July 30, 2004

KERRY.

I've been watching the DNC on and off over the past couple of days and last night my buddies and I watched Kerry's acceptance speech. We are a varied and very tough audience. However, the consensus among my friends and I, was that he nailed it. Even our resident Republican said the speech itself was a good speech and well delivered. Now, today, reading the various reviews I am amazed at the negative reviews.
Did they even see the same speech I did?
Maybe they're just too brain dead to understand it.
Brainwashing will do that to you I suppose.

Comparing Bush to Kerry at his point is like comparing rotten apples to fresh oranges.

Reasonable Human: "Well here are our choices; we've got rotten apples and we've got fresh oranges."
Republican: "I don't like oranges. I'll stick with the apples."
Reasonable Human: "You can't keep eating those apples, they're making you sick."
Republican: "I'm not sick. I always choke, gag and throw up like this. These apples are fine."
Reasonable Human: "They're rotten."
Republican: "I don't know why you keep slandering my apples. They're good apples. I like apples. I've always like apples."
Reasonable Human: "I'm not slandering your apples. I like apples sometimes too, but these apples are rotten. You can't keep eating them. They're brown, they smell, they're rotten. Look at them."
Republican: "I don't need to look at them. I like apples and I stand by my choice to eat apples and not oranges."
. . .

I just don't understand it.

Meanwhile; what brilliant strategy did Bush employ first thing this morning to try and gain back some ground? Well he came out and carefully explained that one of the main reasons people should vote for him again is so that "Laura will be first lady for another four years."

Never mind the issues, let's attack John Kerry's wife.
'Vote for me folks, my wife knows her place.'

I'm telling you; rotten to the core.

Are we all Doomed?!

Dammit! I can't seem to hit Airamericaradio.com this morning.
Also about half of my links aren't coming up.
Damn virus writers.

Oh well, what is to be done?

Today Democrats are getting their message out by staying up all night and drinking Boston dry. Bill Clinton, Elvis like, takes to the stage and explains that, while we all put our pants on one leg at time, Democrats get to do it more often. Also they're better at saving money and making friends.

Nearby Michael Moore sits quietly, like a lone designated driver at a frat party, and makes mental notes.

On our airwaves FCC friendly advertisers, posing as newscasters, watch from afar and spew propaganda over the details they don't want us to hear. "We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors at 'Pharacorp', trouble thinking clearly during the day and staying asleep at night; Trust Pharmacorp!"
Spin doctors, up all night and bleary eyed, sit in wireless, broadband connected trailers, -smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee and staring at greasy monitors. Desperate to please their corporate overlords, they write clever sound bytes that they send over cell phone and email to their fellow agents back at the studio. Together they project a grand illusion, that is in the words of the bard "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Using the mechanics of our language to confound communication they distract us, magician like, in a desperate attempt to hide the evidence and protect the tale of lies already told by their naked, idiot king, "who struts and frets his hour upon the stage," and then is sent on vacation.

Somewhere Ralph Nader is telling a group of school children that when the teacher asks them if they would rather learn History and Math or read the Bible while getting their knuckles rapped with a ruler; they should demand ice-cream. They won't get ice-cream, of course, but if that's what they really want, then that's what they should ask for. Most of the kids would much rather learn History and Math but a few of the Bible kids are giving Ralph their lunch money to try and sell the ice-cream idea and he needs the money for his presidential campaign.

Ah politics! Thy name is madness.

Meanwhile; on the Starship bridge of my imagination; sensors indicate the Sun is spewing CME's at us. There is major flare that should be hitting the Earth, right . . . about . . . now.

July 23, 2004

Ending the week on a lighter note.

Bad Album covers?! - Shades of Leonard Pinth-Garnell.
Wow. This must be seen to be believed.

And for something pretty cool

Check out the Grayson Movie trailer over at TFN.

Quick critique notes: Wonder Woman's costume is based on the TV show costume (Gina's was better.) The Guy playing superman looks great, but the "S" on his chest looks a bit too small. The Green Lantern Costume just looks weak, but it's hard to do a GL costume without having it look really gay. Otherwise it totally rocks.

July 23, 2004

Would you like tripe with that?

Two reports came out yesterday. First the much touted 9/11 Commission Report which makes the Warren report on the Kennedy assassination look reasonable, thorough and well written. 'It was no one's fault and the Saudi's in particular aren't to blame. Never mind the reports from the Clinton administration that clearly spell out the danger of this kind of attack that were systematically and deliberately ignored by the current administration, to say nothing of that August 6th PDB. We're still not safe - but things are much better. Honest. Trust us.'

