![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptThis entry has been delayed substantively from the original posting time by a power outage where SixApart’s LiveJournal servers are located. There should be no degradation of quality, considering we don’t aspire to any in the first place. Of course, the fact that you are reading this means that the power crisis has been resolved and we are once again functioning.
Before we begin - recall under way for certain types of meat products, generally chilis. I believe the reason for the recall is a potential botulism outbreak, so this one’s pretty important. Have a look.
Today? Not a whole lot done, of course, I think I got told subtly to turn my music down by one of my housemates, as she told me that I had been moved to second-loudest music player in the house. I don’t think it’s particularly loud, but then again, I have no idea how well it carries to the people above me. Anyway, moving onward and such. Have a look at rice-paddy art as a distraction before you ask me for more details. If that’s not enough, maybe the news of the Weekly World News shutting down will give you enough pause for me to escape into the aether.
I think I’ll go hide in the places that are purported to be Fox News's image and other directories. I don’t think an organization such as Fox News would leave such stuff unguarded. Then again, I might be wrong. The crudeness of it seems, well, odd. And perhaps a bit lolcat-like.
To try and thoroughly weird yourself out, perhaps you can try and experiment to see if you can find a “highly strange” point, where physical sensations may occur from holding objects or limbs at certain points outside the body. I wonder what might be causing those kinds of sensataions, and whether they can be explained by known science, or at least have some sort of hypothesis derived. If there’s nothing there, though, then maybe you can try to puzzle out some sort of meaning with regards to the images and writing in the Codex Serpahinianus. If nothing else, it’ll be a distraction from consensus reality.
Something good out of the journalism world, though - it appears that Mika Brzezinsi’s insistence that celebrity news be placed behind actual news is a precdent - CNN anchor Jack Cafferty asked that material regarding Lindsey Lohan's recent arrest be removed from his teleprompter. I like this trend, myself. For those people who want obsessive celebrity details like that, let them turn to programs devoted to the purpose. Keep the news, well, newsworthy, please.
At least one gym is offering Wii workout as a warm-up, cool-down, or circuit for training. While it’s not going to be replacing any weights or bikes or other such things any time soon, a little Wii Tennis could be useful as a break between heavier sets of working out.
In Florida, one man’s money has made something that could very well be the beginning of some sort of Jesusland. The town of Ave Maria, Florida, built on strict Catholic principles, will open Saturday. There’s the church and the Catholic university, a lack of adult stores or entertainment, and there’s strong encouragement for businesses there not to sell contraceptives or birth control. The town is, however, open to the public. We’ll see if the vision of its founder continues on into posterity, and whether the town comes under fire from other group in attempting to enforce the vision of its founder. What probably stopped him from making it his baby were the laws and potential lawsuits. If successful, I wonder if we’ll start seeing those kinds of towns start springing up all over the country. I’d guess Suzanne Fields thinks there are going to be plenty of people to fill those houses, maybe not as Catholics, but as "New Victorians", people who eschew the sexual freedom of their forebears and support a more 1950s-style life. Although there’s something weird about the way the “New Vics” are being described in such a throwback sort of way. Maybe it’s just my currently running theory that older religious/“moral” conservatives believe the 1950s was where America should have stopped, and is where it should return to as soon as possible, and thus when Suzanne describes this new generation, I wonder whether she’s projecting her ideal onto an entire generation that may be changing for completely different reasons. Regardless of their opinions about how they want to live their own lives, Americans are not in favor of a president using their interpretation of the Bible, or even of using their personal faith, to guide the country. This seems to be more a matter of Americans being smart enough to realize that they’ll run into a President/politician whose interpretation differs from theirs, which could result in a disaster, but favoring that the President/politician use some sort of religious values in their decision-making. It’s not quite the sound victory for secular government, but it could be a glimmer of hope that the populace understands once again what happens when religion interferes with good government.
