Moving and cross-referencing

Hi there

I know there's about 5 of you regularly checking in, tho you're awfully silent. I hope I've made you laugh or think or scream or something... :)

My lover and I decided to get a website together and thus we're blogging together. So, I'm now posting on Cholotto. We've also set up an indexing system there so I'll be slowly going through my old posts and filing them under the appropriate headings.

I might still post here. I love the title Distorted Dreams since it seems so apt for today's environment and, I've been a dreamer since I could name what dreaming was.

We worked on the site over the weekend and have set up a filing system on the new blog so if you want to find out about all my neuroses about my family per se, you'll be able to find all my posts in one place.

Oh, and we'll be throwing up some graphics up there as well. So instead of just words, you'll get words and pictures... what a concept. Hmm wonder if we can make books out of merging words and pictures... nah, no one wants to read. (sorry, old comics in-joke here)

Anyway, see you at the new spot!

Filed under thoughts.

Standards and Measures

One day, someone smart and forceful will say, whenever things are measured, the standardization will be global. I'm not just talking the metric system and the old English system either. (Which btw, should've given the world a clue about U.S. arrogance and stubborness).

Case in point: Co-worker turns to me and asks, what is a billion.

My response? "I can't answer that. I've been confused all my life about that question."

So then I look it up on Dictionary.com and therein lies the quandry I've found myself in these past 30 years. In America, a billion = a thousand million, that is, 1 with 9 zeros after it. I grew up in Singapore, a commonwealth country. There, we were taught that a billion = a million million, that is, 1 with 12 zeros after it.

So, my question to you all is: #1 - so does China have 4,000,000,000 or 4,000,000,000,000? 2) is Bill Gates worth $40,000,000,000 or $40,000,000,000,000? and the same goes for our federal deficit.

Cause you know, those 3 zeros? They mean quite a lot.

Filed under thoughts.

Torture and Dick Durbin

It just hit me, no wonder the GOP and their ilk believe in and use torture. It works for them!

Look at the poor sad Dick Durbin. See a man broken by the torturers. Watch his tears as he apologies for saying the truth. Watch him weep for his ethics, for kowtowing.

Mr. McCain. Take a close look at what happened to this poor man. Remember when you weeped for your soul at the hands of your torturers? Seem familiar?

This is what they do. The purpose of Gitmo ISN'T to get at the truth, nor is it to get at terrorists. The purpose of Gitmo is to try and provide SOME justification for our invasions. Just watch.

Filed under politics & B.S.

Weird Night

It was a very weird night last night.

When I arrived home, I had gotten into a strange-ass mood... I was alternately sad and scared. Poor lover had no idea how to console me, she just held me. The slightest sad thought made me break into sobs. All I had to think of was my cat dying... or my girl going away for a few days and I'd be wracked with sobs.

So smart me, thought hey, since I'm in this mood anyway, why don't we watch Torch Song Trilogy? Wrong! Just the opening made me sob - "That's Anne Bancroft! I forgot she was in this! *sniff* She died 2 Mondays ago... *sniff* waaaaaaaaaaaah"

Well, needless to say, this short movie got dragged out to 3 hours cause of the constant stoppage to hold me and dry my tears and wait for the sobs to subside.

She thinks I'm menopausing. That's how she's dealing with this weirdness. Me? I think I'm psychically receiving some sad news from someone... and channelling it.

This morning I woke and the world has a happier lilt to it. My mind can touch on sad subjects without my eyes tearing immediately. Drastic and wonderful improvement. I wonder if she's right or I am. I don't want to be going through the change yet. I'm too young!

BTW, as I'm screaming that I'm too young, I'm off to go get bifocals today... Ahhh the cruel ironies of life.

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias.

Mind Tricks of the Familial Kind

If you have a son hell-bent on proving he's better than you, so much so that he'd bring a country to war just to show that he can do it better than you, and you cannot publically show disapproval or it means repercussions for your other son, for your family, for your political cache, what do you do?

Why, you adopt someone who is more popular and more successful than either of you were, of course.

Does anyone else read anything else into Bill Clinton spending a weekend with Bush Sr. at Bush Sr's home? God, this must gall Jr. to no end. Bravo, H.W. Nicely played.

