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"we scratch and claw, but only at the air--only at each other. And for all of it, we never budge an inch."

"A few nights ago, I was watching The Tonight Show, and [Jay] Leno was making some typical joke about Bush--you know, the kind we've all heard a thousand times before--and I was thinking, 'Boy, wouldn't it be bizarre if he actually got elected?'" said Ocala, FL, homemaker and mother of four Janis Niering. "Then it hit me: 'Wait a minute--I think he was.'"

Operation Pull-a-fast-one Make seatbelt covers to match whatever clothes you're wearing. Then, attach a small clip to the top of your car seat so that you can make the seat belt wrap snugly over your sholder. From a distance, this will create the impression that you're not actually wearing your belt. Now drive through an Operation Pullover area (look for the geeks holding the warning signs). When you're asked to pull over, do so and wait until the officer comes to the car, at which point he will realize that you're actually wearing your seat belt. "We're onto your game, buster" your expression will tell The Man.

Okay, maybe that's not such a good plan. But Jim's story of civil (what? disobedience? obstruction? culture-jamming?) activity made me grin. I too am pro-seatbelt, but dislike most situations where I could be pulled over on such a pretext.

"In this view of the center of the magnificent barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512, the Hubble telescope reveals a stunning 2,400 light-year-wide circle of infant star clusters."

John, in regards to your post today, I have one word: Ishtar. ("I'm leeeeaving, some love in my will." - "If you admit that you can play the accordian / no one will want you in a rock and roll band.")

[insert "I wanna party with Jenna Bush"-type joke here]

Speaking of birthdays, today is Chris's! How's that for action? This is the same guy who's closing on his first house, moving and getting hitched all within DAYs. Crazy, crazy stuff. I only wish I had realized it earlier in the day, so this post wasn't going up at night. Anyhoo, now you know.

John, I wish I had words for you. Even if you didn't get to speak with your grandfather one last time, you might still consider writing that letter to him that Jimmah suggested, if only to help you remember him more clearly 20 years from now.

sneeze. (with shouts out to Nice Guy Eddie and Blue Lou)

I don't mean to be a nay-sayer, but am I the only one that is uncomfortable with the idea of TanqueFish becoming self-aware? Doesn't that mean that one of us will get shot up by a psycho warrior woman who claims to know that we'll eventually bring about world-wide ecological disaster as TanqueFishBot takes over all the computers on the globe? "Millions of humans are burned and hunted," she'll scream, "and it's all your fault!" While we clutch our bleeding bullet wounds, her son and their hulking robot protector will convince us that we need to go to work with heavy explosives and take out anything that might bring about the new flesh. Then we'll go down in a hail of gunfire, expendable, wondering if we really did save the world.

Well, I'm having nothing of it.

I think if I had my stats for D&D, they'd all be 10 or under. As I recall, 10 was what your average joe might have in terms of strength, dexterity, etc. I don't think I exceed average in any of the D&D stats, with the possible exception of constitution, since my body has taken so much damage already, but still keeps coming back for more. Oh, and maybe my charisma would be 20/00. Heh, heh.

Dave, since you might have some free time on your hands now, I suggest you come work for TanqueFish LTD. We're a small technology firm, working on AI and self-replicating devices, with plans for global networks in the near future, all designed to make life easier for everyone.

I had to look up Heidi's Jack Draper reference (hope I'm not giving anything away here):

Suddenly it popped back into view, smiled, and looked into the room. "I beg your pardon," said Puff, trying to start a proper conversation. "Could you tell me if you just saw a dragon pass by?" link

LiciaFest day one was quite nice. Stan stopped by the house, young Harmony student in tow, and might be out to Clint's house tomorrow for the festivities.

(Yes, Shingding ala Clint is Sunday, not today as previously mis-reported here; sorry for any confusion - though I assume most who read that factual error just ignored it and figured I was on the sauce)

Aaaand ... Licia was exposed to her first round of Celebrity, in which she showed flying colors under stressful circumstances. Dave and I were paired up again, and did much better this time around, avoiding all references to Walter what's-his-name (this time our stopper was Tom Daschille).

