January 17th, 2004
1. Godfather, The (1972) -- Didn't see it until a year ago. Surprised that it beat the hype.
2. Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)
3. Godfather: Part II, The (1974) -- Ditto to above
4. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) -- Very enjoyable. Will probably go up in estimation after the extended DVD release.
5. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) -- Same as above and it did with the extended version.
6. Casablanca (1942) -- Actually managed to punch through all its cliches. One of my favorites.
7. Schindler's List (1993) -- Very moving, if long.
8. Shichinin no samurai (1954) [Seven Samurai]
9. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) -- Same as with the other ones of the movie.
10. Citizen Kane (1941)
11. Star Wars (1977) -- Duh. It's Star Wars!
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
13. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) -- Very good. Reason I use the word "prevert" to this day.
14. Rear Window (1954) -- It's been 15 years, but I remember really being into this one.
15. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) -- Same was with Star Wars.
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) -- Like I have to say anything.
17. Memento (2000) -- What a movie this is. A friend made me watch it, and I definitely don't regret that.
18. Usual Suspects, The (1995) -- Only seen it once and I was drunk. I remember thinking it was cool.
19. Pulp Fiction (1994) -- First time I saw it was on a rugby field in 40 degree weather.
20. North by Northwest (1959) -- I make sure all my kidnap victims are nice and rummed up before I let them go.
Read the rest!
Posted by fad at 1:14pm
January 16th, 2004
Anyway, to the point of this story -- which is that I'm stupid; the point of all my stories -- after that winter, normal cold just wasn't as bad. I started becoming that annoying guy who wears shorts all winter long. In fact, I was often identified as "that weird guy in shorts", and most knew who you were talking about. I continued this when I transferred to school in Minnesota too. Even then, though, when people found out I used to live in California, they'd say, "California, eh? Cold enough for ya?"
"Um...I'm wearing shorts..."
This reached its peak once coming in to the dorms when the angry girl checking our IDs bitchied, "Aren't you cold?"
I replied, "Well of course I'm cold! I'm wearing shorts for God's sake!"
Anyway, not realizing yet how stupid I am, I would at least check the temperature before heading out. One night, heading to a gathering, I saw it was 20F outside. Easy shorts weather. So I went to the apartment, noting that it did seem awful cold out, but paying it no mind. After arriving I found out that I had overlooked that silly little minus sign.
Yes. I was out, in shorts in -20F weather. Told you I'm stupid.
The kicker is the locks on my car had frozen during the evening, so to go home I had to crouch along side my car holding my key in the flame of a borrowed lighter hoping to warm things up enough to work the lock. Took 15 minutes, but I finally got the door open.
Posted by fad at 6:16pm
Ok, have a good weekend, everyone. If it's a long one, congrats and extra enjoy. If it isn't, well, work makes you strong. It's a long one for me, but more because of stuff to do. Anyway, have fun, folks.
Posted by fad at 4:55pm
Today's cabbie decided to fascinate me with tales of his favorite infomercials. In discussing one for an exercise program he spent at least 10 minutes on what is, by his scale, the best ass in America. And "ass" is pronounced "AAAaaassss".
Posted by fad at 3:53pm
I think as troops spend longer and longer time in Iraq, stories like this will continue to show up. Frustration can cause people to snap. Also, there are assholes everywhere.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commanding general of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, has ordered an investigation into reports of abuse of detainees by troops, a coalition spokesman said Friday.If true, strong action needs to be taken against those troops immediately. Letting them just walk or slide will a) be wrong, and b) provide an improper example in Iraq.
There was enough concern for "the senior military to initiate an investigation," the spokesman said.
"These are not rumors," he said, noting such reports had been received.
Posted by fad at 2:50pm
And the inevitable has begun.
Bush appointed Pickering by a recess appointment which avoids the confirmation process. Such appointments are valid until the next Congress takes office, in this case in January 2005.At least inevitable when rules allow a minority to prevent even a vote while other rules just allow the President to make appointments during recesses.
Posted by fad at 2:37pm
One of my favorite parts of planetary exploration is the, "Huh...what the hell is that?" stuff.
Scientists are puzzled about a patch of soil near the Mars rover Spirit lander that they now call "Magic Carpet". The intrigue has been stirred up by how soil behaved when the lander’s airbags scraped across the martian soil. That soil appears to have been peeled away.There's something so wonderful about seeing stuff for the first time and then trying to make sense of it. Takes me back to being that little boy obsessed with astronomy and space exporation.
[...]
"It has been detached and folded like a piece of carpet sliding across the floor," said Mars Exploration Rover science-team member John Grotzinger of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
[...]
"We don't understand it…we're dying to get a close-up look," said Steve Squyres, principal investigator for Spirit's Athena package of scientific tools. He was early in his view that the airbags have uncovered "bizarre" subsurface material. The "weird stuff", Squyres said, appears to be "strangely cohesive."
Posted by fad at 1:55pm
A French official explained again their views. Let's count the cliches. Please hear within your head a *ding* as they appear.
France's defense minister criticized ``certain radical neo-conservative ideas'' in the United States as harmful to U.S. relations with Europe."neo-conservative" *ding*!
In a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a private research group, Alliot-Marie emphasized that Europeans had ``a different sensibility'' from the United States toward the Arab-Muslim world."different sensibility", you mean like working with any regime no matter the sanctions situation or refusing to stop supporting terrorist groups with some bullshit excuse that they have different "wings"?
