October 31, 2003
Scary Movie 4
Kelly at Suburban Blight has put up her own personal Halloween story- bq. When I was seventeen, my friend Megan and I went on a double-date with these guys Alberto and John, more a friendly thing than any type of hot high-school romance. We'd seen a movie and had a slice of pizza, but none of us were quite ready to go home yet - curfew wasn't for another hour. The guys asked Megan and I if we'd ever heard of Devil Worship Road. Of course we had - although neither of us had ever been there. Our escorts proposed that we go, and we readily agreed. bq. Creaking over the old 400 bridge was creepy in itself, but the place where the road ran out was downright forbidding. We made our way - in John's old seventies-model Jeep - up the hill, only stopping when the ground became too uneven for the car. We climbed the hill to the wreck of the house on foot, none of us talking much, save for the occasional nervous laugh. We walked around the ruins of the place, me getting the heebie-jeebies every second minute about the dangers of falling into the debris-filled basement. Around behind the house, we spotted some strangely shaped objects hanging from the six trees that formed a small grove in what had been the back yard. bq. We went to investigate. From the lowest limb of each tree hung a small-kitchen garbage bag, tied with its own neck. Of course, back in those days, every boy had a pocketknife on him, and many girls, too. Alberto cut down one of the bags...and out rolled the severed head of a German Shepherd. Fresh. bq. Each tree had its own dog's head. And on the ground on which we stood, painted in blood - we later found out it was the dog's blood - was a giant pentagram, some six feet across. Read the whole thing here. I'm from Smyrna, a small town on the northwest side of Atlanta, and we also had our version of Devil Worship Road. Never had an experience quite like hers though....Terror Fires
It's looking more and more like the California fires were no accident- bq. Law enforcement officials now suspect several of the California wildfires that have killed 18, consumed more than 718,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,400 homes in 10 days were deliberately set – increasing speculation there is a terror connection to the blazes. bq. One man has been arrested so far -- Dikran Armouchian, 23, of Pasadena. bq. Damage estimates exceed $2 billion, but that figure is expected to rise substantially as an inventory of firefighting costs and lost property is completed. If this is true, we are well and truly in it. It looks like similar fires last summer in Europe were deliberately set, too. RTWT here.October 30, 2003
Which Greek God am I?
Morpheus
?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla Dang. I was sure that I'd be Poseidon.
October 29, 2003
California from space
My god, this is just so sad. Ordinarily I have utterly no sympathy for Californians and the messes they get themselves into, and the Greens out there set up THIS mess, but the fires are just horrific. Hey, guys, why don't you stop forbidding people from thinning the forests so this doesn't happen again...
Thanks to the InstaMan for the pointer.
October 24, 2003
The Jew's Plight Today
This is the text of a letter sent to Andrew Sullivan- bq. "At Cambridge University, where I attended law school in England, the Jews exist in a state of perpetual vigilance and, often, fear of personal harm. As an American Jew I was used to wearing a kipa (yarmulke, beanie, skullcap, bowl-o'-soup, whatever) walking around town. Wearing a kipa in public anywhere is mentally exhausting; one is always conscious of people watching you, treating you like a stranger, making jokes as soon as they think you are out of earshot. Even in New York, where Jews of all kinds are everywhere, you feel people look at you and treating you differently than, for instance, if you wear a baseball hat. But in Cambridge it was like I had a bullseye on my head. Not a week went by that something didn't happen - curses from a group of Middle-Eastern looking "blokes" on the street, laughing references about the "cross you have to bear" from other students, white hot abuse about being a "Zionist Nazi" from a middle-aged white woman boycotting Sainsbury's. Once, memorably, I got hit with a piece of raw potato and turned just in time to hear the sniggers of "shalom!" as the window of a restaurant kitchen banged shut. At first I thought it must just be the townies, local "yobs" who resent the privileged, snooty University students and would often try to make themselves as unpleasant as possible. But, as more and more of these little happenings piled up, it became clear that Jew harrassment was one of the few entertainments in Cambridge that was not defined by class or educational background. When I discussed this with my friends in the Jewish Society (JSOC), they were completely nonchalant. I was stunned to hear that every single one had, at one time or another in their youth, been chased, threatened or beaten for being Jewish in the towns where they grew up. In one memorable case, a kid had been stabbed with a butcher knife, when he was 15 years old, by a man on a bus in Manchester." What in the world is wrong with these people? I honestly can't understand the mindset of someone who hates sombody else for the accident of their birth.October 21, 2003
X-Files redux
Sc-Fi Channel may be suing NASA over UFO documents, reports NASA Watch, wity typically trenchant commentary- bq. "The group said it expects to file the suit against NASA within a week. Representatives from NASA and the Department of Defense were not immediately available for comment. NASA was chosen as the first agency to be sued because SCI FI and the groups' attorney, Lee Helfrich of the Washington, DC-based firm, Lobel, Novins and Lamont, believe that they've fully exhausted their administrative options with the agency, a prerequisite for a judge to agree to hear the case." bq. Editor's note: DUH maybe the lawyers have "exhausted their administrative options with the agency" since there is nothing there to be released in the first place. This is a classic case of lawyers watching their client's programming - and then falling for it. I'm as big a sci-fi fan as there is, but- please. Get a life or something.Nukes in Saudi?
