| "fair and balanced" | |||
| 10.02.2004 ~ 01:31 pm | |||
|
In-freakin'-credible, even for Fox News. (Scroll up for more.) Is there any low they won't go? Not to mention that Carl Cameron is the same reporter who has a relative working for the Bush campaign, and who saw no conflict of interest in covering same campaign. But I guess there's plenty more bad taste to go around. And here's some more fun: real news versus Fox. ~ugh |
|||
| (opine?) |
|||
| ha! | |||
| 09.28.2004 ~ 10:36 pm | |||
| Yay diagrams. But, awww, no conspiracies... | |||
| (opine?) |
|||
| wrongness | |||
| 09.28.2004 ~ 12:30 pm | |||
|
Who's a "flip-flopper"? Scary. Scary (under "Make Sure") and illegal. More on this. And that's not all. |
|||
| (opine?) |
|||
| the day's reading | |||
| 09.19.2004 ~ 11:24 pm | |||
| This just hurts. | |||
| less is less | ||||
| 09.15.2004 ~ 06:05 pm | ||||
And that's one thing I have to say in support of Communism. Because I myself didn't know until recently how very much of the Marxist theory is about economics and value. The capitalist's most commonly levelled complaint against Communism is that because everyone's employed, because the state will take care of everyone, there's no incentive to work. Okay, so let's say people work less hard and produce less under Communism. I don't know if that's at all true, but hypothetical. So? Who says that we need or even want as much as we do produce? This is the reason that economists worry about the trade gap, in fact, because our manufacturing has become so efficient that we more than fill the needs of our own people — especially in food production. That's why the subsidies to the corn industry, because for the system to sustain itself we must sell overseas. Why should we work so much? Did you know, France went to a 35 hour workweek with no decline in their standard of living? Did you know that all across Europe, countries have mandated vacation of at least a month's worth, while in America there is no mandate and most people get no more than two weeks? (And don't even take most of their available vacation time!) How hard do capitalists think we're supposed to work? People will always work enough to feed themselves and their family (assuming they can get a job that will allow them to do so, of course.) And beyond the hours devoted for that purpose — which evidence shows are far fewer than the number Americans work — who benefits? Corporations. I'm tired of corporations crying whenever we mandate this or mandate that, for the sake of the worker or the community, because it's "unnecessary," and, more importantly, cuts into profits. Who says they have a right to that profit? Let me repeat: who says they have a right to that profit? Commercial number two — "less is more" is the slogan. It's a bias shot all through our culture, assumed in our words, that more is better. Other tongues don't use more with that connotation. Less is less! And the better for it! It's like rich food. That's a neat connotation. You eat a little slice of chocolate cheesecake, it's delicious, you're happy. You eat a big slice, two big slices, and you start to feel a little queasy. It's still good but you have to force it down. Now if you eat real, plain food, eat spaghetti, or a tuna sandwich, or hell, take sushi for instance — expensive, and yet real clean, real fresh, good for you — these things you could eat every week. You can eat and fill yourself up and it's oh so tasty! |
||||
| (opine?) |
||||
irritated| "Gray is all theory / Green is life's growing tree" | ||||
| 09.13.2004 ~ 05:07 pm | ||||
Jaimie will be pleased to know it includes Kierkegaard. Of course I knew I adored Dostoevski already, but I gots to check out Heidegger. Also have been thinking for a while that I should check out Blake, definite confirmation there. I feel very excited and somehow renewed, even though I have been thinking more about death than is my wont; I'm very pleased to have these ideas elucidated, elaborated, so I can follow along and nod to myself, and let loose a little pleased laugh of recognition now and then. Not that, being an existentialist, I think that Truth necessarily has to be broken apart so we can see it better, but that it's so nice to open new paths for my thought, past the centered-known and follow and strike out past. |
||||
| (2 opinions | opine?) |
||||
| stroke of fortune | ||||
| 09.03.2004 ~ 05:18 pm | ||||
So we'll move this weekend, got a nice long three days to do it. Also this weekend is Kipona, lots of festivities on Front Street, carnie food, a chili contest, Artsfest. Maybe we'll actually get around to trying the deli which has been prophesied to hold nova lox too. Lotsa goodness. Next Friday I have an interview with the New Cumberland Federal Credit Union, which is nicely close to the new apartment, and should (with any luck!) both pay better and serve up more consistent hours than Commerce. (Occured to me today that Commerce goes to the red on hours, on rates, and even on the freakin' buildings... and makes it back by cutting labor cost.) In October got two possible fun events to attend, Lewis Black at the Forum and Metallica in Philly. I've been left out of all the mad concertgoing the boys have been up to because they ran off to hardcore metal shows. Not my scene. But I like Metallica. ^_^ Pluses all around. |
||||
pleased| nekkid olympics | ||||
| 09.01.2004 ~ 05:42 pm | ||||
