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archives push me to post webmail :: xenii mail the hive :: for trading and raiding polymorph :: a cosmographia universalis chrisnelson.ca :: chiefwagonburner has a blog fortune cookie distro :: x's distro
Just be alone.
jeffron x I liked Starship Troopers. But it was so inanely an action film, then again maybe not. I forgot about the whole colonization thing, and the pre-emptiveness of the war with the bugs, hmmmm... I guess I was mostly disappointed that it wasn't another Blade Runner. Hey, Chief, your pic made me think, Sars is bringing back the birka. Mayhaps the fashion originated from some similar outbreak of disease or vermin. And then they would be effective against sand storms. And hey Jimmy. What's the deal on Arthead? Is that space where we could upload files, pics and such? I would like to share some of my Art and music files. But I'm a little rusty on ftp-ing. I need a refresher course, and a good ftp client. Peacevolution, Awwa \A/
Aw Just watched Starship Troopers (well, not finished yet). I just thought I'd mention that while this film made it very easy to walk out on, it's brilliant and extremely poignant. Especially now. Maybe I'll give a review when I'm done, but probably not, as I'll have a hang-pver.
jimmy This Post should be titled... Lovevolution War is an evolutionary survival mechanism. Okay I guess that's sorta known, implied to be sorta true. However, the survivors of war were (as often as not), the less distinguished survivors (the generals, cowards or infirm who never approached the frontlines), yet survivors nevertheless. Then there is the idea that intelligence helps a species (in particular, humans) to survive. Yet the statistics show that the more physically developed individuals are better, more successful procreators. Thinkers need not apply! But comparing human evolution to that of the Chernobyl worms, it occured to me that perhaps wars were not meant to be fought. Wars may have initially been a mechanism, whereby one tribe shared another tribes genes. By that I mean, shared genes through consent, not through conquest. To go off to war was to go off to the neighboring tribe to procreate, and thus share genes. They didn't go off to fight, they went off to make love! Humans might have, like the Chernobyl worm, decided that we need to diversify, we need a war! And thus the ritual of war might have meant something very different from that which modern humans understand it. At the least, modern humans have lost that sharing between tribes, that existed long ago. Now it is either them or us. Perhaps future humans will decide that narrow-minded individuals (us or themmers) must be put to death. It might be a survival mechanism. Peace and Love! Awwa \A/
Aw I read that SARS most likely came out of poultry factory farms in China. There's a link to the story on www.vegsource.com. Heyulp. I'm drowning in schoolwork depression. Gah.
Anna enough about the depressing stuff, let's talk about jeffron's love life. who's the lucky lady, eh? it's springtime and luff is in the air, I tell ya'.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians world health people have been expecting SARS or something like it for awhile now. Actually SARS isn't even that bad compared to what's down the pike for us. Which would be something like SARS but airborne and fatal to a larger portion of the population. Try controlling that... They think that SARS and other new viruses are popping up because of the rain forest gettin' chopped down. There's a lot of virusy stuff that used to live quite peacefully up in the canopy, but now that the canopy is gone these things are coming down to ground level, infecting animals, and eventually mutating and being transmitted to humans. We're really doing a good job of fucking our world up. We're committing biological terror against ourselves for the purpose of having more crappy stuff. sigh. I saw that article about SARS affecting other organs and younger people in the NY Times the other day. I think it was on monday or tuesday.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Yea, Sicko! But you're sick in a good way! Has anyone else seen the article (I've been searching for it all afternoon), where they came-out and said that Sars may affect other organs (renal failure and intestinal diarreaha) as well as the lungs. And that younger, previously healthier patients were now dieing as well as the older, already infirmed ones? I believe that it was a story at Yahoo that I saw yesterday, but now it appears to have been yanked. There are several reasons that a story might get literally yanked. One might be that there was a falsehood, liablelous or otherwise misrepresented information or statement, and thus due to legal ramifications, proprioty or just common sense they woiuld pull it. They might pull it to avoid creating unnecessary panic or worry, especially if there are unproven statements or speculation, which might later prove false. And then there are those of us who suspect everything of being a conspiracy first, and then later consider the more beneign reasons the article might have been pulled. Sars as a conspiracy, like AIDS, might be some secret plot to irradicate the Chinese. Then my slightly less conspiracy believing friend said, it might as likely be a biological agent that the Chinese were handling, that got away from them, rather than an outside source plotting China's downfall. All these and more probably still don't reveal the truth. It pays to remain skeptical. Oh and from Oddly Enough - Reuters, a story mentioned in Speck's Harper's article menagerie', "Wife-Subduing Air Raid Siren Confiscated!" That's an episode of COPS I'd love to have seen! One other bit of news, actually a real life meeting with a guy I met in the bar (Main Street Beer Company, my hangout), who claimed to own a fleet of Porsches and multiple assault rifles, also claimed to be very rich from web designing. Hey, who knows(?) from a casual meeting, he might be lieing, but who knows(?). He was an interesting person to talk to, having a similar take on many of the issues we discuss, and even having a web site (at least he claimed to be the webmaster), which reports many of the same news items we regularly hash-out. His site, The Axis of Evil Network is quite interesting, and though not thoroughly explored by moi yet, may become a good place to look for the type of information that we've been passing on. Oh and he may apply to be a member here. Czarina, I told him he'd have to pass muster with you first, to be able to join. But as far as I could tell, though rather opinionated on some issues (like I'm not, Heh), he seemed like an okay bloke, if not entirely harmless. That's my recommendation for what it's worth. He goes by the handle "Captain Sternn." Peace 'n Stuff! Awwa \A/
Aw LMFAO Yes. You are one sick mo-fo. Actually, I bought a pack of those things right before the SARS break-out, and I happen to have one in my pocket right now. I don't know I kept it with me. I just thought they looked cool.
