...more recent posts
Cool optical illusion (via metafilter)
"If you're all alone when the pretty birds
have flown..." could it be worse as a midi?
homegrown terror
Russian military suspected as source of anthrax
question time
Photoshop humor from abroad. (Someone I know received this by email from a friend in Europe.)
Following that most interesting Moody thread last week. I offer this from TheNew Yorker. TM has located a couple of interesting sites searching Google for "history Israel". Any interested parties will please post comparative histories here.
Support grows for Ellison's national ID card proposal
down in the boondocks
Colonies in space may be only hope, says Hawking
I'm posting this here as well as in /systemnews in case you are smart and don't read that page:
A few problems this afternoon around 2:30. Should be fixed now. This was a temporary situation as I put the "big fix" in place that should (I haven't been able to confirm yet) fix the massive problem with some versions of IE and Opera on the MacOS. Let me know if you notice anything screwy. Thanks.
You were probably unable to post or edit for several minutes and there was some weirdness with some of the photos. Should be fixed now.
For Linda: Oink!
calling all preppies. anyone who wants 30% off this weekend at j. crew can download this page.
looks like i have to cancell my grand idea of going to providence for the first butthole usa show in 5 years which was a place i could get backstage and hook up with the band, nyc more tough--jim just more proff the WPFT is fading:>)!!
I was afraid that the president might order the Butthole Surfers tour canceled. Not for any specific reason, but because it’s just not the sort of thing America needs at the moment...
They always have at least one intolerable song on each album, and this time it’s Jet Fighter. Rendered timely by recent events, it’s a sort of Sky Pilot turned inside out for the new war. If they have any sense of propriety they won’t be playing it live.
Ha!
Jet Fighter
Jet fighters never die...
Mikey was a little boy he loved to watch the clouds
He was born to fly
Mikey joined the navy his father was quite proud
Mother never wanted it that way
He got into the cockpit and rose up in the sky
Set his sights on Beirut then he let his missiles fly
Boom boom
Jet fighters never die
I don’t know but I’ve been told
It’s been said that god is dead
Jet fighters never cry
Jet fighters never die
The general smoked a Cuban blunt hand rolled by the Reds
Then he poured a glass of scotch and tallied up the dead...
The fighter banked into the night then he caught a SAM
He rose up into heaven with Jesus in his hand
Scenery was so beautiful could not believe his eyes
Then he spotted John Wayne he knew he had arrived
Jesus interrupted him he had something to tell
They had to speak with Allah and he sent them both to Hell
Boom boom
Bum rush for return to Irony
Ironic Times
New York anthrax case confirmed
An NBC employee in New York has tested postive for anthrax, network officials have told CNN. Details soon -
"anthrax is not cool anymore. we're changing our name to ebola."
Ode to the Middle of Nowhere
What is it about Central Asia?
From the so-called Aryans, to the Huns and the Hordes, not to mention Timur the Iron Limper; there's always some threat to civilization issuing from this inhospitable zone. Alexander the Great turned back there, along with Kipling's Britain (check the last verse). I can see why people want to leave, but what are they doing there to begin with? History's losers, forced beyond the margins, until they've grown as hard as the country? We're talking about people whose favorite sport involves a bunch of guys on horseback and a goat carcass. People expect the world to end in the Middle East, but I say keep your eye on Central Asia. Maybe we should ask Pynchon about it.
Anyway, the point I'm getting to is that the area provides the perfect name for the current military campaign. This has been a problem, as Operation Infinite Justice was dumped, supposedly in deference to our Moslem friends. Actually, it's got a ring to it, and will likely turn up as the title of a Schwarzenneger movie next year. Enduring Freedom, or whatever it is now, is no good. Clumsy, and whose freedom are we talking about? And forget Muslims, it ought to be objectionable to Christians. Doesn't the Bible teach that the works of man are passing, and only God endures? As far as I know, heaven is not a democracy.
I'm proposing Operation Baluchitherium, named after the largest land mammal ever to walk the earth. Imposing animals have a long tradition as totems and military mascots. I think a giant, extinct, hornless rhinoceros makes a fine symbol for our present deployment. And where's it from? You guessed it; Central Asia.
What is it with that place?
Our office building at 26 Federal Plaza was just evacuated. One of my clerks said he heard banging noises and then saw people running from the building. I looked into the hall and saw the staff of the security office next door running out. No PA announcement, no evidence of standard fire-drill type emergency procedures. It turned out to be noise from some construction equipment. They let us back in after about twenty minutes, and made an announcement that construction noises on the 14th floor may be ongoing. Didn't tell us how to distinguish between construction and terror noises. People are a bit edgy around here.