March 28, 2003
Punk/Not Punk
Please point out the factors that make Avril Lavigne Punk. (Warning: noisy link.)
I don't see it, the same way I don't see buildings jitterbugging. She has NOTHING to do with Punk. I listened to her album, and found the first three songs okay, and the rest as bland as a beige room.
Punk? Chrissake, Pat Benatar is more Punk. Half of Avril's songs are wispy ballads, and the other half are pop rock. She almost growls on one song, and then catches herself. She has a brief flirtation with Alanis Morissette's phrasing, and then shies away. The potential is there, but the end result is just so toothless and dull. Another musical clone, made by committee.
If Avril is Punk, then John Merrick is a Looker.
No Idea what I'm Saying
I have all sorts of boiling in my brain today, and I can't quantify it. It's a mixture, and includes the following.
-Asshat users who won't take "I don't know yet" for an answer.
-"Peace" protesters who think their cause is advanced by screaming "babykiller!" at anyone in uniform.
-Snow.
-Irritable Microsoft software that refuses to cooperate with me.
-And the server that houses it.
-Planned events that are pulled out from under my feet.
-Michael Moore.
-A growing desire for cats and dogs.
-Grackles looting the bird feeders and making a mess.
-The fact that I sometimes panic while making sandwiches.
-An odor.
Explain, please, how I am to squelch these demons.
What's that you say? Watch some cartoons? Excellent suggestion!
March 26, 2003
March 25, 2003
This Space To Let
Not my chest, but rather Chris Pirillo's chest. Send him 20 bucks via Paypal, and he'll put your message on his chest.
An interesting way to send birthday greetings, or display your personal message for all the world to see.
The More You Know
I received this from my brother Wayne. It's obviously making the email rounds, but it's the first time I've seen it. It pretty well sums up my feelings.
---
With all of this talk of impending war, many of us will encounter "Peace Activists" who will try and convince us that we must refrain from retaliating against the ones who terrorized us all on September 11, 2001, and those who support terror.
These activists may be alone or in a gathering.....most of us don't know how to react to them. When you come upon one of these people, or one of their rallies, here are the proper rules of etiquette:
1. Listen politely while this person explains their views. Strike up a conversation if necessary and look very interested in their ideas. They will tell you how revenge is immoral, and that by attacking the people who did this to us, we will only bring on more violence. They will probably use many arguments, ranging from political to religious to humanitarian.
2. In the middle of their remarks, without any warning, punch them in the nose.
3. When the person gets up off of the ground, they will be very angry and they may try to hit you, so be careful.
4. Very quickly and calmly remind the person that violence only brings about more violence and remind them of their stand on this matter. Tell them if they are really committed to a nonviolent approach to undeserved attacks, they will turn the other cheek and negotiate a solution. Tell them they must lead by example if they really believe what they are saying.
5. Most of them will think for a moment and then agree that you are correct.
6. As soon as they do that, hit them again. Only this time hit them much harder. Square in the nose.
7. Repeat steps 3-6 until the desired results are obtained and the idiot realizes how stupid of an argument he/she is making.
8. There is no difference in an individual attacking an unsuspecting victim or a group of terrorists attacking a nation of people. It is unacceptable and must be dealt with. Perhaps at a high cost.
Announcement
The next person to use the words "quagmire" and "Vietnam" when referring to the Gulf War will be hit in the face with a shovel.
I mean it.
March 24, 2003
Spam
Spam thought for the day:
I saw this at the bottom of a spam: "Email is not as bad as postal junk mail and fax junk"
That's like saying "vomit is not as bad as shit and piss."
March 23, 2003
Heatwave
Oh, the genuine joy of a 72 degree day in late March. Minnesota is NEVER that warm in the early spring. The trees won't know what to do.
It is not uncommon for the trees to wait until mid May to leaf out. I'm curious whether they'll be ahead of schedule this year. The whole Winter has been most peculiar.
Today, the last two patches of snow and ice finally disappeared. I feel like celebrating.
March 22, 2003
Hmmmm
The thought just occurred to me. Do you suppose that Susan Sarandon's sudden "popularity" with the pro-war crowd is a godsend for Jane Fonda?
You KNOW she'd love to hand off that albatross to someone else.
March 21, 2003
Helen Thomas scares me
Though to be honest, Helen Thomas has never looked better...
Link via Rita of Res Ipsa Loquitur.
Troop Trax
Operation TROOPtrax is another worthwhile cause for showing your support.
Send 'em some music!
Link courtesy Michele of A Small Victory.
Operation Military Pride
Operation Military Pride helps ship care packages to active military personnel.
Sign up, and ship a care package to someone fighting for the USA. Support!your troops!
Link courtesy of Bill at Bloviating Inanities.
Update: The link has been changed, because Bill is playing games with my mind. Ow!
March 19, 2003
41
Yep, I'm 41 today.
I took the day off, and have been doing things as I please. I did some simple chores, fixed the adirondacks, painted a birdhouse, bought the second season of Red Dwarf, had a burrito at Chipotle, and played on the internet.
