Member Since:July 29th 1999
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I know some, I see some, I am some.
Erik Pugner's profile
| Member Since: July 29th 1999 Number of rants: 104 Email this ranter Visit webpage See gift list | Bio: I know some, I see some, I am some. |
Aged Rob...keep on aging. Age-er. - View/Add Comments (4 so far)
So, what are everyone's plans for Star Wars? Is being saddled with young-ins making it more difficult than in times past? Or is this a time for handing them off to the grandparents?
In the Czech Republic they dub Star Wars (and Cosby also), which provoked a ripple of fear amongst the ex-pats here until we were reassured that opening week will have the standard, subtitled version. We were preparing to hop over to Austria if need be...
I've also had the unique opportunity to get some input as to what it's like watching Episode 1-6 in that order, as a friend here has never seen a single one of them. So we've decided on an experiment with her...she's watching 1 and 2 prior to next week, then will finish off the original trilogy thereafter. We've gotten through Episode 1, and, as one might expect, the whole thing is hard to get if you haven't seen 4-6. We had to pause many, many times for explanation. Plus, well, Jar Jar is near to impossible to understand when English isn't your first tongue.
Anyway, let me know... -
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I just thought everyone would appreciate knowing that in the Czech Republic, instead of Santa Claus, a winged Baby Jesus (Nasheesh) delivers presents to good girls and boys by flying in through windows Christmas Eve. I am not kidding. I am desparate to find a winged Baby Jesus doll, but apparently they don't really make him in doll or poster form. - View/Add Comments (8 so far)
The trouble with a public forum where most of the participants know each other is that if I post a rant detailing something I feel strongly about, and others feeling strongly in opposition to me, it is unlikely that I'll stir much debate...as few want to be confrontational or contentious. But that really is what a rant is for...airing out what is frustrating you...
I'll be nice though, and post the gentle version of what I am feeling. This whole gay marriage thing has me absolutely livid. It does me no good to prop up my jingoistic nationalism on the foundation of the forward thinking liberalism of America when we have a sizable percentage of the population looking to have their bigotry enshrined in the Constitution...you know, that document which, besides loosely defining our structure of government, protects our fundamental rights as Americans. Any argument asserting that a constitutional amendment in fact protects the rights of Americans by championing something as vague as an institutional concept sounds pretty damn weak staring at the simple statement "We treat these Americans differently than these Americans, and, just to make sure we codify that discrimination, we'd like to stick that statement in the most unassailable document in the land."
I know I am in the minority on this opinion, but that is fine with me (well, it's not fine with me actually...I hate that this is even an issue, and that others are perfectly happy sitting on their wrong side of history as if they are in Alabama proudly protecting their white kids from having to rub shoulders with those separate but equal black kids). And you can't have it both ways...you can't have civil unions on the books alongside marriage as if were an equal concept. If you want to protect your concept of marriage from being soiled by such perversion (gasp), then take IT off the books.
I suppose I could go on forever here, but I've said my piece. (Or peace. How does that saying go?) Except this...beyond being angry, I am, worse, sorely disappointed in Americans here. I just cannot conceive of a time where, sitting with my wife (whenever I find a gal dim enough to get suckered into that role), we sit across from a gay married couple and say "Oh, you're married too? Gee, that sure does threaten the meaning of my marriage!" Huh? -
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Okay, I just want to devote a whole rant to the FACT that Scrubs is the best show ever. I had to wrestle with antennaes to make NBC work (why is channel 3 the worst received channel all the fricken' time?), but, ugh, I love Scrubs. It is the only show where I clap with glee and giggle loads and point and giggle more. If you were running for President and disliked Scrubs, oh boy, I wouldn't vote for you. Scrubs would be the show I'd write if a) I wrote a show (which I don't) and b) if I had talent (which I most certainly don't). ANYWAY, love it... - View/Add Comments (3 so far)
So I am wondering what the lot of you think about this batch of Democratic presidential hopefuls. I am curious to hear from Democrats, Independants, and Republicans alike. Who would you like to see get the nomination? Who do you think will get the nomination. Who do you think has the best chance in the general election? - View/Add Comments (10 so far)
... - View/Add Comments (2 so far)
Some months have passed since the initial flurry of BigDis donations supporting my marathon efforts for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The months have seen me training for the marathon in good order, but my fundrasining success has been lacking. As I near the very end of my efforts, I wanted to check back in on BigDis and see if any of those who have not yet donated would be up for supporting me.
And now there is a certain amount of personal interest in me begging for money, as I am responsible for the donation amount of $2800 whether I raise it or not! I believe the last technical day for donations is tomorrow, but I have been told that donations made on my behalf after the deadline will credit my "account".
To make things interesting, Fortune has handed me a couple of setbacks as well. Training was going superbly well up until my 20-mile training run almost two weeks ago. There I managed to injure my right knee at mile 5, and maybe made matters a bit worse by running on it until I decided it was futile by mile 10. Adding illness to injury, I woke up the next morning dreadfully ill will a severe cold, which I am still coughing up the last bits of two weeks later. This week I have begun to build up miles slowly again, watching out carefully for me knee. With my marathon in Portland only 10 days away, I'll have the pleasure of turning what would have been a fairly easy 26.2 miles before injury and illness into a monumental effort.
Lastly, for those wanting a more personal connection to charities they donate to, I can offer a short story of something that affected me recently. My very good friend and coworker Leslie forwarded an email to me recently from a leukemia-stricken friend of hers. After an aggressive treatment, his doctors and family were shocked to learn that his leukemia had come back very strong. His email detailed possible treatment options, none of which had a very high chance of survival. He sounded very scared, but wanted to thank those from my Team In Training charity group that had kept in touch. Two days ago Leslie burst into my cube crying, as she had just learned he had died...only two weeks after he had sent the email when he learned of the cancer's return.
Overall this training experience has been a fantastic experience. While there is something strange about waking up at 6am every Saturday to run huge distances with crazy people, there is something extremely satisfying about it was well. I encourage anyone curious about it to attend one of the orientation meetings...they have a Sacramento chapter as well. And of course, please do donate here on behalf of me if you possible can. Thanks so much... -
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I've elected to run the Portland Marathon this year on behalf of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Instead of being paid for my efforts, apparently I have to come up with a great deal of money for their charity...$2800! That seems a bit of a rip-off, since I am the one doing all the work!
Now, I know what you're thinking..."Erik, but you're so fat, your such a sissy...how are you going to run 26.2 miles?" Sure, those things are true...but I only need to point to my third grade bounce-a-thon trophy to show that I can complete grand achievements in endurance when I set my mind to it. Heck, I'm up to ten miles thus far...
What may help, however, is that I am training with a team of 125 or so in the Bay Area raising money for this charity. You can go to the team's website, and if you were either a stalker or someone otherwise intereted in ensuring I am actually participating in this thing, you can find real life pictures of me.
As we train, Leukemia survivors run alongside us, which does a pretty good job of keeping us on track, and reminding us that getting up at 6:30am on a Saturday to run ten miles doesn't really compare to cancer treatment. Further, many of the runners have lost loved-ones to the disease, with me as a thankful exception.
As you are no doubt chomping at the bit to donate, the least I can do is provide you with a handy Give Money To Erik URL from which you can exercise your generosity. You may notice that I haven't raised any money yet...why, that is simply because I wanted to give you all FIRST SHOT at donating...I am giving like that you.
Seriously, if anyone can find the funds to donate to this cause, that would be fantastic (especially because I am contractually obligated now to come up with the money!) And if someone named Brian Squibb says he's running in the same race for the same cause asks for money too..well, umm, he is a liar. He hates people with cancer. Hates them.
Thanks to all the good people in advance... -
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We may or may not be lumbering towards war with Iraq (I hardly believe, as much of the press insists, that war is a foregone conclusion despite the posturing of the Bush administration). While war and whether we enter into is hardly a democratic issue in an immediate sense, one of the luxuries of our political system is that public opinion does matter as politicians have a hard time rushing off to war when the people are likely to resent it strongly (hence FDR having a hard time getting us into WWII until we got super-pissed, the propogantic exaggeration of the communist threat, etc.) The American people, having recently suffered a tragedy at the hands of misguided ne'er-do-wells, rightly feel that such a thing can happen again, and next time the weapons may be even more effective than jet airliners vs. skyscrapers. The rest of the world is scared shitless of the instability of the Arab/Muslim world, and feel that proactively belligerent actions in the region by the west will result in a greater threat to world security than just continuing the complex political games we play there (and they may be right...it's a hard call to make right now). I believe the Bush administration will certainly rather avoid saying "I told you so" when an American city is wiped out, and most of the rest of the world believes to some degree that we can avoid an "I told you so" scenario by playing it cool.
Anyway, it is a wickedly complex situation, there are no guaranteed courses of action. There are enough hypotheticals here to make your head spin. I am posting here because I am curious how you all feel about the prospect of war here...a war which we may have to go it alone on, may possibly lead to many American casualties, will definitely lead to the deaths of thousands of largely innocent Iraqis (I for one do not consider a conscripted soldier in our enemy's army as deserving his fate but rather often just a victim of the circumstances of his birth), may well ostracize us more from the world community (to whatever degree the world's only cultural, economic, and military superpower can really be ostracized), and may cause World War III (not really that likely considering the Bush administration probably wouldn't risk it if the reaction to such and invasion would be that bad). That's all the down side. The upside being that it may quite literally save the world.
