These ads continue to get me all twisted. Can sex really sell in this case? How many of you ladies like to sit in a linen room in that sort of outfir while you research mortgage rates? This is not a True ad, which has its own problems. This – bah, it’s ludicrous.
If you get the chance to see Blue Man Group’s rock show, “How to be a Megastar 2.0,” I recommend you take the opportunity. A wholly moving experience, akin to the original but with a percussive rock sound unrivaled. Also, the theme of “The Complex” made me misty more than once. If more rock groups took an approach toward expression the way that group does, I’d see more concerts, probably.
I also re-discovered Tracy Bonham, which I recommend you do immediately.
I did not, however, opt in to the $1.99 texting portion of the show, my paranoia a little overwhelming. Innovative, yes, but also something I would forget that I had paid for and it would come back to bite me. If anyone has seen that part, I’d like to hear what it was all about.
Thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Frantal for the tickets.
… but does everyone get the Dalai Lama? Negatron.
It should be noted that I do not know who Chester Bennington is, and that Most-Honoured Girlfriend will be ecstatic to know that I resemble – however remotely – one Mr. Gary Oldman.
Maybe you could Cap to pose with Rummy, but there’s no way Spidey would agree to it.
In many foreign places, America remains a beacon of hope, but the light has gone red.
Before 9/11, Clinton told Bush to kill Osama bin Laden. Bush told Clinton he was going to Iraq. The Bush administration has not denied this.
Halliburton was given contracts to rebuild Iraq, despite their inexperience and lack of equipment and training – equipment and training we have made available to our troops, but which they have not been allowed to use.
North Korea threatened nuclear weapons programs in the last decade, prompting our previous administration to help them develop power plants. They have continued to threaten. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, nor chemical weapons factories.
Gas price gouging was under investigation. Right before a critical election, gas prices suddenly and inexplicably drop.
Saddam Hussein: imprisoned. Osama bin Laden: at large. Iraqi and Afghani democracies: a distant possibility. Democracy at home: under constant suspicion.
The above statements I don’t think can be disputed.
Republican ideals, as I understand them, are ideals I hold fairly close to my own heart. One should use the freedoms America provides to seek out a life for one’s self; hard work will be rewarded. Dictatorships must be smashed, so that new governments which empower the people can bloom. We must be vigilant to protect ourselves from outside threats, and keep ourselves strong to help countries in need. And our government must remain small to be efficient and to provide the maximum freedom for its people. Laissez-faire, let the people reign.
The current administration clearly does not hold to Republican ideals. If they did, I would have voted for them.
The current administration has, on record, one of the largest governments in the history of the country. They have enacted acts which revoke certain basic freedoms in a dubious war against terror. They continue to act unconstitutionally and have yet to be censured.
They have not protected our country. The two largest threats to the nation, Osama bin Laden and Kim Jong-Il, were forgotten in order to send our troops to die in a war grounded on false premises of threat. There were no weapons of mass destruction, as the UN confirmed previously. And since that was the reason the President circumvented Congress to go to war, the President lied. Isn’t that why Clinton was facing impeachment? For perjury? The blowjob was meaningless. He was in trouble because he lied about it. No one died for that lie. No one DIED for that lie.
And people continue to die, even outside of war, because of the policies of this administration. The surplus budget has been wasted needlessly, spiraling us into economic turmoil. Maybe the economy is ephemeral to most people, but a forward-thinking economic policy leads to a better world in the following easily understood ways.
Less violence and crime – With obvious exceptions for insanity and fundamentalism (linked terms in my brain), if every person in the world lived a reasonable life, with proper nourishment and shelter and a few simple amenities to make life a little sweeter, they would not feel the need to commit crimes or to engage in terrorism. So if you had to dig a little deeper at income tax time so that the next terrorist attack or random drive-by doesn’t wipe out three quarters of your family, wouldn’t you do it?
Bulwark against disease – If every person can have affordable health care, they will not incubate super-diseases that could touch even the rich on their mountains. Health care, not money, is critical to the survival of the human species. So if you had to dig a little deeper at income tax time so that the new mega-tuberculosis doesn’t wipe out three quarters of your family because some homeless person wasn’t able to see a physician, wouldn’t you do it?
