More Ironic than Ray-yain on Your Wedding Day

Good ol' Howard Dean...don't think I've told this story before, back in May '05 I was changing planes at the madhouse called Dulles International Airport and found myself standing next to Howard Dean. I noticed three things:

1. He's short!
   
2. He has this quality, this Howard Dean-ness that you can kind of sense on TV...it's real strong in Real Life (TM)...really makes a conservative want to punch the nearest source of Howard Dean-ness.
   
3. That I didn't punch the nearest source--further proof of progressive sanctification.

Anyway, author of Nanny State and blogger over at the Denver Post Editorial Page blog, David Harsanyi noted a couple of quotations from everyone's favorite former Vermont governor.

Howard Dean in 2005:

Someday, the Democrats will be back in charge again. Do we want a Democratic Party that’s in charge of everything? Well, you know, I suppose it’s my job to say yes. But the truth is, as an American, it’s better when parties share power....

[There] is a culture of corruption and abuse of power in Washington. This is what happens when one party is in charge of everything.

My inner-idealogue bristles at this notion, but my inner-pragmatist (when I let him speak) sees the wisdom in this--and it seems most Americans agree with this. But here's where it gets fun.

Howard Dean in 2008:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that he’s looking forward to one party controlling all aspects of government, despite GOP charges that it would be a disastrous Nov. 4 outcome. "Republicans had a chance to rule. They failed miserably. I think it’s time to give the other party a chance," Dean said on MSNBC.

This is gonna be a really long four (eight?) years--unless the mid-term elections in '10 shake things up.

Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives

Back in '92 I read a review for a CD called A Man Called E by, well, E. I remember I didn't hear whatever the review heard, but I really liked it--still one of my 'go to' albums for pensive moments. But I lost track of E right away, and once I started using teh InterWeb thingy, never thought of trying to find him that way.

'Til the Shrek soundtrack came along, and I just knew I knew the voice on the track by The Eels, it was like bumping into someone I went to school with at the grocery store. Since then, I've picked up some of their music--mostly by accident on soundtracks. Quirky, witty, and sad. Best quick way I can think of to describe them.

That's more than I meant to say as introduction, sorry.

Anyway, quite by accident (again) I stumbled across this NOVA special last week--Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives--which focuses on E (aka Mark Oliver Everett) digging into his father's life, particularly his career as a quantum theorist. In 1957, Hugh Everett III published a work where he laid out the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. To say that his father was distant seems to be quite the understatement, so E learned a great deal about his father during filming--particularly personal details. At several times during the documentary I felt like I was intruding.

As far as the science stuff goes--like E, most of it was over my head (tho' some of it was incredibly simplistic--'course kletois probably thinks all of it was pretty simplistic), and I think the whole parallel world thing is good Science Fiction, lousy reality. But it was interesting, and gave a good narrative frame for the human stories: Hugh Everett's career, search for acceptance, excessive drinking, etc.; E's feeling of distance from his father, not understanding him, other family tragedy; and E's growing understanding of his father.

Obviously, the human stories were the crux of the film--and I think, given a little more time, could've been developed better by the filmmakers--a lot of the documentary felt rushed. All in all, a very interesting look at theoretical physics and the people behind it (if nothing else, a great soundtrack), try to catch it on a rerun.

Backup by Jim Butcher

Well, that was a fun, 45 minutes (give or take).

Just knocked off Jim Butcher's Backup: A Story of the Dresden Files. Weighing in at about 12K words, it's almost as meaty as the 4-issue mini-series comic book Welcome to the Jungle (recently collected and published in hardcover form).

This is a different way of telling a Harry Dresden story, coming at it from the POV of his brother, Thomas. Not only does this give us a new way of seeing Harry, it gives us a better appreciation for Thomas. (In many ways, it reminded me of Crais' The Watchman from last year.)

Quick read; decent story--resolution came a bit too soon, but given the length, such was unavoidable; probably paid too much for it, given my budget; hope some of the backstory spills over into the regular Dresden File novels. Something any fan should pick up.

Spooktacular 2008

Local Borders store had their Spooktacular party on Saturday for kids--games, costume contest, etc. Good way to kill an afternoon--made even better by Frodo and Sam winning a couple of books :)

Snapped a couple of photos on our way out the door:

We start off with a SWAT team member--as a bonus, the costume includes several toys :)

Frodo was, well, if you need an explanation here, you've got problems.

The Princess opted for, shockingly, a princess. (this is a hand-me-down from her cousin, making this cooler than humanly possible for her)

Flexing his (and his parents') creativity, Samwise decided to go all literary, here he is as Skulduggery Pleasant.

and a closer look at the bang-up job TLomL did on his makeup.

Thought for the Lord's Day #26

He doesn't post often enough, but when he does, Prof. Shaw typically hits the ball right out of the park. Friday's post "Mental Images of Jesus" does a nice succinct job of dealing with one of the more common objections to the the confessional (read: Biblical) position of applying the 2nd commandment to images of Christ.

Someone Was Looking Awfully Grown-Up Today

so we snapped a quick pic:

"Godspeed" - Anberlin

Just cuz I haven't done a Friday Music thing in awhile...

Who's the Socialist?

(H/T: Huckleberries Online)

Happy Birthday, Archie!

On Oct 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio, Archie Goodwin entered this world--no doubt with a smile for the pretty nurses--and American detective literature was never the same.

I'm toasting him in one of the ways I think he'd appreciate most--by raising a glass of milk in his honor.

Who was Archie? Archie summed up his life thusly:

Born in Ohio. Public high school, pretty good at geometry and football, graduated with honor but no honors. Went to college two weeks, decided it was childish, came to New York and got a job guarding a pier, shot and killed two men and was fired, was recommended to Nero Wolfe for a chore he wanted done, did it, was offered a full-time job by Mr. Wolfe, took it, still have it." (Fourth of July Picinic)

Long may he keep it. Just what was he employed by Wolfe to do? In The Black Mountain he answers the statement, "I thought you was a private eye" with:

I don't like the way you say it, but I am. Also I am an accountant, an amanuensis, and a cocklebur. Eight to five you never heard the word amanuensis and you never saw a cocklebur.

In The Red Box, he says

I know pretty well what my field is. Aside from my primary function as the thorn in the seat of Wolfe's chair to keep him from going to sleep and waking up only for meals, I'm chiefly cut out for two things: to jump and grab something before the other guy can get his paws on it, and to collect pieces of the puzzle for Wolfe to work on.

In case you're wondering if this post was simply an excuse to go through some collections of Archie Goodwin quotations, you wouldn't be totally wrong...he's one of the fictional characters I like spending time with most in this world--he's the literary equivalent of comfort food. So just one more great line I've quoted here before:

I would appreciate it if they would call a halt on all their devoted efforts to find a way to abolish war or eliminate disease or run trains with atoms or extend the span of human life to a couple of centuries, and everybody concentrate for a while on how to wake me up in the morning without my resenting it. It may be that a bevy of beautiful maidens in pure silk yellow very sheer gowns, barefooted, singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" and scattering rose petals over me would do the trick, but I'd have to try it.

Why Joe the Plumber Matters

I thoroughly enjoyed watching that initial clip of Joe asking Sen. Obama a question which gave him the opportunity to fly his socialism flag freely on camera. If only Joe knew what he was getting himself into!

All the attention, the repeated references to himself in the debate--the interviews, press conferences, and so on (and didn't he do a wonderful job dealing with Diane Sawyer?).

Oh, but then the magnifying lens got pulled out and every little secret of his was put on display for the world to see and dissect.

Just 'cuz he asked a question.

Tragic, really.

Thought the good people over at Oh, Prune Juice did a good job commenting on the whole story, pointing out why we should care about Joe the Plumber (no matter what we think of his politics)

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

Don't worry, won't be asking what you'd do if I sang out of tune (because the answer'd be "ask what was new?")...

