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Yes we really are that cute. And yes we were crazy enough to go driving on the scary Saskatchewan roads today.
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Poor cold car.
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Georgie, you'se got some 'splaining to do!
Yeah, so, there weren't any WMD in Iraq. Our bad. But, Saddam was an evil man, so our invasion and projected $521 billion dollar deficit is justified after all. Right?
Not for me.
Everyone has heard about David Kay, the former CIA weapons inspector in Iraq, has testified to the failure of US intelligence in its claims of Iraq's weapons programs. Yes, Kay has shifted most of the blame away from the President and onto the intelligence agencies that supplied him with the misinformation. But I'm not one to let the President off so easily.
Perhaps if he and his cronies weren't so hell-bent on invading Iraq (planning it months before 9/11), maybe the Intelligence agencies wouldn't have been pushing so hard to validate this personal vindication/invasion of Bush's. You think?
The Daily Show did a great piece on the Kay Report -- Kay Pasa? (Real Player) "Imagine learning that there was no Santa Claus . . . Now imagine learning this after you'd already bombed the North Pole. That must have been the feeling the Senate Security Committee felt after hearing from David Kay." (I *heart* Jon Stewart, truly.)
Now the White House line is that they presented Saddam's regime as a "growing" threat, not as an "imminent" danger.
Not so, according to the Center for American Process.
The Bush Administration is now saying it never told the public that Iraq was an "imminent" threat, and therefore it should be absolved for overstating the case for war and misleading the American people about Iraq's WMD. Just this week, White House spokesman Scott McClellan lashed out at critics saying "Some in the media have chosen to use the word 'imminent'. Those were not words we used." But a closer look at the record shows that McClellan himself and others did use the phrase "imminent threat" – while also using the synonymous phrases "mortal threat," "urgent threat," "immediate threat", "serious and mounting threat", "unique threat," and claiming that Iraq was actively seeking to "strike the United States with weapons of mass destruction" – all just months after Secretary of State Colin Powell admitted that Iraq was "contained" and "threatens not the United States." While Iraq was certainly a dangerous country, the Administration's efforts to claim it never hyped the threat in the lead-up to war is belied by its statements.
There follows a list of collected quotes by Dubya and his posse ranging from August 2003 back to August 2002. Don't you hate it when your words come back to haunt ya?
This is a man that should not be allowed back into office.
But don't worry, dear reader. Not all the news today is so bleak. A 99lb. woman, nicknamed the Black Widow, won Philly's annual Wing Bowl chicken wing eating contest. She consumed 167 wings in 2 minutes. Yuck.
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bliz·zard \Bliz"zard\ (bl[i^]z"z[~e]rd),
n. A violent snowstorm with winds blowing at a minimum speed of 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour and visibility of less than one-quarter mile (400 meters) for three hours. A very heavy snowstorm with high winds.
Or according to the OED:
1. A sharp blow or knock; a shot. Also fig. U.S.
1834 CROCKETT Tour down East 16 (Bartlett) A gentleman at dinner asked me for a toast; and supposing he meant to have some fun at my expense, I concluded to go ahead, and give him and his likes a blizzard.
2. A furious blast of frost-wind and blinding snow, in which man and beast frequently perish; a ‘snow-squall’. Also attrib. and Comb. orig. U.S.
1880 Let. 29 Dec., fr. Chicago in Manch. Even. News, 24 Jan. 1881 The thermometer was 17 degrees below zero last night, and it was blowing a blizzard all the time. 1881 Standard 22 Jan. 5/1 The region [Manitoba] is swept by those fearful blasts known as ‘blizzards’ which send the ‘poudre’, or dry snow, whirling in icy clouds.
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Links to distract you from the raging blizzard outside:
Georgia considers banning the word "evolution": ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- The state's school superintendent has proposed striking the word evolution from Georgia's science curriculum and replacing it with the phrase "biological changes over time."
Yep, my home state. This is so ridiculous it's funny.
Worst. Toy. Ever. Kaba-kick. "It's Russian Roulette for kids! The player points the gun at his or her head and pulls the trigger. Instead of bullets, a pair of feet kick out from the barrel (which is shaped like a hippo. If the gun doesn't fire, the player wins points."
