Thursday, January 22, 2009

FriendFeed

In order to bring this blog forward, let me simply share this bit about Friendfeed:

FriendFeed

See your friends' discoveries

See the web pages, videos, photos, and music your friends are sharing from around the web.

Share automatically

FriendFeed automatically picks up the stuff you share on over 40 web sites, like YouTube and Flickr.

Awesome discussions

Discuss that great new TV show, that political editorial, or that hilarious cat video with the people you know.


Saturday, November 15, 2008

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Joe the Plummeter


Joe Lieberman cum Joe Loserman cum Joe the Plummeter

OBAMA WINS! "It's like living and going to heaven!"


CHARLOTTE, NC President-elect Barack Obama mourns the death of his grandmother, on the day before he is elected President of the United States.

While thinking about what a Democratic sweep would be like, the thought, "It's like dying and going to heaven."...but then I thought, "No, it's like living and going to heaven...which is true. The hard part is that the heaven is up to us to create. One must imagine Sisyphus happy...

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

McCain or Fontaine?


"Hello Joe. Hello Mr. Dennehy, he he he..."

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Bank of America CEO's got a talent for making money - USATODAY.com

Who is Ken Lewis?

Time magazine put Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis on its 2007 list of the world's 100 most influential leaders, but for 2008, the one-year wonder was expunged from the list like a bad loan.

Lewis is back. His influence is undeniable after BofA's (BAC) rescue of Countrywide Financial in January and of Merrill Lynch this week. He should be among the world's Top 10 most influential, says Hugh McColl, 73, the BofA CEO who retired in 2001 to make way for Lewis.

"This is one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world," says McColl, who then pauses to correct himself. "Most powerful in the world would be more accurate."


MORE

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Floods are Weird

I haven't even written my 9/11 story, and now a flood wedges itself within the queue. What am I to do? And though I grant that 9/11 made a bigger splash, the transformative muddy baptism of recent days, has shown itself to be a sort of personal 9/11, with only the chosen few marked for dunking, and the concomitant traumas.

9/11 was about decay, and its removal, at least according to the I Ching...which makes me think of a line by Wallace Stevens which says that Life is the elimination of what is Dead. Not sure yet what messages I will take from the undinal songs of this minor inundation...although several have already presented themselves.

In progress...

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Sly fox George W. Bush quietly seeks to make war powers permanent, by declaring indefinite state of war

excerpt:

The New York Times' page 8 placement of the article in its Saturday edition seems to downplay its importance. Such a re-affirmation of war carries broad legal implications that could imperil Americans' civil liberties and the rights of foreign nationals for decades to come.

It was under the guise of war that President Bush claimed a legal mandate for his warrantless wiretapping program, giving the National Security Agency power to intercept calls Americans made abroad. More of this program has emerged in recent years, and it includes the surveillance of Americans' information and exchanges online.

"War powers" have also given President Bush cover to hold Americans without habeas corpus -- detainment without explanation or charge.


LINK

One Million Flee "Mother of All Storms", Gustav

NEW ORLEANS — Spooked by predictions that Hurricane Gustav could grow into a Category 5 monster, an estimated 1 million residents fled the Gulf Coast Saturday — ahead of the official order to get out of the way of a storm taking dead aim at Louisiana.

Residents took to buses, trains, planes and cars — clogging roadways leading away from New Orleans, still reeling three years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed about 1,600 across the region.

LINK

Hallelujah

"Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah...

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Media Matters' Waldman takes on Obama Swiftboater Corsi on Larry King



If you're in a hurry, you can skip to minute 15 and pick up with some intriguing revelations regarding Corsi's jaded history with words.
Take a close look at someone who puts money above people and principal. Who allows the corrupt wealthy to pay him to write books that they themselves buy in order to appear to have risen on merit, when the opposite is actually the case. Gamblers and drunks. always racing to the bottom.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

If John Edwards were Hitler...

(to those trying to destroy his family)

If John Edwards were Hitler, I would say "Go ahead and destroy the man and his family."
But John Edwards is no Hitler, and most Americans know this. In fact they know he is at the other extreme of Hitler. Rather than dedicating himself to taking lives, he has dedicated himself to saving lives.
He is guilty of too much love. Not too little.
Those who are attacking him are guilty of that.

It is not just John you are destroying. It is also Elizabeth. But will YOU apologize to her?
I somehow doubt it. Thus once again proving, to your dismay, that John Edwards really is a better man.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Colors of Charlotte


colors 2, originally uploaded by desertdragon.

Life is an Open Book


Life is an Open Book, originally uploaded by Pankcho.

