Linkee-poo wonders why it's Boxing Day is nobody else is wearing gloves

A discussion of story versus sentence. Well, more of a discussion of where story lies. Is it the words we read, or the plot we follow. Of course, in my personal opinion, it's a dance of both. Plots, or story arches, can be told several million ways (just look at how often the plays of Shakespeare are recreated, like this weekend realizing that "Christmas in Connecticut" is a retelling of "12th Night"). Story at it's basic level is, "there's this character, and something happens." Words are the way we dress up the story. As is discussed, a well constructed an interesting plot can survive clumsy words, and in my experience words can carry you through a clunky plot. While a well cooked steak can be fabulous by itself (yes, I've had one or two that required no dressing), and a well made sauce can make a third rate steak palatable, when you put both together, if the balance is off, the taste will fail. If the balance is correct, it is heaven on earth.

Well, I guess they're not terrorists or Marxist (or even radical feminists), you know, if they're fighting our enemy. It's like the 80s never happened. Hello, conservatives, you all like history, time for you to really learn it (instead of adjusting it to fit your preconceptions and support your political ideals like the Texas State Board of Education). Or do I really need to mention how Saddam was our man (even meeting D. Rumsfeld as we handed of chemical weapons), or the Taliban had our support when they were fighting the Russians, and then that pesky little fact of Osama getting a few weapons from us. Yes, you know, we should probably drop the designation. But until we do, really, you don't go and speak in front of them. Especially if you've built your career out of labeling people terrorists and saying how we should have a zero policy regarding them. But it just goes to show the old adage (the one Giuliani, Ridge and Mukasey publicly denounced) that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

And I guess it's not an abuse of power if it's all about the Jebus. Seriously, how does this man (Sheriff Joe "Mad Dog" Arpaio) still have a job in law enforcement? I know, it's all about how good he makes those of us law abiding civilians feel that he humiliates his inmates. 'Cause, you know, they're bad people. Well, wearing pink, or being stacked to the rafters in military surplus tents (sans heating or air conditioning) is one thing. Being forced to sing to receive a descent meal? Yeah. Line crossed. But those federal charges of improper accounting and billing federal funds without proper bookkeeping will probably spell the end of his career.

And now that CNN is reporting on it, can we finally accept it? To quote the article, "The richest 1% of U.S. households had a net worth 225 times greater than that of the average American household in 2009." Average household, which includes that top 1%. That's how big the distortion is. Sure their wealth plunged 27% between 2007-2009 (the recession in case I have to remind anybody), but the rest of us plunged 41%. Sure the report is from the Economic Policy Institute, a "liberal" think tank (although the EPI is officially a "non-partisan" think tank, since most of their research supports the liberal point of view, they're lumped in that category). Here's a link to their preliminary report release.

Happy Merry to You

Hope you and yours had a safe, warm, and wonderful holiday. And may our New Year bring better things.

Dear Santa,

Please bring me more time and a brain with which I can spend writing. I appreciate the gifts of this past year, not only one job but two, good friends, increased freelance work, a warm home, enough food to eat, and enough to share with others. But if I can be selfish for the New Year, I'd like a little more time to write and the brain power to focus on the writing work.

Thanks ever so much.
Me

PS. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with all you desire and all you need.

OMG, Sarah Palin was right!

Hey, look, a real Death Panel™. And, strangely enough, it's a Republican Governor and Republican controlled state house. Good thing we didn't do that public option, so, you know, we wouldn't have government death panels. (Note that the legislature receded the approval for a heart transplant, all, you know, to cut costs)

Linkee-poo considers an early day

To atone for the dark nature of yesterday's video, the Silent Monks Singing Halleluia. You're welcome. No, I'm not cleaning your keyboard.

And for my friend, Jim, whom I know loves the Carol of the Bells, in Claymation.

Catherine is having a naughty or nice drawing for a copy of Swill or a copy of Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler.

Bryan Fischer continues to go around the bend. Seriously, it's getting close to the time where the nice young mean in their clean white coats show up with the tranq-dart gun.

Here's an interesting chart showing US Senate Cloture Motions. You know, those are the things that end filibusters. With the 110th Congress, Democrats gained a limited majority in the Senate, their first since the 102 Congress. Yeah, that's a pretty big bump there in the 110th. So when the conservatives start their patter of "they started it first" whenever anybody talks about the unprecedented use of the filibuster, now you know the real story.

And since I harp on and on about it, good to see the Tea Party talking about accountability. That's an article about the loopholes in the proposed 112th Congresses House Rule regarding the "transparency" platform (that all bills will be posted for public review for 3 days prior to vote - which the Library of Congress already does).

