Wednesday, October 27, 2004

You do realize, I’m sure, that, having been in a 3-0 backs-to-the-wall deficit and facing obliteration by the Yankee Death Star, the Sox have now gone 7-0 and are on the verge of sweeping the Cards for the World Championship.

Think about that.  I mean, just think of it!

I’ve been trying to get my head around it all day.  And trying to find something worthwhile to say about it.  No joy on either front as of yet, but fortunately Dan the Silver Fox has got me covered.

(That is, if the Shire was located in the South Seas and crawling with giant reptiles and miniature mumaks.)

Seriously, tho, this article on the discovery of evidence of a prehistoric “little people” on an island off the coast of Java is pretty interesting.

Of course, it’s not our house, so we’re out of our jurisdiction.  However, let us strongly urge you, if you haven’t done so, to link on over to Lilek’s latest screed here *

Buh-lieve me, you won’t regret it. 

*Sorry, I’ve got so used to MT that I’ve completely forgotten how to label my links properly. UPDATE: Okay, think I’ve figured it now.

Howdy folks---the blogosphere seems to be undergoing an attack not unlike the dastardly ambush by the Cylons in the opening sequence of Battlestar Galactica. Moo knew is down, as is blogger, so normally this would mean the LLamabutchers would be ........, umm, caught myself there, would be silenced.

Fortunately, our old pal Jen has offered we refugee LLamas a temporary home, at least so we don’t start getting the shakes too bad from the inability to get the blog fix.  Last time mu.nu went down, it was tricky for me there, sitting in the back of the bus, holding Robbo, telling him everything would be okay once we got to Florida....

Anyhoo, there are a number of signs of PANIC!!!! taking hold on the left which I think bodes well for Dubya next Tuesday.  First of, some idiot tried to run over Katherine Harris in Florida today. Last time I checked, I didn’t see any news reports about desparate Republicans trying to run over Al Sharpton (although come to think of it, that would play some real havoc with the suspension and shocks, no?).  True, when Mike Moore came through awhile back I called the hotel and ordered room service for his room of an entire roasted pig plus a case of ho-hos, but hey, assisted suicide is the ethical thing, right?

The other sign of desparation is on the con law professor list-serv I subscribe too.  Let’s just say I’ve never seen panties in such a twist before.  The best way to describe their ideology is “Neo-Breckinridge-ism” i.e. espousing the approach of Democratic Candidate John Breckinridgein 1860, threatening violence if the result of the election is anything short of victory for their guy.  Of course, to me there’s nothing quite as funny as pacifist gun-control advocates threatening political violence--what are you going to do?  Throw copies of Mike Bellesiles’ Arming Amerika at us?  Puh-leeze!

Thanks Jen!

Greetings to all of you fans of Jen!  Robert the Llama Butcher, here.

I know you’re asking yourself, “Who let him in?” Well, as a matter of fact, it was Jen herself.  You see, Mu.Nu, the Llama Butchers’ normal domain, has crashed, leaving yours truly high and dry and unable to get in his blogging fix.

Enter Jen, the Ministering Angel.

Jen’s only rule is that we Llamas basically wipe our hooves on the mat outside and mind our manners. We humbly pledge to do so.

I don’t know exactly how much posting I might do here, but it’s certainly nice to know I have the option. So let’s everybody give some big ol’ Llama yips to Jen for being so kind!

Yip! Yip! Yip! 

Munuvia seems to be experiencing technical difficulties again today. I’ve offered a little blog real estate to the Llama Butchers, although Robert said he’d wait 24 hours before he’d consider taking me up on my offier. Let’s see how long he’s able to resist the access.

Yes, I’m taunting.

Red Sox 4
Cards 1

They looked really good tonight. I have to admit that I was worried about how they would play at Busch considering the Cardinals’ excellent record at home.

Just one more game and the Sox have that elusive World Series Championship.

Woo Hoo!

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Robert the Llama Butcher links to a LOTR quiz that’s geared to the hardcore book readers. As Robbo said, movie-people need not apply.

As of this posting I have not taken the quiz. I’m a little scared that I’ll reach one of the higher levels and have no correct answers. I haven’t studied the books like some LOTR nerds have.

On the commute in I flipped to the Don Imus show and caught the phone call he had with Mary Matalin. She’s fantastic! She challenged his “support” for Senator Kerry with a beautiful pro-Bush rant (as only Matalin can do). When she was done, all Imus could come up with as a response was, “Oh yeah?” and then there was stone silence for a couple of seconds - you could hear the tumbleweed rolling by. Hilarious.

So they went back and forth for a bit and then he made some asinine remark about how a President Kerry would make the people of this country feel better. Well, that just set her off on another rant that was better than the first - about how we all just want to feel better, and maybe Kerry will lead us in the singing of Kumbya and she ended it by breaking out into song herself with, “All we are saying is give peace a chance...” That was the end of the segment and he went to commercials at that point.

I love her.

