January 31, 2005
This "Atomic Cannon" game is a habit-forming little time-waster.
And also available for your PDA.
Mmmm... expolsions...
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10:31 PM
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Maybe a guy could fall instantly in love, but I doubt it. I think love creeps over you like a warm feeling on a clear blue fall day. This person is in your thoughts most of the time - all of the time, actually. You see her when you close your eyes, when you look off into the distance, when you pause from what you are doing and take a deep breath. You remember how her fingers felt when they touched you. The loved one becomes a part of you, the most important part. At least it's that way with me when I think of you.
(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)
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10:25 PM
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Random Ten Albums:
Damn Yankees - Damn Yankees
Faster Pussycat - Faster Pussycat
Jeff Beck - Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop
Ratt - Ratt
Refreshments - Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy
Rush - Grace Under Pressure
Joe Satriani - The Extremist
Tesla - The Great Radio Controversy
MCA Master Series - Guitar Stars
Lynch Mob - Wicked Sensation
1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
Nothing to speak of. With the exception of "Mr. Bad Example" that I got from Straight White Eric's site, I don't download music recreationally. The tunes I live for are on tapes or CDs and there's about 300-400 of those.
2. The last CD you bought is:
Blue Oyster Cult - Heaven Forbid
3. What is the song you last listened to before this message:
Elvis - Satisfaction
Yet another theft from Straight White Eric. Oddly, I'd never heard this song before, but the day after I got it from Eric, it turned up in a TV special on figure skating that I watched with Beloved Wife.
4: Five songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:
I don't listen to a lot of music these days, because I find it distracting when I'm trying to write, but these are some old favorites:
1) Led Zeppelin - Thank You: When I first started dating Beloved Wife (then Beloved Girlfriend), it was the first song I ever dedicated to her. The music stinks, but the lyrics are sweet.
2) Rush - Red Barchetta: This song is about the pure unadulterated pleasure of driving fast. Perfect for when you have 5 miles of open highway and no place for the cops to hide. Best listened to in excess of 80mph.
3) Beethoven - Symphony #9: I saw "A Clockwork Orange". That should be enough explanation.
4) Ted Nugent - Stranglehold: There's something about that extended guitar-work section that just makes me all warm inside. Terrible Ted at his best.
5) Alice Cooper - School's Out: I hated school, and every time that sacred final day in June would roll around, this anthem got played - LOUD.
5. Who are you gonna pass this stick to (five persons and why)?
Don't know why... mostly just because they're on my blogroll & I'm pretty sure no one else has tagged them yet (if I'm wrong and you've already been tagged, just give me a virtual middle finger & tell me to piss off):
Graumagus of Frizzen Sparks - because I don't know of any good bagpipe songs, and I'm sure there'll be at least one on his list.
Sally of Whimsy Capricious - just wanna see what's popular across the pond. I'd ask Alex, but he's been WAY too busy to blog lately. Either that or Sally lost the handcuff keys again.
Susie of Practical Penumbra - since I can't get naked pictures of her, I need to find an alternative way of getting to know her better
Jeff of Oh-Dark-Thirty - I'm hoping he'll teach me to be funky & groovy & cool with his young-people "tunes", or whatever they're calling them these days.
Spear Shaker of Shaking Spears - just because I want to see if I can get him to let his hair down and post something personal instead of merely his usual excellent daily essay.
Posted by: Harvey at
10:19 PM
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Fortunately, an icy stone cell awaits him at the end of this tournament as he will be "retired" into the "Hall of Kings"... you just have to love Nick's flair for euphemism.
Go and peruse the results, lest you miss such excitement as:
Pietro admitting to being interested in what's beneath Neva's slip.
Songstress putting on her horn-rimmed glasses & wool skirt for some hot English teacher action.
Meanwhile, the contestants for week 6 have been chosen, and you can go to the KotB main page and place your bets on who you think will win.
While you're there, you can also sign up for a future tournament.
Don't just sit there being shy. You want to stay a Slithering Reptile all your life?
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09:30 PM
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As long as the volume level of their voice is reasonable, what's the beef? [...] If a close friend and I ride that same metro-rail, isn't it reasonable and expected that we will carry on a conversation while riding? With a cell phone, it should be even LESS bothersome, as you are only having to put up with one half of the talking.
That sounds reasonable on the face of it, but I'm having a hard time with this one. I don't like cell-phone talkers, but I'm not sure why.
I guess it's because I've always thought of phone conversations as private things that ought not be done in public. For example, if you're at your home entertaining guests, and you MUST take a call, you take the phone into a quiet area away from other people.
Public phone talkers just seem like public masturbators. They don't care who's around, they're just indulging their own pleasure because they can.
