THE MAIN ENGINE ROOM

I Miss Harmony House Records

2012-01-05T18:38:00.000-06:00

Actually, I miss record stores in general. Time was, you could go to a good record store, and get just about anything musical that you wanted. Rock, country, classical, jazz, blues--you name it. Then, half of the enjoyment was going out and finding what you wanted; and, if you were lucky, you'd find something you didn't think to look for. 'Impulse buying', as it were.
Plus, the IMPORTS! Sure, you might get that album recorded at Budokan in Japan at K-Mart, but at a *Record Store* you'd get that album FROM JAPAN-complete with Japanese liner notes, and maybe a booklet! Top THAT, Blue Light Special! In fact, that's how I came across Slade and Mike Oldfield: because I was in a store, looking for something else.

Nowadays, though, you can get music at home, without ever stepping out of your door. Discovery of an artist or an album you might not have come across except on radio or in a store has given way to convenience. People download music--legally and otherwise--for no other reason that, "Because they can". Most don't even burn the music to CDs; just keep it on their hard dive, flash drive, iPod, etc. They don't care about the album art or the interesting info the liner notes might have-the Music is All. Who needs the Eye Candy? I want the Ear Candy.

People carry 15,000+ songs on a thing no bigger than a Starburst candy, and yet they're missing out on the info concerning it.

I kind of feel sorry for them....

First Day Of The New Year

2012-01-01T18:47:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year, everyone. Was it a good and safe one? Hope so; no one should start the year on a miserable note.

Made any Resolutions? Quit smoking, lose weight, get a better job, spend less time online and more in the 'Real World'?

Me? No, I didn't make any; I never do. I feel that if you want to start, quit, improve, alter, etc. something in your life, you might be better suited to do it when you come to the decision to actually do it, not have to wait until another year starts. Besides, you've seen how I keep track of things I'm trying to catch up on (here), so I try and not to put too much on my 'To Do' list if I can help it. Yes, I *can* multitask, but I can still procrastinate with the best of them.

As I've said before, I'm trying to back off on certain subjects for a while; too much too soon in that realm just gives me a headache, and no chance to actually catch up. Besides, I'm starting to feel like a one-note kind of guy on this, and that's not my intention. Hopefully, anyone who actually reads this will bear with me, and, if not reply, at least be entertained. That's all I ask.

Not trying to change the world, just make the journey here more bearable. :)

I Believe In Father Christmas---Greg Lake

2011-12-25T08:58:00.000-06:00

They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin's birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire.

They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
'till I believed in the Israelite
And I believed in Father Christmas
And I looked at the sky with excited eyes
'till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise.

I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave New Year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
Hallelujah noel be it heaven or hell
The Christmas you get you deserve.

On a lighter note, Happy Holidays, Everyone. :)

Jerry Robinson Passed Away Today...

2011-12-08T18:21:00.002-06:00

Jerry Robinson, the man who created not only Robin, the Boy Wonder, but also Batman's greatest villain The Joker, has passed away. He was 89, and a far better storyteller than most other people in comics today.
To see some examples of his work, go here. His Wiki page is here.

We'll miss you, Jerry.

Obama Doesn't Mention God In Thanksgiving Address...

2011-11-29T18:11:00.001-06:00

And, guess what? The world didn't end.

Get over it, already, you tools.

A Question, That Might Go Unanswered.

2011-11-27T17:13:00.000-06:00

Not too sure if anyone reads this blog of mine; but, that's okay, as it's mainly just for me to rant a little.

But, if anyone *DOES* read this, a question:
Why do you believe, what you believe?
Because of your family? Your own personal 'moral compass'? Peer pressure? What is it, that makes you think and believe the way you do?

Just curious.

You Know, I'm At A Loss.

2011-11-27T16:55:00.000-06:00

I haven't been as 'post-y' as I'd have liked to have been lately, and anyone who's skimmed here recently knows why (work, mainly).

Now, since I don't go online at my work, I can't post whatever crosses my mind when I want to post it. So, when I get a thought that I think might be "Really REALLY cool!" to post, by the time I get home, it's usually gone. So, I'm left with NOTHING to put here.

As of right now,I'm sitting here, enjoying my second Sapporo, and wondering about things in general. Political? Certainly. Unfortunately, too much in the political arena going on, for me to comment on (curse you, No-Online-Access-At-Work!), including Our Friend Birther Queen Orly Taintz (obviously, feeling neglected by the lack of press coverage). My head just frikken HURTS from all of things going on in that world right now. Let me just cut to the chase, in that regard:
Yes, I'm voting for Obama. No, I don't have to justify it. Yes, I'm better off now, than I was three years ago. No, I don't think the Republicans have any real contenders in the presidential race. Do I think Obama will win? Yes. Am I impressed with *ANY* Repubs right now? No.
In fact, political ranting may be set aside for a while, as I have a difficult time catching up when things get good.
There. Hope that settles that.

Anyhow....

Went out on (*GASP*) BLACK FRIDAY!!!! Not to buy anything (I used to work in retail years ago), but mainly just to people-watch. I'm probably one of the few people who can do that sort of thing at a mall all day, without buying *anything*. Turned out to be pretty boring. No fights, no obnoxious shoppers...everyone well-behaved. Better luck next year.

One good thing about this job I have (you remember my job, right?)...we *might* be shut down between Christmas & New Year's. Sort of a last-minute vacation at the end of the year. I'll take it. Maybe I'll do some drawing then, if Fates permit me.
And, yes, I will be torturing you here with the results. I'm just too heartless not to. :D

Star Wars...An Opinion

2011-10-14T16:26:00.000-05:00

As Paula Dean might say, "Hey, y'all". :)

You may have heard of a recent release on BluRay of some movies by some guy named George Lucas, that had (have) some people in something of an uproar.

I am referring to, of course, the Star Wars films.

Now, I've been a science fiction fan for a LONG time; since I can literally remember, in fact. TREK was in the forefront of my interest, although stuff like THUNDERBIRDS, FIREBALL XL-5, and yes, even LOST IN SPACE played a hand in my interest. STAR WARS was, and is, a movie I love to watch, original release (my favourite), or even the (first, anyway) remaster. But, I have to tell you, this brouhaha over the re-re-re-re-re-re-re-mastering of the films, doesn't really bother me. In fact, I could care less.

There are quite a few people who are claiming that Lucas is, and I quote, "Raping (our) childhood!" with these re-dos. While I do agree that enough is enough, I still don't see the problem.
I was 16 when the first movie hit; and while I thought it was a fantastic movie, I didn't really want to 'live there', if you get my meaning. The world(s) of SW were interesting, somewhat dangerous, and, and at the time, totally unknown to a lot of moviegoers and, yes, many sci-fi fans. But, they didn't grab me, the way they seemed to grab a lot of people. The ships were cool looking, the droids actual characters you could care about, and the LIGHTSABRES! I don't care who you are, you *DO* want one, I know you do! :D The Empire was an evil entity, the Rebellion, heroic, Vader as nasty as a villain you could hope for, Luke & Han dashing and heroic, Leia kind of hot (don't deny it...), etc. etc. etc. All in all, an entertaining bit of action/adventure.
But, not a place I wanted to go to or live in.

I don't know; it just doesn't 'speak' to me the way TREK does. TREK was more about optimism and exploration into uncharted waters; making friends and/or allies with beings who might look like us (and some who didn't). The technologies, the equipment, the designs, the characters, they just clicked with me more than SW did. Nothing against it, but while I enjoy the movies (and, yes, have some of the merchandise), TREK just sits better with me. No offense. :)

I will concede, though, that SW has one advantage over TREK that has yet to be resolved: at least George Lucas lets people play in his sandbox a bit more freely than CBS does with TREK.

9-11

2011-09-11T09:34:00.000-05:00

At a loss for words, believe it or not...

Cutting Back On The Political Stuff For A While...

2011-09-08T20:03:00.000-05:00

Mainly because, with my job and Real Life getting more busy, I can't keep up (as you could probably tell by the serious lag in posting). Whenever something juicy comes up, I can't get to a computer to rant about it proper, so I've decided to let it rest for a while.
Now, that's not to say that if something *does* come up, and I can get to a keyboard in time, I won't annoy you with it; quite the contrary. :D
But, for now, I'm just gonna lay off.

For now...

That said:

*ahem*
HAPPY 45th BIRTHDAY, STAR TREK! :D

Anyone Raptured? No...?