Today on DEBKAfile (I know, I know, salt to taste) is a troubling report- bq. Pakistan will deploy nuclear missiles and warheads at Saudi bases under military-nuclear accord signed in Islamabad by Crown prince Abdullah. DEBKAfile adds: Pakistani security umbrella will replace US troop presence withdrawn from kingdom this summer. Deal flatly defies Bush warning to Abdullah this year not to deploy nuclear weapons on Saudi soil. If this is true- look out. The Middle East pressure-cooker just went up in temperature a few hundred degrees...October 20, 2003
Miracles
Sgt. Mom has an interesting post over at Sgt. Stryker- bq. John was older than the other crewmen, an interestingly grizzled man in his late thirties. We knew each other to talk to casually, mostly because of being in the dining hall at the same time most days. And when the entire military detachment numbers only a hundred; well, everyone gets to know newcomers fairly rapidly. “What kind of miracle? A vision of angels, or Jesus or the Virgin?” “Not a person, exactly, “said John “A bright light and a voice. It was in Vietnam.” “Umm, “ I murmered encouragingly. Come to think on it, he was the right age to have been there. It seemed like I spent most of my first enlistment at social gatherings, listening to the occasional older guy get very, very drunk and start to talk about Vietnam. bq. “A Huey, “John was saying, “Evacuating troops from the bush under fire. Pretty intense fire, actually, and the bird took some hits and started to spin.” He looked down and the tabletop, relating in a flat voice, how he fought to bring the Huey under control again, the stuff cracking and men shouting all around him, the sky and green jungle spinning around. Suddenly, he said, there was a bright white light and a calm voice saying “John, come this way.” and he obeyed, he dragged to controls to fly in the direction of the voice and the light. The spinning stopped, the Huey steadied, albeit sluggishly… and they were safe. “Makes me nervous, being the object of a miracle,” He said, “ As if I were being saved for something special, but never knowing what it would be.” “People see things, under stress, “ I said, “Subconsciously, you knew what you needed to do. You did it automatically, without thinking.” John hitched his shoulders together, and looked at the table again.. “But that was just part of it. When we landed, and we counted off everyone… there were too many! We should not have been able to get off the ground with that many men crammed in. It should have been impossible.” My turn to shrug “Aerodynamically, they say it’s impossible for bumblebees to fly, but they do. And… “ I had a thought, “Perhaps it was one of the other guys who’s the focus for a miracle, who was supposed to be rescued… perhaps he is the one who was saved for a purpose, and you were just the instrument. Things happen, that you’ll never really know why.” “That’s for sure.” John brightened a little. I wondered if this was the first time he had considered that possibility. “I do know one thing,” I said, “They’ll fix your transport before they’ll ever fix our damned truck.” Miracles do happen. That's the only reason I've lived as long as I have. RTWT, of course.Revenge
A new blog in Iraq is pointed out by Clayton Cramer- bq. Maybe the Americans are really closing in on him as they say. I want to live long enough to see him caught ALIVE. the possibilities would be endless. I'm sure it would be a great day for some real celebration in Iraq. I just hope the Americans won't make the stupid mistake of killing him like they did with his sons. Some might ask 'but wouldn't you like to see him killed?'. Believe me I would. But I would rather see him alive and humiliated for all he has done to this country and to humanity. I'm not even sure a trial would satisfy me. I want him to be put in a large glass cage at Fardus square where his statue once stood. It should be bulletproof so that no idiot would simply come and shoot him. He would sit in rags and be fed garbage once a day. People from all over Iraq and the world would come to watch him until he rots. It would be our national zoo, our primary tourists attraction. I would give 20 years of my life just to see that. And I'm sure 30 million Iraqis would do the same. I just hope someone from the Pentagon is listening. I hope Saddam is listening, and living in fear.October 16, 2003
Heh
...from Donald Sensing- bq. No link, but a funny story from Charlotte G: A motorist was unknowingly caught in an automated speed trap that measured his speed using radar and photographed his car. He later received in the mail a ticket for $40 and a photo of his car. So he sent the police department a photograph of $40. Several days later, he received a letter from the police that contained a picture of handcuffs. He immediately mailed in his $40. As the InstaMan would say, indeed.October 15, 2003
...and how cool it October 14, 2003
My God, just- damn
Feel sorry for me. No, really. Please stop laughing...
