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April 30, 2004
Fire sale
Wired 12.05: File-Sharing Is, Like, Totally Uncool
There isn't a single instance where I have Downloaded instead of buying. I won't say that there aren't things on my computer that I could buy, mearly that I am a poor man who can't afford to buy everything he'd want...
On the other hand, I used to "own" all of Buffy-- stored on my Hard Drive. Now I own the first 5 seasons of Buffy-- stored on my DVD rack. And that doesn't even begin to talk about the various shows I have that aren't even available to purchase-- even though I would like to buy a DVD of Babylon 5's The Legend of the Rangers, I CAN'T. I know who loses in that situation...
Posted by Andrew at 09:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
WTF?!?!?!??!
Officer: U.S. troops untrained in Geneva Convention.
The headline alone is a stunning indictment of our military. And indictment is the right word: whoever didn't see to it that those in our military are not properly trained in the Geneva Convention ought to loose his job...
The mere fact that Aljazeera has an actual US atrocity to yack about is going to cost American lives. The fact that our Troops will-- in ignorance-- violate the Geneva convention invalidates that convention as it applies to us by signatory countries. So it may well cost us military lives as well as civilian ones. Someone had damned well better loose their job over this...
Posted by Andrew at 07:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 29, 2004
I know that girl!
Archive Page for ErosBlog: The Sex Blog
Not
Safe
For
Work
Posted by Andrew at 01:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 28, 2004
Too good not to clickity-click
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness: Extra Whitening Rap Lyrics Translator
Via Off the Kuff
Posted by Andrew at 07:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Guns don't stop avalanches, people stop avalanches.
Last year we were fighting two wars. This year we are fighting one war, and one war which was supposed to be over... And who gets to operate the guns?
Posted by Andrew at 04:01 PM
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What's Causing High Gasoline Prices? It would seem that the Senate has conducted a study to discover why gas prices are so damned high. They concluded that the fault belongs to the Federal government's environmental policy. I guess they must have really been cracking down on air pollution since Bush took office, otherwise they'd have to admit that explanation is BS... Angry Bear has a wonderful graph...
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Posted by Andrew at 07:22 PM
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Newberry For Congress :: Official Blog This is the lowest link on the Truth Laid Bear ranking system that seems to be an actual blog. I figured they should get at least one link. Nope. I have no idea what this candidate stands for... By the way. Are you reading my site? Do you have a blog? How about some linky-love?
Posted by Andrew at 06:19 PM
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I understand that Mr. Kerry still has a piece of shrapnel in his rear from his days in Vietnam. How many votes would he gain if-- during a debate-- he said to Mr. Bush "Question my dedication to the service? Kiss my shrapnel embedded ass! Mr 'couldn't-be-bothered-to-show-up-for-much-of-the-duty-his-daddy-got-for-him" If he said it, the media wouldn't dare repeat it, but for those who heard it, it would go a long way toward getting rid of Kerry's reputation for talking around the issue... And if someone did dare question him on it, can you imagine the amount of damage that would do to Bush?
Posted by Andrew at 05:39 PM
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The Queen of All Evil: The Best Gift Ever!
Posted by Andrew at 12:34 AM
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Treasury Department Stumping for the Bush Campaign A reader chimes in with more information. (a note for sticklers: I (finally) changed the offending word in the previous post. And Webster lists self restraint (especially in matters of sex) as the first definition. Thus I felt it wise to use it here. After all, we're getting screwed...)
Posted by Andrew at 12:24 AM
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The other day, two members of that most hated sect, Jehovah's witnesses, came knocking at my door. I recognized them immediately, of course: no one else reads the Watchtower. Many another person would now take the opportunity to relate to their blog whatever quip came to their mind. I admit, I nearly was there myself. But I couldn't do that... Those young men were on what they perceived to be a mission from their own Deity, and for my own good. As much as I disagree with their theology (I am a polytheist, to start with), I cannot help but admire and respect anyone who is willing to face my ridicule and scorn simply to help me... So I stood there, answered a few basic questions, and did my best not to snark them. I believe I succeeded. Only the gods can judge how well I did... What struck me was the assumption on the part of the JWs that I was a Christian-- or at least claimed to be. This is not an unnatural assumption, the CIA World Factbook claims that 86% of Americans are a Christian of some stripe or another. Yet that leaves 14% of us who are not Christian... I respect the Christian faith, don't misunderstand. While I believe that they are fundamentally wrong (and fundamentalists more so), I think that they get an awful lot right. Many of the best people I know are good people precisely because their religion impels them-- demands of them-- that very goodness... Then I get an E-mail like this: Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!! If you agree, pass this on, if not delete. . . Wascaly Wepublicans
April 27, 2004
Who let the dog out?
