so you don't really like it

this psa made me laugh, think of adam corolla and his rants on the subject, and wonder what they are really trying to say.

1+2=...?

i saw this story, and yes, it made me laugh. and then think. hey, i don't know if the results that they are claiming are true, but they've delivered them in a witty fashion. now i'm going to go and vandalize wikipedia.

Vladimir Luxuria vs. Elisabetta Gardini

i'm always intrigued by other countries governments. you know, you see footage on the news of some parliment in taiwan or somewhere, and the guys are literally duking it out. or other nations that elect former porn stars to high positions. these things always seem the bickering done in our houses of congress seem mild and tame.

here's the latest example:


i don't know when or if the u.s. will get to the point where we elect a trans-gendered person. i hope that if we do, we can figure out who gets to use what toilet.

here are some of the things i find amusing in the article:
first off, Ms. Vladimir Luxuria changed her name from Wladimiro Guadagno. usually, when you change your name, you change your first name. and maybe your last name too. but, why would you just change the spelling of your pretty manish first name? is vladimir more connotative of a woman than wladimiro? but, i've got to hand it to you, i dig luxuria as a last name.

second, a former "showgirl" is upset? i don't know about italy, but "showgirl" is a friendly euphemism for stripper here in the u.s. maybe the transgender person should be upset that she has to share a restroom with her. and, ms. gardini calls it "sexual violence?" uhhh, you might want to dial that claim back a little bit. maybe you might want to save that label for real sexual violence (rape, sexual assault, sexual harrassment, and so on).

finally, i feel it's pretty important that they point out that ms. luxuria has never had any sort of surgery. this isn't really funny. but, i think it opens a whole new can of worms to the issue. i mean, this is a guy in the women's restroom. what defines gender? generally, in society, it's the parts attached. if you have male parts, you use the male restroom. if you have women's parts, you use the women's. sure, i definately think that someone dressed in the opposite clothes would be a disturbance. but, if i didn't know, it wouldn't bother me at all. furthermore, if we were using a coed restroom it wouldn't be a problem at all. i thought europe was supposed to be more liberal. i thought they had all sorts of loose morals. yet, they're wierded out over a restroom? come on.

football picks wk 8

oooh, time for football picks.

game-----------------------------me-------------sg---------sg's wife------mr.burns
TITANS (-3)vs Texans---------titans--------titans--------titans--------no pick
EAGLES (-7)vs Jaguars--------eagles--------eagles-------jaguars------jaguars
BENGALS (-3.5)vs Falcons----bengals-------bengals----bengals-------falcons
Buccaneers (+9)vs GIANTS----bucs(pts)-----bucs-------giants--------giants
BEARS (-16)vs 49ers------------bears---------bears------niners--------bears
Cardinals (+4)vs PACKERS----cardinals-----cardinals--packers------packers
CHIEFS (-6)vs Seahawks-------chiefs--------chiefs-------seahawks--seahawks
SAINTS (-2)vs Ravens----------saints--------saints-------saints-------saints
Rams (+9.5)vs CHARGERS-----rams----------rams------chargers-----chargers
Steelers (-9)vs RAIDERS--------steelers------steelers---steelers-----no pick
BROWNS (-1.5)vs Jets-----------jets----------browns-----jets--------browns
Colts (+3)vs BRONCOS---------colts---------colts---------broncos-----colts
Cowboys(+5.5)vs PANTHERS---panthers----cowboys---cowboys---cowboys
VIKINGS (+2)vs Patriots-----patriots--------vikings------pats-------patriots

Last week------------------------7-6---------------6-7--------4-9
Season--------------------------53-47------------46-49-5----49-46-5

i loved you in...

so, it's friday afternoon, i've got some freetime. what to do? well, this is always a good time for a movie. so, i'm scrolling through the free movies in the on demand menu, and what do i see as a new edition? krull. i don't need to scroll any farther. i will be watching this movie. and, in the movie description, the credit this as an early role for liam neeson. sweet. another person that i could say, "i loved you in (insert obscure early, embarassing reference)" to if i ever saw them on the street.

i loved this movie as a little kid (it came out in 1983). i even made my own version of the throwing star dealy that the main character used in battle. i do have to say, though, that i'm a few minutes in, and the acting is less than impressive. but who cares? this is a chance to relive the past!

it's odd, i was thinking about this movie lately. i'm not sure why, but i was. and, i wondered if it had been on demand. surprise, it's new.