Something encouraging for a change regarding situations in the Middle East: ambassador-level talks occurring between the United States and Iran regarding Iraq. May not be anything positive that comes out of it, and it might be a pretext to accuse Iran of being uncooperative and aiding in the instability in the region, but there might actually be something good that comes out of this, too. Perhaps they will discuss Iran's claim to have captured spy squirrels. Unfortunately, that good comes weighted down with a lot of other possible ills, including the United States intimating that it might use force in Pakistan in trying to root out Al-Qaeda, which could provide yet another place for Untied States soldiers to be killed and another government less than happy with us. There’s also more difficulties regarding just where Syria and Lebanon have their borders.
Domestically, there’s always plenty to be said about what’s going on here. Senator Feingold would like to censure the President for his conduct, since it’s unlikely that there will be any sort of impeachment coming forth. Harry Reid rejected the idea, so there’s probably not going to be anything on record expressing the disapproval of the people, as put through their representatives. This and other things prompts David Limbaugh to crow that Democrats and liberals can't possibly handle all the good news coming from Iraq, because it would wreck their already-made decisions about how things are going to turn out. Incidentally, I’m getting really ticked off at the continuous use of language that says those opposed to the war are defeatists or are opposed to victory or support America’s defeat. It started with the hubris that they were the only people who could determine who was “patriotic”, and now it assumes that Iraq will turn into whatever paradise they believe it will on their timetable, assuming that we put in enough time, manpower, deaths, and no-bid contracts to bring it forward. Recall that it was first thought that Iraq would welcome the United States with open arms and magically get rid of its conflicts and unite under a representative democracy, with American friends and oil dollars for all. So you’ll forgive war opponents if they’re a bit skeptical about claims of victory, of even that war can accomplish such a thing as peace or victory.
Non-war related, John Yoo defends Mr. Bush's claim of executive privilege on the firing of United States attorneys witht he claim that because it was business of the Executive, and there’s no criminal investigation going on that would require those records, the Congress’s authority in the matter is precisely dick. They could, of course, do other things, like refuse to confirm anyone until Mr. Bush gives them what they want, he says, but they have no Constitutional authority to inquire into things, unless they can prove that somehow the firings have violated laws somewhere. Which would be tough to do, considering judge appointments and prosecutions have, in many ways, the ability to interpret or test interpretations of the law. If I recall correctly, though, much of that investigation has to do with why official channels that would have mandatory archives weren’t used in the dealings of official business. I have no idea if that part actually falls into some sort of Congressional accountability purvey or not, but the people who will be affected by such hirings and appointments generally would like to know why someone was put in the office that they currently hold, so they know what to expect from them.
And thus, after the various war and domestic politicking, the Washington Post has an article about a possibly growing trend in United States communities to not ask about legal documentation status in their immigrant communities, allowing them to use city services, report crimes, and engage with the community without fear of being discovered as an illegal immigrant and deported. This doesn’t mean, however, that anyone who has an outstanding federal warrant gets a free pass, and if someone does commit a crime, then their documentation status comes to light. So there’s an incentive to keep from running afoul of the law, and in some of those communities, once the immigrants aren’t afraid of being checked, they’re good citizens. There’s something uniquely American in this, somewhere. I just can’t put my finger on it.
Families of those who have leapt off a 700-foot high bridge are calling for high barriers to be erected to prevent further attempts. There are already crisis line phones in place there, but it’s apparently not sufficient. A barrier would get in the way of picture-taking of the scenic view below. Those looking to end their lives will probably just try to find somewhere else, assuming that the barriers aren’t, say, climbable or anything like that. It’s still rather sad that people contemplate suicide. Wish that we had a society where something like that didn’t enter into people’s minds, because everyone could find happiness and didn’t have to worry about a lack of necessities, including friends and love.
After clearing up a dispute where someone took out a yellow pages advertisement claiming that his gym was a “homosexual gym”, Mr. Ray Parker was less than happy to see it appear in the "white pages" section of the phone directory, where it was a free advertisement. To their credit, the phone book makers have apologized and are trying to figure out some way of retracting the error. What I want to know is why someone would take out such an ad in the first place, and whether someone would assume that it was a gym only for homosexuals, which would probably run afoul of some discrimination statute, or whether it was a gym that didn’t mind having homosexuals in it, which might result in increased business if word of such friendliness were to get around. Or maybe it was intended to be some sort of personal attack against Mr. Parker, saying that he was a homosexual? Bizarre.
