Opaque Lucidity

Bowling for Morons

Micheal Moore, my favorite fellow fat guy, earned a fairly damning article in a recent edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, not exactly a conservative rag:

"MICHAEL MOORE, the polemic filmmaker who likes to wear his "progressive'' politics on his plaid sleeves, has made a fortune from bashing doyens of corporate greed. But apparently the provocative Moore doesn't mind the perks of celebrity -- even when they bear the label of big-time corporate America.

Moore recently touched down in California as part of his national book tour. He's traveling in style -- in a private jet provided by Time Warner, and in SUVs courtesy of his publisher, Warner Books. The company also threw in some bodyguards -- as we know from his movies, America is a pretty darn dangerous place.

For his part, Moore sees no contradiction between his private life and his public image, suggesting that the only reason he's feeding at the corporate trough is because it's there. "I would never pay for this,'' Moore told the Los Angeles Times, adding that the irony is not lost on him.

When you make your living bashing malicious corporate CEOs, it's best not to remind people that you're using giant media companies to carry your message.

After all, the bottom line is all about profits, not prophets."

I used to remember all the Democrats of my youth telling me that the Left was "for the working man". Yep. Whatever.

How Halloween Works

Great stuff over at Howstuffworks about Halloween. Thanks for Kyle for forwarding that on to everyone.

Halloween has been, for the last three years at least, pretty creepy for me. As most of you know, I work alone and at night. Normally, this isn't a big deal. But before my company moved to our current location, I worked in the basement of a 110-year old building that was pretty far out in Louisville (a town called Anchorage). The building was frightening every day of the year, but Halloween was always harrowing, mainly because of my own superstitions. But this will be the last year I will work on this Eve of All Saint Day; by this time next year, I will be working among the living once again.

More on Last Night

I received an e-mail from a dear friend today concerning my comments last night about women and how so many of them are reactionary and not pre-emptive. Her point was that this state of affairs is not as prevalant now as it was a generation or two ago.

As I told her, I think the difference is the empowerment of education. Educated women (and I don't necessarily mean a college degree; I mean a marketable skill set) tend to be more independent, a quality that I think helps, not hurts, a marriage. My wife's struggle for her degree has increased her independence from me. This has made our marriage even stronger because now we both know that the other is there not because of some economic necessity or co-dependence, but because we WANT to be there. It makes a huge difference, especially when times are tough.

I don't want to leave any of you with the impression that I was belittling every woman I know and if you took it this way, I apologize. I don't know if I was speaking about a minority or not, but I was definitely not speaking about the vast majority.

Also, keep in mind that I write about things I am thinking about, for good or ill. If you disagree, please tell me about it; I think you'll find me a pretty decent fellow to correspond with. And I love e-mail ;-)

But, Sometimes, He's Good to Me

You'll have to pardon me for a moment; I need to make some rather sexist remarks about something that bothers me. Problem is, it keeps on popping up in both the media and the real world.

How many times have you heard the phrase, "He can be a jerk/hit me when he's drunk/be an unemployed bum, but, deep down, he's a really nice guy." Hmmm. Really? How can you be sure? Is there such a thing as a bad guy who does good things all the time?

There have been several occasions in my life when I have worked closely with groups of women. Every time, without exception, the bulk of their conversations with each other centered around the men in their life and how unhappy they were. Did any of them change their circumstances? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But, inevitably, they would end up with another man of the same caliber. The sad thing is that I know my observations are not unique.

Why does this go on, generation after generation? BECAUSE WOMEN DON'T EXPECT/DEMAND MORE. I'm not trying to absolve men from responsibility, but the simple fact is that women almost always hold the keys to the relationship; they just don't think they can use them. So they "sell out", and it starts at an early age: a guy may be a thoughtless jerk, but he's good-looking or makes good money and, every once in a while, he's nice to them. The "perfect" relationship, the one they've dreamt of, becomes a fantasy only found in romance novels where the jerk ends up being a great, misunderstood fellow.

This gets under my skin for two reasons: first, I am tired of hearing about it from friends and co-workers (I really don't have co-workers; I guess I'm tired of hearing it from my wife's co-workers). If you are not willing to take responsibility for your poor decisions and change your life, then don't bitch. It doesn't help you and it alienates everyone around you.

