Plymouth follow-up

Well, it was a mess. A rusty mess. It looked like something from the undersea world of Jacques Cousteau. See the video. Or read the article. It's kind of sad, though.

quote for the day

"Mommy, why is the lying man still in charge of the law?"

The original senate Statement of No Confidence towards Attorney General Alberto Gonzoles, according to Jon Stewart at the Daily Show.

time in a (rusty) bottle

I lived in Oklahoma for several years, but I never heard about this:  In 1957, Tulsa buried a time capsule, to be opened in 50 years. But because Oklahoma City had buried a time capsule earlier, Tulsa just had to outdo them. How? By including a brand-new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere.
Unfortunately, the concrete vault that the car was placed in, designed to withstand a nuclear blast, turned out not to be so good at resisting ordinary groundwater. The car was resting in water "halfway up on the car's fenders", along with evidence that water (described by witnesses as "looking like chocolate milk", which is never a good sign) had been up to the top of the vault at some point(s).
This is not good news when the buried car in question is one that had a reputation for being rust-prone when not submerged.
Still, there's some hope. The car had been coated with a rust inhibitor (described by some as "grease"), and wrapped in a plastic bag that was "supposed to protect materials 'for 1,200 years' from rust". This statement looses a bit of cachet when one considers that bomb-proof bunker the bag was put in, however. But if you look at the photo, you can see that the bag is still car shaped, which it probably wouldnt be had the car gotten too rusty. I hope.

Oh, and the reason that the article caught my fancy in the first place: Inside the vault was placed a tank containing 10 gallons of gasoline and 5 quarts of oil, just in case internal combustion engines had become "obsolete" by 2007. Considering the current quagmire that is the middle east (not just Iraq), and how the whole reason anyone cares about that region for any purpose other than archeology and eschatology is due to that damned internal combustion engine. It should've been obsolete. To our sorrow, it is not.

And finally: 10 gallons? That'll get a Belvedere, what, 120 or 140 miles down the road? Maybe?

I-pod post

Have I mentioned how much I love my I-pod? It was a Christmas present from my wife (I liked it so much I got her a Nano for Mother's Day). I've always had a bit of an issue with repetitious listening to music, which has only gotten worse as I've got older. The I-pod is a near-perfect solution to that (I say near because the "shuffle" mode is far from perfect, apparently by design). Here's what I listened to last night:

Highwire Days, The Psychedelic Furs - (All Of This And Nothing)
C'est Pas La Peine Brailler, Geno Delafose - (Bayou Dance Party)
Hangin' Your Life On The Wall, Guy Clark - (Dublin Blues)
Blame Me, Chris Knight - (A Pretty Good Guy)
Secret Life, Soft Cell - (Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret)
Misty, Erroll Garner - (Polygram Sampler)
Calling You, Blue October - (History for Sale)
My Love, Paul McCartney & Wings - (Wingspan: Hits)
It's Still Rock And Roll To Me, Billy Joel - (The Essential Billy Joel)
Right Here Now, James McMurtry - (Where'd You Hide The Body)
La Bamba, Los Lobos - (Just Another Band From East L.A.: A Collection)
May I Baby, Sam & Dave - (The Best Of Sam & Dave)
Lost In The Back Yard, James McMurtry - (Where'd You Hide The Body)
Rouya, Seatbelts - (Cowboy Bebop CD BOX)
Mi Vida Loca, Quinto Sol - (Sample This!)
My Funny Valentine [instrumental], Chet Baker - (Deep In A Dream: The Ultimate Chet Baker Collection)
Scarecrow People, XTC - (Oranges & Lemons)
Adagio, The Swingle Singers Swingle Singers - (Jazz Sebastian Bach, Volume 2)
Poor Butterfly, Sarah Vaughan - (Golden Hits - Sarah Vaughan)
This Year's Girl (Alternate Version), Elvis Costello - (This Year's Model)
What a Wonderful World, Dan Zanes - (Night Time!)
Blind, Talking Heads - (Naked)
Siguiendo la Luna, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - (Vasos Vacios)
Memories Are Made Of This, Johnny Cash - (Unchained)
N'ssi N'ssi, Khaled - (N'ssi N'ssi)
Zaira (Video Mix), Glykeria - (Ethnic Beats)
Lush Life, Joe Henderson - (Polygram Sampler)
Beautiful Maria Of My Soul (english version), Los Lobos - (Mambo Kings Soundtrack)
Vanity Kills, ABC - (Living In Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits, Vol. 5)
Hate Me, Blue October - (Foiled Alternative)
'Round About Midnight, Thelonious Monk Quintet - (Bebop's Greatest Hits)
All That Money Wants, The Psychedelic Furs - (All Of This And Nothing)
The One That Got Away, Tom Waits - (Small Change)
Little John Of God, Los Lobos - (The Neighborhood)
Streets of Laredo, Johnny Cash - (American IV: The Man Comes Around)
Wander In The Summer Wind, Dan Zanes & Friends - (Catch That Train!)
Life In The Fast Lane, The Eagles - (Eagles Greatest Hits, Volume 2)
Cats On Mars, Gabriela Robin - (Cowboy Bebop CD-BOX)
I'm Not In Love, 10cc - (Have a Nice Decade)
Desperate Man Blues, Kathy McCarty - (Dead Dog's Eyeball)
Leap Of Faith (Live), Delbert McClinton - (Big Blues Extravaganza: The Best Of Austin City Limits)
Jet Airliner, Steve Miller Band - (Greatest Hits 1974-78)
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good, Frank Sinatra - (A Swingin' Affair)
The Face Of The Nation, John Mellencamp - (Scarecrow)
Burrito, Pete Yorn - (Day I Forgot)
Larry's Shuffle, Larry Burton - (Slide Guitar Blues)
409, The Beach Boys - (The Greatest Hits, Vol 1)
The New Sound Of The Venezuelan Gozadera (short ver.), Los Amigos Invisibles - (The New Sound Of The Venezuelan Gozadera)
Sad Songs (Say So Much), Elton John - (Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 [1979-1987])
Wild Night, Van Morrison - (Tupelo Honey)
Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Joe "Fingers" Carr - (Space-Capades)
Round Midnight (Vocal Version), Chet Baker - (Round Midnight)
Motivation, Sum 41 - (All Killer No Filler)
Una Palabra, Bio Ritmo - (Rumba Baby Rumba!)
Pacing The Cage, Bruce Cockburn - (The Charity Of Night)
The Bunny Hop, Brave Combo - (Group Dance Epidemic)
Gloria's Eyes, Bruce Springsteen - (Human Touch)
Angel Of Sin, Hank Williams III - (Straight To Hell)
Le Bozo Two-Step, BeauSoleil - (Parlez-Nous Á Boire)
Deacon Blues, Steely Dan - (A Decade Of Steely Dan)
Great Big Fanny, Bill Wharton & The Ingredients - (Slide Guitar Blues)
Experience Unnecessary, Sarah Vaughan - (Golden Hits - Sarah Vaughan)
Naima (Alternate Version 1), John Coltrane - (Giant Steps)
Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out, Eric Clapton - (Unplugged)
Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye - (Starbucks Barbeque Beat)
Dear John (I Sent Your Saddle Home), John Prine - (In Spite Of Ourselves)
Open All Night, Bruce Springsteen - (Nebraska)
Hummingbird, B.B. King - (B. B. King Anthology 1962-1998)
Be-Bop-Battlin' Ball, Eddie Gaines and the Rockin' Five - (32 Original Historic Rockabilly Classics)
Pictures Of Jesus, Ben Harper & The Blind Boys Of Alabama - (There Will Be a Light)