2011-06-06T18:18:00.002-05:00

Well, I guess we dodged a great big ol' bullet, huh? :)

What's that? He got the *date* wrong? It's now October 21?

Damn...Guess I'd better clear the calendar...

Still Here?

2011-05-22T10:46:00.001-05:00

Well, either the prediction was *wrong*, or we're all just a bunch of unworthy sinners.... :D

Are You Ready For This Saturday?

2011-05-20T19:11:00.000-05:00

Why? 'Cause, it's RAPTURE DAY! Yep, according to some, it's *THE DAY* that the Truly Blessed will ascend into Heaven, and leave the Sinners (and, non Christians, of course) on Earth to deal with all sorts of Death and Destruction and other types of non-Godly stuff here & there. Even though it's supposed to have happened before. Many MANY times before.
Besides, doesn't Matthew 24:36 state “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."? If that's the case, how does a lowly Earth-bound human know it? Just wondering.....

Hey, anyone want to lay some money down on it?

Osama Bin Ladin Reportedly Killed On Sunday Night!

2011-05-02T02:50:00.000-05:00

More later, when I get done doing the Snoopy Happy Dance. :)

Another example of Dems doing a job the Repubs couldn't do...

Happy Second Term, Mr. Obama!

Donald Trump In: I'm An Attention Whore

2011-04-29T10:01:00.000-05:00

Yep, another one. Sorry, couldn't help myself. :)

You've probably heard that Barack Obama has 'finally' released his real birth certificate. Again. And, Donald Trump (I refuse to call that ass-clown 'The Donald') is crowing about it, and claiming that he was the one responsible for it being released. Now, Trump wants Obama's college transcripts released, to 'prove he went to the school(s) he's said he's gone to' (my paraphrasing).

Blow me, Trump.

Trump said he'd release his certificate, when Obama released his. We're still waiting.
Trump also has the nerve to complain about the country not having its fiscal house in order (and that HE can do it, after he's in the White House), yet he's gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy several times over his business lifetime. He also tries to put on the air of a self-made millionaire, even though his family had wealth, and he just happened to be born into it. I've never liked this clown before, and I like him less now.

Prediction? He won't be President. Why? Well, because
(A) It doesn't pay all that well, compared to his present salary (same reason Sarah Palin won't be elected; it's a paycut)
(B) He couldn't be as much as an attention whore as he currently is; he'd actually have to WORK, instead of being on television
(C) He'd have to be able to work with others to get things done; he wouldn't be able to call all of the shots solo. He'd have to be a team player, and that's something he'd NEVER do, and
(D) People don't take him seriously enough to even *think* of electing him. Loud and ego-filled isn't the way to get people to think you're the best choice for that job.
In the end, all that will happen is, he'll have succeeded in drumming up PR for himself, which is what he really wants. I've heard that NBC is on the fence about a new season of his attention whore show The Apprentice; if they don't go with it, he'll keep this parade of ass-clownitude going for a bit longer. If they agree to it, he'll back off, because he'll have something else to occupy his time. You'd think with all of the money he keeps saying he has, he'd find a *real* hooby to keep him busy...

Happy Anniversary, Batman!

2011-04-25T18:36:00.001-05:00

April 25, 2011, marks the 72th anniversary of Batman's first appearance to the world, in DETECTIVE COMICS number 27 (April 25, 1939).

Happy Anniversary, Dark Knight! :)

A Trekkie Looks At 50

2011-04-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

Hey. It's me. :)

Ya know, I've kind of decided to downplay the political stuff for a while; I don't use a computer at work, and when a thought hits me, I usually lose the fire by the time I get home to write it down. I'm no longer working a ton of overtime at the minute, but I still have a lag between Thinking It Up and Writing It Down, so it's on hold right now. But, suffice to say, if I get the urge, it'll show up. :)

Anyway.....

This year, marks my fiftieth year here on Earth. It's also the 45th anniversary of STAR TREK, the show that pretty much made me what I am today. :D I've watched other sci fi-related shows before that: Lost In Space, Thunderbirds, Fireball XL-5, to name a few. But, for some reason, TREK is the one that stuck in my head the most. The ship LOOKED like a spaceship should have looked; Spock looked alien enough to be 'different', but still could be identified as someone who was human enough to have human-type problems; the phasers were just frickin' COOL, in looks and action. Plus, Uhura was a hottie! Not that a five-year-old would know what to do with a woman, let alone one in a sexy short skirt.... :D

TREK also dealt with (at the time, anyway) current social & political issues, which I didn't really pick up on until the series went into repeats in my early teens. The basic underlying message I got was: just because someone (or thing) looks different, doesn't mean they're 'bad'. Actions were to be judged a little more than appearance. And, I pretty much think the same way now: you can be the best-looking person in the world, but if your attitude is poor, you're not someone I want to hang around with. Yes, TREK pretty much coloured my entire world-view, and I'm not ashamed of it.

I know, I know...'Judge not, lest Ye be judged'. As long as I'm judged the same way, I can deal with it.

Oh, and Happy Easter. :)

Working Overtime. As In, A LOT

2011-01-31T18:58:00.000-06:00

Over two months now.
I've been doing the Overtime thing, for over two months now. No big deal, you say?

Well, what if I were to tell you, that I work 84 hours a week?
Yep, twelve hours a day, seven days a week! And, no, I'm NOT exaggerating.

Starting to hallucinate--thinking I actually had something called a 'Life' at one point...

By the way, first one to say, "Well, the money must be good, right?" gets a Jaffa staff weapon shoved up them.
*Then* opened.

Picture it like this:
You work 84 hours a week--yes, EIGHTY FOUR hours a week; 44 of them are overtime. Money that's *not* earmarked for ANYTHING. Not food, rent, car payment, NOTHING. It's cash you can do whatEVER you want with.
Now, picture that amount, going into your savings, every week, for about two & a half months.
Sounds good?

*Then*, picture this: you can't spend ANY of it.
Oh, you *want* to, that's a fact. But, you CAN'T. You don't have the time!
Not only that, but you're too tired to even look about on the Web to find stuff to buy. Sure, *one day* you'll have the chance; but, you don't know when it'll happen. And, you know what? It SUCKS. And, no, not in a *good* way.
Yes, it's somewhat debilitating. I need to draw some more; to build my damn models again....
Or, to quote from 'Men In Black':

Jay: Zed, don't you guys ever get any sleep around here?
Zed: The twins keep us on Centaurian time; standard thirty-seven hour day. Give it a few months. You'll get used to it... or you'll have a psychotic episode.

I am BACK

2010-10-14T20:37:00.001-05:00

Rejoice, or shy away.

Details to follow......

WTF Is WRONG With These Tools?!?!

2010-07-13T18:15:00.000-05:00

Begun, the Dumb-Ass Political Wars have...

Really? Goddamn, Children! What is WRONG with these people? A black man gets elected President, and all of a sudden, it's the fekkin' 'End Times'?!?!

THIS, is why I don't deal with Religion; if I did, I'd have to start kicking people in the head!

Been A While....

2010-07-11T09:12:00.000-05:00

Yep. Back again. After over a MONTH! See? I haven't forgotten you, My Children. :D

Trouble is, being away for a while, SO many things take place, and I can't keep up with them all. Oh, I could complain about the backwards State of Arizona, with it's asinine Immigration Law (I'm waiting for the first MAJOR lawsuit; the one that will come from the 100% Naturalized American that "looks lak a furrenur' to me" that gets caught up in this...bet you any amount you want, that they happen to be Non-White), the Tea Baggers (thinking that they're actually "in a NEW American Revolution"!, when in fact they still look like they need to take a short bus to their 'rallies'), and various and sundry other things. But, no, not today. Today, I give you a bit of Justice: Shinnecock Indians FINALLY get recognition, and some land. The best part? Why, where said land is located. :)

Now, although I have an Aunt and some cousins who do have Indian lineage, I myself, do not. Still, I like and appreciate the culture; probably from them. This, though, made me laugh out loud when I saw it. All I can say is,

Hey, Tea Baggers! You "Want (Your) Country Back"? Well, so do they.

And they want you to go back where you came from.

Started A New Job.....

2010-06-01T18:32:00.001-05:00

Damn.

Got a new job (thank you, thank you), and my writing gets WAY behind.
My sincerest apologies, everyone.

Currently, I'm working ten hours a day, and every other Sunday. Yes, six days a week, then seven. Be careful what you wish for....

