Saturday, March 21, 2009
Blogging takes too many words.
My mind is being systematically reduced to creating utterances of 140 characters or less.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
FriendFeed
In order to bring this blog forward, let me simply share this bit about Friendfeed:
FriendFeed
FriendFeed
See your friends' discoveries
See the web pages, videos, photos, and music your friends are sharing from around the web.
Share automatically
FriendFeed automatically picks up the stuff you share on over 40 web sites, like YouTube and Flickr.
Awesome discussions
Discuss that great new TV show, that political editorial, or that hilarious cat video with the people you know.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
OBAMA WINS! "It's like living and going to heaven!"
CHARLOTTE, NC President-elect Barack Obama mourns the death of his grandmother, on the day before he is elected President of the United States.
While thinking about what a Democratic sweep would be like, the thought, "It's like dying and going to heaven."...but then I thought, "No, it's like living and going to heaven...which is true. The hard part is that the heaven is up to us to create. One must imagine Sisyphus happy...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Bank of America CEO's got a talent for making money - USATODAY.com
Who is Ken Lewis?
Time magazine put Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis on its 2007 list of the world's 100 most influential leaders, but for 2008, the one-year wonder was expunged from the list like a bad loan.
Lewis is back. His influence is undeniable after BofA's (BAC) rescue of Countrywide Financial in January and of Merrill Lynch this week. He should be among the world's Top 10 most influential, says Hugh McColl, 73, the BofA CEO who retired in 2001 to make way for Lewis.
"This is one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world," says McColl, who then pauses to correct himself. "Most powerful in the world would be more accurate."
MORE
Time magazine put Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis on its 2007 list of the world's 100 most influential leaders, but for 2008, the one-year wonder was expunged from the list like a bad loan.
Lewis is back. His influence is undeniable after BofA's (BAC) rescue of Countrywide Financial in January and of Merrill Lynch this week. He should be among the world's Top 10 most influential, says Hugh McColl, 73, the BofA CEO who retired in 2001 to make way for Lewis.
"This is one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world," says McColl, who then pauses to correct himself. "Most powerful in the world would be more accurate."
MORE
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Floods are Weird
I haven't even written my 9/11 story, and now a flood wedges itself within the queue. What am I to do? And though I grant that 9/11 made a bigger splash, the transformative muddy baptism of recent days, has shown itself to be a sort of personal 9/11, with only the chosen few marked for dunking, and the concomitant traumas.
9/11 was about decay, and its removal, at least according to the I Ching...which makes me think of a line by Wallace Stevens which says that Life is the elimination of what is Dead. Not sure yet what messages I will take from the undinal songs of this minor inundation...although several have already presented themselves.
In progress...
9/11 was about decay, and its removal, at least according to the I Ching...which makes me think of a line by Wallace Stevens which says that Life is the elimination of what is Dead. Not sure yet what messages I will take from the undinal songs of this minor inundation...although several have already presented themselves.
In progress...
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sly fox George W. Bush quietly seeks to make war powers permanent, by declaring indefinite state of war
excerpt:
The New York Times' page 8 placement of the article in its Saturday edition seems to downplay its importance. Such a re-affirmation of war carries broad legal implications that could imperil Americans' civil liberties and the rights of foreign nationals for decades to come.
It was under the guise of war that President Bush claimed a legal mandate for his warrantless wiretapping program, giving the National Security Agency power to intercept calls Americans made abroad. More of this program has emerged in recent years, and it includes the surveillance of Americans' information and exchanges online.
"War powers" have also given President Bush cover to hold Americans without habeas corpus -- detainment without explanation or charge.
LINK
The New York Times' page 8 placement of the article in its Saturday edition seems to downplay its importance. Such a re-affirmation of war carries broad legal implications that could imperil Americans' civil liberties and the rights of foreign nationals for decades to come.
It was under the guise of war that President Bush claimed a legal mandate for his warrantless wiretapping program, giving the National Security Agency power to intercept calls Americans made abroad. More of this program has emerged in recent years, and it includes the surveillance of Americans' information and exchanges online.
"War powers" have also given President Bush cover to hold Americans without habeas corpus -- detainment without explanation or charge.
LINK
One Million Flee "Mother of All Storms", Gustav
NEW ORLEANS — Spooked by predictions that Hurricane Gustav could grow into a Category 5 monster, an estimated 1 million residents fled the Gulf Coast Saturday — ahead of the official order to get out of the way of a storm taking dead aim at Louisiana.
Residents took to buses, trains, planes and cars — clogging roadways leading away from New Orleans, still reeling three years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed about 1,600 across the region.
LINK
Residents took to buses, trains, planes and cars — clogging roadways leading away from New Orleans, still reeling three years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed about 1,600 across the region.
LINK
Hallelujah
"Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen
Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah...
Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Media Matters' Waldman takes on Obama Swiftboater Corsi on Larry King
If you're in a hurry, you can skip to minute 15 and pick up with some intriguing revelations regarding Corsi's jaded history with words.
Take a close look at someone who puts money above people and principal. Who allows the corrupt wealthy to pay him to write books that they themselves buy in order to appear to have risen on merit, when the opposite is actually the case. Gamblers and drunks. always racing to the bottom.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
If John Edwards were Hitler...
(to those trying to destroy his family)
If John Edwards were Hitler, I would say "Go ahead and destroy the man and his family."
But John Edwards is no Hitler, and most Americans know this. In fact they know he is at the other extreme of Hitler. Rather than dedicating himself to taking lives, he has dedicated himself to saving lives.
He is guilty of too much love. Not too little.
Those who are attacking him are guilty of that.
It is not just John you are destroying. It is also Elizabeth. But will YOU apologize to her?
I somehow doubt it. Thus once again proving, to your dismay, that John Edwards really is a better man.
If John Edwards were Hitler, I would say "Go ahead and destroy the man and his family."
But John Edwards is no Hitler, and most Americans know this. In fact they know he is at the other extreme of Hitler. Rather than dedicating himself to taking lives, he has dedicated himself to saving lives.
He is guilty of too much love. Not too little.
Those who are attacking him are guilty of that.
It is not just John you are destroying. It is also Elizabeth. But will YOU apologize to her?
I somehow doubt it. Thus once again proving, to your dismay, that John Edwards really is a better man.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
On The Importance of Living (and not dying or killing)
The Importance Of Living by Lin YutangMy review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
Lin Yutang, Rumi, Martin Buber, Lao T'se, Jesus, Buddha, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi...these are the words that can heal our troubled world. In a sensationalized world, the reader of Lin Yutang's great classic will learn how to enjoy merely sitting, lying in bed, reading, writing, walking, and nearly everything one can do that harms no other or self.
For my money, the most important part of "The Importance of Living" is where he discusses, at some length, the non-soldier, and all the good and necessary qualities contained therein. Not exactly a non-soldier, but a scamp, and a "wayward and incalculable" scamp as he lovingly calls it, is, an essential spice in life, and, he argues, to be particularly treasured. As Erich Fromm once said: "Civilization began with an act of disobedience, and is likely to end in an act of obedience."
Lin Yutang, Rumi, Martin Buber, Lao T'se, Jesus, Buddha, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi. Where is the soldier? Where the follower?
Libraries and bookstores are filled with books praising soldiers and dutiful followers. I needn't add to it, lest future generations think that is all there is. One mustn't forget the lowly but wise huckfins of the world, for they are the flowers that get mowed down, but surrender their scent and beauty even as they die.
Dr. Yuyang's words are as if spoken to you by a trusted friend. I'd even say that his style might well serve as an excellent alternative to the hateful spew emitted daily on really bad radio stations like WBT, who fill the air with Rush and other serial prevaricators.
You will not regret having purchases this book, and you will probably never part with it either...especially now that China is playing a larger and larger role in our present and future. Have at it. Enjoy your transformation.
View all my reviews.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Permabush: The New Dictation - Genocide or Suicide...that is the question?
