More excess of common sense.

Never happen. Would work too well and expose the last 40 years as nonsense. Too much ego and pride on the line for that.

Reason Magazine - Rewiring the System:

"Burns listed three reforms that would improve the criminal justice system when he spoke with Reason in February.

1. End drug prohibition. “I’d definitely decriminalize drugs.”

2. Change priorities. “We need to stop warehousing people in prisons. Nonviolent offenders should be let go. On the front end, we need to find ways to give these kids more opportunities so they can be competitive, so they aren’t slinging dope on the corners.”

3. Stop the numbers game. “If a big-time dealer is a ‘1,’ and a low-level crack user is a ‘1,’ who do you think is going to get the bulk of police attention? The easier guy. It’s easy to hit the corners and round guys up. We should focus police attention on serious crimes, and stop measuring success by the number of guys we put in jail.”"

Indeed. Been a sad eight years...

Balloon Juice:

"George Bush has been, without question, the most ethically handicapped President in my lifetime, and perhaps ever. From the top to the bottom of his administration, we have witnessed rampant and widespread criminality, cronyism, and incompetence of an unparalleled nature, and again, this has been from the top to the bottom of his administration. George Bush is responsible for the smoldering wreckage that is the current DOJ. George Bush is responsible for the disaster in Iraq. George Bush is responsible for the fact that the federal government has served as an affirmative action program for unqualified hacks from Regents University. George Bush is responsible for illegal surveillance of American citizens."

Robert Downey, Jr just rocks. Looking forward to IRON MAN, I am.

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: I AM "IRON MAN": Robert Downey, Jr.:

"For the last five years or so, I've been doing martial arts. And I'm not 28, or I'm not some guy like Daniel Craig who's already had meat packed on his shoulders. You've seen me in all the movies, I'm not like Mr. Buff Guy, and now I'm in the over-40 crew. So it has literally been this excruciating process of working out so hard and so often just to not look like a little pot-bellied pig...

And you know, yoga, and eating right, and all the supplements, and sleeping right, and all the other obvious good stuff that is probably more important than working out. You have to keep your head right. It's so easy to get spun out, and you see people who have no challenges outside of their Hollywood problems, and they regularly have meltdowns on set, or they turn into a bitch, or they say and do things because they're under pressure, or because they think they're something they're not. It's really a trip to be number one on the call sheet and doing a movie like this..."

"The Logic of Hillary '08: #3"

This is hilarious. The user's got a handful of other similar vids, but this was easily my favorite.

Formula One Nazi Orgies.

Somebody's got Daddy Issues.

Max Mosley faces calls to quit as Formula One chief after ‘Nazi’ orgy - Times Online:

"Max Mosley, one of the most powerful men in world sport, was under pressure to resign as boss of Formula One’s governing body last night after he was exposed enjoying a Nazi-style orgy with five prostitutes.

Jewish groups condemned the behaviour of Mosley, 67, whose father, Sir Oswald, was the leader of the British Union of Fascists and a friend of Adolf Hitler.

Mr Mosley was caught on video by the News of the World with five women in an underground “torture chamber” in Chelsea, where he spent several hours allegedly indulging in sado-masochistic sex.

The Oxford-educated former barrister, who is president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), reenacted a concentration camp scene in which he played the role of both guard and inmate.

Speaking in German and brandishing a leather whip, he beat the women after allowing himself to be subjected to a humiliating inspection for lice and an interrogation in chains.

Mr Mosley, a close confidant of Bernie Ecclestone, who holds the commercial rights to Formula One, paid £2,500 cash for the sex services, the Sunday newspaper claimed...

So, regardless... prostitution is illegal, so he'll get that slap on the wrist. But he got 5 prostitutes, all night, for about $5K. Compared to Spitzer, who paid $5500 for an hour with one young lady. So we're talking some sound financial management, here. The kind of guy you want controlling the purse strings of your org.

And, it's interesting to note, he played guard and inmate in his little roleplay scenario, so he's clearly got a lot of issues and conflict going on in his psyche, besides his dom/sub thing...

But hey, behind closed doors... consenting adults... who cares? Really? And why would you?

An excess of common sense.

Fred On Everything:

"I’m going to Colombia for a couple of weeks. At least, I hope to. If it weren’t for [family] I’d probably stay there.

Colombia is a swell country. It grows drugs, which half the world wants, and doesn’t force them on anyone who doesn’t want them. They’re pro- choice. What could be more liberal and enlightened? The cartels are like the Capone mob during Prohibition: a public utility. They gave the country a drink when it needed one, at a decent price, and only killed each other, which was an internal affair. The feds always want to meddle in what doesn’t concern them."

You Can't Fuck With James Brown.

[Or, you know... you couldn't.] They don't make 'em like that anymore.