The other case is quite literally the most important case of our lives-- forget about Roe v. Wade, or Bakke, or even Bush v. Gore. The cases of Hamdi and Padilla are, quite literally, the thin line between whether we are a free country-- period-- or not. As you will recall, Mr. Padilla (potentially also John Doe No. 2 from Oklahoma City, according to at least one decent conspiracy theory espoused by the Junk Yard Blog) was picked up on a flight from Pakistan to Chicago, and accused of plotting to detonate a so-called "dirty bomb" in the United States, then placed in criminal lock up, then removed to a brig, where he has been denied charge, counsel or trial for over two years as an "enemy combatant" at the whim of the President. U.S. Atty. Gen. John "I'm truly too stupid to even sense the irony" Ashcroft announced the good news of Padilla's capture from Moscow.
Insignificant Microbe
I wonder:
April 26, 2004
A gift...
So, Dean had to go and give his wife a new toy. And inflict it on the rest of us. Well, good on you, sir. And welcome to having your own blog, M'am. You're on the blogroll...Distressingly incontinent.
Humankind's search for meaning...
It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God.
mess about having "In God We Trust" on our money and having God
in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The man who sent it to me is a good man. I went to his baptism, and know that his faith helps him face whatever inner daemons he must still wrestle. In fact, I suspect that he sent it on my way specifically to tweak my nose. But someone created it, and meant it...
Let me state once and for all that I object to having to pledge allegiance to my country and someone else's god. I am horrified at the idea that in order to have a public career I must follow a rule as old as Machiavelli: pretend to be a follower of the God of Abraham...
It is impossible to deny; that is the rule. I must either mouth platitudes I don't believe, or stay out of public life. One of the reasons I blog under a name not my own is simply so that I can talk about my own religious convictions (on the rare occasion that I do so) and not have it haunt me for the rest of my life. Let me make this as clear as possible: I blog pseudononymously because I fear repercussions from Christians...
It isn't as bad as it has been, or even is, in some parts of the world. As recently as 8 years ago, Christians were Burnning witches at the Stake. While I think it unlikely for that to happen in this country, I can't help but think "well, those biblical literalists have it in for the gays, and Exodus 22:18 is pretty clear on my religion." To once again clarify: I have cause to fear some Christians...
All of which is my way of saying that I have some measure of agreement with Atrios when he says:
I'm not trying to establish some sort of new victim group here. But, nonetheless, I'm a bit sick and tired of White Christian Males pretending that they're the persecuted ones.
Because, really, it isn't horrible here. It isn't really even that bad in this country. But religious toleration is slowly, ever so slowly, becoming a relic of the past...
Posted by Andrew at 12:10 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 24, 2004
A nice, long ramble...
the american street: the body politic and the soul
There are, however, some places where religion and politics overlap. That brings us to Mr. Negroponte, who I feel should be an agent of healing for all of us.The eighties were a troubled time in american politics. The resurgence of the religious right corresponded, in the Reagan administration, with a somewhat messianic zeal for changing the world to the manichean anti-communist model of the old-school cold warriors.
Unfortunately for Mr. Reagan, the Constitution did not allow him to carry out some of the more adventurous elements of his plans without the support of Congress, which he (rarely, but sometimes) failed to get.
Unfortunately for the Constitution, that didn't stop him.
As a lefty, I am willing to commit to a policy of not throwing nuns out of helicopters. I am even willing to commit to not voting for people who support throwing nuns out of helicopters.
There's more...
Posted by Andrew at 12:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 23, 2004
Erring nonsense
A friend of mine (a scientist) argued with a creationist the other day. In his (successful) attempts to debunk creationism, he found a whole lot of info. Presented for your edification...
Creationists and Creation Science
And
Why I Won't Debate Creationists ...
Posted by Andrew at 02:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
if this is true...
It might just spell the end of Windows. Of course, we've heard this claim before...
Posted by Andrew at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The headline implies conspiracy...
There are 3 written lines in the body of this article. The first is a bit hyperbolic, but does note a theme. The second implies that even talking about the costs of this war gives aid and comfort to the enemy. The last says that counting the cost is too much for our friend Mr. Tiemann...