How do you feel about it? -
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Wow, take a look at this. Even with my opinions on European anti-Israel sentiment, I am really, really surprised at this. Not sure who we can rely on to put a stop to this...miscarriages of academic justice should normal be addressed byt he very people who are foisting this ridiculous boycott on Israelis. A European state should come forward and condemn this... - View/Add Comments (9 so far)
Since we're now into giving consumer advice, I'm curious to see if anyone has any thoughts on new cell phones. The display on my nobel, venerable Motorola is finally giving out, and that is a perfect excuse for something new. I have no real price limit I guess. Mainly I don't want to get suckered into something now while a new technology pops up in three months. I haven't been following 3G development or integration with PDAs too closely, and I could scour the internet to brief myself on all this, but I'm hoping someone else has already done the leg work (or knows a website which has itself done the leg work). In general integration with a PDA (not like the Palms with a cell card added, but like a cell that has a mini-PDA on it)would be a pretty cool feature. Anyway, any good recommendations or dire warnings? - View/Add Comments (15 so far)
I am just wondering how some of you folks feel about this sort of thing. That reference is to news that a Filipino raid on the terrorists who kidnapped that poor missionary couple a year ago resulted in the husband being killed, the wife rescued. It is a hard ethical question to answer, whether to sacrifice and individual so that repeat occurences will not occur. Kidnapping in the Phillipines is rampant definitely because of the Filipinos negotiating with the kidnappers...as it has been rampant in Columbia, etc. While I personally am saddened when the poor victim is killed when he or she could have been saved with money, I definitely agree with US policy here, which is to say that dealing with terrorists or kidnappers only endorses their tactics (that is not to say the US hasn't gone against that policy many times...Iran / Contra being a biggee). The only way to deal with assymetric threats in the long run is to simply prove time and again our resolve to stand unflinching in the face of heart-breaking personal tragedies. Sad though I am that this fellow, who was only trying to help his fellow man, was killed in the exchange, the Filipinos were right to use force finally. Again, it is a hard question ethically, and it does smack greatly of putting the good of the whole above the good of the individual, but I really do feel that these things are simply personal tragedies, and not worth sacrificing our security over. If folks got the message "Kidnapping Americans is a death sentence", and time and again we acted with respect to that policy, not even the most bleeding heart dove could argue that kidnappings (for political or profit reasons) wouldn't go away. And, just to swing a bit off topic, this again is why I find the Israeli thing so frustrating. Israel, in my opinion, is absolutely right to ask for a cessation of violence prior to respecting the demands of the Palestinians, as responding immediately to terror's demands is simply endorsing the terrorists' assymetric tactics (just as paying off kidnappers tells other potential kidnappers that there is money to be made in the kidnapping business). There, off my soap box. Do you think we should deal with kidnappers? - View/Add Comments (1 so far)
What are everyone's Star Wars plans? (And don't be all bitter an insist you aren't going to see it.) - View/Add Comments (15 so far)
What are everyone's Star Wars plans? (And don't be all bitter an insist you aren't going to see it.) - View/Add Comments (2 so far)
Most of you know I am one of the biggest advocates around for rectifying petty world views of the U.S., and most of those views I believe are erroneous and the result of either a small man's complex or state and corporate manipulation of the media to divert popular discontent away from those organizations. But one segment of the U.S. population doesn't do us any favors time and again with respect to Western viewpoints about the U.S., and that is the damn conservatives...and it is here that European frustrations are dead on accurate (in my opinion, which happens to also be fact dammit!) :-) This is nicely exemplified in the American bullying present at the U.N's children summit. First of all, dude, these are kids, and we are worried about the nuances of language that might promote some sort of value system contrary to American Conservative thinking. Sounds awfully Taliban-esque to me. Second, the U.S.'s role in the world should be as world leader and should set the example for clear, analytical, pragmatic thinking. This type of thinking has made us the great country that we are, and we've had wonderful success at it (namely in science and philosophy, though we've failed miserably at some things like by embracing strangling concepts of political correctness). When we stick to our intellectual guns, our unilateral action in the world is the right thing to do (Kyoto for example). But lording over a conference on children's rights with our silly conservative agenda is not sticking to intellectual guns, but rather emotional ones...and not emotions the majority of Americans share, but rather emotions shared by those that happen to weild great power in the US. Intellectual and ethical objection to abortion is fine, and though I disagree with such objections, I have to respect any person who comes to an ethical conclusion using reason and without an emtional vested interest in the outcome. But I daresay that it is the rare person who derives their ethical beliefs in such a manner, and as a result we have how some powerful people feel run smack up against pragmatism of the most important kind. People who want to kill Americans do so because of discontent with their own lives. Much of that discontent comes from a horrible distribution of not enough wealth (we have a fairly shitty distribution of welth here too, but we aren't discontent cause there is just so much damn wealth to go around that even our poorest dine on tasty Kraft dinner). We can do something about how other nation's screw over their own people, though it is difficult. But another thing we can do is not prevent efforts to make these people so poor in the first place...and they are often so poor because they have eight kids and four are dying and the dad died from AIDS and so on and so on. So it is very much in our best interests to say "Hey, what if we provided an atmosphere where having 8 kids wasn't as likely?" Give them birth control, and show them how to use it. Don't live in a fantasy land where you think you prevent premarital sex, promote abstinence, and reduce sexual partners. That simply is just not going to work, and nature insists on it. Worried about people using abortion as a form of borth control? Okay, what's more repugnant...a termination of a pregnancy or a three year old with AIDS who is also starving who stubles into a fire and the mother doesn't move to help cause she is also starving and has lost the basic instinct to protect her young? You want to say something about it being her fault for not controlling her hormones in the first place? You think your teenage daughter controlled her hormones? Or just maybe she bought herself a condom, or even went to the clinic to terminate a pregnancy. And even if it is her fault, do we really think that justifies the three year old living a miserable existence that could have been prevented?
I really do think that we'd have a much easier go at doing the things we need to do to save the world if our allies were better about being actual allies...and I think that they would have less of an opportunity to forget about how the big mean US saved them from having to learn German if they didn't see such a public disconnect between some fundamental ethical systems of their peoples and ours. In the end, I think pound for pound we are nearly identical in the what we see as right and wrong...especially now that some of the right-wing Europeans are coming out of the wood-work. The disconnect comes from how powerful American conservatives are, and how brazen and willing they are about forcing their will on others. If we just stopped pulling crap like this kids conference, and suspended the death penalty, our allies would be forced when faced with something like American objection to Kyoto to say "Well, shoot, we can't deny they have a point." The tacky op/ed Euro sensionalist writers would be seen more as the bitter little men they are, but instead this kind of behavior gives them a leg to stand on.
I don't like the kind of conservatism that is presented here, and I think most conservatism comes from the tendancy to realize that if you don't stick vehemently and blindly to the system of thought you believe to be true, you'll realize it is all just a construct and your world will get all the more complicated. This is an awful insecurity, so conservatives (and many other ideologies too mind you...I am just picking on conservatives today...I like "Environmentalists" even less...) express their obvious vested interest in their own indoctrination by needing to force their views on others. When there is homogeny, you safely never need to question your beliefs. This also happens to be a driving force for expanding religion too...very Taliban-esque again. Oh, and Nazi-esque. Look at me, I'm flinging out ugly comparisons just to drive my point home! :-) How tacky of me. -
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Who's up for seeing Steven Wright at the Warfield in SF tomorrow at 8pm? - View/Add Comments (14 so far)
Happy Birthday to a bunch of people. - View/Add Comments (5 so far)
Given ample funding and backing, how might you reform the k-12 education system in the US? - View/Add Comments (11 so far)
This is a terrific article on differing viewpoints folks everywhere have on media coverage on Jenin, though really it applies to most events. It seems that everyone always feels that the other sides opinion is given unfair credit in the media, while the "true events" are brushed under the carpet so that the opinions of the editors can be buttressed in print. Folks attitude that their perspective is generally not well treated in the media is of course not surprising, but I really liked how this article laid out the climate.
And I LOVE how the article highlighted fundamental differences between the professional traditions of European and American media. The European style, where entire major newspapers will have an explicit and well known political bias, is fairly foreign to Americans, and hence can enrage us when we presume Europeans must naturally write to the same standards that Americans do. We also presume over here that these standards are necessarily better and more proper...as we should, as the media has an incredible ability to sway public opinion. The idea that the vast majority of Europeans read all their newspapers keeping in mind the stated bias and deriving a well thought out position after reading the opinions of all sides is just silly. Since we say you can't believe evreything we read, yet most of us do believe everything we read, journalistic integrity, American style, is incredibly important. Nearly all American universities have a journalism program, and those programs beat into you from day one the importance of remaining as unbiased as possible in your writing. While it is of course not possible to eliminate all bias, US universities stress a straight forward style of prose not given to opinionated verbosity, an essential need to double and triple check sources (of course these days this is as much about libel and slander suits as journalistic integrity), and trying to get as many sources as possible for a given article. In contrast, many European universities don't even have a journalism program...they simply have a school newpaper or two with few controls over content style.
All that being said, Americans too feel their side is not covered. Listen to conservative radio and count how many times you hear "liberal media"...attend anything put on by any group a little left of center and watch each person nod their head when the speaker demostrates with "facts" how the media is hiding the "truth" from us and just reinforcing what big business wants us to believe. -
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How do you all feel about the brand new internationl criminal courts? I have long (like since I was 5) held that the more centralized the government, the less wicked stuff will happen. I have always been in favor internationalizing as much as possible (so while I hate the bastards, I agree very much in principle with the whole EU thing...just like I am in favor of the United States instead of The Republic of California, Texas, Conneticut, etc). I have always been amused by the right wing argument for decentralizing government, cause it is like an open-faced confession to being assholes ("preventing the know-nots from interfering with how we do things" is just another way of saying "getting in the way of us profitting off screwing other people"). Anyway, everyone can have a hearty laugh at the right-wing folks pressing for more liberalism (which, and yeah I know I'm off on a bigger-than-the-rest-of-the-rant-tangent, reaffirms [yet again like it will be again and again and again and again] Erik's "political ideologies are just basically an almost physical response [victim/weak/sympathetic vs. winner/strong/callous] and is rarely the result of real philosophical inquiry" theory).
ANYWAY, so here I am, stuck in the same "no no, if we give the little guys equal power they are going to want to screw us over" mood that rich folks get into. And they are right...as the world's sole superpower, we will scarily be subjected to such higher scrutiny than any other nation in the world, and I promise you Americans will lose out in this.
