1st Session
H. RES. 153
Recognizing the public need for fasting and prayer in order to secure the blessings and protection of Providence for the people of the United States and our Armed Forces during the conflict in Iraq and under the threat of terrorism at home.
Just after Vote for Me!, I ran to another theater to see 100 Days, a story of the genocide in Rwanda. I knew, even as I'd bought my ticket, that it would be a difficult movie to watch. I was a high school senior when the killings took place in 1994. I knew nothing of the history, or even the geography of the country. Still, what I saw on the news horrified me, and it still does to this day.
The story follows a teenage Tutsi girl, her family, her boyfriend, and his family as they face the horror of the killings. As I watched the UN peacekeeping forces pull out, and the machete bearing Hutus move in for the kill, I kept asking why? Why? Why?
When I got home, I started looking in to why the UN pulled out, and though the articles I read gave me a better insight into other things that were happening at the time, the killing of the 10 Belgians for example, I still get angry at the lack of concern displayed, and the beaureaucratic falling down that allowed this to go on.
Saturday morning I went to see Vote for Me!, which was preceeded by two shorts: Dubya's Big Day.
Questions, by Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan, was incredibly funny. Honestly, it was three minutes of laughter. Even after the credits were rolling, people throughout the theater continued to chuckle. Low-budget and simply made, it demonstrated that quality does not equal budget
Dubya's Big Day, by Paul VanDeCarr, was amusing, but not nearly as much as
Questions had been. It was the same sort of "look what I edited together to make sound funny" clip that circulates the internet at least once a month. Nothing terribly witty or original.
Vote for Me!, by Nelson Antonio Denis, was the feature of the screening. It was both interesting and confusing by turns. There were quite a few things that were never explained (what was with the guy pushing the wheelchair?) or that took longer than they should have to become clear. It definately had it's prize moments (Mme. La Bimboo's smile, for example) but it could have been far stronger if it hadn't relied so heavily on the absurd, or perhaps if it had pushed the absurdity just a little bit farther. As it was, the movie seemed as though it dodn't know where it stood at all times.
Amen, Meg. The same thing goes for the hemp plant. I'm actually surprised that the US allows people to plant poppies in their gardens. (How many people could tell an opium poppy from a decorative one?)
I saw two more features today, and two shorts. Reviews to come later.
Last night I took in the festival screening of A Hard Day's Night, introduced by Roger Ebert. I've seen that film a number of times, both on the small screen and in the theater, and every time it has put a huge grin on my face. This time was no exception. The sheer energy and joy displayed in the film are contagious. The other Beatles can be fun and silly, but this one is simply a classic. Even forty years after it was made, it really doesn't feel dated. Seeing it with a theater full of people (the Orph was packed) added to the excitement, as did seeing it with a friend who had never seen it before.
Ebert spoke both before and after the film, and his remarks reminded me why I respect him so much as a critic. He was witty and intelligent. You could really tell that he'd given thought to what he was saying, and that he meant every word of it.
Following the movie and the talk, my friend and I attended a festival party in the Orpheum lobby, with an excellent food spread from their restaurant (We're not talking tiny hors d'oeuvres, either. It was an actual buffet with things like quiche, salmon, turkey, green beans, rolls, and chocolate dipped strawberries.) and music (mostly Beatles covers) by the Gomers. I ate way too much food, and stayed as long as the band played. There were cardboard fans on all of the tables, cutouts of the Beatles faces from the HDN photographs glued to colorful popsicle sticks. I managed to collect all four. Go me!
Thanks to two Harry Potter movies, and now Bend it Like Beckham, that word is soon to replace "cool" in my vocabulary.
I really liked Bend it... and I hope it plays in Madison after the festival, because I'd love to see it again, and get some of the people I know to see it as well. For one thing, it (along with last years World Cup) really make me want to become a soccer...er...football fan. It also gave me a huge craving for samosas.
