.....Is how I spent my day. Well not actually, but it sure felt like it at times - we attended a 6 hour continuing ed seminar on pre-cast concrete. Though, as seminars went this one was pretty interesting, and I did actually learn some things. But there are only so many hours a human being can be forced to watch PowerPoint presentations without going off his/her nut.
Plus, I've got a few crises lurking on my desk here at the office that require my attention. More later.
11 March 2008
09 March 2008
Troll Feeding.
Someone from Baton Rouge, not surprisingly named "Anonymous", left a comment in this post calling me an idiot for not understanding how the UN is supposed to work. Like I care how the UN is supposed to work. (Though it would be nice, once a decade or so, if it did actually work.)
I know I shouldn't, but it's Sunday night and I'm bored - so I responded.
I know I shouldn't, but it's Sunday night and I'm bored - so I responded.
We're In A Runoff!!
Laurinda Calongne is in a runoff to be the GOP candidate for Congress in Louisiana's 6th District. It was very close, but she made it to the next round aginst an opponent who "everyone" (whoever that is anymore) thought was a shoo in to clinch it on the first ballot.
Your humble blogger will now commence to do the happy dance.
Your humble blogger will now commence to do the happy dance.
If You Can Prounounce These Names Correctly....
....You've lived in Massachusetts. And you'll know why this hysterical:
"The Comcast SportsNet advertisement that ran Feb. 28 in the Boston newspaper shows two town signs, one reading, “We can pronounce Worcester,” and the other reading, “Without Sounding Like an Athol."
UPDATE: An image of the offending portion of the ad, via masslive.com:
Associated Press photo
Of course, imagine if you live in Belchertown. FWIW, I think my kids come from there.
UPDATE: I know, I know. Louisiana shouldn't be pointing fingers when it comes to town names. I mean, if you want Boutte, you'll never get there via Dry Prong.
"The Comcast SportsNet advertisement that ran Feb. 28 in the Boston newspaper shows two town signs, one reading, “We can pronounce Worcester,” and the other reading, “Without Sounding Like an Athol."
UPDATE: An image of the offending portion of the ad, via masslive.com:
Associated Press photoOf course, imagine if you live in Belchertown. FWIW, I think my kids come from there.
UPDATE: I know, I know. Louisiana shouldn't be pointing fingers when it comes to town names. I mean, if you want Boutte, you'll never get there via Dry Prong.
07 March 2008
Whatever.
Look, I'll be the first to say that there is a lot to criticize about the recovery in New Orleans. Heck, I’ve criticized it. But some U.N. commission, which never set foot in Louisiana, is now criticizing our recovery and saying it's a possible violation of human rights.
This, from the same organization that can't decide if the organized killing, raping and starving of tens of thousands of Africans in Darfur is "genocide"; that will not condemn the firing of dozens of rockets a month, sometimes dozens a week, into civilian areas in Israel (in fact, it gives those firing the rockets money); that was willing to look the other way, for a few dollars, of course, when Saddam Hussein spent billions on palaces and tanks while his people suffered; and that puts the likes of Libya and Cuba – not exactly stellar champions of human rights - on their commission promoting human rights.
I don't think the U.N. would know a real human rights violation if it came up and bit them on their expense account. So let me respond as gently and as diplomatically as I can:
Dear-U.N.-Persons-Who-Couldn't-Find-Louisiana-On-A-Map-Unless-Some-Staffer-Showed-You,
F**k off.
Hugs,
The Vast Majority of Louisiana
UPDATE: Here's a thought - maybe the reason the UN is opposed to tearing down delapidated, barracks-type housing in New Orleans is because in places like Cuba and North Korea, housing in this condition is the norm. We can't have the Great Satan making all those Worker's Paradises look bad, now can we??
This, from the same organization that can't decide if the organized killing, raping and starving of tens of thousands of Africans in Darfur is "genocide"; that will not condemn the firing of dozens of rockets a month, sometimes dozens a week, into civilian areas in Israel (in fact, it gives those firing the rockets money); that was willing to look the other way, for a few dollars, of course, when Saddam Hussein spent billions on palaces and tanks while his people suffered; and that puts the likes of Libya and Cuba – not exactly stellar champions of human rights - on their commission promoting human rights.