Just wanted to take a moment to publicly thank Micah (as he's known here, other, more notable, blogs call him something else) for the great header graphic you see above you. When I asked him about a new one, I expected something like the last one--simple but catchy, and the d00d fills up my inbox with 7-8 dazzling graphics! And then he redoes one of them with some suggestions (and throws in another option for me to choose from as well...). Talk about an embarrassment of riches.

And really, it's not like he doesn't have better things to do--spending time with his wife and dog, providing for his wife and dog, cleaning up images of Erasmus' 3rd edition of his Novum Testamentum (1522), and so on.

Anyway, thanks, brother!

Thought for the Lord's Day #25

The insufficiency of nature to such a work as conversion is, shows that men may not fall down and idolize their own wit and power. A change from acts of sin to moral duties may be done by a natural strength and the power of natural conscience: for the very same motives which led to sin, as education, interest, profit, may, upon a change of circumstances, guide men to an outward morality; but a change to the contrary grace is supernatural.

Two things are certain in nature. (1.) Natural inclinations never change, but by some superior virtue. A loadstone will not cease to draw iron, while that attractive quality remains in it. The wolf can never love the lamb, nor the lamb the wolf; nothing but must act suitably to its nature. Water cannot but moisten, fire cannot but burn. So likewise the corrupt nature of man being possessed with an invincible contrariety and enmity to God, will never suffer him to comply with God. And the inclinations of a sinner to sin being more strengthened by the frequency of sinful acts, have as great a power over him, and as natural to him, as any qualities are to natural agents: and being stronger than any sympathies in the world, cannot by a man's own power, or the power of any other nature equal to it, be turned into a contrary channel.

(2.) Nothing can act beyond its own principle and nature. Nothing in the world can raise itself to a higher rank of being than that which nature has placed it in; a spark cannot make itself a star, though it mount a little up to heaven; nor a plant endue itself with sense, nor a beast adorn itself with reason; nor a man make himself an angel. Thorns cannot bring forth grapes, nor thistles produce figs because such fruits are above the nature of those plants. So neither can our corrupt nature bring forth grace, which is a fruit above it. Effectus non excedit virtutem suae causae [the effect cannot exceed the power of its cause]: grace is more excellent than nature, therefore cannot be the fruit of nature. It is Christ's conclusion, "How can you, being evil, speak good things?" Matt. 12:33, 34. Not so much as the buds and blossoms of words, much less the fruit of actions. They can no more change their natures, than a viper can do away with his poison. Now though this I have said be true, yet there is nothing man does more affect in the world than a self-sufficiency, and an independence from any other power but his own. This attitude is as much riveted in his nature, as any other false principle whatsoever. For man does derive it from his first parents, as the prime legacy bequeathed to his nature: for it was the first thing uncovered in man at his fall; he would be as God, independent from him. Now God, to cross this principle, allows his elect, like Lazarus, to lie in the grave till they stink, that there may be no excuse to ascribe their resurrection to their own power. If a putrefied rotten carcass should be brought to life, it could never be thought that it inspired itself with that active principle. God lets men run on so far in sin, that they do unman themselves, that he may proclaim to all the world, that we are unable to do anything of ourselves towards our recovery, without a superior principle....

God deals with men in this case as he did with Abraham. He would not give Isaac while Sarah's womb, in a natural probability, might have borne him; but when her womb was dead, and age had taken away all natural strength of conception, then God gives him; that it might appear that he was not a child of nature, but a child of promise.

- Stephen Charnock

Criminal Justice?

Last month, the Idaho Statesman ran this piece, which I started to comment on at the time: North Idaho woman faces hard time over spilt soda.

The U.S. attorney's office is making a federal case out of a spilt soda.

The Bush administration's top attorney in Idaho is bringing charges against a North Idaho woman for refusing to pay for a Diet Coke and then pouring it out on a counter at a cafeteria at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Boise.

Natalie Walters, now facing two counts that each carry a maximum sentence of six months in federal prison, thinks the case is a waste of taxpayer money and plans to fight the charges.

You know there was a voice in the back of her head saying "Gitmo" once she heard "federal prison." And, yeah, the case is a waste of taxpayer money--but since when has that stopped this administration (or practically any other administration) from doing something?

U.S. Attorney Tom Moss's office wouldn't comment on the case until after Walters' arraignment, set for Oct. 8.

Roger Banks, listed on the court record as the investigating agent with the Department of Veterans Affairs, did not return the Statesman's phone call Wednesday.

Walters, though, told her side of the story:

The 39-year-old North Idaho resident periodically drives her father, a disabled Vietnam veteran, to Boise's VA Medical Center for doctor visits. She brings her own mug and fills it with soda in the hospital's cafeteria. The cafeteria does not have a posted price for refills, and typically the cashier charges her $1 or $1.50, Walters said.

But on Aug. 20, when Walters filled her mug with Diet Coke, the clerk charged $3.80.

"I told her that cannot be right and asked to talk to the manager," Walters said.

The manager told Walters the price is correct.

Walters decided she didn't want to pay that much and offered to return the soda, she said. But the manager told her there was no way to accept the returned soda and Walters had to pay. Walters refused, and she said she was angry by this point, and she poured the soda onto the counter.

I can absolutely see myself doing this. Will try to remember this as a reason to not take my father to a doctor appointment when asked.

The manager banned Walters from the cafeteria. Walters left but remained in the hospital for a couple of hours waiting for her father to finish his appointments. No one came to talk to her, so she assumed the soda ordeal was over.

What happened the next day upsets Walters most.Welcome to post-9/11 America, Ms. Walters."They did not know who I was. But they had the whole thing on videotape," she said.

The tapes also showed her with her father in other areas of the hospital.

The next day, while her father was at a dental appointment at the VA, an official came in, told him about the incident and asked him to have his daughter contact the hospital.

"They accessed my father's medical records to find out his next appointment to try and find me," she said. "I think that is a (federal health privacy law) violation. Medical records are private," she said. "They should not have used a veteran's medical records to find me. ... My dad was upset. He could not believe it."

Next time I have to sign a HIPAA form, I've got to check the part where your information can be used to track down my family members accused of heinous Federal offenses (like kidnapping, counterfeiting $100's or spilling soda).

Walters never contacted the VA, and that was the last she heard about the incident until a Statesman reporter contacted her Wednesday and informed her of the federal charges and her Oct. 8 arraignment.

She was shocked.

"My father is a veteran. It is a federal facility for veterans. This should have been handled differently," she said. "This is extreme. This is totally extreme. Well, if they have that much time on their hands go for it."

There was a sidebar describing the charges/penalties she faced

Count 1, misdemeanor larceny: " ... consuming a soft drink beverage belonging to the Department of Veterans Affairs without paying for it."

Maximum sentence: 6 months in prison and a $500 fine

Count 2, disturbance: " ... intentionally pouring soft drink beverage from a large mug over the cash register and onto the floor during a disagreement with the cashier over payment."

Maximum sentence: 6 months in prison and a $250 fine.

On the court documents, federal prosecutors estimated a trial on the case would last last two days.

Two days, months in prison and hundreds of dollars in fines. Plus the hundreds in lawyer fees, court costs, etc. Over , what? 64 oz. of flavored carbonated beerage?

Then today, er, yesterday, the Statesman ran this follow-up: Idaho woman agrees to fine in dumped soda case

BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge has dismissed a case against a northern Idaho woman who refused to pay for a $3.80 soft drink refill and then dumped it on a cafeteria counter at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Boise.

Natalie Walters has agreed to pay a $200 fine - the equivalent of more than 50 soda refills at the medical center.

$200? I can see where she'd agree to that, just to get this stupid chapter of her life behind her. But $200? That's a crime.