From the BUSHWORLD SOLUTIONS series...
Presenting Solution #23
"When you find yourself in a hole, create conditions whereby you must continue digging."
In this episode, we find a Philip Atkinson, who suggests that GW Bush be made the permanent president. That's Right. Wait until the stock market of presidencies hits rock bottom, and then make the bottom the exemplar and permanency. Sound daft? Risible? Ludibund? Well read on, Chong! There is more here to tickle your angst-bone than in all the scrawled blepherospasms of Kafka (not really but it could happen, and sounds good) and besides you probably have nothing to do anyway, or at least you shouldn't, because I know you work hard all day in the bright sunlight...but alas, I digress...
HIGHLIGHTS OF POST-SANITY DOCUMENT
(with editorial comments in bold italic, and areas I would like to highlight in regular italic.)
Author: Philip Atkinson
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: August 3, 2007
Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy
By Philip Atkinson
President George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2005 after being chosen by the majority of citizens in America to be president. Don't you feel like going to sleep already?
Yet in 2007 he is generally despised, with many citizens of Western civilization expressing contempt for his person and his policies, sentiments which now abound on the Internet. This rage at President Bush is an inevitable result of the system of government demanded by the people, which is Democracy.
The inadequacy of Democracy, rule by the majority, is undeniable - for it demands adopting ideas because they are popular, rather than because they are wise. This means that any man chosen to act as an agent of the people is placed in an invidious position: if he commits folly because it is popular, then he will be held responsible for the inevitable result. If he
refuses to commit folly, then he will be detested by most citizens because he is frustrating their demands. OR the manifestation of his or her vision can be so glaringly beneficial to humanity that the people do not mind being gently led into a more peaceful and loving garden. NOT led into fighting and killing just so a handful of suits reap ungodly profits, while other children of God are murdered and forced to kill their brothers and sisters, while destroying all lifeforms on earth in the process, including water and air. Oh ye Gods of Pollution! Oh ye GOP!
When faced with the possible threat that the Iraqis might be amassing terrible weapons that could be used to slay millions of citizens of Western Civilization, President Bush took the only action prudence demanded and the electorate allowed: he conquered Iraq with an army.
This dangerous and expensive act did destroy the Iraqi regime, but left an American army without any clear purpose in a hostile country and subject to attack. If the Army merely returns to its home, then the threat it ended would simply return. If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit.
The wisest course would have been for President Bush to use his nuclear weapons to slaughter Iraqis until they complied with his demands, or until they were all dead. This is the wisest course? Why stop there? The wisest of the wisest would nuke the whole world, nay, universe until it complied, or was totally dead. Then there would be little risk or expense and no American army would be left exposed. But if he did this, his cowardly electorate would have instantly ended his term of office, if not his freedom or his life. How do they come up with this stuff?
The simple truth that modern weapons now mean a nation must practice genocide or commit suicide. This is not even a complete sentence, not to mention the cold misanthropy. So Mr. Atkinson is so paranoid and precious that he thinks that "to be or not to be" is a question that we get to decide...for everyone. Genocide or Suicide? This is the Republican Vision? The Mission Statement? Where is the better Feng Shui? Where the peaceful garden? Where is the love? The caring? The stewardship? The community? All those things that better people create and maintain? Anyway... Israel provides the perfect example. If the Israelis do not raze Iran, the Iranians will fulfill their boast and wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Yet Israel is not popular, and so is denied permission to defend itself. I'm sorry. The ignorance is deafening. In the same vein, President Bush cannot do what is necessary for the survival of Americans. He cannot use the nation's powerful weapons. All he can do is try and discover a result that will be popular with Americans.
As there appears to be no sensible result of the invasion of Iraq that will be popular with his countrymen other than retreat, President Bush is reviled; he has become another victim of Democracy. Blame the victims!
By elevating popular fancy over truth, Democracy is clearly an enemy of not just truth, but duty and justice, which makes it the worst form of government. President Bush must overcome not just the situation in Iraq, but democratic government. Exhibit A
However, President Bush has a valuable historical example that he could choose to follow.
When the ancient Roman general Julius Caesar was struggling to conquer ancient Gaul, he not only had to defeat the Gauls, but he also had to defeat his political enemies in Rome who would destroy him the moment his tenure as consul (president) ended. Does he smell war crimes tribunal? And not just for big daddy? Is this the source of paranoia?
Caesar pacified Gaul by mass slaughter; he then used his successful army to crush all political opposition at home and establish himself as permanent ruler of ancient Rome. This brilliant action not only ended the personal threat to Caesar, but ended the civil chaos that was threatening anarchy in ancient Rome - thus marking the start of the ancient Roman Empire that gave peace and prosperity to the known world.
If President Bush copied Julius Caesar by ordering his army to empty Iraq of Arabs and repopulate the country with Americans, he would achieve immediate results: popularity with his military; enrichment of America by converting an Arabian Iraq into an American Iraq (therefore turning it from a liability to an asset); and boost American prestige while terrifying
American enemies. Are these not the machinations of Evil?
He could then follow Caesar's example and use his new found popularity with the military to wield military power to become the first permanent president of America, and end the civil chaos caused by the continually squabbling Congress and the out-of-control Supreme Court. Not just the United States of America at this point, I notice.
President Bush can fail in his duty to himself, his country, and his God, by becoming "ex-president" Bush or he can become "President-for-Life" Bush: the conqueror of Iraq, who brings sense to the Congress and sanity to the Supreme Court. Then who would be able to stop Bush from emulating Augustus Caesar and becoming ruler of the world? For only an America united under one ruler has the power to save humanity from the threat of a new Dark Age
wrought by terrorists armed with nuclear weapons. No offense, but we are that power and that threat, and Bushworld IS the darkening of the light. The I Ching has said that time and again. Since 2000. Take it up with the Ching. Strangely, I always knew that Bushworld was anti-tao, against nature and spirit, and its subtle interplay, and this document lays it all out. I only hope we have the good judgement and graces to consign it to the wasteheap of horribly bad ideas.
Digby, who has also been tracking this, found these gems:
"The merits of the great new plan are being debated over at Free Republic right now, and here are a few responses in favor of the proposal:"
a.. "I can see why they took his piece down. Some of his views are a wee bit off the right edge. He actually espouses some of the extreme measures that the extremists on the far left enjoy falsly accusing President Bush of plotting."
b.. "The difference between a democracy and a monarchy is that in a monarchy you only have to put up with one idiot."
c.. "What exactly is crazy about what Mr. Atkinson is suggesting? He's actually framing a very common-sense principal: If democracy is destroying America then democracy needs to go. And, personally, there are very few of us here on FR who wouldn't like to see the lands of Allah turned into a glass parking lot. In fact, I'm saving a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne for when it happens."
Conservative think tank: Bush "a victim of Democracy"
NeoCon Think Tank documents show president bush as the new Caesar
Think Tank Calls For Bush to Be Dictator For Life
Madness in Consideration
Think Tank Calls For Bush to Be Dictator For Life
conquering the drawbacks of democracy - Philip Atkinson
Iran: H. CON. Res. 362| Take Action Time.
Presenting Solution #23
"When you find yourself in a hole, create conditions whereby you must continue digging."
In this episode, we find a Philip Atkinson, who suggests that GW Bush be made the permanent president. That's Right. Wait until the stock market of presidencies hits rock bottom, and then make the bottom the exemplar and permanency. Sound daft? Risible? Ludibund? Well read on, Chong! There is more here to tickle your angst-bone than in all the scrawled blepherospasms of Kafka (not really but it could happen, and sounds good) and besides you probably have nothing to do anyway, or at least you shouldn't, because I know you work hard all day in the bright sunlight...but alas, I digress...
HIGHLIGHTS OF POST-SANITY DOCUMENT
(with editorial comments in bold italic, and areas I would like to highlight in regular italic.)