Outlining the views of France, she said while terrorism is a great threat, its causes must be addressed, which she identified as ``the sense of frustration in the face of injustice and poverty.''Root "causes" *ding*! And "poverty" and "injustice" *ding*! The French government has worked very hard to stop these things. Like..um...like...giving lots of money to corrupt leaders! Hey, it could work someday.
But France has cooperated with the United States in promoting economic recovery in Afghanistan. ``Faced with the difficulties the U.S. is encountering in certain parts of the world, it needs the support of its European allies,'' she said.This would be the nanny-nanny-boo-boo portion of the speech. Yup, the French government is squarely in September 10th. You almost get the feeling they are just biding their time for a new administration so that they and the American State Department can please just go back to the status quo.
Posted by fad at 1:32pm
Ooo! Another journalism scandal, mayhaps!
USA Today is launching an independent investigation into the work of Jack Kelley, a star foreign correspondent at the newspaper who was forced to resign last week after trying to deceive editors during an internal review of his reporting.I do hope the pie chart results will be colorful and instructive.
[...]
Kelley's work first came under scrutiny in May, after Gallagher received an anonymous note questioning whether Kelley was making up or embellishing stories.
USA Today founder Al Neuharth, who co-authored two books with Kelley, was critical of Kelley's work in a weekly column published in the newspaper Friday. Neuharth said he has long called the use of anonymous sources the "root of evil in journalism."
Posted by fad at 1:23pm
I am an idiot. The proof? Well, beyond everything on this page, for some reason today every time I've needed to type "our", I've typed "are" and vice versa. It is quite bothersome.
Posted by fad at 1:17pm
I just got spam to join the DNC mailing list and STOP George Bush who is WRONG on ALL things and FORCES them TO uSe CAPITALS. Though it at least included this disclaimer at the bottom.
Your information has not been given or sold to the DemocraticSo what this means is that one of the monied groups supporting the Democratic Party bought the list for spamming purposes. One wonders who it is. Is MoveOn spamming? Are Soros' billions being used to clog our INBOXes with spam? I wonder what our campaign finance reformers think about spammers buying lists to spam in favor of candidates and issues.
National Committee, and you have not been added to any mailing
lists owned by the:
Democratic National Committee
430 South Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Posted by fad at 1:11pm
"Reuters" to the rescue.
Colin Rose, who had 21 years experience within the prison service, was fired after being reported making an "insensitive" comment two months after the September 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York blamed on bin Laden's al Qaeda group.That's right. Al Qaeda is just "blamed" for the attacks. We can't say they did them even though they happily and often have taken responsibility for them. I mean, we haven't had a trial or anything!
Oh, the point of the story is that the Mr. Rose got his job back after it was determined those who fired him are stupid gits.
Posted by fad at 11:27am
While some, like the story below, deal with children with drink, others are unrepentant shitdrops who need to be locked away.
A couple who kept their two adopted boys confined in makeshift cages and beat them regularly over 13 years have pleaded guilty to several criminal charges.Just the kind of happy story you want to read on a Friday. Don't worry, the mother had a good reason for this treatment.
The house of horrors shocked Durham, Ontario, police and children's aid officials, who found one of the youths -- then 15 -- curled up in a makeshift cage fashioned from a baby crib.
[...]
The hearing was told the boys attended school during the day, but in the evening were sent back to their cages.
On weekends and holidays, they often were allowed downstairs for a bowl of cereal in the morning and then sent back to their cages, wearing diapers, where they would spend the rest of the day.
The woman claimed both boys were "mentally challenged" and would run away and cause trouble if they were not confined to their cribs.They always have such great excuses, don't they?
Posted by fad at 10:30am
Dude, he was just living the dream.
Police removed a teacher from his seventh-grade classroom after tests showed he had a blood-alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit.Wouldn't you be loaded if you had to deal with a mass of 12 year olds every day? Hell, I'd consider being loaded every day just knowing someone else has to do that.
Peter J. Salciunas, 49, of Chesterton, a teacher at Pierce Middle School, tested .15 percent on a preliminary breath test Monday, said police Operations Cmdr. Mark Gregoline.
Posted by fad at 10:23am
I'd like to take a little time to do a little public service.
A lot of people like to look stuff up on the intarweb, most often with Google that maybe they don't want people to know they are doing. A lot of times this involves stalking. Thinking they are clever, they will click on the "cached" copy link of their search hit under the assumption that this will call up the page only from Google's servers leaving the actual website clueless.
I'm here to tell you this is false. Unless the page has actually changed or is no longer there, when you click on that "cached" link, you still hit the real site with your full search terms included.
So do not stop your stalking or shameful searching on my account, but just know that you're giving me a special chuckle when you try to hide it.
Posted by fad at 9:24am
The ballot measure in Taiwan has been significantly softened.
In a televised address, Chen said the referendum would have two parts. The first would ask voters whether Taiwan should purchase more advanced anti-missile weapons if China doesn't redeploy its missiles and renounce the use of force against Taiwan.Ok, maybe it's just my paranoia, but doesn't this whole Taiwan situation smell just a bit too much like pre-WWI at times? Too many sides prepped to go to war because they feel they have to rather than because it is truly in their interest to do so. Think Japan could stay out of it? North Korea? In principal, I believe that all people should be allowed to live in freedom. It would be nice for Taiwan to be fully independent rather than just de facto. But since independence is the rule of the day, though it is independence under a constant shadow, I much prefer that to war in the region.
Chen said the second part of the ballot would ask voters: "Would you agree that our government should engage in negotiation with mainland China on the establishment of a peace and stability framework for cross-strait interactions in order to build consensus and for the welfare of the peoples on both sides?"
