Hitting the giant reset button.

The Armstrong Williams NewsHour - New York Times

Frank Rich may be espousing a Doom's Day prophecy in today's column, but it usually takes a little yelling to get people to pay attention.

Fight the good fight.

The Internet Will Eat Us All

I am eating my breakfast (over-easy eggs, toast, coffee), listening to iTunes (party shuffle--old Peter Gabriel song is on at the moment), and reading through my morning's email, which includes my favorite email of the day, every day--New York Times Daily Headlines. My ritual is to read through the different sections' headlines and abstracts, picking the articles I would like to read by clicking on each link, opening new windows for each. Yes, I end up with a crudload of IE windows (no, I cannot bring myself to like the supposedly superior FireFox), but that isn't too bothersome. I sort of consider this to be the equivalent of writing out some goals for myself and then setting out to accomplish them, which is antithetical to how newspapers are/were read. It is amazing how lazy we are compared to my grandparents' generation; they would just pick up the paper and start reading, or so I was led to believe. Maybe they have their own news reader programs to selectively read what really interests them. ;)

But I digress from the original point that I had in mind when I started typing this morning. Why is it that just because more folks have high-speed access, every commercial website out there thinks that their readers want media-rich ad content displayed inline on seemingly every page? Here is what got me going this morning. I'm culling through the NY Times Daily Headlines, grooving to iTunes with a bite of toast in my mouth when I click on a link; within seconds, my groove is disturbed by some awful noise coming from an inline Flash ad for Mamma Mia! the musical, which is also advertising a contest for a trip to Las Vegas. Sure, there is a little stop button that I was able to click to cut the pain short, but the damage was already done.

I do not need this crap destroying my Sunday morning ritual. Dammit.

Bush the Head-Patter

This is too, too funny not to link to, regardless of how you feel about the man. Damn, I'm still laughing.

Geo-Greens

Today's Friedman column is something else. I have been a proponent of this type of fast-track technology for awhile; I do not understand why others who have no economic ties to oil companies do not as well.

On another note, I hope to blog more consistently now that things on the homefront are calming down.

Fight the good fight.

Great Column: Beyond Viagra Politics - New York Times

Beyond Viagra Politics - New York Times

Color by Numbers

Excellent op-ed column by Stephen E. Flynn in today's Times. This is the kind of approach I have heard advocated before; I can only hope that Homeland Security is paying attention.

Bush on Embryonic Stem Cell Cloning--Moron Alert

I usually don't get apoplectic about anything Bush says anymore, just because it absolutely wears me out doing so every day, but this particular quote from this morning's article in the New York Times just fills me with vitriol because it displays, yet again, Bush's unwillingness to read and comprehend in order to gain a better understanding of the issues that he faces as President.

"I've made my position very clear on embryonic stem cells," he said. "I'm a strong supporter of adult stem cell research, of course. But I have made it very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers' money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life is - I'm against that."

What the hell is he talking about? This "culture of life" madness has got to stop, or at least they need to grow some stones and quit being so damned hypocritical, e.g. the death penalty and the genocide in Darfur.

At least Reagan surrounded himself with people who had a strong desire to take facts and create policy based around their interpretations of those facts, even if the interpretations were often flawed. Bush, though, has to be the least curious and most presumptive President in our nation's history, and he has a political madman (Rove) who could less about anything but playing sock monkey with Bush.

Fight the good fight.

Piano Man

This fascinates me, though I know it should not. Is this a media stunt or is the man mentally ill? Unlike most sensationalist crap out there that the cable news channels turn into "news" this is really interesting to me. I feel dirty because of it. Damn you, CNN, MSNBC, et al.

On The Border, off the menu....

My better half and I decided we wanted to try a new place to eat (well.. new to us). We drove around a bit and ended up at On The Border, a Tex-Mex place. When we drove in it looked rather busy, and there wasn't much parking. The wait was surprising short, only 15 minutes on a Friday night at 8 PM. The overall look and feel of the place was nice. Decorations made it very festive and colorful.

Our waitress was pleasant enough, but not much past that. She provided average service, but nothing outstanding. The food however.. The food was not even average. When one goes to a Tex-Mex restaurant one would expect spicy food... So much for what I expected. I ordered a "Red Chile Steak" hoping it would be hot and spicy. My better half ordered enchiladas. When the steak arrived it looks like there was spice on it, but after one bite I was let down. This steak was dull, with no bite. No spices at all.. I've had better steaks at Chili's and quite a few other places. It was so bland I was forced to use A1 steak sauce to get any flavor from it. The veggies that came along with the steak were just barely average... The mashed potatoes with "hot" jack cheese were dull much like the steak. My better half ate some of her dinner before becoming sick. A quick trip to the bathroom and she was unable to eat any more of her food.

