Interesting...

Not sure I agree with it, but it's interesting:

"It has been said that American pop culture was as responsible as anything else for bringing down the Berlin Wall. If that’s the case, then what are our current films doing for the world, and for our own security, here and now in 2005?

Hollywood history is not hard to learn. When the studios make movies that leave ticket buyers feeling good about their country, that celebrate the everyday heroes who live among us, and that aren’t afraid to turn the people who want to destroy our way of life (today, Islamic terrorists) into movie villains then moviegoers, red and blue, will flock to the theaters. Yes, Hollywood can and should throw the occasional provocative and controversial bone to the fringes and profit quite nicely (as was proven by The Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004).

But if all the bones are thrown in any one direction, Hollywood loses the mainstream, the lifeblood of a healthy and prosperous box office. And once lost, they may never come back.

Y'ever see something that's so racist...

That you arent' even mad? You jsut think "Damn, thats some racist shit"?

Normally I'm not one to go for that, but this particular "looter guy" photoshopping was just a bit too much for me:

Damn, that's some racist shit right there. Thank you Chris Rock.

Now that being said, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noted this particular resemblance:

Screw that, I'm gonna LIVE

Just got back from Serenity...

GOD DAMN THAT'S A GREAT MOVIE!!!

Okay how to do a review on this movie without spoilers...

First, from the opening tracking shot (actually a multi composited shot, but still gorgeous) to the final space battle, this movie looks expensive. Since the budget, including P&M (promotion and marketing), was under $40m that's one hell of an achievement.

As to the story, well let's just say the Kobyashi Maru scenarios referenced by other bloggers are apt. The characters are presented with a series of unwinnable scenarios, and they don't win; but they survive... which is I think the central theme of the entire series. Courage is doing what is right when it is guaranteed to get you killed. Heroism is surviving that; or at least making sure everyone else does.

And that's what they do.

When presented with a situation where they MUST succeed, to make sure that right is done; when they are being set upon at all sides by death and destruction; when they cannot possibly succeed, they do; but they pay the price for it.

Damn there are so many better ways of saying that. I've even got them written in my head. There is a Saint Crispins day speech in this one but I can't say it without spoilers.

Let me just put it this way. If you've ever taken a service oath, this movie is going to make your emotions stand up and shout.

Now, the cast.. Well I'm a BIG firefly fan so I'm biased, but I have to say the performances were letter perfect. There just wasnt enough time to show them off more. This movie could have been twice as long, and still they'd have had enough story, and enough character involvement to keep me in my seat.

Oh and the feminity in this movie is utterly yummy. Especially in the fight scenes. Think buffy, the matrix, kill bill, and Zaitochi "a master of swords"...

Summer Glau... Who would have known a balet dancer could kick so much ass (well actually I did; I've known a few who were also martial artists. DAMN).

Gina Torres protrayal of Zoe is jsut a tiny bit too stiff. She's trying to play stoic duty, but it ends up coming off a bit unnatural to me. Of course it's rather unlikely she's ever taken orders, so I can understand that.

Morena Baccarin... we need to see more of her... MUCH MUCH MORE.

And Jewel Staite as Kaylee... Remember Willow and Gabrielle? Yeah she blows them BOTH out of the water. Even in their vamp versions.

Nathan Fillion played it perfect. Henry the fifth meets Yojimbo... or maybe last man standing. Perfect for a space western.

The best performance in the movie though? I have to give it to the tongue twisting Chiwetel Ejiofor as "The Operative". Every time he was on screen all I could think was "Damn this guy kicks ass".

Actually I'm guessing that Joss Whedon is a bigger Toshiro Mifune fan than I thought.

It's definitely the best movie of the year so far, although admitedly, that's not saying much.

Okay I need to stop talking or I'm going to start raving with spoilers. Lets just say I'm going to see it again.

And now, the theme:

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

Senate Confirms Roberts As Chief Justice

About 90 minutes ago

Now, anyone want to lay some bets as to how long it takes Bush to announce the next nominee, or who it will be?

The frontrunner is Janice Rogers Brown, and I could very definitely live with that. A black female libertarian on the court? HELL YES!

Oh and those confirmation hearings... anti-woman, anti-black.. see she has to be because she hates herself... AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

Sorry that was my democrat impression.