Then again, I'm probably just paranoid.
Posted by fad at 9:11am
Two Months!
Posted by fad at 8:44am
Get yer bribes ready and haul out your finest whores and cheeses. It's time for another round of Who Gets The Olympics!
Paris, the favourite, was first to launch its candidacy, with a glitzy ceremony at the Eiffel Tower on Friday.Paris in 2012? Hmmm...But won't all the female athletes be terribly slowed by the burkhas?
The city lost out to Beijing for the 2008 Games and also missed out in 1992, but it is confident it can win now.
Posted by fad at 7:10am
The State of Missouri would like to offer an object lesson to all other states. When creating a new, indefinite form of civil committment (holding certain offenders who have served out their sentences but are deemed to still be a threat to society, so won't be let out), try to remember to make escape illegal too.
In a wide-ranging interview Thursday, Ingrassia told the Post-Dispatch that he knew about a loophole in the law before cutting a fence for freedom in 2001 at the civil commitment unit in Farmington. The unit holds Missouri's most incorrigible rapists and child molesters.Obviously they can always find something with which to charge someone (like this "lying" case) since things are set up that usually I've broken 14 laws from my bed to the shower.
[...]
Ingrassia refused to discuss how he escaped or who, if anyone, helped him. He said talking about that now could hurt his chances with his current criminal case, a charge of felony property damage for cutting the fence.
Posted by fad at 6:55am
A Friday Five whilst I attempt to finish waking.
1. What does it say in the signature line of your emails?
Nothing. I grew weary of .sigs after a couple months of using them way back when. I'm a really bad net user. I hate emoticons. I hate the terms "LOL" or "ROFLMAO" and the like. Plus I think forums and chatrooms are some of the creepiest and most unpleasant places I've ever been.
2. Did you have a senior quote in your high school yearbook? What was it? If you haven't graduated yet, what would you like your quote to be?
My school didn't do such things. But if they had, it most likely would have been, "Don't kick a leprechaun in the mouth lest he run up your pants."
3. If you had vanity plates on your car, what would they read? If you already have them, what do they say?
SKLFKR
4. Have you received any gifts with messages engraved upon them? What did the inscription say?
No one has been that tacky to me yet. Oh wait, a Christmas ornament from my first Christmas which has my name engraved on it. That's it.
5. What would you like your epitaph to be?
Yeah, like they'll find enough of me to bury. Sorry, my one goal in life is to be mourned by no one.
Posted by fad at 6:00am
January 15th, 2004
The trio, wearing only shoes and hats, entered the restaurant in north Spokane at about 5 a.m. Wednesday. They left their car running outside so they could make a quick exit."Ha! We are young! Let us participate in a lark!"
But a man eating inside the restaurant saw the running vehicle and stole it, along with the streakers' clothes, Cottam said.The ironing is delicious.
The streakers watched through the windows as their car drove away, Cottam said. They ran outside but could not catch it.
Posted by fad at 3:54pm
Your government is benevolent.
The Transportation Security Administration is giving people who set off metal detectors on their first pass through the metal detectors a second chance, after they've removed the coins or keys they think caused the alarm.Third time, though, instant death. Think those new "detectors" were just more sensitive devices? Ha! Each of them is equipped with enough blades to make an abattoir blush. That's how we do things in George Bush's America.
Posted by fad at 2:51pm
Considering the charges against him, what they could mean if he is guilty of them or what it could mean if he is not, doesn't it seem inappropriate for FoxNews to use the term "Jacko" when talking about his arraignment? I can see it for general wacky celebrity stuff, but not when the topic is child molestation.
Posted by fad at 2:43pm
Ladies and gentlemen, the Robert C. Byrd Trade War.
Europe asked the World Trade Organization today for permission to impose sanctions on the United States for failing to change a law that was ruled an unfair subsidy for American corporations.Robert C. Byrd in favor of subsidies? I'll be Robert C. Byrd-damned!
[...]
Canada, Japan, Korea and Chile, which were also parties to the successful case against the United States, said they, too, wanted to begin sanctioning the United States.
[...]
The W.T.O. ruled against the United States in January 2003 and set a Dec. 27 deadline for Congress to change to change a law known as the Byrd amendment. The W.T.O. ruled that the amendment — named after Senator Robert C. Byrd, the West Virginia Democrat who added the measure to the fiscal 2000 budget — was an unfair subsidy. The amendment allows American corporations to receive antidumping fines collected from foreign nations by the United States government.
Posted by fad at 2:23pm
Everything is dangerous.
Commercial pilot Fred Bates could not board the twin-engine jet he was about to fly from Dallas to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, until he passed through a metal detector. Airport screeners had to make sure he was not carrying a pen knife, box cutter or scissors.Hell, I'm surprised they let Wesley Clark fly on planes. The man is a trained killer, for God's sake, a weapon unto himself! Then again, as a Rhodes Scholar, he probably doesn't need planes. He can use the immense power of his brain to break free of all those so-called laws of nature that have us lesser beings so trapped.
Yet once aboard, he saw that an elderly passenger was holding a cane -- a potentially lethal weapon.
From knitting needles to ball point pens, passengers still are allowed to bring on all kinds of potential weapons, Bates said.
Posted by fad at 1:28pm
Ha-Ha! Take that you commies!
Colonel Sanders, whose bearded, down-home visage adorns chicken restaurants from Kentucky to Karachi, is headed for a new frontier - the mountains of Tibet. There's more: Taco Bell will expand across China in the near future. Pizza Hut will step up its home deliveries. And McDonald's is adding 100 more restaurants to the 560 it already has in the country.Soon Mao's godless yellow horde will be as fat and lazy as Americans! Then we'll...probably just catch the game and grab some beers or something. No big.