An American leutinant commanding a small group of soldiers gets into a firefight with armed villagers that faulty intelligence told us were the current bad guys, but it turns out that actually they were just bad guys we were not warring with at the moment. Though the not-so-bad guys perhaps started the attack, they lose badly (duh). So that American leutinant is brought to trial for massacering civilians (heavily armed civilians who make sport out of oppressing the local populace, but let's not squabble about the details). He gets life in prison. Now let's head to say anywhere else in the world where the western world does not have a vested interest in. An army wanders around butchering people because those pepole had the audacity to come from a different tribe that is no longer in power. Who the hell is going to bring them to trial? No one, cause no one will notice, or some well-fed westerner will try to argue we don't have a right to impose our culture of not-killing on others (seriously, no shit, they argued that all day long with the whole Afghanistan thing) EVEN THOUGH THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE COURT ESTABLISHES. So, in the end, despite the efforts of very bright and influential Americans trying to set this thing up so we don't get screwed, we'll get screwed. Today's political climate where the spectre of US power is used as a perrenial scapcoat against crappy conditions around the world will ensure that Americans are not given a fair trial unless the US fights extremely hard to ensure that we do. The world is desperate to see us brought down a notch.
Though it may again seem like unilateralism by the US to not support this court, please be clear in understanding this stance by the US is not meant to enable the US to get away with war crimes...but rather it is because the US knows full well that its populace with be subjected to unfair trials and is desparate to prevent it.
So while I am seriously still in favor of something like the UN having real power some day (like in Star Trek!), I think it is a terrible idea to start in on it when there is only one superpower in the world. If Russia and China can get their act together (that means becoming like us BTW) and tap the resources they have available to them, THAT would be the time for such things. -
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Who here thinks the US should send peacekeeping troops into Israel to protect our national interests? - View/Add Comments (34 so far)
What a neat and sensible editorial. I love the Economist. Love it love it love it. - View/Add Comments (5 so far)
What a neat and sensible editorial. I love the Economist. Love it love it love it. - View/Add Comments (0 so far)
If you are somehow in the mood for a particularly moving and affecting documentary, pick up Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport from your video store. It is the story of the transportation of child refugees from Nazi Germany to Britain just prior to the war. The story is mostly told from the point of view of the now grown-up children, and it paints a particularly human perspective of the Holocaust. Certain not light and fun viewing, but it is the sort of thing that we should all watch. For a better description of the film, take a look at the first user comment in the link above. - View/Add Comments (1 so far)
So today I saw the first of the mud-slinging commercials for our gubanitorial (sp?) primaries on TV, and they were quite tacky. It would make me not want to run for anything ever. So I thought up a way to shut them down (if I was running), and it actually might work. When your opponent launches his slandering campaign, just sit back and run his exact same commercials (or some legal approximation) word for word...but instead of using a normal voice, use that mocking voice your kid sister used when repeating everything you said to drive you up the wall..high-pitched, snoty, whining. "So and so is a bad candidate for such and such a reason...", (in mocking voice)"So and so is a bad candidate for such and such a reason..." Do this for every single commercial he airs, and never air your own. At the end of each mocking commercial, just have simple white text that says, "Childish? We think so too. Please tune into the debates." Maybe reference a simple website with your viewpoints. Maybe it is too gimmicky, or wouldn't work more than once. But just the idea of shuting down these ridiculous campaigns seems like so much fun. Think about it...could you take someone's campaign spots seriously if someone was popping on right afterwards mocking up a storm like a child? Thoughts? - View/Add Comments (12 so far)
Hi all. Lots of people are in Sacramento for weddings and such this week...included in these people is Kathryn. For anyone that would like to, we are thinking of getting together with folks Wednesday night. Off the top of my head, I am thinking of starting at Hoppy (I think Erik is working the bar). Kathryn then suggested perhaps going to a comedy club afterwards, though if lots of folks prefer to head to a real life dance club, then perhaps we could do that. Kat after all has never been to an American club (she wasn't 21 when she was last here).
So please post and let me know if you are interested as well as what you'd like to do. Come on, you wouldn't want the sweet Scottish girl to cry, would you? :-) -
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A whole rant just to reference this paycheck calculator. - View/Add Comments (11 so far)
I am thinking of asking a series of "shipwrecked on a tropical island with all of BigDis" questions, though it occured to me that some of you might have watched that Survivor show...and I certainly don't want anyone referencing that...even in their heads. So, think more Lord of Flies, Blue Lagoon...even Giligan.
Anyway, say you were shipwrecked on BigDis Island with all of us...firstly, I'd like to ask what you think your immediate utility might be to the group. You may have skills and attributes that will serve us all better in the long run, but I am curious what role you think you'd play best in the first couple of weeks as we go about setting up the initial survival infrastructure on our Island...until we get our Swiss Family Robinson house setup. Would you be best at diplomacy and the managing of resources, or engineering, or following orders like a good worker bee, or making clothes, or hunting, or preparing food, etc? Do you think you'd honestly pitch in with your fair share of the work? Who do you think might best fit some of the roles above? -
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Jeff is older now. Happy older day. - View/Add Comments (7 so far)
I am always thinking in apocalyptical terms, and I wonder what I might perhaps prepare that could fit inside a duffle bag and would suit the majority of big-time emergency situations. If you had to prepare such a bag and that bag had to be ready for anything from floods and fire to an all-out end-of-days scenario, what would you carry in your fit-in-the-trunk bag? And I am meaning commonly available goods...water purifiers, MREs, compasses, geiger counters, maps, firearms, radios...etc. What would make up your list? If you say "medical kit", what specifically would you want to include in it? Also, if you need to be restrained more, try to keep it under $300 or so. - View/Add Comments (15 so far)
Okay, this editorial from the Globe and Mail (Canada) is just the most satisfying thing to read. I wouldn't draw the analogy so easily as Gee, but I think I am just a sucker for someone pointing out that anti-Americanism is not the good, cool thing everyone thinks it is. Anyway, it's a fun editorial. - View/Add Comments (4 so far)
Perhaps someone has already thought of this, but I think that we should a huge charity drive to relieve the hunger and such for the Afghan refugees. I just think it would be kind of funny...here we are, these big mean American people, and we, the people, raise the cash to feed their nation through the winter. Normally the US government gives tons of aid to them anyway, but I think it would be funny if the American people did more. Think about it...how hard would it be to villify us if we fly in and save the day? The money we have raised so far for the victims of the bombing could save like a million refugee lives...so we could do it again but for them. I am not sure it would get the popular support, I just like the idea of the average Afghan sitting there saying "You want us to go to war against the Americans? You mean, the ones who fed us and saved our lives?" Thoughts? - View/Add Comments (7 so far)
I want everyone to read this article the appeared in Canada's largest national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. If the link changes, the article is at The Globe and Mail, called "They Had it Coming?", and written by Margaret Wente. The article puts anti-American sentiment possesed by Canadians and in fact the Western world up to the light. It is an excellent article and speaks to the frustrations I have felt when living and travelling overseas. The sporting nature of the sentiment causes many would be intelligent non-Americans to not even notice the subtle bigotry founded mostly on ignorance of American culture, American activities abroad, and the history of American spirit. This complex the world possesses is nearly universal. Take ten people from different countries, land them in Europe and have them behave equally obnoxiously. If one was American, witnesses to that behavior will complain about and remember the loud, obnoxious American, and will barely notice and scarcely remember all others. A British person would be shocked that Kindle would consider not speaking in public in nice, multi-cultural London. But I understand perfectly. My first experience in London was sitting down and talking at length to a Scottish girl. I asked her how I might fare in Scotland getting on with folks, and she said I might do fine once they got pass the fact that I was an American.
So when foreign people point to Friday's outpouring of support for Americans at this moment, I do find it hard to believe it will endure very long. As long as we remain such an ultimate cultural and financial success, I see us as being a target for the bigotry that the ignorance of the rest of the so-called educated world causes.
As a parallel, look how Microsoft is slammed continually by folks who really don't know the first thing about Microsoft and their practices. It is a pasttime that persists because there is an inherent need to devalue that which is so powerful. Further parallels persist as your average office worker might sit and complain about Microsoft one minute, and then complain the next that they don't have the latest upgrade or what-have-you. Has Microsoft done some not so good things? Sure. Has the US? Of course. Does the average person really have a foundation that they argue from when bitching about Microsoft, or are thy merely engaging in a practice built on envy, small man's complex, a herd mentality...everything but a well-informed opinion. A university student may have read a few articles here and there and feel justified in showing indignation at the behavior of the American corporations abroad, but ask them what they know of their own country's economic imperialist actions and you'll find they know nothing.
Nothing can be more frustrating for me than sitting somewhere in Europe listening to the faux-intelligensia Ms. Wente spoke of bitch about US cultural over-saturation while drinking a coca-cola and planning to see the next Brad Pitt flick. I argued at length with a bright French girl who was angry that we didn't let French movies be shown in French theaters. I tried in vain to explain to her that French distributors and exhibitors bought the films from the US, and they did so because they know what sells. And what sells is the lowest-common denominator stuff that appeals to the most people in any nation, not just America. And what's worse is the common European assumption that they get in their record and video stores all the culture the US has to offer. They are honestly surprised when they find out there is more here than Brittany Spears, N-Sync, and Jerry Springer. Even immensely popular bands in the US that possess at least some degree of sophistication, like Dave Matthew's Band or perhaps Live, are unheard of in Europe for the most part. It rarley dawns on these folks that the fact that they know only of the American lowest common denominator crap is actually a citicism of them, not us.
So this rant really has little to do with recent events, but this article so well-captured my frustration that I take this as an opportunity to vent. Read the article. -
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How many of you would be interested in celebrating Marky Mark in Planet of the Apes this Friday in Sacramento? I am not sure when, but an early showing would be much preferable. - View/Add Comments (14 so far)
Though technically still July 24th in the USA, Kathryn has just turned 21 on her native soil. While this doesn't mean much more than another birthday for a Brit, Kathryn will be pleased when she nexts enters the US and can walk legally into any bar and drink as any Scotsman should! Everyone wish Kathryn a happy birthday so that when she awakes she will have a birthday message from many awaiting her!