Oh and the vote was 78-22, with no republican dissenters. The 22 who voted against are all either ultraleftynutjobs or they are running for president in three years (or both):

Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)

Transparent partisanship, thy name is democrat.

Articles like this...

... Are why I subscribe to "The Weekly Standard".

The Left University

Today nearly 70 percent of the 18-to-24 age cohort attends college in one form or another, and more than 80 percent of high school graduates do so. College attendance has become a near universal rite of passage for youngsters in our society, and a requirement for entry into the world of middle-class employment.

When this year's freshmen enter the academic world, they will encounter a bizarre universe in which big-time athletics, business education, and rigorous science programs operate under the umbrella of institutions that define themselves in terms of left-wing ideology. This is especially true of the 100 or so elite public and private institutions that are able to select their students from among a multitude of applicants seeking entry, and true also of the humanities and social science departments that define the political and social meaning of the academic enterprise. These students will enter the world of what we may call the left university.

The ideology of the left university is both anti-American and anticapitalist. The left university, according to its self-understanding, is devoted to the exposure of the oppression of the various groups that have been the West's victims--women, blacks, Hispanics, gays, and others that have been officially designated as oppressed groups--and

to those groups' representation. This is the so-called "diversity" ideology to which every academic dean, provost, and president must pledge obedience and devotion.

As it happens, the contemporary university is diverse only as a matter of definition and ideology, but not in practice or reality.

Go, read, be enlightened.

Never forget that the state of Americas schools, from Kindegarten to post doctoral programs, is a deliberate effort, running since the 1890s, doubled and redoubled in the '20s and '30s, and then redoubled again in the '50s and '60s; to turn all of America into a "scientific socialist" state ruled by "academic experts" who believe only they know what is best for everyone.

They have only truly succeeded in our educational system; where many would I'm sure be quite thrilled to be addressed as "Comrade Academician" instead of "Professor Smith".

John Dewey was the most influentual force in the creation and structuring of our modern "german model" of public education; from Kindegarten to the research universities, lifted straight from the statist german system (at times socialist, at times fascist, but always authoritarian). His most telling quote? "You can't make a good socialist out of an individual". You might be interested in knowing that there are HUNDREDS of public schools in the country named after that vile man.

Here is another Dewey quote:

"From a social standpoint, dependence denotes a power rather than a weakness; it involves interdependence. There is always a danger that increased personal independence will decrease the social capacity of an individual. In making him more self-reliant, it may make him more self-sufficient; it may lead to aloofness and indifference. It often makes an individual so insensitive in his relations to others as to develop an illusion of being really able to stand and act alone-an unnamed form of insanity which is responsible for a large part of the remedial suffering in the world."

This philosophy forms the very core of the socialist welfare state ideal. Individualsim is bad, both for society, and for the individual; because it reduces his connection to society; and reduces societies value as a whole. The individual is not an asset to society, but a threat to it.

If reading the works of this man, who essentially created modern public education as an experiement in social engineering, doesn't anger you (even if you are a liberal or other leftist); are you really paying attention?

One of the reasons I love my girlfriend

I love my girlfriend very much, even though we have had a somehwat insane relationship (which is apropriate considering we are both more or less insane. Her more, me less ;-).

Why?

Well aside from lots of sweet sweet lovin, she does things like this:

"Someone at work gave me tickets to the advance screening of Serenity tomorrow. I have to work,but you can use the tickets if you want. Maybe you and Jon can go [ed. note, a good friend of mine]. I would like to see the original Firefly series before seeing the movie anyway."

Ummm yes darling, yes I do want, and yes I do love you eversomuch.

She may irritate and infuriate me on occaison, but then she does things like this (quite frequently actually -- especially the little important things like bringing me home foods that I like). She makes unreasonable demands on my time and attention, and has some very odd ideas, but it all adds up to my general qote on her:

"I love her. She's crazy, but in an endearing way"

Content Free...

Sorry for the lack of new and interesting content the last couple weeks. I've been on a new contract, and it's draining me hardcore.

Only 50 billable hours last week, but it feels like 100.

Hey, at least I'm getting paid again right.

