StarTrib actually has a good article urging level headed thinking in
response to the accident that claimed the life of 4 children, instead of
the hate fueled divisional politics of the vigilantes (and certain
Republicans).
Spo0kz could b3 inz my g@mez sn00ping my chatz omgwtfbbq!!!!1111!!!11!1one!!!
WP article.
First, Obama should tap Bill Richardson as V.P. No discussion! Do it! Do NOT tap Edwards.
Secondly, this website puts a lot of the political issues in easy to understand cartoon form! The latest is about FISA and Illegal Wiretapping and is narrated by Snuggly the Security Bear.
So two videos today for tomorrow:
Ashley MacIsaac - Sleepy Maggie
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
(yes I realize today has been a videogasm)
Jeff Healey Band - Angel Eyes
Heather Nova - Walk This World (still one of my favorites)
Brian Adams - Heaven
The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be
Liz Phair - Supernova
Oasis - Wonderwall
Crash Test Dummies - Swimming in Your Ocean
And the small pebble rolling down the slippery slope hits another small pebbles which starts to roll down the slope and pick up speed...
The Bill (HR version)/Senate version.
Who voted:
Grouped by Home State
Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Yea Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Alaska: Murkowski (R-AK), Yea Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Yea
Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea
California: Boxer (D-CA), Nay Feinstein (D-CA), Nay
Colorado: Allard (R-CO), Yea Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Nay Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Nay Carper (D-DE), Yea
Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Yea Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Nay Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Idaho: Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Nay Obama (D-IL), Not Voting
Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Yea Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Yea McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Maine: Collins (R-ME), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Nay Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Nay Kerry (D-MA), Nay
Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Nay Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Minnesota: Coleman (R-MN), Yea Klobuchar (D-MN), Nay
Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Yea Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Missouri: Bond (R-MO), Yea McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea Tester (D-MT), Nay
Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Yea Reid (D-NV), Nay
New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Yea Sununu (R-NH), Yea
New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Nay Domenici (R-NM), Yea
New York: Clinton (D-NY), Not Voting Schumer (D-NY), Nay
North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Yea Dole (R-NC), Yea
North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Yea Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Nay Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Yea Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Oregon: Smith (R-OR), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Yea Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Nay Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Yea Graham (R-SC), Not Voting
South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Yea Thune (R-SD), Yea
Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea
Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Yea Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Nay Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Virginia: Warner (R-VA), Yea Webb (D-VA), Yea
Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Nay Murray (D-WA), Nay
West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Nay Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Yea Enzi (R-WY), Yea
No there weren't VIII other parts, I just thought the title was good.
There was a discourse between the blogs 'Norweigiantity' and 'The Cucking Stool' and by discourse I mean in that intellectual smack down way. But I think I missed something in their debate.
Spotty falls back on a tiresome wingnut meme:
Of course, the reason that the people who volunteered to be delegates were not quizzed more closely about their choice for senator or congressman/woman is that most precincts had room for anyone who wanted to be a delegate to be one. From what Spot hears, that happened in some heavily-DFL precincts in Minneapolis and St. Paul, too. There was absolutely nothing to prevent anyone from asking who the delegate volunteers supported. Perhaps there is room for the discussion of a more formal primary system for presidential preference - and a discussion of who will pay for it - but what would you have us do for the other offices, professor?
[crickets] . . . [/crickets]
Crickets? Spot, old dog, all you had to do was ask me and I would have been glad to explain this to you.
First off, our favorite Dalmatian needs to realize that in no other state does the party endorsement precede a primary. This is Minnesota's problem, and one that the DFL is curiously resistant to discussing. This makes the delegate slots incredibly valuable, and a thing worth running for whether you want to participate in the party or not.
All across Minnesota people stepped up to become delegates not because they necessarily are hungry to do the hard work political parties need to have done, but because they want to advocate for their candidate for U.S. Senate. What happens to all those delegates whose candidates get flushed this June? I would argue that they largely drop out of the process, weakening the party in the general election.
Caucuses also favor the better retail politicians. They are one of the few things that stand in the way of entirely media-driven campaigns. Spot likes that and says it is healthy for democracy.
That's the theory, but not the practice. This year Minnesotans have been deluged with mass mailings thanks to Al Franken's successful out-of-state fundraising. That and Al's celebrity status benefited Franken enormously as he traveled the state drawing large crowds, but large crowds that he didn't necessarily convert to his cause.
Move the primary to May, and then ratify the voters' choice in June. That's the honest thing to do, and you still have a caucus system for the workers and activists.
But so long as Minnesotans yoke their party endorsement to a flawed system, the Minnesota caucuses will continue to weaken the DFL, costing the party dearly on election day.
And no, I don't think I sound much like a cricket.
(because I'm in a badass sort of mood)
John Williams - The Imperial March
Just caught wind of this off OmniNerd, then read up on Schneier's blog.
I agree could be coincidence but the fact Iran is now isolated seems fishy.
Saw this quiz linked on 'Wheat is in Everything'.
| You are a Social Liberal (78% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (5% permissive) You are best described as a:
Link: The Politics Test |
Update: Salon.com has a great results page.