Author: Philip Atkinson
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: August 3, 2007
Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy
By Philip Atkinson
President George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2005 after being chosen by the majority of citizens in America to be president. Don't you feel like going to sleep already?
Yet in 2007 he is generally despised, with many citizens of Western civilization expressing contempt for his person and his policies, sentiments which now abound on the Internet. This rage at President Bush is an inevitable result of the system of government demanded by the people, which is Democracy.
The inadequacy of Democracy, rule by the majority, is undeniable - for it demands adopting ideas because they are popular, rather than because they are wise. This means that any man chosen to act as an agent of the people is placed in an invidious position: if he commits folly because it is popular, then he will be held responsible for the inevitable result. If he
refuses to commit folly, then he will be detested by most citizens because he is frustrating their demands. OR the manifestation of his or her vision can be so glaringly beneficial to humanity that the people do not mind being gently led into a more peaceful and loving garden. NOT led into fighting and killing just so a handful of suits reap ungodly profits, while other children of God are murdered and forced to kill their brothers and sisters, while destroying all lifeforms on earth in the process, including water and air. Oh ye Gods of Pollution! Oh ye GOP!
When faced with the possible threat that the Iraqis might be amassing terrible weapons that could be used to slay millions of citizens of Western Civilization, President Bush took the only action prudence demanded and the electorate allowed: he conquered Iraq with an army.
This dangerous and expensive act did destroy the Iraqi regime, but left an American army without any clear purpose in a hostile country and subject to attack. If the Army merely returns to its home, then the threat it ended would simply return. If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit.
The wisest course would have been for President Bush to use his nuclear weapons to slaughter Iraqis until they complied with his demands, or until they were all dead. This is the wisest course? Why stop there? The wisest of the wisest would nuke the whole world, nay, universe until it complied, or was totally dead. Then there would be little risk or expense and no American army would be left exposed. But if he did this, his cowardly electorate would have instantly ended his term of office, if not his freedom or his life. How do they come up with this stuff?
The simple truth that modern weapons now mean a nation must practice genocide or commit suicide. This is not even a complete sentence, not to mention the cold misanthropy. So Mr. Atkinson is so paranoid and precious that he thinks that "to be or not to be" is a question that we get to decide...for everyone. Genocide or Suicide? This is the Republican Vision? The Mission Statement? Where is the better Feng Shui? Where the peaceful garden? Where is the love? The caring? The stewardship? The community? All those things that better people create and maintain? Anyway... Israel provides the perfect example. If the Israelis do not raze Iran, the Iranians will fulfill their boast and wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Yet Israel is not popular, and so is denied permission to defend itself. I'm sorry. The ignorance is deafening. In the same vein, President Bush cannot do what is necessary for the survival of Americans. He cannot use the nation's powerful weapons. All he can do is try and discover a result that will be popular with Americans.
As there appears to be no sensible result of the invasion of Iraq that will be popular with his countrymen other than retreat, President Bush is reviled; he has become another victim of Democracy. Blame the victims!
By elevating popular fancy over truth, Democracy is clearly an enemy of not just truth, but duty and justice, which makes it the worst form of government. President Bush must overcome not just the situation in Iraq, but democratic government. Exhibit A
However, President Bush has a valuable historical example that he could choose to follow.
When the ancient Roman general Julius Caesar was struggling to conquer ancient Gaul, he not only had to defeat the Gauls, but he also had to defeat his political enemies in Rome who would destroy him the moment his tenure as consul (president) ended. Does he smell war crimes tribunal? And not just for big daddy? Is this the source of paranoia?
Caesar pacified Gaul by mass slaughter; he then used his successful army to crush all political opposition at home and establish himself as permanent ruler of ancient Rome. This brilliant action not only ended the personal threat to Caesar, but ended the civil chaos that was threatening anarchy in ancient Rome - thus marking the start of the ancient Roman Empire that gave peace and prosperity to the known world.
If President Bush copied Julius Caesar by ordering his army to empty Iraq of Arabs and repopulate the country with Americans, he would achieve immediate results: popularity with his military; enrichment of America by converting an Arabian Iraq into an American Iraq (therefore turning it from a liability to an asset); and boost American prestige while terrifying
American enemies. Are these not the machinations of Evil?
He could then follow Caesar's example and use his new found popularity with the military to wield military power to become the first permanent president of America, and end the civil chaos caused by the continually squabbling Congress and the out-of-control Supreme Court. Not just the United States of America at this point, I notice.
President Bush can fail in his duty to himself, his country, and his God, by becoming "ex-president" Bush or he can become "President-for-Life" Bush: the conqueror of Iraq, who brings sense to the Congress and sanity to the Supreme Court. Then who would be able to stop Bush from emulating Augustus Caesar and becoming ruler of the world? For only an America united under one ruler has the power to save humanity from the threat of a new Dark Age
wrought by terrorists armed with nuclear weapons. No offense, but we are that power and that threat, and Bushworld IS the darkening of the light. The I Ching has said that time and again. Since 2000. Take it up with the Ching. Strangely, I always knew that Bushworld was anti-tao, against nature and spirit, and its subtle interplay, and this document lays it all out. I only hope we have the good judgement and graces to consign it to the wasteheap of horribly bad ideas.
Digby, who has also been tracking this, found these gems:
"The merits of the great new plan are being debated over at Free Republic right now, and here are a few responses in favor of the proposal:"
a.. "I can see why they took his piece down. Some of his views are a wee bit off the right edge. He actually espouses some of the extreme measures that the extremists on the far left enjoy falsly accusing President Bush of plotting."
b.. "The difference between a democracy and a monarchy is that in a monarchy you only have to put up with one idiot."
c.. "What exactly is crazy about what Mr. Atkinson is suggesting? He's actually framing a very common-sense principal: If democracy is destroying America then democracy needs to go. And, personally, there are very few of us here on FR who wouldn't like to see the lands of Allah turned into a glass parking lot. In fact, I'm saving a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne for when it happens."
Conservative think tank: Bush "a victim of Democracy"
NeoCon Think Tank documents show president bush as the new Caesar
Think Tank Calls For Bush to Be Dictator For Life
Madness in Consideration
Think Tank Calls For Bush to Be Dictator For Life
conquering the drawbacks of democracy - Philip Atkinson
Iran: H. CON. Res. 362| Take Action Time.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Harvard Square @ Google Earth in 3-D
Google Earth now has photorealistic 3-D buildings that you can create and add to Google Earth. I'm only just now learning how to create these buildings and environments, but someone with more architectural wherewithal might meet with great results...and a possible career at transferring the 3-D world onto the new globe.
Harvard Square from Google Earth (a clip)
Harvard Square from Google Earth (a clip)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Happy Birthday Elizabeth Edwards!
Today is the birthday of one of the coolest women ever. Ironically, she is also one of the warmest women ever as well.
My friend, MaryAnn took this picture of Elizabeth and me discussing a passage in a book.
My friend, MaryAnn took this picture of Elizabeth and me discussing a passage in a book.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Fail the Magic Internet Meme
"Fail" is the name of a popular internet meme where users superimpose the word "fail" onto embarrassing or compromising photos.[1][2][3] The G4 television channel has a web feature called "Epic Fail" that denotes major gaffs in popular culture - a mainstream play on the meme.[4] Fail Dogs, an animal version, made the front page of Digg in February, 2008.- Wikipedia
Friday, May 30, 2008
Icky War Crimes Make Scott McClellan Dance for his Dollars
Several years ago, I wrote about today's man of the hour, and now, I wonder if he didn't take my hint...
_____________________________
Icky War Crimes Make Scott McClellan Dance for his Dollars
Written by anonyMoses
Published November 10, 2005
White House Briefing: McClellan Deflects Questions on Torture Exemption A Couple Dozen Times
It must be tough being an apologist for war criminals and their icky need to torture, especially now that they can no longer claim proprietorship of the so-called American mainstream, which they polluted and left for dead in their race to reach the right fringe of Hell.