I've got some good stuff brewing, I jsut havent had the time and energy to spew them forth upon the virtual page.

It's funny cuz it's true

Found on the NoR:

Folks don’t understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in America. Well, there’s a very simple answer. Nobody bothered to check the oil. We just didn’t know we were getting low.

The reason for that is purely geographical.

Our OIL is located in: Alaska, California, Oklahoma, and Texas

Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington DC

Another one makes it past the censors

Two nights in a row even:

[Doctor is telling patient about new drugs target towards black men, because they react differently than white men]

Black Patient: Son, white people been lyin to me for 60 years
Black Doctor: [exasperated] See, that's the trouble with us black folks, we can't tell the difference between racism, and just "everybody get's screwed"...
Black Patient: Oh you think THEY tell YOU the truth?
Black Doctor: Tell you what. If you really want to screw whitey, be one of the few black men who LIVE to collect social security. Take the damn medicine.

Aaron McGruder... paging Mr. Aaron McGruder... reality is calling....

Sometimes TV comes out with a gem

Lawyer 1: "Isn't he afraid of being convicted of perjury"

Lawyer 2: "Well, no-one ever get's convicted of that anymore. The last guy to get caught was Bill Clinton, and he got away with it."

Sweet

Take the James Bond Car Quiz!

A Righteous Rant

The Geek with a .45 is touching on one of my pet peeves, the inability of fast food types to get the simplest of orders correct.

{Speaking slowly, enunciating, and formatting my request in a manner that it will be understood} "Hi. I'd like a #1 with cheese, fries and a coke. I'd also like two cheeseburgers, and a pie."

It's the simplest farging job on the planet. All it requires is that you understand highly formulaic English. I've already interpreted my desires into a form you can understand, so you don't have to think at all. When, for example, I tender the order above, you push the following buttons: "#1", "w/ cheese", "med fries", "med coke", "cheeseburger", "cheeseburger", "pie".

If you do this correctly, two things will happen. The first is that an amount of money will magically appear. You collect from me an amount greater than or equal to this number, and tell the machine how much I gave you. If I gave you more than the first number, a second number will appear, labeled as "change", and that is the amount of money you give back to me. The other thing that will happen is that a list will appear elsewhere in the store, which is an exact match of the buttons you pushed. Someone else will select each of these items from bins, put them into a bag, and hand them to me.

It's the simplest retail transaction possible, honed to absolute efficiency by 50,000 years of societal development and relentless market forces. It has been analysed and reduced to its smallest, leanest components, so that it cannot be perturbed by anything other than monumental incompetence.

If you can tie your shoes in the morning, wipe your own butt, and somehow miraculously manage to get food from your plate to your mouth without stabbing yourself in the face with your fork, you should be able to do this job.

My friend, I know exactly that of which you rant.

I hate mayonaise, and I am allergic to onions.

Fresh onions are the worst, with onions in soup or stews leaving me with just heartburn.

If I eat a single burgers worth of fresh onion, I will have violent intestinal disturbances, which are quite unpleasant, and may require me to seek medical attention.

A single bite worth of onion on a burger will generally cause me to be unable to finish my meal. The reaction isn't that fast in my stomach, but the unpleasantness I know is sure to follow is so imprented, that the mear taste of onion like that will make me ill, or at least unable to eat further.

I ALWAYS order everything either "no onions" or "plain" - sometimes with mustard and ketchup.

Long years of experience have brought me to spelling out exactly what must be and what must not be on my sandwiches for me to eat them "I'd like a bacon double cheeseburger with nothing but meat, bacon, cheese, ketchup, and mustard. No onions please, I am allergic to onions."

Still, perhaps 25% of the time, I recieve my sandwich with onions.

Frequently I simply order food that cannot possibly be served with onions without asking for them specially.

Tell me, how hard is it to understand the word "plain"???

Your whateverly dose of comics lovin

Had me worried there for a minute...

Actually for about three hours...

Patriots 23, Steelers 20, and they did it with 1 second to spare.