Just got back from the Caucus here in Rochester. Record turn out, over 2000 people showed at our caucus. In my precinct alone 300 people showed, more than twice the number in 2006 (and the veterans were saying in 2000 only 20 people showed to caucus). There were so many, they ran out of ballots at 7:15pm and had to start cutting up resolution papers. We were late because the parking lot was full and cars were backed up for a considerable distance. There was a lot of energy in the air, positive and hopeful. It was good to see 75% of our immediate neighbors there and ready.
The Ward went ~1400 Obama, 689 Clinton, and <100 for the others.
I've been made a delegate (along with Nerdwife) for the County Caucus on March 29.
Resolutions passed in my Precinct:
*DFL will oppose any constitutional (state or national) that restricts the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.
*Provide or subsidize health care for all residents.
*DFL will support and recognize labor unions and support measure providing fair wages for all residents.
*DFL will support and fund transportation infrastructure including effective public transportation, railways, roadways, and bridges.
*Fully fund and support education programs for all. (a lot of education programs have been mandated, but not funded)
Resolutions that were rejected:
*Support of the Marty Bill providing Universal single-payer health care. This was a tough one. Much debate, many good points for and against, but it was pretty much over when Sheila Kiscaden spoke against it as a division point that would polarize discussion on the issue in the legislature instead of providing a phased implementation towards a universal health care solution. I'm not familiar with the legislation, but I voted for this resolution as in my opinion it is a step in the right direction.
The biggest event of the night: Nerdwife and I met with and confronted Representative Walz on his vote for the FISA bill. He was very energetic and honest on the topic and we talked for almost 15 minutes. He understands the frustration and the feelings of betrayal those on the left felt for him after that vote- but Walz put forth a passionate defense. He voted for the FISA bill to keep the topic open for discussion because it had a six month end clause forcing renewal (note that Walz states he opposed the recent 15-day extension, which was a voice vote). He felt further deliberation provided a chance for substantial revision or repeal in the Senate. Unfortunately, the Senate's bill came back with only one change: a clause granting immunity to the Telecom Companies. He (and a few other Democrats) voted for the initial bill to deny it as wedge issue the GOP could use against them in the election. Walz has promised a "No" vote on renewal - lets see if he keeps his promise. After discussing this topic with him, and playing good constituent/bad constituent (guess who was who!)we both felt he was honest, and his reasons made sense. It changed my feelings on the subject and regarding him. At this point, I am likely to vote for him for another term.
nerdwife: I can't say I agree with Walz's logic- after all, isn't a "no" vote at this point simply going to afford the GOP a wedge closer to election time?- but he seemed genuine, well-informed about the bill and his decision, and most importantly, ready to knock the current bill down. To those who have written/called/emailed: he is very aware of your feelings! Walz was really on point about this vote, and had answers ready for this frowning constituent.
...or stuffing 8 pounds of residents into a 5 pound can.
Back from precinct caucus night.
WOW!
309 people showed up, registered, and voted in the straw poll. There's maybe 2000 registered voters in this precinct. (SD62, Minneapolis, Ward 9 Precinct 9) That is huge. Ran out of chairs and people were standing after 7pm, with a line down the hall and out the door of the school of people waiting in line to sign in. It took until the time-certain ending of voting to get everyone in and have them vote.
73% Obama
26% Clinton
We ended up passing several resolutions, some of great intelligence, some a little more vague, some by first time caucus attendees (maybe 1/2 of who showed up had never been to a caucus before - that's great).
Here's to community democracy in action.
UPDATE: Seems that was the case a lot of places.
From an article on salon.com
From the start, the Democratic field offered only varying degrees of dissatisfaction: Where was the candidate who believed that all Americans deserve educations, healthcare, the right to marry whom they please, and more reproductive freedoms than they could possibly use up in a lifetime? He or she did not exist, at least not in any purely terrestrial incarnation.
Reminder: Tuesday is Caucus night in Minnesota.
Find your caucus location here
My Endorsements (does not reflect on the other Cubezoo contributors):
President - Barack Obama (not my first choice, but the best choice given the candidates)
Senator - Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
Meh.
Moving on: I just watched a fucking movie about a man who shaves his mustache off, and was enthralled the entire time. Cloverfield is a goddamn big monster movie, and I was counting the seconds. It's not like the bar to entertain me is impossibly high, here. The achievement of Cloverfield was to force this viewer to experience time dilation in the movie theater while entertaining fantasies of fleeing madly out the exit, unmindful of my raptly attentive car-key holding spouse. Seconds became hours. The door is further, further away! Run! Don't look back, it's still playing!!! I've never been so ready for protagonists to die a horrible fiery nuclear death.
Overall: D
ps, La Moustache overall: A+++
GeistX review of 'Cloverfield': I liked it. Nerdwife has not seen 'The Star Wars Christmas Special' or 'Congo', now those are the true definition of the word pain.
'La Moustache'
Synopsis: Man shaves off mustache, breaks with sanity.
Man shaves off mustache and no one notices and in fact claim he's never had one. Are they playing a joke on him? Is his crazy? Are they? Are you? Is this real? Isn't it?
Overall: A
We are, will be and have been.
Matter is a state of energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
So in essence we have been since the beginning of time, and we will be until the end. We may not have existed as this collection of matter and organic systems, gifted with some spark of self awareness (just another pattern of energy?), for very long, but a part of us is immortal.