I wonder how long before someone protests this as a healthacological genocide. Well, since I just made up that word, it's unlikely.
Posted by fad at 12:33pm
So did all you people looking for the Trawick stories and letters just hear about it on the news, or are you all sick fucks like his admirers looking to read his gleeful tales of murder?
Posted by fad at 10:04am
Strap on your sea turtle costumes and squeeze on your udders. This is beggin' for a PETA protest. Hot chicks, go naked covered in ketchup, please. That's ketchup, not catsup. No absusing cats even by putting their name into a food item.
The federal government is issuing tips on how to safely dispose of black widow spiders, citing a growing number of incidents where Canadians have found the highly venomous creatures nestled in imported table grapes.Spiders: Nature's ninjas.
Some people have been trying to capture the spiders and even feed themWe call them crazy people.
but the advice from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is to take no chances: Kill the spider, do not try to take it alive.Killers! Why don't we try to understand why it is attacking? This genocide is unconscionable. And coming from Canada of all places.
"Like any wild animal, if you chase it and corner it, it will kind of turn and attack you," he said. "So that's why we say: 'Don't play around with it. Kill it. Punch and ask questions later.' "I prefer a message of non-violence. Where are the human shields to protect the spiders?
A bite can result in muscle aches, severe abdominal pain, vomiting, muscular cramping, sweating, fever and headache, according to the Bohart Museum of Entomology in Davis, Calif. Even though that state and others in the south are home to "millions" of the spiders, there have been no reports of fatalities for years, experts say.*whimper*
It was different in the days when outhouses were commonly used in the southern States, though. Men did sometimes die when black widows, hiding inside toilets, nipped at their exposed testicles, where the lack of muscle mass and thin skin meant the venom was more readily spread into the body, said Rick Vetter, an entomologist at the University of California.
Posted by fad at 9:52am
That prevert pinko commie plot will never end. This time they try to hid it under a bunch of health information.
Drinking hard water may protect against heart disease, researchers have claimed.Well thank God the Bush administration is putting all that arsenic back into the water, then!
Hard water is any water which contains an appreciable quantity of dissolved mineralsA lesser person than me would now make a lame joke that one can make their own hard water by dissolving a crushed Viagra or Levitra (with it's vaginal flame) into the water. Don't be lesser than me.
They suggest higher fluoride levels were protective, with every one milligram of fluoride per litre of household drinking water was associated with a 3% decrease in the risk of a heart attack.Ah ha! There it is! I'll be damned if I'm going to let them poison my thoughts with any more of that flouride bullshit! Sure, I'm nearly 30 years old and haven't got a single cavity, but was it worth the price? Is it worth the dreams and the voices? No! Well, ok, it's worth that one voice, but only because she says the nicest things. But the others can all go to hell with your precious flouride!
Posted by fad at 7:46am
NASA. Even in the midst of triumph they have to dork up the moment.
The "Spirit" rover has successfully rolled onto the surface of Mars for the first time since NASA's unmanned robot bounced down on the red planet nearly two weeks ago.Still really cool that the li'l fella is cruising about.
[...]
Engineers cheered loudly and celebrated the landing by playing the hip-hop tune, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
Posted by fad at 7:24am
The networks, at least NBC, are confirming that news coverage just ain't for them anymore.
NBC said Wednesday it will premiere many of its new fall shows three weeks early this year when the Summer Olympics end - the same week as the Republican National Convention.Woohoo! This limits my chances of running into all that meaninglessness whilst racing about the channels like a crack monkey! Not being a partisian, already decided conventions with an incumbent bore the crap out of me. I guess I'm just a bad political junkie, but just give me the highlights. I'm not into long, boring speeches using those carefully chosen bland phrases and committed, but not overly strong, hand gestures.
[...]
The days of broadcast networks devoting all their prime-time schedules to convention coverage are long gone. NBC News hasn't announced its coverage plans yet, but it's likely to be similar to 2000, with a one-hour prime-time wrap-up of convention highlights each night.
Posted by fad at 7:14am
This article details much of the difficulty in prosecuting domestic terrorists and anti-propertyists. First of all, the groups are smooth. Also they don't snitch on each other. Conviction as strong as any other fundamentalist guides them. Plus they work very hard to distract from the crimes they do by attacking the grand jury system as political repression. Political repression should be avoided, but it doesn't excuse arson, destruction of property and endangering lives.
The other problem, in fact the most glaring part of this article, is that the evidence used to go after such groups is often tremendously weak. Instead they have to try to get them on stupid little "lying" charges and the like.
Posted by fad at 7:06am
Tragic.
Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun -- trailing badly in the polls -- will drop out of the Democratic race for president and will endorse front-runner Howard Dean, Democratic sources told CNN late Wednesday.But now women have no one in the race who will represent them! Well, except maybe Clark's sweaters. I've been told many times that only a woman can represent women. Sorry, ladies. You're SOL now. Might as well stay home on election day. Of course, were I a Republican I'd say that's where you should be in the first place anyway.
These meaningless and inaccurate cheapshots have been brought to you by the letter 'R' and the number '6'.
Posted by fad at 6:38am
January 14th, 2004
The two new products, called Doritos Edge and Tostitos Edge, will cut out 60 percent of the carbohydrates that are in regular Doritos and Tostitos.Soy and fiber? These things will be giving the Olestra™ a run for its money. Oh wait...imagine if they made an Olestra™ version of these chips. I'd fear explosive decompression.
