Darcy take the plunge - Pride and Prejudice - PBS - Sunday

Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy


I may be the only person who has not yet seen the much-vaunted "Pride and Prejudice", starring my physical and temperamental alter-ego, Colin Firth, but I have seen "Bridget Jones' Diary", which surely must count for something. "Valmont" was also mighty fine as a rending of "Les Liassons Dangeroux", although slightly off-topic.


Yesterday Terry Gross interviewed Mr. Firth and had a most spirited exchanged, largely revolving around his "taking the plunge" -- which, as it turns out, was originally intended to be performed in the raw. When that idea was panned, they pondered undies, only to find out that they didn't wear any at the time. Probably an earlier Britney age, and what with Firth being a Briton and all...must be true. According to Firth, the underknickers were less than alluring, and so they opted out of that, and decided on a clad baptism of liberation.



Clad baptism of liberation

I'd love to find out where this and "Miss Austen Regrets" was filmed. "Mansfield Park" was filmed in and around the lovely Newby Hall near Ripon, Yorkshire, where, for centuries, my ancients romped.

On approaching my 100th Year on the Internets

It was nearly 100 Internet years when I made my first unbroken connection to the Internets. But people don't much talk about "internet years" any more. And, by now, most people understand our passionate exuberance about it.

An Internet year was thought by many to be roughly equivalent to a "dog year", which is, according to high scientists, approximately seven (7, VII) human years -- mainly because things were changing so fast as to perhaps even amuse Thomas Kuhn, whoever that is. Probably a decent fellow. Crooked teeth. None of my business though.

Well, the exuberance has since turned to terror, thanks to those whose jobs involve the taking of human life. Give me a pen any day!

OR that mass of tubes known as the internets.

At least a keyboard.

[Chimes twinkle in the distance.]

INTERIOR - DAY - OFFICE

The internet is streaming into my head, and back again, in a strange form of breathing, made all the more facile by the advent of blogs and social networking software (sites). In the early days of the Web, content producers and content consumers were often the same people. It was two-way, and a lot like breathing. Over time though, the consumers began to far outweigh the producers, and many people never did more than email and consume content.

With blogging, YouTube, social networking sites like Facebook and other fine and recent inventions, as I said, the breathing is coming back. At least that what my dog says.
And he's never wrong. Good Feydeaux! Down!

Now you've made me lose my thought!

Well, here's something you can read in the meantime:

I've already told ya about Charlotte Blogs, so I needn't go back into that, so let me share with you, instead, The Clog -- the brilliantly named blog over at Creative Loafing.

"The people that are for me are fearless."
- John Edwards

Alien Liesmith & Fox Apologist Attacks Female Wolf

The Raw Story | Fox host gets heated when author disses his network

A house built on a foundation of lies will fall, with the liars eating each up, since none are worthy of trust. What fun to watch!

Guitar Chord Chart Finder

Guitar Chord Chart Finder

Charlotte Blogs

Charlotte Blogs is the blog of the radio show "Charlotte Talks: with Mike Collins" on NPR affiliate, WFAE. Commenting is mercifully easy, and Mike is one heck of a mensch. Pop in and say hello!

Bush Issues "Signing Statement" to Defy Congressional Ban on Building of Permanent Bases in Iraq

Bush's Impeachable Offense of the Day

From Whitewater to Blackwater
Watergate to Waterworld
W
M

All recipes – complete resource for recipes and cooking tips

All recipes – complete resource for recipes and cooking tips: "Looking for recipes? Allrecipes has more than 40,000 free recipes—all created, tested, reviewed and approved by home cooks worldwide."

Gathering of the Insiders : The State of the Union

From The Road

Life After Money: Greed is NOT Good

Rogue trader in £3.7bn bank fraud was already devastated by father's death when his wife left him, and so being stupid, he took it out on the world, and now deserves a spanking.

Should Edwards Ignore Martin Luther King III's Encouragement?

Democratic Underground - 8 Reasons to Choose John Edwards as the 2008 Democratic Nominee

"So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horserace, not a fight for justice. My dad was a fighter. As a friend and a believer in my father’s words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I say to you: keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud." - MLKIII to JRE

Martin Luther King the Third wants John Edwards to keep fighting for justice, even if the hollow shells of Media mechanically echo the words of their undemocratic paymasters as they try and erase John from the equation. I hear they are even thinking about creating separate restrooms for John Edwards, he is that much of a pariah to them and their comfortable New York and Chicago penthouses, where they hatch vain empires, and freely spill the blood of Southern men and women, black and white.

