bittenburg

I am pretty tired of hearing how people think they should "take to arms" and how horrible Pres. Obama's fiscal policies are. There are people that are furious over the stimulus bill and willing to say they will "work tirelessly" to ensure his policies and any reelection attempt does not succeed.

People have such short memories. Don't forget, the double-front war that we've been "winning" at for the last few years has costed over three trillion dollars. That's over three trillion dollars thrown away on bombs, troop needs. We're never getting that money back. We're never going to see anything for it, besides destroyed homes, cities, countryside. You could say that we spend three trillion dollars on a couple other countries in a failed effort to spread "democracy". See that word? FAILED. That means that it didn't work. That means we could have had huge bonfires in every city in America and burned money, and it would have been as effective.

Pres. Obama has certainly asked for the largest stimulus payment to be made into the American economy, mainly to save banks and try to minimize the impact of the fiscal policies that were born under the Bush and Clinton administrations (i.e., "free credit for ever-body!"). However, I would like to point out one very important point: the money is not leaving the US. It isn't going to blow up things or make people homeless or be lost in huge amounts in a desert. Yeah - these bonuses suck, and I'm with everyone else that you don't get a bonus for shoddy management - but the majority of the money is staying in the US. Some banks are clamoring to give it back. Okay - compare this please. That's like giving a loan to somebody - say, a $5 loan - and now they want to give it back. See that? That means that money isn't going anywhere. It, shockingly, comes back to you.

So, I ask you angry people, what's the deal? You were all together under the banner of "support our troops!" a few years ago, when billions and billions of dollars went from my pocketbook and yours to fund a failed program. Now, we want to spend billions and billions of dollars in the US, for US companies and targeted towards US industries to hopefully stave off a recession that started in the Bush era, and you're pissed. What the hell? So you'll gladly fund destruction but you want to have a personal war over an attempt to save the US.

Either you need to read the history books again, or you need to put your priorities in order. Yeah, I'm not really happy about paying trillions of dollars to banks for their retarded fiscal policies, but I'd rather have it in the US than supporting a monumental failure in another country.

Wouldn't you?

I can only imagine the pressure on the President right now... I've been reading the news and watching television a bit more than normal, and catch all these silly talking-head shows they have on now. This is just a sample of what goes on:

Pundit A screams, "We must do something about Iran!" Pundit B counters with "Iran is a terrorist state!", and Pundit C chimes in that "we have limited tools with which to do anything about the situation in Iran." Pundit A fires back, "Well, we should at least SAY something. Why hasn't the President made a statement?"

I've thought about this, and if I were the President, I wouldn't really say anything either. Unfortunately, we have no power to do anything. Equally unfortunately, we're trying to negotiate with the country - not destroy said negotiations (again). So the President issues somewhat passive statements about the situation over there, when pressed to comment. Yes, the situation is atrocious. However, people seem to forget that the US doesn't yet own the world, and as awful as things are over there, we can't really do anything. Denouncing it loudly is likely to make it worse, as the protestors feel emboldened by international outcry (which will, essentially, do nothing) and the government in Iran tightens their fist further.

Then there's the ever-present "fiscal" debate. Pundit A: "This President is being fiscally irresponsible by putting us trillions into debt!" Pundit B counters: "But if we don't the world is going to fall apart as we know it!" The debate can rage for hours, I imagine they stock them well with high-protien snacks so they can keep screaming as the camera endlessly pans back and forth.

This too: while I don't agree with everything that the President and Congress are doing in concert, I think about what got us to this point. Yes, a trillion more in debt - they're making this an issue now, instead of making it an issue when Bush was President and throwing billions upon billions of dollars away every year for about five or six years in a row. Because, of course, saying something about it got you instantly labeled with "You're unpatriotic!" and "You don't want to support the troops!", so it was all hush-hush. The numbers just kept going up and up, and Congress didn't do anything except authorize more, because to do any less would be unpatriotic.