[...]
The new chips will use soy proteins and fiber as substitute ingredients, the company said in a statement. Both Tostitos Edge and Doritos Edge will have six net carbohydrates, 10 grams of protein, and three grams of fiber.
Posted by fad at 2:22pm
Those shells found last week have tested negative in further testing.
Posted by fad at 1:19pm
Sometimes having a reason is worse than saying, "Just cuz."
William A. Feimster was charged with arson Tuesday after voluntarily going to the sheriff's department.Now get ready for the reason.
Feimster's mother wasn't home during the Nov. 20 fire, which destroyed the mobile home.
"He said it was very sloppy and he didn't like it," Berkeley County sheriff's Sgt. Russell Shackelford said.Well, ok then! See, that's why I don't let anyone see my filth.
Feimster, 25, told police he went there to get some videos to watch at work. Upset over the mess, he lit a roadside flare and put it in a kitchen garbage can, Shackelford said.
Posted by fad at 1:14pm
Ok, this will be an unpopular opinion, but you'll have to cope. I find this cartoon disgusting. I'm about to engage in a classic "...but" session here, so just be warned. Rachel Corrie was indeed a fool. Her death was an accident caused by her being where she just plain should not have been. Her actions supported terrorism and murder both by her trying to protect the infrastructure as she was when she died and by her anti-American and anti-Israel fueled excusism. However (the word I chose instead of "but" just to throw you off) none of this meant she deserved to die. Nor will I revel in her death.
I guess for some her death is nothing more than a happy Darwin Award event, something to laugh about("flat bitch", "corrie crushers"). The anger towards some naive, and perhaps not so naive, fool who goes overseas to give succor and excuse without judgment to murderers is understandable. But it does not excuse the mirth over her death. I would hate to be eternally judged based off the ideas I had at 23. Yes, she is entirely responsible for her beliefs and actions, actions which lead directly to her death, but forgive me if I won't take the time to giggle about it.
The real "idiotarians", to use the now tiresome term, are those who exploit her death with attempts to gloss over the hate and deify/sanctify her. The anger and energy should be dedicated to the ISM, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which does whatever it can to print unquestioned terror apology after apology and anyone else who would use her to support a lie.
Challenge those who exploit her memory, and that goes for those yukking it up too. She was a fool, but she is dead. Let her rest.
Posted by fad at 11:40am
Woo! The Valentine's Day spam has begun! For those trapped in locales whose weather does not provide a drastic reminder of seasonal change, you can now use spam topics to enjoy the weatherterial dance. Plus the one constant that every day is a good day to have a larger penis.
Posted by fad at 10:41am
What hark? News from the south? Fie!
Weeks after meeting with Fidel Castro during a vacation in Cuba, Bogota's mayor said Wednesday the 77-year-old Cuban leader's health appeared to be deteriorating.We can only hope.
"He seemed very sick to me," Luis Eduardo Garzon, a former communist union organizer, told Caracol Radio. "You could tell he had physical limitations, especially in his speech."
Garzon, who met with Castro in December before taking office Jan. 1, said Cuba has made significant advances in the fields of education and health but that he was disappointed with the revolution there.But...but...education! Health care! All that other stuff is nonsense in comparison.
"One expects debate ... but in Cuba, everything is driven and controlled by one party," Garzon said. "That's not right. I have always said there should be no dictatorships, neither from the left nor the right."
Posted by fad at 10:19am
While I very much enjoyed the "Lord of the Rings" movies (though my brief criticism can be found here), my true Tolkien heavy geek, in which I would read The Silmarillion, or most of it, at least twice a year, peaked several years ago in college and has waned quite a bit. But in the interest of serving those now in deep geek about the whole thing, here is everything you need to know about Elf sex.
Ever since the movie of the book Fellowship of the Ring came out, there seem to be two popular ideas about Elves’ sex lives. Either they are radiantly asexual, or they are all screwing each other madly, along with any dwarves, hobbits, and men who happen along. Whichever you prefer is usually based on how attractive you think Orlando Bloom is.While this may include what you need to know, it may not include all you may want to know. I'm sure there are several fanfic sites scattered about the internet to fulfill the nasty little bits of your minds.
Posted by fad at 9:56am
It's time again for your multi-annual "report" demanding universal health coverage.
Ten years after Congress rejected President Clinton's proposed overhaul of the health care system, the report released Wednesday says only major reform at the federal level will make universal coverage a reality.Well no shit only the feds have the oomph to force such a system on everyone. Luckily these people have really thought it out and have solid proposals for how to do this.
In addition to covering everyone, health insurance should be continuous, affordable for individuals and families and sustainable for society, the study says.Oh, wait. No it doesn't. It's the equivalent of saying, "Every person should be able to dunk a basketball on a regulation height hoop. Only the Feds can make this happen. So, um...., do it."
The report does not endorse a specific proposal, noting three approaches that it said would result in insurance for nearly every American:
-Requiring employers to provide health insurance, with the government providing coverage for those not covered in the workplace.Ok, so increase unemployment so that the feds have to cover more people. Check. I'm not saying employers shouldn't provide coverage, in general it is in their interest to do so, just that a requirement will increase unemployment since there will be less capital free for jobs.
-Requiring individuals to obtain coverage and providing tax credits to help them pay for it.Ah, the little bit we're not supposed to notice about this. Some, not all, not even most, bit a significant enough portion of those without insurance choose not to have insurance. As good statists the people compiling this "report" have declared this bad, which it likely is, so you should be forced to behave as they desire.