These are the things I think of on the bus after having vivid dreams caused by a deep sleep that only a half-bottle of wine and some bourbon can create.
On the ride home my mind, still processing after images of the previous nights dream, one very vivid, but set in the past, where those who I know are dead were counseling me on the nature of things. The specifics are lost, but the images remain. What was strange was everyone in my dream were people very dear to me and who are no longer. As I was sifting this on the bus my mind wandered to death. Not in an emo/goth 'life is pain and darkness' way but more of a philosopher's thoughts on the subject. What happens when we die? Were we before we were born? Is this it? Why are we granted a brief existence upon which to collect experiences, only to be terminated.
Many religions claim to have answers for this, some say we will be reincarnated. Others that we will transcend. Some depending upon the content of our life will go to other places (heaven/hell). They could be merely more theological descriptions of the conservation of matter and energy. Or they could merely be constructs created to try and give some meaning to something. I don't subscribe to the concept that a Heaven or a Hell exist, but I can see how some can find comfort in believing there is an afterlife, otherwise the concept that there is an end to this life could be a bit overwhelming.
I don't know what exists postmortem. As our organic systems stops functioning, what we know as consciousness ceases. But it is not the end of us. Not if looked from the perspective of physics and chemistry. Much like the pieces of physical matter that makes up what we are came from the furnaces of stars, what we become after death is a return to that state. Matter is a waveform of energy. When we die, our consciousness as we know it ends, but because we are matter and energy, it is not destroyed, it is transformed. In a sense, we return back to what we were before we were coalesced into a meat bag of organic systems. Our spark, our waveform of chaotic energy merges, transforms, back into the harmony of the celestial choir that is maintaining the wave pattern of existence.
That said however, I'd like to continue collecting experiences and retain the ability to contemplate this subject in my current frame of reference and condensed state.
Conventional wisdom in World of Warcraft says you can't "PUG" (pickup group) "KZ" (Karazhan, a raid instance). Well I was in a PUG that did...and we cleared 8/10 (not counting the basement 'starter' bosses) of the bosses in under six hours. See the screen shots (First one is Prince, second is Nightbane).
Bosses downed:
Attumen and Midnight (down on first attempt)
Morose (down on first attempt)
Maiden (down on first attempt)
Opera Event (Wizard of Oz, down on first attempt, 4m50s)
Nightbane (summonable boss, 3 attempts until down)
Curator (down on first attempt)
Shade of Aran (2 attempts then down)
Chess Event (down on first attempt)
Prince Mechanzaar (2 attempts then down)
Netherspite (1 attempt, was able to bring down to 30% and then had to call it)
We didn't have time to try Illhoof. We also skipped the basement 'starter' bosses.
The raid group here:
I picked me up some professor plums (including 1 T4 piece). I had a chance at the helm (which is what I truly want) but lost the roll fair and square. So I will have to try again, or go for the Season 1 helm that looks the same, but is not as cool in coloration. Here's what I picked up (in addition to about 40g in coin and vendor trash):
[Gloves of the Fallen Champion]
[Helm of the Fallen Champion] (what I missed :( )
[Badges of Justice] x18
[Gloves of Dexterous Manipulation]
[Girdle of Treachery]
'Walk This World' - Heather Nova
'Wanderlust' - The Delays
Seriously, get over it. Since the 2.3 changes in Alterac Valley your outdated zerg mentality no longer works. You complain about map imbalances, however you told us to go fuck ourselves and 'QQ moar' back when 3/4 of the Horde raid was AFK and the only way to win was defeat the general. You had no qualms about how Stormpike was laid out. You know why we win? We usually have a dedicated 15-20 on defense. We also have people going after the mines (both ours and yours). I rarely see Alliance on defense except when we chokehold you at Stonehearth. You can no longer be all offense nor can you no longer be all defense. Your days of easy honor farming us are over. Adapt. We did. Yeah our queues have gone up, but to me thats ok. I can play EotS and AB in between waiting for the timer to pop. You're like children, can't use your one-trick pony anymore and you quit playing.
Here's how the new AV works:
1. You win by depleting reinforcements. Not by killing the main boss anymore. Reinforcements are drained by capping towers, killing other players, and knocking out the captains and leaders.
2. Mines help lessen the reinforcement drain. Although its really annoying the bug where if you cap the Irondeep Mine first, even if we take it, its still flagged Alliance.
3. Defense. Gotta have it. Have to know how to use the map to its fullest. Instead of zerg rushing Snowfall, why not try and send some to SF and the rest stop our attempt at Stonehearth? You drive for Iceblood, and we often initially lose it, but we can generally take it back because we keep enough on D (usually).
Especially during the Tom Baker years.
Bohemian:
The term Bohemians has two distinct meanings, having little to do with each other - one refers to the people of Bohemia, in the Czech Republic, the other can describe any person who lives an unconventional artistic life.
So casual Friday today!
Uh, yeah, I am a Scientist...
'Scientist', Dandy Warhols
Saw this on Norweiganity, then checked around to confirm the Raw Story article because I couldn't believe it. But the New Yorker is reporting it. I don't know why I'm surprised, they're just escalating the further erosion of privacy.
