The obvious reason behind this being that the average American subconsciousy has respect for blind patriotism. This is the same reason all those flags popped up everywhere after 9/11, and the same reason there were pro-war demonstrators during the war. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with appreciating your country and standing up for your personal freedom, but if you take it to a level where every other John and Jane Doe has a flag in their window and any negative voices are being suppressed, that's exactly the kind of environment that has historically produced some of history's most notorious figures. Power is responsibility over the well being of others, and because it is so, it should always be questioned... always.
Freedom of speech is not just speech that you or I like.
And now for the lighter side of life... Nerdygirl: Bacteria on Toilet? Who would've thought...
At the main intersection up the hill from my house, there is one of those wooden crosses placed in the center divide of the road where someone died in an accident. This one is for a guy named Walter (his name is professionally carved into the cross) who died last year. From what I remember hearing, he apparently came down the hill on his motorcycle and then slammed into a sign going about 80 mph. I turn to come down my street right where the cross is, so occasionally I'll find myself saying "Hey Walter" as I drive by. Anyway, sometime in the last day or two some asshole decided to drive onto the median and into the cross, bending it way back and twisting it to one side. This evening I got pissed off enough to park at the intersection and bend it back. Unfortunately, whatever was reinforcing the cross base was bent beyond my physical strength to move, but I was at least able to straighten it back around. People should have more respect for the dead, that's just not f*cking cool. The guy died right there on that spot, for Christ' sake.
Nerdygirl: Bacteria on Toilet?
Recent events have unfolded to bring about a new and interesting battle of obscure search terms. Get ready folks, because here comes Nerdygirl: Bacteria on Toilet. That's right, Nerdygirl: Bacteria on Toilet. Why? Because, Nerdygirl: Bacteria on toilet. And, even though there still is no Axis Ost link on Nerdygirl's site, I will grant her this nod because it's just that important... or weird? I forget.
Now, this is just gross. Therefore, here's something more positive. Courting lizards, anyone? Check out the claws on the chick (foreground). The guy (background) kept making quick push-up-like motions, no joke. Apparently, doing push-ups will win you the hearts of female lizards everywhere?
For the last couple weeks, I've been trying to get my sister's hand-me-down PC connected to the internet through her new ISP, Earthlink. The process, however, seems to have reverted to some sort of annoying running gag/catch 22. Here's why: When I tried to install Earthlink's connection software, it told me it needed Internet Exploder v5.0 to run. Her machine had v4.something, so I downloaded what I thought was the installer for v6.0 from Microsoft's website. Unfortunately, the file I downloaded is only a shell program that needs a connection to the internet to download and install the rest of the files. So, I tried installing AOHell on her machine so I could sign on and install IE, but AOHell couldn't find her modem, even when I tried setting it up manually. My next step is to get her ancient modem out of her machine and try to find updated drivers for it, so the saga continues. All this has additionally been complicated by the fact that there are only about 2 hours a week where one of us isn't at work, doing errands, or sleeping.
Everybody likes generic public domain images libraries.
This isn't just any laptop though, (brace yourself for the awesome power!) but a Pentium 100 mhz laptop, with 16.. count them, 16 whole megs of ram.
I got it for free from my mom's office, as they were letting people bid on their surplus of horribly antiquated machines. Nobody bid on any of the boat anchor laptops, so I got one after the fact. It'll be nice to have on trips, as well as taking to parks to do some writing. More info when I get it next week.
Today was rather discombobulated. This morning, as I was triumphantly making a sausage and egg breakfast bagel, I discovered a 2-inch-wide spider scampering around in the right-hand kitchen sink. I put it outside later on, but shortly after I discovered that spider, another spider popped out from under one of the stove burners. The day didn't improve, as I got about 4 hours of sleep the night before, so I've been spending most of the day trying to gain enough energy to complete minor tasks. I tried taking a couple naps, but they didn't help... and somehow I ended up having half a watermelon and a white chocolate Toblerone for dinner.
Here's a photo I took of the lunar eclipse last night. Since the moon was close to the horizon at the time, it was a pretty memorable one.
If you know a little German, this is pretty humorous.
Who can forget Flay Otters? Why must the otters flay so well...
Psychic or psycho? I have a calendar from the National WW2 Memorial, and on the may page there's a photo of a figher with the slogan "Nipponese Nemesis" painted on the side. Now, I understood that this smacked of the derogatory slang of the time, "Nip," but I was curious to see where the "Nippon" came from, as I'd understood Japan's actual name to be "Nihon." I looked it up, and interestingly enough, both Nihon and Nippon are the actual Japanese names for the country. Later on when I was taking my dog for a walk, I was thinking about how I was sick of eating frozen pizzas and soup, when I was struck with the idea of having some chicken instead. Later that evening I called my folks to see if they'd had dinner already, because I was about to throw in a cheese pizza. Instead, they invited me to join them at a Japanese restaurant, and both my mom and myself ordered teriyaki chicken. Life is weird.
On another note, I also discovered that Nihon's anglicised name probably came from Marco Polo, who got the name from the Chinese. The westernized word for the Chinese version of "Japan" was written roughly as, "Chipangu," which over time evolved into the name we say today.
| "There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!" |
This morning I came across the original source of a sound clip used in the Fear Factory track, "Timelessness." It's part of a famous speech by Mario Savio, the radical civil rights activist, from a sit-in at UC Berkeley on December 2, 1964. I'd have to say that it's possibly the most inspiring quote I've ever heard... give it a listen if you wish.
Here is my original source for all this. It's one of those wonderful crack-like sites where one could lose a significant portion of the day just surfing through part of it.
Progress on my photo negatives box isn't going quite as fast as I'd hoped. Depending on the tide of my life, however, I may be able to work on it this summer. The dog has another ear infection... joy.
Today was a nice day... lazed around, went to class, went for a bike ride, got threatened by security guards...
I was riding around downtown looking for a shortcut across 2 parking lots, when suddenly two security guards started screaming at me from some steps of an adjacent federal building. They first asked if they could help me, and I said that no, I was just looking for a way through. Then one of them resumed screaming, saying that I was trespassing and that I should read the signs next time. I left the lot the same way I came, happening to notice on my way out that there wasn't a single sign of any sort posted anywhere near the entrance. Now, I'm generally a supporter of law enforcement and the duties of the federal government, but those guys were just assholes. Read the signs, f*ck you... I'm a citizen god damn it, and I'll send you to hell.
This guy sent me an e-mail tonight. He kept it simple, asking only one question, "WHY DO YOU SUCK?" That just kicks ass.