-Establishing a single-payer system administered by the federal government that would eliminate insurance premiums and enrollment qualifications but require increased taxes.But where will all the disaffected doctors and heart patients from countries with such systems that are running just ahead of bankruptcy go if we do that?
Posted by fad at 9:01am
Oh, come on!
For months, administration officials have worked with conservative groups on the proposal, which would provide at least $1.5 billion for training to help couples develop interpersonal skills that sustain "healthy marriages."$1.5 billion? Now marriage is one of the most boring topics around for me, but I perk up when someone wants to throw $1.5 billion to provide subsidized jobs for social activists and workers under the guise of strengthening marriage.
Posted by fad at 8:20am
As it is morning, I cannot think of any good jokes, so will use Mel Brooks'. It's good to be the king.
Africa's last absolute monarch plans to spend $15 million of his impoverished kingdom's national budget on building new palaces for his wives, royal aides said Tuesday.Ain't love grand?
[...]
King Mswati III has ordered nine palaces built within existing royal compounds to house seven of his 10 wives and two future brides, a senior aide said on customary condition of anonymity.
"It is long overdue for the king's wives to have their own palaces," he said. "In terms of Swazi culture, the king cannot use his father's royal residence to accommodate his wives."
Only Mswati's first wife, 34-year-old lawyer Sibonelo Mngomezulu, lives in her own palace.Oh, man. I can imagine that might cause some marital stresses with all the others.
Pro-democracy activists and trade union leaders have criticized Mswati for the lavish spending when his tiny, drought-stricken kingdom is struggling with a $148 million deficit.And that is part of what makes just the amount of aid given to a nation a very poor measure. What use is giving tons of cash and other aid when those running the countries just piss it away or, like with the dance in Zimbabwe with Robert "Only My Supporters Need Food, Everyone Else Is Lying" Mugabe over food aid distribution, they use it for political control? It's just as good as burning the money. Yet the bleeding hearts who claim to hate money only seem capable of judging things in terms of how much is spent, rather than how it is spent. Do-goodery stops once you've made someone else cut the check. Hell, you'd lose that warm glow of superiority if you actually investigated what was done with it.
In November, he purchased 15 BMWs for wives of his father, the late King Sobhuza II, at a cost of nearly $1 million.
Last year, three of Mswati's children spent more than $150,000 on flights between Swaziland and Britain, where they are studying.
Posted by fad at 7:41am
January 13th, 2004
The nation's blood banks -- represented by the American Association of Blood Banks, America's Blood Centers and the American Red Cross -- are asking for immediate donations to boost already critically low blood supplies.Plus giving blood is fun. Few things are more fun than a night's drinking short a quart or two.
National inventory levels have dropped well below a safe and adequate supply. Certain critical blood types are nearing depletion and in some areas of the country elective surgeries have been postponed or cancelled, officials say.
Posted by fad at 2:24pm
We all know there is a fashion among some of romanticizing death row murderers. In some cases it is an overly applied passion against the death penalty that causes some to use the noble savage template for these people (as opposed to those who are overly for the death penalty who use other dehumanizations). Other cases involve sick fucks.
Mary Kate Gach thought she had heard the last of Jack Trawick when he went to death row for murdering her daughter in 1992.How are these things getting online?
Instead, Trawick's twisted writings about how he beat, strangled and stabbed Stephanie Gach and killed other women are available to anyone who wants to read them on the Internet.
Many of the writings were put there by a one-time pen pal and admirer of Trawick's.Read that sentence carefully, especially the second descriptive noun used to identify the person posting. Now read what Trawick did.
Trawick confessed to kidnapping Gach, 21, from a Birmingham-area shopping mall in 1992. He took her to an isolated area where he beat her with a hammer, strangled her and stabbed her through the heart.And this man has an admirer out here in the wild
Posted by fad at 1:15pm
With all the other distractions, to understate it, in the world today, we musn't forget that Slobodan Milosevic is facing world justice.
After two years of hearings, prosecutors have 17 days of hearings left to finish their case against Milosevic, accused of 66 counts of war crimes, including genocide, allegedly committed during the Balkans wars of the 1990s. A three-month break will follow the prosecution's case during which Milosevic is to prepare his defense.Sometime in late 2015 there will finally be a reckoning. Sadly the world will be swimming in melted icecaps and be down to three species: humans, cows and an as-of-yet-undiscovered anteater like animal which will become extinct in 2016 when killed and eaten by a man named Tim from Dubuque attempting to impress one of the 6 remaining women of child bearing age with child bearing hips.
Posted by fad at 12:59pm
Every family has its jerks.
A Chicago man due in court Tuesday on charges that he repeatedly made anonymous calls to federal agents and falsely accused his relatives of being terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden.He's camping by the outhouse at the next family reunion.
[...]
The defendant had been quarreling with relatives and phoned a number of federal investigators with his accusations starting in mid-December, the FBI said. It said he warned agents that his relatives were "planning to launch attacks against numerous targets in Chicago."
Still, it is rather amazing that here in George Bush's AmeriKKKa the FBI didn't say, "Hey! Brown people! Let's just arrest 'em all anyway!"
Posted by fad at 11:54am
My birthday just five months away.
A researcher from the University of Wisconsin at Madison has figured out a better way to slice cheese just use a laser.Don't disappoint me.
Posted by fad at 10:39am
The War for Empire continues!