Happy Birthday Kat! May you have at least one per year every year for the rest of your life! -
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What follows illustrates the behind the scenes story of Jeff and DM's wedding reception:
It all began innocently enough as a normal reception. Revelry, drink, Rob proving he is pretty fly for any colored guy. But trouble began as Andy confesses to Jeff the heartbreak resulting from Jeff's marriage in that now Andy's gay, incestuous love will never be requited! Jeff, terrified, turns to the first person he can find to further prove he is not interested. DM, apalled at Jeff's apparent philanderous faggotry, takes comfort naturally in Rob's embrace. Rob, thrilled with this new development, does a very happy dance. Dawnna and Monique team up to offer Andy something even better than gay brotherly love. Shawn, fearing he will lose Monique to the one-two combo of Dawnna and Andy, offers up his greatest feature to win her back. And lastly, Erik slips in a pretty cool photo of wine in plastic cups considering he only had a point and shoot. -
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I want to thank everyone so very much for all there help this last weekend with the move. Though hugely stressful, the move would have been infinitely worse had not all of you pitched in. A note to all...when moving upstairs, a fireman's assembly line works wonders and makes moving the smaller stuff a comparative breeze.
So thanks to Cyndie and Rob for the stalwart effort on both days. Thanks to Monique, Brent, and my brother for driving all the way from Sacramento to help out. Thanks to Beth not only for her own effort, but for providing one Gunnar Kramm, who indeed turned out to be worth three or more men in his moving prowess. Thanks to Aram for the strong back and figuring out how to remove the baneful legs on my couch of death, to Brian and his truck duty, and to Bryce who moved, umm, things. There was also some Spanish guy named George that helped out at Chris's...so thanks to him too.
So all of you have favors coming that you may call on whenever heavy things need lifted, coworkers need roughing up, etc. Please let me know if any of you need to be reimbursed for parking or gas costs incurred. Thanks again! -
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Okay, so that rant title was just a ruse to make you read this rant. Sure, I DID see John Madden yesterday...in Walnut Creek on my walk home (he was at some kind of yuppie outing). But, this rant is actually to get volunteers to help in yet another move. Yet this move...well, this move is truly worthy of your assistance.
Scott, Chris Rypinski (Brian Squibb's current roommate), and I are moving into a gigantic flat in San Francisco. If I were you, I would want to help these guys move just to see the cool, new place. It also has a very large fourth room that I am sure anyone who helps us move would get first dibbs on if they were to sleep in SF some night or two.
Anyway, I figured the best way to honor our fallen servicemen over Memorial Day weekend would be to move into SF. We will literally be next to Golden Gate Park. Pretty sweet.
The great move will begin Friday the 25th night at Chris's in Pacifica. We really aren't asking anyone to help with that, but that'd sure be swell. We then venture into SF and pick up Scott's few meager and very lite possesions.
The real move begins Saturday morning in Walnut Creek at whatever time is conveinent for the most helpers. Actually, I will hopefully have most everything already moved in to the truck Friday night, so finishing up in W.C. should be a breeze. And, yes, this time I have ordered a furniture dolly. So moving out of my place is really just a matter of stacking and rolling...not that big of a deal.
Then it is off to SF!!! Enjoy a lovely drive into SF and park in a pay lot a couple of blocks from the new place on my dime. This is where we need the bulk of the helpers. I am not going to lie to you here...we are on the third floor. No no, keep reading. First, the stairway doesn't turn...it just goes in a straight line up the inside side of the flat. So there is no pain in the ass negotiating of corners. If we have enough volunteers, this unloading shouldn't take more than an hour. Then BAM!, we are done. Of course everyone will be treated to a late lunch, and then we'll likely hang out in SF.
Now there are certain people I am thinking have to be there. Basically that's Rashmi. But the rest of you have a choice. However, Shawn, there are no Saturday soap operas, and even though I helped in the great 519 to Pond move, neither you nor Andy even commented on my last plea for moving help. And sure, Jeff is newly married with a kid, but I am thinking that he enjoyed Scott's move so much that he'll jump for this one (this time the truck doesn't need to go to Sacramento).
Rob has already come on board, so you know most of the heavy lifting will be taken care of. Then there are the three actual people moving, plus my brother. I hoping to have a Bryce and a Gunnar and an Aram and a Bob. See, so no one will be overloaded, but everyone will get a free day in SF with a lunch and free parking. Not bad, yes? -
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I am not sure if anything on an international scale has made me as angry as this. And this. And this and this and this.
I am especially angry at the European nations. This anti-American sentiment has gone on long enough. Screw the UN. We built it, we can build another. We leave an it'll shut down. Anyone cool who wants to join ours can. Grrrrrrrrr. -
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This is pretty funny. It talks about the cult that has bought the field next to my mom's house. I am thinking our cats will have to become "inside" cats now. - View/Add Comments (16 so far)
Here is a good little editorial talking crap about how the Chinese are little Commie brats. This whole thing is really bugging me. I read Tom Clancy's The Bear and the Dragon, a good portion of its 1000+ page bulk takes place within Chinese politburo. I really thought Clancy was being a tad racist with his characterization of many of the Chinese...along with the immaturity of its government. But apparently I was wrong, and Clancy was dead on. Not that our government members are particularly mature on an individual level, but they sure as hell know how to handle an international incident like adults. What is this bullshit posturing saying that the U.S. must apologize in order to get the 24 human beings back that the Chinese are holding hostage? Hmmm, maybe the Chinese just want to spend some quality time with our spy plane so they can STEAL our technology that their cash-strapped R&D Ministry or whatever couldn't dream up on their own! Grrrr.
By the way, any one notice who continually comes off as a badass in all these international incidents of late? Damn right, Powell...not that monkey Bush. Eventually Powell is going to have to just give in and run for President next term. -
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So, we've covered lots of different social and political topics here, so why not round out with affirmative action. This article refers to a law school whose affirmative actions have been struck down as unconstitutional. This is kind of funny, because it is a law school. They should know that state sponsored discrmination would eventually not hold up under the light of Contitutional liberties.
So I am wondering how people feel about affirmative action. Do you agree with the spirit of affirmative action, or perhaps even think it is ethically just? Obviously minorites have not yet attained economically equality in the US yet, so is discrimination okay if we take into account the injustices of history? Is it okay to give advantages to an individual based upon group membership? I am curious about how people feel here. -
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Can anyone comment on this that knows something about this spy business? I really don't get what the hell Russia thinks they are doing. As far as I can tell, we caught those Russians expelled spying and we are punishing them by kicking them out of the country. This we discovered from the FBI traitor that sold us to the commies. So, why the hell do the Russians say something like "We have time to think, to carefully pick from among more than 1,000 U.S. diplomats in Russia, to choose those who are most precious to the Americans"? That certainly doesn't seem right! If they have evidence those Americans are spies, then they are justified kicking them out. But just kicking out Americans because the Russians are pouting seems very childish. Anyway, I am sure I am missing something here, so someone please enlighten me. - View/Add Comments (5 so far)
BigDis: Who's stupid now?
BigDis: How big of a monkey?
BigDis: Viva la Revolucion! -
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Did anyone feel stabbed in the back by the Senate yesterday? - View/Add Comments (7 so far)
So the Oscar nominations are out, and I just have to mention I am a little confused about what the hell is so special about Gladiator? It received 12 nominations. Huh?
Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie a lot. It was fun, and somewhat amusing to see Aurelius...the movie version (Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher as well as emperor. He pretty much defined Stoicism, and for years I kept a copy of his Meditations next to my toilet cause it amused me to do so.) I liked the special effects and the battles. But 12 nominations?
You can compare Gladiator to Braveheart, and even Braveheart didn't get that many nominations (no acting nominations). And Braveheart was a way better movie. First of all, Braveheart made you actually care about Wallace's wife, so you really understood and cheered him on when he killed the English. But all you really saw of Maximus's family was them being run over and killed. I think the movie would have been way better if they had had done a similar introduction to his family.
Second, Braveheart was actually about a real person, event, people, etc.. Commodus, while a real person and kinda a dick, didn't actually kill his father, nor was he killed playing gladiator.
So, my point is really just asking what the hell is so good about Gladiator. It was fun, I liked it, especially after studying Roman culture in college (my term paper, oddly enough, was on Roman gladiatorial combats) and actually going to Rome, which is a dirty town filled with dirty men on mopeds. I especially liked the first scene when the Romans fight the Germans, as I thought the war-machien technology was pretty bad-ass. But I really didn't care about any of the characters, except that scar-faced comrad of Maximus (he was in Braveheart too, if you remember) that gets killed trying to help his general, and the African gladiator.
Anyway, I am just venting my confusion as to why everyone thought Gladiator was good instead of just a fun action movie. My favorite to win is Traffic. -
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So, I am headed to a new movie tonight, and I have to endure the inevitable horror of the lack of considerate behavior of my fellow movie patrons. I really do not think I have been to a movie in a long, long time where I have not been filled with a near violent rage. I have often wished that I was wealthy enough to buy one of the preview/commercial spots prior to the film, and give a lecture on movie theater ethics. Here is a list of things which everyone should have innately been intimately aware of, but apparently these are mostly novel ideas:
1. I would like to injure the bastard that first uttered, "Well, you can hear the dialogue, so I am obviously well in my right to talk so long as you can understand the words on the screen." What? How is that? You are naturally distracted by identifiable noises around you. That's why it is often easier to study in a very loud environment, where all sounds blend together.
2. Your head is much closer to the person's hands behind you than his/her head is. This means what they are doing is much more audible for you than for them. Popcorn, candy wrappers, etc., all terribly disturbing. Popcorn should be outright banned (why is there this one food that is socially acceptable to eat with your mouth open, and you usually only eat it when you should be quite?) Candy should be sold in cloth bags. If you ARE going to eat licorice, pull a large hunk out at a time, not one vine at a time!!!
3. Be aware of your nervous habits. How can someone be totally unaware of their foot tapping or their playing with their ticket? Bastards! Like the pen tappers in class!