Well, support this war or not, at least have the moral courage to note-- in passing, if no where else-- that this war is costing American Lives...
But congratulation, Mr. Tiemann, your transition from Liberal to Conservative is now complete...
Posted by Andrew at 08:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 22, 2004
Not for the squeamish.
Yesterday, I gave blood. Ordinarily I don't let strangers make holes in my skin. Not, at least, without a lot of attempting to dissuade them. But I've always been a sucker for anything like civic duty, so off I went...
No matter what they say, giving blood isn't fun. The most attractive nurses in the world seem to have been paradropped into campus just to make the whole thing more attractive than it otherwise would be. The cookies and doughnuts don't hurt either. None of which changes the fact that strangers are sticking holes in my arms...
So I get up there, fill out the questionnaire: "have you-- since 1977-- been a male who has had sex with another male?" "Do you have aids?" "ever used cocaine?" "do you wish we could just teleport the blood right out of your body?" The answers, of course, are "no" "no" "no" and "yes". Of course, they didn't ask the last one...
After they ask these questions, an unattractive nurse (see, they have me now, so they don't have to use sex appeal to keep me) leads me over to a couch, takes my blood pressure, (incidentally, does higher blood pressure mean that the blood comes out faster?) and sticks a needle in my vein...
Or, should I say "tried to stick a needle in my vein"? Perhaps it would be fairer to say that she "grazed my vein with a needle". So, my left arm now has a nice bruise on back of the elbow. Please don't think I am a drug user...
Eventually, she managed to stick the needle in the other arm-- successfully. So I did my duty, grabbed some lunch afterwards, and went on my merry way...
Posted by Andrew at 03:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Pretty...
Sony's Electronic Paper eBook Bound For Greatness
Posted by Andrew at 09:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
JCs rule!
sacbee.com -- Education -- Pipeline to UC, CSU
I don't know why this is a big deal-- JC to UC is a fairly common thing. I did it myself. I guess the biggest change is that this is now government strategy for keeping costs down...
Enter the 109 community colleges - by far the cheapest higher education deal in the nation, even if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid to raise fees to $26 per unit from $18 is adopted.
This is true, as far as it goes. It doesn't mention the cost to the state-- which is a hell of a lot lower as well...
Posted by Andrew at 09:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 21, 2004
I admit to some mixed feelings on this...
Part of me is glad to see someone taking a shot at Saudi Arabia, or more specifically, the Saudis who believe they own Arabia. The rest of me is horrified at the death of civilians. The fact that Al-Q is doing the killing, and the fact that Al-Q is actually more repressive and evil than the house of Saud...
Well, lets just say that this is an atrocity and leave it at that...
Posted by Andrew at 08:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 20, 2004
Emotional Politics...
CJR is reporting on a new study. Something interesting:
And voters of both persuasions react to their favored candidate with the emotional, reflexive part of the brain, while they react to the candidate they oppose with the rational, cognitive area of the brain
While I would have bet on the reverse, it does make sense. See, there are good, rational reasons that I hate Bush. But only an irrational person could like Kerry...
Posted by Andrew at 09:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 19, 2004
Wasn't Clinton impeached for this?
Ron Klain slimed unnamed Dems. We hope that he watched 'Sixty Minutes'
BUSH (4/13/04): Now, in the, what's called the PDB, there was a warning about bin Laden's desires on America.
There was a warning! Why did our reader find that amusing? Because five days earlier, Condi Rice had hotly insisted that there wasn't a warning in that same PDB! We all recall the heartfelt testimony she gave to her nation, under oath
RICE (4/8/04): Commissioner, this was not a warning. This was a historic memo.
Of course, that was on an important matter-- you know: consensual oral sex. Rice was only "telling the opposite of the truth" to us (under oath) about an unimportant matter like war...
I wonder why this partisan commission (composed of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats) seem to be annoyed at the Bush administration?
Posted by Andrew at 08:54 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Good gods in heaven!
The New York Times > International > Europe > Blair to Put Union's Constitution to a Vote
I do so hope this passes. Europe needs integration. It would make our job as Guarantor of the European peace (est. 1918) ever so much easier. The economic benefits that would accrue (to us, if no one else) to such a dramatic lowering of the costs of trade would be staggering...
Also, a series of referenda as the instituting principal of a new European state would be more legitimate (in our eyes, at least) than any other plan I've heard of...
