November 2003 Archives

My interest in grouphug has officially waned.

It's gotten too retarded. It's all the same stories. You can tell people are making up stuff. And most are completely lacking in grammar skills. Meh.

You know how women can develop that double bulge? The tummy pooch, and then the other, lower pooch? Maybe it's just one big pooch, but it's cinched a little by the waistline.

So far, I've only been sporting a little tummy bump. I know that if I get pregnant, it's gonna induce that other bulge.

Trying to fit pants, and especially jeans, around that other bulge is highly conducive to cameltoe. [Exhibit A] [Exhibit B] [Exhibit C is a woman I work with.]

So I'll drop that one in my Con list.

This could be a slogan for the population control movement. Bearing children causes cameltoe! Conserve resources and stop cameltoe!

I saw Audrey Heller's booth at the Ann Arbor Art Fair last summer. I really liked her photography, which is unusual for me because I don't generally like other people's photography. I couldn't afford anything at the time so I signed up on her mailing list. Here's how Audrey describes her motivation:

I think of these photos as a melding of the influences of Dr. Seuss and Edward Weston.

When I was little(er) I fixed on the fantasy that we were living on a dust speck in a giant world. That idea is exciting and terrifying. Exciting because it means that there is so much more to learn than we can even conceive of, and terrifying because we could be squashed at any moment. I try to be like Horton, the elephant who found a world in a dust speck, and pay attention to the small worlds around me.

Take a peek at her work. It's pretty nifty. Here are some of my favorites:

(as Buzz would say, click to embiggen)

I can't afford anything right now, either, but someday I'd really like to buy something of hers. She's got some holiday specials going on right now, if you find yourself so inclined.

I am proud to announce that I am the #1 Google result for Irk.

After that it's a bunch of Russian shit. Unless you search on Russian Google, in which case I'm #3.

I never heard anything about this before.

DNA Proves Lindbergh Led a Double Life

BERLIN, Nov. 28 — Genetic tests have proved claims by three Germans that Charles Lindbergh was their father and led a secret double life for almost two decades, a family adviser said Friday.

Anton Schwenk said DNA tests conducted by the University of Munich in October proved with 99.9 percent certainty that Dyrk and David Hesshaimer and their sister Astrid Bouteuil were Lindbergh's children.

....

Lindbergh started a romance with a Munich hat maker, Brigitte Hesshaimer, in 1957 when he was 55 and she was 32. They had three children: Dyrk, now 45, Astrid, 43, and David, 36.

A restless world traveler, Lindbergh spent 5 to 14 days with his family in Munich up to three times a year until he died in 1974. He and Ms. Hesshaimer kept the relationship a secret and the children knew the tall visitor only as "Mr. Careu Kent."

Freaky.

I played a drinking game sometime somewhere that involved ordering people to drink, but you couldn't say "drink," you had to say "consume." That's all I remember about that game.

I didn't do any Christmas shopping, but I was out and about a bit yesterday.

I bought new deodorant. I scoured the shelf at Walgreens looking for something that was deodorant only and not anti-perspirant, but I couldn't find anything, so I stuck with my standard Degree. The small sizes were going 2/$3, so I got my usual Shower Clean and I decided to try a different scent (which is a big deal, you know). I got Fresh Oxygen, which is a little cleaner and a little less sweet than the Shower Clean. Don't know how else to describe the scent of oxygen to you. Also bought conditioner.

Went to Cost Plus World Market for chai, and brought home three different Oregon Chai varieties: Original, Chai Nog, and Chai Cider. I opened up the Eggnog stuff and it's okay. It's weird to me to have eggnog flavor without eggnog texture (of course you always thin eggnog with a little Christian Brothers).

Went to the grocery store for soymilk and smoothie fixins. Here's a tip: the refrigerated soymilk is cheaper than the shelf-stable stuff. And I was happy to see they had 8th Continent in stock. Also got the pumpkin pie mix and frozen yogurt, but haven't made any homemade Pumpkin Smashes yet.