It's been a damn good birthday.
And one of the reasons it's been good is that I haven't watched the news at all. I'll do that tomorrow.
March 18, 2003
A little Photoshop Action
Sometimes the simplest things are the most fun.
More fun here, courtesy of Michele at A Small Victory.
March 17, 2003
Thoughtful
I was on the bus this afternoon, listening to The Chieftains. Beautiful Irish folktunes. Happy songs with a tinge of Melancholy. And something struck me.
I miss my Dad.
I haven't really missed him up to now. He's been dead for a couple of years, and he wasn't really himself for several years before that. When he died, I felt relief. I didn't grieve for him, or mourn his loss. I had a lot of conflicting emotions about him while he was alive, and his death settled a lot of those emotions.
Dad was troubled. Dad was also a serious alcoholic, serious to the point of having bottles hidden all over the place. He had an irresponsible streak that would manifest now and again, much to the disgust and sadness of his family. Dad was deep, but he acted in a superficial manner and kept that depth to himself. Kept it to himself and disguised it with whiskey. I don't think he cared much for the deeper parts of himself.
He also had a reputation. Everyone had heard of the Town Drunk. Dad was the State Drunk. People hundreds of miles away knew stories about him. That's a tough thing for a Son or a Daughter to live down.
When I was in high school, he went on Social Security. For the next few years, life took a clockwork turn. The week before the check would come, the tension would build. Then the check came, and the whiskey flowed. He'd be hopelessly drunk by late afternoon, and would stumble off to bed eventually. After a week of that, he'd gradually run out of Whiskey. There would then follow a couple of weeks of general (but not absolute) sobriety, and a sense of relative calm at home. And then off we'd go to the Alcohol Races again.
But for all his trouble and turmoil, he could also be an outstanding Father. For every unpleasant memory of him, I have a matching good one. He had an excellent, dry sense of humor that would catch you unaware. He was surrounded by books, and kept a dictionary by his chair to look things up. He could do algebra intuitively, despite never getting past the Eighth grade. He was a handsome devil in his day. And he was an excellent Grandfather.
A few years before he died, I had a confrontation with him. I managed to get a lot of the poison out of my heart, and I got him to agree to be sober when I came home to visit. It was tough to do, but it did us both a lot of good. I know that some of my Siblings never managed to do that with him. I'm glad I did before he was gone.
Today I wish I could just sit and have a nice talk with him. I miss those, and I miss him.
I hope you're resting easy, Dad. Goodness knows you didn't rest easy when you were here on Earth with us.
Delicious
A letter to PeTA
Mailed today, March 17th 2003
March 15th, 2003
Dear PeTA,
I want to thank you for opening my eyes. Your masskilling.com website has really been revealing to me. It exposes the utter contempt that some people have for life, and the blank disregard they pay towards victims.
By all that, I mean you.
Thank you for putting animals ahead of real Holocaust victims. Thank you for dehumanizing humans. Thank you for anthropomorphizing animals. Thank you for trivializing human suffering from years past. Thank you for putting McDonalds on the same moral plane as Auschwitz. Thank you for thinking that meat is murder. And finally, thank you for speaking out about it. Now we know who to ignore.
In PeTA’s honor, March 15th was spent eating meat. And not just small quantities of meat, oh no. My husband and I had two hot dogs, a large plate of buffalo wings, and two full racks of pork ribs. By my estimate, the wings and ribs came from two separate hogs and at least ten chickens. We also had wild rice soup, which certainly required the dairy byproducts of a few cattle. No one can even guess at the number of animals that contributed to the hot dogs.
This feast of meat is a reaction to your masskilling.com website and to the viewpoints contained there.
In the past, I have felt generally friendly toward PeTA, thinking that your organization does good work. I no longer feel that way. I now feel that you have a detached view of reality, and I will not support you. I will not feel guilty for enjoying a hamburger or a piece of fried chicken. In fact, I’ll now enjoy them with more zest than ever before.
Sincerely,
Keith Hopkins, Omnivore
March 15, 2003
Carnivorous
In honor of International Eat An Animal for PETA Day, Fred and I consumed flesh.
I had considered the possibilities, such as purchasing a Turducken or creating some absurd combination of meats. In the end, we took the easy way out and went to Timber Lodge. While there, we participated in the barbaric ritual of devouring a plate of buffalo wings, and then we each had a full rack of baby back ribs.
Oh, the delicious irony. PETA cries out for us to be ashamed. And I was. I was ashamed that I only had room for one rack of ribs. They were so succulent. All that meat, all that sauce, all that gelatin. The grinding teeth, the bits of flesh. The stack of bones, bones pawed over and gnawed on.
It is fair to say that our single meal required the slaughter of two separate pigs, and at least ten chickens. We won't even get into the poor cattle forced to give up their milk so that we could enjoy the Wild Rice Soup.
Tonight and tomorrow I will compose my letter to PETA, and send it off. Gotta finish this thing on a high note.
Up yours, PETA.
March 14, 2003
Meat!
