Sunday, October 31, 2004

Stolen Honor on PAX TV

PAX TV is running Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal this weekend. I don’t know how often they’re planning to run it, but I know they’ve shown it at least three times that I’m aware of so far. My Dad saw it yesterday afternoon. I saw it early this morning and again just now (as it was ending).

It’s pretty powerful stuff and makes you wonder how Senator Kerry wasn’t arrested for war crimes and treason. That he was elected to Senator is surprising. That he may be elected to the Presidency is astounding.

You can it for free at the Stolen Honor website.

Posted by at 07:36 PM
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Unhappy On So Many Levels

Redskins lose - that’s bad enough. TV commentators harping on the connection to the past 17 election outcomes - worse.

I have some Sunday afternoon quarterbacking advice for Coach Gibbs:

1. New QB - Brunell ain’t doing it, Joe. You’ve got two young guns standing on the sidelines every Sunday. Since we’re pretty much assured a losing season, why dontcha dust them off and give ‘em some play?

2. I suggest fines for penalties committed. Maybe if these jokers have to pony up some dough the penalties will stop? I’m also wondering if you should charge fines for passes dropped? Maybe those guys will get sticky hands if they face losing some money.

3. Good work on the defense. At least we’re #1 in something.

People, go vote to re-elect President Bush on Tuesday. I have faith that this will be the election to prove that Redskins home game thing wrong.

Posted by at 07:30 PM
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Van Helsing

To recap from yesterday: pumpkin carving went well - that’s a lot of work, but well worth it. ECD took pictures, so when I get the one of my pumpkin I’ll post it. And she ordered a really nice chair with a plaid that will coordinate well with ther sofa and chair-&-a-half - Nee zoomed right in on the fabric when we told her what were were looking for. She’s got an eye for design - it was a little spooky in an 8 year old.

When I got home, I crashed on the sofa and started to watch Van Helsing. I was about an hour into it when I started nodding off, so I saved the rest for this morning. Unfortunately, Annie’s body clock doesn’t understand the time change twice a year, so she was raring to go at 4:30am. And I forgot to set the clocks, so I didn’t realize it wasn’t 5:30am until I turned on the TV after walking her. *sigh* Since I was up and wide awake, I restarted and finished the movie. Here’s my quick review.

The notorious monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula who is using Dr. Frankenstein’s research and a werewolf for some sinister purpose.

Ooooh, I liked it. It was dark and campy all at once. Hugh Jackman was brooding (and hot!) as Van Helsing, but it was Count Dracula (played by Richard Roxburgh) who was the more compelling on screen. The writer paid homage to many of the monster stories, which was fun. There was also a sly homage to the Bond movies with the friar (played by LOTR’s Faramir,
David Wenham) who is Van Helsing’s Q.  Poor Kate Beckinsale spent most of the movie having to run in high heeled boots and a corset, but she was lovely (as usual) and sympathetic as Anna.

The visuals were well done - the sets were straight out of gothica with dark, pointy, and lofty castles, cliffs, and cloudy moonlit skies. The transformation of “humans” to creatures, be they vampires or werewolves or whatever were seemless. Movie CGI has come a long, long way.

I liked this movie a lot and regret not seeing it in the theater. I bet it was amazing on the big screen. My only complaint is that we didn’t get the fuller story on Van Helsing that was hinted at throughout the movie. I don’t know if that’s because they’re planning a sequel or they just wanted to leave us hanging.

It’s rated PG-13 “for nonstop creature action violence and frightening images, and for sensuality.”

Posted by at 09:47 AM
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Saturday, October 30, 2004

Two Weeks and Counting

The big move is two weeks from today. There’s still so much to do, but ECD talked me into a trip to Belfort Furniture to take a look at arm chairs for her living room. So she and Nee are on the way here - we’ll load her SUV with more boxes and then we’ll go stroll through this massive furniture store for a bit. Then we’ll take the boxes to her house and after unloading them we’ll spend a couple of hours carving pumpkins. I’m still trying to talk her into roasting the seeds but she doesn’t think Nee will like them.