I will be here as soon as I can squeeze the time in. Promise. :)

RIP, Frank Frazetta and Lena Horne

2010-05-10T15:51:00.000-05:00

I finally get to post again, after going back to work, and this hits me.
Damn. :(

If you don't know Frank's work, go here.

Miss Horne, well, you MUST know her.

I'll be back in form soon. Promise!

Teabaggers are NOT 'Patriots'

2010-04-24T08:30:00.001-05:00

Teabaggers are NOT 'Patriots'.

Why? Because 'Patriots' stand up against ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that is perceived to be wrong with our Country, and speak up accordingly, regardless of who's in office. You don't get to cherry-pick the Bad Stuff, when 'Your Party' isn't in office, then ignore said Bad Stuff when Your Party *is* in office. To do so is an affront to REAL Patriots, who've fought for and died for their People and their Country, to make things better for EVERYONE.
Hence, Baggers are NOT 'Patriots', no matter what they tell you.

This is something that's been going 'round the Net, that fits my views pretty well. I don't know who originally wrote it; but, it's something I agree with wholeheartedly.

Dear Teabaggers,
Why didn't you protest when we invaded Iraq, a country that posed no threat to us?

Why didn't you protest when we destroyed the infrastructure of Iraq and killed countless thousands of ITS innocent citizens?

Why didn't you protest when no (zero, nada, zilch) weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq?

Why didn't you protest our invasion of Iraq because "Saddam killed his own people”, but you didn’t get mad that we did not invade Kim Jong Il's North Korea?

Why didn't you protest when we spent over $600 Billion (and counting) on the war in Iraq? Most experts say the cost will top over $2 Trillion.

Why didn’t you protest when you learned that our troops in Iraq were not well prepared or equipped?

Why did not you protest when over 12 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq? You did not protest the absence of any accountability.

There may be more to this, but this is all I've found so far.
Go ahead....argue it, Baggers. You can't.

April Is CONFEDERATE HISTORY MONTH

2010-04-22T18:56:00.000-05:00

Pardon the following language. If you're sensitive, look away for a bit.

This is Ri-Goddamn-Diculous! "Confederate History Month"?! To celebrate---what? Slavery? Is that what this is about? Are the people in the Southern states really that fucking STUPID, that REAL history books would suddenly have all references to slavery as being the primary reason the South went to war with the North in the first place mysteriously vanish?! Good GOD, what is the fucking MATTER with people?! If you think you can stomach it, here's what Wikipedia mentions about it.

Confederate History Month. What a fucking JOKE.

Yet ANOTHER Job! :D

2010-04-12T17:56:00.000-05:00

Hey there Hi there Ho there, everyone! :)
Yes, I now have yet ANOTHER job! The irony is, it's across the street from my three-week one. Plus, it's cleaner, and no heavy lifting! :) Hopefully, this one will hold onto me. Signs are good so far, and fingers are crossed.

As such, no rants. Yet. :D Yes, I'm in a good mood right now. But, don't worry, it hasn't dulled my opinionated state of being; just put it on 'Hold' a little longer. :D

Thanks for all of the good thoughts and kind words over this. :)

I'll be screaming online pretty soon, trust me.

Been Gone A While.....

2010-04-01T15:09:00.000-05:00

Very sorry about that. :)

After being laid off for 18 months...yes, MONTHS...I FINALLY landed a job at an industrial recycling facility! *Yay*

But, after three weeks....yes, WEEKS...they ran out of work, and so, guess who else ran out of work.... :(

A lot's been going on since last we've talked; but, I'm afraid I've got to play catch-up before I can start ranting again.

Soon, my Children, soon............

:)

Reagan's Face On The $50 Bill? Someone Says, "Yes!"

2010-03-03T17:42:00.000-06:00

Well well well....
You know, I was going to talk about that assclown Jim Bunning, Repug Senator from Kentucky, who stalled unemployment benefits for AMERICAN WORKERS who needed it (either because he was pissed about not being helped in a re-election bid (Moot, since he's now retiring; probably because of that), he missed a sports event and was pissed over THAT, or he's just a dick. I'm leaning toward the last one).

But, no, I'm not going there. Yet.

Today, I bring you news of yet another Repug stooge, who has a bunch of free time, since all other problems with the country are now fixed.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, Repug from North Carolina, wants to put Ronald Reagan's face on the $50 dollar bill.
Yep, Take Grant (a General during the Civil War, and ACTUAL war hero) OFF, and put Ronnie (Who mainly played military types in movies, and was responsible for the LARGEST DEFICIT WE HAD UP UNTIL THAT POINT) ON.

Mc.Henry written statement, “Every generation needs its own heroes; one decade into the 21st century, it’s time to honor the last great president of the 20th and give President Reagan a place beside Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy.”

Funny, I thought Clinton (Jobs, revenue surplus, EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD BASICALLY LIKED US) was the "Last great President of the 20th Century".

The Repugs tried this before, by the way....when they controlled Congress in 2005, in fact. But, it died in the House Financial Services Committee.

While I might not see an actual $50 in my wallet anytime soon, I still say, "Knock it the Hell off, and work on REAL issues!"

Baptist Pastors Prayed for Obama Death on Presidents Day

2010-02-17T06:01:00.000-06:00

Oh, geeze.........

Let me start this, by saying that I don't follow the Christian religion. I'm not Jewish, I'm not Muslim---I just don't have a centered belief, although I consider myself spiritual. I don't judge people by their religion any more than I judge them by their skin---similar to what the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. asked us to do. I judge people by their words and deeds, even though I probably shouldn't judge at all.

Well, it seems that sometimes, I can't help but judge people's stupidity.

In Arizona, 'preachers' (and I use that term, VERY loosely) Steven L. Anderson and Wiley Drake had a bit of a 'Prayer Vigil', praying that Obama dies of brain cancer. The reason? They see him as something of an evil sort, who pretty much needs to be taken out of office. Nice, eh?
I especially like the quote Wiley uses if anyone is bothered by this: "I’m praying the word of God. I didn’t write it. Don’t get mad at me.”

In other words, because Obama didn't say God wanted him to be in office, God wants him to die? Is that what they're saying?

Look, I know why these jackholes and the others are going off like this; it really doesn't take a literal rocket scientist to figure it out. They're SCARED. Scared of the fact that white guys got this country into this hole, and a black guy might just be able to fix the mess and get us back on track. It plays against the ideas they have of 'White Infallibility': that "WE can do no wrong; and if, by chance, something DOES go wrong, WE are the ONLY ones who can fix it!"
Why do you think the Repubs keep touting "Only WE can fix what's wrong with the country!" Of course they have first-hand knowledge about what's wrong...they're the ones who did it! It's like a mechanic telling you after you get your car back and still have troubles, "I know exactly what's wrong; bring it back and I can fix it."
"I didn't have this trouble when I brought it to you. You did something to it!"
"Exactly! That's how I know what's wrong!"

Would you trust this guy to work on your car? Or would you go someplace else?

That's what we have to look forward to, in the next elections: People who want to fix the problem, because they WANT to help, versus people who will fix what's wrong, simply because they don't want to admit they're the ones who broke it in the first place.

By the way....the Repubs haven't come out against these afore-mentioned tools about Obama's 'curse'. Guess they'll fix that, too....

Captain America Hates America....?

2010-02-13T08:12:00.000-06:00

Geeze.....
Ignoring the Palin Hand Notebook for now, I just thought I'd share this.

Being a comic book fan, I got a chuckle out of a certain Captain America issue.
You know, the one where the Teabaggers are called a group of Angry White Men by the Falcon. Seems FakeNews and the Baggers didn't like that, and called Marvel and writer Ed Brubaker on it. Did Marvel hold firm, tell them it's just a story, and that they have the right to say such things BECAUSE this is America?

No. Marvel wimped out, and APOLOGIZED to them!

I love comics, but haven't really read a Marvel in ages; when I heard of this, I wanted to start reading them again. But, when I then heard about them backtracking, I thought, "Screw Marvel. DC has better characters anyway."

I don't know why Baggers and Fake are getting so worked up about this. You can tell it's not really them.....the signs are spelled correctly...

They'll ALWAYS Be 'Teabaggers', No Matter What They Call Themselves

2010-02-09T05:39:00.000-06:00

Had a rant I was going to post, but it turned somewhat rambling, so I've decided to spare everyone. :)

So, instead, here's a post from GAWKER about Teabaggers that I find amusing and insightful.

Now, as to the term 'Teabagger'; first off, they like to call themselves 'Tea Party Patriots' now, but THEY were the first to call themselves 'Baggers, so 'Baggers, they are! Oh, in case you don't know why the term is so amusing, it's the first definition here.

