Hurricanes

This is all I think about at the moment. I eat, sleep and dream hurricanes. In all fairness, it's pretty cool.

I've started to quantify everyday things in terms of classification of hurricanes. For example, if something is good then it's a factor 5.

622 days and counting...

OK, I was thinking about this during the last week (trying to avoid the broohaha about Anna Nicole Smith {did you know that CNN had an hour and a half of uninterrupted coverage when they discovered it? As The Daily Show pointed out, that makes it more important than a State of the Union, but less than 9/11}), and I was looking through the list of Presidential Candidates (announced and tipped) and compiled reasons why I won't be voting for them.

Mitt Romney; He's pandering to the Republican base on abortion and gay marriage (and quite possibly stem cell research, but he hasn't flipped his stance on this one, so you never know...). This turns me off. A lot. I don't like panderers. And I won't vote for someone who changes their convictions based on the base. Damn populists.

John Edwards, Hillary Clinton; They're pandering to the base on the war in Iraq. I'm not liking this either. I know that some of you (read all of you) will have a different opinion to the war than me, but I don't like it when people pull their support when it becomes unpopular (unlike Obama, who I respect and admire for opposing the war). Also I don't feel that we should just let a civil war happen and huge Iraqi casualties. An American life is not worth more than an Iraqi one. We just need a new President. And Vice President.

Barack Obama; I just don't like his views on a lot of issues. Like his voting record to make pharmacists supply the morning after pill. Or Catholic doctors perform abortion. I respect him, and think he's Presidential material, but I don't like his policies. Sorry. And it's not like he'd lose Illinois, anyway.

Sam Brownback; As Julian Mansfield put it, the Christian Coalition likes him. I don't. One Evangelical in the White House this century was enough.

Newt Gingrich Ha!

Tom Vilsack; He quit today, just two months after entering, and 11 months before the first caucus (in his own state). Wow, that's fast.

People who I'd consider voting for, conditionally;

John McCain; Stop pandering to the religious right. Stop it, or you lose my vote. And don't authorize torture. DON'T.

Rudy Guiliani; I like your federalist views, especially on gay marriage and abortion. But I don't like your civil rights history. Convince me I'm wrong.

Al Gore; I'm liking you more and more, especially on the environment. Persuade me.

Bill Richardson, Mike Huckabee; I don't know enough about these guys, but what I've heard I like. And they were governors.

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And for you out there who don't get a vote in the election, a nice fact about the biases of America. As far as I can tell, the homosexual and the Atheist are the only two not running for President. But it looks good for me, if I were to run.

I have nothing bad to say about February

With St. Valentine's Day as the only exception (I realize that it is a contentious subject for some people), isn't February a great month? You've got all the perks of winter - snow, pleasantly chilly weather, sliding around on solid ground, and wearing long sleeve shirts under short sleeve shirts - without the brutal cold of January, the hectic Christmas season, the rain of spring, or the foul humidity of summer. And my thesis isn't due for another month and a half. I love you, February.

February brought me something else: The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. When this appeared on the reading list for one of my courses, I cringed in horror - 600 page books about ancient Greece? Does anyone like this besides Trevor the Plutocrat? But after reading the first two books, I realized my mistake. This is a must-read for anyone that enjoys epic, glory-obsessed military/political history. One of Pericles' speeches (intended to rally the Athenians) gave me the elusive non-sexual tingly-feeling - more than 2000 years later. The democratic prewar deliberations on both sides and the events leading up to the ultimate conflict are incredibly interesting.

I'm writing this from a weightroom in a sophomore dormitory - my other job. If I make the horrible mistake of not blasting music when people come in, they immediately turn on the radio. Today was CLASSIC ROCK RADIO, one of my least favorite things. When I was in middle school, I thought that classic rock was great...before I realized that classic rock stations played THE SAME SONGS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. NO MORE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN l;aksdjf alw;erja;lksdfjal;skjliawejflkasdjflawerhfiasdjglaksjsgl;waieejtlasngljjsdnfa.

The Reformation was stupid anyhow

One of the things I like about living inthe Old World is the opportunity to chance of seeing archaic language on the front page of my newspapers. Case in point: "schism".

I kind of hope this schism does happen, though mostly because I'm curious. After you've separated from the fundamentalists and Anglo-Catholics from the Church of England, what will be left?

Scrying

In any debate about how internet has affected society from now on, I'm going to use this example.

Google Maps is Wonder On Tap.

Dumb People. And I miss Gumby.

You lucky people (the few of you who actually read this) get this amazing post because my vanity couldn't stand to be pushed off the bottom of the page by any new posts⁰.

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You know what I hate? People. That's right. People. Not any person individually, just as a function of society.

Firstly, as you are probably aware, the most tragic event in the world, with earth-shattering consquences happened! The most amazing actress (Naked Gun 33 ¹/₃, Hudsucker Proxy and Veronica's Closet)¹, the most beautiful playmate, the most interesting person in the world, has left us.

Ok, I can deal with this. Breathe. Breathe deep. The world just seems like it's over. That's what I assume from the news coverage that's been playing on least 2 of the 24 hour news channels since her death (which, to be honest, was untimely, tragic and unfortunate). Stop it people! They're only doing this because you watch it! Stop watching it, and maybe they'll report something good²! Stop watching infotainment!!!

Also, I watched Babel today. And, you know what, it gets a little bit preachy (as with most best picture nominated films), but that doesn't make it less true. What drives me crazy is people's arrogance and pride and stupidity when they interact with others. Just let insults go, people! Don't make a commotion, or start a fight, or start a feud over something that doesn't matter. Just sit down and shut up. I want to say more, but the more I type, the more I get a headache.

Humility. Emotion. Discussion. Politeness. Sense. Intelligence. Thinking. What's wrong with people that they don't willingly foster these "virtues", instead idolizing the Secretive, Stalwart, Proud, Rude, Irrational, Prejudicial ones?

Bad World! Bad! No cookie for you!

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⁰Gumby has nothing to do with this, but I saw a reference to the amazing stretchy thing and remembered the good ol' days of yore.
¹I'm proud of the way I did a third with a superscript and a subscript. One of the many simple things that made me smile today. Mind of a child, me.
²By good, I mean something that changes our lives, like this³, not necessarily something good.
³I really like Specter. He's one of the good Republicans that I'd keep if I had to reappoint the Senate. Him, Collins, Snowe, Graham, McCain. I would have kept DeWine, Chaffee and Allen, but they got booted out. That's a pipe dream...
⁴I know there's not a 4, but why is the number 3 so big? It almost looks like a normal sized number in either super- or subscript. So does 4, for that matter.

Snow joke

Punters everywhere (and I use the generic term for Sun readers as liberally as possible) were outraged today by this news article.

I was also a bit shocked by it. 4ft? Ours was much bigger!