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I am old

Yep. 43. As of today. More later.

posted by DRH 12/31/2004 01:39:00 AM

Because You Have a Right to Know!
Using the Freedom of Information Act, we at the Cornblog have found a copy of the "Global Test" of which John Kerry spoke the other night. Enjoy.

posted by DRH 10/03/2004 06:16:00 PM

Support Four-Legged Refugees!
USsoldiers want to bring their furry pals home! Check out this website to help rescue Iraqi critters.

posted by DRH 10/02/2004 11:26:00 AM

Cameron Diaz sets Blondes Back 10 Years
On a very special Oprah, she offered this advice to pro-rape voters. Oh, I'm sorry... that should read "[S]he offered this advice to voters who are pro-choice on rape".

"if you think that rape should be legal, then don't vote." - C. Diaz

posted by DRH 9/30/2004 10:49:00 AM

These people are, like, soooo mature
Lynne Cheney Jokes About Kerry's Tan, then Demo spokes critters counter with their own bon mots... la la la la la.. fate of the free world hangs in the balance... la la la laaaaaa...

posted by DRH 9/29/2004 08:18:00 PM

Outsourcing
Outsourcing to India has risen to new heights! Ooops, I mean sunk to new depths.

posted by DRH 9/28/2004 06:12:00 PM

News from Iraq
Once again, the press condescends. A hillarious news report from the field....

posted by DRH 9/25/2004 11:46:00 AM

Sinatra's War on Terror
A very peculiar rewrite of Strangers in the Night.

posted by DRH 9/24/2004 01:48:00 PM

Way Cool!
Holy Cow! Some Germans have built their own electro-mechanical version of Pong. Take a look at the video!

posted by DRH 9/24/2004 01:19:00 AM

In this Election Year...

... with all the baby-kissin' going on, are the bearded babies being neglected?

posted by DRH 9/24/2004 01:01:00 AM

Wacky Election Gear
Be the first on your block to have a piar of Kerry Flip-Flops Oh, what the heck ... here's some comics, too... the Kerry Khronicles.

posted by DRH 9/22/2004 11:43:00 PM

Let's Get Down to Issues, Dang It.

Another set of Micellanea for Truth, on Kerry.

posted by DRH 9/19/2004 06:47:00 PM

YARR!
Avast, me hearties! 'Tis National Talk Like A Pirate Day! What more fine day could there be for resumin' me blog? Ye'd best be workin' on yer pirate speech, lest ye be keel hauled and dispatched t' Davey Jone's locker! Yarrr!!!!!

posted by DRH 9/19/2004 01:58:00 PM

What I'm Doing Next Weekend?
Why, going to the National Catholic Family Conference in Anaheim. Thank you for asking. If you are in southern California or have access to a plane, you should go, too.

posted by DRH 8/18/2004 02:56:00 AM

Gurr. Sold Out.
Well, I ordered Unfit for Command, a week or so in advance.... and after waiting a few days after the publish date (8/15), it tuns out that amazon is saying 1-4 weeks before shipping. And here I was patting myself on the back for having put myself in a position to have read the latest firestorm of a book, while things were still, um, firey. And stormy, I guess.

posted by DRH 8/18/2004 02:48:00 AM

Salon.com URL Scam
I noticed today that salon.com is trying to weasel accidental hits by mapping "swiftboatvets.com" to they article smeaing the actual Swift Boat Vets.

posted by DRH 8/13/2004 10:12:00 AM

Vocabulary Word of the Day
.... is "bodice origami". It denotes an unfortunate attempt at pushing up (and out) certain things more than they could be reasonably expected to be pushed, with creepily unattractive results. Sorry for being vague, but this is a family-friendly BLog. Anyhoo, the term was coined last nigh at the local pub, when some Ren Faire types showed up...

posted by DRH 8/07/2004 02:28:00 PM

Speachifyin' on Terror
An interesting analysis on what Biden said and what Kerry couldn't at the Democratic convention.

posted by DRH 8/05/2004 04:58:00 PM

Another Big Pig
Holy Moley! A 12 foot hog!

posted by DRH 7/29/2004 11:24:00 AM

Starbux Sez... "Mo' Money"
Aww... poor dears. Their zillion-percent markups are not enough for them. Drink Peets instead.

posted by DRH 7/22/2004 12:03:00 PM

Michael Moore's hypocracy bites him...
... in the giant-rear-body-part. His goons are threatening to sure moorewatch.com for posting a link to a link to where downloads of his movie are available. But nevermind how questionable it is to sue someone who links a site, not providing a copy, just a pointer to it! The great part is this : the site has audio where the jackass explicitly says that he doesn't care if people download his movie! Check this out....

posted by DRH 7/01/2004 07:59:00 PM

"The Bleeding" Mark Shea has typically true-and-amusing comments about the media and their "authoritative" comments on varius subgroups about which they are clueless.

posted by DRH 7/01/2004 03:11:00 PM

Weirdness in IraqThe new covernment is flying Saddam's post-Gulf War flag. What th...?

posted by DRH 7/01/2004 12:52:00 PM

Lookee
A paraplegic chihuahua. Cute little feller.

posted by DRH 6/30/2004 05:02:00 PM

Company Loyalty Alert!
I work here.

posted by DRH 6/28/2004 04:20:00 PM

Iraqis Running the Show now!
This article caught my eye. Thanks to a media that doesn't really seem to have a clue, I had assumed that the "transition was going to all happen at once on the 30th. Apparently, it has been happening gradually and the 30th was just a ceremonial date. I think it was clever to do it a couple of days early ... take an obvious terrorist opportunity away and emphasize to the Iraqis that this was what we want to happen.

posted by DRH 6/28/2004 03:03:00 PM

Suuuure... Blame the Cows
Mooove over SUVs. It's funny cuz it's cows.