Sorta Like Ballet

Went to my first Judo practice tonight--only as an observer, mind you. About a month and a half ago, Frodo and Samwise started, and seem to have come a good ways with it--long way to go, tho :) It was fairly entertaining--particularly at the end of the class where the more advanced students were allowed to "play" instead of work on the particular skills learned/practiced tonight. In the words of the always wise, Jack Handy:

To me, Judo is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers knock each other down.

Frodo is, as one would expect the more technically correct wrestler. He gets the forms right, his gi is as close to immaculate as one can get, and focuses like a hawk.

Also as one would expect, Sam has more natural talent, wears a gi that generally covers his scrawny little chest, and gets the gist of what's going on. He also seems to have more fun.

Can't wait 'til they get proficient enough they can start practicing on each other--then hopefully they'll rub off on each other.

Presidential Election

Sure, McCain/Obama are getting the overwhelming bukl of the press coverage in the final days of this campaign season, but there's a Dark Horse candidate out there gaining some attention (his campaign slogan, "No, I'm the Lesser Evil" is helping). Check out this news story on him.

Seriously...

The coverage of the presidential election is designed to be a grand distraction. This is not new, but this year, it’s more so than ever.

Pretending that a true difference exists between the two major candidates is a charade of great proportion. Many who help to perpetuate this myth are frequently unaware of what they are doing and believe that significant differences actually do exist. Indeed, on small points there is the appearance of a difference. The real issues, however, are buried in a barrage of miscellaneous nonsense and endless pontifications by robotic pundits hired to perpetuate the myth of a campaign of substance.

The truth is that our two-party system offers no real choice. The real goal of the campaign is to distract people from considering the real issues.

Influential forces, the media, the government, the privileged corporations and moneyed interests see to it that both party’s candidates are acceptable, regardless of the outcome, since they will still be in charge. It’s been that way for a long time. George Wallace was not the first to recognize that there’s "not a dime’s worth of difference" between the two parties. There is, though, a difference between the two major candidates and the candidates on third-party tickets and those running as independents.

The two parties and their candidates have no real disagreements on foreign policy, monetary policy, privacy issues, or the welfare state. They both are willing to abuse the Rule of Law and ignore constitutional restraint on Executive Powers. Neither major party champions free markets and private-property ownership.

Those candidates who represent actual change or disagreement with the status quo are held in check by the two major parties in power, making it very difficult to compete in the pretend democratic process. This is done by making it difficult for third-party candidates to get on the ballots, enter into the debates, raise money, avoid being marginalized, or get fair or actual coverage. A rare celebrity or a wealthy individual can, to a degree, overcome these difficulties.

The system we have today allows a President to be elected by as little as 32% of the American people, with half of those merely voting for the "lesser of two evils". Therefore, as little as 16% actually vote for a president. No wonder when things go wrong, anger explodes. A recent poll shows that 60% of the American people are not happy with the two major candidates this year.

This system is driven by the conviction that only a major party candidate can win. Voters become convinced that any other vote is a "wasted" vote. It’s time for that conclusion to be challenged and to recognize that the only way not to waste one’s vote is to reject the two establishment candidates and join the majority, once called silent, and allow the voices of the people to be heard.

We cannot expect withdrawal of troops from Iraq or the Middle East with either of the two major candidates. Expect continued involvement in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Georgia. Neither hints of a non-interventionist foreign policy. Do not expect to hear the rejection of the policy of supporting the American world empire. There will be no emphasis in protecting privacy and civil liberties and the constant surveillance of the American people. Do not expect any serious attempt to curtail the rapidly expanding national debt. And certainly, there will be no hint of addressing the Federal Reserve System and its cozy relationship with big banks and international corporations and the politicians.

There is only one way that these issues can get the attention they deserve: the silent majority must become the vocal majority.

This message can be sent to our leaders by not participating in the Great Distraction—the quadrennial campaign and election of an American President without a choice. Just think of how much of an edge a Vice President has in this process, and he or she is picked by a single person—the party’s nominee. This was never intended by the Constitution.

Since a principled non-voter sends a message, we must count them and recognize the message they are sending as well. The non-voters need to hold their own "election" by starting a "League of Non-voters" and explain their principled reasons for opting out of this charade of the presidential elective process. They just might get a bigger membership than anyone would guess.

Write-in votes should not be discouraged, but the electoral officials must be held accountable and make sure the votes are counted. But one must not be naïve and believe that under today’s circumstances one has a chance of accomplishing much by a write-in campaign.

The strongest message can be sent by rejecting the two-party system, which in reality is a one-party system with no possible chance for the changes to occur which are necessary to solve our economic and foreign policy problems. This can be accomplished by voting for one of the non-establishment principled candidates—Baldwin, Barr, McKinney, Nader, and possibly others. (listed alphabetically)

Yes, these individuals do have strong philosophic disagreements on various issues, but they all stand for challenging the status quo—those special interest who control our federal government. And because of this, on the big issues of war, civil liberties, deficits, and the Federal Reserve they have much in common. People will waste their vote in voting for the lesser of two evils. That can’t be stopped overnight, but for us to have an impact we must maximize the total votes of those rejecting the two major candidates.

For me, though, my advice—for what it’s worth—is to vote! Reject the two candidates who demand perpetuation of the status quo and pick one of the alternatives that you have the greatest affinity to, based on the other issues.

A huge vote for those running on principle will be a lot more valuable by sending a message that we’ve had enough and want real change than wasting one’s vote on a supposed lesser of two evils.

- Rep. Ron Paul

Sweep the Leg, Johnny

everytime I start to think that I drank in too much of 80's pop culture, somebody proves me wrong:

2x the Laundry

Somewhere between the births of Frodo and Samwise, we were given a lot of advice on how to handle the change between one kid and two. It's a compulsion for parents to pass on this kind of thing to the newbies (one I share, much to my chagrin). One of the tidbits that stuck with me (and that I've passed along, come to think of it) was to think of each additional kid as "doubling the laundry (and every other chore)." To prepare oneself for the second, or third, or fourth, bundle of joy, you needed to think of life with twice as much laundry as you had--while technically not true, the workload seemed that way. Ditto for cooking. Ditto for cleaning. And so on.

Now frankly, I don't really remember things being that way--but maybe that's because we were prepared for it. I remember an uptick in duties with Sam, not really with the Princess, and then another with Arnold--'tho given his personal entourage of medical challenges, that might be the source of a lot of it, so I'm not sure that counts.

Fast forward to a month ago, when we started the 2008-09 school year, and Arnold joined the ranks of the formally educated (not formal enough for some of his grandparents to stop carping, mind you). Wow. I could not, cannot, and probably will not believe how much more work things are this year. Yes, part of it is the larger course load the other three are taking--but it really all seems to be coming from the time needed for Arnold. And yeah, it feels like twice the laundry.

I.am.exhausted. By the time four o'clock rolls around, when (94% of the time) we're done with everything, you practically need a spatula to scrape me up. I'm pretty sure I've never looked forward to weekends as much as I have the last few.

Thankfully, Arnold's a very bright boy, and he's picked up a lot of what we're doing so far faster than the others. On the other hand--he's very demanding. Now that he's started school, he wants to be doing a lot of it--now. He doesn't complain about the workload (unlike the others), he complains if I don't give it to him quick enough. Thankfully, he is easy to satisfy--and he's becoming more understanding about me spending time working with the others--once he's done his lessons for the day, he's more than content to stop and play.

Please don't get me wrong--I'm not complaining (intentionally), nor do I have any intention of quitting. Mostly I'm surprised. I really didn't expect this, I knew this year would be harder, I just didn't realize how much so. If there was any part of me thinking I was sufficient for the task, it's been killed (and stomped on, cut into tiny bits, broiled, revived and killed again).