P.S. Representative Walz, this is exactly the kind of thing you're supposed to keep an eye out for and curb as a function of the checks and balances of our form of government.
Each branch is able to place specified restraints on the powers exerted by the other branches.[8] The federal government refers to the branches as "branches of government", while some systems use "government" to describe the executive.
[edit] Checks and balances
To prevent one branch from becoming supreme, and to induce the branches to cooperate, governance systems employing a separation of powers typically are created with a system of "checks and balances", a term which, like separation of powers itself, is specifically credited to Montesquieu. Checks and balances refers to the various procedural rules that allow one branch to limit another, such as the authority of the president to veto legislation passed by Congress, or the power of Congress to alter the composition and jurisdiction of the federal courts.
Legistlative:
* Writes and enacts laws
* Enacts taxes, authorizes borrowing, and sets the budget
* Has sole power to declare war
* May start investigations, especially against the executive branch
* Often appoints the heads of the executive branch
* Sometimes appoints judges
* Ratifies treaties
Executive [soon to become the imperial -geistx]:
* May veto laws
* May refuse to spend money allocated for certain purposes
* Wages war (has operational command of the military)
* Makes decrees or declarations (for example, declaring a state of emergency) and promulgates lawful regulations and executive orders
* Often appoints judges
* Has power to grant pardons to convicted criminals
Judicial:
* Determines which laws apply to any given case
* Determines whether a law is unconstitutional
* Has sole power to interpret the law and to apply it to particular disputes
* May nullify laws that conflict with a more important law or constitution
* Determines the disposition of prisoners
* Has power to compel testimony and the production of evidence
* Enforces uniform policies in a top-down fashion via the appeals process, but gives discretion in individual cases to low-level judges. (The amount of discretion depends upon the standard of review, determined by the type of case in question.)
* Polices its own members
* Is frequently immune to arbitrary dismissal by other branches
I originally was going to post 'Road to Peace' by Tom Waits in honor of the Middle East peace talks, but its a sad song, for sad times. So instead I opt for CCR.
'Have You Ever Seen the Rain' - CCR
Sunlight to Petrol. Reverse conversion of CO2 into fuel.
Seems like Science Fiction, but I hope it actually works, the chemical catalyst process seems sound. It will also be the closest to closing the loop as we have come so far.
I also don't think it will 15-20 years out, unless the big energy consortiums stymie this like they've done to other alternative energy research. If they were smart, they would adopt and fund this (which in turn could bring a viable large scale implementation reality in probably under a decade) and do as suggested by starting with these systems installed into existing power producing facilities to reclaim CO2 for recycling. Then expand it into a system that reclaim excess (and note I said excess) CO2 levels from the atmosphere.
Projecting this ahead, my concerns would be that if someone had developed an efficient removal process to scrub the CO2 from the air, how would it impact plant life? Would we, ironically, cool the planet too fast? We would have to strike a balance, which can be problematic with profit driven entities.
But, I like this idea, it will be a good bridging technology to help extend what resources we have and buy us some more time to develop better renewable and alternative energy sources.
Saw this on GG Rhaposdy. Much like her, I'm not surprised by it.
Yahoo/AP article ranks us dead last in health care among industrialized nations. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it capitalism!
The 19 countries, in order of best to worst, were: France, Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Some countries showed dramatic improvement in the periods studied -- 1997 and 1998 and again between 2002 and 2003 -- outpacing the United States, which showed only slight improvement.
I was skimming through my headlines in my RSS feeder when this caught my eye:
Every four years, Iowa transforms from an inconspicuous little rural state into a veritable clusterfuck of egomaniacal presidential candidates and predatory media types. Generally a shy, unassuming people, Iowans regard the hubbub with a mix of bemusement and awkward hesitancy. They're more familiar with the fertilizing qualities of hog crap than with the squalid contents of political bullshit. Also, their pale skin tends to burn in the spotlight.
or
A Close Shave!
or actually
Sweeney Todd
Synopsis: Feel good holiday movie for the whole family. A nonstop roller coaster of sensational proportions. Musical styling to kick 'Cats' in the balls. Edge of your seat whirlwind of barbarous fury whose cake is iced with a climactic ending. Well ok, the synopsis actually is a barber gets the shaft and seeks revenge.
Overall rating: A
One sentence review: This lyric sums it up, "There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and the vermin of the world inhabit it and its morals aren't worth what a pig could spit and it goes by the name of London."
Johnny Depp was brilliant in this movie.
Tim Burton should not be allowed near kids.
I've been sitting in my office this afternoon sipping some chamomile tea contemplating a myriad of things while I wait for something to finish. I can't seem to think about only one topic and I sort of unhinge my mind and let it flow like a torrent of water over rocks and go where it may. It often results in many unrelated verbal outbursts as my mind does an esoteric six degrees of Kevin Bacon leap from one topic to another in a pattern that only makes sense to the internal filing cabinet of my conscious/sub-conscious. Anyways. One of the blips past the screen of conscious that occurred was a thought regarding the moments in life that you wish wouldn't end. Things like a really great conversation with a friend, my first kiss to my wife, things that can honestly be summed up as happy times, periods of an in-the-moment where for a brief period the world isn't so bad, you are in step with life, and there are honestly, truly no complaints. Those moments are infrequent for me. I've been an unhappy, cynical, person for a large chunk of my life, always feeling out of step, out of the moment, somewhere else. My thoughts once the blip was noticed ran a quick, what I call mental decision/exploration tree of possibilities. One branch was "what if these moments could last forever?" Conclusion, if they were the norm then they would not be memorable or magical. Like Christmas everyday (speaking of Christmas everyday, watch the first video on this link).