posted by DRH 6/28/2004 01:20:00 PM

Sigh... the Sudan
The situation is still horrible in Sudan. Do any of those heavy-handed "defenders of human rights" in the UN care? No. Heck Sudan is on the Human Rights Commision now. Oh, and this can't be blamed on Bush or Israel, so no domestic lefties care either. And it's not gonna win a lot of votes, so I doubt the righties will say much, but they might.

posted by DRH 6/27/2004 06:31:00 PM

Another Job to Outsource
Apparently, the Indians whupped the US Air Force in air-to-air training exercises this year.

posted by DRH 6/27/2004 05:00:00 PM

The Land of Make-belive
Just admit it to yourself, veggie-boy! You don't freakin' eat meat!!! tofurky commentary.

posted by DRH 6/25/2004 05:45:00 PM

Sure, that's all my cat needs... Now you can get Kitty Dope fro you little furry critter.

posted by DRH 6/24/2004 01:57:00 PM

Yikes
I know that the Air America radio thing is a financial disaster, but they have been reduced to selling underwear to make ... um ... ends meet. I just hope the don't send out Al Franken to promote it. Ew.

posted by DRH 6/23/2004 08:25:00 PM

At Last!
A store for all my supervillan needs!

posted by DRH 6/23/2004 06:45:00 PM

Woof! Christopher Hitchenstears Michael Moore a new one. When it gets down to it, the people who blindly follow Moore will believe whatever dreck he throws their way, but... yikes...

posted by DRH 6/22/2004 07:16:00 PM

Kerry Actually Voted?
That was nice of him he hates doing that stuff! (Last year Kerry only made it to 28% of Senate votes.)

posted by DRH 6/22/2004 06:15:00 PM

Ernie, call your office!
Collectors of rubber duckies apparently hang out at Duck Planet. I betcha if you say "AFLAC" everybody there la-a-a-a-a-aughs!

posted by DRH 6/22/2004 03:12:00 PM

Atomic Art
Check out some vintage civil defense posters. It was a hot time back during the Cold War....

posted by DRH 6/21/2004 09:05:00 PM

Evil Universities Exploit Hopes of Applicants!
According to the Washington Post universities encourage people to apply even though they will fail because it makes them look good to reject lots and lots of potential students. Gee, and they get to pocket application fees, too. How nice.

posted by DRH 6/21/2004 08:54:00 PM

Ray Bradbury Dissed!

Apparently, Ray Bradbury is not happy that Michael Moore is ripping him off by calling his movie "Fahrenheit 9/11," derived from the Bradbury classic "Fahrenheit 451". I don't see how Bradbury can really push his case legally, but I hate to such a great man be treated so badly by such a jackass.

Point of trivia: Fahrenheit 451 was written in the basement of the library at UCLA.

posted by DRH 6/19/2004 06:53:00 PM

Quote

(From and old interview of Keith Moon)
Q: When are you going to start telling the truth?
A: What? The truth as you see it? I can't do that... you couldn't afford me!

posted by DRH 6/19/2004 06:02:00 PM

Bill Clinton, RIP
Nope he ain't dead.

Nonetheless, Reagan's funary week smacking into Bill Clinton's Book Tour week (month? year?) made me think about how his death will be received. It occured to me that his funeral won't be about him at all; it will be about millions and millions of Baby Boomers collectively screaming OH MY GOD! I'M OLD! I'M GOING TO DIE!!! My gut feeling is that he's more of a symbol for them folks, first one in the White House of that generation, blah blah blah... he didn't really do all that much that was exciting or memorable (in an official capacity), but he was compitent... but that doesn't make fo a huge memorial. So, in the absence of material based on his actual presidency, teh vacuum will be filled with Vietnam-era Boomers whacked upside the head with thoughts of their own mortality.

That's what I figure, anyway.

No, to figure out how to cash in on this....

posted by DRH 6/19/2004 04:53:00 PM

Vocabulary Word for the Day
Blegging : the act of using a BLog to beg for money. Ex. "April Winchell is still blegging."

posted by DRH 6/19/2004 03:28:00 PM

Actual Corndog News


There is an actual Corndog Festival in Dallas, Texas! Maybe I'll have a use for my "Rapid Rewards" ticket from Southwest, after all. Hopefully, Dallas isn't as much of a hell hole as Houston. Hmmm.... Anyhoo, the corndog festival website sports some nifty corndog art that should surely be checked out. Some of the most disturbing is here, at the bottom of the page. (If the bloody corndog images put you off, try some veggie corndogs, they ain't half bad with a bit of yellow mustard. No blood there... well, unless there was an industrial accident over at Morningstar Farms that day, I guess.)

BTW, I stole my nifty "newsreel" from their site. Har! Har!

posted by DRH 6/19/2004 02:34:00 PM

You must be pulling my legacy!
Ronald Reagan Jr, claims that his father never "need(ed) to wrap himself in anybody else's mantle or pretend to be anybody else". Bullpuckey, I say. Reagan loved associating himself with FDR, Kennedy, etc when the opportunity arrived.

posted by DRH 6/18/2004 03:00:00 PM

Our Jumpy Electorate
Apparently, there is a National Hip-Hop Political Convention. Who knew? Will the favor Nader? I'm on the edge of my seat.

posted by DRH 6/16/2004 09:22:00 PM

Every Office Should Have One!