But now people are yelling, and I hear it everywhere I go: oh that Obama, spending trillions, wants health care for all, all that socialist crap... And I think, okay. Sure. You can be mad about him spending trillions on failed banks and such. However, this is not money that is being thrown away. This is not money tossed into the endless pit of Afghanistan, where it will be consumed and summarily, blown up. This is money being loaned, being put into banks, as I understand it (and some banks are clamoring at the gates to give it back). Not given away like it's free. The same thing with health care: he's taking that money and investing it into people. No, I don't agree with government health care, for reasons of my own, but as far as the money goes, it's going into people. Look at a practical example: let's say you have a kid. Your kid is brilliant, but you are poor. You cannot afford health insurance. The government steps in and gives your kid much-needed health-care. Is that a waste? The government is making an active investment in your kid. I fail to see how that is like spending five thousand dollars to build one bomb and then drop it on someone's house.

Certainly, this is simplified: the issues are complex, varied, and ever-changing. But I think, and have thought, that while I don't agree with him all the time, President Obama is still the best man for the job. Not because he's out there, playing World Tyrant and stomping his feet when Iran doesn't do what he wants, but it's what he's not doing: he's not provoking people needlessly, and he's not shooting off his mouth. He's not throwing away money on bombs and things to kill people. Sure, we're racking up trillions in debt - but given the alternative - say, if McCain were elected, we may very well be in a triple-front war with North Korea, now, as well - and then would the trillions be spent any better?

Don’t take too long to think about it.
Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you.
First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.
Copy the instructions into your own post.

1. The Aztec Treasure House by Evan S. Connell.
2. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Leguin.
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.
4. All Things Great and Small by James Herriot.
5. Tartuffe by Moliere.
6. The Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.
7. The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind.
8. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
9. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli.
10. Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard.
11. White Fang by Jack London.
12. Fat! So? by Marilyn Wan.
13. Macbeth by Shakespeare.
14. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.
15. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer.

( Explanations as to these formative works... )

So my new Dell laptop has this thing that when I put it to "sleep", this little light blinks slowly on and off. It's a slowly-growing glow, then it slowly fades.

Since I set up my new fax/scan/printer thing, I noticed that it, too, does the same thing.

It struck me tonight.

They're breathing. Like small children or sleeping bunnies.

And actually, this feature is quite calming to meditate to.

PENGUINS SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!

*crosses fingers not to see the Stanley Cup go to Detriot again*

Penguins take the Stanley Cup!!!

I have been increasingly disappointed with movies and books lately. You know, authors/filmmakers, if you're going to write/film a series, write and/or film a damned series. Don't write a huge, epic, fantastic series and then throw the last book/film out like "OMG REEHEEHEE!" and like you've filmed and/or written the whole thing while on crack. It's terrible. It's horrible. It makes me never want to read another series again. It makes me hate the character the next time I pick up the book/see the film because you know they are going to leave you with the literary and/or film equivalent of 'all dressed up but nowhere to go,' if you catch my meaning. And worse, worse! it seems to be the unfortunate norm these days.

Allow me to give you a few examples.

Harry Potter - Books 1-7. This is the epic-est of epics. The foreshadowing was done in the first book. It was so cunningly crafted, so well told, so graceful and powerful and full of subtle morals... then in the last book, Harry and his friends go tromping around in the wilderness for about eleventy billion pages. You scream, you flip forward a few pages and see that they are still wandering about like typical boring teenagers, then you go back to reading, hoping beyond fucking hope that they will actually do something interesting. Just as you are starting to draw mental parallels between JKR and Robert Jordan, finally, they get out of the wilderness, fight Voldemort for about 5 pages, only to wind up in the most poorly written epilogue between the Bible and The Pokey Little Puppy.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Films 1-3. Epic. Beautifully told, vibrantly filmed. Perfect characters that evolve and change, or don't evolve and change but remain solidly like we expect them. My favorite character (next to Jack, of course) is Elizabeth - she becomes a strong female character, becomes a pirate, takes control of an entire fleet of ships. I'm secretly cheering her on from the second movie, willing, nay, begging her to choose Jack, or begone with the limp biscuit of Legolas Will Turner, AND THEN SHE GOES AND CHOOSES WILL AND THEY GET MARRIED AND HE GOES OFF TO BE DEATH-PIRATE AND SHE STAYS BEHIND ON A DESERTED ISLAND TO HOLD ON TO HIS HEART AND OMGHEEHEE SEE HIM ONCE EVERY 10 YEARS. I watched the last 10 minutes in desperate denial, no, she wasn't choosing Will, no, Jack was her true heart and soul, a man that isn't dominated but is an equal, no, she's not going to bloody sit around on an island for ten years holding onto a box because she's stronger and better and more willful than that and they couldn't even keep her in a cabin for more than ten minutes and-!!!