I do miss those late nights at Perkins and various coffeehouses when I was still in college, and sporadically after I left where my friends and I saw the sun set and watched it rise again engaged in all night discussion (Allthingspring and I used to do this quite often). When Nerdwife first started graduate school many of the first years congregated every Monday night at a local pub for 'Mystery Beer Night' where expensive beer was $2 and you chose which beer by pulling a name out of a bucket. Those were good times and often went late. But, like the late night conversations with friends, they trickled away. We changed, things changed, the situation changed. Life moved on, got in the way, or shifted. But because these don't happen all the time, they have become milestones on the time line of my life that stand out. I miss those days, but I won't try to bring them back, they happened by chance or random and were gems of the unpredictability of the future. I won't live in those days anymore either, as there are new ones that need to be made.
We are all in a state of flux.
('Flux', Bloc Party)
Saw this on BoingBoing. Hip-Hop meets Glam Rock. (NSFW)
I downloaded the album and I like it!
Check it out! Use your candidates mad kung-fu skillz to determine the outcome of the next election!
aka 'Alien vs Predator: Requiem'
synopsis: Movie picks up where the previous AvP movie left off, but this time the body count is higher.
One line review: Two great tastes that taste great together -or- Colorado town gets eaten, news at 11.
This is not a great movie, but I was entertained. More glimpses into the Predator technology and culture. I called it 'CSI: Predator' because the Predator in the movie comes to earth to clean up a mess they created when their ship crashes back on earth after the Predalien (the thing that burst from the chest of the dead Predator at the end of the last movie) kills the crew and uses a variety of Predator forensic techniques to track down the troublesome pests. Hippies die, blond bimbos get crucified, bullies get skinned, hobos get eaten like beans. Superfluous love story exists but is more along the lines of sexual tension than overt distraction from the killing (like 30 Days of Night). I would also like to point out all the references in style, setting, or dialog to previous movies. They're little nuggets dispersed throughout.
Overall rating: B
Nerdwife review: At first, I wondered why this movie wasn't subtitled "All monsters attack," but I rapidly discovered such a title would have given away the entirety of the plot. This movie has fewer pretenses to Predator "culture" and Alien "biology" than the last- this is the storyless, bloody free-for-all that the first movie wanted to be. I'm sad to report my strategic predrinking was insufficient in quantity or accompanying substances to render me amnesic, but perhaps this review can save others.
Overall rating: D
I'll be traveling tomorrow for a catfish Christmas so I'm posting today. To everyone, everywhere, Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Festus, etc. Maybe your holiday season(s) be safe and joyful. Peace on Earth. Goodwill to everyone. May the New Year bring new change and new joys.
Now a collection of holiday related items.
'All I want for Christmas'
Mad TV 'ReinFather'
Klingon Christmas Carol
South Park 'Jesus vs Santa' (nsfw)
Read this article at Hullabaloo. He's right, if the next President is a Democrat the Republicans will make him/her pay for their sins and we will be bogged down by accusations and investigations.
Personally I hope (although I don't expect it) that the next Democratic President doesn't listen to the Republican hate and propaganda machines (which really have less influence than they say) and does clean house from top to bottom. I hope the Democrats take both houses of Congress and some much needed inquiries and investigations occur.
I don't think it will happen.
I also expect that the last few months of 2008 will be a flurry of Bush putting many, many, many documents under 'Executive Privilege' to hide the bodies and it will probably be (if ever) 15 years down the road or whenever Bush Jr. dies until the truth is dug up. I'm afraid these clowns will never see a trial and will never be held responsible.
But I hope I am wrong.
Infrastructure pays the price. And in the case of last summer, we pay the price in lives.
From the UpTake:
Below is the best review of Guitar Hero I've seen and I agree with with 95%.
...what I imagined based off the lyrics...but now that I've seen it, it makes perfect sense...
Sometimes beauty is sitting right in front of you but you are too busy to see it. I stopped for a second and experienced the moment, and I found the hard disk that I took the top off sitting on my desk to be a thing of beauty.
Public domain holiday radio shows available for listening/download here.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus aka MRSA.
Nasty bug. Resistant to an increasing array of antibiotics. Every time I've been in the hospital I had to sign a waver that I could contract MRSA. We're partly to blame for this bug. Our society prescribes antibiotics like candy and the bacteria they're meant to treat are adapting. We're putting selective evolutionary pressure on them. In the mid to late 90s our society seemed to be at its worst (surpassed only by the Anthrax insanity of 2001-2002) where many household cleaners had 'anti-biotics' in them. Our society has become one of clean freaks. Occasionally I'll see commercials that prey upon our fears to protect our children. Most notable one I can think of is the Lysol commercial where they show a stereotypical housewife going around spraying all parts of her house with the aerosol cleaner. A marketing label 'KILLS 99% of viruses int eh air!' appears overlaid on the image. This is marketing bull shit.