4. It is simply not necessary for color commentary on the film as it happens. We do not need "Oh, he said......ha ha ha ha". If your child does not understand the film...don't bring them to the film.
5. The movie going community should not simply sit back and glare quietly when some punk kid is intentionally trying to disrupt the movie experience. This is a power trip for them, and getting riled up and not doing anything just reinforces this for them. See, polite society doesn't beat the crap out of people in movie theaters. Yes, I advocate mob violence against people intentionally trying to make the experience bad for others. The one time they walk away bloodied and bruised is the last time they pull a stunt like that.
6. Do not come into a movie late. Period. I can't believe theaters let people in late. Okay, I understand why, but please just don't do it.
So that's pretty much it. Simple really. Stay quiet, be aware of what your body is doing. Think about all the noises you might be making. Don't eat popcorn. Don't bring children to movies, unless it's a kid's movie. See, then everyone will have a far nicer time. -
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Pick you favorite three albums, and if you are particularly industrious, perhaps write why you like them.
Sorry, Andy, for not posting this as a QOTD. -
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BigDis is boring today. So, I'm going to ask a random question. Who are your top five favorite actors (male)? - View/Add Comments (16 so far)
This is me imploring Mr. Osborn to spout off something controversial and wacked so we can concentrate on that instead of this most recent debate. Of course, since I no longer work for Andrew, I'd be happy to unleash on his right-wing, fetus loving ass. (Damn, that'd be funny if pro-choicers started referring to pro-lifers as "fetus lovers" as if that was some kind of insult!) Hey, what movie are we seeing tomorrow? - View/Add Comments (8 so far)
Andrew called me this morning to relate the first of these actual, funny exchanges between ground controllers, pilots, etc. This is just the funniest thing:
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The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a PanAm 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747 (call sign "Speedbird 206") after landing:
Speedbird 206: "Top of the morning Frankfurt,Speedbird 206 clear of the
active runway."
Ground: "Guten morgen! You vill taxi to your gate!"
The big British Airways 747 pulled onto the main taxi way and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know vare you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by a moment ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with some arrogant impatience): "Speedbird206, haff you never flown to Frankfurt before?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, I have, in 1944. In another type of Boeing, but just to drop something off; I didn't stop."
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I was a Pan Am 727 Flight Engineer waiting for start clearance in Munich, Germany. I was listening to the radio since I was the junior crew member. This was the conversation I overheard (I don't recall call signs any longer):
Lufthansa: (In German) "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground: (In English) "If you want an answer you must speak English."
Luft: (In English) "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Beautiful English Accent (before ground could answer): "Because you lost the bloody war!"
Tee-hee! -
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So, speaking of merchandising, I think it would be neat to make up a whole series of BigDis shirts with amusing BigDis related sayings on them:
BigDis - It's not just for the Jews anymore.
BigDis - More like a Monistat 3 than a Monistat 7.
BigDis - It'll hurt if I swallow.
I especially like the As American As series:
BigDis: As American as the Baby Jesus.
BigDis: As American as Billy Idol.
BigDis: As American as Canada.
BigDis: As American as kindness to your neighbors, tolerance, and peace on Earth, and all that kind of shit.
BigDis: As American as Aqua Man.
BigDis: As American as the United States.
Any others? -
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Do any of you know anything we can do about regional encoding on DVDs?
Kathryn brought me two DVDs from Britain...one of them she insists is terribly funny, and the other one, the best of a sketch comedy show called "Trigger Happy", I know for sure is one of the funniest shows ever. I desperately want to see it, since I have only seen like two episodes. -
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Everyone should read this article by Condoleezza Rice, former Stanford Provost, expert in foreign relations (especially USSR/Russia), Billy-Bad-Ass of an academic, and likely our nation's next National Security Adviser. This lengthy article suggests a blueprint for the U.S.'s foreign policy for the next decade or so, and likely one that will be followed.
For the most what she has to say sounds good. I have decided in recent years that the U.S.'s lack of demonstrating a firm resolve with respect to American interests has led to a lack of respect for the United States. I don't advocate willy-nilly use of force, but when we do have a clear national interest to defend, we'd do well to defend it to our utmost!
I am not pleased with the obvious partisanship in this article, but I suppose she WAS Bush's foreign policy advisor during his campaign. Her vision of the future of American foreign policy seems to jive really well with the baddest man in town, Colin Powell. I really like that combo, as Rice has more academic qualifications that just about anyone, and Powell has more real-world intelligence than just about anyone.
Bush is pretty lucky to be able to stack his cabinet with black folk and avoid the usually obligatory criticism that he is doing so BECAUSE they are black, since these two are so very clearly qualified.
Female Republicans see Rice as a definite possible woman in the White House, as either President or Vice-President. I would surely be interest in seeing a race for President between Hilary Clinton and Rice. Rice should probably kick ass, but we perhaps would see just how racist and sexist the Republican (or Democratic) Party is! -
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I asked this as a QOTD, but it didn't get picked, so I'll ask in a rant:
If you were told that, for the rest of your life, you could only listen to music from Britain (and Ireland) or the United States, which would you choose? -
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This just makes me laugh. I mean, I know Russia is technically a threat and can still destroy the world, but it's not like the world doesn't know who won that Cold War.
I am super surprised Canada has responded. I was starting to think they were becoming the France of North America.
"Moscow has also said strategic aircraft would be an inexpensive and available response to a U.S. anti-missile shield, if it is deployed." What the hell does this mean? Why do you have to respond to shields? Sure, missile defense gives an advantage, but even critics of U.S. policy never really think we would be the aggressor in a nuclear war.
And what about this: "Moscow recently made much of an incident in which Russian reconnaissance planes buzzed the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, but the U.S. Navy denies it was caught off-guard." What the hell is that about? Is this a game? Grrrr. -
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Everyone is being painfully reticent these days on BigDis, so I am trying to think of something to spark some interest so the comments will again flow. We have covered the politics, religion, abortion, relationships, and the rest of the big baddies. I suppose we really haven't touched much on the plight of the Jews.
As you all know, the Jews and the Muslims don't seem to get along (and for some reason, Jews have rarley gotten along with anyone besides Jews, though these days, in the U.S., Jews and Christians seem to do just fine except for the occasional southern WASP who is convinced the Jews are running the world). So perhaps making a homeland for Jews in the middle of he world's supply of Muslims was perhaps not the best planning, but it is where they wanted to go, and it is too late now! Rob mentioned that perhaps Utah would have been a better choice.
So now we have something of a small war brewing in Israel, and though this is nothing new, this is and should be a hotbed of conversation. Do Jews have a right to be pissed for the last few thousand years of mistreatment? Probably. Do they have the right to use their ultra-tough police force to fire on teenager throwing rocks? I am not so sure. Is the U.S. a blind supporter or Israel? Probably. (The Israelis due tend to have the very best arms in the world, and the U.S. does tend to mke the very best arms.) Should we be, considering the Holocaust, the Russians, the Inquisition, the Romans, that whole slaves of Egypt fiasco, Babylon, etc.? Maybe so. Should we get dragged into another possible world war? Ooooh, I hope not!
What does everyone else think? And I mean everyone! -
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No one seems to be saying it, so here's Happy Birthday for Rob. I think he's thirty. I'm not sure though. Let's all wish Rob a happy thirtieth birthday!
Also, a happy birthday for my step-mom Betty and my brother James. I think both of them are thirty as well. -
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Is anyone else pretty darn excited about the myriad of new technologies being introduced everyday, not to mention all the new ones that will come out in 5 years. I think our world will look freakishly different in 50 years. I am wondering if technology will change our lives more in the next 50 years than it has in the last fifty.
Think about it...things are different, sure, but there hasn't really been a paradigm shift yet. We still mostly get around in cars. Our passenger jets aren't new at all. TV is about that old, though now we have quite a few more channels and ways in which programs are broadcast (along with new medias where information and programming can be stored).
The Internet and all the surrounding technologies have the potential to really change the way we function in society. I think it is all pretty exciting. Think about it. I don't go to the library to research something anymore, I use my computer. No bank visits, just my computer. No letters written, just the computer. As technologies and gadgets converge, your physical location in the world will matter relatively little with regards to many of the aspects of your life. That's a paradigm shift I think.
Soon enough you will be able to do your job (for many occupations anyway) from wherever you are in the world. I am figuring that heads-up displays will eventually pretty-much be the whole she-bang. That is, you won't have a computer or a PDA or a phone or a TV or any of this, but rather an elegant pair of glasses or contact lenses where you can watch any movie on demand, instantly attend a video conference or a university class, compose voice-mails, organize your life, pay bills and buy stock, and most everything you use the dozens of toys you have bought recently to aid in your everyday modern living. Neat.
And don't get me started on bio-technology and advances in medicine. I am going to do what I can to keep a good job so that someday, when all the "haves" can buy the immortality pill and the "have-nots" are just too damn poor, well, I'll be one of that "haves"!
What dismays me a bit is this: "When the hell do you actually buy something?" Technology is changing too damn quick for me to want to shell out lots of money for a toy that will be replaced in a month. I want a new cell phone, but I am reluctant to buy one as new ones are coming out all the time that are small, clearer, with new web browsers and PDA functionality. Grrrr.
Any thoughts on where you see technology taking us? -
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This crap amuses and disgusts me. Grrrr.
What is almost worse than than all politiking going on in the US like a school of rabid fish descending on a morsel of fish food is that the same damn thing is going on all around the world because of this election. Every single damn country is using this as an opportunity to make some political play. And some countries are just flaunting their small man's complexes by making jabs at the U.S. as an institution. In the majority of nations in the world, if the same thing were to happen there, there would be at least bloodshed because of the turmoil...if not civil war!!!
Look at what the Arab nations are saying! And the Italians! Oh, come on Italy, give me a break. You haven't had a decent government in 1700 years! Grrrrr.
