though they will not be sworn in until January, members elected last week will be on hand for the leadership battles and for freshman orientation, creating the potentially awkward situation of bumping into the lawmakers they defeated.

Kinda breaks your heart, doesn't it?

(h/t itlookslikethis)

Thought of the day

2006-11-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

What if familiar, comforting, homespun proverbs were literally true?:

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Arms races being what they are, the nations of the world would compete to attract and keep the most persuasive writers. National treasuries would be exhausted not for defense, but for maintaining Literary Superiority. Freedom of the press, as we know it, would cease to exist, because writers - as instruments of national security - would be employed by governments. So, on one hand, totalitarianism and the resulting enslavement of the masses would take hold worldwide. On the other hand, guys like me would be fabulously wealthy babe magnets. So I'm okay with that.

After the Election - 'Tis the Season to Give Advice

2006-11-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

Remember after the last election in 2004 the Conservatives were so helpful in giving advice? Sadly, No remembers.

The last few days I have spent trolling the winger blogs and their comments to see their reactions. Mostly it has been like The Five Stages of a Giraffe in Quicksand, especially stage four.

So here is the Scaramouche plan for the GOP to retake Congress and maybe win again the White House:

- Stop screwing over the environment and accept that Global Warming is, at least, a by-product of man-made emissions and needs to be controlled;

-Stop screwing with Social Security and make the system stonger by raising caps on those who can afford it;

-Stop screwing up the deficit by insane tax cuts that only benfit the rich and those who invest;

-Stop screwing the American soldier by sending them into made up wars and then not giving them the equipment to protect them;

-Stop being such assholes, first in your daily life and then in you political life!

But, hey, that's me. He is some sage advice:

Some Helpful Hints for Conservatives: "So, things look grim. You've lost the Senate. You've lost the House. Most Americans think you're a corrupt bunch of war mongers. During the past two years your Speaker was indicted for bribery and money laundering. Your VP's chief of staff was indicted for lying to a grand jury. Your VP shot his friend in the face and then tried to cover it up. Your favorite radio pundit was arrested for illegal drug use. You favorite TV pundit was sued for sexual harassment. Your key appointee in Congress for child safety is an avid predator of young boys. One of your most significant evangelical Christian contacts to the Bush White House has been buying crystal meth from a male prostitute. Your President has been labeled by key members of his own party as one of the most incompetent leaders of the last two centuries.

What's a conservative to do?

Admit that you are powerless and that your lives and entire belief system have become unmanageable. Recognize that your way of living has been wrong especially when you insist on telling other people how to live while doing anything you want. Accept that you find it necessary to condemn so-called sinners by quoting the Bible but you never seem to get around to finding a Bible quote that might condemn something that you are doing in your life. Is there something that might just be an abomination whether that might be sexual perversity, greed, gluttony or divorce? Now is the time to keep your ignorant ideas and the ideas of your ignorant minister out of politics.

Come to believe that a Power greater than yourselves could restore some sanity. With the national debt spiraling out of control, admit that it's time to let the Democrats control things. Democrats like Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were much more responsible in fiscal matters and have worked to balance the budget after Reagan and the Bushes spent as recklessly as Lucy Ricardo on speed. Don't fight the truth. Embrace it. It's for your good and the good of your country.

(Snip)

Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourselves. You have preached morality and insist on posting the Ten Commandments in public. Now ask yourself if you've worked to follow them. More importantly, if you're a Christian--ask yourself if you are living a life that is Christ-like. Have you even read the Sermon on the Mount? If you are a conservative Republican then you didn't understand the Beatitudes ("Blessed are the poor, etc.") did you? Recognize that the platform of Christ and the platform of a conservative Republican are hopelessly incompatible.

Can you think of any advice for our brethren on the right?

Election Results: Slamming on the Brakes

2006-11-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

And just in time!

