Category: misc

Commemorative

Because I forgot to post this on 11/22, like the putz I am…

Despite what you have (or haven’t) heard on TV, we’ve won, folks. Those friends of mine who have been over there can all attest to how much it’s calmed down, and I anticipate we can look forward to having (the majority of) our troops home probably in the next couple of years.

So here’s to the rough men like General Petraeus, who have led our troops to this victory. Here’s to the few politicians who had the guts to stick with this and see this out – this was one of the few things McCain did right. Yes, there’s still plenty of concern to be had about Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan (among others)… and here’s to hoping that those in power handle it well. In the meantime, though, we can have our spirits somewhat bolstered by the realization that victory is possible, and real, and in Iraq, realized – something that even just two years ago seemed a distant dream.

And now for something more lighthearted

In a case of the courthouse funnies, this may be the best summary of a civil case I’ve ever heard:

In Libel Suit Against Simon & Schuster, Man Insists He Is Not A Douchebag

LAS VEGAS (CN) – A man claims Simon & Schuster defamed him in the book “Hot Chicks with Douchebags.” Michael Minelli says two pages of the book are dedicated to him illustrated with a photo, but the douchebag label is “false as it pertains to plaintiff.”

The site is also home to this gem:

The following is from a U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling called E.S.S. Entertainment 2000, Inc. v. Rock Star Videos, Inc. in which lawyers for the owner of a strip club claimed that the makers of the Grand Theft Auto video game infringed their trademark:

“ESS also argues that, because players are free to ignore the storyline and spend as much time as they want at the Pig Pen, the Pig Pen can be considered a significant part of the Game, leading to confusion.”

Imagine the kind of person who would buy, install, and begin playing a computer game and then just hang out in the game’s strip club.

Yes, a man without a life who doesn’t have a virtual life either.

Now imagine that person on the witness stand.

This is the kind of concept that makes reading appellate opinions so much fun.

Weekend Update

Been braindead with a nasty cold all weekend so I didn’t post anything. But I picked up Wrath of the Lich King on Thursday night, got it installed and let it patch, and rolled my Death Knight on Thursday night. I haven’t had so much fun playing that game since vanilla WoW and Molten Core. The class is fun and versatile, but keeps you thinking while playing. I hit 70 quickly and went to Northrend and started looking around and I must say I’m very impressed with what Blizzard’s given us so far. The architecture is different than what we’ve seen so far, the environments seem more lifelike and interactive, and the feeling of a war being fought around you is strong – NPC characters are engaged in combat everywhere you go. Even the usual “hack-n-slash” quests I’ve seen so far are improved by integration with other quests and good explanations – instead of the typical “go to a cave and kill 12 ogre warriors and 10 ogre mages” it becomes “raze the vrykul fortress and burn their barracks.” I’m really looking forward to trying out the new instances as well.

Also discovered this weekend the music of Zoe Keating, an avant cellist, and her One Cello x 16 project. It’s really quite interesting from a technology standpoint what she’s done with the real-time recording and layering when she plays live, but from a musical standpoint it’s simply beautiful music. I’ve found it to be very relaxing the last couple of days, and the absense of vocals keeps it from being a distraction if I have other things to do. If you’re not familiar with her work, I’d suggest checking out “Tetrishead” as a good representation (at least of what I have heard so far). She has several videos up on Youtube as well.

Also, my comment moderation system is having some issues right now, not sure what’s going on but hopefully they’ll be corrected soon. If your comment gets stuck in moderation land and you don’t see it appearing on the page after a few hours, blame WordPress and/or Akismet.

A Change of Pace

I am not, by definition, an optimist.

Shocked yet? Didn’t think so.

I use this blog mainly as a sounding board for my thoughts on a variety of topics, and for the most part, it works pretty well as an exercise in in free writing as well. Not being in school had left me without a direct, mandated reason to write, and so as a result I simply stopped. Not intentionally, but just because I didn’t have to anymore, and it wasn’t a natural thing for me to do.

I love to write, however, and I love to read. I spend a good part of my day every day doing one or the other. And I would like to be able to make this someplace where I am not only writing for myself, but for others as well. As it is, I’m stuck between delusions of grandeur and dejected defeatism when it comes to what to do with this blog – namely, that I quickly get bored with writing if I know that there will be no one reading it. As a fairly new venture, I’m at a loss for how to handle this other than just to force myself to write and hope something will happen. Looking back at the blog you can see how well this has worked – regular updates for a couple weeks followed by a two or three month haitus. Not exactly consistency.

And yet lately I’ve had plenty on my mind to talk about to coworkers, friends, and family that could easily be put to paper and posted here. Most of it involving politics or the Christian’s reponse to modern culture. I feel like I am being heavy-handed when I write on these subjects, though, and as a result I get almost afraid to write what I’m thinking about, because I fear it will drive people away rather than cause them to continue reading.

There’s that optimism again.

But I still want to write. I want to make this blog something that I can be proud of, and the easiest way to do that would be to just start blogging everything that comes to mind and just hope people find a few interesting things here and there. I’m not a brilliant writer, and I’m rarely happy with what I write, but the act of writing is cathartic, and it gives me something to point to as an accomplishment. So what the hell, I’ll just start writing whatever I want, and if you want to stick around and read, be my guest.

Thanks to Rachel for getting me thinking about this, even as she steps away from her genius political posts. I’ll still be there for her scathing wit, though. Oh, and dogs. Gotta love the dogs.

So how ’bout them Cardinals, eh?

Veterans Day

To all those who serve us in the Armed Forces: today we honor you.

Whether you be home or abroad, your willingness to serve this country and risk so much for it and all that it stands for is a shining example of what makes this country great.

Ours is the greatest military the world has ever seen, and you make that possible. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your service. Today is yours, my friends.