jimmy  Yes I know, I need help.
chiefwagonburner Just one local mouse? Have they caught the bastard?
jimmy From what I understood, SARS cant really be treated (only vaccinated or cured) - its a virus. Bits from the article: A fatality rate of over 10 per cent puts SARS on a par with some other RNA viruses. Yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis, spread by tropical mosquitoes, between them kill more than 10,000 people a year, even though both have vaccines. Lassa fever kills about 70,000 a year in West Africa, but people mainly catch it from a local mouse. Because these infections need animal vectors that only exist regionally, none has ever gone global. But the SARS vector - humans - is everywhere. Uncertainty may dog the exact calculation, but it now seems clear that in the absence of a cure or a vaccine, SARS could eventually kill millions. The best hope is a vaccine. At a high-level meeting last week in Washington DC, every major vaccine company reported that it had begun a research programme. We might just be wearing fashionable masks in a little while.
chiefwagonburner -Ashok...I'm going to try that, even though I have no idea what to expect. According to my math instructor,the flu epidemic of the 1920s had a kill rate of 1%. She was frightened because it killed 20 million people world wide with just a 1% kill rate. She told me this last night, and she said we were in trouble because “SARS has a 4% kill rate.” Her doomsday message was not comforting…and now you’re telling us 10%? Yikes… Hopefully the massive amounts of death were from lack of medical technology at the time. Perhaps we’re more equipped to handle it now. But still…yikes.
jimmy That reminds me of the old legends - eat something to absorb its power. The maze bit reminds me of Ikea last night. Heh. Of course while I was in Ikea I got suckered in to buying some stuff, after walking the maze. Some stuff is crap, but Ikea is pretty good bang for buck. I bought a nightstand, set of silverware (for work, we only have disposable stuff here), holographic drink coasters (ooo, ahhh), and 2 plastic bowls for a grand total of 20 bucks. The idea of simple/functional using cheap ingredients was the goal of designers like eames and nelson - but they never really got there. Ikea rips a lot of their designs off to produce stuff for the masses. Uhg, clear channel is getting bigger. They now gauge SARS kill rate at 10%. More info behind the republican spat here. It also has some disturbing info: "In light of all this, these "neocons" say, the US must stand on its own and take whatever actions it must to prevent another Sept 11-style attack by Islamist terrorists. The rest of the world will carp, but eventually fall into line. To them, the US has the means to get its way; it just needs the will."
chiefwagonburner Jeffron, I dig your flag. __________________ Awwa: "Okay how about, These are living adult worms, who by some unspoken choice, started to procreate via male and female pairing, rather than the usual asexual, ambiguous reproductive techniques. Is this a species conscious decision? Did all of these worms all of a sudden decide to get it on, to save their species?" I believe the most likely conclusion (and a piece of information we're missing) is that the worms have (relatively) short lives to begin with. The Chernobyl disaster occurred in 1986, so it is likely that the descendants of worms less likely to participate in sexual reproduction rather than asexual reproduction have simply fallen out of the population game. This of course, would be because sexual reproduction mixes up the gene pool and has the effect of naturally preserving genes which are more fit. That last sentence I give prematurely, because certainly if the worm had the choice between asexuality and sexuality all of this time, sexuality would have won out as the behavioral norm if asexuality had shown itself to be deleterious anyhow. Also, they didn't even mention the species of worm at that site, unless I missed it, so poop on them! They're not telling us anything! I mean, ok, they didnt' even go into whether or not worms have a choice to reproduce sexually or asexually....it was just sort of implied. It's been my understanding that they have a choice anyhow, or at least the majority of worm species do. Worms are weird. According to Hofstadter in Godel, Escher, Bach, worms are isomorphic. This means that for every worm organ or nerve, or whatever, you will find exactly the same organ or nerve or whatever at exactly the same location in every other worm. There really is only one worm! Freaky deeky. Worm reproduction isn't fully understood, though. With 9000 species of worm, it would be really nice to know which is sexing it up in Chernobyl. It was a textbook example in my school’s biology class that tapeworm can be taught to go through mazes. (I think I’ve told you guys this more than once. God, I’m like the drunk at a party that keeps telling the same story). They can actually learn a maze! Amazing? Not really. They’d have to learn their way around to survive inside someone’s intestines. But…if you puret a worm that knows a maze and feed it to a worm that doesn’t know the maze, the worm you’ve just fed will suddenly know the maze. The book was vague. The fuckers. I’ve been searching for more information on this. Not yet convinced!
jimmy The natural world is full of undiscovered chains of events that a select few can use for their own purposes. Not that these purposes have to be evil as evil is commonly understood. Another favourite haunting ground of this hidden fraternity is the realm of the mind. Much, much more is in the head than is in awareness. Hidden paths, hidden knowledge and most importantly, to the witch, hidden control centres. A mind (as opposed to a natural) witch has knowledge of such centres, their structure and makeup and of how they may be activated. Of course a certain quality must be inherent in the person else it just remains knowledge (assuming the person acquires this knowledge somehow). Applied knowledge is what makes the witch. Try this experiment: During an inter-action (talking to you and me) with a person who is not too close to you emotionally (shop assistant perhaps), look at the persons forehead, just above their eyes. Keep your eyes on that spot. Don’t make it too obvious. Just be natural but instead of eye contact make it eye forehead/brow contact. It might be interesting to report and compare observations of this experiment here. Have a nice weekend all.