The United States Air Force says it is investigating how one of its fighter jets dropped an unarmed bomb on the Yorkshire countryside last week.My dad, driving a carpool of kids, was nearly (as in it-was-nowhere-close-but-still-close-enough-to-freak-him-out) hit with one of those things near a base in Tustin, CA.
Posted by fad at 10:33am
Speaking of games, someone needs to create a Democratic Campaign 2004 fighting game.
"I'm going after everybody because I'm tired of being the pin cushion here," Dean said Monday.Just think of the special attacks the characters could have.
- Dean:
- Berserker Attack. Fighter flies into a rage, lashing out in all directions with a flurry of attacks. However, accuracy is severely diminished.
Soviet Invoke. Calls back into being the Soviet Union at will bringing fear of a totalitarian threat. - Clark:
- Ego Shield. Attacks slide off with a whisper of "Rhodes Scholar".
Flip-Flop Jam. A flying kick attack that first goes one direction, then immediately goes the other.
Mary. Under special, stressful conditions, can call up spiritual guide Mary for help. - Gephardt
- Teamsters. When activated, a group of Teamsters will arrive and "support" the candidate. Attack must be specially timed so as not to coincide with a mandated, contractual breaktime.
- Lieberman
- Sonorous Snore. He begins talking putting all in hearing range into a deep sleep.
- Edwards
- Invisibility. Unfortunately, he cannot do any damage when this is in effect. Worse yet, it's always in effect.
- Kucinich
- Mind Bullets From Outer Space!
- Sharpton
- Random Mob. A mob, acting on it's own!, not incited by him!, shows up to set fire to opponent.
False Charge. Destroys career of opponent. Fighter must attack quickly before the truth comes out. Best used in combination with Charm Hair.
Charm Hair. Grants ability to deflect all attacks with charming responses and hypnotizing hair. - Mosley-Braun
- Vaginal Solidarity. Uses the cry of, "Isn't time a woman won?" Last really effective in 1992, but still a popular attack.
- Kerry
- The Fonz. Appears on motorcycle dropping f-bombs to dazzle with coolness. Suggested counter-attack: The Point And Laugh.
The Have I Mentioned. Damage reduced if he is able to mention he served in Vietnam before opponent lands attack. Seemingly never ending use.
Game developers, get on it!
Posted by fad at 10:09am
I read this over at Tightly Wound:
The point of this post (well, ostensibly, if this post HAD a point) is that Return of the King has a LOT of action, and it's really FAST action, so you have to keep your thumb in constant motion, and as a result I have the worst case of game-induced thumb cramp EVER. Seriously, ow. It doesn't help that my thumbs are double jointed and bend too far backward.and felt instant kinship. I too have messed up thumbs. In fact my hands are extremely double jointed. And you know what having double jointed hands means. It means that my hands are double jointed.
I can lock all my fingers so that they are straight except that the tips point downward. They look a bit like claws. The middle knuckle gets this deep channel where the ligaments or tendons (not sure which, it's been a few years since I bothered to know the difference. Please don't feel the need to instruct me, either. There's a whole wide internet out there, and if I really cared to know, I could find out in seconds) are stretched. My thumbs barely bend inward like they do for you normals out there, but they bend backwards more than 90 degrees. I think it's called "hitchhikers' thumb" in some parts of the country.
These things have led to some fun. The "claw" thing really disturbs some people. When I was younger, I could get some annoying people to leave me alone just by doing that. Another fun moment was when I worked for a grocery store. I was lifting a large box off the top of the shelves to do some restocking. The guy I was working the aisle with looked up and yelled, "Stop! Your thumbs are breaking!" He was really freaked out and convinced that I somehow was unaware that I had just snapped my thumbs.
But it has also led to some stupidity. A girl in grade school could put her thumbs behind her knuckles. I figured as freaky-deaky double jointed boy, I could do the same. Well, I managed to do it. However I also dislocated my thumb in the process. So here I am in class with my left thumb pointing in the air at a freakish angle. Have I mentioned that my dad was the teacher? There was no way in hell I was going to walk up to him and say, "Uh...dad, I dislocated my thumb trying to put it behind my knuckles." A dislocated thumb would have been the least of my worries. I did the only thing I could. I snapped that fucker back into joint whilst biting down on a pencil. That thumb is still loose and hurts to this day.
Back to the point at hand (HA! HA! Clever is me!), this has also made gaming difficult. Console controllers just aren't designed for thumbs like mine. It's easier for me to push the buttons with the middle joint of my thumb than to tap with the top of it. It's not unusual to be loved by anyone or to get very, very sore thumbs quickly if not careful.
You may now return to your day.
Posted by fad at 8:57am
One of my rules of life is: Don't talk politics or religion at the bar (unless the gathered group is defined by one or the other. Such as at a blogbash). You will end up sounding stupid and just pissing everyone off. It's bad enough to talk sports or music (for example, I've nearly been punched for saying I never liked Metallica). Due to the tension in Venezuela, some cafes have had to make that policy.
At one Italian cafe in the east of city, there is a sign above the counter which reads in bold letters, "Here it is forbidden to talk about politics."If for nothing else, follow the above link so that you can see Chavez in his Guardian Angel best. Apparently one of the benefits of Chavez's leftist rule is that he created a time machine capable of bringing to the 21st century an early 80s Addidas running suit manufacturing plant.
"We decided to put this sign up because we'd simply had enough of all the heated political discussions between our clients," Johnny Harlouchi, the manager of the bar, told BBC World Service's Outlook programme.
"This endless political debate was spoiling the atmosphere of my cafe."