So much easier to just emulate Jesus or Rumi or Gautama than to emulate power-crazed megalomaniacs — who could never see beyond their alcohol-emboldened egos.
So much easier to just emulate Jesus or Rumi or Gautama than to emulate power-crazed megalomaniacs — who could never see beyond their alcohol-emboldened egos.
America should be courageous enough to cough up its own hairballs when they threaten the flow of air. And yet our air is filled with hairballs and nutballs, all hyperventilating shrill emotions, as if amplitude will serve to persuade. But as George Bernard Shaw once observed, "Not intelligent, only opinionated." Yet some people guzzle opinion as if it were knowledge, thus real food. Only when they die of malnutrition might they realize that one has to eat something more substantial than chicken. Faux chicken.
bla bla bla...
the rest is here.
_____________________________
Icky War Crimes Make Scott McClellan Dance for his Dollars
Written by anonyMoses
Published November 10, 2005
White House Briefing: McClellan Deflects Questions on Torture Exemption A Couple Dozen Times
It must be tough being an apologist for war criminals and their icky need to torture, especially now that they can no longer claim proprietorship of the so-called American mainstream, which they polluted and left for dead in their race to reach the right fringe of Hell.
So much easier to just emulate Jesus or Rumi or Gautama than to emulate power-crazed megalomaniacs — who could never see beyond their alcohol-emboldened egos.
So much easier to just emulate Jesus or Rumi or Gautama than to emulate power-crazed megalomaniacs — who could never see beyond their alcohol-emboldened egos.
America should be courageous enough to cough up its own hairballs when they threaten the flow of air. And yet our air is filled with hairballs and nutballs, all hyperventilating shrill emotions, as if amplitude will serve to persuade. But as George Bernard Shaw once observed, "Not intelligent, only opinionated." Yet some people guzzle opinion as if it were knowledge, thus real food. Only when they die of malnutrition might they realize that one has to eat something more substantial than chicken. Faux chicken.
bla bla bla...
the rest is here.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Bugliosi: George Bush's Unseemly Response to the Suffering He Has Caused
How has George Bush reacted to the hell he created in Iraq, to the thousands of lives that have been lost in the war, and to the enormous and endless suffering that the survivors of the victims -- their loved ones -- have had to endure?
READ ON
READ ON
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
CHEAP, SAFE HOUSE DESIGNED FOR QUAKE-PRONE AREAS
When thinking about the recent earthquake in China, and the tragedy of Myanmar, I was reminded of the work of an old friend from Cambridge who was working on the problem of affordable, safe, mud-based houses, boats and such, at MIT. At the time he was showing, in his thesis, how one could use mud and chickenwire to create said homes and boats. I think he already knew what the future was going to bring.
Doing a simple search, I found this related article on some of his more recent work, which needs to be embraced and multiplied.
EXCERPT:
Mr Sultan told Dawn that he had designed mud houses that could withstand a 8.5 intensity earthquake - one point higher than the October tremor which measured 7.6 on the Richter Scale.
Mud houses could be highly resistant to seismic forces if modern architectural techniques are used in their construction.
“Iran did nothing good by putting a ban on building mud houses after the Bam earthquake. I can prove that Iran’s decision was unwise,” he said, claiming that his building techniques would be best for Iran, Turkey and other countries located in dangerous seismic zones.
All the building materials - mud being the basic - required for the house he designed are indigenously produced and could be put together simply. That makes the construction cost of the mud house very low, he said.
MORE
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Liveblogging the Dance of the Davids : The American Idol Finale
I agree with Jeffrey Feldman. Enough with the war metaphors.
So tonight, there is no battle. There is a dance. Davids like to dance.
Davids dance with all their might.
The duet of the Davids was the first good thing of the night. The first piece really made you think that someone was torturing the contestants into banal atavistic conformity.
Seal did a duet with the lovely lady I had banked on to win. Hot.
Hotter than the Davids, frankly, but what the heck. They will all make in excess of one hundred dollars.
Jason Castro did a lovely version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelluia, or however you spell it. His best ever.
More banal conformity. Less pipes and timbrils. Less wild ecstasy.
...and Donna Summers, who sees, nay, looks, fantastic!
What brand of oatmeal is SHE eating? She spares the segment from dying a cruel death.
I don't approve of some of the dancing. No place for toilet humor.
Oh well, now Donna is leading the caravanserai down into the pit of forgotten disco.
Where is Radiohead when you need him? Does George know no mercy?
I don't believe this. A commercial!! Were we forewarned? No!!!
Australia's Michael Johns and Ireland's Carly Smithson are doing "The Letter". Not exactly Gorecki's Third, but not bad either. Certainly not evil...although at one point it looked like they were looking upon one another's genital regions, or therabouts. Playbacks will tell.
Jimmy Kimmel jokes about tipping Sanjaya, who is laughing in the audience, then rips into Simon, who is valiantly defended by host Seacrest who compares Kimmel to a Ship or cocktail lounge comedian. ABC vs FOX.
Ryan, I mean Bryan Adams then appears out of nowhere, thinking he has been everywhere.
So far, it is very, very, very, very, very, day before the day before yestermillennium. Cut to ape man.
The Davids are thinking: "Get me the Hell outta here!" and "Here, you can have it!"
Jordin Sparks in Disney World.
David Cook does "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Top. Talk about facial, hair!
These fellers have been growing since they were born practically, and were never told that it was quality, not quantity...although the Supreme Court is likely to reverse that decision.
Wow! Graham Nash and Brooke White singing "Teach your Children".
Not a dry ice in the how.
Times passes.
I'll tell ya what. If something interesting happens, I will rouse and write.
hell, it's free.
Can't believe we're only halfway through...
Well lucky me! What a moving and timely performance by George Michael...who really does know how to pick 'em. Sorry to say I don't know the name of it, but I do know that it will take on a life of its own, and become a major hit, if it isn't already.
Paula was in tears, as were a goodly number of other bipeds in the vicinity. Hundreds!
OK...results...
David...COOK!
Yay! Justice is served.
So tonight, there is no battle. There is a dance. Davids like to dance.
Davids dance with all their might.
The duet of the Davids was the first good thing of the night. The first piece really made you think that someone was torturing the contestants into banal atavistic conformity.
Seal did a duet with the lovely lady I had banked on to win. Hot.
Hotter than the Davids, frankly, but what the heck. They will all make in excess of one hundred dollars.
Jason Castro did a lovely version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelluia, or however you spell it. His best ever.
More banal conformity. Less pipes and timbrils. Less wild ecstasy.
...and Donna Summers, who sees, nay, looks, fantastic!
What brand of oatmeal is SHE eating? She spares the segment from dying a cruel death.
I don't approve of some of the dancing. No place for toilet humor.
Oh well, now Donna is leading the caravanserai down into the pit of forgotten disco.
Where is Radiohead when you need him? Does George know no mercy?
I don't believe this. A commercial!! Were we forewarned? No!!!
Australia's Michael Johns and Ireland's Carly Smithson are doing "The Letter". Not exactly Gorecki's Third, but not bad either. Certainly not evil...although at one point it looked like they were looking upon one another's genital regions, or therabouts. Playbacks will tell.
Jimmy Kimmel jokes about tipping Sanjaya, who is laughing in the audience, then rips into Simon, who is valiantly defended by host Seacrest who compares Kimmel to a Ship or cocktail lounge comedian. ABC vs FOX.
Ryan, I mean Bryan Adams then appears out of nowhere, thinking he has been everywhere.
So far, it is very, very, very, very, very, day before the day before yestermillennium. Cut to ape man.
The Davids are thinking: "Get me the Hell outta here!" and "Here, you can have it!"
Jordin Sparks in Disney World.
David Cook does "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Top. Talk about facial, hair!
These fellers have been growing since they were born practically, and were never told that it was quality, not quantity...although the Supreme Court is likely to reverse that decision.
Wow! Graham Nash and Brooke White singing "Teach your Children".