I don't think the U.N. would know a real human rights violation if it came up and bit them on their expense account. So let me respond as gently and as diplomatically as I can:
Dear-U.N.-Persons-Who-Couldn't-Find-Louisiana-On-A-Map-Unless-Some-Staffer-Showed-You,
F**k off.
Hugs,
The Vast Majority of Louisiana
UPDATE: Here's a thought - maybe the reason the UN is opposed to tearing down delapidated, barracks-type housing in New Orleans is because in places like Cuba and North Korea, housing in this condition is the norm. We can't have the Great Satan making all those Worker's Paradises look bad, now can we??
Oh No, He Didn't Say That.
Yep. He did. The Mouth Mayor of New Orleans strikes again:
"How am I gonna stand up and say, I'm a 'vagina-friendly' Mayor to these cameras after 'Chocolate City' and some of the other stuff that I've done. But you know what? I'm in."
If you're a guy, isn't that the point??
"How am I gonna stand up and say, I'm a 'vagina-friendly' Mayor to these cameras after 'Chocolate City' and some of the other stuff that I've done. But you know what? I'm in."
If you're a guy, isn't that the point??
Friday Lunchtime Distraction.
Here's a few things to peruse while you take your noonday meal, courtesy of Dark Roasted Blend.
And for those of you top dog types with longer lunch hours, there's more here.
And for those of you top dog types with longer lunch hours, there's more here.
Laurinda Calongne Interview.
My interview with Laurinda Calongne is up at Louisiana Conservative Dot Com. Laurinda is running for the Sixth District Congressional seat recently vacated by Richard Baker.
It also got a link at Dead Pelican.
It also got a link at Dead Pelican.
06 March 2008
Be Quiet; I'm Speaking For You.
Remember back before Christmas all those "housing advocates" in New Orleans who tried to stop the demolition of four run-down housing projects? They got a lot of moral support, and a lot of air time, claiming they were "speaking for" the displaced residents. One small problem: When someone finally asked those displaced residents what they wanted, more than 80% of those responding didn't want to go back into those projects the advocates wanted to save.
Read the whole thing, and you'll see two other interesting facts: First, more than half of the HANO families are living back in the New Orleans - so much for that "keeping the poor away" meme. And second, this was the "housing advocates" own survey! (Done in collusion with their chief ally in Congress, Rep Maxine Waters, D-CA.) Oops!
I have said this before, I'll say it again: I think the only interests all those "advocates" were advocating was their own, and the residents were just a vehicle to that end. It was all about the exposure, and proving a pre-determined point.
Full disclosure: My firm is the architect for the demolition of the four housing projects. I am from New Orleans. I knew early on taking those projects down - and replacing them with more livable, humanly-scaled housing in a neighborhood setting - was the right thing to do. Anyone with an ounce of compassion for the residents, and who knew the facts, would reach the same conclusion.
Read the whole thing, and you'll see two other interesting facts: First, more than half of the HANO families are living back in the New Orleans - so much for that "keeping the poor away" meme. And second, this was the "housing advocates" own survey! (Done in collusion with their chief ally in Congress, Rep Maxine Waters, D-CA.) Oops!
I have said this before, I'll say it again: I think the only interests all those "advocates" were advocating was their own, and the residents were just a vehicle to that end. It was all about the exposure, and proving a pre-determined point.
Full disclosure: My firm is the architect for the demolition of the four housing projects. I am from New Orleans. I knew early on taking those projects down - and replacing them with more livable, humanly-scaled housing in a neighborhood setting - was the right thing to do. Anyone with an ounce of compassion for the residents, and who knew the facts, would reach the same conclusion.
In the Eye Of The Beholder.
Katrina as seen through a different lens - that of photographer Chris Jordan. (At his website, scroll down to In Katrina's Wake, click on the image, and go through his photos.) Because our families lived through this, I just can't bring myself to call them beautiful. Though they are haunting, and I highly recommend you buy his book. I am.
He Doesn't Do "Invitations Into Deeper Conversations About Holding Positions More Lightly While He Seeks Visions Of Shalom In Relationship With..."
If you're wondering how The Episcopal Church (tm) and their "New Thing" are being accepted by other Sacramental churches, Chris Johnson postulates an example that will leave you in stitches.
Speaking Fiction To Power.
Here is a new non-fiction book which, according to this article, is about the author's "life as a half-white, half-Native American girl growing up in South-Central Los Angeles as a foster child among gang-bangers, running drugs for the Bloods."
