U.S. Teen Not Found in Aruba Landfill

Aren't there a whole lot of places that she hasn't been found in?

US President 'fit for duty' after check-up

Apparently, the check-up didn't include any sort of mental evaluation. Also, I doubt he was asked to demonstrate this avid biking ability, otherwise there could have been some issues.

Not really one of those annoying memes since I'm volunteering

A bunch of questions I'm going to answer, just because The Disgruntled Chemist said I wouldn't.

Here they are, I make no claims about the quality of my answers, and keep in mind that I may just be making them up.

1a. What year did you first start using e-mail (on a daily basis)?
About 1995, I guess. I really hate email, I mostly only use it at work these days, but maybe that'sjust because no one ever emails me.

1b. What year did you first start using a cell phone?
2000, I think, but I don't remember for sure.

1c. What is the ring-tone on your cell phone?
Depends on who calls.

2. From where you are answering this, can you see out a window? If so, what do you see?
No, the windows are behind me.

3a. What one physical characteristic would you change about yourself?
My teeth, I have horrible teeth (and yet still manage not to be offended when someone makes a joke about stupid people with bad teeth).

3b. What one personality trait would you change about yourself?
I don't really express myself all that well verbally.

3c. Thing you like about yourself the most?
I'm smart. Like really smart. Like you might think you're smart, but next to me, you're dumb.

4a. Favorite spectator sport?
Football, by far.

4b. Favorite team and/or player in that sport?
The Dallas Cowboys.

4c. Professional sports team and/or player you would most enjoy seeing crushed in defeat?
The San Antonio Spurs. I really hate them for no good reason/ And fuck the Chemist for saying Dallas here, I haven't seen any SuperBowl seasons from the Bills in that time either.

5a. Favorite bumper sticker saying?
I don't like bumper stickers. It would have to be something very clever.

5b. Bumper sticker saying that really pisses you off?
W04

6a. Do you believe in astrology?
No.

6b. Do you believe in extra-sensory perception of any kind?
No.

6c. Do you believe in ghosts?
No.

6d. Do you believe in God?
No.

6e. If you answered "No" to 6a, 6b, and 6c, and "Yes" to 6d, please explain.
Explain what? I said no, what kind of explanation would you need? The people who answered yes should be the ones explaining.

7a. Favorite movie ever?
The Shawshank Redemption. Because that's what Chemist put and I copied this from him, so I didn't have to retype anything, and it's a really good movie.

7b. Funniest movie ever?
Again, I'll just stick with what Chemist said and go with Real Genius, although if I thought emough about it, I could probably come up with something I liked better.

7c. Scariest movie ever?
Movies don't scare me that much, but I remember when I was a kid seeing a movie called Tourist Trap where all these manequins came to life and at the end, they were dancing and it was really spooky to me.

7d. Worst movie you've ever watched in its entirety?
Pokemon, the things you do for the kids.

8. If you were appointed Supreme Dictator of the United States for a day, what one thing would you outlaw? (Note: None of this "I'm not that type of person" crap. Indulge yourself.)
Stupidity.

9. Are you happy?
Of course. What do I have not to be happy about? I have a great family, a good job, I author the hottest blog on the internets.

10a. How many foreign languages are you fluent in?
None.

10b. How many computer languages are you fluent in?
Fluent in C++ and Javascript, but I can do ok with COBOL, Pascal, C, BASIC, Visual Basic, anf I don't have any problem learning any new ones I might need.

11a. What was your major when you entered college?
Computer Science.

11b. And what was it when you graduated?
I'll let you know if I ever graduate (which would have to wait until I actually went back to school).

11c. And what would it be if you could do it all over again?
Hell, I don't know. It's about the only marketable thing I'm really good at.

11d. And if you were to go back to school now strictly for pleasure/self-improvement?
School was never my idea of pleasure.

12a. What one thing about George Bush do you loathe more than anything else?
That he is the President.

12b. Member of the Bush Administration you actually think is evil (as opposed to merely stupid, incompetent, wrong-headed or short-sighted)?
I don't know that any of them are turly evil, but the whole bunch is corrupt to the point that it doesn't make a lot of difference.

13. Do you "share" music with your friends, and if so do you feel guilty about it?
No, I don't really listen to a lot of music these days. If you don't believe it, check the dates of the songs from my Name that Song posts.

14. Favorite comic strip?
Bloom County and Calvin and Hobbes.

15a. Do you consider yourself romantic?
Not really.

15b. Have you found your One True Love?
Of course.

15c. Do you use cute nicknames for each other?
Not really.

15d. If so, what are... No, scratch that. Move along.

16. Ever owned an "exotic" pet, and if so what was it?
No.

17. Physically-grueling activities: Love 'em or hate 'em?
Depends on exactly what it is and what kind of mood I'm in, but in general, no.

18. Have you ever gotten a Letter to the Editor published? If so, what was it about?
No.

19. Would you say you're competitive? Feel free to elaborate.
Sometimes.

20. As a percentage, how much of what you've achieved in life would you say is due to "dumb luck" (e.g. where you were born, who your parents were, random chance, connections you've made with people, etc.) versus hard work, careful planning, and determination? Please round to the nearest 10th percentile.
90%, I was born in a good place to good people, lucked into a good job, met a wonderful woman. My life is pretty good, and I haven't had to work very hard to get it that way.

21. What actor/actress would you want to play you in the Movie of Your Life?
I doubt they'll be making a movie of my life.

22. Favorite philosopher?
If I admitted to having a favorite philosopher, how would that be any different than hanging a big sign around my neck that said: GEEK?

23a. What is the most enjoyable job you've ever had?
I've only ever had three, so I'll go with my current one.

23b. Putting aside talent, training, compensation, and any other practical consideration, what job would you most like to have?
I'd love to play in the NFL.

23c. OK, now taking all the practical stuff back into account, what job do you wish you could have?
I'd like to be one of those greeters at Wal-Mart.

23d. If you won Powerball, would you continue to work any kind of regular job?
I would probably do something, but just part time, and on my own terms.

24. Biggest phobia?
Death.

25a. How often do you worry about death?
All the time.

25b. What's the closest you've ever come to dying?
I was in a really bad car accident in 1998. I didn't really get hurt much at all, but that was probably the closest.

25c. If you could be immortal, would you want to be? (Note: If you answered "Yes" to 15b, assume that person could be immortal with you.)
I'd like to say yes, just because I'm so afraid of death, but living forever would scare me probably just as much.

26. What period in history would you most like to visit?
The future.

27a. Do you think we'll ever achieve interstellar travel?
I hope so.

27b. If you could travel in space, even if it were "just" to a Moon base, e.g., would you go?
I would really, really want to, but I doubt I could actually do it.

28. Name someone of your own gender that you consider "hot". (Note: Answering this does not mean you're gay, although feeling intense discomfort about answering it might. Oh, and if you are gay, name someone of the opposite gender you consider "hot".)
There really isn't anyone. Why on Earth would I ever even think about that? I'd have just as hard a time coming up with someone from the opposite sex too, once I got past my wife. Judging how hot people are isn't something I spend a lot of time on.

29. Book(s) you've tried to read but just couldn't get through that you still plan to read?
The Lord of the Rings, and I'm not watching the movies until I've either foced myself to read the books or finally give up and admit that I will never read them.

30a. Favorite alcholic beverage?
Beer.

30b. How often do you drink alcoholic beverages?
Not often enough.

31a. Do you enjoy taking surveys?
Not usually.

31b. Are you pissed off that I said this was going to be 40 questions and, including sub-questions, we're already at, like, 52?
Yeah, that's kind of fucked up. Asshole.

32. How many of the 50 states have you been to? (Note: For purposes of this question, "been to" can include driving through on the highway, but it cannot include airport stop-overs where you did not leave the airport.)
Somewhere around 25, but most of them just from driving through.

33. Person you'd most like to have a beer with (excluding friends/family)?
If they're not my friend or family, why the fuck do I want to spend time drinking with them?

34. Person you'd most like to punch in the mouth?
Line up the Republican leadership.

35a. Describe your style of driving.
Safe.

35b. If you could have any car in the world -- for daily use, not a "trophy" car -- what would it be?
A Prius, so I could do the Prius wave I learned form Curb Your Enthusiasm.

36. Your Myers-Briggs personality type?
Why the fuck would anyone care about that? Something with Is and Js in it.

37. Favorite color? Explain.
Blue, because I like blue.

38. Favorite season/location combination?
Fall, but I haven't been a lot of places.

39. Do It Yourself or Hire A Professional?
I'd like to do things myself and will usually try just to save money, but If I'm sure I can't do it well, I'll hire a professional (orput it off).

40. It's Friday afternoon, almost quittin' time. Can't wait to get home so you can _____.
Relax and see my family.

Open Thread

Im pretending I'm one of the big bloggers (in preperation for when I get real big which can't take long since this is the hottest blogon the internets), so humor me and start your own discussion.

Saturday Late Night Name that Song

Ok, even though I'm way late (we acually went out tonight, a rare occurence around here), and you bitches didn't really play along last week, I'm still trying to continue this miserable spinoff of Friday Night Name that Movie, shamelessly stolen from originally inspired by Shakespeare's Sister. Guess them all and you could win a prize.*

1. What did her daddy do? What did he put you through?
2. You would think I was a good friend of Al Capone Crazy air freshener, who needs cologne
3. what you wanna ball with the kid watch your step you might fall trying to do what I did
4. And it all crashes down And you break your crown And you point your finger But there's no one around
5. From the first time I saw your face Girl, I knew I had to have you I wanted to wrap you with my warm embrace Visions of your lovely face
6. Jet black Benz, plenty of friends And all the Philly steaks you can eat
7. Fuckin with me cuz I'm a teenager With a little bit of gold and a pager
8. so I threw him out I don't fool around with no Oscar Meyer weiner
9. This girl walked by she gave me the eye I reached in the locker grabbed the Spanish Fly
10. Oh baby, I wanna get wit'cha And take your picture



* If you don't know by now that there is no prize, then you need to read this blog more often.