One of those parts about education in the Western world is that we’re supposed to be giving the pupils the skills they will need in their lives and their work, and to provide some idea for them what they can expect in the real world. However, if one is a little too obvious about the career training part, and possibly providing a little too accurate of what the future holds for their students, there tend to be complaints. Note the complaints that a school with a simulated support call center is "lowering expectations", when there is quite the possibility that those students will work in such an environment, or one similar, like retail, in their lives. In Kentucky, a new facet of reality intrudes on the students - to participate in extracurriculars, sports, or even to drive to school, students will have to pass mandatory drug testing. It’s becoming more like the real world every day, don’t you see?
One last travesty before turning to hopefully brighter matters - a professor of psychology was banned from entering the United States because one of the border guards found a paper of his, published in a respectable journal, where he recounted his experiences using LSD and other substances thirty years ago. No conviction, no criminal record, no statute of limitations, either, apparently. Denied entry with the only possible means of entry coming from a Homeland Security waiver at the end of a long and laborious process. If this is the criteria, does that mean we can expel politicians that have confessed to being alcohol addicts, even though they now claim they are reformed? After all, if we don’t wan’t drug users and addicts in the country, even if they used them some time ago, we should be uniform in our policy, don’t you think?
Our Cool Things department produces a Greenbox, a device intending to take auto exhaust and create a biofuel with a water vapour byproduct. Boy, if something like that’s cheap to manufacture, we could turn just about anything into a zero emissions vehicle, couldn’t we? Keeping in the theme of combustion, Wired has several photos of The Fire Arts Festival held in Oakland, California, 11-14 July of this year.
Before we begin - recall under way for certain types of meat products, generally chilis. I believe the reason for the recall is a potential botulism outbreak, so this one’s pretty important. Have a look.
Today? Not a whole lot done, of course, I think I got told subtly to turn my music down by one of my housemates, as she told me that I had been moved to second-loudest music player in the house. I don’t think it’s particularly loud, but then again, I have no idea how well it carries to the people above me. Anyway, moving onward and such. Have a look at rice-paddy art as a distraction before you ask me for more details. If that’s not enough, maybe the news of the Weekly World News shutting down will give you enough pause for me to escape into the aether.
I think I’ll go hide in the places that are purported to be Fox News's image and other directories. I don’t think an organization such as Fox News would leave such stuff unguarded. Then again, I might be wrong. The crudeness of it seems, well, odd. And perhaps a bit lolcat-like.
To try and thoroughly weird yourself out, perhaps you can try and experiment to see if you can find a “highly strange” point, where physical sensations may occur from holding objects or limbs at certain points outside the body. I wonder what might be causing those kinds of sensataions, and whether they can be explained by known science, or at least have some sort of hypothesis derived. If there’s nothing there, though, then maybe you can try to puzzle out some sort of meaning with regards to the images and writing in the Codex Serpahinianus. If nothing else, it’ll be a distraction from consensus reality.
Something good out of the journalism world, though - it appears that Mika Brzezinsi’s insistence that celebrity news be placed behind actual news is a precdent - CNN anchor Jack Cafferty asked that material regarding Lindsey Lohan's recent arrest be removed from his teleprompter. I like this trend, myself. For those people who want obsessive celebrity details like that, let them turn to programs devoted to the purpose. Keep the news, well, newsworthy, please.
At least one gym is offering Wii workout as a warm-up, cool-down, or circuit for training. While it’s not going to be replacing any weights or bikes or other such things any time soon, a little Wii Tennis could be useful as a break between heavier sets of working out.
