Language itself is a barrier.
22/05/2007
Our oceans are turning into plastic...are we?
You owe it to yourself to at least skim this article in Best Life Magazine. Yet another reason to avoid bottled water - a vast swath of the Pacific, twice the size of Texas, is full of plastic.
Our oceans are turning into plastic...are we?
20/05/2007
War Pigs - The Iraq Video Remix
Via Crooks and Liars
"War Pigs was originally an anti-Vietnam War song and is perhaps the best known of Black Sabbath's work. It first appeared on their 1970 release, Paranoid, but has come to be used by anyone who hates the horrors of war and warmakers." Read more...
16/05/2007
Gonzales bullys for Bush
This footage of James B. Comey, former Deputy Attorney General of the United States, testifying yesterday, May 15th, about how Gonzales and Card tried to force a reauthorization of the administration's spying on the general American population. Watch it. It's chilling how far the neocons are willing to go. Enter the labyrinth through DailyKos.
Attila, the Attorney General
James B. Comey Gonzales Bush spying
14/05/2007
Bad Mother's Day
My daughter sent me this great card for Mother's Day, which was yesterday. I hope it was a lovely day all around. Anyway, her card got me to thinking. However loving and forgiving our children may be some of us are too neurotic, vain, and self-centered to meet the standard of the Good Mother. It is embarrassing for both the children and us, the bad mothers, to go through the motions of Mother's Day, knowing that the honors are not exactly meant or deserved. Therefore, with an end to restoring integrity all around, I hereby declare that, henceforth, the second Monday of May will be known as Bad Mother's Day. From now on this is our day, we Bad Mothers, to do with as we please. And for good measure, because enough is never enough, I threw in the rights and privileges of Blue Monday [¹] , such as calling in sick and sighing a lot.
Naturally, many good children of bad mothers will not want to send their bad mothers Bad Mother's Day cards, irregardless of what a crap head she is. Not to worry. If you don't send one, it will just go to prove how terribly unappreciated we are. All the more reason for The DAY.
With the help of the troupe here at the Invisible Theatre, I threw together this little video to launch the holiday. In keeping with the theme, it's a variation of the old saying, "the hand that rocks the cradle" merged with the idea that, indeed, "it is never too late." I don't want any flack over the fact that a man does the lyrics. It's about time one of them kicks in. If you'd had a husband like this, you'd have been a bad mother too.
The quality of this video is pretty bad but, hell, what can you expect on Bad Mother's Day? Like I tell my kids, I tired. Anyway, the sound track is good, at least I think so and that's what matters. So sit back and enjoy William Shatner doing "That's Me Trying" from his never a hit album, "Has Been".
Happy Bad Mother's Day.
---------------------------------------------------------------
What? So you think something as important as Bad Mother's Day doesn't deserve footnotes?
[¹] The much ridiculed work of Cliff Arnall, former part-time tutor at Cardiff University explains a lot. Cardiff University distanced themselves from Arnall, but I stand by his efforts to render in mathematical terms such important concepts as Blue Monday.
Based on Cliff's work, I got my little brother (who actually is a scientist) to whip up a formula for Blue Monday Bad Mother's Day. I call it the BMBMD Effect.
... where weather (W) PLUS debt (D) MINUS ability to pay (d) MULTIPLIED BY THE time since her birthday (T), the combined time of all previous Bad Mother's Days (T¹) and the time since blowing her latest New Year’s resolutions (Q) DIVIDED BY Mommie's massive need to be right (M) MULTIPLIED BY her never ending need for appreciation (Na) EQUALS a very bad Blue Monday Bad Mother's Day.
So be a good kid and do something nice for your mother or not. Hop to it.
bad mother's day William Shatner Has Been cradle Blue Monday equations BMDMD Effect
13/05/2007
Mother's Day
Factoid: Did you know that Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day, was jailed on Mother's Day for protesting how commercial the observance had become?
My daughter sent me this poem today and it's well worth sharing. I do believe women, with children or not, must lead the way if we are ever to come anywhere near establishing world peace.
Happy Mother's Day.
Mother's Day Proclamation
Julia Ward Howe
Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses
and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and
earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
Julia Ward Howe Mother's Day women world peace
10/05/2007
09/05/2007
Time past and passing
I'm gone for a couple of days and when I get back I find that Roy pulled the plug on his blog. What the hell's up with that?I was in Oregon the last few days where, unexpectedly, I got to spend time with family members from whom I have been estranged for several years. Much as I would like to rush a healing along, I have no control but I am grateful to still be around. Both of my parents died during my prodigal wandering.
Anyway, It's been a long day.
04/05/2007
03/05/2007
Slide show - Dulary's arrival
There is now a slide show of Dulary's arrival in her diary. Great pics. If your heart needs a little warming, check it out.