Frankly, I resent this verbal exhibitionism. My momma raised me to be polite. If I'm in an area where someone's having a conversation that I'm not involved in, I feel socially obligated to at least pretend I'm not listening in, no matter how audible their blah-blah-blah-ing. Public phoners impose on me by forcing me into applying my manners, all because they're too self-indulgent to either
A) Wait until later (like in the privacy of their car) to make that call,
OR
B) Find a quiet corner of the building, hang out there, do the talking & THEN re-join society, instead of standing in line next to me, jabbering away, and expecting me to pretend that I can't hear a single word they're shouting.
Finally, what about the person on the other end of the call? Do they have any idea how big an audience they're performing for? Would they continue to blather away without inhibition if they knew?
In short, people who use cell phones in crowded public areas for non-emergency purposes are self-absorbed twerps who desperately need a good whack on the nose with a rolled up Miss Manners newspaper column.
EPILOGUE: Yes, I know this is probably just me being a technophobic old coot who just hasn't adjusted to a new social norm and still owns a turntable so he can play his 78's. So if you can direct me to some etiquette guide wherein the norms of proper cell-phone usage are laid out, I will defer to its pronouncement.
UPDATE: Blogdaughter Teresa of Technicalities supports my contention that some people simply have no shame (or sense) when it comes to their public cell-phone conversations.
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08:45 PM
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Posted by: Harvey at
08:21 PM
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January 30, 2005
I'd like to take a moment to thank those in the Armed Forces of the Coalition of the Willing who paid the highest price to make it possible.
I'd also like to take a moment to point out why we went there in the first place.
We went so that my beloved blogdaughter Michele of Letters From New York City will be the last person in America to have to deal with the dreams and memories that she achingly describes in her post, "Time does not bring relief"
Please.
Read.
Remember.
And know that we fight so this will never happen on our shores again.
Posted by: Harvey at
11:32 PM
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I want to hold you in my arms, gently
Beyond sex and security, prestige and triumph,
To say once and for all, "I love you", and mean it
From the top of my head to the depths of my soul
This is the love that casts out fear
That makes life worth living
That takes a man and a woman on the earth and lifts them finally
Above every power or pain that could wound them
I have seen so many sights, heard so many words
But none as beautiful
As the sight and sound of a man and woman
Who say with their every act
Their eyes and all their being
"I LOVE YOU!"
(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)
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10:13 PM
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Apparently a series of 4 billboards have gone up which take some cheap shots at Randy Moss & the Puple Blight.
Mheh.
Posted by: Harvey at
09:48 PM
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*snicker*
[with apologies to Physics Geek]
Posted by: Harvey at
09:23 PM
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Now, I have my differences with the Democratic party, and I mock them mercilessly almost every week for being a bunch of traitorous, disloyal, back-stabbing, constitution-subverters, however, let's put a little perspective on things:
Question: When your party is out of power, what will you do to get it back?
Answer: There are two things really.First, you could impugn the integrity and intelligence of a perfectly qualified candidate for Secretary of State, like Barbara Boxer did with Condeleezza Rice. And you could compare anything remotely connected to the party in power like Fox News was compared to that despicable madman, Hitler. And you could even imply that the Republicans want kids to be without healthcare as John Kerry did in the Boston Globe article.
OR
You could bomb police stations and polling places. And you could take hostages and behead them while making inane demands. And you could target civilians in Spain to make a political point.
He's got a point.
And if you check out the rest of his site, you'll discover that he frequently does. I especially enjoy the "Q&A" technique he uses to intro his posts. Great way to set the tone for the words that follow. And if you think about it, isn't EVERY blog post a way to answer a questions that's floating aimlessly through your head?
I expect his rise through the Ecosystem to be as rapid as it is well-deserved.
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07:31 PM
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As I explained before, I get them from Bosco, my idea-lemur. Ain't he a cutie?
Apparently Gerard of American Digest faces a similar form of inspirational assault in the realm of poetry, although he refers to it simply as "The Arrival":
You beg for months off and you may get them. Then again, you may not. Frankly, you don't have a lot to say about it.I think you'll find, or perhaps have already found, that the poems you'll end up liking best of all your work tend to arrive first and are written after. They don't come up out of the page, or out of an immediate experience. Instead they always tend to appear almost unbidden out of that state that Wordsworth captured when he wrote, "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."
I've come to think of this experience as "The Arrival." It doesn't happen often but you know it when it does.
Off the top of my head, I'm thinking Gerard's lemur might actually be a capybara:
[artist's conception of Gerard being inspired by his muse]
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07:16 PM
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1) Information found on blogs is at least as accurate as information found in the mainstream media2) It's morally wrong to hijack someone else's blog.
The second one is fairly easy to agree with, but the first one requires a little nerve to assert.