The Table of Condiments that Periodically Go Bad (via boing boing)
Heh. Tanya Jessen lost 95 pounds -- playing dance dance revolution. There's one option I never considered. Too bad I have two left feet (literally) when it comes to playing that game. It is fascinating to watch, though. (via kottke.org)
Bill Maher has a blog now -- and it's not bad. I noticed that no one said anything after I linked to Michael Moore's the other day.
It's almost that time of the year again -- Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil has his very own website and a live feed you can watch on Monday. If he knows what's right for him, he won't be seeing his shadow.
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I just feel exhausted, on so many levels.
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Coldest place on Earth: Saskatchewan endures record-breaking temperatures
Even the Antarctic seemed balmy compared to Saskatchewan's Key Lake on Wednesday. Environment Canada said Key Lake was the coldest place in the world, with temperatures that dipped to -52.3 C.
Jay Anderson couldn't find any place colder. "I looked all through Siberia and Greenland and northern Europe and down in Antarctica, and there's just nobody that cold," the Environment Canada meteorologist said in an interview.
Vostok, the Russian base located in the middle of Antarctica, was significantly warmer than Key Lake, at -28 C.
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Bush 2004 Campaign Pledges to Restore Honor and Dignity to White House
Addressing guests at a $2,000-a-plate fundraiser, George W. Bush pledged Monday that, if re-elected in November, he and running mate Dick Cheney will "restore honor and dignity to the White House."
"After years of false statements and empty promises, it's time for big changes in Washington," Bush said. "We need a president who will finally stand up and fight against the lies and corruption. It's time to renew the faith the people once had in the White House. If elected, I pledge to usher in a new era of integrity inside the Oval Office."
Bush told the crowd that, if given the opportunity, he would work to reestablish the goodwill of the American people "from the very first hour of the very first day" of his second term.
"The people have spoken," Bush said. "They said they want change. They said it's time to clean up Washington. They're tired of politics as usual. They're tired of the pursuit of self-interest that has gripped Washington. They want to see an end to partisan bickering and closed-door decision-making. If I'm elected, I'll make sure that the American people can once again place their trust in the White House."
Bush said the soaring national debt and the lengthy war in Iraq have shaken Americans' faith in the highest levels of government.
"A credibility gap has opened between the Oval Office and America," Bush said. "The public hears talk, but they don't see any result. But if you choose me as your next president, the promises I make in my inaugural address will actually mean something. The president of this country will be held accountable for his promises, starting Jan. 20 of next year."
Right now on CBC they're showing a special called Conspiracy Theories: Uncovering the Facts Behind the Myths of September 11, 2001. In it, they're showing evidence -- well, connections anyway -- that show close links between the Bushes, the Bin Ladens, and the tragedies of 9/11 (and the possibility of he knowing about the attacks before they happened?).
I don't know. Part of me doesn't want to even entertain the possibility.
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Fun in the cold. (or, things I woulda never learned had I not moved so far North)
- Having any liquid present in your nose instantly freeze, making it feel crunchy
- Automatic extra freezer space -- on your back porch!
- Taking off 2 layers of clothes and still being fully dressed
- Being unable to open your car, due to the locks being frozen tight
- Knowing the meaning of "dry cold"
- Having your cheeks still be stinging from the cold, 10 minutes AFTER coming inside
- Wet socks. 'Nuff said.
- Legitmate excuses to skip the gym or even leave your apartment
- Waiting at a crosswalk and seeing a car skid, 20 feet away, in order to stop right in front of you
- Having your jaw freeze and being unable to talk for a few minutes until you thaw
- Automatic conversation starter with strangers, bitching about the weather
- Unable to reach a taxi or a tow truck, due to busy signals
- Looking forward to the day it'll only be -20 (downright tropical!)
- Being able to wear all the clothes you own, AT ONCE
- Watching people walk backwards, against the wind
- Sheer bragging rights for surviving it
- Having to start your car 20 minutes before you go anywhere
- 3 inches of ice on your bedroom window -- on the INSIDE of your window
- When your tape player plays in slooooow motion, or your CD display doesn't
- Preparing to teach an amazing lesson, and only having less than half the students actually show (but I still had an awesome class this afternoon!)
- Being one of the coldest places in the Northern Hemisphere (colder than the North/South Pole, I checked)
- Thanking God you're not a postal worker
- Wearing your "bunny hug"/hooded sweatshirt with the hood up -- inside your apartment
- Your choice of stalled cars throughout the city -- with only a 16 hour wait for a tow truck!