Second, these endlessly combative relationships are bad for our society. Families are the building blocks of our nation; they represent the smallest organized units. If the majority of them are fundamentally unsound (a thought I am beginning to believe), how can our society not follow suit? Or has it already?

Spin This!

From Crosswalk.com:

"The commerce department released its much-anticipated economic report for the quarter ended September 30th, 2003 this morning. They said that for the time period covered by that report, the economy grew at an annualized rate of 7.2%. That's a lot.

Just how much is it? Let's compare it to the average growth rates of some preceding Presidents to provide some perspective. The 7.2% rate of growth this quarter is roughly twice what Bill Clinton averaged over the thirty-two quarters during which he held office, and two-and-a-half times Clinton's rate of growth over his first eleven quarters (the same amount of time George W. Bush has held office). To be fair, this rate is also a massive four-and-a-half times the average rate of his father's administration (just under 1.8%). It more than doubles Reagan's 3.1% average as well, but to the Gipper's credit, his average jumps to a staggering 4.7% if you begin counting after his tax cut took effect in 1982 (I'm looking in your direction, Paul Krugman).

This is not the first of the pieces of extraordinarily good news. This is just the first of the pieces of extraordinarily good news that is too big to be ignored, even by an Anti-Bush media. There's a lot more: since the President's most recent tax cut, the stock market has created nearly $3 trillion in wealth; the monthly survey of purchasing managers has shown the greatest increase for the demand of business services in the history of the index, and the core inflation rate is the lowest since 1965.

For the past several months I've been frustrated by the fact that good news, and there's been a lot of it, has been unable to break through the media screen. Today, that changes. The economy is no longer a slam-dunk for the Bush-bashers."

Since you Bush-haters blamed W for the bad economy, are you going to credit him for the upswing, too? Let's just see how much crediblity you guys have left.

Bringing Down the House

I just finished reading a great book entitled "Bringing Down the House" by Ben Mezrich. It's about the MIT blackjack team in the mid to late-90's and how they managed to get over big on the Vegas casinos. If you have ever handed your ass over to the Man, you will appreciate this work.

Man's Best Friend

I have owned a cat for most of my life. First, there was Tiger, a not-overly bright lad who was around when I was an infant. Second, there was Kelly, a super-intelligent calico who lived to be about 20. Then there was Speckles, the beefy, shy girl which my parents still own. When my wife and I were married in 1998, Kahlua came into my life. She is still there, although I know that our days with her are numbered.

So when I hear people talk glowingly about their pet(s), I can understand. But I hear more and more about people who substitute a relationship with an animal for a relationship with humans. It's an easy trap to fall into---your cat or dog just wants his basic needs met and to receive the occasional bit of affection from you. In return, he will "love" you. He doesn't care what you look like, what language you speak, where you go when you're not at home or how much money you make. Animals are fundamentally non-judgemental.

But there is a danger in this, and it's two-fold. First, I believe that elevating the status of an animal, any animal, to that of a human devalues the worth of human life in the eyes of our society. You can already see this in the animal-rights movement, where many believe that human progress and health should come second to the needs of wildlife.

Second, I believe that forming overly-close bonds with animals hurts a person's ability to form healthy relationships with human beings. A loving relationship with a human being is hard; you have to work at it and contribute something that you may or may not receive in kind. With most animals, all you have to do is show up with the food and a kind hand. I read a paper once theorizing that many maladjusted tramua survivors end up in the vetinary or zoological fields. I don't know if there's any truth to that, but it would certainly make for an interesting study.

It seems, to me at least, that this is becoming a larger and larger trend. It may be because so many of us don't have children now and we need something around the house that requires our care. Or, as I believe, it is because it is becoming harder and harder to develop meaningful, caring relationships in our society. Whatever the reason, it can't be healthy in the long-term.

The Blame Game

We all know people who have gone through therapy for one reason or another. In fact, you might be that person. Fortunately, we live in a society where the acknowledgement of depression or other emotional/mental ailments no longer leads to a person being stimitized.

