tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58986062011-06-08T02:46:05.739-04:00Well-meaning, yet oddly unsatisfying commentary from three individuals.Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comBlogger981100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1101623548493894522004-11-27T22:31:00.000-05:002004-11-29T15:09:52.493-05:00

If you've followed us for any amount of time, you'd know that our former lead blogger was ready to have himself married off. Well, last night was the big night. And yours truly had the honor of serving in the wedding party. As weddings go, this one certainly aimed big. Big cathedral. Big limos. Big reception with band, speeches and (ahem) a really sweet video! But where many big weddings

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1100112348559163172004-11-10T13:41:00.000-05:002004-11-10T13:45:48.560-05:00

It’s taken me a bit to gather my thoughts about the election results. I easily could have written a book-length diatribe here immediately on November 3, but certainly those were prevalent throughout the blogosphere. But now that I have moved through the 12 steps and gotten mostly to “Acceptance,” I figured I could put together something a little more meaningful to write here, knowing that

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1098448832173358102004-10-22T08:38:00.000-04:002004-10-22T08:48:52.123-04:00

I would encourage all who see this webpage to do a little bit of digging to make sure they are who they say they are, but so far I don't see any reason to think otherwise. Is this election year polarized or what? But then again, I know lots of people who don't like their cousins.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1098128155822719302004-10-18T15:13:00.000-04:002004-10-18T15:42:12.160-04:00

I just don't get it. In a warped way, this is almost admirable. Here's the guy saying that voting against him will leave the country vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and yet he accuses John Kerry of using scare tactics? In fact, in this same article, while Bush is talking about the others scaring voters, the evil mastermind is playing up the World Trade Center attacks in the campaign press

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1097547959213310312004-10-11T22:27:00.000-04:002004-10-11T22:27:20.870-04:00

Christopher Reeve died this past weekend. In some ways, one couldn't be blamed for thinking this would never happen. He had seemingly been so tireless in resuming his life after his accident, in working for finding a cure for paralysis, in pushing others to perform research and supporting the cause. And after all, he had been Superman. But in the end, life can be cruel and nine years after

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1097207870796553192004-10-10T23:53:00.000-04:002004-10-11T22:27:35.373-04:00

Yeah, I know...we're smack in the middle of debate season. There's a little over 3 weeks until the presidential electon. The "October Surprise" may have occurred with the latest report on Saddam's WMDs (or lack thereof). Bush says this. Kerry says that. FactCheck.ORG (not com, Mr. Vice President) keeps them in line. So where's all the new entries from us? Gimme a break, eh? It's a lot to

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1096306203795453102004-09-27T13:13:00.000-04:002004-09-29T22:15:50.513-04:00

Yeah, we did lose Paul for a bit. I'm very well aware of the demands on his life right now, and I completely understand his decision. But that doesn't quite mean we're done here. And hopefully, after the big events in his life come to fruition, we'll see our celebrated blog conscience return to the fold. In the meantime, we still have things to futilely bitch about and more interesting

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1095734876274808782004-09-20T22:47:00.000-04:002004-09-26T00:18:22.343-04:00

Despite our best efforts, leukemia is still one of the many diseases that we've haven't yet completely conquered. However, there's always hope as everyday, researchers go after new ways of treating the disease. It all starts with bone marrow transplants, and it's fairly easy to get involved in the donor registry. Two people that we know of have been affected by this disease. One is a person

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1093608396817445472004-08-27T07:57:00.000-04:002004-08-29T22:54:35.836-04:00

I know I've tried this before, but this time I can't do anything but finally go through with this. I need to take an extended, and possibly permanent, hiatus from the blogging world. I received proof earlier this week that my mind is being pulled in too many directions. And traipsing about the blogosphere, where you can get countless opinions on countless topics, is starting to take its toll

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1092694713663393362004-08-16T17:52:00.000-04:002004-08-17T11:59:27.563-04:00

(apologies to Dylan) Jeebus, what a weekend. Was my last post really so deserving of such a comeuppance? My travel group was never in any real danger -- our hotel in Orlando was obviously built to stand these types of things, as we didn't even so much as lose power. We did, however, have to delay our trip to Daytona Beach for a day, just to be sure we wouldn't be on the highway while the

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1092517589445551642004-08-14T17:03:00.000-04:002004-08-15T03:11:43.190-04:00

Well, here we are again at the start of another Olympic Games. I've always enjoyed the Olympics, with their pagentry and spectacle. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that during the games, there's always something on TV, especially if the games are in a European or Asian time zone. You can pretty much turn on the TV anytime and watch part of an Olympic event. There's such a variety