In Florida, one man’s money has made something that could very well be the beginning of some sort of Jesusland. The town of Ave Maria, Florida, built on strict Catholic principles, will open Saturday. There’s the church and the Catholic university, a lack of adult stores or entertainment, and there’s strong encouragement for businesses there not to sell contraceptives or birth control. The town is, however, open to the public. We’ll see if the vision of its founder continues on into posterity, and whether the town comes under fire from other group in attempting to enforce the vision of its founder. What probably stopped him from making it his baby were the laws and potential lawsuits. If successful, I wonder if we’ll start seeing those kinds of towns start springing up all over the country. I’d guess Suzanne Fields thinks there are going to be plenty of people to fill those houses, maybe not as Catholics, but as "New Victorians", people who eschew the sexual freedom of their forebears and support a more 1950s-style life. Although there’s something weird about the way the “New Vics” are being described in such a throwback sort of way. Maybe it’s just my currently running theory that older religious/“moral” conservatives believe the 1950s was where America should have stopped, and is where it should return to as soon as possible, and thus when Suzanne describes this new generation, I wonder whether she’s projecting her ideal onto an entire generation that may be changing for completely different reasons. Regardless of their opinions about how they want to live their own lives, Americans are not in favor of a president using their interpretation of the Bible, or even of using their personal faith, to guide the country. This seems to be more a matter of Americans being smart enough to realize that they’ll run into a President/politician whose interpretation differs from theirs, which could result in a disaster, but favoring that the President/politician use some sort of religious values in their decision-making. It’s not quite the sound victory for secular government, but it could be a glimmer of hope that the populace understands once again what happens when religion interferes with good government.
Something encouraging for a change regarding situations in the Middle East: ambassador-level talks occurring between the United States and Iran regarding Iraq. May not be anything positive that comes out of it, and it might be a pretext to accuse Iran of being uncooperative and aiding in the instability in the region, but there might actually be something good that comes out of this, too. Perhaps they will discuss Iran's claim to have captured spy squirrels. Unfortunately, that good comes weighted down with a lot of other possible ills, including the United States intimating that it might use force in Pakistan in trying to root out Al-Qaeda, which could provide yet another place for Untied States soldiers to be killed and another government less than happy with us. There’s also more difficulties regarding just where Syria and Lebanon have their borders.
Domestically, there’s always plenty to be said about what’s going on here. Senator Feingold would like to censure the President for his conduct, since it’s unlikely that there will be any sort of impeachment coming forth. Harry Reid rejected the idea, so there’s probably not going to be anything on record expressing the disapproval of the people, as put through their representatives. This and other things prompts David Limbaugh to crow that Democrats and liberals can't possibly handle all the good news coming from Iraq, because it would wreck their already-made decisions about how things are going to turn out. Incidentally, I’m getting really ticked off at the continuous use of language that says those opposed to the war are defeatists or are opposed to victory or support America’s defeat. It started with the hubris that they were the only people who could determine who was “patriotic”, and now it assumes that Iraq will turn into whatever paradise they believe it will on their timetable, assuming that we put in enough time, manpower, deaths, and no-bid contracts to bring it forward. Recall that it was first thought that Iraq would welcome the United States with open arms and magically get rid of its conflicts and unite under a representative democracy, with American friends and oil dollars for all. So you’ll forgive war opponents if they’re a bit skeptical about claims of victory, of even that war can accomplish such a thing as peace or victory.
Non-war related, John Yoo defends Mr. Bush's claim of executive privilege on the firing of United States attorneys witht he claim that because it was business of the Executive, and there’s no criminal investigation going on that would require those records, the Congress’s authority in the matter is precisely dick. They could, of course, do other things, like refuse to confirm anyone until Mr. Bush gives them what they want, he says, but they have no Constitutional authority to inquire into things, unless they can prove that somehow the firings have violated laws somewhere. Which would be tough to do, considering judge appointments and prosecutions have, in many ways, the ability to interpret or test interpretations of the law. If I recall correctly, though, much of that investigation has to do with why official channels that would have mandatory archives weren’t used in the dealings of official business. I have no idea if that part actually falls into some sort of Congressional accountability purvey or not, but the people who will be affected by such hirings and appointments generally would like to know why someone was put in the office that they currently hold, so they know what to expect from them.
