Friday, August 04, 2006
Hooray for Tony Bennett!
This week Mr.Tony Bennett celebrated his 80th birthday! A man with all of the great qualities of Frank Sinatra, but without any of the arrogance, self-importance or criminal tendencies, Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born in Astoria, Queens in 1926, and learned how to be a great crooner without being a thug. Check out the Wiki on Tony for a full picture. Among other things, Tony served his country (unlike Sinatra, who dodged military duty based on "ear trouble"), had a starring role in Gremlins, and recorded with the wonderful bespectacled k.d.lang, among many, many other things.
Happy Birthday, Tony...
BORN ON THIS DATE: Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792, noted husband of the author of one of the greatest "tales" ever told, 'Frankenstein'. Mary Wollestoncraft Shelley was much more interesting than her spouse!
DIED ON THIS DATE: Jeanne Calment, elderly Parisian, 1997, at age 120, or 122, or 104, (depending on who you ask), who said "I only have one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it."
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This week Mr.Tony Bennett celebrated his 80th birthday! A man with all of the great qualities of Frank Sinatra, but without any of the arrogance, self-importance or criminal tendencies, Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born in Astoria, Queens in 1926, and learned how to be a great crooner without being a thug. Check out the Wiki on Tony for a full picture. Among other things, Tony served his country (unlike Sinatra, who dodged military duty based on "ear trouble"), had a starring role in Gremlins, and recorded with the wonderful bespectacled k.d.lang, among many, many other things.
Happy Birthday, Tony...
BORN ON THIS DATE: Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792, noted husband of the author of one of the greatest "tales" ever told, 'Frankenstein'. Mary Wollestoncraft Shelley was much more interesting than her spouse!
DIED ON THIS DATE: Jeanne Calment, elderly Parisian, 1997, at age 120, or 122, or 104, (depending on who you ask), who said "I only have one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it."
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Monday, July 31, 2006
Hooray for following the teachings of Christ!
Mr.Mel Gibson apparently asked the officer who recently arrested him for DUI, "Are you a Jew?", after apparently ranting about "f*ck!ng Jews" and blaming them for the world's ills. What a nice man! Wait, wasn't Jesus a Jew?
Which begs the question, What Would Jesus Do if He was pulled over for DUI?
BORN ON THIS DATE: Jean Dubuffet, artist, 1901
DIED ON THIS DATE: Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, 1875, famous for having been impeached a long time before William Jefferson Clinton.
Described as an "emissary of Satan" by Republicans, Johnson (like Clinton) left the country fiscally better off than he found it.
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Mr.Mel Gibson apparently asked the officer who recently arrested him for DUI, "Are you a Jew?", after apparently ranting about "f*ck!ng Jews" and blaming them for the world's ills. What a nice man! Wait, wasn't Jesus a Jew?
Which begs the question, What Would Jesus Do if He was pulled over for DUI?
BORN ON THIS DATE: Jean Dubuffet, artist, 1901
DIED ON THIS DATE: Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, 1875, famous for having been impeached a long time before William Jefferson Clinton.
Described as an "emissary of Satan" by Republicans, Johnson (like Clinton) left the country fiscally better off than he found it.
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Sunday, July 30, 2006
Hooray for Revelation!
Friends, I want to tell you about a new friend who has come into my life. For decades and around the globe I have searched for truth & meaning, seemingly in vain, until the Truth came upon me! I have been touched by His noodly appendage!
In response to the Kansas School Board requiring "Intelligent Design" be taught alongside Evolution as an "alternative explanation for Creation", the fine folks at the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have been lobbying to have THEIR account of creation taught in Kansas schools, too. This seem perfectly reasonable, particulary in light of the fact that both George W. Bush and John McCain clearly support making a range of "facts" available to children as demonstrated by their opinions on "Intelligent Design":
"I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought. You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes." --George W. Bush, President of the United States of America.
"All points of view should be available to students studying the origins of mankind."--Senator John McCain
So Hooray for Consistency! I urge you to visit The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster today, read what they have to say, and support their most noble of causes!
You could purchase a handsome t-shirt and help finance the FSM missionary pirate ship. Be a part of the solution to global warming, rather than a part of the cause!
May you feel His noodly appendage in your life, today! Aarrrr!