Posted by Andrew at 07:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 18, 2004
Bloggrolling...
So, I've updated the blogroll.
Welcome:
Victor Davis Hanson, a wonderful writer whose works I've long enjoyed. Even though he is a reactionary old coot...
The American Street, a group Blog. They do nice work on commentary both serious and un. Speaking of which:
Ayn Clouter who I've seen contribute to the American Street. She is either a wickedly funny liberal, or a rabid Conservative (and therefore funny for other reasons. I lean towards the former, myself...
Eccentricity, who has commented here. He is a red-state liberal. Also writes some rather things...
So, check these guys out...
Posted by Andrew at 06:27 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Free books!
I've been meaning to link to these for over a year now. And I haven't. So, here you go:
The Baen Free Library. Here you can find a whole bunch of free books, just waiting to be down loaded for the player of your choice. They are hoping that if you read the story, you'll either sell it to a friend, or buy a hardcopy. Their evil strategy has already made them some of my money, so that's alright...
Then there is the Gutenberg project. I don't think they are trying to sell anything. But let's hear it for Public Domain!
Also, Proff. Lessig's book Free Culture is available for, er, free as a Download. I guess this guy is just making so much money as a Law Professor that he can afford it. Not that it will stop me from buying the book when it comes out in Trade Paper...
The funny bit is that Drug dealers and Book Publishers both seem to understand that if you give away a bit of your product, you can sell a lot more of it. But the music people don't seem to get this. Weird...
Posted by Andrew at 05:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Booties
Byzantium's Shores: Meditations on Nearly Anything
Jaquandor's wife is knitting Booties! She apparently needs them by August! So hop on over there and congratulate him...
Posted by Andrew at 05:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Someone didn't think things through...
This T-Shirt says that you can't be both well informed and believe in America. The back side seems to be cheering for the Republican Party. I'm not sure the writer of this shirt is trying to say that the GOP hates America, but...
Posted by Andrew at 04:18 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 17, 2004
Things that make you go "hmmm", just before you puke...
So, This Treasury department press release ends with
America has a choice: It can continue to grow the economy and create new jobs as the President's policies are doing; or it can raise taxes on American families and small businesses, hurting economic recovery and future job creation.
And this RNC fact sheet includes this:
America has a choice: It can continue to grow the economy and create new jobs as the President's polices are doing; or it can raise taxes on American families and small businesses, hurting economic recovery and future job creation.
The federal bureaucracy is not the private fife of the party in power, dedicated to the Continuance* of that power. The federal bureaucracy is the property of the American people, dedicated to executing the enacted laws of the United States Congress. While the bureaucracy has enormous leeway to achieve that end (indeed, in some ways more than the president himself), the bureaucracy is not charged with spouting propaganda of the party in power...
The fact that Bush can't see that, isn't aghast at the idea of it, means that he must be defeated in next November's election...
Thanks
Angry bear
And
*The original version of this had the word "continence" here. This was an unintended truth. How shitty of me...
Posted by Andrew at 12:30 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Where are they?
It our galaxy is expanding at a roughly equal rate, that means that stars furthest out from the center should be the youngest, right? (Dazed and Confucius, you're a physicist...)
So if we imagine that our galaxy is composed of concentric rings of stars (it isn't, but the analogy should work) with each ring outward being older than the preceding ring, we can imagine a "zone of habitability", in which stars will have planets that are roughly the same age as our own-- and thus ripe for inhabitation...
Furthermore, we can imagine that this has been going on since the beginning of the galaxy (a time so long ago that I honestly can't wrap my brain around it), with each zone getting bigger (that whole circle thing...) than the last one. Add in the notion that after a few million years, each sentient species is likely to evolve into something else (or die with their star, if they don't get interstellar travel.), we can imagine that we are on a cusp of habitability/sentience...
So perhaps the question "where are they" is simple: They died before they got here. And the rest of them haven't been born yet...
Posted by Andrew at 12:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Has Bush lost the Generals?
Generals weary of low troop levels
The last Graff-- if true-- is damning...
While Democrats roar, the generals are silent -- in public. Many confide that they will not cast their normal Republican votes on Nov. 2. They cannot bring themselves to vote for John Kerry, who has been a consistent Senate vote against the military. But they say they are unable to vote for Don Rumsfeld's boss, and so will not vote at all.
