Now, watching that Dan Rather HDnet thing on electronic ballot boxes while working on a custom toy. TheWife may be coming down w/something.
Orignal From: Now, watching that Dan Rather ...
thepete.com mirror
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Experience Somthing More Like a Trustworthy Government
It's Friday, so I don't want to get too heavy right before the weekend.
Ah, screw it! Let's get heavy! I just restarted my laptop which has a USB TV stick plugged into it--it's so I can watch TV on my PowerBook. Anyway, so I restarted and the TV came on. There was a commercial which was made up of a single shot of a fighter pilot in a cockpit. The camera looked to be mounted in the dashboard with plenty of space in the frame dedicated to the world around the cockpit. As the plane took off, I was entranced--I used to be on the path to being a pilot--at least for a little while there, back in high school and college, so any time I see a fighter plane I get nostalgic.
Then I notice the patch on the pilot's flight suit. It's a "Thunderbirds" patch. The Thunderbirds are an elite exhibition pilot team made up of the top acrobatic pilots in the Air Force. These guys are the most skillful fliers in the world.
Then, the fighter plane enters a barrel roll--this means the plane spins around it's center, horizontally. Think of it like you're lying on a bed and rolling over. It's like that only you've just taken off and you're doing it really fast.
The world spins around the fighter while it, and the shot, are in a perfect, calm, center of the spin. While still in the roll, the pilot looks around, as though he's enjoying the view.
Then the screen cuts to black and a URL for a United States Air Force recruitment website pops up and a voice over guy is heard telling us that we should experience something more.
This is the worst kind of propaganda bullshit.
1) Getting a job as a fighter pilot is incredibly hard. You have to be incredibly lucky, skilled or connected. The only reason I got as far as my pilot physical (which I failed) was because I was in Air Force ROTC in college. I did NOT have a slot waiting for me, but they let you take your physical just so you know if you should aim for a fighter pilot slot or something else.
2) That pilot was a Thunderbird pilot. The percentage of Air Force pilots who actually get to become Thunderbird pilots is incredibly microscopic. Essentially, there is NO WAY you can become a Thunderbird pilot.
3) Barrel rolls are not difficult maneuvers, but generally (if memory serves), they are considered dangerous and not something to try so close to takeoff.
4) I haven't heard of this happening recently, but I do know that in Iraq and Afghanistan and in previous instances where the Air Force provided aircraft the pilots were "encouraged" to take stimulants (drugs) to stay awake longer so they could fly more missions. That's not only immoral, that's unsafe. If a pilot is tired, let him go to sleep. If you need more missions to be flown hire more pilots! Don't DRUG the ones you've got! This alone makes me glad my eyes weren't 20/20--passing that physical would have meant I'd have been asked to take drugs to stay in the air and that would have been a hard order for me to follow as caffeine is where I draw my personal drug-line. I love flying, but not at the expense of my principles.
5) When you're flying in a fighter aircraft, you usually end up killing people. That's something they left out of their little commercial.
6) Another thing they left out is that you have to kill people you may not want to kill under normal circumstances. That is to say, in a country you may not want to go to war against. Perhaps, a country that hasn't done anything directly to threaten or even harm you. Like, Iraq. See, in the commercial, the pilot was as free as a literal bird to perform a dangerous maneuver and to not kill anyone and not kill people who did nothing to threaten the US. Oh and he also didn't have to take orders from an amoral pretender who couldn't fly himself out of a paper bag in the cockpit of anything bigger than a trainer.
Now, I know that the US military needs to step up it's recruiting efforts thanks to the Iraq war going all shitily and all, but perhaps a better draw for recruits would be a government that doesn't start needless wars, that doesn't inflict its will on other countries and practices an even, temperate hand on it's enemies.
You know, a nice government. A fair government which actually has the moral compass it claims to.
For a short time, after 911, I actually thought about going back to the Air Force and giving it another try--not as a pilot, just as a concerned American. But then I remembered how Bush dealt with that whole "US Spy Plane in China" thing and thought that Bush had already made some questionable choices in dealing with the Chinese government, do I really want to trust him to get the response to 911 right?
I think I made the right choice and until we see a regime in control of the US that doesn't like to wage war at the drop of a hat (and actually has the average American's best interests at heart instead of the average corporation's), I'd say everyone should stay away from the US military.
Orignal From: Experience Somthing More Like a Trustworthy Government
Ah, screw it! Let's get heavy! I just restarted my laptop which has a USB TV stick plugged into it--it's so I can watch TV on my PowerBook. Anyway, so I restarted and the TV came on. There was a commercial which was made up of a single shot of a fighter pilot in a cockpit. The camera looked to be mounted in the dashboard with plenty of space in the frame dedicated to the world around the cockpit. As the plane took off, I was entranced--I used to be on the path to being a pilot--at least for a little while there, back in high school and college, so any time I see a fighter plane I get nostalgic.
Then I notice the patch on the pilot's flight suit. It's a "Thunderbirds" patch. The Thunderbirds are an elite exhibition pilot team made up of the top acrobatic pilots in the Air Force. These guys are the most skillful fliers in the world.
Then, the fighter plane enters a barrel roll--this means the plane spins around it's center, horizontally. Think of it like you're lying on a bed and rolling over. It's like that only you've just taken off and you're doing it really fast.
The world spins around the fighter while it, and the shot, are in a perfect, calm, center of the spin. While still in the roll, the pilot looks around, as though he's enjoying the view.
Then the screen cuts to black and a URL for a United States Air Force recruitment website pops up and a voice over guy is heard telling us that we should experience something more.
This is the worst kind of propaganda bullshit.
1) Getting a job as a fighter pilot is incredibly hard. You have to be incredibly lucky, skilled or connected. The only reason I got as far as my pilot physical (which I failed) was because I was in Air Force ROTC in college. I did NOT have a slot waiting for me, but they let you take your physical just so you know if you should aim for a fighter pilot slot or something else.
2) That pilot was a Thunderbird pilot. The percentage of Air Force pilots who actually get to become Thunderbird pilots is incredibly microscopic. Essentially, there is NO WAY you can become a Thunderbird pilot.
3) Barrel rolls are not difficult maneuvers, but generally (if memory serves), they are considered dangerous and not something to try so close to takeoff.
4) I haven't heard of this happening recently, but I do know that in Iraq and Afghanistan and in previous instances where the Air Force provided aircraft the pilots were "encouraged" to take stimulants (drugs) to stay awake longer so they could fly more missions. That's not only immoral, that's unsafe. If a pilot is tired, let him go to sleep. If you need more missions to be flown hire more pilots! Don't DRUG the ones you've got! This alone makes me glad my eyes weren't 20/20--passing that physical would have meant I'd have been asked to take drugs to stay in the air and that would have been a hard order for me to follow as caffeine is where I draw my personal drug-line. I love flying, but not at the expense of my principles.
5) When you're flying in a fighter aircraft, you usually end up killing people. That's something they left out of their little commercial.
6) Another thing they left out is that you have to kill people you may not want to kill under normal circumstances. That is to say, in a country you may not want to go to war against. Perhaps, a country that hasn't done anything directly to threaten or even harm you. Like, Iraq. See, in the commercial, the pilot was as free as a literal bird to perform a dangerous maneuver and to not kill anyone and not kill people who did nothing to threaten the US. Oh and he also didn't have to take orders from an amoral pretender who couldn't fly himself out of a paper bag in the cockpit of anything bigger than a trainer.
Now, I know that the US military needs to step up it's recruiting efforts thanks to the Iraq war going all shitily and all, but perhaps a better draw for recruits would be a government that doesn't start needless wars, that doesn't inflict its will on other countries and practices an even, temperate hand on it's enemies.
You know, a nice government. A fair government which actually has the moral compass it claims to.
For a short time, after 911, I actually thought about going back to the Air Force and giving it another try--not as a pilot, just as a concerned American. But then I remembered how Bush dealt with that whole "US Spy Plane in China" thing and thought that Bush had already made some questionable choices in dealing with the Chinese government, do I really want to trust him to get the response to 911 right?
I think I made the right choice and until we see a regime in control of the US that doesn't like to wage war at the drop of a hat (and actually has the average American's best interests at heart instead of the average corporation's), I'd say everyone should stay away from the US military.
Orignal From: Experience Somthing More Like a Trustworthy Government
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Just a Reminder to Support Your Local ThePete
Please support your local ThePete! You can do this by clicking any ads you see around, clicking on the various "support" links you see around the site, or by buying something from:
Orignal From: Just a Reminder to Support Your Local ThePete
cafepress.com/thepetestuff
http://astore.amazon.com/thepetecom-20
You can also use one of the many social bookmarking sites to let the world know about ThePete.Com. Thanks!
Orignal From: Just a Reminder to Support Your Local ThePete
Find ThePete on TheWeb
OK, here are all the places you can find me on the web:
Commerce:
cafepress.com/thepetestuff (gotta get more of these!)
Writing Sites:
members.nowpublic.com/thepete
thisisby.us/user.php/thepete
Micro/Mini/Other Blogs:
twitter.com/thepete
thepete.tumblr.com
thepetecom.livejournal.com
thepetecom.blogspot.com
Natuba.com/thepete
Community sites:
thepete.com/munity (thepetecom.ning.com)
myspace.com/thepetecom
my.mashable.com/thepete
fugitivetoys.com/collections/thepete
pownce.com/thepete
losangeles.going.com/thepete
8apps.com/handshake/people/thepete/
humblevoice.com/thepete
virb.com/thepete
switchplanet.com/Profile/View/8537
Media sites:
flickr.com/photos/thepete
kyte.tv/thepetetv
blogtv.com/People/thepete
anywhere.fm/thepete
blogtalkradio.com/thepetecast
box.net/p/thepete
youtube.com/thepetetv
viddler.com/explore/thepete/
thepete.deviantart.com/
Social bookmarking sites to come when I have time to add them to this post. ^_^
Orignal From: Find ThePete on TheWeb
Commerce:
cafepress.com/thepetestuff (gotta get more of these!)
Writing Sites:
members.nowpublic.com/thepete
thisisby.us/user.php/thepete
Micro/Mini/Other Blogs:
twitter.com/thepete
thepete.tumblr.com
thepetecom.livejournal.com
thepetecom.blogspot.com
Natuba.com/thepete
Community sites:
thepete.com/munity (thepetecom.ning.com)
myspace.com/thepetecom
my.mashable.com/thepete
fugitivetoys.com/collections/thepete
pownce.com/thepete
losangeles.going.com/thepete
8apps.com/handshake/people/thepete/
humblevoice.com/thepete
virb.com/thepete
switchplanet.com/Profile/View/8537
Media sites:
flickr.com/photos/thepete
kyte.tv/thepetetv
blogtv.com/People/thepete
anywhere.fm/thepete
blogtalkradio.com/thepetecast
box.net/p/thepete
youtube.com/thepetetv
viddler.com/explore/thepete/
thepete.deviantart.com/
Social bookmarking sites to come when I have time to add them to this post. ^_^
Orignal From: Find ThePete on TheWeb
DOWNFALL (2004)
Technically any good? Unbelievably solid. I would have liked a larger scope for the film, but th 3rd Reich's last few years still made for an interesting film. I wish the director would have made an epic like Das Boot about this subject matter. The acting is amazing--almost every single actor nails the ambiguity of working for a man who was amoral in some ways and delusional in others. You can almost understand why they didn't stop him. Those same scenes provided a disturbing mirror to what must be going on these days inside the White House.
How did it leave me feeling? Depressed. There are some seriously heavy scenes in this film--child murder, suicide, and lots of delusional people absolutely convinced that what they were doing was right.
Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now - Excellent film. Just excellent (but not for kids, duh).
Orignal From: DOWNFALL (2004)
thepete on Virb.com
Oh, man. I've done it again and again.
I can't believe I can actually keep track of all of these damn socnets! I'm going to have to have a separate post with links to all of them as opposed to the cute little boxes underneath the site logo...
So, yesterday it was my Tumblr blog and today it's Virb and Mashable. I'd post a link to my Facebook, Mixi and Y!Mash profiles, but you have to be members of each of those sites to even see them. Very weird to have sites rely solely on word of mouth and not allow potential users a chance to have a look.
Ah well... if you're on any of the sites that I'm on friend me, damn it!
Orignal From: thepete on Virb.com
I can't believe I can actually keep track of all of these damn socnets! I'm going to have to have a separate post with links to all of them as opposed to the cute little boxes underneath the site logo...
So, yesterday it was my Tumblr blog and today it's Virb and Mashable. I'd post a link to my Facebook, Mixi and Y!Mash profiles, but you have to be members of each of those sites to even see them. Very weird to have sites rely solely on word of mouth and not allow potential users a chance to have a look.
Ah well... if you're on any of the sites that I'm on friend me, damn it!
Orignal From: thepete on Virb.com
@cherishhellfire also, I total...
@cherishhellfire also, I totally agree with your conclusion about the world. I'm completely there with ya!
Orignal From: @cherishhellfire also, I total...
Orignal From: @cherishhellfire also, I total...
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
http://www.alexgirard.com/twitticious/
http://www.alexgirard.com/twitticious/
This badboy links up your Twitter stream to your Del.icio.us account so all of the links you Twitter end up there. Pretty sweet! And yes, I'm getting addicted to this Tumblr thing.
Orignal From: http://www.alexgirard.com/twitticious/
This badboy links up your Twitter stream to your Del.icio.us account so all of the links you Twitter end up there. Pretty sweet! And yes, I'm getting addicted to this Tumblr thing.