But... that's only because of our societal reaction to skin. Skin always equals sex with us. And it shouldn't. Kids should be allowed to wear what they want. And y'know, in other countries parents and kids bathe together, no big deal. Because other cultures don't have the same kneejerk fear we have, that kids showing skin will make them targets for sick predators. They're not sexual beings, so it's natural, it's okay. And we have a problem with adult skin too. Now modesty is one thing. The wish to be desired, to be desirable is understandable, but at the same time, no one should want to be objectified. And there's a fine line there. But I was also watching the Olympics, and I tell you, the skin there was different than teenyboppers running around in short skirts and v-necks. It was functional. These are the most honed bodies in the world, but their purpose is not to be looked at, it's to work. Higher faster stronger. It's the same beauty we recognize in a tool or in other animals. And yes, I bet a lot of men thought the ladies who won in beach volleyball were sexy. I thought the male swimmers were sexy in the suits that just skimmed the hipbones... But being a swimmer I can see how much suits have changed. When puritanical concerns gave way to speed concerns, the suits got tight, and small, because that was the best way we knew to reduce drag. Squeeze down the soft bits, and otherwise just cover up what gots to be covered. Now they've got these fancy fabrics that are supposed to reduce drag, and they cover up more because it's better than skin. It's the same across sports. Function. I wish we had a little more of that in our mindset. |
||||
| (opine?) |
||||
lethargic| voice of the people | ||||
| 08.30.2004 ~ 11:47 pm | ||||
And they aired it straight, from 12am when marchers started passing Madison Square Garden to just before five. No commentary, no explanation, no ticker at the bottom, just pure footage. The march stretched for over ten blocks at its longest. Some of the thousands of security officers on hand (not just for the protest of course, but in defense of terrorism... fair, but I think putting cops with AKs on the streets of NY and erecting barricades like the city was already under attack is prime fearmongering) estimated the crowd at 100,000 -- there was no official estimate. Organizers said 400,000. I'm inclined to believe at least middle ground, the 250,000 they expected to turn out beforehand. And it was peaceful. Didn't see any of those silly armbands, didn't see anyone buying into the mayor's incentives, but no violence whatsoever. Someone accidentally set a float on fire -- very minor. What was hilarious was that every few minutes or so, a new cluster of marchers would pass the Fox News banner and chant some variation on "Fox News Sucks." I personally don't find that talking points and neocon propaganda disguised as "fair and balanced" news needs any more thoughtful comment than that. But there was a moment when the camera cut back and up, when you couldn't even see the people but you could see voice given concrete form, an ocean of words held aloft, sentiments differing perhaps in their path but not in their aim. They said the same thing: we are not doing the right thing. This is not what we want of our country, or for our country. Hundreds of voices cried together: "Show us what democracy looks like!" "This is what democracy looks like!" |
||||
| (opine?) |
||||
excited| best advice from a bumper sticker | |||
| 08.03.2004 ~ 07:58 pm | |||
| "Commit random acts of kindness and senseless beauty." | |||
| (opine?) |
|||
| nerdakon! | ||||
| 08.03.2004 ~ 06:30 pm | ||||
Also, Attack the Gas Station!. It was intimated to us that this was a cracked-out movie, which was the reason for it's purchase, but it's just flat-out good, not too much craziness at all. And hey, what other movie makes the point that anarchy apparently just works out? (Speaking of anarchist movies, a good under-the-radar American one is SLC Punk, about a couple of -- this one's a gimme, folks -- punks, who live in Salt Lake City. Nice examination of subculture and what it means to the people in it, "posers" versus purists, and a quality affirmation that deep down, we're all just geeks.) Hm, let's see. Also got a sneak peek at Hero, which was "eh...good", just-nice, in my opinion, but worthwhile, certainly if you're into that myth-making, wire-fighting, history-teaching type of martial arts film. Actually the historical angle was the best part, I thought. Also much fun was "Ong Bak," a Thai action flick (with martial arts, of course, it's Asia... but not really a "martial arts movie"). When did all our action movies lose their sense of humor? I can't recall a recent comedy that was so funny, so plain enjoyable as this one. And even those of us with no particular love for the fightin-in can appreciate the beat-down moments here. When the main bad guy is defeated by a giant rolling Buddha head... ah, quality. Trust me. Let's see, what else... there were two black guys in Wolfwood costumes... with a twist: black crosses, white straps; and also a Jewish Wolfwood with a giant star of David and a yarmulka. The cross is, in its original context, "Full of Mercy," by which I mean bullets, and rockets. The Wolfwoods were preaching, calling people out to testify to their nerd-hood. Which of course they most willingly did. And of