Posted by Andrew at 11:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 15, 2004
Yes, indeed...
the american street: What Your Tax Dollars Buy
Our taxes go to a government that provides fantastic stability and economic health. Why is a quarter of our wealth held in foreign hands? Because the US is still the biggest, safest bet in the world.When people decide to open a business in the US, they don't worry that they'll fail because a government official's palm wasn't properly greased, or because they were bombed, or because the currency collapsed, or because there was a military coup. They know that the infrastructure in the US will support their material needs (roads for their trucks, say) and their financial needs (banks that don't vanish in the night).
How much of each of our own independent wealth comes from this stability alone?
Posted by Andrew at 10:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bingo!
Linux will fall flat on its face --" report
Oh, come on, send your letters in...
Posted by Andrew at 09:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 13, 2004
I don't _want_ Mr. Drum to be right...
The Washington Monthly: WARNING: LONG POST ON THE WAR
But I fear he is...
Posted by Andrew at 01:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
As Arthur C. Clarke once said
"The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program." Now you can prove this for yourself...
(thanks Dean
Posted by Andrew at 01:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 12, 2004
Well, I'm convinced!
Take a listen. Lyrics to one of the verses:
"Fire's Comin', swords is comin', Pistols, guns and knives is comin', Famine's comin', bannin's comin', If John Kerry not be comin'!
Thanks to Mr. Scalzi
Posted by Andrew at 06:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
To my Christian Friends:
A happy (belated) Easter
Posted by Andrew at 04:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
We don't know what we don't know...
Once upon a time, Several North American colonies wanted to break free of their parent. France and Spain ended up providing critical support for these colonies, and the result was the United States of America...
No one today claims that French support of the American Revolution made that Revolution any less legitimate. No one claims that the French even had the same goals as the American Revolution (indeed, the French monarchy would later almost undoubtedly come to regret America's existence). So why does the mere fact of Iranian Support of the Iraqi Shiite uprising cause anyone to believe that somehow the desire for Iraqi freedom is somehow not home-grown?
Let's be clear here: Annoying the US is the official policy of Iran. Has been since at least before Reagan sold them so many weapons. So we know that Iran is going to do whatever they can to frustrate the aims of what they call the "Great Satan". But if the Iraqi Shiites were not upset with us for their own reasons, the Iranian Shiites would not be able to use them...
The real question is: why? Why are the Shiites literally up-in-arms? It would make sense for the Sunnis to be attacking us (as, indeed, they are); they simply have the most to loose in any change from the status quo ante bellum. The Shiites, by contrast have the most to gain. They have the most reason to be cooperative, the most reason to push for make things work. And yet they aren't.
Or at least don't seem to be. I dunno. Mayhap Dean is Right and things are going splendidly. I just can't help but feel that a year into this, we shouldn't be dealing with new fronts...
So, do we cut and run? Well, no. That would be a hideous mistake. We singed on for this when the invasion started. Leaving the Iraqi people to their fate at this point would probably invite a civil war that would-- leaving things worse (ironically) than they were when Saddam was in power. On the other hand, continuing to do whatever the hell it that we are doing is probably not the best of ideas...
The first thing we need is more boots on the ground, and preferably people experienced with keeping bloodthirsty factions from killing us to get at each other. That probably means we need (*sigh*) French troops, not to mention some Aussies and possibly Indian. To get them we'll need to cut some sort of deal with the UN, an Idea no one relishes. It would also be nice to get someone else to foot the bill, though is a lot harder now than it would have been before the war began...
Of course, it would sure be useful to know why the Iraqis are still fighting. Without that piece of knowledge, everything else is just guess work...
I dunno. Anyone have any thoughts?
Posted by Andrew at 04:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 11, 2004
If you haven't read this...
the talking dog: April 10, 2004, Read It. JUST *&^%ing READ IT.
You probably should.
The following is the full text of an August 6, 2001, intelligence briefing for President George W Bush that outlined al Qaeda plans to strike within the United States. It was released on Saturday (Sunday April 11 NZ time) by the White House. Declassified and Approved for Release, 10 April 2004Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US
Posted by Andrew at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 10, 2004
My Country, Right? Or Left?