Check out Terry Tate, Office Linebacker for some ideas building a better workplace. Second only to Bagel Wednesdays, IMHO.

posted by DRH 6/16/2004 08:53:00 PM

And your job is...?
Sooo... Kofi Anan is bitching about the middle east peace process. Isn't he running the organization that's supposed to be doing soemthing about it? Oh well.

posted by DRH 6/16/2004 08:31:00 PM

Dang
I am in short post mode.

posted by DRH 6/15/2004 06:32:00 PM

I Really Haven't Been Waiting for This...
With any amount of luck, both people that might want to read about a cello player romping through the South are reading this BLog.

posted by DRH 6/15/2004 06:26:00 PM

Huh?
Some people spank their kids with Bibles? Or am I confused? Or both?

posted by DRH 6/15/2004 06:16:00 PM

Good News from Iraq
Now that the UN is involved, the magic blue hats are already healing the world: "Finally, we have the legitimacy we crave," said an unnamed member of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia. Well, according to Scrappleface, anyhow.

posted by DRH 6/15/2004 02:48:00 PM

Imposters?
... or do I smell bad? Or do I smell badly? Well, some cornblog or other seems have the smell of Newly plowed dirt and asphalt. I don't think that was directed at me.

posted by DRH 6/14/2004 09:34:00 PM

Party on, St. Garth
Here's a cool one: Catholics throw the best parties. Just off the top of my head... what was Jesus' first miracle? A few barrels of wine for a wedding party. Also, two words: (1) Mardi (2) Gras...

posted by DRH 6/14/2004 07:37:00 PM

California Benefit #1872
I got a lovely bottle of Beauzeaux over at BevMo... and it was affordable. Unlike a place like... oh, I don't know... SEATTLE. HAR HAR HAR!

posted by DRH 6/13/2004 10:46:00 PM

Three Thumbs Down, Comrade
Now here's something or ya... Maoist Movie Reviews!I just a sucker for ovr-the-to political jibber-jabber. They love using words like "humyn" and "womyn"... it's been years since I've seen anyone use that sort of NewSpeak (NewSpell?)... it's even rare in Berkeley these days. Surf around there... lovely gems about how Men In Black is based on the fantasies of "wannabe intergalactic capitalists" and perfect for "diverting some possibly class conscious proletarians". Enjoy!

posted by DRH 6/13/2004 10:05:00 PM

Bored?

Then you might want to check out... disturbing sumo images! Otherwise, maybe not... how should I know?

posted by DRH 6/12/2004 10:32:00 PM

Sylvester, Call your Lawyer
Sufferin' Succotash! Some Aussies are in deep legal doo-doo for chewing on mice!

posted by DRH 6/11/2004 04:52:00 PM

All I got was this Lousy T-ShirtWhat the well-dressed Iraq war vet is wearing. Well, at least the vet that dresses as well as me...

posted by DRH 6/06/2004 07:50:00 PM

"Wall of Separation"
John Kerry takes a break for his busy schedule talking about how his faith should be completely separate from his politics to have a nice Kerry photo op in from of a crucifix. Sigh.

posted by DRH 6/06/2004 06:17:00 PM

New Drinking Game
A drinking game based on the standard media coverage of Catholic politicians (Link found via Mark Shea's blog.) If drinking isn't your game, here's some sober commentary on the issue.

posted by DRH 6/02/2004 08:01:00 PM

Huh?
The Bush daughters going on a pilgrimage? But.... but... that doesn't fit with they media image... I'm confused.

posted by DRH 6/02/2004 07:35:00 PM

Wow... Just like the 2000 Campaign!
From the Onion, some 2004 election analysis.

posted by DRH 6/02/2004 07:32:00 PM

Suggested Pet Name
Have a stinky pet? Name it Lord Smellington. Unless it's female, then name it Lady Smellington. It would be best if you had both a male and female pet, then they could be Lord and Lady Smellington. You could even breed them and name their progeny cool things like Sir Reginald Smellington. Why don't I name my cat Lady Smellington? Because she is Evil, not Stinky.

posted by DRH 6/02/2004 07:23:00 PM

Quotes for Dummies
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein.

posted by DRH 5/31/2004 08:45:00 PM

Now.... with comments!
I turned on comments. Please be gentile.

posted by DRH 5/28/2004 03:21:00 PM

Corndog's Ethnic Pride Corner
Mmmm.... Lebanon... Pass the kibbe.

posted by DRH 5/26/2004 07:04:00 PM

Odd, Ain't It?
It amazes me that 80-90% of the media has less of a clue than Joe Bob Briggs. For example, on the Pope... how much of the secular press has even a basic grasp of the obvious?

posted by DRH 5/26/2004 05:49:00 PM

Today's Phrase Stuck in my Head of the Day
Lotion boy for Ed Asner.

posted by DRH 5/26/2004 04:57:00 PM

It's like....buttah!

posted by DRH 5/21/2004 04:36:00 PM

AFP Photog Get Excuse!
A moron owes $28,000 to a strip club, but his loss is some Tampa, Florida photographer's gain: apparently, he was able to convince his boss to send him to "work" at a strip club... several states away. Judging from the quality, he was using a cheapo digital camera to boot!

posted by DRH 5/21/2004 01:06:00 PM

AFP Photog Get Excuse!
A moron owes $28,000 to a strip club, but his loss is some Tampa, Florida photographer's gain: apparently, he was able to convince his boss to send him to "work" at a strip club... several states away!

posted by DRH 5/21/2004 01:06:00 PM

Data Quacker
Anyone want to buy me an iDuck? Just curious.

posted by DRH 5/21/2004 12:54:00 PM

Eat Dinner in Peace...
Did you remember to register with the Do Not Call Registry? It's a good idea if not... especially since soon the Evil Telemarketers will have access to cell phone numbers!

posted by DRH 5/20/2004 02:18:00 PM

An Article I Could Have Used
... in the pub the other night. It turns out that Michael Moore was lying for some extra publicity for his next movie. There was some guy claiming that Disney was going to prevent anyone from seeing it in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, he was a listener to the Randi Rhodes show (warning sign!) over the internet (WARNING SIGN!!!).

posted by DRH 5/11/2004 06:00:00 PM

Poll Results
Which TV mom would you prefer?

posted by DRH 5/10/2004 01:35:00 AM

I Feel All Guilty Now
Mother's Day is all over and I forgot to fight for control rising health care costs. But I did make schools and the environment a priority for our kids, since they are just sitting around doing nothing, the lazy little rugrats. I put little Tommy down the street in charge of getting mercury out of the tuna.

posted by DRH 5/10/2004 01:20:00 AM

Warm 'n' Fuzzy Mother's Day Greeting
Who says John Kerry isn't an big ol' softee under that Herman-Munster-Minus-the-Personality exterior. Here is today's Mother's Day wishes from his campaign homepage: "This Mother's Day, let's work together to build a stronger America. Let's fight for new and better jobs, control rising health care costs and expand access to affordable health care for all Americans. Let's make our schools and our environment a priority for our kids. From our family to yours, Happy Mother's Day."

