Get out the Grease

I'm working on a new database for work... one that I'm creating and I have only 24 days left to do it. I haven't created a new database now in about 7 years... and my brain is showing it.

I'm reading up on relationships there, single-criteria, multi-criteria, comparative and tho my eyes aren't crossing, my brain definitely has the feel of creaking gears.

The reason why I like programming? It's a philosophy of life that suits me well. I see the end result of what I want, and then figure a way to do it.

I have in my mind right now, this seamless program, that'll update automatically, fill in spots automatically. But before I can get my hands dirty on the actual work I have to have *some* inkling as to what I'm doing.

Plus, I do so love that moment of *lightbulb* when the picture in your head had been jigsaw pieces, and suddenly you understand what the picture was supposed to look like. I just had that but the problem with programming is, the lightbulb goes off and then when you take a look, you realize you had just illuminated more problems lol. I actually like that.

Anyway, I guess I'm working Monday now since I'm on this great hunt.

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias.

Hmmm... could it be?

Why, why in the world would the National Press Club limit the people who attend the Gannon/Guckert conference to only their members or credentialed media?

Select one or more choices:

• Gannon/Guckert is giving a private seminar on what it really means to be a media whore;
• Only credentialed media can truly disseminate an 8" cut;
• Since Terri died, many credentialed media don't have anything to write about;
• They want to compare credentials with Gannon/Guckert in private, fearing that theirs don't match up to the prowess Gannon/Guckert exhibits in his mouse-clicking expertise;
• They need lessons in plaigiarizing and don't want the public to know;
• They need lessons on how to suck dick so they too can grace the halls of the White House;
• They want to gaze upon Gannon/Guckert's many medals from the military;
• They're getting together to laugh at the public for there is no such thing as credentialed media for if there was, why is Gannon/Guckert there.

Bend over National Press Club. For your information, this isn't considered a rape of you by the WH. It was a consensual ass-fucking, only you got to be the bottom.

Filed under Politics & B.S.

The Death of My Father

My father had his life read when he first married my mother. My mother, being a god-fearing 3rd generation Christian, was aghast since her imagination stirred up images of Saul consulting a soothsayer and God being angry with that consultation. Nonetheless, according to my mother, my father took a lot of stock with that life-reading.

To give you some background, Chinese people will consult soothesayers for a "Seuwn Mang" a calculation of lifethread. These soothesayers actually produce a whole book, that details what'll happen to you during your life.

For example, my family jokes that had I been born 6 months later, I'd have been a boy cause the soothesayer told my father that he couldn't have sons until after he was 37. (And that was the excuse they gave others as to why I was such a tom-boy). At any rate, my father believed with all of his heart that my mother was going to die before him; the soothesayer said he'd outlive her.

My father, who prepared for everything in his life, didn't prepare for the end of his life. He had been complaining for a year about a pain in his back.... and how it obstructed his bowel movements. And right after Chinese New Years' two years ago, he collapsed, in Zhongshan, China.

We rushed over as fast as we could. Since this was international travel, since this was Red China (yes I'm falling back into my old cold war mentality but geeze, that's what I grew up with, okay?) since none of us were willing to believe my sturdy father was really dying, since the people there were lying to us about his condition (their excuse? Oh we didn't want to worry your mother), we didn't arrive at his bedside until after he had lapsed into a coma.

That first night at the hospital, I drilled the doctors there. What is wrong with him, can he get better, will he get worse. My sister and mother both yelled at me for being rude to the doctor's but I was already seeing the writing on the wall. These doctors would try and prolong my father's life as long as possible.

I had been through an agonizing 72 hour period five years earlier, with one of my best friends. She had gone through a simple surgery (tubes tied, removal of a cyst) only to come out of it with her brain drowned. It had something to do with her saline levels which the doctors hadn't bothered to check or something. Anyway, my friend's brain got drowned and she went into cardiac arrest... to make a long story short, she suffered irreversible brain damage.

BUT! Because the drowning of her brain made it sogged, the doctors had to wait 72 hours before they could REALLY check to make sure there was no activity there.

It was the worst 72 hours of my life.

Anyway.... back to my father. He steadily grew worse; and the doctors there could only shake their heads at us, the American Chinese. See, we kept talking about his comfort and wondering when the right time is to take him off life support. And the doctors there? They kept talking about home care and getting a nurse for him.

My father had advanced diabetes, which was complicating his cancer (which was just discovered due to his collapse). On top of that, he seemed to have developed some lung thing. (okay folks, think, two years ago, southern China... hospitals that aren't clean... hmmm what finally did my Dad in?) But these ghouls thought that he could live... and that he would want to.

My father always said with disgust and a snort, "If I'm ever like that, kill me." (Yiu goh ngo been sang gum, sahd sai ngo!)

The night that he took a turn for the worse.... the night that even the doctors said with weary heads, that yes, my father could not expect to get better, I took the decision from my mother and sister. Y'see, my mother had just figured out that his outside women consisted of just one woman, who'd been with him for 15 years or more. My sister? Well, she just figured out that when she asked Dad about outside women, he lied right to her face.

Me? I always said that my father did right by me. He gave me the money to buy a condo that I love. He provided an education for me. He bailed me out financially whenever I needed him to. And if he had another woman or kids out there? Well, I hoped that they treated him better and gave him what he needed, that he didn't get from us.