UPDATE: 45-17. To the Saints... Please stop laughing...
A Little Bit of Mars
Keith Cowing's journal of his time at the Devon Island Mars Habitat project is up on Nasa Watch- follow the link and scroll down to "14 October 2003: Keith Cowing's Devon Island Journal - the missing entries". Here's a taste- bq. In the aftermath of Columbia, the fifth time humans have died preparing for, embarking upon, or returning from a space mission - and one of many, many more where lives were put at risk, we come again to the core tenet of why humans fly in space. Yes, robots can do a lot - but only so much. And yes, humans can do things that robot can't - but that is not the prime reason we have flown humans in space - nor should it be,. We fly humans in space because it is in our nature to go to improbable places, and some great risk to life and limb, to see the wonders that lie out there with our own eyes. In so doing, those explorers see things with eyes for all of us who must stay behind. bq. Last year I went to a marvelous place and was personally enraptured by the experience. This year, I did so again, yet the experience was somewhat routine. Last year I came home with personal experiences that I was bubbling to convey. This year I came home, chastened and inspired by the Columbia accident - and somewhat angry. bq. Angry at what we could have done, had we not walked away from human exploration of space after Apollo. To be certain, learning to live - permanently - in space is interesting. But it is only a means toward a greater end. I want to see that end re-established once again. We had such a beacon during Apollo and it shone so bright that we did things bold an improbable. bq. It is time we ventured forth to do bold and improbable things once again. RTWT, of course, and follow all the other links for this fascinating project. Real work is being done and real accomplishments are being made- it's just completely off the media's radar. Ad Astra Per Aspera!October 11, 2003
Pain
Kim du Toit has a post on Rush's addiction to painkillers- bq. Quite frankly, you lose all sense of reason, all sense of perspective, and you have no vsion of anything outside your own tiny, excruciating universe. bq. I am one of the strongest-minded people I know. But I suffered from chronic gout once, for four months, and let me tell you, I ended up popping Vicodin like M&Ms -- even though I knew that codeine screws up your bowels, causes deafness, and can be habit-forming, to name but three charming little side-effects. bq. I would have done anything, anything to alleviate the pain just by a third, let alone banish it altogether. bq. Constant, unending pain means you don't sleep -- I may have had three hours sleep a week, total, at one point. That pain means you can't think -- I couldn't read, or watch TV, or carry a conversation. bq. I for damn sure couldn't move. A trip to the bathroom meant twenty minutes of horrifying agony, where I sobbed like a baby and screamed at the slightest touch of anything on my foot. Stairs -- forget about it. I stayed upstairs in my bedroom for a full month, grunting and moaning in pain. My clothes were soiled (I couldn't bear to move to change them), my body was filthy -- shower? bath? you must be kidding. bq. If someone had offered me Rush's painkillers, I would have gobbled them up without a second thought. Had that happened, I have no doubt whatsoever that I would have become addicted. bq. And you know what? I wouldn't have given a rat's ass, as long as the pain disappeared for just a few hours. I have my own experiences with long-lasting intense pain and can vouch for the temptation of pain pills. Unfortunately, with me my choice of pain medicine was alcohol, and I left myself with a lifelong habit that I know isn't good for me but I still don't care to do anything about. Not making excuses for me OR for Rush, I just know how it is. My heart's out to you Maha Rushie.October 10, 2003
Thief
The barking moonbats in the entertainment industry are in full bay, as noted by Kevin Michael Grace in the American Prowler- bq. It's playoff time again, so I'll be watching a lot of baseball on TV in the next few weeks. I'll take in a lot of ads but I'll also miss quite a few. I will, for example, take advantage of the commercial breaks to channel surf, stretch my legs, or grab something from the fridge. Does this make me a thief? Jamie Kellner, president and CEO of the WB Network, thinks so. May I go to the bathroom, Mr. Kellner? "I guess there's a certain amount of tolerance for going to the bathroom," Kellner told Cableworld last year. Phew! According to Kellner, "Your contract with the network when you get the show is, You're going to watch the spots." I don't recall signing any such contract. Do you? Perhaps the entertainment industry managed to slip it into the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), but I'm certain I would have heard about this. The other week, a Spectator columnist raised the possibility that the 60 million Americans who have downloaded music from the Internet are moral imbeciles. Which part of "thief" don't you understand? he asked. bq. Well, over the last 30 years I have purchased tens of thousands of dollars worth of CDs and DVDs. I always assumed that buying these products made me the owner of them. According to Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, I was mistaken. During a Washington Post online chat about the legality of consumers (like me) who make copies of CDs and DVDs for their personal use, he replied, "If you have a CD or a DVD in digital form, then you already have your personal copy." So now Jack Valenti is calling me a thief too. Emphasis above added by me. I have pretty much solved my personal issues with this- I no longer download music, AND I barely buy it any more. I used to buy 20-25 cds a year (and in years past many many more than that) but the combination of a total lack of talent on display and the RIAA's disgusting tactics has basically blown me off. I just will not participate. I wonder how many other people feel this way? RTWT here, and I bet you'll be as pissed as I am.October 09, 2003