I still have to call Mom in a minute and am trying to decide if I should tell her something like that... but I think I would choke up and I do hate getting all emotional.

posted by DRH 5/09/2004 10:04:00 PM

"Pro-choice" vs. Thinking
So, I'm reading this article about how Nancy Pelosi says she is going to "take" Communion (I always thought we received Communuion.) Here's one of the bits that jumped out:

posted by DRH 5/09/2004 02:59:00 PM

Love is in the Air... Worldwide!
For the multiculturally-minded, a touching love letter. Sniffl....

posted by DRH 5/09/2004 02:30:00 PM

Signs We Are Doomed
Yet another symptom of our decaying democracy : a campaign fundraises on prisoner abuse. Didn't Kerry say that he himself committed war crimes? Is this meant to be a case of "set a thief to catch a thief"? Spookily close to a Scrappleface article if you ask me.

posted by DRH 5/09/2004 02:22:00 PM

Broadband!
I now have broadband in my new home... so I look forward to the arrival of the fat, female or fat female musicians. In the words of William Shatner, "This is going to be big, really big."

posted by DRH 5/09/2004 10:53:00 AM

Swift Boat Veterans
I've seen soem online smears against Kerry's other band of brothers". They don't seem to have much in the way of content on their site tho' .. what is the deal?

posted by DRH 5/09/2004 10:51:00 AM

Which Nerd are You?




Find out which character from Revenge of the Nerds is you. All you have to do is click on this handy nerd link. I am Takashi. HAI!

posted by DRH 5/09/2004 12:44:00 AM

To the Point
I really like this summary of Andrew Sullivan's position on the issue below. (From Mark Shea's blog).

posted by DRH 5/09/2004 12:12:00 AM

Comfort....
The American Life League is running an ad pushing Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of DC to support thet growing number of Bishops who support denying Holy Communion to Catholic (should there be quotes around that?) politicians who support abortion. The ad shows a crucified Christ and asks "Cardinal McCarrick: Are you comfortable now?". I think that the content of the ad is perfectly valid, but I'm not sure if I'm um, comfortable, with the use of an image of the Lord in what will be at least seen as a political context.

When you get down to it, the Bishops are doing them a favor if they deny them Communion, if St Paul has anything to say about it: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. " ( 1 Cor 11:27-30)

posted by DRH 5/07/2004 09:51:00 AM

This will be confusing without context
But I am linking it anyway. Ha! That will show you. All of you!

posted by DRH 5/06/2004 07:06:00 PM

Saving Money
Heck, the way things are going with the 9/11 commission circus, maybe they should just publish this report and call it a day.

posted by DRH 5/01/2004 08:07:00 PM

Apebortion
Compare and contrast with this audio clip.

posted by DRH 5/01/2004 07:59:00 PM

Some Asssembly Required
With help from my parental units, I finally have my partially new IKEA setup all built. In case you are curious, it is a set of the IVAR components. Soon, I will construct my Poäng chair, and when it is in stock, purchase up my Beddinge Populär sofa bed. I just hope I can keep the ĉät off it.

posted by DRH 4/30/2004 03:13:00 PM

Why do I Always Jump to Conclusions?
A drug agent shoots himself during a gun safety class?

posted by DRH 4/30/2004 02:11:00 PM

BD goes BOOM
Hurm. Doonesbury has BD (serving in the reserves in Iraq) getting his leg blowed off. Last weeks strips seemed not bad, but the inevitable kameness is starting to creep in. I did think this strip was amusing, though.... I don't think there have been any strips where BD's hair has been shown, at least before the start of the Lame Era.

posted by DRH 4/30/2004 02:09:00 PM

Fear Factor: Baby Edition
Dang, I missed this one. Who knew Baba Wawa was so amusing?

posted by DRH 4/29/2004 12:48:00 PM

Kerry: Blame the Beatles?



Apparently, John Kerry's Never-Met-An-Abortion-He-Didn't-Like stance has something to do with the Beatles. Quoth Theresa: "He's of the generation of the Beatles, and that's the line of demarcation". Maybe Capital Records was right to pull the original "meat and babies" cover of Yesterday and Today.... even more people of John Kerry's generation could have been similarly damaged.

posted by DRH 4/26/2004 02:03:00 PM

Update

• Alive
  
• In Campbell, Ca
  
• The cat is less testy now
  
• Many boxes to unpack
  

posted by DRH 4/26/2004 01:20:00 PM

Vanity License Plate of the Day
On a black Jaguar: "JAGNOIR"

posted by DRH 4/20/2004 11:02:00 PM

Okay, I do think this is funny
I wonder if the good Bishop has seen this news story yet...

posted by DRH 4/17/2004 09:53:00 PM

As the Campaign Lurches Forward...
What is the deal here? Is it possible to oppose Kerry's positions without him claiming that his patriotism is being called into question? I have yet to see any example of the Bush campaign attacking his (or any other elected official's) patriotism... and yet that is always the first thing out of a Democrat's mouth when they attempt to rebut an argument on national security. Well, at least Kerr got a chance to mention that he served in Vietnam... which was, of course, a shocking revelation to me.