Alas. My fervant denial was for naught. The end of the movie - cunningly left open, kind-of - is a dismal wasteland of predictability. No, Disney, those were not tears of the Touching Moments (tm) that you enshrined the last few minutes of the movie in, those were tears of disappointment. The kind of disappointment that you feel when you're up in some silly, super-tight prom dress and it's 10pm and your date hasn't shown up for the last four hours. THAT kind of disappointment.

Twilight : Books 1-4. Okay. Books 1-3. We're leading up to it. We're getting there. And despite the inane mind-chatter of Bella, it's actually quite good. Yeah, she totally makes you want to smack the next mall-rat you see, but you're into it. At least I was. The tension is so thick you could throw bricks at it and they would simply rebound from its Hulk-like force. Will he? Won't he? WILL THEY!?

Then the last book happens like a carwreck. BOOM! SMASH! She's a VAMPIRE! She's PREGNANT! EVERYONE'S PISSED! Someone brought feather pillows! If you were to accurately summarize it, it would resemble nothing so much as a Maury Povich 2-hour special. You cry, you tremble, and it isn't because the author has done a masterful job of weaving the story into a climactic, beautiful ending, no! It's because it's so awful you have to weep tears of disgust and then pretend like the last book never happened and it's Up To You, Oh Adoring Fan to make the ending because Stephanie Meyer has died in a tragic car accident, so you log on to FanFiction.net and start writing your epic novel to end all novels... do nothing about it except weep into your pillow at night. Every night. For a month.

The Sword of Truth Series - Books 1-7. I picked up this book at the impressionable age of 18. And, I loved it. I loved it in a big way. Kahlan is a strong heroine (for the most part). God, in the second (it might be the third...) book, when she leads an army and just starts indiscriminately killing the enemy, it's pure literary genius. Richard has his moments too - though he tends to the whiny side, as most heroes do - when your hair stands on end because it's just sheer brilliance. And the fifth book? What a friggin' climax. I LOVE IT.

Then... the seventh book came out. What? I thought it was over. OH IT'S NOT OVER. TERRY GOODKIND, NOT HAVING TORTURED KAHLAN AND RICHARD ENOUGH, SEEKS TO TORTURE THEM FOR ANOTHER FIVE BOOKS. And as if Richard hasn't spouted his "Every man owns himself, no one owns him" rhetoric enough, he has to go around spouting it, indiscriminately while searching for Kahlan (whom always gets kidnapped/near-raped/stripped of her power at some point) AROUND THE REST OF THE WORLD. THE. REST. OF. THE. WORLD. Seriously. And you, joyful, inept reader, will be subjected to AT LEAST ELEVENTY BILLION PAGES of him spouting said rhetoric. And then you will cry, again, as I did. Because your eyes are bleeding at the end of it.

There are some series of works that you read because you aren't expecting the kind of compact story-telling that encompasses these. You may read the Discworld series, for example, because you want to pee your pants laughing. You may watch the Star Wars series because you like really good scifi (okay, the original series, not the new one). You may read Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series because you really wish to throw yourself down six flights of stairs but you lack the courage.

But when you have a.) good story-telling, b.) charismatic main characters, and c.) an inspiring story that is continuous and compact, and then you let your last book(s) or last films be written by the glue-sniffing hobo down the street and his good friend Edgar the Invisible Giraffe... you kill me. I die little bits every time this happens. God kills kittens when a writer or filmmaker lets Edgar edit. Have you seen many kittens lately? THAT'S WHY. YOU MAY BLAME IT ON STEPHANIE MEYER.

