...more recent posts
tropical storm, Deeeeeaaaaannn
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
I put the toast I wrote for my family reunion here, appended to my July 4th post. The MacRitchies are a sept (a "subfamily", with a different name) of Clan MacIntosh. The toast is meant to go with Scotch Wisky, and references our clan motto: "touch not the cat bot a glove". "Bot" is "but", i.e. "without", meaning, don't provoke us, or you'll get clawed. On a tangent, Ritchie is another MacIntosh sept, which means that Madonna is now married into my clan. As such, I feel obliged to express my concern over her use of Cabalistic imagery. On the right side of this page you can see that the Tree of Life has been incorporated into the logo for her current tour. Traditionally, this sort of material was reserved for the initiated. I do believe that we have reached a point in our development when some things that were formerly hidden should now be brought to light, but I'm a little suspicious of M's usage. I don't want to doubt her sincerity, but I don't like seeing this sacred symbol bandied about in commerce. As far as I know, she's still a novice, and this smacks of spiritual pride. Maybe I'm too hard on her, but it's not clear to me how her newfound mysticism squares with other mythologies she deploys, like the sub-Tarantino video her husband directed for her. The current fashion for Cabala is reminiscent of the 1960's taste for Eastern spirituality. I'm sure a few people learned something, but most of it was superficial at best. In any case, I don't think that people who aren't Jewish should manifest this material in Hebraic form. The Tree exists outside of Jewish mysticism, and Cabalistic technologies have long since been incorporated into Western spiritual systems, including Christian ones. It's also worth noting that the typical diagrammatic Tree is highly intellectualized and abstracted. The "real" thing actually is a tree, and has roots; a sort of mirror image tree which grows down into the Underworld, engaging deeper levels of Tradition, without which the supernal tree could not stand upright.
as received as promised : " Akin to the nugget of Pure Evil in "Time Bandits," this videogame may be The Most Fucked-Up Thing In The Universe / Japan is some twisted muthafuckaz / Link #1 is a photo from someone's website; link #2 appears to be some kind of promotional piece / I am honestly at a loss for words; look if you dare"
wrong and wronger
My mom in Dallas mailed me some Doonesbury clippings from last week. GWB is a * with a cowboy hat !
Has this story only been in the Australian media, I wonder?
A NUCLEAR bomb, 100 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima, is lying 10km off the east coast of the United States.
Until now one of the most closely guarded secrets in US military history, its existence has been confirmed in newly declassified documents which reveal how it was dumped in the sea after a mid-air collision more than 40 years ago.
Pentagon officials, though admitting they do not know the bomb's exact location, insist it is safe.
Replica Bison Testicles - Focus of Crime Spree...
I can't seem to post a picture by putting description inside double quotes. Am I trippin? Don't answer that. I have to decide now if I want to take part in the shaving (having him shaved by a professional, god, I can't believe I just said that) of my longest surviving (14 year old) cat. He's going rasta. The vet says he would be more comfortable with a shave. I'm scared. Won't it be psychologically, uh, pyschological? Just when you think its safe not to have a life... Thanks for the adivce or not, I won't take it because I have to make the decision right now, when I sign off, so save it if you want, I'm sure to face similar dilemas down the road, maybe I'll take your advice one of those days, so make it good, or not. Dammit. I'll probably be back here Friday, which is when the cat will be shaved. Dammit, I guess I'll go along with it. I hope it's not too psychological. I hope everyone is happy in the end. That cat has been with me (well technically not with me because he stays here at Dumaine) since Oregon, where he was born. On the move to Seattle he was there when I was for the first time assisted, instead of hassled, by a policeman. Landmarks.
shedding pounds and inhibitions
Hot site making the buzz around our company this morning: http://www.funcalculator.com/
Click on the Orgasmic Calculator or the Farting calculator - beware of your speakers being on too loud in a corporate setting... do a simple calculation online and enjoy!