Well, al least we can count on the scupulously unbiased press to refrain from name-calling, right?

posted by DRH 4/16/2004 06:39:00 PM

Cool Name
I have no idea if the site is good or not, but I like the idea of naming a Pirate website yarrr.com. Sweeet.

posted by DRH 4/15/2004 03:24:00 PM

Radio Network acts like Crank Website
Apparently, Air America Radio is having cash flow problems. I suppose because Drudge reported it first, the chose to format their public statement in Drudge Speak... either that, or they just like being derivative. The weird thing is that it comes out sounding like a bad post to the craigslist political forum. Check out this jerimaid. Very big on metaphorical violence; unless they were relly getting "ripped off", wouldn't their creditor be able to hit them with a beefy lawsuit? Reminds me of my old psycho apartemnt manager...

posted by DRH 4/15/2004 03:08:00 PM

Misery isn't just for Stephen King Anymore
I love it when people diddle with statistics ("Figures don't lie, but liars can figure"). Here's some commentary on Kerry's Misery Index. Some google-ing seems to indicate that there is a whole world of misery indices of which I was unaware... such as a global comparison from Forbes. I like pretty graphs.

posted by DRH 4/13/2004 05:38:00 PM

Kerry Speaks Out on Abortion!
Kerry speaks as a "catholic". I'm pretty sure he consulted with Pius XXIII on this one. Them rich guys like Kerry is lucky, being able to afford time travel and all.

posted by DRH 4/13/2004 04:51:00 PM

Wow! Florida Voters Stupid and Crazy!
In 2000, they couldn't figure out how to vote correctly, in 2004, they threaten GBH... yikes. Is it still safe to visit the Chimp Farm?

posted by DRH 4/13/2004 04:44:00 PM

Back...
I got to spend Holy Week in the Bay Area, with stops at my favorite Marin County parishes... St Anselm's and St Sebastian's. I found a new apartment in the same complex as last time. The new place is a mirror imae of the old place, which has the potential to be very odd. Movin' day is looking to be in the neighborhood of 4/22 - 4/26. You'd be advised to stay off Hwy 5 ....
I'll be drivin' a U-Haul! A 17 footer!

To visualize a 17-foot U-Haul, picture 17 foot-long hot dogs, placed end-to-end.

posted by DRH 4/13/2004 02:44:00 PM

An article I've been waiting to see...
Apocalyptic President by Alan Jacobs for the Boston Globe. I've been hearing the old James Watt trope about Bush for a few years now, with no documentation to back it up. It's nice to see someone finally drill down on it.

Them protestants are always a confusing lot, always coming up with new "clear meanings of Scripture" that conflict with the other guy's "clear meaning of Scripture". But I digress..

posted by DRH 4/08/2004 02:01:00 PM

News from San Francisco
Wow! There was a march for Marriage the very center of .... well, you know.

"Marriage between a man and a woman originates in creation and is the foundation of the family, procreation and the nurturing of children. We join in prayer today for the preservation of this age-old tradition of marriage, while we also pray for all of our brothers and sisters." -- Abp. Leveda

posted by DRH 4/08/2004 01:16:00 PM

Product Placement

The Nike advertisement department is getting out of hand.

This gives me the willies

But then, contact lenses kinda weird me out.

posted by DRH 4/07/2004 12:48:00 PM

Road-trip Radio Roundup
Ahhh.... the joys of a several-hundred mile drive, one of the highlights being an overdose of good ol' AM radio. Having grown up on KABC newstalk 790, AM can only mean talk radio. Along with the usual mix of Savage and Hannity and such, my jaunt through the Portland broadcast radius gave me a chance to listen to that new-fangled "Air America Radio" the Democratic Party whipped up... I was bummed that I went out of range just before the show with Janeane Garofalo kicked in; I am a bit curious to see how her acting and stand-up talents translate into commentary, or if they translate at all. I also missed out the the O'Franken factor, but I've never been much of Franken as a performer, so that was no great loss.

I did manange to catch the majority of the Randi Rhodes show which was somewhat entertaining, but would wear a little thin after a week or so. (Unless, with a significant segment of the talk radio audience you are one of those people that just wants to listen to someone spout random things with which you agree... or at least spout random things against your Common Enemies Who Are Evil.) She kept repeating that she "always verifies everything" before saying it on the radio... but she also seemed to through all sorts of oddities out there, seeming to approve of the idea that Bush "knew" about 9/11. She also had an odd theory that bin Laden only wants to "get Bush"... as if good ol' Osama just sat around, twiddling his thumbs during the Clinton Administration. Her callers at least seemed to eat it up.

The closest to disagreement that seemed to come from any of her callers was on the issue of whether or not Noam Chomsky would be a good guest for her show. Everyone, including the host, thought that Noam was essentially infallible, they just had squabbles over whether or not he would be good radio. Even "debating" such trivia, Rhodes seemed to want to cut off her callers. Dissent? What's that?

Randi Rhodes was followed by a show called So What Else is News? ... picture the "entertainment" segemnts from NPR news with one tenth of the research staff and one third of the excitement. (Since the lineup is so new, the Portland station played a recounting of their schedule every commercial break or so; the thing that puzzled me was that they never said what was on the 7-8pm slot... apparently, they didn't even want to mention that they bothered to waste valuable electromagnetic waves to broadcast that dreck.