The story itself was pretty standard: a feel-good coming-of-age, daring to be different, meeting of cultures, plucky sports story. What Billy Elliot (another fun movie) did for boys and ballet, Bend it... does for girls and sports. The story was cute, the acting was fun, and though it was montage-heavy, they weren't the sort of montage that make you roll your eyes in embarrassment. The cast had good chemistry, and it seemed to me that the actors really took on their characters.
I was glad to have seen it, and it made a good start to the festival for me. The audience (a sold out Orpheum Theater) seemed to be just as happy with it as I was, if that's anything to you. If you get the chance, I highly recommend checking it out.
The film fest starts tonight, so blogging will be super light for the next few days, but expect a ton of reviews to follow. I've got 6 films and a party. Wish me energy!
Funniest thing I've read all day. I love $2 bills. (I'm also fond of assorted dollar coins, but there's just something about the two.)
I can't believe people who make personal attacks, and then say "Don't take it personally." WTF? I'd stop taking it personally if you'd stop making it personal.
- My basement is flooded and smelly.
+My stuff is still dry.
+The film fest begins on Thursday.
-A woman, whose opinion I used to respect, told me that all anti-war people are actually anti-American. If I don't support the war, I hate America. How sad.
+Even when it is gloomy, the weather is getting nicer.
Actually, some of that is opinion. I think you can sort it out, can't you?
I was thinking about that Roman Polanski/Oscars thing. It still makes me mad.
He drugs and rapes a young girl, makes a plea bargain (her mother wanted to spare her daughter from the media attention of the trial) and then flees the country before sentencing. (Then gets himself a 15 year-old girlfriend.)
People have/had been saying that he should be allowed to come back without repurcussions, especially since the victim has now forgiven him. Argh.
There are very good reasons to keep the victims out of the sentencing process. On the one hand, it protects the convicted getting unfair shakes. Why should one guy get a better sentence than another, just because he victimized a more forgiving person? Secondly, it protect the victims from being pressured to "forgive" by supporters of the convicted.
I won't see any of that asshole's films, no matter how good they are.
Disinfopedia.org is an open-source database on PR campaigns, or as they put it "the encyclopedia of propaganda." It publically launched on March 10 of this year, so it is still in the early stages of development, but it looks like it will be a very interesting project. Run hither and check it out.
I haven't been able to find much blogging time lately, and it's been bugging me. I really do value my time at this. Things worth blogging about keep happening, and then the time passes by and I haven't been able to get them into words.
Speaking of passing by, there have been quite afew birthdays this month among those that I know and love. I haven't sent out a single card, and am feeling a wee bit guilty about that. However, there are so many awful commercial cards out there, and I've been lacking in the inspiration necessary to make any of my own. Again with the rut.
Fortunately, it is now spring, and the time of much energy is at hand.
A friend was relating a dream to me, in which Mr. Pibb soda was available over the internet, deliverable via broadband. Wouldn't that be something? It would sure change internet commerce. Instead of making your order and waiting for FedEx, UPS, USPS et al to bring it around to you, you can make your order and there it is! Just like the chocolate bars from the television in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It'd be brilliant!
If only it were feasible.
Last night was this year's long delayed White Elephant party. It was smaller than previous parties, due to the lateness in the year, the smallness of its new location, and unavoidable conflicts of schedule. Still, we had 13 people playing, and three rounds of exchanges.
In round one, I drew third to last, and opened a small package that turned out to be a miniature rock water garden—basicallya small plastic cup with a few little stones and a squeezable hand pump to work the fountain. Cute, but unimpressive so I traded it for the much coveted Ants in the Pants, only to have that stolen from me by the last person, who drew an unopened DVD of Death Race 2000. Yuck. Fortunately, I was saved by a post game trade from someone who really wanted the DVD, and gave me a Sponge Bob Square Pants t-shirt for it. Score!
Round two I got a car visor CD holder, only to have that stolen for a bright, rainbow tie-dyed union suit. Ugh. It was an XL, too, so even if I'd liked it, I'd have been lost in it. Fortunately for me, later on in the round a PC user opened a lime iMac keyboard, complete with the old hockey puck mouse and keyboard brush shaped like a zip disk. I managed to convince her that she really wanted the union suit, and she took it. Now I have a second keyboard. (In lime, even.)