In my recent surfing, however, I've come across a post in praise of the excellent job the blogosphere does of getting its facts straight. In honor of which, I present:
THE FIFTH OCCASIONAL JERKY AWARDS
The Little Right Wing Circle Jerk Award of Merit (or "Jerky") is given to those who defend the honor of blogger credibility vs. the so-called "journalistic integrity" of the mainstream media. I hereby award a Jerky to:
John Hawkins of Right Wing News for his post "5 Misconceptions About Blogs & The Mainstream Media"
Here's a sample quote:
Bloggers aren't accountable and trustworthy like the mainstream media! You mean bloggers can't compete with the same mainstream media that gave us Jayson Blair, Stephen Glass, Jack Kelley, & the memogate scandal? Pshaw!There are unreliable bloggers and unreliable members of the media. At least where the bloggers are concerned, you usually have readers pointing out the flaws in the comments section of the post and links to the original source material provided that gives the readers more relevant information to work with.
I'd also note that corrections in the blogosphere tend to be same day or next day at worst, unlike the mainstream media which can takes weeks to correct factual errors. The blogosphere -- like the mainstream media -- may not be perfectly accountable and trustworthy, but I'd take Glenn Reynolds over the New York Times in the accuracy department any time.
As long as he promises not to hijack any blogs, John is cordially invited to display either the Jerky Award image or the Little Right Wing Circle Jerk logo, or both.
[Credit: Jerky Award and LRWCJ logos created by Pam of Pamibe, the queen of graphic design - she's the one to see for all your blog-related image needs]
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07:01 PM
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He reminds me of myself in a bad mood.
Trouble is, when *I'm* in a bad mood, I get inarticulate. Misha's tongue, however, stays sharp. And with it, he eviscerates his enemies mercilessly.
In this post, for example, he describes his feelings toward a Muslim "man" who killed his own daughter because he thought she was having sex. A crime whose degeneracy defies verbal description.
Except to Misha.
Invective like this is a gift from G-d.
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06:54 PM
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Anyway, I rather enjoy the peacefulness of my lunch break. Its a time where there is no one else in the house. There is no tv on in the background, or the roaring of cars from my son's Hot Wheels game on the other pc. Its just me and the humming of my fan from my pc.
Right there with her on that one. My day at the bank consists of a series of problems, frustrations, crises, & interruptions. Quite maddening, all.
Until that sacred lunch hour finally rolls around, and I lock up my cash, grab my jacket, and head out the door. For 60 precious minutes, my life belongs to me again. I hop in the car, drive to a quiet spot near a park, stop the car and breathe out the morning's tension. If the weather is nice, I'll head out to a picnic table, unfold my portable keyboard, hook it to my PDA and work on a blog entry. Followed by sitting in the car, catching a bit of Rush Limbaugh, eating a sandwich & taking a catnap before returning to work.
On weathery days, I'll do the writing part in the car, too.
Lunch time is an hour of me-time sanity in a day otherwise filled with jumping through other people's hoops.
Best time of the day there is.
With the exception of the time I spend with Beloved Wife, of course ;-)
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06:42 PM
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January 29, 2005
Will Jon of Personal Trainer retire undefeated or will he be cast down into the salt mines for the rest of natural life, with the throne going to another?
It's a particularly tough call this week, as all show great promise, but I cast my lot thusly:
Write a fairy tale set in the blogosphere. Include only two of the judges.
Jon of Personal Trainer
GOOD POINTS: Flagrant appeals to my vanity, plus he FINALLY gets me that long-desired kiss from Songstress. Good work, Jon! [discreetly hands Jon envelope of cash]
BAD POINTS: Didn't give the King of Fools any gratuitous linkage, nor did Jon choose an actual Fairy Blogmother for me (Susie of Practical Penumbra should've gotten the part, but I can't expect Jon to have known that). Picking almost any woman off my blogroll would've worked.
And an extra-special stick-beating for making me Andrew Sullivan's pin-up boy, although bringing Wonkette into it was actually even worse.
SCORE: 4
Scott of Slant Point
GOOD POINTS: You can NEVER go wrong quoting the Princess Bride. An ambitious project and a pleasure to read.
BAD POINTS: Essence of moonbat, while a clever plot point, does not work in that scene because it reeks horribly, and Rather would've noticed the stench in both glasses. A minor point, but one that you should've caught & fixed.
SCORE 4.5
Neva of Neva
GOOD POINTS: Nice M. Night Shyamalan twist near the climax & I *loved* that last line.
BAD POINTS: Writing style contained too many simple, declarative sentences to keep me into the tale. Would've been a more pleasant read if it were either spiced up or pared down. Just took too long to get to the end.
SCORE: 4
Person Trainer: A Just War
GOOD POINTS: Nice, attention-getting personal anecdote for an intro, plenty of supportive linkage, and an informative summary of Just War Theory.