Education – To advance as a species, one must educate the uneducated. It’s very well to have the smartest people in the world developing pollution-free, renewable energy sources, but if the majority of the populace cannot afford them, or WORSE, does not understand the cost benefit of such a thing, then such a thing will never succeed. Even people in poor circumstances need to have good education. Education will lead to the scientific advances – and the adoption of those advances as important human progress – that will keep the world out of crises from overpopulation, changing climate, corruption and brainwashing. So if you had to dig a little deeper at income tax time so that the next major tropical storm doesn’t wipe out three quarters of your family, wouldn’t you do it?
It seems so simple and obvious to me. I cannot understand how a single issue like gun control or tax breaks can override someone’s sense of responsibility to the greater humanity, when the greater humanity has such an effect on each person.
America, please get well.
“So has syphilis. Get out.”
The art of the insult is one I wish I had studied more closely. Here are a few from some Rhodes Scholars on the subject.
Reluctant Nomad: Insults – they just don’t make them as they used to
The Girl of Czelts (Major Arcana, 17) sent me this lovely link. It reminds me of the day that Magic: the Gathering took over for our weekly gaming get-togethers. Kind of like World of Warcraft is doing now.
So, here are the salient details.
Last week, I was booked. Booked, in this case, means that everyday I went to work and every night I had plans. Mondays and Wednesday nights I commute 40 minutes into Kenosha directly from work to teach stage combat to high school kids. Tuesday and Thursday nights, I commute 40 minutes into Racine to learn Tae Kwon Do… sometimes also from high school kids. Saturday mornings I have been commuting into Chicago to help out with fight choreography for a pre-show brawl for The Merchant of Venice. Add to this my Wednesday dinner plans (after teaching) with my father, a weekend trip to Eau Claire (4 hours drive minimum) directly after work in Chicago, and an overnight stay on Friday to facilitate early arrival in Chicago and you begin to understand what I mean by “booked.”
Some people find my schedule to be a bit silly. Those people are right. Still, despite some small setbacks, I was sticking to it as much as possible, squeezing in as much quiet time as I could (though, to my lovely girlfriend’s chagrin, more with World of Warcraft than with her this week).
Then, Saturday, I got booked. Booked, in this case, means that due to expired vehicle registration with the state of WI, I was pulled over twice within the span of five minutes. First, I was cited, then I was arrested. Evidently, there was a warrant for my arrest that could only be served in Racine or Oak Creek counties. So, when the first state trooper pulled me over, they could not tell me that I was a wanted man, nor could they arrest me, as I was not yet in the correct counties. Then, when the second trooper – in a twist of extreme bad luck which friends of mine know could only happpen to me – pulled me over for the same problem not five minutes later, even my citation could not save me as he was required to then serve the warrant.
The trooper was quite kind, all things considered. He explained that my options (due to my having a previous ticket for unregistered plates) were to pay the bond at a substation immediately or he would have to take me to the county jail. Romantic as the latter sounded, I chose the former. The officer was forced to search me, and mentioned offhandedly that he was not going to cuff me (no pun intended) before letting me get into the back of the patrol car.
The substation could only accept exact change, so he then drove me to a gas station so I could use the ATM and then buy a soda to get some coins. We chatted casually about life as a highway patrolman (mostly initiated by questions from me*) and took care of business.
Needless to say, I had an excellent excuse for bailing out of my Eau Claire trip, but I did not feel any less guilty. Sorry, Andy and Jill. I can only hope that sometime in the near future, I will have an open weekend again and we can take you up on the pulled pork. Fresh stuff, though; no need to save what you made this time.
* – After all, the man was just doing his job. I was the one who let the stupid thing lapse. This may be why I have such a constant police presence in my life, despite mostly conforming to the law.
For one thing, I have difficulty with silly administrative tasks. Yes, I understand that registration is important for protection of the citizenry and helps in the capture of criminals, and I know that it costs money to run these types of administrations so fees must be assessed. I just find it annoying. I have more important things to remember
Second, I seem to have a good rapport with police and security people. I get pulled over with an alarming frequency – typically for fix-it tickets or adminstrative things; I have only one speeding ticket in 12 years – and while I am cited at about a 50% rate, the officers usually seem in good spirits while dealing with me. I try to keep in mind that they are human beings, and I am actually at fault. Still, I wish they would leave me alone. Maybe I could get some sort of frequent detainee mileage…