I was speaking to one of my co-workers the other day. Just shooting the breeze; bored. It was a nice change of pace from the earlier hustle that we'd been experiencing. My co-worker was another political type, so I was going on about "re-importation" of Canadian drugs. I said that since the Canadian Government acts as the wholesaler (they don't, as I learned later) for those drugs, this amounted to a Tax on Canada-- something that I am in tongue in cheek favor of
This woman came out at me and started going on about how I need to live in another country. I agreed that it would probably be a good thing for me to do. Then she started going on about how I take for granted all the benefits of being a US citizen. I was a bit confused-- I know how well off I am being a citizen of this country. As I was trying to explaining this to her, she interrupted me. While she blathered on, it hit me: this woman was attacking my patriotism! My gods! I've heard lefties go on before about having their patriotism questioned; I've done my share of laughing at them. Then it happened to me...
The odd part was that I was attacking a policy that is not US policy, that America is unlikely to adopt, and is just plain silly. Somehow, agreeing with one of the policies of my government makes me a bad citizen...
Posted by Andrew at 09:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 05, 2004
Today is the first day of Passover...
Today is the first day of Passover...
Have you called your Jewish stepmother and wished her a happy one?
For that matter, I've not done that yet. Though I don't celebrate Jewish Holy Days, I am generally in favor of Jewish celebrations-- or any celebrations, in fact...
Does anyone know any good jokes about Jews? I sure don't. Oh well...
In case Jew're wondering why I keep linking the wordJew, the answer is simple. It seems that the number one Google hit for the word <Jew is an anti-Semitic site. So in an effort to change that, I (and a bunch of others) are linking Jew to the Wickipedia entry on the subject (of Jewdaism). So for good measure, I'll just do this:
JewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJewJew
Posted by Andrew at 07:12 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 03, 2004
5 questions! Pt. 5 of (er) 5
Well, only 2 months late, I get to the 5 questions that Jaquandor sends me. Oh well, better late than never...
PS: If you want 5 questions of your own, drop me a line, I'll e-mail you some...
5. In my experience, everybody has at least one movie that they dearly love and are
utterly convinced is a great, great film -- and seemingly, everyone else on Earth hates
this same film. What's yours?
I am very much fond of Mallrats, which apparently even the director didn't like. So whatever you make of that...
I dunno. I can't think of one off hand. I really don't know what people like and don't like, movie-wise. Odd, eh?
Posted by Andrew at 03:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
5 questions! Pt. 4 of (er) 5
Well, only 2 months late, I get to the 5 questions that Jaquandor sends me. Oh well, better late than never...
PS: If you want 5 questions of your own, drop me a line, I'll e-mail you some...
4. After you return from the Broadway show of question 3, God further tells you that the job of your dreams is yours -- the thing you've always, always yearned to do. But, you'd have to relocate to a different city, and you would have to live in that city for the rest of your life and you could not leave that city, even on trips, for more than three days at any time. Is there any city that would be a "dealbreaker", meaning, you genuinely cannot see yourself living there no matter what the job?
Well, if all goes as planned, I'll be spending a lot of time in DC, which is fine. The only places I really have a problem with are the ones in the middle of nowhere. Suburbs are fine, but if I'm going to be stuck there, I'd prefer to be in a city...
And by city, I mean a large metropolitan area, like the SF bay, or Baltimore-Washington, or New York. Not Sacramento (where I currently am), Boise, or Regina...
I suppose anywhere they didn't speak English would be a deal breaker. I wouldn't mind living in (say) Berlin for a while, but to be permanently separated would be a huge deal...
Posted by Andrew at 03:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
5 questions! Pt. 3 of (er) 5
Well, only 2 months late, I get to the 5 questions that Jaquandor sends me. Oh well, better late than never...
PS: If you want 5 questions of your own, drop me a line, I'll e-mail you some...
3. God decides that you're doing a good job at things, so he tells you that you will be able to see a live performance of any Broadway show in history, performed by its original cast at the height of its abilities. Which show do you see, and why?
This may sound silly, but I know almost nothing about Broadway. Or Theatre. I suppose I could be safe and say "Richard III, Globe theatre", or "Dude, you're God. You pick". But Really, that's cheating...
Jaquandor said I could do this, so I'm going to ask a different question. The question is: Rank the Star Trek Captains. Explain the top three choices. Fair enough...
1. Ben Sisco
2. Jean Luc Picard
3. James Tiberius Kirk
4. Tie: Janeway
4. Tie: What's his name from Enterprise
Ben Sisco is the best Star Trek captain ever. First, he survived the Borg. Second, he kicked the Dominion's ass. Third, he punched Q...