The third and final round was the oddest. I opened a thin, floppy package, that turned out to be a postcard coupon from Victoria's Secret for one free pair of panties and $5 off any bra. I kept it, but it was stolen from me by another woman for a package containing a year's worth of love letters from 1977, which had been found in the hosts' attic. (The VS coupon was then subsequently stolen by two men in a row...for their girlfriends...until the hostess, who had last draw, ended up with it.) I did not get to keep the letters, however, as they were stolen near the end of the round for a small, decorative box in the shape of a star. I believe it will make another appearance at next year's party.
A fun time was had by all, even the people who had to go home with crap. (Millenium Twinkies, anyone?) I had a pretty good haul this year, and am fairly content, and looking forward to next year's party. I must come up with something really odd and fun to give away.
Then there is this little quicktime gem which I found via Tom Tomorrow. My, I never knew those world leaders were such soulful singers.
Actually, I'm amazed at the patience of the people who put together clips like that. The hours of tape that must be reviewed and edited together for a few seconds of humor. I doubt Icould do it.
Mighty Maggie Berry has a new fashion article up: Women’s Fashion: Part V, Releasing Your Inner Slut.
I have written and re-written this post, and it just won't come out the way I want it. It still won't.
Bleargh!!
From time to time, I participate in political discussions on a message board. Usually I just lurk and read, since most of the posting goes on during the day, while I am at work, and posting when most people have gone home feels like talking to an empty room...I can blog and do that.
There is a strong conservative element on this board, though the liberal certainly hold their own. Still, it has been a great illustration in how people hear what they want to hear, see what they want to see.
Last night, I posted the following hypothetical question, in regards to the debate on Iraq:
You are a woman going to your car in a underground car park late at night (yeah, bad idea that). You see a man walking towards you who rather resembles the description of a serial rapist who has been raping women at gunpoint (but could easily be just a random guy). You are between him and the exit, he is between you and your car.You have a handgun in your bag, and you are a crack shot. From this distance you would easily have time to draw and shoot him before he did anything.
* If you get closer and he *is* the rapist and he does pull a gun on you, you only have a 50% of beating him to the draw. If he wins the quick draw, he will rape and probably kill you.
* If he *is* the rapist, but decides to pass you by, he will definitely go on raping women, and will eventually kill.
* If he is not the rapist...well, then he isn't the rapist. You are in no danger from him, and if you shoot him, you will have shot an innocent man.
* You have no cell phone, but there are a few emergency phones in the area. You do have the option of calling the police, but it does leave open the possiblity that he might attack you before you reach a phone.
What do you do?
There were only two comments on the question, neither of them to answer it. Comment number two was a "the same and more so" to comment number one, so let's look at comment number one.
Comment 1:
Not a good analogy. If you said, he is definitely the rapist and you recognize him clearly, that would make it a good analogy.You know who the guy is that you're dealing with - sure there's some question whether he's going to rape YOU, but he's definitely the guy.
This was from a person who feels quite strongly that Saddam Hussein is definitely a threat, a clear and present danger, and must be dealt with immediately. My point in asking the question was to highlight the complexities and uncertainties involved. (And to use it as an illustration as to why people are against the war...besides being un/anti-American weaklings who love evil-doers.)
We know that Saddam Hussein has committed terrible acts in the past, and there is a chance that he may do them again the the future, but that is by no means certain.
We could continue to leave him be, go on our merry way, and hope for the best. In this scenario, he may really continue to do nothing but bluster until someone *from his own country* decides to take him down. Or he may slaughter more Kurds, bomb Isreal, and wreak havok throughout the world.
We could let the inspectors have more time and resources, continue to monitor Saddam, and see to it that he can't take onyone by surprise. In this scenario, he may really continue to do nothing but bluster until someone *from his own country* decides to take him down. Or he may slaughter more Kurds, bomb Isreal, and wreak havok throughout the world.