Posted by fad at 7:50am
January 12th, 2004
Three young men pleaded guilty to vandalizing more than 25 sport utility vehicles, construction equipment and building sites on behalf of a radical environmental group.Unfortunately, like with Palestinian suicide bombers, though nowhere near to the degree..yet, these are just the gullible idiots, not the masterminds.
The three, who were in high school at the time of the attacks in the Richmond suburbs in 2002, face up to five years in prison at sentencing in April. Under the plea agreement announced Monday, they must also repay more than $200,000.They were stupid high school kids who made their choice and must pay for it. But I think it is more than safe to assume that those who influenced them were older and not foolish enough to commit the crime themselves.
As an aside, ever notice how an Eager Young Person activist is always really good at the recitation, but rarely all that good at the critical thinking?
Posted by fad at 3:13pm
PBS: Sponsor of Fraud.
A sword presented to a Navy captain who participated in the first battle between ironclad ships was returned Monday to the Naval Academy, almost 73 years after it was stolen from the school.Yeah, yeah, yeah. Some old sword showed up. Get to the good part.
Lampinski said the sword turned up during an investigation into fraud allegations against three appraisers on the television program "Antiques Roadshow," but said he could not provide many details of the investigation.PBS is all a front for a grand fraudulant appraisal scheme! Shut it down! Shut it down now!
Posted by fad at 2:47pm
I can't wait to see the fights from this.
Gov. Blagojevich said lllinois would become the first state in the nation to give kids a free monthly book from birth to age 5 under a plan he unveiled Sunday.Who knew Dollywood had such a literacy program ready to go? Anyway, I'm looking forward for the first suit claiming that offering a Harry Potter book (which would never be included on a list compiled by educators and early-childhood experts, but go with me here) in a state program counts as establishment of a religion.
[...]
Blagojevich defended the plan during a time of budget hardship, saying: “I’d much rather see us spend money on books for kids and encouraging parents to read to their kids than some of the things that we waste money on.’’
Infants would get their first book at the hospitals where they are born, and parents would then have to register to receive age-appropriate books each month for kids through age 5. Families would choose books from a list compiled by educators and early-childhood experts for the Dollywood Foundation of Tennessee, which has targeted literacy, said gubernatorial spokeswoman Cheryle Jackson.
Posted by fad at 2:20pm
Management of WLS in Chicago can go to hell*.
With five weeks left on his contract, Garry Meier, half of the No. 2-rated afternoon radio team in the city, was unexpectedly pulled off the air by station bosses after his show Friday night as both sides remain far apart on a new deal.My afternoons just got shittier.
The strategy by ABC Radio-owned WLS-AM 890 is unusual, and the move stunned some radio observers in town.
*cough*laexaminer*laexaminer*cough*
Posted by fad at 2:13pm
So coalition troops may have found blister agents in Iraq.
Danish troops in southern Iraq sealed off an area Monday where 36 mortar shells thought to contain a liquid blister agent were found, the army said, as they prepared the weapons for another round of tests by U.S.-led experts.Is this a vindication? No, not quite. However I'm very glad they were found by troops rather than by an innocent party ("Hey, Whut's this? OW!") or others of not so nice intentions. But what struck me most was this part.
The Iraqi Survey Group, an American-led group of intelligence analysts, interrogators and translators, will investigate the 120mm mortar shells that Danish and Icelandic troops uncovered last week near Qurnah, north of the city of Basra, where Denmark's 410 soldiers are based.I knew there were Danish troops involved in the operation, but I didn't know that Iceland had provided troops as well. I thought they just supported the effort. Huh. This unilateralism gets broader every day.
Posted by fad at 1:05pm
If you are over the age of 18 and have not yet learned to chew with your fucking mouth closed, I should be allowed to kill you and all your family.
Posted by fad at 12:52pm
Often times a wire story seems little more than a slight rewording of a press release. Thanks to Google News comparisons can be found. Here is the press release about the wackiest product labels, and here is the AP story of the same. It's relatively benign in this case, but too often this laziness allows a group with a harder agenda to get free publication of unquestioned accusations or study results. It's a disservice to publish these as actual reporting. They should at least say it's just a press release.
Posted by fad at 10:37am
"Man Bitten After Putting Snake in Pocket"
Dude, there are easier ways to impress the ladies. I don't happen to know any of them, but literal trouser snakes can't be one of them.
Posted by fad at 10:24am
Nutball involved in high profile killing. Media actually reports tenuous religious connection.
"I don't know, I think it's Jesus. That he has chosen me," Mijailovic said according to a transcripts of his confessions filed with Stockholm District Court, The Associated Press reported."Then we ran". Yup, definitely going for the crazy, he is. Note: I don't for a minute think this represents an anti-Christian bias in the media. Rather it shows which religious group the media does not fear (as in bodily) to offend so will freely report such an inoffensive fact without worry that someone will overreact and harm them. It's an interesting sidelight to a tragic, high-profile case. Plus it reminds us all of that part in "Real Genius" when Kent thought that Jesus was telling him to stop touching himself so much. Hearing external voices of authority in one's head, it is natural to assign it to a well known supernatural figure (Jesus, devil, so forth). Either that or the neighbor's dogs with their foul language and even fouler ideas. Someday....someday....
[...]
"I felt awful, I was desperate, and I didn't know what to do. Then I heard voices that spoke to me 'so and so,"' he said in his admission.
"Then I saw Anna Lindh and then I attacked. Then we ran away and lost the knife in the escalator."
Posted by fad at 9:13am
January 11th, 2004
Posted by fad at 7:14pm