As I neared the Bay Area, though.... good 'ol KSFO and KGO. And, after dark, I could even get KFI from Los Angeles. More on these stations... someday.

posted by DRH 4/06/2004 06:27:00 PM

Creepy New Children's Books
Coming soon, from Slippery Slope Press.

posted by DRH 4/04/2004 12:35:00 AM

Found On the 'Net

posted by DRH 4/04/2004 12:29:00 AM

Update on Teri Schiavo
Apparently, Terri Schiavo is being badly neglected. She's being kept in a hospice, even though not terminally ill. Once again, something stinks. Extensive update from Fr. Rob Johansen's blog.

posted by DRH 4/04/2004 12:18:00 AM

Two Americas....
Sure, it's some people to find a job in this economy.

posted by DRH 4/02/2004 02:51:00 PM

Vote for Corndog!!!
Hah! John Kerry says he will create 10 million jobs if elected. CHICKEN FEED! If you elect me, Corndog, as your overlord President, I promise to create .... One BILLION jobs. Take that, Mr. Vote-for-me-because-I-committed-war-crimes-in-Vietnam!

posted by DRH 4/02/2004 02:28:00 PM

Eeek! What have they done to Janeane Garofalo?


Did her eyes ever bug out like that? Did they inject her with something? Was she not... pliant enough for the Democrat-sponsored AA Radio? Have the morphed her into a... Stepford Host?

posted by DRH 4/02/2004 02:19:00 PM

Is it too late to Dump Kerry?


Someone has discovered the ultimate Democrat to run against Bush this year!

posted by DRH 4/02/2004 01:59:00 PM

Moving!
I've accepted an offer back in San Jose, so I will be moving back to California this month! Woo Hoo!!!!

posted by DRH 4/02/2004 01:37:00 PM

Winnie the Pooh jumps the shark....
You know DIsney has strip-mined A A Milne for all he's worth when they put out a video starring Roo.

posted by DRH 4/02/2004 01:36:00 PM

Update
I am still alive.

posted by DRH 3/29/2004 05:54:00 PM

Pint Size

posted by DRH 3/19/2004 05:52:00 PM

Cool T-Shirt Sighting
There was a cluster of people wearing shirts of their own desgn that read: "Who's Your Paddy?" and had a picture of that Fighting Irish cartoon mascot guy.

posted by DRH 3/18/2004 04:17:00 PM

Did Erin Go Bragh Yet?

posted by DRH 3/16/2004 05:16:00 PM

Legal Reform Now
So I was reading this random article and I was once again reminded that there are a number of, well... idiots in the world, who idiotically get themselves into idiotic postitions. What is the thought process by which someone who ".... think(s) it's wrong to bear arms and do(es)n't want to be involved with war," and finds " the thought of having a gun or having to kill someone ... revolting" decides to join the army!?! Even if these were just guys that were lookjing for money for college... you don't sign up for something abhorrent just to make a few bucks... how stupid are these people?

I'm thinking that there should be a mechanism by which such people can file to have themselves declared legally stupid. The status of legally stupid would allow such stupid people to get out of such things as military service, credit card debts, etc.... but would also prevent them from voting, owning a gun, (non-remedial) education assisance, operating dangerous machinery, etc -- things where intellegence is key. In addition, a court-appointed non-idiot will supervise any contracts or official documents filed by the idiot, to protect him from harming himself.

Think of it as a form of bankruptcy... mentalbankrupcy!

Both the idiot and society in general will gain extra safety.

posted by DRH 3/16/2004 04:59:00 PM

More on Catholic Answers' Voter Guide
Karl Keating responds to feedback from readers of their Catholic voters' guide (aka, Guía del Votante).

posted by DRH 3/16/2004 04:41:00 PM

Why Pay Good Money for AL Franken Books?
After all, the BlameBush blog is giving it away for free!

posted by DRH 3/15/2004 04:15:00 PM

Intertesting Take on Iraq and Bush and all that...
From my (for now) local paper. They might lynch the guy, though. Check it out.
Also, here's an article on some of the latest polling data.

posted by DRH 3/15/2004 04:03:00 PM

Festival of Books!!!
If you live in LA, or can make it down there, check out the Los Angeles Festival of Books. Hopefully, I'll make it down... once I figure out where the heck I'll be living!

posted by DRH 3/15/2004 04:02:00 PM

posted by DRH 3/11/2004 12:07:00 AM

Nostalgia
My old car -- the mighty Datsun 710!

posted by DRH 3/11/2004 12:06:00 AM

Ah... Copyright-Free Internet Text!
A quickie google search yielded a couple of sources for the writings of Ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich that were used by Mel Gibson in writing The Passion. Here is The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in HTML (for reading online) and The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in PDF (for printing). Of course you could always just order The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in paper and ink from TAN Books. Not that the don't have it at amazon, but TAN could use the money.

posted by DRH 3/06/2004 05:50:00 PM

Keep it quiet or everyone will want one!
Kids in England find a three headed frog!

posted by DRH 3/05/2004 04:27:00 PM

Scary Numbers on Social Security
Check out George F Will's column on the Social Security mess; some of the figures are insane:

According to Laurence J. Kotlikoff of Boston University, the present value of the gap between promised outlays and projected revenues is $51 trillion -- more than four times the nation's annual GDP. Today the household wealth of Americans -- the value of their houses, 401(k)s, cars, refrigerators, toasters, socks, everything -- is about $42 trillion.

This has been coming for a long time, but ... yeeps!

posted by DRH 3/04/2004 11:30:00 PM

... and Now, Some History
Thomas F. Madden, writing in Crisis magazine : The Church and the Jews in the Middle Ages. Fairly topical these days...

posted by DRH 3/03/2004 10:59:00 AM

A Little Late, Howie....
Dean wins his greated Presidential Victory.

posted by DRH 3/03/2004 12:57:00 AM

Should I Be Worried?
The BlameBush Blog is linking me as "KKKornblog"...

posted by DRH 3/02/2004 11:53:00 PM

A Scary Update on Massachusetts

Maggie Gallagher, writing in NRO has a scary take on the status of the constitutional convention there. Her article strikes me as particularly cogent, given todays ruling against the First Amendment in California.

posted by DRH 3/01/2004 04:41:00 PM

Doonesbury Reward!!!!