Friday Night Name that Movie

Shamelessly stolen from Inspired by Shakespeare's Sister. Guess them all and you may win a prize.* And be sure to check back tomorrow for Saturday Night Name that Song.**

1. Hit paydirt with K-Dirt.
2. No sugar? Damn. Y'all ain't never got two things that match. Either ya got Kool-aid, no sugar. Peanut butter, no jelly. Ham, no burger. Daaamn.
3. I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner.
4. We talked into the night--the kind of talk that seemed important until you discover girls.
5. Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
6. Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window.
7. Oh, I forgot. You were sick the day they taught law at law school.
8. OK, so we got a trooper pulls someone over, we got a shooting, these folks drive by, there's a high-speed pursuit, ends here and then this execution-type deal.
9. ...you climb obstacles like old people fuck.
10. I hate snakes, Jock. I hate 'em.


* There is no prize.
** If I feel like it.

Senate leader Frist backs stem cell research

Holy Shit, how fucking loony tunes do your positions have to be if even Bill Frist isn't nutty enough to support them? Maybe he wasn't asleep during all of medical school, after all, just the part where they told you to actually see patients in person before diagnosing them. It will be interesting to watch the religous extremists turn on him like they did on Jeb Bush.

Grandma sues over 'X' game

So Grandma didn't care about the violence and crime, but the sex was over the line? And we're supposed to believe that while she clearly ignored the M rating for Mature, 17 and older and bought the game for her 14 year old grandson, she definitely would have paid attention to an Adults Only rating and bought him a Mickey Mouse game instead? Great job grandma, you're doing your part to make some lawyer a bunch of money, and you might get back a check for 5 or 10 dollars. Congratulations.

I can see the testimony now: "Well, little Billy was driving all over town indiscriminately shooting people and stealing their cars, running over people and stuff, then all of the sudden (after we went on the internets and downloaded an entirely separate program, then read the forums to find out how to use it, then installed and ran it), a boobie popped out, and it was like Super Bowl XXXIII halftime all over again. I was so shocked, you could barely make out the blood and bullets flying around what with all the naked bodies all over the place."

Fla. Man Stabbed With Sword After Daring Wife During Fight

I think I need to move.

Please stop...

...responding to something disgusting by saying that you threw up in your mouth a little bit. This has been bothering me for some time now, but I am now officially very tired of it. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Starbucks Profits Jump Nearly 30 Percent

The company said it plans to open 1,800 new stores in fiscal 2006

Where the hell do they think they're going to put those? Isn't there already one on the corner of every intersection? Unless they're going to start opening them in people's kitchens, I don't see them being able to pull it off.

Brazilian did not wear bulky jacket

Well, so now even the best two of the crappy excuses that they used for killing this poor guy might not even be true. How long until we find out he didn't actually come out of a house that was under surveillance, but intead sort of passed near it, and he didn't actually run, so much as walk briskly?

Even if the "official" story was 100% accurate, the police still fucked up badly. But now it seems even the lame justifications they used are not accurate. I hope they get to the bottom of this and hold whoever is responsible accountable. I also hope people will stop blaming the victim, since he seems to not only be completely innocent, but getting less and less suspicous with every account of the story that we hear.

Over There

I watched this new show on FX last night. I missed the first ten minutes, so I'll have to try and catch that sometime. from the first episode, it looked like it's going to be pretty good. Sure makes you see a little more clearly what it might be like for the poor guys that have to fight over there.

I mean, you know they're constantly in danger, and could get killed or injured at any time, but the thing that struck me watching that show was how incredibly miserable and bored (not to mention hot) they have to be even when they're not in the middle of any kind of action. Just sitting out there in the sun waiting, I couldn't do it.

Jacksonville.com: Metro: Bogus military suppliers sentenced 07/26/05

Horace Christopher Daughtrey, 28, and George Searcy, 36, of St. Johns County had pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Department of Defense after discovering it doesn't check backgrounds and accepts bids online for supply contracts worth less than $100,000, prosecutors said.

emphasis mine

What the fuck? Wouldn't supplying troops with the necessary equipment during a war seem like a pretty important thing? I would think that you wouldn't just trust something that important to some guy from the internets. Or at least once they had problems, they might try to check these things a little more carefully, but no:

When military officials discovered a problem with one of their shipments, Daughtrey and Searcy simply changed company names and kept bidding

I'm also especially proud that these assholes live in my area. I'm sure they think doing this stuff is ok, as long as they also make sure to have a Support the Troops ribbon magnet on the Hummers they bought with their profits.

Abu Ghraib Dog Tactics Came From Guantanamo

What is this, the Few Bad Apples World Tour?

Panel: Bush Was Unready for Postwar Iraq

Yeah, No shit. Nice that they're putting together panels to tell us stuff that the rest of us figured out two years ago. Maybe they could have had a panel to study these things before actually going to war. Of course, it's easier to just deny that there even are any problems.

Video game biz converting to Christianity

Oh good, this will be very helpful to all the parent out there who just discovered that the violence and crime filled game they bought for their kids (since it was only rated M for Mature after all) could possibly be modified to contain sex (gasp!) as well.

Seriously though, I don't know why we need Christian games any more than any other games. It's not like there aren't non violent, non sexual games already out there, they're just not as popular. Especially when the guy in the article says it's just about making good games, they don't want to preach to anyone. Well then why do they need to be Christian, necessarily? Just make good games, and focus on that and don't worry about whether they're Christian or not. Not that I have anything against people playing them if they want to. But if theyre basing them on the Left Behind books, that's a mistake. I read the first one, and that one at least, really sucked.

AG: High Court Not Bound by Roe V. Wade

No shit, Captain Obvious. If people thought that they were bound by it, they wouldn't spend all this time debating justices' positions on abortion. Dumb shit.

Cops Find Nude Man Looking for Gump's Home

I thought Forrest Gump lived in Greenbo. You'd think if you liked the movie enough to get naked and go looking for the house, you might actually try to find out where it is first. Although, I don't know if Greenbo is a real town or not, so that could possibly confuse things somewhat.

Taliban on the run but far from vanquished

Wow, I thought Afghanistan was our great model of success. Maybe if we had stayed focused there instead of pursuing this nonesense in Iraq, we could have actually finished the job in Afghanistan by now. But I guess it's better to do two things half-assedly, then to do one thing right.

Camp's 'ghetto' show called insult

I'm not too big on the whole political correctness thing, and I can even understand that it might be possible to have a "Ghetto Style Talent Show" without getting into too much trouble, but you can't do that and have a watermelon eating contest, that's just a little too much. There's no way you're going to get away with that.

Lab to test 'sasquatch' hair

I could save them the trouble. Uh, that's not Bigfoot hair. See how easy that was? No DNA testing required. Isn't not being stupid a prerequisite for becoming a geneticist?

Wired News: Big Brother Wants to Be Diet Cop

I'm all for helping sick people get better, but you don't do it by going behind their backs and getting information about them. You do it by educating people to know what the risks are and encouraging people to care aobut their health. All this is going to do is discourage people from getting tested in the first place for fear of losing their privacy.

GOP Senators Push Detainee Treatment Rules

Finally, some Republicans are doing something I can get behind.

"What we're trying to do here is make sure there are clear and exact standards set for interrogation of prisoners," McCain said on the Senate floor.

Exactly. Why would anyone oppose that unless they are doing something that wouldn't fit into those standards. It's amazing that we don't have standards like this in place.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (news, bio, voting record), R-Ala., shot back, "I reject the idea that this Defense Department and our Army and our military is out of control, is confused about what their powers and duties and responsibilities are."

Well, then you haven't really seen the pictures and accounts detailing what some of the "few bad apples" have done to people. And anyway, even if you're right, then what's the harm in setting acceptable standards to follow?

House Seeks FTC 'Grand Theft Auto' Probe

Oh, good, I'm glad our government is spending its time on important things like this, instead of investigating trivial matters like the Downing Street Memo, or the White House's involvement in leaking the name of a CIA agent.

And we all know that these hidden scenes are much, much worse than the content of the game that isn't hidden. Because it's ok in a video game to pay a hooker to have sex with you, then kill her afterwards and take your money back, however it is not ok if you actually get to see the sex.

Hey idiots, these scenes are hidden. That means that someone has to take some action to get to them. Now if you wanted to investigate why the video game glorifies violence and crime and still got the rating it got in the first place, then I still wouldn't agree that it was worth your time, but at least I would see the point.

Do any of these idiots realize that the only issue here resuts in whether the game has a rating that's for 17 and up, or a rating that is for 18 and up? It's not worth fighting about. Let the parents actually act like parents. If you let your kids have this game with all the crime and violence, you really don't have a lot of room to complain about the sex. Especially since your kid would have to get online to get the program to access the sex and if they're doing that, there's a lot worse they could see.

