chuck kottke

Perhaps a stretch, unless they were into vintage racing, and when did the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! come out ?.. Influences can be surprising sometimes. The Beatles took a lot of songs from earlier R&B artists, so maybe the idea came from some old tune, or some historical film. Wasn't Yellow Submarine more of Ringo's idea?? Hmm! The song itself harkens to the days of early subs, with all the funny sounds in the background, etc. And it does look so much like part of the sub on the album cover - the windows have that "look" to them..:)

103 years ago.. :)Well, this goes wayy back to the early days of racing history - "For many years Barney Oldfield's name was synonymous with automobile speed throughout the world". Yes, this was probably near when Rickenbacker was racing ~ 1917. "...the first idol of the racetrack, colorful, cigar-smoking Barney Oldfield (pictured at bottom, in his Peerless "Green Dragon"), performed many spectacular feats and won many record on early tracks." And the painting is of "County Fair Auto Races" - vehicles appear to be circa 1905. Rachel, quite the beautiful picture of this machine can be seen at: http://www.vintageracecars.com/sub.htm.

There was a time when Germany had inflation like that - essentially, just before the market crash in the late 20's/ early 30's - fiat money was printed to pay a war reparations debt, and the resulting inflation was pure madness. It took wheelbarrow loads of Marks just to ride the street cars! So, in Zimbabwe, if you get a notice in the mail stating "you may have already won a million dollars!", it really doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot?!:laugh3:

Rave parties here tend to be more like modern cult/religious rites festivals, only with lots of hard punk music, and it sounded more like an asylum to me, than a generally fun time! This is not like that, right?? Ours are not attended by Floyd fans, for instance..

Here's a question - in naming the Beatles song "yellow submarine," was there any influence from automotive racing history?? Here's an excerpt from Floyd Clymer's Those Wonderful Old Automobiles": "For many years, Barney Oldfield's name was synonymous with automobile speed throughout the world. In the closing days of his colorful career, Oldfield competed in the unique car, the Golden Submarine, which, because of its construction, supposedly offered added protection in case of accident. (I would share this, but I haven't a digitizer for the book..) The car does look an awful lot like the Yellow Submarine's window area.. Anyhow, just some interesting tidbits! Enjoy! :)

Lots Only one dozen students, or else they draw lots?:o That seems a bit more than just limiting - "draconian" comes to mind as a descriptive adjective! I understand the intent of the program, which is very admirable, but to limit the number of students to 12 (this is out of the school you are enrolled in? City? District?) just seems so unfortunate, Grace. To me, it's contrary to the idea of a unified Europe as well. Would it be of any use to contact the government, and improve the program by admitting more qualified students? Hmm.. it does appear to be in need of enlargement. I think the EU should consider the value of this program in terms of better relations within unified Europe! Here, we have a problem with transferring credits between the US university systems; even within the systems operating within each state. I think it's a shame, with many students loosing a substantial number of credits, all because of someone thinking the quality or focus of a given number of courses is insufficient (and I think some of it has to do with excess pride issues as well - one University thinks the other is somehow doing a poorer job of educating students / or their program is better..) Turf battles.. If it's any consequence, I think your English skills are quite good, and you would do fine here (if you so desired to go to school here!).:)

Briggins, is this what happens when you spend too much time on the board?:laugh3:

It's "Run Through the Jungle" by Credence Clearwater Revival redone by Radiohead. There there!:P Better songs: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds; Nights in White Satin; Dream Weaver; Listen to the Music; Clocks; ............ ad infinitum. :P:P:P

:POK - Twist of fate here: If you were Iran, how would you try and evade those pesky UN inspectors! They need a little help in this department.:laugh3:

We can love.. We can live.. We can FLY, no matter what they say! We can love.. We can live.. We can FLY, no matter what they say!

It is a strikingly beautiful flag!:thumbsup::smart::hat:

:)WE CAN FLY by The Moody Blues :thumbsup::angel::lock:

Careful how you stand! Well, no surprises there! They know that's the reason N. Korea hasn't been dealt a blow, and it's a ticket to guarantee no foreign invasions, and to secure the regime. I seriously doubt they would ever use it (because hitting Israel with one could potentially destroy Muslim holy sites as well as Old Testament sites, and if they ever did, they would be womped by everyone else in the world pretty much.) But what to do about it.. I think we would be wise to treat Iran in a similar fashion as Libya was, which was an effort to hold an embargo, offering open trade if Kadhaffi changed his policies. Kadhaffi changed his ways, and the embargo was then lifted. Makes a heck of a lot more sense than another ugly war! This is one reason we need to get off our "vital" dependence on oil - because of the demand, the embargo is now a tough sell. But it need not be that way - there are enormous efficiency gains to go, they're not all that hard to do, and it will make the transition easier as oil gets more scarce. I would rather see the nations of the world independent of geographically unique resources, and I do believe this is achievable (and in some ways, essential!).