Not a dry ice in the how.
Times passes.
I'll tell ya what. If something interesting happens, I will rouse and write.
hell, it's free.
Can't believe we're only halfway through...
Well lucky me! What a moving and timely performance by George Michael...who really does know how to pick 'em. Sorry to say I don't know the name of it, but I do know that it will take on a life of its own, and become a major hit, if it isn't already.
Paula was in tears, as were a goodly number of other bipeds in the vicinity. Hundreds!
OK...results...
David...COOK!
Yay! Justice is served.
Friday, May 16, 2008
"I stand before you today...to declare...that this soldier will not be deploying to Iraq,"
"I stand before you today with the strength and clarity and resolve to declare to the military, my government and the world that this soldier will not be deploying to Iraq...I cannot deploy to Iraq, carry a weapon and not be part of the problem," - Matthis Chiroux
Former army sergeant Kristofer Goldsmith told a half-dozen US lawmakers and scores of people who packed into a small hearing room of "lawless murders, looting and the abuse of countless Iraqis."
He spoke of the psychologically fragile men and women who return from Iraq, to find little help or treatment offered from official circles.
Some 300,000 of the 1.6 million US soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from the psychological traumas of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or both, an independent study showed last month.
Officials take "hard facts and slice them into small pieces to make them presentable to the secretary of state or the president -- and all with the intent of furthering the occupation of Iraq," Goldsmith added.
[excerpted from HERE]
Former army sergeant Kristofer Goldsmith told a half-dozen US lawmakers and scores of people who packed into a small hearing room of "lawless murders, looting and the abuse of countless Iraqis."
He spoke of the psychologically fragile men and women who return from Iraq, to find little help or treatment offered from official circles.
Some 300,000 of the 1.6 million US soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from the psychological traumas of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or both, an independent study showed last month.
Officials take "hard facts and slice them into small pieces to make them presentable to the secretary of state or the president -- and all with the intent of furthering the occupation of Iraq," Goldsmith added.
[excerpted from HERE]
Friday, May 09, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
United Airlines and FedEx Donate Plane to Create a New Flying Eye Hospital
Orbis International is bringing sight to the world
CHICAGO -- ORBIS International, a nonprofit development organization dedicated to saving sight worldwide, today announced it will replace its current DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital with a DC-10 Series 30 freighter. United Airlines , with the support of FedEx Corp. , is donating the airplane to ORBIS. The $2 million donation is based on the plane's estimated value and being funded equally by United and FedEx.
READ MORE
Thursday, April 24, 2008
For what it's worth: Who will win American Idol?
Syesha Mercado
Syesha Mercado will win. Best all 'round. Sexiest.
David Cook will come in second. Most original, intellectual and hard working.
David Archuleto, third. A slightly lesser David Cook.
Brooke White might be fourth, although I think she should have already been kicked off. I suspect she has a strong fan base who vote early and often. It is, after all, only Fox.
Jason Castro will probably be next to go, although it ought to be Brooke, who has issues.
Syesha and David Cook are a cut above the rest.
Now...back to important things.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Bush Challenges Limbaugh, Polluters on Climate Change
Conservatives Accused of Slowheadedness
WASHINGTON -- Lame Duck, George W. Bush, in a rare instance of lucidity, gained the insight and understanding that human beings, while alive, create heat. He is now claiming that his global war on terrorism, is helping reduce the temperature of the earth, by reducing the number of living people.
"That is laughable!" says Moby K. Dick of Science Faction Fime, whatever that is. "MOAB did more to trigger the final phase of this crisis than any other event, including his trumpeted loss of life."
Meantime the Buddhic drone of Diane Rehm echoes through my apterous coil, the dense popularity of this pivotal moment, falling like the dollar around my barefoot sense of things.
WASHINGTON -- Lame Duck, George W. Bush, in a rare instance of lucidity, gained the insight and understanding that human beings, while alive, create heat. He is now claiming that his global war on terrorism, is helping reduce the temperature of the earth, by reducing the number of living people.
"That is laughable!" says Moby K. Dick of Science Faction Fime, whatever that is. "MOAB did more to trigger the final phase of this crisis than any other event, including his trumpeted loss of life."
Meantime the Buddhic drone of Diane Rehm echoes through my apterous coil, the dense popularity of this pivotal moment, falling like the dollar around my barefoot sense of things.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
John Edwards on the Colbert Report: Here's to Carolinians!
Two of my favorite Carolinians in a brilliant segment. Must see TV!
(Thanks to TomP at Daily Kos and Jude alerting my mind to it.)
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Stand up for the man who stood up for us!
Harry Taylor was the first American citizen to challenge Bush directly.
On this April 6th, remember the courage of Harry Taylor, and carpe diem...
Harry is running for congress here in North Carolina, and your support and words of encouragement would surely be most appreciated.
Harry is now listed in Wikipedia, wherein it says, among other things:
"Harry Taylor is an outspoken critic of the Bush administration, noted for his unusually controversial question posed to President Bush in a North Carolina town hall meeting at Central Piedmont Community College on April 6, 2006. Taylor criticized Bush's warrantless wiretapping program and treatment of enemy combatants, among other actions, and asked that the president express some manner of shame for his actions. President Bush refused to do so.
Taylor's confrontation has since been praised in independent liberal publications, and noted for its surprising rarity given the prevalence of such opinions among Americans."
It is STILL surprisingly rare!
Harry Taylor for Congress
More on this, momentarily.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
President Clinton comes to the Thomas St. Tavern
I don't go to very many places in Charlotte, but one place I do pop into upon occasion is the Thomas Street Tavern, here in avuncular Charlotte, North Dakota...I mean Carolina. Not sure why, perhaps I knew the President would, one day, go there. Maybe I was thirsty. The tavern used to be my post office. Perhaps I am a creature of habit. No doubt I am a creature. I do have a mirror.
But this is not really important, as is, say, flag-burning or the sad disappearance of the front porch swing. What IS important is that a geomantic concurrence involved our dear former leader, whom I have long advised, on a purely disinterested, volunteer basis, and one of whom might best understand the protean visions of an anonymous Moses. Everyone should have one.
So sorry to have repeated our peculiar left-hankshake, but I would still hope that, by some miracle involving the Information Superhighway, my dear old acquaintance will accept my good wishes that my fair city treated him well. And that, one day, he, Jimmy Carter, John Edwards, Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, Paul Newman, Peter Gomes, Skip Gates and I can share pithy apopthegms whilst pondering the pleroma of archons in our midst.
Short of that, a tip of the hat would do.
Oh, and Bill. Y'all need to anchor yourself near the North Carolina/New York border...as Jude and I are apt to say. We are the Andy Griffith State. We serve to heal and humor all who enter herein, that they may go forth a fine steward and exemplar, widening the circles of peace, mowing the lawns of satisfaction.
Well, maybe not that last one.
But this is not really important, as is, say, flag-burning or the sad disappearance of the front porch swing. What IS important is that a geomantic concurrence involved our dear former leader, whom I have long advised, on a purely disinterested, volunteer basis, and one of whom might best understand the protean visions of an anonymous Moses. Everyone should have one.
So sorry to have repeated our peculiar left-hankshake, but I would still hope that, by some miracle involving the Information Superhighway, my dear old acquaintance will accept my good wishes that my fair city treated him well. And that, one day, he, Jimmy Carter, John Edwards, Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, Paul Newman, Peter Gomes, Skip Gates and I can share pithy apopthegms whilst pondering the pleroma of archons in our midst.
Short of that, a tip of the hat would do.
Oh, and Bill. Y'all need to anchor yourself near the North Carolina/New York border...as Jude and I are apt to say. We are the Andy Griffith State. We serve to heal and humor all who enter herein, that they may go forth a fine steward and exemplar, widening the circles of peace, mowing the lawns of satisfaction.
Well, maybe not that last one.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
John Edwards on Jay Leno tonight
Will he UNsuspend his campaign, and seize the crown?
