Iambic Dudameter
Wednesday, 13-Jan-2010 @ 1:24p
Two Gentlemen of Lebowski:
LEBOWSKI
Was it I, sir, who urinated on your rug?
THE KNAVE
Not in person, sir—but if a man is his name, and his reputation his indelible inkstain, surely thy sea of care is tormented; what tongue shall smooth thy name?
LEBOWSKI
Make me to understand, sir, for you are slow of speech as I of step, and I am unsatisfied in motive. When any rug is micturated upon within these city walls, must I stand accountable? Or are you as one of a thousand rogues, fishing for sixpence betwixt another man’s pursestrings? Are you a labourer, Master Lebowski, earning that you eat, getting that you wear?
Random Thoughts of the Day (MLP)
Thursday, 20-Aug-2009 @ 10:13p
Author unknown, I'm just a parrot here...
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
Bad decisions make good stories.
I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
( more... )
Irrefutable argument against socialized medicine...
Tuesday, 11-Aug-2009 @ 12:38a
From Investor's Business Daily where we learn how socialized health care in the UK leads to euthanasia..
IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure
"The U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) basically figures out who deserves treatment by using a cost-utility analysis based on the "quality adjusted life year."
People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.
Aren't we lucky Hawking wasn't born in the UK! It's impossible to argue against facts like that!
(you can tell he's American because he doesn't have a British accent)
A human face on a current debate
Wednesday, 20-May-2009 @ 10:11p
I recently reconnected with my friend Steven, who I'd known well during the early '90s but had lost touch with over the years. I happened to stumble across an interview with him online over the weekend which sent me off searching for his name on Facebook and all those other places where layabouts from my generation congregate.
When I first met Steven he'd recently met Peter and I watched as their relationship bloomed and grew. I grew to be friends with both of them over the years. As it turns out, Steven and Peter stayed together this whole time and even got married just as soon as the state of Massachusetts allowed them.
Quite tragically, though, Peter died in an accident just about a month ago -- literally just a few weeks before I stumbled across Steven's name and tracked them down. I'm gutted to learn the news and morbidly fascinated by the coincidence of the timing. I wish (and sort of don't wish) I'd found that interview a year ago, or even just a few months ago. It's rough, you know?
In the aftermath of Peter's death, Steven wrote about the impact their marriage had on his ability to navigate the complications surrounding his husband's death. It's sad to reflect on how different the circumstance might have been in the absence of a marriage, a reality faced by gay couples in all those states which do not allow gay marriage. Steven is articulate and his story is moving:
"We will win when we focus on equality."
I'm glad that he was motivated to write about his life because I think it's invaluable for this debate over gay marriage to be grounded in real people and real stories and not the abstract societal ideals that the conversation is so often about. I'm sad for my friend, but I'm more sad for the couples who have to deal with death and weren't allowed to marry.
Brazen plagiarism
Wednesday, 15-Apr-2009 @ 12:05p
Goofyhoofy @ fool.com:
There are two famous tea parties that I can think of.
The first, of course, was in Boston Harbor, where a group of revolutionaries dumped someone else's property into the Boston Harbor to protest the tax on it, the rationale for the protest being "Taxation Without Representation." (Well, actually there's a lot more to it than that, but that's become the popular meme.) Economic terrorism and property destruction at its best! I'm hoping today's protestors aren't calling on that historical precedent, but I could be wrong.
The other famous tea party, and one more closely attuned to today's events is the Mad Hatter's tea party from "Alice in Wonderland." You know the one, where the Mad Hatter (sponsor of the tea party) talks in nonsensical poetry and unanswerable riddles, changes positions at his whim, and fulminates against the Queen or any other imagined slights without bothering to give solutions, evidence, or anything else. He's great at slogans, however.
Perhaps the most appropriate part of the story involves the Mad Hatter asking the riddle: "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" After much discussion, it turns out he doesn't have an answer to his own question. I can't think of a better metaphor for the Right Wing inspired and Fox News promoted astroturf campaign we are seeing played out among the babbling goobers who have only complaint, historical revision, and memory lapse when it comes to the politics of the past eight years.
Love those signs, though.
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