Homercles: Space Monkey Man of Tomorrow
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Helluva day
Tell you what: whatever tension hasn't been eased by a brutal workout shall be summarily dispatched by a stiff Jack and Coke.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
The Big Blue Boy Scout is Back!
Or soon will be, anyway.
Batman's got the fashion sense, but Superman is the American icon.
Batman's got the fashion sense, but Superman is the American icon.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Congratulations are in order
And best wishes as well, for Mathman and his fiancee. As MM's new digs are a short haul from casa de Homercles, I had the pleasure of stopping by late last week, and checking the place out. It's a lovely house which will, I think, soon be transformed into a wonderful home for the husband and wife to be.
My best to you both.
My best to you both.
Candor
Let's talk about race, just for a little bit. PLease consider this an attempt to understand the state of race relations in this nation; it is not my intention to be racist, although I do understand that since I voted Republican last go around, some of my readers may tend to assume that I am in actuality racist. I don't know where this is going as I type this, so I beg the reader's indulgence if I meander a bit.
Consider these two scenes from my own life experience, and the varying perspectives I encountered.
1) 1993. I was working part time at a comic book shop, and I had just seen Jurassic Park. I was telling my boss (the owner and proprietor), when he interjects with, "I heard a n***** gets eaten by a dinosaur. Is that right?"
Cringe.
My own weak-ass response: "I don't know about that, but a lawyer does." Good job there. Let's shift the hate to a group everyone can despise in safety. Hoo-ray!
2) 2004. Eleven years later, a young African-American in my Geometry class made a big to do over harrumphing about his grade.
"So that's how it is, huh?"
"So that's how what is?" I replied.
"Obviously the BLACK MAN can't get a fair shake in your class."
My inner monologue replied with, "Well, if the BLACK MAN would choose to do his homework, or if the BLACK MAN would ask questions in class instead of talking or sleeping, then maybe the BLACK MAN would get a decent grade in my class." What I actually said, though, was much more gentle.
Here are the two extremes, then, which I have witnessed: the casual indifference of some whites, using that word with the nonchalance of someone who fully expects it not to offend, and, race as identity politics, and the belief that one's own cock-ups are someone else's fault.
So what do you think, then, when you're me, and you absolutely cannot stomach that word, even when black people use it (owning the word, my ass. All they're doing is taking ownership of the denigration); simultaneously, you cannot abide the idea of entitlement, and choke inside when someone equates equality of opportunity with equality of outcome.
So here I am, judging people by their deeds alone, vehemently opposed to the notion that because someone is born into a certain subgroup of the population, I somehow owe them more than the fundamental respect I'd offer any other human being.
I don't know. I guess I'm confused by the whole thing. Honestly, I thought we'd come farther than this. On both sides.
There. I've gone and said it. Pile on as you see apropriate.
Consider these two scenes from my own life experience, and the varying perspectives I encountered.
1) 1993. I was working part time at a comic book shop, and I had just seen Jurassic Park. I was telling my boss (the owner and proprietor), when he interjects with, "I heard a n***** gets eaten by a dinosaur. Is that right?"
Cringe.
My own weak-ass response: "I don't know about that, but a lawyer does." Good job there. Let's shift the hate to a group everyone can despise in safety. Hoo-ray!
2) 2004. Eleven years later, a young African-American in my Geometry class made a big to do over harrumphing about his grade.
"So that's how it is, huh?"
"So that's how what is?" I replied.
"Obviously the BLACK MAN can't get a fair shake in your class."
My inner monologue replied with, "Well, if the BLACK MAN would choose to do his homework, or if the BLACK MAN would ask questions in class instead of talking or sleeping, then maybe the BLACK MAN would get a decent grade in my class." What I actually said, though, was much more gentle.
Here are the two extremes, then, which I have witnessed: the casual indifference of some whites, using that word with the nonchalance of someone who fully expects it not to offend, and, race as identity politics, and the belief that one's own cock-ups are someone else's fault.
So what do you think, then, when you're me, and you absolutely cannot stomach that word, even when black people use it (owning the word, my ass. All they're doing is taking ownership of the denigration); simultaneously, you cannot abide the idea of entitlement, and choke inside when someone equates equality of opportunity with equality of outcome.
So here I am, judging people by their deeds alone, vehemently opposed to the notion that because someone is born into a certain subgroup of the population, I somehow owe them more than the fundamental respect I'd offer any other human being.
I don't know. I guess I'm confused by the whole thing. Honestly, I thought we'd come farther than this. On both sides.
There. I've gone and said it. Pile on as you see apropriate.
Log Update, or F*** It, I give Up
I keep falling behind in updating my workouts, so ya know what? Screw it. It's not like I'm going to fail to meet my goal of 156 Days anyway. I know I've worked out 4-5 times since I last logged, but I'll be darned if I can remember the specifics.