it's a new day

i'll admit that i can't prove this. but last night, all of the networks were showing reruns. sunday night, there was no football. why? we can't have exhausted all the new episodes. i know, the shows usually have a lull before the "sweeps" time. but, it seemed that the episodes i saw were pretty much old episodes rather than replays of this season's stuff. my main thought is that the other networks don't want to go against the world series. i know this is the truth with sunday night football. in return, there was no world series game on monday (monday night football).

the problem with this thinking, and what the networks need to wake up to, nobody cares about the world series anymore. the ratings are crap. really, the first two games were a record low. and, this is a trend that has been developing. last year's were the previous record lows. game three, in a series tied 1-1, lost out to dancing with the stars. game three beat reruns on nbc, and whatever was on cbs. hell, if i'm the other networks, i worry about programming against the dance equivalent of kareoke. baseball is no longer the national pastime.

having said all of that, survivor didn't truly put up a rerun. the did show a clip show. and, they had some completely new scenes in it, and recut some of the other footage. for being a recap, i was pretty pleased with it. good info, more character development. and, since i was at work while it was on, i got to watch it using the magic of on demand (i love that).

how about a monkey with a knife

jay, the animal world is turning on itself. we may not have to boil the oceans.

look out pigeons. apparently, you don't have a deal with the pelicans either.

some ethics related questions

"the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one"

does this relate though, to the concept of our country? has it? should it? is "the one" akin to the minority viewpoint, and is it not the role of the majority to protect that viewpoint?

let's eat

if you're in the neighborhood on november 3, i think i'm going to dinner here for my birthday. i'm just saying, if you're around.

another perspective on 600,000 dead

"Admitting a number like that would be the equivalent of admitting they had endorsed, say, a tsunami, or an earthquake with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale, or the occupation of a developing country by a ruthless superpower… oh wait- that one actually happened."

that's a quote taken from probably my favorite blog. she doesn't update every day, but when she does, it means something. and really, it had been long enough since the last update that i worried about her health, considering the situation in iraq.

this quote really spins things another way:
"Let's pretend the 600,000+ number is all wrong and that the minimum is the correct number: nearly 400,000. Is that better? Prior to the war, the Bush administration kept claiming that Saddam killed 300,000 Iraqis over 24 years."


on a completely unrelated note, rush limbaugh said that michael j. fox was acting, playing up his parkinsons in a commercial. when he was informed later by callers that he was wrong, at least he had the sense to apologize.

footloose 06

no, kevin bacon isn't making a new movie about how he liberates a town from john lithgo. but, don't get caught dancing in orange cove. it's nice to see a political race not about republicans and democrats, but about to dance or not.



(i guess i was wrong about not posting).

who has two thumbs and is a little older?

happy (model) united nations day.

getting it all together

just so you know, this will probably be a slow week of posts. i'm still trying to get my act together on this class i'm teaching. so, at least today, no real updates.

foosball pickem week 7

dang, i screwed up last week. i didn't get around to making picks. in fact, i didn't even realize that i had forgotten until after the first games had finished. lame. so, that sort of screws up me vs the sports guy & his wife on the season. i think i'll cheat, and figure out what i would've picked. so, hopefully i won't cheat. but, we'll never know. here's the picks for this week:

game----------------------------------me-----------sg-------sg'swife---sideshow bob
Panthers (+3.5) vs BENGALS----panthers------panthers----panthers----panthers
Patriots (-5.5) vs BILLS----------patriots------patriots----patriots--------patriots
Chargers (-5.5) vs CHIEFS-------chargers------chargers----chiefs---------chargers
Steelers (-2.5) vs FALCONS------steelers------steelers----steelers-----falcons
BUCS (+5.5) vs Eagles------------eagles---------bucs--------eagles-------eagles
JETS (-3.5) vs Lions--------------jets------------jets----------lions--------jets
Packers (+5) vs DOLPHINS------packers-------packers-----dolphins---packers
Jaguars (-9.5) vs TEXANS--------jaguars-------jaguars-----texans-------texans
COWBOYS (-3) vs Giants--------giants--------cowboys-----giants-------no pick
BROWNS (+4.5) vs Broncos-----broncos-------browns------browns----broncos
Redskins (+9) vs COLTS---------colts---------redskins----redskins-----colts
Vikings (+6.5)vs SEAHAWKS--seahawks------vikings-----seahawks--seahawks
Cardinals (-3) vs RAIDERS-----raiders-------raiders-----cardinals----cardinals

last week--------------------------7-6-----------7-6---------5-8
season-----------------------------46-41------40-42-5-----47-37-5

hey, pot, you're black, too

stupid kettle

and really, this isn't just an assessment on the person giving this commentary, but rather on the idea that any of the hacks, err, i mean, journalists on cable news would talk about the "vitrol" being put out by far right and far left blogs. hey, have you listened to talk radio ever? nevermind that, have you listened to yourself or the show that you are currently guesting on?