Warren Ellis » Awe:

"'One night in the summer of 2001, after he’d slathered her in Vaseline (“He liked you all greased up,” she says. “Like a porkchop”) and wore her out trying to come, he gave up and left the room, and Gloria dozed off. When she woke up, (James Brown) was standing at the foot of the bed in a full-length mink coat over his bare chest, a black cowboy hat, and silk pajama pants with one leg tucked into a cowboy boot and the other hanging out. He had a shotgun over his shoulder and a white stripe of Noxzema under each eye. “I’m an Indian tonight, baby,” he announced. “C’mon, let’s let ’em have it.” Then he dumped a pickle jar of change on the floor, told her to get a machete, and went out to the garage. He took the Rolls, drove ten miles to Augusta, weaving all over the road, clipping mailboxes, smoking more dope, and screaming about being an Indian.' - James Brown ‘Cummed Himself To Death’ - Hecklerspray: Music, Movies, TV, Celebs, Games and Gossip"

Truth.

Balloon Juice:

"Some days I imagine a world where Serious People on my TV realize that staying in Iraq is (1) unsustainable and (2) as damaging as any of these terrible hypothetical consequences of leaving that I keep hearing about. Then I’m swimming from a shipwreck, and suddenly I’m flying around in gold underwear and fighting bears. I have pretty weird dreams."

Priceless, indeed. [+ Learning from Comics.]

The Race Card, by Michael Davis - ComicMix news:

"The black woman I was talking to spent the next few minutes just hating on Kamila and me. She insulted me by telling me that I was not black and that my girlfriend was just a ho I most likely was paying to be with me. Finally after three or four minutes of this she said “What does she have that I don’t have?” Now remember she had just insulted my girlfriend and me. I looked at her and calmly said. “She’s white and knows how to make an egg sandwich and when to shut up. But most of all, what I see in her is she’s not you.”

Black Armani suit: $2,500.00

Valet Parking Beverly Hills Hotel: $20.00

Tips to waiters at the open bar at the party: $40.00

Shutting up a bigot at a huge Hollywood party: Priceless.

There are some things in life that are priceless. For everything else there’s The You’re Not My Mastercard… bitch.

I am a very proud black man. I don’t care what color you are, you fall in love with who you fall in love with… period.

I love the vibe at comic book conventions. Ours is a world full of like-minded people who don’t see color. We see the world as it should be. We are content to be who we are and let others be who they are. We worry about important stuff, like whether Superman can beat the Hulk. He would beat him like his personal little BIC-TCH by the way.

...The world could learn a lot from how comic book fans conduct ourselves. At comic book conventions if you see a black man walking with a white girl it means nothing. For that matter, if you see a white girl walking with a Wookie we don’t bat an eye..."

"Abstinence Only Education Failing: Teens Think Bleach Prevents HIV."

Hard to believe kids can be so dumb in the age of the internet. But still, you only know - up till a certain age, leastways - what you're taught. The level of stupidity is mind boggling, though.

Crooks and Liars » Abstinence Only Education Failing: Teens Think Bleach Prevents HIV:

"A recent survey that found some Florida teens believe drinking a cap of bleach will prevent HIV and a shot of Mountain Dew will stop pregnancy has prompted lawmakers to push for an overhaul of sex education in the state.

The survey showed that Florida teens also believe that smoking marijuana will prevent a person from getting pregnant.State lawmakers said the myths are spreading because of Florida’s abstinence-only sex education, Local 6 reported."

1 Man, 25 kids. Plus one divorce. And 4 or 5 hostesses [at a time.] "Still up for more breeding," he says.

Good grief. On the one hand, kinda cool. On the other... dude, c'mon.

A testament to the Japanese work ethic.

Profligate parent does his bit for the aging population -- by fathering 25 kids - Mainichi Daily News:

"Okinawa's Moriyasu Zakimi has ridden highs and lows -- and plenty of different women -- to become Japan's most prolific papa, with at least 25 children, according to Shukan Shincho (4/3).

..."At around 30, I moved to Nagoya and business boomed. I had about 80 workers and was getting well off, which allowed me to get a bit of a taste for places with neon lights. I lived with about four or five of the hostesses I met around that time. I had a lot of kids in the five years I lived in Nagoya, and all of them are aged between 15 and 20 now. If they're my kids, I have no problems recognizing my paternity, but not all of the women wanted that. I met the kids when they were little, but I often wonder now how they're doing."

..."My wife was really sick of me going around having babies with one mistress after another, so she divorced me, he says in a matter-of-fact tone.

..."When I was 37, I shacked up with a 22-year-old woman, who gave me two more sons. Then I had relationships with another six local women, living with three of them, who had my kids in secret while I was away on a business trip...

"...I honestly have to say I don't know when the urge is going to come upon me again. I guess looking back I haven't led the best sort of life, but it's not like you can go back in time and fix things up."