Orignal From: http://www.alexgirard.com/twitticious/
William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction
William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction
INCREDIBLY useful tutorial if you're writing a short story, book or poem and plan on submitting said creative work for publication someplace. Linked to from here: http://urltea.com/1l47 (AndromedaSpaceways.com)
Orignal From: William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction
INCREDIBLY useful tutorial if you're writing a short story, book or poem and plan on submitting said creative work for publication someplace. Linked to from here: http://urltea.com/1l47 (AndromedaSpaceways.com)
Orignal From: William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction
booktwo.org » Swotter
booktwo.org » Swotter
Reads books to anyone who follows it on Twitter. Here's Swotter reading Ulysses: http://twitter.com/booktwo
Orignal From: booktwo.org » Swotter
Reads books to anyone who follows it on Twitter. Here's Swotter reading Ulysses: http://twitter.com/booktwo
Orignal From: booktwo.org » Swotter
bare: The Album
bare: The Album
This is the site for a show TheWife was in five or six years ago. They've got a cast recording of the latest version of the show. Check it out if you're into pop musicals that are good.
Orignal From: bare: The Album
This is the site for a show TheWife was in five or six years ago. They've got a cast recording of the latest version of the show. Check it out if you're into pop musicals that are good.
Orignal From: bare: The Album
Social bookmarking service. Fast tagging and posting to all major social websites - SocialMarker.com (ThePete sez: Seems cool enough...I'm trying it out...)
Social bookmarking service. Fast tagging and posting to all major social websites - SocialMarker.com (ThePete sez: Seems cool enough...I'm trying it out...)
Orignal From: Social bookmarking service. Fast tagging and posting to all major social websites - SocialMarker.com (ThePete sez: Seems cool enough...I'm trying it out...)
Orignal From: Social bookmarking service. Fast tagging and posting to all major social websites - SocialMarker.com (ThePete sez: Seems cool enough...I'm trying it out...)
Google Notebook in Blog Form?
Oops, I said "blog"!
What I meant to say was Tumblr Blog!
Anyway, so, I stumble across Tumblr.com, have a look at a few featured "Tumblelogs" and write a post on my blog (here: http://thepete.com/tumblrcom-seems-to-make-you-a-jerk/) bagging on Tumblr because it seems to encourage users to be glib, shallow, and generally unoriginal.
I was curious if I was right, so here I am putting my money where my mouth is.
I know from my experience with Twitter, I've learned to say things with fewer words and that trait has followed over )to a certain degree) to my blogging, which is good. The question is whether or not traits I learn to use Tumblr will follow me back home, too.
One thing's already certain, I don't like the interface for entering text. WYSIWYG is positively for squares, man. Who can't type in tags every now and again in today's world? Also, what's with the weird line spacing? When I hit "return" it double spaces. Nice, in theory, but since this is the only thing that does that, it's annoying.
It's good to conform in someways, bad in others. The balance between isn't always so hard to get to.
Orignal From: Google Notebook in Blog Form?
William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction
William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction
INCREDIBLY useful tutorial if you're writing a short story, book or poem and plan on submitting said creative work for publication someplace. Linked to from here: http://urltea.com/1l47 (AndromedaSpaceways.com)
Orignal From: William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction
INCREDIBLY useful tutorial if you're writing a short story, book or poem and plan on submitting said creative work for publication someplace. Linked to from here: http://urltea.com/1l47 (AndromedaSpaceways.com)
Orignal From: William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction
booktwo.org » Swotter
booktwo.org » Swotter
Reads books to anyone who follows it on Twitter. Here's Swotter reading Ulysses: http://twitter.com/booktwo
Orignal From: booktwo.org » Swotter
Reads books to anyone who follows it on Twitter. Here's Swotter reading Ulysses: http://twitter.com/booktwo
Orignal From: booktwo.org » Swotter
http://www.alexgirard.com/twitticious/
http://www.alexgirard.com/twitticious/
This badboy links up your Twitter stream to your Del.icio.us account so all of the links you Twitter end up there. Pretty sweet! And yes, I'm getting addicted to this Tumblr thing.
Orignal From: http://www.alexgirard.com/twitticious/
This badboy links up your Twitter stream to your Del.icio.us account so all of the links you Twitter end up there. Pretty sweet! And yes, I'm getting addicted to this Tumblr thing.
Orignal From: http://www.alexgirard.com/twitticious/
bare: The Album
bare: The Album
This is the site for a show TheWife was in five or six years ago. They've got a cast recording of the latest version of the show. Check it out if you're into pop musicals that are good.
Orignal From: bare: The Album
This is the site for a show TheWife was in five or six years ago. They've got a cast recording of the latest version of the show. Check it out if you're into pop musicals that are good.
Orignal From: bare: The Album
Social bookmarking service. Fast tagging and posting to all major social websites - SocialMarker.com (ThePete sez: Seems cool enough...I'm trying it out...)
Social bookmarking service. Fast tagging and posting to all major social websites - SocialMarker.com (ThePete sez: Seems cool enough...I'm trying it out...)
Orignal From: Social bookmarking service. Fast tagging and posting to all major social websites - SocialMarker.com (ThePete sez: Seems cool enough...I'm trying it out...)
Orignal From: Social bookmarking service. Fast tagging and posting to all major social websites - SocialMarker.com (ThePete sez: Seems cool enough...I'm trying it out...)
Google Notebook in Blog Form?
Oops, I said "blog"!
What I meant to say was Tumblr Blog!
Anyway, so, I stumble across Tumblr.com, have a look at a few featured "Tumblelogs" and write a post on my blog (here: http://thepete.com/tumblrcom-seems-to-make-you-a-jerk/) bagging on Tumblr because it seems to encourage users to be glib, shallow, and generally unoriginal.
I was curious if I was right, so here I am putting my money where my mouth is.
I know from my experience with Twitter, I've learned to say things with fewer words and that trait has followed over )to a certain degree) to my blogging, which is good. The question is whether or not traits I learn to use Tumblr will follow me back home, too.
One thing's already certain, I don't like the interface for entering text. WYSIWYG is positively for squares, man. Who can't type in tags every now and again in today's world? Also, what's with the weird line spacing? When I hit "return" it double spaces. Nice, in theory, but since this is the only thing that does that, it's annoying.
It's good to conform in someways, bad in others. The balance between isn't always so hard to get to.
Orignal From: Google Notebook in Blog Form?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
ThePete's Tumblr Blog
Remember this post? Well, I'm putting my money where my mouth is. Let's see how shallow I get!
ThePete's Tumblr Blog
Damn! I called it a Tumblr Blog!
I don't think I'm supposed to do that!
Orignal From: ThePete's Tumblr Blog
ThePete's Tumblr Blog
Damn! I called it a Tumblr Blog!
I don't think I'm supposed to do that!
Orignal From: ThePete's Tumblr Blog
TUMBLR.COM SEEMS TO MAKE YOU A JERK
It's amazing what people spend time on out there on the 'net. I like to think that everything I do on ThePete.Com (or any other site) represents something I'm truly passionate about. So, imagine the confusion and mild disgust that formed in my brain while stumbling across a handful of sites at blog hosting service Tumblr.com.
First off, Mac people only wish they were this elitist.
Check out what Tumblr.com's FAQ page says a "Tumblelog" is:
So, they're not "Tumblr Blogs" even though the site that you create these blogs on is called "Tumblr.com." And then, what IS a "Tumblelog"? Their description is kind of odd, since, through the magic of hyperlinks and these things called "tags," my WordPress blog is very much already a scrapbook of my life, so knowing how a "Tumblelog" is more like a scrapbook and less like a regular blog would be nice. Sadly, nowhere on the FAQ do they tell you, only mentioning (as above) that we should go to their Wikipedia article to learn more.
Wow. Imagine if someone sat down for a TV interview but answered everything in vague advertising propaganda terms and when pressed referred the reporter to their Wikipedia entry.
Why have a FAQ at all? Why not just link to the damn Wikipedia?
But I don't give up that easily, I like "simple" and "elegant" (even with the quotes) so, I decided to check out some of the "featured" "Tumblelogs."
The very first thing I noticed about tumblelog.marco.org is that in the sidebar he's got excerpts from his regular blog which ALL look more interesting than the entries in his tumblelog. There are pictures and they seem to have meat to them. The entries in the tumblelog are all very short and kind of bleak. Here is a sampling:
Hopefully, that's enough to make my point--kind of depressing, overly critical stuff. Sure, not everyone must blog about the United States as a police state and this is supposed to be a "tumblelog" but I'm just not seeing anything unique about this thing aside from the fact that almost every post contains very little original content and only contains the (kind of selfish) mini-rant about how something sucks. Now, I know I blog about depressing stuff that sucks all the time, but the point is, why do it in this format? Seems, so far, that Tumblr is more a place that encourages you to grab textual soundbites from others. The fact that these are all fairly judgmental, negative quotes goes to the personality of Marco, I would think. But again, it's funny how his regular blog looks way more interesting than his tumblelog.
There's nothing overtly obnoxious about Blogable.net. At first glance, it's just a blog fairly short entries, again, featuring very little original content and links to other stories. The catch is, they're all links to stories on Digg. Lately, I've been getting more and more annoyed with Digg Whoring. Digg Whoring is when you beg people to Digg your blog posts to make them more popular. Blogable.net seems to exist only to make it's posts more popular. There is more to life than being popular, you know.
Next up, I looked at Tumbl.us. The unifying quality of tumblelogs is definitely having little-to-no original content. Tumble.us has more pictures that the other tumblelogs but they aren't accompanied by much. While not as negative as tumblelog.Marco.org, these are pretty judgmental. Check out this post on tumblelog etiquette which is basically just a quote from our pal Marco from earlier:
Yeah, sounds like Marco to me.
But sheesh--what's the big effing deal whether people call them "tumble blogs" or "tumblelogs" or "TUMblogs"? Why the RULES?
Finaly, I checked out Anarchia.org, the site that claims to be the very first tumblelog, and it was actually kind of cool. Maybe it was the site's mix of pictures and text, or the fact that the author does include personal commentary, or perhaps it was that the author wasn't clearly a dick about things in each post. I think the fact that author seemed to be trying to make the blogiverse a better place with his posts also might have something to do with me liking it. That's something I try to do, too. Sometimes I'm pull it off, other times not.
In the end, it seems like Tumblr.com seems to encourage a lack of thought, a quick judgment that results in posts that lack a whole lot of information or perspective. Sure, we can find that elsewhere, but why spend time being shallow, short and judgemental?
Yes, I know I'm being judgmental by judging them, but I'm, at least, trying to be constructive about it.
In the meantime, you can judge for yourself by checking out the sites I mention. Here they are again for easy reference:
Tumblelog.Marco.Org
Blogable.Net
Tumble.US
Anarchaia.Org (recommended)
Will I sign up for a Tumblr Blog? Probably, just to see if the plague hits me, too...
Oh and for the record, if you make comments optional on Tumblr each Tumblr blogger can decide for themselves if they want them instead of this odd Greek-forum-style democracy. I just LOVE it when a handful of people get together and decide what's right for everyone else.
Orignal From: TUMBLR.COM SEEMS TO MAKE YOU A JERK
First off, Mac people only wish they were this elitist.
Check out what Tumblr.com's FAQ page says a "Tumblelog" is:
To make a simple analogy: If blogs are journals, tumblelogs are scrapbooks.
You can also look at tumblelogs as slightly more structured blogs that make it easier, faster, and more fun to post and share stuff you find or create.
You can find more information on Wikipedia.
So, they're not "Tumblr Blogs" even though the site that you create these blogs on is called "Tumblr.com." And then, what IS a "Tumblelog"? Their description is kind of odd, since, through the magic of hyperlinks and these things called "tags," my WordPress blog is very much already a scrapbook of my life, so knowing how a "Tumblelog" is more like a scrapbook and less like a regular blog would be nice. Sadly, nowhere on the FAQ do they tell you, only mentioning (as above) that we should go to their Wikipedia article to learn more.
Wow. Imagine if someone sat down for a TV interview but answered everything in vague advertising propaganda terms and when pressed referred the reporter to their Wikipedia entry.
Why have a FAQ at all? Why not just link to the damn Wikipedia?
But I don't give up that easily, I like "simple" and "elegant" (even with the quotes) so, I decided to check out some of the "featured" "Tumblelogs."
The very first thing I noticed about tumblelog.marco.org is that in the sidebar he's got excerpts from his regular blog which ALL look more interesting than the entries in his tumblelog. There are pictures and they seem to have meat to them. The entries in the tumblelog are all very short and kind of bleak. Here is a sampling:
Bug in Excel 2007 Microsoft Excel 2007 has a serious bug in simple arithmetic calculations that should produce 65535. The simplest example is 850 x 77.1, which results in 10000 instead of 65535. (thanks Anmar)
...
I am against comments on Tumblr. Why? Because Tumblr is a site for tumblelogs. The tumblelog is a beautifully simple medium. One of the wonders of the simplicity is the lack of a commenting system. [...] Why would you throw all kinds of extra crap onto a medium that exists for it's simplicity? Wordpress is free. Textpattern is free. Symphony is free. Livejournal is free. Blogger is free. There are so many other platforms to blog with. Why duct tape comments onto a tumblelog?
— pixelspread: Tumblr Comments
...
