I'm shocked!

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd write up a couple tonight.

First of all, congrats to Channing on the NPR interview. Finally we have a multi-media mogul capable of taking on Rupert Murdoch. :-)

Secondly, I am absolutely SHOCKED that I have not seen this posted here before. Cracked.com has done a feature on the 11 best Chapelle Show skits of all time! Obviously, this is a subject that will be debated intensely, but it was too good not to post.

Enjoy! :-)

Well this is quite a milestone...

I found this on digg earlier today - did you know tonight at 11:30 we will have been at war in Iraq longer than we were at war with Germany in World War II. From the site:

We're counting from the day Germany declared war on the US (December 11, 1941) to VE day (May 8, 1945). This is 1244 days. The Invasion of Iraq began on March 20, 2003 at 21:34 EST when the US began their first air strike on Baghdad.

On August 15, 2006 21:30 EST the United States will have been at war in Iraq longer than it was at war with Germany in World War II.

Wow...

link

Video of the moment: Alive with bacon taste

I've had this one saved for a while, and for some reason feel like we could all use a laugh today. I haven't been able to look at breakfast the same since I first saw this.

Video of the moment: Whee!

Okay, one more video from the Firefox Flicks site. If you can't tell, I'm a fan of this browser...

Video of the moment: Double-click relief

As an avid geek, I couldn't resist posting this. Enjoy!

This was found on Firefox Flicks.

Video of the moment: Ask a ninja

Move over pirates! I think I've just become a fan of ninjas. Enjoy!

Google Romance

This is priceless.

Google Romance

Google Romance is a place where you can post all types of romantic information and, using our Soulmate Searchâ„¢, get back search results that could, in theory, include the love of your life. Then we'll send you both on a Contextual DateTM, which we'll pay for while delivering to you relevant ads that we and our advertising partners think will help produce the dating results you're looking for.

I love April Fools Day...

What's going on at Duke?

While this has been an item covered in the national media, for some reason it’s stayed out of the hottest spotlight. Details seem to be sketchy, but if the allegations are true then this is sickening.

Duke leadership feels heat

The aftershocks from sex-assault allegations involving Duke University's lacrosse team rippled across the school Friday as a professor lambasted the school's leadership and administrators continued reaching out to African American leaders, alumni and anxious parents.

A stripper who was paid $400 to perform that night has alleged that she was gang-raped, sodomized and choked by three lacrosse players at the party. The district attorney said the incident is being investigated by officials as first-degree forcible rape, common law robbery, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault and felonious strangulation. A conviction on those charges could result in a minimum prison sentence of 16 to 20 years.

Turbulent times for Duke and Durham

"The issues here," said Chandra Y. Guinn, director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture, "go far deeper than a single incident. There are pockets of white privilege on this campus, pockets of class privilege.

"Our students are focusing on the feelings of hurt and shame of the negative portrayal of Duke students."

Article: If everything is killing us, why do we live so long?

Found this gem of an article this morning and couldn't resist posting it.

If everything is killing us, why do we live so long?

Here's a snippet from the article:

Is it me, or are we becoming two nations, a society where what occurs in one half of the country bears no relation to events in the other?

I'm talking not about the divide identified by Disraeli - that between rich and poor. Nor do I mean the gap between north and south, or even black and white. No, the contrast to which I refer is starker than that.

It's the split between Negative Britain, in which we appear to be under relentless attack from an increasing list of death-inducing ailments and Positive Britain, where life expectancy is rising at such a rapid rate that the pension system is on the brink of collapse.

Flick through the daily papers' news pages and it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that everything is killing us. But then turn to the personal finance sections and it seems that our pension funds are skint because nobody is dying.

How can this be? Are we dropping like flies or living for ever? Such questions nag away at me, after I spotted a feature in yesterday's Financial Times under the headline "Dangers of a good night's sleep".

Jeepers! Now even having a kip is a cause for concern.