Maybe they should have thought about that better...

Teabagger Con '10: WTF?!?!

2010-02-05T17:36:00.000-06:00

I really, REALLY want to use the wording I initialed in the subject, but I promised myself I'd go easy on it.

Hey, anybody go to the Teabagger Convention? No? Is it still going? I have no idea. I do kn ow, though, that about 600 of the estimated, um, millions, I'm guessing, showed up.

According to what I've read, the host delivered a rambling opening (without notes), before kicking it into overdive. Or whatever you'd call the sputtering it did.

Republican congressman Tom Tancredo, speaking with some passion, it seems, suggested that a law that kept African Americans from voting be reinstated!
He said that the only reason Obama was elected was because, quote, "we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country."
In other words, if we keep black people from voting, the White House would have stayed WHITE!

Now, let me say this....
I've been voting in elections since I turned 18; the 1980 Presidental was my first. I remember Watergate, even if I didn't understand all of the implications. I'm not a gadfly, but I try to keep informed. I thought the tricks during the 2000 and 2004 races were bad; the 2008, close (sending people mail on official Massachusetts letterhead, telling registered Dems that 'because of the high turnout expected, Tuesday (the REAL election day) was reserved for Republican voters to vote, and Wednsday (the day AFTER the election) was reserved for Dems to vote); but THIS.....this is slap in the face of people who've fought for---and died for---the right to vote, and be treated like human beings. This just shows how much contempt Repubs seem to have for 'people unlike themselves (aka WHITE)'. If he keeps his seat in the next election....well, I was going to say, I'd be surprised, but to be honest.........

Oh, by the way.....seems the Baggers kind of forgot to bring American flags for this debacle, and so, of course, it was the hotel's fault.

What a bunch of ass-hats..........

Republicans: "We Kicked Obama's Ass, So Donate To Us!"

2010-02-03T17:58:00.002-06:00

Oh, my.....

Seems the Repubs are suffering from selective amnesia again!
According to The Boner (Yes, this is how I'm referring to House Minority Leader John Boehner from now on; just a heads-up), 'Hey, we kicked his ass during the Q&A after the SOTU speech, so give us money to put us back in the majority!'

Seems he's 'kind of/sort of' forgetting, that Obama was the one kicking ass, as well as taking names. :) I'll wager that the next time he goes to talk to the Repubs like this again, for some reason there won't be any cameras laying about....

Not only, but also....

Did you hear the news? The Dems have a 59-41 Majority in the Senate! Odd, isn't it? I tell ya, ever since that Brown character won in Massachusetts, I thought that the GOP had the lead! I mean, that's what they kept saying and insisting, so it MUST be true, huh?
What's that? They *DON'T* have the Majority? You sure?
My, that's odd....maybe the Dems should be told that....

A Bit Of Silliness.....

2010-02-01T18:03:00.000-06:00

I've noticed I'm getting a little heavy with the political stuff; so, every now and then, I'll try and lighten things up a bit. :)

Here, then, is His Holiness, the Dalek Lama.

Blessed Be.... :D

The Scott Brown Doll: Ken's got Some Competition Now, By Golly!

2010-02-01T17:50:00.000-06:00

Due to his upset election (and, depending on who you hear it from, the next REAL THREAT to Obama in 2012!), a New England toy company is releasing a Scott Brown Doll!

Kind of safe-for-work, but link is a FauxNews link.

I apologize for that.....

Mitch 'The Bitch' McConnell And John BONER Says GOP Really Doesn't Want To Do The Bipartisanship Thing

2010-01-31T18:23:00.001-06:00

Does this really surprise anyone? Sure as Hell doesn't surprise me.
While on CNN's 'State of the Union' show, Mitch McConnell said that the GOP is unwilling to accept much of what Barack Obama and the Dems propose. In just about everything. And, over on Meet The Press, John Boner--sorry, Boehner (those two are so easy to mix up!) said, "There aren't that many places where we can come together."

And, why is that? Because the Dems want to try to get the U.S. *out* of the fekking hole the Repubs put us in, and the Repubs hate to be reminded that it happened on their watch?

Is it because they really *do* have better ideas, and aren't getting their fair share of consideration?

Is it because they're pissed that the black guy currently in the White House, isn't bowing and scraping and serving the Whites drinks?

My guess, is that two out the three above are part of the reason...

UPDATE: Now, Orrin Hatch has to get his fekking two-cents in, as well.

Senator Landrieu And The Wacky Phone Guys

2010-01-28T19:20:00.000-06:00

Sop me if you've heard this one...

Four guys use false ID to gain access to Senator Landrieu's offices. Their purpose: To sabotage her phones, to 'check on the response time to fix them.' The reason? They claim that her office if deliberately weeding out callers who want her to work against health care reform! They somehow think that ONLY the anti-health care calls are not getting through. They wanted to see if her office staff 'laughed it off' when calls couldn't get through. I know; I'm having a time following the logic, too.

However, it kind of backfired on them: They're accused of trying to tap the phones and intercept calls placed to her office.They claim that they're 'investigative journalists', but wouldn't you know it, that's NOT how it works! Investigative journalists REPORT on the story, dig deep to find what's there, and what's not (think All The President's Men); they don't MAKE the story, only REPORT it.

Guess they didn't know, that entering (whether it's by breaking in or using false ID) is actually A FEDERAL OFFENSE, WHICH COULD NET THEM UP TO TEN YEARS JAIL TIME. Let's see them try and play this off as a joke.

Speaking of which....the punch line? At least one of them (James O'Keefe), was involved in the infamous 'Pimp and 'Ho Incident' that vexed ACORN so much.

Yeah....I can see why this tool could be considered trustworthy when it comes to 'Investigative journalism.'

For more, check out the story links at TMP. Your head will fall off your shoulders, from all the shaking it'll do at the stupidity.

George Lucas Needs To Knock It The Hell Off

2010-01-26T16:24:00.000-06:00

Due to the success of Avatar, guess what George Lucas is said to be talking about? Yep, re-making the STAR WARS films in the same type of 3-D as AVATAR. What the Hell, people?!

Look, I saw the original WARS in 1977; I also saw the second two (or, Episodes V and VI many times in the theater (in fact, I saw EMPIRE STRIKES BACK FIFTY FIVE TIMES at the movies. Yes, THAT many! What can I say, it was a boring year.); and I knew that Lucas wanted the first film to have more characters and action than he could do at the time, so the remastered Ep IV didn't upset me. The RE-re-mastered stuff, though, annoyed me to no end.

This, however, is unnecessary! I don't like 3-D to begin with; it gives me a headache after a while. But THIS...I'm sorry, but the only reason I can see this being done, is CASH. People will see them at the movies even when they complain about how much they think it's stupid. Except me. I've seen the originals, the re-mastered, the re-re-mastered, and the "First Three Movies" that start the whole Saga from the beginning. These, which won't surprise me if they go to the theaters, I'll be bypassing. He's got enough of my money; he doesn't need any more of it.

Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh...When, Oh When, Will God 'Call Them Home'?

2010-01-14T19:05:00.000-06:00

Unless you've been off the planet recently, you may have heard of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Thousands dead or hurt, many missing, massive damage...and, as often happens, America, even when facing some pretty major problems of her own, steps up to help. In fact, I've heard that George Clooney is gearing up for another helping Marathon to raise cash for the cause, much like the 9/11 he did (hopefully, Bill O'Reilly's head will have been surgically removed from his ass, and he won't be a tool about this one).

Well, guess what? Some people in the States seem to think otherwise, that help from us might not be a good thing. I'm speaking of Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh.
Robertson (I haven't called this THING a 'Reverend' for quite some time) says that Haiti is simply reaping what it had sown in the past, because it "Make a pact with the Devil" to overthrow the French during its Colonial period.
Limbaugh has a different tact: he says that Obama is trying to politicize and capitalize on the disaster, because why else would he wait three days before talking about the UnderPants Bomber in Detroit, yet speak about Haiti THE VERY NEXT DAY?!?! (emphasis mine).

God, I don't even know where to start....
So, I'll just have this quote from Keith Olbermann's January 13th show speak for me. It's far more eloquent than anything I could come up with.

**********
OLBERMANN: Back to Haiti in a moment, and reports now that quake victims in Haiti from the United States have been evacuated to, of all places, Guantanamo Bay. The first subject of the quick comment tonight is still the matter of Haiti, but relating to back here.