Recent events have made me begin to question why people enter therapy. I am not doubting anyone's need to go; we all reach places in our lives when a neutral, professional hand can do a lot of good. But I have become involved in a situation in which I believe the person in question is seeking professional help only to justify a certain level of behavior or garner pity from family and friends. That's a very hard call to make, especially considering that none of us can know what is in another's heart and mind. But the person in question has gone through therapy before, and the results were the same: any outburst or out-of-line behavior was followed up with the "you have to excuse me because I'm in therapy" line. It quickly wears thin.

I have never been to a mental health professional. I do not say this with pride or shame; it is simply a fact. As a result, I do not quite know how to handle the situation. I genuinely believe that this person needs help. But at what point do we hold a person responsible for his actions regardless of his mental state? If a person is functioning in society (going to work, raising children, etc.), is it safe to assume that he is at least healthy enough to recognize when he is making an ass of himself? Do we have a right to call him on it?

The problem that lies before me is that a few people who know both me and the subject believe that admission of any illness, mental or otherwise, excuses any word or deed. Thus, a demand for some level of personal responsibility coming from yours truly makes me look like an asshole, as if I'm stealing money from a blind beggar. And I can not simply cut this person out of my life; contact is unavoidable. It's beginning to look like a no-win.

The Water Fountain

There's a great 'Proof of God' thread going over at Aximsite.com. The site is actually about PDAs (specifically the Dell Axim), but the Water Fountain area is sort of a free-for-all. There's some compelling stuff there. Just in case you don't want to read the whole thing, here's my post:

"Does anyone else find it interesting that every discovery we make in the universe seems to further point out the insignificance of man? As you know, Earth was thought to be the center of the universe at one time. Now, we know that we are a rather small planet in a solar system that may turn out to be rather ordinary.

I believe that, one day, we may discover that our notion of God changes from that of "being" to "force"; that is, a creation force that exists like gravity or a nuclear force. Just a thought."

I've already received a response or two, but the thread is pretty hot. Threads like this (on a techie website) make me realize that people of all stripes struggle with thoughts about God, theology and religion. At least I'm not alone.

In other news, General Wesley Clark has made a cool, hip, blog part of his campaign site. There's even spelling and grammatical errors included. Note to Clark: we know you're full of crap. Anyone impressed enough by the blog to vote for you deserves you in office. Sheesh.

Kill Bill

I forgot to mention earlier that we saw "Kill Bill" on Saturday night. The violence is intense, but so unrealistic that it borders on cartoonish. However, I still hold to the opinion that Tarantino only had one good movie in him, and he's already made it.

Shine Your Shoes, Sailor

See these sailors? They're nervous as hell. You can't tell it from the photo, but I promise they are. How many times will you get to greet the most powerful man on the planet?

I pick up on the weirdest crap.

Things in Life Better Left Unknown

When my ramblings were found on the Dattblog, I used to wonder how many people visited the site. I found a nice, free web counter and installed it. So, for a while at least, I had to know how many people visited the site. When the numbers were down, I wanted to know why.

Now, I am in both heaven and hell as far as websites are concerned. My friend Kyle, the brainpower behind UCanweb, has set me up with a fabulous little corner of cyberspace. Problem is, I can now check the traffic to the site any time I want. September was a very good month; October has been worse. So that leaves me wondering: has my writing gotten worse, or too political? Do I whine too much? Am I just not hip? Or are there just too many options out there for your time?

The truth is, I don't want to know. If I knew the truth, I would be much more likely to pander to whatever audience I still have. And, in the final analysis, this blog/site should be about whatever I am thinking about at the moment, not what I think you want to hear. But, of course, my unending urge for acceptance keeps popping its ugly head up, reminding me that what I really want in life is for someone to read and care about the words I write.

And in the raging torrent that is my consciousness, thoughts like this make me think about the book that I am not writing. I have no less than four "first chapters" on my hard drive; chances are that none of them will see the light of day. When I wrote "Driving the Circle", I was a man on fire---I wrote nearly every day. For some reason, I can't regain that passion now, even though I have come up with story ideas that are, in my opinion at least, worthy of consideration. Even though this post is quickly turning into a rambling mess, here's some thoughts that I have either started or at least fleshed out:

1. A re-telling of "Henry V" as a 20th century story set during World War One.

2. "All the Moments of Darkness": a young, idealistic man joins the navy against the wishes of his isolationist, wealthy father during the early days of World War Two. The guy is sort of disowned, but not before he learns a deep, dark secret about his father that, in the end, will bind them together. Lots of PT boat stuff here.