Ashok Okay here's the question... Are the scientists, who are studying these radiated Chernobyl worms (thus being exposed to those same radiations), doing it more than other, less radiated scientists? That's Evolution! Heh! \A/
Aw One of my favorite mental exercises/day dreams is imagining/thinking about evolution, and extrapolating upon its possiblities. The Chernobyl worm article got me to thinking. Survival of the fittest is just saying that any one genetic composition of a given individual of a given species, might better survive and reproduce passing it's genes onto other generations, better than another given individual of that same species; due to the surviving structure of the superior genes, in that moment and, or environmental situation. These worms have decided due to environmental stress, that it is better to survive by sexual reproduction rather than by asexual, because that sharing of genes, allows more possible compositions, of which one or another might better be able to survive in that environment. Okay, another way. Those worms all of a sudden, started celebrating their Gods Venus and Eros, somehow stimulating an otherwise less desirable machismo, wherein their reproductive encounters became sexually charged and spent. Okay how about, These are living adult worms, who by some unspoken choice, started to procreate via male and female pairing, rather than the usual asexual, ambiguous reproductive techniques. Is this a species conscious decision? Did all of these worms all of a sudden decide to get it on, to save their species? There is a behavioral element to evolution, not just the genetics. Evolution of these worms is dictated by their behavior. By choosing to reproduce sexually, they are increasing their chances of surviving. That's a behavior to survive, not just survival behavior... or sumptin lack dat, Heh! I can't say it, HA! Anyway, it got me thinking! (End of the World Orgy Anyone?) Awwa \A/
Aw Hehehehe! I used your Valley Speak link on Xenius.org... "Like, hi... I'm going shopping! Like, oh my gawd! Welcome to xenius dot org, a collectively managed site whose goal is totally to provide web space, dweeb-mail (please, like I am SO sure, we valley girls use the phone) accounts and forums for anyone who totally has a voice and wishes to contribute Like, Here you can upload, display and distribute your work, or join the forums. It totally doesn't matter what you do here actually, just that you do it; even if "it" is totally nothing. To like, you know, totally turn into a member, dweeb-mail (please, like I am SO sure, we valley girls use the phone) us at" Like totally say that is how you tawk, Jimmy! Like Gawd Jimmy! Put that thing away! Like Peace everybody! Like really! Awwa \A/
Aw Those whacky French! Greenspan's enlarged prost... Keep a lid on the lid, kid! We love the Iraqi Information Minister action figures! (Oh and the actual Hero Builders site. Now that's gonna be collectable!) Republican feeding frenzy! I love it when they start to eat their own! Nor is there honor among thieves! Chernob-worms! And speaking of wood chippers! "Feed me Seymour!" "Buc-a-buck-a-BYACHI-RRRRRRRR-SPUT!" As cruel as it might seem, a video of them feeding those chickens to the chipper, would quite possibly make big bucks on the Internet! Another kinds of  Chicks. And in case Yahoo blocks that, viva la Dixie Chicks!"Well that's a little catch-up on the news (thanks Chief for your illuminations)! I've got to refill the printer, to finish printing the nightly reports, so I can sort them, and get out of here, to meet the gang, at our usual Thursday night's watering hole! Peace! Awwa \A/
Aw The addresses of our elected officials can be found at vote-smart.org Click on 'my state' (which, I hope for your sake, is not Georgia). My contribution to the great Georgia flag debate. ("Most people see things as they are and ask why? I see things that never were and ask why not?!" -Robert Kennedy) Y'all are having some interesting posts and I'd write more, but I'm busy falling in love. Everything is sunbeams and rose petals. *sigh* I have to go shave my 5 o'clock shadow. I tell you, this L-stuff makes a man do crazy things.
jeffron x That's true Sarah. A language is merely a dialect with a Navy, or something like that. Unfortunately though, without a technical definition, all discussions of language versus dialect fall to crap, and some stringency has to be kept. I dont really know how I feel about it, to tell you the truth. I do feel as I stated in the first paragraph of my essay, but as for the definition of language and dialect, I have mixed feelings. I think as vectors in a giant pool of mixed dialects, it pays to call the larger more dominant vector, or the 'standard' as in 'standard English', a 'language', because as the evolution of language goes, the largest vector has dinstinguishable key roles in the development of the smaller vectors which are not mirrored by the smaller ones. I do know that I'm glad I've prattled on and on about this topic online in the past, because I'm finding some useful filler in our forum here and at tcint. I wish I was taking an Italian class. Geez, that must be so fun. Especially at night, when you can follow class up with a trip to the bar!
jimmy actually all dialects are individual languages. It's just that countries decide to elevate one particular dialect and adopt it as their national language. We don't really have dialects here besides Creole. What we have, for the most part, are differences in slang or pronounciation. But not significant enough differences to inhibit understanding. In other countries you can take people from two different regions, have them speak their dialects, and they won't be able to understand anything the other person is saying - even though they're both Italians (for example). We just had this language vs. dialect discussion in my Italian class last night, coincidentally...