Yahoo Buys Maker of 'Widget' Applications

I tried this Konfabulator thing not too long ago after seeing it in a magazine, because the concept sounded really neat, but after actually using it, I wasn't impressed. Fr example, I had a widget to run an application, which would be pretty handy to me, but when using it, it ran so slow that it would have been faster to just go to the Start Menu and find the program. Also, I had one to monitor my laptop battery, which was really neat, but really redundant, since there was already a battery monitor in my taskbar. And I wasn't able to find nearly as many neat widgets as I had expected when I first heard about the software, and the ones I did find all seemed to have some major flaw that made them useless to me. Maybe Yahoo can improve the software or at least make more or better widgets availabe. If so, I might give it another try, because I really thought the concept was neat.

Woman Uses Jessica Simpson's Name in Scam

Theft by deception? What the fuck kind of a crime is that? Now, I have no sympathy for this woman, who brought this all on herself, but I really get tired of seeing time wasted on criminals that just take advantage of people's stupidity. Why would anyone just believe this woman in the first place?

Reminds me of a show I saw not too long ago, where a woman posed as a "bank inspector" then asked people to go into the bank and withdraw money to give to her, but no to tell anyone inside the bank. Then assured them that it would be returned to them, and even gave a receipt. And people actually gave her money. It was ridiculous. In my mind, that woman deserved the money a lot more than the idiots who gave it to her.

I'm disgusted

After hearing that the guy shot in London last week was innocent, I was pretty bothered by it. The more I hear about the details, the more it bothers me. But what is disgusting to me is the reaction I've heard fom so many people that apparently think that while tragic, it was a perfectly acceptable action under the circumstances. Aside from the fact that everything this guy did "wrong" was minor and that witness accounts don't match up perfectly with the official version, even if the officail version is completely accurate, there are still a lot of questions to be answered, and I don't understand why people aren't more outraged over the shooting of an innocent man, regardless of the circumstances. But what disgusts me is the attitude I seem to be seeing that he got what was coming to him since he ran from police. I don't know why he was running, whether he was afraid and didn't know they were police, or he had done something else wrong and didn't want to get caught, but either way I have a problem with shooting people in the head before we have all the (or any) facts. People who don't have any problem with this man being shot seem to be advocating living in a police state, and while I'm sure they would argue that that's not what they're sayng, I can't see how their arguments make any sense otherwise. Either it's ok for police to shoot innocent people just in case they might be terrorists or it's not. I also am disgusted by the argument that this wouldn't have happened a month ago, but it's to be expected now. Well, if it wouldn't have happened a month ago, then it shouldn't happen now. We can't let all our decisions be mae based on a worst case scenario and motivated by fear. We have to use some common sense and compassion, otherwise we will quickly becoming a society not that worthy of protecting in the first place.

I hope we don't see any more terrorist attacks, because they are tragic. But I also hope that we don't see any more innocent people killed in the name of fighting terrorism, because in my mind, that it also tragic, and one does not excuse the other. The victim in this tragedy is just as dead as the victims in the other, but this time the blood is on the hands of the good guys, and the disgusting thing is that some people seem to think that's ok.

Man Killed in London Not Linked to Blasts

I don't want to be to hard on London, because it seems that for the most part, they are handling these things better than we would. But this is the kind of thing that is going to happen when everything you do is guided by fear of a worst case scenario. With recent events, I understand they have reason to be afraid, but you really need to be a lot more sure what you're doing when you shoot and kill someone. As far as I can tell, they had no other reason to believe he was a terrorist than that he had heavy padded clothes on, and while thatmay be plenty of justification for suspicion in London these days, it certainly isn't any justification to shoot someone, and especially not to shoot to kill. Also, according to this article, they had him pinned down before they shot him, so I don't get where the urgency to shoot him would come from.

Also, it looks like the Mayor is trying to pin this guy's death on the terrorists, and while that may make everyone feel better, I don't see how this one is their fault. We need to find some real legitimate ways to fight terrorism instead of being guided by fear, because in the long run, that will just make things worse.

Saturday Night Name that Song

As part of the franchise I'm creating of [Blank] Night Name that [Blank], shamelessly stolen from inspired by Shakespeare's Sister, try to name these songs randomly chosen from whatever crappy music I happen to have on my computer. Guess them all and you may win a prize.*

1. The old man then prepares To die regretfully That old man here is me
2. Little did he know I had a loaded 12 gauge One sucker dead, LA Times first page
3. Our manager's crazy he always smokes dust He's got his own room at the back of the bus
4. I'll search the whole world for that special girl when I finally find you watch our love unfurl
5. You're all the things I've got to remember You're shying away I'll be coming for you anyway
6. Hey I don't know Just tell me where to begin cause I never ever Felt so much
7. Word to your moms I came to drop bombs I got more rhymes than the bible's got psalms
8. You can get with this, or you can get with that I think you'll get with this, for this is where it's at
9. This year Halloween fell on a weekend Me and [edited to avoid making it to easy] are trick-or-treating
10. Hoe, bend over and spread ya butt cheeks Let a nigga see them guts, freak!



* There is no prize.

Happy Birthday

To the Downing Street Memo. I haven't posted much about this lately with all the other stuff that has been going on, and because I haven't had anything new to say about it. But that doesn't mean we should forget about it, so its birthday is the perfect time to remind everyone about it. The bottom line is that we were lied to, and not about something trivial. And this is all directly related to the whole Rove/Plame leak mess. We need to demand accountability from our government and not let them think that they can get away with lying to us.

Anyway, I still don't have a lot new to say about it, so go read maurinsky's post on it instead. It's very good.

Bush aide misled FBI, say reports

Uh-oh, the coverup is starting to unravel, and that seems to be where the real trouble is with these kinds of things.

Charges Against Teen Upgraded After Dog He Allegedly Raped Dies

Is it really too much to hope for that people just don't have sex with animals? It doesn't seem like an unreasonable expectation to me.

NPR : CIA Leak Controversy Adds to Bush's Woes

What? Why are people still talking about this? Don't they realize there's a new Supreme Court Nominee? Damn liberal media, always trying to point out corruption in the White House.

A White House that has established itself as the most "leak-proof" in generations is in the midst of a growing controversy over who in the administration leaked the name of an undercover CIA officer to the press in mid-2003.

To be fair, I don't think this incident should really count against their leak-proof status, since I don't really think it qualifies as a leak in the classic sense when it's done on purpose.

Friday Night Name that Movie

Shamelessly stolen from Inspired by Shakespeare's Sister, and posted earlier this week at the request of long time (for this blog anyway) reader Ace Cowboy. Guess them all and you may win a prize.* And be sure to check back tomorrow for Saturday Night Name that Song.**

1. So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.
2. You ain't shit. You just like your daddy. You don't do shit, and you never gonna amount to shit. All you do is eat, sleep, and shit.
3. I feel like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewie, and she's Ben Kenobi, and we're in that fucked-up bar.
4. You're stewed, buttwad!
5. I'm going to give you a little advice. There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball.
6. The price is wrong, bitch.
7. Bank Teller: How would you like that? J: Three dimes, a hundred dollar bill and 87 ones.
8. But, I'm funny how? Funny like a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I'm here to fuckin' amuse you?
9. Okay, what would Joe do at a time like this? He'd kill everybody and smoke some cigarettes.
10. I'll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash ya got.


* There is no prize.
** If I feel like it.

Fun with Conservatives

I found some nice quotes about me (well, they could be), took them out of context and added them to the Useless Info About Me section on the sidebar. Check it out. If anyone can find any more for me, let me know.

House votes to keep anti-terror law / But Senate version puts more limits on federal agents

This sucks. Is it really so complicated to understand that limiting freedom under the guise of fighting terror makes America weaker, not stronger, even if it did (which it doesn't) make us safer?

Friday Night Lights

I watched this movie last night. Don't read any farther if you haven't seen it and don't want to know what happens at the end.

Anyway, I'm usually much happier when a movie ends and it's not the predictable feel good ending. For example, I was really bothered by the stupid ending they put in Hannibal, especially considering the ending in the book was so much better and unexpected. But I have to say, watching that movie last night, I really wish he would have scored that last touchdown. I know it's a cliche in a sports movie to hit the walk off home run or score the winning touchdown as time expires, or hit the buzzer beater, and I know movies have tried to get away from that. The bunt at the end of Major League did a pretty good job of that. But the way this movie ended left me less satisfied than if it had had a cliche ending. Especially since the losing team had been screwed badly by a terrible call that led to a touchdown by the other team earlier. That was another thing that bothered me, they made the black ref make a horrible, horrible call in favor of the team from the mostly black area which basically won the game for them. Other than that it was a pretty good movie, I thought.

Big Brother Competitions

For some reason, I always watch Big Brother every year. Unlike any other show that I watch regularly, I can't point to any good reasons to recommend this show, but I watch it anyway. One thing about it that has really irritated me about the show is some of the competitions. It seems like they don't really put much thought at all into them. The biggest example of this is the kind of competition they used on last night's show. Basically, the rules are, the host asks an opinion question with two possible answers, then everyone answers not what they think the actual answer is, but what they think the majority of people will say. Then anyone who has the least popular answer is out of the competition. Well, the one big gaping hole in this competition that they just seem to ignore is that no one ever knows what anyone actually thinks the answer to the question is, so they also never know what the majority thinks the answer to the question is, so the whole thing is just a pointless random exercise. For example, if the question is who is smarter between George Bush and John Kerry, well obviously if Bush is one of the choices, I would answer the other one, but if I'm in a house with a bunch or republicans, I might assume that they will mostly say Bush, so I would answer Bush. Therefore, no one would ever know that my actual answer would be Kerry, nor would we know for sure what everyone else's actual answer would be. You would think a major network like CBS could have one person who could point this basic fact out to them, but apparently they don't or they just don't care if the competitions make any sense.