So please. Please, for the kittens, let this sad trend die. Please stop murdering your characters, your plots, your entire universes. Please stop writing horrible, awful sequels that will make you lots and lots of money but simultaneously make all your fangirls all over the world cry out in one piteous voice and then, suddenly, be silenced. Yes, money may temporarily drown out our cries, but not forever, no.

Somewhere, somehow, someone will wait for your copyright to expire. Oh yes, it may not be today. It may not be for eighty years plus thirty. But it will happen. And then, yes, we shall have our revenge.

HOMEFRONT HUGS NEEDS VOLUNTEERS TO ADOPT HEROES URGENTLY

If you are interested in adopting a deployed hero and can make at least a 6 month commitment, or your hero has returned to the US and you wish to adopt again.... please let us know asap !
We just received a long list of troops who need adoption and are in need of moral support. I would like to get them adopted as soon as possible so if you do not have time- please send this on to anyone else who may be interested. We will send them a short email application if they are not already registered with us !
Send us an email to HomefrontHugsUSA@aol.com with the subject " ADOPT" and whether you can take one or two troops and we will respond asap. This is a great group and family project too. The rewards are endless.
(Two care packages of any size are required per month and a minimum of a 6 month commitment is needed.)
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME ! And to those of you adopting and caring for one of our heroes already- God bless you !
Alessandra

Alessandra Kellermann
President and Founder
Homefront Hugs USA
1449 Tiger Lake Drive
Gulf Breeze,Florida 32563
www.HomefrontHugs.org
email: HomefrontHugsUSA@aol.com

A quick note on HomefrontHugs - you may need to send an e-mail more than once, if you choose to volunteer. I had to send mine about four times before I finally got through and it didn't come back as "unable to deliver". Also, they are a registed non-profit charity endorsed by the USDOD, which also means that if you adopt a soldier or help an orphanage, you can deduct the full amount of whatever you send from your taxes. Just make sure to keep your receipts.

They also have a lot of other programs - sending things to orphanages, making survival backpacks to be distributed for disaster relief (in the US and abroad), and a ton of other ways to volunteer that focus on things other than the military.

If you have the time/resources/desire, they certainly need the help.

I have been surprised by the number of people that walk in my office this week and say, "Ugh! Opera!". It's not like I'm listening to the entirety of the Magic Flute or only Pavarotti's Best Singles - it's a mix CD I made with some opera on it (because I do like opera).

But it's as if people expect me to suddenly grow a monocle and sniff disdainfully when someone mentions any music that has aged less than 100 years, like music is a fine wine or perhaps a particularly ultra-pungent cheese. Perhaps they are afraid I will try to foist tiny sandwiches upon them, and engage them in conversation about "The Glass-iers melting and all this global-warming tosh" with my pinkie high in the air.

Last I checked, this has not happened yet. If tiny sandwiches suddenly appear as if by magic, though, I would highly recommend taking this as a "sign".

I hate being all shallow, really I do, but... is it just me, or does Rumer Willis look like somebody literally took Demi Moore's body and did a "my hed iz pasted on yay!" with Bruce Willis's head?

Because every time I see her on TV or see a picture, I keep expecting her to scowl and say, "Nine million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister!"

Edited to add:

This first post here, on May 28th, is hilarious.

You know, we sometimes joke about high-waisted pants so extreme that they're practically a second bra. But apparently we can't joke about these things in front of Katie Holmes, or as I like to call her, Where Bad Ideas Go To Roam Free.

Those pants are ridiculously, insanely high and tall. She looks like a stewardess on Clown Air.

Maybe she's just messing with Tom at this point. Maybe she's doing whatever she can to wear trousers that are as tall as he is, so that he will be intimidated into going away and not pawing at her any more. In that sense, these pants could be an act of purest genius.

I have just realized that taking a Religion Class (as required for my degree) will also put me in uncomfortable contact with people who are just waiting to convert anyone and everyone that comes within e-distance.

I finally finished Pride and Prejudice.

I have to admit, after getting over the first 75 pages, it was surprisingly enjoyable, though I found it difficult to follow the narrative at times (most likely due to the fact I am not used to the style of writing).