The book has received critrical acclaim. The article says The Times called it a “humane and deeply affecting memoir,” and Entertainment Weekly said it was a "powerful story of resilience and unconditional love.”
So far, so good. Except for a tiny detail the author forgot to mention. The author is actually:
"...all white and grew up in the well-to-do Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley, with her biological family. She graduated from the Campbell Hall School, a private Episcopal day school in the North Hollywood neighborhood. She has never lived with a foster family, nor did she run drugs for any gang members. Nor did she graduate from the University of Oregon, as she had claimed."
Oops. But she did graduate from an Episcopal high school. Which doesn't surprise me in the least, given her excuse after the truth came to light:
"“For whatever reason, I was really torn and I thought it was my opportunity to put a voice to people who people don’t listen to,” Ms. Seltzer said. “I was in a position where at one point people said you should speak for us because nobody else is going to let us in to talk. Maybe it’s an ego thing — I don’t know. I just felt that there was good that I could do and there was no other way that someone would listen to it.”
(emphasis mine)
Now where have we heard that kind of vacuous, self-important, post-modernist twaddle before? Oh, yes. Places like this bastion of Episcopal Newsspeak. (See the third paragraph down.) I will agree with them about one thing - as the arts go, so goes the community. So what does this fakery say about the state of the arts today? And about that "community?" And what does it say about the credibility of all those art "critics" who gave it fawning, un-critical praise?
UPDATE: Good question: Are there now so many half-white, half-Native America, drug-running young girls in gangs who grew up in foster homes that they need someone to speak for them? Please.
The book has received critrical acclaim. The article says The Times called it a “humane and deeply affecting memoir,” and Entertainment Weekly said it was a "powerful story of resilience and unconditional love.”
So far, so good. Except for a tiny detail the author forgot to mention. The author is actually:
"...all white and grew up in the well-to-do Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley, with her biological family. She graduated from the Campbell Hall School, a private Episcopal day school in the North Hollywood neighborhood. She has never lived with a foster family, nor did she run drugs for any gang members. Nor did she graduate from the University of Oregon, as she had claimed."
Oops. But she did graduate from an Episcopal high school. Which doesn't surprise me in the least, given her excuse after the truth came to light:
"“For whatever reason, I was really torn and I thought it was my opportunity to put a voice to people who people don’t listen to,” Ms. Seltzer said. “I was in a position where at one point people said you should speak for us because nobody else is going to let us in to talk. Maybe it’s an ego thing — I don’t know. I just felt that there was good that I could do and there was no other way that someone would listen to it.”
(emphasis mine)
Now where have we heard that kind of vacuous, self-important, post-modernist twaddle before? Oh, yes. Places like this bastion of Episcopal Newsspeak. (See the third paragraph down.) I will agree with them about one thing - as the arts go, so goes the community. So what does this fakery say about the state of the arts today? And about that "community?" And what does it say about the credibility of all those art "critics" who gave it fawning, un-critical praise?
UPDATE: Good question: Are there now so many half-white, half-Native America, drug-running young girls in gangs who grew up in foster homes that they need someone to speak for them? Please.
05 March 2008
Is That A 'Meis' In Your Living Room, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
Oh my God. I really am a white person.
From here.
UPDATE: I can't help it - I want one of these for the house (with the footstool, of course), and a couple of these for my office.
From here.
UPDATE: I can't help it - I want one of these for the house (with the footstool, of course), and a couple of these for my office.
04 March 2008
Once More Into The Breach, Dear Friends...
Charlie Foxtrot received orders to deploy to the "Sandbox". For the third time. Please stop by and let him know how much you appreciate his service, and the scarifices he - and his family - bear for our freedom.
She's No Ronald Reagan.
Hillary Clinton puts out her own "Bear In The Woods" commercial. Watch the reaction. Ouch.
She really is the Queen of Negative.
She really is the Queen of Negative.
Eventually, Everyone's Hit Points Drop To Zero.
And you can't roll 2d20s forever. The creator of Dungeons and Dragons, Gary Gygax, has died. Like Matthew, I spent more time in college playing his creation than I care to admit. Our little band of intrepid architecture students, and our wives and girlfriends, after a project was turned in would spend entire weekends drinking beer and killing hordes of orcs. And when topping imaginary orcs got boring, we would spend entire weekends drinking beer and killing off hordes of Warner Brothers cartoon characters, German philosophers, and Seseme Street puppets. Once we even tackled a dungeon populated by an army of ravaging game show hosts.
