Daveawayfromhome

quote for the day

2012-01-27T03:54:00.001-06:00

"One Month Battery Life: No battery anxiety - read for up to one month on a single charge with wireless off and a half hour of reading per day."

Amazon stretching the truth about as far as it can be stretched without breaking... or assuming that their readers dont actually read.
How hard is it to say "lasts up to 15 hours of reading between charges"?

recommendation

2012-01-26T06:04:00.001-06:00

If you like non-conventional animated stuff, I have to suggest FLCL, also known as Fooly-Cooly. I cant describe it, really, other to say that it is an insane, wild ride that grabbed me and forced me to watch. If you have Netflix streaming, you can let it grab you here.

t shirt suggestion

2012-01-25T04:37:00.000-06:00

more here

quote for the day

2012-01-24T19:20:00.000-06:00

"If we destroy our planet, if we cannot undo the damage we have done, then as I’ve said before, perhaps we deserve to die out. That’s how natural selection’s supposed to work, after all."

Jason Thibeault

stolen from Rational Rant

quote for the day

2012-01-23T04:10:00.001-06:00

"This widespread and growing movement against the twin corrupting influences of money on our politics and state patronage on big business is going on everywhere – on the streets, in these courthouses, in the homes of people refusing to move after foreclosure, even in the antitax movements and the campaigns against state pensions.

The only place we can be absolutely sure this battle will not be found is in any national presidential race between Barack Obama and someone like Mitt Romney."

Matt Taibbi

for the caucussunday funny

2012-01-22T04:56:00.003-06:00

Late damnit, late late late.

saturday matinee

2012-01-21T13:00:00.000-06:00

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Time-lapse sequences of photographs taken with a special low-light 4K-camera by the crew of expedition 28 and 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October, 2011. (stolen whole cloth from Presurfer).

daveawayfromhome is a ...

2012-01-19T06:07:00.002-06:00

Guy who let his Christmas banner stay up waaaaaaaayyyy too long.

for the election

2012-01-18T04:38:00.000-06:00

Seriously, why are they fucking around with people like Perry, Gingrich and Santorum? They just need to quit pussy-footing around and go straight for the source.

ecard

2012-01-17T04:30:00.002-06:00

now you know how it's done

2012-01-16T04:15:00.004-06:00

Stephen Colbert Announces Presidential Run

saturday matinee

2012-01-14T13:00:00.000-06:00

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared from This Is It on Vimeo.

um... dont show this to your kids

please.

via

cartoon for the campaign

2012-01-13T05:09:00.005-06:00

More.

random

2012-01-12T20:01:00.002-06:00

Came across this somewhere on Tumblr. This was what I found:

"This definition requires an understanding of additional jargon, namely what a measure and beat are."

From The Everything Drums Book, by Erik Starr

The second nearest book resulted in this:

"Topiltzin tried to end these bloody rituals, urging that the gods be rendered only offerings of bread, flowers, snakes, incense, or butterflies."

From Fire And Blood: A History Of Mexico, by T. R. Fehrenbach.

So, ... yeah.

sunday funny

2012-01-08T04:44:00.003-06:00

gpoy

saturday matinee

2012-01-07T13:00:00.000-06:00

Fuck Yeah, Elizabeth Warren!

via

Dave's 2011 Reading List

2012-01-04T04:45:00.002-06:00

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one."

George R. R. Martin

Once again, it's time for my annual list of all the books I read the previous year. I dont have much to say about them, really, 'cause I suck at book reviews. The linked ones are the best of the bunch, and you should read them, especially the non-fiction ones.