- When you get an "ice cream headache" -- just from going outside!
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Serenity now!
It's colder here than in the North or South Pole. This is getting ridiculous.
When I called the English department to see if there were classes today, they laughed at me. My car locks are still frozen tight. My roommate's brand new car wouldn't start this morning. I had to take a cab to get to school.
If I didn't haveta teach this afternoon, I'd still be under my warm covers. At least I have some Tim Horton's coffee to warm my frozen spirits.
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What's the difference between snow, snow flurries, and snow showers?
Not only did I already know the answer to that question, but I also know now about hoar-frost, gropples, snow grains, and a host of other cold-related phenomenon/occurrences/maladies.
Now I will consider The Importance of Getting a Few Hours of Sleep Before Teaching Oscar Wilde Tomorrow -- that is, for the couple of students who actually brave the cold long enough to show up for class.
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Look what I got in an email tonight, with the subject line: "Becky, I've sent you something fiery to go with my confession -- today, I'd rather be in Texas or hell hell than in Saskatchewan."
The Cremation of Sam McGee
by Robert W. Service
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.
Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.
Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows.
He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;
Though he'd often say in his homely way that "he'd sooner live in hell."
On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.
Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn't see;
It wasn't much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.
And that very night, as we lay packed tight in our robes beneath the snow,
And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe,
He turned to me, and "Cap," says he, "I'll cash in this trip, I guess;
And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request."
Well, he seemed so low that I couldn't say no; then he says with a sort of moan:
"It's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold till I'm chilled clean through to the bone.
Yet 'taint being dead--it's my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;
So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you'll cremate my last remains."
A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;
And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! he looked ghastly pale.
He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee;
And before nightfall a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee.
There wasn't a breath in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,
With a corpse half hid that I couldn't get rid, because of a promise given;
It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say: "You may tax your brawn and brains,
But you promised true, and it's up to you to cremate those last remains."
Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load.
In the long, long night, by the lone firelight, while the huskies, round in a ring,
Howled out their woes to the homeless snows-O God! how I loathed the thing.
And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow;
And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;
The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;
And I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.
Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay;
It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the "Alice May."
And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;
Then "Here," said I, with a sudden cry, "is my cre-ma-tor-eum."
Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;
Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;
The flames just soared, and the furnace roared-such a blaze you seldom see;
And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and I stuffed in Sam McGee.
Then I made a hike, for I didn't like to hear him sizzle so;
And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.
It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I don't know why;
And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.
I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: "I'll just take a peep inside.
I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked;" . . . then the door I opened wide.
And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm-
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm."
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.
I think Sam's got the right idea for a night like tonight. (brr)
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Ah, delicious irony.
Today, when unwrapping one of my post-Advent calendar packages, I received this message from my mom:
"Beeks, What are you complaining about today you may be reminiscing fondly about tomorrow!"
The message was wrapped around a little package of Hot Tamales.
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Nice.
I nearly broke my key in the door lock, as I stood outside for 10 minutes trying to get my frozen locks to budge.
Then, as I'm locking my doors, the plastic nob on my car door breaks off -- OFF! So much for Becky's power locks, from now on.
This Tuesday feels like a Monday.
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Good morning yourself.
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BRRR.
That's all I considered posting, because it's FREEZING outside right now. It's almost -30 out, with a lovely wind chill of -42.
BRRR.
It's hard to get your mind off the weather when it's so daunting out.
Anyway, day was good. I finally was able to teach my tutorial section today -- and I had them read aloud the last act of Twelfth Night. Okay, maybe I don't hate it as much as I alleged in yesterday's post. It was neat to see the students get into their roles, and hopefully now they have a better understanding of Shakespeare's world of words.
This Wednesday I'll be leading the bigger section of English 110 -- around 80ish students. My supervising prof is giving me this opportunity, and geek that I am, I can't wait. I'll be introducing Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Part of my preparation included renting the recent adaptation with Colin Firth and Rupert Everett (yum!).
Oscar Wilde is one of my very favorites. While going across some ancient notes from one of my undergrad classes, I found a page of Wilde quotes. Here's some of my favorites:
By doing just a little every day, I can gradually let the task completely overwhelm me. (I can attest to that one personally)
The Americans are certainly great hero-worshippers, and always take their heroes from the criminal classes.
Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogomy is the same.
Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.
Mr. Henry James writes fiction as if it were a painful duty. (I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that!)
In examinations the foolish ask questions that the wise cannot answer.
Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.
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Theoretically I *should be* preparing my lesson for tomorrow's class on Twelfth Night (which I've since decided is on my list of least-favorite Shakespeare plays).
Instead, I'm being distracted by watching a flash video of a bunch of dancing badgers, a mushroom, and an imposing snake. It's so very stupid, yet hypnotic. And that song gets stuck in your head for ages. (via geek girl)
Of course, there are always other distractions to keep you from doing what needs to be done. I should get up and go to the gym, but that just isn't an appealing option when it's -20 something outside, with fresh snow everywhere.
So instead, I'm mindlessly perusing the internet. Hooray for distractions. Enjoy the fruits of my laborless labors: (yes, I almost typed "labour" there)
Caption Yahoo's Most-Emailed Pictures. It's an interesting and usually funny concept. "The challenge was to take the top 3 most emailed photos on yahoo and create a hopefully amusing story about the sequence. I reserve the right to refuse a disturbing picture, this includes any pictures of celine dion." The pictures today are of a white dog, nudists running into the surf, and a new mustang. That should give you a clue to the types of captions to expect.
Tom's [Ridge's] Guide to Code Yellow, from the Monday Report. Includes explanations of the subtle nuances between Yellow Belly Lemon, Suspicious Saffron, and my personal favorite --
Imperial Paranoid Gold: This powerful shade sustains a moderate level of paranoia and fear among all Americans, both at home and abroad. A winner in any hallway, I.P. Gold also adds the perfect accent when trying to justify pouring billions of dollars into the U.S. Department of Homeland Defense.
Just when you thought re-runs weren't enough: The Law and Order: An Adventure to Color coloring book. What grrrl wouldn't enjoy coloring in her very own picture of Benjamin Bratt? I have to admit, the connect the dots page of Jerry Olbach was a little creepy. (via memepool)
Super-Size Me: A man makes a documentary on the effects of eating nothing but McDonalds for a month.
Within a few days of beginning his drive-through diet, Spurlock, 33, was vomiting out the window of his car, and doctors who examined him were shocked at how rapidly Spurlock's entire body deteriorated.
"It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart over the course of 30 days," Spurlock told The Post. His liver became toxic, his cholesterol shot up from a low 165 to 230, his libido flagged and he suffered headaches and depression.
I can't bring myself to eat one meal there, much less a month's worth. Should make for an interesting film.
100 Things to do with Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend... Instead of it. Because, after all, wouldn't doing your homework together (#22), looking up all the synonyms for love (#26), having a burping contest (#45), and getting dressed up really nice to go to McDonald's (#65) be more fun?
A non-flattering photo of John Kerry. "As our tipster pointed out: On the plus side, at least for once he doesn't look like a particularly lethargic pallbearer." "Lethargic pallbearer" describes him to a T.
Whoops. Today was Internet Free Day. "Be your own home page!" Is it me, or isn't it ironic that this advocacy group has a webpage to promote their goals?
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The Everlasting Gaze
Smashing Pumpkins
You know I’m not dead
Now you know where I’ve been
As you sleep
Torn I am
Weighted down
Patiently
Born of love
You know I’m not dead
I’m just living in my head
Forever waiting
On the ways of your desire
You always find a way
And thru it all
Into us all you move
Forgotten touch
Forbidden thought
We can never have enough
You know I’m not dead
Found below
The creatures scream
Stranglehold
A God machine
Begging to
Tear us out
Worn as hope
You know I’m not dead
I’m just the tears inside your head
Forever waiting
On the ways of your desire
You always find a way
And thru it all into us all you move
Forgotten touch
Forbidden thought
We can never have enough
You know I’m not dead
We all want to hold in the everlasting gaze
Enchanted in the rapture of his sentimental sway
But underneath the wheels lie the skulls of every c.o.g.
The fickle fascination of an everlasting god
You know I’m not dead
I’m just living in my head
Forever waiting
Forever waiting on cruel death
You know I’m not dead
I’m just living for myself
Forever waiting
You know I’m not dead
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It may be freezing outside, but I still love it when the snowflakes are so big it feels like walking around in a snowglobe.
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If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.
For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.