On that note, I am heading to Canada for the weekend. Now I have to put up with those bastards' teasing. Please have all this sorted out by the time I get back. -
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I am curious. How many of you believe that, metaphysically, the universe is composed of atomic things, and how many of you believe in the infintesimal? And why? If you keep chopping up things, is there ever a final, indestructable element? (Please don't say energy!)
I was thinking about this on BART, and I think it is particularly important. I am trying to think of an occurence in nature of a fractional thing, as opposed to the posited, abstract concept of a fraction. But I can really only conceive of fractions if I accept the idea of the infintesimal. Otherwise, all fractions are really human inventions. If we believe in the atomic, then we should admit that "half a pie" doesn't really exist, except that we are having a conveinent term for "trillions and trillions are atomic elements arranged yummily".
-
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All of us have thought of the voting options presenting in this article before, but this election in particular the desperate need to adopt one of them. Both these systems allow us to preserve that American sense of actually choosing who is your leader (as opposed to those commonwealth systems discussed earlier), yet would do wonders to relieve the idiocy of our two party system.
I particularly like the analogy presented in this (comparing our current system to the Borda count): "The rankings could be thought of as grades, where an A is 4.0, a B is 3.0 and so on. If one student has five A’s and six B’s, and a second student had six A’s but five F’s, the second would win in a plurality system. The first would have the higher GPA and win in a Borda count."
We sort of assume that the two big parties won't ever agree to change the voting system as it tends to better represent the masses (i.e., give more power to minority parties). But in this silly Nader-Gore throwing your vote away thing, one of the major parties is seriously at risk here. Do you think it is possible that this election may be the wake up call for everyone? -
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Oh, I didn't know this! That's pretty bad ass! Okay, so if Bush wants Powell as Secratary of State, this is nothing but a good thing! I am not totally sure why he wouldn't want him as Sec of Defense, but let's not quibble over details. I guess it is pretty darn cool to have such a badass meeting with the heads of foreign nations. He'd be all like, "Oh, and this one time, I commanded one of the greatest military victories in the history of warfare. What did you say your name was again?"
Now, Powell has said in the past that he ain't running for nothin' as he isn't a politician. But he said that if his country called him into action, he'd be down. Have you ever watched Powell in an interview? He is smart. Damn smart. And he doesn't BS about anything. He is totally not a politician. And he irks Republicans cause though he is technically a Republican, he doesn't just flat out accept their views on everything. That's all I could ask for!
So, my idea is this. Powell is Sec of State for awhile, then he decides that he really needs to run the country like a leader rather than a politician. And then BAM! Maybe we'll get James Earl Jones as V.P.! Oh to dream. -
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Oh my sweet God!
"Show me that smile again. The Growing Pains Movie will reunite all the Seaver family, including stars Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller and Ashley Johnson. But don't hold your breath for Leonardo DiCaprio. Sunday, November 5, 7 p.m., ABC." -
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Okay, here are the near official rules, subject of course to amendment before the game officially begins. Everyone please sign on by Wednesday.
To play, each player anties $25.
The first end date is December 1st. The second is January 15th.
The #1 player (we are comparing relative weight loss here, so we are gauging the percentage of total mass lost) at each wins half the initial combined ante
and a pool of additional cash determined like so:
The #1 player is the reference point. For every percentage the losing players are away from the winner, they contribute $10.
For example, if by December 1st Mr. A loses 7%, Ms. B loses 5%, Mr. C loses 4%, and Ms. D loses 1%, the losers would contribute like so: Mr. B = $20, Ms. C = $30, Mr. D = $60. The initial ante would be $100, so Mr. A's prize would be $50 (ante) plus $110 (inverse pooled money)
The prize money division changes if there are more than 5 players. For 6-10 players, the winner gets 75% of the total, while the second place person gets 25%. For 11+ players, 1st gets 70%, 2nd gets 20%, and 3rd gets 10%.
Any thoughts? Please, seriously, sign up by commenting a "Yes, I am sick of being a fatty fat fat!" Thanks.
-
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Which is a better domain name:
www.FreeCanadaProject.com
or
www.TheFreeCanadaProject.com
?????????? -
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So, awhile back I asked a question of ya'll along the lines of "If you could champion one cause, what would it be?" Well, I think I might have found mine, and it just happens to be defending table wine from the harsh words of all the pretentious bastards who don't begin to understand its purpose.
Folks talk about the French or the Italians, and mention how these nationalities drink wine like soda. Well, yes, but do you think they drink fancy wine everyday, or even what we consider the lowest level of a respectable wine (at around $6 for a 750ml bottle)? Hell no! They drink this good ol' cheaper than beer stuff called table wine. It is called table wine because it is the type of wine you have at your dinner table when wine is a normal part of your everyday existence. People laugh and laugh when I mention that I bought a 4L jug of white wine for $6. Poor, ignorant bastards. To spite all, I finished said giganta jug...half last night (Erik wasn't feeling so hot today). Today I bought three more jugs, albeit the smaller, but ulrta cute and compact 1.5L jugs. These were reds. I am pretty sure the adorable, squat jugs alone are worth more to me than the $4.50 I paid for each of them. And since they are reds, I get to proudly leave them on the counter for the world to see.
Sure sure, we CAN taste the difference in a fine wine. But, really, a table wine isn't actually bad. They're kinda charming in their own way. -
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Here's a nice little bit from those Salon folks putting forth some questions they wouldn't mind seeing asked in these presidential debates, but which they know full well wouldn't be asked. I'm with them on this. Seriously, we have better debates than them here on BigDis. Grrrrr. If I was a badass presidential nominee, I would go around answering questions all day long. How hard can it be? When someone asks how you feel about something, you tell them how you feel, and why you think how you feel is justified. BAM! Done, and who can criticize that? If they happen to point out holes in your argument, then you begin to form different opinions. But OH NO, folks'll just keep whatever opinions they have, as if the foundations of their arguments are all incontrovertible axioms, even when faced by pesky objections such as logic. Grrr. You know, I would seriously be impressed by a particularly bright nominee who said something akin to "Oh, you know, I am pretty sure you're right. My opinion on this is now changed. Thanks!" Of course, perhaps all the voters don't feel that way, cause they certainly wouldn't want to have their precious opinions examined and shown faulty. They just want someone who gets up there and says approximately the same thing as they, the voter, are thinking...regardless of whether or not it's wrong. You know, as a voter (well, which I am not, but let's say I was voting), there are tons of issues I sit on the fence about, cause I feel like I don't have enough information about to make any sort of informed opinion. "Oh my goodness, not have an opinion on something just cause you lack some inconsequential like facts? You must be crazy!" I would love to sit back and watch a damn informative debate and, well, be informed by it. Like something like environmentalism. "We have to protect the environment!" Fair enough, let's see the studies on it. AND NOT THE ONES THAT ARE SPONSORED BY BIASED GROUPS ON EITHER SIDE! Then, presented with the evidence, we can decide on what we think is the best course of action based on whatever principles we are down with. Erik Andresen is a big fan of that black Republican fellow who lost to Evil in the primaries...I think his name was Keyes. Erik actually went to see him speak and said he was the Billy Bas Ass of debates. Apparently the opponents would get so flustered because they would realize that if they ever did think themselves smart, they don't now after arguing with this guy. But did he win? NOPE! Lost to Dumb Evil Not A Shadow of His Father Man. Folks might say it was because he was black and Republican, but I am guessing it is more because he might actually have made folks think.
Not that I am saying these men are stupid that are running (except for Evil). Gore probably had some damn good ideas when he was a whelp, before the system and Tipper converted him. Grrr.
So, about 2400 years ago assemblies would gather and common folk would argue for their cause, and lo and behold, laws would be made on how everyone assembled voted. This may not have been that novel, but we don't have alot of evidence that this popped up earlier. So, sooner that later, some pretty smart folks realized that the crowd was not really bent on discovering things like TRUTH in these arguments. They were almost always just swayed by appeals to emotion or self-interest. So these clever folks became clever opportunistic folks called Sophists. They ran schools where they would teach rhetoric (in return for cold hard cash), or the ability to sway others through speech. Not through argument, specifically, but rather by any means necessary speechwise. And it worked. Well. This pissed off the logicians of the day (and killed Socrates and exiled Aristotle) as they complained that this democracy stuff really was assuming that the common man has some idea about how he ought to be governed. Yeah yeah yeah, we all know in our hearts that we must have an equal say in how we are governed, but that shouldn't stop us from bitching about how these silly appeals to the lowest common denominator are really making our politicians into big, fat, opporunistic liars. So, sure, we may have the RIGHT to say how we are governed, but I seriously doubt most people have the faculty. And in turn, we get crappy politicians. And then we get crappy debates.
In an unrelated note, I'd daresay that 4L of table wine for $6 is a darn good buy. -
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I think Andrew's Last Rant about killing Hitler was interesting, and since it's about to get knocked off the front page here, I thought I'd save it. I have been waiting to comment on it until I have like two hours to do so. Maybe I'll have to do it in stages. - View/Add Comments (23 so far)
Does anyone have an extra bed lying around that they do not need for say...the next nine months? Kathryn just got an apartment in Davis and will need something to sleep on. Please let me know if ya'll have anything extra. Preferably something that will sleep two 6'+ people. Thanks. - View/Add Comments (3 so far)
Is anyone interested in heading to the Renaissance Fair this Fall? I'm thinking maybe in a couple of weeks after it has cooled down a bit. Or maybe even later, depending on what response you all give. - View/Add Comments (2 so far)
Hushed whispers in dark halls suggest that the consensus opinion of the state of BigDis is that we have very much let this thing get stale. In our heyday we might have posted dozens and dozens of comments distributed amongst such diverse topics as religion, politics, and underwear. These days I believe most of us sit around pressing Refresh buttons, hoping that someone (other than us) will write something interesting. But sometimes, even when an interesting rant is posted that begs discussion (see Andy's last free speech bit), we fail to pick up the conche (however you spell that) and run off at the mouth with it.
So I can bemoan this state or just try to come with something interesting to prompt folks with. Hmmmm....what to write, what to write.