My favorite song

I ran across this old post of mine on the NoR, and I thought I'd share my favorite song:

Generally I sing it A Capella at SCA events along with "Whiskey in the Jar", and "The Minstrel Boy"

Wanderlust
--Wylde Nept

Once I loved a lady, she meant the world to me
Her eyes as green as a shady lake, and her hair like a springtime breeze
Her long hair shown like gold and silk, with the rolling sea in her stride
I found my comfort in a feathery bed with my lady by my side

But a long dark winter took her from me I must’ve wept for forty days
As the sparks from her pyre flew up to the stars, I thought about my ways
My lady was my hearth and heat, my lady was my home
Without her love and without my tears I’ll pick up my staff and roam

Harvest time turns the trees to rust and my travels bring me to town
The smell of hay rolls up from the fields, and the sounds of music roll down
The farmers laugh and the mercheants sing, and the women dance till dawn
There’s ale and merriment enough for me, but in the morning I’ll be gone

For I’m at my best when my boots wear thin, I’ll see the world by the mile
Every lake as green as my ladys eyes, every breeze as welcome as her smile
Through caravans of gold and silk, to ships on the new moons tide
I found my comfort on a mossy bed, with the road close by my side

Summer time brings the drums of war, and banners from lands far away
The fields burn as the farmers arm, so I lend my sword to the fray
You’ve won a place of honor here lad, why’s it you wont stay
But the winding road keeps calling me back and this is what I say

For I’m at my best when my boots wear thin, I’ll see the world by the mile
Every lake as green as my ladys eyes, every breeze as welcome as her smile
Through caravans of gold and silk, to ships on the new moons tide
I found my comfort on a mossy bed, with the road close by my side

On a cold mountain road in a travelers inn I find shelter from the winter time
I rest my bones by the crackling fire, and I trade my tales for wine
The innkeepers always ask the same, what calls you to the open road
As they turn for their answer all they’ll see is me vanish in the swirling snow

For I’m at my best when my boots wear thin, I’ll see the world by the mile
Every lake as green as my ladys eyes, every breeze as welcome as her smile
Through caravans of gold and silk, to ships on the new moons tide
I found my comfort on a mossy bed, with the road close by my side

Once I loved a lady...........

The bands web site has this for an intro:

Sing like no one is listening
Dance like no one is watching
Live every day like it is your last

Sounds like a nice philosophy.

Technology sufficiently advanced...

Will be indestinguishable from a DemonranticUnderground commenter:

From the mind of Sean Gleason

Redemption

The catholic church will shortly issue a "clarification" that homosexual men cannot become priests, even if they do not act on their homosexuality.

"Sep 22, 2005 — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Homosexuals, even those who are celibate, will be barred from becoming Roman Catholic priests under stricter rules soon to be released, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The newspaper quoted a Church official "with authoritative knowledge of the new rules," as saying the question was not "if it will be published, but when," referring to the new ruling about homosexuality in Catholic seminaries."

The question has been asked "How are they going to enforce this?" I mean if a man does not act on his homosexual desires how can they prove he's a homosexual.

The people who ask this question simple don't understand catholicism at all. This unfortunately includes many catholics. I was rasied as a catholic, though I left the church long ago due to various disillusionments. It sticks with you, and honestly I consider myself a better man for it.

So back to the question, how are they going to enforce this? Well, they aren't. It's a matter of conscience, as are many things in the catholic faith.

Homosexuality is a sin according to the church, both in act and in thought, however sinners are allowed to be priests; so long as they repent and recieve absolution. If this were not true, then no-one could be a priest, for we are all sinners.

In the promulgation of this doctrine, they are saying that a homosexual priest can not be in grace with god, and therefore a man who is true to his faith must recuse himself from the priesthood; in fact from the both performance of all the sacraments, and the reciept of all the sacraments except confession (a side note: any catholic may confess to any person in a state of grace with god under extraordinary circumstances; ordination is not required. In fact even extreme unction can be given by any person in a state of grace with god if necessary). Even then they may only recieve absolution with sincere repentence, and renunciation of the sin.

The thing is, current doctrine states that a homosexual man CAN be in a state of grace with god, so long as he repents his homosexual desires, and does not act on them.

I do not agree with this doctrine (as regards priests), because as has been pointed out, it violates a fundamental precept; that of redemption. If one sincerely repents ones sins, and recieves absolution; one should be regarded as in a state of grace with god, and thus not barred from the other sacraments, including holy orders.