I should be okay. Working out is a habit for me now. I'll log again if I start backsliding.
I should be okay. Working out is a habit for me now. I'll log again if I start backsliding.
Friday, April 15, 2005
Hey! I wanna get to be the victim too!
A German court has okayed a reference to the bombing of Dresden as a holocaust. And I thought the Germans asking for reparations for damages incurred to the Fatherland during World War 2 had brass balls.
It's really too bad that fifty years have dulled the memory of exactly what a "holocaust" is.
For those who may not remember Dresden, here's the precis: during the final days of WW 2, the RAF bombed Dresden, Germany, back into the Stone Age. Literally. By the time they were done, nothing was left standing. They actually dropped enough conventional munitions to create an A-bomb like firestorm.
Only God Himself could've done a more thorough job of levelling Dresden.
This was back in the era when all of our weapons were "dumb" weapons, and the best way to avoid excessive civilian casualties was to bring the enemy to his knees as quickly as possible, because, well, civilian casualties were a fact of life in the post-Industrialization, pre-electronics age.
It was a terrible thing. But comparing it to the sinister clockwork of the Holocaust, with its railroad system, and Zyklon-B showers, and massive crematoriums is a joke. When Auschwitz was running at full steam, one could see the smokestacks, billowing clouds of ash that were once the bodies of human beings, sometimes carrying the smell of burning flesh miles away.Before they were burned, the bodies, and the clothing that accompanied them, were looted, even for the smallest scraps of dental gold.
In many ways, Germany has chosen to let history ease the pain of its greatest sin, even now being so bold as to compare an act of war to an act of genocide.
It's really too bad that fifty years have dulled the memory of exactly what a "holocaust" is.
For those who may not remember Dresden, here's the precis: during the final days of WW 2, the RAF bombed Dresden, Germany, back into the Stone Age. Literally. By the time they were done, nothing was left standing. They actually dropped enough conventional munitions to create an A-bomb like firestorm.
Only God Himself could've done a more thorough job of levelling Dresden.
This was back in the era when all of our weapons were "dumb" weapons, and the best way to avoid excessive civilian casualties was to bring the enemy to his knees as quickly as possible, because, well, civilian casualties were a fact of life in the post-Industrialization, pre-electronics age.
It was a terrible thing. But comparing it to the sinister clockwork of the Holocaust, with its railroad system, and Zyklon-B showers, and massive crematoriums is a joke. When Auschwitz was running at full steam, one could see the smokestacks, billowing clouds of ash that were once the bodies of human beings, sometimes carrying the smell of burning flesh miles away.Before they were burned, the bodies, and the clothing that accompanied them, were looted, even for the smallest scraps of dental gold.
In many ways, Germany has chosen to let history ease the pain of its greatest sin, even now being so bold as to compare an act of war to an act of genocide.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
They'll have to pry my red pens from my cold, dead fingers
Found via Foxnews,
At Daniels Farm Elementary School in Trumbull, Connecticut, Karwoski's teachers grade papers by giving examples of better answers for those students who make mistakes. But that approach meant the kids often found their work covered in red, the color that teachers long have used to grade work.
Parents objected. Red writing, they said, was "stressful." The principal said teachers were just giving constructive advice and the color of ink used to convey that message should not matter. But some parents could not let it go.
So the school put red on the blacklist. Blue and other colors are in.
I swear, it's like some people are actually sitting around and asking themselves, "Hmmm, what else could we do to make our children into complete p******?"
I hope to God that red ink is "stressful;" if I send a test back to a student covered in the stuff, I'd kinda like them to get a little stressed about their total lack of a F****** CLUE!
Sorry. Little snarky, there. Let's just say that much red ink has been spilled of late.
At Daniels Farm Elementary School in Trumbull, Connecticut, Karwoski's teachers grade papers by giving examples of better answers for those students who make mistakes. But that approach meant the kids often found their work covered in red, the color that teachers long have used to grade work.
Parents objected. Red writing, they said, was "stressful." The principal said teachers were just giving constructive advice and the color of ink used to convey that message should not matter. But some parents could not let it go.
So the school put red on the blacklist. Blue and other colors are in.
I swear, it's like some people are actually sitting around and asking themselves, "Hmmm, what else could we do to make our children into complete p******?"
I hope to God that red ink is "stressful;" if I send a test back to a student covered in the stuff, I'd kinda like them to get a little stressed about their total lack of a F****** CLUE!
Sorry. Little snarky, there. Let's just say that much red ink has been spilled of late.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Thanks for the bong, Dippy!
Salieri has the details.
Again I must ask, why do you think they call it dope?
Again I must ask, why do you think they call it dope?
Monday, April 11, 2005
Jack Valenti is watching you
Just how far will the movie industry go to stop piracy in the next generation of DVDs?
Pretty damned far, evidently.