There are many explanations vying for the "why" the elections results gave the House and Senate to the Democratic party. For me the only obvious reason is enough people in our country saw that party in power was driving us over a cliff. One party not asking for any direction was a very, very bad idea.

Sadly the vote was too close for comfort as a sizable minority still was ready to endorse:

...unprovoked invasion and occupation, torture, and imprisonment by fiat...cheating to win, war crimes, torture, and administrative detention.

Oh, and a shitload of corruption.

I think a lot of voters were fed up this year. The fear of terrorists, or Democrats, lessened in contrast to the fear of having to explain to future generations why they did nothing to stop America from being the most hated country in the world.

If in one area this administration has been very successful, it's been getting the rest of the world to hate us. To abuse John Donne - No nation is an island.

We need the rest of the world and they need us. They need us to be faithful to our original democratic beliefs, to our constitution and the concept of the dignity of man (women, too).

To follow the metaphor of Escaping From A Car Hanging Over The Edge Of A Cliff, we still need to get out of the car, call a tow truck and repair the damage done.

The list of damage is huge and (with a divided government I don't think it will be repaired quickly enough) it may be impossible to correct most of the egregious harms done before 2008. Gitmo may not be closed. The troops may not yet come home, and so on...As long as there is a presidential veto.

But there is hope - if we can keep the center of gravity from plunging us over the cliff.

An Idea Before It's Time?

2006-11-04T23:40:00.000-08:00

is your betty ready? bettybeauty, inc.

I once tried to to convince a girfriend this would be a good idea.

Carpets match the drapes?

(via MetaFilter)

Is your blog only about politics?

2006-11-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

That's what a friend said to me.

Ok, it's near an election and I've negelcted the sex and religion part. Surprise, there is a religious scandal with a person who reaches 30 million people with his message, that's like one persons in every NBA game, with both teams playing. That's 2.2 players in a championship football game.

His message is teh gay is bad!

Yet according to the accusations he is teh gay.

For me the greatest sin is making money while castigating the sin and still raking the money - For political gain makes it worse

There is no excuse, I mean there is no excuse that will make it right - no justification.

You claim to be a man of God and then do the exact opposite of what you -- can you clain forgiveness? It was the money? It was the political power? It was the method to my my madness?

It was Satan...

Politics and religion do not mix - because it corrupts religion.

Republican Negatives Ad, It's All About Sex

2006-11-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Republican ads this voting season seem to have one thing in common: sex,sex,sex.

Case in point:

Republican challenger and political newcomer Paul R. Nelson has taken his race against five-term U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) to apparently new territory in Wisconsin politics. Consider his latest video advertisement, which is so far too lewd to find a home on television in western Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District.

"Ron Kind has no trouble spending your money, he'd just rather spend it on sex. That's right. Instead of spending money on cancer research, Ron Kind voted to spend your money to study the sex lives of Vietnamese prostitutes. Instead of spending money to study heart disease, Ron Kind spent your money to study the masturbation habits of old men," states the 80-second "sex study" ad Nelson has posted on his campaign Web site.

It is an ad, Nelson boasts, that "the mainstream media won't show!"

Oh well, here is the Video.

It's funny really, it just goes to secure the notion that the GOP is uptight and freaked out by sex; anyone having it.

Does it really motivate their base?

Cruelty to Pooches

2006-10-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

I know dogs hate to be laughed at and ususally do not like to wear costumes, even on Halloween. Here is a site with over 50 of the funniest dressed up dogs I've ever seen. Enjoy!

(via The Presurfer)

Jesus W. Christ

2006-10-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

You Tube just pulled all the Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert clips (h/t Susie), so what's left for the left?

Bush and Jesus

A Genesis Tribute

This classic tears me up

Oh wait, maybe they're not all gone...

Arnold Can't Crack 50 Percent in the Polls?

2006-10-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

The California Majority Report
Why Can't Arnold Crack 50 Percent in the Polls?
October 26, 2006 @ 9:12 AM, by Steven Maviglio

You're known by 100 percent of the voters. Your job approval rating is in the mid-50's and you've run a near-perfect campaign. You've outspent your opponent by 3-1. And you're an incumbent that has swept just about every newspaper editorial endorsement in the state.