Austin, Jane - Sense And Sensibility
Bauer, Cat - Harley's Ninth
Bayse, Dale E. - Heck, Where The Bad Kids Go
Bear, Greg - Blood Music
Bernstein, William J. - A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped The World - NF
Cherryh, C. J. - Regenesis
Cook, Claire - Must Love Dogs
DeAngelis, Camille - Petty Magic
Egan, Greg - The Clockwork Rocket
Elliot, Kate - (the 4 Jaran novels)
Flaming, Matthew - The Kingdom of Ohio
Friedman, Machael Jan - Stargazer: Oblivion
Gayle, Mike - Turning Thirty
Gibbons, Stella - Cold Comfort Farm
Gibson, William - Zero History
Gifford, Thomas - The Assassini
Gonzales, Tony - EVE: The Empyrean Age
Gore, Ariel - The Traveling Death And Resurrection Show
Grange, Amanda - Colonel Brandon's Diary
Grange, Amanda - Mr. Darcy's Diary
Gravel, Geary - The Pathfinders
Green, Simon R. - A Hard Day's Night
Green, Simon R. - The Good, The Bad, And The Uncanny
Harris, Charlene - Dead Reckoning
Harris, Charlene - A Touch of Dead
Hodgell, P. C. - (all of the Kencyr books)
Holden, Wendy - The Wives Of Bath
Holt, Tom - Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Sausages
Home, A. M. - Jack
Howard, Jonathan L. - Johannes Caball: Necromancer
Isenberg, Lynn - My Life Uncovered
Jenkins, Emily - Mr. Posterior And The Genius Child
Jenkins, Emyl - Stealing With Style
Keats, Jonathan - The Book Of The Unknown: Tales of the 36
Kibuishi, Kazu - Amulet
Kindrey, Richard - Kill The Dead
Kou Yaginuma - Twin Spica
Kurlansky, Mark - Salt: A World History - NF
Lipman, Elenor - Then She Found Me
Lockhart, E. - The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
Mack, David - Daredevil: Parts of a Hole, vol. 2
Martin, Ann M. - Here Today
Martin, George R. R. - A Dance With Dragons
Marx, Patricia - Starting From Happy
McCaffery, Anne - Dragonriders of Pern (omnibus)
McCaffery, Anne - Dragonsong and Dragonsinger
McDevitt, Jack - Ancient Shores
McDevitt, Jack - Cauldron
McDevitt, Jack - Odyssey
McClarty, Ron - Art In America
Modesitt, L. E. - Timegod's World
Moon, Elizabeth - Trading In Danger
Moore, Christopher - A Dirty Job
Moore, Christopher - The Stupidest Angel
Newark, Elizabeth - The Darcys Give A Ball
O'Malley, Bryan - Lost At Sea
Pedersen, Laura - Last Call
Pierson, C. Allyn - Mr. Darcy's Little Sister
Pratchett, Terry - Snuff
Rardin, Jennifer - Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Reeve, Philip - Fever Crumb
Russo, Richard - Nobody's Fool
Russo, Richard - Straight Man
Shevdon, Mike - The Road To Bedlam
Simonsen, Mary Lydon - The Perfect Bride For Mr. Darcy
Standage, Tom - An Edible History Of Humanity - NF
Stasheff, Christopher - Saint Vidicon To The Rescue
Stross, Charles - Singularity Sky
Townshend, Kathleen Kennedy - Failing America's Faithful - NF
Valente, Catherynne M. - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Boat Of Her Own Making
Vinge, Vernor - Marooned In Realtime
Wallace, William - Michelangelo: The Artist, The Man, and His Time - NF
Walsh, Marissa - A Field Guide To High School
Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Dragon Weather
Westerfield, Scott - Evolution's Darling
Young-Stone, Michele - The Handbook For Lightning Strike Survivors
Zielen, Lara - Donut Days

Incidentally, apparently 42% of people who graduate from college never read another book. How sad is that?

Previous Lists: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004.

quote for the New Year

2012-01-01T05:00:00.001-06:00

"Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunder-storm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols."

Thomas Mann

new year linkage

2012-01-01T04:39:00.011-06:00

- A gay day in the life.

- You may not know it, but you've got a bit of Brutalist Architecture around somewhere.

- Collectors Weekly.

- Know Your Meme.

- via Gerry Canavan, "Turns out the optimal marginal tax rate is… 76%".

- Daniel Ellsberg on the Limits of Knowledge. (A Tale of Security) (via)

- David Brin goes Galt on Ayn Rand. (Yeah, I know the phrase doesnt really work, but I couldnt resist).

- Leonardo daVinci's To Do list. (via)

- a Barbie makeover tip.

saturday matinee: new year's eve edition

2011-12-31T13:00:00.003-06:00

Skinemax from Smash TV on Vimeo.

WoodenSnail sez: Skinemax is Koyaanisqatsi for a generation raised on late night television and B-movie VHS tapes. It’s long form entertainment for short attention spans. An hour long VJ odyssey, it will move your body and warp your mind.

It's really long, but if you're the right age it'll suck you right in. And what else have you got to do this afternoon?

christmas morning merryment

2011-12-25T04:48:00.004-06:00

Wait, there's more. Click on the image, and have a Merry Christmas!

christmas eve image

2011-12-24T04:50:00.001-06:00

modern solutions

2011-12-23T04:25:00.000-06:00

read the whole thing

pic of the day

2011-12-21T04:32:00.001-06:00

creepy

University students with their necks painted protest at Bolivar square in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday Nov. 3, 2011. Their signs read in Spanish “We have the right to be outraged,” left, and “Excellent education and for all!!” Students are protesting education reforms planned by the government that propose private funding for public institutions. (Fernando Vergara)

via

chart for the day

2011-12-20T05:17:00.000-06:00

I dropped out of grad school in 1993, figuring I'd go back eventually. At these prices, I'm afraid I never will be able to. Here's an article to go with it.

via

holiday cheer

2011-12-19T04:59:00.002-06:00

sunday funny

2011-12-18T04:20:00.000-06:00

via

saturday matinee

2011-12-17T13:00:00.003-06:00

David Mitchell/Peep Show via Hopeful Rambling

date a girl who reads books

2011-12-13T04:35:00.001-06:00

DATE A GIRL WHO READS

by Rosemarie Urquico

(In response to Charles Warnke’s You Should Date an Illiterate Girl)

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

This is making the rounds on Tumbler right now, and I wanted to save it for later.

sunday funny

2011-12-11T09:08:00.000-06:00

click on the cartoon for the original page.

saturday matinee

2011-12-10T13:00:00.008-06:00

I dont get to have a moustache, so I cannot truly relate. Consider this a public service.

disappointment reigns

2011-12-10T10:16:00.000-06:00

So, you can see yesterday's post a couple of entries down the page, yes? So, if you read this blog you know that I was anticipating this event. If you know me you know I was excited by it. So what did I get? First of all, I got clouds. Not at 4:30 am, apparently (judging by a quick look out the window, admittedly, before going back to bed), but plenty at 5:30, when the eclipse was supposed to start. So I checked the weather sites, determining that there were clear skies to the north and to the east. So I headed north. More clouds, but, occasionally, the moon would peek through. Uneclipsed. In any way whatsoever.