Every day, it seems, new warnings of a looming health disaster emerge in Negative Britain. The scale of imperilment is truly spectacular.

Video of the moment: The Workout

If there was ever a video that needed to be blogged about, it's this one. Enjoy!

Video of the moment, part 2

Okay, I'm in a really goofy mood today. Here's another video for your enjoyment.

Who can resist The Muppet Show?

Burglarious?

I was reading Across the area today and noticed the strangest headline: Police arrest 2 for burglarious activity.

Burglarious? Is that even a word? Such things require further investigation, so I pulled up Google and typed it in. The results were interesting, but not because I discovered that it was indeed a word (it means “Of or relating to burglary”), but from the other entries as well.

Did you know there was a movie named “Burglarious Billy” made in 1915? If I ever find a copy it might be worth seeing because of the title alone. Anyway, that was interesting. What else might there be out there for me to find?

Dict.die.net was an interesting find, and not just because of the strange url. It’s a dictionary site, but I loved their example sentence: “To come down a chimney is held a burglarious entry.” Dang, I guess Santa needs to rethink his delivery strategy or he’s also guilty of burglarious activity.

Burglarious is apparently a winning word in some random word game to help teach English as a second language. Look here for the proof. If you can figure out the game, let me know. I was on a mission and couldn’t spare the time.

Harper’s Weekly took the cake. Check this political cartoon they ran over 120 years ago. Here's the image (*Note - that is not a curse word on the top. It's the word "Puck" - here's the proof. Remember, this is a mainstream 1880's publication we're talking about.):

Wow, this is great stuff. I didn’t know politics was this intriguing back then. Who knew?

Thank you, Augusta Chronicle, for making a headline so engrossing that it took me on a journey through history, expanded my vocabulary, and further enriched my appreciation for American culture. Who knew that reading the news would be such a robust educational exercise?

Video of the moment, part 1

Okay, time for more fun with video. I ran across this street interview segment from one of news networks (on closer analysis, this may be a parody). Inquiring minds want to know: which country should we invade next?

Once again, there are a couple objectionable words used in this video. Watch at your own risk.

Interesting question, with interesting/bazaar/funny answers (anybody else look hard at the map he was showing?). Anybody else have an opinion?

The Matrix: Ping Pong

I had a lot of fun last week with the video displaying grandiose civil obedience and thought it would be fun to start posting some of the random things I run across on this blog.

So, without further ado, I give you The Matrix: Ping Pong! I'll let you be the judge, but I think this is hysterical.

Say what?!

While some interesting points are made, this is one of the coldest justifications for the state of Iraq that I have seen. Some of this is just outrageous.

Daniel Pipes: Iraq must pick up the pieces

Excerpts from the article:

"Fixing Iraq is neither the coalition's responsibility nor its burden."

"Put differently, when Sunni terrorists target Shiites and vice versa, non-Muslims are less likely to be hurt."

"Civil war in Iraq, in short, would be a humanitarian tragedy but not a strategic one."

Who is this guy?

The speed limit?

I’m back for yet another post in this Augusta Chronicle READER blog (see comments from this post to get the reference). My past two posts have dealt with some meaty issues, so I thought it might be time for a small change of pace.

When was the last time you obeyed the speed limit on the interstate? Would you even consider obeying the speed limit in Atlanta? It’d almost be suicide to consider such a thing on I-285!

Yet, these brave (misguided?) souls did it. Check out the following that was posted on Google’s video site.

WARNING: Some graphic language is used in this video. It's not safe for work, school, county commission meetings, or political rallies. You have been warned.

Absolute power

This post is an experiment of sorts. I’m posting this thinking that I know what the response is going to be, if there is any at all. I’m betting that there will be a flurry of post bashing the liberal media, some comments standing up for the “fine moral values” of our top two elected officials, quite a few trying to rehash some of Rush Limbaugh’s regular shouts at the wind, and maybe a few personal attacks. Prove me wrong – actually respond with something that is well thought out and actually stays on topic.