Superpowers: A Novel by David J. Schwartz

If one's going to write about superheroes there's really only so much you can do--A. Write a prose equivalent of a comic book or B. Go out of your way to make sure that no once can describe your work as an example of "A." Typically, the "A" books are shoddy, and wouldn't be accepted as a script by a decent comic publisher; and the "B" books are so caught up in not being "A"s that they lose something--they might do well exploring the nature of "heroes" or satirizing/politicizing the genre or whatever, but they don't work as novels.

I've had my fill of the "B"s lately, and think I've finished only one out of the handful I've started in the last couple of years--Tom De Haven's It's Superman, which really did work as a novel. Schwartz' Superpowers: A Novel, stands as an example of how to do an "A" right.

Superpowers is the origin story of a super-hero team from Madison, Wisconsin, of all places. A group of college students one day find themselves with superpowers (super-strenghth/invulnerability; super-speed; invisibility; telepathy; and power of flight), and it doesn't take too long before they decide to don costumes and fight crime as the All-Stars, despite the very clear absence of any super villainy. A solid, "A" start--and if Schwartz kept at it at this level, I'd probably really have enjoyed the read.

He did a great job of focusing on each of the five heroes in turn, never focusing on one for too long, essential to any good team book (unlike the Justice League, which all to0 frequently turns into Superman and some other guys (or Batman and...;or Wonder Woman and...; or...). The early chapters are told with a solid amount of humor--think the early parts of the Spider-Man movie, where Peter's learning about his powers. And like I said, if he'd kept it there, Schwartz would've produced a fun read.

But he didn't, and he made it a better read.

There's a cost to these powers for each character--personal, vocational, mental, physical, familial and/or academic. Each one had a full life before tacking on crime-fighting. And life keeps going on--new changes, challenges, and developments--it's possible that a decent story could've been told about these five and their associates without the powers. So they're having to grow as people, as well as nascent heroes.

Then a few short months after receiving their powers, well--don't want to give it away, but something happens hundreds of miles away from them that their powers can't help. The public as a whole isn't sure what to make of anyone being a super-hero (particularly the police). This is worsened when they make a couple of mistakes that wreak havoc on civilians.

The book is really about how people react to these powers, the costs, and the events surrounding them. The plot doesn't depend on a super villain or three for conflict--conflict and drama come from living--lLaughter, love, anger, pain, ambition, parent-child relationships (of varying degrees of health/disfunction), hatred, fear, revenge...

These are not paragons of virtue, Schwartz depicts them as people. That's what makes the book worth the time. While I was reading it, I kept saying to myself "If Robert Kirkman or Brian Michael Bendis wrote a novel, it would read like this." Come to think of it, for my comic reading friends, that's probably all I had to say in this post (a much more economical way to say everything I just did). If you're not one of my comic-reading friends, and you want to be--read this book, and if you like it, go pick up the trade paperbacks of Ultimate Spider-Man and Invincible.

You can thank me later.

A Literal Take of "Take On Me"

Wooden literalism is just as bad when applied to 80's Music Videos as it is to eschatological passages in Scripture. Our frequent commenter, kletois, described this video as "both blasphemy and well done at the same time." Pretty much sums it up.

(H/T: Hot Air)

Just noticed this

I have twenty-two draft posts waiting to be finished. 22.

So why do I find it so difficult to post something daily?

Banzaiiiii!

Don't think I've done this before, but it's the kind of thing I've been meaning to do for awhile. In particular, Micah, Alex, and maybe Josh, and Julie will hopefully benefit from these* (sorry, kletois, doubt I'll find anything you can sample). I tried a new beer today, and figured it deserved a Tip of the Cap: Kona Brewing Co's Pipeline Porter. Don't ask me how this one made it to the shelves around here--never heard of this brewery before.

At first taste this is a very simple, nice porter. That alone makes it worth the space in the fridge. But, and this is why I'm bothering to write about it, after the initial smooth (very smooth) taste--comes a nice little hint of the 100% Kona coffee beans it's brewed with. Not over-powering, nothing that'll make you think it's your morning cup of coffee...just a nuance you're not going to get with another porter. This isn't one of those silly beers with caffeine or anything, either--the coffee's around for it's very pleasant, subtle flavor. (if you needed more then the apostolic and Solomonic injunctions against drunkenness, you will totally miss the beauty of this porter if you've had too much).

* As always, feel free to reciprocate :)

Catching Up

Well, it's officially Autumn here in SW Idaho--I don't really pay attention to what the calendar says, equinoxes/solstices/whatnot; for me it's what the thermometer says, what the sky looks like, what the pollen, etc. is doing to my allergies. With the exception of a couple of days last week, the dying gasps of Summer '08, it's been Fall here for two weeks.

The last couple of years I've been very susceptible to whatever airborne diseases are flying around, so I took the bull by the horns this year, and when temps started diving, I started popping Vitamin C and Echinacea.

Fat lot of good that did me.

Last Wednesday, I got knocked flat by a common cold--I lost as much work due to it as I did my ureteroscopy and lithotripsy back in June. By Friday, I had to run to a doctor for relief--I was sure my coughing had done some damage to my ribs. He didn't think so, but my oxygen levels were low enough I got a nebulizer treatment, along with some steroids and an inhaler to keep me breathing properly til I can shake this. By that afternoon, Arnold and Samwise had likewise succumbed to the cold, and The Princess and Frodo sniffled a bit. Needless to say (yet, I'll do it anyway), Frodo's birthday festivities didn't end up looking like we'd planned them.

The Offspring and I didn't really begin to feel human again until Sunday evening--still not at 100% (in fact, as I write this, am a little worried that my coughing is going to wake the clients at work). TLomL somehow has remained healthy in the midst of us all--Vitamin C works for some people, apparently. Not only were Frodo's celebratory plans aborted, but so were our 12th Anniversary plans. Instead of me wining, dining and romancing my beloved on a quiet night--she was treated to me whining, hacking, and grousing.

Not even close to romantic, but it was real life--and we were together (not too close, lest I infect her). Romantic is nice, but real and together trump that any day.

Any hey, I should have little trouble topping this one when #13 rolls around, right?

A Decade

Frodo's odometer hit double digits today. That's right, my little boy is 10. Honestly, half the time he seems like he's 15 (the other half he's more like 7), so it's not that hard to swallow his age.

What is hard is realizing I've been a father for a decade now. There are very few things I've done for 10 years, and trying to realize that being a dad is one of them has taken a lot of my concentration today--not sure why, but it has.

Regardless, I'm very proud of my little man--God has been more than gracious in the children he granted me--starting with him. I've said it before, I'll say it again (for at least 8 years, I bet)--I'd be lost without him. He's a great learner, a great doer, a great companion, frequently wise beyond his years, almost constantly goofier than should be legal, one of the few people I can trust implicitly (as long as we're not talking about how he treats his siblings) :)

Happy Birthday, Son.

Run, Skinny Boy, Run

Not quite as catchy as the title to that hilarious flick, but best I could come up with.

Frodo and Samwise participated in a one mil "Fun Run" for kids on Saturday--did pretty well, too (esp. since they refused to train at all)--nine and a half minutes for Sam, and ten and a half for Frodo (roughly...think only 40 seconds separated them, really).

Not nearly as cool as baseball, but they liked it :)

Lifting a Pint for Sam

Patriot Samuel Adams was born this day in 1722. Adams was one of the men behind the Boston Tea Party, was a delegate to the Continental Congress 1774-1781, signed the Declaration of Independence, and served as Governor of Massachusetts (1794-1797). When he wasn't showing more political courage, backbone and conviction than every elected person currently in Washington, D. C., he brewed beer. From what I understand, he was a far better politician than a brewer. It's in this connection that most people know about him today (I don't even want to think about how many college freshman know what the Boston Tea Party is...), his name is now attached to a very fine beer (not a great one, mind you), but one worthy of the name.

Thomas Jefferson called him the "Patriarch of Liberty," his cousin John (you may have heard of him) said:

Without the character of Samuel Adams, the true history of the American Revolution can never be written. For fifty years his pen, his tongue, his activity, were constantly exerted for his country without fee or reward.

