The ramblings of a raving liberal

Sharing a holiday YouTube...

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:16:27 GMT

A Christmas message and song from Al Jourgensen of Ministry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AxJTynZSVU

Man, I need to add iTunes Gift Card to my Christmas list, now.... ;)

HAHAHAHAHA

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:38:28 GMT

I'm just going to quote from the Penguins' website here:

"The Penguins coaching staff enjoyed their Sunday off by attending the KISS concert at Mellon Arena.

...

After Kiss finished their song "Detroit Rock City," the crowd booed for their displeasure of the Red Wings. Bylsma was asked A) if Kiss should have played the song and B) if he liked the fact that Pittsburghers booed.

"We were commenting on the fact of whether they should have played it or not. They should have and yes I did.""
http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=509812

:)

Wow... what a great resource

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:16:40 GMT

Thanks to Shortpacked!, I am now aware of www.standforchristmas.com. This is a website where people submit comments to say if a store is "Christmas-friendly", "Christmas-negligent" or "Christmas-offensive". Normally, I'd just do a facepalm over this and move on, but I've discovered something wonderful: this is a great resource to find out which stores _aren't_ all in-your-face with Christmas! You can tell the website to rank them by most-offensive, or most-negligent! It's great!

Based on this website, I think Best Buy will be getting more of my business this holiday season :)

Amusing hockey story

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:27:30 GMT

"New York Islanders defenceman Brendan Witt was hit by a car in Philadelphia on Tuesday, according to Newsday. But Witt reportedly picked himself up off the road and, after a few profanities, assured everyone he was all right before continuing on his way ...

"I'm okay," Witt told the crowd as he dusted himself off, according to Newsday. "I've got to go play some hockey. I'm a hockey player. I'm okay. No big deal.""
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=301565

Hit by a car in the morning, will still play in tonight's hockey game. I'm not a fan of the Islanders, nor of Brendan Witt, but that's still an awesome story.

Though this probably does contradict the NHL advertising campaign from a couple years back that said, "Hockey players are just like everybody else, except they're really good at hockey". I can't think of too many people that can just get up and walk away after getting hit by a car, after all...

Eloquent speech on behalf of same-sex marriage in the NY State Senate

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:30:53 GMT

Stolen from a friend on Facebook:
http://jezebel.com/5417973/heroine-alert-diane-savino-ny-state-senator

Senator Savino nails it. She aptly tears apart the arguments used against same-sex marriage, and presents the reasons for it. Bravo.

Make sure to watch the full video, and not just read the quotes, it's worth watching the whole speech.

A belated Thanksgiving video...

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:28:26 GMT

I meant to share this on Thanksgiving, but hey, better late than never!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qj8PhxSnhg

This just had to be shared :)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:06 GMT

I have to say, I'm with Dracula on this one:
http://www.applegeeks.com/comics/viewcomic.php?issue=552

Yep, this pretty much sums him up...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:58:14 GMT

"I don't care about the Constitution!"
-- Bill O'Reilly, on Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try five Gitmo detainees in NYC

(Taken from the "Say What" portion of today's Doonesbury Daily Dose: http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/ )

It was pretty clear this was true, based on many of his stands on issues, but it's nice to see him be honest about it for a change, I suppose.

A link worth sharing

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:41:03 GMT

The headline: '86-year-old WWII vet on gay marriage: "what do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?"'
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/20/86-year-old-wwii-vet.html?awesm=fbshare.me_NvQ

G-20 protests and riots

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:30:17 GMT

We've got the G-20 Summit going on in Pittsburgh right now, and pretty much as expected, there were violent confrontations between some of the "protesters" and the police. I put "protesters" in quotes, because it was more like a riot than a protest. People were throwing rocks at the police, rolling dumpsters at the police, setting dumpsters on fire and rolling them at the police, and, of course, breaking windows of businesses all around the city. These self-proclaimed "anarchists" declared their "demonstration" a success, too.

I don't have much sympathy for them. They went out of their way to provoke the police, they caught up innocent people in their actions, and they destroyed private property, all so they could essentially say, "I told you that cops are bad!"

Sorry, but the ability to exercise your rights doesn't mean you get to trample on other people's rights. That's why you need a permit to do a massive march through a city: you're disrupting the lives of everyone around you when you do so. You're interfering with their rights to move freely, their ability to get to work, and, frankly, when it comes to this particular group, you're endangering their homes and their livelihoods. So I don't have much respect for these people who proudly call themselves anarchists. Somehow, I suspect they wouldn't much appreciate a true anarchy, where no rules means might makes right.