course, we capped off the con with Otaku no Video, the greatest paean to nerd-dom EVER. The profiles of various types of too-obsessed hobbyists — complete with statistics! — remind and renew our love of oft-maligned branches of entertainment. Ah, to be otaku! Ah, to dress in costume! (At least sixty percent of attendees, including four dressed as the Ghostbusters, complete with disguised boombox, and blinking and spinning equipment.) Ah, to create one's own fun, to joy in it, no matter how ridiculous! (Evil-laughter contest, refereed by a pirate; one guy dancing in a box becoming twenty people dancing in a broken box, singing "Box, box, cardboard box!" rap-style, repeating the "emcee.") Ah, to comb the dealer's room, seeking cheap swag, marvelling in the extent of Japanese merchandising, anime characters emblazoned across anything you can envision buying! Ah, to see people with signs asking, and receiving, mad hugs! To be amongst one's own, the magic in disregarding normalcy! We are geeks, and we are proud! ~SO! |
||||
| (2 opinions | opine?) |
||||
| quick read | |||
| 07.07.2004 ~ 06:51 pm | |||
| Just one more piece of the disinformation puzzle. | |||
| (opine?) |
|||
| who I was, who I am | |||
| 07.04.2004 ~ 10:37 pm | |||
|
Some little snippets, quotes liked by my fifteen-year-old self: "To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead." "The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently." "When the People contend for their Liberty, they seldom get any thing for their Victory but new Masters." "It is demonstrable that many of the obstacles to change which have been attributed to human nature are in fact due to the inertia of institutions and to the voluntary desire of powerful classes to maintain the existing status." "It is forbidden to decry other sects; the true believer gives honor to whatever in them is worthy of honor." "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." |
|||
| (opine?) |
|||
| never talk about... | |||
| 07.04.2004 ~ 10:17 pm | |||
|
Hah! Jaims thinks I'm up there on the political end o'things. Well, I'm becoming increasingly activist lately, which is partially the influence of the Brandon but mostly the turn for the worse — no, worst &mdash read extremist and power-mongering, among those in power in this country. It was never great, but it's very bad now. Even those of you who are moderate or even conservative should watch Fahrenheit 9/11. We just saw it today, and what really stayed with me is not even any argument of Moore's — and let's be fair, he certainly makes no bones about his bias — but the clips of the President and of others speaking. They are fucking open about some of the worst of what they're doing, and I worry that the media hasn't been playing these soundbites for us, because they seriously should. The one I recall well enough to give a good impression is Bush at some kind of bigwig business industry function. He says, "It's quite a crowd we have here tonight the haves and the have mores. Some would call you the elite of the country. I call you my base." HIS BASE. He panders to the rich and he doesn't even try to hide it. Other good, worrying points: The young and the poor are the ones serving in the military and dying in Iraq. Only one congressperson has a child in the military. The worse the economy gets, the better the military looks as an option for young people who can't get a decent-paying job. Merely showing the images of the carnage in Iraq both after the bombing and after street fighting, and the soldier's testimonies about civilians killed in these actions. (Interspersed with Donald Rumsfeld talking about the increased "pinpoint" accuracy of our missile strikes.) A quick look at the early Bush presidency, especially the number of vacation days, is also pretty telling, as is the revelation of how deep the ties between the Bush family and American industry in general, especially the Defense industry, and the Bin Laden family go. Regardless of whether you buy it all, seeing that level of corruption and insider ties points out exactly how high on the government's list of priorties certain big business are, and how incestuous the worlds of business and politics have become. And again, the archival tape he pulls reminding us of exactly what the administration said in the beginning, and what it's saying now. |
|||
| (opine?) |
|||
| quote | ||||
| 07.02.2004 ~ 04:34 pm | ||||
"Liberty has never come from government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance." Noted in my quote book: Theodore Roosevelt called Wilson a dangerous radical for these words — apparently unware that ol' Tom Jefferson himself often said words to the same effect. "When we resist... concentration of power, we are resisting the powers of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties." Libertarians are worried about the concentration of power in government. And without question the federal government has gathered unto itself far too many powers explicitly denied them — the constitution goes to great lengths to make clear that the feds weren't supposed to have any powers that weren't specifically given to them. And both sides of the aisle are guilty of nanny governance. But the left makes an excellent point, which is simple: the powers of corporations are so great that nothing can prevent them from trampling people in the name of money except