Not all black people are poor, but all poor people are black...in the sense that all poor people have felt what it is like to be left out of the debate. And it is a lot like what John Edwards must feel, as he is being treated like a second class citizen, at best, among the largest media outlets in America.

There is nothing wrong with Hillary and Obama, other than not being Carolinians, but they are getting first class treatment and exposure by the media. They are the face of privilege, which, of course, means "private law" -- not sure if that applies, but maybe -- and although they make good promises...we see where John Edwards puts his action. At the places where most help is needed...like a good doctor or healer. New Orleans, the rural areas of America, the inner city slums, in towns abandoned by human beings who somehow actually believe they they deserve to have and make thousands and millions of times more than the least among us...who, as it turns out, is just as important as the richest of us, because Spirit nor Nature goes by money. Ah. Too bad!

Those who go by money are putting theirs behind Hillary and Obama, at least among the Democrats. Those who go by phrenology are lined up behind John Edwards, if only to admire the superior shape of his head, which, as it turns out, is brimming over with great and good ideas for creating a future that will be our friend.

So I say to John, do as Martin would have you do, and keep fighting for justice. Remain good and true, and the universe itself will come to your aid. Fight the good fight. And if you do not win, it will not be because you didn't try. You know as well as I that you don't need no stinkin' election in order to do good things. Never stopped you before.

Those who would urge John to quit are no different from those who urged Gore to quit in 2000.

Esther Dyson: If Google Is the New Microsoft, Facebook Is the New Google

Esther Dyson: If Google Is the New Microsoft, Facebook Is the New Google

During an excellent show on technology, Charlie Rose mentioned to Dyson quote, which I thought would be useful and fun for my illustrious Facebook friends, who are, after all, the best minds of my generation, and part of the reason for Facebook's astonishing rise and strength.

He who says "both" is lying

He who says "both" is lying

PROOF: There is no "both"...

In the Democratic primary, Obama and Hillary are Goliath and John Edwards is David, Seabiscuit, the oppressed candidate, by virtue of his doing the right thing regarding financing, but even more so by virtue of his marginalization by The Corpulent Media, who always seems to get it wrong...at least when it comes to the typical American citizen.
They helped shoehorn Bush into office.
They helped shoehorn America into a tragic, horrible, and far from over war.
They are pill pushers.

Even before the war, I knew this much: We might decide when it begins, but it is the enemy who will decide when it is over. And we found this out with "Mission Accomplished". The same sad truth holds true today...unless we are in touch with the highest of truths, and can create a win-win situation whereby their win is clearly more generous than our own...for it is we who created this proverbial "goose in a bottle" to begin with.

There! It is out!

THE HEAVY UPLIFTING
Now can we finally get to the heavy uplifting? (By uplifting, I do not mean tugging.)
Can we now care for our neighbors, disregarding our own well-being? can we shut our mouths and pick up a hammer, say, and physically help rebuild New Orleans, America and the world?
This is what John Edwards is ALREADY doing. Kudos to you, sir, for picking a most excellent running mate. At this point he is ready to even be the President.

Remember the parable of the farmer who tugged at his turnip? By endorsing Obama, are you not, in fact, tugging at a turnip? And a turnip with the wallet of a Goliath?

Everyone knows that Barack Obama will be the president...some day. And most people want him to be at his very best when he is put into that role.

I have no doubt that John Edwards is as worthy a candidate as the good Senator Obama, but I do think that he edges him out in the preparedness column.

"BE PREPARED" - boy scout motto

Preparedness is not the same as entrenchment.
Preparedness is the piece de resistance of revolutionary change, because it is absolutely essential that one not only envision the vision...one must also consider the consequences of one's vision. Processing these potential unintended results, beforehand, cannot be done in months. It takes years. Frankly, I would be more comfortable, and would carry his biggest pom-poms were Obama were to prepare for another four or eight years. Like John Edwards.

HE WHO SAYS "BOTH" IS LYING

I hope, in the remaining time, you can see that, in a certain way, John Edwards is the new black. He is being oppressed by the media, whose echolalia carks "both" "both" "both" while trying to frame it as Obama versus Hillary...ONLY.