This morning, despite the cool, somewhat overcast day, our plan is to hit the farmer's market (hopefully fairly soon since it's already nearing 10am) and then to the Uptown. (I'd mention that the Uptown isn't really my bag, but it seems that I end up there more and more often, and I do like the food, so there you go). And then? Who know what the future holds?

Yesterday was also day four of Ned's rainbow experience. Thursday evening seemed to be the dwindling end of the run, as I noticed only a slight color effect during the drive home from work. Since I'd seen such vivid beauties the two days before, I wasn't as impressed with the subtle hint of color, but low and behold, last night, under the same rainy/sunny conditions we've had all week, I get to see yet another grand arc. It was a single this time (at least I couldn't make out a second, fainter arc above it), but the colors were just as strong as before. Licia tells me Portland weather conditions are often quite favorable for rainbow production, and it makes sense. Rain a little, sun a little, rain a little, sun a little ....

Okay, one last Licia quote: "who's Pop-up?"

No real response from anyone on a Tanque Monroe festival?! JJibber, I kindly direct you to yesterday morning's post. That said, I don't claim to dispute any reluctance on my part to leave the house. Home = Good. As far as I know, the weekend you mentioned is free of weddings and such, hence, let me know if you're really coming down. I'm sure I can rassle a couple other local tanquers into a trip to the lake, at least for an afternoon. My great big white belly needs some suntan work.

LiciaFest 2K1 is happening a Shangri-La this weekend! Anyone in town should come on by the compound tomorrow night. Then get ready to grill as Clintopia throws open it's doors the next day (that is this Saturday, isn't it?). Promises to be a good weekend. If only The Wacky Cameron road show was coming to town as well. Maybe later this summer....

Also, on an unrelated note, Dack is shutting down his weblog. He generously let me use the code from his BS generator to create the Shakespearian curse-generator a while back, and I've read his stuff off and on for some time. Too bad for me to have one less page, but I can understand the desire to do more things that don't involve poking at a keyboard and soaking up radiation. Excelsior!

Two nights back I saw a really cool double-rainbow on the way home from work. A full 90 degrees, lower one much brighter than the upper, super-vivid colors that became more intense at either end of the arc. I'm not much of a rainbowphile, but I can appreciate some sky-candy now and then, and I've never seen anything like this. It was still up when I got home, so Shari and I got to appreciate it for a few minutes before the sky returned to clear blue and the rainbow vanished.

Then yesterday, driving in Indy, I see it again; double-bands, full 90 degree arcs. Very nice.

So, the Jolly Jibber is planning an expidition to Mars, eh? Keep me posted so I can get my space-garb in order. :)

More links than you can shake a stick at, at Nutlog. In the same vein as Apathy, that is, none of the soul-searching, "what is life?" personal questions, nor any shouts out to a tight-knit web of comrades (ala drunkenfish/tanquers), just href after href. These guys really make me long for the time when the web is really point and click - as opposed to point and click and wait. DSL one day, DSL one day.

But that's just chattin', ain't it? Chattin' and scribblin' and yawnin' and gabbin' and such. (the previous sentence was intentionally left grammatically incorrect). Sure it is.

I feel like I'm beating this into the ground, but here's yet another DA site:

"This is not an obituary, there’ll be time enough for them. It is not a tribute, not a considered assessment of a brilliant life, not a eulogy. It is a keening lament, written too soon to be balanced, too soon to be carefully thought through. Douglas, you cannot be dead."

In an odd way, I count myself lucky that I have yet to read all of the hitchhiker stuff. Just as I have yet to read Lord of the Rings; I look forward to being exquisitely entertained by the series, even as I try to keep perspective.

Other, simpler definitions of Simulacrum (posted merely to remind me of such an interesting term). Liz's reference page has a much more interesting description:

"For example, in pornography you have highly scripted, often impossible sex that people then attempt to emulate in their lives."

