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October 26, 2005
Still Not Giving Up Her Seat...
(Click for bigger view)
Forwarded to me today...
Posted by colrus at 01:24 PM | TrackBack
"Us" or "Them"?
Thomas Sowell's latest column is online. Some interesting thoughts...
Excerpt:
"Peace" movements are not judged by the empirical test of how often they actually produce peace or how often their disarmament tempts an aggressor into war. It is not an empirical question. It is an article of faith and a badge of identity.
Yasser Arafat was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace -- not for actually producing peace but for being part of what was called "the peace process," based on fashionable notions that were common bonds among members of what are called "peace movements."
Meanwhile, nobody suggested awarding a Nobel Prize for peace to Ronald Reagan, just because he brought the nuclear dangers of a decades-long cold war to an end. He did it the opposite way from how members of "peace movements" thought it should be done.
Reagan beefed up the military and entered into an "arms race" that he knew would bankrupt the Soviet Union if they didn't back off, even though arms races are anathema to members of "peace movements." The fact that events proved him right was no excuse as far as members of "peace movements" were concerned. As far as they were concerned, he was not one of Us. He was one of Them."
Posted by colrus at 01:20 PM | TrackBack
October 25, 2005
Atlanta. June. 2006.
That's where the Red Sox will be from the 16th to the 18th. Make your plans now...
Posted by colrus at 10:43 AM | TrackBack
Time Shows Rosa Parks
Sadly, Rosa Parks passed away today.
To many, she was THE "spark" (as the Neville Brothers put it) for the "freedom movement" within the American black population over the last 50 years. And while Ms. Parks' actions in 1955 were heroic and inspiring to many, her contributions came decades after other similarly brave contributions by other similarly brave people.
In the next few days, you can expect to read endless commentaries about racism in America with Ms. Parks' life used as the backdrop. It'll be interesting to see what the commentators say, where they go with their logic and if (like the Farrakhans and Jacksons of the world) they use the opportunity of the passing of this fearless and loving woman to promote more fear and hate in their own people.
I started re-reading (again) Booker T. Washington's autobiography, Up With Slavery, last week and I will still be reading it as these aforementioned commentaries come to light. It is one of my favorite books. Washington died in 1915. His words in 1901 undoubtedly spoke to Rosa Parks:
"...The thing to do, when one feels sure that he has said or done the right thing, and is condemned, is to stand still and keep quiet. If he is right, time will show it."
Now that I think of it, I don't think I ever heard her voice.
Posted by colrus at 02:03 AM | TrackBack
Reason #867 Why Al Franken Is A Moron
Click here to watch.
(High speed WMV format)
Posted by colrus at 01:17 AM | TrackBack
October 21, 2005
More Soul from Sowell
Among all of Thomas Sowell's work, his "Random Thoughts" pieces are among my favorites. Here are some highlights from his latest:
"Virtually no idea is too ridiculous to be accepted, even by very intelligent and highly educated people, if it provides a way for them to feel special and important. Some confuse that feeling with idealism."
"One of the reasons for the poverty in the United States that is seldom mentioned by the left is that many poor people are coming here, both legally and illegally, from other countries."
"Senator Dianne Feinstein asked Judge John Roberts whether his being Catholic would interfere with carrying out his duties on the Supreme Court but she would undoubtedly have felt insulted if anyone had asked her whether being Jewish would interfere with her carrying out her duties as a Senator."
"Any given writer might write in a vague, lofty, convoluted, and romantic style. But when all the people who write on a given subject write that same way, there is something else going on. Try to think of any defender of progressive education or judicial activism who writes in a plain, straightforward and factual style."
Read the whole article here.
Posted by colrus at 09:42 AM | TrackBack
October 19, 2005
Let Me Take My Chances on the Wall of Death
While the media wrestles with Saddam Hussein's proper fate, the families of these folks likely do not.
Posted by colrus at 11:42 AM | TrackBack
October 18, 2005
Evacuees binge on Cape: Spend fed cash on booze, strippers
This can't be true, can it?
Posted by colrus at 10:14 AM | TrackBack
I Want This
As Melissa and I move things around, move things out and move things to new places in advance of (hopefully) having a child before we qualify for AARP memberships, it has rapidly come to our combined attention that I have WAAAAYYYYY too many VHS tapes. These tapes are filled with things like Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes (ALL of them) taped off of GPTV, old school band concerts of mine from 1987, a FULL (though grainy) SET of Chris Elliott's awesome Get A Life series that I got from a dude on the Internet, all the Mr. Show episodes, all the Freaks and Geeks episodes, a disturbing amount of depressing A&E; documentary fare, TONS of stand-up comedian and music performances, 12 pounds of Ken Burns stuff and HOURS upon HOURS of complete and incomplete video projects that I've done. There is also a bunch more crap.
In short, the crap needs to go. But where, you ask? Well, to DVD, of course...
With that in mind, I'm taking Cargo magazine's recommendation and looking into getting LITE-ON's DVD/VHS Recorder. It's on the cheaper side, but has received good reviews and I'm psyched to play with it.
Anybody else have any experience with DVD/VHS combo recorders?
Posted by colrus at 12:36 AM | TrackBack
October 17, 2005
When The Argument Goes All Caps, You Know You're In Trouble
BE CAREFUL OR TONY WILL WITHHOLD YOUR DINNER.
...and other fun signs that you might be dealing with Multiple Personality Disorder.
I can't speak for Josh, but I would imagine that he considers the fight to now have been broughten.
Posted by colrus at 09:18 AM | TrackBack
October 16, 2005
iPod Remote? Really?