3. A re-write of "Driving the Circle" as a novel, which would allow me to play with the real events a little. In my more lucid moments, this is book that seems most likely to be written.

You can't say I don't let you in.

Fortune Smiling

Just when I was broke from our trip to Austin/Vegas, I have two honest-to-goodness computer jobs tomorrow. On several occasions (one I mentioned here about a month ago), I have considered not doing side-work anymore. But the lure of fairly easy money is strong and both customers are people I have done work for before.

There's an interesting little societal quirk about fixing computers that gets under my skin sometimes. I charge a flat hourly rate for repair and upgrade work. I'm pretty cheap compared to local shops, but I don't have to pay for overhead, insurance, etc., out of the money I make. But, somehow, there are people who find my rates offensive. It's as if paying a plumber or electrician some outrageous sum is OK (I guess we've been doing it for so long it has become expected), but paying my hourly rate is nonsense.

So here's what I've started doing, and it's been pretty effective. If someone calls me and we talk about fixing/upgrading a PC, I am up front about my hourly rate. If the caller starts to balk, I tell him that, perhaps, we shouldn't do business. I will then give the caller the number to a local shop that has reasonable rates and does, by all accounts, good work. I have done this five times; the person has called me back four of those times and asked for me to do the work. Of course, you can't get into the habit of steering people to the "competition".

Blood on the Plow

I sent out an angry, probably not wise e-mail to some of my more politically-minded friends a few hours ago that contained the following open letter from John Cougar Mellancamp. It must be terrible to be so washed up that you have to promote yourself by imitating Sean Penn:

"As the echo of the war drums fades away and the angry masses calling for blood slowly disperse, we as a nation must now confront the truth. We face the unpleasant reality of an uncertain future, compromised safety, a failing economy, and the question of how a society of otherwise reasonable citizens was systematically lied to and manipulated into backing the political 'hijacking' of Iraq.

"Before a single bomb was ever dropped, some of us, formerly called the 'anti-American and unpatriotic,' have questioned or opposed this war. Now, each day, as the dust settles and the truth slowly surfaces, more and more people come to the inevitable conclusion of what a debacle this whole war was.

"Thirty-nine-thousand bombs later, no weapons of mass destruction uncovered, no dangerous dictators captured, no connection to September 11th. What have we gained but relentless media coverage of a fallen statue and some stolen oil fields--the spoils of this misadventure. Not to mention lucrative corporate payoffs and an enormous price tag of over $80 Billion...some tax cut.

"But what have we lost? We have lost the lives of over 300 Americans. Approximately two U.S. troop deaths each day, 193 deaths since the war was declared over. In total, an estimated 20,000 people have died, thus far, in this conflict.

"In addition to the lives given for this effort, our nation has suffered the loss of respect within the world community, particularly the United Nations. We have managed to squander any goodwill we once had to now succeed in solidifying our image as the globe's leading bully. Arrogant and thoughtless.

"The word Democracy means literally 'by the people.' This is the basis of our government and society. It is what this country was founded upon and what makes us American. It is not just our 'right' but also our duty to speak out and voice our thoughts and opinions. How, then, was it possible that, in the land of freedom, those who opposed the common opinion were called...'un-American?' Resentfully, we wonder.

The song 'To Washington' was met with criticism and was labeled an anti-war song. That was not at all the case or intention--it was merely a report of the political climate, in the age-old tradition of the troubadour spreading the news through song and story. Professionally, we, the Mellencamps, have the opportunity to travel extensively, and we take full advantage of that by talking to, listening to, and experiencing the diversity our vast country has to offer. The lyrics of 'To Washington' are not just a personal opinion, but also the view from a very wide horizon.

Who is to say what is or isn't 'patriotic?' Do the flags that wave from every minivan really offer any support? Where is the support for the thousands of servicemen and women who return to the states to see their benefits cut, their health problems ignored, their jobs gone, and their families living in poverty? How are they repaid for their efforts, for risking or losing their lives? So far, dismally.