Dulary update update
May 1, update
Meanwhile, back at the Elephant Sanctuary, after 41 years of confinement, it only took Dulary a little over 4 hours to decide at that it was okay to step out of the trailer and meet her new sisters Tarra, Delhi and Misty who stood nearby the whole time eagerly waiting to show her around. An elephant in the wild can easily take a hundred mile stroll before breakfast so what a thrill it must be for her, after a lifetime of concrete, bars, and leg chains, to walk freely with friends along the lovely, lovely, rolling miles of soft, sweet dirt elephant trails. I can't wait to hear about Dulary finding the lake. She is water bug. I would love to work at the sanctuary. Full report at Dulary's Diary.
Commander Guy
"I am the
Commander Guy".Just for the record, here is an excerpt from The Caucus reporting this newest, mind-boggling display of Bush's hubris and stupidity. Unfortunately, Commander Guy is so delusional and self-centered that he will probably never grasp just what an asshole we think he is. Too bad. It would be some, small satisfaction, if not comfort, to know he is capable of shame. As it is, Commander Guy, aka The Decider, is a really scary man.
The Caucus
Political blogging from The New York Times
May 2, 2007, 5:11 pm
Bush: ‘I’m the Commander Guy’
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
WASHINGTON, May 2 – And you thought he was still “the decider.”
President Bush has coined a new nickname for himself — ‘’the commander guy” — on Wednesday, as he criticized Congressional Democrats in a speech to the annual gathering of the Associated General Contractors of America, a construction industry trade group.
The man who last year proclaimed “I’m the decider,’’ in response to a question about whether he would fire Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary, came up with this latest moniker in explaining why he vetoed an Iraq war spending bill that dictated a timeline for troops to withdraw from Iraq.
“The question is, ‘Who ought to make that decision, the Congress or the commanders?,’’ Mr. Bush said. “As you know, my position is clear – I’m the commander guy.”
commander guy bush the decider idiot
01/05/2007
Dulary update
In happier news, Dulary arrived at the Elephant Sanctuary today. Here is a clip from her diary at elephants.com.
May 1, 20075:37 p.m.
As Dulary was backing out of the trailer, Tarra came up to see what was happening -- Dulary was a little uncertain about that, but after she realized that Tarra just wanted some of her food, everything was OK. Dulary followed Tarra and they have been playing ever since!2:30 p.m.
Dulary has arrived, safe and sound. She took a bath in the trailer where she remains, enjoying the sights and sounds of her new home. She is munching on lots of hay and 3 of her new sisters wait anxiously -- Misty, Delhi, and Tarra.7:30 AM
Dulary is on her final leg of her journey home.
Mission NOT accomplished
George W. Bush is a disgrace to this country. And a menace to the world. On this, the 4th anniversary of his bullshit "Mission Accomplished" photo opp and speech on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, there are 3351 American soldiers dead and 4 more pending DoD confirmation. Dead, Mr. Flight Suit. Dead. Because of your phony "war". And a country in ruins, countless citizens dead, maimed, homeless, outraged. Their civil war is on you Poster Boy, and your fascist buddies Darth Cheney, Crazy Rummy, Condie Baby (your ever-adoring war wife), Bill Kristol and the rest of the neoconservative elites who pull your strings, the religious freaks you duped and the corporations you serve. Happy Anniversary, asshole.
mission accomplished Bush Iraq veto
30/04/2007
Dulary's journey
Today Dulary the elephant is en route from the Philadelphia Zoo, where she has lived for the last 41 years, to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Big Day! Zoo officials have a great attitude about sending her and I think this kid does a good job of summing up the attitude for most of the locals in this CBS video.You can leave a message for Dulary here. You may think, "Why bother? She's an elephant, for chrissake." Naturally, I think it makes a difference. There is more than one way of hearing.
29/04/2007
Bass in the bathtub updade
The bass is out of the bathtub. The other day we had a buyer. It was love a first sight. He bought it, half up front and years to pay, no interest, but when he got it home he freaked out. He plays for the Reno Philharmonic and it turned out that it wasn't as loud as his current bass, which was a deciding factor. Plus, I think he decided that he couldn't afford it. The poor guy recently moved to a double wide in the valley after his divorce. His wife got the house in Tahoe. As he put it, she got the gold, he got the shaft. Anyway, of course we refunded his dough but crap. But now that the fiddle is out of the tub, neither of us have the heart to put it there again. It just seems wrong. It has such a heartbreakingly beautiful sound. Now we have to find it a home. We were going to take it to LA as Bonhams and Butterfields will be there doing appraisals next month, but decided against it. We wouldn't do a consignment with them anyway. Brad (the musician) gave us a San Francisco contact who seems better suited to our needs. At this point, we are not sure what to ask for it, eight to ten thousand was always the upper end. You know how these things are. You get what you pay for but you also only get what people are willing to pay. Either way, it is a beautiful instrument, perhaps as much as two hundred years old, solid, hand-crafted wood and in great shape, but Lee's x-dirty beatnik bebop bass player dad, heavily modified the neck. It is ... at this point in it's star-crossed life, after 50 years in someone's basement, or was that good fortune? ... a jazz bass. Want to buy a great bass? We will make you a sweeeeeeet deal.
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