Even the worst of us in this political mosh pit of the early 21st century can stop, on occasion, in grief and in human sympathy, in mourning, or just in self-preservation. Not Rush Limbaugh and not Pat Robertson. We‘ll explore this at length later.

But Mr. Robertson, it is laughable now to try to call him reverend, explained today that this earthquake was part of a, quote, “deal with the devil,” that he claims the nation made in the 19th century to gain its freedom from France. “True story,” Robertson says.

Sir, because of your tone deafness, and your delight in human misery, and your dripping, self-satisfied, holier than thou, senile crap, I am now likelier to believe that you are the devil.

Limbaugh, meantime, did not know just when to shut up. Today he blamed communism for the poverty of Haiti, blamed President Obama for holding a news conference the day after this cataclysm, when he did not hold one after the failed, half assed attempt in Detroit, and said that Obama would, quote, “use Haiti to,” quote, “burnish their, shall we say, credibility with the black community in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country.”

Mr. Robertson, Mr. Limbaugh, your lives are not worth those of the lowest, meanest, poorest of those victims still lying under that rubble in Haiti tonight. You serve no good. You serve no God. You inspire only stupidity and hatred. And I would wish you to hell. But knowing how empty your souls must be for you to be able to say such things in a time of such pain, I suspect the vacant, purposeless lives you both live now are hell enough already.
**********

Thank you, Keith.

Teabaggers and Birthers and Morans, Oh My! Part One

2010-01-11T08:49:00.001-06:00

Hey, anyone here goin got the big protest on Jan. 20? You know, the one that the Teabaggers are planning? No? Haven't heard of it?
How could you not? It's the one they're planning to protest 'high taxes, too-large
government, traditional American values, etc.'
Oh, and to protest against the "Socialist, Communist, Muslim (or, as it's been
spelled sometimes, "Muslin") Foreign-born Non-American "president", Barack HUSSEIN Obama!"

Yep, they're choosing the date of Obama's swearing-in as President, as a national day of protest. As in, "Everyone boycott shopping, stay home from work, don't see movies; show them, that we're an economic force to be RECKONED WITH!!"

Yeah.....that'll work....

Some of us, can't stay home from work BECAUSE WE'RE ALREADY HOME FROM WORK, due to Bush The Lesser's Administration's bending over and screwing the economy and the Constitution like a drunk sailor on leave in a bordello. (My apologies to sailors and 'working girls', for the disgusting and unflattering comparison).

It's not going to work, no matter what Fake News says. They'll probably show the same clip of the 'last protest' (which wasn't the last protest AT ALL), and close-ups of actual protesters, to hide their numbers. As for the name Teabaggers....

Sorry, but I will NOT call these clowns 'Tea Party Patriots'. They were first known as Teabaggers, and Teabaggers they will be.

Let me ask you a question....If you're in a valid, fact-filled political discussion, which salient points from both sides being presented, but the person you're talking to, is dressed up in a red, white, and blue jumpsuit, with a star-spangled vest, wearing oversized novelty sunglasses (also red, white, and blue), their face painted with flags, holding a sign accusing the President of being a Communist/Socialist/Musim(n)/tax raiser/etc. (while being somewhat poorly spelled), and topped off with a broadbrimmed hat, with teabags hanging from the brim all over their faces-----how SERIOUS would you take them? I couldn't! I'd be stifling my laughs, and rather poorly at that. Sorry, but when you're dressed like a color-blind clown, and expect me to treat you seriously, YOU LOSE THE ARGUMENT. PERIOD.

As for Birthers....Geeze....

I was going to go on about them, but I'll save that for later. Don't want to have your heads explode...

Rudy Giuliani Needs To Shut The Hell Up

2010-01-08T18:57:00.000-06:00

Rudy '9/11' Giuliani needs to get his head out of his ass.

According to Mr(s). Giuliani, the United States had 'no domestic attacks under Bush', but we've 'had one under Obama'.

What the Hell has this clown been smoking?

He based his ENTIRE Presidential campaign on the whole-cloth spectre of the 9/11 boogieman! In fact, 9/11 happened not only on Bush's watch, but on HIS, as well!
Not only that, but Rudy's also claiming that not only did Richard Reid's 'shoe bombing' attempt happen BEFORE 9/11 (it happened on December 22, 2001!), but falsely claimed that Obama didn't even deign to respond to the Christmas Day 2009 bombing attempt for over TEN DAYS after it happened! Obama actually responded three days after it happened, but R.G. and others (including Karl 'Screw the law' Rove) claim otherwise. Rudy made these claims about the lag on the Larry King show; when R.G. made the false claims, Larry mentioned that Bush waited six days to respond to a 'similar incident', Rudy said that 'six days were less than ten', and mentioned the six days were BEFORE 9/11.

Why in the Hell do people like this, think that they can rewrite history, when a good deal of us were actually either there, or watching it in Real Time?
G.W.Bush (The Lesser) was put in office in the Year 2000; yet, for some reason, the Year 2001 happened when Bill Clinton was President. Must be nice to have such wonderful time traveling powers...

Hey, Rudes! SHUT THE HELL UP AND GIVE IT A REST!! Go back to your mistress and somewhat unconvincing cross-dressing, and leave the politics to others. You've had your shot, and you sucked at it.

You are no longer relevant, on any level.

LONDON CALLING: Thirty Years Ago Today

2010-01-06T18:04:00.002-06:00

Today, Jan. 06 2010, marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of The Clash's London Calling. So, thanks, to Joe and the lads. You done good! :)

(If, for some unfathomable reason, you DON'T know who The Clash are, EDUCATE YOURSELVES!)
YouTube Vid with the lyrics to LONDON CALLING
YouTube Vid of live performance
Wiki entry on the band
The Clash Official Site

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

2010-01-03T18:24:00.000-06:00

How was it? Good? I hope so. :)

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way....

Recently, I keep hearing about Repubs and Repundits who keep saying that Obama can't keep "blaming Bush for everything bad" that's fallen (or will fall) into Obama's lap. In fact, Kathleen Parker from the Detroit News even says so in her opening paragraph: that Bush is no longer 'the fall guy', and that Obama 'owns the game'.

Forgive me, while I vomit.

Am I the only one who seems to remember, that Bush's people (in the Administration, and the Pundits) continually blamed Bill Clinton for EVERYTHING bad that Bush and his cronies where involved in, or didn't prevent during his eight years in office? In fact, these tools did it JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY DURING BUSH'S EIGHT YEARS to drag Bill's name through the mud, from FEMA's poor response to Katrina (and the levee failure in the first place), to 9/11, to 'having to invade Iraq', to God knows what else. And, these people have the GALL, to say, "Stop blaming Bush for stuff!"

No. I will NOT 'stop blaming Bush for stuff'; in fact, I'll blame him for every single damn thing that goes wrong, every day of Obama's term, whether it's for four years, or eight. Sorry, Repubs, you can't have it both ways; I don't believe in a double-standard. If YOUR people can blame Bill Clinton for stuff that Bush's cronies did, WE can blame Bush for things that are happening now, that could have been prevented, or dealt with better.

You don't get off that easily.

Been Almost A Month...

2009-12-21T20:10:00.000-06:00

No real excuses; just haven't had a chance to get back.

But, here's a little X-Mas pun for you.

"A Princess Of Mars" Trailer. Not the Disney One...

2009-11-24T19:47:00.002-06:00

It had to happen.

Disney/Pixar is doing a film of Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess Of Mars (Called John Carter of Mars, and due out in 2012).

Well, seems that Asylum International, has decided that since the Mars stuff is public domain, they would do their own version of the first film. It stars Antonio Sabato Jr, and Tracey Lords. :D

See it in all its glory here!

Happy Birthday, Doctor Who! :D

2009-11-23T15:41:00.003-06:00

Today, November 23, marks the 46th birthday of Doctor Who.
I'm older than the Doctor! :D

Celebrate, and rejoice. :D

You Betcha!

2009-11-19T20:29:00.000-06:00

Sarah Palin started her tour for her ~~ghost written, fact deficient waste of paper~~ book, Going Rouge, in Michigan. She had a nice sized crowd, from what i hear. I still don't see how anyone could think that she's so 'inspiring', what with her track record of quitting and all.

Yes, I'm one of those guys, who does NOT find her to bell 'all that attractive'. And, no, it's not because of her Party affiliation, it's her. For some reason, she just flat-out annoys me.

Make of that, what you will.

System Was Down...

2009-11-17T06:43:00.000-06:00

When your hard drive makes a grinding noise, you know there might be a problem....