They have basically said you can be in gods grace if you are gay, but not if you are gay and a priest; however there is no teaching justifiying this differentiation. Additionally they have said this doctrine only applies to new seminary students, and I can see no justification for THIS differentiation.

I can tell you WHY they did this: there is an association in the public AND the hierarchies mind between homosexuality and pedaerasty. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant to the perception; which is what they are atempting to manage by issuing a message on this doctrine at this time.

Promulgation of a doctrine that condemns the calling of a redeemed man, simply for public relations purposes; is a fundamental rejection of the nature of redemption.

Unfortunately, yet another reason I can no longer consider the catholic church my spiritual home.

Stolen...

The revolutionary war began, not July 4th 1776, but April 19th 1775 when the army moved to sieze the caches of arms that his majesties loyal subjects had assembled over the previous three years of being treated as an occupied enemy territory.

April 19th 1775 was the day that Englishmen chose to become Americans, unable to tolerate any longer their suppression by force of arms.

It's time to remember that now:

--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness -- The Declaration of Independence

NOTE: This image is from Scott Bieser, a libertarian cartoonist. On his website he notes that his editorial cartoons may be freely redistributed on the web in unaltered form.

In the immortal words of Herschel Krustofsky "Guns aren't toys. They're for family protection, hunting dangerous or delicious animals, and keeping the King of England out of your face."

An honest liberal in support of democracy

David Gelertner is frequently my kind of liberal. We disagree on many things, but he is generally honest, and doesnt fall into the doublethink

The position he gives here pretty much mirrors my own:

Let's take abortion away from the court
DAVID GELERNTER

The abortion issue is a catastrophic wound in U.S. cultural life. It has inflicted unending battles on American society ever since the Supreme Court seized control of the issue from state legislatures in 1973 — in one of the grossest power grabs American democracy ever faced.

Young people pondering U.S. democracy today might easily conclude that all really important laws must be decreed by the high court.

We could heal the abortion wound, end the battles and reaffirm the integrity of American democracy if we had the guts to use the Constitution's own mechanism for introducing big, permanent changes to American law. We should get Congress to propose and the nation to ratify a constitutional amendment.

Ever since the 7-2 Roe decision, supporters of abortion rights have been nervous — with good cause. The right to have an abortion could be abolished by a one-vote majority of the Supreme Court. It was only created in the first place because of the Make-a-Wish theory of jurisprudence. The American people had never written it into the Constitution, but the justices (closing their eyes and wishing hard) discovered it...

Read it all, for he speaks the truth.

God Bless the high pressure dome

Galveston may survive this one.

Rita has dropped back to cat 4, and is rapidly diminishing in force down to cat 3. She is also trending more northeasterly than previously forecast because of the high pressure "dome" off the Houston coast...

Unfortunately that leaves Lake Charles, LA to be pummeled, but they can handle it a bit better than Galveston can. Lake Charles may be a swamp (actually it's not bad), but Galveston is a semisubmerged island. It's already been wiped off the map once.

I haven't heard directly from Jim S the layabout sailer and leading gun nut of galveston bay, but by blog comments he's hanging in, and stressing out.

Why Steve H. is a frikken genius

Well, the first thing is "Eat what you want and die like a man", but really its just his writing...

"Here is what I read about negative ions: they make us happy. Positive ions make us sad. There are lots of negative ions outside, especially in the mountains and at the beach. There are very few of them in air-conditioned buildings, on congested freeways, and within a hundred-yard radius of Cindy Sheehan.

Supposedly, falling water releases negative ions, so we feel happy near waterfalls or in the shower.

Hell, it could be true. Although I always thought I was happy in the shower because I was wet and warm and soapy and naked. It just goes to show you how wrong you can be."

Frikken brilliant

In honor of a city that will soon be departing...

Galveston is fucked.

I mean "god will smite thee" kind of fucked.

Take a look at this: http://www.weatherunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200518_5day.html

Let us take a moment to remember the city in song...