How to operate email
1. Don't use auto-responders.
2. Absolutely don't use those stupid systems that send me a verification email and make me fill out a CAPTCHA before they send the message to you. It may stop spam, but it also stops legitimate messages while frustrating and inconveniencing people who try to email you. Your spam is your problem, not mine.
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Lemur CATTA Read, comprehend, comment.
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Rands In Repose: The Button How to operate each personality type in a job interview.
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Every few days Twitter stops working, and tells me "Features and improvements are on the way!" Well, you know what would be an improvement? Staying online!
— Cameron
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What all this come's down to is the sense of a nation absolutely fooling itself that it can carry on in the way it is used to. I'm hardly an advocate of the US giving up and committing suicide. What I advocate is a broad recognition that reality is compelling us to change our behavior. Reality is trying to tell us that we can't run an economy based on nothing more than investment schemes without directing investment into activities that produce things of value. Reality is telling us to be very worried about living arrangements that can only function with copious imports of oil from people who are disgusted with us. Reality is telling us that we can't divert our food crops into making motor fuels without people becoming unable to afford either fuel or food. Reality is telling us to redirect our culture more toward things-we-do-with-other-people and less toward things-we-do-with-new-things. Reality is telling us to shift from avoidance behavior and denial to engaging with reality in order to lead lives that are consistent with reality.
— Jim Kunstler (thanks AZspot)
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C++ is a horrible language. It's made more horrible by the fact that a lot of substandard programmers use it, to the point where it's much much easier to generate total and utter crap with it. Quite frankly, even if the choice of C were to do nothing but keep the C++ programmers out, that in itself would be a huge reason to use C.
— Linus Torvalds (thanks Anmar)
the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks (thanks Topherchris)
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But the main reason that any programmer learning any new language thinks the new language is SO much better than the old one is because he's a better programmer now! You look back at your old ugly PHP code, compared to your new beautiful Ruby code, and think, "God that PHP is ugly!" But don't forget you wrote that PHP years ago and are unfairly discriminating against it now.
It's not the language (entirely). It's you, dude. You're better now. Give yourself some credit.
— Why I switched back to PHP after 2 years on Rails (thanks Contrived Chaos and Dalas Verdugo - and yes, that was me who removes unnecessary numbers from blog-post titles)
Hopefully, that's enough to make my point--kind of depressing, overly critical stuff. Sure, not everyone must blog about the United States as a police state and this is supposed to be a "tumblelog" but I'm just not seeing anything unique about this thing aside from the fact that almost every post contains very little original content and only contains the (kind of selfish) mini-rant about how something sucks. Now, I know I blog about depressing stuff that sucks all the time, but the point is, why do it in this format? Seems, so far, that Tumblr is more a place that encourages you to grab textual soundbites from others. The fact that these are all fairly judgmental, negative quotes goes to the personality of Marco, I would think. But again, it's funny how his regular blog looks way more interesting than his tumblelog.
There's nothing overtly obnoxious about Blogable.net. At first glance, it's just a blog fairly short entries, again, featuring very little original content and links to other stories. The catch is, they're all links to stories on Digg. Lately, I've been getting more and more annoyed with Digg Whoring. Digg Whoring is when you beg people to Digg your blog posts to make them more popular. Blogable.net seems to exist only to make it's posts more popular. There is more to life than being popular, you know.
Next up, I looked at Tumbl.us. The unifying quality of tumblelogs is definitely having little-to-no original content. Tumble.us has more pictures that the other tumblelogs but they aren't accompanied by much. While not as negative as tumblelog.Marco.org, these are pretty judgmental. Check out this post on tumblelog etiquette which is basically just a quote from our pal Marco from earlier:
Dear Internet,
I loved this little rant by Marco. I do hate the term tumblrblog. I hate when people can't say tumblelog. Sometimes I feel like no one says anything outloud anymore. Like whoever named thoof...
"It's "tumblelog". Pronounce it like the complete word "tumble" followed by the complete word "log". No gaps, emphasis on "tum".
The following alternatives are all wrong and awkward:
- Tumblr blog
- tumble blog
- tumblog
Also, the correct present participle is "tumblelogging".
I recognize that it doesn't take much skill to publish on the internet, but please make an effort to get your terminology right, even if the rest of your article is completely wrong.
Thanks,
Marco"
Yeah, sounds like Marco to me.
But sheesh--what's the big effing deal whether people call them "tumble blogs" or "tumblelogs" or "TUMblogs"? Why the RULES?
Finaly, I checked out Anarchia.org, the site that claims to be the very first tumblelog, and it was actually kind of cool. Maybe it was the site's mix of pictures and text, or the fact that the author does include personal commentary, or perhaps it was that the author wasn't clearly a dick about things in each post. I think the fact that author seemed to be trying to make the blogiverse a better place with his posts also might have something to do with me liking it. That's something I try to do, too. Sometimes I'm pull it off, other times not.
In the end, it seems like Tumblr.com seems to encourage a lack of thought, a quick judgment that results in posts that lack a whole lot of information or perspective. Sure, we can find that elsewhere, but why spend time being shallow, short and judgemental?
Yes, I know I'm being judgmental by judging them, but I'm, at least, trying to be constructive about it.
In the meantime, you can judge for yourself by checking out the sites I mention. Here they are again for easy reference:
Tumblelog.Marco.Org
Blogable.Net
Tumble.US
Anarchaia.Org (recommended)
Will I sign up for a Tumblr Blog? Probably, just to see if the plague hits me, too...
Oh and for the record, if you make comments optional on Tumblr each Tumblr blogger can decide for themselves if they want them instead of this odd Greek-forum-style democracy. I just LOVE it when a handful of people get together and decide what's right for everyone else.
Orignal From: TUMBLR.COM SEEMS TO MAKE YOU A JERK
I am... WRIST STRONG!
YOU can be WRIST STRONG, too! Just go here: urltea.com/1ksa and drop $5 to get yourself one of these bad boys AND help the families of soldiers in Iraq. SWEET. DO IT.
Orignal From: I am... WRIST STRONG!
Monday, September 24, 2007
WIXI.COM FOR SHARING VIDS, BUT WHO IS FREDERIC?
So, I noticed that I was getting a hit or two from a website called LastPodcast.Net and decided to have a look around. One of the posts there was on Wixi.com which sounds like Anywhere.FM only with videos. So, you can upload your TV shows and movies and then have access to them from anywhere with a web browser--pretty cool. The point the post at LPC.N was making however was how illegal it was to make these videos shareable. This is a good point--what's the point of buying a DVD or even Netflixing one if you can just watch it on your friend's blog? Or your own?
However, after signing up with them, I have another concern and that's security. As I finished the sign-up-process, I was told I'd get an email soon regarding my account. Assuming that the wait would be minutes, I clicked on the "LOG IN" link so I could quickly type in my username and password only to find myself logged into an account already--not mine--some dude called "Frederic." Check out the screencap:
Hm.... not really sure I want to be responsible for the contents of an account that can be accidentally accessed by some random stranger who just signed up, thanks. I didn't mess with Frederic's account because, frankly, I wouldn't want anyone messing with mine. But still, seeing that username of his in the corner says I was definitely logged in as him, and not that he had shared the contents of and access to his account.
Sad, because I was really looking for an only server I could dump all of my mp4s onto in order to have access to them anywhere I have a flash-capable browser (like Anywhere.FM).
Orignal From: WIXI.COM FOR SHARING VIDS, BUT WHO IS FREDERIC?
However, after signing up with them, I have another concern and that's security. As I finished the sign-up-process, I was told I'd get an email soon regarding my account. Assuming that the wait would be minutes, I clicked on the "LOG IN" link so I could quickly type in my username and password only to find myself logged into an account already--not mine--some dude called "Frederic." Check out the screencap:
Hm.... not really sure I want to be responsible for the contents of an account that can be accidentally accessed by some random stranger who just signed up, thanks. I didn't mess with Frederic's account because, frankly, I wouldn't want anyone messing with mine. But still, seeing that username of his in the corner says I was definitely logged in as him, and not that he had shared the contents of and access to his account.
Sad, because I was really looking for an only server I could dump all of my mp4s onto in order to have access to them anywhere I have a flash-capable browser (like Anywhere.FM).
Orignal From: WIXI.COM FOR SHARING VIDS, BUT WHO IS FREDERIC?
EASTERN PROMISES (2007)
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Technically any good? The acting was good, but understated and the direction was invisible, the way it should be. The film is actually very slow. There's also not a whole lot of emotion or character development. Somehow, the film ends up being entertaining, nonetheless. The story is solid, interesting and only slightly predictable (and not even predictable in a bad way). It's got an incredible fight sequence that will make the film infamous and a quiet intensity that just earn this movie a cult following.
How did it leave me feeling? Definitely satisfied, but for very different reasons than I normally expect. The film was slow, but intense. It reminded me of Lonestar in that way.
Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like - it's a little disconcerting with some violence and disturbing imagery and it's rated R so it's not for the kiddies. The ladies might enjoy Viggo's completely naked fight scene, however.
Orignal From: EASTERN PROMISES (2007)
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Crazy Damn Rain in Hollywood
Yep, that's Sunset Blvd from Groundwork on the corner of Sunset and
Cahuenga and it's raining like mad.
And I had to go out without my overcoat. :(
Orignal From: Crazy Damn Rain in Hollywood
TheSaturdaily for September 22, 2007
Hey there, folks! I'm about out the door to catch my bus to Groundwork in Hollywood for my weekly writing session in Hollywood. If you're a writer, want to write or just want to hang out and talk about writing in a place that's "hip" and "cool" why not join me on the northwest corner of Sunset and Cahuenga? I'll be working on the second draft of my latest novel and on formatting an earlier novel for self publishing. I'm aiming to get there at 12:30pm (buses allowing) and should be there at least until 4:30pm, possibly later.
You can always stop by ThePete.Com/munity and click on TheSaturdaily to learn more (or just go here: http://thepetecom.ning.com/group/thesaturdaily).
Orignal From: TheSaturdaily for September 22, 2007
You can always stop by ThePete.Com/munity and click on TheSaturdaily to learn more (or just go here: http://thepetecom.ning.com/group/thesaturdaily).
Orignal From: TheSaturdaily for September 22, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
HEALTH NEWS: DARK CHOCOLATE IS GOOD FOR YOU
Just listening to the podcast from TheNakedScientists.com and they did a story on how doctors have found that the things that make a glass of wine a day good for your health are also found in dark chocolate. They say a glass of wine and 30 grams of dark chocolate per day actually helps you be more healthy. Of course, they left out the part where you should also exercise regularly to work off the pounds you are likely to put on by consuming 30 grams of dark chocolate and a glass of wine a day. So, be sure and do that, too.
Incidentally, one of the scientists they interviewed also mentioned that a cup of coffee per day lowers your chances of becoming diabetic. I'm guessing he meant that statistics show that a cup of coffee a day lowers your chances of becoming diabetic. I've never heard of any tangible link between coffee consumption and diabetes prevention.
As far as how chocolate (and wine) make(s) you healthier, studies have shown that eating it regularly lowers your risk for heart disease. Some how the stuff that makes up the chocolate (which is very similar to the stuff that makes up wine) effect blood vessels in a way that improves heart health. To be even more specific, I found a transcript of the interview at TheNakedScientists.com (read it entirely here: http://urltea.com/1jxk) and here's the important cutting:
Those were the words of one Roger Corder from the Royal London Medical School. So, there you have it!
I'm going to head down to Trader Joe's and pick me up a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck and a slab of the dark brown stuff!
Oh, damn... I just remembered that I don't drink and don't touch refined sugar...NO FAIR!
Orignal From: HEALTH NEWS: DARK CHOCOLATE IS GOOD FOR YOU
Incidentally, one of the scientists they interviewed also mentioned that a cup of coffee per day lowers your chances of becoming diabetic. I'm guessing he meant that statistics show that a cup of coffee a day lowers your chances of becoming diabetic. I've never heard of any tangible link between coffee consumption and diabetes prevention.
As far as how chocolate (and wine) make(s) you healthier, studies have shown that eating it regularly lowers your risk for heart disease. Some how the stuff that makes up the chocolate (which is very similar to the stuff that makes up wine) effect blood vessels in a way that improves heart health. To be even more specific, I found a transcript of the interview at TheNakedScientists.com (read it entirely here: http://urltea.com/1jxk) and here's the important cutting:
We've done our own research in this area and shown that the potent effects, modifying the function of endothelial cells, which are the cells that line blood vessels, and these effects could definitely be associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Exactly the same molecules we're looking at when we're looking at red wine and there's so much similarity between the effects we're observing and the molecules that we're studying that there's a parallel between consumers of highly tannic red wine and those who like to eat dark chocolate, in terms of the effects observed.
Those were the words of one Roger Corder from the Royal London Medical School. So, there you have it!
I'm going to head down to Trader Joe's and pick me up a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck and a slab of the dark brown stuff!
Oh, damn... I just remembered that I don't drink and don't touch refined sugar...NO FAIR!
Orignal From: HEALTH NEWS: DARK CHOCOLATE IS GOOD FOR YOU
Waiting for the Bus--It's Bright Out!
Lost my sunglasses a couple months ago and boy it is bright today.
Something about overcast skies makes it more bright than when they're
blue. Gotta love how the clouds spread all that light around! Woo!
Woo!
Orignal From: Waiting for the Bus--It's Bright Out!