Then I decided I needed to go to Blockbuster. Roommate out of town means gay movie time! I got Chutney Popcorn, Finding Nemo and Whale Rider.

Chutney Popcorn was alright. The dialogue wasn't the smoothest and some of the characters were pretty stereotypical. And I had a hard time really believing Jill Hennessy as a lesbian. I see the director, Nisha Ganatra (who also plays the main character), has a few other films (and a blog) so I'll be checking those out. And, um, she's kinda hot. I wanna tangle my fingers up in that thick luscious Indian hair and.... yeah.

Finding Nemo was too cute! I was tense. I laughed out loud. I was sad at parts (especially at the very beginning, not to give anything away). Loved Ellen DeGeneres as Dori. And of course it's amazing just to look at.

Whale Rider I wouldn't quite call great, but it was really really good. Very moving. The New Zealand scenery is gorgeous, the insight to Maori culture is interesting (and some of it was a little familiar to me), and there are the requisite personal struggles and triumphs. You cannot help but love the little girl, Paikea, played by Keisha Castle-Hughes.

I've been using Mozilla Thunderbird for email. There's a default "ding" when new mail arrives, but I want something different and the two .wav files I have don't seem to work with it. A quick Google search turned up a blog entry with a comment pointing to Clay's Mail Call Wav Page. I snagged a bunch of sounds from there, but most of them I ended up not liking.

Since a goodly portion of my mail comes from your comments being sent to my inbox, I thought I'd seek your input on what you want me to hear when you arrive. I've narrowed it down to two possibilities: Special Ed and Lieutenant Commander Worf. Make your voice heard in two easy steps.

1. Have a listen. (And hell, for expediency, go ahead and stream those. They're small enough and I've got bandwidth to spare.)

Special Ed: "I got mail, yay! I got mail, yay!"
Worf: "Captain, incoming message."

2. Have a vote. (Simply click on your choice.)

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Dave's mom is having a rough time of it (to say the least), so all the good thoughts you can send towards the Tepper family would be much appreciated.

Is "clown porn" inherently funny, or is it just because it sounds like "corn pone"?

My Digital IQ is 134, which makes me a Digital Ace.

You are a digital ace, expert in both practice and theory, and you take full advantage of digital tools. Some might call you a nerd.

And here I thought I answered No to quite a few of the geekiest questions. A little web savvy will go a long way towards Nerd-dom, I guess.

(via greybird)

I've been blogging, but not reading many blogs this week, so as I'm getting caught up, I see I've got three editions of Kate's Letter of the Day to catch up on.

It's short. It's late. But here it is.

J is for...

• Jamba Juice. It's not too cold for smoothies. And I'm still excited about the free one I got.

K is for...

• KathyHowe of Kazoofus. We're having drinks next week!
• Kirstie Alley, who's being replaced by Queer Eye's Thom Filicia as spokesperson for Pier 1. (via Queer Day)

L is for...

• Lesbian Love story. Bend it Like Beckham was supposed to be one. Well, duh. (via Queer Day)
• Latte. I finally tried the Starbucks Peppermint thingamajobbie. I am less than impressed. I think I'll stick with chai.

My girl-talking friend called Wednesday to ask me if I wanted to go out for Thanksgiving dinner* with him. When I called him back, he mentioned he was going out with a couple folks Wednesday night to a place called Chatterbox in South Minneapolis and asked if I wanted to come along. He had never been but he said he was told it was a bar-slash-arcade type of place.

I agreed to go just to have something to do, but I was thinking bar-slash-arcade meant something like Jillian's or Dave & Buster's.

Holy cow, it wasn't like that at all. This is one of the coolest places I've been to in Minneapolis. It's more of a neighborhood bar, with a kitschy nostalgiac '80s theme.