BORN ON THIS DATE: Actor Dick Wilson, 1916, who said: "As she lay there dozing next to me, one voice inside my head kept saying, 'Relax... you are not the first doctor to sleep with one of his patients,' but another kept reminding me, 'Howard, you are a veterinarian.' "
DIED ON THIS DATE: William Penn, 1718, Quaker leader, colonist, who is immortalized in a 37-foot-high statue atop City Hall in Philadelphia. As residents of Philadelphia know, and most visitors quickly notice if they look up at the statue from the right angle, Mr.Penn is apparently proud indeed to be up there!
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Saturday, July 29, 2006
Hooray for Stupidity!
Think you know someone stupid? How do they stack up against these fine folk?
DUMB!
DUMBER!
DUMBEST!
BORN ON THIS DATE: Geddy Lee, 1953, (born Gary Lee Weinrib), whose Mom's heavy Yiddish makes "Gary" sound like "Geddy". Geddy is a fine bass player who once said (in an annoying high-pitched voice): " I probably don't go to the record stores as much as I should to find out what is new". Who'd of thought?
DIED ON THIS DATE: The Incomparable Hildegard, 2005, at age 99, caberet singer, after whom Revlon named both a lipstick color and a nail polish.
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Think you know someone stupid? How do they stack up against these fine folk?
DUMB!
DUMBER!
DUMBEST!
BORN ON THIS DATE: Geddy Lee, 1953, (born Gary Lee Weinrib), whose Mom's heavy Yiddish makes "Gary" sound like "Geddy". Geddy is a fine bass player who once said (in an annoying high-pitched voice): " I probably don't go to the record stores as much as I should to find out what is new". Who'd of thought?
DIED ON THIS DATE: The Incomparable Hildegard, 2005, at age 99, caberet singer, after whom Revlon named both a lipstick color and a nail polish.
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Thursday, July 27, 2006
Hooray for chemotherapy!
16-year-old Abraham Starchild Cherrix, a victim of Hodgkin's Disease, has been compelled by Virginia courts to undergo chemotherapy rather than being allowed to continue the "natural cancer cure" he and his parents wished to pursue. While I am a strong proponent of complete liberty, under the law, suicide is still a crime (though it's admittedly difficult to prosecute!), and attempting to self-medicate for cancer using pokeweed, burdock root, licorice, barberry, buckthorn bark, stillingia root, red clover, prickly ash bark, potassium iodide, etc., is clearly either attempted suicide or is evidence of mental health problems sufficient to merit the state confining one to an institution. Cancer in most cases need no longer be a death sentence. If caught early enough, it can very often be treated successfully using a combination of surgery & chemotherapy. Trust me, I know. I'm still breathing, aren't I? The type of Hodgkin's "Starchild" has WAS very curable before it reached the stage it has.
16-year-old Abraham Starchild Cherrix, a victim of Hodgkin's Disease, has been compelled by Virginia courts to undergo chemotherapy rather than being allowed to continue the "natural cancer cure" he and his parents wished to pursue. While I am a strong proponent of complete liberty, under the law, suicide is still a crime (though it's admittedly difficult to prosecute!), and attempting to self-medicate for cancer using pokeweed, burdock root, licorice, barberry, buckthorn bark, stillingia root, red clover, prickly ash bark, potassium iodide, etc., is clearly either attempted suicide or is evidence of mental health problems sufficient to merit the state confining one to an institution. Cancer in most cases need no longer be a death sentence. If caught early enough, it can very often be treated successfully using a combination of surgery & chemotherapy. Trust me, I know. I'm still breathing, aren't I? The type of Hodgkin's "Starchild" has WAS very curable before it reached the stage it has.
It cannot be cured by eating tree bark. Anyone who says it can just wants your money. In addition, they are both technically and fiscally stupid. Think about it, if you knew that a combination of crushed Hercules Beetle and llama droppings really did cure cancer, if you had half a brain, wouldn't you negotiate a deal with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and make millions instead of making a few hundred thousand starting your own company?
So what drove Abraham Starchild Cherrix to follow the Hoxsey Herbal Treatment instead of rational medicine? Could it be linked in any way to the fact that he was raised by people who chose to call him "Starchild"? Hoxsey has been hounded out of the country by the "evil forces" of the FDA and accountability, and now operates out of Mexico.
At this late stage, unfortunately, it seems all-too-likely this young, brain-washed fool will die from his unfortunate affliction. Not because he needs to, but because he did not remain under the care of actual medicine for long enough.
So what drove Abraham Starchild Cherrix to follow the Hoxsey Herbal Treatment instead of rational medicine? Could it be linked in any way to the fact that he was raised by people who chose to call him "Starchild"? Hoxsey has been hounded out of the country by the "evil forces" of the FDA and accountability, and now operates out of Mexico.