Couldn't buy a new one, but luckily, a friend actually had an extra one; after a reformat, I'm back! Miss me? :D

Pressed for time, so just enjoy this for now:

Computer's Down............

2009-11-08T13:59:00.002-06:00

Might have more lags here than before; at the moment, my system's not working, and I have to borrow one to go online.

What's wrong? Don't know, otherwise 'd say. :)

Survivor: Quo'Nos

2009-11-04T19:54:00.000-06:00

Not a real big fan of Survivor (In fact, I haven't seen ANY of them!), but *this* one, I'd watch!

Rob Halford Is Releasing A Christmas Album!

2009-11-03T18:31:00.000-06:00

YES!!!!!!!!
Sorry, but I think this is just SO DAMN COOL!!!! :D

Seems Rob has wanted to do one for a while, and he finally got around to doing a Christmas album! :)

The best part? He's putting traditional songs on it, so that should be VERY interesting! :)

And, don't forget to check Rob's official site, too.

Merry @#*&#%$ Christmas! :D

Ten Days Later....

2009-10-29T06:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'm late....sue me. Not like this thing is rewriting the blog-o-sphere with new and blisteringly exciting ideas. :D

Anyhoo......

I've decided to ease up on political stuff; mainly because others write about it more a lot better than I do, plus whenever something 'politically minded' crops up, too many other things come up around the same time, and I can't really keep up. When something I find interesting pops up, though, I will mention it, but otherwise, not so much.

Moving on.....

PepsiCo got sued by two guys who claimed that *they* were the ones who came up with the idea for bottling water for sale back in the early '80s. Seems a secretary in Pepsi's legal office didn't take the letter seriously (or, as PC said, "Was so busy it wasn't properly filed"). The end result? Pepsi didn't show up in court, and LOST THE CASE. To the tune of $1.26 BILLION!!! Of course, it goes without saying that they're appealing it; and, saying that they have a 'strong defense' for it, and that, besides, the plaintiffs didn't serve the papers properly anyway, so there!
Going to be interesting to see which way this falls, though.

Either way, someone lost a job over it....

Eleven Days...........

2009-10-19T18:23:00.002-05:00

Been away from the computer for a while; be prepared to be **DAZZLED** in the next few days!!!

.Or not. :D

People I Can Do Without

2009-10-08T18:12:00.001-05:00

I really miss George Carlin.
His observations were not only amusing, but very accurate. I was especially taken with his 'People I Can Do Without' stuff, because while most was played for laughs, the overall idea struck a chord with a lot of people, including me.
To wit:
People at the grocery store, who leave their cart in the middle of the aisle, while they wander off, blocking the aisle for the rest of us. And, when you try to move it, they come unglued, and act like you've just slapped their baby or something. Look, if you go from aisle "A" to aisle "D", TAKE THE DAMN CART! Or, if, for some unfathomable reason, you CAN'T take it, put it to the side, to allow others to get by it. Or, just shop online, and have the damn food delivered.

By the way....did you know that you could (theoretically, anyway) shop out of other people's grocery carts? As long as the food's not paid for, you could (theoretically, anyway) take stuff from other carts, and take it for yourself (theoretically, anyway). Not that I'd advise it, you understand (well, theoretically, anyway)......

Update Soon

2009-10-07T18:21:00.001-05:00

Been busy, but more rambling will be coming your way soon. :D

One Day In The Jungle

2009-10-04T16:39:00.001-05:00

Two explorers were lost in the deep jungle.

Hungry beyond imagining, they resorted to eating all sorts of things they could get their hands on: berries, roots, leaves, anything plant, but no animal, as they were too quick for them.

Suddenly, one of them spied an ape, laying helpless. It was obvious the poor fellow had fallen from a branch, and had died upon impact with the ground. Hurriedly, one of the men ran up to it, scooping it up.

"Jenkins! Look!" he exclaimed to his friend. "God has smiled on us, and given us this tasty treat!"

"Wait a minute, Collins," his friend admonished. "You can't eat it raw! We must cook it first!"

"Nonsense!" Collins said. "There's no wrong way to eat a Rhesus!"

If I could emoticon applause here, I would.

2009-10-01T18:21:00.000-05:00

Recently, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)made a statement, saying that Republican's health care plan consists of people 'not getting sick', and if they do, they should 'die quickly'.
Right away, Republicans were demanding his censure, and that he apologize for his remarks. He said, flat out, that he would apologize; to the families of people who've died.

I say, HUZZAH!!!!! He should NOT apologize! For a lot of years, Republicans have been saying similar things about the Dems, and when called upon to apologize, they feign indignation at the very *IDEA* of such a thing. So, I say, screw them. Let them beg for one.

Just Another Day..........

2009-09-29T15:45:00.000-05:00

Hello. :)

I was going to go on about the news I'd heard about the new movie in the works: A live action movie, about Barbie. Yes, the doll.
But, then I realized that it wouldn't really go anywhere...what could I do, rant about it, because it's based on a toy? A good many movies have been (and, ll be), so it seemed a little self-defeating to go on about it. So, I'm letting it drop. No sense, making no sense...

Haven't posted a bit, because I've been out and about; as such, whatever vitriol I may have had earlier, is pretty well done.

So, maybe next time, something somewhat coherent will make its way here.

Or not. :D

One More Orly Taitz

2009-09-21T18:41:00.000-05:00

I know, I know....but, I promise it'll be the last one, unless something *REALLY* interesting happens....

Seems that the soldier, Capt. Connie Rhodes, who refused to deploy because she said Obama wasn't *really* President (and she therefore didn't have to follow his orders), was being represented in her lawsuit about the whole thing, *NOW* is trying to distance herself from Taitz' Full Bore Crazy. The article is from The Huffington Post, and has some interesting info on this debacle.

Like I've said, no more, unless some *REAL* news comes from this...

Orly Taitz, At It Again...

2009-09-19T18:44:00.000-05:00

She's now filed a motion in U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Georgia challenging the judge's order tossing her most recent case.
In return, Judge Clay Land (You remember him, don't you?) is threatening her with a $10,000 fine. Can you say, 'Masochist'?

Sorry about all the links, but it just makes things easier to go through...

Orly Taitz and the Teabaggers: Shut the Hell up

2009-09-17T06:28:00.004-05:00

Today, a twofer.

Seems that the Birther Queen Orly Taitz's newest lawsuit about getting Barack Obama's 'real' birth certificate has been thrown out by U.S. district court judge Clay Land; seems Hizzoner's having a bit of a bother with her incessant filing of things that (A) have no merit, and (B) have no evidence. She, on the other hand, has compared herself to Nelson Mandela, of all people, and says that the judge is a TRAITOR!! Who'd think that a judge who was appointed by George W. Bush would say such a thing, as "Stop wasting the Court's time with this stuff!" Huh. Go figure...

Next, those Tottlin' Teabaggers...
Seems that crooksandliars.com has actually found ten points of interest against them, and their so-called 'Patriot Protesting':

1. President Obama Cut Your Taxes
2. The Stimulus is Working
3. First Ronald Reagan Tripled the National Debt...
4. ...Then George W. Bush Doubled It Again
5. Republican States Have the Worst Health Care
6. Medicare is a Government Program
7. Barack Obama is Not a Muslim
8. Barack Obama was Born in the United States
9. 70,000 Does Not Equal 2,000,000
10. The Economy Almost Always Does Better Under Democrats

Huh. Who'd have thunk that mindless protesting FOR Republican interests, would be so uninformed...

And, for those who might want to check my sources for the above:
Orly 'Crazy' Taitz

Ten Lessons For Teabaggers

R I P, Patrick Swayze

2009-09-14T20:10:00.004-05:00

Just heard that Patrick Swayze died; he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

Goodbye, Patrick

Teaparty Teabagging Town Hallies....

2009-09-13T08:45:00.002-05:00

While watching the goofballs dressed up in their pseudo-'Patriotic' costumes and carrying their quaint signs about the 'Naughty Bad Wicked Evil' President and Government, I thought it rather odd, that these so-called 'Patriots' would protest now, rather than for the past eight years, when Bush the Lesser and his cronies were killing the Constitution and raping its corpse. Why are these tools protesting the guy trying to FIX this shit, rather than trying to stop the other guy from CAUSING it? Oh, I know why.....

Because the current guy in the White House is BLACK, and not the guy serving lunch to white people.

That explains everything...........