You see, I kinda figured out in High School that there was no way my father would've consented to living half a continent away from us, unless there was another woman/family. So of the three of us, I had the least reason to hate him. If I signed the papers, I could sleep at night. My mother and sister, might not be able to.

So for those of you portraying people who want to see Terri not prolong her agony any more as murderers? I hope, I REALLY REALLY HOPE, with all of my will and heart, that you will be one of those invalids, screaming inside to let you die and meanwhile, everytime your heart rate drops, or your blood pressure drops, machines whirr to life and inflict you with more sustenance and life sustaining chemicals. I also hope that you will hear maniacal laughter piped into your ears as you suffer so.

Judge not lest ye be judged yourself. THIS ALSO TRANSLATES TO BUTT THE HELL OUT!

Filed under Politics & B.S., Bloodsport, err Relatives and Reveries & Paranoias.

Meetings with Secret Service

I find it odd that the Secret Service would agree to meet with the three people who'd been kicked out of Bush's "conversation about social security."

The question that ran through my head was "why?" Why surface above water now? I mean, even beyond the CIA, this agency is secretive. All we know about them is they're supposed to take a bullet for whoever they're guarding.

Then it hits me: They no longer want to be the fall guy. Article after article since Bush started campaigning, it's been reported that the Secret Service removed this person or that person from his town hall meetings.

Read this article. The Secret Service agreed to explanations because they wanted to make sure the blame no longer rested on them.

Ummm Bushies? I just have one question for you. If you guys piss off the people who protect you by saying it's them that sees the security risk, who do you think will take the bullet? Just be careful who you use as pawns (secret service, the religious right); it may not work out as you envisioned.

Filed under Politics & B.S.

Relationships

According to my other, I've been in a bad mood for a few weeks. She thinks I'm going through early menopause. Me, I don't know what to think.

All I know is I don't understand the rubber-bandiness of relationships. She and I have been through a few good shouting matches lately. I've been yelling that I'm not getting heard. She's been yelling that I'm not expressing what I want.

I then look back and think, I AM expressing what I want. But what I'm discovering is what one culture thinks of as expressing, another thinks of as mentioning in passing.

I come from a culture of where it's deemed impolite to come right out and ask for something. To do that indicates many layers of rude behavior. Now intellectually, I totally understand that this was a way to keep people subjugated, that with *THAT* big of a population, a society means had to be begotten to keep peace.

What started all this? I told her at 3:30 in the afternoon I was exhausted, that I couldn't deal with getting dinner and I just want to come home. I asked her if we could order out, or if she could cook. Sure, came the response.

At 5:30 I came home. She was playing. She asked numerous times what I wanted for dinner, at the same time saying she was hungry and at the same time letting me know she accidentally got on a "quest" that involved 14 dungeons and she was only in dungeon #3.

I took that to mean, she's busy, she's hungry and she wants dinner. I wouldn't answer her when she asked what I wanted for dinner. She named off several foods, none of which sounded good to me. Finally I knew she was hungry, and she liked pizza so I said okay to that. I'm not sure what happened next but I made the mistake of following my culture in being polite and asked, Did you want me to call?

Yes she said happily, if you don't mind. Well, I did mind. I TOTALLY resented even having to say Did you want me to call, cause I had told her how tired I was.

This led to a huge brouhaha. I was upset that she wanted me to handle dinner, she was upset because all she felt she did was say yes to my offer.

BANG! Culture clash. If I had said nothing and didn't offer, my mind would've tortured me all night saying your partner is hungry and just cause you're tired, you're not going to make sure her tummy is hurting? See, I felt I could see what was coming. She'd hold off on ordering food until the quest was over, then her tummy would've reacted badly to that, then she would've been too sick to be there for me... and instead I would've been there for her.

I had the whole scenario mapped out and I WAS PISSED!

And I was wrong. I should never have anticipated the future... especially since we're both trying to change and therefore I should've given her the benefit of the doubt.

And she was wrong. I did ask, but she didn't hear me. She did apologize by the way.

As we grow with each other, we're still learning to hear each other. But I'm scared. I'm really really scared that we will test the resiliency of this relationship until the tension and the snapback is gone and we will be limply going through life. I do know that this is a direct result of what happened to my parents, that my fear is that we'd end up like them, leading separate lives but still tied together to an anchor of a marriage that was kept afloat only by a fierce fear of hell.

I'm so tired of being afraid.

Filed under Bloodsport, err Relatives and Reveries & Paranoias.

Enough! I want my money back!

It's time for a new law. A law that protects taxpayers from shenanigans like this.. and I want Congress and the President to foot the bill.

I want to sue them personally for WASTING OUR MONEY! $34,000 just to fly Bush back to Washington to sign this bill? When he couldn't get up off his duff to pledge measley amounts to thousands of victims?

How much did all those congressmen spend just to fly back for this emergency bill? WHAT EMERGENCY? THE WOMAN HAS BEEN LIKE THAT FOR 15 YEARS. 15 YEARS DO NOT CONSTITUTE EMERGENCY!

I want the money returned and armor bought for our soldiers. Cough up DeLay. Cough up Rove! Cough up Bush! REFUND OUR MONEY YOU FUCKING MANIPULATIVE ASSES!

Filed under Politics & B.S.

