Archive for 2009
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »ELO: The Guilty Pleasure Of 70′s Symphonic Rock
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on October 13, 2009 by admin in Music
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009How friend helped me let go of my shame and rediscover the genius of Electric Light Orchestra.
  This Album Cover Looks Really Cool If You’re Sixteen & Stoned |
Thanks to the fact that my photographer friend Terry recently admitted publicly that he had been listening to Electric Light Orchestra, I can finally slither out of my little closet of shame and confess: I think ELO is one of the most amazing pop bands of the seventies. As long as Jeff Lynne’s hair isn’t blocking the sound (now I remember why Phil Spector’s hair looked so familiar a couple of years ago), any listener would probably acknowledge that tracks from albums like On The Third Day (1973), Eldorado
Where Have All The Heroes Gone?
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 12, 2009 by admin in Politics
Monday, October 12th, 2009Do you have a hero? Do we need some?
The recent negative responses to Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize reminded me: I need a hero. I’m pretty sure everything they told us in grade school was a lie. George Washington probably didn’t cut down a cherry tree, but he may have been a gay pot smoker. Not that either of those things are bad, it’s just not what they told us as gullible children. So Columbus was a brutal slave trader, and Jefferson had children with his slave wife, Mother Theresa was a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud, and they even try to imply that Lincoln was gay. Which would be AWESOME if it’s true; that would make the first Republican president a gay man! But seriously, I think we need some heroic figures. We’re a mess. The neo-cons tried to use Leo Stauss’ belief in the noble lie to create an enemy to fill the void left by the end of the cold war, and that strategy has clearly failed. Not only did their proposed enemy never materialize, no heroes showed up to vanquish him. I say a lot of these things in jest, but I really do believe we have a crisis on our hands. This collage condensed from Bill Moyers’ “A World of Ideas” 
Maybe The Green Car Of The Future Is A Boat
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 11, 2009 by admin in Clean & Green, Technology
Sunday, October 11th, 2009They just announced the Green Car of the Year finalists, but with Tuvalu disappearing into the ocean, maybe we should think a little further ahead.
Although the Green Car of the Year finalists were announced recently, maybe we should be even more forward-thinking. In spite of the fact that there’s a growing movement that claims global warming is a myth, this Scientific American piece points out that most of these naysayers are non-scientists, and I for one refuse to ignore the fact that Tuvalu is disappearing into the Pacific Ocean, or that a third of Florida is in danger of disappearing too. So as awkward and foolish looking as amphibious cars have always been, maybe their time has come. One of the coolest options out there is the Squba concept car, which, while vaguely reminiscent of James Bond’s aquatic Lotus Esprit, is a tiny bit less stylish, and carries considerably fewer armaments and secret weapons. Although only a concept, it possesses a couple of advantages when compared to vehicles like those produced by companies like WaterCar though: 1.) It’s not butt-ugly, and 2.) It will still be useful when the world is one big ocean like in Waterworld
What’s The Matter, Michigan?
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 10, 2009 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Saturday, October 10th, 2009Michigan is a beautiful state with lots of resources, and is full of hard working people. So why don’t they just cheer up and get to work?
I live in Michigan. A state surrounded by the world’s largest fresh water lakes, with more than 11,000 inland lakes. The state is relatively rich with wildlife and natural resources, and the residents are known nationwide for their exceptional work ethic. So why is it that the state is number one in unemployment as of August, 2009? Why is it that the state’s largest city is known mostly for its urban decay? I have one guess: ATTITUDE. For some reason, the same character traits that give a Michigander a hard working, common sense attitude are easily flipped to the negative. Michigan’s sort of like a beetle. Almost indestructable and very industrious when things are right, but flip it on its back, and oh boy, forget it. I’ve had two experiences in the past year that highlighted this phenomena, and I still don’t understand it. But they’ve both re-invigorated my positivism. I’m proposing we start using the old saying “Michigan. America’s High Five To The World” as the tagline to get things rolling. One of these experiences was when the huge pharmaceutical conglomerate Pfizer closed its operations in the Ann Arbor area. It was psychological Armageddon for the locals. The economy was DOOMED. Until a short while later of course, when Google announced they were opening an office in the area. THE MESSIAH WAS ARRIVING. WE ARE SAVED! No-one paid much mind to the Read the rest of this entry »
Is Glenn Beck A Homosexual Nazi Blood Elf?
[ 5 Comments ]Posted on October 9, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Friday, October 9th, 2009Why hasn’t Glenn Beck denied raping and murdering a young girl in 1990? Who cares. When else do you get to have serious conversations about the Chewbacca Defense and the Moron in a Hurry Test?
One of the joys of not having cable is that I rarely have to get to know the personas of people like Glenn Beck. Stories about how there was an advertising boycott against him were an amusing side note in my peripheral media vision; I’m always happy when some ranting hack on cable news or talk radio takes a beating, especially in the case of one who makes comments that President Obama is a “racist” and has a “deep-seated hatred for white people.” My interest in the story took a new turn the other day though; having received frivolous cease-and-decist letters letters on more than one occasion myself, I was especially amused first when Isaac Eiland-Hall created the site glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com, but even more so when Beck took the issue to the WIPO, and then again more so when Eiland-Hall’s lawyer Marc J. Randazza responded. The lawyer’s response (143KB PDF) is the best part of this all; it’s not only hilarious, but a perfect instructional tool if you know someone who isn’t familiar with Internet Memes. In the response brief, the lawyer points out that “Only an abject imbecile could believe that the domain name would have any connection to the Complainant“, referencing the moron in a hurry defense (which I was surprised to find has nothing to do with the Chewbacca Defense), and then going on to reference in Read the rest of this entry »