There are booths, barstools, and velour-upholstered chairs. They have Operation, Connect Four, and other games for you to play and an Atari 2600 hooked up! They have (original) Charlie's Angels, NKOTB, PacMan and other memorabilia which sit there for ambience but you can actually purchase them if you like. It's dark. They have a couple of microbrews on tap and some wine. I didn't have any food but they were advertising a pretty mean looking brunch.

If I lived closer I'd go there all the time. Especially after reading about the new crop of upscale bars and clubs downtown.

If there's anybody local reading this, it's at 23rd Ave S and E 35th St.

*We went to Cattle Company for dinner, the only place out in the 'burbs besides Perkins we could find that was open. And sure enough eventually he said "Have I told you about what I've been doing with match.com?" Yes. Yes, you have. Every time I see you. And I really didn't care to hear "I know what the French word for "yes" is...." in regard to the little Frenchie who's got you for a booty call when she's in town.

I have plans now. It's a good Thanksgiving. Happy T-Day, y'all.

I was tickled pink to pick up the paper and see the top five BCS rankings.

4. Michigan
5. Ohio State

Just because I think the BCS is stupid doesn't mean I can't take joy when we are doing well in it. Rose Bowl, here we come!

Women Needed to Test Orgasm Machine

The married woman who tested the machine, dubbed an orgasmatron, had not had an orgasm for four years. But during the nine days she used it, she had several.

"She even told me she had the first multiple orgasm of her life using the device," said Meloy.

He stumbled on the unexpected side-effect while using a spinal cord stimulator a few years ago to treat a patient suffering with severe back pain. The woman had already had back surgery for degenerative disk disease and fusion surgery.

When Meloy placed the electrodes into a specific spot on her spine to find nerve bundles carrying pain signals to the brain, she moaned with delight.

Sign me up!

I'm gonna be walking around all damn day saying "Funky Drawz!!" to myself in my head.

(courtesy of The Boondocks)

I've been in a bit of a funk lately, but I'm gonna put that post aside for a bit. I was the lucky recipient of a free Pumpkin Smash smoothie (!) at my friendly neighborhood Jamba Juice today on account of the computers being down, so I'm taking that to be a sign that some positive things will happen today. (Also tried their seasonal Peppermint Twist. It's mostly strawberry, with a hint of mint. Not too bad.)

...People who say things like "I just really like Donald Rumsfeld" in all seriousness. I swear to god I read that on a blog.

...People who think cybersex is real sex.

...People who say things like "I really enjoyed reading the [name of homegrown software] code on the train home last night" in all seriousness. I swear to god I read that on a blog.

...Right-wingers who claim that left-wingers only argue a bunch of rhetoric without any facts. Which sounds pretty much like rhetoric to me.

...People who are so self-conscious wimpy that they can't state an opinion without qualification and hedging and self-depreciation. Even in entirely uncontroversial situations.

...NSF charges. If I didn't hardly have the money in the first place, how is taking away more gonna help?

...People who participate in debate with a great deal of intellectual snobbery. If I see "straw man" one more time I'll throw the fuck up.

...Micromanaging. Back the fuck off. I swear to god.

UPDATE: Here's one that warranted an update, not just an addition to the comments. I was counting on working Friday night, since that's my usually scheduled night. Found out today that my line is not running (even though the other one is), so I just don't get to come in Friday night. Since it's a company holiday, I still get paid, but because I'm not physically here working that disqualifies me from earning my normal Saturday overtime. AND, if I had known that I just wouldn't be working on Friday, I fucking would have gone home for Thanksgiving (even though I wasn't planning on it, but then someone dangled a Red Wings ticket in front of me and I had to turn it down before I found out I wasn't working). SCRATCHAFRICK!

What's irking you? I've got all day.

In case you're itching to ditch your current wireless carrier, don't forget that Mobile Number Portability went into effect in the 100 largest metropolitan areas yesterday. You are also now able to port your landline to a mobile number. The report I heard on NPR said that people are saying "the media" has been telling them to wait a couple weeks for the carriers to get the kinks out. I haven't watched a whole lot of tv lately, but I haven't heard a peep about this in the media.