Here's a few gems of wisdom from his pen:

If Virtue & Knowledge are diffus'd among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security.

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsel or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands of those who feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you. May posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.

The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.

Were the talents and virtues which heaven has bestowed on men given merely to make them more obedient drudges, to be sacrificed to the follies and ambition of a few? Or, were not the noble gifts so equally dispensed with a divine purpose and law, that they should as nearly as possible be equally exerted, and the blessings of Providence be equally enjoyed by all?

A general dissolution of the principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy.... While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.... If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security.

How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!

Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life; secondly, to liberty; thirdly to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.

If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being the gift of Almighty God, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave.

It is a very great mistake to imagine that the object of loyalty is the authority and interest of one individual man, however dignified by the applause or enriched by the success of popular actions.

All might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they should.

He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of this country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.

If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.

Driven from every other corner of the earth, freedom of thought and the right of private judgment in matters of conscience, direct their course to this happy country as their last asylum.

I May Have Just Lost My Appetite for, Like, Forever

from WNBC in New York:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman.

[snip]

PETA officials say a move to human breast milk would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health.

And the suffering of nursing mothers and their babies? Ah, never you mind, the dairy cows will be better off.

In a statement Ben and Jerry's said, "We applaud PETA's novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother's milk is best used for her child."

An earlier draft included the phrases, "not to mention, that's just gross" and "ew, ew, ew!"

Recommended Reading

As I seem incapable of finishing any of the post drafts I've been working on, let me direct you to a new blog recently launched by an old online friend. Steveisms starts off with a thoughtful post about disabilities and a sober reminder about the future.

Probably the Only Josh Groban Post I'll Ever Make

From what I heard, the Emmy Award show was a debacle--but a couple of awards, a couple of people who weren't the hosts, and Josh Groban kept it from being a total waste of time. This is a hoot!

Thought for the Lord's Day #24

Been thinking about this for some reason lately. May be one of the more over-cited verses around, but just means you gotta think about it more when you read/hear it.

Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.

- Proverbs 27:17

A Small Favor

If any of you happen to be Facebook users, could you head over to this link (link will work if you're logged in) and confirm me as the author of this here blog?

It's a fairly silly thing, but I'd appreciate it. Who knows, I might show my appreciation by finishing one of these posts that I've been pecking away at for a few days now...

Smoke Them a Kipper, They'll be Back for Breakfast

Oh, screw down my diodes and call me Frank!

After a criminally long 10 years, Red Dwarf will be airing FOUR specials in 2009. That's right, the classic SF/Comedy series by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor is preparing to come back, however briefly, next year. This is perhaps the greatest thing the BBC has done since they hired that Russell T. Davies character to dust off The Doctor.

But is ten years too long, can they recapture the magic? Sure, why not? As Holly told us

Time is a great healer. Unless it's a rash, then you're better off with ointment.

This is great, I'm practically in heaven--people heaven, that is--there's not such thing as silicon heaven.

"No silicon heaven? Preposterous! Where would all the calculators go?"

No, really, I'm still alive

I haven't abandonded the blog...despite all appearances to the contrary. Just really tired lately--and anytime I try to wrap up one of the posts I've started, I find it impossible to form a coherent sentence, finish a thought, or focus at all. Hopefully I can force my way through this haze soon, have a lot on my mind.

Putting the Corporate back in Corporate Worship

(clearly, spent too much time in Reformed circles--didn't know a couple of these songs...and needed the Time-Life worship CD commercials to help identify another)

H/T: Mark

Fringe Pilot ep.

That was just disgusting--and I'm not just speaking about the opening sequences with the plane.

I cannot imagine the conversation Lance Reddick had with his agent before he got the part--"You know, I'm tired of good writing; meaty, thoughtful roles; stories that matter. Can you get me a job on some mindless network thing--maybe something where I can play 'disapproving minority boss' on some law enforcement type show. Preferably something that doesn't even resemble reality."

How is this the next big thing in S.F. TV? Bring on Virtuality. Bring on The Dollhouse--quickly.

you know what the sickest thing is? I'm probably coming back next week just to see how they try to build on this.

So much for that idea...

I just watched the first episode of True Blood, "Strange Love" and have to report that I won't be saying much about it as I planned--need another episode or two to decide what I think about this show.

I do think it has promise--I really appreciate the care put into the small touches and F/X in the attempt to make this world come to life. Anna Paquin is as fantastic as ever--she alone should be grounds for sticking around this series; the supporting cast is interesting to say the least.

True Blood premier

In honor of True Blood's highly anticipated premier last night (hoping to catch that by the end of the week), here's a repost of my July of '06 post about the book season 1 is loosely based on. Hopefully by Wednesday, I'll have caught up to the world and can offer thoughts on the adaptation.

Unless you're as blind as a bat, not very observant, or have never visited amazon.com. you know that one of their biggest and oldest features is the recommendations. Based on a few of my purchases/ratings, amazon has been telling me to read the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Bored, not wanting to spend money on a couple of books I really want to read, I decide to grab one from the library. Thankfully, they had the large-print version of the first in the series, Dead Until Dark.

The protagonist/narrator is Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie's your typical young southern lady, lives with her grandmother, likes a quiet life, has a good-hearted-yet-wild brother who needs to settle down, works as a cocktail waitress...oh yeah, and she's a telepath. Like I said, typical. She lives in a small Louisiana town filled with antebellum homes and all the people she's known her entire life.

Things change when a vampire comes into her bar. For one thing, she can't read his mind--not having to exert the effort to not read his mind is quite the treat for her.

Vampire? Yeah, a vampires. In this world, Vampires had recently become a legally-protected minority, still struggling for social acceptance (think the Newcomers in Alien Nation).

This particular vampire's name is Bill Compton (name's not exactly up there with Lestat or Armand...or even Angel, Drusilla, Spike), a veteran of The War Between the States with a kind heart (or something like that). Sookie and Bill hit it off, become friends, he spends time with her TWBtS buff grandmother, delighting her with eye-witness accounts. We also get to meet some other vampires...not the fine-upstanding citizens like Bill (who's "mainstreamed"), but creepy, murderous, fiends.

Enter the plot-complication. A series of vampire-related murders. Is it Bill? Is it a Vampire that Bill knows/brought into the community? Is it someone else in Sookie's life? While they stumble their way to discovering the murderer, Sookie and Bill fall in love, deal with social stigmas (from both of their cultures), and have a narrow escape or two.

This was an okay, light read. Sookie's charming, sweet, not too neurotic (was afraid I was in for a second-rate Bridget Jones with a twist). I wouldn't mind reading what happens to the couple next, but I'm not rushing out to grab it (contra Solomon vs. Lord/Thin Blue Alibi). Give it a try if you're desperate for something new.

Grade: C+ not really a triumph for amazon's personality test.

In Honor of the Season Opener

(yeah, okay, I wouldn't have thought of doing anything to commemorate this lesser sport if the song hadn't come up on my shuffle.)

Why the animosity toward the sport? Well, for starters...look at what my (and Gov. Palin's, I should add) alma mater's team did last week.

I know, video quality isn't so hot...can't imbed it, but you can see it in it's glory at Adam Sandler's site.

The obligatory First Day of the School Year Photos

Very serious scholars all...

Arnold joined the ranks of the official students this year--older than any of the rest of the quiver at 4.5 years (to the day). He was more than a little excited--almost rabid, actually, I could barely take a bite of breakfast without him showing me various pages from the workbooks he was going to be using.

Yeah, the photos came out a little dark--not sure why, I assure you, their workspaces are adequately lit.

Generally.

Typically.


Unless they're bugging me.