Meanwhile, in a demonstration of bureaucratic slight of hand typical of the Bush Administration, the Abu Ghraib prison report by the Army's Inspector General was released at the same time. This nightmarish work of watered down facts mixed with stubborn, blind eyed, blame dodging is the new standard in absurdity passed out to the American public in a feeble, weak kneed attempt to pacify us. 'Just a few bad apples. We need more training for our troops. Certainly nothing to indicate that the administration itself gave orders that would lead to this kind of behavior.'
Who are they kidding here? We already know they were looking for legal loopholes, like a bunch of Nazis right before Nuremberg, prior to all of this. Let me make this clear one more time, if your troops mistreat prisoners while they are in your custody, you are responsible! We must not stand for this! This administration must be held to account. In my view those who do not speak out against this are complicit in these war crimes. This abuse and torture and these continuing atrocities must not be tolerated.

My outrage and disgust defy my ability to put them into words.

Also, as a side note, the first motherfucker who tells me, as an American citizen, standing on American soil, that I need to report to a "Free Speech Zone" is going to suddenly find themselves standing in the "Eat My Fist Zone"! Ordinarily I don't advocate the use of violence but one must draw the line somewhere.
Free Speech Zones?! NO! This will not stand!

July 20, 2004

Does anyone even remember the concept of Free Speech?

So here's how this works; if you speak out against our ruling corpogovernment complex the corporate guys will fire you. That's if you are a celebrity. (Cough . .. Whoopi Goldberg, . . . Cough . . . Linda Ronstadt . . uhum.)
If you're just an average Joe then just wearing a tee shirt can be enough to get you arrested by the state guys. Of course the charges will be dropped or dismissed afterwards. Meanwhile you've still been searched, detained, identified and fingerprinted.
If you have the audacity to complain you can count on a sympathetic ear.
"Whatever Saddam, go back to Afghanistan!"

AND what happens when a congresswoman speaks out on our behalf?

Click this link:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6505.htm

Corrine Brown . . . YOU ROCK!!!!

How bad is bad enough?

July 19, 2004

Ranting about Dennis Miller

I have a confession to make: I used to enjoy Dennis Miller. I thought that old Friday night HBO show was great. I used to watch it and laugh out loud. However time passes, people and taste change, writers move on or get fired, and humor like motion is relative. Flash forward to today and Dennis just isn't funny anymore. I could forgive that, in and of itself. A comedian who simply gets caught up in his own stale routine and falls by the wayside, it's sad but it happens.
That's not the worst part. The worst part is the fact that Dennis seems to have willingly sold his soul to the neo con, fascist, right wing with all the abandon of an out of town prostitute flown in for the republican convention. With a lapse in moral integrity that makes The Simpsons' Krusty the Clown look like Howard Roark from Ayn Rand's 'The Fountainhead', Dennis has joined forces with the Bush administration. This unholy union is made all the more tragic in light of the fact that one might've expected so much more from this once comical polysyllabic pundit. He always struck me as well informed, in touch, and a true friend of intelligent discourse and free speech.
Not anymore. Now he comes off as just another second rate shill for the pro-corporate monoculture, hoping vainly for a tax break and a convention gig from his government overlords. A sad caricature of his former self, he lurches hack-like from cheap shot to unfunny joke without so much as a second glance at the outrageous policies or practices of his malevolent authoritarian masters. Belligerence has replaced his insight, misplaced loyalty has replaced his judgment, and simple minded school yard taunts have replaced his once verbose vernacular.
Patiently I have waited for him to wake up, stand up, look around and start calling them as he sees them again. However this seems to be more than he can manage. The result is just trite, tired and sad. The humorous man who used to mock the follies of global authority figures with insight, droll wit and charm, it seems is gone forever.
You're wrong and you're not funny Dennis!
Of course that's just my estimation, I could be mistaken.

July 16, 2004

A site from Air America

www.impeachbush.org
Go. Vote. Think. Wake up. ACT!

July 15, 2004

Talking about extraterrestrial life . . .

The BBC is running an article about how the presence of Ammonia on Mars may indicate life there.

Now to put this kind of thing in perspective one must be familiar with recent discoveries on the nature of life here on Earth. Life it seems is just about everywhere on our planet. Even in places where the pressure is excessive, the temperature is outrageous, and there is little or no light, life finds a way.