MAI HiME (2006) aka MY HiME
Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely a lot of fun. However, it's a little uneven. There are very serious moments followed by downright silly moments followed by very serious moments. So, beware--this anime series is far from perfect. Oh and a note on the name--in Japan "Mai" is a girl's name. "Hime" is the word for "princess" but in this series "Mai" is the name of the lead character and "HiME" is an acronym. Why they changed it to "My HiME" when it came to to the US is beyond me since it makes little sense.
Technically any good? The designs are excellent. As with thebest most popular anime shows, the women are all cute as all get out and look older than their ages. The character development is very strong in this, but sadly the story is not. The story, while structurally interesting, is convoluted and never very well-explained. The voice acting is absolutely brilliant. Everyone sounds incredibly real--of course, I refer to the Japanese language dub and not the English dub. I've only watched the former and you should, too. In my opinion all media should be watched with the native tongue of the creator being heard. Just my opinion, of course.
How did it leave me feeling? A little unfulfilled, which is a very common trait for anime shows. Lots of times you spend the entire series building up to something and then the pay off is much less than you expected. This is the case here, but ultimately, it could have been much worse. I found the resolution of the plot to be fairly solid nonetheless, though it didn't end up making much sense of the rest of the series (this was the "less than expected" part). It was tragic and sad and a tear-jerker right up to that point where it got a shrug from me. Still, it did leave me wanting more and luckily, the sequel series Mai Otome/My Otome is now available on DVD in the US (here: http://urltea.com/1jun) and there's another sequel series airing in Japan right now called Mai Otome Zwei (don't ask me about those titles because I just have no idea).
Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like - I give it 3.5 stars, over all. I think it's a good show for teen girls to watch because it's about girls maturing and using their "new powers" to make difficult choices--this works pretty well as a metaphor for what girls are going through at age 15 (the same age as the characters in Mai Hime). Ultimately, if you can ignore the fact that there is never any explanation for why things are happening, then you'll probably enjoy this series.
Orignal From: MAI HiME (2006) aka MY HiME
Technically any good? The designs are excellent. As with the
How did it leave me feeling? A little unfulfilled, which is a very common trait for anime shows. Lots of times you spend the entire series building up to something and then the pay off is much less than you expected. This is the case here, but ultimately, it could have been much worse. I found the resolution of the plot to be fairly solid nonetheless, though it didn't end up making much sense of the rest of the series (this was the "less than expected" part). It was tragic and sad and a tear-jerker right up to that point where it got a shrug from me. Still, it did leave me wanting more and luckily, the sequel series Mai Otome/My Otome is now available on DVD in the US (here: http://urltea.com/1jun) and there's another sequel series airing in Japan right now called Mai Otome Zwei (don't ask me about those titles because I just have no idea).
Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like - I give it 3.5 stars, over all. I think it's a good show for teen girls to watch because it's about girls maturing and using their "new powers" to make difficult choices--this works pretty well as a metaphor for what girls are going through at age 15 (the same age as the characters in Mai Hime). Ultimately, if you can ignore the fact that there is never any explanation for why things are happening, then you'll probably enjoy this series.
Orignal From: MAI HiME (2006) aka MY HiME
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Coup on American Soil? By Big Business? Read On...
While first watching the documentary, The Corporation (see: TheCorporation.com), a few years ago, I learned something I never knew before. See, the film sets out to compare the psychology of corporations to the psychology of psychopaths. I'm not kidding, they even used the World Health Organization's checklist. One of the examples the film used for sociopathic behavior was a coup that was planned by several big businessmen back in the 1930s. This is no joke, folks. There are records to prove it.
The thing is, as good as The Corporation was, it only spent a few minutes out of its 3 hour run-time to talk about this planned coup. I've always been meaning to read up on it, but hadn't had the time. The other day I wrote a post that touched on this, but all I could find on the 'net to back my story up was the Wikipedia.org article (here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler). Well, it seems like Alan Bellows over at DamnInteresting.com read my mind because just yesterday he posted a full-on story about the planned coup--did all sorts of research for it and everything! You can check it out for yourself here: http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=883
Here's a taste to get you started:
Here's just a bit more:
Weeeee!!
It's always fun when the Bush clan shows up in these quietly told chapters of US history. Turns out, Butler actually said that he "helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-12."
Brown Brothers would be joined by Harriman to become the bank that laundered money for Fritz Thyssen. Thyssen's banker? Prescott Bush. Read more about that here: http://urltea.com/1j9x and here: http://urltea.com/1j9y Suffice it to say that there were government records to prove that, as well.
How did the coup work out? In the end, Butler was too much of a hard-ass patriotic American to do these businessmen's bidding. He held a press conference and spilled the beans to the media. There were hearings on the Hill and everything--but, like the 911 Commission, despite the admitted evidence of serious wrong doing no one was ever charged or indicted or thrown in jail or anything. Essentially, the USG decided that there was something going on, but didn't bother to take it any further.
Like I said, just like the 911 Commission. Lots of changes are necessary, but no, no one's getting fired because the USG let 911 happen.
So, there ya go! Businessmen conspired to overthrow the USG. Why aren't we taught about it in history class? My guess is that we're not supposed to know our corporateoverlords pals once planned to knock over our government.
There's a LOT more to that article, you should really head over and check it out. Here's that link again: http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=883
Orignal From: Coup on American Soil? By Big Business? Read On...
The thing is, as good as The Corporation was, it only spent a few minutes out of its 3 hour run-time to talk about this planned coup. I've always been meaning to read up on it, but hadn't had the time. The other day I wrote a post that touched on this, but all I could find on the 'net to back my story up was the Wikipedia.org article (here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler). Well, it seems like Alan Bellows over at DamnInteresting.com read my mind because just yesterday he posted a full-on story about the planned coup--did all sorts of research for it and everything! You can check it out for yourself here: http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=883
Here's a taste to get you started:
In the early 1930s, a secret collection of prosperous men are said to have assembled in New York City to discuss the dissolution of America's democracy. As a consequence of the Great Depression, the countryside was littered with unemployed, and the world's wealthy were watching as their fortunes deflated and their investments evaporated. As men of action, the well-financed New York group sought to eliminate what they reasoned to be the crux of the catastrophe: the United States government.
To assist them in their diabolical scheme, the resourceful plotters recruited the assistance of Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, a venerated, highly decorated, and considerably jaded former Marine. It was the conspirators' earnest hope that their army of 500,000 Great War veterans, under the leadership of General Butler, could overpower the US' feeble peacetime military and reconstitute the government as a more economical fascist dictatorship.
Here's just a bit more:
On the 1st of July 1933, Smedley Butler was visited by a pair of gentlemen who had come to urge him to run for the office of National Commander of the American Legion, an influential organization of veterans. Though Butler declined the invitation, one of the men– Gerald MacGuire– made several subsequent visits during which he disclosed additional details. He claimed to represent The Committee for a Sound Dollar, whose primary purpose was to pressure the president to reinstate the gold standard. He implied that his organization had the support of several political leaders, and the financial backing of some of the country's most affluent individuals and successful corporations.
The credibility of MacGuire's claims was reinforced when he produced evidence of considerable cash resources and made some eerily accurate predictions regarding personnel changes in the White House. He also accurately described the still-secret but soon-to-be-announced American Liberty League, a high-profile group whose stated purpose was to "defend and uphold the Constitution." The League's principal players were comprised of wealthy Americans, including the leaders of DuPont, JP Morgan, US Steel, General Motors, Standard Oil, Colgate, Heinz Foods, Chase National Bank, and Goodyear Tire. There are some who claim that Prescott Bush– father to the 41st US President and grandfather to the 43rd– was also entangled in the scheme.
Weeeee!!
It's always fun when the Bush clan shows up in these quietly told chapters of US history. Turns out, Butler actually said that he "helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-12."
Brown Brothers would be joined by Harriman to become the bank that laundered money for Fritz Thyssen. Thyssen's banker? Prescott Bush. Read more about that here: http://urltea.com/1j9x and here: http://urltea.com/1j9y Suffice it to say that there were government records to prove that, as well.
How did the coup work out? In the end, Butler was too much of a hard-ass patriotic American to do these businessmen's bidding. He held a press conference and spilled the beans to the media. There were hearings on the Hill and everything--but, like the 911 Commission, despite the admitted evidence of serious wrong doing no one was ever charged or indicted or thrown in jail or anything. Essentially, the USG decided that there was something going on, but didn't bother to take it any further.
Like I said, just like the 911 Commission. Lots of changes are necessary, but no, no one's getting fired because the USG let 911 happen.
So, there ya go! Businessmen conspired to overthrow the USG. Why aren't we taught about it in history class? My guess is that we're not supposed to know our corporate
There's a LOT more to that article, you should really head over and check it out. Here's that link again: http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=883
Orignal From: Coup on American Soil? By Big Business? Read On...
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
ThePeteHacks: Sonic Thumb Drive!
Click below to check out the photoset of my custom Sonic Thumb Drive (based on a Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver).
Orignal From: ThePeteHacks: Sonic Thumb Drive!
Orignal From: ThePeteHacks: Sonic Thumb Drive!
Did some fun analog hacking of...
Did some fun analog hacking of a toy last night. Will blog on it later on today. It's so fulfilling to actually get something tangible done.
Orignal From: Did some fun analog hacking of...
Orignal From: Did some fun analog hacking of...
Disturbing Facts About Drinking Bottled Water
This is kinda crazy but something I've suspected for some time. Big business takes advantage of ignorant customers in so many ways them just bottling tap water, slapping a drawing of a mountain range on it and calling it "Aquafina" shouldn't be too surprising. But that's not all that's wrong with bottled water. It just might be as bad as tap. But there's much more to the story than even what I found in this dude's MySpace blog post (here: http://urltea.com/1hqy). I found a whole slew of articles about the flaws of bottled water when I went to digg this blog post. Check them out here: http://digg.com/search?section=news&s=bottled+water
However, one thing I think the other articles don't mention that Michael does in his post is how plastic bottles will break down. Here's how he puts it:...the plastic from the bottled water actually breaks down toxically into the water you are drinking out of it.
Crazy, huh? Now, the reason I started drinking bottled water a lot and why I filter my tap water at home is because the water that comes out of my tap is actually visibly disgusting. Rusted pipes (I'm guessing) turn the water a vague orange--however, the coloring doesn't last long. I can run the tap a bit and it clears up--still, if that's what I can see, how do I know there isn't worse stuff that I can't see?
Now, there are alternatives to both plastic bottled water and tap. Michael, in his post, recommends buying bottled water in glass bottles or some kind of reusable container that you can refill at the source. My friend John has a bottle from http://Sigg.ch and I'll be following suit, myself. Those are some nice bottles. Then, there's the guy from Ipswitch, UK that Telegraph.co.uk reported on (here: http://urltea.com/1hr8) who invented a bottle that costs about $400 so I won't be picking up one of these until after I get the new iPod Touch--hey, a guy's got to have his priorities! But if healthy filtered drinking water is something you think is worth $400 right now, you can head over to LifeSaverSystems.com/buy.html and pick one up yourself. There is also the LifeStraw, but that's only available to institutions currently. Read more about it at LifeStraw.com.
So, there are things you can do and once again we see there is nothing that Big Business won't do to make a buck--even if it means completely misleading us and ultimately wasting our money.
But hey, they've got to make a living right?
MAN, do I hate that phrase!
Don't assassins and hitmen have to make a living, too?
Back on the topic, here are some more quick facts when it comes to bottled water:
1) Bottled water is extremely harmful to the environment, with more than 60 million bottles of water thrown away each day and 20 million barrels of oil used each year to make the plastic bottles containing the water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hqy)
2) Nearly 90 percent of water bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr2)
3) It takes 6.74 times the amount of water to produce a single kilogram bottle of Fiji bottled water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr3)
4) NASA and the WHO (the World Health Organization, not the rock band) think that by 2050 4 billion people will face water shortages. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr5)
5) The FDA's standards for tap water are much more strict than their standards for bottled water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr2)
I could go on. Obviously there is a problem. What is my solution? Until I can get my hands on one of those filter bottles, I'll be buying myself a steel bottle from Sigg and then refilling it with filtered tap water. The filter pitcher I use is from Britta, but I have no idea how effective it is. Once I can get one of those filter bottles, I'll definitely be using it as a middle man between my tap and my steel bottle.
What are you going to do? Hmmmm?
Orignal From: Disturbing Facts About Drinking Bottled Water
However, one thing I think the other articles don't mention that Michael does in his post is how plastic bottles will break down. Here's how he puts it:...the plastic from the bottled water actually breaks down toxically into the water you are drinking out of it.
Crazy, huh? Now, the reason I started drinking bottled water a lot and why I filter my tap water at home is because the water that comes out of my tap is actually visibly disgusting. Rusted pipes (I'm guessing) turn the water a vague orange--however, the coloring doesn't last long. I can run the tap a bit and it clears up--still, if that's what I can see, how do I know there isn't worse stuff that I can't see?
Now, there are alternatives to both plastic bottled water and tap. Michael, in his post, recommends buying bottled water in glass bottles or some kind of reusable container that you can refill at the source. My friend John has a bottle from http://Sigg.ch and I'll be following suit, myself. Those are some nice bottles. Then, there's the guy from Ipswitch, UK that Telegraph.co.uk reported on (here: http://urltea.com/1hr8) who invented a bottle that costs about $400 so I won't be picking up one of these until after I get the new iPod Touch--hey, a guy's got to have his priorities! But if healthy filtered drinking water is something you think is worth $400 right now, you can head over to LifeSaverSystems.com/buy.html and pick one up yourself. There is also the LifeStraw, but that's only available to institutions currently. Read more about it at LifeStraw.com.