At this late stage, unfortunately, it seems all-too-likely this young, brain-washed fool will die from his unfortunate affliction. Not because he needs to, but because he did not remain under the care of actual medicine for long enough.
Then the only thing left to decide will be whether his parents are guilty of manslaughter, murder, or religious fanaticism...
BORN ON THIS DATE: Hilaire Belloc, 1870, who wrote history's second best poem ever, "Matilda, (who told lies and was burned to death.)"
DIED ON THIS DATE: Gertrude Stein, 1946, noted terrible driver who had the honour of being painted by Picasso. 39-year companion of Alice B.Toklas, Stein was a rather stout lady who was said to have "gloried in her flesh" by pal Mabel Dodge.
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Sunday, July 23, 2006
Hooray for Freedom Of Religion!
Hooray for the Constitutional concept of "Freedom of" and "Freedom from" state-sponsored religion! Americans, both devout and secular, often fail to appreciate what a tremendous gift they have been given in being legally entitled to this freedom. While the notion of "separation of church & State" comes specifically from the Danbury letter, and not from the text of the Constitution itself, it is still a fundemental part of the framework upon which this great nation was built. Hooray!
So few people stop to realize that their religious views are based almost entirely upon chance; the chance of where, geographically, they happened to be born, along with the chance of what "faith" their parents happened to be!
Had you been born in Africa or in Jamaica (or maybe even Brixton!), you might be celebrating your Messiah's birthday today! Ras Tafari! His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassi!
BORN ON THIS DATE: Tafari Makonnen, 1892, the son of a noted general and the grandnephew of Emperor Menelik II. Hailed as the Messiah by a large group of people who particularly enjoyed their freedom of religion by enhancing it with one of God's "more interesting" green-leafed plants. In the 1960s and 70s he worked for pan-African aims, particularly through the Organization of African Unity
DIED ON THIS DATE: Montgomery Clift, actor, druggie, and subject of the Clash song "The Right Profile", who was once described by Marilyn Monroe as "the only person I know who is in worse shape than I am."
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Hooray for the Constitutional concept of "Freedom of" and "Freedom from" state-sponsored religion! Americans, both devout and secular, often fail to appreciate what a tremendous gift they have been given in being legally entitled to this freedom. While the notion of "separation of church & State" comes specifically from the Danbury letter, and not from the text of the Constitution itself, it is still a fundemental part of the framework upon which this great nation was built. Hooray!
So few people stop to realize that their religious views are based almost entirely upon chance; the chance of where, geographically, they happened to be born, along with the chance of what "faith" their parents happened to be!
Had you been born in Africa or in Jamaica (or maybe even Brixton!), you might be celebrating your Messiah's birthday today! Ras Tafari! His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassi!
BORN ON THIS DATE: Tafari Makonnen, 1892, the son of a noted general and the grandnephew of Emperor Menelik II. Hailed as the Messiah by a large group of people who particularly enjoyed their freedom of religion by enhancing it with one of God's "more interesting" green-leafed plants. In the 1960s and 70s he worked for pan-African aims, particularly through the Organization of African Unity
DIED ON THIS DATE: Montgomery Clift, actor, druggie, and subject of the Clash song "The Right Profile", who was once described by Marilyn Monroe as "the only person I know who is in worse shape than I am."
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Thursday, July 20, 2006
Hooray for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker!
Maybe they're out there, maybe they aren't, but a federal judge has halted work on an irrigation project that would probably harm any Ivory-billed woodpeckers lurking in the woods 60 years after we thought they were extinct. Without a doubt, it was the right thing to do, imagine if the project had gone ahead, and during the work they had confirmed that there had been some of of these birds still living in the area, but the construction had killed the last ones off.
People rant on about how unimportant one species or another is, and say things like "what good do mosquitos do, anyway" or "who needs the Mongolian Hoot Owl?", but the truth (as Edward O.Wilson has repeatedly pointed out) is that we can't be sure the whole planet won't come tumbling down around us if we upset the balance of nature any more than we already have.
Here's a recipe for woodpecker:
INGREDIENTS:
1 whole woodpecker, plucked and dressed
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 rashers bacon
PREPARATION:
Cut small slits in breast of woodpecker, place in a large pot filled with lightly salted water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove woodpecker and Preheat gas grill or prepare charcoal grill. Place woodpecker in an aluminum pan. Season with garlic, pepper, and salt, and lay bacon rashers over bird. Grill 20-30 minutes, basting every ten minutes with 2-3 tablespoons of the hoisin sauce. Remove woodpecker from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with additional warmed hoisin sauce on top.
