chuck kottke

Bring your caulk - it's a caucus!:P Good sign - Obama got Wisconsin's delegates, even though Hillary spent tons of cash here. Maybe his spending caught up to hers, but if not, it means the electorate is awake, and unwilling to be persuaded by BS issue ads on TV. Good - out with the cronies, and in with more honest representation!! And yes, it's a mess of a system - they should do away with the so-called super-delegates, as well as the electoral college system. Thanks for the post, Maldini!!:)

Ricardo, you gave it away!:laugh3: The Next Poster Sports a Mowhawk!:biker:

FOX "News": America's version of extremism and propaganda! It's like Spam, only without the salt and meat.

Radiohead is winney.:P:P:P

bibble Tracie, I have to agree with you about that! If instead of just having absolute rules that use fear to dictate what someone can and cannot due, they should use reasoned arguments based on fair rules in society. Most religions contain a wide and large number of texts, some of which I consider more progressive than others. But also, interpretation has a lot to do with it. The Bible says nothing about birth control as far as I can recall, and I have read it (both the old and the new testaments). It's often allegorical and poetic, much of it simply a morality play, and much of it I think is good. But there are parts I disagree with, because they don't fit the litmus test of common-sense morality. And what to leave in, and what to leave out has been a matter of contention as well. If it's supposed to be so perfect, then why were there 13 or more gospels, and only 4 are allowed in the accepted "perfect" book of Christianity? Hmm.. methinks the word of God speaks more from some basic concepts of fairness in society, and I got as much out of Aesop's Fables and Mother Goose rhymes as a kid, than I get from the Bible. One good example - what sort of just God would ask a man to sacrifice his only son on an altar normally reserved for sacrificing sheep? Sure, God supposedly stops him at the last possible moment (as he raises the knife), saying "Whoa! I was only testing your loyalty!", but sheesh, that's ridiculous! Today, we would (and should) be appalled by this idea. And then, another - God supposedly will not allow any living Israelites to enter the 'promised land' (and never mind the people already living there - oops! too bad for them! Not the "chosen people"!), because they forgot to make a sacrifice one Sunday.. So, does the punishment fit the crime? (junior, you forgot to take out the trash on Monday, so from now on, you can't ever go to college. Too bad - don't cry to me - you had your chance!:laugh3:) Well, maybe I'm cherry picking examples - there are many fine morality tales that make perfect sense, but some of them are just extreme, or completely wrong.. The old maxims of "do unto others as you would have done unto yourself", and "don't judge a man or woman until you have walked a mile in his or her moccasins" go miles further than some of the half-baked tales in the Bible. I guess to me, well-reasoned arguments, with results as examples make sense; "you naughty, naughty doggie" type tales are just used to control, and are not very useful to enlighten anyone about reasons for behaving certain ways. Yes, much of it is backwards, and needs to evolve.. Plus, it could use a lot more positive tales, and a lot less punishment. Instead of the worst and most awful outcomes, they could have included more tales of enlightened reasoning, and thoughtfulness that led to greater happiness. So, I'm not always too pleased with it - but I did like the part where Jesus turns the table over in the temple, and drives out the money-changers! We could sure use someone like that in government today!;) Anyhow, my two cents.

Under the Cover of Darkness.. When religion is hijacked by extremists, it becomes a tool to subvert and control people using fear and punishments for the most trivial of things - things that shouldn't be wrong to do! This is nothing new, and not unique to Iran. The Nazis did this to keep people in line in Germany when they took power, and Stalin did this as well (and one might add Senator Joe McCarthy, a "..good, descent, God-fearing loyal American" to this list of abusers). The Puritans did worse than this during America's early colonial period, and they were a sect of Christianity. It's really a bad strain of thought by those in power in Iran, and had the US and other nations been smart, we would have backed the popular demands to oust the Shaw at an earlier time in history. The result of backing a dictator is often the rise of extremist oppositions. So, the students backed the radical totalitarian groups (using Islam as a cover for legit opposition, much as the Nazis had used Christianity as a cover for their legitimacy), and the extremists gained control, against the real desires of the students, and the general public. Now extremism is extremism, no matter what the label says, as far as I can see - a bunch of powerful absolute rulers, who use fear, intimidation, minders, loyalty testing, and rewards to keep people in line. It isn't the true intent of the religion, but a hijacking of religion by those extremists, that they have done. Hence, finding the least possible excuse for abuse in the religious texts, magnifying that through a warped lens; the result is a whipping for even thinking about stepping out of the party line. In short: It's not about religion, it's about dictators.