"This nation was founded to enable freedom and diversity of opinion, and many lives have been lost to secure that liberty. Paradoxically, some still resist the open mindedness that is the very foundation of this country.

"The Governor of California was removed from office based on finance troubles. And yet George W. Bush has lied to us, failed to keep our own borders secure, entered a war under false pretense, endangered lives, and created financial chaos. How is it that he hasn't been recalled? Perhaps this time we could even have a real election...but that wouldn't fit the Bush administration's 'take what you want and fire people later' policy. Take an election; take an oil field; take advantage of your own people--a game of political Three-Card Monte.

"The fight for freedom in this country has been long, painful, and ongoing. It is time to take back our country. Take it back from political agendas, corporate greed, and overall manipulation. It is time to take action here in our land, in our own schools, neighborhoods, farms, and businesses. We have been lied to and terrorized by our own government, and it is time to take action. Now is the time to come together."

Idiot.

The Perfect Storm

There is a large geo-magnetic storm heading for Earth and it's due to hit on Friday. Evidently, there hasn't been a coronal discharge this large since the 1850's, when there were major disruptions of telegraph lines.

The Sound of Silence

The worst thing about working alone and at night is that I have almost no contact with my co-workers. My only face-to-face contact is with my new manager, who works late on Wednesday or Thursday nights. Otherwise, voicemail and e-mail must fill the void.

So here's the problem: whenever I check my voicemail or e-mail (normally after working hours) and the message is the least bit negative, it sets me off. It's not panic, but more of a frustrated feeling because I know that I won't be able to talk to anyone about the issue until the next morning. And for me, if it's work-related, I need to fix the problem RIGHT NOW.

But this issue is double-edged: if my manager works late and we have a good, positive conversation about our upcoming conversion or some other issue, it sticks with me all week since there is nothing to make the effect "wear off", like a negative co-worker. Strange, I know. Welcome to my life.

I was thinking about this earlier this evening as my wife and I were having dinner with some friends. As the conversation turned to work, my brain shifted into "standby"; it was as if all I could do was nod and smile. The whole thing made me feel as if energy was actually being sucked out of my body for some evil purpose. What made it worse was the knowledge that, soon after the first of the year, I will return to the workday of the living where I will have to deal with "energy-suckers" on a full-time basis. It's been three years; I hope I have the right stuff.

Cat Burglar

Yet another reason to own a cat.

'Roids are the Rage

A new steroid scandal may become frontpage news once the World Series is over. Evidently, some smart lad invented a synthetic steroid that was not detectable by the tests currently used to detect such supplements. I believe this is going to be big for two reasons: it could involve some very big names in Major League baseball and it highlights how much R&D money is going into illegal enhancement of athletes.

Why don't we get this all out in the open? Haven't we passed the point where we hold our professional athletes up as models of virtue and honesty? I mean, I know that some of you still think it's 1962 and Roger Maris is out there swinging for the stands---grow up. We need to admit this is going on, allow it, and then publicly announce who is and who isn't shooting, doping or whatever.

Oh, and before I forget, please don't tell me that you are worried about how it would look to "the children" if performance-enhancing drugs were allowed in professional sports. I'm not a father, but let me say this: if your kid has to look towards a sports figure to find a role model, you're a bad parent.

In Defense of the Catholic

I was struck with an idea for a book while I was driving to work this evening. I won't delve into the details now, but it would be religious in nature and require a great deal of research on my part. We shall see. Like most things, I'll probably get lazy and blow it off.

Axim

My PDA arrives tomorrow. Do I really need a Pocket PC? Of course not. But, neither do 90% of the people who own them. I owned a Handspring device some years ago, but it was basically nothing more than a glorified address book. I might actually use something that not only organizes, but also offers wireless internet access and serves as an MP3 player.

So I ordered a Dell Axim X5. They have a different look than most of the handheld devices out there. This is good because it's a little bit bigger than a comparable HP or Toshiba unit. With my large, wide hands, I found that the Axim was the only unit that was comfortable. Plus, you don't see as many Dells even though they are cheaper when compared to units with similiar features.

Damn, I'm a geek.

Child Star

Dennis Prager mentioned a statistic on his show that sent me over the edge: there are over 15,000 pre-teen "modeling" sites on the internet. The sites display mostly little girls (3-12) wearing clothes that are, to be nice about it, adult. There is no nudity, but the implication of sexuality is there. And it's legal.