"Impossible sex." Heh, heh. I think Americans (and maybe the rest of the world, how could I know) grow up with just this sort of influence. Some could even call it "deception" and "lies," or you could call it "advertising." But whatever it's called, it's the stuff that gets people to buy plastic trinkets instead of looking at the sunset, the stuff that convinces people that trash has value. It's the stuff that convinces us that the relationships we have with our loved ones aren't valid unless they approximate what we've seen on TV. Some might say it's the stuff that distracts us from the rewarding experience that life can be, and causes people to turn their backs on the simple and precious opportunities life has to offer. And I'd agree for the most part.

I'm happy to see the dialog concerning American-style consumption (i.e., Sean, Phil, Jimmah, Sonya - too lazy to actually link to you guys, but strangers to this page can probably find their URLs - though not links to their specific links, but heck, that's a whole 'nother thang). Happy that different perspectives are getting tossed out, that is. I hesitated to respond to Sean/Phil's initial comments, because they were gateway topics; they led me down a dozen paths at the same time, and I wasn't able to follow them all coherently. Should I blog about my thoughts on Sean's antacid comments?

Yeah, it's crazy. If the food makes you sick, don't eat it. An ex-coworker I really respect made similar comments to me a couple years back, and I agreed at the time. But then I think, wait, what if I could no longer eat the food I love without taking a suppliment? What if I could never eat super-hot chicken wings? What about spicey chilli? What about insanely hot Thai food? Just because my system can no longer handle such food, does that mean I wouldn't jump at the chance to artificially be able to stomach my favorite dish? Screw that. Give me the pill, and give me the curry. And someone who comes to the same conclusion about their four cheese pizza and soda pop can make the same decision.

Should I blog on Phil's response? Or Jimmah's? Or Sonya's? I feel like I should, but really, what's the point? Either you look at your fellow human beings with compasion, or you look at them with disdain. Let me make myself clear: everyone is entitiled to look at other people with disdain and disgust. Lord knows I do it.* (*the previous phrase is not intended as a statement of religious or philosophic belief). Okay, you can also look at them with disinterest and disregard.

Like Sonya, I don't think of myself as evil because I spend my finite resources on trinkets while people starve. I don't have a philosophic framework that justifies this condition, which was the source of my prissy posts in the past. I don't feel rich, but I don't feel desperate. I don't feel frivilous, but I am aware that I am nowhere near approaching my capacity for the positive. (nowhere = now + here). Strike that, I do feel frivilous, but I feel that that's okay.

See, I'm facinated by my impulses, even when they frustrate me. Why haven't I read every book I own before purchasing another? There is something strange going on with this whole consumerism-thing, because sometimes, I swear, I'm getting pleasure from the process of purchasing rather than the attendant consumption of said purchase. What gives? This is the first clue that there's a disconnect somewhere, that something is out of sync. Suspecting something is out of sync, I can probe the cause/result. This exploration will probably be very slow and unproductive, but I like the process. I intend and expect to learn from the process.

Okay, so that's unresolved, for now. And I'm not getting to the "alienating my friends" topic, because I'm too sleepy tonight, but I do have some ideas I want to throw into the fray.

I hesitate to bury this at the end of such a long post, but Heidi, I know the movie you quote. Valley Girl may have been my first exposure to Hollywood breasts as I watched Dolly (from PeeWee's Adventure) get screwed over by the evil valley dudes, while Nick Cage won the heart of what's-her-name. "Try two days and no phone call." You GO!

For James, from the HPL collected letters intro, quoting the letter Howard sent to solicit employment as a literary dude:

"Dear Sir --
If an unprovoked application for employment seems somewhat unusual in these days of system, agencies, & advertising, I trust that the circumstances surrounding this one may help to mitigate what would otherwise be obtrusive forwardness. The case is one wherein certain definitely marketable aptitudes must be put forward in an unconventional manner if they are to override the current fetish which demands commercial experience and causes prospective employers to dismiss unheard the application of any situation - seeker unable to boast of specific professional service in a given line."

Hee hee.

2 more Douglas Adams sites: douglasadams.com and floor42.com

I'm not so sure that the "Date My Sister" project is, well, something I'd want someone to do to me, but I did find it interesting. (also via dack.)

Far be it from me to agree with the New York Times, but found myself doing just that reading this. (Requires registration, but you can use tanquelogue as name and password if you don't want to sign up).