OK, so we weren't purists. Sue me.
UPDATE: This seems especially timely: What Kind of D&D Character Would You Be?
As for me...
I Am A: Lawful Good Human Cleric (7th Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-11
Dexterity-17
Constitution-12
Intelligence-16
Wisdom-16
Charisma-15
Alignment:
Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment because it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Class:
Clerics act as intermediaries between the earthly and the divine (or infernal) worlds. A good cleric helps those in need, while an evil cleric seeks to spread his patron's vision of evil across the world. All clerics can heal wounds and bring people back from the brink of death, and powerful clerics can even raise the dead. Likewise, all clerics have authority over undead creatures, and they can turn away or even destroy these creatures. Clerics are trained in the use of simple weapons, and can use all forms of armor and shields without penalty, since armor does not interfere with the casting of divine spells. In addition to his normal complement of spells, every cleric chooses to focus on two of his deity's domains. These domains grants the cleric special powers, and give him access to spells that he might otherwise never learn. A cleric's Wisdom score should be high, since this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.
OK, so we weren't purists. Sue me.
UPDATE: This seems especially timely: What Kind of D&D Character Would You Be?
As for me...
I Am A: Lawful Good Human Cleric (7th Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-11
Dexterity-17
Constitution-12
Intelligence-16
Wisdom-16
Charisma-15
Alignment:
Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment because it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Class:
Clerics act as intermediaries between the earthly and the divine (or infernal) worlds. A good cleric helps those in need, while an evil cleric seeks to spread his patron's vision of evil across the world. All clerics can heal wounds and bring people back from the brink of death, and powerful clerics can even raise the dead. Likewise, all clerics have authority over undead creatures, and they can turn away or even destroy these creatures. Clerics are trained in the use of simple weapons, and can use all forms of armor and shields without penalty, since armor does not interfere with the casting of divine spells. In addition to his normal complement of spells, every cleric chooses to focus on two of his deity's domains. These domains grants the cleric special powers, and give him access to spells that he might otherwise never learn. A cleric's Wisdom score should be high, since this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.
03 March 2008
Well, Duh......
If you live in flyover country, the results of this poll have been pretty obvious for a while:
"Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey.
While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed."
And the remaining 36 percent? They are gonna vote for Hillary or Obama no matter what.
"Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey.
While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed."
And the remaining 36 percent? They are gonna vote for Hillary or Obama no matter what.
02 March 2008
Conventional Wisdom.
As I said in an earlier post, the Diocese of Louisiana held their annual convention at my church in Baton Rouge. I was there as part of the host church's volunteer group, not as a delegate or observer, so I didn't get to see much of the sessions. But what I can tell you, ye Episcopal news junkies, is this:
1. In their native country, Bishops from South Africa must be paid by the word for homlies. His was darn near 40 minutes. At Evensong. As you can imagine, he lost me when he started going on about "speaking truth to power..."
2. Jackie Bruchi is a very nice person in person.
3. The Doicese did affirm the uniqueness of Christ, without dissent, though I understand it was not in as strong a terms as originally submitted. That this even has to be a topic of debate nowadays says volumes about where The Episcopal Church is, and where it isn't.
4. We are a small group, us 'Piskies. Case in point: I ran into a fellow from my high school youth group at St. Augustine's, Metairie (and later at St. John's, Kenner). We had not seen each other in 30 years.
More tomorrow.
UPDATE: Convention results are here. Nothing much to shout about. Things are pretty much the same. Sorry Jackie lost, though.
1. In their native country, Bishops from South Africa must be paid by the word for homlies. His was darn near 40 minutes. At Evensong. As you can imagine, he lost me when he started going on about "speaking truth to power..."
2. Jackie Bruchi is a very nice person in person.
3. The Doicese did affirm the uniqueness of Christ, without dissent, though I understand it was not in as strong a terms as originally submitted. That this even has to be a topic of debate nowadays says volumes about where The Episcopal Church is, and where it isn't.
4. We are a small group, us 'Piskies. Case in point: I ran into a fellow from my high school youth group at St. Augustine's, Metairie (and later at St. John's, Kenner). We had not seen each other in 30 years.
More tomorrow.
UPDATE: Convention results are here. Nothing much to shout about. Things are pretty much the same. Sorry Jackie lost, though.
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