Saturday, June 30, 2007
Hiatus
I ran into a problem with my computer. It looks like a Windows problem, so my computer's back under repair. Please forgive the hiatus. I'll be blogging up a storm once it's back.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
A Thought
The reaction to Salman Rushdie's recent honor (British knighthood) shows how sick his opponents are. They believe neither in freedom nor in a good God. They are--ironically--idolatrists, in their worship of Mohammad. Listening to them, one can hardly fathom that Allah is actually their god.
I am quite annoyed by supposed religious types who use God as an excuse to speak and act in ghastly manners. Those who would execute the fatwah on Rushdie are no better than klansmen.
I am quite annoyed by supposed religious types who use God as an excuse to speak and act in ghastly manners. Those who would execute the fatwah on Rushdie are no better than klansmen.
Rushdie
It's one thing to think that Salmon Rusdie is a heretic, even an infadel. It's another thing to proclaim upon him a death sentence because he dared to write a novel. It's still another thing to threaten the British people with violence because they recently knighted him.
The reaction to Rushdie's knighthood shows how sick his opponents are. They believe neither in freedom nor in a good God. They are--ironically--idolitrists, in their worship of Mohammad.
The reaction to Rushdie's knighthood shows how sick his opponents are. They believe neither in freedom nor in a good God. They are--ironically--idolitrists, in their worship of Mohammad.
Harry Potter and Meat
If you haven't yet read them, then do read the Harry Potter novels. They are quite good. The first two novels are typical(but quality) teenage literature. However, the subsequent ones are much deeper, darker, and satisfying--but only if you start from the beginning.
In light of this, I must confess that I would not be a well behaved wizard.
I read up to The Goblet of Fire with Natalie, and then turned it over to her, but she's so painfully slow in her progress--probably because she just turned seven--that I could not wait and read ahead. I'm now nearly finished with The Order of the Phoenix--the best one yet.
I simply couldn't wait for her, not since the final installment is nearly due--and I want to read it myself before I hear about it.
Like I said, I would not have been a well behaved wizard. Ever since I started The Goblet of Fire, I keep wishing for Harry to use Avada Kedavra on several characters (e.g. Umbridge, Snape, Fudge, both Malfoys, the Crabbes, the Goyles, and (of course) Wormtail and Voldemort).
While I am pretty much against the use of violence, there are times when, I dare say, people need killing (or at least hurting)--see my previous comments on Hugo Chavez and Keanu Reeves.
So much for me being a pacifist.
I'm like a vegetarian who craves beef.
MMM--beef. It's what's for dinner.
Hell yes, it is!
And Pork's not just the other white meat. It is the white meat. Chicken is for peasants, though it's quite good when cooked on a grill.
In light of this, I must confess that I would not be a well behaved wizard.
I read up to The Goblet of Fire with Natalie, and then turned it over to her, but she's so painfully slow in her progress--probably because she just turned seven--that I could not wait and read ahead. I'm now nearly finished with The Order of the Phoenix--the best one yet.
I simply couldn't wait for her, not since the final installment is nearly due--and I want to read it myself before I hear about it.
Like I said, I would not have been a well behaved wizard. Ever since I started The Goblet of Fire, I keep wishing for Harry to use Avada Kedavra on several characters (e.g. Umbridge, Snape, Fudge, both Malfoys, the Crabbes, the Goyles, and (of course) Wormtail and Voldemort).
While I am pretty much against the use of violence, there are times when, I dare say, people need killing (or at least hurting)--see my previous comments on Hugo Chavez and Keanu Reeves.
So much for me being a pacifist.
I'm like a vegetarian who craves beef.
MMM--beef. It's what's for dinner.
Hell yes, it is!
And Pork's not just the other white meat. It is the white meat. Chicken is for peasants, though it's quite good when cooked on a grill.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Paris Hilton and Undigested Corn
Am I the only one who doesn't give a rip about Paris Hilton? Seriously, I don't think that she is news. If she'd gone to jail for, say, shooting someone (preferably another no-talent pseudo-celebrity), then that might be considered news.
Presently, the "news" about Paris Hilton fits into the same category as the "news" that I ate a lot of corn the other day, and it came out undigested. Hell, at least this latter story is one to which you can probably relate.
Presently, the "news" about Paris Hilton fits into the same category as the "news" that I ate a lot of corn the other day, and it came out undigested. Hell, at least this latter story is one to which you can probably relate.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Happy Me
Don't expect any rants for at least a few days. Right now, I'm just content with my life. The rest of the world can go to Hell, and all I'll note is how wonderful my three children are.