If you're looking to switch, you can shop by plan, phone, or carrier at WireFly and at NumberPortability.com. The latter will also tell you if your number is even portable in the first place.

(via Mike Wendland)

If you haven't already disabled Windows Messenger, now would be a good time to do it. Not to be confused with that nifty little chat client MSN Messenger. I've used my friend's computer with WinXP a couple times and I wanted to strangle it because of all the Windows Messenger popups.

What's that you say? You don't know how? Or you thought you did already? No, this is how to do it.

We got snow y'all.

Now that it's here, I'm kind of excited about it. Not nearly as excited as Mel would be, but excited. It's refreshing. The cold air is invigorating. I like the crunch of the snow under my hiking boots. I feel snug and secure with the collar of my jacket folded up around my scarf.

It's been kind of gloomy here the last week or so and now there's not a cloud in the sky and the sun is reflecting brilliantly off the snow. It's a brightness that you don't see even on the sunniest summer day.

Not that I'll be out playing around. It's scratchafrickin 17 degrees out.

Campbell's Chunky Soup and the NFL's Tackling Hunger have combined once again to sponsor Click for Cans. Go to the site and click on the helmet of your favorite NFL team to donate one can of a Campbell's Soup variety to hunger relief charities around the country.

They'll donate up to 5 million cans, but they haven't even reached 2 million clicks yet, so go forth and click. You can click once in a 24 hour period, so feel free to go back and do it again.

(via Coffee Achiever)

*snicker* This is cracking me up.

Remington has launched its new Trim and Shape Bikini Trimmer. Just the website and the posters are kind of funny, but get this: They handed out (heh) scratchcards (heh) around NYC as part of the ad campaign. But wait! There's testimonial that the product is actually good.

Scratchcards. *chuckle*

Starbucks. Peppermint. Do I get the latte or the mocha?

I've heard good things about both. I may treat myself when I get my next paycheck*. Now that we have six inches of snow, it's peppermint latte mocha hot beverage weather.

*Since the mofos at Midwest Staffing have fucked up my paycheck yet again and I didn't get one on Friday. "So don't go shopping this weekend!" Yeah, bitch, how about if I just don't pay my car insurance instead? Oh, and my rent check's about to bounce. Bitch.

I used to take dance and gymnastics lessons when I was little. I took them at the Borgo Sisters School of Dance and Gymnastics. I think every little girl in Royal Oak, MI did some time there. My sister just told me that one of the Borgo sisters, Virginia, died last week.

I used to think the Borgo sisters were old and spooky. We'd almost never see them except at recitals. But they provided me with countless hours of entertainment in the studio on Washington or in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church. Except I hated gymnastics so the Salvation Army gym can bite me.

Apparently it took years for my natural sense of rhythm to emerge. My mom likes to remind me of how she asked if there was a difference between learned rhythm and natural rhythm, because I didn't seem to have any. (Don't worry, I'm good now.)

I have fond memories of my teacher. Miss Leslie was the bomb. I loved her to death. I think there might have only been one year when she wasn't my teacher. Miss Patty, Miss Pam, and Miss Carmie were all cool, but none of them could hold a candle to Miss Leslie. I still wonder from time to time how she's doing. I remember when my class threw her a baby shower at McDonald's when she had her first kid. McDonald's was significant because my whole class would go there for lunch after class every Saturday. We did that every week for years.

It was particularly exciting when I got to be old enough to dance in the Christmas Show, which just meant I had to dance for everybody's Christmas recital and not just my own. I wish I had stuck with it longer. I stopped after 10th grade when the demands of sports got to be too great and I was starting to think dance class wasn't cool anymore except as an opportunity to show off my newly acquired varsity jacket.

But the costumes. Lawdy, the costumes. Let's not go there.