"But by far the most controversial of Mr. Bush's proposals are those that would ease environmental regulations and open public lands for more drilling. Although Congress is unlikely to approve his misguided plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the president has asked his Interior secretary, Gale Norton, to inventory other federal lands that can be made available for exploration. These include ecologically significant wilderness areas in the Rocky Mountains and part of the outer continental shelf that has been off-limits to the oil companies for a decade."

It's a sure sign of the apocalypse when Jesus comes to your door, specifically telling you that's it's the apocalypse and it's time for you to go to Hell now. Nice, Dack.

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Howdy kids! It's as though we've gone unspoken for days and days. : )

Sean, you're playing with fire. I don't think Phil's really into open sourcing PotatoMan, so your making it available for free on the web might be frowned upon.

Beyond that, I have to make the lamest of posts; I have to say that I have more things to say, but that I won't say them tonight. I want to sort out the words and make sure I'm saying what I mean.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Hee hee. Yes, I am. Are you? I often don't look forward to tomorrow, and want to take note of the fact that tomorrow promises to be a good day. Most tomorrows do. One of my sisters will be over at Shangri-la tomorrow night - why don't you come by as well? I mean it. We'll be chillin', maxin' and relaxin. It'll be fun.

A couple links re: Douglas Adams - - Neil Gaiman's thoughts (5/13, 5/12 posts), and davenet's reaction to the sad news. I had heard about his death this weekend, and just let the news roll by, not really taking it in. I haven't really followed anything he's done recently, but the Hitchhiker's stuff was a pretty big influence on my younger years (the radio programs, then the television programs, and eventually the books themselves - still need to read them all). Anyhoo....

Say what you will about the Rachel Papers, it made an impact on me. I still clearly remember some images from that novel years later - picking through the trash for a clean-looking condom, or more importantly, the protagonist being told to read more literature and less literary criticism. I did sort of lose my interest in Martin Amis, but Success and London Fields and Dead Babies were all great books, really impressive to this naive reader. Amos' recent link reminded me of all that, and also part of the reason I'm intimidated by the writing process. Of course my novel would be filled with awful cliches; I can't excape them. Heck, I hardly notice them until some literary critic ruthlessly points them out.

Here's a funny memory, though: Pat and Silvia playing around with a dictionary that had a section in the back of cliches to avoid, and we had a blast listening to them read them out loud. Stay the course, blistering heat, deafening silence, "frightfully clever" (okay, I made that last one up). I'm a cliche-user, to be sure. :)

I'm suddenly jealous of Amy's options. Even though moving might be a drag, or changing jobs, it sure does seem nice to have options, no?

Dani! Birthday! Happy!

If you know me, you know i like to scream and be hyper and jump around. I'll be watching this one. It reminds me of Drop Dead Gorgeous, which I've seen three times over the past week or so. I liked when I saw it the first time over a year ago, but it's re-entered the local rotation. It's funny.

Public Admission: Ally McBeal was on the telly tonight.

And the waifish anorexic previous pagent-winner was on ally, and she looked good, but I couldn't help thinking she was cool because she sang "Don't cry out loud" from a wheelchair. Call me crazy.

Blogger rocks, even when it doesn't work. I spent the last 4 hours in nervous panic trying to get rid of my last post. Hee hee.

Heck. Seems like I've got a whole slew of stuff to post, and yet I'm too lazy and distracted and tired (I have to go to work tomorrow). Amy, those losers don't know what they're giving away. Screw 'em. You'll be fine, I just know it.

The last few days have felt like unemployment, but with a paycheck, and I wish that's the way it was. Pay my bills, and let me just drift along....

Yep.

Everyone seems to have found it already, but Phil has joined the ranks of the bloggers. It's kinda sad to see Potato Man fold, but it's possible that Phil will reach even more people with his webpage. Who knows? I do know one thing; he wants reaction. Don't hesitate to email him, or to blog about him, or to recommend corn tortilla recipes. Interaction seems to be key.

Okay, I gotta catch up on my soaps.

Even when it doesn't work, I love Blogger.