Fear of Death

The macabre theater that is Terri's Schiavo's life/death illustrates a lot to different people. For some, it's a travesty not to let her live. For some, it's a travesty not to let her die.

For me, I am so very very happy to hear that more and more Americans are facing the inevitable fact that we are all mortal. I started a rant about 20 years ago... about how Americans were soooo scared to death of death... that it's totally tucked away in the universal consciousness of Americans. Americans, I felt had a very unnatural and inflictive fear of death.

Why did I choose the word inflictive? The fear of death is so pervasive here in America that people will use the fear to inflict laws on each other. Examples are seat belt laws, non-smoking laws, child safety laws, etc. But along with this inflictive fear lies the unnatural fear. I was so glad to see that "6 Feet Under" showed how other cultures deal with death and that the main character felt that Americans were too septic in the way we approached death.

I do believe that Congress had a knee jerk reaction... that someone saw an opportunity to market against death, and that politicians could cash in on this fear.

I really hope that the polls are correct and this ends up backfiring on those who peddle fear so that they can send our children to war to be killed. That the conversation in America has taken a turn from talking about 'cancer' in a whisper, 'aids' in a whisper, to a full-fledged "Honey, if I am EVER in a position where I am incapacitated and cannot make decisions on my own, pull the plug."

For once I am going to see the silver lining and say, thanks Congress. Without you, there'd be 2 million less living wills today. Excuse me while I go off to work on mine.

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias.

Playing right into their hands...

which is what I'm doing by writing about Terri Schiavo.

I'm actually writing about the blogs that are writing about Congress's actions about Schiavo. All four of the major liberal blogs I read, have written about this travesty that's going on in Congress and the WH... George Bush cutting short a vacation *gasp* Just make sure we're not falling for the sleight of hand too, okay?

The noise machine is going on about this travesty... and hoping we're ignoring the others. Let them hang themselves with this one. Their interference is unctuous and most Americans can see that. They miscalculated about the selfishness level regarding social security and I believe they're miscalculating with this one.

What we really have to hammer on is the economics of stuff. War costs, deficit, time spent on this at a cost of Congress pay, WH pay, congressmen's staffs pay, WH staff pay and Capitol Hill staff pay, lives saved, lives taken in the war, injuries that could've been prevented if the money spent here was spent instead on armoring the transportation.... Perspective, people. KR and his people are counting on the fact that we'll be so outraged by this singular travesty that we'd blow it out of porportion.

In the meantime, good work on the assessment of the MSM. They've been patsies too long. Let's not fall into the same trap as them, okay?

Filed under Politics & B.S..

Question for the Ages

How does one answer a forwarded, forwarded, forwarded email from an old buddy who doesn't know YOUR email and make it NOT seem like spam?

I think I didn't do a good job lol.

Filed under Ms. Cell Annie.

Kindness???? BWAHAHAHAHAHA

So I'm reading The Cunning Realist's latest post which is about obesity, believe it or not, or rather our impressions to our creditors and whether obesity/sloth is something we want to our creditors to see. Anyway, I just busted out laughing when I read that China, who holds most of the U.S., being depicted as kind.

Let me just reiterate: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Does the Cunning Realist truly believe that China holds our debts because they want to help their neighbor? Yes, Cunning Realist, there IS a Santa Claus and his name is China. BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

Every time China sabre-rattled in the Straits of China, and the U.S. forced China to back down, China ran out and bought more of America's debt. Remember that embassy bombing? I bet they rushed right out afterwards and bought half the debt then. China remembers the opium wars, remembers Taiwan, remembers all of it. They also remember that compared to China's history, all the Western culture is a mere blip.

Remember folks, only in America does a Umpteen Billion dollar deficit not raise any alarms. The rest of the world is looking on wondering not IF America is going to crash, but When and the Chinese? Well, they're counting on it. Too bad I won't be around 150 years from now to say I told you so.

Filed under Politics & B.S. and Bwahahahaha.

Past & Future Crash

If I told you everything that's happened in my life, you'd say "bullshit." You'd say, even fiction can't be this strange; yet here it is.

Nestled amongst my junk email, I notice one from my publisher that had a "[FWD[FWD[FWD" thingie on it. Mimi never sends me chain emails.... so curious, I opened it up. The past came crashng upon my memories like an avalanche and my other, watching my face, kept saying what is it? Who's this woman writing you?

In 1982, I spent an entire glorious summer bathed in sunlight. I was 18, pretty much left to my own devices in Singapore and I chose to spend it either in the sun or under flourescents in my favorite bowling alley. With me that summer, was this woman who just emailed me out of nowhere.

Our parents had been business associates and since we both were home from overseas, our parents threw us together probably in hopes that we'd keep each other out of trouble. (I can just hear my mother clucking to hers, "Aiyah, don't worry, my daughter - moh da'am" Translation, my daughter's a scaredy-cat.).

Memories of freezing cold shopping centers trying on different clothes, of beer with pizza, of reading guilty pleasure novels by the pool, of wind-surfing on a small lagoon in Katong, of satay by the swimming pool in Island Club, of learning to swing dance and rock-n-roll dance with her, her mom, my mom and their crazy bunch of friends. Hmm, didn't I also take tai-chi that year but she opted not to do it and instead I took it with Auntie Linda and Auntie Pat?