The other things that bothers me about them is the way they break ties. Once they completed the pointless crap described above, then whoever is left has to answer a question with a numerical answer, and whoever is the closest without going over is the winner. Now, I really hate that without going over qualification. There's absolutely no reason to do that other than that is how the Price is Right does it. All it does is make it more difficult for someone who may actually have a good idea of the answer to win. One person could obviously make a very good educated answer and be just over the actual number, while someone else could take a wild ass guess and be nowhere near the answer, but under it, and the person with the guess would win. And I think that actually happened on Big Brother a couple of years ago. A lot of football pools have a tiebreaker associated with the Monday Night game's total score, and I won't play one that has this stupid without going over qualification. It makes no sense.

'The Triplets' Going in Ring of Honor

I always hated that stupid nickname. It doesn't make any sense. But anyway, I'm glad to see these guys going into the Ring of Honor, and even happier to see them go in together. And in a couple of years when they start going into the Hall of Fame, I'll actually finally care about watching those ceremonies for once. Having discovered sports bars right around 1990, and after that Sunday Ticket on Directv, I watched nearly every game that these guys played together, and when they were on top, there was nobody better. The Patriots may have equaled the three SuperBowls in four seasons that Dallas accomplished in the 90s, but if you put these Patriots up against those Cowboys, the Patriots would suddenly seem a lot less dominating. The Cowboys were good on offense and defense, and they could beat you on the ground or through the air, they could beat you over the middle, or throw it down the field. Those teams were complete, and they were led by these three guys, so I'm happy to see them all go into the Ring of Honor together.

This is kind of strange

Over the last week or so, I've seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Butterfly Effect, Paycheck, and The Manchurian Candidate. I just realized they all have something in common in that altering minds is a major part of the plot. I just thought that was kindof interesting. Another thing these movies all have in common is that none of them were as boring as 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Flip-flops fashionable at White House

I saw this story over at Slack LaLane the other day, but didn't think much of it, I figured Ace was just interested since he's a Northwestern guy, but now I'm hearing about it all over the place. Who the fuck cares? I'm sure there are people that obsess over what to wear in a particular situation and would be upset to find out that they had made the wrong choice, but I'm kind of glad to see people who don't get caught up in something stupid like that and wear what they're comfortable wearing. I've heard it's disrespectful. To who? The President? Let'scompletely forget for a second how little he deserves anyone's respect in the first place, but even if he did, how is this disrespectful? I always hated stupid rules like that, like not wearing a hat indoors or whatever. Who gives a shit? Who does it hurt?

Scotty beamed up: Star Trek icon is dead

Would it kill people not to use this guy's death as an excuse to print a (supposedly) clever headline?

Bush Says Government Focused on Security

"The Patriot Act helps us to defeat our enemies while safeguarding civil liberties for all Americans," Bush said

emphasis mine

The Patriot Act does that? Does he have a different one? Because the one I've heard about doesn't do that. Now, I know the guy is a complete moron, but does he really expect people to swallow a lie like that?

Wake me up when people stop acting like complete morons

I thought we only did stupid shit like this here in America. Why do people waste time with nonesense like this? This reminds me of something I saw a while back suggesting that teachers should use purple pens instead of red to mark mistakes, because red apparently has a bad connotation. Much like the word 'fail', I guess. What these idiots fail to understand is it is not what we call it or with what color that is demoralizing, it's the fact that they didn't do it right. Even if the word fail does cause some additional something, all you're doing by changing it is making sure that there is now a different word that will ceventually cause the same feelings. Anyway, kids should feel bad when they fail, if they don't, they might think it's ok, and if that happens, we'll be looking at a future where the world is run by incompetent idiots who think they're really smart because no one ever bothered to tell them they weren't. Oh, wait, I guess it's too late.

Bush names conservative U.S. appeals judge for court

Ok, so this guy was nominated yesterday, and I don't know much about him other than if Bush likes him than he is probably a lunatic. But anyway, couldn't the AP get a more recent picture? I think this picture was taken before I was born (well, maybe when I was a little kid, anyway). What the hell do I care what he looked like in the 70's? Nice tie.

I agree with Sean Hannity

Ok, so I listened to the end of his show on the way home yesterday, and apparently he had fixed up some relative of his with someone who works with him or for him or something, and apparently he had talked about it quite a bit on the show. Well, quite a few of his insane listeners called in to take issue with this whole concept of 'dating'. Apparently, all it does is prepare you for divorce, and the most you should be doing before marraige is meeting at some sort of chaperoned group activity, if you actually have to meet the other person at all. And definitely no one on one stituations, because obvioulsy that could be tempting. So, I guess the insane extremist religous right is so sexually repressed that they wouldn't even trust themselves to be alone with someone of the opposite sex. I guess they're afraid they may end up raping each other or something. You know how daing can be, one minute you're having a nice dinner and the next minute you're forcing yourselves on each other because those urges are just too hard to control. No wonder these people are afraid of gay people, if they're that repressed, they're probably afraid they'll have sex with anyone if the oppurtunity arises, and if someone of the same sex makes a pass at them, they just won't be able to resist. It always amazes me that these extremists seem to think anyone lacks any self control whatsoever, but I guess they just think everyone is like them.

Anyway, Hannity didn't exactly call these people the idiots that they are (after all, they probably represent a significant portion of his listeners), but he did make it pretty clear that he thought dating was pretty much the only way to decide if you are compatible with someone, so for once, I agree with him. You would think that moments like that would make him re-evaluate the people that were following him, and maybe reconsider his extremist positons. Anyway, it makes me a little afraid to think that there are people out there who actually make an extremist wingnut like Sean Hannity appear reasonable.

Fla. sex offender jailed for racy reading

Now, I don't have any sympathy for sex offenders, but I never realized they were prohibited from having sexually stimulating material when on probation. I'm not sure that's such a good idea, wouldn't we rather they look at magazines and movies than repeat their crimes? And I can see that there might be some worry that the sexually stimulating material would lead them to commit another sex crime, but unless you think they can someone avoid being sexually stimulated, then I don't think there's much that can be done about that, anyway. Unless you castrate them. And whether or not they actually have porn physically in their possession, if they have internet access, they can always get porn anyway.

But in court papers, Calderon's lawyer, Mel Black, described Maxim as far from obscene.

I'm sure I wouldn't describe Maxim as obscene, but I'm also sure that it's not that far from it. But either way, the guy is going to have urges, and I would rather he satisfy them looking at Maxim, or porn, or whatever, then repeating his crimes.

Australian Leader Defends War on Terror

Just in case anyone saw this article and got confused, I thought I should make it clear that I do not support the War on Terror as it is currently being waged.

What are you reading?

So, I finished re-reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (review), and it was as good as I remember. Just a good fun, quick book. I've now moved on to re-reading Life, the Universe and Everything. After that, I might continue re-reading the Hitchhicker books (although they get worse after this) or I might move on to the next book in the Saga of the Seven Suns that I've been reading, which I recently picked up at the library.

So what's everyone else reading?* Any recommendations?* Or anyone have anything to input about the books I mentioned?




* Besides Harry Potter

Bush: Any Criminals in Leak to Be Fired

Well, it's good that they finally committed themselves to something, although it's ridiculous that now it's suddenly a more qualified statement than we had before.

The standard for holding a high position in the White House should not simply be that you didn't break the law," [Charles Schumer] said.

Exactly.


Assholes.

Sandra Bullock Weds 'Monster Garage' Star Jesse James

So, they're married, but MTV couldn't even find a picture of them together?

Enumclaw-area animal-sex case investigated

Well, maybe Neal Horsely wasn't as delusional as he seems, maybe this does happen all the time.

The Humane Society of the United States intends to use the case during the next state legislative session as an example of why sex with animals should be outlawed in Washington, said Bob Reder, a Humane Society regional director in Seattle.

I'd like to live in a world where having sex with animals wouldn't need to be against the law.

High court pick to have 'mainstream' values - Bush

Well, that's good to know, except that since the President is a complete moron, I doubt he has much idea what mainstream American values are, and if he thinks that mainstream American values are the same as his extremist positions, then we're in trouble. Of course I'm sure that he doesn't really mean this, even if he did know what mainstream meant, but it's not like anyone holds him accountable when his actions don't correspond to his words, anyway. So why not just say what people want to hear.

Congressman Threatens Islamic Holy Sites

Oh great, this is just what we need. Hey, Tom Tancredo, this isn't a holy war. Even if the terrorists might believe that it is, it's not. There are plenty of people who may not appreciate us "taking out" Mecca who aren't terrorists. And even if that was a legitimate and appropriate response in the hypothetical situation, you have to be a complete idiot not to realize that saying shit like this doesn't help anything, and could potentially make things worse. Idiot.

Rove, Libby identified CIA officer

Now, even if these idiots are able to weasel out of any criminal charges by saying that the reporters knew first, or someone else leaked it before they did, or whatever, what the fuck are they doing confirming the information? Why wouldn't they just give a no comment response, we all know they know how to do that. Well, we all know why, because they wanted this information released to retaliate against Wilson. But, the press and the public shouldn't let them off the hook with their lame semantic arguments, they should be demanding to know why they would ever under any circumstances confirm information like that. Assholes.