Annie got a long needed bath this morning. She hates the bath itself, but she loves the towel rubdown afterwards. She stands with her rear to me and I rub her down with the towel. She’ll run away for a couple of feet and then come charging back into the towel I’m holding up. It’s the only way she’ll let me dry her.

OK, ECD and Nee are here. Later!

Posted by at 03:18 PM
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Friday, October 29, 2004

The Hilarious Mango

Katie the Mango is on a roll with several laugh-out-loud posts.

First up, she fisks a recent email from Howard Dean:

Now that fundamental right is under threat. Every day we hear of new GOP tactics to corrupt the system and prevent people from voting.

Oh right, those GOP goons harassing people at polling places. Excuse me, have I missed something? Like, the fake registrations (all of Dems) in tons of states. The legions of volunteers to “personally vouch” for unregistered voters in Minnesota. Dead people and Disney characters registering? Buying votes with CRACK COCAINE? Incidentally, don’t you find it little amusing when Democrats start throwing around words like ‘sacred’?

Next up, the writer of The Hokey Pokey died - the accompanying message is cheesy good. You’ll have to click over to see the punchline.

Continuing, we have early news on possible Kerry cabinet-chasers:

So apparently John Kerry’s appointed Sen. Biden to be his Secretary of State if, heaven forbid, he wins. I guess we’re going for an all-senator administration. That should be...action-packed. It would be the My Dinner with Andre of presidential administrations.

Heh. The rest of the post is quite good as well.

If you haven’t read Katie’s stuff before you’re missing out. Go, go, go!

Posted by at 04:36 PM
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Curt Schilling: World Series Star and World Class Guy

Via Petrified Truth, is a link to an open letter written by Curt Schilling in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. He talks some about the decision to resume the play of baseball on the Monday after. But the following is the heart of his letter.

To the victims and families of the tragedies inflicted on us this past week we send our hearts out to you, and our prayers that you will find some comfort, some solace in the coming weeks as this great country gets up on its feet and defends itself as the world’s greatest nation, with the world’s greatest people.

Like a lot of people, my thoughts Tuesday afternoon steered towards revenge, retaliation, retribution, in just how hard we could hit back.

My first cognizant thought was, “Man, did they pick on the wrong country.” Then, after watching TV, I began to realize that not only did they pick on the wrong country, but they couldn’t have picked a worse target. There is no city on this planet that more represents its nation than New York does in the United States. New York is the true definition of a melting pot. Every race, religion and color are represented in New York, and on Tuesday you saw every race, every religion, every color, come together as one nation of people fighting for one common goal—to save lives. I can honestly tell you that I have never been as proud to be an American as I was that day, to see the men and women of this great country come together and pour their blood, sweat and tears into saving those that could be saved. They continue to do so today, and with no less effort. That in and of itself should make us proud as hell.

My wife, Shonda, and our three young children stepped outside on Friday at 7 p.m., lit a candle and prayed together. We prayed that those heroic men and women of the NYPD, FDNY and the U.S. Government that sacrificed their lives in the minutes following the first explosion at the World Trade Center are now in a safe and beautiful place.

To those families that lost loved ones in the NYPD and in the FDNY, I can only offer our sincerest thank you. Please know that athletes in this country look to your husbands and wives as they may have looked at the men of our profession when they were young, as heroes, as idols, for they are everything every man should strive to be in life and they died in a way reserved only for those who would make the ultimate sacrifice for this nation, and for the freedom we oftentimes take for granted.

Words cannot heal your wounds, not even time will heal the wounds for those who have suffered loss this week. But other than money and blood, which I hope the players in MLB will be giving of both, it is all we have to offer.

We will step on the fields of Major League Baseball on Monday night, but please know that we are not doing this as an aversion to forget what happened on Tuesday. Nothing will ever make us forget that day. But we are doing so because it is our job, and I honestly feel that if you do have a chance to catch a few minutes of a game, and see every sports fan in every stadium stand for that initial moment of silence, and understand when we do so that we do so for you, and for your families. And in the seventh-inning stretch when this nation sings God Bless America, we do so because we can, because in this country men and woman have died so that we can continue on as a free nation, and we will be thinking of you then also.