This isn't to paint all of the protesters with the same brush: most of them were peaceful, and I have no problem with them. In fact, there's a local blog that pretty much expresses how I feel perfectly: http://angrydrunkbureaucrat.blogspot.com/2009/09/open-letter-to-g-20-protesters.html

I feel sorry for those caught between the rioters and the police. Those who went to take a look, and got caught in the mess. But for those who incited these riots? You haven't convinced me that your cause is just, that your cause is sympathetic. You've convinced me that I don't want to have anything to do with you. You've convinced me that the city was correct to bring in extra police officers for this summit. You've convinced me that anarchy is not what I want. In other words, you've utterly failed. Congratulations.

Rewriting history

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:02:28 GMT

It's always interesting to see a columnist attempt to re-write history. It's pretty gutsy to try to do so during a time when people can still remember the portion of history attempting to be re-written.

Charles Krauthammer, a well-known highly conservative newspaper columnist, wrote a column today where he claims to have a better health care reform plan. He completely obliterated any credibility for the rest of his column with his very first paragraph:
"In 1986, Ronald Reagan and Bill Bradley created a legislative miracle. They fashioned a tax reform that stripped loopholes, political favors, payoffs, patronage and other corruptions out of the tax system. With the resulting savings, they lowered tax rates across the board. Those reductions, combined with the elimination of the enormous inefficiencies and perverse incentives that go into tax sheltering, helped propel a 20-year economic boom."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/06/AR2009080602933.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

There was a 20-year economic boom from 1986 to 2006? Huh. I guess the Savings and Loan Crisis never happened. At least, not according to Krauthammer's version of history. Of course, it would be rather inconvenient to remember that part of history, considering one of the causes for said crisis was the 1986 Tax Reform that Krauthammer claims was a "legislative miracle."

Nope. No S&L Crisis in Krauthammer's history. I'm not sure how Bill Clinton got elected in 1992, for that matter. I guess those "It's the economy, stupid!" signs didn't exist. I guess Krauthammer wished so much that the Clinton years hadn't happened, that in his version of history, they didn't.

Tron!

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:34:42 GMT

I read a quick synopsis on imdb.com and saw the trailer for Tron Legacy. Looks like it could be fun. I'm definitely going to want to see it :)
(Trailer can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1dHhktFLPs&feature=channel )

On the flip side, I'm saddened by the comments associated with the trailer - entirely too many people didn't realize that Tron existed before Kingdom Hearts, or that there was a first movie... but even those people make me less sad than this comment: "wth!? is this like a future sport?"

*sigh*

Now I feel old. But at least my inner-child will be very happy to see this movie :)

For any who think racism is dead...

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:11:05 GMT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/21/AR2009072101771.html?hpid=topnews

Here's a few things that stand out to me:
"After returning from a week in China researching the genealogy of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Gates found himself locked out of his house, and he and his driver began pushing against the front door. The sight of two black men forcing open a door prompted an emergency call to police.

The white officer who arrived found Gates in the house (the driver was gone) and asked him to step outside. Gates refused, and [b]the officer followed him in[/b]."

Wait, no warrant, no permission to enter? I guess there could be probable cause based on a neighbor calling, but this is a bit questionable, constitutionally speaking (No unwarranted search and seizure).

"Gates showed him his ID, which included his address, then demanded that the officer identify himself. The officer did not comply, Gates said."

At the moment that Gates showed his ID, the officer should have apologized and left. There was clearly no crime committed here. Instead, the officer continues to harass Gates, and refuses to identify himself. I'm not sure about Massachusetts law, but in most states, police officers are [i]required[/i] to identify themselves upon request.

Sure, the police dropped the case, but frankly, I don't think that's enough. They are definitely wide-open to a lawsuit on this one.

As a side note, I also think it's pretty sad that the neighbor didn't even recognize him. It's a sad commentary on American society that people don't tend to know their own neighbors anymore. That's one of the things I like about living in Pittsburgh: we do actually know our neighbors.

WOO HOO!

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:04:15 GMT

So much for history being against them! The Pens just won The Stanley Cup!
:)

How did I miss this? It happened 20 days ago!

Tue, 26 May 2009 14:51:57 GMT

The Maine state legislature passed a same-sex marriage law, and the Governor signed it, and I somehow missed it. Well, hats off to Maine!