The most boring movie I've ever seen

Somehow I had missed seeing this movie all these years, and hadn't even read the book, which is unusual as well. But my wife got in for us from Netlix and we watched it today, and I wish I still hadn't seen it. I've heard a lot about the movie, mostly people talking about it being a classic or a masterpiece or whatever, but after watching it, I'm surprised that I hadn't heard how incredibly, ridiculously boring it was. And in case you're wondering how I could be sure it was the most boring movie I've ever seen, it's because I had several hours to think about it while watching this piece of shit, and I could concentrate my full attention on it, because it wasn't like I there was a possibility that I might miss anything in the movie.

So, if you've already seen it, I'm sure you already know what movie I'm talking about, but for the rest of you, it was 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now, I realize that fans of the movie will say I missed the point or some shit, and it was supposed to make me contemplate the silence and emptinessand vastness of space, but that's a crock of shit. I watch movies to be entertained, not as some sort of philosophical excercise, so it really helps if it actually has a plot. I've seen porn with more plot than this thing had. I wonder how it could possibly be a novel, unless there are parts with hundreds of blank pages in the middle. Anyway, it sucked, and while it might not have been the worst movie I've ever seen, it was definitely the most boring.

Saturday Night Name that Song

Ok, with the runaway popularity of Friday Night Name that Movie, shamelessly stolen from inspired by Shakespeare's Sister, and in the tradition of Law and Order and CSI (and because I'm bored), I've decided to spin it off until I take something successful and just turn it into a big joke. Keep in mind that I don't listen to a lot of music these days, but these lyrics are randomly taken from music on my computer. Good luck, and if you get them all, you might win a prize.*

1. I'm the Peter Piper of the 1980s...
2. ...hold my breath as I wish for death, oh please God help me.
3. ...gettin' funky on the mike like a old batch of collard greens
4. When you make love, do you look in your mirror? Who do you think of? Does he look like me?
5. I've been everywhere, and still I'm standin' tall. I've seen a million faces and I rocked them all.
6. You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it.
7. He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready...to drop bombs but he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down.
8. I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain.
9. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night.
10. You think I give a fuck about a bitch? I ain't a sucker.



* There is no prize.

Friday Night Name that Moive

Shamelessly stolen from Inspired by Shakespeare's Sister, get them all correct and you might win a prize*:

1. Sometimes, I guess there's just not enough rocks.
2. I'm Agent Johnson, this is Special Agent Johnson. No relation.
3. When I was 19, I did a guy in Laos with a rifle shot at a thousand yards in high wind. Maybe eight or even ten guys in the world could have made that shot. It's the only thing I was ever good at... Well, see you tomorrow.
4. "PC Load Letter"? What the fuck does that mean?
5. I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh?
6. Can I borrow your towel? My car just hit a water buffalo.
7. [sobbing] I tried to kick... but that shit just be callin' me man, it be callin' me, man... I just got to go to it!
8. Did anyone ever tell you, you look like a penis with that little hat on?
9. Can you hammer a six-inch spike through a board with your penis?
10. Since you're new here, I'm gonna cut you a break... today. So, why don't you make like a tree and get out of here?



* There is no prize

10,000

Unless you people start reading at a much slower pace, then this blog will reach 10,000 visitors over the weekend. At least since I put up the site meter, anyway. So, if you come on and happen to see you are the 10,000 visitor (check the Site Meter over there...no, there...right, that's it) , let me know in the comments, you might win a prize.*

* There is no prize

Hilary, please shut up about this.

Seriously, you're making Democrats look as bad as the Republicans who whined about seeing a 1/2 second of a mostly obscured breast on TV.

"The bottom line is that video games with truly pornographic and violent content is being marketed to our children," Clinton said. "As parents and advocates for children, we have to draw the line."

Yes, we do, you're absolutely right. As parents. Not as legislators.

Clinton announced yesterday her intention to introduce new legislation aimed at protecting the nation's children against violent and pornographic video games by imposing fines on any retailer selling or renting such games to children under 18.

Yeah, that will work great. First of all, if these kids are buying this game already, then their parents probably aren't paying that much attention to what they're playing, and might buy it for them anyway. If not, there is no shortage of older friends, big brothers and sisters, cousins, or whatever who will happily buy it for them.

If the material is imbedded in the game and available by a few simple steps, Clinton said she will call for a nationwide recall of the game so that all who bought it believing the M rating can be reimbursed.

Ok, now this is just ridiculous. She wants to reimburse people because the game contains extra stuff that they don't have to access, and have to take pretty active steps in order to access. All you're going to do here is make the manufacturer give refunds to all the kids who have already beaten the game so they can have money to spend on some other game that isn't appropriate for them.

"The statement, 'There's nothing we can do,' is not acceptable," Walsh continued. "We need to find something to do. There's not just one answer, but part of the solution is for parents to be empowered with knowledge about the issues."

There is no shortage of knowledge out there about any video game currently on the market for anyone interested in finding out about it. If parents truly find out what their kids are doing, then the system is fine the way it is. If they don't, then new laws won't help.

Chemist Denies Any Role in London Attacks

I hope this isn't The Disgruntled Chemist.

Missing JFK Artifacts Arrive at Library

When I read the headline, I thought it was going to be the golf clubs that Elaine bought for Peterman that got stolen along with Jerry's car by the mechanic who thought he didn't take care of it well enough, only to be thrown out at Kramer along the highway while he tried to make it to Michigan to collect deposits on the bottles he and Newman had collected. But no, it was just some boring stuff.

O'Connor Urged to Reconsider Retirement

I follow sports pretty closely, and it's always considered bad form to talk about getting a head coaching job when it's still occupied by someone else, even if everyone knows the guy will get fired. Apparently, no one has the same espect for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I know we all realize that he doesn't have much time left to serve, but to encourage someone who has already announced their retrirement to stay on in order to take a job that isn't even open seems kind of weird to me. Especially when Rehnquist said he isn't retiring.

Schwarzenegger making millions as muscle mag editor

So what? I can see how people may complain that there is a potential conflict of interest if he is taking money from advertisers and also has power to influence policy which will relate to those advertisers, but if he can honestly claim that there is no conflict, and is prepared to handle the political fallout from it, I don't have any problem with him making an outside income. Apparently, it's not against the law. Anyway, does anyone really think that he actually works for the magazines? I'm sure at some point they threw money at him in order to use his name, and if he can make that kind of money for doing nothing than I'm all for it. And if people don't like it, maybe they should have thought about it before they went to all the trouble to recall their Governor. Not that I'm a big fan of Arnold, but I'd trade Governors with California in a second.

People are stupid

Yesterday, I listened to the end of the Sean Hannity show on the way home from work. And no, my point is not that people would have to be pretty stupid to actually believe anything this guy says, although that is true as well. But he was doing these random Man on the Street interviews where he asked the following questions:

Who is the Vice President of the US?
Who is Condoleeza Rice?
Who is Karl Rove?
How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
Can you name any of them?

Now, almost everyone got Dick Cheney, and people seemed to have a vague idea of who Rice was, but no one knew who Karl Rove is (do people just not watch the news at all?) although several claimed they had heard of him, but just couldn't place exactly what he did (uh-huh), not a single one of the people knew how many justices are on the Supreme Court, and only one guy was able to name more than one of them.

Now, I don't expect people to keep up with the news as much as I do, and I understand a lot of people aren't interested, but I thought the number of justices on the Supreme Court would be something everyone should know, since it isn't something that changes, and they should have learned it in school. And how can you not even know a couple of Justices when they've been in the news so much recently? Very sad.

I was especially annoyed by the guy who claimed to be a big Republican and Bush supporter, but couldn't get any of the questions. What the hell does he base his support on, exactly? Since he doesn't seem to know what's going on in the world.

Anyway, people are stupid. Which doesn't surprise me, but it is depressing.

'Housewives,' 'Sellers' lead Emmy pack

The nominees for best drama series are "Deadwood," "Lost," "Six Feet Under," "24" and "The West Wing."

If Deadwood doesn't win that, then someone is on crack.

The nominees for best actor in a drama are Hank Azaria ("Huff"), Hugh Laurie ("House"), Ian McShane ("Deadwood"), James Spader ("Boston Legal") and Kiefer Sutherland ("24").

I like James Spader, but if Ian McShane doesn't win this then someone is again...on crack. Hank Azaria? Seriously?

Clinton wants inquiry into Grand Theft sex

Oh, Please. You have got to be kidding. I already shared my thoughts on this game. Now, here's my thoughts on Hilary Clinton asking for an investigation into it: Shut Up! Don't you have anything better to do?

...anyone who uses a free code downloaded over the Internet can unlock sexually graphic images hidden inside the game

Yeah, and anyone who uses the internet at all can see as many sexually graphic images (real ones, not animation) as they want, and those aren't hidden at all.

"Parents who rely on the ratings to make decisions to shield their children from influences that they believe could be harmful should be informed right away if the system is broken," she said.

Uh, no. Actually, parents should not rely on the ratings to make decisions to shield their chilfren from influences they believe could be harmful. And anyway, in this particular case, if you're letting your kid play this game and are suddenly shocked that they could see some sex in it, then you're a fucking idiot. The game is called "Grand Theft Auto" what more do you need to know to realize that it might not be appropriate for children? The ratings don't make any difference in this case since it's already rated 'M' for Mature, for ages 17 and older. Even if there is some higher rating that is rarely used, that would only make it recommended for 18 and up, unless they think this game is too much for young adults also. The sex makes it different, but surely people can't think that it's any worse. Is sex more harmful to kids than violence and crime? I sure hope not. As much a we don't want our kids to see any porn before they're old enough, I think we all realize that they will have sex one day, but I don't think anyone wants or expects their kids to go on violent rampages stealing cars.