I saw the Cher Show twice on her Farewell Tour. I had read that it was filmed at a Miami show last November, and it played on Bravo on Wednesday (and once on network tv before that).

It's a little strange to watch it on tv, having already seen it. On the one hand, you can see it better. But on the other hand, it's not live. Nothing's as exciting as a live show.

This shit better be coming out on DVD. If for no other reason than so I can watch the show without that stupid ass Celebrity Poker ad in the corner.

UPDATE: Jen points out in the comments that it is on DVD!

I think the cover of Time magazine gracing the newsstands on the day I was born was quite possibly the most boring Time cover in its history.

Find out what the Time cover was on your birthday (or any other day, or search by subject).

(via feministe)

According to Neal Justin of the Star Tribune. That article has further commentary as well as RealPlayer clips of all the songs.

Here's his list:

1. "Secret Agent" ("Secret Agent Man")
2. "Hawaii Five-O"
3. "The Andy Griffith Show"
4. "The Dukes of Hazzard" ("Good Ol' Boys")
5. "The Roy Rogers Show" ("Happy Trails")
6. "Good Times"
7. "Peter Gunn"
8. "Mission: Impossible"
9. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" ("Love Is All Around")
10. "Hill Street Blues"
11. "The Jeffersons" ("Movin' On Up")
12. "The Monkees"
13. "The Muppet Show"
14. "Sanford & Son" ("The Streetbeater")
15. "Moonlighting"
16. "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson"
17. "Angie" ("Different Worlds")
18. "Welcome Back, Kotter" ("Welcome Back")
19. "Cheers"
20. "All in the Family" ("Those Were the Days")
21. "Taxi" ("Angela")
22. "The Partridge Family" ("Come On Get Happy")
23. "The Twilight Zone"
24. "Beverly Hillbillies" ("The Ballad of Jed Clampett")
25. "The Fall Guy" ("The Unknown Stuntman")

I only know what about half of them sound like off the top of my head, and of those "The Muppet Show," "Good Times," "Movin' On Up," and "The Monkees" are the only ones I like.

And are theme songs within the last 10 years that bad, or just unproven? I'd think the theme from Friends would be in there. Anything you'd add or subtract?

The oldest Hanson brother got a blood clot in his arm from strumming his guitar too much.

If I believed in God, I'd think that was a Sign.

Kickoff in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Cue the music...

HALFTIME: Michigan's up 21-7 and looking pretty damn good. Ooh, and Lloyd Carr just took a tone with the ABC reporter. Todd Harris asked him why they took a knee and ended the half instead of playing for a field goal and Lloyd says "Why would you ask a dumb question like that?" and walks away. Daaaayum!

BEGINNING OF FOURTH QUARTER: What the hell is going on here? Ohio State is coming back and now Michigan is only up 28-21. I'm not comfortable with this, but I'm still confident we'll win. I think.

END OF GAME: Michigan 35, Ohio State 21. Phew. See? I knew we'd win. I was totally confident the whole time. Big Ten champs. Going to the Rose Bowl (as it should be). We actually passed on first down. How about that? Knocking Craig Krenzel out of the game for a bit probably didn't hurt, either.

I do a pretty good Fine Young Cannibals impression. You should ask me sometime.

Meanwhile, back at the subject....

I'm still shaking off the effects of yesterday's drug-induced coma. I had breakfast out this morning with some co-workers this morning, after we got off work. It was fun. I laughed a lot. We're gonna try and find a hole-in-the-wall place to do this at more often. And I'd love to crash but I've got to go back out this afternoon to pick up my paycheck.

I got scolded at work today. I made a paperwork mistake. I missed taking a sample at the end of a batch. My supervisor pointed out the mistake at the time it happened, and I haven't made that mistake again.

Today she called me into her office - it's now 2 weeks later - and said that I was to receive a verbal warning for this incident, showed me the SOP which (very vaguely) explained the procedure I didn't properly follow, and had me sign off that I had been retrained.