The downside is that the law doesn't go into effect until September, and there is the possibility that it could be stopped before then, but for now, I'm holding out hope.

We're up to five states now. 45 and the Federal Government to go...

This amused me greatly

Thu, 14 May 2009 12:52:39 GMT

"Water-boarding is torture... It's drowning. It gives you the complete sensation that you are drowning. It is no good, because you -- I'll put it to you this way; you give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders."
-- Former Governor Jesse Ventura, an ex-Seal who endured waterboarding as part of his training

(Quote seen on: http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/ under "Say What?")

Ooh! Yanni!

Sun, 10 May 2009 03:56:07 GMT

When I saw the headline, "Yanni Empathizes with Caps and Pens for Back-to-Back Games", I just knew the subsequent article was going to be awesome. I was not disappointed :)
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=278155

Tue, 05 May 2009 15:26:52 GMT

Okay Republicans, let me get this straight: If a woman wants the right to sue over getting lesser pay for the same work, but doesn't find out about it until more than six months after she started getting an unequal paycheck for the first time, then she wants to file a "frivolous lawsuit." But when a Republican candidate for Senator sues over losing an election, loses the suit, and loses the appeals, then that's not frivolous?

The election for the position of Minnesota US Senator was held in November. The elections board did a recount, due to the close margin of the race. Norm Coleman didn't like that he lost, so he sued. The court found that the elections board upheld the law. The appeals court found that they upheld the law. It's now May, and this lawsuit is still dragging through the courts. Now it's going to be June before the state Supreme Court delivers a ruling. And then it could drag out even longer, because Coleman and the GOP have already floated the idea of appealing to the United States Supreme Court if the Minnesota Supreme Court rules against him.

The real losers here are the people of Minnesota, who are going to be, at a minimum, six months with only half their representation in Senate.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22071.html

(To think, I thought the 2000 Presidential election stretching into December was ridiculous...)

Music!

Fri, 01 May 2009 19:47:17 GMT

I don't post about music nearly enough on LJ. It's time to start changing that :)

So we recently made a trip to the local place to buy Goth/Industrial music on Record Store Day, where the local Dj/Promoter/Frontman of Rein[FORCED] was running a special deal at the store: Buy two Goth/Industrial CDs, and get one Metropolis CD from his box of promos for free! Given my usual habits when it comes to buying CDs, it really shouldn't come as a surprise that I ended up getting 4 free CDs...

Anyway, one of the CDs I'd got for free was Das Ich's Lava. I've heard Das Ich tracks at clubs, and on various clubs, and I've generally liked their stuff. But somehow I'd never gotten around to actually buying one of their CDs. I'm still not sure how that happened. When given the chance to get one for free, though, I jumped at the chance!

Anyways, so far, I've been enjoying the CD. Das Ich has a style that I find hard to categorize. The vocals are too harsh to be Futurepop, but they aren't stompy and crunchy enough to be Harsh Elektro (and they're nowhere near noize). They seem to lie in the same sort of middle-ground that I might place [:SITD:] or Solitary Experiments, though with a slight hint towards Suicide Commando that those other two don't quite have. What this means is cool melody with the "instruments", but the singing is not quite as melodic. It's not shouting or screaming, but it isn't smooth vocals, either. The best way I can think of describing it is "aggressive chanting", but even that doesn't seem to be the right way to describe it... The closest comparison I can come up with would be Funker Vogt, I guess. Lyrically, well, I don't understand German well enough. Yep, all the lyrics are in German.

Anyway, for those who like music like Funker Vogt, Solitary Experiments or [:SITD:], I'd suggest checking out Das Ich. If you have no idea who any of those bands are, um, check them out and see if you like them! ;)

I'll probably post more about the other CDs I've picked up recently. I got several from Record Store Day, plus a few at the concert we went to recently, so I've got plenty to talk about...

(On a side note, I'm going to try to start actually tagging my posts. We'll see how long I actually remember to do that...)

When spellcheckers go bad...

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:16:38 GMT

I'm reasonably sure that what the writer intended to write was the following: "... there were a myriad of things wrong with the Canadiens this year ..."

What actually got published, on a repuatable news site, no less, was the following: "... there were a mermaid of things wrong with the Canadiens this year ..."

Regardless, I think I've got a new favorite phrase. Now to start figuring out how to use "a mermaid of things" in casual conversation...