The Surreal Life

I never watched this show before, but a while ago, I happened to catch the little end of season wrap up show they did, and it looked like I probably missed some pretty funny (in a train wreck sort of way) stuff. So I decided I might try to watch some of this season. Last night I saw the premiere, and it was ok. Jose Canseco is an idiot, the models they have on are annoying, and the most normal seeming person was some motocross superstar who has a giant tattoo all over his torso and arms. Anyway, there was one thing that really disturbed me. Isn't Bronson Pinchot way too old to say he's going to "hook-up" with someone?

'Evil' Harry Potter day cancelled

Ok, as much as I like to bash Harry Potter and the overblown Harry Potter Hype Machine, this is just ridiculous. This school tries to do something fun to encourage its students to read, and parents get upset because they may be led into "areas of evil". Are you kidding me? Do people not understand the concept of fiction anymore? It's pretty simple, it means it's not real. And anyway, what is this evil? I'm not too up on the story, but I thought Harry Potter was a good guy. But if they're just complaining that magic itself is somehow evil, well, then that's just completely insane. I mean, maybe I could see how you could believe any magic was evil...if it was real. But since it's not, I don't really see where it would be an issue.

Let's see, right now I'm reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, but surprisingly, it hasn't made me either believe that there is such a restaurant or want to hitchhike around the galaxy or believe that there are robots that suffer from chronic depression. Because, much like Harry Potter, it's fiction. And if you're kids are too stupid to understand that, then frankly, they should be going to some kind of special school.

Oh Jesus, this is just what we fucking need

Another stupid ass ribbon that shows how how great the owner is for "supporting" something. I wonder if I can get one of these for my car, I'd hate for people to think that I didn't like Britain because I don't have one. I just have to find room for it between my various styles of support the troops ribbons, my POW/MIA ribbon, my Freedom is not Free ribbon, my God Bless America ribbon and my Pray for our Troops ribbon.

Seriously though, why do people have to automatically make this about us? Why is the American flag on that ribbon bigger than the British one? Are we so arrogant that we even have to steal attention from other people's terrorist attacks? Well, except Iraq's, that is, since if we did it for them, people may start pointing out that they might not have them if we hadn't invited all the terrorists there.

Bad combo: angry man, wheelchair and produce stand

Wouldn't you think it would be possible to move out of the way of a wheelchair coming at you before it's able to ram you? I didn't think these things moved all that quickly.

Disney shuts down thrill ride after teen's heart stops beating

Ok, so I was all for shutting down Mission Space after that poor little kid died on it, because that ride sucks. But Tower of Terror is one of my favorite rides, So I don't think that they should shut that one down. I know that's a double standard, but it works for me.

Seriously though, I guess they have to shut the ride down at least temporarily, but I can't see any way the ride could malfunction to cause someone's heart to stop. All it does is drop you, that's not too complicated, it seems to me as long as it's able to stop you from hitting the ground after dropping you, then it's probably working correctly. I think this was probably just a fluke. But reading about this kind of stuff makes me wonder about riding these things, which sucks, because they're a lot of fun.

Internet Piracy

A friend at work was just telling me that he was at Blockbuster recently to rent a movie when he noticed an anti-piracy commercial playing. Which reminded him that he could just download the movie he had planned to rent from the internet instead, so he just went home. I guess that kind of backfired for them.

What the fuck is this 'heart' crap?

Ok, so a long time ago, someone came up with the idea to replace the word 'love' with a big red heart for bumper stickers and t-shirts and stuff, which is fine, that definitely makes for a better visual representation than the words would. But recently, I'm seeing and hearing more and more people now replacing the big red heart with the actual word 'heart'. So, instead of saying, "I love ...", they say "I heart ...." What the fuck is that about? This doesn't make any sense to me, and frankly, I don't like it.

Wired News: Bush Fiddles While Specter Burns

Can someone please explain to me how it is any better morally to destroy this precious life later after it has sat around frozen for however long and is then discarded than it is to destroy it now with a noble purpose in mind? Are there women lining up to implant these embryos into their uteruses, if only they could save them from being used for research? Because I don't think there are. So, one way or another, these things will be destroyed. I guess having moral absolutes like this just really means that you'd rather be able to blame the exact same outcome on someone else.

Court order prevents Potter leak

Am I the only one who thinks books should go on sale as soon as they are available? As I see it, the books were in the store, they ought to be able to sell them. I know that's not the way it works, but all this artificial hype around a certain date is just ridiculous. Are people going to enjoy it more if they have to wait until July 16th? I get sick of waiting for books to come out normally, because it seems like they just take way too long to publish, but then to have to wait even longer so that you can get it on the same date as everyone else, and you can all stand in line and have a big party is just pretty silly to me. And to do it for freaking Harry Potter is even worse. How many of these stupid books are there going to be anyway? Shouldn't we be starting up the Harry Potter Hype Machine about now for book #7?

10%? 15%? 20%? We Are What We Tip.

I hate tipping. I do it only because it's expected, I especially hate the fact that it's expected no matter what kind of service you get, or situations where it's automatically added to your bill. If I don't have a choice whether or not to pay it, then don't make it a tip, include it in the price of the service.I hate all the arguments for tipping, and especially those that try to make me feel sorry for the person working for tips. It's not my fault if you don't make more money. If you're not happy with your pay, go talk to your boss about it, leave me alone. I do a great job at work (I was employee of the year, after all), but I don't get a tip when I do something particularly well, and I sure don't get one for simply doing exactly what my job is. I know, I know, they make less money than I do, so I should be sympathetic, but so does the greeter at Wal-Mart and no one says I should tip that poor old guy. Yeah, and I know that people who get tips make lower hourly wages because of it, but that wasn't my idea. And I'm sure if someone proposed a law that would make them get the same minimums as everyone else but would also get rid of tipping, then the people who get tips would be the first to complain about it. The whole concept is ridiculous to me. It wouldn't be if it just wasn't expected. If you truly got such great service that you felt that person needed a little extra, then I wouldn't have a problem with that, but when it's expected no matter what, that bothers me. Maybe I'm just cheap.

I don't give a shit if they fire Karl Rove

I've seen a lot of people demanding that Karl Rove get fired, which they probably should be since the White House made it pretty clear (you know, back when they were still commenting on it) that they would fire anyone involved in leaking this information. But personally, I don't care if they fire him or not. Of course, he should be fired, based on what he did and especially considering the statements from the White House about it in the past, but everyday that goes by that they try to ignore this, now, after one of their own has been implicated (as opposed to their big talk before), just goes to show that Bush cares more about being loyal to his buddies than he does in either upholding the law, upholding his own personal integrity and that of his administration, and in being accountable to the American people. An I think the more people that get to recognize that that is the case, the better. I'm not worried that we have someone like Karl Rove continuing to work at such a high level and that that compromises our security, because I think this entire administration does that regardless of whether he is a part of it or not. If Rove was gone, they would simply get someone else to do whatever it is he might do. So, I hope they do stick by him, because honestly, this story isn't about a failure of Karl Rove, it's a about a failure of this administration as a whole, and I think they all need to pay the price for it.

Full of Shit

Read this.
Then read this.

If you can read both of those and still don't see that this administration is full of shit, at least on this issue (a pretty fucking big one), then you must be pretty full of shit yourself.

Reading

Ok, so no one seems terribly interested in my reading posts, but it's my blog so I'm going to do them anyway.

I just finished the book I was reading (review), and I liked it better than the first book in the series. Mainy, because this one was able to focus on developing the story and did not have to do all the introduction that the last one did. If you're looking for a big science fiction epic, I would recommend this one.

Now, until I get the next book in that series, I am going to continue re-reading The Hicthhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, which I should finish quickly since it's not very long.

I'm also reading a novel posted online, by Shakespeare's Sister, which is surprisingly good. I'm only about halfway through with it at this point, but it's only going slow because I hate reading on the computer. It's not something that I would probably have read under normal circumstances, but seeing it on a site that I read regularly made me curious to see if it would be any good. And it definitely is, so check it out if you like to read, it's a good story (so far, anyway).

And as always, feel free to comment on anything you're currently reading or if you have read anything mentioned, or if you have any recommendations.

Corruption

As it now seems pretty clear that it was Karl Rove who outed Valerie Plame, and now the media is going to go off in a thousand different directions, whether it's Rove's bullshit defense about what he did knowingly, or about the right of the press to protect confidential sources, or about waivers and who had them and what did they actually waive, let's not forget the bottom line here. This administration is corrupt. Whether you're a Democrat, Republican, or something else, that should make you pretty upset.