Turns out, that the site that gave me my information neglected to say that the eclipse wouldnt actually be visible here, even though it said it would. I could have watched in Hawaii. But not here.

Lesson: dont trust the internet, kids!

quote for the day

2011-12-09T04:50:00.000-06:00

Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

(via)

Lunar eclipse in Dallas tonight

2011-12-09T04:27:00.004-06:00

Total Eclipse of the Moon tonight, be ready! Okay, technically it's early tomorrow morning, but whatever.

DALLAS, TEXAS
o ' o '
W096 47, N32 47

Central Standard Time

Moon's
Azimuth Altitude
h m o o
Moonrise 2011 Dec 09 16:47 63.2 ----
Moon enters penumbra 2011 Dec 10 05:31.8 284.3 19.6
Moon enters umbra 2011 Dec 10 06:45.4 292.9 5.5
Moonset 2011 Dec 10 07:19 297.1 ----

quote for the day

2011-12-05T04:32:00.008-06:00

"It's okay to blog about your fascination with knitting or to support official positions. If you happen to be Iranian or Chinese or Syrian, and not terribly fond of your government, and express yourself on the subject, the US government will support your right to do it 110 per cent of the way. However, as a federal employee, blog about your negative opinions on US policies and you've got a problem. In fact, we have a problem as a country if freedom of speech only holds as long as it does not offend the US government."

"Thought crime in Washington" by Peter Van Buren

America needs whistle-blowers just as much as it needs soldiers. The rate of attrition for whistle-blowers is much higher, sadly.

saturday matinee

2011-12-03T13:00:00.003-06:00

hmmm

2011-12-02T05:28:00.000-06:00

I seem to be all quotes these days.

quote for the day

2011-12-02T04:03:00.003-06:00

"Today, Erick "Erick" Erickson writes, in the blog RedState (motto: "The reason why that blobby fuck appears on your CNN") that the inevitable nomination of serial flip-flopper Mitt Romney will destroy everything sacred about conservatism. Two things: Romney actually represents the craven, amoral, opportunistic GOP better than just about anyone else, so, of course, he should be the nominee. And there is nothing left to destroy in conservatism. It's been hollowed out from the inside by parasites like Romney and Erickson."

The Rude Pundit.

quote for the day

2011-12-01T04:58:00.004-06:00

"The crime, the betrayal of hope, is identical at both extremes. It lies in their cultish mystifying and worshipping - without a scintilla's evidence or proof - a golden past that irrefutably wasn't, and a cruel darkness that only now is parting from before our eyes."

David Brin, discussing the yearning for feudalism in some fantasy novels, etc.

quote for the day

2011-11-30T04:28:00.001-06:00

"Did you know that for pretty much the entire history of the human species, the average life span was less than thirty years? You could count on ten years or so of real adulthood, right? There was no planning for retirement, there was no planning for a career. There was no planning. No time for planning. No time for a afuture. But then lifespans started getting longer, and people started having more and more future. And now life has become the future. Every moment of your life is lived for the future - you go to highschool so you can go to college so you can get a good job so you can get a nice house so they can afford to send their kids to college."

John Green, Paper Towns

dont ask

2011-11-29T04:09:00.000-06:00

Everyday I'm steppin' on the beach.

to secure the state

2011-11-28T06:03:00.001-06:00

Egypt to US: “We learned it by watching YOU!!!”

or, as Huffington puts it, we’re some kind of example, if not, perhaps, the kind we want to be.

quote for the day

2011-11-28T02:33:00.000-06:00

I think you're stating something we've discussed on this site before. That the Enlightenment experiement in both democracy AND in capitalism (two very different things) that made the 20th Century what it was--was essentially an experiment in ENGINEERING. A system--a sort of machine if you will--was CONSTRUCTED which magnificently channeled human motivation INTO self-sustaining, beneficient directions.

Now in the 21st century, the right-wing is cheerfully dismantling the Great Machine under the bizarre theory that because that machine worked so well, it has proven that human motivation NATURALLY tends toward self-sustaining, beneficient directions, and that machines actually get in the way of this process.

It's analogous to a claim that the functioning of the internal combustion engine proves that the best way to make use of hydrocarbons for motive power is uncontrolled explosions--that the engine itself is somehow retarding the process.

LarryHart commenting at Contrary Brin

saturday matinee

2011-11-26T13:00:00.004-06:00

I hope* no one finds this offensive.