How uncharacteristic is this post of me? Here's a fix: Hugo Chavez is a liar, an a-hole, a power-hungry demagogue, and the most dangerous man in the hemisphere. I hope that he dies soon and painfully.
Now that's more like it!
How uncharacteristic is this post of me? Here's a fix: Hugo Chavez is a liar, an a-hole, a power-hungry demagogue, and the most dangerous man in the hemisphere. I hope that he dies soon and painfully.
Now that's more like it!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
My Kid v. Lebron James's Kid
LeBron James's new son was only 21 inches long at birth. Ha!
My new boy was 21.5 inches!
I can't wait until Robbie Crossen dunks over Bryce James.
My new boy was 21.5 inches!
I can't wait until Robbie Crossen dunks over Bryce James.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
My Three Kids
Here's a picture taken today of the three wee-ones. Mark turned four last Sunday, and Natalie turns seven this Sunday. Robbie, of course, turned 0 last Friday.
Baby
Baby Robert (a.k.a Robby, Robbie, Captain Diaper Rash), weighing in at seven pounds, nine ounces, and measuring a full 21.5 inches long arrived on Friday at 1302 hours. Stay tuned for more pics and such.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Jake Shimabukuro
Murdock is right. Watching Jake really is proof that I suck at the ukulele.
What the hell, I'm still better than all of you (both of you, that is) who read this blog!
Ender's Game
I recently read Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. This was the first book in quite some time that I completely devoured.
I've asked several peers if they've read it, and those who have agree that it is one of the best Sci-Fi novels ever written. I am pretty sure that when the end of the year comes, it will be Ender's Game that receives my nod for my best reading of the year.
Rumor has it that Wolfgang Peterson has signed on to create the film version. While I'm excited to see the film (supposedly to be released in 2008), I cannot help but lament in advance that even the most skilled director won't get it right.
I've asked several peers if they've read it, and those who have agree that it is one of the best Sci-Fi novels ever written. I am pretty sure that when the end of the year comes, it will be Ender's Game that receives my nod for my best reading of the year.
Rumor has it that Wolfgang Peterson has signed on to create the film version. While I'm excited to see the film (supposedly to be released in 2008), I cannot help but lament in advance that even the most skilled director won't get it right.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Old Crow Medicine Show - Down Home Girl
This is a fine example of genius amongst the simple.
The irony is in solid, true-blue mountain music played with the city as a backdrop. Listen and look.
You'll see what I mean.
Silent Cal
Calvin Coolidge was the best president of the 20th Century.
What did he do? You might ask.
Not much, I answer.
Which is why he was pretty good. Relatively speaking, he was the best in a century.
Government makes our lives better in proportion to how much it leaves us to make our lives ourselves. "Activist" governments, therefore, are among the worst. We have seen too many. May we see much fewer, and, God willing, no more.
What did he do? You might ask.
Not much, I answer.
Which is why he was pretty good. Relatively speaking, he was the best in a century.
Government makes our lives better in proportion to how much it leaves us to make our lives ourselves. "Activist" governments, therefore, are among the worst. We have seen too many. May we see much fewer, and, God willing, no more.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Ad Murdock
Quando podeces te regi eorum fecerunt?
P.S. I neither forgive nor forget: nemo me impune lacssit.
P.S. I neither forgive nor forget: nemo me impune lacssit.
Old Crow Medicine Show
Follow me on this:
My wife's cousin's husband turned me on to a modern bluegrass/mountain music band called The Old Crow Medicine Show. He did this after showing me a thing or two on the banjo.
It took a couple of listenings, but I am now a devoted follower of O.C.M.S. Thanks, Beave.
Monday, May 28, 2007
A Mormon v. a Demon
Too many people are fixating on the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon.
Most of the people who abhor this seem, at least to me, to do so on the lines that Mormonism is rather unorthodox Christianity (it's pure absurdity, if you ask me).
Too few, however, fixate upon the fact that Hillary "Rodham" Clinton is Satan.
Most of the people who abhor this seem, at least to me, to do so on the lines that Mormonism is rather unorthodox Christianity (it's pure absurdity, if you ask me).
Too few, however, fixate upon the fact that Hillary "Rodham" Clinton is Satan.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
The Alamo
On February 23, 1836, 180 or so Texans, some Anglo-Americans, but including several Tejanos (Mexicans born in Texas) took refuge in an old Spanish mission called the Alamo. They were part of a movement in Texas, a joint Anglo-Tejano rebellion, to defend the loosely-constructed Mexican constitution of 1824 from the centralizing tyranny of Mexico's Napoleon, Generalissimo Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
They held out until March 6, a full 13 days, against a much larger force, nearly 6,000 men strong, supported by heavy artillery and commanded by Santa Anna himself.