the difference a few hours can make

so, earlier today, i posted about my interview yesterday. no, they didn't miraculously call me and offer me a dream. but, i did have an appointment with a private junior college in the area. i was recently hired as a substitute professor, and had to fill out some papers. so, i did that, and while i was with the h.r. person, one of the program managers called her. he wanted to see me when she was through.

guess who's teaching a class starting next week. no, not you, me. i'll be teaching a class in ethics. 2 hours & ten minutes a day, four days a week, for the next 5 weeks.

so, i've got some preparation to do this weekend. write a syllabus, plans some lessons, etc.

keep on keepin on

i love art hop, and have been hopping for years. i watched it grow, galleries move, and less wine being served. well, i don't know about that last one, i guess it just depends where you go.

i've also known that several other cities do similar nights. i encourage us all to read this article from the la times about long beach, and the resurgence the art night has helped to bring to their downtown.



we're on a good path people. let's keep it up.



(and i've posted this at my ff blog as well)

update on me

some of you know that i had an interview yesterday, with the university that i want to teach at. sadly, there were no miraculous offers, i didn't run out of the building triumphantly, nor was i totally defeated. the interview went well enough, and i'm on their list of people to use in the future. unfortunately, i had hoped to get in on something for next semester. it looks like the earliest i could be teaching would be in the fall.

what does that mean for all of you? well, my blogging won't be slowed up by tedious work preperation. hurray! of course, i'll still be looking for other work, dreaming dreams, and painting.

in other good news

youtube is the greatest. watch as much as you can before they're sued into oblivion. or, as mike tyson once said, bolivia.

what are you doing friday?

awesome show friday night. if you've not seen rademacher, you have got to come with me. it's only $5! and, i'm excited to finally see the dalloways.

national attention for the fresno fair

one of my favorite catalog sites, boing boing, had a link to a story about the big fresno fair! that's right, the home of adam's hummer love made it onto a huge website read by millions. granted, it wasn't about adam, or his hummer hump, but still. booya, fresno! although, i should point out that the story is more about copyright and law, and not about fresno, or the fair.



(i'm also posting this to my fresno famous blog)

now i know the truth

so many of you know that my brother, sister-inlaw, and their kids have lived in south africa for many years. my aunt just recently moved there as well. when you ask them about where they live, the pretoria area, you're likely to hear about how it is just like any other european city. and i've always believed them. but, something has come to light that reminded me of college.

in college, there were plenty of international students, many from central africa. one summer, i asked one of my coworkers (we were digging ditches together for a worthless cogeneration project on campus) what his country was likely. he indignantly told me to read a book about it. hey, i can understand you get tired of answering questions, especially stupid ones, like, "are there monkeys in the streets?"

oh wait, apparently gangs of baboons are running the streets in cape town. cape town. this isn't some little town in the sticks. this is a city that is around 3 million people. and i don't mean that they're just running around. i mean that these baboons are breaking into houses, getting into conflicts with people, and generally messing stuff up.

i knew it all along. everywhere else in the world is overrun by those damn dirty apes.

a couple of stories

"When the waltz was first performed at a royal British ball in 1816, the Times of London wrote: "So long as this obscene display was confined to prostitutes and adulteresses, we did not think it deserving of notice; but now that it is attempted to be forced on the respectable classes of society … we feel it a duty to warn every parent against exposing his daughter to so fatal a contagion."

hey, think what you want, but i still don't want to see kids grinding away. (warning, long article)


and, on a completely unrelated topic, guess who said this, "Look, if the president needed an option, there's all sorts of things they can do. Let's take the best case, OK. You picked up someone you know is the No. 2 aide to Osama bin Laden. And you know they have an operation planned for the United States or some European capital in the next … three days. And you know this guy knows it. Right, that's the clearest example. And you think you can only get it out of this guy by shooting him full of some drugs or water-boarding him or otherwise working him over."

