Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Who Needs Tivo?This great site has tons of on demand TV shows, including a lot of British shows that haven’t come here yet (like Torchwood, the Dr. Who spin off).
The History of Hemp
Even if you don’t smoke weed (I don’t), this is a very interesting and important film which explores the use of hemp through the ages and why it became illegal. I used to be against legalization but I’ve changed my mind over the years. This plant has far too many uses to be illegal. But it’s illegal because it’s so useful. Many corporations saw it as competition for products they had patented. It’s time we stopped letting huge corporations dictate things to the rest of us, through their political influence.
Permalink
More Loose Change
We’ve all heard the “official conspiracy theory” of the Death Star attack. We all know about Luke Skywalker and his ragtag bunch of rebels, how they mounted a foolhardy attack on the most powerful, well-defended battle station ever built. And we’ve all seen the video over, and over, and over, of the one-in-a-million shot that resulted in a massive chain reaction that not just damaged, but completely obliterated that massive technological wonder.
Like many Americans, I was fed this story when I was growing up. But as I watched the video, I began to realize that all was not as it seemed. And the more I questioned the official story, the deeper into the rabbit hole I went.
Presented here are some of the results of my soul-searching regarding this painful event. Like many citizens, I have many questions that I would like answered: was the mighty Imperial government really too incompetent to prevent a handful of untrained nerf-herders from destroying one of their most prized assets? Or are they hiding something from us? Who was really behind the attack? Why did they want the Death Star destroyed? No matter what the answers, we have a problem.
Below is a summary of my book, Uncomfortable Questions: An Analysis of the Death Star Attack, which presents compelling evidence that we all may be the victims of a fraud of immense proportions.
The TRUTH revealed!! They forgot to mention that no Jews were killed on the Death Star. Obviously, there was a Zionist conspiracy involved.
Permalink
Russian Mob Graves
These Russian Mafia dudes have some stylin’ headstones.
[Via Boing Boing]
Permalink
Long Overdue
The Baghdad security operation has been under way less than three weeks, but it has already registered a success: a sharp drop in the number of bullet-riddled bodies found in the streets - victims of sectarian death squads.
The number of bodies found so far this month in Baghdad - most of them shot and showing signs of torture - has dropped by nearly 50 percent to 494 as of Monday night, compared with 954 in January and 1,222 in December, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.
Iraqi Officials Say Crackdown Working
They should have done this kind of stuff years ago. It’s not impossible to control this anarchy despite what some people think It takes will and a concerted effort. Now, it seems, they are doing that. But they only started doing it when teh Dems threatened to pull the plug on Iraq. I guess the Dems were useful after all.
Permalink
Why Vista Sucks
I have to admit I got Vista for my laptop, so one of my computers has a current OS on it. I needed that for work reasons. And what it did when it installed is take ALL the previously installed software on that computer and moved it to an OLD directory, so I had to reinstall everything. It also had problems seeing my wireless card, so until I fixed that I was using a USB wireless card. It took me a whole day of messing around to get it close to where I needed it even though the install was relatively smooth.
I have read myriad articles from various people on how their install went a lot worse than mine. But check this out. Holy crap.
It looks nice, but I don’t find it to be all that much of a revolution so far.
Permalink
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
American Idol: Men 2/27/2007
The men came back to prove they were better than last week’s performances made us believe. And they succeeded. It was a night of old classics, and of newer stuff done with style. I have to say, I am beginning to like a few of the people this year. They seem like a good bunch. And once again I find myself getting sucked into the show which has an earnest quality that is hard to beat. The contestants on this show are ordinary people from all walks of life. And they are singing their heart out. There have been a lot of imitator shows but Idol has the best formula. Aided by the fact that they can do two hour shows over three nights in a row. No other show gets that amount of air time, which gives them more room to tell their contestant’s stories.
As a result you come to care more about the people than you do on most shows of this kind.
Phil Stacy was up first. The sailor on leave sang John Waite’s “Missing You” and did a decent job. It didn’t blow me away, but it was solid. The judges were pleased. Simon felt about the same way I did. Good but not great performance.