Indeed, Zakimi has no regrets about his lifestyle.

"...My youngest daughter and her eldest daughter, that is my granddaughter, go to the same kindergarten. The teachers were really surprised. But the kids have a great time playing together.""

Well... that's amazingly disturbing.

Woman's dismembered torso found in paper bag in Tokyo apartment - Mainichi Daily News:

"A dismembered body part believed to be that of a missing Filipino woman has been found stuffed in a paper bag in her apartment in Tokyo's Minato-ku, sparking a search for a man who also lived there, police said."

Philosophy 101.

Fightlinker » Blog Archive » On the UFC ring girls:

"There’s basically two tiers of hotness at any time: actual hotness and relative hotness. You judge the girls you meet on actual hotness … this actual hotness is how you judge if you wanna date them or sleep with them or whatever else you happen to do with girls. On the other hand there’s relative hotness, which is what you use to judge models, actresses, and other ‘celebrity’ figures. In this case you’re comparing them to other girls in the same range. It’s relative, the same way you don’t judge pro fighters on their ability to beat you up, you judge them on their ability against other pro fighters."

"If they knew who you really were, they wouldn't like you."

I have issues. It's a work in progress.

"25" was ten years ago... Jeez.

Brought about by the onset of a graduating class at Jr High, and the realization of the fact that my neice - who was born the year I graduated HS - is graduating herself in June. Man... aging is kind of a bitch.

Vitamin C - Friends Forever Lyrics:

"So we talked all night about the rest of our lives, where we're gonna be when we turn 25? I keep thinking times will never change, Keep on thinking things will always be the same... But when we leave this year we won't be coming back, No more hanging out cause we're on a different track. And if you got something that you need to say, You better say it right now, 'Cause you don't have another day. 'Cause we're moving on and can't slow it down, These memories are playing like a film without sound... I keep on thinking of the night in June, I didn't know much of love but it came too soon... And there was me and you when we got real blue, We'd stay at home talking on the telephone... We'd got so excited and get so scared, Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair. And this is how it feels...

(CHORUS):
As we go on, we remember, All the times we had together... And as our lives change, Come whatever, We will still be friends forever



So if we get the big jobs and we make the big money, When we look back now will our jokes still be funny? Will we still remember everything what we learned in school, Still be trying to break every single rule? Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man? Will Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan? I keep - keep thinking that its not goodbye, Keep on thinking its our time to fly... And this is how it feels...

Repeat Chorus:

La la la la la la la...
(We will still be friends forever)

We think about tomorrow like we think about now? Can we survive it out there? Can we make it somehow? I guess I thought that this would never end... And suddenly it's like we're women and men, Will the past be a shadow that will follow us around? Will these memories fade when I leave this town? I keep - keep thinking that it's not goodbye... Keep on thinking it's our time to fly"

"...remember this when the Great Disaster strikes, and you’re running around in denim cut-offs, fighting robot gangsters..."

Indeed.

Blog@Newsarama » What did Jack Kirby know, and when did he know it?:

"Jack Kirby filled his comics with a lot of futuristic, wacky and often brilliant ideas, but was he a conspiracy theorist? Kenn Thomas — a noted conspiracy theorist himself — seems to think so.

Hey, Kirby crafted the story “The Face on Mars” nearly 20 years before the mysterious rocky feature was even discovered. What more proof do you need?
...Sure, you scoff now. But remember this when the Great Disaster strikes, and you’re running around in denim cut-offs, fighting robot gangsters, tiger pirates and giant grasshoppers: You should’ve listened to Jack Kirby."

Jack Kirby - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is 'The King.'

...Kirby later produced other DC titles such as OMAC, Kamandi, The Demon, and, together with former partner Joe Simon for one last time, a new incarnation of the Sandman."

Yet another reason why biometrics are a REALLY bad idea.

Hackers publish thousands of copies of fingerprint of German Minister who promotes fingerprint biometrics - Boing Boing:

"Hackers from the Chaos Computer Club lifted a fingerprint from German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble, printed it on plastic, and distributed it by the thousands with their magazine for anyone who wants to impersonate the Minister at a biometric checkpoint. Remember folks: short of amputation, a biometric identifier can't be revoked or changed."

America. Land of the fr... Oh wait. Never mind.

Reason Magazine - Brickbats:

"Officials at Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, suspended 70 students for five days for protesting a new rule mandating that they tuck their shirts into their pants. Officials say the protesters broke a school rule against “encouraging other students to violate school rules or regulations.”

...The Tennessee Department of Revenue has started posting agents to watch cigarette sales in stores in surrounding states, all of which have lower cigarette taxes. Tennessee law bans people from bringing more than two cartons of smokes into the state without paying Tennessee taxes. Revenuers look for anyone with Tennessee tags buying cigarettes and call ahead to officers in the Volunteer State, who can arrest the miscreants after they cross back into the state. If they have three cartons or more, officials can seize their cars."