The Green, Charlotte, North Carolina
(via Pankcho/Flickr)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

On The Importance of Living (and not dying or killing)

The Importance Of Living The Importance Of Living by Lin Yutang


My review


rating: 5 of 5 stars
Lin Yutang, Rumi, Martin Buber, Lao T'se, Jesus, Buddha, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi...these are the words that can heal our troubled world. In a sensationalized world, the reader of Lin Yutang's great classic will learn how to enjoy merely sitting, lying in bed, reading, writing, walking, and nearly everything one can do that harms no other or self.



For my money, the most important part of "The Importance of Living" is where he discusses, at some length, the non-soldier, and all the good and necessary qualities contained therein. Not exactly a non-soldier, but a scamp, and a "wayward and incalculable" scamp as he lovingly calls it, is, an essential spice in life, and, he argues, to be particularly treasured. As Erich Fromm once said: "Civilization began with an act of disobedience, and is likely to end in an act of obedience."

Lin Yutang, Rumi, Martin Buber, Lao T'se, Jesus, Buddha, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi. Where is the soldier? Where the follower?

Libraries and bookstores are filled with books praising soldiers and dutiful followers. I needn't add to it, lest future generations think that is all there is. One mustn't forget the lowly but wise huckfins of the world, for they are the flowers that get mowed down, but surrender their scent and beauty even as they die.



Dr. Yuyang's words are as if spoken to you by a trusted friend. I'd even say that his style might well serve as an excellent alternative to the hateful spew emitted daily on really bad radio stations like WBT, who fill the air with Rush and other serial prevaricators.



You will not regret having purchases this book, and you will probably never part with it either...especially now that China is playing a larger and larger role in our present and future. Have at it. Enjoy your transformation.




View all my reviews.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Permabush: The New Dictation - Genocide or Suicide...that is the question?

From the BUSHWORLD SOLUTIONS series...
Presenting Solution #23
"When you find yourself in a hole, create conditions whereby you must continue digging."

In this episode, we find a Philip Atkinson, who suggests that GW Bush be made the permanent president. That's Right. Wait until the stock market of presidencies hits rock bottom, and then make the bottom the exemplar and permanency. Sound daft? Risible? Ludibund? Well read on, Chong! There is more here to tickle your angst-bone than in all the scrawled blepherospasms of Kafka (not really but it could happen, and sounds good) and besides you probably have nothing to do anyway, or at least you shouldn't, because I know you work hard all day in the bright sunlight...but alas, I digress...

HIGHLIGHTS OF POST-SANITY DOCUMENT
(with editorial comments in bold italic, and areas I would like to highlight in regular italic.)

Author: Philip Atkinson
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: August 3, 2007


Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy
By Philip Atkinson

President George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2005 after being chosen by the majority of citizens in America to be president. Don't you feel like going to sleep already?

Yet in 2007 he is generally despised, with many citizens of Western civilization expressing contempt for his person and his policies, sentiments which now abound on the Internet. This rage at President Bush is an inevitable result of the system of government demanded by the people, which is Democracy.

The inadequacy of Democracy, rule by the majority, is undeniable - for it demands adopting ideas because they are popular, rather than because they are wise. This means that any man chosen to act as an agent of the people is placed in an invidious position: if he commits folly because it is popular, then he will be held responsible for the inevitable result. If he
refuses to commit folly, then he will be detested by most citizens because he is frustrating their demands. OR the manifestation of his or her vision can be so glaringly beneficial to humanity that the people do not mind being gently led into a more peaceful and loving garden. NOT led into fighting and killing just so a handful of suits reap ungodly profits, while other children of God are murdered and forced to kill their brothers and sisters, while destroying all lifeforms on earth in the process, including water and air. Oh ye Gods of Pollution! Oh ye GOP!

When faced with the possible threat that the Iraqis might be amassing terrible weapons that could be used to slay millions of citizens of Western Civilization, President Bush took the only action prudence demanded and the electorate allowed: he conquered Iraq with an army.

This dangerous and expensive act did destroy the Iraqi regime, but left an American army without any clear purpose in a hostile country and subject to attack. If the Army merely returns to its home, then the threat it ended would simply return. If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit.

The wisest course would have been for President Bush to use his nuclear weapons to slaughter Iraqis until they complied with his demands, or until they were all dead. This is the wisest course? Why stop there? The wisest of the wisest would nuke the whole world, nay, universe until it complied, or was totally dead. Then there would be little risk or expense and no American army would be left exposed. But if he did this, his cowardly electorate would have instantly ended his term of office, if not his freedom or his life. How do they come up with this stuff?