The one bright spot was the white cheese dip. It was actually decent, but couldn't save the rest of the meal. Overall, I would not recommend On The Border to anyone. The food was bland, service was so-so, and the prices weren't great considering the quality of food. It only gets a 2, and it was looking at a 1.5 but the cheese dips brings it to a 2 out of 5. Eat there at your own risk of being bored to sleep with their less than spicy food.

Kingdom of Boredom

Well, I once again ventured out into the world on a Friday night with my better half to take in a high budget movie on its opening weekend. Aside from fighting the usual crowd of pre-teens and annoying prices (3.50 for a bottle of water?!), I was hoping to be entertained. We picked Kingdom of Heaven. I'm a fan of Orlando Bloom and Liam Neison is pretty good too (i enjoyed Rob Roy a lot). Alas, entertainment was not what this movie delivered.

The movie begins grimly enough with Bloom's character working at a forge while his wife is buried after committing suicide. Along rides a knight who just happens to be his father. Bloom suddenly finds he's the bastard son of a noble with a nice plot of land and title waiting for him once Neison's character dies. O-k... Sounds like a bad role playing game right off the bat. But I still have some hopes for a story or at least one character who has more than one dimension.

Through out the movie, I was let down. The characters are weak and never develop past one aspect of their characteristic (Bloom was noble and "knightly" through out). The story really never takes off and grabs you, nor do the characters who just spit out their lines and seem to be praying for the next time they can stop talking and start swinging a sword. Where there could have been more political intrigue, Director Ridley Scott left me hanging. The affair was barely explored between Bloom's character and a Templar Knight's wife.

You find yourself not sure if you should root for the wise and noble Saladin as he leads the Muslims to regain Jerusalem after the Templar Knights slaughtered Muslims, or if you should root for the noble to a fault Bloom. Where there was room for a story you're given a half-assed attempt at the banter between kings. The computer effects weren't nearly as impressive as The Return of the King. Scott tries to gives you a siege equal to Mordor assaulting the White City.. But you're left with lacking graphics and less inspiring speeches.

Overall it just wasn't that entertaining. It gets a 2.5 our of 5. Average acting, so-so effects, horrible character development left me bored and ready to write this review.

Corruption at its Finest

Paul Krugman delivers a column that tears apart the notion that Congress has America's best interests in mind, unless your concept of America is one of a country of corporate citizens whose right to make money is more important than the same right granted to individual citizens.

baltimoresun.com - All the food in China

baltimoresun.com - All the food in China Tales of culinary exploration from around the world always fascinate me. I long for future days when I have enough money to travel extensively.

"Preparing for the next pandemic." | MetaFilter

"Preparing for the next pandemic." | MetaFilter This would be scary beyond reason.

Blog--Michael Bérubé, Anti-Horowitz

Michael Bérubé Online This guy is good, especially his slam on David Horowitz, moron extraordinaire. God knows all those liberal professors are turning college students into a bunch of mindless liberal yahoos. I have so little use for people like Horowitz who use poorly constructed arguments to extend their "careers".

Fight the good fight.

Movie reviews

Rented two movies this past weekend. "Saw" and "Finding Neverland." Got some short reviews that hopefully will move you to see one and consider passing on the other.

First, "Saw," a psychological horror/thriller. Cary Elwes, the main character, a a doctor who doesn't appreciate his family, and there's a twisted man who decides it's up to him to teach Elwes' character the love his family by locking him in an underground bathroom chained to a pipe. But he's not alone. There is a younger man, who's been taking photos of him, chained to the other side of the room. A dead body lays in the center, blood pooled around the head and a gun in hand. Things flash back often to explain how the "killer" works. He kidnaps individuals and places them in traps forcing them to try and work their way out. O-k..... Semi-interesting plot gets filled with too much blood and gore. Not very scary, and more disgusting. The attempts to scare end up being nothing more than just what is grosser than the last "scare." Acting is ok, with Danny Glover as a cop (not a stretch for him there. see Lethal Weapon 1-4). Over all, not an impressive movie and at best a rental. Shocking ending, but ruined by Elwes' character's stupidity.

