Entry: A letter to a patriot

Dear esteemed patriot,

We live in odd times.

Our armed forces are deployed oversees to battle a continuing insurgency that we have yet been able to quell. It is a brutal engagement which we often seem ill-equipped to fight regardless of what the media reports. Our enemies have been using tactics that are abhorrent (to say the least) and that fly in the face of decency. The enemy has shown a complete abandon of their ability to wage battles in today's civilized warfare. Our generals say that we can handle the insurgency but they have yet to be able to deliver on their promises. They simply were not prepared to enter into a dispute with a people on their own soil who possess such a terrible resolve. Granted...there are those in their midst who side with us and remain loyal to our cause, but they are often silenced by those who do not share their convictions.

What is also disturbing is that we are now uncovering evidence that certain other nations (with whom we are not on the best terms) are covertly providing aid to our enemy. This is an added dimension to this conflict which is hardly welcomed. I never thought that this fight would ever cause us to become estranged from other nations.

I honestly don't understand what the enemy thinks that they are going to lose by fighting this war against us. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. All we want is to ensure that the land is instilled with the same quality and "evolved" society that we have long enjoyed here in our own country. Unfortunately, they really don't understand what we are trying to do and what we are trying to give them. They see it as mere interference in territories which we supposedly have no right to govern.

The enemy is wrong and we will make them understand. We can ill afford to allow these vagabond militias to dictate the future of that territory in defiance of our will. It threatens to shatter our credibility and our authority in the world today. We will overcome. Make no mistake...our resolve is strong and will endure.

Until we talk again....

Cordially yours,

King George III

The year of our Lord, Seventeen-Hundred and Seventy-Nine

Article: US Constitution FAQ

This is really interesting. Someone took the time to compile a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the US constitutions. Everything from what to do if asked to identify yourself by police to 'Are Police Allowed to Lie'. That last one seems like a no-brainer to me, but the answer turned out to take a spin that I really hadn't considered.

Article: Colossal squid netted

Is that not cool?? Some fisherman were fortunate enough to net a Colossal Squid whilst fishing for toothfish. This post may bore 95% of people out there, but it's things like this that fascinate the heck out of me. I should have been a marine biologist.

Article: Cute animal posts

Ok....so maybe these animals aren't so cute afterall. But they're all worth mentioning.

This is a link to some video shots of a dog that was born with no fore legs. It walks upright like a person and is considered to be the only bipedal canine in the world. You really should check this one out. This dog is hela-cool!

In that same link is a video of a viscious attack bunny chasing a snake up a tree. I have never seen such a thing. It rather reminds me of that killer rabbit in Monty Python's 'Holy Grail' movie (picture can be seen above).

Here is a link to a picture of a test that was returned to a student with some rather interesting notes appended to it by the professor. If only all professors were this cool! :)

And, last but not least, here are some detailed instructions on how to take a nice fluffy stuffed cat and turn it into a hideous terminator-cyborg looking turn signal indicator for your car. Pictures included.

Article: The psycho Valentines fling

Have you ever hooked up with a woman and have her tie you to the bed only to have her take out a knife, put a few slashes on your body, and start drinking your blood? Not just that, but don't you also hate it when you manage to free yourself from the bed only to be chased with a pickax?

THIS guy does. :)

Yeah. I really hate those days.

Article: Top Web Tools for College Students

Here is a list of some nifty website resources that college students would probably find most useful. I particularly liked the Ottobib site. Where were these things when *I* was in college???

Picture: Sheesh!!

What in the world happened here???

Article: Priest sells own church

This is hilarious. A priest up and sold his church one day wihtout anyone else's knowledge. Why did he do this? Well, apparently, it was so that he could afford the new laptop and BMW. :)

I'd also be interested to know HOW he did it given that he doesn't personally own the church (unless this is a circumstance that I'm not familiar with.

The truly BEST part of the story is that the priest probably isn't going to serve a sentence more than the time served so far because he has agreed (via a deal with the authorities) to testify AGAINST former confessors who just happen to be in the same jail with him.

I wonder which level of hell Dante would put THIS guy at. :)

Articles: Cool 'History of War' websites

I recently ran across a couple of pages at the 'Maps of War' website. I thought that they were pretty neat animations.

One of them shows the various empires which ruled the European and Middle Eastern areas over the centuries.

Another is an animation of the various military conflicts that the US has been a part of over the course of American history.

Article: Awesome Homeland Security signs

Someone (with too much spare time and a great sense of humor) decided one day that many of the signs put out by the Dept. of Homeland Security are somewhat ambiguous in nature. They took it upon themselves to suggest some possible meanings for some of these illustrations. For instance, the picture here could mean "If you have set yourself on fire, do not run."

Article: How to survive a horror movie

I think the title says it all. Check out these rules for surviving a horror movie. These are among my favorites....

• Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.
• If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not speak, or if they speak to you using a voice which is not their own, shoot them immediately. It will save you the grief in the long run. *NOTE* It will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared.
• As a general rule, don’t solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.
• If you are searching for something which caused a loud noise and you find out it’s just the cat, leave the room immediatey if you value your life.
• If you find a town which looks deserted, it’s probably for a good reason. Take the hint and stay away.
• Don’t fool around with recombinant DNA technology unless you’re sure you know what you are doing.
• Never listen to music that contains staccato shrieking violins.
• If you are a woman, never strip and take a shower in slow motion.
• If you sense something is behind you, don’t bother turning around to check. Just run.
• If someone tells you to do or not to something (example: DON’T fall asleep, DON’T go out there, DON’T go look for the homicidal-chainsaw-wielding psychopath by yourself) by all means, LISTEN TO THEM!!
• A small town’s little summer celebration might sound like fun. But if you hear the locals say things like, “Why you’re the guest of honor! We couldn’t even have the barbecue with out you!”, run like hell.
• Always be nice to the shy, quiet, unpopular girl in school.
• Never buy your kid a toy that talks back.
• Never watch a horror movie while you’re in a horror movie.
• Never wait until you NEED the gun to check and see if it’s loaded.

Article: Tips for tech jobs

Here is an interesting set of tips for the geek who's out there interviewing for his next opportunity. Apparently, someone came up with the notion that geeks are somewhat taken advantage of in today's day and age. I believe it (although I consider myself to be very fortunate with my circumstances). The only rule that I follow when negotiating with a company is to never be strictly on the defensive. Put up just as much of an offense as they do and make remember that if you're responding to negotiating points with a simple 'yes' or 'no', then chances are that you're not taking advantage of possible opportunities.

Article: Sequel to 'The Dark Crystal'

Yep...it's official...they're making a sequel to some people's favorite 80's fantasy flick. Honestly, I think that the film industry's ability to create decent fantasy movies died in the early 90s. That was around the time when imagination was conquered by computer imagery. Bah I say! I almost wish that they wouldn't even bother with this sequel. Some movies like 'The Dark Crystal', 'Labyrinth', 'Legend', 'Neverending Story', etc, should just be left as glorious memories. We don't need another repeat of 'Terminator 3'. Sheesh...now THAT was a great way to murder a good story.

Article: Good grief

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not the kind of person who would ever rejoice over someone's death, but, as I've posted before, things such as the passing of Anna Nicole Smith really shed an erie (sp?) light on the state of the threshold of American entertainment. War could have broken out with Iran and N. Korea today (coupled with a cure for AIDS) and noone would know about it because Anna Nicole died! I was fortunate enough to run across this site that makes my point superbly. It doesn't really matter how many Soldiers and Marines died today...how many helicopters crashed in Iraq...how many innocents slaughtered in Africa...the skyrocketting national debt...all because everyone wants to know how this one woman died. As a country, I honestly sometimes think that we need to re-think our priorities.

PIctures: The dog and the porcupine

Every once in a while, I'll run into these pictures. They are of a pit bull that decided to pick a fight with a porcupine. I'm not exactly the biggest dog lover, but I really do feel sorry for this canine. Check out the pictures for yourself.

Movie: Blood and Chocolate

I went to see this random movie last night called 'Blood and Chocolate'. I'd never heard of it before and saw it in the list of movies playing at the closest theater. It sounded just eccentric enough to be enjoyable. The movie is about a woman (who is a member of a pack of werewolves) who fights her feelings for a man who comes into her life so that she won't have to reconcile with her duties to the pack.

It turned out to be surprisingly well done. There were a number of good B-list actors and the music was pretty good. One thing that I really enjoyed was that the script really didn't care to explain the details of the lycanthropic condition (as portrayed by this particular writer's imagination) to the audience. Some things I understood, and some things I didn't. One thing that I found surprisingly neat was the pack's tendency to show their necks to their leader during a ceremony. It was used as a kind of group salute. I really don't think that I would have understood the significance of this had it not been for some of the fiction that I've read over the years. In a fight, a wolf (or whatever canine) will generally go for the throat. The act of willingly baring one's throat to the alpha is a sign of submission and respect. It's not so much the horror/blood/supernatural thing that interests me about this so much as the sociological application of a wolf pack hierarchy on a group of people. In similar fiction that I've read, it's very interesting to see the institution of the alpha male, the unilateral authority that he has, the rituals of the pack, and what the habits that the pack adopts in the protection of their alpha. The application of such canine institutions in man can make for much more interesting reading than the truth that is politics and religion.

Anyone who's interested in this particular line of fiction would probably be interested in reading a series of books by Kelly Armstrong. 'The OtherWorld' series is one that explores the lives of various supernatural characters. Typically, a book about one such character will introduce another who will, in turn, be the subject of the next book. I was turned on to this series about 7 years ago when someone loaned me a copy of the book 'Bitten', which is the first book in the series. Through Armstrong's imagination, I have been privy to unparalleled imagery of the afterlife, deities, the supernatural hierarchies and their feuds, and the adaptation of the various lifestyles into man's culture. VERY well constructed, to say the least.

Yes...it's been a while since I've written a Jason-is-really-super-weird post, so I figured that I'd make up for it today. ;)

Picture: Eeek!

Ok. Is that not one of the scarriest things you've ever seen?? That's the kind of thing that cat owners have nightmares about.