That summer has got to rate as one of the best I've ever had in my life.

Oh, how did it collide with my future? My gf wants to get married cause she's not considered independent financially from her parents until she's 25. That is, unless she's married, or has a kid. So, yesterday's ruling in CA kinda fueled a "So, when are we getting married? Why aren't you marrying me? Why don't you want to marry me?" line of questioning.

Of course, in the meantime, I started fretting about talking to this ol' buddy. Actually, I started fretting about what Mom was going to nag me about if I told her this ol' buddy wanted to get in touch with me. I really wish I knew how to be my sister.... she never cared about pleasing Mom. If it so happened that she wanted to go in one direction and my mother in the opposite direction, she had no compunctures about meandering down the one she chose. Me, I sit and try and figure out how I could get my way and yet give my mother what she wanted as well. The usual results with me? No one remembers that my sister went her own way. Everyone remembers that I couldn't make them happy. *sighs*

Anyway, my mother's the type to dictate what I say or don't say to people she's remotely acquainted with. "Aiyah, don't say that, it doesn't sound good." or "Aiyah! If you say that, they think no Gah-Gow" (Translation - no family teachings - meaning 1) the family is so low-class that they don't bother teaching politeness or 2) the person was too stupid from the family's teachings so is acting like a rude asshole) She'll desperately want that no one talks about our family, but is paranoid enough to think that everyone is.. and that her shame of being my father's wife will open for all to see. Watch, if I end up telling her about my buddy's email, she'll be telling me not to get back in contact... just in case that person's family has heard through the grapevine what my father was like.

I miss my mother. I miss the carefree vibrant young woman I remember her to be. My mother was the one cool mom everyone wanted for *their* mother and I remember brimming with pride. But I can't get myself to hate my father either. One day, I will write about this... about this transition from Imperialist China to the modern era and how it was particularly hard on the Chinese women. Especially the really smart ones who ended up hating themselves and their lives because they could see... and they didn't want to. Like my mother.

Filed under Bloodsport, err Relatives and Reveries & Paranoias.

Hay Fever & Timing

So, on the drive to work this morning, I'm listening to a news station, waiting for John Madden to do his morning schtick... when I hear that "Authorities" are claiming that this will be the worst flu season ever, bringing together a perfect storm of pollen.

Hmm, I think. Didn't they use this last year or the year before when the hit movie was "A Perfect Storm" And then I started thinking, wait, I've heard this before... every year for the past 7-8 years in the Bay Area I hear the same thing, that *this* Spring, unprecedented pollen count is about to descend on hapless unsuspecting allergy sufferers.

I remember this because *EVERY* year I hear this pronouncement by the "authorities" I say a prayer of thankfulness and then kick myself because my allergies, though hardly ever as overwhelming as pollen sufferers seem to have it, are based on temperature.

Yeah, you heard that right, TEMPERATURE. Like, the second I hop out of bed in the morning I start sneezing and wheezing cause the temperature dropped 10 degrees between in bed and out of bed. But I digress....

Anyway, the whole point of this post is, WHO ARE THE AUTHORITIES who make this pronouncement every year, WHY IS EVERY YEAR THE WORST YEAR in a decade or so, and WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TO OCCUR EVERY damn year.

My guess is to all this is, gee, could it be that someone is making money off having news produced this way? Nah, not in America. No one could be manipulating the news....

*mutters to herself P.T. Barnum was right*

Grace's birthday

Today is Grace's birthday. I've not spoken to Grace now for I'd say, close to 20 years? Still, her birthday and other old friends now friends no longer, their birthdays still permeate my consciousness. Wonder if I'll still remember these dates when Alzheimer hits?

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias.

White House Press Corps = Pro Bowl

I get it now!

The White Press Corp is to Journalism what the Pro Bowl is to football players.

You work like crazy and make a name for yourself in journalism, writing articles, covering Congress. Then, ooooh you get access to the White House... but what good is it? There's no news there, there's no story. Just like the Pro Bowl: There's no stats that really count, there's no real glory - which is why people want to get elected to the Pro Bowl and then don't want to play.

Still, the question is asked, how did Gannon get in for 2 years? That's like a cheerleader getting to throw a few passes in the game. Do you ask the cheerleader how he got in? No, you asked the people who gave him the pass.

Filed under Politics & B.S..

Acquisition of Moss

I wear a lot of Raiders hats, as do most Oaklanders and East Bay residents. It kind of amuses me to see the lack of 49'ers caps and gear in their losing seasons as opposed to the Raider Nation. We seem to take it upon ourselves that in losing seasons, we die-hards support them despite the inanities and shenanigans, self-heaped or not.

So, because I'm a pretty die-hard Raider fan, I wore baseball caps, knit caps, and all sorts of gear all year round and I'm not alone.

People making deliveries to my work almost always stop and chat some football with me, cause they know I'm a die-hard. And the question that's been popped to me most of all recently, and the same one I'm asking other fans is, What do YOU think of Randy Moss.

So far, the consensus among the fans I've spoken to is that what's the use of getting a WR if there's no QB? Sorry Kerry Collins. I was willing to support you for the first 5 games you played but that was ample time for you to learn not to throw interceptions. Now, I want either Tuiey or someone new. Gannon can backup but Collins has got to go.