* In this particular case, "hope" means "doesnt give a rat's ass"

the Daves I know*

2011-11-25T05:09:00.000-06:00

* Well, this guy knows, not me, really

Thanksgiving matinee

2011-11-24T13:00:00.002-06:00

Okay, I think I hate pretty much everything about the celebrity worship in our culture, but I'll make an exception for these two little girls. So cute! So clever! So glad that they're not mine! (Well, the quiet one would be okay, but the other one is no doubt a handful).

via

happy thanksgiving

2011-11-24T04:17:00.003-06:00

rebuttal

2011-11-23T04:20:00.000-06:00

Whenever you hear someone say that government should be run more like a business, you need to bear in mind (and perhaps point out to them) that in a business, votes are based on how much stock you own. The more you hold, the more votes you have. Then point them to this article.

wow

2011-11-22T04:19:00.000-06:00

If you have something powerful to say, then Samuel Jackson is a good person to have deliver the message.

wish I'd done this.

2011-11-21T10:36:00.000-06:00

Maybe you, my loyal readers, remember my Christina series I did a while back (here, here, here, here, here). I didnt do this one, sadly, but got it from here.

quote for the day

2011-11-21T04:23:00.041-06:00

"Conservatism has never been successful in this country. It has only led to some of the darkest periods in American history. The Civil War, the Great Depression, and now this last decade are all due to rampant conservatism."

Stephen D. Foster Jr., in his article The Greatest Liberals In American History And What They Did For Our Country

via

Okay, I'm about to the point where I think that Democrats should boycott the elections. Why? Two reasons:
1) Many of the representatives on the left side of the aisle are either spineless, or sitting on the wrong side. Clear them all out, the good ones will make it back next cycle.
2) No matter what happens, the GOP has the MSM on their side, spinning everything to make them look good and Democrats look bad. Remove Democrats, remove the cover they provide.
So here's my thought. Let's let the Republican Party take over the government. Completely, decisively. With no opposition in the House, and control of the Senate and the White House, they will have no one to blame but themselves when their insane policies make things worse than they already are. Democrats had their chance at dominance and they blew it, through either duplicity or cowardice, allowing the Right a level of believability that keeps them firmly in power, majority or not. Ask yourself, do we really want another presidential term like the last one?
Let the GOP in, let them run rampant, let them, at full volume with no opposition whatsoever, rape the country as they have been quietly doing for decades. I suspect that, at last, most (not all, of course) of the nation will finally see them for what they are.
I think that might be worth a two year dive into Hell, rather than the slow descent into purgatory that we're experiencing now.
And hey, maybe we're all wrong and Republicans really will make the country better!

Probably by getting tossed out on their asses during the next election.

saturday matinee

2011-11-19T13:00:00.003-06:00

Just image Harry Potter as a teen comedy...

quote for the day

2011-11-18T03:54:00.000-06:00

"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Albert Einstein

quote for the day

2011-11-13T05:01:00.000-06:00

saturday matinee: new word version

2011-11-12T13:00:00.001-06:00

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

a special day

2011-11-11T11:11:00.001-06:00

I hereby declare, by the Power Of The Blog, that today is Nigel Tufnel Day.

Why? Because it is 11/11/11, that's why.

Incidentally, enjoy this one, because there's only one more left (12/12/12). After that we'll have to wait until the next century, and neither of us will likely make it that far.

quote for the day: screwjob edition

2011-11-09T18:13:00.003-06:00

"Many economists argue that the chained CPI is more accurate because it assumes that as prices increase, consumers switch to lower cost alternatives, reducing the amount of inflation they experience."

Like substituting dog food for meat? This is one of the stupidest rationalizations I've heard from economists, in a long line stupid rationalizations.

The quote comes from an article about a plan in Congress to cut social security payments while raising social security tax rates (on ordinary folks - no mention is made of raising the ceiling on social security tax rates, of course). It would also gradually lower the level at which one is considered to be in "poverty".

So, to sum up, it's okay to lower the level at which one is considered poor. It's okay to raise taxes on working people. It's okay to cut benefits for people who've paid into the system for years.
But it's not okay to tax the super-wealthy, the only people who've made gains (and not just gains, but super gains) in the last few decades, even if it means merely returning to the levels of the previous decade (before things started to go to shit for the rest of the country).

quote for the day

2011-11-07T05:10:00.000-06:00

With Libertarians/Tea Partiers being against stuff where the government is telling people what to do, I’m surprised they aren’t trying to rid of stop lights/traffic laws/etc: “The government shouldn’t be telling people whether or not they have to stop their car! People are smart enough to make that choice themselves!”

Matthew Trevithick

I originally pre-posted this a while back, before the OWS movement arose. Now, regarding Tea Partiers, it's like, "whatever happened to those guys?".

Not that I really care.

saturday matinee

2011-11-05T13:00:00.001-05:00

quote for the day

2011-11-04T04:18:00.003-05:00

"One of the best things about Occupy Wall Street is the way it confuses and ignores the shrill pundit class."

Dahlia Lithwick

(via)

("Because a media constructed around the illusion of false equivalencies, screaming pundits, and manufactured crises fails to capture who we are and what we value.")

quote for the day

2011-11-02T05:08:00.001-05:00

A Liberal aspires to be right.
A Conservative aspires to be Conservative.