government. The most egregious example I know of: Ford and the Pinto. Iacocca set a max price on these little numbers, and construction was so cheap and so hurried that known design flaws were never corrected. Rear-end collisions turned the Pinto into a ball of flame. And Ford decided that it was cheaper to pay blood money to the families who sued than to install a FIVE DOLLAR part. Corporations have no interest in the public good; they are completely unaccountable. Let's be clear here: lawsuits may do some small good, but they will not drive a company out of business. All they have to do is raise their prices, and it's just taxation all over again — the money customers pay when they buy is what pays for the suffering of the victims. The only real threat the people can offer is the boycott (see Chi-Chi's going out of business after the food poisoning scare.) The will of the people is much more easily expressed through government. Unfortunately for us, our representatives decided some time ago that they should give corporations the same rights as PEOPLE. And unlike most people, corporations have the money and the influence to wield those rights as sword and shield. We wanted to set two giants to fighting. Instead one giant paid off the other, and the one that's supposed to be protecting us lets the other do what he likes behind our backs — and sometimes offers excuses for what he does right in front of us. |
||||
| (opine?) |
||||
cynical| 06.18.2004 ~ 02:06 pm | |||
| Remodeling in progress. | |||
| (opine?) |
|||
| Warning: Politics | ||||
| 06.18.2004 ~ 10:40 am | ||||
(Oh, and on another topic: small businesses don't ship jobs overseas — good for the average worker trying to make a living in the Bush economy.) Too bad our winner-takes-all electoral system not only screws most of us out of our vote one way or another (gerrymandering to favor the incumbent party in district-level elections, as in the recent Pennsylvania case the Supreme Court frickin' refused to hear, thus condoning this abuse of power, doesn't help) and makes third parties unviable. The electoral system is, in my view, the single most important thing to change in order to better serve all the people. Because no one agrees with all the planks in either party's platform. They're both centrist amalgams, beholden to lobbyisits and special interests and incapable of pushing for the kind of true, innovative change that could fix so many of our problems. Of course I'm voting Kerry. Lesser of two evils — no way am I not doing my part to get Bush out of there. But I don't have to be happy about it. |
||||
| (opine?) |
||||
aggravated| spicy cheesy rice | ||||
| 05.19.2004 ~ 06:13 pm | ||||
But what about the Tao? What about the natural weave, the path the stream was meant to take? The thing by itself, for itself? The technocrat moves from the same impulses, as the engineer. He works on a grander scale of public works and societies. He says it is to the people's benefit that he lay concrete. And what of the grass? If we wish to make each man his own master, to open his eyes to the light he already carries... can we succeed by force — By the hammer? Do we choose to wrap the world to our wishes, presuming the goodness of our choice, or do we teach the people their choices? |
||||
| (opine?) |
||||
blank| the story so far... | ||||
| 05.14.2004 ~ 05:54 pm | ||||
Both are state systems (SUNY = State University of New York), not ridiculously expensive — I may have gained myself a nice trust from my grandmother dying recently, but I refuse to believe any education is worth $20,000-30,000 a year, not including board and books! Not too yuppie, not too difficult to gain entry... now I just have to go about getting some letters of recommendation. So yes, HACC courses. ^_^ SUNY has a neat MA program with a concentration in teaching English as a second language, which could be very cool, as I've always thought that teaching abroad would be awesome. Germany, Japan, Italy... oh, lots of places! Expand my cultural horizons a bit. ^_~ So yeah, I'm feeling more confident about the whole deal. Now I just wish I'd heard back from Target about maybe working night shift for them. I haaaaates the mornings! ~hates them |
||||
cheerful
| 05.10.2004 ~ 09:34 pm | ||||
I want to learn how to sew and to cook, I want to learn carpentry and how to run a printing press and general handiness. I'd love to study dying (as in fabrics!) and paint-making and garden design. I want to delve into ancient building techniques and create a home that's small and inexpensive and sucks very little off the electrical grid. I want to take pictures and draw and master photoshop. I want to finish the minor I just barely missed in computer science. I want to get degrees in history and anthropolgy and linguistics and philosophy, and I want to know enough economics to make cogent points when conservatives argue that capitalism is the only way. I need to write. I can't stop myself from making stories. I need to write. I lose them. There are always three and four floating about at a time. I need to write. I need to take the time. I need to stop doubting myself so much. I need to edit. But first, I need to write. Why can't I hone my skill in everything interesting? Why don't I write more? ~sigh |
||||
| (opine?) |
||||
|
bewilderbeast |
||
|
Friends Info Calendar |
||
| skip | ||
| Backward Forward |
||