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians I just started a four page essay due in 2 hours: Language as a Political Instrument "Baldwin’s essay, “If Black English Isn’t a Language, then Tell Me What Is”, defends the position that African American English is a language in terms of its utility as a political instrument. Baldwin’s articulation of the problem dangerously neglects characteristics of Black English which would strengthen his thesis and provide much needed cogency; he attempts to defend his position using linguistic features of Black English which scarcely differentiate it from slang or dialect. By Baldwin’s analysis, Valley, a style of speech affected by teenage Caucasian females in California’s San Fernando Valley during the 1980s, is a language. His essay might be more effective if renamed "Black English is a Language, Tell Me What Isn't!" " Then I found this and translated our forum into Valley Girl speech! chief: "Jimbo he stole your flag! Like Oh my gawd!" I'm laughing my ass off.
jimmy This is an interesting read.
chiefwagonburner I'm glad I am not a practicing Shiite. This will be interesting to watch: free-speech case for businesses (Nike) - Jimbo, he stole your flag! More info here. Corporations already have full citizen rights, now they just want to get rid of those mundane details, like ethics and responsibility. I was at home depot last night looking for some supplies for my coffee table. There was an entire wall of Ralph Lauren paint and painting accessories. It was very surreal. Maybe the paint comes with a polo logo you can stick on your freshly painted wall. "In this sense, we are truly not that far in genetic complexity from the common bread mold"
chiefwagonburner For Awwa: 
jimmy One more time! I can see it now, I'll be banned for zealousness! Okay, here's what we do. We create the alternate Georgia/USA flag, which is basically a blue square with a rainbow halo on it and 3-5 red and white stripes, with the words: "We the People" inscribed in the blood of our heros; inscribed on the stripes. Somehow a new, but identifiable design, to represent the change. An emblem to represent our unity, an emblem to represent our resolve, something around which, we'd be proud to gather. A symbol that we can live with, and grow to mean. A call to everyone, that we are all one human. That as humans, accepting each other, we are all better. Awwa \A/
Aw Sorry to spam again. I'm posting like crazy! My mania must be fed! Ashok, before I transgress (or forget), please tell us more of your knowledge of the shaman. You have obviously thought upon this issue very often, perhaps your life is modeled in someway by the concept, nor would my own be much different. I guess I ask to compare notes. Contact me directly, if you so choose, at: awwa1@yahoo.com Peace and real peace ~ \A./
Aw Damn! I wished I'd thought of this one first! Okay, it may be okay. Here it is anyway, the definiative answer... Drum roll please...... "In Whites We Trust!" Pada Boom! Peace and Nice Dreams! (Silly world, silly human race!) Awwa \A/ Adendumn How about a flag for alternately thinking Georgians to buy, oh say a dollar each, that says, "In The People We Trust" Same design, but with a message. Something to help our culturally challenged cousins (cause no matter who you say you are, we are all related someway or 'nother), to accept our peopleness. Maybe do it in such a way, that it doesn't represent rebellion, rather it becomes a beautiful, peaceful ground swell. Something that is unspoken, but acknowledged as *nice* SWEET!
Aw Oh you are definitely right of course, Ms Speck! Bush and his cadre are as racist as they can get away with, obviously playing to that constituency in trumps! That is why I changed the names, to imply a different Bush and Cheney. And I have changed the names to protect the uninnocent, once more. Now "VP Chenisky" and "Pres Bushenstein" are "VP Grant the XXV" and "Pres Abraham Lincoln the XXV!" Perhaps it should be dated sometime in the future, to give it that possibility of a different thinking Bush. However the reasons and means bywhich they approach change is meant to be startlingly similar to the current B&C as we know them. (The funny thing about how I changed the names is... they are still Republicans!) Just silliness! (Or is it silly justness?) Awwa \A/
Aw somehow i think Bush would side with Georgia though...
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Off the top of my head... In Racism We Trust Racists R Us Damn We're Stubborn! The UnUnited State of Georgia Bigots Welcome! (Coloreds are Not!) And so forth. I would feel sorry for them, it's such an easy target. But then that's what inbred ignorance breds, inbred ignorance. it's time these United States faced the reality of a multi-cultural, multi-colorful, multi-beautiful world, wherein their particular group may not be in the majority, nor use that majority even if they are, to humiliate or otherwise depromote the rest! In the Year 2106: VP Grant the XXV> "Mr President, the South is making noise again! Don't they know they lost the war?" Pres Abraham Lincoln the XXV!> "After 240 years you'd think they would! Yes, I can see we're going to have to go to war with them again!" VP Grant the XXV> "Shall I release a press announcement?" Pres Abraham Lincoln the XXV!> "I guess we're going to have to. I wish my father's, father's, father's, father's, father's, father's, father's, father's, father had done the job right the first time!" To the National Press Corps... "It is with a heavy heart that this administration has determined that there are still aggitaters in Georgia and throughout the South, seeking to disrupt and otherwise terrorize these United States. They continue to infringe upon the rights of the peoples of their states, as well as threaten to 'rise again' against the other states, on a regular basis. They hide their flags of Statehoods goneby. Thus the Whitehouse has decided to go to war with Georgia and any other backwater, backwards thinking states that stand in our way. They will be made to become a United States state, even if we have to kill every one of them ignorant bastards to do it!" Peace You All! Awwa \A/
Aw I just sent an email to Georgia's democratic senator asking him to check out my flags. I got rid of the "Inbred, We Trust?" 'cause it was counter-productive. I was gonna make an "Enraged We Trust?" but thought that was cheesey. I'm still waiting for the automated response. I can't find the republican senator's email addy. Reminds me of the time I sent Crayola the request for a "Divine Brown" crayon-among other ridiculous requests. They responded with a sort of "thanks for all your great ideas" cut and paste. T'was cute.