Enquiring minds want to know...
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Bodystocking Boom - Could this happen in America?
Britain's Got Talent shows what the future American Idol needs to consider, sartorially...
Sunday, March 09, 2008
GOP Congressman accuses Bush Inc. of criminality
Republicans in Congress Can't Take White House Criminality Anymore - Maybe Democrats Could Join in and Act
Rohrbacher's Speech to the Congress
Excerpts from the speech:
Then there is more, including how the bombers of the Murrow Bldg. were in contact with the bombers of the WTC.
Rohrbacher's Speech to the Congress
Excerpts from the speech:
"The disdain and uncooperative nature that this administration has
shown toward Congress, including Republican Members, is so egregious
that I can no longer assume that it is simply bureaucratic incompetence
or isolated mistakes. Rather, I have come to the sad conclusion that
this administration has intentionally obstructed Congress' rightful and
constitutional duties."
"Tonight, I will provide examples of how this
administration for the past 7 years has undercut congressional
investigators, has lied to Members of Congress, and has forged ahead
with secret deals in spite of efforts and pleas by Congress to be
informed, if not involved."
"This administration ends up lying in a briefing to Congress and
shrugs it off. To this day, absolutely nothing has been done about this
crime. And yes, lying to Congress, especially about an issue of this
magnitude, is a crime."
Then there is more, including how the bombers of the Murrow Bldg. were in contact with the bombers of the WTC.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Sharks and Condit: 9/11 - Bush knew, but did nothing
Sharks and Condit
The week of 9/11/01, for me, began on 9/05. That was the day I was to fly to Manhattan, attend a party for my friend Rob, and hang out a few days, then return on the 10th.
Well, there was a huge storm on the 10th, and I couldn't fly out. I was stuck in Manhattan. I would simply fly out the next day, which, as is now legend, was a beautiful blue September day...until around 8:45 am...when the skies got dirtied up with smoke, asbestos and cremated human beings.
America was under attack. Just as I had predicted.
I don't know how I knew something bad was going to happen, and probably in New York, but I did. Right before I fly up on the 5th, I had written, on a message board, a post called: "The week the world ended". I swear I had nothing to do with it. I do have a fairly keen intuition though, and it just seemed too weird to me that, for one, the Media was overly obsessed with two stupid things: Gary Condit and sharks. They still waste our time with shark stuff, and I still wonder if it isn't if not a cover-up, at least a sin of omission and a sign laziness.
There were other things that augered ill, like the moribund economy, Bush's pathetic ratings (although not quite as bad as today), sabre-rattling with the Taliban, and so on. In retrospect, I think it may have been something that Robert Fritz used to talk about, but sadly I forgot the term. But it was basically this: As your patient, client, friend, whatever, is describing things, events and whatnot, you, as the healer, etc., try to visualize in your mind the action...and when it becomes difficult to visualize, therein lies the problem...which is oftentimes a lie, or some other construct that has no coordinates in reality.
Maybe what made me so suspicious was that things didn't add up. Fact is though, things hadn't added up since the election, a few months earlier.
A couple of nights before 9/11, while walking to Radio City Music Hall to see what turned out to be a remarkable Yes concert (the review of which alludes to my fears),
I said to my bud, who was working in the Media, "What is the deal with all this "sharks and Condit?), to which he replied: "It is a slow news time", to which I replied from the midst of my overall suspicion, "Not for long." Less than a hundred hours later...
GATES OF DELIRIUM, ON SACRED GROUND
Re-reading my review of the concert (the original site is closed but probably in the Wayback Machine), I am taken by what I had neglected to focus upon prior to just now...and that is that heretofore, I had thought that "Gates of Delirium" was the defining song of the night...which, after the fact of 9/11, was made all the more the obvious choice, as it was about the war between good and evil, armageddon, and so on. I had all but forgotten that I wrote about a song called "Sacred Ground" [correction - it is actually called "In the Presence of".] which must have impressed me at the time, and I recall being a beautiful and meaningful song. I HAD thought about the fact that this concert was to their last and crowning event of the tour, but I had not, fully connected NYC with Sacred Ground, and that might be because, at the time, I was disturbed by the decadent, wanton seeming lack of sacredness. From the skyscraper with a big red 666 neon sign, to megamammoniacal hindbrains, to the endless honk honk honk of angry cars...Manhattan was in decay.
In this final segment, Jon warns us of war, and says the light can win out...
from "In The Presence Of":
In your arms I can see it all
I can see it all
If we were flowers
We would worship the sun
So why not now?
This light is burning brightly
This light is burning brightly
Brighter than before
Brighter than before
Brighter than before
Brighter than before
Turn around and remember that
When it gets so low
As you finally hit the ground
Turn around and remember that
Now I’m standing tall
Standing on my sacred ground
Turn around and remember that
When it gets so low
As you finally hit the ground
Turn around and remember that
Now you’re standing tall
Standing on sacred ground
Standing on sacred ground
Standing on sacred ground
Little did I know at the time how sacred the ground on which we stood, would soon become.
After the initial shock of 9/11, there was a change in the air. Literally.
Some of it was actually good, in that people became more pensive, conversational, communitarian...and I, for the first time in my life, felt like a New Yorker...even though genealogically, I am an Old Yorker...which is suppose is better than being an old porker. We shall see.
in progress...
The week of 9/11/01, for me, began on 9/05. That was the day I was to fly to Manhattan, attend a party for my friend Rob, and hang out a few days, then return on the 10th.
Well, there was a huge storm on the 10th, and I couldn't fly out. I was stuck in Manhattan. I would simply fly out the next day, which, as is now legend, was a beautiful blue September day...until around 8:45 am...when the skies got dirtied up with smoke, asbestos and cremated human beings.
America was under attack. Just as I had predicted.
I don't know how I knew something bad was going to happen, and probably in New York, but I did. Right before I fly up on the 5th, I had written, on a message board, a post called: "The week the world ended". I swear I had nothing to do with it. I do have a fairly keen intuition though, and it just seemed too weird to me that, for one, the Media was overly obsessed with two stupid things: Gary Condit and sharks. They still waste our time with shark stuff, and I still wonder if it isn't if not a cover-up, at least a sin of omission and a sign laziness.
There were other things that augered ill, like the moribund economy, Bush's pathetic ratings (although not quite as bad as today), sabre-rattling with the Taliban, and so on. In retrospect, I think it may have been something that Robert Fritz used to talk about, but sadly I forgot the term. But it was basically this: As your patient, client, friend, whatever, is describing things, events and whatnot, you, as the healer, etc., try to visualize in your mind the action...and when it becomes difficult to visualize, therein lies the problem...which is oftentimes a lie, or some other construct that has no coordinates in reality.
Maybe what made me so suspicious was that things didn't add up. Fact is though, things hadn't added up since the election, a few months earlier.
A couple of nights before 9/11, while walking to Radio City Music Hall to see what turned out to be a remarkable Yes concert (the review of which alludes to my fears),
I said to my bud, who was working in the Media, "What is the deal with all this "sharks and Condit?), to which he replied: "It is a slow news time", to which I replied from the midst of my overall suspicion, "Not for long." Less than a hundred hours later...
GATES OF DELIRIUM, ON SACRED GROUND
Re-reading my review of the concert (the original site is closed but probably in the Wayback Machine), I am taken by what I had neglected to focus upon prior to just now...and that is that heretofore, I had thought that "Gates of Delirium" was the defining song of the night...which, after the fact of 9/11, was made all the more the obvious choice, as it was about the war between good and evil, armageddon, and so on. I had all but forgotten that I wrote about a song called "Sacred Ground" [correction - it is actually called "In the Presence of".] which must have impressed me at the time, and I recall being a beautiful and meaningful song. I HAD thought about the fact that this concert was to their last and crowning event of the tour, but I had not, fully connected NYC with Sacred Ground, and that might be because, at the time, I was disturbed by the decadent, wanton seeming lack of sacredness. From the skyscraper with a big red 666 neon sign, to megamammoniacal hindbrains, to the endless honk honk honk of angry cars...Manhattan was in decay.
