Check out this story from the BBC. - LINK HERE - It’s interesting for two reasons. First, it is about a Capuchin monk, Brother Cesare Bonizzi, is the lead singer in a heavy metal band. Rock on. Second, check out the volume “knob” (for lack of a better word) on the BBC video player. Turn it up. Turn it way up. It Goes To Eleven!!! That rocks even harder! Awesome!
…a truly wired president? If elected, I hope Obama continues in this fashion. It will be interesting to see more of what goes on behind the scenes in the exectutive branch. Oh course, I know it will all be edited and give a proper spine, but still, I look forward to this type in openness.
“What are you talking about?” you ask. THIS article. ‘Specially the bits about… “He pictures online fireside chats, and posting video of internal debates on topics like healthcare.
It’s been two and a half months since ROFLcon, and the media coverage of the event continues to role in. No, I’m not talking about the recent mention on Cracked.com, but rather an article that appeared on Wired, two days ago. Before you read the article, take a look at the photo. Yes, the first thing your eyes will be drawn to is the magnificent Mr. Jay Maynard, aka The Tron Guy! BUT, you may also notice the Ickabod Crane-type character in the back ground. Well, that gangzly geek is me! Yup, I’m famous! Famous by osmosis, but famous none the less!
Anyway, I jut wanted to share this. ROFLcon was the only thing I’ve done all year that was fun, in a non-kid related way. Sorry for mentioning it so much. I have had other adventures, but I tend not to want to write about stuff I do with the kids. This site is my imaginary-place where I can escape the daily routine of fatherhood, and pretend that I’m still young and free. Kinda like why I always imagined that Mr. Rogers kept that little house that he would stop each day, before going home to his family. Damn, I wish i had a place like that. Though, I’d use it to drink beer and play games, not chat with “My TV Friends”.
The Daily Kos had this article about the recent “drilling for offshore oil” talk that has been in the news. If you can get past all the Republican bashing rhetoric, it had some interesting information. Apparently, there is no “ban”, and there are thousands of offshore acres already open to drilling, but the oil companies aren’t drilling. When you look at it, you can really see that this “conversation” that is being held is really just a way for the right to say “we want to help out Americans at the pump, but the left wont let us”, when in fact, if the oil companies wanted to drill, their is nothing stopping them from setting up shop in many places off shore. This is an excellent example of the art of politics in action. - READ IT HERE
UPDATE - Huffington Post had this article today, kinda sorta about the same thing. INTERESTING READ.
I am not a sailor, and you really cant swim at the beaches around here (too damn cold, no matter how hot the air temperature is!), but I love living on the water. I think about picking up and moving often, but I have a hard time imagining not living so close to the ocean.
One of my favorite things about living on the coast is the smell. The sent of salt is nearly always in the air. Even low tide has a “tone” that I quite enjoy. Well, today we woke up to quite a different scent. No, not a scent, but a stink really.
Ya see, last night, there was a fire at the local recycling plant. Police say the flames shot 40 feet into the air, and it appears only mulch and trash burned in the fire, but man oh man, it sure does stink! It is lingering in the air, and is making my tummy hurt. Well, not really, but it is smelly. So, there ya go, that’s how may day has started. Stinkily.
After a morning of working in my sons preschool classroom, and an evening of Girl Scouts with my daughter, I’m finally going to get out and see Iron Man! Yippeeeee!!! Cant wait. - And so, in no way related, I give you too links I found today. - Clinton/Obama & Obama/Africa - Enjoy.
At ROFLcon, Current TV was following the Tron Guy around. Today, the story they did on him came out. And I’m in it! (for three seconds, starting at the 4:43 mark)! Enjoy!
Yesterday, I was in the living room, reading some stuff online, while the kids are playing on the floor with the tv on. (In our family, the tv is always on. Even if no one is watching it, it’s on. What can I say, my wife and I and boobtubeaholics.) Then, the classic “Beeeeeurp Beeeeurp Beeeeurp” sound of the Emergency Broadcast System blared forth from the television.
I looked up, and instead of the normal red banner going across the screen stating that this was a test, this was only a test, instead I see a black screen with white writing. It stated that a “radiological event” had occurred in our county. Oh no…
But, the warning was off the screen in less then 10 seconds. There were no directions following the alert. There was no other alerts on other channels, and no new alerts occurred. There wasn’t any information online.
I guessed it was simply mistake, but for a few moments, I was a little worried. Turns out I was right, it was just a mistake. A local news stations reported that the mistake led to a flood of calls to 911 dispatch centers. Now I feel foolish, because I didn’t call someone (the cable company, the police, the local news, the army?). Should I have, or was my “nah, it’s nothing” attitude the right one to take? I hate the culture of fear we have in this country these days, but maybe I should have been a little bit more afraid. Oh well, too late now, and everyone is safe and sound.
PS - the phrase “radiological event” is now one of my favorite potential disaster descriptions.
I have been too tired to write today, and yet, all day, I have had the urge to post. Sadly, I’ve had nothing worth saying. But then, that’s nothing new!
So, in my haze of sleep deprivation, I came up with this…
Two stories about the economy. Scary stories! First, an abbreviated version of a Dutch documentary about the inevitable collapse of the dollar, something I fear, and believe, will happen in my lifetime.
And apparently, I’m not the only one worried about it. The Taipei Times reported a USA Today poll that stated…
Not since September 1992, two months before former president George Bush lost his re-election bid, have so many Americans said the economy was in such bad shape, USA Today reported.
Seventy-six percent of those polled said the economy is in recession, compared to 22 percent who said it is not, USA Today said. Asked if the US could slip into a depression lasting several years, 59 percent said it was likely and 79 percent said they were worried about it, the paper said.
So, it’s not a post full of happy post, but it’s a big subject that has been on my mind a lot. Maybe because my own financial situation is so crappy, and this is reflected on the national level. Or maybe my problems reflect the national situation. Anyway, sadly, I don’t think the next administration will be able to turn things around, no matter who is elected. It’s just too much, and it seems too late. Ugh. But enough stressing, I’m going to go get some sleep now. Maybe I wont be so depressing tomorrow. Wish me luck!
I was reading an article about the Great Fire Wall of China and the unrest in Tibet on Boing Boing. I found these two paragraph interesting, the second one more so. This was a reply to the article by a western professor who teaches in China…
“…you wrote about Native Chinese antipathy to those “ungrateful” Tibetans. This seems to be the consensus of my students as well. I had them read an article from the NY Times that I had printed that showed the difference in quotes between Chinese authorities ( 8 people dead, no soldiers, no guns) and what Tibetans and reports have confirmed (80 confirmed dead, soldiers, tanks, gunfire throughout the day). My students’ response to this was, “well of course they say that. They are foreign. They do not know.” (paraphrase). Put it simply– even when confronted with such blatant contradiction, the students still believed their government.
This is nothing unusual for the multitude of students I’ve talked to about censorship. They honestly believe that governmental censorship protects them from foreign lies and “The Bad Things” (as one class a year ago referred to it. When I asked what “the bad things” were, they really had no answer. Finally one student piped up, “we don’t know because our government protects us from it!”). I know this is not a universal attitude here in China, but I think it is an interesting anecdote, and important to keep in mind when contemplating the average Chinese Netizen and her response to blatant censorship.”
I feel like I should have some sort of comment about this, but I think the words speak for themselves.
An amazing journey through America. I love the art aspect of it. I hate the irrational fear that has been feed to our nation. Bravo to Mr. Fazel for not giving up. LINK
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