Jared Cotter was next, doing “Let’s Get it On”. He dedicated it to his parents. The guy is a decent singer, but his performance was hokey. He made a lot of strained expressions that often didn’t go with the song. It was OK. But more m=powerful than what he did last week. Mixed responses from the judges.
A.J. Tablado also dedicated his performance to his parents. And he was miles better than last week. He sang the Nina Simone classic “Feelin’ Good” and it was very solid. The singing was really good. Heis performance was decent. The judges liked him.
Sanjaya Malakar dedicated his song to his grandfather. He came out dressed a little like Michael Jackson during his Smooth Criminal video. The song “Stepping Out is an oldie. A good song but he is so young and his singing was pretty so so. The result got him panned by the judges. The audience seemed to like him. I think he’s safe. On Dial Idol he is #2 today. I suspect he will be around awhile. Easily making it to the top 10. The little girls with the text messages are dialing up a storm for him, I think.
Chris Sligh was next. Dedicating his performance to his wife, who is very attractive. And apparently, she has been very supportive to him. So he picked a Ray Lamontagne song which Taylor Hicks did last year: Trouble. He did a very solid job and the judges liked him for it. I think he’s one of the better singers on the show. Not one of my favorites, but up there.
Nick Pedro dedicated his set to his girlfriend. I like Pedro, and he did a good job, but I suspect this will be his last show. He sang the Peggy Lee classic, Fever. He sang really well, but as Simon pointed out, his performance was nothing special. He’s kind of a classic style singer. But he doesn’t seem to have a lot of confidence for a salesman, which is his previous job.
Blake Lewis came out and dedicated his song to his parents. And I have to tell you, this guy has become my favorite so far this season. He sang Virtual Insanity, which is a tune I really like (it has a great video), but he threw in some scat and beat box as well as some smooth dance moves. Paula and Randy were blown away. Simon felt it was a copycat performance. I don’t think so, but anyway, it was very current and cool. Great job. He’ll stay this week.
Brandon Rogers dedicated his set to his grandma. He picked a Cyndi Lauper song, Time After Time. Even though he did a decent job I think that was a huge mistake. I think he’ll be voted off with Nick this week. His performance seemed very sincere. But, the judges were underwhelmed. There is also the gay black man factor. I don’t know if he’s gay, but he’s a great looking 29 year old without an apparent girlfriend. And he was singing a girl’s song while wearing a pink shirt. The teenagers who do most of the voting on this show seem to be merciless when it comes to gays, especially black gays. They get voted off really fast. Even if Brandon is straight, his clothes, lackluster song and such proably did him in this week.
Chris Richardson is the closest in style to Blake. He dedicated his song to his grandma as well, then chose the song “Geek in the Pink”. Okaaay. Well, he did an excellent job even though I’m not crazy about the song. His moves are very Fred Durst. But he sings really well. Randy said he did a better job than Jason Mraz, who wrote it. Simon said it was the best performance of the night.
Finally, Sundance Head. He dedicated his performance to his newborn son. It was a very touching intro. And then he came out roaring Mustang Sally, and really kicked out the jams. So much so that he is way ahead on Dial Idol at #1. So I suspect he is goiing to be back next week for sure. Sundance is popular. And he has a soulful quality like Taylor Hicks had last year. The judges loved it. Paula and Randy were especially exuberant.
I have to say, I am warming up to this year’s people faster than last year, which was my favorite. A lot of likable talented people. Last year there were a number of contestants I felt like dissing on here. This year, I don’t have anyone I feel that way about yet. We’ll see how long that holds up.
Permalink
Yep
“Environmentalism has largely superseded Christianity as the religion of the upper classes in Europe and to a lesser extent in the United States,” Mr Evans says in the publication.
“It is a form of religious belief which fosters a sense of moral superiority in the believer, but which places no importance on telling the truth,” he says.
“The global warming scam has been, arguably, the most extraordinary example of scientific fraud in the postwar period.”
I still think we should pursue other forms of energy besides fossil fuels. Pollution aside, fossil fuels fund terrorism and wars.
UPDATE: And this is why the UN is making such a big deal out of GW.
Must Have Item DuJour
The Hole - video powered by Metacafe
Just add a remote you’re in business.
Permalink
Lost Cities of the World
This site has lots of images of many of the world’s lost cites. Lots of amazing images here.
Permalink