Hola! Glad you could join!!:):joker::hat::sunny: & Enjoy the zaniness of it all!!

Rachael, you have some very soul-bearing poetry - I think we've all gone through that.. Not much for condolences, but if it helps, you're not alone. & ariadnasquire, that's a most truth-telling saying! If only politics were about real debates over ideas, experiences, and factual, substantive matters! Alas, all we ever seem to get here is personality selling and wordsmithing! But I have looked deeper into the looking-glass just as you have, and it is very telling... Pomes. The spirit of the bird within us all Flies highest on the updrafts of humanity's joy in living; harmony. may we one day soar again in the warm spring breezes. and down below, only toys on the patches of Earth's quilt.

amadeus & then some! You're Truly Gifted, and Talented! ;) All I had when I was 2-5 was the lite-brite, a spirograph, some cool Aztec fill-in-the spaces posters, and some old phone equipment and a crank generator to play with.. (well, there was a bit more - but no computers! You had to build your own from logic chips back then, and we had no access to such things..). You were starting to do this when you were 1 or 2?? And now you have a computer you have built yourself, that runs Linux?! Wow, you're quite well ahead of most everyone on this planet your age!! HOORAY Yamfox!!:thumbsup: You could probably get a job working for Seymour Cray programming a supercomputer, or create better operating systems for the future (and we all know Microsoft's could use an overhaul!). Einstein might be a closer nickname, me thinks..;);)

If you quit because of awful conditions, I can see that... some of the jobs that I had held in the past were nothing short of deadly dangerous, and nothing was being done to improve the conditions. How is the economy in England? .:) If you're a go-getter, and have some skills, I think you'll do fine - there are a lot of jobs out there, and a lot of needs not being met. Maybe there's something you really have wanted to do, but were afraid to take the leap? Well, maybe this is your chance! If you want to apply yourself in some other area, could going back to get an advanced degree help? Technical degree? Put some feelers out in the job market, and see what's up-and-coming, or what will be in high demand. Often, some things get overlooked, and those jobs may be gems in the rough. In the meantime, there's always on-line auction houses, if you have a lot of stuff to sell.. Or, take a part time job anywhere to tide you over while you go searching.. Best of Luck, and keep on looking!;)

Ideas on the why part.. I think the matter has a lot less to do with guns, and a lot more to do with learning, states of mind, and circumstances.. People who commit these acts are getting the wrong signals somehow - usually from family, or from not being taught some basic lessons in morality (and consequences). It may go back to when they were infants - how they were nurtured and cared for at an early age, and did they learn basic lessons about fair play with others? I feel we cannot begin to fix the problem without getting at the root causes; gun control might reduce some of the tragic occurrences, but one of the things guaranteed in the constitution is the right to keep and bears arms, ultimately as a national defense force, and as a natural right (on the frontier, guns were essential). It may also be seen as an ultimate check on government, if that government becomes despotic in nature (we had just won our independence from a King who had gone mad, and the early citizens were not about to let that happen again!) So, unless we think this is not an essential right (by passing another amendment to change the constitution), we will have to live with it. I think perhaps it's more a matter of the transmission of ideas, and of those susceptible to suggestions that may lead to harm. So, if it happens in one place, it gets repeated elsewhere.. Back when I was rather young, we had had a pattern of bombs being set in buildings; this "trend" was then duplicated by other individuals, who had a similar mindset to close down buildings. (the Weather Underground comes to mind..) Maybe if the news didn't sensationalize it so much, and repeat it night after night, those bad ideas might not have such a severe ripple effect? I'm just thinking out loud here...

Root Causes.. Taken from either extreme - ego, and what happens when that ego is challenged by material loss, or someone preventing that person's desire for something - that's one reason. The other is more of a down-and-out kind of problem, coupled with a lack of empathy towards others. This is what happens here - poor people, who loose their jobs (and their last remaining sense of pride) often have an act of violence when someone puts them down, or they feel unfairly treated. It's nuts, but this I've understood happens here on occasion. In two cases I know of, it's knives, and not guns that did the harm. But I'm sure, had they had guns instead, it would have been the same scenario. Yes, it's a matter of what the individual does, but bad circumstances often do encourage bad behaviors to come to the surface; economics does have a significant effect on crime rates, a correlation that's pretty apparent. Yes, that has been a recurring problem here in the US! History is repeated, and often behavior is handed down from one generation to the next.. The old mentality, for all of it's good points, does have some bad aspects from a violent past. So, children often pattern themselves after their parents (understandably), and what we see today can be the result of a history being passed forward. One of the shooting in Texas, as I recall, involved the son of a blacksmith, who's trade disappeared as the suburbs advanced and the economy changed. The whole family was in turmoil, and when someone looses their means of making a living, we have a scant safety-net, and often there's a sense of pride being lost that can turn up trouble in some unfortunate ways. But on a better note, we should be learning from the mistakes, and working to remedy the problems (I would at least hope so?).:\