The simple truth that modern weapons now mean a nation must practice genocide or commit suicide. This is not even a complete sentence, not to mention the cold misanthropy. So Mr. Atkinson is so paranoid and precious that he thinks that "to be or not to be" is a question that we get to decide...for everyone. Genocide or Suicide? This is the Republican Vision? The Mission Statement? Where is the better Feng Shui? Where the peaceful garden? Where is the love? The caring? The stewardship? The community? All those things that better people create and maintain? Anyway... Israel provides the perfect example. If the Israelis do not raze Iran, the Iranians will fulfill their boast and wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Yet Israel is not popular, and so is denied permission to defend itself. I'm sorry. The ignorance is deafening. In the same vein, President Bush cannot do what is necessary for the survival of Americans. He cannot use the nation's powerful weapons. All he can do is try and discover a result that will be popular with Americans.

As there appears to be no sensible result of the invasion of Iraq that will be popular with his countrymen other than retreat, President Bush is reviled; he has become another victim of Democracy. Blame the victims!

By elevating popular fancy over truth, Democracy is clearly an enemy of not just truth, but duty and justice, which makes it the worst form of government. President Bush must overcome not just the situation in Iraq, but democratic government. Exhibit A

However, President Bush has a valuable historical example that he could choose to follow.

When the ancient Roman general Julius Caesar was struggling to conquer ancient Gaul, he not only had to defeat the Gauls, but he also had to defeat his political enemies in Rome who would destroy him the moment his tenure as consul (president) ended. Does he smell war crimes tribunal? And not just for big daddy? Is this the source of paranoia?

Caesar pacified Gaul by mass slaughter; he then used his successful army to crush all political opposition at home and establish himself as permanent ruler of ancient Rome. This brilliant action not only ended the personal threat to Caesar, but ended the civil chaos that was threatening anarchy in ancient Rome - thus marking the start of the ancient Roman Empire that gave peace and prosperity to the known world.

If President Bush copied Julius Caesar by ordering his army to empty Iraq of Arabs and repopulate the country with Americans, he would achieve immediate results: popularity with his military; enrichment of America by converting an Arabian Iraq into an American Iraq (therefore turning it from a liability to an asset); and boost American prestige while terrifying
American enemies. Are these not the machinations of Evil?

He could then follow Caesar's example and use his new found popularity with the military to wield military power to become the first permanent president of America, and end the civil chaos caused by the continually squabbling Congress and the out-of-control Supreme Court. Not just the United States of America at this point, I notice.

President Bush can fail in his duty to himself, his country, and his God, by becoming "ex-president" Bush or he can become "President-for-Life" Bush: the conqueror of Iraq, who brings sense to the Congress and sanity to the Supreme Court. Then who would be able to stop Bush from emulating Augustus Caesar and becoming ruler of the world? For only an America united under one ruler has the power to save humanity from the threat of a new Dark Age
wrought by terrorists armed with nuclear weapons. No offense, but we are that power and that threat, and Bushworld IS the darkening of the light. The I Ching has said that time and again. Since 2000. Take it up with the Ching. Strangely, I always knew that Bushworld was anti-tao, against nature and spirit, and its subtle interplay, and this document lays it all out. I only hope we have the good judgement and graces to consign it to the wasteheap of horribly bad ideas.



Digby, who has also been tracking this, found these gems:

"The merits of the great new plan are being debated over at Free Republic right now, and here are a few responses in favor of the proposal:"

a.. "I can see why they took his piece down. Some of his views are a wee bit off the right edge. He actually espouses some of the extreme measures that the extremists on the far left enjoy falsly accusing President Bush of plotting."

b.. "The difference between a democracy and a monarchy is that in a monarchy you only have to put up with one idiot."

c.. "What exactly is crazy about what Mr. Atkinson is suggesting? He's actually framing a very common-sense principal: If democracy is destroying America then democracy needs to go. And, personally, there are very few of us here on FR who wouldn't like to see the lands of Allah turned into a glass parking lot. In fact, I'm saving a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne for when it happens."

Conservative think tank: Bush "a victim of Democracy"
NeoCon Think Tank documents show president bush as the new Caesar
Think Tank Calls For Bush to Be Dictator For Life
Madness in Consideration
Think Tank Calls For Bush to Be Dictator For Life
conquering the drawbacks of democracy - Philip Atkinson
Iran: H. CON. Res. 362| Take Action Time.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Harvard Square @ Google Earth in 3-D

Google Earth now has photorealistic 3-D buildings that you can create and add to Google Earth. I'm only just now learning how to create these buildings and environments, but someone with more architectural wherewithal might meet with great results...and a possible career at transferring the 3-D world onto the new globe.


Harvard Square from Google Earth (a clip)