Argue with a Liberal and he'll tell you why you're wrong.
Argue with a Conservative and he'll show you why you're Liberal.

A Liberal bases his position on his judgement of the evidence.
A Conservative bases his judgement of the evidence on his position.

To a Liberal, a liar is anyone who knowingly contradicts the truth.
To a Conservative, a liar is anyone who is knowingly Liberal.

An honest Liberal Politician is one who cannot be bought.
An honest Conservative Politician is one who, once bought, STAYS bought.

stolen from NiceGuy Eddie

i cannot stop myself

2011-11-01T04:40:00.008-05:00

It's Ham Solo.

So sorry. You know how much I love Star Wars goofs.

for halloween

2011-10-31T04:20:00.001-05:00

saturday matinee

2011-10-29T13:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday at work, I went dressed as my own Evil Twin. My costume was simple, because as anyone who watches TV or movies should know, the Evil Twin always looks exactly the same except he has a moustache (or perhaps a goatee). No one got it, though, without explaination.

sigh.

I had a great idea for next year's costume (and it's obscure, since that seems to be my thing). I will choose an incredibly elaborate costume, something literary and allegorical, and then write out a detailed description of it. I will then make many copies of that description. Wearing ordinary clothing, I will hand out copies of that description whenever someone asks why I didnt dress up this year. Why?
Can you guess what my costume is?
A Conceptual Artist!
Anyone who went to Art School will probably find this hilarious. Really.

for the Brother's Birthday

2011-10-28T04:07:00.002-05:00

linkage

2011-10-27T04:25:00.006-05:00

- Penny Postcards! (via)

- Create your own beer label (this one's for you, Chad).

- Your Honor, I move the witness receives an MRI to test for their paracingulate sulcus. (via)

- This is now on the top of my Christmas list.

- Crazy or amazing? Not brilliant, though.

- The Battle of Isengard... in Lego! (via)

- Damn You, Autocorrect! (via)

- Make it Right.

- a truly green bridge.

- This is the house I want.

- How the Candidates stand on LGBT issues. (via)

- fucking love!

- Ecosphere!

- Some really clever ideas.

- Even by now most people have probably forgotten the San Diego area power outages of early September, but dont worry, there will be reminders. (via)

2011-10-26T04:56:00.000-05:00

Hey! How about this as a possible root of our problems here in America, and it's one that even tea-baggers and libertarians should be able to agree on: Any time any organization reaches a certain level of size and power, that organization will start to turn its efforts towards maintaining that power rather than doing the thing that it was created to do in the first place. We see this with governments, we saw this with the Catholic Church, we saw this with Unions, we're seeing it now with the Democratic Party*.
This the real reason why Democracy is such a good thing - because it breaks things down into individual units.

I'm not going to argue for or against the idea that the best way to run an economy is pure capitalism. It seems to be so. Unfortunately, economies do not exist in vacuums, they are part of the larger societal picture, and in that sense, pure capitalism is pure poison.
A society is the result of a group of people banding together for their mutual good. At its heart, the sought after good is protection, but in any society worth a damn, it goes well beyond that. Capitalism operates on the principle that self-interest will always lead to efficiency, which while debatable, isnt really the point here, except for that self-interest part.
See, in order for a society to work, a certain level of self-interest must be put aside for the collective good. But when a society's economy operates under the aegis of pure capitalism (or that ideal, however diluted your actual capitalism may be) then that idea of self-interest tends to bleed out into the rest of the society's thought processes. Enough cross-pollination, and pretty soon your society has decided that "collective" activity is a bad thing.
Capitalism is a terrific way to make money. It sucks as a way to run just about everything else.

Which brings me to an interview of Michael Moore conducted by Naomi Klein.

...democracy can't be being able to vote every two or four years. It has to be every part of every day of your life.

We've changed relationships and institutions around quite considerably because we've decided democracy is a better way to do it. Two hundred years ago you had to ask a woman's father for permission to marry her, and then once the marriage happened, the man was calling all the shots. And legally, women couldn't own property and things like that.

Thanks to the women's movement of the '60s and '70s, this idea was introduced to that relationship--that both people are equal and both people should have a say. And I think we're better off as a result of introducing democracy into an institution like marriage.

But we spend eight to ten to twelve hours of our daily lives at work, where we have no say. I think when anthropologists dig us up 400 years from now--if we make it that far--they're going to say, "Look at these people back then. They thought they were free. They called themselves a democracy, but they spent ten hours of every day in a totalitarian situation and they allowed the richest 1 percent to have more financial wealth than the bottom 95 percent combined.

Granted, democracy probably wont work as well as Authoritarianism will in terms of making a profit or getting big projects done, but I dont see any one in America advocating the Chinese social system, and they are able to carry out massive projects pretty much just by having whatever passes as Emporor there these days decide to do so. If China decides to go green, then America will have to work very, very hard not to be left behind in the dust on this.
That America has not initiated a Manhattan Project-like effort to get create an alternative energy source or sources when the middle east (and our dependence on their oil) has been the primary source of security problems in this country is further proof of my theory on large organization. Is the military/industrial complex really keeping us safe? I dont think so.