this person also summarized his own views by saying, "If they really believe the time comes when the only way they can get a reliable piece of information is to beat it out of someone or put a drug in their body to talk it out of 'em, then they can present it to the Foreign Intelligence Court, or some other court, just under the same circumstances we do with wiretaps. Post facto…."

ah, but at least he concluded by saying, "But I think if you go around passing laws that legitimize a violation of the Geneva Convention and institutionalize what happened at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo, we're gonna be in real trouble."

that makes it all better. thanks, friend.

adam gets his groove on

oh, you hummer humper.

confirmation

dear religious friends who voted for bush
a book is coming out next week detailing how he and his regime played ya.

your friend,
ed

ps, it's writen by a former white house staffer that was a part of it all.

eatin & sleepin

some of you may have heard of the phenomenon. here's a cookbook for you.

new beginings

ah, with a show comes an apartment full of blank walls. that alone is enough to get me going. add in the possibility of a show next month, i've got to get to work. so, here are 2 new paintings that are beginning.


this canvas is 3'x4'



this is a piece of wood, 3/8" thick, that has been cut to 4'x5' (thanks adam), which will now be my biggest piece yet.

so, if i go off of how long it took me to finish weltanshaaung, they'll be done in about a year. just in time for...

i better get cracking.

evo morales

i realize that this is only one side of the story, but i think i like evo morales. some of his highlights:
first bolivian president of aymara nationality
believes government should: improve economic disparities, help restore to the people their lost dignity, and protect freedom of expression
one of his first acts as president was to cut his own salary in half, and then recommend similar cuts to the congress, which in turn followed his lead
public approval ratings upwards of 80 percent
nationalized bolivia’s natural gas reserves
laid out a plan of repartitioning 200,000 square kilometers of state-owned lands for cultivation by indigenous communities and landless campesinos

morales is also friends with hugo chavez of venezuela and fidel castro of cuba, and thus is despised by the right. that doesn't make him good or bad in my eyes, just a little food for thought.

a post for iain

if you've met my nephew iain, this commercial will make perfect sense.

a month behind?

quick little post:
i hadn't gotten paid by the agency i recently worked a day for, despite it being a new month, and a few weeks after. so, i called their hr dept. apparently, i won't get paid for the job in september until the end of october. any time i work in october won't be paid until the end of november. lame.

odd news link dump

not much kicking a-my way, so i thought i'd hit up the news resources for some good old link fun.

quite a while back, adam had a story about make-up and attractiveness. this article reminded me of it. the results of the study are interesting, but i'm hesitant to say that clothing is an outward sign of fertility.

this story makes me sad. i can't imagine having to deal with fear of reprisal every day just because you want to make an honest living. and, in all honesty, it reveals a bit of why i didn't like working in the court schools.

this article makes me think that bush and putin are really cut from the same mold. perhaps it's why they don't seem to like each other very much, too much alike. "Putin called the Novaya Gazeta reporter's contract-style slaying Saturday "a crime of loathsome brutality." But he drew the ire of Politkovskaya's admirers when he also portrayed himself as a victim and implied that her articles had damaged Russia."

who killed the electric car? well, the l.a. times keeps printing articles about companies doing it, so i guess no one. although, i think everyone involved would say that it's hardly a booming industry.

"they're the wrong trousers grommit!"

this stinks. apparently, it has nothing to do with test scores.

these may be the worst ten reasons not to go to a psychic.

"gimme back my son...errr...rock!" stupid tsa.

difficult transitions to freedom

as i skimmed the bbc's website this morning, i saw several articles that highlight the difficulties that exist in changing a repressive system to democracy.

south africa, twelve years out of apartheid, struggles with so much. crushing poverty, an increasing gap between rich and poor, aids, and racial strife are tremendous hurdles for this nation. nobel peace prize winner desmond tutu warns that this "powder keg" of unrest could soon explode.

in russia, contract killers are the latest sign that the transistion from communism to capitalism is a long, hard struggle. perhaps i shouldn't say latest, as they have been a problem since the fall of communism and rise of organized crime and easily available weaponry. the killers, which can be hired for as little as $100, are suspected in the recent high profile murder of a journalist.

and finally, in iraq, it remains apparent that the war is far from over. 51 tortured bodies have recently been found. the u.s. military, alongside the iraqi defense forces, are engaged in battle with militants.