In this final segment, Jon warns us of war, and says the light can win out...
from "In The Presence Of":
In your arms I can see it all
I can see it all
If we were flowers
We would worship the sun
So why not now?
This light is burning brightly
This light is burning brightly
Brighter than before
Brighter than before
Brighter than before
Brighter than before
Turn around and remember that
When it gets so low
As you finally hit the ground
Turn around and remember that
Now I’m standing tall
Standing on my sacred ground
Turn around and remember that
When it gets so low
As you finally hit the ground
Turn around and remember that
Now you’re standing tall
Standing on sacred ground
Standing on sacred ground
Standing on sacred ground
Little did I know at the time how sacred the ground on which we stood, would soon become.
After the initial shock of 9/11, there was a change in the air. Literally.
Some of it was actually good, in that people became more pensive, conversational, communitarian...and I, for the first time in my life, felt like a New Yorker...even though genealogically, I am an Old Yorker...which is suppose is better than being an old porker. We shall see.
in progress...
Friday, March 07, 2008
On the Death of Eve Carson
My father went to Chapel Hill, and I know his heart is as broken as mine at this tragic incident.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Top 25 Censored news stories of 2007
Top 25 Censored news stories of 2007, presented by Project Censored.
Abbreviated list:
#1 Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media
#2 Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran
#3 Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger
#4 Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US
#6 Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy
#8 Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act
#9 The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall
#12 Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines
#15 Chemical Industry is EPA’s Primary Research Partner
#17 Iraq Invasion Promotes OPEC Agenda
#18 Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story
#22 $Billions in Homeland Security Spending Undisclosed
#24 Cheney’s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year
The dunce - a "spoiled, loutish and a pathological liar"
The dunce - Salon.com: "The dunce
His former Harvard Business School professor recalls George W. Bush not just as a terrible student but as spoiled, loutish and a pathological liar.
By Mary Jacoby"
His former Harvard Business School professor recalls George W. Bush not just as a terrible student but as spoiled, loutish and a pathological liar.
By Mary Jacoby"
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Pownce & Microblogging
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Pownce has been compared favorably to other websites with similar functionality like Twitter, and has been called a "Twitter on steroids".[3] It has also been recommended for use over Twitter in a work setting because of its enhanced discussion-tracking capabilities."
The technology involved: (Wikipedia)
Pownce is built on a variation of the LAMP stack: Debian GNU/Linux, Apache, MySQL, and Python. The web application is made with Django, an open source web application framework, written in Python. File storage is supported by Amazon S3. The desktop application is written in Flex for Adobe's AIR platform. The icons used throughout the site are taken from the open source FamFamFam Silk and ISO series icon packs.
"Pownce has been compared favorably to other websites with similar functionality like Twitter, and has been called a "Twitter on steroids".[3] It has also been recommended for use over Twitter in a work setting because of its enhanced discussion-tracking capabilities."
The technology involved: (Wikipedia)
Pownce is built on a variation of the LAMP stack: Debian GNU/Linux, Apache, MySQL, and Python. The web application is made with Django, an open source web application framework, written in Python. File storage is supported by Amazon S3. The desktop application is written in Flex for Adobe's AIR platform. The icons used throughout the site are taken from the open source FamFamFam Silk and ISO series icon packs.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Hamburg A320 Dangerous Landing - Mahalo
Hamburg A320 Dangerous Landing - Mahalo
(Thanks to Jason Calancanis, Mahalo via Twitter for the link.
(Thanks to Jason Calancanis, Mahalo via Twitter for the link.
Liveblogging the Queen and Barbara Walters
The queen conveys without words.
Important Fact 1 - President Bush does not DO White Tie!
"I am just a ornament." - President George W. Bush
"No, you are a nornament." Queen
Waving.
You cannot see the ceilings of Buckingham. I scrape my head on mine.
"She's got a neat twinkle in her eye." GWB
"It's called Baraka." Barbary Walter
"She's the queen of the British monarch." - nobodaddy in crowd
(I am reminded of Goofus and Gallant". )
Oops. He DOES do white tie. His explanation though makes it clear that he doesn't fully realize that she was, is and will be. He only was. His isness could stand a clintonizing.
Important Fact 1 - President Bush does not DO White Tie!
"I am just a ornament." - President George W. Bush
"No, you are a nornament." Queen
Waving.
You cannot see the ceilings of Buckingham. I scrape my head on mine.
"She's got a neat twinkle in her eye." GWB
"It's called Baraka." Barbary Walter
"She's the queen of the British monarch." - nobodaddy in crowd
(I am reminded of Goofus and Gallant". )
Oops. He DOES do white tie. His explanation though makes it clear that he doesn't fully realize that she was, is and will be. He only was. His isness could stand a clintonizing.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Organic Love Dance Deemed Most Beautiful
Pilobolus: A performance merging dance and biology (video)
Otis Cook and Jennifer Macavinta perform the organic love dance, "Symbiosis."
The music, recorded by the Kronos Quartet on Nonesuch Records, is a compilation of works: "God Music" from Black Angels by George Crumb, "Fratres" by Arvo Pärt, and "Morango ... Almost a Tango" by Thomas Oboe Lee.
The flow and tenderness of the dance defies time and gravity -- something you'll never see of hear on prime time game shows with dime store dancing. Much freedom is given the dancers by the liberating music of Crumb, Part and Lee. Many dancers never seem to understand how restricting so much of popular music really is.
I hope you enjoy this. It is worth the wait.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
I Drink Your Milkshake
Saturday Night Live (SNL) on February 23, 2008. Parody of Oscar nominated films: There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, and Juno.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Adobe AIR 1.0 is out!
The Adobe® AIR™ runtime lets developers use proven web technologies to build rich Internet applications that deploy to the desktop and run across operating systems.What type of developer are you?
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tift Merritt on Jay Leno tonight
Tift Merritt with Emmylou Harris
MySpace.com - TIFT MERRITT - North Carolina / NYC - www.myspace.com/tiftmerritt
Iddybud Journal: Iraq-Recession Campaign
Iddybud Journal: Iraq-Recession Campaign
Jude's excellent summation of the Iraq-Recession Campaign...
[excerpt]
"This morning, former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth Edwards joined top anti-Iraq war leaders to announce the launch of a new nationwide, multimillion dollar campaign aimed at shining a light on the cost of war in Iraq. The new Iraq/Recession Campaign was launched with a teleconference.
As economic concerns weigh heavily on the minds of Americans, opposition to President Bush's reckless war in Iraq continues to grow. The massive cost of the war in Iraq- hurtling toward one trillion dollars - has increased demand for a strategy to bring U.S. troops home. The Iraq/Recession Campaign will highlight the majority of Americans who want to see leadership on investing in critical priorities at home and establishing real security throughout the world."
Jude's excellent summation of the Iraq-Recession Campaign...
[excerpt]
"This morning, former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth Edwards joined top anti-Iraq war leaders to announce the launch of a new nationwide, multimillion dollar campaign aimed at shining a light on the cost of war in Iraq. The new Iraq/Recession Campaign was launched with a teleconference.
As economic concerns weigh heavily on the minds of Americans, opposition to President Bush's reckless war in Iraq continues to grow. The massive cost of the war in Iraq- hurtling toward one trillion dollars - has increased demand for a strategy to bring U.S. troops home. The Iraq/Recession Campaign will highlight the majority of Americans who want to see leadership on investing in critical priorities at home and establishing real security throughout the world."
Friday, February 22, 2008
Animals are our connection with Eden
I was saddened to hear that Jude Nagurney-Camwell lost Cora, her cat and companion for many years.