-- William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
I think I'm beginning to understand one of the reasons that Bush is (literally) getting away with murder back home (in terms of his continued support).
I think the issue centers around the American public's trained incapacity. Trained incapacity names the condition in which knowledge or experience may prevent someone from recognizing alternative perspectives or ways of seeing.
In other words, it's the inability to perceive things in unaccustomed ways -- the incapacity to name the world other than the ways we've been trained to do so.
I've already mentioned that words are incipient propositions -- that by naming things we also share our perspective of them. The same goes with our worldviews. There are aspects of our lives that shape the way we see the world. Academic disciplines are one example -- Engineers will approach a situtation differently than someone with an English Literature background.
Other things that shape our trained incapacities -- our personal life experiences, religion, culture/society, and a variety of other aspects.
I think the worst trained incapacity that we as Americans have is the inability to view ourselves outside our own culture. I know that I never took the time to consider how people outside our borders considered us -- that is, until I moved away to Canada. We Americans only see the world from our perspective -- since we're right in the middle of it. Every other culture in the world can entertain two views -- their own plus ours -- because of the American cultural inundation of everything from our media, entertainment, fast food, etc.
I think it's because of this handicap, leaders like Bush can make statement such as "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people" and get away with it. No one questions the words of the bully, at least to his face. If we cared about what our neighbors thought -- we would not let our leader get away with such an arrogant statement. We'd also want to have the support of our allies before plunging into an invalidated war, but that's another entry altogether.
I think that Kenneth Burke's writings are dead-on concerning this human condition. Much of his theories on human behavior were inspired by the events leading up to and during WWII. The quote I cited in the entry below is just as relevant 60 years later as it was the day he wrote it.
Trained incapacities are unavoidable in the human experience -- but that doesn't mean we have to be prey to them. The antidote to a trained incapacity is adopting a perspective by incongruity. Burke writes that a perspective by incongruity extends the "use of a term by taking it from the context in which it was habitually used and applying it to another." In other words (as cliched as it sounds), it's seeing outside the box. It's questioning the given assumptions and taking the perspective of someone else in order to get a deeper understanding of what's really going on (and WHY).
That's what I hope will happen back home. I want people to get off automatic pilot -- the setting that condones Bush extending the Patriot Act to take away our civil liberties and that also allows him to change the topic whenever he's asked why we invaded Iraq.
I'm not cynical enough to think it won't happen -- I'd just prefer it sooner, rather than later.
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The need to think of global war and of its counterpart, global peace, invites us to seek also a truly global attitude toward all mankind, with its expressions ranging from the austere down to the foibles of the human barnyard. The study of war aims should thus be grounded in the most searching consideration of human motives. So far, however, it seems that war aims are being treated as something of a cross between anticipatory or retrospective ideals and cameralistic proposals designed to enlist or appease various economic interests. And more basic inquiries into human motives seem to have been postponed, as a luxury that the moment could not afford, precisely at a time when the need for such a search is all the more urgent.
-- Kenneth Burke, "War and Cultural Life"
November 1942
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My riveting Friday night plans?
I'm at home, watching Queer as Folk and knitting a new scarf.
And this is because 1. It's too freaking cold to do anything else. 2. No one to take me out. 3. It's -35 something with windchill outside. BRRR.
Did I mention that I love the night life? (I'm a spinster at 25)
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Breaking News:
At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a setsquare, a slide rule, and a calculator.
At a morning press conference, Attorney general John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.
"Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," Ashcroft said. "They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like "x" and "y" and refer to themselves as unknowns, but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country."
"As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, there are 3 sides to every triangle," Ashcroft declared.
When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes.
"I am gratified that our government has given us a sine that it is intent on protracting us from these math-dogs who are willing to disintegrate us with calculus disregard. Murky statisticians love to inflict plane on every sphere of influence," the President said, adding: "Under the circumferences, we must differentiate their root, make our point, and draw the line," President Bush warned.
"These weapons of math instruction have the potential to decimal everything in their math on a scalene never before seen unless we become exponents of a Higher Power and begin to factor-in random facts of vertex."
Attorney General Ashcroft said, "As our Great Leader would say, read my ellipse. Here is one principle he is uncertainty of -- though they continue to multiply, their days are numbered as the hypotenuse tightens around their necks."