Not sure what to make of this. Strangely beautiful in a personal grooming sort of way. Click on the swirlee at the bottom left for much much more. (via harrumph. Requires flash.)
wwf (world wildlife foundation) sues wwf (world wrestling federation)
for the good doctor---"a conservation group surveying its land found a black gummed maple that is more than 500 years old and a slender knotweed which hasent been seen since 1952..." (NHampshire)
From worldnewyork:
There's a casual New York blogging, web-type get-together this Friday, August 10, at Rain Lounge, North 5th and Bedford in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at 7 p.m. Everyone's welcome. We'll be the doughy white guy in the black frame glasses.
Picture of an exploded whale. While not the same one featured in the famous Steve story we heard last night it is somewhat interesting (in a coincidental sort of way) that I came across this today. There's got to be a better way...
for $19.95 you can watch paul morgan cut off his feet with a guillotine. proceeds go to the puchase of hydraulically powered limbs his insurance company won't pay for.
New Jersey Wildlife News
I spotted three pheasants today in Liberty State Park, one male and two female. Actually, they might have been grouses. I started walking toward them, and they ducked under a chain link fence into an area marked "No Trespassing - Hazardous Materials," thus evading me. I swear this happened.
Got to see the NYT in hard copy today and found this
40'X8'X8' Shipping containers were also in the news again. The City of Newark just noticed how high the stacks were getting and are complaining cause they're blocking their view of the NYC skyline. We have been importing them two to one over exporting them for years. Buy your retirement homes now while they're cheep!
On July 26, I wondered when the Bush "Who cares what you think?" story would appear in the NY Times, marking its complete transition from obscure e-mail to world news. Evidently it appeared sometime between late July and today, because James Wolcott mentions it on Slate: "There was an incident reported recently in the New York Times where a man in Philadelphia politely expressed his disappointment with some of Bush's decisions, and Bush snapped, 'Who cares what you think?' That, I believe, is the true Bush."
polly, want a cracker?
hello everybody--i didnt go on my 3 day boat trip downriver--due to luck and love i recieved otherization for a trip up into the restricted areas, a place i dought many americans have ever been, i would like to tell you all about it and one day will, but exploration comes at a price and i am fairly sick, i am at the bar palmistes and am going to see if rum will help--off the fete of st laurant manana for a few days with a side trip to see the leatherback turtles being born on the atlantic..........love wheel
anybody want to speculate on the possibility of carbonated icecubes?
Just as I was beginning to wonder how much more post-feminist tolerance of advertising sleaze there could possibly be, I saw the following, markered onto subway posters:
On a Budweiser ad of a jock hoisting a bikini-clad babe onto his shoulders, the words STOP RAPE CULTURE. (Underneath, in smaller letters, someone wrote "Stop Bud Culture.")
On a King Cobra ad of a nude Hispanic girl hiding demurely behind a giant beer can, the caption WOMEN ARE WORTH MORE THAN THIS.
heres a bit of mindless clinton bashing or shrub fluffing, depending on your point of view, from us news.
"There must be some kind of high to working for the first family, because it sure ain't the money. White House salary figures obtained by Washington Whispers show that for most posts–except the very top–annual pay is equal to or less than former President Clinton's rate of three years ago. In fact, President Bush's $23 million payroll is $84,000 less annually than Clinton's in June 1998, although he's employing about the same number of staffers. And that's despite hiking the top rate from $125,000 to $140,000 for close aides including Chief of Staff Andrew Card, spokesman Ari Fleisher, aides Karen Hughes and Karl Rove, legal chief Alberto Gonzales, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, lobbyist Nick Calio, economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey, and faith-based guru John DiIulio. Office heads paid more by Clinton than Bush: personal secretary, communications, political affairs, and even some on the first lady's staff, including Laura Bush's press secretary and chief of staff. Lowest paid: $25,000 for mail openers. New to Bush: six ethics advisers making an average of $84,900 each."
so essentially, if bush hired one more ethics adviser, and god knows he can use them, then the white house payroll would be exactly the same. i would hardly call that a notable difference. heres a complete list of salaries for the white house staff. or you could look at it this way, bush pays his executives more and his peons less, just like every other CEO.