First, go read this column from the Washington Post. Then come back here and we’ll talk. Don’t worry - I’ll wait.

Ready? Okay, let’s chat.

We have a couple elected officials that appear to be out of control. We don’t have to go back as far as the decision to invade Iraq to discuss this – let’s focus on a couple major headlines from the past few weeks.

First we have the discovery that the government has decided to listen in to conversations of Americans to phone numbers overseas. While wiretapping is nothing new, a president that declares himself above the law is. Off the top of my head, the only instance I can remember from history classes of a president shrugging off law and precedent (and being completely open about it) is Andrew Jackson. For those that are curious, the Supreme Court ruled that he could not forcibly move the Cherokee nation, but he did it anyway.

I really don’t understand why Bush decided there was a need to do warrant-less wiretaps when a court has been set up to grant the necessary warrants making it legal. I’ve heard the arguments about security and I don’t buy it. I think Benjamin Franklin was correct when he said, “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” There are loads of asinine laws that have been passed since September 11 (the DMCA and Patriot Act come to mind); this was the item that took things too far for me.

Secondly we have this incident that happened over the weekend with Cheney. The Weasel had a hysterical parody on this, and it’s been covered to death by every single news outlet in the country. Who’s telling the truth – Cheney or the property owner? Why wait almost a day to release this to the public, and in a fashion that appears to be grudgingly at best? There are too many unanswered questions, and those that have been answered are dripping with the same song and dance that this administration has been performing for years.

I agree with David Ignatius. It really looks like power has gone to the collective heads of the president, vice president, and several cabinet members. It’s dangerous, and should be a warning to us all to pay even closer attention to what they are trying to do.

Anyway, let the experiment begin. Let’s see how right – or wrong – I am.

Advanced citizenship

Alright, we have had quite a few flame wars on this site lately and I feel the need to chime in.

Religion is a touchy subject. It is something that stirs our passions and can be the source of great controversy. When this country was founded, the founders wisely put in a provision that addresses this very issue. We are all free to choose to follow whatever religion we want, or to not follow one at all. I’m beginning to wonder if we are in need of a reminder of this simple fact.

A scene from one of my favorite movies has come to mind a lot lately. It is from The American President (if you haven’t seen this movie, I HIGHLY recommend it), and is the president’s public reaction to some things going on in his personal life:

“America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the 'land of the free'? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the 'land of the free.'"

Freedom of religion and freedom of speech are two items that we need to remember and hold onto tightly. One of the greatest things about this country is we have the freedom to be whomever we want to be.

There has been a big push by a lot of people for this country to “get back to its roots” and/or be the “Christian nation it was founded to be”. To me, anyone who calls for this needs to go retake some history classes. This country was not founded as a “Christian nation”. This country was intended to be a free country and the provision about freedom of religion was put into the Constitution to protect us from the tyranny of state-sponsored religion. Many people came to the colonies to escape the Church of England – not to set up a new theocracy.

If that offends anybody, I’m sorry but I really don’t care. Sometimes the truth hurts.

Price gouging at its finest

I read this in a recent AP story in the Chronicle:

ConocoPhillips, the nation's third-largest integrated oil and gas company, said third-quarter profit surged 89 percent, reflecting high prices for crude oil and natural gas after one of the worst hurricane seasons in memory slammed the heart of the nation's oil industry.

The Houston-based company emerged from the one-two punch of hurricanes Katrina and Rita unscathed profit-wise, with earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30 of $3.8 billion, or $2.68 per share, topping the average Wall Street estimate of $2.57 per share, according to a Thomson Financial survey of analysts. Results were nearly double those of a year ago, which reached $2 billion, or $1.43 per share.

While it's tempting to rant and rave about this, I'll just let this one speak for itself. However, maybe we should think twice before accusing the gas stations of price gouging.

Here's a link to the article.