Putin is not Pushkin I suppose he could be better than I'm imagining.. but I wonder about former KGB heads - I was happier with Borris Yeltsin - he was a drunk, but his heart was in the right place! Anyhow, keep the economy moving along strong in Kosovo!! :)

I suppose - 3 seconds is a bit of a "well, what would make anyone realize three seconds" question. Like staring at a building just before impact; or falling 13 stories with even an umbrella; or going under without a diving helmet:earmuffs:

Hmm.. If I were them, I might be looking on the fan website for ideas and names for albums, songs, etc. - that could be a great way to generate enthusiasm, and keep in touch with the frequency the fans are on (well, Frequencies; some very varied ones at that!):) You must know by now...

Now, now, violence doesn't solve anything (even if it might feel good at the moment!:laugh3:). All you need is a good dead skunk, to place on their car's exaust pipe!:pirate: (oops! did I suggest that! it must have been my evil twin!) Time for Plan B. Use the power of subtle persuasion to cause them to take notice! (pull the plug on the power, and they'll be utterly stunned into silence!:stunned::)). It's harmless, and does a very effective job of getting one's point across. No power, no noise! Quite simple. I'm sure they must be expecting a disconnect notice anyhow, right??

I think several things are key. This may sound callous, but I think a lot of it has to do when you have extremes in income disparity. Poverty and despair, and an effort to have meaning, pushes some to turn to weapons as a choice for giving back to them a sense of pride in who they are. If young people or adults loose their sense of self-worth, all kinds of bad choices can occur. So, violence happens when those with already low self-esteem slip even further into poverty, and loose what little dignity they have left. If they're left to fend for themselves on the streets (which does happen), and if they have few good influences or role models, they're getting bad thoughts. Things of lesser significance, like loosing a job as a cook, or loosing a poker game, or loosing a girlfriend, can be the triggers to episodes of violence and lashing out at anyone nearby. And a gun, or knife - once the rage is on, it's too late to pull the bullet or blade back. That's what I think is happening - it's really about human nature when in bad situations, some react angrily, and in haste do great harm. It may only happen rarely, but once it does, the consequences are horrific. I think it has more to do with our culture here, and less to do with whether or not guns are available. Two knifings in this area alone tell me more is afoot than just the gun violence.

Karma and carmel. Castro's bad in some ways, and so are Bush and the extreme right in Israel as well! Castro likes to put people in jail (under horrible conditions, virtually forever) who go against his policy, or who speak out against his rule. He's a dictator. Bush is misguided, arrogant, a liar and a manipulator; gets into messy wars that cause more pain and suffering than they solve, and alienates the world from the US. He is un-American, because he defiles our most intelligent beliefs as a people, enshrined in our constitution. And the Israel lobby does more harm than good to Israel by backing harsh actions, which ultimately fly back in people's faces, as it only bolsters support for extremists in Palestine and elsewhere. It's simple - it's bad Karma to treat others as though they have no rights. If the people of Cuba were allowed to be free to speak their minds, I'm sure they would want to get rid of Castro (and Raul). It's just not probable, when the dictator has had a lock on everything for so long.. I think the Cuban people needed a fair-trade deal, and to have real competition, not the monopoly they had (US Sugar) back in the 40's and 50's; they needed a representative type government; what they had then (40's and 50's) was a dictatorship we supported. Then along came Fidel. He was a revolutionary first, and only converted to Communism because the US spurned him in favor of the "stable business partner" running Cuba at the time. His brother Raul talked him into Communism, and ties to the USSR were established, which allowed Cuba to be free of American control. But, had we had our wits about us in the 50's, we should have backed Castro, and I think at the time, he would have desired to have free elections in Cuba. Once again, we chose to back the business interests' desires to keep a stable dictator in power, whom the people wanted out. We could have changed history, and helped Cuba gain a better standard of living, as well as free elections - a republic. But, the money obscured wiser thinking, and in the end, US Sugar lost Cuba; the Cuban people lost their democracy; and Castro went communist. No body fared better, except Castro got to be dictator for life, and his henchmen controlled the Island. I do think the embargo does not help matters - if the Cuban people are given access to better living standards by available trade goods, and in kind have greater tourism dollars and other trade dollars, they will begin to realize more the benefits of trade, and a free society. This will encourage change, as when one gets a taste of freedom, one does not want to go back! So, even if Raul is essentially an extension of Castro, I think the Cuban people deserve a chance for improvement, and the more they see that a better way is possible, the more they will move towards that change.