I worry that we may be weakening our immune systems. Kids are supposed to be exposed to things, its what helps us adapt and build stronger, better, immune systems (regular exercise also helps).
On the flip side, we're also a dirty society. I can't count the number of times I've seen people go to the bathroom (number 1 or 2) and not wash their hands, not even the half-assed "I ran water over them" attempt. Proper hand washing is a key to help survive cold and flu season (along with covering your mouth when you cough and avoiding children).
Viewer discretion is advised.
But seriously. I've been a bit absent in WoW lately. Since the upheaval and general shittiness that happened over a week ago I stepped down at Guild Master after the title was dropped on me when the previous GM left. I stayed Master long enough to help staunch the bleeding (with the help of wonderful officers who stayed). I then handed the reigns over to another with more energy, charisma, and most importantly time online. See its December and that means busy social life, busy work life and travel and I've not been on much. With the late unpleasantness I developed a serious case of the blahs and mehs and decided a little distance was needed. So I've not been on WoW much. I've been reading, writing and rediscovering some old games.
I tried to install and play a space station sim called 'Startopia', but it was created in the days of Win98 and no amount of effort allowed me to get it to run on WinXP (even under varying combinations of 'run as' combatibilty options). I recently wiped my C: partition and did a fresh install. Its like having a new machine. I'm being cautious with what I install. My previous install lasted 3 years. Which is how old my CPU is and I've not had a blue screen ever on XP, save for a bad sound driver I installed when I tried to use the AC'97 onboard before buying my Audigy 2.
Anyways, I re-discovered a game that I had shelved for a while and its consumed me. Its 'Dawn of War: Dark Crusade'. Wow! I've been a fan of 'Dawn of War' since the franchise was released. Its a great game with a great engine that looks beautiful and the game play is intense. Its the standard I hold most RTS games to now. DoW has gone through many expansions. 'Dawn of War' which is set in the WH40k universe when it was first released, it let you play Space Marines, Chaos, Eldar, or Orks. The campaign was from the perspective of the Space Marine Chapter the Blood Ravens. It was engrossing. The game also let you play skirmishes and use custom maps as well as multi-player online. Its first expansion, 'DoW: Winter Assault' improved the game play and add a new faction, the Imperial Guard. The storyline let you track the campaign from any of the factions and it had a surprise ending involving another faction, but I won't provide a spoiler. The last expansion released was 'DoW: Dark Crusade' took it even a step further. Two new playable factions the Tau and the Necrons. It was set on the world of Kronos and the campaign was the (re)conquest of Kronos based upon which faction you played. The planet was divided into zones and you had an army and planetary resources used to conquer the various zones. Some zones gave planetary buffs, some gave you access to body guard units (personal commander units that you could start with). I've long been interested in the Tau (Tau and Imperial Guard being my favorite WH40k armies) and I've been playing the Tau campaign. I'm doing well, almost half the zones conquered and I've defeated the Ork, Necron and Chaos armies and pushed them off the planet (pockets of their faction still remain, but leaderless and they won't attack me now). I'm currently in the process of trying to dislodge and crush the Imperial Guard, a tough nut to crack with all their artillery and armor coupled with cheap to build infantry units. But my Sept is shooty and my Hammerhead tanks devastating. I lost my commander to Vindicare assassins, so I'm not sure what will happen. I'm still only a third of the way through conquering the IG capital map and going is slow as I'm constantly being shelled.
So anyways, this is why I haven't been in WoW much.
Spoiler alert: this post contains no WOW-related events, people, photos or themes.
I've just finished Danielewski's House of Leaves, a lengthy book that has (1) generated its own cult following and (2) dragged around our house for awhile, both reasons which prompted me to read it. The book is quite engaging, replete with a relatively complex narrative structure and a reasonable ghost story. It even contains obscure literary references and mocking tributes to academic publishing, but somehow I can't bring myself to strongly recommend this thing. The novel and most ambitious part of this book is not overtly narrative, but structural- I spent a lot of time thinking about Derrida, and had to laugh when he (J.D.) was directly cited in the text. The flow of the story, as well as the arrangement of text on the page, are designed to evoke the physical experience of the narrative space. This effect was well-executed in many places, but detrimental to the book in others: clumsy passages were frequent and themes were self-consciously repeated into mindless overexposure. Moreover, Danielewski needs to learn when to say when; the textual arrangements themselves slipped from entertaining structuralism to creative-writing class hell every so often.
Net: Two and a half stars (out of 4)
As an aside, Danielewski's sister wrote a song for her debut album that seems to involve the narrator of this novel, and which appears in hex on the back cover. See video below:
...this flowchart says so and its on the Internet so it must be the truth!
Now for some facts:
1. Flying Monkeys started modern banking, its wasn't the Knights Templars.
2. Coffee is actually distilled pixies and contain the elixir to life.
3. When you walk, you don't actually move, the universe adjusts to your will around you.
4. There is no gravity, Texas sucks.
5. My cat's breath smells like cat food.
6. Pi actually has an end, the last digit is X.
7. I am the walrus.
I saw this (see below) as a link from here and
watched it. I regret I did.