On that day, Santa Anna launched a full-scale assault, in which he sustained losses exceeding 600 men (about 1/3 of those involved in the attack), but the Mexican army succeeded in taking the Alamo and killing every defending combatant.
Ever since that day, the Alamo has acquired a mythological status. It has been honored in letters and in film, in poetry and in song.
Each has tried to answer the simple question: why did the men stay in the Alamo when they knew that they would all be put to the sword (Santa Anna had his bugles play "Deguello," meaning "throat slitting" or "beheading)?
To answer this question, modern mythology has reached back to ancient history. In 480 B.C., a small army of a few thousand Greeks, led by the Spartan king, Leonidas faced an army of several hundred thousand Persians under the command of their king Xerxes.
While there were, indeed, only about 300 Spartans, they were not the only Greeks present. However, before the final Persian advance, Leonidas sent the bulk of the Greek forces away in retreat and stayed with his 300 Spartans--and about a thousand other Greeks--hence the myth.
Before his advance, Xerxes offered Leonidas the chance to surrender his men's weapons, to which he replied, "Come and get them."
Leonidas was lucky to be defending in a mountain pass. The narrow ground prevented the Persians from simply overwhelming him, and it is said that he inflicted between 20,000 and 30,000 Persian casualties before being overwhelmed. The Spartans, including Leonidas, were slaughtered, but they had held the Persians at bay for a precious three days--long enough, apparently, for the rest of the Greek forces to escape, link up with others, and eventually defeat the Persians and send Xerxes back to Asia.
And this brings us to our Alamo myth.
To explain why the defenders at the Alamo stayed to die, the story of Leonidas was invoked:
The Texans at the Alamo died in order to give Sam Houston more time to assemble effective resistance.
In a striking parallel to Leonidas, one of the first episodes of the Texan revolution involved a rebel cannon which the Mexicans tried to seize but the Texans replied, "Come and take it"--note the similarity to what Leonidas replied to Xerxes. This cannon was present at the Alamo and captured on March 6.
Since the destruction of the Alamo was soon followed by Houston's absolute victory at San Jacinto, after which Santa Anna was captured--thus securing Texan independence--, the idea that the Texans fought at the Alamo to buy time for Houston seems plausible.
However, General Sam Houston, commander of the Texan forces, had ordered the Alamo razed and San Antonio evacuated. The defense of the Alamo went against his expressed orders. We honestly don't know why Col. Travis, James Bowie, David Crockett, and all of the others defied these orders and stayed. No one wants to think that 180 brave men died for nothing, but that's pretty much what happened.
It seems more honorable to adopt the Thermopylae angle, but it is simply not the case. Yes, it makes for "cooler" history, but if history is really something valuable, something by which we might learn true lessons, then there is no place for such fanciness.
Since Travis sent dozens of messengers with essentially the same message--Send us some help!--it is most likely that he and the others assumed that help would arrive. By the time they figured out that no help was coming, it was too late--so they stayed and fought like brave soldiers until the end. Houston was right to shout, "Remember the Alamo!" at the moment of his assault at San Jacinto, and well we should remember the Alamo. However, in our quest to find meaning in tragedy, we mustn't fudge the facts, cutting and pasting as we see fit until the story gives us the appropriate number of goosebumps.
The men at the Alamo died because they misjudged their friends' ability to support them. In this light, they were foolish to stay, but they could not have known that, so they are blameless. They were heroes, certainly, for they died for a good cause, but there story and their honor is diminished by simply making them up to be the Spartans at Thermopylae. Let the Spartans have Thermopylae, and let the Texans have the Alamo.
They held out until March 6, a full 13 days, against a much larger force, nearly 6,000 men strong, supported by heavy artillery and commanded by Santa Anna himself.
On that day, Santa Anna launched a full-scale assault, in which he sustained losses exceeding 600 men (about 1/3 of those involved in the attack), but the Mexican army succeeded in taking the Alamo and killing every defending combatant.
Ever since that day, the Alamo has acquired a mythological status. It has been honored in letters and in film, in poetry and in song.
Each has tried to answer the simple question: why did the men stay in the Alamo when they knew that they would all be put to the sword (Santa Anna had his bugles play "Deguello," meaning "throat slitting" or "beheading)?