Season's Gifts

My neighbor restrained
his inflatable fetish to half his lawn
in sympathy of my yard's nakedness
this season.
His makeshift creche,
populated by plastic Jesus plus attendants,
shines blessed light through our windows
all the night.
The three wise men positioned
on the side
like a panel of talking heads
giving running color commentary
and prognostication about what
the scene means.
No matter how hard
they argue over each other,
each morning finds
them in the same place.
A shepherd boy moderates
their quibbles and whispers
without the sense to wear
shoes in this snow.
Half the size of real people
and losing their gilt,
the hollow wise men stare down,
electric lights up their bums
giving the impression of intellect,
carrying their tribute.
Typical of talking heads
the gifts are of little use
to a family with a newborn.
Gold, frankincense and myrrh of all things.
Myrr, spice of the dead.
Gold is somewhat usable,
since the other gift they bring,
the hidden gift not shown,
is the sure knowledge of impending doom,
the wise men's stock and trade.
When the world comes crashing in
gold will help, they say.
But I can't help wondering
if the patient smile on Mary's lips
isn't her biting them instead
to keep questions internal;
if a box of diapers
was too much to ask,
or a proper blanket.

a link of one

Lately there's been a lot of silliness surround "Christianity" and its precepts and teachings. It's part of the reason I really want to write this other book (and soon, the world is ending March 21st, dontcha know). There's plenty of fodder to make fun of because people who extoll others to "read their Bible" so frequently out themselves as those who haven't. Or at least, didn't comprehend what they read.

And that includes Bill O'Reilly who repeated some utterly despicable and easily booted comments about Christianity and what it means to be Christian. While I could point to Colbert's take down, or several other prominent people's responses, instead I'll point here. As that blog post also works though Bill's response to the controversy.

To paraphrase Inigo Montoya, "You keep quoting the Bible. I donna think it means what you think it means."

(link grokked from Vince)

Linkee-poo considers if eggnog is on his diet

One of the many reason I love Neil Gaiman. His poem, "Nicholas Was" made into a video. Guess you'll never look at a department store Santa the same way again. Happy Christmas. (Warning, not a happy fluffy video, no gore, work safe, but very dark in its implications)

This is a little old, but one of the reasons I love my genre. There's so much in this story about Katie who loves Star Wars. It's a story about the social pressures to be "normal," it's a story about how it gets better/bullying, and it's a story about a little girl who just had her world expanded beyond her grade school (which so many kids get locked into), and it's a story about being the person you want to be. It's practically a whole dissertation, which I won't bore you with. Again, I love my genre, you all rock.

Some more typographic humor. So, are you a comic sans criminal? Strangely enough, I had a conversation with my doctor about this. No, really, I did. Just on Monday during my physical. He brought it up when he learned I was a graphic designer.

It's the new game, Are You Smarter than a Fox or CNN Viewer? Actually, that's a Christian Science Monitor article on the recent poll that showed just how wrong people were by which outlet they got their news from. Fox, of course, polled the worse (including Democrats who watched Fox). NPR didn't fare all that well, but did better than most. The article includes an interactive section where you can answer the questions yourself (their interactive part is a little annoying, but okay, at the end you get a tally). Why, yes, I did get 11 out of 11. Thanks for asking. (Grokked from Teresa Nielsen Hayden)

So, you know how all those people who like to spout that "We're a Christian Nation: don't respond well to the argument about, well, just which flavor of Christianity should we be? After all, they're all the same, aren't they? Not really. But we'll all get a long. You know, the Freedom of Religion means the freedom to choose which way you'll worship Christ (as compared to also including the Freedom from Religion, but that's an existential argument that's also tripping people up with the Individual Mandate proposition, that is by refusing to buy insurance you're engaging in commerce). Well, consider this the first (public) salvo agains the whole, "as long as it's Christianity, you're good." So Methodists aren't good citizens, being followers of Karl Marx, at least according to Judson Phillips. Well, Mr. Phillips, since TP followers are lovers of history, it might behove you to know that the Methodists were instrumental in expanding this country into the new territories and settling the West. Right here in NE Ohio, the Western Reserve was mostly given over to Methodists to help settle (both to the Americans and to the Indians). Seems some people just want to get the hate on, no matter what reality is like. Again, tea partiers, this is your leadership (yeah, I know, wide spread grassroots, no real leaders, blah, blah, but these are the people who are speaking for you on the national stage).