As a child of familial mind-fucks, this one was up in J.R. Ewing territory. I'm impressed. But seriously, a tad afraid of what Jr's fucked up psyche will do to us, the ordinary people. After all, over 1,000 of us died already to soothe his ego at being inferior to his father.

Filed under Politics & B.S..

How do we begin?

So I mention at work, "Did you guys know that there's a petition online to have the U.N. out of the U.S."

and here are my two responses:

"I didn't even know the U.N. was based here."

"It's about time! The U.N.'s worthless. Bunch o' dictators!"

I sat astonished. Then I realized that if I hadn't visited New York as a child and visited the U.N. building, perhaps I wouldn't have known that the U.N. was based there.

So my question to you all is, how do we begin to educate? These are grown smart men we're talking about. One with a college degree.

The second thing that hit me during this conversation was... the hermetically sealed world of most Americans is going to be the downfall of America. I mean, I've read in newspaper reports that Iraq was going to be the first Muslim democracy.... and my immediate reaction was, gee, what does that make Malaysia or Indonesia (tho most would probably say that Indonesia's elections are rigged but then, umm wasn't ours? Oh you mean the battle in the courts didn't result in a court appointed president? Wow, must be nice in your world)

And Iranian elections a sham? Then why was a moderate elected last time? If ineffectuality is the hallmark of a sham, then I guess our dear leader currently proves that this past election was a sham.

What I see happening in America is a direct result of high schools NOT teaching world history or geography or world politics. Also a result of bad media coverage of world events. I mean, basically, the only time world politics and events penetrate the U.S. consciousness seems to be when disasters happen, like government takeovers, tsunamis and the ilk.

So tell me folks, how do we educate people?

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias.

Must Be Nice....

So I'm reading Howie Kurtz's Media Notes and I see this:

Now here's a shock. Remember that American Petroleum Institute guy hired by the White House, who began watering down government reports on climate change? He quit after the New York Times disclosed his role and now, the paper reports :

"Philip A. Cooney, the White House staff member who repeatedly revised government scientific reports on global warming, will go to work for ExxonMobil in the fall, the oil company said today."

Wow, so you mean the reward for propaganda, the reward for doctoring up documents, the reward for LYING TO THE PUBLIC, the reward for having no values, the reward for being a bottom open-ass boy for the government and its big business cronies, is for big business to give you a nice cushy job.

So the lesson here boys and girls, pay NO attention to the homilies of children's books. It DOES pay to be a lying prick. It DOES pay to be a toady. It DOES pay to be an ethically-challenged, immoral, lying son of a bitch.

God, these people make me so sick.

It's a Mystery Why I Don't Get Shot

Following is an exchange that just happened between my girl and I:

PatientGF: is it fire fighers or Fire Fighters? [She's asking for clarification in capitalization]

Smartassme: well, it's actually fire fighters [Me being the anal speller]

PatientGF: We held a similar event last September and the presence of 4 of your fire fighters and a fire engine were a big hit among our attendees. I believe the four Fire Fighters also enjoyed the event and the interest of our BERT members. [This is the part she wants clarified for something she's putting out at work]

Smartassme: the four fire fighters

PatientGF: but it's a noun [Ah, U.S. English standards... a wonder to behold]

Smartassme: so is event. So is attendees [very surprised at myself here... that I stopped at two examples]

Smartassme: a noun is just a word that describes a thing

Smartassme: are you saying it's a proper noun? [So of course, I had to look up proper noun on Dictionary.com cause I don't trust that I can define it properly ... ugh i guess pun semi-intended]

Smartassme: proper noun
n.

A noun belonging to the class of words used as names for unique individuals, events, or places. Also called proper name.

Smartassme: fire fighter is not a "unique" thing in that sense

Smartassme: God is. Jesus is.

Smartassme: The Messengers of Kudos would be considered a proper noun. but not the fire fighters. Firehouse 586A would be a proper noun [Just to clarify what a smartass I truly am... messengers of Kudos is a reference to another discussion we had earlier today, in which I used accolades to define kudos and then found out that she knew what kudos meant but not accolades]

PatientGF: OMG

Now you see why it's a mystery why I haven't been shot yet?

Filed under Bwahahahaha, Bloodsport, err, Relatives.