My wife used to work at a hotel near our home. Once a year, these junior pageant contestants would roll in and drive her crazy. She used to tell me horror stories about lost souls. It seems as if they all possessed some of the same qualities:

1. Bad or overextended credit. My wife said that she would receive more credit card declines during pageant weekends than any other time of the year.

2. Bitchy little girls. This was one quality that I witnessed many times myself. Some 12 going on 20-year old priss would walk up to the desk and ask for change with an attitude which told the world that speaking to the desk clerk was beneath her dignity. What can you expect? These girls have been taught to be empty shells since before they could speak coherent sentences.

3. Mothers who were never models. Some of the mothers of these contestants are beautiful women themselves, but most of them simply do not have what it takes to have ever been a model of any kind. So what's the next best thing? Turn your little Barbie into one!

Some years after my wife quit her hotel job, we caught an HBO special about junior pageants. The show centered on one little girl and her dysfunctional family (the mother's live-in boyfriend gave me the creeps when I saw him; I can't imagine how he must've seemed to a five-year old girl). By 35 or 40 minutes in, I was so angry that I could've thrown the TV out the window. It was then that the whole bizarre thing made sense---these pageants are fronts for child pornographers. They attract women with dreams of "stardom" for their little girls. In return, they get to distribute thousands of pictures of babies dressed up to look like adult strippers. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CAN'T WE BEAT THESE PEOPLE AND FEED THEM TO ZOO ANIMALS? See...I'm getting angry all over again.

The New Credibility Gap

As I listen to events in this war on terror, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the mainstream media, and that part of the public that buys into their nonsense, have a growing disconnect with the military in this country. Part of this is natural---there are fewer and fewer people with military experience in all walks of life.

But there is more to it than that. I believe that the disconnect has become institutionalized and extends beyond the news media and into films and other genres of the arts as well. Instead of being viewed as the wall that works to maintain our fragile democracy, the military is seen by many "elites" as some sort of sideshow curiosity ripe for social experimentation. The reason is simple: if you went to the Columbia School of Journalism, Havard Law School or you work in Hollywood or on Broadway, you don't know anyone serving in the military. It is a completely different society that, in some people's minds, has no impact on their day-to-day existence.

Once doesn't have to go very far back in this nation's history to see a time when this was not the case. Before 1973 brought an end of the draft, many American males had been exposed to life in the military. They may not have liked it, but at least they knew which end of the tube the round came out of. During World War Two, every family in the country had a member in uniform. Today, less than one-tenth of one percent of the nation is in uniform at any given time. On one hand, we should be thankful that we no longer need to keep a huge standing Army, Navy and Air Force. But on the other hand, we have lost the shared communal experience of the veteran.

I bring all this up because of something I read on Hugh Hewitt's site. Hugh is a talk show host out of LA who is constantly hammering the LA Times, and with good reason. One of their reporters, in conjuction with MSNBC, put out a hit piece on the general who is in charge of Special Forces' operations to find and neutralize terrorists. If you have a minute, read both of the articles I have linked in this paragraph.

Make no mistake about it---this guy is the real thing. He's slept in trenches, seen men die in combat and killed bad guys. So what's the problem? He's a Christian with an opinion and he has shared his thoughts with church congregations nationwide. Do I share his views? Not all of them. I have sort of a dim view of fundamentalist Christianity, as those of you who have been readers of mine may know. But this guy is the focus of a media attack not because of what he has done in the name of his beliefs, but because of what he has SAID in a PRIVATE VENUE, in this case several churches. The LA Times went so far as to use the term "jihad" in its article and make it appear as if he used the term to describe our war on terror (he never used the word, as the reporter later admitted). To the Great Thinkers on the Left, religion is dangerous and, by God, we'd better not give those bastards guns.

So who cares, you say? Good question. Here's a fact: if you removed everyone of a religious bent from the military, you wouldn't have enough people left to take over Paris. Funny thing is, the people who write these articles, who constantly make snide remarks about those who serve, who like to keep a "close eye" on the military, are the kind of people who would never serve, even if the need was dire. They are too weak and too sissified to believe in anything larger than a byline.