And it’s my belief that if you watch close enough you will see players, many players in fact, trying in some small way to say thank you, and that we won’t forget you or your loved ones as some of us will have messages scrawled somewhere on our hats or uniforms that you can read.

We will proudly wear the great flag of this country on our uniforms, and it’s something I hope baseball adopts forever.

The flags in this country fly at half-staff to honor those that have fallen, but the flags are the only thing going halfway in this country and it’s my belief that that will not change. I believe our President when he says retribution will be swift and total; as an American it’s all I can go on, but based on what I have seen done these past few days by other Americans it’s more than enough.

To those out there that serve in the military, and to those with children serving in the military, I offer my sincerest thanks, and our prayers are with you and yours in the days and weeks to come. We know you’ll do us proud.

In closing let me say God Bless America and God Bless Americans everywhere.

Schilling was supposed to campaign with President Bush in New Hampshire today, but was advised not to by his doctors.

[via jay solo]

Posted by at 03:55 PM
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From the Inbox: Father Daughter Talk

I got this nugget from Ace.

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of the redistribution of wealth.  She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed.

Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs.  The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.

He responded by asking her how she was doing in school.  Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew.  She didn’t even have time for a boyfriend, and didn’t really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?” She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by.  All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA . She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast.  She’s always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn’t even show up for classes because she’s too hung over.”

Her wise father asked his daughter, “Why don’t you go to the Dean’s office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0.  That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.”

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father’s suggestion, angrily fired back, “That wouldn’t be fair!  I have worked really hard for my grades!  I’ve invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work!  Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree.  She played while I worked my tail off!”

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the Republican Party.”

Good stuff. Thanks, Ace. Posted by at 03:24 PM
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Odd Scripture Choice

Virginia is run amok with personalized license plates - from the 100s of design choices to the personal verbage. So the one that made me scratch my head this morning was of the Fight Terrorism design and the personal sentiment was the following:

EX205

Now, my first thought was that it’s Exodus 20:5. Cool, one of the 10 Commandments. But I couldn’t think which one it was since the Commandments don’t start with the first verse of chapter 20. When I got to a stop light, I pulled out the Bible that I carry in my tote bag and looked it up:

Exodus 20
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

Yikes!

I can’t but wonder if what they really wanted to convey was verse 3 but that someone else already has it on their tags.

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

Then again, maybe it’s not supposed to be Exodus 20:5 at all, but rather it has some deeper personal meaning to the owner. Who knows? Posted by at 12:28 PM
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Driving Tip #9,140,287

I’ve said it before, I’m saying it again…

Use your ever-lovin’ turn signals!

*sigh*

Posted by at 11:44 AM
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Thursday, October 28, 2004

TAR6 Official Site Up

On a lark, I thought I’d check to see if CBS had put up the official TAR6 page yet. They have. Just a couple more weeks!

Posted by at 06:31 PM
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Electoral College Debates

I got into it with a couple people at lunch about the merits of the electoral college. Both of them think it’s outdated and that we should just have a straight popular vote. I’m afraid I lost it a little bit and went into full rant mode about why we need the electoral college system and the genius of it. Really, the Founding Fathers were some special men. They came up with a form of representative democratic government that has stood the test of 200+ years and works so incredibly well.

The other thing that smoked me was that one of these jokers started saying something to the effect that “we had a lot of gall trying to tell Afghanistan what’s wrong with their electoral process when our own is so screwed up.” I need to apologize to that person for my tone, but I shot right back by pointing out that we did not tell Afghanistan what’s wrong with their system. On the contrary, they asked us for assistance since they had never had a democratic election before and didn’t know what to do. So we and the Brits and some others showed them the way to do it, properly and fairly.

But, but, but...the disputes! the accusations of fraud! Puh-leez. The disputes by the candidates were dropped. The accusations of fraud were proved invalid. And today, Afghanistan has their first freely elected President.

HELLO!?!?! They held their first ever elections in Afghanistan! Women voted. There were no terrorist attacks as had been threatened. People protested and weren’t killed because of it! I’m astounded by Americans who don’t get how monumental this all is. They’re so short-sighted. It’s disheartening.

LATER: OK, I just called to apologize to the one person and they started to lecture me. Yeah, no need for the lecture - I called to apologize, remember? Sheesh.