Don't forget, tomorrow is International Eat an Animal for PETA Day.
Eat some meat, and send a protest letter to PETA.
Thanks to Meryl Yourish for starting all this.
Seven small things I'm thankful for
1. Oreos - Really, what better small thing is there? They're chocolatey. They have cream filling. They unscrew.
2. That Goofy Brit - Mike Paddock rocks. One of the best friends I'll ever have, and my long-lost brother.
3. Cold water - I love water. I know people that don't like to drink water, but I'm not one of them. Water is so very very good.
4. Cool breezes - Nights are very pleasant when the temps are perfect, because the night breezes are so amazingly good. Pure heaven, in a small wisp of wind.
5. Santa Claus - Believe in him. He's real!
6. Santa Claus, Indiana - Home of one of the best Theme Parks in the world. Holiday World is just plain awesome. Great folks, great theming, friendly staff, and the nicest owners we've ever met. And also the town where some very good friends live..
7. Fried Chicken - Mmmmmmmm.
March 13, 2003
Alive
Coming up for air. I've spent the last two days sick at home with a rather annoying cold. But I seem to be getting a good handle on it today.
It wasn't a devastating cold. But it was enough to make me crawl under the blankets on the couch and not move much. I'm a big baby when I'm sick. Fred has been hovering over me like a large hen, which is sweet and drives me crazy. Bring me water and then get lost.
Still, he's very sweet and I feel loved. What else does one need to get well?
March 10, 2003
Finished
Taxes are done.
It's rather silly doing your taxes and finding that you have a $2 refund coming. Whoop-de-doo. I can get a small shake.
Gaultier 1, PETA 0
PETA protesters wrapped in fur during Anti-fur protests
Yet another reason for me to like Jean Paul Gaultier.
Link courtesy of Rita at Res Ipsa Loquitur.
March 08, 2003
Clarity
This morning, while in bed, I had a moment of clarity.
I've been worrying about this and that, and moping, and not doing. My off-hours were devoted to entertainment and avoidance.
I realized that it doesn't do me any good to ignore the mundane parts of my life.
That may sound like a "Duh!" realization, but it really has slipped by me in the past few weeks. So what if I miss an hour of television, or twenty minutes of net browsing? That hour will be more than made up by peace of mind and an uncluttered house.
So I got my body out of bed, and just started DOING. Not at a breakneck speed, not with intensity, but just along the way. As I noticed things, I took care of them. And I did it in a relaxed manner.
It was beautifully calming.
I'm sitting here typing this, and the fan is blowing on me. I know that as soon as I finish this, I'm going to troubleshoot Fred's software problem. And then I'll throw some clothes in the washer. And then I'll go outside and shovel snow.
And I'm actually looking forward to all of it.
March 07, 2003
Flathead
I have a pain in my brain. A mild headache. No matter. I will not stop in my careening course towards Mortality's end.
You know how life sometimes picks up your luggage and sprints down the sidewalk? You end up running after it, shouting, trying to catch up. I've been feeling like that lately, like life is daring me to catch it, and managing to stay just ahead of me.
Okay, stupid analogy. But you know what I mean. I try very hard to stay in tune with my life, and keep my day-to-day work steaming along. But there's something about this year that has me slightly off-kilter.
Maybe it's just my imagination. Maybe I'm making more of it than I need to. I'll tell you this; so far this year is a HELL of a lot easier than last year. Last year I had a sick husband to take care of. This year, he's lively and happy.
Sounds good to me. So I'm going to keep pounding along, chasing life, determined to catch up. You're welcome to join in the chase with me.
March 05, 2003
Thinking
about the day. And nothing comes out of my brain. Tired, I guess.
You expect insight? Go elsewhere. Here, you get a recommendation to go to Achewood and catch up on the story.
March 04, 2003
Trapped
Trapped while doing taxes. I need to know the amount of Fred's car registration last year, but can't find the info. He's supposed to call me back with info, but hasn't.
Trapped in TurboTax!
March 03, 2003
March 02, 2003
Meat
Please note that March fifteenth is now designated as International Eat an Animal for PETA Day. In recognition of PETA's "Holocaust on your plate" anti-meat campaign, carnivores are encouraged to have a big ol' hunk of flesh on March Fifteenth, and to send PETA a letter describing your reactions to their campaign. Send your letters to:
PETA
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510
United Kingdom:
PETA Europe Ltd.
PO Box 36668
London
SE1 1WA
England
My thoughts? FUCK YOU, PETA. Your attitude that eating meat is akin to the slaughter of millions of Jews makes me sick. Talk about a slap in the face to Holocaust survivors. Are you that deluded that you think Nazi war atrocities are on the same moral plane as a chicken sandwich? My contempt for PETA has reached a new high, and compels me to not only ignore your campaign, but to actively subvert it.
Mmmmm. Beef. I think I'll go for the Prime Rib. Remember, folks, March Fifteenth. Meat. A letter.
Thanks to Michele at A Small Victory for the link.
Thanks to Meryl Yourish at Yourish.com for the plan.