GALVESTON
-- Jimmy Webb
(as sung by Glenn Campbell)

Galveston, oh Galveston
I still hear your sea winds blowing
I still see her dark eyes glowing
She was twenty-one
When I left Galveston

Galveston, oh Galveston
I still hear your sea waves crashing
While I watch the cannon flashing
And I clean my gun
And I dream of Galveston

I still see her standing by the water
Standing there, looking out to sea
And is she waiting there for me?
On the beach where we used to run

Galveston, oh Galveston
I am so afraid of dying
Before I dry the tears she's crying
Before I see your sea birds flying
In the sun, at Galveston

Update: Galveston may be saved, and creepily, there was a new show on tonight "Criminal minds" starring Mandy Patinkin (I wasnt too impressed wit the writing, but the performances were good). During the final scene, "Galveston" is playing in the background.

Anonimity

Most bloggers are at least nominally anonymous. They don't use their real names, dont publish them, dont use their real email addresses etc...

There are a lot of good reasons for this, and let me just enumerate some right now:

1. Using your real name WILL get you fired from most jobs at some point
2. Using your real name could get you sued
3. Using your real name could get you serious death threats with visits from the FBI

Those are all pretty good reasons to be anonymous, and if you've read me for any length of time you may know that I've gone through all of those (more than once for the first).

A lot has been made recently about the decision of a previously open couple of bloggers identities goin anonymous. Some have criticised them for "running away from a fight" etc...

Those people are assholes.

See, I DO post with my real name, because I want people to know who I am and what I stand for, but there is an important difference between me, and most.

Actually two:

1. When I AM working, I make an obscene amount of money, so I can afford not to work for months at a time (the Travis McGee plan)

2. I don't have kids

If either of those statements were untrue, I would be another anonymous soul. I can afford to lose a job most of the time, and I can afford to find a new one frequently, In fact as a consultant, it's a frequent occurance by nature.

Others are not so lucky. They may be in a far more sensitive or public profession, or they may not have the financial freedom. That dose not render their contribution less worthy than mine; nor does it mean they are cowards of any kind.

I chose to live my life the way I want, because I could; because I had the money and earning potential. Had I not, and were I not, I can assure you my choices would be much different.

Oh and for those of you who ARE in theory anonymous, remember there is no such thing as either privacy or anonymity on the internet. Don't write anything you aren't prepared to talk with HR about; or you WILL be fucked over.

The Nation of Riflemen is BACK

Everyone, as promised the NoR is back, and rarin to go.

Praise be to all that is great and holy, and thanks to all those who made this effort possible, anonymous or not.

The new URL is:

http://www.thenationofriflemen.com/

The Nation of Riflemen will be back..

Everyone,

The NoR forums will be back up and ready to go VERY SOON (not "very soon now"),

Watch this space for updates.

Rockstar INXS - It's finally happened

I'm slightly mad...

One of my fav songs actually, but neither here nor their.

Ok first, Brooke hasn't been that yummy since the metal micro-mini...

So... Marty, J.D., and Mig...

Ok before we go on, I think Marty is the best individual performer to lead a band, but he's not good for INXS. Mig is a great singer, but he's really a theater guy. Of course he is from Oz (sort of, he's originally philipino but gre up in OZ) but I'm still thinkin he's not right for that. Finally J.D.... attitude problesm sure, but I think he's the best for INXS.

Hell, he's got a decent sense of humor if nothing else.

Ahhh so they have to sing any one of the songs already performed this year, then they'll eliminate one, and it's a singoff with INXS, doing an INXS song for the gold.

Sweet...


Mig - Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody": No big surprise here, Mig does one of the greatest rock songs of all time, and he does it very very well. This is his moment. Unfortunately he overreaches in a few spots, not sure whats wrong there, but hey. Also, as impressive as the song is, it might not be THAT impressive fom Mig, because everyone knows he's done it every night on stage for the last three years.

Overall, pretty damned good, but I dont think it'll save him.

J.D. - Rolling Stones, "Can't always get what you want" : Remeber how I've been saying J.D. could be the best up there if he just calmed down a bit, and channeled the energy into the song.. Well he did it. This is what J.D. should be like 90% of the time, and it's VERY good.

Marty - Pink Floyd "Wish you were here": So Martys best performance was CLEARLY wish you were here, and he decides to reprise it. MISTAKE. It was good, hell it was very good, but it suffers in comparison to the FIRST time.