The Closer - "Sudden Death"

One of the best things The Closer has going for it is the stellar supporting cast. One of the weaknesses of the show is how they handle the members of the squad that aren't Detectives Flynn or Provenza--Gabriel's usage has sure slipped this year. Gina Ravera's Det. Daniels is probably treated the worst on the average "words per episode" scale, beating out Raymond Cruz' Det. Sanchez by a good measure. Frankly, I could live without Daniels--she brings little to the screen aside from being the only female not named Johnson (Willie Ray or Brenda Leigh). But I'm always wanting more Sanchez.

This week's episode was perfect for me. No Daniels screen time (that I noticed, anyway) and plenty of Sanchez. I don't want to get into the details, because I know not everyone has seen it yet, but WOW. Cruz earned his paycheck this week--everyone did, really. Even those players that had few lines nailed it--the way they stood, the looks they gave--every little detail fit just right in this tense story.

Not sure that this one matches Season 3's "Ruby," but "Sudden Death" stands as one of the best episodes of the show, most likely the strongest of the year.

Fall Previews

One of those posts where I let others do the work for me:

Alan Sepinwall, who frightens me by writing down what I'm thinking about 95% of what we both watch, previews the Fall TV season.

And be sure to check out Ken Levine's Fall Movie Preview in parts 1, 2, and 3 is here. Snarkily funny as usual.

Pot Shots from the Grave

Wow...here's a couple who know how to carry a grudge.

A Brooklyn couple slain in their home last month spoke from the grave in drafted last wills, leaving a bizarre legacy for unloved ones they detested in life.

"To my brother who I know hopes to be in my will, well, here you are," chided Mark Schwartz, 50, as he bequeathed nothing to his estranged sibling, Robert, in an unsigned April 2006 draft.

not to be outdone, the Mrs. got digs in at her family--both past and present

She then took an apparent shot at her first husband, James, leaving him no cash but decreeing that a "gift" of $10,000 be made in his name to a battered-women's shelter.

Her ex declined comment last night.

The wills get stranger from there. These must have been vewy, vewy intewesting people while they lived amongst us.

For Your Listening Pleasure

...a new radio.blog. Really threw this one together in no time (I tend to spend wayyyy too much time on these), but noticed today (thanks to one faithful reader) that it'd been since May 5^th since I'd updated it. Anyway...new tunes for your surfing pleasure, hope they work for you.

Sometimes You Just Can't Win

conversation from this morning:

Mom: I can't believe my baby's starting Kindergarten next week.
Arnold: I'm not a baby. I'm a kid.
Mom: Sorry. I can't believe my littlest kid is starting Kindergarten next week.
Arnold: I'm not a little kid. I'm a big boy.
Mom: oookay. I can't believe my youngest big boy is starting Kindergarten next week. [Pause for comment, which doesn't come] Am I getting old, or what?
Arnold: You're getting old.

Bug Day

The Newton clan attended "Bug Day" at the Idaho Botanical Garden Saturday. The Garden's one of those places I've always meant to go to, but haven't quite gotten around to it. The Garden was much more impressive than the Bug Day festivities.

Most of the volunteers were there because bugs (or, oddly enough, Master Gardening) was their thing--not because they were a. good with kids; b. interested in teaching kids. Some were rude, some arrogant, some too busy talking with parents to bother with the kids the day was supposed to be for, some clueless. Those volunteers who were good, were very good, tho.

Kids learned a little, had a lot of fun. And we got out of the house--something we intend to do a lot more than we do on the weekends.

Help Wanted

Hey, faithful readers and people who meant to be reading something else. I'm having a rash of BSOD's lately with my WinXP desktop unit, I've never had a Windows issue with this thing before, so am a little worried.

If any of you are able/interested in trying to help, leave a comment/pop off an email or something.

Thanks :)

Some Friday Fun

Is Mariah Carey a Calvinist?

(H/T: Turretin Fan)

Gratuitous Kid Picture

The Princess posing with Cinderella (obviously pre-Fairy Godmother) at the Starlight Mountain Theatre

There's a Motivational Poster to be Made from This

National Geographic's Photo of the Day today is quite the uplifting image, isn't it?

Seriously, that is a typically great picture (click the link above--or the pic) to see a larger version)--just not sure it's really one of the first things I wanted to see today. I loved the first line of the caption:

A remote-controlled "carcass cam" captures an inside view of a gray wolf fiercely guarding its meal at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota.

"Carcass cam"--hmmmm, just what every serious photographer needs--right Micah/Grace?

Incidentally, in case you're tempted to say the name of that Minnesota town, it's pronounced E-lee, not E-lie. I just learned that, and for some reason, am pretty sure that's a bit of trivia that's going to stick with me.

(I'll try to remember to update this with a permalink as soon as Nat'l Geo moves it off the main photo of the day page, but until I do, you want to hit the "Previous" link 'til you get to Aug. 20)

That time of year again...

Our homeschool P.E. classes started today, GRTF schools in the area start tomorrow, and we should be done with our '07/'08 coursework next Thursday, enabling us to start '08/'09 work on the following Tuesday. (I don't know what my parents are so distressed about when it comes to our schedule--look, the kids get a whole 4 days between 'school years').

The air seems filled with possibilities, plans, hopes, aspirations--actually, I guess it's mostly expectations. Which gives me the chance to use one of the many great lines from The Phantom Tollbooth, which we started reading at lunch today.

Expectations is the place you must always go to before you get to where you're going. Of course, some people never go beyond Expectations...

As they say: it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there--I plan on enjoying my two-week stay in Expectations, before I let the Whetherman hurry me along to something beyond Expectations.

One Part Madness and One Part Genius

gives you pure awesomeness:

Mandalorian Dance @ Yahoo! Video

(H/T: The Watcher)

Clean Up on Aisles 2 and 3

For those who care, I've edited, added, deleted, folded, spindled, mutilated, lathered, rinsed, dried, etc. the sidebars over there --> . New links are there, dead links are gone, plus a new widget to spruce up the place.

Too Many Mistakes

GQ interviewed Aaron Sorkin recently in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary DVD set of Sports Night, which is in my personal top 5 Sitcom list. Yup, it's been 10 years since that great series was aired and then cancelled prematurely by ABC.

The interview spent far too little time on that great series, if you ask me. What I found most interesting was what he had to say about Studio 60, his latest series. A couple of snippets:

Why didn’t Studio 60 work?
I made too many mistakes. I would give anything to go back and get another bite of that apple. Basically, to use a sports analogy, you can have the best team in football playing the worst team in football. But if the best team in football throws four interceptions, they’re not going to win.

That sounds a little arrogant.
I’m helped by a staff of people who have great ideas, but the scripts aren’t written by committee. I was too angry when I wrote Studio 60. The show became like the cover of Abbey Road. Everybody was trying to figure out who this character was in real life or what that incident was trying to be. But the anger—it was a post-9/11 anger. We were going through a time when the television networks were so sensitive toward appearing patriotic. And patriotism was just being questioned all over the place. It just seemed like the wheels had come off our national culture.

Do you feel guilty about Studio 60’s failure?
I felt like I had let so many people down—from Warner Bros. and NBC to the cast and crew. You live and die with these things. It is a feeling that you can’t look these people in the eye anymore. Someone like Matt Perry.

"I made too many mistakes." That's a heck of an understatement, Mr. Sorkin, sorta like, "That Phelps guy sure can swim fast." I can imagine it'd be hard to look Perry (or most of the cast, or most of your fans) in the eye, but y'know what? Like most of your fans, I'm more than willing to come back for your next shot at a series.

The interview was worth it just for this line:

[The Internet]’s a bronchial infection on the First Amendment. Nothing has done more to make us dumber or meaner than the anonymity of the Internet.

One last thought, in case anyone in the gift-giving frame of mind might have missed it--the link to the DVD of the 10th Anniversary edition of one of my very favorite shows, with all sorts of cool bells and whistles, is right here.

"I recall, Central Park in fall..."