Yum!
Maybe they're out there, maybe they aren't, but a federal judge has halted work on an irrigation project that would probably harm any Ivory-billed woodpeckers lurking in the woods 60 years after we thought they were extinct. Without a doubt, it was the right thing to do, imagine if the project had gone ahead, and during the work they had confirmed that there had been some of of these birds still living in the area, but the construction had killed the last ones off.
People rant on about how unimportant one species or another is, and say things like "what good do mosquitos do, anyway" or "who needs the Mongolian Hoot Owl?", but the truth (as Edward O.Wilson has repeatedly pointed out) is that we can't be sure the whole planet won't come tumbling down around us if we upset the balance of nature any more than we already have.
Here's a recipe for woodpecker:
INGREDIENTS:
1 whole woodpecker, plucked and dressed
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 rashers bacon
PREPARATION:
Cut small slits in breast of woodpecker, place in a large pot filled with lightly salted water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove woodpecker and Preheat gas grill or prepare charcoal grill. Place woodpecker in an aluminum pan. Season with garlic, pepper, and salt, and lay bacon rashers over bird. Grill 20-30 minutes, basting every ten minutes with 2-3 tablespoons of the hoisin sauce. Remove woodpecker from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with additional warmed hoisin sauce on top.
Yum!
Hooray for Standing By Your Guy!
Mr.Bush stood by his principles, which you must respect if you have any respect for his principles!
Here's a smattering of the reaction to the President's veto:
"...history will look very unkindly on this veto" -Rep. Chris Shays, R-Ct.
"I think it will hurt the party in November"- Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa. (Though he supported the veto)
"It's going to be a symbol of standing in the way of progress" -Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel.
"What this bill does is it allows people who are donors of embryos to allow those embryos to be used for life-giving research. So you either use these embryos for research that will help cure people of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's Disease, or you discard them"- Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.
"I do not believe that a frozen embryo in a fertility clinic freezer constitutes human life. Now, I believe that being pro-life involves helping the living. Regenerative medicine is pro-life and pro-family," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
"I urge you not to make the first veto of your presidency one that turns America backwards on the path of scientific progress and limits the promise of medical miracles for generations to come"- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"It is immoral for our families, neighbors and friends to be held hostage to chronic diseases when their treatments are within our scientific grasp"- June Walker, president of the Women's Zionist Organization of America.
And of the probable source of the stem cells that would have been used for research, Sen.Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said: "It's very difficult to justify abandoning 7,000 to 20,000 in vitro eggs as medical waste"
BORN ON THIS DATE: Chris Cornell, 1964, (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave), who made the very astute observation"Led Zeppelin is just a bunch of stupid idiots who wrote cool riffs."
DIED ON THIS DATE: Revolutionary Pancho Villa, 1923, whose last words were apparently "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something". Do you have YOUR final words prepared?
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Mr.Bush stood by his principles, which you must respect if you have any respect for his principles!
Here's a smattering of the reaction to the President's veto:
"...history will look very unkindly on this veto" -Rep. Chris Shays, R-Ct.
"I think it will hurt the party in November"- Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa. (Though he supported the veto)
"It's going to be a symbol of standing in the way of progress" -Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel.
"What this bill does is it allows people who are donors of embryos to allow those embryos to be used for life-giving research. So you either use these embryos for research that will help cure people of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's Disease, or you discard them"- Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.
"I do not believe that a frozen embryo in a fertility clinic freezer constitutes human life. Now, I believe that being pro-life involves helping the living. Regenerative medicine is pro-life and pro-family," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
"I urge you not to make the first veto of your presidency one that turns America backwards on the path of scientific progress and limits the promise of medical miracles for generations to come"- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"It is immoral for our families, neighbors and friends to be held hostage to chronic diseases when their treatments are within our scientific grasp"- June Walker, president of the Women's Zionist Organization of America.
And of the probable source of the stem cells that would have been used for research, Sen.Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said: "It's very difficult to justify abandoning 7,000 to 20,000 in vitro eggs as medical waste"
BORN ON THIS DATE: Chris Cornell, 1964, (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave), who made the very astute observation"Led Zeppelin is just a bunch of stupid idiots who wrote cool riffs."
DIED ON THIS DATE: Revolutionary Pancho Villa, 1923, whose last words were apparently "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something". Do you have YOUR final words prepared?
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