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1092285756003118892004-08-12T00:28:00.000-04:002004-08-12T00:42:36.003-04:00

Headed off to Florida for a wedding (not mine). See you next week. In the meanwhile, check out this interview with Thomas Frank, editor of The Baffler and author of the new book "What's the Matter with Kansas?" An excerpt: The reason I say there’s something “the matter” with all this is that, in becoming more and more conservative, Kansas is voting against its own economic interests. Large

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1091762210600030862004-08-05T23:08:00.000-04:002004-08-05T23:17:57.860-04:00

I always thought that it seemed like terror alerts would crop up every time something happened that the Bush Administration didn't like. I also figured if I noticed this, there had to have been a lot of other people that did too. Sure enough, there were other people much more observant that I. On the JuliusBlog is a nice timeline of the coincidences of "bad news" and terror alerts. Kudos to

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1091723989266906262004-08-05T12:32:00.000-04:002004-08-05T17:02:58.416-04:00

So there's a massive concert tour mobilizing out there. The Vote For Change tour is an unprecedented collaboration of musicians putting on multiple concerts in cities across the so-called swing states with an eye on mobilizing people to vote in the election and hopefully change the direction of the country. One of the major artists involved is a guy whose musical career is very close to my

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1091500880997464332004-08-02T22:30:00.000-04:002004-08-02T22:41:20.996-04:00

If you're anything like me you too are a fan of cinema. No...not necessarily the 'nudge nudge, wink wink' variety (but then again...who's not a fan of that genre?). Anyway...tonight, while passing some time on the web, specifically, the IMDB, I decided to look which stars were born the same year as I was. This made me dig a bit deeper to see what 'famous' person may actually share a birthday with

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1090603458952596342004-07-23T13:08:00.000-04:002004-07-23T13:24:18.953-04:00

I'm not sure I'm going to read a more enjoyable interview this year than this one at Salon with Alan Moore, the British writer of seminal comic books like V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I'm familiar with all those works, but I haven't read any of 'em. After this interview, I sure would like to read them for myself -- Moore has quite a following in the

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1090030963475552322004-07-16T22:22:00.000-04:002004-07-16T22:22:43.476-04:00

I could have sworn there used to be three bloggers around here...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1089911640511437682004-07-15T13:13:00.000-04:002004-07-15T13:14:00.510-04:00

Sorry for the low frequency of posts, folks. Got a big exam comin' up. Feel free to vent on whatever strikes your fancy.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1088807175044929552004-07-02T18:11:00.000-04:002004-07-02T18:29:28.380-04:00

Here's a question: what's the #1 "Hot search" on Netscape as I'm typing this? That's right - Debra frickin' Lafave. Man, to paraphrase P.T. Barnum, no one ever went broke underestimating the libido of the American male.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1088521997187263142004-06-29T10:20:00.000-04:002004-07-01T20:37:00.966-04:00

Sorry for the long delay, folks. I was in L.A. over the weekend attending a friend's wedding, and I had work I had to get done prior to the trip. Of course, the re-entry required some recuperation that you'd expect if you were to stay up as late as you normally do for a wedding party and the wedding itself, with three hours tacked on due to jet lag. Anyway, I think we've covered the Pistons

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1087568835406426132004-06-18T10:26:00.000-04:002004-06-18T15:55:34.246-04:00

OK...at the risk of offending my fellow blogger...I'm tired of it all. I'm tired of the Piston overkill in the media right now. But before I sound off, I will admit why I'm tired of it. Because I'm jealous. I'm jealous of the fact that it's not the Red Wings with another parade in the streets. I'm jealous of the fact that hockey is taking a back seat to hoops in this town. Is this what we

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1087406468744947942004-06-16T12:59:00.000-04:002004-06-16T17:33:01.046-04:00

Pistons win. The dominance was so complete, I actually felt sorry for the Lakers, esp. at the beginning of the 4th with our guys leading by more than 20 points. I have a confession to make: I predicted one of two things when the series began (no, I can't prove it... you'll just have to take my iron-clad word for it) - either the Pistons would have won in 5 or the Lakers would have won in 7.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1087327845574154772004-06-15T15:29:00.000-04:002004-06-15T15:30:45.573-04:00

Vending machines are evil. How else can you explain their hold on office workers throughout the world? How else can you explain how millions upon millions mindlessly shovel coins into the dispenser slot for a bag of potato chips? I like to think that I follow a pretty healthy diet these days. When I’m at home, I very rarely snack on the usual suspects. We don’t really keep potato chips

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1087322148372809062004-06-15T13:33:00.000-04:002004-06-15T13:55:48.373-04:00

I didn't want to make my third consecutive post another obituary, but this truly strikes me as a genuine "WHOA!" moment: Ralph Wiley, the ESPN columnist whose courageous and eerily prescient article on the Lakers was referenced by me a mere two weeks ago, died last Sunday. This took everyone by surprise, as he exercised regularly and was not known to be sick. I admit I've only read two of his

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1086992725945304142004-06-11T18:19:00.000-04:002004-06-11T23:24:53.760-04:00

Those of you that know me know that my game is, first and foremost, hockey. So once again, it only makes sense (not) that I be giving props to the local team that's making good right now: the Detroit Pistons. I've been following it and certainly been pulling for the Pistons, but having not been on the basketball bandwagon since the mid 90's, I can't throw my heart and soul into it the way I

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1086576797844375632004-06-06T22:39:00.000-04:002004-06-07T08:55:12.523-04:00

Ronald Reagan died yesterday. I really don't have strong feelings one way or another, believe it or not. On one hand, the fact that so many people looked up to him does suggest he had qualities many find admirable. When he was president I honestly hadn't developed much of a political consciousness, so I really didn't analyze his policies in detail. All I remembered was that the guy looked

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1086363722022359102004-06-04T10:50:00.000-04:002004-06-04T13:16:46.663-04:00

For a guy who's been there 20+ times, I really haven't seen many Italian movies in my life, but one I did see twice as a kid was Bread and Chocolate (Pane e Cioccolato) starring Nino Manfredi, who died last Friday. I was awfully young when I saw that movie (both times in the U.S., interestingly enough), but I remember being touched even at that age by a couple of particularly effective scenes.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1086119545537402852004-06-01T15:07:00.000-04:002004-06-01T15:52:25.536-04:00

Spent most of the weekend having fun - hope y'all did as well. A couple worthy links I thought I'd pass on: Via the Antiwar.com website, Paul Sperry - who voted for Bush - takes Limbaugh and Hannity to task, and asks fellow Republicans to be honest with themselves: Face it, there's nothing heroic or worthy left about this war in Iraq. It's just a pile of lies. Unless you support lies, the

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1085885759521463642004-05-29T22:54:00.000-04:002004-05-29T22:55:59.520-04:00

Try this site out for size. You think of a sitcom character or a dictator and the site will try to guess who it is. It's pretty hard to stump it.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1085676228006472302004-05-27T12:40:00.000-04:002004-05-27T12:43:48.006-04:00

Even though I've seen plenty of remarkable stuff in my medical training, this just absolutely floored me. Parents, take note.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1085493331260213902004-05-25T09:37:00.000-04:002004-05-25T10:17:26.490-04:00

Didn't catch the speech last night, but you can read some takes on it here at Salon (ad viewing required) and here at Phil Carter's blog.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1085408581505083322004-05-24T10:19:00.000-04:002004-05-24T10:23:01.506-04:00

Sometimes what you need to do to renew your faith in mankind is to eat ice cream with a friend and his family, and then drink beers & martinis with said friend (sans family) talking about everything under the sun. Thanks, Jon.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-108514860458802932004-05-21T10:05:00.000-04:002004-05-21T10:10:04.586-04:00

...but you gotta give props to the Pistons for just stomping on the Nets in a Game 7 situation. I mean annihilated. And in the sort of irony only found in sports and movies, they move on to play their former coach in the Eastern Conference Finals. Sigh...if only I had something to celebrate with the Red Wings more than the fact that 10 of their players and one coach made their respective

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1084994842204906512004-05-19T15:13:00.000-04:002004-05-19T15:27:22.203-04:00

"History. We don't know. We'll all be dead." -President George W. Bush, when asked by journalist Bob Woodward how history would judge the war Some historians are already chiming in. (Via Salon.com's War Room.)

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1084898038045437172004-05-18T12:08:00.000-04:002004-05-18T12:33:58.046-04:00

Commenter/buddy/bon vivant Mark10 passes along this Indyweek column written by Hal Crowther. Some choice paragraphs: If our presidential election fails to dislodge the crazy bastards who annexed Baghdad, many of us in this country would welcome regime change by any intervention, human or divine. But if, say, the Chinese came in to rescue us--Operation American Freedom--how long would any of us,

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1084752284430460982004-05-16T19:48:00.000-04:002004-05-17T08:24:49.963-04:00

I was reading this article in today's Detroit News and came across this part of the story: Ken Tippery, a retired executive from Royal Oak, says he’ll vote for Bush again, praising the president on national security issues and accusing the media and Democrats of blowing out of proportion the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. “I think (Bush) has done the one thing no president was willing to do

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1084452647788023642004-05-13T08:49:00.000-04:002004-05-13T08:50:47.786-04:00

We've added Trackback capability! Ok, I admit, I don't really know exactly what it means, but all cool blogs have it. So now we're cool. Snooch to the nooch.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1084396855052223332004-05-12T17:19:00.000-04:002004-05-12T17:20:55.053-04:00

What Roger said.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1084193798143715202004-05-10T08:49:00.000-04:002004-05-10T08:56:38.143-04:00

James Landrith takes the gloves off once again: When I hear pro-war folks tell me I'm a traitor for opposing the war, I remember that they are no where to be seen when an issue like troop readiness and welfare is being raised. I remember that 99.9% or so never wore a uniform and wouldn't now if asked to do so. And believe me - I've challenged quite a few on that issue. Further, they don't have a

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1083956063340124742004-05-07T14:53:00.000-04:002004-05-07T14:58:51.106-04:00

Go Pistons.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1083955499378359502004-05-07T14:31:00.000-04:002004-05-07T14:57:56.326-04:00

Arthur Silber has been on a tear lately. He's been taking on the administration and its apologists, homophobes, and in one particularly thoughtful piece, the draft. He's a heavy-duty Ayn Rand Objectivist, and while my previous experiences with these types have been forgettable (although thanks to him I realize that there is more diversity among them than I thought), he makes great points with

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1083332724511028002004-04-30T08:46:00.000-04:002004-04-30T10:05:52.873-04:00

Via Gary Farber, some pretty awful stuff going on in Iraqi jails. I DON'T recommend that you click on the links in his post. No, it's not even close to what Saddam Hussein used to do, but we're supposed to be better than this. Looks like we just bought ourselves more resistance.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1083299314882985362004-04-30T00:28:00.000-04:002004-04-30T00:38:24.840-04:00

I have accepted the Audiotron into my life. For those of you out there who know not what this is, let me explain. First, a little background about me. As you may have guessed by now (if you have sampled any of my blogs here) I am a fairly devout fan of music in general. Alas, I can only hope to aspire to the depth and bredth of Rob Gordon's musical knowledge (for those who don't know..."Rob"

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1083084647766057572004-04-27T12:50:00.000-04:002004-04-27T12:55:02.513-04:00

Much like how Nigel Tufnel's departure set in motion the dissolution of the band called Spinal Tap, Paul's decision to retire nearly put our humble little blog out of business. I tend to view Paul's entries as the the heart of the blog as he nails the spirit of what we tend to try to put up here. Myself, I tend to vacillate between futility and lighthearted sarcasm while Mark chimes in with

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1083028239312305862004-04-26T20:42:00.000-04:002004-04-28T22:39:12.750-04:00

I did want to step away from this blog for a while, really I did. But then Max had to go ahead and include us in his Big Fat Blogroll. Look for us under "Ilk Central", between "Ftrain" and "GailOnline." I assume that was because I comment from time to time on Max's blog, as well as having referenced a couple of his entries. Apparently he noticed, and we appear to have made a good impression.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1081454048979550392004-04-08T15:36:00.000-04:002004-04-08T16:10:49.293-04:00

Well, despite what I hoped for, 2004 is turning into quite a year indeed. As far as my personal affairs are concerned, I will be starting a new job AND getting married this year. There's a lot of stuff that goes along with that, and those of you already with spouse know what I'm talking about. As far as the nation is concerned... well, JEEZ. Iraq looks like a powder keg about to explode. I

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1080238954553965702004-03-25T13:05:00.000-05:002004-03-25T15:32:35.623-05:00

I received an e-mail from my buddy Mark (a different Mark, not my ideological blood-brother who helps out with the posts here). I found the exchange revealing, and thought I'd share it with y'all. (The first voice in this transcript was one that Mark described as 'clipped and artificial', as the periods would suggest) ========================== 'Do. You. Plan. To. Vote. For. George. W. Bush?

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1079985294016129392004-03-22T14:50:00.000-05:002004-03-22T15:00:36.373-05:00

First, there was this. Then this. And just yesterday, on 60 Minutes, this. I'm sorry, but that's too many lightning strikes in too short a period.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1079923510323272972004-03-21T21:35:00.000-05:002004-03-21T21:50:08.623-05:00

Here at the Futility Hotline, we love to call out those who are not acting in the best interests of people, in spite of the fact that all of our bitching accompishes absolutely nothing. We've gone after corporate executives, government, media, world figures, and the people in your neighborhood. Well, this time, we need to applaud someone who is trying to make a difference. Someone who is using

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1079471880888832922004-03-16T16:16:00.000-05:002004-03-16T16:24:01.590-05:00

One of the newest, and most alarming, buzzwords I’ve been hearing in corporate life is “off-shoring,” as in the export of jobs. You may have heard a number of stories in the news lately of many corporations whose base customers are in this locale sending their jobs to countries in the other hemisphere. One of the more popular positions is that of telephone customer service personnel. It is

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1079380007733414662004-03-15T14:42:00.000-05:002004-03-15T14:56:42.170-05:00

I happened to catch The Triplets of Belleville, a seriously quirky cartoon from France over the weekend. Of course, I totally dug it, and with what's been going on in the world lately it helped rekindle my faith in mankind. Not a small feat for a nearly dialogue-free flick. Recommended for the adventurous moviegoer.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1079364134499777462004-03-15T09:56:00.000-05:002004-03-15T11:03:06.810-05:00

Well, contrary to what I subtly predicted in the previous post, the Socialists won the election. There's a lot of debate in the blogosphere as to what this all means: Did the Spaniards put in the Party of Appeasement in power? Are other Coalition of the Willing nations headed for similar attacks? You've come to the wrong place for an in-depth discussion of all these political ramifications (

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1079137862157819232004-03-12T18:52:00.000-05:002004-03-15T11:03:49.746-05:00

As we all know by now, some pieces of crap with opposable thumbs took out whatever grievances they had on a couple hundred poor souls who had no business getting killed. All signs point to either the ETA or Al-Queda. If it's the former, it's another utterly evil and despicable chapter in their long history of trying to get a separate Basque state. If it's the latter, it could be payback for

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1079033280691512162004-03-11T14:22:00.000-05:002004-03-11T14:34:57.233-05:00

Another worthwhile entry by Max Sawicky, on the "debate" about industrial and incomes policies (which he calls the 'Big Two I.P.s'). Some choice quotes: "In the matter of trade, outsourcing is a matter of industrial structure, not the business cycle. Criticism of industrial structure is the bogeyman here. We're not supposed to mess with that. That's government a big too far." later on: "For

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1078929938327945072004-03-10T09:42:00.000-05:002004-03-10T09:50:04.216-05:00

Godspeed, you people.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1078199326726213032004-03-02T08:46:00.000-05:002004-03-01T22:51:43.233-05:00

This is for those of you that still have Christmas decorations up. You're all lazy SOBs. Take them down. Now. It's really not clever to say you're "early for next year."

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1078155671435144302004-03-01T10:15:00.000-05:002004-03-01T22:48:27.606-05:00

Hello? Anyone? Bueller? I think the engine has permanently stalled. I'll try to add some gas here on behalf of my fellow bloggers and consider the subject. Line, that is. One of the more useful/annoying bits of e-mail communication has got to be the subject line. Its roots are from the days when memos were circulated at work on paper. Each memo had to have some sort of one line summary

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1076786235942291352004-02-14T14:15:00.000-05:002004-02-14T14:19:50.310-05:00

Wow! I just found out that The Critic is now on DVD! This is definitely one of the most underrated animated comedies ever on TV. It will be mine. Oh yes. It WILL be mine.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1075770605264323192004-02-02T19:45:00.000-05:002004-02-02T20:12:23.466-05:00

Which do you think would cause more public outrage? A) Erroneous intelligence data that caused a country to send young soldiers to war B) A "wardrobe malfunction" causing a leading pop star to bare a breast on live TV

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1075740683724118052004-02-02T11:36:00.000-05:002004-02-02T11:55:11.043-05:00

Jesse Walker, an eminently reasonable libertarian blogger who happened to attend U-M around the same time as myself, has a pretty neat interview with Sam Smith, editor of the Progressive Review website. It's a nice summary of 30-odd years of surveying the political landscape from one man's perspective. Check it out.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1075674954018644302004-02-01T17:21:00.000-05:002004-02-01T17:38:10.326-05:00

H'lo folks- As Jon just pointed out, I admit I have been keeping a low profile as of late. Nothing serious, it's just that work has been particularly busy. Also, I have finally reached that point in my eight-plus years of training in my specialty where I will cease being a professional student and actually have a JOB. But in order to get to that point, I have to endure the thoroughly

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1075440520197190662004-01-30T00:28:00.000-05:002004-01-30T00:30:52.983-05:00

Whatever happened to Paul?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1075440416424170502004-01-30T00:23:00.000-05:002004-01-30T00:29:09.216-05:00

It's the evolution of fitness equipment! Burn calories by the bucket load! Well, that's what the commercial said. But personally, I think this thing called the TreadClimber looks like a good way to really blow out a limb. I mean really, to take a Stairmaster and replace the stairs with two small treadmills? You're just asking for some broken furniture and a large hospital bill.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1074969124178289162004-01-24T13:31:00.000-05:002004-01-24T13:34:09.310-05:00

So Dubya wants to give the space program a shot in the arm, eh? When I first heard this news, I was somewhat aghast. Not because I have something against NASA. Far from it. Take in consideration that I am an engineer by trade (read: geek) and you'll realize that anything remotely Star Trek-y is way cool by me. No...I was aghast because on some level, I was actually in agreement with a

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1074811032902866022004-01-22T17:36:00.000-05:002004-01-22T17:39:15.593-05:00

If you believe Michael Jackson when he says he never molested a child, remember that he is also on record as saying he did not have plastic surgery.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1073876410677653802004-01-11T22:00:00.000-05:002004-01-12T23:25:55.970-05:00

Last week one of my colleagues mentioned to me that...when I got the chance...I needed to check out "Y tu mama tambien". This was done with a sort of 'nudge nudge...wink wink' kind of attitude. Usually that's all that's required to get me to drive to the video store (that or if Angie Harmon is appearing in a film...even a bad one) as I'm the kind of guy who likes that sort of thing (if you catch

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1073709306267694012004-01-09T23:34:00.000-05:002004-01-09T23:35:26.370-05:00

I have a quandary. A moral dilemma, you might say. The reason I have it is because I really like my movies. I'm pretty anal-retentive about owning DVDs, not so much regarding my tastes (I definitely have some questionable titles, but I got them for free as far as you know.) but in the quality, condition and presentation. However, despite some people's best intentions, they are not as serious

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1072893062014185062003-12-31T12:31:00.000-05:002003-12-31T12:51:32.226-05:00

Happy New Year, y'all. May you NOT live in interesting times this year.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1072326758842201772003-12-24T23:25:00.000-05:002003-12-24T23:33:27.910-05:00

There are many ways to celebrate the season: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the little known Life Day on the planet Kashyyk. Regardless, each holiday is intended to involve one thing that 99.9% of us want: peace on Earth and goodwill towards all. But since it's likely that we won't see that in our lifetimes, we'll have to settle for lots of presents. On behalf of the three of us, I'd like

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1072227299353058292003-12-23T19:54:00.000-05:002003-12-23T19:55:15.420-05:00

Every now and then you witness something that only you, or perhaps more apropos, a subset of those like you could appreciate. That happened yesterday on the drive home for me - I actually witnessed one of my all time favorite kitschy expressions....the art car. Sure, Ann Arbor's got the Lizard Mobile, Burning Man is witness to such classics as the Leon Sphinx (sic), but yesterday, the connector

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1071536212370555382003-12-15T19:40:00.000-05:002003-12-15T19:58:00.546-05:00

I was out of town for the weekend, so I couldn't comment on THE CAPTURE when I wanted. From a "justice" point of view, it's a great thing, and I couldn't be happier for the people of Iraq. However, the takes of Radley and Max sum up my reservations. Bush looks pretty good right now, with this development and the Dow currently over 10,000. But then, his pappy looked unbeatable after Gulf War I

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1071381178152927202003-12-14T00:52:00.000-05:002003-12-14T01:03:51.493-05:00

It never fails that when one attempts to learn a new language, either by choice or decree, the LCD (lowest common denominator) always seems to be invoked. Yes, that's right - offensive language. It's amazing really - in my rather limited years I have witnessed (in Japan) how my cohorts there - almost without exception - wanted to learn the (American) English equivalents for some of their favorite

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1071099964884312472003-12-10T18:33:00.000-05:002003-12-10T19:11:52.940-05:00

This morning, some of my co-workers organized a little taste test early in the morning before we hunkered down for work. They bought five bags of chips. Three of them were Nacho Cheese-flavored, and the other two were plain tortilla chips. They were a combination of regular chips, a low-fat variety, and baked. They put them in unlabeled piles, and told us to try and guess by taste alone

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1070934255894561142003-12-08T20:34:00.000-05:002003-12-08T20:44:27.360-05:00

Twenty three years ago, this date was also a Monday night. Somewhere around 11 PM, my dad and one of my brothers came into my room and woke me up. "Somebody shot John Lennon. Cosell just said it during the football game," my dad told me. Strangely enough, I didn't realize the gravity of the situation at the time. It was certainly shocking enough that someone would shoot John Lennon, but with

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1070644105193484782003-12-05T12:01:00.000-05:002003-12-05T12:15:09.650-05:00

Regardless of your politics, Jesse's list of the Top 20 Annoying Conservatives of 2003 is a fun read. Check it out.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1070499564064435792003-12-03T21:45:00.000-05:002003-12-03T23:52:49.686-05:00

What is it about the modern wedding that can drive a person to drive other people to drink heavily? No, I'm not talking about the beauty of an open bar. I'm talking about the absolute over-the-top nature of some of these events, where the bride-to-be obsesses over whether the diamond stud in the toe of their shoe matches the cummerbund around the live swans swimming in the punch bowl (how would

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1069709262514951422003-11-25T08:39:00.000-05:002003-11-25T08:41:18.543-05:00

Here in the United States, this week kicks off the holiday season with the Thanksgiving holiday this Thursday. Legend has it that this holiday began when the Pilgrims who first came over to this land had dinner with the native Americans to give thanks for their safe arrival. Little did the natives know what was coming or else they probably wouldn't have joined them for dinner. A number of items

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1069185740624924962003-11-18T13:27:00.000-05:002003-11-20T09:37:13.766-05:00

I had a little bit of insomnia Sunday night, and while web-surfing I caught parts of Peter Werbe's interview with Wayne Besen, the author of "Anything But Straight,"a book chronicling the history of the religious "homosexuality conversion" therapies that you hear from time to time in the media. The general gist of his book is that all these "ex-gay" efforts are ineffectual at best and harmful

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1068679614373998942003-11-12T18:23:00.000-05:002003-11-12T18:30:28.673-05:00

Aaron, I appreciate your concern about our salvation and all, but did you really expect to draw that much traffic by attempting to hijack a two-bit blog?

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1068091736001733572003-11-05T23:07:00.000-05:002003-11-05T23:08:59.543-05:00

So let's face it. I haven't written much lately. Not here. Not there. Not anywhere. I won't duck it. As the cliche goes, "there just aren't enough hours in a day." And with the amount of daylight getting shorter, it just feels more and more like there's less and less time. I mean, I've got a stack of DVDs to watch, some of which aren't even mine. And to top it off, the holiday season is

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1067561473879892792003-10-30T19:30:00.000-05:002003-10-30T20:13:58.330-05:00

The above expression, as Frank Zappa fans know, is how he described the Presidential Election of 1992 in his must-read autobiography. I suspect that this phrase will be equally applicable in 2004, but what the hey - I'll go ahead and make a prediction about it. I can think of 5 reasons why Bush will lose: 1. He's been alienating many libertarians, and libertarians are known to pull the lever

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1067492357222280392003-10-30T00:39:00.000-05:002003-12-13T09:34:28.533-05:00

I have a bone to pick with...well..I'm not sure exactly who. Here's my beef... I had to 'do time' at the Secretary of State's office a while back to renew vehicle tags, my license etc., and as I stood waiting on line, I spied a sign above the desk which read something along the lines of 'Customer Service Specialist' Specialist? It's not like I'm looking for a 2nd opinion here after my latest

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1067045987987078882003-10-24T21:39:00.000-04:002003-10-24T21:39:47.900-04:00

Tonight on PBS one of the members of a discussion panel (on a news program) made this rather amusing observation. They were all discussing President Bush's whirlwind tour of Australia, Asia et al when one panelist offered this: "Bush always travels as though he's double-parked at the airport" Nice. I just wanted to share.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1067038482810687902003-10-24T19:34:00.000-04:002003-10-24T19:34:42.916-04:00

By request...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1066701112559987332003-10-20T21:43:00.000-04:002003-10-21T17:43:38.930-04:00

This strikes me as a pretty neat idea. Drink's on me if you guess which stomach-churningly horrid confession belongs to yours truly... UPDATE: Just in case it wasn't obvious, the 'confessions' on the main screen are updated regularly... not that a gruesome/sleazy/unbelievable one I DIDN'T write wouldn't ALSO apply to me.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1066400273904193922003-10-17T10:02:00.000-04:002003-10-17T13:29:58.536-04:00

One of my Friday rituals is to head on over to Rotten Tomatoes, a movie-oriented website. It's good for seeing what the critical consensus is on the new releases in the theaters as well as the ones already playing. It also provides information of the different works of various actors, directors, etc.. All in all, it's a pretty good site for movie buffs like myself. However, despite all these

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1066102957826356982003-10-13T23:39:00.000-04:002003-10-13T23:42:53.510-04:00

Do you think Governor Arnold will address this matter that has occurred in his state?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1066102312797898382003-10-13T23:30:00.000-04:002003-10-13T23:32:28.753-04:00

Movie Quote for the Day: Golf? Nixon played golf. I'll bet you've got a lot of stories about your ball landing in the hole. -Lacy Underall, Caddyshack

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1066004986018249952003-10-12T20:29:00.000-04:002003-10-12T20:29:45.906-04:00

Some time ago I mentioned (in this blog) the irony that was transpiring in California (as did my fellow bloggers) with regard to the recall of 'G' Davis and the ascent of 'A' Schwarzenegger. I made mention that SNL had started to tap this comedic gold mine. They did it again yesterday evening - well, to be technically accurate, very early this morning. Last night Darryl Hammond delivered a

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065755590520538652003-10-09T23:13:00.000-04:002003-10-09T23:17:28.866-04:00

I love eBay. Seriously. It is my stated belief that virtually every item ever conceived, produced, utilized, cherished, discarded, or having otherwise existed (including thought experiments) has or will pass through that mystical portal known as eBay. Eventually. Frankly, I love this about eBay. In reality I have a rather serious audio jones that demands feeding; this mold was cast at age 6

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065743955421875672003-10-09T19:43:00.000-04:002003-10-10T14:01:27.646-04:00

Those who know me also know that my politics, in mainstream discourse, would be described as "left-of-center" (not that the terms 'left' and 'right' mean much anymore, as most people rarely fall in lockstep with their representative political ideology on all issues). In essence, I consider myself a secular humanist. That is to say: -I choose to let my decisions and actions be guided by

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065672296814634782003-10-09T00:04:00.000-04:002003-10-09T00:13:34.533-04:00

No...this isn't a rant about the 'Police State' kind of thing...just an observation. Tonight on my drive home I tuned in to NPR and its bounty of left-wing bleeding-heart programming (which I wouldn't have any other way). As they recapped the state of play in 'Cali' they mentioned that Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that, being a long-standing admired of Mr. Bush, would contact him for '

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065672199015320312003-10-08T23:26:00.000-04:002003-10-09T00:06:30.663-04:00

One thing I've been hearing is how the voter turnout was very high for what ended up being a successful recall of Gray Davis. There has been a lot of praise about this. How wonderful this is to have so many people registered to vote and taking part in an election. How great it is that people wanted a say in how their state was to be run. Well, being the cynic I am about politics, I say bulls*

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065640416521759482003-10-08T15:09:00.000-04:002003-10-08T15:23:39.550-04:00

Jack Lessenberry summarizes the failed Detroit charter school plan here. Do not read if your day hasn't been going too well.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065577224353556512003-10-07T21:40:00.000-04:002003-10-07T23:49:20.390-04:00

But tonight...perhaps it's the fact that I am in fact, getting older (like all of us...by the minute...) and I got to thinking about a favorite movie of mine (and of some of my fellow bloggers). In said film there's a theme of 'top five' (insert noun here) lists going on. Lists always have fascinated me, because they force us to choose - whether we want to or not. For some, lists can take on a

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408282512179486719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065563339104476082003-10-07T17:13:00.000-04:002003-10-07T17:59:53.470-04:00

Well, the recall election is on in California. I know California's economy is the world's 5th largest, so its fortunes undoubtedly will affect the rest of us. Over the weekend, the polls showed Arnie in the lead, and my prediction is that the recall will go through and Major Dutch will win. If he does, one thing that would appear to be in the average Californian's favor is that Dutch's

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065466645010864792003-10-06T14:50:00.000-04:002003-10-06T19:32:59.660-04:00

Hello, faithful readers- This is Paul, Jon's partner-in-crime with this blog. I've been into blogs for almost one year exactly, limiting myself to reading a couple of the big political ones and making the odd comment here and there. Well, out of the blue, Jon passes along an invite to l'il ol' me to participate in this team blog you see before you. I don't know where he got the idea that my

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720536076385524747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898606.post-1065413945516516922003-10-06T00:08:00.000-04:002003-10-06T00:19:05.406-04:00

Get it on! Welcome to the newest entry to the blog universe! Shortly, I will be joined by two other master bloggers to create a very unique section of cyberspace. You'll laugh...you'll cry...you'll be amused, confused and bemused...and if we do our jobs right, a little bit pissed off. You'll have a chance to react also by adding your comments below. Hopefully we won't regret that. So we're

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17095976328115803878noreply@blogger.com