We're worried that Moss will be a distraction. We welcomed Sapp just cause he makes us laugh even when we're wincing at his words, but Moss? Most of us are worried he's another Owens/Rice prima donna.

We need a running game, a passing game and defense. About the only thing we've got going for us is our O-Line. But that still needs jelling for this year. Towards the end of the year last year, they were just starting to really jell together.

Time will wait and see but so far, all the fans I've talked to and I agree... Moss will be a decent addition provided he doesn't distract, and we wished Al Davis spent his $ on a QB with potential.

Give Tuiey a chance, Al. He's been so patient and yeah, I know he gets banged up easily, but damnit, give us, the fans, something to root for.

Speaking of which, Timmy Brown? Please know that your fans still love you and wish you and your wife and twins the best. I am so honored that I was there at your 100th career touchdown, even if you were playing for my lovers' fav. team and not mine. :)

Filed under Ms. Cell Annie.

Learnings

New thing I'm starting. I don't want to forget what I've learned so maybe writing (typing) it out will help.

Learnings:

• To simulate water realistically, there needs to be water surface, spray and many many many different types of lighting (thanks to the "Finding Nemo" Audio commentary).
• That rewrites and rewrites and rewrites are the foundation to Pixar's success
• That people from both sides, the right and the left, have very little idea what freedom is.
• That Garrison Keilor, Spaulding Gray and Andy Warhol only look alike in my imagination. (My first impression of Garrison Keilor? He looks like a dorky Elton John).
  

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias.

I Love it #3

Irony at its best. Get the fundies to vote for you, then realize the fundies don't give a damn about your social security plan cause they believe they'll be taken up by Rapture and therefore, why do anything about social security?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So 59% of the population believes Rapture will happen in their lifetimes; over 50% don't believe there's a crisis with Social Security and the young, they don't care! Who's left? OH YES! All the higher ups in financial institutions, and people who want to drive the stock in their companies higher cause oooh here's another stream of income.

Well, they paid for you to be in the White House. Don't screw them over too. Oh, forgot. You only screw over the poor and the middle class. Those that contributed over 50,000 to your campaign don't belong there. Don't worry White House. As soon as they realize you can't secure this income flow, they'll be working with you to figure out how to gouge us more.

Speaking of which, how's the gas prices in YOUR neighborhood?

Filed under Bwahahahaha; Reveries & Paranoias and Politics & B.S.

What SHOULD be taught in Journalism School

I'm reading some blurbs from today's news about what's happening in the Middle East. And I have this reaction:- a sudden lurching of my stomach lining, followed by a rush of stomach acid and ending in a sour pain.

This should be taught to new journalists: Leave the Hyperbole to the Marketing and Advertising Specialists.

[throws in a seemingly non-sequitur]

I'm reminded of a time when I met a Shakespearean actor. She owned a company in the mid-west and she and her husband were visiting friends of mine. That was about a year or so after Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet came out. I asked her opinion of it and she told me that tho she has tons of respect for Kenneth Branagh, he doesn't know how to use his women. Ophelia should've started off smaller, then grew larger as the madness took over, so that the audience could appreciate the disparity or the distance from where she started to where she ended. I'm not sure I can see another Kenneth Branagh shakespearan play now that I have this interesting lens to look through.

Why did I bring that up? Reporters, Journalists all seem to graduate from the Enquirer school of headlines. I don't know if it's the reporters or the editors, but CUT IT OUT!

You are part of the problem. By using words as "earth-shattering" or "unprecedented" or "[put in your favorite hyperbole here]" you actually DIMINISH the impact of the story.

Those are bleep words. When one reads that, one AUTOMATICALLY THINKS "BULLSHIT!"

When all words you see claim "Number 1" Chances are, none of them are. Instant Dismissal. But you all can't do that can you? You became a journalist cause you are in love with words. Well, fall in love with VERBS, not ADJECTIVES or ADVERBS and certainly NOT hyperbolic ones. If you use hyperbole in your journalistic efforts, YOU ARE NO LONGER A JOURNALIST, YOU ARE AN ADVERTISER.

Got that? *sighs* No, I didn't think so.

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias and Politics & B.S.

Reading Live Talk with Dan Froomkin and...

I love his answer to this question:

Granted, there is a certain inherent verbal jujitsu required, in the political arena. Listening to President Kennedy's speeches, he too was a master of it. How effectively do you feel that today's press is responding to/ circumventing/challenging the verbal tactics coming out of the White House?

Dan Froomkin: Those aren't diversionary phrases. Those are the meaningless words padding the diversionary phrases that punctuate the hoary soundbytes from the approved phrasebook that obfuscate the lack of any substantial response to our questions.

Today's LiveTalk seems to be mostly about the press. Why aren't they reporting on this.... why aren't they reporting on that. The answer always comes back, it's reported here and here.... and there and there.

I've got more to say about this. I agree with Dan. The atrocities of our government, their double-speak, their contrived town-hall meetings, the bankruptcy bill, the tortures. All this ARE being reported on. The difference is, there's just some outrage.

I believe it's as simple as believing that the ends justify the means or the means justify the ends. Those who are outraged believes that nothing justifies the ends if the means aren't... shall we say honorable? The other side is, oh yeah? well look at the results.

One side says, Look, NO WMDs! The other says Look! Democracy. Never mind that there were lies abundant or such stuff.