Next, I think I am going to tackle Little Women or perhaps Emma. Well, next after I receive a batch of romance novels from B&N - I'm sorting out my collection of terrible romance novels so I can figure out which ones I have not reviewed yet, and am probably going to skewer my past-favorite, Love Storm. I hadn't realized how ridiculous it was until I paged through it today.

I also found my dog-eared copy of Oscar Wilde's short stories while I was cleaning today, and to my intense sadness, I found that half the pages had fallen off the binding and gotten lost. Another reason that cleaning my office was a good weekend project - I saved The Truth by Terry Pratchett from almost certain destruction under the weight of Martha Stewart magazines. "All is not lost," says Mike, "At least you saved Terry."

What do you do about person in your life (whom you must interact with) that takes it upon themselves to inform you of their opinion regarding everything you eat?

Coffee: "Ew, dirt water!"
Fresh strawberries: "Ugh! Loaded with sugar."
Bananas: "Oh my god, soooo many carbs!"
Grilled sweet potato rounds: "More carbs! Eating a half a sweet potato is like eating a half a loaf of bread. Did you know that?"
A 'Lean Pocket': "Don't you know how many CHEMICALS are in that? Not to mention sodium."
A turkey sandwich: "Gee, I hope the turkey wasn't marinated in salt and chemicals before it was brought to the deli."
Salad with dried cranberries and low-fat dressing: "You know what they say about dried fruit. It has like twenty times the sugar of even just one piece of regular fruit. So for that two tablespoons you could have put two cups of cranberries in there!"

Doesn't it just make you want to grab the nearest box of Ho-Hos and devour them messily in front of said person until they faint?

Maybe multiple boxes. Maybe adding in some luxurious crumb-sprinkling and possibly finishing off the round with two whole sweet potatoes, drowning in butter and brown sugar, or an entire box of Lean Pockets, crisped to perfection in their CrispPerfect(tm) sleeves and devoured with half a bottle of Aunt Jemima's Maple Syrup?

Edited to add: Manic966 had a good idea. Can you truly comment on the carb content of, say, chocolate-covered insects? Or the sodium content of broiled cow's tongue? Maybe I ought to bring a durian for lunch and suck it down after delicately salting it, Bizaare-Foods style.

What's the best way to bring bottled water into an event where they say you can't bring your own drinks?

I have been invited to a festival, but clearly on the website, it says "No food or beverages of any kind brought in to grounds". I absolutely refuse to spend money for bottled water at such an event. Okay, I can see spending $8 for a tiny overly-crisp hamburger, but $5 for a bottle of water? You don't need tiny overly-crisp hamburgers. But outdoors in summer, you do need water.

I'm thinking, medical excuse? Or should I go Braveheart-style, "WATERRRR!!" and refuse?

Why do people not let you bring in water anyway? I can see food, but water? It's like going to the movie theatre and they won't let you bring in water, a soda, or anything. Why not? If I'm paying $X for a ticket, why can't I bring my own water?

This is awesome.



Waaaay back in "the day", I was living in Minnesota while Jesse was governor. While he was not the most awesomest governor ever, he wasn't bad. And, you got all the comments like "Hey, you live in that state that elected a pro wrestler to governor, right?" and you got to say, "Hey, he was semi-pro. And he wore a feather boa."

I'm glad to see Jesse "The Mind" hasn't stepped out of the spotlight. It would be that much grimmer without his bald pate shining on.

And, for a little nostalgia, a Jesse Ventura commercial from when he was running for governor. I still think the use of action figures totally won him the race.

This is why I love BBC News:

Washington diary: Cheney's party

By Matt Frei
BBC News, Washington


Only four years ago, flush with the re-election of George W Bush and the expansion of the GOP majority on Capitol Hill, Washington insiders fell over each other to predict how solid the Republican hold on power would be. Democrats seemed doomed to irrelevance.

But the tide began to turn almost immediately, as Mr Bush squandered his much-vaunted political capital, Iraq haemorrhaged American blood and Hurricane Katrina drowned any pretence of competence.

Today, some polls suggest that just one in five American voters now describe themselves as Republicans, George W Bush is so silent in retirement he appears to have gone into a witness protection programme, and his floundering party seems devoid of ideas, direction and plausible leaders.