Then she proceeded to tell me that she was concerned because she remembered the day after this happened she had to remind me to do it again. She also mentioned that if I had another similar warning I would not be hired on full time.

I was fine with having the mistake pointed out. I was fine with the verbal warning and having to sign off on the retraining. I am not fine with the (unsubstantiated, IMO) threat that I won't be hired. I thought it was a relatively minor mistake, and several of my co-workers corroborated that. They also pointed out several cases where people had been hired after committing much more egregious errors.

And even though she thought she had to remind me to do something, I knew full well I had to do it. Just because she bossed me around to do it before I got as far as doing it doesn't mean I didn't know I had to do it. Even so, I really just didn't like her tone. "I had to remind you nyah nyah nag nag nah."

My working style doesn't involve a lot of discussion. I know what I have to do and I do it and I don't feel a need to spell it out for the person standing in the room next to me unless it's necessary. Just because I didn't telegraph my intentions, and just because you feel a need to be bossy and all up in and might blurt it out before I get to it, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing.

Plus there's the fact that my supervisor does not have final say in whether or not I get hired.

This is probably not that big a deal, but it's gotten to the point where every single thing she does or says is gonna annoy me. She's gonna be out for almost 3 weeks for her wedding and honeymoon, so we'll be getting some peace soon. As a temp, I don't get to fill out an evaluation form for her, but I've already added my input to a couple other people's evals. I think she's gonna cry again when she sees all her feedback. I wish they'd put the poor girl out of her misery and let her go back to R&D or something.

*scrubs face*

My sleep schedule was sort of off on my two days off. I had gotten up about 10-ish yesterday morning before going in to work at 6:00 pm. So I expected to be a little tired through the night but nothing that a couple chugged cups of coffee or a few minutes outside in the cool air couldn't solve.

I also decided that I'd take a little taste of a tablet that we're making, so I broke one in half and popped it. I found out later that this anti-depressant has drowsiness listed as one of its main side effects. Boy, I was out. My co-workers tried their darndest to keep me occupied, but my vision was swimming even as I sat there looking at them talk to me. So one suggested about 1:30 that I should wait until 2:00 when I'd have 8 hours in and just go home. I figured this week is our short work week and I won't be getting any overtime anyway, so 4 hours off the check won't make as big of a dent.

Fortunately my micromanaging uptight supervisor had already gone home sick, so the supervisor-in-training was like "sure, fine, if you're not feeling well enough to be comfortable working I certainly don't want you here trying to." Got home at 2:30 and went right to bed.

I had a few lucid dreams this morning about missing work that involved me hopping out of bed putting sweatpants and sweatshirt on and off a few times, and turning the fan in my bedroom on and off a few times. This happens to me when I'm overtired. I guess it's not sleepwalking since I know I'm doing it. And even though my brain is saying "you're not missing anything, just go back to bed" it keeps happening.

Finally settled back down and I just now got out of bed. And I still feel a little sluggish, but not tired anymore. It's supposed to be nice-ish and it looks overcast but WeatherPop says it's in the 50s so I'll try to enjoy my afternoon before I go back to work this evening.

UPDATE: After I posted this I went right back to bed and slept for another 3 hours. I think I might be awake now.

This Saturday is the Michigan-Ohio State game so it is not too early to start getting pumped up about it. I'm off this weekend, so I think I'll be treating myself and going out to watch the game in some place that has beers.

Most everything I've read predicts a Michigan win, if only because the game is in Ann Arbor. Of course I'd like us to go to the Rose Bowl, but I'm equally as interested in fucking up Ohio State's chance to play in the national title game.

ESPN says it's all about the quarterbacks. We shall see. I don't know how exactly John Navarre has managed to set any records, but he has. I think it's too late for him to learn how to scramble, though.

