i really have to admit that this made me laugh at first. because i felt kind of silly saying it. but i'm coming out as a bright. craig ceely at the anger of compassion posted eloquently on the topic.
if you are a bright, you are a person with a naturalistic worldview, free of supernatural and mystical elements. if you are a bright, you can sign up here to identify youself.
Posted by ash at 12:02 PMas if to remind me why i don't spend much time in the basement, darling roommate flipped on a wonderful program for me tonight. it was called "i'm with busey" - as in gary busey, who i (proudly?) note is an oklahoma state university alumni (go pokes!). the show appeared to be a reality based program about gary busey and some kid hanging out together in the desert, at least for this episode. gary busey was acting insane (as he generally always does) and knocking the kid around while ranting and raving. it was a very odd concept for a television program.
in other news, it's not raining anymore. it's not raining anymore! the sun has been out for a couple of days IN. A. ROW. and it was so warm today i had to take my sweater off. that's right, and it's not even july yet. if this keeps up, i might take a couple of days off to lay on the deck, mix up some rum drinks, and read some girl porn. ahh.
Posted by ash at 11:08 PMyes, that's right, more from my vodka-drinking poet. i didn't think this bit rhymed at first ("scored" and "awe"), but then i read it in a kiwi accent and it did.
The tempo went up and Welsh bodies were slayed
They were tackled so hard the AB’s had to give first aid!
But at last a break through came and a try was scored
A beautiful move that had the Welsh standing in awe
It was that Carlos Spencer who had crossed the line
Five points to the AB’s and at such a good time!
He had begun to redeem himself from the kick he had duffed
But he looked like he was back to his old style and he was looking buff
i thought this was particularly lovely the way he tried to make up for insulting my favorite player last week. but then he sent me a nasty text message that said "carlos is engaged! ha!" although now that i think back on it there may have been a word misspelled as is often the case with his text messages, especially the ones that say mean things.
and although the score was a bit lopsided, it made for great headlines: "Call Greenpeace: Wales hunted and slaughtered". ha ha.
Posted by ash at 01:43 PMkeen to redeem myself after my recent failure to support carlos spencer in the super 12 finals, i got involved in a rather complicated wager over the all blacks v. england test match on saturday. not satisfied with choosing a winner or loser, my opponent, a fierce competitor, felt compelled to choose halftime scores, final scores, scorelines, and even included the amazing prediction that the winning points would be scored by doug howlett, an unconverted try to the right corner. while i would like to say that his predilection for minutia was his undoing, it really wasn't, because the AB's lost altogether. losing, for either or both of us, meant writing poetry in honor of the game. yes, i know, poetry and rugby isn't the first thing you'd pair up. he drinks vodka drinks, too. perhaps it's an auckland thing.
here's a sample of his poem. i think this part might have been especially for me:
The play remained fierce but the penalties still flowed
But the All Blacks got one within range with 8 minutes to go!
The crowd held its breath as Carlos prepared to kick
But the ball flew WAY left and was not even close, what a dick!
Matt Ballin on this article:
"Environmentalists have now decided that toilets are evil. The use of
water to rid one's house of one's own excretions is apparently an "environmental disaster", which brings the question to mind: just what the hell do they mean by "environment"? The environment is only a value insofar as it is a human environment -- in other words, insofar as it is useful for human life."
the article tells the story of a man who tried using a composting toilet and found the entire experience too troubling to continue. odors, flies, handling our own wastes...haven't we advanced beyond this?
Also from Matt:
"...the good news is that this article pegged these people for what they are. The advocacy of dry toilets is called a "celebration of primitivism" and an "anti-human prejudice based on complete panics and irrational fears." Once again, the environmentalists arbitrarily pit man against the world, and don't even have the self-respect to take the side of the humans."
Posted by ash at 05:18 PM"...one of our most productive citizens is being targeted for destruction by our most unproductive entity, the federal government..."
-from mises.org 26 aug, 2002
martha stewart has been indicted for insider-trading, and has launched a website where she tells her side of the story: marthatalks.com. she says, among other things, that she is innocent, that she simply returned a phone call from her broker, and that she had pre-authorized a sale of the stock at a certain price. which seems quite simple, really, and not hard to believe. it's not as if we are talking about millions of dollars worth of stocks. so why is it being scrutinized at all?
alan reynolds at the cato institute wrote an interesting article called "the interminable persecution of martha stewart" which sums a few points up nicely.
underneath it all, i think the reason martha stewart is being pursued with such tenacity is that the people with the power of pursuit are primarily male, and do not like to see a women succeeding in the way and at the level that she has. people, both male and female, are put off her by personality, because she is extremely dominant and many people are uncomfortable seeing a woman in that role. people seem to get a sick thrill out of seeing her fail, there is an urge to see her broken that i do not see so often with powerful men.
i would hesitate to assume this had to do with her being a woman and not just that it was about her being martha stewart if the reaction had not been the same with oprah winfrey when she was attacked by the Texas cattlemen's association, carly fiorina during the hp merger with compaq, and suzy wetlaufer at the harvard business review after her affair with interview subject jack welch.
there is something about me that squirms at saying this, that hates making it about male and female. but it's more comfortable, isn't it, to let men be the ones who are barking orders at one another, sleeves rolled up, cigar hanging out of the mouth? perhaps there is something that feels emasculating about having a 50 year old woman there telling everyone what's what and and where to get it. the boys' clubs were nice places, i guess...but so is martha stewart omnimedia.
Posted by ash at 04:11 PMyou always say you want a simple life
you and me both know that you are a liar.
you always say you want a simple life
hearing you talk just makes me tired.
everclear - my sexual life
it's raining again today. the rain has been falling since april. it fell all through may. now june is four days in. i don't usually think my moods move with the weather, they are tied to other things, to what is in my head, in my heart, in my blood. but i am starting to feel a confluence of internal and external, of biology and environment. while my mood was stepping into manic during the spring, dark clouds were gathering overhead. the days were bleak, but inside i was more like crashing thunder - raging, potent, blinding. and then i began to be afraid, because this is usually the time when i decide to leave someone, marry someone, quit something, or start something new. none of which has ever really been the right decision, in clearer-headed retrospect. so for once, i did the right thing. now, with pharmaceuticals surging through my bloodstream, i notice the rain more. and feel a little tired.
Posted by ash at 10:58 AM