Alright, here we go. Most of as are, admittedly and unashamedly, lazy. We may watch something on the news that we feel is particularly bothersome, but we don't do anything about it. There is nothing wrong with this, for if we ran after every cause that needed fighting for, we'd forget to do any of that living we are supposed to be here for.
So here's my question. If you could pick one cause to back and show your support in whatever which way possible, what would it be? You might want to free Tibet, hang out with an antidefamation league or two, feed the hungry, champion an idealogical cause (like helping the world understand whatever it is they ought to be understanding), join the Peace Corps, whatever.
For example, my mom is hard-core into animal rescue these days. She runs around to all the local Pounds and rescues German Shepards about to be put down. Then she arranges foster homes for them. She's saving dog lives.
So if you did have the time or inclination to back a cause, what would it be and why? -
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Do you find yourself wandering around, noticing things and thinking strange thoughts in the back of your mind? I do. For instance, I always notice some bit of man-made construction...like a tile in a bathroom or on a grocery store flor...or maybe the cement on a curb, etc. I have to wonder what the fella was like who lay that tile. I imagine him there, well, working. Then I wonder if that guy ever thinks about that tile anymore. If he is still alive. What his life turned out like. See, I think the people who do construction have some sort of special access to a bit of permanence. I think the same things when I visit a ruin of sorts. There was some real person here that put that brick there. They sort of left an image of themsleves imprinted by their handiwork. Anyone else have strange thoughts? - View/Add Comments (16 so far)
Do you find yourself wandering around, noticing things and thinking strange thoughts in the back of your mind? I do. For instance, I always notice some bit of man-made construction...like a tile in a bathroom or on a grocery store flor...or maybe the cement on a curb, etc. I have to wonder what the fella was like who lay that tile. I imagine him there, well, working. Then I wonder if that guy ever thinks about that tile anymore. If he is still alive. What his life turned out like. See, I think the people who do construction have some sort of special access to a bit of permanence. I think the same things when I visit a ruin of sorts. There was some real person here that put that brick there. They sort of left an image of themsleves imprinted by their handiwork. Anyone else have strange thoughts? - View/Add Comments (0 so far)
Hey, Portland people. Tell me about Portland. I've never been there, but that Jeff guy raves about it. So I was flipping around various indexes today getting a feel for its numbers. The city itself seems to be a chunk (I dunno, 30%) bigger, but I am curious if it still has the same sprawling suburban bit that Sacramento has. The crime is really high, which strikes me as odd cause it's Oregon. (168% of the national average, as opposed to Sacramento's 153%). But houses appear to basically be free (87% of Sacramento's average). Rent is about the same. And what is the deal with Vancouver, WA? Is that like Portland's Roseville? The stats reflect this. (Actually, Roseville has only 40% of the crime of the national average). Cyndie said the job market was really good...a bit better than Sacramento, but not like San Francisco. So, tell me about Portland. - View/Add Comments (11 so far)
Okay fatties, though the infrastructure doesn't yet exist, the Operation begins now. Yes, everyone record just how soft and pink you really are and begin becoming less of a person tonight. Very soon the easy-click link will be in place where we can all remark on our progress and lots of fun stats can be generated. Though I likely can only nick the surface here before my Canada trip, it is better to start today than tomorrow. - View/Add Comments (13 so far)
All right folks, it's time we put this whole community thing to good use here. Let's face it, most of us are a wee bit bigger when we were when stopped getting taller. While I know that most of my added weight is in my liver, I do tend to do that grunt when I reach to tie my shoes and my gut gets cozy with my ribs. What I propose is this...BigDis puts together a link where we can all submit our current weight. Don't worry, the individual weights won't be displayed as the only thing being shown will be the total weight of BigDis. Like "BigDis weighs 4300lbs". Then each week or whatever we can login and submit what we've lost, thereby subtracting it from the total. "This week BigDis has lost 22 pounds". And then we can convert it to "stone" for Kathryn's sake. Seriously, it's summer and I am feeling crappy and I need some community help to get me motivated here. And I am guessing a good few of ya'll could too. Someone to lean over your shoulder and call you "fatty fat fat" every once in awhile. Let me know what you think and we (meaning Rob, probably) can get started. :) - View/Add Comments (23 so far)
All right folks, it's time we put this whole community thing to good use here. Let's face it, most of us are a wee bit bigger when we were when stopped getting taller. While I know that most of my added weight is in my liver, I do tend to do that grunt when I reach to tie my shoes and my gut gets cozy with my ribs. What I propose is this...BigDis puts together a link where we can all submit our current weight. Don't worry, the individual weights won't be displayed as the only thing being shown will be the total weight of BigDis. Like "BigDis weighs 4300lbs". Then each week or whatever we can login and submit what we've lost, thereby subtracting it from the total. "This week BigDis has lost 22 pounds". And then we can convert it to "stone" for Kathryn's sake. Seriously, it's summer and I am feeling crappy and I need some community help to get me motivated here. And I am guessing a good few of ya'll could too. Someone to lean over your shoulder and call you "fatty fat fat" every once in awhile. Let me know what you think and we (meaning Rob, probably) can get started. :) - View/Add Comments (0 so far)
It's time again for the annual BigDis Canada tour and this year we are heading to Alberta for a six day backpacking trip through the Canadian Rockies August 2nd through the 8th. The trip is rugged but quite a steal at CAN$199, which works out to be about twenty-five cents (or US$135, whatever). Jeff and I have already booked our seats, and there are at the moment six left. If your interested, check out the Rocky Express Tour. - View/Add Comments (2 so far)
Who all is up for Jackie Chan tonight? Like four of us are in town that normally are not, so I say we all go watch some kung-fu fighting in the Old West. - View/Add Comments (8 so far)
We have not had a lengthy thread of a political or ethical debate here on BIGDis in some time, so I thought as I lie here ill this morning I might spark one off on a topic which nearly everyone has some sort of articulate position on and seems to care about one way or the other. My question is this...do you believe the future ought to include the further advancement of bio-technology, specificly in the fields of genetic engineering and gerontology? That is, do you think it is wrong to use genetic therapy to alter one's current health and extend one's life? For the sake of ethical argument, please disregard such pragmatic concerns as overpopulation and presume an acceptable level of error in experimentation by scientists (i.e., no Frankenstein monsters). - View/Add Comments (27 so far)
This is so odd of me...I just called up the cable company and had them shut down my cable service? Why the hell would red-blooded American give up a hundred and twenty five channels you ask? Well, two reasons. First, I really didn't feel like I watched it enough to justify paying for it. And second, and most importantly, when I did watch it I was more likely to avoid productive activities in favor of sitting and watching TV. So BAM! No more TV. I don't have an antennae or anything. I feel empty. :) - View/Add Comments (2 so far)
I think the real pressing question on everyone's mind has to be what we are all going to do after Beverly Hills on Party of Five are gone. Sigh. More importantly, are we all gathering together for the last episodes? Woe is me. Woe is me. - View/Add Comments (2 so far)
Alrighty folks, tomorrow I am moving into my new apartment in Walnut Creek. For all those who would help me move, here's your incentive...first, I have only one room to move, and no couches at all. In fact, I have only 4 pieces of furniture plus electronic goodies. Other than that everything is quick and easy. And for those that drive with me the hour and a bit to Walnut Creek to help offload, no measly pizza awaits. I will take ya'll to the Black Diamond Brewery! - View/Add Comments (5 so far)
Alright, who here knows anything about satellite TV dishes like the kind that receive DirectTV and Dish Network? I have to choose soon between satellite and cable. - View/Add Comments (9 so far)
Erik's Answer of the Day:
Because it hurts more when you do it that way. (now ask the question) -
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Somebody asked (and I can't remember who) awhile back why Easter is celebrated at wildly different times each year. Well...