And thus, after the various war and domestic politicking, the Washington Post has an article about a possibly growing trend in United States communities to not ask about legal documentation status in their immigrant communities, allowing them to use city services, report crimes, and engage with the community without fear of being discovered as an illegal immigrant and deported. This doesn’t mean, however, that anyone who has an outstanding federal warrant gets a free pass, and if someone does commit a crime, then their documentation status comes to light. So there’s an incentive to keep from running afoul of the law, and in some of those communities, once the immigrants aren’t afraid of being checked, they’re good citizens. There’s something uniquely American in this, somewhere. I just can’t put my finger on it.
Families of those who have leapt off a 700-foot high bridge are calling for high barriers to be erected to prevent further attempts. There are already crisis line phones in place there, but it’s apparently not sufficient. A barrier would get in the way of picture-taking of the scenic view below. Those looking to end their lives will probably just try to find somewhere else, assuming that the barriers aren’t, say, climbable or anything like that. It’s still rather sad that people contemplate suicide. Wish that we had a society where something like that didn’t enter into people’s minds, because everyone could find happiness and didn’t have to worry about a lack of necessities, including friends and love.
After clearing up a dispute where someone took out a yellow pages advertisement claiming that his gym was a “homosexual gym”, Mr. Ray Parker was less than happy to see it appear in the "white pages" section of the phone directory, where it was a free advertisement. To their credit, the phone book makers have apologized and are trying to figure out some way of retracting the error. What I want to know is why someone would take out such an ad in the first place, and whether someone would assume that it was a gym only for homosexuals, which would probably run afoul of some discrimination statute, or whether it was a gym that didn’t mind having homosexuals in it, which might result in increased business if word of such friendliness were to get around. Or maybe it was intended to be some sort of personal attack against Mr. Parker, saying that he was a homosexual? Bizarre.
One of those parts about education in the Western world is that we’re supposed to be giving the pupils the skills they will need in their lives and their work, and to provide some idea for them what they can expect in the real world. However, if one is a little too obvious about the career training part, and possibly providing a little too accurate of what the future holds for their students, there tend to be complaints. Note the complaints that a school with a simulated support call center is "lowering expectations", when there is quite the possibility that those students will work in such an environment, or one similar, like retail, in their lives. In Kentucky, a new facet of reality intrudes on the students - to participate in extracurriculars, sports, or even to drive to school, students will have to pass mandatory drug testing. It’s becoming more like the real world every day, don’t you see?
One last travesty before turning to hopefully brighter matters - a professor of psychology was banned from entering the United States because one of the border guards found a paper of his, published in a respectable journal, where he recounted his experiences using LSD and other substances thirty years ago. No conviction, no criminal record, no statute of limitations, either, apparently. Denied entry with the only possible means of entry coming from a Homeland Security waiver at the end of a long and laborious process. If this is the criteria, does that mean we can expel politicians that have confessed to being alcohol addicts, even though they now claim they are reformed? After all, if we don’t wan’t drug users and addicts in the country, even if they used them some time ago, we should be uniform in our policy, don’t you think?
Our Cool Things department produces a Greenbox, a device intending to take auto exhaust and create a biofuel with a water vapour byproduct. Boy, if something like that’s cheap to manufacture, we could turn just about anything into a zero emissions vehicle, couldn’t we? Keeping in the theme of combustion, Wired has several photos of The Fire Arts Festival held in Oakland, California, 11-14 July of this year.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 05:05 pm (UTC)It's not quite Jesustown, in the sense that the founders and those living there probably can't exclude anyone based on the categories they'd like to, because of nondiscrimination clauses and laws. Even without that, though, I suspect there will be enough people attracted to the place that it may obtain such a reputation by itself. Time will tell.
There's another Fox Funny to follow, chronicling the apparent defection of a Republican to the other party without anyone knowing it had happened.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 06:45 pm (UTC)Ah, so it *is* a public place to live and not a private gated type community? If it's private, they can pretty much do what they want, I think.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 10:17 pm (UTC)