And the Beat Goes On
NASA Watch has posted a link to the following story- bq. After a decade of preparation, China will launch its first human being into space on October 15 in a 90-minute flight that will orbit the Earth once, a top government rocketry official said. bq. Xie Guangxuan, director of China Rocket Design Department, were reported by Sina.com, China's leading website. bq. The report implied that the flight, the Shenzhou V, would carry one human being in its bid to make China the world's third space-faring nation. bq. "China's space technology has been created by China itself. We may have started later than Russia and the United States, but it's amazing how fast we've been able to do this," Xie was quoted as saying. Xie said that he was "full of confidence" about the success of the much-expected launch. bq. The flight would take place a day after the closing of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee's 3rd plenum, a major political meeting. That schedule - coupled with the National Day holiday last week - illustrates China's long-held desire to hold up its space program as a patriotic endeavor, the Associated Press said in a reported filed from Beijing. bq. The launch of the 8-ton craft will be televised nationally on China Central Television Channel 4 and 9, the report said. If the launch is completed successfully, China would join the United States and the former Soviet Union, the only countries that have sent manned craft into space. Mankind's march to the stars continues apace. Hopefully Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne is next.October 08, 2003
Way, Way Down South
Somewhat further south of the Mason-Dixon line than I am live the Confederados- bq. The monument could stand on any small-town courthouse square in the Deep South of the United States, the names etched in white marble calling up memories of the bloody war that split the nation almost 150 years ago. bq. But this monument isn't in Kennesaw or Chickamauga, Vicksburg or Antietam. Tucked beneath shade trees on a picturesque hilltop, it is more than 4,000 miles south of the land once known as Dixie. bq. The families memorialized here were Southern survivors of the Civil War who left America in the wake of defeat and resettled in Brazil, hoping to build new lives in a fertile land that resembled the one they left behind. bq. Their arrival signaled the start of a strange new pocket of culture in this faraway corner of South America, a mix of Southern drawl and clipped Portuguese, of U.S. notions about farming and education layered with European customs filtered through a Brazilian lens. RTWT here. Fascinating.The Governator!
Vote for me if you want to live...
Seriously, this bodes well for our country. The voters of California- yes, the land of fruits and nuts- threw the rascals out! The Democratic machine has been thoroughly spanked, and deservedly so. There's hope, folks, there's hope.
Thanks to Lucianne for the pic
October 07, 2003
Duplex Housing
Some good ol' yankee ingenuity bq. ELIZABETH, N.J. -- An undertaker aligned with the mob came up with a novel way to hide murder victims -- burying them in "double-decker" coffins underneath legitimate clients of his funeral parlor, according to a published report. A senior member of the DeCavalcante crime family, Carlo Corsentino of Elizabeth, who lived to be more than 100 years old, came up with the idea to dispose of those who didn’t match his longevity. Testifying in a criminal trial in Manhattan, mob turncoat Anthony Rotondo told jurors the heavy weight of the coffins often surprised pall bearers. "The (crime) family would put the body of the murdered victim below the regular customer, thus disappearing forever," Rotondo explained to prosecutor Michael McGovern. "There would be six grown men carrying someone’s 80-pound grandmother, and they looked like they were having a problem." The testimony came during the murder conspiracy trial of Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo, a reputed acting boss of the DeCavalcante family, whose members claim to be the inspiration behind "The Sopranos" TV show. Rotondo, who has pleaded guilty to two gangland hits, said Corsentino and other old-time mobsters began using the coffins in the 1920s and ’30s "when there were a lot of mob murders committed." Thanks to Rantburg for the tip.Mars Eye Candy
We continue to get astounding images like this from the Mars Global Surveyor-
bq. This is a wide angle view of the martian north polar cap as it appeared to the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in early northern summer. The picture was acquired on March 13, 1999, near the start of the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission. The light-toned surfaces are residual water ice that remains through the summer season. The nearly circular band of dark material surrounding the cap consists mainly of sand dunes formed and shaped by wind. The north polar cap is roughly 1100 kilometers (680 miles) across.
bq. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
RTWT here, courtesy Space.com.