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Muhahaha. I have figured out RSS. Well, enough that it now actually works. (at least I *think* it does, lemme know if you have problems loading it)
Syndicate me, baby! 
Maybe now I should get some sleep.
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Happy belated (one day late) Chinese New Year!
In honor of this holiday, go visit Hi Monkey.net and follow the adventures of everyone's favorite terry cloth monkey.
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Okay, okay. Maybe one more link regarding the State of the Union? I know I promised I'd stop.
State of Disunion Crossword Puzzle.
I stink at crosswords. Luckily, there's a "cheat" option. :)
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 I will never eat Jelly Bellys again. (and yes, I purposely spelled "bellys" not "bellies.")
Tonight, after watching a mind-numbing show, L and I purposed to try the most disgusting combinations possible. Here's what we tried:
Root Beer + Bubble Gum
Tutti Fruitti + Cappuccino
Buttered Popcorn + Green Apple
Caramel Corn + Pear
Tutti Fruitti + Buttered Popcorn
Chocolate + Red Apple
**basically, anything with Tutti Fruitti, Bubble Gum, or Root Beer is disgusting.
Hmmm, turns out that My #1 result for the Jelly Belly Flavor Selector is Cinnamon
This flavor is followed closely by Tutti Fruitti, Green Apple, Pina Colada, Island Punch and Tangerine. Don't ask me what significance these flavors have, I have no clue!
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While playing with my digital camera tonight with Laura, we discovered a scary resemblance:
 
Heeeeeeeere's Becky!
Scary, no? |
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The last time I'll mention the State of the Union, I promise:
Watch the Daily Show's take on it here.
Jon Stewart is the only fake newscaster I trust.
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Here's a rather disturbing ad I came across tonight: (it was presented in a slideshow format, here's the stills of it)
  
"Be as nosey as you can be!"
Am I the only one disturbed by that? Remnants of the Patriot Act and the President who supports it? Ugh.
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Here's some comforting news: Crime on the upswing in city
Crime is on the rise in Saskatoon amid pleas from the police service for more officers. Saskatoon, Canada's violent crime capital in 2002 according to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, became an even more violent place last year.
That, and according to Rick Mercer on The Monday Report last week:
Saskatoon has been discovered to have a chlamydia infection rate that is twice the national average, making it the chlamydia capital of Canada.
Take that, Tourism Saskatoon!
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More of Calvin pontificating and playing with the cold white stuff here.
I guess winter can be funny, after all. It could just be Calvin and Hobbes -- I do miss that comic strip. :(
(via Idle Type)
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"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people."
ARGH.
So much to be angry over, I'll go over some highlights of this year's State of the Union.
But before I do that, the whole time I listened to the speech I could hear the writings of Richard Weaver come to life. You see, Weaver writes that words are incipient propositions -- meaning that labeling a word both describes your perspective and interprets it for your audience. Throughout his talk, Bush uses charismatic term after charismatic term. These terms are ones that are universally accepted and uncontested -- ones that are taken for granted and are not questioned.
One favorite uncontested term Bush uses over and over again is freedom. Others include war on terror and security. Not to forgot his religious diction throughout: mission, calling, adversity, cause, right, evil, etc.
(High)lights of speech: (the following are segments taken directly from the transcript)
Nine months of intense negotiations involving the United States and Great Britain succeeded with Libya, while 12 years of diplomacy with Iraq did not. And one reason is clear: For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.
Ah, beyond ye power of irony. So I understand -- we expect OTHER countries to make their claims credible, but when it comes to the real reasons why we invade another country.... then, not so much.
After the chaos and carnage of September 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got.
Which is why we attacked a country that had no clear (or for that matter proven) connection to September 11th.
But let us be candid about the consequences of leaving Saddam Hussein in power. We are seeking all the facts - already the Kay Report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations. Had we failed to act, the dictator's weapons of mass destruction programs would continue to this day. Had we failed to act, Security Council resolutions on Iraq would have been revealed as empty threats, weakening the United Nations and encouraging defiance by dictators around the world. Iraq's torture chambers would still be filled with victims - terrified and innocent. The killing fields of Iraq - where hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children vanished into the sands - would still be known only to the killers. For all who love freedom and peace, the world without Saddam Hussein's regime is a better and safer place.
Fair enough, Hussein was an evil man who needed to leave and I agree that Iraq is better place without | | | | | |