the first two situations really make it difficult for me to have much hope for the third. they transitioned from difficult situations, but not through violent upheaval and war. both have had plenty of opportunity to change and develop, but haven't been able to excell. heck, they're barely making it work at all. of course, i'm not sure how idealic the u.s. was to live in during it's first 15 years. i think we can all see that it will be a long, hard road in iraq.

week 5 nfl picks

i almost forgot to make my weekly picks. without further delay:

game-----------------------------me------------sg-----------sg's wife-------patty & selma

COLTS(-19)vs Titans-----------colts--------colts----------titans--------colts
Redskins(+4.5)vs GIANTS-----redskins---redskins------giants-------redskins
Lions(+6.5) vs VIKINGS-------vikings------lions----------lions--------lions
SAINTS(-6.5)vs Bucs-----------saints--------saints-------bucs----------saints
Rams(-3) vs PACKERS---------rams---------rams---------packers-----rams
PATRIOTS(-10) vs Dolphins--patriots-----patriots------patriots-----patriots
PANTHERS(-8.5) vs Browns---panthers---panthers----panthers-----browns
BEARS(-10) vs Bills------------bills----------bears--------bills----------bears
Cowboys(+2) vs EAGLES-------eagles-------cowboys---cowboys-----cowboys
Jets(+7) vs JAGUARS-----------jets---------jets----------jags------------jets
CARDS(+3) vs Chiefs------------chiefs-------cards-------cards---------cards
49ERS(-3.5) vs Raiders--------49ers--------49ers-------49ers----------raiders
CHARGERS(-3) vs Steelers----steelers-----chargers----steelers-----no pick
BRONCOS(-4) vs Ravens-------broncos------broncos----ravens------ravens


last week------------------------6-8-----------6-8--------10-4
season---------------------------35-25------29-29-2-----35-23-2

quick post for theo

i'm just putting this up real quick like. i'm about to go set up for my art show. but, want to give a quick thanks to my buddy theo. we went to local establishment babylon yesterday, and were chatting with the manager. theo pimped my work, and it looks like i may have a show @ babylon in november. i'll get together with the manager to discuss all the logistics, and hopefully get a live music act set up for the night as well.

it was funny, the manager was like, "we're big with budwiser, i'll see if they'll sponsor it."

ummm, okay.

aaaarrgh

i hate political ads. really, i do. on a very rare occassion, there is a funny one. but, most just annoy me. and, i doubt that they convince anyone to vote for a candidate. they just affirm stereotypes for those who are already planning on voting for a person.

unfortunately, tis the season to be barraged with political ads. i just saw an ad for chuck poochigian that bothered me so much i had to write this.

the candidate he is running against, is jerry brown. brown is against the death penalty. "for serial killers and cop killers. he may be the least qualified person in ca. to be attorney general." well, he's not. because a-hole poochigian, i am less qualified. not only do i not have any experience, but i am also against the death penalty. for everyone.

on wiki, here's what they say about you, chuck, "Although he is seeking to become California's chief law enforcement officer, he has no previous experience in the field of criminal law, or in supervising other attorneys in a law office."

sin is sin is sin is sin is sin is sin...

i've been glad that my blogging friends haven't really posted much on the whole congressman foley situation. i don't think anyone is ignoring it, but there has been such a whirlwind of things happening in this country in the last few weeks, i think we've all been a little weary.

tonight, i read a great response that i want to share with you.


(i also upgraded to blogger beta. woo.)

friday night lights

i really hadn't given much thought to watching friday night lights, nbc's new tv show about high school football in texas. i like football, high school was alright, but this show didn't stand out to me. but, we didn't see anything else that looked all that interesting and gave the show a try. it was the pilot episode, so if you're not going to do it for me now, i'm probably not going to give you another watch.

here are my thoughts: very predictable. and i mean very. i think within the first fifteen minutes i predicted the qb was going to get hurt and the scrub back up was going to have to save the day. guess what happened in the first game of the season.

but, i've got to say, even though it was predictable, it was still a well done show. most of the "kids" looked like they could be in high school, the coach (who was on the cbs show early edition) was pretty good at playing a mellow, first time head coach. what really impressed me was the football. it wasn't the over the top sports action we've been force fed lately. it looked like they recorded a real football game. the hits weren't decleaters, guys weren't flying over the air on every hit, and the passes weren't all 70 yard bombs.

i'll check out the next episode.

we've got a month of screwed up tv schedules ahead

who...

major league baseball play offs start today

cares.