Jefferson County Sheriff defends soldier's funeral procession

2009-09-10T15:46:00.002-05:00

What in the Hell's going on with people?

Seems a woman in Jefferson County Missouri wrote an e-mail to the Jefferson County sheriff's office, complaining about how her drive was interrupted and bothered by a funeral procession for a fallen soldier who died in Afghanistan. What's great about this? the sheriff wrote her back, basically slapping her down in print. :)

Now, I've never been in the military, but I have the utmost respect for anyone who volunteers to put on a uniform and willingly place themselves in harm's way. And, even if it wasn't a soldier's funeral, she still should have treated the procession with some respect. Whining only makes her look petty and too full of 'self-importance' to be taken seriously.

Here's a link to the article, with both e-mails on the side.

Stupid, stupid people....

Obama's Speech To The Kids

2009-09-08T16:52:00.003-05:00

Well, President Obama had his school speech today. You know the one: "Study hard, stay in school, hard work will get you what you want." You know, all of those 'socialist' things.

Of course, the Repubs had their opposing remarks; mainly, "It was okay, but...", things with no real substance. To give you an idea of the goofiness they're spewing:

Stupid People

Sorry about the link, but this explains it better than I could.

God, I Hate Some People....

2009-09-07T18:03:00.003-05:00

Oh, Happy Labor Day, by the way. What better way to celebrate working people, than to give a lot of them the day off? :D

Went shopping today; and, as usual, there were people who really need to be culled from the herd out & about today. I mean, honestly, how fekking hard *IS* it, to move your damn cart out of the way of others, when you're looking at bread? I especially love it, when they give you a dirty look, if you dare---you DARE!!---move their cart so can get by. On the Annoyance Scale, they're just above (slightly) the brain-dead tools who just leave the cart in the aisle, and walk off to a different aisle, because....well, who knows why? I usually just push it down the aisle, and just hope its person finds it...

By the way, did you know that (technically, at least), you could shop out of someone else's cart? As long as the items haven't been paid for, they still belong to the store, so they're fair game. Not that I would advocate such a thing, of course...

Not in a good place today...

2009-09-04T10:13:00.004-05:00

Found this on Bartcop; particularly, here: Article
Here it is, in its entirety:

Dear Republicans,

Fuck you. No, I'm not joking. I'm sick of this bullshit.

I'm sick of the way you've corrupted the public discourse. The way you've made it acceptable to hurl any insult you like at public officials. The way you blame us for the current atmosphere of hatred by accusing us of starting it with hating Bush. Like Bush didn't come on the heels of eight years of your tireless efforts to destroy Clinton by any means necessary, like Bush didn't give us good reason to complain. A couple of posters on a website compared Bush to Hitler and you've used it as free license to compare Obama to Hitler 24/7 and I'm sick of your hypocrisy, where it's acceptable to say shit about Obama that you would have had an apoplectic fit (and did) if anything remotely similar had been said about your guys. Keith Olbermann calls Cheney a fascist when he was actually using fascist tactics and you think that gives you the freedom to call Obama a fascist, socialist, Marxist constantly for no reason at all. Fuck you and your bullshit false equivalency.

I'm sick of the way you've made the populace stupid. Around a fifth of your populace thinks the sun orbits the earth, over half think evolution never happened. Your populace actually believe the media has a liberal bias. Not because it has, you have the most conservative media in the free world, but because you've shouted it so loud and so often that you've brainwashed the public into believing it, like the battered wife who parrots her husband's insults. You've got a whole segment of the populace shouting about socialism and fascism and none of them know what the fucking words mean. You've convinced them that fascism is a left-wing thing. You've got them so turned around that some of them actually believe global warming isn't happening. Fuck you.

I'm sick of the way you try to destroy the whole concept of government. You've tricked the people into believing that government can't do anything right, always being careful to exclude the army because you love your bullets and bombs but you've so destroyed the public's ability to reason that they don't even think of interstate highways, the space program, the national parks program, etc. Government is always great when it's doing what you tell it and inevitably corrupt when it isn't. Fuck you.

I'm sick of your rewriting of history. You've bleated so loud and long that Reagan was a great president, that the New Deal didn't work, that cutting taxes increases revenues, that you actually have the people believing this bullshit. And these are the same people who will go on to become teachers and fill their student's heads with this self-same bullshit. Reagan was a mediocre president at best who had the good fortune to be in power when the USSR collapsed under it's own weight and you bastards have turned him into the Second Coming. You've rewritten history so that everything foul and hateful and wrong can be attributed to a Democrat while everything worthwhile is a Republican's glory. Fuck you.

I'm sick of your dragging the center ever further to the right. How many whackjob fringe ideas have you dragged into the mainstream? The aforementioned idea that tax cuts increase revenues, the Laffer Curve, the idea that Welfare harms the poor, the idea that there's rampant fraud in Welfare, the idea that whatever is good for corporations is good for the country. And you push these ideas through your corporate media and you do it so long and loud that they become part of the accepted political landscape and because it is easier to tell a lie than to debunk one, we never get away from this rancid shit. Fuck you.

I'm sick of your casual criminality. Teddy Kennedy, a man who's boots you were not worthy to lick, was just buried and all I've heard from my rightist friends for days is Chappaquiddick, Chappaquiddick, Chappaquiddick. Your fucking golden boy raped the Constitution, mainly because he wanted to; tortured random people (and waterboarding is torture, fuck you too) essentially because he wanted to; spent like a drunken sailor, essentially because he wanted to; invaded a sovereign nation, essentially for the loot and destroyed people's lives, essentially for the evilulz and you bastards are obsessed with a fucking accident a Democrat had decades ago? You don't go on about Laura Bush killing some guy decades ago. Fuck you.

I'm sick of you praising pure evil. You're letting Dick Cheney be the standard-bearer for Republicanism. Dick Cheney, a man so nakedly evil that even his friends call him "Darth"; a man so callous that Lex Luthor would recoil in terror; a man who probably has dismembered hitchhikers in those man-sized safes and kills plants by his mere proximity. Fuck you.

I'm sick of your attempts to tilt the playing field permanently in your favor. Democrats filibustered a few of Bush's most hateful judicial picks and you pricks started screaming about doing away with the filibuster but now you're in the minority, you're filibustering absolutely everything you can and whining when you don't get the chance. You ignored everything the Democrats had to say when you had power and now that you don't, you scream that everyone must be bipartisan. You don't budge a fucking inch on anything but you insist that everyone must compromise to meet you. That's your idea of politics: Don't move an inch, force the other guy to come to the right to meet you and call the result a "compromise". Fuck you.

I'm sick of your corporatism. You dress it up in false populism but anyone with half a brain can see that you're the brought and paid for subsidiary of big business. You keep pushing tax cuts as the answer for absolutely everything, you keep sabotaging every attempt to control the excesses of big business. You genuinely think the world would be a better place if it was a combination of Bill Gibson's dystopian vision of a corporate dominated world and Ayn Rand's bullshit Objectivism, yet another entry in mankind's endless attempts to find a moral justification for naked greed. You've taken the clinically insane spewings of a woman literally to the right of Hitler (pardon my Godwins) and the 1984-like vision of a dystopian author and convinced yourselves that would be a good place to live. Big business is the enemy of the people, always has been. The ideal for the corporate class is to have a small pool of people rich enough to buy their fucking crap and a much larger pool of people so poor and with so few options that they can be used and abused at the corporation's whim. A corporation's objective is not to look after you, it is to make ever-larger profits by any means necessary. You bastards want to reinstate fucking slavery to the corporate class and you've made the public so fucking stupid that they actually swallow the bullshit you're serving up, they actually want to enslave themselves to the corporations that abuse them at every turn. They actually care more about the corporations right to make obscene profits than they care about their child's right to live on a habitable planet. Fuck you.

Fuck you, you scumridden shitehawks, you make me sick. Just fuck off and die.

Blue Light...Extinguished

2009-09-02T15:14:00.003-05:00

You know, everyone has fallen on some hard times lately; not only people, but businesses, as well. Especially retail. A lot of shops, stores, and shopping malls have closed down, adding to the vast unemployment going on throughout the country. And while I'm always sympathetic to people losing their jobs, I'm especially saddened by the recent closings of some local K-Mart stores.

K-Mart seemed to be in business forever; in fact, I really can't think of too many people who haven't shopped at one at some point in their lives. In fact, I myself have gotten a lot of things from them throughout the years: back-to-school clothes, toys, books, records (yes, LPs), watches, snacks, everyday and work clothes, bedding, kitchen utensils, you name it. K-Mart ended up being something of a punchline, but for a while, it was a great place to shop.