Gary Trudeau, in a move reminiscent of rewards in the past, offered anyone who could prove that Bush fulfilled his obligation to the National Guard a cool $10k . This has prompted Scrappleface to offer a reward to anyone who proves that Doonesbury is a comic strip. Luck for Scrappleface, present tense was used... in old times it was comic.

Update!
Someone won the ten bucks!

posted by DRH 3/01/2004 12:30:00 PM

On the Other Hand...
I've seen the claim put forth a couple times, most recently in this recent column by Pat Buchanan, that Congress could use Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution to prevent any federal Court from striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

I honetsly don't know much about the history of that clause and if it can indeed be used in the way suggested... sounds plausible, though.

posted by DRH 3/01/2004 12:02:00 PM

Charles Krauthammer gets it right (mostly)

On Bush being "divisive" --
"Predictably, Massachusetts Democrats are on the attack. John Kerry charges the president with seeking 'a wedge issue to divide the American people.' Ted Kennedy amplifies: 'It's about politics -- an attempt to drive a wedge between one group of citizens and the rest of the country, solely for partisan advantage.'


"Wedge? Marriage has been around for, oh, 5,000 years. In every society, in every place, in every time it has been defined as an opposite-sex union. Then four robed eminences in Boston decree otherwise. With the stroke of a pen, they radically redefine the most ancient of all social institutions. And then those not quite prepared to accept this undebated, unlegislated, unvoted, unnegotiated revolution are the ones accused of creating a political wedge!" -- Revolution by Fiat.

He has a bit about the "sacredness of the Constitution" being more important than that of marriage, that I disagree, but can somewhat sympathize with, but I could sympathize with some broader procedural amendment that could stop crap like the current gay "marriage" fiasco from being created out of whole cloth by state and federal courts, but I don't see how that would work. For now, it sems like the best we can do is at least try to heard off these abuses.

Sigh.

Note: The link requires that you be registered on the Washington Post website; I encourage people to put 100% bogus information in the form!

posted by DRH 3/01/2004 12:31:00 AM

Dang. I want to catch the next bus to Kenya now.

There just sems to be so much that's only in Kenya. Possibly, there are mango biscuits. Heck, just for overkill, here's those Quiznos guys singing about how they like the moon.

posted by DRH 2/28/2004 03:43:00 PM

Huge numbers at box office for The Passion
Check out the daily grosses...

posted by DRH 2/28/2004 03:34:00 PM

This Cracked Me Up
Rosie O'Donnell, Man of the People Merp!

posted by DRH 2/27/2004 04:57:00 PM

Evil Cats in the News
Die die die!!!!

posted by DRH 2/26/2004 04:56:00 PM

George Orwell's Assertion was right
"When fascism comes again, it will be as antifacism" case study : "AntiMcMacrthyite" Hollywood is promoting it's own form of McCarthyism.

posted by DRH 2/26/2004 04:08:00 PM

How do you say YMCA in Japanese?

'Nippon Seaman Ship, Seaman Ship, For Love...For Peace'

posted by DRH 2/26/2004 12:03:00 PM

Mmmm... Guilt by Association
How nice of the Denver paper to cooprate with some nutjob antisemitic "pastor" in linking the thought "The Jews killed Jesus" with The Passion. The media always loves this kind of thing; the guy that hangs out on Powell St with the "God Hates Fags" sign gets lots of play too. The media loves cartoony images of those religious types. I found this on Andrew Sullivan's blog. Sullivan has, of course gone ballistic because his gay ox is being gored right now; he tends to be a fairly rational guy in other circumstrances.

posted by DRH 2/25/2004 03:12:00 PM

Bum ba bum bum... bum ba bum bum buuuummmmmm.....

Lent is here....

posted by DRH 2/25/2004 02:39:00 PM

Through the Looking Glass
The final straw has been placed on this camel's back. Clinton managed to convince me to start votng republican back in '92. Now crap like this has convinced me to start
giving money to the Bush campaign. The idea that Bush took up the whole notion of "gay marriage" as some sort of political boogey-man to help in the '04 election indicates to me how fundementally damaged the culture is in the process of becoming. The people with the Big Megaphones see a radical change with no basis in human history as "normal" and any sort of reaction against it as beyong the beyond.

posted by DRH 2/25/2004 02:25:00 PM

Get Ready to Hear from the Caananite Anti-Defamation League!
Apparently, Mel Gibson is thinking about making more Bible movies.

posted by DRH 2/25/2004 02:14:00 PM

Cool Tees!

Urban Outfitters has nifty "new" Voting is for Old People shirts. The claim is that the design dates back to the 70s...

posted by DRH 2/25/2004 02:07:00 PM

A book on The Passion
I did not know that there was a book about this. Besides that Book, smart guy.

posted by DRH 2/25/2004 12:32:00 AM

Yow!
"Zippies " is apparently the term that the Old Gray MareLady wants us to use for the people off in India and China that are getting all those cool telemarketing jobs that are being exported.

posted by DRH 2/24/2004 11:01:00 PM

Reviews of The Passion


Russell Hittinger and Elizabeth Lev in First Things


US Catholic Bishops - Office for Film and Broadcasting


Roger Ebert " What Gibson has provided for me, for the first time in my life, is a visceral idea of what the Passion consisted of. ... This is not a sermon or a homily, but a visualization of the central event in the Christian religion."


The New York Times seems relatively cluessless; the warning signs are in the first paragraph where the reviewer seems to think that the realism of the death of Christ to the wackiness of the "Mr Smith Goess to Washington" remake from ala Homer Simpson. A sentence that really stood out for me: "'The Passion of the Christ' is so relentlessly focused on the savagery of Jesus' final hours that this film seems to arise less from love than from wrath, and to succeed more in assaulting the spirit than in uplifting it. Mr. Gibson has constructed an unnerving and painful spectacle that is also, in the end, a depressing one." It's one of those sentences that you end up parsing closely; because it gives you hints as to the author's mind set.... what does he mean by uplift, exactly... to be kinda "feel good" ? Why rage -- and not, say "gratitude" to Chirst for having suffered through all of that to save us?