The task for today is to vote for the best College Football Rivalry. In one semifinal it's Michigan/Ohio State vs. Texas/Oklahoma. In the other semifinal is Army/Navy and Auburn/Alabama. (via the watergirl)

The 8 finalists for the World Trade Center Memorial were unveiled today.

I'm looking at the designs online and I having a hard time grasping what they're like. I wish I could actually see the exhibition. Clicking through the "Illustrations and Models" section for each one helps little, so make sure you do that.

Lower Waters seems a little more comprehensive and incorporates the remaining infrastructure better. And it looks nice, just from an aesthetic point of view.

I like Suspending Memory, too. I like the idea of a memorial garden with a marker for each victim. This one includes a "space for reflection" that I swear looks like a warp core.

Those two are my favorites. My thoughts on the rest are below.

"Because beer is good... and you are worthy."

Now this is a religion I can get behind. I have proof of its existence and of it's good and evil qualities, and I freely choose to follow.

(via Kate)

You know, the more I read this entry and...

Ooops! Dave Tepper already said exactly what I was thinking. God, shmod, blah blah blah.

And, in Dean's comments, I see Erica of Sperari. I've seen her name before (via the aforementioned Dave), which is also where I picked up on Apatheism.

....Dean, the idea that God is not worthy of you if he's an evil bastard is one I subscribe to fully. Another apatheist here--I thought I was the only one who called it that, but I guess there's even another *Erica*.

I'm not going to worship a God that will eternally punish someone for being a lesbian; even absent eternal damnation, I'm not going to worship a God that demands or forbids behaviors that have no bearing on actual moral right or wrong, as judged by harm done and actual, real-world consequences.

Lookie there. I just defined moral behavior in the absence of a God.

Anyway, I also have a deep conviction that the presence or absense of the existence of a God is largely irrelevant to everyday behavior, if you're acting in accordance with natural, this-world consequence; if God exists and wants you to act in accordance with those consequences, then you shouldn't have to modify your behavior; if God exists and wants you to act out of accordance with them, then s/he is quite simply irrational, either for making such demands or neglecting to shape reality in such a way that supports his/her idea of moral behavior. That includes, for me, the desire to be worshipped.

So there you have it. I don't think God matters.

I think I'm in love.

And while we're talking about religion, have a peek at the 'Scales of Doubt' Quiz, developed by Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of Doubt: A History. There are 13 Yes, No, or Not Sure questions. According to the quiz I'm somewhere between a hardcore atheist/rational materialist and an atheist with a "pious relationship to the universe." That is, of course, if I cared.

(via Stupid Evil Bastard)

There's a big fat policeman at the door door door
He'll pull you by the collar
Make you pay a dollar
I don't wanna go to Mexico no more more more

As a kid I never thought about what that actually meant. But damn.

Anyway, the Mexican ambassador to the U.N. is resigning after a dust-up over some comments he made about the U.S. treating Mexico like crap.

....On Nov. 11, the day before sensitive U.S.-Mexico diplomatic talks began in Washington, Aguilar Zinser told a university audience in Mexico City that the United States is interested only in a "close relationship of convenience and subordination."

He added that the United States sees Mexico as a "back yard," not as a "partner."

Um, is he wrong?

David is calling it quits.

Goddammiiiiit! /Cartman

Without delving into the whole dynamic of online friendships, as formed through blogging, I'll just say that David is my dawg. So I'm disappointed that I'll miss out on my daily piece of him that is Sketches of Strain. And I sort of feel like I owe my buddy some sort of grand tribute. But I'm not worried about losing track of him, so I don't think that's really necessary.

I'll give the shout-out by reprinting his last post, which will likely be disappearing.

The following comment got made on this post on White Boy Rick 21 times before I got in to ban the IP.