[Sigh] no bloggus this morning. bloggus no werkus.

Wanted to link to some of this morning's sit-down reading as well (working my way through recent TheNations), but the articles I'd like to link don't appear online. Oh well, stop by the house this weekend and you can look at my copies. I believe we're cooking out tonight - Shari's brother Brad will be in town, possibly bringing his new companion Dawson the Basset Hound. Tomorrow morning, Jimmah's jump-starting his summer tour with a performance at the Farmer's Market. See you there.

Hmm, let's see, I guess that's all she wrote for now.

And now, a

True Story

Just last night, some feel-gooders were hanging out at Shangri-La, discussing the amount of sad news on LaTanqueFish lately. Jimmah and I had said words to the effect that "there's been a lot of death lately." Dani put her hands on her pregnant belly and said, "but there's lots of life too." Yep.

That's the best I can offer about that.

"Anyway, you can't swing a dead cat round this neighborhood without hitting a Thai restaurant." Liz, I love you. "eel Good Party." Those of you within the compound who aren't feel-good (y'know, Clint, Jim, Danni).... '(bring-bring, click) "Uh, yeah, is this Hell and Donuts? Uh okay, yeah, I'd like to place an order for carry out? Now? Okay: I'd like two dozen Donuts of Despair with Sardonic Sprinkles; a half-gallon of your Bitter-as-Regret MochaCino; --are you serving lunch, too? "'

Happy (belated) Wisok, people!

Regan! I don't know who you are, but you post, and that's cool!! Welcome to our world. One of us .... One of us .....

And what the heck?! A new DrunkenFish? Very cool. I like the new look. And I'll be reading/scanning for new cheddar!

Oy!

Whew, babycakes. "what he calls fingermarks; boot-scuffs on the wall"

Bill, that link to Rachel's new venture rocks.

You know, I've been meaning to post some comments on Memento, but haven't made the time to organize my thoughts clearly. Realizing that with each passing day the likelyhood of me actually writing out a longer review gets more and more remote, I'll just say this: I liked it. I liked how the story unfolded, how characters were introduced and revealed, and what it made me consider afterwards. More later, if I can just get this note tatooed on my thigh....

[Grinning] via the muses, this comic made me grin.

an open letter to the eggs i had for breakfast. (from here on out, I plan to end all correspondance with the phrase "sincerely, your friend and god.")

Learning about Active Directory hasn't been very interesting so far. I feel as though I'm learning technology that I'll never really use. But it is interesting on some level, I guess on the level that there's so much work being put into software that still ends up sucking despite all the cool aspects of it.

I'm not very optimistic about computers and software these days. It seems that the time for really cool, simple programs has past, and now there's just this bloated muckedy-muck that can't be avoided. Sure, really cool stuff is really easy now, but it demands a ton of ram in a super-fast machine. Where are the fawning articles about how some kid keeps his 386 alive and running by modifying the code? You buy a computer today, and it's a mad powerhouse. Heck, I don't know.

What a nice weekend! Saw lots o' buddies, went to the first Farmer's Market of the season, watched Mummy2 and had a good time all around. But I didn't get everything done that I intended (Carrie, tonight, I swear!). Rumor has it that a tanquer has purshased their own domain.... Mayhaps our "web" is spreading?

I'm in class again this week - this time I'm learning about Microsoft's Active Directory (their version of NDS). I'm not looking forward to taking any more exams though. I am looking forward to learning stuff. And being out of the office. :) And thinking about stuff.

And planting tomato plants.

Tee Hee!

Okay, Jimmah, for clarity's sake, I'll refrain from using phrases like "apples and oranges" except to refer to fruit, and phrases like "there's no comparison" will be avoided as well. State sanctioned murder can be compared to to corporate editorial policy, but I bristle when the comparison sounds like equation. I don't think there's any comparison between

a.) a reporter's story about government corruption being edited for content and
b.) outright murder of said reporter for reporting government corruption

but I can certainly phrase that opinion differently. :)

I'm actually a big fan of Project Censored. The concept of looking at important stories that weren't covered by big media and ranking them makes for interesting and eye-opening reading. But I've had a problem with the name for a long time. Just as inappropriate use of the word "genocide" makes me uncomfortable, I get a little suspicious of the word "censored" for news stories that were published through multiple outlets, just not picked up by the big media. Maybe I'm just nit-picking though; I do that. In any event, it's a great source of big stories that don't get covered in Yahoo news, like you said.