So, there are things you can do and once again we see there is nothing that Big Business won't do to make a buck--even if it means completely misleading us and ultimately wasting our money.
But hey, they've got to make a living right?
MAN, do I hate that phrase!
Don't assassins and hitmen have to make a living, too?
Back on the topic, here are some more quick facts when it comes to bottled water:
1) Bottled water is extremely harmful to the environment, with more than 60 million bottles of water thrown away each day and 20 million barrels of oil used each year to make the plastic bottles containing the water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hqy)
2) Nearly 90 percent of water bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr2)
3) It takes 6.74 times the amount of water to produce a single kilogram bottle of Fiji bottled water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr3)
4) NASA and the WHO (the World Health Organization, not the rock band) think that by 2050 4 billion people will face water shortages. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr5)
5) The FDA's standards for tap water are much more strict than their standards for bottled water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr2)
I could go on. Obviously there is a problem. What is my solution? Until I can get my hands on one of those filter bottles, I'll be buying myself a steel bottle from Sigg and then refilling it with filtered tap water. The filter pitcher I use is from Britta, but I have no idea how effective it is. Once I can get one of those filter bottles, I'll definitely be using it as a middle man between my tap and my steel bottle.
What are you going to do? Hmmmm?
Orignal From: Disturbing Facts About Drinking Bottled Water
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
TRANSMORPHERS (2007)
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Technically any good? Not really. This seemed to me to be a quick and dirty "scifi" "action" movie that cost a few bucks to make and a few weeks to shoot (if that). There was one surprise in the script, but it happens early on and you might miss it or, if not, find it frustrating. The production values were kind of a joke and the acting was hit and miss. I blame the director for this, however, since all it would have taken was a second or third take to get something better out of them (yeah, it looked like everything was shot with as few takes as possible). The crappy FX were made passable by constant rain masking the low resolution.
How did it leave me feeling? Meh, like I had just taken an Alka-Seltzer by inhaling the fumes. Pretty unsubstantial but worth seeing in an MST3K kind of way. It's basically Battlefield Earth without the budget or the John Travolta, which means in some ways it's better than BE and other ways worse. Of course, it WAS better than Transformers, which was why I Netflixed it in the first place. While that movie was insultingly stupid and left me filled with bile and animosity toward Hollywood, Transmorphers left me feeling almost nothing, so kudos to director Leigh Scott for being less insulting than Michael Bay (like that's hard to do--sorry, Leigh!).
Final Rating? RTV - Rent The Video (but only for quipping)
POOR WITTLE BEARS DYING IN THE ARCTIC!
OK, don't get me wrong, I'm all for conservation. I like the environment and I like animals. I don't like extinction and the ignoring of the health of the environment. However, sometimes the "conservative" side of me kicks in and I start shaking my head at those tree-huggers whining about their cute little animals dying.
Back on September 12, 2007, I spotted an article (here: http://urltea.com/1hpo) that had the headline:
This is the kind of headline that just makes my eyes roll. Once again, don't get me wrong--I don't think Polar (or any other bears) should be extinct, but the first thing I thought of when I read this headline was this: "Who the hell cares about fricken' bears when humans are dying all the time??"
Now, the article is about more than just environmental issues. Here's a cutting:
Of course, John Kerry "leading the fight" makes me roll my eyes again, but this story does actually, if indirectly, get to my position on the environment and animal rights.
Personally, I feel like the environment and the animals are not the things we should be trying to save. It's ourselves. All of the things we're doing to them we're doing to ourselves, also. Brutal deaths caused by rich white people? Yeah, that's what the Iraq war is all about! You think the average GI would be cool with killing Iraqis if there hadn't been all that rhetorical build up by rich white folks?
Of course not!
So, why was there all of that build up? It wasn't because of Iraqi WMDs (duh) and it wasn't because of Saddam's role in 911 (he didn't have one), so what was it for?
The oil is definitely a layer of the reasoning-onion, but it's a layer pretty close to the surface. Head past the the oil and you see all the money that is made on a war--the arms, the shells, the vehicles, the support crews (food, health care, entertainment, etc)--there's a lot of money to be made there. Then, don't forget Blackwater mercenaries--I've heard that there are STACKS of them over there. Of course, we're supposed to call them "contractors" but they're really mercenaries. Then there's the consultants who make money off of recommending certain contractors to certain politicians. I'm just assuming they get big finder's fees. Also, you can't forget all the money, Cheney, Bush and friends will get in the private sector after all of this is over--the lecture circuit, the books deals, the consultant deals from companies like the Carlyle Group, will likely make each powerful white man whose name you know millions of dollars (this includes honorary rich, white man Condoleezza Rice).
What's the unifying factor here?
Greed.
But you can't stomp out or regulate a concept like greed (any more than you can stomp out terrorism) but you can regulate the system that uses greed as fodder. That's capitalism or corporatism. I'm not sure which is the better word to use here since the lines between their definitions and their practical applications have blurred dramatically as of late. Regardless, it's this system that allows and even encourages these rich "white" folks to keep exploiting the rest of us and the environment and the animals that live in it.
Is it the individual car owner who is causing global warming? No. It's all those damn cars out there. Well, who made those cars? Giant car companies. Why won't they make only cars that don't pollute? Because it's too expensive.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
See that? These guys own multiple homes, drive gorgeous cars and they don't want to give up any of it because they're greedy as hell and don't really care about the environment or the very animals that live in it (like us humans).
And how many other industries pollute because it's cheaper than not polluting? How many industries don't pay what their employees deserve? Hell, even those guys organizing the polar bear hunting expeditions are greedy bastards.
So, if we can put a cap on businesses that put the bottom line on top and moral and legal behavior well beneath that, I bet all of our environmental woes would go away.
Greed is not good. Greed does not work. And ultimately, corporatism/capitalism will eat itself alive from the inside unless it scales back its extremism.
Orignal From: POOR WITTLE BEARS DYING IN THE ARCTIC!
Back on September 12, 2007, I spotted an article (here: http://urltea.com/1hpo) that had the headline:
The appalling fate of the polar bear, symbol of the Arctic
This is the kind of headline that just makes my eyes roll. Once again, don't get me wrong--I don't think Polar (or any other bears) should be extinct, but the first thing I thought of when I read this headline was this: "Who the hell cares about fricken' bears when humans are dying all the time??"
Now, the article is about more than just environmental issues. Here's a cutting:
Polar bears – the very symbol of the Arctic's looming environmental disaster – are crashing towards extinction as a result of global warming, the US government has found. The admission, the result of a massive investigation by the Bush administration, could force the President finally to take action against climate change.
The development comes at the end of the most momentous week in the human history of the Arctic, which is warming faster than anywhere else in the world. Satellite observations have revealed that its ice has shrunk to much its lowest ever level, raising fears that it had reached a "tipping point" where it would melt irreversibly, disappearing altogether in summer in less than 25 years, with incalculable global consequences,
And a separate Independent on Sunday investigation has found that polar bears are being shot in alarming numbers by rich trophy hunters from the US, Europe and Japan, even as their increasingly fragile habitat melts beneath them. Campaigners know that climate change and pollution are the biggest threats to polar bear survival, but believe that stopping sports hunting is symbolically important. Former US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry is leading the fight.
Of course, John Kerry "leading the fight" makes me roll my eyes again, but this story does actually, if indirectly, get to my position on the environment and animal rights.
Personally, I feel like the environment and the animals are not the things we should be trying to save. It's ourselves. All of the things we're doing to them we're doing to ourselves, also. Brutal deaths caused by rich white people? Yeah, that's what the Iraq war is all about! You think the average GI would be cool with killing Iraqis if there hadn't been all that rhetorical build up by rich white folks?
Of course not!
So, why was there all of that build up? It wasn't because of Iraqi WMDs (duh) and it wasn't because of Saddam's role in 911 (he didn't have one), so what was it for?
The oil is definitely a layer of the reasoning-onion, but it's a layer pretty close to the surface. Head past the the oil and you see all the money that is made on a war--the arms, the shells, the vehicles, the support crews (food, health care, entertainment, etc)--there's a lot of money to be made there. Then, don't forget Blackwater mercenaries--I've heard that there are STACKS of them over there. Of course, we're supposed to call them "contractors" but they're really mercenaries. Then there's the consultants who make money off of recommending certain contractors to certain politicians. I'm just assuming they get big finder's fees. Also, you can't forget all the money, Cheney, Bush and friends will get in the private sector after all of this is over--the lecture circuit, the books deals, the consultant deals from companies like the Carlyle Group, will likely make each powerful white man whose name you know millions of dollars (this includes honorary rich, white man Condoleezza Rice).
What's the unifying factor here?
Greed.
But you can't stomp out or regulate a concept like greed (any more than you can stomp out terrorism) but you can regulate the system that uses greed as fodder. That's capitalism or corporatism. I'm not sure which is the better word to use here since the lines between their definitions and their practical applications have blurred dramatically as of late. Regardless, it's this system that allows and even encourages these rich "white" folks to keep exploiting the rest of us and the environment and the animals that live in it.
Is it the individual car owner who is causing global warming? No. It's all those damn cars out there. Well, who made those cars? Giant car companies. Why won't they make only cars that don't pollute? Because it's too expensive.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
See that? These guys own multiple homes, drive gorgeous cars and they don't want to give up any of it because they're greedy as hell and don't really care about the environment or the very animals that live in it (like us humans).
And how many other industries pollute because it's cheaper than not polluting? How many industries don't pay what their employees deserve? Hell, even those guys organizing the polar bear hunting expeditions are greedy bastards.
So, if we can put a cap on businesses that put the bottom line on top and moral and legal behavior well beneath that, I bet all of our environmental woes would go away.
Greed is not good. Greed does not work. And ultimately, corporatism/capitalism will eat itself alive from the inside unless it scales back its extremism.
Orignal From: POOR WITTLE BEARS DYING IN THE ARCTIC!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Coming back from Trader Joe's ...
Coming back from Trader Joe's with TheWife and a cool special dinner for us.
Orignal From: Coming back from Trader Joe's ...
Orignal From: Coming back from Trader Joe's ...
Wow--just sat through 2 crap f...
Wow--just sat through 2 crap films--Transmorphers (with quips by friends and I) and Top Gun with quips by Rifftrax.com! Awesome night!
Orignal From: Wow--just sat through 2 crap f...
Orignal From: Wow--just sat through 2 crap f...
Saturday, September 15, 2007
My last intake of caffeine was...
My last intake of caffeine was an espresso last Sat nite. Where am I now? A coffee house. It's hard, but I'm resisting. Very hard...
Orignal From: My last intake of caffeine was...
Orignal From: My last intake of caffeine was...
At Groundwork I never noticed ...
At Groundwork-I never noticed how many caffinated drinks they have until I wanted one that wasn't. Got some sort of red stuff. It's tasty!
Orignal From: At Groundwork I never noticed ...
Orignal From: At Groundwork I never noticed ...
Rollerblading now Groundwork i...
Rollerblading now Groundwork in Hollywood at 12:30 for TheSaturdaily!
Orignal From: Rollerblading now Groundwork i...
Orignal From: Rollerblading now Groundwork i...
Disturbing Facts About Drinking Bottled Water
This is kinda crazy but something I've suspected for some time. Big business takes advantage of ignorant customers in so many ways them just bottling tap water, slapping a drawing of a mountain range on it and calling it "Aquafina" shouldn't be too surprising. But that's not all that's wrong with bottled water. It just might be as bad as tap. But there's much more to the story than even what I found in this dude's MySpace blog post (here: http://urltea.com/1hqy). I found a whole slew of articles about the flaws of bottled water when I went to digg this blog post. Check them out here: http://digg.com/search?section=news&s=bottled+water However, one thing I think the other articles don't mention that Michael does in his post is how plastic bottles will break down. Here's how he puts it:...the plastic from the bottled water actually breaks down toxically into the water you are drinking out of it. Crazy, huh? Now, the reason I started drinking bottled water a lot and why I filter my tap water at home is because the water that comes out of my tap is actually visibly disgusting. Rusted pipes (I'm guessing) turn the water a vague orange--however, the coloring doesn't last long. I can run the tap a bit and it clears up--still, if that's what I can see, how do I know there isn't worse stuff that I can't see? Now, there are alternatives to both plastic bottled water and tap. Michael, in his post, recommends buying bottled water in glass bottles or some kind of reusable container that you can refill at the source. My friend John has a bottle from http://Sigg.ch and I'll be following suit, myself. Those are some nice bottles. Then, there's the guy from Ipswitch, UK that Telegraph.co.uk reported on (here: http://urltea.com/1hr8) who invented a bottle that costs about $400 so I won't be picking up one of these until after I get the new iPod Touch--hey, a guy's got to have his priorities! But if healthy filtered drinking water is something you think is worth $400 right now, you can head over to LifeSaverSystems.com/buy.html and pick one up yourself. There is also the LifeStraw, but that's only available to institutions currently. Read more about it at LifeStraw.com. So, there are things you can do and once again we see there is nothing that Big Business won't do to make a buck--even if it means completely misleading us and ultimately wasting our money. But hey, they've got to make a living right? MAN, do I hate that phrase! Don't assassins and hitmen have to make a living, too? Back on the topic, here are some more quick facts when it comes to bottled water: 1) Bottled water is extremely harmful to the environment, with more than 60 million bottles of water thrown away each day and 20 million barrels of oil used each year to make the plastic bottles containing the water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hqy) 2) Nearly 90 percent of water bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr2) 3) It takes 6.74 times the amount of water to produce a single kilogram bottle of Fiji bottled water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr3) 4) NASA and the WHO (the World Health Organization, not the rock band) think that by 2050 4 billion people will face water shortages. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr5) 5) The FDA's standards for tap water are much more strict than their standards for bottled water. (source: http://urltea.com/1hr2) I could go on. Obviously there is a problem. What is my solution? Until I can get my hands on one of those filter bottles, I'll be buying myself a steel bottle from Sigg and then refilling it with filtered tap water. The filter pitcher I use is from Britta, but I have no idea how effective it is. Once I can get one of those filter bottles, I'll definitely be using it as a middle man between my tap and my steel bottle.
read more | digg story
Orignal From: Disturbing Facts About Drinking Bottled Water
read more | digg story
Orignal From: Disturbing Facts About Drinking Bottled Water
Friday, September 14, 2007
Just blogged about how the US ...