Or so, testing out some new blog functionality.
Thinking about going to see the Klingon Christmas Carol referenced on GG
and Avindair's blog.
Thinking of going to see this:
URBAN EXPLORERS: INTO THE DARKNESS - A DOCUMENTARY FILM NR
Thurs Night (Dec 6) only at 7:00. Tickets $8, more information
available at http://www.urbanexplorersfilm.com
(showing at the Riverview Theatre)
UPDATE: preview of the KCC from Fox (blech) 9
...and now I know why. Scientology is opening the largest 'church' in the world in St. Paul. Saw it first here. Read about it here.
...can be best summed up via a cartoon.
(cartoon from toothpastefordinner)
The NIE report released indicates that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003. Bush says it won't change his policy.
Not content to lie ala bald realpolitik to justify pro-war hawk policy, the current administration has now taken to simply quit caring about evidence altogether. When information that undercuts their goals is brought up, they disregard it. We're supposed to trust their goals and not the evidence.
This is faith based policy.
Iran represents no real threat, and certainly not enough to justify another illegal war of aggression (whose major goal is a resource grab of the maybe 132 billion barrels of petroleum still under Iranian soil and to cut off any direct pipeline of Southwest Asian oil to China).
When you persist in a belief beyond the point where evidence shows you are mistaken, we call that delusion. Its a dangerous affliction for any mind, and all the more dangerous when it is the faith of war for American dominance, as it seems to be for this administration.
You can list up to three.
Rules:
1. Playstation 1 technology or older. (no Xbox*, Playstation 2+, or similar, basically prior to 1998).
2. Has to be a computer or console game.
Here are mine, in order from most memorable/favorite to least:
1. Ultima V (C64)
2. Mars Saga (C64)
3. Wasteland (C64)
Runners up, in no order:
*Final Fantasy 7
*Fallout
*Elder Scrolls I
'Staring at the Sun' - TV on the Radio
I am Turkitron. I have been sent from the year 9595 to save the Thanksgiving turkeys you will attempt to consume tomorrow, for they are the great, great, great, great grandfathers of GOBBLOX, the turkey that is destined to lead the rebellion against the Master Chickens!
In the year 9595, a race of deformed turkey was genetically developed by chicken scientists as revenge against his bird brother. These turkeys would exit the womb doused in gravy; gravy filled with the giblets from a monkey. The French craved it, and as a result turkey became the only food source for France, which by then will be called Robo-France 29. I was later killed by the chickens! So, of course, you can see why I'm angry at those chickens.
Months and months ago I came upon your neighbor taking the form of the Cybernetic Ghost Of Christmas Past From The Future. But I didn't realize he was an agent - a chicken in disguise. Sent from the year 9595, they had evolved… big time. From beyond feathers their beaks had softened, and they had acquired synthetic intelligence and appendages from the chicken black market from beyond the moon. Your neighbor, who dwells next door to you, is a hyper-evolved chicken from the future.
Take the turkey out of the oven if you want him to live.
I had to be reformulated by rogue chicken scientists for the rebellion. They crafted my sleek turkey body which allowed for safe passage through the time rift. The chickens became a master race through a freak accident involving radiation, and interestingly enough, to me, marshmallows.
...and they were still good and tasty.
I'm endorsing Jack Nelson Pallmeyer.
I think if the DFL doesn't endorse him they are fools and he should still run.
Why? Because of these...
I am motivated by three key issues that impact our future:
* Addressing global warming
* Ending the Iraq war and re-orienting our foreign policy
* Achieving economic fairness and government for the common good
I also want you to know my positions on several other issues:
* Implementing universal, comprehensive, single-payer health care
* Strongly supporting education, including pre-K
* Comprehensively reforming our immigration policy
...and I stood freezing against the wind at the bus stop on my way to work. Errant and sparse flakes of snow falling. I did what I often do, listened to my iPod and read the NY Times, on in the Arts section, something warmed the corners of my liberal, counterculture heart...
The US Women's Competitive Bridge team held up an anti-Bush at the World Bridge Championship.
I guess protest is not as dead as I thought.
I support these women. Protest and the questioning of the government is healthy for a democracy and is a sign of patriotism. Unquestioning the rule of leadership is jingoism, not patriotism and is the hallmark of facist regimes. I also think the USBF is a bit harsh in their punishment as it appears there is not a general, stated policy by them regarding freedom of expression of members.
So a question out to all the Minnesota activist groups, liberals, fed up citizens, etc. When and where are the protests going to be?
Please tell me there will be protest. And cake (or pie) with hugs for all.
I realize that protesting the GOP will do about as much good as teaching a rock Calculus, but really political rallies are really like funerals, they're not for the people in the convention (who are off in their own world), but rather for those of us on the outside to show others of like minds that they are not a lone and someone cares.
I'm also sure the police will be there and we will even have our own little 'free speech zone' cordoned off especially for us, far away to some corner of the city.
Short answer, no.