Now, word's come down that a few local ones---on top of others in the State---are slated for closing. The ones near me, have been there for I don't know how long. Plus, a friend I've known since high school worked at one for *YEARS*, which adds to the sadness. The biggest WTF?! , though, is the fact that while the employees are being let go from these stores, they can apply to OTHER stores, and *if* they are accepted, they have to start at the bottom of the pay scale. Again.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry...

Someone told me, that since SEARS 'merged' with K-Mart, they wouldn't be surprised if SEARS took a hit sometime soon. Wouldn't surprise me in the least...

Star Trek vs. Star Wars, and Trekkies.....

2009-08-27T06:02:00.002-05:00

I grew up with TREK; in fact, I was five when the first episode hit television.
At the time, I only thought it was a 'cool space show'; I didn't know about the geo-political stuff they were trying to sneak in; the hidden messages of 'Peace, Love, and Brotherhood', etc .etc. etc.
I only knew that the ship looked cool (and, a few years later, that Uhura was *HOT*!!) Since then, I've become a huge fan of TREK, being more knowledgeable about just what Roddenberry & Co. were trying to do. I've seen every episode of every series, every movie, and plan on seeing as many of them as they make, for as long as I can. In fact, TREK was what got me involved into Sci Fi and comics in a major way; as such, TREK will always be the top 'Universe' for me.

More recently, though, there have been upstarts: in the '70s, SPACE:1999 was considered a slap at TREK fans ("They're trying to buy our loyalty!")...I've NEVER figured that one out. It's as if these people thought that ANY Sci Fi show, was there for the sole purpose of stealing their TREK affections (This came from the so-called 'Trekkers'; more on them, in a moment).
Then, in the '90s, BABYLON 5 was The Next Big Thing, where "TREK had better WATCH OUT, because this show was gonna kick its ASS!!"
Which it didn't.
Then, of course, STAR WARS had a resurgence, with the help of the Prequels. Before, interest was modest, but not too built up, it seemed. Then, after Episodes I, II, and III, Wars fans had a larger Universe to play in. Which was funny, because so many of them will tell you, with a straight face, what was so *wrong* with those movies, yet they own them, and many dress up like characters from them. Now, TREK had a rivalry with a worthy opponent! Plus, it helped that George Lucas lets fans have a good deal of leeway while they play in his Universe; say what you want about the movies, at least he's savvy enough to know where the money comes from.
Myself, I like both, but I lean more heavily to TREK; maybe because I've been exposed to it longer than WARS; who knows? :) It just fits me better than the other.
(By the way, if you're a TREK fan, and some WARS fan starts playing "Mine's BETTER than yours!", remind them that while WARS has Jedi, the Force, and lightsabres, they also have tractor beams, deflector shields, and cloaking devices. Where do they think *those* came from...?)

Now, Trekkers....Trekkers TrekkersTrekkersTrekkers..........
Way back in the '70s, after TREK was canceled, it went through what I like to call, a Renaissance; people were seemingly finally discovering the show, and basically ran with it. They started conventions for like-minded fans, started fan-based publishing of fan magazines (which were called 'zines, and which still survive to this day). The fans and 'zines also gave us something taht still survives in the fan community today: stories of romance---and sex---between same-sex characters. Yep, TREK begat not only 'zines, but also slash. It started as fiction mainly between Kirk and Spock; commonly written as Kirk/Spock, or K/S. Eventually, the letters were dropped, leaving the 'slash', which became the trademark. Bet you didn't know *that*, did you? :D

Anyway.....TREK fans were divided into three separate groups at about this time, as well. The groupings weren't really universally agreed upon by the fans; some people just decided to make them up themselves. The groupings are, as follows:

TREKKERS: These are the people who originally made the groups; they were the die-hard core of fandom (literally). They were the ones who put the Cons together, who sold merchandise (official and otherwise), got to know the people on the show (stars and the technicians), etc. etc. etc. In other words, the workhorses. They also liked to take credit for the massive letter writing campaign that kept the show on the air for three years, but I'm still wondering about how much effect they really had; but, that's just me. Then, we have...

TREKKISTS: These were the people that I fell into: people who watch the show, buy the stuff, attend the Cons, etc., but who weren't actively involved in fandom itself. It's still how I am: I'll go, and buy, and watch, but I'm not going to do the work on it. Selfish? Yep. Oh well. :D And then.....

TREKKIES: These were considered the 'bottom of the barrel'; the ones who were the 'obnoxious little rodents' who were rude, greedy, annoying, and just plain bothersome. They were to be looked down upon, ignored, and ostracized. In other words, the dirt on the bottom of the shoes of TRUE FANS, dammit!

The funniest thing about this, though....in the mid-'80s, I attended a speaking engagement of Gene Roddenberry, who also had a showing of the complete pilot 'The Cage' (it was in black and white, as no one thought to keep a color version of the thing! In fact, the 'completed' version you see in color now, has computer-colored scenes that were missing from the original color broadcast one). During the question and answer period, someone (who I gathered to be a 'Trekker' by the way they asked the question) asked him what he thought of the term, 'Trekkie'. He said, that he approved the term as THE term, for a STAR TREK fan! The reason? He said, he should know, because HE's the one who coined it! The look on Trekker Boy's face was, as they say, priceless!

So remember kids...no shame in being a Trekkie. After all, if it's good enough for Gene, it's good enough for me. :)

Ted Kennedy Dies

2009-08-26T05:48:00.001-05:00

Sen. Ted Kennedy, the long-time Massachusetts Democrat, died from brain cancer shortly before midnight on Tuesday, Aug. 26. He was 77.

Happy Birthday to the Metal God

2009-08-25T04:55:00.004-05:00

Rob Halford (of Judas Priest, in case you didn't know) turns 58 today.

I've been a Priest fan for many years; they've never disappointed. Nice to know they're still here, and still showing 'These Kids' how Metal is REALLY done!

First TREK Tech thing...

2009-08-22T14:00:00.001-05:00

A 1024x768 wallpaper, made in the style of the engineering panel from the main engine room from Star Trek TOS. I do a lot of these things, so expect them to pop up here.

Just click to Embiggen it. :)

Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

Friday....

2009-08-21T18:46:00.003-05:00

Was going to make a post on TREK, but decided to hold off for now.

Heard on the radio, that the recession is 'officially over'.
Oh?
Tell that to the people still laid off; doesn't feel like it's over yet.

The only good thing is, it can only go 'Up' from here.

I hope.

Test

2009-08-21T15:54:00.001-05:00

A test post, to see just how well I've figured this place out:

Seems to work just fine; good to know. :D

Allow me, please, to do the introductions...

2009-08-20T18:03:00.000-05:00

This is my second time 'round this rodeo.
I had another blog, but even though it's still active, I haven't done anything with it. Why a new one? I have no idea....

This little piece o' work, is going to contain what every other one contains: thoughts and opinions, which people may or my not agree with. Mainly, discussions on science fiction (or, Sci-Fi, if you wish), music (my tastes, not necessarily anyone else's), books, TV shows, movies, and, yes, politics. I'll try to keep the last under control, but no guarantees.

Since I'm a science fiction tech junkie, the main SF stuff will revolve around that (hence, the title of me blog). Mainly, Star Trek (in particular, the original series, or, TOS).

I'll update when I can, but no promises on an every day update.

And now..........

First Post, as if it really matters....

2009-08-20T06:09:00.000-05:00

Let's just see how this "Blog" thing works out, shall we? :)

Woke up this morning to the wonderous cloudy morning; head feels like it's stuffed up, and just waiting for the rain. Usually I don't mind rain; I just don't like the headaches I usually get from it. At least the plants will be happy.

Just heard that Tumblr might end up being "the next big thing", since people seem to be winding down on Twitter. Are people really that lemming-like, that they HAVE to like something or go somewhere, not because it's interesting to them, but just because "Everyone else does it, and I don't want to be left out"?

I don't Twitter; mainly because: (A) my life's not that interesting to keep posting small updates every five minutes, and (B) I just think it's stupid. Sorry, but what could be SO damn important, that you have to 'update' in under 200 characters? Just make a blog post or send an e-mail! Typical Twitter post (aka Tweet), is thus:

"Just drank some coffee. A little too sweet, but not bad."

Why in the Hell, would ANYONE care? Unless you're a professional coffee-taster, this is just plain assinine.

Sorry if you *do* use Twitter, but I myself just can't understand it.