But wait! There IS a Republican shuffling to centre-stage. The man who spent part of the last administration in an undisclosed location has popped out like a Jack-in-the-Box to take the Obama administration to task.
( Read more... )

I get in the house, soaked (again! the rain has not stopped!). I go upstairs to change, and of course, Sam comes with.

Sam: Are we going in the... BED!?
Me: We are not going to bed yet. It's only 6:30.
Sam: Are you... SURE!?
Me: *changes clothes*
Sam: *bouncing on the bed* ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO COME TO BED?!
Me: Get off there, you goofy dog.
Sam: *jumps down*
Me: *puts on slippers*
Sam: *jumps on the bed, bulldozes under the blankets until only tail is visible* BED!
Me: SAM! Get off the bed!
Sam: *wags tail*

This is what I get for letting him sleep in the bed. He steals my blankets at night, snores, farts when I least expect it, and I wake up having 5 inches of bed.

Gee, who needs marriage when you have a Sam?

I found the guy I had a crush on in fifth grade on Facebook. Should I friend him? I wonder if he's still hot. He had a cop-out photo of his eye. Seriously. Who puts a picture of their eye on there?

Neighbor has a new girlfriend. She, like the last one, sounds like a barking seal when they exercise their carnal gymnastics. I was wondering, while I was sitting on the deck watching the dogs in the yard and reliving not-so-fond memories of throwing smelly fish-heads to the seals at the zoo, where he finds such women. Is there a Secret Club of Women Who Bark Like Seals? Maybe some super-secret offshoot of a furry convention, seals by invitation only? I had a sudden compulsion to leave a cup of sardines on his doorstep, but I refrained. I'm not even sure why I bought sardines to begin with. They occupy a flat tin in the cupboard, dusty and right next to the Spam.

Back to studying.

ARGH. I am so mad. I took my car in Sunday because I had to get new tires, the old ones were really noisy, with a very loud humming noise. They tell me that they have to replace the hub bearing on one wheel, so I okay that. I got it back Sunday afternoon.

NOW it is making a different sound, also associated with the wheels. It's like a loud, intermittant thumping that I've never heard before. It was very slight yesterday, and now today it's much louder, and getting more frequent. Internet searches last night turned up a wheel bearing problem, or a CV joint problem.

I'm at my wit's end. I don't know very much about cars, and this is a whole new problem that I've not encountered before, and I'm really frustrated since I paid out a bunch of money to have them replace the tires and get it taken care of, and now I'm out that, and probably more so they can pretend to "fix" the problem.

I also evidently paid for two things that I didn't know I okayed - road hazard insurance on each tire (WTF?) and a brake maintenance check. I feel stupid for not checking the receipt before I signed, but it wasn't on my estimate.

I hate Sears.


PS: DEAR APRIL. HURRY UP AND GET OVER WITH. YOU HAVE BEEN A VERY, VERY CRAPPY MONTH. AND HERE I THOUGHT MARCH WAS THE TERRIBLE ONE.

If I had to recommend one book, I would suggest that everyone reads the Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Leguin. The writing style was at first strange to me, as it's very restrained, almost spare in its descriptions and actions, the author's voice more distant and lightly touching the story, which is about a wizard and his travels, his downfall and redemption. It's really a beautifully written book, and one of those where fantasy becomes believable, because magic is not infinite or without a price. I thought the book itself was very zen-like, almost peaceful in the way that it is written. A few people I know don't like the book because of this, because they expect a rich, detailed, described world when they read fantasy, to become part of the action instead of just an observer, much like they might expect from Tolkien. This is not Tolkien.

However, I think that if you're open to new, different, and well-written books, this is an excellent choice. It was something I read when I was fourteen and hasn't left me since. It is no long-winded book Robert Jordan wrote that makes you want to eventually gouge your eyes out by page 9048 of the main characters journeying somewhere, it is a short and light tale.

I would have to say, though, that if I could recommend a series, I would recommend this series of books. If you can "get" the writing style, it is a masterful tale of power, corruption, downfall, redemption, and sacrifice.