The truth is out there. It's just that if it doesn't directly impact them, immediately, the outrage just isn't there.

*sigh* Being an idealist in the age of bullies sucks.

Filed under Politics & B.S.

Private Accounts in Easy Words

I'm no dummy (tho some - okay, all - of my friends would disagree). I take pride in that I am a fairly well-read person and that given some concentration, I can comprehend almost anything.

However, when it comes to Social Security and Private Accounts, my eyes cross, my mouth opens in a yawn, and I will read the same word 20 times before I realize that I can move on. However, TPM provided this link today.

My eyes didn't glaze, I actually read the entire thing and understood it. Basically, the writer knows two people who favor private accounts. Let's just say, they're favoring it because it puts in their pocket YOUR money.

Put another way, do you want to see your future in the hands of people who will make money off you no matter how the market swings? That's our prez... shilling for those who want to enslave the world.


Filed under Politics & B.S.

Debt Society

I remember the early 80's when Comic Relief came on HBO to raise money for the homeless. Segment after segment, there were images from middle-class families suddenly laid low.... images of whole families in cars cause a family member got sick and expenses got too high; images of a laid off steelworker who couldn't even find work as a busboy and is now hanging out at bus-stops with the boys, hoping for a one day gig.

I learned from that. I learned never to put anything on my house that might cause anyone to take it away. The only two things are my mortgage and my association fees. For those of you consolidating debt and you own a house. Realize please, that your house is on the line.

I've a feeling that with today's vote in Congress, all this is going to change and it's going to be possible for the corporations to take away my housing if I don't pay even my unsecured debt back. I need to read more about it but I've got this queasy feeling.

Again, I'm going to re-iterate my niggling thought... that the reason the Bush Administration and the NeoCons are doing all this to dismantle Social Security, Bankruptcy, etc, is to ensure that we are beholden to our jobs. Look, the unions have no teeth, the government has no teeth (they're in the pockets of these people) the journalists have no teeth... and the internet? It's just a noise machine that helps drown out the truth.

I remember reading in H.S. about indentured servants... and how people signed contracts that basically made them slaves in everything BUT the name... and the promise of freedom. I always wondered how they got suckered into that. Now I know. It's called keeping up with the Jones.

[edited] It turns out Paul Krugman of the NYT has the same opinion as I do. He had an opinion piece in the NYT.

Filed under Politics & B.S. and Reveries & Paranoias.

Copyrights

I used to work in the copyright industry. To me, copyrights are a valuable thing because it means that whatever you created has value. If a person chooses to sell their rights to something, well, it's up to them.

I'm such a stickler that I pretty much don't pirate anything. If my girl does it, she knows how I feel and well, she doesn't tell me.

Recently, the Hate-Mongerers... I won't call them Republicans cause all the Republicans I know are good decent people. They sometimes say hateful things, but they're not mongering hate.

Anyway, recently, the hate-mongerers have come up with a way to be doubly insulting. They take an image without permission, to use as an example of why Hate should exist. The most famous example of this is the Gay Wedding Photo which was appropriated to infer that the AARP supports Gay Marriage but opposes Support for the Troops.

Well, Eschaton recently reported that the Hate-Mongerers are casting doubts on Captain America!

While I don't care really if Captain America hates America or not (Seriously folks, this totally smacks of can the Hulk beat Superman), I DO care that the artist is not being compensated for his hard work.

When I see that panel, I see a collaboration between editor and writer and penciller and inker and coloring people and letterer. I see artwork being created and loving, lavishly put on a page. I worked with these artists for over 10 years and let me tell you, all of them agonize over each panel, wondering what the best angle to storytell is, or whether a hand should be turned up or turned down and what would make the best sense or have the best visual impact, so you readers won't be robbed when you plunk down your money.

And yet, you have NO compunction about stealing.

This generation of humans disgust me.

Filed under Facets & Galleries of Art; Scary Gay Stuff and Reveries & Paranoias.

Going Away for the Weekend

My girl and I went away for the weekend. We explored new lands - one where everything dripped moisture and then after we finished everything we wanted to accomplish there, we hopped on a boat and went across a sea, to find ourselves in a cold forest. Though snow wasn't on the ground, you could tell from the trees they hadn't been greeted by warmth in months. Their trunks were ashen, yet their leaves reflected a deep somber green.

Where did we go? We went exploring on World of Warcraft.

I turned to her in surprise this morning and asked, "Does it feel like we went away this weekend?" and she nodded.

THIS is the reason I play computer games.

What I'm loving about this particular game is, you can be one of 8 races, so you will start off in 6 different realms. (Two sets of two share the same homeland). Each profession you choose will set you off on a slightly different path, and same goes with class.

Anyway, the exploration and discovery of new things are the appealing things about computer games. Plus, they add content ever so often so there's usually something new to explore.

So, if you ever want a cheap vacation, get two copies of WoW and go exploring in their worlds there with your lover. Oh, and get two laptops. That helps a lot.

Filed under Gaming-Obsess Much? and Reviews.

An Obligation to be Greedy

There's been some speculation in my office about Tom Brady, the Patriots quarterback. Since the Raiders just got WR Randy Moss, I'd voiced my preference for getting a new quarterback. The rest of my office consists of 49'ers fans. There is NO doubt, those fans want a good quarterback for their team as well.