Monday, October 25, 2004

Reason No. 478 why I love, love, love Television Without Pity.

In this election year, we’ve been hearing a lot about what’s wrong with America. There’s a crisis in health care, rampant budget deficits, and a lack of respect from the world community. But there’s also a widespread problem that no one’s talking about. And that’s the economic impact of broken oxen. When your ox is broken in this day and age...well, you could be losing literally dozens of cents in productivity every day. So don’t let those fat cats in Washington sweep this issue under the rug. Make your voice heard by proudly and defiantly wearing a shirt that lets them know, “MY OX IS BROKEN.”

*I don’t really want the shirt for Christmas or at all - I don’t wear that color red. I just think it’s hilarious that they made a shirt based on the best one liner in TAR history and that some wacko TAR fan (I say that with all affection) might want one. My Christmas wishlist is comprised of just one needed, high priced item and my family is already aware of it.

UPDATE: Oooh, they have a “broken ox” pin too! Stocking stuffer!

Those island cast aways will be LOST for the full season.

Those bedraggled plane crash survivors on ABC’s hit “Lost” are going to be stranded a little longer, and they’re probably thrilled. The network has announced it will film nine additional episodes, giving the action-drama a full season of shooting in Hawai’i.

Officials of the show, which has produced high ratings for each of its first four episodes, initially committed to filming 13 episodes.

Its producers have turned O’ahu’s Kualoa Ranch into a mysterious tropical island 1,000 miles from nowhere, complete with a menacing, unseen creature, a polar bear, a ghost and lots of stubbly faces.

The order for an added nine episodes — network officials call them the “back nine” — come during a week when rival network NBC canceled “Hawaii,” a cops-and-killers drama also filmed in the Islands.

The latest CootieGirl pic. Looks like Daddy had a little fun with Photoshop.

The latest CootieBoy pic. There are a few more new ones of him at his blog.

I’ve long lamented the poor quality, generally speaking, of Christian fiction. It’s why I don’t read that much of it, although I do have a couple authors that I’ll read on occasion. So when I saw an emphatic endorsement for a particular author at The Thinklings (I’m too lazy to get the link to the actual post), I decided to check his books out.

The author is Sigmund Brouwer and he writes mostly for kids/young adults, but he does have several novels geared towards adults. In particular, I read the Nick Barrett mysteries - a trilogy so far, that includes Out of the Shadows,

Nick Barrett is lured back to Charleston by a mysterious note to search for answers about why his mother abandoned him. Past secrets slowly begin to emerge, threatening to destroy the present.

Nick Barrett is in Charleston, awaiting news of his inheritance, when he agrees to investigate the ownership of a famous painting. He finds himself reluctantly drawn into the lives of a spunky, streetwise 11-year old girl and a woman who is trying to rescue her sick child from the ruthless leader of a cult. As Nick uncovers secrets from the past, he discovers the healing love of God through the giving of himself.

The apparent suicide of a young Cadet at the Citadel leads Nick Barrett back two decades to the disappearance of a South Carolina beauty pageant queen. Beneath the glittering exterior of the elite of Charleston lies a century-old secret society with an agenda that will endanger Nick’s life and the people he loves most. Ironically, it is the sinister past that holds lessons about the strength and importance of faith.

If you’re looking for some good fiction, give these a try - they’re realistic stories with a hint of intrigue, fascinating characters, and a growing faith.

I can’t help but wonder what most of these trite sayings are supposed to do to further the Kingdom. The ones on the sign lately have had nothing to do with God at all. This week’s is maybe the worst so far.

Success comes in cans
Failure comes in can’ts

When I move, I won’t have the dubious pleasure of a lame church sign to share each week. I’ll have to figure out where I can drive during the week to get some lame sayings from the local churches in my new town.

Watching the game, catching up on my blog reading. Tom Hanks and Jimmy Fallon were just interviewed - I love that Fallon gave us a little of his Bostonite including “it’s a wicked pissah” (no worries, that means it’s all good for those who don’t speak Boston), which cracks me up.

The whole thing with Schilling’s ankle weirds me out. He must be really doped up because I’ve had a seriously sprained ankle (the doc who looked at it thought I might have torn a ligament, but that turned out not to be the case) and I could barely walk. That’s he’s not even limping is just spooky. That’s he’s pitching in the bitter cold is nearly miraculous. And did anyone else hear him after Game 6 of the ALCS saying that he became a Christian a couple of years ago? Very cool.

Random Thoughts on Commercials: This isn’t related to the game per se, but I didn’t want to start a new post. There are a couple commercials on TV right now that make me laugh out loud every time.

1. Citigroup - the ones with the people who are calling and get the person in front of them being the annoying automated menus you get on the phone? I especially love the one with the vet who’s trying to get info on business licenses and the automated menu guy that breaks into Queen of Hearts. Hilarious, I’m chuckling as I type this.

2. Miller Beer - the ads with the real life situations that are flagged by the football referees are clever. I think the one with the folks around the campfire is my favorite.