We could strike first, before he has the chance to do anything else. In this scenario, he is definitely take him out, and has no chance to slaughter more Kurds, bomb Isreal, and wreak havok throughout the world. However, now there are all those possible "collateral damage" causalties among the citizens we hope to "liberate". There is the possiblity that this will unleash more death and terror on the world than it would have stopped. Most of all, in the eyes of the world, we become the agressor nation, gun in hand, waiting to take out the next guy who looks at us funny. Other countries, less "enlightened" ones than ourselves take up this policy, too. Soon, everyone has a gun, and it becomes shoot first, ask questions later. When and where does it end?
In the "is there a rapist in the parking garage?" scenario, the woman could shoot first. If it turns out that he really was about to rape and kill her (even though he'd made no move yet) it could be labeled as self-defence and/or justifiable homicide. But what if he wasn't the rapist? Or what if he was, but was unarmed at the time? Or what if the was no direct evidence linking him to anything? Or what if he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? What would the jury say?
To close, I don't think that Saddam Hussein is an innocent victim, but I believe this current, preemptive attack is a grave mistake. I believe it is setting us up for worse and worse in the future.
US invasion of Iraq 'inevitable'British troops in Kuwait
The US says 45 nations have joined Bush's "coalition of the willing"
The United States says American forces will enter Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction even if President Saddam Hussein complies with an ultimatum to leave.President George W Bush's spokesman Ari Fleischer said that allied troops would go into the country "no matter what", but warned the Iraqi leader that if he did not leave it would be his "final mistake".
Excuse me? What was that again? Pardon me, while me head explodes.
At least" President George W Bush has remained serenely calm as the decision to go to war approaches, driven by an inner faith." Goodness knows we couldn't have him losing sleep or anything.
"The truth is, America's 43rd president believes he is doing God's will. "
...
"As he cracked gags about the Oval Office furniture, he seemed like a man without so much as a care in the world."
can't. Stop. Head. From. Spinning.
So, I went to irs.gov to check on my refund status. My state refund showed up on the 4th, and the last I check, the IRS expected my refund to be coming to me around the 25th. Turns out, it has been sitting in my account since the 7th, and I hadn't even known. Well, that's one more billI can get paid.
Posting is going to be on the light side for a bit, while I continue to sort out my Blogger to Movable Type transition. In addition, there are some things that I can't quite wrap my brain around enough to blog on them yet, but I hope to, soon.
See ya 'round!
Yes, yes, yes. I know this has already been blogged by everyone and his uncle, but so what. Maybe one of you hasn't read it yet. (I hadn't seen it till today.)
"It" in this case is Where is Raed?, a blog out of Iraq. Though the English takes an occasional turn (but it is far better than the results would be if I tried to blog in *any* language besides English) the writing is excellent, and provides a ground level view of what is going in everyday Iraq.
Definitely recommended reading.
What a loverly weekend. I've got the windows open, airing out my apartment from a season's worth of cooking smell. I also got my skateboard out for the first time in forever. It helped to remind me that I am rather out-of-shape, and not that coordinated. 'Twas fun, none-the-less.
Seriously, bless her indigo heart. Check it out, I have a working template!
However, posting is going to be very light, while I sort out how to import my January-March 2002 entries from Blogger (stubborn little things refuse to budge) and while I try to sort out my new template issue. At least I'm not alone.
In other news, I attended a mayoral debate Wednesday night. I'm pretty happy with Dave Cieslewicz as my favored candidate. Go Dave.
Pardon my dust, but any helpful hints are welcomed.
<eyes up learning curve>
By the time this is all over, some of my former lameness may be diminished. The training wheels are about to come off.
Dude, you are the king.
<waves of gratitude go rolling towards Milwaukee>
Still no news on status.blogger.com.
Still unreviewed on BloggerControl:
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This photo-essay is about some poor people who live on the street. They are not cardboard cutout poor people; they are real, living, breathing, human beings. They have problems and feelings. State Street in Madison, Wisconsin is a pedestrian mall that runs from the capitol building to the University of Wisconsin campus. It is home to some of Madison's least fortunate. These are the discards of our society: the poor, the veterans, the homeless, the drug addicted, the alcoholic, the runaways, the abused, the unemployable, the people that nobody wants. They deserve something better than the lives they lead now, but these photos are not about how bad their lives are. These pictures are mostly about how good their lives are. Stop and talk to these folks that you have previously been ignoring. You will find out something that you didn't know before. You will discover that they are just people.