We also wondered how much a 3-time Super Bowl quarterback (within 4 years) would make, considering the outrageous amount for the Mannings. WELL!!!! There seems to be a quarterback in the NFL who cares more for winning than for money. Negotiations are in place currently between Brady's agent and the Patriots for the Patriots to keep Brady and yet have enough money left over to build a strong team around him.

First off, to all those sports announcers who wondered how a dynasty could be built in today's age. This is how. It takes a talented individual to realize that in a sports that's leaking fans, the bottom line isn't cash if you want to win. The bottom line is talent and having it around you in a team of 11.

Secondly, in the WaPo article today by Mark Maske, there was a sentence that read: "Still, Brady and his agent, Don Yee, have an obligation to other players to avoid signing for too much below market value."

Excuse me?

This kind of thinking really pisses me off. No, Brady does NOT have an obligation to the other players. Brady has an obligation to his family and to his own soul. That's it. HIS PRINCIPLES obligated him to his teammates. The other players' agents need to tell the other owners (if the quarterbacks opt for greed and not talent) that FIRST OFF, TOM BRADY DOESN'T WANT TO WORK FOR THEM, DOES HE? Therefore, the market rate ISN'T about Tom Brady, because what Tom Brady is getting from the New England Patriots is intangible - PRICELESS.

This is reminding me of my girls' work situation. Both of us have decided that money to us, is merely a tool. If we have enough to save, enough to eat on, enough to have a roof over our heads, and enough to buy a few toys (get your head out of the gutter) now and then, we're making enough AND DON'T HAVE TO MAKE MORE.

So when she and her bosses started negotiating, she told them she wanted help with her work. They thought it was a negotiating ploy for more money. She was actually negotiating for less.... in terms of time. We can get by with her working 10 hours a weeks, so 40 was waaaay too much for her - lol. She *much* preferred a 30-35 hour week, get her massive work load done within those hours. What she couldn't handle was the stupid shit her boss threw at her a few times a day that whittled away her precious time to finish her actual job.

So she said she was unhappy. To that boss, that translated to "I want more money"; to which his response was, "work more hours and you can make more AND get the stupid shit done for me that I am too lazy to do myself even though it takes me just as long to tell you what needs to be done as if I did it myself." Her response? "I Quit."

There *ARE* people in the world where making the most dollars isn't the important thing to us. I suspect Tom Brady's motivation is to have a dynasty for the next 10 years (hey, if the Patriots put their dollars in offensive lineman, Tom's got probably 10 more years). What would be better? To have the record books have your name 10 times as the Super Bowl Quarterback? Or to make sooooooo much, all of the other quarterbacks wants to be you.... just until the next greedy person comes along and makes a better deal?

Filed under Sports Talk.

Defining Blogging - Journalism?

Haven't seen any sites mentioning this but a case is going before the California court today that should be of interest to Gannon/Fishbowl D.C./White House watchers. Apple is suing three sites for disclosure of trade secrets. Apparently, these three sites posted information about Apple's upcoming products and Apple wants to know who gave thiem this information.

Well, these three intrepid bloggers are claiming that they are protected by journalistic standards and thus source confidentiality. Not so fast, says the judge. The judge is taking some time out to decide whether these three bloggers qualify as journalists.

So, is California going to be the one to define for the nation who is and who isn't a journalist? Should these standards then be applied to the White House? If these three aren't journalists, then should the White House rescind the apparently-much-harder-to-obtain-than-just-walking-in daily pass that Fishbowl D.C. just got? Will Gannon/Guckert finally *get* it that he didn't qualify to be a journalist NOT because he got paid to salute guys with more than just his hand. He didn't qualify because he wasn't one. Period.

Anyway, just something to think about.

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias and Politics & B.S.

Suggestion for Garrett

I love this guy. He's trying to get into the White House Briefing since he's got nearly the same credentials (if not more in the journalist side) as Gannon/Guckert. But it's been Day 2 and he's struck out. Wonder what he's doing wrong?

Could it be:

• He has no tricks up his pants?
• There aren't any favorable reviews of his inches to be found?
• He's never appeared spread eagle with only his whanger standing up?
• He's never thanked Karl Rove on any articles he's written?
• He's undisclosed as a top or bottom?
• There's hair on his head?
  
• He spits and doesn't swallow?
• He's never paid$50 for a 2-day seminar that "certifies" him to be a journalist?

The other thing I wonder is... how many people, like Garrett has decided to follow in Gannon/Guckert's footsteps. And following that answer, I wonder how many interns and employees is cussing the name of the person who let in Mr. Jeff Gannon, the poor victimized call-boy journalist of the much vaunted Right.

Filed under Politics & B.S.

Fight Night Round 2 Review

Sheesh, if I don't watch it, this will become a gamer's blog, instead of the mish-mesh that it currently is.

Okay, picked up Fight Night Round 2 last night. Again, praise and honors need to go to my patient gf who knows how I get when I count down to something. I had it all planned out in my head. She was going to stop by Gamestop, pick it up, I'd have it in my hot little hands by 5:00; 5:20 we'd be home and I'd THROW the laundry into drawers and whatnot; and by 5:23 I'd be loading up the game.