Also (continuing in today's "all-Diegos" theme), Jimmah's letter-writing inspired me as well. I'm a little skeptical of the power of email (seems too easy for our elected officials to hit 'delete'), but I'm curious to see what comes of it. Vote-Smart rocks, see example.

And just like that, Sean and Sonya were off on a new adventure!

I may have mentioned this years ago, but here's some financial advice for teachers from a pretty cool guy who happens to be my uncle.

Hurm indeed, Jimmah. While I can't really defend the "freedom of the press" in America as far as everyone having equal access to the big media, I don't think you can really compare the problems in the american press with the issues would-be journalists face in places like Iraq or Chile. Maybe a journalist in Indiana can't get his article on sweatshops published, but he or she isn't going to get "disappeared" for pissing off the military leaders. I don't know, I don't want to minimize the problems with corporatization of our media. But outside of Danny Casalaro, how many journalists get killed in America for publishing exposes?

Internal devil's advocate sez: Ned, how about the journalists who are black-balled, who get kicked out of the profession altogether, who were screwed during the HUAC hearings; how 'bout the whistle-blowers who lose their jobs? I don't know, but I still don't think it's really comparable.

Sean, looks like no one won the survivor pool. We're all losers!!! Heh heh! :)

Man, I totally forgot Sean and Sonya are going on their world (or at least Euro) tour tomorrow. Color me envious. Of course, I expect posts from overseas. Have a safe and fun trip!!

Happiness is seeing your buddy updating in Blogger.

"Reality-show" Gamblers: I finally figured out what all the Survivor hoopla is about; why didn't you guys tell me about this? I'd have been watching all season. Seriously, I suppose it's time to pony up for the pool, seeing as how God's emissary was defeated by the heathens (does it sound like I really follow the show?). Or ... we could just let it all ride, and bet on, say, who's going to win the next reality-based program. There's sure to be plenty if the Hollywood writers go on strike.

Jim, you go ahead and whine all you want. I'm pro-whiner, being a well-practiced one myself. Although what you have to say doesn't sound like whining to me. Life is enhanced by discussion.* [* Ned's sappy truism #12]. I have to admit I envy your situation right now. The choice between Indiana and Europe sounds like a no-brainer, despite my affection for the mid-west; head overseas! Worse-case scenario you have to live in Chris' backyard while you panhandle for airfaire back to the states. But that's just me wanting to live vicariously through you.

Clint's recent teaching situation makes me grind my teeth. Not that I can't appreciate that schools are expensive, nor the difficulty of coming up with an extra >$4million. But 40+ students per class does sound a little un-wieldy. From what I've heard, the finagling in the state senate all boils down to whether or not "dock-side" gambling will be allowed, which will supposedly bring in enough cabbage to cover the state's looming deficit (wasn't Indiana floating in change just a year ago?). So it could all work out in the next few weeks here [knocking on wood]. Or, Clint could just find himself a Bloomington teaching job (that'd be preferable under any circumstances).

"Bartender! I'd like to buy the ballerina another drink!"

It's such a good name, people all over the world want to be known as Ned. Does this mean I'm part of a grandfalloon?

Ben takes a break. I can relate. I sat in front of the computer late last night, and even though I had had a pleasant evening, I just didn't have anything positive to publish out for all the world to read. I wanted to post something, but there was nothing there.

I've been letting myself get frustrated with Oscar lately, which is pretty silly when you think about it, but I can't seem to help it. Maybe I've just had too much cat drama in my life recently. None of ours seem to be able to get along with each other, and I'm tired of hearing all the snarling, whining, growling and hissing. Anyone out there who wants Oscar can have him; come by and pick him up whenever you'd like.

Okay, maybe that's too negative. I think I'm just not getting enough sleep.

Blogger makes it happen, baby-cakes.