The cat in the picture is not Cora, but looks like her. Cora was given a good life, and a peaceful death, with caring souls all around. Even in such pain and sorrow, such tender and caring feelings are good for the soul and humanity...and felixity.
(I hope I'm using that word correctly.)
Peace
Dave
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Edwards Primary: Obama Edition
Obama Meets Edwards, Pledges Party Remake
"Obama asked for an endorsement. But he also provided the former senator and his wife with detailed arguments about why he would be a stronger Democratic candidate in November, and an outline of how he would seek to implement progressive economic reforms as president.
A key part of the discussion focused on a priority of John Edwards: writing a Democratic platform that outlines a genuine change agenda.
"The meeting with John, we just wanted to talk about how we can move the party in a direction that focuses on middle-class issues, relieving poverty, reducing the influence of special interests in Washington," Obama acknowledged Sunday night."
(from The Nation)
"Obama asked for an endorsement. But he also provided the former senator and his wife with detailed arguments about why he would be a stronger Democratic candidate in November, and an outline of how he would seek to implement progressive economic reforms as president.
A key part of the discussion focused on a priority of John Edwards: writing a Democratic platform that outlines a genuine change agenda.
"The meeting with John, we just wanted to talk about how we can move the party in a direction that focuses on middle-class issues, relieving poverty, reducing the influence of special interests in Washington," Obama acknowledged Sunday night."
(from The Nation)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Thanx for Spanx!
YouTube - Spank me with Spanx!
Here goes the next big trend...
Welcome to Spanx by Sara Blakely: Official Site - Feb 15Shop Spanx.com for the latest in slimming, comfortable bodyshapers, hosiery, intimates, and apparel. Destined to be all the rage at the Oscars. I know I'll be wearing my Spanx lobster bib! "See ya on the red carpet!" - Burns
Here goes the next big trend...
Welcome to Spanx by Sara Blakely: Official Site - Feb 15Shop Spanx.com for the latest in slimming, comfortable bodyshapers, hosiery, intimates, and apparel. Destined to be all the rage at the Oscars. I know I'll be wearing my Spanx lobster bib! "See ya on the red carpet!" - Burns
Friday, February 15, 2008
Was Stephen Kazmierczak a videogame addict?
"Stephen Kazmierczak" games - Google Groups
Anything about Quake, Descent of Final Fantasy that resembles the killer's behavior?
Since I don't play these games I do not know. Little help...
screenshot from Descent
Anything about Quake, Descent of Final Fantasy that resembles the killer's behavior?
Since I don't play these games I do not know. Little help...
screenshot from Descent
NIU gunman stopped taking medication
Do not stop taking your meds.
Steven Kazmierczak is shown in this photo released Feb. 15, 2008 by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Such ugliness...
Steven Kazmierczak is shown in this photo released Feb. 15, 2008 by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Such ugliness...
Social responsibility for green business in California, Southern California, Northern California, Central California
Social responsibility for green business
Although this link is California-related, it contains many good ideas that could be adopted by other areas.
Although this link is California-related, it contains many good ideas that could be adopted by other areas.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
John Edwards' Idea-rich Blog is Closing its Doors Today
John Edwards' Blog was the first and best of the presidential blogs, but now it is being put to sleep. Fellow diarists may want to gather their rosebuds while they may, for tomorrow is another day.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Darcy take the plunge - Pride and Prejudice - PBS - Sunday
Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy
I may be the only person who has not yet seen the much-vaunted "Pride and Prejudice", starring my physical and temperamental alter-ego, Colin Firth, but I have seen "Bridget Jones' Diary", which surely must count for something. "Valmont" was also mighty fine as a rending of "Les Liassons Dangeroux", although slightly off-topic.
Yesterday Terry Gross interviewed Mr. Firth and had a most spirited exchanged, largely revolving around his "taking the plunge" -- which, as it turns out, was originally intended to be performed in the raw. When that idea was panned, they pondered undies, only to find out that they didn't wear any at the time. Probably an earlier Britney age, and what with Firth being a Briton and all...must be true. According to Firth, the underknickers were less than alluring, and so they opted out of that, and decided on a clad baptism of liberation.
Clad baptism of liberation
I'd love to find out where this and "Miss Austen Regrets" was filmed. "Mansfield Park" was filmed in and around the lovely Newby Hall near Ripon, Yorkshire, where, for centuries, my ancients romped.
Friday, February 08, 2008
On approaching my 100th Year on the Internets
It was nearly 100 Internet years when I made my first unbroken connection to the Internets. But people don't much talk about "internet years" any more. And, by now, most people understand our passionate exuberance about it.
An Internet year was thought by many to be roughly equivalent to a "dog year", which is, according to high scientists, approximately seven (7, VII) human years -- mainly because things were changing so fast as to perhaps even amuse Thomas Kuhn, whoever that is. Probably a decent fellow. Crooked teeth. None of my business though.
Well, the exuberance has since turned to terror, thanks to those whose jobs involve the taking of human life. Give me a pen any day!
OR that mass of tubes known as the internets.
At least a keyboard.
[Chimes twinkle in the distance.]
INTERIOR - DAY - OFFICE
The internet is streaming into my head, and back again, in a strange form of breathing, made all the more facile by the advent of blogs and social networking software (sites). In the early days of the Web, content producers and content consumers were often the same people. It was two-way, and a lot like breathing. Over time though, the consumers began to far outweigh the producers, and many people never did more than email and consume content.
With blogging, YouTube, social networking sites like Facebook and other fine and recent inventions, as I said, the breathing is coming back. At least that what my dog says.
And he's never wrong. Good Feydeaux! Down!
Now you've made me lose my thought!
Well, here's something you can read in the meantime:
I've already told ya about Charlotte Blogs, so I needn't go back into that, so let me share with you, instead, The Clog -- the brilliantly named blog over at Creative Loafing.
"The people that are for me are fearless."
- John Edwards
An Internet year was thought by many to be roughly equivalent to a "dog year", which is, according to high scientists, approximately seven (7, VII) human years -- mainly because things were changing so fast as to perhaps even amuse Thomas Kuhn, whoever that is. Probably a decent fellow. Crooked teeth. None of my business though.
Well, the exuberance has since turned to terror, thanks to those whose jobs involve the taking of human life. Give me a pen any day!
OR that mass of tubes known as the internets.
At least a keyboard.
[Chimes twinkle in the distance.]
INTERIOR - DAY - OFFICE
The internet is streaming into my head, and back again, in a strange form of breathing, made all the more facile by the advent of blogs and social networking software (sites). In the early days of the Web, content producers and content consumers were often the same people. It was two-way, and a lot like breathing. Over time though, the consumers began to far outweigh the producers, and many people never did more than email and consume content.
With blogging, YouTube, social networking sites like Facebook and other fine and recent inventions, as I said, the breathing is coming back. At least that what my dog says.
And he's never wrong. Good Feydeaux! Down!
Now you've made me lose my thought!
Well, here's something you can read in the meantime:
I've already told ya about Charlotte Blogs, so I needn't go back into that, so let me share with you, instead, The Clog -- the brilliantly named blog over at Creative Loafing.
"The people that are for me are fearless."
- John Edwards
Alien Liesmith & Fox Apologist Attacks Female Wolf
The Raw Story | Fox host gets heated when author disses his network
A house built on a foundation of lies will fall, with the liars eating each up, since none are worthy of trust. What fun to watch!
A house built on a foundation of lies will fall, with the liars eating each up, since none are worthy of trust. What fun to watch!
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Charlotte Blogs
Charlotte Blogs is the blog of the radio show "Charlotte Talks: with Mike Collins" on NPR affiliate, WFAE. Commenting is mercifully easy, and Mike is one heck of a mensch. Pop in and say hello!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
All recipes – complete resource for recipes and cooking tips
All recipes – complete resource for recipes and cooking tips: "Looking for recipes? Allrecipes has more than 40,000 free recipes—all created, tested, reviewed and approved by home cooks worldwide."
Monday, January 28, 2008
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