Merry Solstice

The shortest day of the year arrived and the year died. Hear the ancients revels, their echoed voices call our blood. Burn the yule log, drink the ale. Bring greens within doors and light fires on hilltops. The year turns.


Enjoy the full moon on the Solstice while you can. It isn't going to happen again in most of our lifetimes.

What did he say?

Dear Sen. Jon Kyl,

I've heard you think it would be disrespectful to the second holiest of holidays in the Christian calendar to work the week after Christmas. What holiday is that, Sen. Kyl? Kwanza? That's the week after Christmas. Boxing Day? Wait, only those Canadians do that.

So what holiday is being disrespected? Christmas? Here's the thing, Sen. Kyl, many people will be working this Christmas, and not just those who work in Chinese restaurants. And most people will be working the week after Christmas. Only a few factories close down, and all of retail and service industry jobs will be working (unless they take vacation time, and then, depending on their workplace rules, they may not be paid for the holidays).

Grow up. Only kids in school get the full week off.

Just how much do you make, Sen. Kyl? I mean as your straight salary for being a US Senator? Don't you think that entitles the good people of Arizona your work ethic? Don't you think that we should expect your butt to be in the office after the weekend? I understand that time away from the Senate doesn't mean you're not working. I expect that you'll be spending your holidays fund raising and meeting with your interest groups. Here's the thing, your day job is expecting you to be in the office. For the rest of us working folk, that means we dump the other plans and get our butts into the office. The good people of Arizona don't pay you for fund raising, they pay you to do the work of the Senate.

And just like those kids in school, Senator, you only get your ice cream if you eat your broccoli.

Maybe you shouldn't have been dragging your feet after the November election. Maybe you shouldn't have been dragging your feet for the past two years. Maybe you should have been doing your job all along.

In case you're wondering, Sen. Kyl, I will be at work next week. And I have plenty of reasons to not being there. But I have a job, so I will be there. You have a job, sir, I suggest you be there too.

Warm Christmas Wishes,
Your Non-Constituent

Not so much crow, but humble pie? Yum.

So, this morning my local telecom had an "emergency" opening and we got our DSL installed. Thirty minutes later and we're cooking with gas. At DSL speeds (current top speed I've seen, 110kb/sec). So they were able to get it done before the month long wait they initially quoted.

But then they also called at 8am with a "we can come over right away" message. Fortunately I'm taking some time off (yeah, not so much, see earlier comment about having a work laptop) because of aforementioned Obscure Updatery. So that worked out. Only took 30 minutes, compared to their estimated 3 hours.

So, we can haz broadband.

Can it be December 21, 2012 already?

So I'm sitting here watching the history channel. They're running another ZOMG Apocalypse programs (you know, one of the "Biblical" ones). And some conservatives will begin to make the argument for reduced NPR/PBS funding with the argument that "educational" programming can be handled by the likes of Discovery and History channels. Yeah (and before you all say, no they won't, understand that the last two times they've cut funding they've used that argument, so I don't expect them to change their tune this time).

This one is running through the "7 Signs/Seals of the Apocalypse." Oh my. One one end they have "biblical experts" talking about what God will do, some of these same "experts" (I'm looking at you Jenkins) extol us to read the Bible literally, but now their willing to talk about how John of Padmose Patmos was really describing (insert modern version of plague, war machine, whatever). Yeah, I know, expecting them to have their logic remain internally consistent is like asking penguins to soar like albatrosses. They might be able to fake it for a while, but then there's a splash at the end (puffins, which are related to penguins, flap all to often).

The you add in the scientists who appear to be talking about things in a very abstract sense (ie. not referring to biblical prophecy). And then you mix it all together... and it basically says nothing, but if you're willing to believe in end time prophecy, could be very scary and shows that science proves the Bible. Including the inference that science is studying some natural phenomena because it may be connected to biblical prophecy.

And then you have Jenkins who just made the comment about having never seen science disprove anything the Bible says. Well, that's easy to postulate when you refuse to acknowledge what science is actually saying (ie. saying that Darwin is wrong, when, in fact, all biology pretty well confirms his main thesis). And there's one guy (missed his name, sorry) who says that "once these things come to pass, students of the Bible will recognize them as the end days coming upon us." Really? Shall I recount the many, many, many times students of the Bible have said, "Look, there's the signs..." only to be proven wrong?

Plus, as a "student of the Bible" we are already in the End Days. Revelations was about the fall of Rome, specifically the Emperor Nero. Nero, the original anti-Christ, is long dead. The "End Times" are behind us. This New Jerusalem is certainly a lot grungier than John said it would be.