* * *

basically: Republicans seem to feel that the market and profit are more important than the public they are supposedly serving. Those who advocate reform of the current system feel that the good of the public should come before the profits of the marketplace.
At this point Republicans will counter that the profits of the marketplace translate into good for the public, but I would argue that this is only true if money is the most important thing, i.e., that money can buy happiness.

* Republicans do it too, of course. Nakedly.

the Republican Party has destroyed America

2011-10-24T08:51:00.005-05:00

The Republican Party has been the dominant force in American politics since the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. And what do you suppose they've done in nearly three decades of either direct control or control via framing of the issues?

when Reagan came into office we were the largest exporter of manufactured goods and the largest importer of raw materials on the planet. And the largest creditor. More people owed us money than anybody else in the world. Now just twenty eight years later we're the largest importer of finished goods, manufactured goods, exporter of raw materials which is kind of the definition of a third world nation and we're the most in debt of any country in the world.

They will blame the collapse of America on the Democrats, they will blame it on the Unions, they will blame it on homosexuals and "high" taxes, they will blame it on a lack of moral character or fiber. Then, as a solution, they will will give the same answer that they give for every single issue that ever confronts them: deregulation and tax cuts.

props to the sadly lost Kel, who provided this video sometime ago.

Ed. Note: This was an old draft that I'd written God knows how long ago, probably back in '08, that I found and decided that it was still relevant and perhaps coherent enough to fill some space.

saturday matinee

2011-10-22T13:00:00.003-05:00

Thank you, folks, you've been a great audience, Magical Trevor is up next!

quote for the day

2011-10-21T04:36:00.000-05:00

The historian Robert Paxton defines fascism as "a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."

From The Meming of Life

quote for the day

2011-10-18T04:10:00.000-05:00

"When you base your happiness on negatives, it can only get so positive."

Jef Mallett in Frazz

saturday matinee

2011-10-15T13:00:00.008-05:00

This is pretty cool. My wife, a history teacher, showed it to me. I love this shit, seriously.

quote for the day

2011-10-12T05:47:00.000-05:00

"Pawlenty knows perfectly well what every Liberal has always known: that for decades within the GOP, "Sane" has been a rusting hulk, stripped for parts and rotting in a wingnut landfill. That however much lavishly well paid children like David Brooks sit behind the stump of the steering wheel and yell, "Vrooom! Vrooom! We're going very fast now!", the only functional Republican vehicle out of obscurity and on to political power is the Batshit Clown Car."

driftglass

Unfortunately, we are a nation of children, surly teenagers unwilling to do our chores, whining, "but it's not My mess!". In the end, we will sink beneath the waves of our own self-importance and inability to understand that a successful nation works for everyone, whether everyone "works" or not.

viva le roi! viva l'aristocracy!

2011-10-11T00:57:00.001-05:00

Okay, here's what I'm thinking:

It's time to call the financial and industrial leaders of this country what they really are: royalty, aristocrats, the hoity toity, our Lords and Ladies. Whatever.
The signs are all there. They have hundreds or thousands of times more money than almost all of us. They inherit not only money, but power, fame and social "placement"*. They have access to lawmakers that most of us cannot even dream of. The bar for consequences to illegal behavior is much, much higher, if it exists at all.
They never get fired, even when they practically destroy their fiefdom. They may lose their job, but they never lose their positions.
And how do you explain the kind of compensations that they draw from their "work"? No person could possibly earn their salaries. Nor could they earn these kinds of benefits.

So, here's my proposition: It's time to call these folks what they are.
They are Barons of Banking, Earls of Energy, Princes of Finance, Dukes of Insurance, Viscounts of Pharmaceuticals, Marquises of the Military-Industrial Complex, and all the various Knights and Baronets of the Entertainment and Real Estate Industries. LEt's give them their titles. I mean, why wait for them to demand them? We already owe them fealty.
I myself answer to the Barons at Bank of America (and am a marked man in several other banking demenses). I am frequently forced to bow down before the petty lords who run my place of employment due to their alliance with the Duc d'Aetna.

So let's do it. America as a Democracy is probably dead anyway, so let's get started. Goodbye, Democracy, hello Feudal State. And cheer up! It cant be too many generations of toil for the glory of the aristocracy before some kind of calamity wipes out a major portion of the population, starting the whole middle class thing up again, right?

you need this for Halloween

2011-10-10T05:09:00.003-05:00

You need this candle for Halloween, right? Which is why I'm posting this in time for you to order one (and to remind myself to do the same).
Assuming it's available, that is. It may not be. You may have to make one yourself, somehow. Or write the guy who made them and beg him to sell you one.

yeah. Or to just torment you... and myself.

(via)

saturday matinee

2011-10-08T13:00:00.004-05:00

(via)

quote for the day

2011-10-04T04:23:00.000-05:00

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label “Liberal?” If by “Liberal” they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of “Liberal.” But if by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal.”