jimmy In response to the Georgia flag thingy, I made some of my own versions. I actually regret the inbred once. It just worked so well for some reason. It's not in my nature to defend groups against stereotypes by using stereotypes. It is in my nature to urinate, and I'm going to go do that. This one is of course my favorite:  In my delerium, I am considering sending this to the people in charge over in Georgia. The black caucus or whatever. ANyone have any idea how I'd do thatr?
jimmy OJ wants a tv show. Some of Georgia wants to resurrect a discarded state flag that bears a giant emblem of the pro-slavery Confederacy. Oh yeah, sars got nastier. My head hurts.
chiefwagonburner Been thinking about what magic is following on from Awwa’s earlier post. All effect has cause. The vectors connecting (primary) causes and (final) effects may not be necessarily understood. Primary and final here are put in only to frame our enquiry. Out in reality causes and effects, which in their own turn are causes, may reverberate for a long time spreading outwards ever changing until no one component of reality can trace the paths anymore. The changes, mediums and connections are infinite, infinite not because they are already there in these huge numbers but because one component of reality is creativity (the other two being material and laws). Anyway to pull myself back to magic (but goddam (- divine obstacle suddenly appearing where none was earlier giving rise to popular informal use to express exclamation) it’s hard! Still if one followed every thought ones whole life would be spent in parenthesis). Magic could be defined as using a vector to bring about some desired result when the workings of the vector are not only not commonly understood but also this knowledge is hidden and even better if shrouded in mystery and myth. So magic, by this definition, is the application of hidden knowledge and has to have intent. Arthur C Clark said that a sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic (our definition above would cover this quote). But magic has been around for a lot longer than technology as Mr Clark meant it in his quote. Magician have come to mean a showman using tricks, sophisticated tricks no doubt, to entertain. But there have been one group of people who have studied and used vectors and are generally hidden – witches. The vectors used by witches are, mostly, in the natural world. For example a slight dusting of the pollen of two certain flowers on a rats back and releasing the rat near the victims house knowing the pollen of one flower will make the rat sensitive to the smell of a new born baby. The rat entering the victims house and infesting the water with the pollen of the other flower which in turn makes the new born baby go blind. Maybe this is the payoff, maybe not. Maybe the vector continues but requires a blind new born baby and so on. Magic to you and me. Craft to the witch. Perhaps we can deduce some characteristics of witches from the above, fictious (is there such a word?), example. Witches I suspect will be close to nature. They will be students of the habits of fauna, flora and humans. They would be observant and perceptive. Patience will be a major thing with them. They would be strong willed and have strong memories. Anyone you know fit this description? Just come back from the Easter break to find all the new posts. Lovely! Most excellent words. Flair indeed Jimmy! And talking of un-understood vectors, for a brief (and believe me it was brief!) moment, during the break, I considered the possibility of male muses … (I don’t think I should say anymore. The witches among you can finish the sentence without my help).
Ashok chief, you get inflated insurance for some schmuck with your name, and jimmy nearly got tossed in jail for some schmuck with his name... luckily no one else has my name. But if they did, I'd probably be the schmuck messin' it up for them. har.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Some bastard named Chris Sohaey from La Mesa crashed his dad's jetta using state farm insurance and hurt someone on the 19th of Oct (3 years to the day of my joining AAA, hmmm?). Not sure where it was, thats all the info I have. Maybe I should look him up. ;)
chiefwagonburner People always say that you can't prove a negative, which technically isn't true, but it is extremely difficult. I hate the beurocrats! Getting caught in loops, or discovering how their mistakes fuck you is always so revealing. That sucks, Chris. So where is this accident supposed to have taken place?
jimmy Me: "I have been trying to get my good driving bonus for the last 6 months. I've been paying the inflated insurance the entire time." AAA: "It shows you had an accident" Me: "No it doesn't. Your screwy database shows some guy named Chris Sohaey, not me." AAA: "Oh. Well... Can you prove you didn't have an accident anyway?" Me: "I wasn't in the country, I'm Canadian. I didn't come to the US until March of 2002." AAA: "Oh. But can you prove that your insurance carrier shows you didn't have an accident?" Me: "I didn't have an insurance carrier, or a car when the accident took place. I sent you 2 choice point reports and an Alberta Driving Abstract - all show I have a perfect record." AAA: "Oh, can you prove that you didn't have this accident though?" Me: "DIEDIEDIEYOUSONOFABITCH" So very frustrating.
chiefwagonburner You dirty onion lovers.
jimmy for all of you onion lovers... New Fox Reality Show
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians From Nina, to all of you. [3.3 megs]
jeffron x Life imitating 3 kings.
chiefwagonburner Speck, I saw that. I was not exposed to any verve stuff until recently (by way of remixes actually), but I love her stuff.
chiefwagonburner did y'all hear that Nina Simone died? how sad. She was A-mazing.... sigh.