Just blogged about how the US troop draw down in Iraq really isn't a draw down at all. Check it out: http://urltea.com/1hpj
Orignal From: Just blogged about how the US ...
Orignal From: Just blogged about how the US ...
BUSH TROOP DRAWDOWN BUT BASE BUILD-UP AND IRAN ATTACK?
So, yesterday, all the news coverage was about Bush's speech from the Oval Office. I didn't watch it, didn't read the transcript, didn't read much about it just because it all seems so pointless. He's lying to us as usual so why pay attention? Well, what little attention I did pay gave me the perfect example of how Bush consistently lies to us all the time.
OK, the big news from last night was that Bush is going to withdraw a bunch of troops, right?
20,000 US troops will be pulled from Iraq--that's good news, right? It sounds like Bush is finally caving to all of the pressure put on him by the people of the United States who want the US out of Iraq, right?
In a way, both assumptions are not accurate. Of course, it sure sounds like good news--and it's meant to sound that way. Sadly, the reality is that hardly any mainstream media source is covering the fact that the US has built bases in Iraq that they intend to keep forever. In fact, just earlier this week as reported by www.AFP.com in a September 14, 2007 article at News.Google.Com (here: http://urltea.com/1hpg) that the US is not only building a another military base, but this one is guaranteed to piss some people off on the other side of the border in Iran. Check out this cutting:
Hmmm, sounds pretty permanent to me. But isn't that funny how just four days after the US Mil says one thing that suggests they are becoming more entrenched in Iraq, Bush says something that suggests the opposite. Answer: either Bush is lying or he doesn't know what his own military is doing. I'm one of those people that really doesn't believe Bush is an idiot so I'm going to assume he's intentionally misleading us again, into thinking that a draw down of 20,000 soldiers means we're pulling out while he's quietly building a base on the fricken' Iraq/Iran border.
This will incite further tension with Iran. As if we needed more, Joe Lieberman has made it disturbingly clear that he wants us to go to Iran. How did he do this? Well, I'll quote him: "I want to go to Iran." (source: http://urltea.com/1hph) It seems that during the testimony of US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus, Lieberman, the general and the ambassador had the following exchange:
Jeez, dude! Crocker said the Iranians are changing anything and the general's all like "that's not my department, bitch!" so, why the mad-jones to go into Iran? Who knows? Maybe Lieberman's got mega-investments into the Military Industrial Complex or maybe he actually IS getting telepathic messages from the Israeli government. Either way, this is getting more dangerous the longer it goes on.
Oh and in case you find yourself wanting to believe the sentiment Bush expressed, that things are less bloody, don't forget my post from the other day (here: ) and then there's the story that http://Guardian.co.uk is reporting (here: http://urltea.com/1hpi) about one of America's chief Iraqi allies being killed. Have a read at this cutting from the September 13, 2007 Guardian article:
So, this should pretty much establish that Bush has whatever the opposite of the Midas Touch would be. He's like the video tape in The Ring. Shake his hand and ten days later... YOU'RE DEAD! (Offer not valid outside of Iraq... we assume.)
Orignal From: BUSH TROOP DRAWDOWN BUT BASE BUILD-UP AND IRAN ATTACK?
OK, the big news from last night was that Bush is going to withdraw a bunch of troops, right?
20,000 US troops will be pulled from Iraq--that's good news, right? It sounds like Bush is finally caving to all of the pressure put on him by the people of the United States who want the US out of Iraq, right?
In a way, both assumptions are not accurate. Of course, it sure sounds like good news--and it's meant to sound that way. Sadly, the reality is that hardly any mainstream media source is covering the fact that the US has built bases in Iraq that they intend to keep forever. In fact, just earlier this week as reported by www.AFP.com in a September 14, 2007 article at News.Google.Com (here: http://urltea.com/1hpg) that the US is not only building a another military base, but this one is guaranteed to piss some people off on the other side of the border in Iran. Check out this cutting:
The US military said on Monday that it is to build a base on Iraq's border with Iran to stem what it charges is rampant smuggling of weapons and fighters.
The base, which the military describes as a "life support area", will be set up near the headquarters of the Department of Border Enforcement in Badrah, in the central province of Wasit.
The province, currently the theatre of a massive US-led military crackdown targeting Shiite militiamen allegedly involved in weapons smuggling, shares a 200 kilometre (125 mile) border with Iran.
It said the base is "not really permanent, although it will be manned 24/7 and will be used for as long as necessary."
Hmmm, sounds pretty permanent to me. But isn't that funny how just four days after the US Mil says one thing that suggests they are becoming more entrenched in Iraq, Bush says something that suggests the opposite. Answer: either Bush is lying or he doesn't know what his own military is doing. I'm one of those people that really doesn't believe Bush is an idiot so I'm going to assume he's intentionally misleading us again, into thinking that a draw down of 20,000 soldiers means we're pulling out while he's quietly building a base on the fricken' Iraq/Iran border.
This will incite further tension with Iran. As if we needed more, Joe Lieberman has made it disturbingly clear that he wants us to go to Iran. How did he do this? Well, I'll quote him: "I want to go to Iran." (source: http://urltea.com/1hph) It seems that during the testimony of US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus, Lieberman, the general and the ambassador had the following exchange:
LIEBERMAN: I want to go to Iran. Both of you have focused on the very destructive role that Iran is playing through its Quds Force in Iraq, by most counts responsible for the murder of hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of Iraqi civilians and soldiers.
Ambassador Crocker, I know you've met twice with the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad. I know that some of my colleagues and others have called for a diplomatic surge with Iran to engage in negotiations with them.
In your view, based on those two meetings, are the Iranians responding to that diplomatic initiative that you commenced with them?
CROCKER: Sir, we have seen nothing on the ground that would suggest that the Iranians are altering what they're doing in support of extremist elements that are going after our forces as well as the Iraqis.
LIEBERMAN: General, do feel that you all the authorities you need from a military point of view to deter, disrupt and respond to the Iranian attacks on our troops and Iran's efforts to destabilize Iraq?
PETRAEUS: I do, Senator, again keeping in mind that that my area of responsibility is limited to Iraq. So it does not include going into Iran.
LIEBERMAN: Let me ask you about that, because I know your military spokespeople in Baghdad have made very clear that we have evidence that Iran is taking Iraqi extremists to three training camps outside of Tehran, training them in the use of explosives, sophisticated weapons, sending them back into Iraq, where they are responsible for the murder of American soldiers.
Is it time to give you authority in pursuit of your mission in Iraq to pursue those Iranian Quds Force operations in Iranian territory in order to protect America's troops in Iraq?
PETRAEUS: Sir, I think that really the Multi-National Force-Iraq should just focus on Iraq and that any kinds of operations outside the borders of Iraq would rightly be overseen by the Central Command, the regional combatant command.
LIEBERMAN: I want to just -- my time's up. I thank you both.
Jeez, dude! Crocker said the Iranians are changing anything and the general's all like "that's not my department, bitch!" so, why the mad-jones to go into Iran? Who knows? Maybe Lieberman's got mega-investments into the Military Industrial Complex or maybe he actually IS getting telepathic messages from the Israeli government. Either way, this is getting more dangerous the longer it goes on.
Oh and in case you find yourself wanting to believe the sentiment Bush expressed, that things are less bloody, don't forget my post from the other day (here: ) and then there's the story that http://Guardian.co.uk is reporting (here: http://urltea.com/1hpi) about one of America's chief Iraqi allies being killed. Have a read at this cutting from the September 13, 2007 Guardian article:
A key figure in the US-backed revolt of Iraqi Sunni leaders against al-Qaida was killed by a bomb today, hours before George Bush was due to defend his war strategy.
The White House suffered the setback when a roadside bomb killed Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha and two of his bodyguards near the tribal leader's home in Ramadi, Anbar's provincial capital.
Abu Risha was killed 10 days after meeting Mr Bush during his surprise visit to Iraq. He led the Anbar Salvation Council, an alliance of clans that turned against al-Qaida and went over to the Iraqi government and the US military.
So, this should pretty much establish that Bush has whatever the opposite of the Midas Touch would be. He's like the video tape in The Ring. Shake his hand and ten days later... YOU'RE DEAD! (Offer not valid outside of Iraq... we assume.)
Orignal From: BUSH TROOP DRAWDOWN BUT BASE BUILD-UP AND IRAN ATTACK?
TheSaturdaily for 9/15/7
Everything looks on target and on schedule for me to be at Groundwork tomorrow as I am every Saturday! I'll be working on the second draft of my seventh novel and, if you want, talking to YOU about writing and junk! So come on down, or just leave me to work on my novel. Which ever. But I have a feeling if you stop by you'll learn something!
Or not, who knows?
So, I'll be at Groundwork on the corner of Sunset Blvd and Cahuenga, in Hollywood at (or around) 12:30pm tomorrow.
Don't know what TheSaturdaily is? Check out ThePete.Com/munity or go here: http://thepetecom.ning.com/group/thesaturdaily and read all about it.
Orignal From: TheSaturdaily for 9/15/7
Or not, who knows?
So, I'll be at Groundwork on the corner of Sunset Blvd and Cahuenga, in Hollywood at (or around) 12:30pm tomorrow.
Don't know what TheSaturdaily is? Check out ThePete.Com/munity or go here: http://thepetecom.ning.com/group/thesaturdaily and read all about it.
Orignal From: TheSaturdaily for 9/15/7
TheBreastCancerSite.Com gives ...
TheBreastCancerSite.Com gives mammograms to underprivileged women and you can help them do it with just a click! http://urltea.com/1hni
Orignal From: TheBreastCancerSite.Com gives ...
Orignal From: TheBreastCancerSite.Com gives ...
TheBreastCancerSite.Com Needs Your Help!
Hey there folks. In case you haven't noticed, in the footer of each post at ThePete.Com is a small stack of links to sites I care about. Some are just friends' sites others are sites representing a cause--all of them are very important to me. One of the links is TheBreastCancerSite.Com.
TheBreastCancerSite.Com allows you to help underprivileged women get mammograms that, in turn, help catch breast cancer before it gets too far. To help, just go to TheBreastCancerSite.Com and click on a big pink button. Doing that will display a bunch of ads from advertisers who will then give TBCS money to help pay for mammograms for women who can't afford to get them.
IT'S JUST A CLICK, PEOPLE.
To help more, you can click on the ads you see after the initial click. This encourages advertisers to stay with their support of TheBreastCancerSite.Com.
So, DO IT NOW!
And thanks!
OH and if you could tell ten people you know to check out TheBreastCancerSite.Com, that'd be great. They're really struggling to get people to click. THANKS!
Orignal From: TheBreastCancerSite.Com Needs Your Help!
TheBreastCancerSite.Com allows you to help underprivileged women get mammograms that, in turn, help catch breast cancer before it gets too far. To help, just go to TheBreastCancerSite.Com and click on a big pink button. Doing that will display a bunch of ads from advertisers who will then give TBCS money to help pay for mammograms for women who can't afford to get them.
IT'S JUST A CLICK, PEOPLE.
To help more, you can click on the ads you see after the initial click. This encourages advertisers to stay with their support of TheBreastCancerSite.Com.
So, DO IT NOW!
And thanks!
OH and if you could tell ten people you know to check out TheBreastCancerSite.Com, that'd be great. They're really struggling to get people to click. THANKS!
Orignal From: TheBreastCancerSite.Com Needs Your Help!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Sitting in the Ahmanson waitin...
Sitting in the Ahmanson waiting for Avenue Q to start. Check ThePete.com for a pic!
Orignal From: Sitting in the Ahmanson waitin...
Orignal From: Sitting in the Ahmanson waitin...
13-09-07_1347.jpg
Up earlier than usual--but the...
Up earlier than usual--but then, I went to bed earlier than usual. Kind of makes sense, doesn't it? I'm so CLEVER! Hooray for clever!
Orignal From: Up earlier than usual--but the...
Orignal From: Up earlier than usual--but the...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
IF CINDY SHEEHAN RUNS FOR CONGRESS IN THE WOODS AND...
If Cindy Sheehan were to run for Congress in the woods and no one was their to cover her, would she have really run? Well, we're finding out now, because as of August 9, 2007, she announced that she's running against Nancy Pelosi. This is awesome news, but what difference will it make if the press doesn't do their job and cover her?
