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