Probably the most iconic scenes of my favorite John Hughes film meets performance art...it'd be a blast to take part in it:

Artist Mina Karimi is looking to pull together "a large performance art piece that requires 6-8 hundred people recreating the parade scene from Ferris Bueller at the Deitch Art Parade in Soho." She says she is "recruiting secret agents in the audience of the parade to mimic the extras in the movie as my Ferris float approaches. In order to fully reproduce the spirit of the scene I will need at least 100 agents on each block of the parade to get the Ferris joy-ball rolling."

(sadly I'm gonna have Wayne Newton stuck in my head for the rest of the shift at least)

(H/T: Alan Sepinwall)

huh....

I was about to post something about the trip we took over the weekend, with pictures, etc. But I just realized that I can't post pictures right now (see below). So, um...not sure what to post for today. Will try to come up with something.

Ugh. Just came up with Plan B...which is, naturally, another photo-heavy post. Sigh.

Please Do Not Adjust Your Set...

We are experiencing technical difficulties...please stand by...

what a shame it is that my kids will have no idea what I just quoted....

Okay, so what's up with the graphics, etc? I'm apparently having some domain issues. Friday morning at work I went to renew my domain, and noticed that it said the domain had expired 8/2007. Figured it was just a glitch--a disturbing glitch, but no biggie. I mean...the thing had worked for the year since then. (and yes, I had renewed it back then)

Then I go through the entire renewal process and the last screen tells me it doesn't work. Huh.

So I hopped into a tech support "live chat" with someone who just didn't seem to understand I what I was asking. "You need to renew your domain." "Yes, that's my problem....it's not working." "Do x, y, and z." "Did that...and it didn't work, 'tis why I'm talking to you." "Did you do what I said?" ARRRRGH!

30 minutes later, I received the auto-generated email saying my 2008 renewal had worked.

30 minutes later, I got an email from the tech support guy saying that we seemed to have been cut off (we hadn't been cut off, I told him I was just going to wait until I could call someone), but he'd be willing to help.

And sometime after I left for vacation, the domain went away. Am not really sure what's going on at all. Bear with me...

It's been a few years since I bothered to buy a SCC album--but for many years I gobbled up everything he put out. And like so many others, couldn't help but be moved at the news of his daughter's tragic death a few months back.

Good Morning America, being the good vultures they are, interviewed the family last week and they were able to provide the clearest testimony of their faith that broadcast TV can allow. Real grief, and real faith. May God continue to bless this family.

Gone Fishin'

By this time, TLomL and I should be on the road for our first weekend away that doesn't involve a conference, debate, class, meeting since, um...ever. I don't think I've done something like this since 1995 (the inaugural TomFest). I've got some scheduled posts ready to go so my posting stays regular (thanks to a slower night than usual at work), but I won't be responding to any comments, emails, pokes, whatever 'til at least Monday. See ya then.

One More Quick Sports Note

There are a lot of athletes out there who are good at their job, but are simply jerks (see the last post for one potential nominee). For example, A-Rod is quite possibly the best player in the world, but between the way he treated his team last year, his wife, kids, charities, you name it...it's pretty clear the guy's a prick. Manny Ramirez is another prime example, as the Yankees Chick put it recently:

Manny Being Manny - "Manny being a difficult, ungrateful jackass" is a more appropriate catchphrase

Thankfully, there are some athletes who in addition to being stellar players seem to be genuinely nice guys. Joba Chamberlin seems to be one of those guys--a dynamite pitcher, a model son, and an all-around good guy. Which makes it all the worse to see him on the Disabled List. Loved watching him come out of nowhere last year, was excited to see him move out of the 'pen this year, laughed myself silly over the controversy over his fist-pumps...and now this? Blargh. The kid deserves better. Get better soon, Joba.

Can We be Done with This Now?

I've given up political talk radio for Lent--or 'til the end of this election cycle (whichever comes last), I just can't stand to hear anymore about the squabbles between the liberal pretending to be moderately conservative and the communist pretending to be a liberal. So a co-worker has got me listening to ESPN radio, which can be quite interesting even when they're discussing sports I care nothing about. But I'm about to reach my breaking point with these guys, too...the last few weeks (seems like months) one story's dominated every show, every host's imagination. As one Jim Rome listener-submitted haiku put it yesterday:

Favre Favre Favre Favre Favre
Favre Favre Favre Favre Favre Favre Favre
Favre Favre Favre Favre Favre

I watch a maximum of 19 minutes of NFL football each year, never been inclined to care about the Packers for a second, and I have a deep, abiding, passionate position on whether this almost washed-up glory hog should retire or not. And I don't want to have a position--it's all because of the non-stop coverage.

It's August, fer cryin' out loud! Could we get a little MLB coverage? Every division race is heavily contested for a change--well, except the AL-West, that is, seems the Angels (official name: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, USA, Western Hemisphere, Earth, Third Planet from Sol, Western Spiral Arm of the Milky Way,
the Universe) have got that one locked up.

Now that Favre has been traded, I'm hoping things'll start to die down on this story. Sure it'll take awhile, but I've got my fingers crossed--here's hoping they can find 40 minutes to talk about the World Series in October.
official name: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, USA, Western Hemisphere, Earth, Third Planet from Sol, Milky Way, the Universe.

"Please Don't Throw me into the Briar Patch!"

from The Idaho Statesman:

A Boise woman was detained briefly by security agents and police officers while protesting in Tiananmen Square Wednesday.

Brandi Swindell, national director of the activist group Generation Life, was among three Americans that spent about an hour criticizing Beijing’s handling of issues ranging from forced abortions to the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement to pro-democracy demonstrations in 1989.

The trio also set up a banner in the square that said "Christ is King" and knelt and prayed.

"It's so shocking being an American ... to see the blatant oppression," Swindell said.

The small group said plainclothes security agents and police officers tried to block the banner with umbrellas and started shoving the group when they tried to walk around the square.

The agents eventually pushed them out of the area and made them sit nearby for almost an hour, checking their passports, before letting them go, Mahoney and Swindell said.

"It was important for us that there be a clear voice speaking out against the Chinese government's abuse of human rights," Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition in Washington, said in a telephone interview.

Maybe Mahoney's opinion is right, maybe it's not; I'm not particularly sure how important it is for outsiders to speak out on that front. Not for a second do I think China's a human rights paradise, I'm just not sure how vital it is that Americans go over there and talk about it. (frankly, don't think anyone should've showed up to the games at all...but that's neither here nor there). I do think it's important that those speaking out be honest about what they expect to happen. It's inconceivable that they expect anything to change. They have to expect to be treated at least in a manner similar to the way those three were.

Swindell says "it's shocking" to see the kind of oppression that she was protesting?!?! And Renault was shocked to find gambling at Rick's. Puh-leez.

I sure don't think being harassed by the Chinese authorities (or any authorities for that matter) is a walk in the park, but exactly what was this "blatant oppression" again?

security agents and police officers tried to block the banner with umbrellas and started shoving the group when they tried to walk around the square.

The agents eventually pushed them out of the area and made them sit nearby for almost an hour, checking their passports, before letting them go

They tried to block their sign with umbrellas (quelle horreur!), shoving (so they could've been third graders); made them site (on the other hand, they could've been parents!); checked their passports (oooh, nasty bureaucrats!); and let them go after almost whole hour (the brutes!). Am pretty sure that's a regular day at the office for a pro-life demonstrator in the U.S.A. Not fun, no doubt, but nothing out of the ordinary. Certainly nothing shocking.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

So, how was my weekend?

Penelope

Penelope starring Christina Ricci made its way to the top of my Netflix queue weekend, and I'm glad it did. This modern-day fairy tale was practically perfect--witty, charming, playful, with a decent moral (one you can see coming miles away--I guessed at the moral five minutes into it, and was almost right).