In a September 10, 2007 article at TheHill.com (here: http://urltea.com/1h08) it was reported that:
Oh, is that all she is? Seems to me like she's a congressional candidate now--shouldn't that be in there some place? To "reporter" Klaus Marre's credit, he does mention that Sheehan is running for Pelosi's seat...in the very last sentence of the article.
Of course, the article doesn't mention what Sheehan and the other protesters were saying or what specific testimony was being interrupted when they were pulled out.
Naw, Klaus couldn't have put something like that into the article. That would be like covering the event fully and completely.
Can't have that sort of thing in the media these days.
Oh yeah and if you want to support Sheehan's bid for Congress (she's going to need all the help she can get with crappy coverage like this) check out her site here: CindyForCongress.Org
Boy, it sure would be nice to have someone in government who would impeach Bush.
The law can be pretty neat when it's followed.
Orignal From: IF CINDY SHEEHAN RUNS FOR CONGRESS IN THE WOODS AND...
In a September 10, 2007 article at TheHill.com (here: http://urltea.com/1h08) it was reported that:
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Monday in or near the hearing room where Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are testifying on the situation in Iraq, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.
Oh, is that all she is? Seems to me like she's a congressional candidate now--shouldn't that be in there some place? To "reporter" Klaus Marre's credit, he does mention that Sheehan is running for Pelosi's seat...in the very last sentence of the article.
Of course, the article doesn't mention what Sheehan and the other protesters were saying or what specific testimony was being interrupted when they were pulled out.
Naw, Klaus couldn't have put something like that into the article. That would be like covering the event fully and completely.
Can't have that sort of thing in the media these days.
Oh yeah and if you want to support Sheehan's bid for Congress (she's going to need all the help she can get with crappy coverage like this) check out her site here: CindyForCongress.Org
Boy, it sure would be nice to have someone in government who would impeach Bush.
The law can be pretty neat when it's followed.
Orignal From: IF CINDY SHEEHAN RUNS FOR CONGRESS IN THE WOODS AND...
Took Down Lemonade Stand Please Buy From Amazon and CP
Had to take down the Lemonade Stand read why here: http://urltea.com/1gzo Please buy stuff from Amazon and CafePress instead. Thanks!
Orignal From: Took Down Lemonade Stand Please Buy From Amazon and CP
Orignal From: Took Down Lemonade Stand Please Buy From Amazon and CP
Lemonade.Com: Great Idea, Horrible Execution
As a web master I'm often looking for ways to make money off of my site. I read on Mashable.com about a site called Lemonade.com. The site offers a very simple-to-use interface for creating very simple to use flash-based "Lemonade Stands" that display products you choose to feature. Then, as people buy them, you get a cut. Of course, Lemonade.com also gets a cut or else their service wouldn't be free. Now, this all sounded great. I signed up, created my Lemonade Stand and pasted the code into my sidebar with incredible ease.
Today, I went back to Lemonade.com to add some more products only to discover a few frustrating things:
1) The graphics kind of suck. The product's pictures that show up in the flash interface look like they're 32x32 pixel Windows icons or something. Some of the DVD covers I had listed were almost unreadable. Why would anyone buy a movie with crappy graphics on the cover?
2) The "DVDs" I added to my Stand aren't actually DVDs. Even though, in the setup menu at Lemonade.com, they list the movies you can choose from under "DVD" when you click on the movies you find yourself at Movielink.com--a legal movie downloading site. To add insult to injury this site doesn't work on Macs--guess which platform I'm on.
3) At least one of the "DVDs" I had listed isn't even available at Movielink.com anymore. How many more unavailable movies might I find, I wonder?
4) When I did a search for iPods, I found many of them available but all of them over-priced and old. I wasn't really expecting pre-orders for iPod Touches, but they are selling the 60GB 5g iPod for $400! You can get an $80GB 5.5GB iPod for $350!! Why would anyone buy an iPod from my store for that price? They also had available iPod Minis (a product that was discontinued quite a while ago--the Nano replaced it) and I even found a first generation iPod Shuffle (the thumb drive style) for $60. To be fair, that's about what they're going for on eBay.
5) Their book section is insanely limited. I was hoping to sell A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky, but I couldn't come close. They only offer three genres of books. "Arts & Photography," "Cooking, Food & Wine" and "Health, Mind & Body." Wow, I think that's the way they divided up the Library of Congress, too.
6) Their flash interface is a little buggie actually. It's one of those annoying drag-n-drop things that works most of the time but fails just when you've got the order of your products all messed up. HumbleVoice.com is another site that falls in the trap of flash's shortcomings. In theory flash is great, in practice it sometimes totally screws you up. My kingdom for text fields and check boxes to determine layout and/or order.
In the end, I really think they've got a great idea. However, their execution just sucks. They pay you through Paypal which is wonderfully convenient, but since they have such a limited product range, their links are unreliable and their graphics suck, they've managed to seriously hobble their own product. I'm not sure why anyone would want to go with them.
Orignal From: Lemonade.Com: Great Idea, Horrible Execution
Today, I went back to Lemonade.com to add some more products only to discover a few frustrating things:
1) The graphics kind of suck. The product's pictures that show up in the flash interface look like they're 32x32 pixel Windows icons or something. Some of the DVD covers I had listed were almost unreadable. Why would anyone buy a movie with crappy graphics on the cover?
2) The "DVDs" I added to my Stand aren't actually DVDs. Even though, in the setup menu at Lemonade.com, they list the movies you can choose from under "DVD" when you click on the movies you find yourself at Movielink.com--a legal movie downloading site. To add insult to injury this site doesn't work on Macs--guess which platform I'm on.
3) At least one of the "DVDs" I had listed isn't even available at Movielink.com anymore. How many more unavailable movies might I find, I wonder?
4) When I did a search for iPods, I found many of them available but all of them over-priced and old. I wasn't really expecting pre-orders for iPod Touches, but they are selling the 60GB 5g iPod for $400! You can get an $80GB 5.5GB iPod for $350!! Why would anyone buy an iPod from my store for that price? They also had available iPod Minis (a product that was discontinued quite a while ago--the Nano replaced it) and I even found a first generation iPod Shuffle (the thumb drive style) for $60. To be fair, that's about what they're going for on eBay.
5) Their book section is insanely limited. I was hoping to sell A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky, but I couldn't come close. They only offer three genres of books. "Arts & Photography," "Cooking, Food & Wine" and "Health, Mind & Body." Wow, I think that's the way they divided up the Library of Congress, too.
6) Their flash interface is a little buggie actually. It's one of those annoying drag-n-drop things that works most of the time but fails just when you've got the order of your products all messed up. HumbleVoice.com is another site that falls in the trap of flash's shortcomings. In theory flash is great, in practice it sometimes totally screws you up. My kingdom for text fields and check boxes to determine layout and/or order.
In the end, I really think they've got a great idea. However, their execution just sucks. They pay you through Paypal which is wonderfully convenient, but since they have such a limited product range, their links are unreliable and their graphics suck, they've managed to seriously hobble their own product. I'm not sure why anyone would want to go with them.
Orignal From: Lemonade.Com: Great Idea, Horrible Execution
Guess who's NOT going to be President in 2008?
GOP Colorado Rep Tom Tancredo isn't, that's who!
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA someone just shot his own political future down into the dust. Unfortunately, this comment isn't making a lot of waves in the public eye, what with gays soliciting for sex in airport restrooms and Britney being fat and untalented on stage. Come on get your priorities in check, people!
Full story can be found here.
Orignal From: Guess who's NOT going to be President in 2008?
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo's campaign stood by his assertion that bombing holy Muslim sites would serve as a good "deterrent" to prevent Islamic fundamentalists from attacking the United States, his spokeswoman said Friday.
"This shows that we mean business," said Bay Buchanan, a senior Tancredo adviser. "There's no more effective deterrent than that. But he is open-minded and willing to embrace other options. This is just a means to deter them from attacking us."
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA someone just shot his own political future down into the dust. Unfortunately, this comment isn't making a lot of waves in the public eye, what with gays soliciting for sex in airport restrooms and Britney being fat and untalented on stage. Come on get your priorities in check, people!
Full story can be found here.
Orignal From: Guess who's NOT going to be President in 2008?
Slept in, feeling OK w/o caffe...
Slept in, feeling OK w/o caffeine tho not sure how long that will last. Smashed toe last night threw a tantrum. NEED to be ok w/o caffeine.
Orignal From: Slept in, feeling OK w/o caffe...
Orignal From: Slept in, feeling OK w/o caffe...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
This post was guest-blogged by Jen, not by ThePete.
b>Positive Experience/Entertaining? Yes, very entertaining. It breaks no new ground, but if you like character-driven action movies, this is a pretty decent one.
Technically any good? Tightly directed throughout, with good action (and a high body count). There was one especially gruesome moment that I thought was a nice touch, although those with delicate stomachs might disagree. Bale and Crowe are both very good, with the latter particularly menacing. Ben Foster, as one of Crowe's gang, creeped the hell out of me without falling into the excesses you sometimes see in "giggling psychopath"-type roles.
How did it leave me feeling? Satiated! I was in the mood for a Western and I was glad they didn't screw this one up.
Final Rating? SIYL. Western and action fans will enjoy this one.
Orignal From: 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
This post was guest-blogged by Jen, not by ThePete.
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Technically any good? Tightly directed throughout, with good action (and a high body count). There was one especially gruesome moment that I thought was a nice touch, although those with delicate stomachs might disagree. Bale and Crowe are both very good, with the latter particularly menacing. Ben Foster, as one of Crowe's gang, creeped the hell out of me without falling into the excesses you sometimes see in "giggling psychopath"-type roles.
How did it leave me feeling? Satiated! I was in the mood for a Western and I was glad they didn't screw this one up.
Final Rating? SIYL. Western and action fans will enjoy this one.
Orignal From: 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
This post was guest-blogged by Jen, not by ThePete.
911 MEMORIAL POST: BIN LADEN STILL FUGITIVE
So, a couple of days ago bin Laden released a new video in sync with the build-up to the official extremist-Muslim holiday of Rubbingourfacesinnine'eleven. The funny thing is that he apparently bitched about many of the things that are bugging most Americans these days. Mortgages, debt, etc. It seems like he's trying to either appeal to us or help Bush work some reverse-psychology mojo on us. Either way it's creeping me out.
Now, here we are, on the sixth anniversary of 911. We haven't caught bin Laden and on the heels of the release of his video release we get some interesting comments from the USG in a September 10, 2007 article (here: http://urltea.com/1gl1) from AP.org and News.Google.Com--check out a cutting:
Haha, so, bin Laden is no longer a threat?
Not quite, according to more comments from Townsend:
Wow! Talk about the pot calling the kettle! Anyway, the point, here, is that one minute bin Laden's got no sperm and the next minute we need to take him seriously because he's gonna kill us. Then, in another article from September 10, 2007 from VOA.com (here: http://urltea.com/1gl5), DHS headSkeletor Michael Chertoff is reported as saying of Al Qaeda and pals:
Hm... sounds like America is low on sperm.
And if ObL and AQ are such big threats, I have to wonder why to this day the FBI website's page for bin Laden still makes no reference to 911 what so ever. Have a look at a couple of screen caps I took just before I started writing this post:
Pretty depressing, huh? 911, despite it being almost constantly used as a rallying cry against Al Qaeda and Iraq, is not actually mentioned on bin Laden's FBI Most Wanted page (here: http://urltea.com/1gln). I blogged on this last year (here: http://urltea.com/1gls) when there was a completely different layout to ObL's most wanted page but still failing to mention that whole "911" thing.
And check it out--the reward for bin Laden is a measly $25 mil. The USG spent WAAAAY more than that to get Saddam.
Orignal From: 911 MEMORIAL POST: BIN LADEN STILL FUGITIVE
Now, here we are, on the sixth anniversary of 911. We haven't caught bin Laden and on the heels of the release of his video release we get some interesting comments from the USG in a September 10, 2007 article (here: http://urltea.com/1gl1) from AP.org and News.Google.Com--check out a cutting:
Ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes, White House aide Frances Fragos Townsend made a clear attempt to diminish the influence — or the perception — of the man who masterminded those attacks.
"This is about the best he can do," Townsend said of bin Laden. "This is a man on a run, from a cave, who's virtually impotent other than these tapes."
Haha, so, bin Laden is no longer a threat?
Not quite, according to more comments from Townsend:
"We know that al-Qaida is still determined to attack, and we take it seriously," Townsend said. "But this tape appears to be nothing more than threats. It's propaganda on their part."
Wow! Talk about the pot calling the kettle! Anyway, the point, here, is that one minute bin Laden's got no sperm and the next minute we need to take him seriously because he's gonna kill us. Then, in another article from September 10, 2007 from VOA.com (here: http://urltea.com/1gl5), DHS head
"They are still intent on carrying out attacks on the United States, preferably in the homeland, and if not, against American interests elsewhere," he said. "I think they are looking both to develop operatives who can launch from overseas, and they are also hoping to radicalize those within this country."
Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell says al-Qaida has regained a significant level of its capability, despite U.S. efforts to crack down on the terrorist network.
Hm... sounds like America is low on sperm.
And if ObL and AQ are such big threats, I have to wonder why to this day the FBI website's page for bin Laden still makes no reference to 911 what so ever. Have a look at a couple of screen caps I took just before I started writing this post:
Pretty depressing, huh? 911, despite it being almost constantly used as a rallying cry against Al Qaeda and Iraq, is not actually mentioned on bin Laden's FBI Most Wanted page (here: http://urltea.com/1gln). I blogged on this last year (here: http://urltea.com/1gls) when there was a completely different layout to ObL's most wanted page but still failing to mention that whole "911" thing.