Radiohead borrowed one song from a Credence Clearwater Revival tune, "Better Run Through the Jungle".. the tuned drumming in their latest primal effort.:P

It's interesting to see the connections history makes sometimes! Going back to go forwards, I noticed how Rickenbacker guitars were used by Coldplay band members - a little research reveals that Adolph Rickenbacker & George Beauchamp founded the electric guitar company in 1931 (Electro String Instruments Corporation).. Adolf was Eddie Rickenbacker's cousin, and Eddie was America's WWI top ace pilot, having flown in French planes during the war (Nieuports and SPADs). Eddie Rickenbacker later became President of American Airlines, survived two crashes (once with American; once with the military in WWII), and died in Zurich, Switzerland. Eddie, interestingly enough, was born in Columbus, Ohio, home to the Rock and Roll hall of fame! And Rickenbacker guitars were coveted by the Beatles, especially John Lennon, who had one refinished first in 'jet black', and later had one redone with a honey color. So everything is connected!:P Anyhow, just thought I would share the trivia today..:) Oh, and the Red Barron, who's squadron became known as the Flying Circus, had fought Rickenbacker over the skies of Europe during WWI. Why Monty Python drew this name out of a hat, I have no clue..:laugh3:

Sandwich mean time.. GMT + your time zone's number of hours ahead, in military or naval time. Greenwich Mean Time at mid-night. Just search engine it!;)

Radiohead sounds like whining nasal mumbling, if you ask me! Can't they just belt it out every now and then??:P AC/DC does!

Siesta time for me. Chau lovelight!:)

Bueno (?Do I have that in Spanish?) Your English is just fine!!:) My Spanish is terrible, however - so you'll just have to bear with me here!:P (no habla Espanol?)

an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of hospitalization.. I'm beginning to think that every culture lives with it's past, as a living legacy. So, here's it's a gun culture; personal weapons were the norm on the frontier, the US was the frontier, and those family traditions go on indefinitely. True, Bill was telling me that when he lived in 6-shooter junction, TX, that there was no crime, and everyone was armed to the teeth. But then, the criminals lived there too - they just did their "business" elsewhere! This was also true of mob families - 'business' was conducted in Chicago, and they lived in the quiet suburbs. So, I wonder about "safe" communities that have laws about being armed.. Somehow, I just get tired of the idea of having to lug around a luger. And not all crimes are of the robbery sort. We see a fair number of domestic shootings in homes here - so it's not all that it seems to be. I don't claim to have the answer, but for every place it's different, based on what works best for those people living there. We do have the right to keep and bear arms, but then that assumes every citizen should belong to a local, regional, or state militia - that was in the late 1700's! Guns were a necessity then - regional conflicts were common and game had to be hunted for survival. I guess it boils down more to reducing the odds of someone becoming violent in the first place - be they attacking with knives, guns, or autos, it's basically accidents, uncontrolled rage, power-trippers, or suicidal tendencies that seems to drive the bad behavior. Parents that love & care, that set good examples, and teach basic reasoned moral principles do the best to prevent the problems. That, and reducing poverty by offering meaningful work, and holding higher values than materialism makes a big big difference. Some have no bearings in reality, because they never learned to love and have empathy at a young age; others get involved in gangs as a way to "measure up" and feel accepted; some simply see something and try it, not realizing the dangers of what they could do by accident (I have a friend who badly damaged a kneecap when a gun went off in his pocket - basically, kids going target practicing, and not being careful..) One of the shootings at schools I had heard about occurred because someone who had off-the wall para-military parents takes a reading of Shakespear's Romeo and Juliet too literally, has a break-up, and does the unthinkable; Others are because of anger and resentment over rejection (one Adolf Hitler comes to mind..). But then again, we study the classic tragedies, so one wonders about humanity at times..:dozey: Anyhow, I'm putting my bets on understanding, compassion, learning, correction before tragedy, and the tiddly-pom principle.;) The more we are inclusive, understanding, and generally positive, and don't let bad tendencies grow, the better off we all are.

If I were a mayfly, I suppose the sex thing would be alright - but maybe, just maybe I would just take a nap - it's nice to just enjoy the last moments in a happy zen-like state, wasting the minutes away, listening to the frogs and birds chirp, and the warm wind blow lazily by..:) What kind of goofy question is this anyways? How about, "If you had 3 seconds left to live, what would you do?":laugh3:

r.evolution. :laugh3:jajaja! Thanks lovelight! ..In a million years from now, he, you, and I will be fossils in some rock formation somewhere!:P Our great, great, great X10000 descendants will be in another stage of evolution (hopefully a more enlightened state), and by then they might only need radio waves to communicate!:laugh3: Sounds precariously presumptive, if you ask me..;)

The Moody Blues: We Can Fly!!!:wings::sunny::thumbsup:

..of the evolution and capacity to handle other languages? Intelligible paragraphs? What are you saying there??:) My Spanish is limited, but I can glean bits and pieces of what you are saying.. What did you just say??

Well, since the basic equation 9 X 6 = 54 was found to be wrong by the computer (the Earth), the answer being in reality 42.. (see: Life, the Universe, and Everything), perhaps this is an inverted incorrect answer; 45. Now, 42 is the correct answer in base 13 (for 9 X 6), so perhaps they're using a mathematical mind game with us..:rolleyes:

All Muse songs sound the same to me! (like so many table saws running at once..):laugh3:

Winters are too long in Sweden!:P

Teuton in search of a heavy metal / radiohead biker rally:biker:

Hello Sandy!:joker: I do recall Paul Hewson (AKA Bono) owns the Hotel Clancey there - maybe worth your while to visit! Well, have fun in Dublin!! Bonjour to you as well, Sandra!:)

What's the weather like down at your end of the Earth?:)

4-24-08 due to mathematical symmetry.

Hola! jaja :laugh3: How goes summer & fall in Argentina?