We need to keep a tight control over our military. History is full of military strongmen who became dictators while the civilian population slept. But is it too much to ask for a basic level of respect? Is there not enough dignity left in those who are better at cynicism than action to at least consider that a man with strong religious conviction can still uphold his sworn duty to defend the Constitution and follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief? Were Patton, MacArthur and Grant all dangerous because they believed?

Right now, as you read this, there are thousands of men and women in harm's way. They might hate what they're doing, but they're doing it anyway. You will never know their names or probably even care about them, but they are doing it for you. And, most likely, at least some of them are carrying Bibles. Be glad.

Hell Has Frozen Over

iTunes for Windows. Feel the love, man.

EVP

George Noory had a husband-wife team on last night (the last hour is on right now) talking about EVP. EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomena, or voices from "the other side" that they claim to record in graveyards, old houses, etc. I don't know the technical details of the recordings; when played over the radio, they sound like old recordings from the 20's.

People are free to believe whatever they want. What bothers me about these two is the same thing that bothers me so much about people who hold saunces and claim they can "channel" the dead---they give people false hope. There are many, many people who will buy and book, tape or ticket to a seminar in some distant hope that they will have a chance to communicate to a dead loved one. It's all crap and it should be outlawed. These people are being scammed by soulless creeps who see money in others' suffering.

There may be life-after-death. But if you could talk to the dead, wouldn't you feel some obligation to provide the service for free (or very cheaply) to everyone? Could you, in good faith, become rich using this gift?

The Rock

The Pope is not in good health. The above article talks about his inner circle, which is not very different from the inner circles of other world leaders. Some ultra-orthodox conservative Catholics believe in a rapture-type end-of-the-world scenario in which very few people will be left alive. According to their time line, Pope John Paul II is the second to last real Pope. Supposedly, there will come a time when no valid Masses will be offered on this planet for three years. For those of you who aren't Catholic, know that if a priest is living in some sort of state of sin or is not following canon law with regard to saying the Mass, the service can be said to be illicit or invalid, according to the seriousness of the offense.

During our time in Austin last week, Kelli and I went to Mass with my brother and his family. Their parish, St. Thomas More, has over 13,000 members. That's a huge number for a Catholic parish. The parish is young (Austin's population is young) and vibrant, two things not present at St. Augustine's here in Jeffersonville. A deacon gave the homily, and he actually talked about abortion! This is not something you hear very often from a Catholic podium. It wasn't that he was preachy; his focus was that our society deserves better than to allow something so vile. I left the church feeling good about the entire experience, which is not something that has happened in a while.

Rocket Man

The Chinese have put a man into orbit. It's a pretty big achievement, but not a huge one. Supposedly, the Lt. Colonel was trained by the Russians and the spacecraft is a "heavily" modified Soviet Soyuz capsule. But when you think about it, you can't knock the Chinese for using off-the-shelf technology: it's cheaper and more reliable. The Soyuz capsule is still used by the Russians even though it was introduced over 30 years ago. I guess the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" addage still applies.

Randy "Macho Man" Savage was on Loveline tonight. Like most pro wrestlers, he's a very interesting guy. He was talking about Andre the Giant and how the guy decided early on that he didn't like Randy. If you're under 30, you may not remember Andre---imagine a refrigerator with a head and you begin to get the picture. Savage said that Andre is/was 7'5" and weighed in at 550lb. That makes him almost two feet taller and 300lb heavier than me, and I'm not a tiny guy. A man that size probably has all sorts of trouble doing even everyday things like driving, flying, getting in and out of a shower, etc.

The funny thing about height/weight is that no one is very happy about where they are body-wise. Anyone barrel-chested and short like me wants to be taller and skinny; the toothpicks out there want to be shorter and stouter. Yes, ladies, it's true; even guys worry about this stuff.

Hoover

This is a view of the Colorado River from the top of Hoover Dam. Damn!

Treason

I read Ann Coulter's latest opus, "Treason", during our vacation. Most of the book concentrates on the media's preoccupation with "McCarthyism". Coulter does a great job of exploring the realities of that period for those of us not old enough to have been there in person. As many of us already know, McCarthyism is just a catchphrase that liberals use when people disagree with them. Coulter just put a finer point on it. Even if you can't stand Coulter, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the book. It's a quick and highly flammable read.