IP Address: 24.221.73.42
Name: GOD MOTHER FUCKER
Email Address: zo@dopehead.net
URL: http://REMEMBER ME

FUCK THAT FUCK HEAD. I HOPE SOMEONE BLOWS HIS FUCKIN HEAD OFF.I BET HE SUCKED ALOT OF NIGGAR COCK IN PRISON.I HEARD HE HAS TO WHERE A TAMPON. I PRAY JESUS WILL GIVE ME THE POWER TO FUCKIN KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER,IF I FIND OUT HE HAS KIDS I WILL RAPE AND BEAT EVERYONE OF THEM CRACKHEAD LOOSERS .FUCKIN NIGAR WANNA BE.I SEEN HIM RAPE A 14 YEAR OLD GIRL,THAT KILLED HERSELF 3 MONTH AFTER THAT,I TRIED TO HELP BUT HIS BOYS HAD A KNIVE TO MY BACK SOME KIND OF GUN TO MY HEAD I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND I WILL KILL YOU MY OLD FRIEND. SLEEP WITH ONE EYE AWAKE YOU KNOW WHO I AM AND YOU KNOW IM OUT NOW AND YOU KNOW I WILL FIND YOU.CHOW BABY

Classy. Shithead.

Now that I think about it, that's very threatening. Should I (or can I) be doing something about that?

The Massachusetts Supreme Court gave gay civil marriage the okay today.

And really, you should just read John Kusch on the matter. (I got that link from him, too.)

What I like best about John is that he's got a way with words.

It is the job of the Legislature and not the Judiciary to define and regulate marriage.

It is the job of the Judiciary to interpret the constitutionality of laws. Stop passing bigoted, unconstitutional laws and the Judiciary will seem far less "activist".

And he reminds me not to rest on my laurels. That I need to be indignant when I am wronged.

Don't let anyone tell you that straight people gave us these rights. Don't let anyone tell you that straight people deserve our gratitutde for liberating us. We did this for ourselves. We marched in the streets. We went to court. We endured taunting and jeering and degradation and secrecy and violence. We stood up and defied them.

I was just joking about drinking the Kool-Aid, not realizing that yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre. I remember watching a movie about this in high school. It was creepy, but sort of hilarious, too. In retrospect, one of my teacher's vaguely resembled Jim Jones [Em: Mr. Kelly.].

And not to take away from her tragedy, but "Jynona"? Where do people come up with these names? And is it just me or does she look like a drag queen?

I'm at the coffee shop. I think I'll be henceforth referring to it as The Coffee Shop because rarely do I go anywhere else. And I just like it better. Free wireless internet access will do that for you. But the staff people are awesome, too.

For instance, the girl working today, besides being SuperCute and SuperFriendly, made me a free cafe cubano to try after I asked her what she thought about it. And, well, she's just so darned cute.

When the New York Times archives its online content, it charges a fee for access. So any links you might have to Times articles go bad after a few weeks. But now the Times has RSS feeds and with them comes permalinks. You can also get weblog-safe Times links with the New York Times Link Generator.

This is good enough to cancel my daily e-mail.

(via Kevin Drum of Calpundit)

innocent kiss - you're cute and sweet and like it
that way


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Quoting bloggers. Just because.

Now, feel your inner chakras, and do some mumbledygoo while I look through your wallets... --Jesse from Pandagon

they've established a beachhead on my tits --Kelley from Suburban Blight

BECAUSE THAT FOOL IS U-G-L-Y and he sure in the hell ain't got no alibi, HE'S UGLY!!! --Glenn from Hi. I'm Black!

Amber Frey is one of the HOMLIEST fucking skanks I have ever seen. --Jane from Social Reject

I had to settle for York Bites, which is like taking Nyquil when you really want crack cocaine. --Srah from Srah Blah Blah

Throbbing, pulsating and sticky. And by that, I mean masturbation. --Dawn from Caterwauling

Keep fucking around and I will get colored and ignorant on your ass. --(my sister) Emily from I Am So Great [That link may not work right, so hit the page and scroll down to "Same shit, different day, Part 1." and read up from there.]

This week's best of Kelley's corner of the blogosphere. Now in alphabetical order.