BAD POINTS: This piece was obviously meant more to inform than persuade, however, all the explaining following the line "Do you have a couple minutes?" leads the reader to believe that the author's opinion of the Iraq war will be given at some point, but it's left implied, rather than stated. This post just needs Jon to say "I think the Iraq war meets these criteria" at some point to make it complete
SCORE: 4.5
Slant Point: The Hollywood Left vs. Johnny
GOOD POINTS: Goal stated, evidence presented (complete with supportive linkage), hypocrisy noted, conclusion drawn, writing stopped. A model blog entry. Well done.
BAD POINTS: There shouldn't be an apostrophe in "Johnny's", since it was plural, and not either a possessive or a contraction.
SCORE: 4.5
Neva: Go Read a Book
GOOD POINTS: Good observation about the differences in how love grows in men & women. Oddly enough, *I* was the "new creature... [who was] a good deal in the way" in Beloved Wife's Eden.
BAD POINTS: The introductory quote and the bulk of the book list doesn't quite fit right with the main point of the post. It would've been a better and more focussed piece if that first chunk were taken away and put in it's own "here are my favorite books" entry, leaving just a discussion of "The Diaries of Adam and Eve".
SCORE: 4
Here are some technical things I like to see on a blog:
King of the Blogs javascript thingy in the sidebar
Comments enabled
Permalinks working
E-mail contact info available
Blogger's name/pseudonym prominently displayed
Site search feature enabled
Link to an "About Me" post on the sidebar
Blogger's gender is easily discernable
Blogroll
Readable font style & size
Readable color scheme (for example, NOT bright red type on bright green
background)
Divisions between posts clearly marked
Paragraphing in entries (NOT just writing one fat block of text)
Aside from the tech stuff, I also like to see a blogger's personality shining through, to
remind us of the person behind the words.
With that in mind...
Personal Trainer:
GOOD POINTS: Jon just keeps getting better. That extended entry monkey is off his back and has been returned to the zoo where it belongs. I really like that he's placed his "About me" post, his contact e-mail, AND his search box all "above the fold" so that they can be found without hunting. Bonus for all the gratuitous linkage this week, too.
BAD POINTS: None visible
SCORE: 5
Slant Point
GOOD POINTS: Aces the technicals, and - like Jon - puts the important stuff above the fold.
BAD POINTS: There's something just a little bit off about the color scheme. I'd suggest either having the gray background appear behind the right column as well, or just put it behind the center column only. As it stands, it looks lopsided. Also I'm beginning to see why Pietro hates calendars. That's a good-sized chunk of primo real estate wasted at the top of the blog for something that no one navigates by or cares about. Maybe Scott could slide it down & sell an ad there or something.
Off topic: Pete Townshend called - he wants his picture back.
SCORE: 4
Neva:
GOOD POINTS: With an uncommon name like Neva, it's nice to see her picture right up top. No gender identity mysteries here. A warm smile makes a great first impression
BAD POINTS: I know you're new, but it's time to start poking around in your template & tweaking things to reflect your personality. Google up an html tutorial, save a copy of your template in case something goes wrong, and begin experimenting - change some fonts, change some colors, add borders around your blockquotes... SOMETHING to spruce the place up so you don't look like everyone else on Blogspot.
By the way, the yellow link to "A Quote From The Museum Of Left Wing Lunacy" does NOT show up well against that background.
Finally, you can get the code for a site search box from this old post of mine.
SCORE: 3
Personal Trainer: 13.5
Slant Point: 13
Neva: 11
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02:55 PM
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Kevin & I go WAY back... we met the summer after 7th grade & got into (and out of) more trouble together than it's safe to put in writing. For example, one time my dad let me borrow the car to drive to school because it was raining. I bumped into Kevin in the school parking lot, and he suggested we take the day off & drive down to Chicago. Just because.
Sounded like a good idea at the time.
We saw the Sears Tower, we stopped at the Field Museum, we almost killed a bus stop full of people as we skidded to a halt at a stoplight, and on the way out of town we got hopelessly lost and drove through some ghetto/slummy area where we were the only white people for 10 miles - except for one little old white lady pushing her little 2-wheel grocery basket down the street, whose presence remains a mystery to this day.
We made it out, eventually, and Dad never asked about the extra 300 miles on the car.
Good times, man. Good times.
Anyway, an operating table is staring this man in the face. Please say something to God or my comments or both.
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07:07 AM
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January 28, 2005
Posted by: Harvey at
11:50 PM
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Love is when you look into someone's eyes and suddenly you go all the way inside their soul and you both know it.
(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)
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10:54 PM
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Filthy Lie Round-up: Evil Glenn Controls The Weather
New Filthy Lie Assignment: Evil Glenn's Garbage
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10:46 PM
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