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
September 14, 1960

Read the rest of the speech

sunday funny

2011-10-02T04:19:00.002-05:00

Guess who gets paid more? Guess who determines the value of the work?

saturday matinee

2011-10-01T13:00:00.006-05:00

Eran Amir made a stop-motion within a stop-motion video created using 500 people in Israel holding 1500 photos. The music is 'Malinkovec Valzer' by Maxmaber Orkestar.

(straight to YouTube)

top 10 signs you're a fundamentalist christian

2011-09-29T04:08:00.000-05:00

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. In addition, you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

stolen outright from Allan

wait, did he say "trader" or "traitor"?

2011-09-28T06:05:00.003-05:00

This is why the BBC is better than anything in the U.S.

BBC: Can you pin down exactly what would keep investors happy, make them feel more confident?

TRADER: That's a tough one. Personally, it doesn't matter. I'm a trader. I don't care about that stuff... We don't really care how they're gonna fix the economy, how they're gonna fix the situation. Our job is to make money from it. And personally, I've been dreaming of this moment for three years. I have a confession, which is, I go to bed every night, I dream of another recession, I dream of another moment like this. Why? Because, people don't seem to maybe remember, the 30s Depression, the Depression in the 30s, wasn't just about a market crash. There were some people who were prepared to make money from that crash. And I think anybody can do that. It isn't just for some people in the elite. Anybody can make money, it's an opportunity.

Bear in mind, these are the same people who make millions in corporate donations these days. But what is their motive for those donations?

(ht)

quote for the day

2011-09-27T04:27:00.000-05:00

"For every complex problem there is a simple solution. And it's always wrong."

H. L. Mencken

sunday funny

2011-09-25T05:16:00.000-05:00

exhibit no. 38 for Why People Suck.

Yes, it's a cartoon.
Yes, it's sadly true, too.

saturday matinee

2011-09-24T13:00:00.001-05:00

Every Argument Every Couple Ever Has EVER. from Casey Donahue on Vimeo.

Every argument every couple ever has EVER.

quote for the day

2011-09-24T04:19:00.000-05:00

So I’m watching this documentary about the White family in West Virginia, & it’s mostly focused on the trials and travails of members of this one infamous family. Its interesting, & kind of sad. There’s this “look at the strange ways of poor white people” tone to it. And then there’s the comments from local officials on the family dynamic (words like entitlement culture come up a lot), as well as one official admitting that West Virginia and its citizens are routinely exploited by outsiders who own most of the state and exploit its resources. He drew a comparison to the exploitation of people and resources to Africa & America’s history of slavery that was almost genius, but then he either backed off, or they cut away because it didn’t go far enough. Watching this it is very clear (again) that the real underpinnings of fostering racism in America isn’t about any real belief in white superiority.

It’s really about making sure each group is fighting for a very tiny slice of the pie & having to do so much just to survive is blamed on easy pre-made targets. Keeping up race as a barrier to communication means that the conversation is eternally about fighting each other instead of the people who poison whole populations, enslave them in deed if not word (paying miners in scrip, forcing sharecroppers to use credit in a way that leaves them eternally in debt, importing labor & taxing their pay only to blast them for wanting to be treated as citizens in the country where they work etc.), and use their money as a club to stay in power. Again, I wonder if we ever do get to be post racial what kind of world will we live in? What kind of economic system would be implemented?

Esoterica

linkage

2011-09-23T04:27:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I know it's friday, sue me.

- Oh yeah, America's ready for the future. Not.

- Dr. Arthur Fuckingham-Wallaces' Geographical Obscenity Compendium

- It's like Photo Realism, but isnt: Alexa Meade. (via)

- I cant even begin to explain this. Bill vs. Betty. (via)

- Are you a Stalwart? (via)

- An interview about the bailout with historian Howard Zinn, with more available. (via)

- A gift idea.

- The Circus of Distraction (via)

- Of mice and men. And real estate. (via)

- Someplace to think about for vacationing.

- Would you like to take (your camera for) a ride, in my beautiful...

- 15 words with no English equivalent

- "Americanisms". Seriously, English may have originated in Britain, but they need to let it go already. (via)

- a happy ending for an otherwise disgusting story. (let's hope it doesnt get worse later) (via)

- On the Historicity of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They prove it to be true! (via)

- Everything You Know About the Collapse of the Soviet Union is Wrong.

- Cover me.

summer can kiss my ass

2011-09-22T05:05:00.009-05:00

This year there really were no nice days of summer. Okay, maybe one or two. And another 70 days that were 100 degrees or more.

Last day of summer. Last day of a brutal summer.

lies, damned lies, and...

2011-09-21T04:11:00.000-05:00

An excellent series of articles from BBC by Michael Blastland about statistics. He discusses the various ways in which statistics can be used to manipulate or outright lie by the people who present them to you. Topics include surveys, counting, percentages, averages, causation, and doubt*.

They remind me of the book Double Speak by William Lutz, a depressing book which I've never had the heart to get all the way through.

props to Jeff at Have Coffee, Will Write

* which, sadly, I cant find the link to

joke

2011-09-20T04:51:00.000-05:00

There’s a story about an elderly, world-class pianist who is approached by an admirer after a concert. “I’d give my whole life to be able to play like that,” she gushes. He replies, “I have, Madam, I have.”

playing with numbers

2011-09-20T04:03:00.056-05:00

Okay, so I was doing some calculations:

In 1998 the nation had about $37.5 trillion in wealth.
In 2007 the nation had about $49 trillion in wealth.
In 2009 the nation had about $54.5 trillion in wealth*.