Great acting all-around: in the interest of full disclosure, Ricci stole my heart as Wednesday Addams, and hasn't let go yet--but I think I'd have been won over by her performance regardless; James McAvoy was as solid as always; Catherine O'Hara was lights-out great; Richard E. Grant gave the subtlest and best performance I've seen him in (am so used to seeing him play cartoony characters I spent the entire film debating whether it was him or not); Peter Dinklage (who I can't seem to go a month without seeing lately) was at his best (which is saying something); Reese Witherspoon shocked me (not just because she weighs about the same as my 8 yr old).

The only problem with the movie (not unlike, say, The Truth about Cats and Dogs) is that Penelope was too cute. Sure, her nose was plenty strange--and supposedly under all that hair, so were her ears--but she wasn't that hideous. The reactions of those who were initially exposed to her deserved something more grotesque. She was supposed to be (at least somewhat) hideous...but really, just odd looking--mildly attractive, really. Nothing to jump out of a second-story window running from.

"Inglorious" Sure Fits

Well, just watched the newly released DVD of the 1978 film, Inglorious Bastards and well, all I can say is:

Really, Quentin, Really?

Obama Facts

Some months back, girlfriday started a series of posts called, The Case Against Barack Obama, which seemed like a good idea, and am really looking forward to the third installment of it sometime in mid-2009 at the rate she's going.

But then again, maybe she's just too awed by the greatness that is the presumptive Democratic nominee and world traveler. A good buddy and professional funnyman, gave me a link to a wonderful website today: Best Obama Facts, which describes itself thusly:

When even Obama's official campaign is forced to launch a fact-checking website to keep his runaway aura under control, you just know that Obama's public persona has developed a life of its own and is resisting efforts to catch it and put it on Ritalin. We thought that the best way to take control of the situation would be by using Obama's own patented method of hopeful approach to reality. So we built a radically different website: it looks like Obama's fact-checking site, only instead of chasing cowardly facts and arguing old truths that are tarnished and tedious, we invent new,sparkling-clean truths that are exciting and heroic. The beauty of this approach is that when new truths become old and tarnished, they can be easily thrown under the bus and replaced with newer and better heroic truths, ensuring Obama's glorious march towards a higher metaphysical plane of unstoppable service to humankind.

In the face of all these facts, the only sensible reaction is to deify elect this man in November--if not sooner.

Arnold Update 3/24/08

Well, we took Arnold in for a visit with the nephrologist yesterday. Very encouraging visit. Not only was the news on the physical front good, but Arnold did a great job socializing with the doctor (who seemed to go out of his way to try to chitchat with all six of us for some reason).

Arnold's kidney function was calculated to be 51%-46%--now, both of those figures could be 15% lower, but I don't remember the last time that 50% was in the range. Even stranger/better--was his growth charts. Now, I'm not exactly sure why he wasn't a bit more precise, but the doctor told us that Arnold's height was somewhere between the 25th and 50th percentile. 50th percentile!! I honestly don't think he's been above 30th...maybe 25th...in his whole life. Kid still seems freaky short, but he's growing like crazy.

The kid's smart as a whip (Doc kept warning his brothers about that), and still the funniest arrow in the quiver. He communicates more through facial expressions than the rest of us combined--like Rowen Aktinson on speed. Which can make it very difficult to discipline/correct him when he needs it. He's dying to start his formal education--which he'll do in about six weeks. I predict I'll learn more initially than he will.

Thanks for your continued prayers and interest. Keep it up :)

A Day at the Fair - Fixed

sorry for the problems with the formatting, fixed 'em...told ya I was tired.

(not just a hilarious MST3K short film)

Sorry for the lack of updates this week, I've just been feeling more run-down/out-of-gas than I'm used to. I've started a couple posts that I didn't get around to finishing, in lieu of napping or thinking about napping or thinking about when I could think about napping.

I was able to shake off the torpor long enough to accompany my family to the Canyon County Fair on Thursday--the kids'd won passes through the library's summer reading program (really a well done program this year, I must say). It's been many, many moon since I've attended anything like this and...it was smaller than I expected.

Other than that, it was your typical county fair (come to think of it, in today's entertainment market...it might have been typical in size)--4-H projects galore; overpriced food; "interesting" entertainment acts (the comedy-magic act we saw was pretty funny--particularly for the sub-13 crowd); wonderful aromas coming from the food vendors; some-other-adjective aromas coming from the animal exhibits.

I'd planned on snagging more photos than I did, but my camera kept getting stuck in my pocket (and I kept putting it back in the same pocket), but here's a few:

Things got off to a great start with our kids, the first thing they saw was the National Guard display--including a couple of Humvees and this tank. Sam tells me "I'm having more and more fun all the time at this fair" (we'd been there a whole ten minutes)

After lunch, a couple of clowns set up near the food booths with balloon animals and face painting. Frodo took a major step and had a conversation with the clown that involved him using more than two words in succession at a time.

Samwise managed to get 3 words out total. But hey...

The Princess had to go for something with a bit more flair.

Arnold managed not to get scared by the clown (but I think the nerves were pretty fragile), graciously letting the clown do all the talking.

Obviously, the highlight of the day was spending the time with the family away from our routine--but a close second was heralded by this sign. I mean...what a country! Only in the USA do we take something so tasty, so wonderful, so nutritionally empty, so, so, so cream-filled as a Twinkie and think "you know what we could do? We could deep fry this." I've heard of these things before, but never had the chance to sample one. Wow!

Graceful as a School Bus

I would be laughing at this if it was Damon, Melky or Abreu--really, I would. Just not as hard as I am now (which is almost as hard as these ESPN guys)...nor would I be posting it here. But I would laugh. Thankfully it's Manny, so I can just cackle and post.

Lookin' for a little Help

One of the things they need to put on the qualifications list for my job is "ability to play chess," every 4-6 months we get one client who lovesto play chess. There area couple of us there who aren't utter idiots at the game, but that's about it. My goal when playing these clients is primarily to 1. bond with the kid and 2. not get totally embarrassed.

Friday I was mated in 4 moves.

So much for #2.

I've got to improve my game. Anyone know any decent (i.e., helpful) Chess-tutorial sites out there?

The Dark Knight

So much to say really about this, I'm not sure where to begin. So while I collect my thoughts and hopefully post something in a day or two, I'll just say this:

Believe the hype. It is just that good. And then some.



P. S. Skip the 44 oz. soda. Really, you don't want to be slipping out to run to the powder room anytime after the trailers.

Music Notes

been meaning to mention a few interesting things on the music front:

• Indie Christian Folk-Rocker, Derek Webb has founded a new website/service called NoiseTrade. You can download entire albums in exchange for whatever you deem the right price to pay or by giving three e-mail addresses of friends in exchange. The more people discover this music, theoretically, the more the artists will sell. Mostly bands nobody but their friends have heard of (from what I can tell), but a few known acts. Like Sixpence, for example.
  
  
  


• They got knocked down, but they got up again...Remember that 1997 'can't get out of your head' classic, "Tubthumping"? (I've now got it stuck in most of your heads, and it'll stay there 'til you sleep and/or click this link) I remember when the band Chumbawamba was on The Tonight Show, they sported T-Shirts that read "One Hit Wonder." That might have been a self-fulfilling prophecy, but more likely was good foresight. Anywho, everyone's favorite anarachist band is still kicking--and still changing. Check out their MySpace page for some of their folk music--that's right, I said folk music. (pretty good, too)
• Last, and definitely least...Hide your children (particularly young teen girls), lock the doors, bar the windows, firewall your iTunes. Ace Young--the American Idol finalist with Constantine Maroulis' stare, a little more talent than Sanjaya, and a silly wool cap--has finally dashed my hopes and released his debut album. (knew it was coming after his appearance on Bones where I tried not to cheer too much that he was the victim)

Doctor Horrible's Second Act

Laughed more at this one than Act I...hopefully the servers are ready for the onslaught...