We mustn't give them that victory. And what if their blackout backfired? What if John, out of absence, became the new face everyone was hoping for, and he, being the new fashion, is again...the new black.

My point is that Democrats, way more than Republicans, pull for the underdog. It is ironic that a white man is the underdog, but it is true...and the truly enlightened position should be one where race and sex plays absolutely no role in the decision...because if it does, it is either sexist or racist at its core.

THE OVERBITE OF THE OVERDOG

The underdog is the underdog. As Sartre once said, "..."always on the side of the oppressed, never the oppressor."

Who, in this race, on both parties, is oppressed?
The answer is John Edwards, but also Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, and maybe even those early Republican losses...although I don't begrudge their particular absence.

Be a darling and cringe, with me, every time you hear the word, "both"...because it has that stench that wafted over Florida in 2000.

When you hear the word, "Both", think "Booth", and be a good Conanobrien and crash into the scene, and prevent the injustice.

2 TYPES OF GEESE

When it comes to ideas, visions, creatity and passion, John is the goose with the golden egg...not the goose in the bottle. As such, he needs to be in there, bringing out his excllent ideas and vision for the possible America.

They also squelched Bucky Fuller. And had they not, we would have already solved many of the problems that plague us today.

Is Edwards The New Bucky? I don't know.
It is up to each individual, in the quiet of their castle, the determine such things.

Vore John Edwards
He's a Seven!
And a Carolinian!

"O! To be a Carolinian!"
-Walt Whitman

(cross-posted at Daily Kos)

Connector (social) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Connector (social) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Connectors usually know people across an array of social, planes, cultural, professional, and economic circles, and make a habit of introducing people who work or live in different circles. Although connectors are rare -- only one in several thousand people might be thought of as a true connector -- they are, like mavens and salesmen, very important in the healthy function of civil society and business. Connectors are also important in trendsetting."
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_ties
"In 1973, stimulated by the work of Rapoport, the American sociologist Mark Granovetter's published The Strength of the Weak Ties. This is recognized as one of the most influential sociology papers ever written."

Not entirely dissimilar to my theory of social triangularity...

935 lies that the Bush administration used to sell the Iraq War

935 lies that the Bush administration used to sell the Iraq War

Daily Kos: Lies, Damned Lies, a Searchable Database of Lies

Now those kooky Kossacks, intellectuals, thinkers and feelers are whining about a phenomenon whose number doesn't even exceed 1k. 1k! Sheesh! My computer has a trillion times more than that. Well, maybe not a trillion. Let me ask my accountant, Arty Andersen.
He's very artful, and is a veritable kenlay of integrity...

The fun never ends!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/24/8714/41816/190/442223

Louis XIV kills on Conan O'Brien

MySpace.com - Louis XIV
A new Beatles?

Mediocre Bush at Lowest Rating Ever, Therefore New War is At Hand

The Raw Story | Bush hits lowest approval rating yet in ABC poll

Meet George W. Bush. George goes to the Middle East to push peace, and start a new war.
Freakin' drydrunks! Hell, give the man a beer!

Nazi Gold at All-Time High. Gold Bubble to Burst.

The Raw Story | Gold prices soar to new all-time high

Say "Tata!" to Goliath Gas-Guzzlers and Global Warming

Tata!

Tata Nano - world's cheapest new car fights recession and global warming, which has recently seen a surge in warming, at the adept hand of President Bush and his wise use of extremely hot megabombs. Anyone else would be arrested, he's that close to God.

Congratulations to “The Most Annoying Liberals of 2007″

Hattip to Crooks and Liars

Change

Change. What is it?
Many of the candidates are talking about it; some claim to embody it, others make fun of it. The leading Democrats embrace it, while the leading Republican mocks it.

Change is a complex concept that has been studied for thousands of years. The ancient chinese though so much about change that they named their immortal classic 'the Book of Changes". To understand the Chinese people, it doesn't hurt to have a knowledge of the myriad ways in which states can change. By states, I don't mean politically bounded entities, but it could apply there too. In fact, in nearly any situation in life, it doesn't hurt to know your change options. After a time, one begins to recognize certain patterns, and better paths become clearer. One can, in time, know what the future will bring, simply by mastering these aspects of change.