Go. Take a look.
This is so frustrating, because not only am I having a difficult time figuring out Movable Type, but I still have warm fuzzies of loyalty to Blogger. (Which I keep typing as "Blooger". Freudian?) I want things to work out. I want to stay with Blogger...cripes, this sounds like some sort of bad dating situation.
Blogger, I think we've had a good thing going. can we work this out? We've had good times you and me, but lately we seem to be growing apart. I know you've got that Google thing going, and I'm flirting with another publisher, but can't we get past that? can we at least still be friends?
It is a little different when one is the holder of the extra ticket. It can be difficult to find a taker for one last minute ticket. (Of course, this would depend on the event.) If you can't give it to a friend, most ticket seekers want pairs.
Which brings us to this evening, and the sudden spare for Richard Shindell. Now, I am the sort of person who has no problem attending concerts unaccompanied. (Sometimes it is even desirable, as latecomers can score great seats if you only need one.) At the same time, I can't bare to see a perfectly good ticket go unused. Last minute on a Friday is not the easiest time to find friends lacking prior plans. Long story short (too late!) I decided that if I could sell someone just one ticket, I would use the other myself. However, if I could only find a taker for the pair, I would give them both up and see RS next time he came to town.
I felt a little funny standing outside the club asking people if they were going to the show, and if they had tickets yet. Very illicitish and whatnot. (Is "ilicitish" a word? It sounds like a candy.) A nice older couple was indeed going to the show, and had not in fact purchased their tickets yet. Day of show tickets are $2 more than advance, so by selling him both of my tickets for exactly what I paid, I got my money back and saved him four bucks. (Somehow, I don't think I have a career as a big time scalper ahead of me.)
Yeah, it was too bad to miss the Richard Shindell show, and I am sure it was fabulous. However, as I have already posted, there are a gajillion people that I want to see coming to town in the next month or so, and I didn't think I could see them all anyway. C'est la vie. I think I'll go get my Dar Williams ticket tomorrow.
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On the upside, the music and cinematography kept the experience of being too painful.
What kind of crop would you use for a memorial? Soybeans for our fallen brethren? Wheat for those who have been lost? I guess it would have to be poppies (between the crosses).
It wasn't until a little later that it occured to me that the image was a picture of a memorial (Vietnam) and that the photo itself had been cropped. Duh.
...when sending out forwards, remove all of the excessive "this has been forwarded" info. I really don't need to know the names and e-mail addresses of every person who has ever received this particular forward, or the dates and times that they sent it. I also don't really need to see a long row of >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> before every line.
Thanks.
1. Is this true? Is this petition/virus alert/news story really what it claims, or am I helping to spread some utter BS?
2. Will the recipient(s) really be interested? Am I sending "The World's Greatest Poop Jokes" to my pastor? Am I sending "God loves you" ASCII art to my nietzschian/pagan/atheist college roommate? Am I sending a "pass this on to 10 other people or you will suffer a horrible fate" note to *anyone* I like?
3. Do I send this person any other correspondence besides forwards?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, then take your mouse off the "send" button. Seriously.
(Ok, I'm not Catholic, and no one ever made me give anything up for Lent, though I had to go to church every Wednesday. Still, it can be an interesting excersize in self-control. I haven't made any decision yet this year. I'll let you know.)
Have mercy, people! I don't have an unlimited concert budget, or enough time to get to everything. Couldn't y'all space your tours out a bit more? Please?
:D
I will be seeing:
*Hard Day's Night (With introduction and post-film discussion by Roger Ebert.)
*Vote for Me! (With two shorts: Questions and Dubya's Big Day.)
*Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election
*The Real Old Testament (With the short, Antiquities Roadshow.)
Add to that the Friday night party at the Orpheum featuring the Gomers, and the Eddie from Ohio show at Luther's on Saturday, and I think I'm going to need a nap.