Proud to be a Pittsburgher

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:32:58 GMT

Last Saturday, three Pittsburgh police officers were killed in the line of duty while reporting to what should have been a routine domestic disturbance call. They were shot and killed by a man wearing a bullet-proof vest while wielding an AK-47. Amazingly, the police captured him and brought him in alive. They showed an amazing level of restraint and professionalism in a situation that would push most past their emotional breaking point. I have a new respect for the Pittsburgh Police as a result.

Last night, while waiting in line at the arena to go see a hockey game, a police officer came walking through the crowd. As he was noticed by the crowd, everyone started applauding. It was a touching show of support. Once we entered the arena, just about everyone donated at the tables set up to collect for the Fallen Heroes fund to help out the families of the slain officers.

One awful person created the tragedy. But thousands of good people have responded.

Now I can celebrate Iowa

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:40:32 GMT

(Thanks to ef2p for the link to the video)

The following video is of Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal explaining why he opposed a Constitutional Amendment to ban same-sex marriage. According to the video info (which was posted by the official Iowa Senate YouTube account), the amendment can't go forward without his support. So I don't have to worry about Iowa anymore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2s2R5qKhbo

I'll also say that while it isn't delivered by the best public speaker, it is an excellent speech. This is my favorite part:

"I see a bunch of people that merely want to profess their love for each other, and want state law to recognize that.

Is that so wrong? I don't think that's so wrong. As a matter of fact, last Friday night, I hugged my wife. You know I've been married for 37 years. I hugged my wife. I felt like our love was just a little more meaningful last Friday night because thousands of other Iowa citizens could hug each other and have the state recognize their love for each other."

Kudos to you, Mike Gronstal. You hit the nail on the head.

More recognition that love is important to marriage

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:28:39 GMT

I've been holding off on posting about Iowa, I admit, because I've got this pessimistic part of my head that keeps telling me that I celebrated too soon over California, and we're looking at a similar situation in Iowa: the courts made the decision, not the legislature or the people. They could still find a way to reverse the progress there. I'll celebrate Iowa when they're handing out marriage certificates, and (like what happened in Massachussetts), the legislature stops trying to overturn it.

On the other hand, today I see a good cause for celebration: The Vermont legislature has not only passed a law allowing same-sex marriages, they've also overridden a Governor veto. This is going into effect, and the people who could overturn it are the ones who voted 100 to 49 to keep it. That's a great cause for celebration!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/07/AR2009040701663.html?hpid=topnews

Hopefully I'll be able to feel free to celebrate over Iowa soon, as well. Not to mention New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maine, which are also considering passing same-sex marriage laws in their legislatures.

Maybe the tide is finally turning...

Just because it's so true...

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:27:08 GMT

(Courtesy of xkcd)

If it was April, I'd think this was an April Fool's Day prank...

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:20:05 GMT

So, the Sci Fi Channel is going to rename itself as "SyFy" and is trying to distance themselves from the "Science Fiction" moniker.

I found out about this from the following comic, plus, it pretty much nails this entire notion completely:
http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/090317.html

What kills me is when I went looking for verification, and I found the following article:
http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/sci_fi_channel_aims_to_shed_ge.php

Here's a rather insulting quote from the article: "“What we love about this is we hopefully get the best of both worlds,” [President of the Sci Fi Channel Dave] Howe said. “We’ll get the heritage and the track record of success, and we’ll build off of that to build a broader, more open and accessible and relatable and human-friendly brand.”" (Emphasis added)

So, apparently people who are fans of Science Fiction aren't human? That's what I'm getting from this article. If they're going to insult their original target audience by calling us dysfunctional and anti-social, and implying we're not even human, they might have a difficult time keeping that "heritage". The same heritage, incidentally, that propelled the network to its best year in its history (from the same article linked above).

Reading over the whole article, I don't have a problem with the re-name or the direction they are going. Really, it's still going to be a channel that revolves around Science Fiction programming, regardless of what they're trying to call it, and the idea of having a trademarkable name makes sense. But it's the utter condescension towards their target audience that revolts me.

"Oh no, we can't be seen as the channel for those loser geeks and nerds, despite the fact that this demographic brought us great success. The fact that this demographic tends to be successful, and therefore, has disposable income that our advertisers love is meaningless - we need to make sure we can target a greater audience that will somehow be sucked in by our lame-ass txt msg spelling of our channel's name!"

Oh, and apparently "science fiction" isn't for girls, but "SyFy" is. If someone could explain that one to me, I'd love to know how that works.