Elimination: Mig wasn't surprised. You could see it on his face, he knew from the moment they started talking

Marty - "Don't Change": Hmmm, well it was good... He made it into HIS song, which may NOT be a good thing. I liked it, but he sounded more like a naughties emo band than INXS

J.D. - "What you need": The only way J.D. could have done this better would be to BE Michael Hutchence. It was jsut great. The perfect amount of sex, and ham, and jazz... I can't help but think it's him, and this is why.

Decision Time: J.D. is SHITTING HIMSELF.... Oh man... Marty is quiet, no expression whatsoever....

J.D. is definitely the right choice to do INXS and their back catalog. Marty NEEDS a record contract with his band, and this will get him one without any doubt.

Oh and the news song? Not bad.

Oh and this was a liveblog, but blogger hosed everything up for hours.

Not generally a bumper sticker fan but...

My girlfriend just sent me this:

and I found this one while I was there:

A message for the Nation of Riflemen

Everybody, remember how I said not to pull the trigger yet? Well heres why:

Not sure if this is the best place to put this, but I just wanted to post a quick thanks to all of the above who said such incredibly nice things.

I would ask that people not post things like links to cache locations that make what we'd like to "disappear" accessible to folks who may be looking for something.

We're fine. As some have surmised this was a sudden "emergency" situation that caused us to react without any warning. For that we apologize, but it became a choice between our personal obligations (fill in the details yourself) and the site. The site lost as we're sure everyone can understand.

Just to be clear, no one "ordered" us to do anything, but it was obvious that things were going to have to "change" and our obligations were too imposing not to respond the way we did.

We're only now back from a little whirlwind of travel and we'll be "handing over" the NOR Forums to "temporary guardians" soon.

Details to follow.

-- CD

See I figgered K and C would already have some plans, and I didn't want to get in the way. So everybody jsut sit tight a little while longer, and stay frosty.

Oh and to everyone who's say "Why didnt they warn us, I'm addicted, that was so rude, I depend on that site"... Hey, I'm addicted too. DO you know how much of my day was spent there BY CHOICE???

All you folks down on K and C, quit whining, thank everyone for the free ice cream, and SHUT THE FUCK UP.

By lucifers beard...

It's ....

TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY

Aaaaaargh!!!!

Where's your parrot?

I'm a dead man ... in 47 years

According to our research, you'll be dead by

December 2052 at age 76

- probable cause -

heart attack

YOU DIE: 75.7 years
AVERAGE MALE LIFE SPAN:	72.5 years

As you can plainly see, you have more health & vitality than the average man.

WHY YOU DIE? 56% heart attack 24% car accident 13% loneliness 5% drowning of the lungs 2% wounds You have 17280.2 days left on this earth. You've already lived 38% of your life. A FEW COLLECTED STATISTICS Across all 743607 test takers. 17% smoke. 42% have health insurance. 5% eat a lot of nice beef. 39% hold in farts. 13% are impressed with themselves. The top cause of death among relatives was cancer. The most widely suffered ailment among takers is high blood pressure. The average day for an OkCupid user involves 7.8 hours of sleep and 1.1 movements of the bowel.

This test is always available at:
www.okcupid.com/death

More random unsurprising shit

Super Perv Congratulations! You scored 18/20!

Way to go, Pervy McPervster! You have obviously heard of/seen/done most of these licentious acts. I'll keep this short because I'm sure you have a full schedule of lewd activities and porn to get back to.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 65% on sex termability

Link: The Name that Sex Term Test written by hautepink on Ok Cupid

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Well I always say, a flithy mind is a terrible thing to waste

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Movie Expert! You scored 97%!

This is a difficult test, but you definitely passed, and have finished in the highest category! You know a lot about actors and movies! Well done! The Ultimate Sex Appeal For Women Test The Interested In This Aussie Test Please feel free to rate my test below! :-)

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 98% on ActorsMovies

Link: The Match The Actors To The Movie Test written by aussierick on Ok Cupid

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Yeah, I'm a pop culture junky I know

Better Looking

You are a Social Liberal (70% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (90% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (74, 149) modscore: (54, 42) raw: (5339)

Yet more unsurprising shit - part whatever...

You are a Social