Now, Rove may be able to weasel his way out of this somehow, by relying on exact definitions of some legal term, and no one being able to prove exactly what his intent was, and maybe he'll be able to avoid going to jail. But using common sense, we all know basically what happened, and why. Rove did this as retribution for the damage done to the administration by Plame's husband. And Rove isn't some out of control flunky, he's at the top of this administration. Let's also not pretend that he would do something like this on his own. Unless you truly believe that Rove is actually running the show (which would bring up a lot of other probelms since no one elected his fat ass), then I don't see how you can believe that he would just unilaterally decide to do this. Now, I'm sure that it would be hard to find any evidence that anyone else knew, and I wouldn't expect Rove to implicate anyone else, even if he ends up in prison, but I'm just not going to buy that he did this behind the backs of everyone else in the administration. And we all knew what the motive for this was when it happened, anyway. Now, I thought I had heard Bush say things about plugging leaks, and how this particular leak was a big deal and they wanted to prosecute this to the full extent of the law, but I haven't heard any statements coming out about that since his buddy has been implicated. It's also even more disgusting that the whole Plame/Wilson mess is all tied up into the WMD lies that got us into the ridiculous war in Iraq. No matter how you look at it, no matter what can be proved or not, one thing is pretty clear, this administration is full of shit. Hopefully, the truth will come out for everyone to see, and anyone who broke the law will be prosecuted, but even if that doesn't happen, people need to wake up and demand accountability from this corrupt administration. Assholes.

Investigation, denials and outcry over video game's sex scenes

Yes, it's terrible that this game named after a crimeshould have sex in it. I'm just shocked. Now I have to stop lettineg my kids play it. Because when it was just about criminal violence, I could live with it, but if there's porn in it, then that's just too much.

A "nationwide parental alert" was issued Friday by the National Institute on the Media and the Family, a Minneapolis-based group that monitors the entertainment industry.

Oh, great idea, because there are sure to be lots of parents who listen to nationwide parental alerts from the National Institute on the Media and the Family who bought this violent crime packed video game for their kids.

And who cares whether this was put in by the producers of the game, or by a third party? Either way, if you don't like it, don't play it. People get outraged over the stupidest things. Why not send an alert out to parents who bought Hustler magazine for their kids that there might be some inappropriate content in their as well?

Newsday.com: Anonymity has its place

I've followed this story a little, especially lately, and I haven't really had much to say about it, except that I hope it brings down Karl Rove. But now with all the talk about confidential sources and reporters going to jail, I had some more thoughts. I'm all for reporters being able to protect their sources, because I recognize that if they can't then those sources are likely to dry up, which is bad for the press, and bad for the audience they serve. But I seriously can't understand why there can't be protection for sources, but with an exception for when the act of being the cource itself is a crime. It really seems pretty simple to me, but I'm probably missing something.

Friday Night Name that Movie

Inspired by (or shamelessly stolen from) Shakespeare's Sister, because I always get to hers after other people have already gotten the ones I know, I decided to do my own, so guess the movies and maybe you'll win a prize.*

1. Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.

2. You are all expurgated. You are dismissed! You are out of here, forever. I wish you well

3. Two brothers... One speaks no English, the other learned English from watch "The Wide World of Sports." So you tell me... Which is better, speaking no English at all, or speaking Howard Cosell?

4. What was he wearing? Well, uh, let's see, he was wearing a red argyle sweater, and tan trousers, and red shoes... No, he's not retarded.

5. I helped it. Didn't I help it? I just took it back, is all. Awful tired now, boss. Dog tired.

6. You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you don't have a speck of athletic ability

7. You may run like Hayes. but you hit like shit.

8. No, no, he didn't slam you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you... he *rubbed* you. And rubbin, son, is racin'

9. Oh, it was a most amazing game. The Giants of New York took on the Packers of Green Bay. The Giants triumphed by kicking a pigskin ball through a big "H". A most ripping victory.

10. He was wearing my Harvard tie. Can you believe it? My Harvard tie. Like oh, sure he went to Harvard.



* There is no prize.

And the stupid fucking lawsuit of the day award goes to...

You've got to be kidding me? The hospital was supposed to anticipate that this guy would faint and hit his head and die as the result of them asking him to "assist in the epidural." And of course that assistance they asked him for was to hold his wife steady. Look, this is a terrible tragic accident, but this is not the hospital's fault. If Jeanette Passalaqua really believes that the hospital “owed him a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable injuries resulting from his participation, " it might have been nice for her to speak up about it at the time. I mean, I realize she was busy giving birth and all, but her husband's life was at stake. But of course, she didn't think that until her lawyer told her to think it.

Now because of this bullshit, this hospital will adopt some ridiculous policy of not asking unqualified people to "assist" in any procedures, which of course will mean they will need to hire people to "hold and steady" people during epidurals, thus making all our healthcare costs go up. Either that, or they will do this to people without steadying them, and it will no doubt cause some woman some horrible injury as a result, which she will sue over. On the bright side, anytime you're in a hospital, be on the lookout for the staff to ask you to do anything that you are obviously incompetent to handle, then if you screw it up, you may have hit the lottery.

Tampabay: Result of the State Attorney's inquiry

This is interesting. I don't know if it's just how I read it, but the tone of this response seems to me like a lecture. It's pretty long, but interesting to read, and points out a lot of the reasons why I've been on the side I have of this issue from the beginning.

Michael Schiavo may have been a terrible person who did terrible things to his wife, who hated her and is glad she is dead. I doubt that, but I don't know, I wasn't there. The point is, that there is absolutely no evidence to suggest any of those things and there is evidence to suggest the opposite. That's why this whole fiasco was so ridiculous from the beginning. People latched on to any accusation made against this poor guy without any evidence to support them whatsoever. It's bad enough that oridinary people who have no business being involved in this family's personal tragedy thought they knew better than all the doctors and judges who have worked on it for years, but it's absolutely disgusting that our Governor stuck his ass into the mess for cheap political points. I'm just glad that the people actually involved in the case were able to tell him the things he should have found out before he got involved in the first place. Hopefully, this is the last we hear on this subject from Jeb Bush, unless it's to apologize to the state for wasting its time, and to Michael Schiavo for publicly questioning his character without any basis to do so. Asshole.

Coverage of London Attacks

I watched a little bit of that fucknut Bill O'Reilly last night. As much as I could stomach, anyway. In his little introduction, he basically says that anyone who is criticizing America is helping the terrorists, and that people criticizing the good guys need to realize who the real bad guys are and if you don't agree with him, then you're helping the terrorists. Oh, he also said that The Guardian is edited by Osama Bin Laden.

Of course, I have lots of problems with this nonesense. Obviously, to these idiots, everthing is black and white, there are good guys and bad guys and everything the bad guys do is 100% evil and everything the good guys do is 100% wonderful. And since we all know the terrorists are bad guys, that makes us the good guys, therefore everything we do is ok. But here's the problem, in the real world, we all know the terrorists are the bad guys, but that doesn't justify everything we do as long as we say it's to fight the terrorists. We America hating liberals don't need to spend time condenming the actions of terrorists, because terrorists are expected to be evil, everyone recognizes that. We do need to spend time criticizing our own government when they do things we are not happy with, because it's not what is expected of it, and because we don't want it to continue. Criticizing the War on Terror is not about saying America is the bad guy, it's about saying that if we really want to fight terrorism, then maybe we should actually go after the actual terrorists, instead of going after whoever is convenient and then hanging a terrorist sign around their necks. Expecting the best from our government is pretty American to me, and when we don't get it, demanding it is also important.

I don't get how these right wing idiots can say with a straight face that we need to focus on who the real bad guys are instead of arguing with each other by calling out people who disagree with them. Sean Hannity did something similar on his show yesterday that I caught the end of. How do they not choke on the hypocrisy coming out of their mouths?

The other thing that really bothered me about yesterday was all the shows I saw focusing on the London bombings almost exclusively, which is fine, I realize it's a very big story, but if thirty something people had been killed by bombs in Iraq, it might have been mentioned, but that's about it. Now, I understand that the London bombings are a bigger story because they aren't exactly in the war zone and because they were a surprise, but really if we're supposed to be at war with terror, should we be all that surprised when we are attacked? And at the end of the day, thirty people killed in Iraq ae just as dead as thirty people killed in London. I just wish all their lives were valued the same by the rest of us.

Blasts may spur fight over U.S. security spending

I hate these knee-jerk reactions to events. Maybe it's a good idea to double this spending, and maybe it's not. But if it is a good idea, maybe it would have been nice if someone had suggested it before. You simply can't protect everything, and trying to protect one specific thing better simply because it was the method used in the latest attack just doesn't seem to fit quite right. If there is an attack on a cruise ship tomorrow, will we double funding for cruise ship security? If there is then an attack in a mall, will we look to double mall security? How about we look at all areas now, before we see them attacked and decide what the best ways to protect them are, and what funding is required to accomplish it?

Gov. Bush touts Christian-based program for schools

Not that I needed any more evidence that Jeb Bush is a religious wacko, but this just irritates me. Now, I'm all for increasing father's participation in their children's lives, but what I'm not for is using public schools as the venue for teaching people that the way to do that is to rely on God, and read the bible. That may work fine for some people, and that's great, but it's perfectly possible to keep your marriage intact or be a good parent. I know because I know plenty of fine parents who can manage to handle it all without looking to God for any help. I also know plenty that do. But the point is, if there is any reason to promote this method of becoming a better parent, then do it in churches, not in schools. Actually, I have an incredibly novel idea: use the schools to give children a good education. I know that's something the public schoolss here (or at least the ones I went to) did a fine job of not so long ago, but it's something that is noticeably worse since being subjected to the policies of Jeb and his idiot brother.

Iranians to train Iraq's military

Now, I'm all for former enemies making peace with each other, but when we went on our mission of liberating the Iraqi people, somehow I doubt that thier military being trained by Iran is quite what we had in mind.

Anyway, I thought we were training the Iraqi military. Isn't that the main reason that we're still over there? Then as they stand up, we'll stand down, and all that?

What the fuck is wrong with people?