See what I mean about the shuffle not being terribly random. There is several days worth of music in this particular playlist (a review list for culling out crap, like that ABC song), and still I got several songs from the same albums. Irksome.
Still, the variety's better than listening to CDs (I never know what to pick, and so seem to return to the same stuff), and the music is about a hundred times better than the radio (no idiot DJs!). Make that two hundred.
One day, I plan to have every piece of music I own on the I-pod (assuming that I have enough room). I cant wait, I really cannot.

(image stolen from Ziggy)

quote for the day

Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.
-Albert Einstein

props to random jokes

Safety, not donuts

Hey y'all, if you're looking for a safe place to raise your kids, may I suggest Carrollton, Texas? I'll tell you, Carrollton Texas has got to be a really safe place to live. How do I know that? Well, recently, I got a ticket there, for parking in a handicapped zone. In an industrial park. Outside a business closed for the night. In an empty parking lot. At 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning (or rather, Friday night).

Yep, a town where cops are handing out tickets like that must have no other, more important, crimes going on anywhere, so it's got to be safe. Right?

upon the anniversary of my father's death

the point

stolen from N24.

tidbit

Rupert Murdoch is the Virus Devouring the Soul of Western Democracy
A. Alexander, February 13th, 2007

Historically speaking the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have a lot in common. Yet, their shared history pales in comparison with their contemporary commonalities. And none of their more recent shared characteristics are more revealing than these:

1. Their leadership is the most committed to the continued war and occupation in Iraq.

2. All three country's leaders are highly unpopular with their respective electorate.

3. Despite the devastating political consequences, all three leaders in all three nations continue to ignore the will of the people they supposedly represent and fiercely defend and, at least in one instance, insist upon escalating the war in Iraq.

Still, perhaps, there is one thing the three nations have in common that is the single most important and defining contemporary characteristic: In each country the Australian-born mega-media mogul, Rupert Murdoch (FOX and FOX News), controls a large portion of the so-called mainstream press.

There's more, if you want to read it, but as a Fox hater, I think this about says it all. Thank God Rupert's an Australian born "citizen" of the U.S. Then again, God obviously isnt paying any attention.

2nd notice

Okay, so I talked to The Brother yesterday, and I asked him what he thought of my new Art Blog, and he said that he couldnt find it. Now, while I'm not fishing for compliments or anything, I kind of expected someone to say something in the last week since I announced the blog's existence, and his inability find it might explain why no one has. So I'll try it again.
Due to the political nature of this blog, and my potential use of the Art Blog for job/portfolio use, I dont want to make any obvious links between this blog and that one. America, after all, has given up the right of free speech, so I dont want what I say here to bite me on the ass in unconnected (wage-earning) endeavors. Some day, if I decide to become political in my art, I might make that link, but today is not that day.
So, to see the new blog, go to the sidebar, under "frequent reads", and look for the blog that contains my name, minus "awayfromhome", a reference to a type of eating establishment containing a variety of stuff, a letter of the alphabet that is a french article, and the word "art". It's right there on top, you cant miss it.

That ought to get you there. If not, well...

I dont know what to say.