Easter used to be celebrated the same day as the Jewish Passover, but at the Council of Nicaea in 325 (a big meeting of Christianity's power players led by Constatine I) early Christians, in an attempt to distance themselves from the Jews, decided to change the date. Since then, Easter is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of Spring. At least that's what the books say. I don't know, because I wasn't there. -
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This is not so much a rant as it is a big whine. I am sitting here cleaning my room so Kathryn does not shriek and flee when she arrives in two weeks, and I am reminded of just how much of our day is filled with the little tihngs that maintain our lives. Maintenance. Maintenance sucks. Think about it...you lose a third of the day sleeping. BOW! Maintaining. Then you have to bathe unless you are a hermit or just cruel. You have to brush your teeth. You have to EAT! Eating is nice, yes, but it is still something you HAVE to do. If I up and decide that I am not in the mood to eat for awhile, I up and die! You should keep everything clean, and some people even make their beds. You pay your bills, mow the lawn, do your laundry, shave at times and in various places, and then you have to sleep again. Some of us really like our work, and that is great. But you can't just up and STOP working (well, you can, but then you would have to sell your house and live in the projects). What if I just want to do absolutely nothing for a month but read? Watch T.V.? Hang out? Or, what if I want to do nothing but work? I can't! I know we have it better than early man in that we don't trapse along the hills all day looking for food and such. Seriously, the number of hours a day that we get to do whatever the heck we want to is very small. And trust me, I stretch those hours out with a fervor. There, that's me whining. You know, I think I am not going to bathe at all today...just in protest. (Just today Kathryn...I'll be plenty clean when you arrive). - View/Add Comments (7 so far)
I want to say that you all would make terrible Amish people! No one up and got me a job! Two offers for house-boy doesn't count. And I haven't heard back from the publishing comapny yet! (I guess it has only been a couple of days since I sent them my resume). - View/Add Comments (9 so far)
Okay, let's all have a bigdis barn raising, but instead of raising a barn, let's work on getting Erik a new job. Let me explain. I bartend these days and hate it with a passion which is all consuming. Hate hate hate. So, I am pretty sure that almost everyone here has a job. I need a job. ANY JOB (within reason), as long as it is full time and I get a desk (although I could do with a desk if the situation was right). Right now I am applying for an editorial assistant job for a book publisher, but I am not sure if I'll get that. I don't even need to make the crazy money that all the web people are making. So, please put on your thinking caps and ask yourself if you know of any jobs for Erik. :) - View/Add Comments (3 so far)
I just wanted to wish Rob luck at his new job. Have a great time. - View/Add Comments (5 so far)
Steve has done a good job recently of mocking what men's magazine's promote as the typified male. Yet many people genuinely believe such stereotypes...enough to guide their conduct in relationships by them. I just received a forwarded email which was a joke analyzing the difference between what a man's and a woman's thought processes were during a date. The women's was paragraphs long, while the man's was a short, stupified sentence. Seriously, not only have I never fallen under any generalized male category (except when I was so giddy about my new palmtop PC that Kathryn said I was "such a guy"), few of my male friends ever have as well. For that matter, my female friends (and girlfriends I suppose) certainly can't be pidgeonholed by any women's (or men's) magazine either. Yet most of the world buys into this male/female dichotomy and believe that relationship advice can benefit from such generalizations. People, there are crazies of both sexes, just like there are sweethearts. There are needy people and there are independant people, yet either could be male or female. The idea that a man doesn't think just as long and hard about his relationship as a woman is ridiculous. Rob and I spent countless hours driving around as youths discussing primarily women. Hell, any woman who has ever dated me knows that I am far from the strong, silent type. "Erik, do we have to talk about EVERYTHING in the relationship?" There are plenty of women that are not so codependent and that don't analyze every aspect of the relationship. I used to skim Beth's girl magazines (17, Cosmo, what have you) and read the parts about what guys REALLY want. You can tell why so many people just have no clue. There is not some huge schism between men and women. Sure, there are some differences which have been habituated in us by society and so forth from birth, but these are so widely varied that one cannot possibly expect to get ahead in the game of love by understanding said differences. Now, we all know that I have rarely had relationships last terribly long, but that is because I have rarely followed my own advice...which is simple and forthright. 1. Be nice. Consider someone's feelings along with your own. Understand their insecurities and play on them. 2. Tell someone how you feel when you feel it. Simple. 3. If you tend to overreact, just think through why you are feeling a certain way. 4. Don't sleep with more than six people at any one time. 5. Take it easy...don't stalk or call every half hour. Don't pursue someone if they are not interested in you. And if you are not interested in someone who is pursuing you, let them know in a nice yet timely manner that you are not interested. 6. Oh, and bathe and brush your teeth and so forth..........There, done. If men and women did that, we'd all be alot better off, and those stupid magazines would go out of business (and that damn "Men ar from Mars..." book would not have stayed on the bestseller list for so damn long. - View/Add Comments (11 so far)
Okay, this is technically a resonse to Steve's comment about briefs in his rant, but I want some feedback here - so this goes on the main page. I understand that briefs may not look as slick as boxers, but I cannot believe that anyone would happily wear boxers (I know they do, I am just confused as to why). Remember when we used to just grab a pair of shorts with no underwear on and go swimming when we were kids? Remember? Remember how weird that felt? C'mon, that's how boxers feel. Ladies, ever run without a bra? It is either uncomfortable or painful, depending on how happy your babies will be someday. Well, that's how it feels ro run in boxers. And briefs keep a certain couple of guys well position so that if you cross your legs quickly you do not immobilize yourself for a couple of minutes. And if you are any sort of man another thing hangs uncomfortably to one side and chaffes. Try walking all day with that brushing your leg. You either blister or get aroused. Neither is generally good in public. There we go, that's my piece. - View/Add Comments (35 so far)
I for one would like thank Andy for making that very sensible comment about Sacramento (the one in Ryan's rant where he said actually LIKED Sacramento). I have become very annoyed at people who imply that Sacramento is somehow lacking. Now, maybe this is because I have lived here for 23 years, but I really can't think of a more perfect city. Perhaps this is because it is so typically average. You want suburbia, you want ghetto, you want country, you want city? We have it all. Plus, I mean, we ARE located very close to all those other places. And any of you bastards who sell out and move to S.F. (which is not "The City", by the way. You can only call it that if you live in the Bay Area) know that it costs like three times as much to rent some crappy place (oops, nothing personal Ryan)......Let us Sacramentans not forget that we live in the capital city of the wealthiest and most populous state in the wealthiest and most powerful country the world has ever known. See, so Sacramento is the top of the tops. Of course, the only other place I have actually lived is Dublin, and it doesn't get much worse than that. I mean, the Irish and all that. - View/Add Comments (8 so far)
A few years ago I had a girlfriend that lived in Volcano, which is in Amador County. If I wanted to see her (and on occasion I did) I had to drive for an hour and half... I have a new girlfriend now. I am going to see her tomorrow, but now I have to drive to San Francisco, board a plane, fly for ten hours and cross eight time zones (unless you count those half-hour time zones, which, believe you me, you shouldn't), take the tube to King's Cross station in London, ride for four and a half hours into another country, and then take a taxi to her place... Volcano is looking might convienent these days. Of course, this girlfried is 6' tall though, and the other one was only 5'3". That's more than an inch a time zone. - View/Add Comments (4 so far)
I saw my first copyright from the year 2000 today. That was kinda neat. I want to see one at the end of a film with the Roman numerals. And when I was setting up my mother's VCR yesterday I got to set 01/01/00. That was kinda neat too. I suppose that will be neater next year. - View/Add Comments (0 so far)
I was thinking that maybe everyone who lives in the Greater Sacramento Area would like to celebrate the 2000s on Jan 1st (or 2nd if everyone is too hungover) by heading to the IMAX theater to see Fantasia 2000. Just a thought. - View/Add Comments (1 so far)
HAPPY BOXING DAY EVERYONE! - View/Add Comments (1 so far)
I actually have something to rant about! Does everyone have a tubby, fat ass bastard boss whose ass you'd like to smash but you can't cause most people get fired when they pummel their boss? Well, I do. Does everyone work for some chub-a-lub, rolly-polly bitch who gets angry FOR NO FREAKIN' REASON and who YELLS FOR NO FREAKIN' REASON even though if he did so on the street you would just sock him about the head and neck until his waddling ass was properly tenderized? Well, I do. Does everyone work for a gravity challenged peckerwood who thinks because he is the manager that he is somehow right by default, as opposed to only being the manager because he is part owner and and OLD PUDGY FREAK!? Well, I do. Does everyone want to quit being a bartender and get a real job that real grown-ups get? Well, I do. - View/Add Comments (1 so far)
I will take advantage of this venue to rave for a bit about a wee lass called Kathryn (well, not so wee I suppose at 6 feet tall). Born and raised an hour outside of Edinburgh in a small Scottish country town, she is like no other girl that I have ever met. In fact, how I came to meet her was not very much like me at all. Staying in a Christian Youth Hostel in Amsterdam, I just decided to ask this frizzy haired blonde if I could join her as she sat playing chess in the cafe'. As luck would have it, apparently fortune really does favor the bold. Within a week I had flown to see her in Edinburgh, and within a few more weeks (while back in the U.S.) I had booked another flight to London so that I could be with her again. Apparently I have done quite a decent job at conning her into believing that I am an interesting and worthwhile person, as she too has booked a flight - this one to the U.S. in March for her month-long visit to Sacramento (okay, I lied and made Sacramento sound interesting, but I will take her around California as well). The girl has such a strong mind (she was valevictorian, but they call it something different over there) and there is no bigger point-winning attribute than a brilliant brain. I mailed (via the post) her two philosophy essays that I had written because she said she wanted to read them - and she actually did - at 7am - right when she got them! Even I get bored with my essays. Anyway, now everyone will lecture me on long-distance relationships and so forth, or rushing into things (the ticket to London WAS only $239 though), and perhaps they are right. But for the moment Kathryn saves woman-kind from my womanizing, so we should all be thankful for that. - View/Add Comments (0 so far)
Usually life is decent enough, and perhaps things may deserve a whine, but today I actually have a rant 9which encompasses the last 24 hours or so). First, as it happens, the only girl that I meet while touring that I REALLY like happens to come at the end of my journeys. So, not thrilled about leaving her behing in Scotland, I get this pleasure added to by a quite painful ear and throat infection. This is no good. I arrive in London last night, feeling a wee bit like crap and loaded down with 60lbs of gear. I wander for TWO FRICKEN HOURS trying to find the restaurant my Aussie friend Anne told me to meet her at. The British do not believe in phone books, so merely knowing the name of a place is not enough like it is in the good ol' U S of A. So, an hour and a half into this misery, my troubles are compounded when I reinjure my back (remember the sprain from April?) I do this by repeatedly hoisting my damn bags. So, hear I am, nearly ready to board a plane for 10.5 hours, with ears that are SWOLLEN aand a back that barely works. Sigh. Perhaps everything will right itself in the next few days. Oh, another thing. This oral sex thread amuses me - not because it is in itself amusing, but rather because my step-mother reads the rant page. Hi Cindy. :) - View/Add Comments (0 so far)
I'm just gonna mush about for a bit free-form. First, I'd like everyone to see the humor in the fact that I am staying at the Christian Youth hostel smack dab in the middle of the city of original (and sometimes VERY original) sin, swathed in its pervasive red-light. Second, let's all take notice of the fact that I attended a Bible Study meeting. Further, it may be worthwhile to have a look into the fact that I spent the discussion part of this meeting helping others cement their relationship with God. I think we're all banking on God having a sense of humor here. From Amsterdam... - View/Add Comments (0 so far)
You grow up with certain incontrovertible truths - those which are nearly axioms and are always close to your heart. At the top of every God fearing American's list is the plain and simple fact that France and all that lies within it are happily aligned with Satan. We know from an early age that something emptied its bowels and called it France. In truth, whenever we step in something icky, our first thought is always of France. So my first worthy rant is the horrific surprise that met me when I rode in to Paris with mouth agape at the most beautiful city I had ever scene. While I was pretty sure that our tour group called ahead and arranged for the sun to magically sparkle through cotton clouds, that didn't lessen the specticle. For my sanity's sake, I will go nowhere else in France for fear I may learn that the rest is not shit just as Paris wasn't. - View/Add Comments (0 so far)
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