I’m a wee bit cranky today - fatigue and stress are setting in, methinks.

Posted by at 03:22 PM
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Mum on Politics

I have a lot to say about many things political lately, but I’m not at liberty to express my views at the moment. It’s quite frustrating.

I’m highly disgusted with the MSM - moreso than normal. It’s clear that they are actively aiding one candidate over the other. It’s unethical and they need to stop it.

I’m sick of the spin. I’m sick of the lies, especially the lies, and there are so many being put out there in desperate attempts to sway the opinions of the “undecideds” or whomever. Whatever. I’m sick of the ads. I’m sick of it all and I just want it to be over. OVER!

Speaking of the ads - the DNC ad with the eagle and the ostrich doesn’t bring to my mind the men in the roles that they are trying to convey. I have to remind myself that it’s a DNC ad every time I see it on TV. Anyone else having that problem?

I’m concerned about rampant voter fraud in key states. I think voting should be hard - people should be slightly inconvenienced to vote - that way only those who truly care will get out to the polls. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect to show ID when you step up to cast your vote. It’s how you protect against fraud. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect people to vote in the proper precinct locations. Again, it’s a protection against fraud.

As a matter of fact, there was one election day where I went to the place where I had voted in the previous election but I was told that I had a new voting location (because of growth in the area). Annoying, yes, but I schlepped myself to the other location (which happened to be closer to home than the original place), stood in line, verified my identity with ID, and voted. Sure it took a few minutes longer, but it wasn’t a big deal.

And then there’s the ballot complaints. It’s not that hard to read a ballot. If you’re confused, there are people there to help you figure it out. Take your time, there’s no rush. If you need to take a couple extra minutes to read the instructions (!) then take it. It’s more important that you make the attempt to vote correctly than to complain afterwards that you were confused. Call me crazy, but the onus is on the voter to do it right in order to ensure their vote is counted.

Posted by at 01:48 PM
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WS: Game Four

Top of the 9th. Red Sox lead 3-0.

I’m all jittery at the thought that the Boston Red Sox are actually thisclose to winning the World Series! Unbelievable.

I watched LOST “live” but at a little before 8:30pm (game start time), I flipped over to the game to see Johnny Damon rounding the bases - home run? Already?

LATER: RED SOX WIN!!!!!!! Woo Hoo. :clap:

Shout out to my friend, Gunner, a life long Red Sox fan who has to be going nutso at his home in Syracuse. I had the pleasure of going to a game at Fenway with he and his wife - one of the most fun nights of baseball I’ve ever had.

Posted by at 01:33 AM
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Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Tolkien Quiz Update

Thought I’d try the quiz again as mentioned in this post from yesterday. I managed to get through Level 3 with 14 out of 20 correct. I took my time this time and I was able to remember info from the books better - I was rushing yesterday and I was distracted.

I have serious doubts about my future progress through the next levels.

LATER: Made it through Level 4, which surprised me. 14 out of 20 again. Overall, I have 54 questions correct with 19 wrong.

Posted by at 07:47 PM
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Chirping Only, Please

We’re having some serious technical problems with our cell phones at work. We can’t make or receive any phone calls. Our direct connect feature works (thankfully). Apparently the problem has been building to today’s complete meltdown for several days.

At first people weren’t able to get into their voicemail. Then people were receiving random phone calls from strangers. Then when they were calling people, they were either getting through to random strangers or the call was being dropped after about 25 seconds.

So we called our provider and the technician had a couple of us try to call a number to him there. No go. Then he tried to call the four of us who were congregated in my boss’ office. The weird thing was that our phone would ring, we would answer it, but on the other side was not the provider dude but someone else answering their phone. Most often it was a pizza joint, but she couldn’t hear us when we tried to ask what her phone number was and she’d hang up.

Weirdness.

One poor deputy’s girlfriend has been trying to call him for the past couple of days, but everytime she did some lady answered the phone. Girlfriend called the deputy’s mother to find out the deal and she got some random guy when she called her son. A call to his landline revealed the problem, but the deputy is still in hot water with his girlfriend thinking he’s been stepping out on her. Poor fella.

Posted by at 05:52 PM
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