"Finding Neverland," with Jonny Depp, Kate Winslett, and Dustin Hoffman. I had never heard anything about this movie except from critics saying it was good. And this time, I agree with the critics. This movie begins slowly, with Depp playing the role of James M. Barrie, watching one of his plays flop. His life is slightly sad and lacking. But his imagination inspires the children of Winslett's character. The acting is very good from all parties in this movie, even the child actors. The plot pulls you in, slowly and into Barrie's world where you can enjoy the thought of never truly growing up. Depp meshes well with the children actors and you can watch them inspire his own imagination to write Peter Pan. This movie should make you smile and laugh, especially the out takes. But there are some very sad parts allowing you to lose track of that star as you head on to morning. Gets a thumbs up from yours truly.

Rage returns..

Ok, I've been on a break of sorts.. Letting the world settle and watching the vultures circle before I let fly with more verbal eviscerations (not a word known by blogger's spellchecker. go figure) . I've tolerated the annoyances of tax season, enjoyed (look up sarcasm if you think i actually enjoyed any of this) getting the news that I owed personal property taxes from 03. For the record.. You taxing me for something I own and already paid taxes on is rather crappy. Why am I paying taxes on a new car when I buy it only to keep paying year after year? To give money to a government who spends it hand over fist on less than useful items. I'm giving money to the same people who decided that there had to be a law your headlights must be on if your windshield wipers are on? Excuse me if I fail to give a vote of confidence to you half-wits in the Arkansas government.

On to my real rage.. There's a monkey on my TV and I can't get away from it. GWB has decided to interrupt scheduled programming to gives us more of his pre-cooked BS. My message to GWB: step away from the social security and find a issue we give a squat about. You wan to reform the UN? Get someone who isn't quoted as saying we could remove floors from the building (meaning we could remove nations) and no one would know. Mr. Bolton, remove the bad hairpiece, trim the stache and fade away so we can stop hearing about your bully tactics.

Why does he feel that Social Security should have "voluntary personal savings?" Umm.. Lets look at that.. Voluntary personal savings accounts. Mutual funds, bonds, stocks, CDs. Yup, those look like voluntary personal savings. You control when to buy or sell, how much to put in, and how much to take out. "You can go from bonds and stocks to bonds as you get older." I can't do that without it being part of social security? Lets move on...

I applaud the efforts going on Iraq (yup, I said it. i'm still a left leaning liberal independent though!). The ground work is being set for democracy. The way we went there, very wrong. The way we've conducted everything, not so great. But there has been progress. I don't think the government Bushco put in place will last, but maybe the system will take hold. Even with all the dreary nay-sayers in our Liberal party, we still must look at this as something we're in and we damn sure need to do what we can to make it better. I don't say lay down for the Repub thugs, but I say work on cleaning their mess up. Dude, it's still my country, damnit!

Nick Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning Political Cartoonist

This is Nick Anderson's prize-winning portfolio. Very nice work. I listened to a few minutes of an interview that he did with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air today. He is a very insightful person who is unashamed of being labeled a liberal. (Ooh, ooh, what a dirty word that is.) I could not imagine the amount of heat he takes from his readership; Louisville, Kentucky is not exactly like San Francisco.

Greenspan Back-tracking

To be fair, I do remember the Chief invoking a warning that triggers should be implemented should certain budget goals not be met, but damn, it sure took him long enough to quit sounding like a personal campaigner for Bush's tax cuts.

Second thoughts / Fed chief acknowledges 2001 tax cuts encouraged deficit

House Update

As some of you may know, my wife and I have recently come into ownership of a house that has been in her family for several years. For the last 15 years or so it has been a rental house, which means a lot of work to do before it is suitable for our high-falutin' lifestyle. It is extremely exciting and gratifying being a home owner, but damn, this is a lot of work!

Thus far I have destroyed a closet, pulled up hardwood flooring in order to use it to patch flooring in other parts of the house that were in need of repair, pulled up a crapload of old nasty carpet, and been a go-fer for my father-in-law, who is project manager extraordinaire for this remodel job. The next step is scrubbing several walls and painting them. After that the floors will be refinished (we are hiring someone to do that, thank you very much!), then some serious cleaning, appliance delivery, and then, finally, moving in to the house. We have finally set a deadline of May 27th for moving day.

This coming fall the major remodeling effort will take place. More on that later.

If anyone would like to donate a digital camera for me to use to record these events, please email me. ;)