Viva Las Vegas

Kelli and I just returned from Vegas. It was, by far, the most fun we have ever had on a vacation. The week started with a trip to Austin to see my oldest brother and his family, which was very relaxing. Austin isn't like the rest of Texas; in fact, it reminds me a lot of Louisville. This was our first visit to their home there, but I know there will be many more.

Our friends Mike & Tammy and Steve joined us in Sin City. Vegas was all I imagined it to be plus about 400%. I have trouble believing that they ever really tried to make it family-friendly. That trend seems to have died down, but I was amazed at the number of people at the MGM Grand with very young children.

The highlight of the trip (other than my wife and I getting re-married by an Elvis impersonator) was our visit to Hoover Dam. In a word, it is unbelievable. If you ever go to Nevada and don't visit the dam, you have wasted your time. It left me with feelings of pride, wonder and insignificance.

I will try to comment later on things as they cross my fatigued mind. It's good to be home.

Vacation

Kelli and I are leaving for vacation on Saturday morning and I probably won't be posting anything until we return. Take care and have a good week.

Before I leave, here's a nugget from the NY Times:

"Mr. Butler said the book proposal had erroneously dropped a few words from a quotation attributed to Mr. Schwarzenegger. According to Mr. Butler's reading of the transcript, Mr. Schwarzenegger followed his comments about Hitler's public speaking by adding, "But I didn't admire him for what he did with it." He did not say, "I admire him for being such a good public speaker and for what he did with it," as he was quoted in the book proposal and in early editions of The Times.

Mr. Butler said he could not explain the inaccuracy. "I am amazed that something like that escaped me."

Whatever. Journalistic integrity is dead on the Left. But then, so is morality and purpose.

Dark Matter

Scientists may be on the verge of having evidence of dark matter. Is it me, or does dark matter seem like a "fudge factor" to cover up the fact that we may not completely understand how gravity works? I consider myself a pretty good amatuer astronomer, but I'm not much of a physicist. Maybe one of you can convince me that there is some real promise here.

Rush to Termination

By the time you wake up and read this, the major newspapers on both coasts will contain two stories about Rush Limbaugh: that he has resigned from his NFL commentary job on ESPN and that he may have a problem with painkiller addiction. The first is true; the second one has been rumored, but unsubstantiated, for some time. If you are suprised by any of this, you haven't been paying attention.

Let me state up front that I agree with Limbaugh about 90% of the time. I began listening to him in early 1992 while I was stationed in Charleston, SC. He was a witty, fun-loving guy who was unabashedly conservative and loved to poke fun at pesky Dems and liberals. I had never heard anything like him on radio before and I was instantly hooked. It didn't take long for me to find out that he was becoming popular everywhere his show aired.

But about five years ago, Rush began to change. I don't know if it was his marriage, his skyrocketing popularity or his enormous salary, but Rush seemed to remake himself into what every liberal loves to hate: the fat, rich, pro-business Republican who looks down his nose at the rest of the population. He still espoused the same political and moral beliefs, but there was an edge there that hadn't existed before. At first, I thought that it was me; after all, I was getting a little older and a lot more Libertarian in my views. But as I talked to more and more people, I began to see that I was not alone.

There is the old saying that "pride goeth before the fall". If you have been paying attention to Rush for the last decade as I have, you know that something like this was bound to happen. A man in his position makes enemies even if he is perceived as a "nice" guy; an arrogant, pompous man in his position creates armies of foes. It was just a matter of time until he shot himself in the foot.

No Way

; and yet, it is.

Vacation

Four days until Kelli and I make our Austin/Las Vegas trip. I am looking forward to this vacation more than any we have taken in a long, long time. First, I really need a break from the daily grind that our lives have become lately. Secondly, this trip will mark the first time we have visited my oldest brother and his family since they moved to Texas a year ago. Third, we have never been to Vegas and are looking forward to being the dumb tourists, something we pull off very well.

Kelli and I travel well together. I guess this comes from having a good relationship and genuinely enjoying each other's company. With her work/school schedule and my crazy work schedule, we see very little of each other. The chance to be around each other for a whole week is almost unthinkable.