Does anybody else find the iPod Remote a bit...um...unneccessary?
I understand its indended purpose, but a remote control for a small, personal electronic device that you are most likely to keep on your person is a bit weird. ("Point it at your pants. Click. Then rock out!") It's almost like a remote control for your cell phone.
Perhaps Apple -- whom I love, I should add -- should take a breather from creating fun, extraneous gadgets and instead figure out a way to make their computers more cost-competitive with the Dells, the Gateways and the Compaqs of the world.
(...though the new iMac G5 with the dual-layer Superdrive for $1299 is VERY tempting.)
Posted by colrus at 04:20 PM | TrackBack
Bob Odenkirk writes a brilliant piece of satire nailing why people like myself -- who would probably otherwise love the work of Bob Dylan -- couldn't really care less about it. (Or, PLEASE stop telling me how great Bob Dylan is...)
Read it here.
Posted by colrus at 03:24 PM | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
Bloggers "probably not journalists"
Reading articles like this (via Instapundit) make me want to take a fork and jam it in my eye over and over until someone rescues me while I still have enough vision left to throw myself into a volcano.
I can't read articles about blogging any more. 99.8% of the articles written about blogs and 300% percent of the legislation being discussed concerning blogs is being done by people who -- at best -- know absolutely nothing about blogs.
A blog is a simple piece of technology. Like a gun. Or a notepad. Or that dry erase board you had on your dorm door that Tiffany used to use to leave you messages.
ALL issues surrounding blogs have to do with personal behavior and HOW people use the technology. Blogs can be considered to contain journalism as much as they can't based on how they are used to convey information and the validity of that information. Period.
I could post a sourced, investigative piece on this blog and I could post about my trip to the mall. I could use a pen, a megaphone, a notebook, a televison studio, a napkin, the bathroom wall or whatever else I wanted to use to convey that information. If it's trustworthy information and you trust the medium I used to convey it, then the specific medium is virtually irrelevant.
Posted by colrus at 01:19 AM | TrackBack
Yeah, so elephants are cool.
So I'm standing in right field tonight in the first game of our doubleheader at Camp Jordan when some 100 feet behind me a herd of elephants makes that, um, elephant noise (I can never remember what it's called) as they're being led into the arena for the Shrine Circus. I had no idea there would be elephants at the game. I had forgotten about the circus.
30 seconds later I made a diving catch on a sinking line drive in front of me. I then got six straight hits over two games.
It was the most amazingly surreal evening of my life.
Posted by colrus at 12:53 AM | TrackBack
My new favorite blog post ever...
...can be read here. If you've never seen a wholly incorrect rumor started before, check it out.
Yes. He nailed it. All of a sudden we're a free publication.
This guy REALLY hates me.
Posted by colrus at 12:23 AM | TrackBack
October 12, 2005
This Week's Bad DVD Cover
(Click for even larger nail gun badness)
Each week while putting the paper together, I scan through new DVD release titles and, each week without fail, come across some really bad ones. Because I like to share things, I have decided to post one each week. Collect 'em all!
Posted by colrus at 04:02 PM | TrackBack
October 10, 2005
Well this is good, I suppose...
| English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 86% Advanced, and 93% Expert! |
| You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/. |
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test |
Posted by colrus at 02:20 PM | TrackBack
The Clothing of Godfather II
With all the talk about/defense of the altar of pop culture going on these days, something hit me tonight. Tastes, fashions and trends really DO move in cycles.
Case in point: All the clothes in Godfather II are currently in style. Again.
Posted by colrus at 12:23 AM | TrackBack
My one and only Red Sox post of the season
The Red Sox lost. For some reason, it doesn't bother me as much as it thrills this guy. Whatever. We swept his foldy birds last year and I'm not so sure they'll win this year, either. The White Sox are my pick as of right now.
2004 was such a year of amazing impossibilities for the Red Sox that it seemed like the 2005 Sox were sleepwalking through the season; suffering a season's long hangover in the wake of the party of the century. It would, admittedly, be hard to get revved up after two gut wrenching post seasons like they'd had the previous two years. The injuries didn't help, either. Like All Star pitcher Matt Clement getting hit in the head with a line drive, for example. Instead of pulling away with the division, the now floundering Clement and the Sox simply stayed afloat (barely) into the playoffs.
It just wasn't the same team in 2005, nor will next year's be. There were some great players and some great moments, but not enough of either.
Now, maybe a hotel room in Fort Myers for Spring Training next year won't be so hard to come by. Jeesh.
Posted by colrus at 12:13 AM | TrackBack
October 03, 2005
Blogging Documentary Filmmakers Website
The crew from documentary:BLOG has expanded and updated their blog since Michael, Joe and myself attended the BlogNashville conference they filmed earlier this year. Much of the footage in the 'Screening Room' clips was shot in Nashville. Kinda weird. That conference had a very unique, specific vibe to it and it comes rushing back to me when I watch the clips.
Posted by colrus at 01:55 PM | TrackBack
My political test result
| You are a Social Liberal (63% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (66% permissive) You are best described as a:
Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test |
I partially agree with this result. The test was a bit weird. There is a difference between agreeing with things and permitting them. Kind of the crux of the Roberts hearings, eh?
Posted by colrus at 08:57 AM | TrackBack
Listening with interest...
...to the all-new Air Americanized WDOD AM this morning, I was assured that the revolution would start promptly at 8 a.m. The revolution, however, is now 13 minutes late.
Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" is now playing for the third time in a row.
"What's Going On." Exactly, I ask...
The answer must be blowing in the wind.
Posted by colrus at 08:13 AM | TrackBack