To answer this question, modern mythology has reached back to ancient history. In 480 B.C., a small army of a few thousand Greeks, led by the Spartan king, Leonidas faced an army of several hundred thousand Persians under the command of their king Xerxes.
While there were, indeed, only about 300 Spartans, they were not the only Greeks present. However, before the final Persian advance, Leonidas sent the bulk of the Greek forces away in retreat and stayed with his 300 Spartans--and about a thousand other Greeks--hence the myth.
Before his advance, Xerxes offered Leonidas the chance to surrender his men's weapons, to which he replied, "Come and get them."
Leonidas was lucky to be defending in a mountain pass. The narrow ground prevented the Persians from simply overwhelming him, and it is said that he inflicted between 20,000 and 30,000 Persian casualties before being overwhelmed. The Spartans, including Leonidas, were slaughtered, but they had held the Persians at bay for a precious three days--long enough, apparently, for the rest of the Greek forces to escape, link up with others, and eventually defeat the Persians and send Xerxes back to Asia.
And this brings us to our Alamo myth.
To explain why the defenders at the Alamo stayed to die, the story of Leonidas was invoked:
The Texans at the Alamo died in order to give Sam Houston more time to assemble effective resistance.
In a striking parallel to Leonidas, one of the first episodes of the Texan revolution involved a rebel cannon which the Mexicans tried to seize but the Texans replied, "Come and take it"--note the similarity to what Leonidas replied to Xerxes. This cannon was present at the Alamo and captured on March 6.
Since the destruction of the Alamo was soon followed by Houston's absolute victory at San Jacinto, after which Santa Anna was captured--thus securing Texan independence--, the idea that the Texans fought at the Alamo to buy time for Houston seems plausible.
However, General Sam Houston, commander of the Texan forces, had ordered the Alamo razed and San Antonio evacuated. The defense of the Alamo went against his expressed orders. We honestly don't know why Col. Travis, James Bowie, David Crockett, and all of the others defied these orders and stayed. No one wants to think that 180 brave men died for nothing, but that's pretty much what happened.
It seems more honorable to adopt the Thermopylae angle, but it is simply not the case. Yes, it makes for "cooler" history, but if history is really something valuable, something by which we might learn true lessons, then there is no place for such fanciness.
Since Travis sent dozens of messengers with essentially the same message--Send us some help!--it is most likely that he and the others assumed that help would arrive. By the time they figured out that no help was coming, it was too late--so they stayed and fought like brave soldiers until the end. Houston was right to shout, "Remember the Alamo!" at the moment of his assault at San Jacinto, and well we should remember the Alamo. However, in our quest to find meaning in tragedy, we mustn't fudge the facts, cutting and pasting as we see fit until the story gives us the appropriate number of goosebumps.
The men at the Alamo died because they misjudged their friends' ability to support them. In this light, they were foolish to stay, but they could not have known that, so they are blameless. They were heroes, certainly, for they died for a good cause, but there story and their honor is diminished by simply making them up to be the Spartans at Thermopylae. Let the Spartans have Thermopylae, and let the Texans have the Alamo.
Quiet Desperation
Henry David Thoreau observed that the average man lives his life in a state of "quiet desperation."
There are times when I feel it, to be honest. Every time that I sit down to think about my novel, and I just know that it can be wonderful but at the same time the right words, the right sequence of events, the right characterizations just never emerge. So I pick up a book written by someone else.
Or when I sit down to my piano or with my guitar or ukulele, and I feel the power to compose a brilliant melody, but all I do is play a few chords and pick a few arpeggios. So I listen to a song written and performed by someone else.
It's when I sit to write or pick a tune that I feel that "quiet desperation" of which Thoreau spoke. There is something inside me, and it's not just gas. Alas, I haven't figured it out, yet. I guess that for now I'll have to be content with being CEO of Vandelay Industries.
There are times when I feel it, to be honest. Every time that I sit down to think about my novel, and I just know that it can be wonderful but at the same time the right words, the right sequence of events, the right characterizations just never emerge. So I pick up a book written by someone else.
Or when I sit down to my piano or with my guitar or ukulele, and I feel the power to compose a brilliant melody, but all I do is play a few chords and pick a few arpeggios. So I listen to a song written and performed by someone else.
It's when I sit to write or pick a tune that I feel that "quiet desperation" of which Thoreau spoke. There is something inside me, and it's not just gas. Alas, I haven't figured it out, yet. I guess that for now I'll have to be content with being CEO of Vandelay Industries.
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