That IS cool.

Was He Actually Talking about *That*? Because That Would Be Sad.

Wannabe gangster, on opposite Up escalator, watching couple in their mid-20s kissing on Down escalator: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
[Girl flashes a thumbs-up behind the guy's back.]
Wannabe gangster: Yo, that bitch is COOL!

--AMC Theatre, Times Square

Overheard by: just eating popcorn

via Overheard in New York, Mar 31, 2008

A Jesus I'd work with.

Lately Jesus Finds Himself Obsessively Playing 'Dead Rising'

GUY #1: The Jehovah Witnesses say the world is ending and the good will inherit the earth... So then what? The less good people will be the bad people, and little things will seem worse?
GUY #2: I don't get it, these religions are inconsistent. Is Jesus taking the good people with him or do the good people inherit the earth? I hope he takes them with him.
GUY #1: I spoke with Jesus and he doesn't know what's going on: he just got the Xbox 360 and said he could care less.
GUY #2: He sounds like a good guy.

--Port Authority
Overheard by: Bobby

via Overheard in New York, Mar 31, 2008

"Judge Individuals, Not Groups"

Rinse. Repeat.

The Perils of Judging Groups of People

Blind, 74 year old archer makes the "Robin Hood" shot.

Crazy cool.

Blind luck helps archer make one-in-a-million Robin Hood shot -- Signs of the Times News:

"An archer has achieved a one-in-a-million feat of marksmanship after splitting one arrow with another. What makes the shot even more remarkable is that Tilly Trotter is blind.The 74-year-old grandmother pulled off the shot, known among archers as a "Robin Hood", at a practice session of the Wellington Bowmen in Somerset...

Mrs Trotter, from Uffculme, North Devon, lost most of her sight following a head injury 17 years ago. "I can see movement but I have no central vision," she said.

...She may dismiss the shot as a fluke, but she also won a gold medal at the British Blind Sports National Championship last year."

Note to self; think, then speak.

Kyushu Engrish/Japlish.

Via the esteemable and entertaining Martial Farts

How you know when your foreign policy is fucked up beyond all reasonable expectation.

Via Crooks and Liars

What I've Read - Casanova, Book One: Luxuria - Coolest [in that Rat Pack/Dean Martin sense] comic I've read in a while.

Casanova Volume 1: Luxuria by Matt Fraction,Gabriel Ba:

"Meet Casanova Quinn: prodigal son of a law-and-order family hell-bent on keeping the world safe and sound; now blackmailed into betraying his father and the international law enforcement organization he controls. Luxuria collects the first volume of Casanova as its titular star transforms from devil-may-care thrill-seeker into the most dangerous man in the world. What happens when the ultimate player gets played? Find out in this genre-bending sci-spy epic."

Time + dimensional travel, giant Japanese robots, orgone generators, hyper-technological hidden cities, super-spies, sex AIs, magic performance art ninjas and touches of incest [but not really.]

Awesome. KAL'LAA!!

44KG of Ass-Kickery.

Current DEEP 44KG Women's Flyweight Champion Satoko Shinashi.

Very slick subs and takedowns.

If you try to change, people will fight you.

I've done it to others [sorry Sandy], and had it done to me. Worth noticing, remembering, and changing.

The Crabs | StrongLifts.com:

...Your environment influences your thoughts. Many of your friends, colleagues & family are crabs. And they’ll repeatedly try to pull you back into the barrel.

Crabs don’t realize what they do. Sometimes it’s jealousy because you have the guts to do what they can’t. Often it’s because they don’t want to be alone in the barrel. Russ showed Tuesday typical Crab behavior: self-limiting belief.

...Ask crabs why they’re demotivating you or talking you down, and they’ll answer something like “I’m a realist” (which you can only be in the now, not in the future).

...Dealing with Crabs. 1 reason people fail to achieve their goals is because crabs repeatedly tells them they can’t do it. Never listen to crabs. You are responsible for your future. No-one else.

* Believe. “Your only limitation is the one that you set up in your own mind.” & “You can do it if you believe you can” - Napoleon Hill. Remember these.
* Agree. Leave the crabs in their barrels. No need to get into arguments with them. Agree and focus on your goals.
* Remove. Your environment influences your thoughts. Remove crabs from your life. The more you do this, the better.
* Connect. You can find people who got out of the barrel or are trying to get out of it just like you. Look for them, they’re out there.
* Succeed. Success is the best revenge. Revenge should never be your motivation, but succeeding is the only answer you should give.

The only political ticket I could fully endorse.

Joss Whedon for President Sticker: CafePress.com