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Hah, thanks Speck. Looks like my parents ripped me off, I only got a quarter for my teeth.
chiefwagonburner The Hudsucker Proxy was an awesome movie. Though ever since, I get the shivers when I see a big plate glass window. Thought Anna and anyone else looking for a chuckle would enjoy this collection of ugly-ass bridesmaids' dresses. Hehe. I wore something almost identical to this dress for Halloween sophomore year, when I went as a dead 80s prom queen. Ratted up hair and grayish-white makeup. I wish I had some pictures... or maybe not!
coop Hudsucker!
jimmy my friend who works at Harper's just sent me this. egads! she prefaced it with "simultaneously funny and horrifying" I think that pretty much sums it up. Harper's Weekly Review
Miss Speck and the Giant Librarians Hey Jeffy! Good to hear that the digits are going back to the positive side! Good luck on not falling in Love (I think?). And good luck on the essay! Thanks for that link Chief! I guess I coulda found it from the speech itself, DOH! Thanks for that bit of footwork! Yes Jimmy, he is indeed lucky. But aside from that he has played some pretty incredible roles as an actor, "Bull Durham", "The Shawshank Redemption", "Player", "The... (?) Proxy" (Cohen Brothers movie?), and others! Course so has she, "Tina and Louise", "Bull Durham", "Atlantic City", "Pretty Baby", etc. I can't think of others right now, but there are others! Oh and that link to Joe, the Artist, is pretty cool! S/He has a somewhat illustrative quality to their work. But then I usually like those kinds of stylistically stylish Artists anyway! Reminds of a cross between Bacon (guy with the smudged gore) and Rudolph Hausener(sp?) (Big heads and deep eyes). I was thinking about the mood of the country. It's like everyone's running around with their heads chopped-off! Frightened of everything, like a bunch of scared women! I don't mean that badly about women! I mean it badly about the men! It's like "Are You Being Served's" Mrs Slocum once said, "Weak as water! Weak as water!" Peace Y'All! Awwa \A/
Aw Yes, that was a grand speech, but what I want to know is, did that lucky bastard really marry Susan Sarandon?
jimmy Awwa, that was a great read (original here)
chiefwagonburner I for one have wondered "wherefore art thou Jeffron?" I'm glad you made it through the winter.
jimmy I haven't posted in ages. Or yim-ed. It's been strange days for jeffron. The winter was hard. But spring is here, I have a job that is reasonably pleasant, and financial stability seems possible after several months of fiscal disorder. I wordy way to say I've been dirt poor. If it wasn't for credit, I wouldn't have been able to make rent last month. I love America. Anyhoo, that is all behind me, and now it's all about focusing on the thesis project. And trying not to fall in love. I've been doing a lot of that lately. It's tiresome work but sometimes necessary. Last week I submitted an essay for publication, that was exciting. I'll know if it'll be published by June 30. Crossing fingers. Thus ends the 'Where's Jeffron?' status report.
jeffron x arthead.xenius.org is up. I'll just build it and shut-up now. Many of the projects with the Zamboni folk will go there. If you would like space, or have a friend who would like space, feel free to email. I'll let y'all know when it's up. It's primarily for art, literary and music projects. I'll let y'all know when changes are made.
jimmy Sorry if that was considered spam. I didn't have a link to the speech, as I only got it "as shown" via email. I probably should have looked for it on the web. It's a good speech (for all the good it will do). But it is a bit long. Please just skim by it, if you are not interested. I'm having an unspoken fued with my family. My Mom is driven to convert me to the conservative, Christian view point! I get anti-Democratic/pro-Christian spam from her regularly. Then after a recent such mass email from her, I attached Tim Robbins' speech and "replied all." This brought a rebuttal from my wiser(?) and older (and conservative) brother, who basically said that Tim Robbins shouldn't be talking about his political views. That actors should talk about movies. And that if he (my brother) wanted the Democrats' point of view, all he had to do was open one of my emails, HA! Then he asked me why I haven't visited home in so long. Kinda like one side of his brain, isn't communicating with the other. Anyway, that's my blu-haha funk today. Peace On! Awwa \A/
Aw Part I of Tim Robbins' speech, "A Chill Wind is Blowing in This Nation." This is from Tim Robbins, the movie actor who has been censured for speaking out against the war with Iraq, who was uninvited to speak at the Baseball Hall of Fame, due to his political views. He addressed a press meeting convened in that aftermath. ================================================= Published on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 by CommonDreams.org 'A Chill Wind is Blowing in This Nation...' Transcript of the speech given by actor Tim Robbins to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 2003. TIM ROBBINS: Thank you. And thanks for the invitation. I had originally been asked here to talk about the war and our current political situation, but I have instead chosen to hijack this opportunity and talk about baseball and show business. (Laughter.) Just kidding. Sort of. I can't tell you how moved I have been at the overwhelming support I have received from newspapers throughout the country in these past few days. I hold no illusions that all of these journalists agree with me on my views against the war. While the journalists' outrage at the cancellation of our appearance in Cooperstown is not about my views, it is about my right to express these views. I am extremely grateful that there are those of you out there still with a fierce belief in constitutionally guaranteed rights. We need you, the press, now more than ever. This is a crucial moment for all of us. For all of the ugliness and tragedy of 9-11, there was a brief period afterward where I held a great hope, in the midst of the tears and shocked faces of New Yorkers, in the midst of the lethal air we breathed as we worked at Ground Zero, in the midst of my children's terror at being so close to this crime against humanity, in the midst of all this, I held on to a glimmer of hope in the naive assumption that something good could come out of it. Actor Tim Robbins speaks about his anti-war stance at the National Press Club in Washington Tuesday, April 15, 2003. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) I imagined our leaders seizing upon this moment of unity in America, this moment when no one wanted to talk about Democrat versus Republican, white versus black, or any of the other ridiculous divisions that dominate our public discourse. I imagined our leaders going on television telling the citizens that although we all want to be at Ground Zero, we can't, but there is work that is needed to be done all over America. Our help is needed at community centers to tutor children, to teach them to read. Our work is needed at old-age homes to visit the lonely and infirmed; in gutted neighborhoods to rebuild housing and clean up parks, and convert abandoned lots to baseball fields. I imagined leadership that would take this incredible energy, this generosity of spirit and create a new unity in America born out of the chaos and tragedy of 9/11, a new unity that would send a message to terrorists everywhere: If you attack us, we will become stronger, cleaner, better educated, and more unified. You will strengthen our commitment to justice and democracy by your inhumane attacks on us. Like a Phoenix out of the fire, we will be reborn. And then came the speech: You are either with us or against us. And the bombing began. And the old paradigm was restored as our leader encouraged us to show our patriotism by shopping and by volunteering to join groups that would turn in their neighbor for any suspicious behavior. In the 19 months since 9-11, we have seen our democracy compromised by fear and hatred. Basic inalienable rights, due process, the sanctity of the home have been quickly compromised in a climate of fear. A unified American public has grown bitterly divided, and a world population that had profound sympathy and support for us has grown contemptuous and distrustful, viewing us as we once viewed the Soviet Union, as a rogue state. This past weekend, Susan and I and the three kids went to Florida for a family reunion of sorts. Amidst the alcohol and the dancing, sugar-rushing children, there was, of course, talk of the war. And the most frightening thing about the weekend was the amount of times we were thanked for speaking out against the war because that individual speaking thought it unsafe to do so in their own community, in their own life. Keep talking, they said; I haven't been able to open my mouth. A relative tells me that a history teacher tells his 11-year-old son, my nephew, that Susan Sarandon is endangering the troops by her opposition to the war. Another teacher in a different school asks our niece if we are coming to the school play. They're not welcome here, said the molder of young minds. Another relative tells me of a school board decision to cancel a civics event that was proposing to have a moment of silence for those who have died in the war because the students were including dead Iraqi civilians in their silent prayer. A teacher in another nephew's school is fired for wearing a T- shirt with a peace sign on it. And a friend of the family tells of listening to the radio down South as the talk radio host calls for the murder of a prominent anti-war activist. Death threats have appeared on other prominent anti-war activists' doorsteps for their views. Relatives of ours have received threatening e-mails and phone calls. And my 13-year-old boy, who has done nothing to anybody, has recently been embarrassed and humiliated by a sadistic creep who writes -- or, rather, scratches his column with his fingernails in dirt. (continued)
Aw Part II of "A Chill Wind is Blowing..." Susan and I have been listed as traitors, as supporters of Saddam, and various other epithets by the Aussie gossip rags masquerading as newspapers, and by their fair and balanced electronic media cousins, 19th Century Fox. (Laughter.) Apologies to Gore Vidal. (Applause.) Two weeks ago, the United Way canceled Susan's appearance at a conference on women's leadership. And both of us last week were told that both we and the First Amendment were not welcome at the Baseball Hall of Fame. A famous middle-aged rock-and-roller called me last week to thank me for speaking out against the war, only to go on to tell me that he could not speak himself because he fears repercussions from Clear Channel. "They promote our concert appearances," he said. "They own most of the stations that play our music. I can't come out against this war." And here in Washington, Helen Thomas finds herself banished to the back of the room and uncalled on after asking Ari Fleischer whether our showing prisoners of war at Guantanamo Bay on television violated the Geneva Convention. A chill wind is blowing in this nation. A message is being sent through the White House and its allies in talk radio and Clear Channel and Cooperstown. If you oppose this administration, there can and will be ramifications. Every day, the air waves are filled with warnings, veiled and unveiled threats, spewed invective and hatred directed at any voice of dissent. And the public, like so many relatives and friends that I saw this weekend, sit in mute opposition and fear. I am sick of hearing about Hollywood being against this war. Hollywood's heavy hitters, the real power brokers and cover-of-the- magazine stars, have been largely silent on this issue. But Hollywood, the concept, has always been a popular target. I remember when the Columbine High School shootings happened. President Clinton criticized Hollywood for contributing to this terrible tragedy -- this, as we were dropping bombs over Kosovo. Could the violent actions of our leaders contribute somewhat to the violent fantasies of our teenagers? Or is it all just Hollywood and rock and roll? I remember reading at the time that one of the shooters had tried to enlist to fight the real war a week before he acted out his war in real life at Columbine. I talked about this in the press at the time. And curiously, no one accused me of being unpatriotic for criticizing Clinton. In fact, the same radio patriots that call us traitors today engaged in daily personal attacks on their president during the war in Kosovo. Today, prominent politicians who have decried violence in movies -- the "Blame Hollywooders," if you will -- recently voted to give our current president the power to unleash real violence in our current war. They want us to stop the fictional violence but are okay with the real kind. And these same people that tolerate the real violence of war don't want to see the result of it on the nightly news. Unlike the rest of the world, our news coverage of this war remains sanitized, without a glimpse of the blood and gore inflicted upon our soldiers or the women and children in Iraq. Violence as a concept, an abstraction -- it's very strange. As we applaud