Well, needless to say, my plans were thwarted. By 5:35 I was fuming. If one took an ultra-violet picture of me just then, one would've seen plumes of steam billowing from my head. First of all, the guy at Gamestop gave me the PS2 version. Then Taco Bell took forever! Okay, it was probably 2 minutes longer than usual but still!

When we went back to the store to get the XBox version, this ol' bitch of a lady said, "There's a line!" and proceeded to do the following: "How much is that? Okay, add that to the total... oh no, too much, take that item off. How much is this? Okay, add this to the total."

I huffed. I puffed. I explained that it takes TWO SWIPES and I'd be out of there. This batfaced lady screeched again "There's a line!" Thank goodness, the Gamestop guy took pity on my impatient soul and ignored her for 45 SECONDS to handle my exchange. I thanked him profusely, then drove like I was living in GTA: San Andreas.

Okay, here's the quick review:

I LOVE IT! I've not found anything to dislike yet about the game, but honestly, that's how I felt about the first game. It wasn't until weeks later that I found myself wishing for a better tactical/defensive game, for being able to change weights, for wanting the changes in stats and physical appearance to actually mean something. (One day, I want to talk about this sentence - actually mean something. Okay, this is a software program. Nothing I'm talking about here actually means something in the real sense. I gotta remember this)

Fight Night Round 2 so far delivers on all those desires. You can defend yourself while leaning back now so if you want to make like Ali and rope-a-dope, you can. Just be VERY VERY careful. I got knocked out trying to use that strategy. You can also walk ahead of you and cover your head, so if you want to make like present-day George Foreman and be a lumbering giant who just throws out heavy jab after heavy jab, one... jab... at .... a .... time... you could. (But seriously, who'd want to do that? I'm sure Foreman, if he played this game would be playing a younger him, not the present day him.)

So far, my agility isn't high up so I'm having trouble developing the jab and move style. When I have the patience, I am a countering fool. It's fun to hear the whoosh of the miss. Haymakers look like they're easy to do, but I'll tell you this much. Every time I threw one, I was surprised.

The mini-games are okay. I do like the fact that there are different weeks between fighters and you can choose which person to fight depending on how many fights you want to have a year. I don't like the fact that if you choose the EA special fight, that it's over 20 weeks and you can only train from one mini-game during that entire time.

And yes, it's much more fun than the original. You actually have to try and move your guy around a lot more now.

Filed under Reviews and Gaming-Obsess Much?.

Why Christians fear Gay Marriage

A little background here: I took Jesus Christ to be my Savior in 1976. I then took Him to be Lord of my life in 1980. In 1982, I turned my back on the church, tho I never let go of Christ's teachings.

Most Christians I knew were good-hearted, giving people, who thought fairly well of themselves. I mean, they will immediately identify themselves as the good guys. Mind you, my whole family is pretty much Christian. Our family was converted by the missionaries in Shanghai about 100, 125 years ago, maybe longer.

My grandmother played the piano for the church as well as led the junior choir for umpteen years. My cousin is youth director of his church. My other cousin works with the youth choir. My mother donates thousands of dollars to her church every years, presumably to offset my cheating father.

While it's easy for me to group all the Christians into one tub and hate what they're doing to our country, I sometimes need to remember that this is my family I'm talking about... these are friends from years gone by I no longer keep in touch with but have fond memories of them.

I keep reading the following: that Christians oppose gay marriage because they're afraid that straight marriage will disintegrate. I beg to differ.

I believe Christians oppose gay marriage because they are afraid of what it tells God about them. Let's say you're failing all your classes except one. If you can ace this one test, you can at least then say, well, I aced this class. I think the vehemence behind the opposition is because most Christians are failing their classes and they're hoping passing this one class will allow them entry through the pearly gates.

"Of course not, God. No, I don't support the gay life... Wha? No, sir, those lesbian porno flicks doesn't mean I'm supporting the gay lifestyle. How much wouldn't I support it? Well, I voted against gay marriage sir! That's how much!"

Filed under Scary Gay Stuff and Reveries & Paranoias

Reality, meet Distortion

Okay, so I've read in three reports that when Putin said something to Bush about firing Dan Rather, Bush was "open-mouthed". And then I read something like this....

The odd episode reinforced the Administration's view that Putin's impressions of America are often based on urban myths fed to him by ill-informed aides.

Umm, urban myths like Weapons of Mass Destruction? Like connections between Hussein and Al Qaeda?

I really feel like sitting our Idiot-in-Chief down and showing him Sesame Street. Just the segments on "One of these things is not like the other" so he can finally learn what actions are similar to others and which ones aren't.

For example: Hiring someone to peddle your policies and make it seem like news ... it's similar to what Putin does. It is NOT similar to what FREE PRESS is about. Get it?

*sigh* Didn't think so.

Filed under Politics & B.S.

Distortive Headlines

So, I'm surfing around the NYT and I see the following headlines blaring out at me:

Man Shot at Radio Station During On-Air Appearance by Rapper 50 Cent

Hmm, I say. Who is 50 Cent and why would he want to shoot someone while he's on the air? I mean, doesn't that make like 50,000 witnesses? And so, click I go. And I realize that a man was shot WHILE 50 Cent was on the air, not BY 50 Cent.

Wouldn't one have thunk that the NEW YORK TIMES wouldn't write a headline like that?

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias.