December 16, 2005

Hell Hath No Fury...

...Like a woman scorned.

German woman tries to make her female room-mate go bald for dating her ex.

Brigitte Tullman, 20, was given a six-month suspended sentence by a court in Mainz after slipping an Immac-like product into housemate Lisa Burgermeister's shampoo.

According to witnesses at the trial Burgermeister, 20, had recently started going out with Tullman's ex-boyfriend.

Tullman was charged with grievous bodily harm as the two different hair chemicals blended into a dangerous mix which burned Burgermeister's hands before she could use it.

Burgermeister's doctor told the court: "Lisa's hands were quite badly burned by the corrosive chemical mixture. I don't even want to consider what would have happened if she had washed her hair with it."

Yikes!

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The Silence Speaks Volumes

So apparently the historical election in Iraq doesn't warrant an editorial in the NY Times or the WaPo. Pathetic.

Generally speaking, the Liberal side of the blogosphere is pretty quiet as well.

But Decision '08 has a round-up of the Top Ten Kos Kidz' reactions. One of my favorites:

"This is just theater. All completely meaningless, and woe to the suckers who buy into this BS."
Bitterness. It's all-consuming, isn't it?

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Thank You

To all those who voted for me for the Weblog Award category of "Best of the Top 251-500 Blogs". There's nothing like coming in last to remind me of how lucky I was to actually make the cut as a finalist.

I'm honored by those you took the time to head over and click me. Thank you again. And next year, I'm shooting for second-to-last. Hey, I can dream can't I?

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December 15, 2005

Big Day

I can't let today pass without a tip of the hat to the Iraqi people who turned out today in huge numbers to vote for their new government.

Another milestone for a future of Freedom and self-determination for this nation.

I hope to God that President Bush shames the asshole Democrats who've been so negative about this situation in his State of the Union in January. But since I know what a class act he is, he won't do it.

He SHOULD say how ashamed he is that members of our government would bad-mouth and downplay such important events for political motive. These people are despicable. In another time and place they would be tried for treason.

He SHOULD say how disgusting the words and actions of these bullshit cowards are when they have nothing to lose except their own integrity.

He SHOULD point out how wrong they are in their assessment of the success of the Iraqi people.

But he won't. Because he has too much respect for the offices to which they've been elected even if they don't.

Congratulations again to the people of Iraq.

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Tolkien Geek Update

Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter One is (finally) posted.

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I Saw "King Kong"!

Here's my review:

king kong review.jpg

In a word - "spectacular". Peter Jackson makes movies with the wonder and imagination of a child. And this film has got everything in it. You'll laugh out loud, you'll cry like a baby and your heart will race. Let me start off about the length, just over three hours. If you're one of those people who has an attention span of a five year old, you're gonna bitch about it. We don't get to the gorilla until almost half-way through. But the time Jackson spends leading up to this part is rich with character development, gorgeous scenery (which you easily forget is almost all computer-generated) and plot development.

If you can allow yourself to get immersed in the film, you'll enjoy every minute of it. Unfortunately for me I had some idiot woman and her young daughter sitting behind me gabbing away as if they were sitting in their own living room. It kept breaking my concentration and pissing me off. I think one of the downsides to home entertainment systems is that there is a whole generation of kids who experience so much of their movie viewing in the home setting that they don't learn that you're supposed to shut your pie-hole when you actually go to a theater full of people. Not to mention the fact that most parents exercise zero judgement with their kids and take them to movies that are totally inapropriate. I often wonder what the hell some of these people are thinking, and then it dawns on me - they DON'T.

The bottom line is that this is one of those rare situations where seeing the movie is worth putting up with all the crap - the overpriced tickets and food, the crowds, the lines, the endless commentary from people sitting near you. It really is. Now I'm faced with a dilemma. My nine year old really wants to see it, but I'm not sure if that's the best idea. There are some pretty scary moments here.

Now if your kid has seen the "Jurassic Park" movies, there aren't any scenes with dinosaurs that are worse than anything they've already seen. Really the two most intense scenes involve the savages on Skull Island and a part where the rescue party is attacked by huge creepy-crawlies. The islanders are the stuff of nightmares, and could induce some in a child that is prone to them. The giant insect scene is pretty gross. If your kid hates bugs, forget it. They'll be traumatized. There are even some giant leech/slug-like things that literally devour the head and extremities of one of the characters while he struggles to escape. Again, this is the kind of gross stuff that Jackson loves to put on screen but it's probably one of the reasons that the movie earned a PG-13.

But beyond the scary parts, if you have a child that gets upset when they see a small dead animal you also have a problem. The emotion that Kong conveys, especially towards the end of the movie is powerful. His nonverbal interactions with Naomi Watts - in the NY scenes in particular - really make the audience connect to him. In the final scene atop the Empire State Building, I saw grown men with their eyes welling up. A particulary sensitive child might become just as upset as if he or she lost someone close to them. So it really depends on the kid - their maturity, what they've been exposed to thus far and how well they are able to put in perspective that it's all just make-believe.

As for me, I'm leaning toward taking him but I think it would be a good idea to prepare him in advance for things he might want to hide his eyes from. We'll see.

Anyway, "King Kong" definitely lives up to the hype. I give it an enthusiastic thumbs-up!

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December 14, 2005

Where The Hell Have I Been?

Suffice to say that all day yesterday I was without internet access and then I went out to see "King Kong" (review to be posted shortly). And then almost all of today I was offline as well.

But I'm back.

Note: I've back-dated this post because I hate it when a date on my calendar archive isn't highlighted. Yes, I know I have issues.

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December 13, 2005

The Last Goodbye

An story about four soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam. After 38 years, they finally come home.

Reprinted with permission by The Ugly American.

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Best Christmas Time Waster EVER

Snowball Fight! flash game.

Move your guys with the mouse. Hold down left mouse button for distance and release to throw snowball. You can only work one guy at a time. You get hit once, you're stunned. Second hit, you're knocked out. Takes three hits to knock out opposing guys.

Each level is more challenging. It's addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!

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Gallup: In God We Trust

According to the most recent Gallup poll finds that 94% of respondents said that they believe that there is a God. Of the remaining 6% who say they don't believe in God, only 1% say they are certain that there is no God.

94% certainly constitutes a pretty hearty majority, doesn't it? Looks like atheists actually constitute a much smaller portion of the population than we've been led to believe.

Wouldn't it be nice if those folks who are so pained by the fact that the word "God" is on our currency, in our national motto and in the Pledge of Allegiance, would be content to simply get together for a "Festivus" celebration and save the venting of their hostilities for the "Airing of Grievances"?

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Santa's Little Helper

You Are Blitzen

Always in good spirits, you're the reindeer who loves to party down with Santa.

Why You're Naughty: You're always blitzed on Christmas Eve, while flying!

Why You're Nice: You mix up a mean eggnog martini.

Raise Of The Glass To: Accidental Verbosity

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The Death Penalty In Perspective

No doubt there are quite a few folks out there who've stopped by this website who are philosophically opposed to the death penalty. There may even be some who are disgusted at my own observations of the execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams.

True, my comments may seem a bit offensive, but not nearly as offensive as the attempt by some - especially in Hollywoodland - to glorify a cold-blooded murderer to the point of deifying him. As far as I'm concerned, the 24 years that Tookie Williams spent on death row was 24 years of life more than he deserved. Certainly his innocent victims would have been grateful for just 24 more hours of life to spend with the loved ones they left behind. Williams denied them that. more...

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So Long, Took

It is done.

Vince Aut Morire does his best Toni Basil impression to bring you an ode to Tookie Williams and his Hollywood cheering section.

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December 12, 2005

De-NIED!

Federal Appeals Court refuses to grant clemency to Tookie. Less than twelve hours to go. It's all on The Terminator's shoulders now. And the minutes are "dripping" by....

UPDATE: Arnold says nuh-uh. Sorry Took. Time to go.

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He's Got Balls, I'll Give Him That

Personally, I thought the tombstone thing was as offensive a parting shot as he could give. Now he's starting a PAC in his dead wife's name.

Vince Aut Morire says it best: "Sorry, assmonkey, your 15 minutes are long gone." Perhaps the insurance money is, too.

What despicable piece of shit.

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Will The Crip Get The Drip?

Neal Boortz is predicting that Gov. Schwarzenegger will puss-out today and grant clemency to cold-blooded murderer/gang founder/children's book author Stanley "Tookie" Williams, who's scheduled to get the big shot at 12:01am Tuesday morning.

It won't happen. First, the federal courts are likely to grant a stay or two. After all, he was only sentenced about 24 years ago. What's the rush? Secondly, I believe that the main reason the execution of Tookie Williams won't be executed is because Schwarzenegger knows full well that as soon as Tookie's death is announced there will be riots in South Central Los Angeles and elsewhere. The huge media exploitation of this story has made drop-dead sure of that. There are thugs just waiting for an excuse ... not a reason, an excuse. The rioting, of course, will lead to wide scale looting. There are a lot of aspiring rappers and NBA superstars who could really use a nice flat-screen television right now.
Boortz of course is being a little tongue-in-cheek here, but being a cynic he probably believes it. Call me pollyanna, but I have a feeling that Arnold will hold to his oath of office and allow the "termination", in the best interest of the people of Cal-ee-forn-ee-a.

Flap's Blog has a Tookie Death Watch going.

Details of Tookie's crimes here and here (thanks to Sister Toldjah)

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RINO's are Raging

This week's Carnival of the RINOs is hosted by The Countertop Chronicles.

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December 11, 2005

Extreme Makeover: Christmas Tree Edition (Redux)

Last Saturday, I started the tree trimming process. But due to a nasty illness and the demands of life during the week it didn't get finished.

Well, I'm happy to say, it's DONE!

Dec 10 017.jpg

Of course, the colors scheme is all the wife's doing. And the kids are young enough where it's not yet overburdened with homemade ceramic ornaments.

Now that we're done, I'm getting ready to relax and plop myself in front of the TV to watch the Giants game. As I'm on my own for dinner, I took the liberty of assembling this lovely three course meal:

Dec 10 014.jpg

No beer yet. I'm not 100% with this dang cold. But my intestinal tract is going to take a beating nonetheless.

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Giants V. Eagles

giants v. eagles.jpg

Now this SHOULD be a very satisfying game. The Giants hold on to first in the NFC East and they control their own destiny. They're playing a team that's banged up, missing all of its first string offensive weapons and whose season is over.

I know, I know. Nothing more dangerous than a team playing for its own pride. Blah, blah, blah. Whatever. The Giants' defense should bat these guys around like a cat playing with a ball of yarn.

Historically, one of these two teams sweeps the series each season. Since 1986, only twice has the series been split - 1990 and 2002. The Giants beat the Eagles a few weeks ago. Despite this game being in Philly, they should have no problems beating them again.

First, however I have to perform a superhuman Christmas light mission outside. By the time I come in from the cold, I'll be ready to go. Kick-off at 4:00pm!

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Nicely Done

Pam at Blogmeister U.S.A. got a swell make-over by Apothegm Designs. Looks great!

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