So much for privacy rights. I'll tell you what, as big an A/V geek as I am, there is no way I'll buy HD-DVD content, if this is what I have to go through to get it. And I've no intention of pirating movies.
Pretty damned far, evidently.
So much for privacy rights. I'll tell you what, as big an A/V geek as I am, there is no way I'll buy HD-DVD content, if this is what I have to go through to get it. And I've no intention of pirating movies.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Town Without Pity
A friend from my high school days called, out of the blue, to tell me that he and his fiancee (you're not the only one, MM) were coming up to town to visit his folks, and to see Sin City, and would I like to tag along?
Sin City is, without a doubt, the most literal and faithful translation of source material. Ever. Very nearly line for line, and panel for panel. If you've ever read the three principal Sin City miniseries (The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard) and the Lost, Lonely, and Lethal one-shot, you will be amazed at the fidelity of it. Other movies have been faithful to the spirit of the characters, such as Donner's Superman and Burton's Batman movies, but have been, ahem, somewhat flexible with the characters themselves. (Seriously, what the hell was going on with Superman II? Since when do Kryptonians shoot beams from their fingers? And why exactly was Burton's Batman written so that the Joker killed Bruce Wayne's parents? I mean, once the Joker was dead, he should've just hung up the tights, yes?)
Sin City is stylized, hypersexualized, hard-boiled noir turned up to 11. And if my friend B is up to it, I think I'll go see it again in the theater.
Incidentally, for my fellow geeks, this is the second movie in which comic uber-god Frank Miller has cameoed just long enough to end up dead. Can anyone out there name the other one?
Sin City is, without a doubt, the most literal and faithful translation of source material. Ever. Very nearly line for line, and panel for panel. If you've ever read the three principal Sin City miniseries (The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard) and the Lost, Lonely, and Lethal one-shot, you will be amazed at the fidelity of it. Other movies have been faithful to the spirit of the characters, such as Donner's Superman and Burton's Batman movies, but have been, ahem, somewhat flexible with the characters themselves. (Seriously, what the hell was going on with Superman II? Since when do Kryptonians shoot beams from their fingers? And why exactly was Burton's Batman written so that the Joker killed Bruce Wayne's parents? I mean, once the Joker was dead, he should've just hung up the tights, yes?)
Sin City is stylized, hypersexualized, hard-boiled noir turned up to 11. And if my friend B is up to it, I think I'll go see it again in the theater.
Incidentally, for my fellow geeks, this is the second movie in which comic uber-god Frank Miller has cameoed just long enough to end up dead. Can anyone out there name the other one?
Log and a little sumthin sumthin
Once again, the most viewed photo on Yahoo
I ended up taking nearly a week off due to back spasms. And I thought exercise was supposed to help with that.
Apr 3
Cardio
Time: 1:00:00
Apr 4
Cardio
Time:1:10:00
2005 total: 43:20
Apr 5
Weights
Apr 10
Weights
Weights + Cardio: 60 Days (96 to go)
I ended up taking nearly a week off due to back spasms. And I thought exercise was supposed to help with that.
Apr 3
Cardio
Time: 1:00:00
Apr 4
Cardio
Time:1:10:00
2005 total: 43:20
Apr 5
Weights
Apr 10
Weights
Weights + Cardio: 60 Days (96 to go)
Thursday, April 07, 2005
About six months behind the rest of the world
I've been meaning to post for a few days, but the network at school has holy fits trying to run Blogger, and I've been spending most of my home time prone, due to back strain.
Anyhoo, I see that Greenman's seen Sin City, which I hope to see soon. I'll probably have to wait for the DVD. I don't like going to movies by myself, and all my comic-geek friends are tied up with things like job, family, etc. Losers. :)
I have, however, finally seen Sideways. I ended up buying, and I'm glad I did. I'd read the reviews (IGN DVD, DVD File, Digitally Obsessed, et al), but, as I've stated before, the only prior experience I've had with the work of Alexander Payne was that infuriatingly popular turd called Election.
Well, smack me in the face, and call me impressed. I really enjoyed Sideways.
I'd say more, but I've been trying to post this all weekend, and Blogger's been giving me the business. No point in saying more, only to have it disappear into the ether.
Anyhoo, I see that Greenman's seen Sin City, which I hope to see soon. I'll probably have to wait for the DVD. I don't like going to movies by myself, and all my comic-geek friends are tied up with things like job, family, etc. Losers. :)
I have, however, finally seen Sideways. I ended up buying, and I'm glad I did. I'd read the reviews (IGN DVD, DVD File, Digitally Obsessed, et al), but, as I've stated before, the only prior experience I've had with the work of Alexander Payne was that infuriatingly popular turd called Election.
Well, smack me in the face, and call me impressed. I really enjoyed Sideways.
I'd say more, but I've been trying to post this all weekend, and Blogger's been giving me the business. No point in saying more, only to have it disappear into the ether.