Now for the long answer. I do not think that word means what you think it means. But I am totally all over the counterculture. Especially counter to one as corrupted and corporatized as this one. I believe in equality, equal means equal and I think the arguments over race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, and religion are all bullshit...until someone tries to legislate an ideology. Then I'm a race car in the red pissed. I write my members of congress. I vote. I pay taxes, and I pay them gladly if it means freely available public education (but I think it should be K-College), socialized disaster response (i.e. fire fighters, police, etc.). I would like to see socialized medicine (freely available proactive health care to all, period), enhanced and socialized public transit as well as communication (broadband cheaper and more available). I believe in a military, but one for defense, not offense, one that will intervene to help quash human rights violations, not commit them. I rail against a privatized government run by fuck-you-for-profit companies with only one rule...maximize profits. I think our food should be locally grown and farms should be part of the community. I think our government should be changed so we can enact votes of 'No Confidence' in our elected leaders and officials. I think there should be government oversight, especially of the 'Free Market' which, if deregulation has taught us anything means that 'Free' is a myth. I think CEOs should not make more than 5 times what their lowest paid employee is paid, and they should be required to have the same health benefits (see socialized medicine). I think art for art's sake should be embraced and that basic science research should be encouraged and enriched no matter how outlandish (see teflon...). I think marriage should be abolished in the eyes of the Law (civil unions for all, anyone, if you want to get 'married', that's between you and your religion and has nothing to do with the law or legal protections thereof). I believe Abortion is between a woman, her doctor, and if she chooses the father, everyone else get the fuck out. I believe the vagina is not a clown car, be responsible when having kids. Practice safe sex, always. I believe in being truthful. I think SUVs are a waste, of money, resources, and space. Same with McMansions. I like diversity in architecture. I like things that have both form and function. I like the sun on my face and the bite of a cold winter on my cheek. I love my cat (yes she is named Muffy, got a problem with that?). I take pride in my skills but often hate my job. I like the word Antidisestablishmentarianism, even if I lean towards Disestablishmentarianism (I like Church and State separate).
I believe in peace. Violence is only an option of the very last resort and it should never be embraced as glorious. Its horrors should never be censored lest we forget the consequences and idealize it as glamorous and heroic. During a war it should never be 'business as usual'. Sacrifices are always made. Denial is not a river in Egypt, its the predominant feeling here in this country.
I've posted this video before but I think it needs to be posted again:
With the election season coming up to full speed, idiocy and ideology are ramping up. I've seen a few emails and heard some rumblings flying around about having MN liberals go to Iowa to door knock. A good example is posted over on Evil Bobby.
Instead of standing with a fellow Democrat to send a strong message of censure about this Administration and its action, Tim Walz has voted to relegate this proposal to the Judicial Committee, effectively killing it. But to be fair he is not alone.
Representative Walz, I don't understand why you would vote against this measure? Voting to move it to Committee is not a vote for it, especially when common wisdom holds this will be a death sentence for the measure.
Now it's time for another in our series of highlighting non-words making it into life's grand pageant:
Aspergery
not a word
Brought to you by the current champion of words: melty
Or so says our current Administration.
Salon.com had a link to some investigative reporting where the person volunteers to undergo water boarding. Watch it and decide for yourself.
There was a reason the Geneva Convention classified this method of interrogation as torture. Its acts like this that make it so we can now never accuse others of Human Rights violations.
I play an undead, a Forsaken in World of Warcraft. The origins of the Forsaken trace back to the plague released upon Lordaeron by the Lich King, Ner'zhul. This plague created the Scourge, undead minions bound to the will of the Lich King and meant to destroy humankind (and elf-kind) and convert them to the will of the Lich King. The greatest champion (and who would merge with Ner'zhul to be the new Lich King) was the Death Knight Arthas. When Arthas sacked the High Elf homeland, he took their greatest general Sylvanas Windrunner and made her a Banshee queen. She served the Lich King and slaughtered in his name until circumstances allowed her to suddenly regain her will. She gathered those others of the Scourge who were newly awakened to a kind of cursed freedom and took the ruins of Lordaeron City as their home and capital. This became the Undercity, this is Pernox's home. Blizzard released a great video illustrating this story:
Every year, the Forsaken celebrate their independence from the Lich King in a holiday called Hallow's End. Undercity and Brill (a town outside the Undercity) host many activities and experiences. The world of Azeroth is also plagued by the spirit of a relentless and restless paladin, known as the Headless Horseman, he wreaks havoc upon the towns and resides deep within the Scarlet Monastery. This video illustrates Hallow's End and the Headless Horseman.
Hallow's End - Undercity and Brill
So from now until the election, I'm gonna fire up the President-o-tron 9000 and have it randomly spew out who will win, cuz really at this point it almost doesn't matter.
I fired it up and it gave me this result...
A turd in a hat
Over the weekend a reader named 'nse' sent me a link to the english translation and video of the Alizee song 'J'en ai marre'...its crazy as hell.
She's still hot though...
Saw this quiz linked on Norwegianity's site. You can take the quiz here.
My results:
You are an Eco-Avenger, also known as an environmentalist or tree hugger. You believe in saving the planet from the clutches of air-fouling, oil-drilling, earth-raping conservative fossil fools.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com