Wouldn't you think you would be able to poll 50 percent in a head-to-head matchup with your opponent two weeks before the election? You would, unless you were Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Today's PPIC numbers give the Governor a comfortable 48-30 percent lead over Phil Angelides. Zogby had Arnold up 9 a few days ago, and Rasmussen had him up by 7. Only one public poll ever has had Arnold over 50 percent,and that's the SurveyUSA poll, which most news outlets don't find credible. (Their new poll is due Thursday).

In all those polls, the race has remained basically unchanged during the past few weeks -- weeks where the Governor has been dominating the airwaves, drawing banks of cameras to his state-financed campaign events, and blitzing voters with direct mail (a Democratic woman friend of mine in Placer County has gotten 5 -- count 'em 5 -- mail pieces in the last week).

Certainly that's not great news for Angelides; he needs to close the gap. But there is a glimmer of hope, as the Governor can't seem to crack the 50 percent ceiling.

The pollsters and pundits I talked to today say there are a few reasons for that.

While Arnold has certainly recovered from last year's special election debacle, the 'trust' factor isn't there yet, they say. Voters are uneasy about their support for him. It's an inch deep and not even a mile wide.

They still don't know much about Angelides, and his negatives have been driven sky-high by the Governor's record-shattering negative ad campaign. Hence his failure to gain any bump (except for the PPIC's +12 percent movement from Latinos, no doubt the result of the Governor's "assimilation" comments about Mexican-Americans).

So while they aren't wild about Arnold, Angelides hasn't won their vote either. And time is running out.

Arnold has been acting like a green moderate, twitching about -- maybe he has gone off his meds. After all he is an actor.

Voting for Schwarzenegger?

2006-10-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Before you do check out Dave Letterman's: Top Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before Voting For Schwarzenegger

10. 'Do I feel comfortable having a governor who oils his chest?'

9. 'Have I thoroughly considered Stallone, Van Damme and Seagal?'

8. 'Is 'Come on, it'll be funny' a good reason to vote for someone?'

7. 'Has he done enough to make California a laughingstock?'

6. 'How can I be sure he'll be just as Schwarzeneggy this time around?'

5. 'Can I bench-press more today than I could three years ago?'

4. 'What would Predator do?'

3. 'Will he cut taxes on steroids?'

2. 'He won't embarrass us, will he?'

1. 'Have I lost my mind?'

In other news, Mary Carey has dropped out of the race.

Rumsfeld is inspired by God ?

2006-10-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

I grew up quite religious. First as a Catholic then part of a Bible-reading fundalmentalist group. At age 10 in could name every book of the Bible (King James version, of course) faster than anyone else in our junior bible study group.

When I grew older and matured, I noticed that their political activism had little to do with the message of helping the poor, protecting the weak, or even charity.

I saw the hypocrisy between the private and political messages that leaders in the ministry expoused. Using God for personal aims is plain wrong and, if you believe, there is a special place in hell whether you go for the Dantesque version or the Karma they created for themselves.

That why this crap terrifies me: Top US general says Rumsfeld is inspired by God:

MIAMI (AFP) - The top US general defended the leadership of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, saying it is inspired by God.

"He leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country," said Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

For some Christian groups there is God, and there is the god of this world, i.e. Satan.

So is Rumsfeld working for the Prince of Peace or working for the gods of wars and pestilence?

Wolves in sheep's clothing and all that...

Prop 89- Must See TV

2006-10-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is a show worth watching tonight:

My two favorite reasons for passing this legislation are:

1) It puts the idea of running for political office back in the reach of the common person. Enough with the wealthy and well-connected, already.

2) It would cut down on the amount of time politicians spend on fundraising and allow them to to do their jobs - represent the people who put them in office and not be beholden to their donors!