Let me go a bit more slowly. When Ben Sisco saw that War with the Dominion was inevitable, he didn't waste time convincing himself that it couldn't be true. He calmly and coolly went about ensuring that the enemy's supply lines would be taut before the war began. When that war looked doomed, he usurped his authority and began giving orders to Admirals. And he didn't get demoted for it, a-la Kirk. Later, when he realized that the Romulans were about to enter the war for the Dominion, he hired a spy and assassin to do whatever it took to make sure that didn't happen. The man kicked ass...
Also, when the Klingons looked like they were about to attack his command, he made sure that they had out of date information. So when the Klingons opened fire, Sisco could calmly deal with the entire fleet. Kirk would have hid in a nebula...
Jean Luc Picard is a tough choice for number 2. He and Kirk were neck and neck. I have to give Picard props, though. When tortured, he didn't break. He was choosy about his women, outthought Moriarty, did more to keep the peace than any 3 Captains put together. Ultimately, he was the only ambassador Sarek trusted...
Kirk takes the third place spot. The man was good. Back in the "wild west" days, when Starfleet knew it had borders, but didn't care about them, Kirk managed to kick ass and look good. Being stymied by tribbles, and letting the Organians keep him from kicking Klingon ass puts him in second, though...
Posted by Andrew at 03:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
5 questions! Pt. 2 of (er) 5
Well, only 2 months late, I get to the 5 questions that Jaquandor sends me. Oh well, better late than never...
PS: If you want 5 questions of your own, drop me a line, I'll e-mail you some...
2. Hypothetical scenario: You're at a cocktail party where you don't know anyone else, and somehow you end up in a conversation with someone who is going on, at length, about how evil the big bookstore chains are. How do you respond? (And we shall assume that a diplomatic nodding-of-the-head and not telling them you work at B&N is not an option!)
We are not a monopoly, so many of the arguments I could be in for simply do not apply. What we offer is title selection (my store is a small one, and we carry roughly 2% of all books in print, in the store itself) Warehouse dept (the other 98% of all books can be found there), and customer service...
In a bookstore, prices are basically fixed. Not by us, by the publisher. Just about any bookstore is going to charge the same price for new books-- places that don't have gone out of business. What we can do is consolidate overhead. This is fairly important to customer service, believe it or not.
Because all our store contribute to a pool, we can to get better prices on things like payroll, distribution, and other invisible overhead items. In return, I get higher pay, health insurance, paid vacation. As a part timer. I'm not ever leaving this job!
This is good for the customer. See, because I want to stick around for years, and accumulate the knowledge of books that only comes with years of experience (it isn't odd for me to have part-time co-workers who've been with the company for 5-10 years). Since a smaller store can't pay what we can pay, we tend to have better personnel...
Which isn't to say that there aren't advantages to smaller bookstores, or that there aren't some great ones out there (Cody's in Berkeley, comes to mind). But we are very good at what we do. So shopping with us is a good move...
Posted by Andrew at 03:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
5 questions! Pt. 1 of (er) 5
Well, only 2 months late, I get to the 5 questions that Jaquandor sends me. Oh well, better late than never...
PS: If you want 5 questions of your own, drop me a line, I'll e-mail you some...
1. You and your significant other are, by your admission, both bookhounds. Have you ever had a fight over a book -- you loved it and she hated it, or vice versa? And identify the book. (If it's the Bible, pick another one!)
Oddly, enough, we have argued over the Bible. I say oddly, because neither of us is a Christian. The argument was over how many to have in our house, we had too many. I ended up giving a bunch of them away. Which reminds me: I am on a quest to collect one of each holy book, anyone know of a good translation of the Koran?
Other than that, not really. I love Steven Brust, she doesn't. I just can't seem to get her interested in him. She loves Piers (Xanth) Anthony. I think that he is far too "clever" (not to mention excitable!) for my tastes. We actually did go around the bend on that one...
Ultimately, though, since books are of such great import to us both, we are both fairly good about not saying anything too negative about a book the other has read. This tends to limit arguments quite a bit...
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Review: Movies(?): I Claudius
The Republic had fallen. Caesar Augustus Octavius sat on the imperial couch. Livia sat beside him, ensuring that-- contrary to Octavius' wishes-- the Republic would never come back. I Claudius is an epic tragedy of good governance and the folly of unchecked power...
I, Claudius is a 1975 BBC-produced mini-series. It is 669 minutes long, and in the words of an old religion prof "has all the sex, violence, and whatnot you have to buy HBO to get today." In this country, it was first shown on PBS. The fact that the first several minutes of the first episodes involve the Emperor watching nude dancers (dancers who we see naked) doesn't seem to have caused the same level of outcry that Janet's half-second nipple exposure caused today...
When I was in my roll playing days, I always wanted to play a game where my character might just sit in a room and influence events as they unfolded around him. A clever GM might feed me bad information and see if I acted on it. By and large, I, Claudius acts on that principal. While the scenery changes to suit various parts of the imperial palace, with an occasional trip elsewhere, All the drama takes place in what characters say to one another. This requires the best of acting...
Fortunately, the actors deliver. I admit that it took me a couple of episodes to get used to the acting style. It is important to note, acting has changed over the decades. The fact that the film is British (whose TV, movie and Stage industries tend to be more closely related than here) will tend to exaggerate the phenomenon...
And as I said, the Actors Deliver! I am surprised that "evil as Livia" hasn't slunk into our lexicon. How did Patrick Stewart manage not to get typecast? The star is Derek Jacobi as Claudius himself. He manages his roll superbly, torn between Republican sentiment and the desire to save his own neck...
One of the things that really stands out for me is the shear subtlety of characters; a subtlety which the actors bring forth quite well. When Tiberius says to Livia (about the illness of Tiberius' rival) "I hope his mother's prayers are answered", Livia's reply "And mine too" was jaw dropping.
The story itself is well written. I do not know if this is an artifact of the Novelist or the Screenplaywright. I suppose I could grab the novel from my shelf and find out. From the standpoint of the mini-series, however, it hardly matters. The chapters are all given pithy titles that are only really intelligible after the episode-- then make so much sense that it seems odd not to have understood it in the first place...
While watching it, I cannot help but shutter at the slide of a glorious Republic into the ignominy of Empire. The good men were killed off one by one, slaughtered for the crime of being in the way of the ambitious. In the end, all that is left is fools, tyrants, and prostitutes...
And Claudius. Claudius tries to be the savior of Rome, tries to be a just, fair Emperor. In the end, he believes-- not without justification-- that his very justice threatens to render impossible a return to Republic. After a century of being rules, the freedmen of Rome are now servants...
One of the greatest successes of the Series is that the preceding paragraph feels like a spoiler. Anyone with a good encyclopedia or just access to Google can find out anything they want about the Roman Empire. Yet the series keeps one constantly guessing, wondering what will happen next, and who it will happen to. So I can give it the highest praise available to historical fiction: it felt new...
Rating:
15 Julio-Claudian Emperors out of a mere 5 Julio-Claudian Emperors. Wow. Hot Damn. Dynamite. Go watch.
Posted by Andrew at 02:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Are we sending mercenaries to Iraq?
the talking dog: April 2, 2004, More Falluja Fallout
If we are, the gods alone will have mercy on us. History won't.
Posted by Andrew at 11:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 02, 2004
DemCon 2004
All the President's Suckers - Flip-flopping is the last stage of trusting Bush. By William Saletan
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April 01, 2004
Reynolds Wrong
Instapundit.com:RICHARD MINITER, AUTHOR OF LOSING BIN LADEN, has thoughts on the Clarke affair:
(note, this is part of what Prof. Reynolds quotes someone else as saying)
He fails to mention that President Clinton's three "findings" on bin Laden, which would have allowed the U.S. to take action against him, were haggled over and lawyered to death. And he plays down the fact that the Treasury Department, worried about the effects on financial markets, obstructed efforts to cut off al Qaeda funding. He never notes that between 1993 and 1998 the FBI, under Mr. Clinton, paid an informant who turned out to be a double agent working on behalf of al Qaeda. In 1998, the Clinton administration alerted Pakistan to our imminent missile strikes in Afghanistan, despite the links between Pakistan's intelligence service and al Qaeda. Mr. Clarke excuses this decision -- bin Laden managed to flee just before the strikes -- as a diplomatic necessity.
I don't know who isn't reading Clarke's book before commenting, but Clarks does, in fact, mention that Clinton's findings were "lawyered to death". Indeed, it was a source of great frustration to Clarke that this should be the case. When I get to work, I'll grab a copy of the book and update with a page number...
Posted by Andrew at 01:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wish they all could be Canadian Judges!
The Globe and Mail: Swapping music files allowed, federal judge rules
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