And check it out--the reward for bin Laden is a measly $25 mil. The USG spent WAAAAY more than that to get Saddam.
Orignal From: 911 MEMORIAL POST: BIN LADEN STILL FUGITIVE
Buy From Amazon, Lemonade, Cafepress and It All Helps ThePete!
Just added "TheStuff Stand" (a Lemonade Stand from Lemonade.com) to the sidebar that features items handpicked by me for you to buy, should you choose to. Each sale from TheStuff Stand and my Amazon links and the Cafepress links, help pay for this site and everything else I do. So please have a look or just click some Google ads. Thanks!
Orignal From: Buy From Amazon, Lemonade, Cafepress and It All Helps ThePete!
Orignal From: Buy From Amazon, Lemonade, Cafepress and It All Helps ThePete!
SO, THE SURGE IS WORKING--THEN WHY ALL THE BLOOD?
Yesterday, amid all of the stories about how the surge was successful and that violence was down in Iraq, I surfed by CNN.com (because I hardly ever surf by CNN the channel) and decided to do a screencap of what I saw. Here is that screencap:
What the hell are we supposed to believe? CNN or the USG? As far as I'm concerned both have damaged their truth-telling reputation so much that I don't believe anything either says and I'm surprised anyone does.
The surge, by the way, is irrelevant. The war is illegal (violation of the UN Charter), immoral (we weren't attacked first--and don't give me any of that Iraq/911 crap), and the USG has intentionally made a mess of things (so when everyone leaves in 2009 they'll get hefty financial compensation from their Military Industrial Complex cronies). We, The People should demand the US military withdraws because we should be fed up with our government doing stuff we don't want it to do.
Yes, the USG is saying that if we pull out now it'll leave Iraq in an even bigger mess.
Well, who's fault is that? The press should ask that question.
It's not the American People's fault.
It's not the fault of the American GI on the ground.
It's the fault of the government--who will already look like asses in the eyes of history for "blundering" into Iraq on purpose. So, we need to demand a pull-out and the USG need to look like the asses they are. How else are they going to learn from their mistakes?
We, The People were lied to. Most of us trusted our government to not be corrupt and amoral. Now it's time to be adults and learn from our mistakes. It's time for our government to be adults, pull out of Iraq and let the grown-up Iraqis solve their own problems. If it gets worse it will be their fault--not the fault of the American people. We got out of their way to let them take care of things their own way. Meanwhile, our leaders should face impeachment and criminal charges for betraying the public trust and war crimes.
Ha, and this wasn't even my 911 memorial post!
Orignal From: SO, THE SURGE IS WORKING--THEN WHY ALL THE BLOOD?
What the hell are we supposed to believe? CNN or the USG? As far as I'm concerned both have damaged their truth-telling reputation so much that I don't believe anything either says and I'm surprised anyone does.
The surge, by the way, is irrelevant. The war is illegal (violation of the UN Charter), immoral (we weren't attacked first--and don't give me any of that Iraq/911 crap), and the USG has intentionally made a mess of things (so when everyone leaves in 2009 they'll get hefty financial compensation from their Military Industrial Complex cronies). We, The People should demand the US military withdraws because we should be fed up with our government doing stuff we don't want it to do.
Yes, the USG is saying that if we pull out now it'll leave Iraq in an even bigger mess.
Well, who's fault is that? The press should ask that question.
It's not the American People's fault.
It's not the fault of the American GI on the ground.
It's the fault of the government--who will already look like asses in the eyes of history for "blundering" into Iraq on purpose. So, we need to demand a pull-out and the USG need to look like the asses they are. How else are they going to learn from their mistakes?
We, The People were lied to. Most of us trusted our government to not be corrupt and amoral. Now it's time to be adults and learn from our mistakes. It's time for our government to be adults, pull out of Iraq and let the grown-up Iraqis solve their own problems. If it gets worse it will be their fault--not the fault of the American people. We got out of their way to let them take care of things their own way. Meanwhile, our leaders should face impeachment and criminal charges for betraying the public trust and war crimes.
Ha, and this wasn't even my 911 memorial post!
Orignal From: SO, THE SURGE IS WORKING--THEN WHY ALL THE BLOOD?
Added a Lemonade Stand to my s...
Added a Lemonade Stand to my site from Lemonade.com--find it in my sidebar and buy something from it, will ya? There's Lego and DVDs... ^_^
Orignal From: Added a Lemonade Stand to my s...
Orignal From: Added a Lemonade Stand to my s...
Monday, September 10, 2007
TheWife brought me back some s...
TheWife brought me back some sourdough bread from SF! Oh and Malburns stopped by my site recently--cool! Along w/some other MyBlogLoggers :)
Orignal From: TheWife brought me back some s...
Orignal From: TheWife brought me back some s...
Just got back from trying to t...
Just got back from trying to take an old college buddy of mine to Skooby's in Hollywood and they were CLOSED! Sheesh.
Orignal From: Just got back from trying to t...
Orignal From: Just got back from trying to t...
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Anyone ever hear of Smedley Bu...
Anyone ever hear of Smedley Butler? Apparently corporations wanted his help in overthrowing the US gov or SOMEthing. http://urltea.com/1fyv
Orignal From: Anyone ever hear of Smedley Bu...
Orignal From: Anyone ever hear of Smedley Bu...
EDUCATION, RACISM, RELIGION AND THE CRUMBLING AMERICAN EMPIRE
So, I recently signed up for an account at a website called NowPublic.com. They're a news website that only posts news generated by regular folks. Pretty cool concept, right? Well, they allow commentary (BIG mistake!) and so people of various political ilks post their opinions and then we have another place for people to whine and moan about the world sucking, in their opinion. Like we need another one of those on the Internet.
ANYway, so I spot this one headline:
Naturally, I was curious what the author would say to back that up, so I had a read. I didn't get two paragraphs into the article before I got all fired up to respond. So I'll post the first four paragraphs from the article (original available here: http://www.nowpublic.com/i-fear-we-are-losing ) and then you'll see what got me so fired up:
OK, so, here is how I responded:
Ah, gotta love the Internet! Where can so much and so little be done at the same time.
Orignal From: EDUCATION, RACISM, RELIGION AND THE CRUMBLING AMERICAN EMPIRE
ANYway, so I spot this one headline:
I Fear We Are Losing
Naturally, I was curious what the author would say to back that up, so I had a read. I didn't get two paragraphs into the article before I got all fired up to respond. So I'll post the first four paragraphs from the article (original available here: http://www.nowpublic.com/i-fear-we-are-losing ) and then you'll see what got me so fired up:
Why is it that I often write about such subjects as Darwinism, liberalism, and the ACLU? It is because American society is engaged in a war between those who believe that there is no such thing as right and wrong – and those who hold more traditional views. Those who believe there is no such thing as right and wrong (whom Bill O'Reilly calls Secular-Progressives or SP's) believe that the only thing that matters is what feels good, and that their behavior is nobody else's business.
Although many people do not make the connection, this attitude and the behavior it promotes can be traced to Darwinian theory that we are all just accidental products of random happenings – in a straight line down to the dialectical materialism of Marx, Engels and Lenin – down to the communist and Nazi writings and exploits of Stalin, Mao and Hitler – and down to the ACLU and to modern liberalism.
This is not to say that liberals are always bad or wrong or that conservatives are always good and correct, but the obvious disintegration of American society that we see before our eyes (from a traditional standpoint) is going to continue its downward spiral unless those of us who care about such matters (mostly older people) make the connections and fight harder to reverse this trend. The freedom, the security and the prosperity of our grandchildren ultimately depend on having and enforcing standards.
We know enough of our own history that life was often brutal on the American frontier and in the factories and mill towns of an earlier America, and that lawlessness and reckless behavior was the norm. But always, in the towns and cities of this great country the educated class gained ascendancy and put in place laws and standards of conduct based on common Christian and Jewish teachings that had stood the test of time. Many evil things happened, often by those hypocrites who went to church on Sunday and cheated and stole during the rest of the week, but there was a sense of shared values that were widely recognized and accepted. This is no longer true.
OK, so, here is how I responded:
We are losing, but not the way you think.
In reply to your paragraph 1: There IS no such thing as pure right and pure wrong--simply pro and anti whatever it is you believe. Ask a bear or an insect about good and evil or right and wrong and I bet it won't know what the hell you're talking about (for more than just the obvious reasons). The point is, it's all about how we define right and wrong. During slave times many people believed it was right to treat blacks like slaves. However, we define "right" differently now. What's to say in another ten or a hundred years we won't define "right" as something other than what we define it as now? Regarding your claim that people who are "SPs" believe that "the only thing that matters is what feels good, and that their behavior is nobody else's business" I have to say you're letting your reactionary belief of a right and wrong effect your judgment, here.
It's easy to paint the world as black and white. But the world isn't. Bill O'Reilly would define me as an "SP" but I'm not. I believe "hate crime" shouldn't be a legal term but I also believe that what I do in my own home is none of your business. I also don't believe that "all that matters is what feels good." That would be like me saying "all conservatives care about is making their sense of righteousness stronger."
In reply to paragraph 2: Ah, I should have known better than to engage with someone who uses Bill O'Reilly as a non-satirical reference. Next time you can give me proof of God's plan I'll agree that evolution is not real. Sheesh. I'm sure I can trace a willful ignorance straight back through all of Christianity to Jesus and beyond. Now what? You've insulted my intelligence and I've insulted yours. Are we getting anywhere by this pig-headed finger-pointing?
Paragraph 3: Some would argue the disintegration of America has to do with not a lack of standards, but an abundance of blind faith in the system. Some would argue that the "American Empire" is disintegrating from extreme avarice and finally 230 years of greed (political and corporate) are proving too heavy for the system to bear. Outsourcing and over-dependence on oil has caused the US to become over-extended and our economy is showing it. See, that's the problem here. There is all this attention put on religion and anti-religion, race and anti-race, but the real issue here is money. But all you want to talk about is evolution, the ACLU and equating liberals to Nazis.
Paragraph 4: You're generally right--the guidelines for civilization put forth by the Bible, the Torrah and (let's be fair) the Koran are *generally* helpful at maintaining a civilized order in society. HOWEVER, a blind faith in any of the books or the belief systems that have sprung up around them have caused a lot of pain and suffering, too. Of course, the core problem with these books and their belief systems is that they were manufactured to control, not to guide.
You think George W. Bush believes in a heaven? Then explain his behavior, misleading the American people as he has done. He doesn't believe in a hereafter, all he wants is to get rich. He sends America to war and (hundreds of) thousands to their deaths and his pals in the military industrial complex give him stock options and consulting fees for the rest of his life. Do your research into the Carlyle Group and you'll know this is true. If Bush was really worried about doing right, he'd not have marched into Iraq at all. You think God is down with all those deaths based on lies? You think God is hunkydory with Bush? Yet, Bush claims he's tight with God. There's a disconnect here. To me it looks like the powers the be endorse the whole "God" concept because they know it's not true but don't tell us because they want us to stay suckers. Look at the Catholic church. Is God going to send child molesters to hell? If so, then won't God send people who help child molesters get away with it to hell? Yet, look what happens. It's because priests know, deep down, that there is no God, no heaven and it is THEM that believes all that matters is feeling good and that their behavior is nobody else's business.
My belief is that I want to be remembered as a good person, not a bad one. So, I spend my life doing things that I think will help the Earth be a better place. That's why I always try to do good things--I want my immortal soul (my legacy--the memory of me) to live forever in the good graces of humanity (even if it's just my immediate friends and descendants who remember me--I'm not in it for the fame is what I'm saying).
I disagree with your concept of an educated class, too. It's more like the "educated" class.
The things that make the Earth go 'round are politics and money (not in that order, either). Yet, in my public school education I don't remember taking a single class on politics or money. I had to teach myself how to balance a checkbook and I've been following politics for years now and I am always learning new things about how the government works (or not). So, it's not like we shouldn't have classes in these two subjects. Instead we have classes like history (where history stops just after slavery ends) and trigonometry (because we worry about triangle math all the time in modern society, don't we?). Why don't we teach ourselves about WWI and WWII and Korea and Vietnam (and don't forget our war with the Philippines and how we "won" Hawaii)? Why don't we learn about a corporate-sponsored attempted-coup on the United States government (read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler) and how corporations were first formed and how the stock market works?
These are all things we need to hunt down and throw in a cage before we can learn about them as adults, but wouldn't we have all benefited from learning about them as children? Isn't truth and balance much more important than math and history that ends in the 1800s?
I had meant to address each paragraph in your piece, but I think I've made my point. People like you cry out that the religious majority is being threatened while people you don't like cry "hate crime" and "artistic persecution". Meanwhile people like me are pointing at the real problems which most people are completely ignorant of. The real issues at work here are not religious oppression and artistic freedom, but class and intelligence wars. The longer you think you are being oppressed because you believe in Jesus the longer you'll be distracted from the fact that our economy is imaginary--our money is not backed up by anything but the "good credit" of the United States.
People like you bag on communism. What do you call a society with no real money backed up by gold or silver? Where everyone trades in gift certificates at the country's store?
This is what I mean by getting educated!
Ah, gotta love the Internet! Where can so much and so little be done at the same time.
Orignal From: EDUCATION, RACISM, RELIGION AND THE CRUMBLING AMERICAN EMPIRE
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