Thomas S. Hibbs at NRO ... in St. Ignatius of Loyola's 16th-century manual, The Spiritual Exercises. Founder of the Jesuit order, Ignatius counsels use of the imagination to place oneself in the setting of the Gospel stories, to see and hear the events and voices, and to be moved in appropriate ways. "In the Passion," he writes, "the proper thing to ask for is grief with Christ suffering, a broken heart with Christ heartbroken, tears and deep suffering because of the great suffering that Christ endured for me."

posted by DRH 2/24/2004 11:28:00 AM

Something to watch
I woder how this strategy will play out. When called to asked for his policy decisions, Kerry pretends that he was attacked for his Vietnam service record, and answers accordingly. The truely weird thing is that there is a very strong implication that people who didn't serve in teh military should have no say in the running of the military; a scary thought in a country where civilians are supposed to control the military, not the other way 'round. It will be interesting to see if this works for Kerry. (In the "Chinese" sense.)

posted by DRH 2/22/2004 02:12:00 AM

Governor Ahnold figures it Out!
After consulting legal experts, he realizes that it's illegal to violate the law.

Anyhoo, I came across this quote in an article on the Frisco fiasco : Stacey Zartler, a San Francisco lawyer married last week at City Hall, ... i f their vows end up being nullified, "There will be a psychological toll," Zartler said. "I don't know if I can handle the disappointment."

It seems like this lawyer would have a pretty good case for suing the City of San Francisco. I can only imagine the war in her head as she hears the siren call of a Huge Cash Payout.


Late breaking addition: Gavin Newsom gets his revenge. Ahnold was getting in the way of his sweeping changes.

posted by DRH 2/21/2004 12:22:00 PM

Dark Side of Marin County
The sad thing is that there is no way that Lynn Woolsey's reelection would ever be affected by anything. Ah, the joys of the "safe district".

posted by DRH 2/20/2004 12:46:00 AM

Dialect Usage in the USofA

Check out this cool set of maps of word usages.

posted by DRH 2/19/2004 11:54:00 PM

Election's A'coming!

Frightened by the coming election?



Here's a nifty Catholic Voter Guide to help!

posted by DRH 2/18/2004 04:46:00 PM

Insane
You can find some amazingly sad things surfing the 'net. Here's a abortion clinic chaplain; if you want, he'll bless your baby for you, once it's properly killed, of course.

posted by DRH 2/18/2004 04:32:00 PM

Black Hole Seen
Detected, anyway. Whooooaaaaa.....

posted by DRH 2/18/2004 04:02:00 PM

Fancified Ivy League Book Learnin'
How much does Yale charge per semester? Not that Harvard doesn't have equally high standards. Hee hee.....

posted by DRH 2/17/2004 03:45:00 PM

Soooooon....
I need to buy my ticket for The Passion of the Christ.

posted by DRH 2/17/2004 03:34:00 PM

Another Enlightened Academic
Yet another prof demonstrates his "enlightened" viewpoint by berating a student. But it's all academic freedom 'till they disagree, right?

posted by DRH 2/17/2004 03:31:00 PM

Gnifty Gnome



Fun article about the travelocity gnome. I dunno about the idea that the "poncy Brittish accent" would alienate American viewers... it's been 40 years since Beatlemania and ... what? 30 years since we started importing Monty Python? Not to mention decades and decades of campy Brit characters in American movies and TV shows....

posted by DRH 2/17/2004 02:43:00 PM

Children's News Network...
So I'm randomly watching CNN while I'm in Vegas (for some reason, CNN seems to be the default cable news in all hotels). It stuck me how they seemed to think that they were broadcasting for children. Essentially, they knew the right opinion and would tell you want it was, in extremely stupid terms, so that even you, the viewer, might understand. There was was story on the Korean scientists that cloned a human to harvest cells.


The story was formatted as an interview where the anchor asked the reporter questions, which the reported seemed to be answering in at least a semi-scripted way. Very Mr Rodgers.


The lead was the statement that the Koreans had taken a step that may mean that that Christopher Reeves could walk again. Then, that it could mean that Michael J Fox could be cured. It was all very kind of them to put it in terms of celebrities that we all have seen, while staring slack-jawed at the Screen. It keeps the kids' attention.


Then, the reporter insisted on talking about stem cell-based cures being "not yet ready for market", as opposed to, say possible cures.


Then, the reporter said that the cloning of humans was nothing to worry about, after all they "promised" not to do "reproductive" cloning. She did add that even with this promise, some people still didn't like this. As if the idea that humans shouldn't be grown and harvested for use in commercial products was so alien as to be almost shocking.


Sigh.

posted by DRH 2/17/2004 12:14:00 AM

For the Superstitious....I don't know if it has anything to do with the allegations about him having an affair, but thanks to the anagram server, I now know that "Horny Jerk" is an anagram for "John Kerry".

posted by DRH 2/17/2004 12:11:00 AM

What has been happening all that time?
Well, the "new" job didn't really work out, so I left as of Feb 2^nd. Most likely, I'll be moving back to California at some point in the next 2-3 months. I'm considering Feb to be pretty much a vacation, though. In fact, I'm heading over to Sahara in Las Vegas tomorrow morning to meet up with my folks for two days, then head back to Burbank for a couple days, the back home to my evil cat. One thing I learned today... if you search google for "Sahara", the second to the top listing in is the hotel in Vegas, the first is the desert. I don't think that really means anything.

posted by DRH 2/10/2004 02:07:00 PM

THREE MONTHS?!?!?!?!!
Wow, I am lazy.

posted by DRH 2/10/2004 11:12:00 AM

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