Now we're looking at Mars and, while we haven't found any Martian dinosaur bone fossils yet, (wouldn't that be cool?), we are seeing more and more signs that some kind of life may be there or may have once been there. The next question to ask, if we do find signs of life there, will be; is this the result of the same genesis that spawned life on our planet or is this the result of a true second genesis? The possibility that perhaps our solar system is filled with carbon based life doesn't necessarily mean that life is everywhere in the universe. Perhaps our solar system represents a very rare set of circumstances that favors the proliferation of life. Looking at what we're finding out there so far however, I don't believe that. I think we need to keep an open mind about life and the many forms it might take.

In light of current findings on Mars, the pending discoveries on Saturn's moon Titan, and possibly even Jupiter's moon Europa, the case for ubiquitous life in the universe just keeps getting stronger and stronger.

July 14, 2004

This months PJGARSI goes to Sabbatum.

A medieval tribute to Black Sabbath!?!
Wow! This is possibly the worst idea I've ever heard.
http://www.sabbatum.com/

Thanks to John O. for wrecking our day by bringing this to our attention.

July 11, 2004

Shore Leave Pictures

Well, we had a great time. As promised, there were lot's of crazy people in costumes.
Here are a few samples of the better pictures we got.

Our good friend Cheryl Lynn as Isis. "Oh, Mighty Isis." Our buddy Steve as Wolverine. If I ever do this costume, this will be the guy I'm trying to outdo. Awesome job man! Here are Michele and Rachel, both doing Shrek based costumes in unrelated skits. Separated at birth? Alternate dimensional versions of the same person? Which one is good and which is evil? You decide. My favorite picture from this weekend. Shane and Ian in the Corellian Officer's Uniforms from Revelations made by Shane's mom from Carlisles.

We also met up with some new friends from Rising Phoenix Productions who are working on an original universe fan film. More on this later . . . perhaps.

July 8, 2004

"Now let's rob the bank, give the money to the poor,
then rob the poor and shoot the money!"
-Undead Billy the Kid (The Simpsons)
thohm14.mp3

That about sums up my mood going into this weekend.
Will there be drinking? Sushi? Wild sex? And lots of crazy people in costumes?
. . .
Oh my, YES! Yes there will be.

Meanwhile, everyone stay cool and calm and we'll be back after Shore Leave.
I'll try and take some pictures.

July 7, 2004

Cassini-Huygens Links

Here you go, here are the JPL site and the ESA site.
The news from out there just keeps getting stranger and stranger.

Meanwhile Gina and I have suffered major setbacks on our costuming efforts for Shore Leave this weekend. We're still going, but we may have to bow out of the costume call altogether. It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but . . . man, I shaved and everything.

July 6, 2004

"My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I like it."
- Abe Simpson

I'm very busy these days getting ready for Shore Leave so posting may be a bit sporadic.

As part of my preparations I have ditched the facial hair. The effect has been striking in the number of people who suddenly feel it is their duty to tell me how much younger I look. To gage by their reaction apparently I had, until recently, given the appearance of a gray, withered old man limping along with a cane.

Bastards.

Here are some updates:

July third was our boy Nick's birthday.
Happy Birthday Nick!

July Fourth was . . . um . . . the fourth of July.
(There's just no way to write that without it sounding stupid.)

"And the rockets red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
Of illegal fireworks everywhere"

Here are some quotes for someone who needs them:

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
- Henry David Thoreau

"Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."
- Walter Anderson

"For centuries, the battle of morality was fought between those who claimed that your life belongs to God and those who claimed that it belongs to your neighbors - between those who preached that the good is self-sacrifice for the sake of ghosts in heaven and those who preached that the good is self-sacrifice for the sake of incompetents on earth. And no one came to say that your life belongs to you and that the good is to live it."
- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Because you needed to hear it from someone else. You know who you are.

Meanwhile back at the ranch . . . no wait, not back at the ranch.
Meanwhile near Saturn (much better) Cassini continues to make discoveries that confound and astound. I don't know which is more exciting to me, the discoveries themselves or the fact that they are unexpected? Every time I hear that they have found something new I feel that we are on the verge of some great new understanding and insight.

July 2, 2004

Talia Graduation Pictures

As promised here are some shots of Talia's recent High School Graduation.
Thanks to Erik and Mike for sending over some pix for us.

She got it!!!	Grampa Erik and Matthew.
Gina and Matthew.	Talia and Matthew.

July 1, 2004

Stargate SG-1

SG-1 will be the new theme. I'm looking forward to the new series, SG-Atlantis, and the new season of SG-1.

Meanwhile,

Cassini is right where it should be and we had a successful space walk and gyroscope repair mission. I can't wait for the new pictures of the rings of Saturn.