the hard-edged realism of the opening battle scene of "Saving Private Ryan," we cringe at the thought of seeing the same on the nightly news. We are told it would be pornographic. We want no part of reality in real life. We demand that war be painstakingly realized on the screen, but that war remain imagined and conceptualized in real life. And in the midst of all this madness, where is the political opposition? Where have all the Democrats gone? Long time passing, long time ago. (Applause.) With apologies to Robert Byrd, I have to say it is pretty embarrassing to live in a country where a five-foot- one comedian has more guts than most politicians. (Applause.) We need leaders, not pragmatists that cower before the spin zones of former entertainment journalists. We need leaders who can understand the Constitution, congressman who don't in a moment of fear abdicate their most important power, the right to declare war to the executive branch. And, please, can we please stop the congressional sing-a- longs? (Laughter.) In this time when a citizenry applauds the liberation of a country as it lives in fear of its own freedom, when an administration official releases an attack ad questioning the patriotism of a legless Vietnam veteran running for Congress, when people all over the country fear reprisal if they use their right to free speech, it is time to get angry. It is time to get fierce. And it doesn't take much to shift the tide. My 11-year-old nephew, mentioned earlier, a shy kid who never talks in class, stood up to his history teacher who was questioning Susan's patriotism. "That's my aunt you're talking about. Stop it." And the stunned teacher backtracks and began stammering compliments in embarrassment. Sportswriters across the country reacted with such overwhelming fury at the Hall of Fame that the president of the Hall admitted he made a mistake and Major League Baseball disavowed any connection to the actions of the Hall's president. A bully can be stopped, and so can a mob. It takes one person with the courage and a resolute voice. The journalists in this country can battle back at those who would rewrite our Constitution in Patriot Act II, or "Patriot, The Sequel," as we would call it in Hollywood. We are counting on you to star in that movie. Journalists can insist that they not be used as publicists by this administration. (Applause.) The next White House correspondent to be called on by Ari Fleischer should defer their question to the back of the room, to the banished journalist du jour. (Applause.) And any instance of intimidation to free speech should be battled against. Any acquiescence or intimidation at this point will only lead to more intimidation. You have, whether you like it or not, an awesome responsibility and an awesome power: the fate of discourse, the health of this republic is in your hands, whether you write on the left or the right. This is your time, and the destiny you have chosen. We lay the continuance of our democracy on your desks, and count on your pens to be mightier. Millions are watching and waiting in mute frustration and hope - hoping for someone to defend the spirit and letter of our Constitution, and to defy the intimidation that is visited upon us daily in the name of national security and warped notions of patriotism. Our ability to disagree, and our inherent right to question our leaders and criticize their actions define who we are. To allow those rights to be taken away out of fear, to punish people for their beliefs, to limit access in the news media to differing opinions is to acknowledge our democracy's defeat. These are challenging times. There is a wave of hate that seeks to divide us -- right and left, pro-war and anti-war. In the name of my 11-year-old nephew, and all the other unreported victims of this hostile and unproductive environment of fear, let us try to find our common ground as a nation. Let us celebrate this grand and glorious experiment that has survived for 227 years. To do so we must honor and fight vigilantly for the things that unite us -- like freedom, the First Amendment and, yes, baseball. (Applause.) ================================================== I don't know how many on this mass email list (another one of my Mom's emailings prompted this reply) will read all the way to the bottom here. But I reserve this comment for those who do. Isn't it time we stopped trying to divide this nation over political party's ideals; and instead started trying to live together, no matter whatever our differences of beliefs and, or opinions may be? It really is the people, in all of our glorious diversity, that make this country great. Not the political parties. Peace! Alan Walker Awwa \A/
Aw Awwa, thanks to your blogger link, I was able to find the following really incredible artist. I think I've heard his/her name before. (I've met a couple of female Joes) Joe!
jimmy Ah yeah, nothing like the small of rotten meat to liven up your back yard. Pizza Hut and Burger King are doing their part to make Iraq better. Iraq needs multinational corporations and fast food, badly! /sarcasm This is a bit interesting: Fellowship finances townhouse where 6 congressmen live And lastly, this is pretty cool: Adult stem cells tackle multiple sclerosis . My father (and late grandfather) has MS. He has been slowing loosing his body the last few years, I hope that some of these new findings can be put to use.
chiefwagonburner Wowsies! That's a gib, I mean big stamen, or is that pistol! And hey, my friends and I used to have the best time quoting that movie, when we were growing-up (the original B&W, "Little Shop of Horrors." It had the best jazz/beatnik score!) "Little Shop of Horrors", Roger Corman's original 1960 version "Seymour, Feed me! Feed me! I'm hungry! Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!" Hmmmm, that sounds a little/a lot more gay than we meant it back then, (or did we?). It occurs to me that the scene in "Fargo", where one of the kidnapper/murderers is feeding a foot into the wood chipper, is a nod to the original which had a similar campy "foot-feeding" scene. And this is just strange! While searching for a link to the original version, I found a blog devoted to "Little Shop of Horrors Journal" (though it's probably the musical version). Kinda interesting Grundge meets Anime meets Goth meets Techno looking peeps. "Feed me! Feed me now!" Awwa \A/
Aw This is a real plant. Amorphophallus titanum is its actual scientific name. This particular one, is hailed as "Mr. Stinky". Feed me, Seymour!
jimmy Happy Easter to those on the Easter tip! (Now gimme some candy.)
jimmy 
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