Some excerpts:


In the Book of Changes a distinction is made between three kinds of change: nonchange, cyclic change, and sequent change. Non change is the background, as it were, against which change is made possible. For in regard to any change there must be some fixed point to which the change can be referred, otherwise there can be no definite order and everything is dissolved in chaotic movement. This point of reference must be established, and this always requires a choice and a decision. It makes possible a system of co-ordinates into which everything else can be fitted. Consequently at the beginning of the world, as at the beginning of thought, there is the decision, the fixing of the point of reference. Theoretically any point of reference is possible, but experience teaches that at the dawn of consciousness one stands already enclosed within definite, prepotent systems of relationships. The problem then is to choose one's point of reference so that it coincides with the point of reference for cosmic events. For only then can the world created by one's decision escape being dashed to pieces against prepotent systems of relationships with which it would otherwise come into conflict. Obviously the premise for such a decision is the belief that in the last analysis the world is a system of homogeneous relationships--that it is a cosmos, not a chaos. This belief is the foundation of Chinese philosophy, as of all philosophy. The ultimate frame of reference for all that changes is the nonchanging.

--

Another law is to be noted. Owing to changes of the sun, moon, and stars, phenomena take form in the heavens. These phenomena obey definite laws. Bound up with them, shapes come into being on earth, in accordance with identical laws. Therefore the processes on earth--blossom and fruit, growth and decay--can be calculated if we know the laws of time. If we know the laws of change, we can precalculate in regard to it, and freedom of action thereupon becomes possible. Changes are the imperceptible tendencies to divergence that, when they have reached a certain point, become visible and bring about transformations.

These are the immutable laws under which, according to Chinese thought, changes are consummated. It is the purpose of the Book of Changes to demonstrate these laws by means of the laws of change operating in the respective hexagrams. Once we succeed in completely reproducing these laws, we acquire a comprehensive view of events; we can understand past and future equally well and bring this knowledge to bear in our actions.

Cyclic change, then, is recurrent change in the organic world, whereas sequent change means the progressive [nonrecurrent] change of phenomena produced by causality.

--

However, no matter what names are applied to these forces, it is certain that the world of being arises out of their change and interplay. Thus change is conceived of partly as the continuous transformation of the one force into the other and partly as a cycle of complexes of phenomena, in themselves connected, such as day and night, summer and winter. Change is not meaningless -- if it were, there could be no knowledge of it -- but subject to the universal law, tao.

The second theme fundamental to the Book of Changes is its theory of ideas. The eight trigrams are images not so much of objects as of states of change. This view is associated with the concept expressed in the teachings of Lao-tse, as also in those of Confucius, that every event in the visible world is the effect of an "image," that is, of an idea in the unseen world. Accordingly, everything that happens on earth is only a reproduction, as it were, of an event in a world beyond our sense perception, as regards its occurrence in time, it is later than the suprasensible event. The holy men and sages, who are in contact with those higher spheres, have access to these ideas through direct intuition and are therefore able to intervene decisively in events in the world. Thus man is linked with heaven, the suprasensible world of ideas, and with earth, the material world of visible things, to form with these a trinity of the primal powers.

This theory of ideas is applied in a twofold sense. The Book of Changes shows the images of events and also the unfolding of conditions in statu nascendi. Thus, in discerning with its help the seeds of things to come, we learn to foresee the future as well as to understand the past. In this way the images on which the hexagrams are based serve as patterns for timely action in the situations indicated. Not only is adaptation to the course of nature thus made possible, but in the Great Commentary (pt. II, chap. II), an interesting attempt is made to trace back the origin of all the practices and inventions of civilization to such ideas and archetypal images. Whether or not the hypothesis can be made to apply in all specific instances, the basic concept contains a truth.[16]

The third element fundamental to the Book of Changes are the judgments. The judgments clothe the images in words, as it were; they indicate whether a given action will bring good fortune or misfortune, remorse or humiliation. The judgments make it possible for a man to make a decision to desist from a course of action indicated by the situation of the moment but harmful in the long run. In this way he makes himself independent of the tyranny of events. In its judgments, and in the interpretations attached to it from the time of Confucius on the Book of Changes opens to the reader the richest treasure of Chinese wisdom; at the same time it affords him a comprehensive view of the varieties of human experience, enabling him thereby to shape his life of his own sovereign will into an organic whole and so to direct it that it comes into accord with the ultimate tao lying at the root of all that exists.

COMING SOON:
An Assessment of the Candidates as Human Beings
by Anonymoses Hyperlincoln III

--