What a fucking weirdo. Even if he actually had documented proof that this was the absolute best way to improve free throw shooting, did he really think he would get away with this? You can't spank kids in school these days even if they might be deserving of some punishment, and you certainly can't do it for missed free throws, and you can't make them pull thier pants down. Sicko. I think for punishment he should be required to attempt to use this method to help Shaquille O'Neal improve his free throw shooting, something tells me he wouldn't enjoy it as much.

And it's not just the coach who is screwed up. What kind of 15 year old kid would let someone spank them? No matter what their position, if someone had tried to spank me when I was 15, they would have had to restrain me first, and as soon as I was let go, I would have been making a complaint to someone.

Happy Birthday, you asshole

I didn't realize it was Bush's birthday, but it made think it's a lucky thing he wasn't born two days earlier. I can't imagine how much fun his crazy ass supporters would have had with it if he was born on the 4th of July. Asshole.

Why the hell would anyone want to live in California?

Now I have nothing against mobile homes. We actually considered buying one at one point before we bought our house. But one of the main advantages to it that I can see is being able to get more for your money, which doesn't seem to apply in fucked up California. If you're paying 1.4 million for a trailer, don't own the land it sits on, and still have to pay rent that is several times higher than my mortgage payment, you should probably just move.

Suspect Killed Because Woman 'Was White'

Who writes headlines these days? They all suck. Is it just me or does this one make it sound like the suspect was killed? Shouldn't it be "Suspect Killed Woman because she 'was white'?" That makes more sense to me.

Anyway, I'm tired of stupid headlines. Yesterday I saw one that said something like "Dennis Menaces Gulf Coast." Why do these people think they're so clever? Like these people who do the sports scores on the radio and say things like "Redskins scalp the Giants" or "Eagles soar past the Vikings." Shut up.

Filibuster Deal Puts Democrats In a Bind

Can someone tell me again why stupid conservatives were upset with this "deal"? What is it exactly that they gave up again? Seriously, I can't think of anything. I know they didn't get to go all nuclear on the Democrats, but the result was still the same, they got everything they wanted. It's like a mugger getting upset if his victim suddenly opens his wallet and gives him all his money as a gift, before he actually gets the chance to mug him.

Santorum Criticizes Views of Sen. Clinton

Rick Santorum is such a fucking idiot.

"The African proverb says, 'It takes a village to raise a child,'" Santorum writes. "The American version is 'It takes a village to raise a child — if the village wants that child.'"

Am I missing something, or does this not even make any sense?

Santorum questions why Clinton and other liberals tout decreasing abortion numbers if abortion is OK.

Because, moron, abortion is not a good thing. No one is pro-abortion. Pro-choice is about who should decide what is best for someone, the government or the person who actually has to live with the decision. No one is arguing that abortions are good for anyone. However, they may in some cases be the best option available in a difficult circumstance. The point is that the decision needs to be made by the individual, not some fucknut Senator who will never in his life have to decide this for himself. Also, maybe liberals understand that the best way to decrease the number of abortions is not to focus everything on making it illegal and making people feel guilty about it, but to educate people in the first place to reduce unwanted pregnancies, and provide alternatives to abortion. Maybe I missed it when Santorum said people should be educated about birth control, which would be one of the best ways to reduce unwanted pregnancy, but somehow I doubt it. I would imagine he's against that also. How do people like this actually manage to get elected? Asshole.

Stupid things to search for

Occasionally (ok, like several times a day), I check my site meter statistics in a desperate attempt for validation of all the time I waste posting here I spend on my blog. Anyway, it allows me to see who came here from where. After I did a post on that stupid Staples Apprentice desk organizer, I realized there was way too much demand for that thing, judging by the number of people searching for it, then I realized that if someone sees on the news that there's a video floating around that might show some boobies, people want to see that, based on how many people ended up here searching for the 49ers training video from a while ago. But lately, the main thing that people come to my blog via search engine for is stuff about Oprah and Hermes. This was a pretty ridiculous situation to begin with, but it's even more ridiculous to me that so many people are interested in it to actively seek it out. I have so many people coming here after searching for that, that the total number of people searching for it must be completely ridiculous. What the hell is wrong with you people? Who cares if Oprah can't shop after closing time? I can't shop after closing time, I'm sure none of you give a shit about that. I'm sorry I ever posted on it. Hopefully, at least some of those people who end up here are offended by my language or something.

Baby 13 years in the making / Family's fertility ordeal ends with birth of girl conceived in same test tube as teenage twins

But unlike most couples, there was little question about whether the Beasleys would use their frozen embryos to produce more children. Because of their strong religious convictions, Debbie Beasley says they never considered discarding the embryos or donating them to research

This is just bullshit. This couple had 12 extra embryos. They ended up with four of them misplaced in some sort of weird scandal, two used in a failed attempt to have another child, two did not thaw out properly, and they used the other four to have their latest child. That seems like some pretty unusual circumstances. And if all that had not happened, particularly the ones that were misplaced, they would still have more extra embryos to deal with. The woman is 45 and her husband is 55, so their strong religous convictions would have been tested pretty good if they had to face having another child. And anyway, aren't the ones that were misplaced and the ones that didn't thaw just as gone as if they had been discarded, and more useless than if they had been donated to use in research? How does that sit with thier strong religous convictions?

Now I'm not saying what I think they should or shouldn't have doen with these embryos. When my wife and I did IVF, we didn't have any leftover, and I'm glad because I'm sure it's a tough thing to decide how to deal with them. But my problem is the attitude that they were always going to use these to produce more children. What if they had not had the ones misplaced, and had had two more children with the two in the failed attempt? Then still had 10 more, with 5 children already? Would they have kept trying to produce more children, as guided by their strong religous convictions? Most likely, they would have discarded some, at least by default through inaction, and if that is the case, isn't that just as bad as deciding to discard them, religiously speaking? It's really easy to take the moral high ground when you already know all the circumstances. Hell, what if they had died with these 12 frozen embryos still waiting? Isn't that just as bad as discarding them? Seems to me for people with such strong religous convictions, they didn't really think this through very much. But I guess they're just lucky that they didn't have to make those tough decisions.

Clean up after yourselves

When I was a kid, I remember a bunch of people in the neighborhood lighting fireworks on July 4th. What I don't remember is having the mess I saw in my neighborhood this morning. Maybe it was there and I just don't remember it, but I'd like to think that most people would be considerate enough to clean up after themselves. As I left for work, I ran over a mess of spent fireworks littering my road, there was even a bottle rocket in my driveway. Is it so hard to just sweep that shit up when you're done? I don't think it is. Hopefully, someone will have cleaned up by the time I get home, otherwise my already lousy impression of some of my neighbors will sink even lower.

Astrologist sues NASA over comet crash - Yahoo! News

Shut the fuck up, Marina Bai.

'Cell phone elbow' has users in a pinch

I love technology, I love my cell phone. I think it's great. But I have to say I think it's a pretty sad day for our society when people are complaining about injuries they got by being on the phone too much. If that's the biggest problem you have, you should consider yourself pretty lucky. Having said that, I'm sure I have cursed myself to a case of cell phone elbow sometime in the future.

Intervention

I'm watcbing this show on A&E and one of the subjects is a video game addict. I'm sorry, but I just cannot take this seriously. It reminds me of last week when I saw a preview for a Lifetime or USA or something movie about some kid that was addicted to internet porn. People were yelling at him, and talking about how this was going to destroy him, and it was tearing the family apart, it was really comical. Wouldn't it have been more of a novel idea to do a movie about a kid that wasn't addicted to internet porn?

Dems: Bush Administration Has Failed Vets

Yeah, not to mention the rest of us. Well, with the exception of the very rich, I guess.

Wild about `Harry'

Please. Make it stop. Seriously, it's enough already. It's just a book.

MSNBC Analyst and a Newsweek Reporter Say Karl Rove Named in Matt Cooper Documents

So, first he says that liberals wanted to offer therapy to the September 11th planners, now it looks like he might have leaked the name of a CIA agent. How much fucked up shit has to come out about this administration before people start demanding a little accountability? They no longer have the excuse of being popular. Hopefully, people will start turning on the administration soon, and we can get back to being America again, and someday we can all look back and laugh at that 'Murika phase we went through, where we indiscriminately started wars for our own amusement, tortured people and alienated our friends.

Unwrapped

I may have posted about this before, but I can't remember for sure, so I'm doing it anyway. Just about anything looks nasty in bulk. The one I'm watching now is about summertime food or something, and I've seen a bunch of lemon pulp, slabs of taffy, and long, disgusting folds of custard flowing out of the machine. The one I saw once about cheetos made me not want to eat them anymore. That's what has led me to the conclusion that no matter how much you like something, if you see it in bulk, it's going to look like shit.

Barbecue Chain Buys Porn Web Site for $6G - Yahoo! News

...the company received a couple of calls a day from upset people who found porn instead of ribs and sauce...

Are people seriously that fucking stupid? Do they really think that the restaurant would rather play a joke on potential customers than actually get their business? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Conservative Groups Rally Against Gonzales as Justice - New York Times

Well, here's something we can all agree on. Hopefully, the process of nominating and confirming a Supreme Court Justice will cause major rifts to develop in the Republican party.

Italy Demands 'Full Respect' From U.S. Over Terror Suspect's Seizure

A curt statement released by the prime minister's office said that the ambassador, Mel Sembler, confirmed to Mr. Berlusconi that the American government's respect was "complete and total and won't be neglected in the future."

emphasis mine

Or in other words, now that we've already done what we want, we won't neglect it anymore.