In 1998 the National Debt was $5.5 trillion.
In 2007 the National Debt was $8.95 trillion.
Today the National Debt is close to 15 trillion, or almost twice the wealth held by the bottom 80% of the nation.

In 1998, the bottom 80% of the nation held 16.6% of the wealth (about $6.23 trillion).
In 2007, the bottom 80% of the nation held 15% of the wealth (about $8.18 trillion).

That means that between 1998 and 2007:

The wealth of the bottom 80% of the country went up $1.12 trillion.
The wealth of the top 20% of the country went up $10.38 trillion (an increase larger than the total holdings of the bottom 80%).

Assuming the same distribution of wealth was held by Americans in 2009 as in 2007**, then between 1998 and 2009:

The wealth of the bottom 80% went up $2.55 trillion.
The wealth of the top 20% went up about $14.45 trillion.

Doesnt that last number look familiar? Just sayin'.

* I use 2007 mainly because of it's commonness in statistics - 2009 numbers are rarer and so involve a bit of assuming on my part here.
** Though it's a good bet that the top 20%'s share got larger.

testy

2011-09-19T20:47:00.001-05:00

I just took this personality test based on Jung and Briggs Meyers.

My Type is: ISTJ

Introverted: 89%
Sensing: 1%
Thinking: 75%
Judging: 1%

ISTJ type description by D.Keirsey
ISTJ Identify Your Career with Jung Career Indicator™
ISTJ Famous Personalities
ISTJ type description by J. Butt and M.M. Heiss.

I am, apparently:

* very expressed introvert
* slightly expressed sensing personality
* distinctively expressed thinking personality
* slightly expressed judging personality

I ought to point out that I suspect that the results would be very different if I had someone else answer these same questions about me, rather than doing it myself. I'm not sure how much I trust tests based on my own self-opinion.

for International Talk Like A Pirate Day

2011-09-19T04:27:00.016-05:00

quote for the day

2011-09-19T04:09:00.000-05:00

"If you stick a knife nine inches into my back and pull it out three inches, that is not progress. Even if you pull it all the way out, that is not progress. Progress is healing the wound, and America hasn't even begun to pull out the knife."

Malcolm X.

Yeah, I realize he wasnt talking about Republicans, Tea Partiers or Obama. Or anything else modern (except the treatment of African Americans, which I suppose is still relevant, but anyway...). Still, the beauty of quotes, the reason we like them, is that a piece of wisdom, however old (or new) can be applied to other, similar situations, thus lending its authority to the new situation.

Which, if you think about it, is kind of absurd.

sunday funny

2011-09-18T05:10:00.000-05:00

saturday matinee

2011-09-17T13:00:00.009-05:00

This is the CN Tower in Toronto, which has a glass floor at the top. The tower is 1,815 feet high (553 meters). That’s almost 3 times as tall as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis (630 ft). Now, apparently, you’ll be able to walk outside around the tower when the EdgeWalk attraction debuts. Here’s a video taken during the construction of EdgeWalk.

This makes my balls tighten up.

2011-09-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

Would you like me to tell you what's wrong with America? I can, in one simple sentence:

America no longer values work.

I'm not talking about work like Republicans are, when they talk about "hard work" in their speeches, almost always to groups of actual working people, those who work in factories owned by Republicans, who've not had a real raise in several decades, even as executive compensation at those same companies have multiplied to astronomical levels.

I'm saying that if you are a person in America who does real, actual work - be it assembly or teaching or ditch-digging - your labor is considered nowhere near as important as the "direction" given you by those who "manage" you. This attitude is often true even of those who are doing the labor. This lack of importance is reflected both in the pay (or lack thereof) and in the contemptuous manner which our "representatives" treat almost all policy and programs which directly affect working Americans.

clever

2011-09-13T03:00:00.009-05:00

Reverse Graffiti: instead of using actual spray cans some artists are just cleaning dirt off of certain areas to make their masterpieces. Kind of brilliant.

(via)

Rick Perry - secret flip-flopper

2011-09-12T04:08:00.001-05:00

Oh, if only Rick Perry had enough humility to flip-flop.

Really, fuck Rick Perry.

humph

2011-09-11T20:01:00.001-05:00

Well, I applied the previous post to Test Your Blog's Reading Level. It gave me a rating of 8th grade. 8th grade! I tried several others, and that seemed to be the verdict. I am not amused.

Created by GiftRocket

sunday schooled

2011-09-11T04:47:00.002-05:00

My wife read this somewhere, though she cant remember where, but I'm going to repeat it anyway because it's so wonderful:

Rick Perry prayed for rain, but all he got was fire.

Seriously, religious people never think that they are being punished by God, only that others are. How much clearer does it need to be? Hurricanes are avoiding Texas, the last one to hit us disappeared within hours of coming aground. And there is no rain in the forecast to speak of.