tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95564022011-08-16T15:08:17.046-07:00. . . the newsy tidbits of a thousand epochs await.Lukenoreply@blogger.comBlogger751100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1121709408856245372005-07-18T10:55:00.000-07:002005-07-18T11:05:27.160-07:00

How close Islamic fundamentalists are to our own God-fearing, other-hating terrorists at home. Lest we forget.``The fact that I have entered an agreement with the government is purely a tactical choice on my part and in no way legitimates the moral authority of the government to judge this matter or to impute guilt,'' Rudolph said.Which means, sir, you're a fucking coward.Thankfully they're

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1121705177378456412005-07-18T09:46:00.000-07:002005-07-18T09:46:17.396-07:00

Is 16,000 people in the Houston Rockets' former stadium.It's Lakewood Church, the biggest in the country. The pastor, Joel Osteen, has a book with 2.8 million copies in print, a TV audience almost twice that large, and, you can be assured, tons of money.I've actually seen his sermons [broadcast locally] and it's no wonder he's popular, he never talks about suffering or the trials of faith. He's

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1118082886710680842005-06-06T11:35:00.000-07:002005-06-06T11:34:46.736-07:00

Or vice versa.Researchers at the University of Utah believe that high occurances of genetic diseases in Northern and Central European Jews [Ashkenazim] has links with their greater than average intelligence.The greater than average intelligence part, the researchers believe, stems from being hamstrung into managerial positions for centuries. Not allowed to either rule or do agrarian labor, Jews

Lukenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1117043553532875722005-05-25T10:52:00.000-07:002005-05-25T10:52:33.556-07:00

Belle and Sebastian were really great for a few albums. Then, recently, they got really bad. People who know more than me suggest it's because they became more egalitarian with their songwriting. Stuart Murdoch, architect of the early brilliance, began handing the songsmithery over to his bandmates. The result, as evidenced by their most recent LP Dear Catastrophe Waitres, is utter cacophony with

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1116265423050663182005-05-16T10:43:00.000-07:002005-05-16T10:43:43.056-07:00

Look here--and I'm serious about this--if you keep down the path you're on, there's going to be trouble. I mean it. You better back off, because if you don't--and I promise you this--our actions will be unspecified. The consequences of which have yet to be determined.And don't expect us to back down either.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1115827437593286562005-05-11T09:03:00.000-07:002005-05-11T09:03:57.660-07:00

William Saletan spins a hell of a fossil record metaphor in his description of the evolution of Intelligent Design theory:Like its creationist forebears, ID is theistic. But unlike them, it abandons Biblical literalism, embraces open-minded inquiry, and accepts falsification, not authority, as the ultimate test. These concessions, sincere or not, define a new species of creationism—Homo

Lukenoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1115415377315711112005-05-06T15:53:00.000-07:002005-05-06T15:54:13.726-07:00

Brazil is now the first country to decline a US grant for AIDS relieve because US money requires that the recieving country not use the funds on any real programs. The money has to go toward promoting abstinence. Quoth FMF:Brazilian officials feel that condemning prostitution will damage efforts to protect sex workers from contracting and spreading HIV/AIDS, a group that has the highest risk of

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1115409866238976892005-05-06T13:03:00.000-07:002005-05-06T13:21:17.703-07:00

They will now once again support gay rights initiatives before the Washington State legislature.CEO Steve Ballmer said: "if legislation similar to HB 1515 is introduced in future sessions, we will support it."Probably had something to do with disproving the argument God plus Hutch is enough.Cowards. Since not wanting to seem too gay backfired, Microsoft is now trying to not seem too anti-gay.This

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1115401861471277992005-05-06T10:50:00.000-07:002005-05-06T10:51:01.543-07:00

Pitchfork, this very day--Just now, a second ago--began offering downloads of the singles they review daily.The whole song. Right now.Sufjan Stevens and The New Pornographers inaugurate the revamp. Both have LPs I'm looking forward to enormously. And now you don't have to take my stupid words for it. Not that I suspect any of you ever did. Except Mike. He'll buy anything.Since it takes roughly

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1115319062654347022005-05-05T11:50:00.000-07:002005-05-06T13:23:05.530-07:00

Scientists have discovered a massive cache of dinosaur fossils in Utah that seem to be evolving into herbivores from the line of carnivores that includes Velociraptors.Over millions of years these beasts went from long-legged, hook-toed Jeff Goldblum harrassers to squat, long-necked grass-gnawers with smaller claws and bigger hips [to accommodate the larger bowel systems needed by herbivores].

Lukenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1115166543918228572005-05-03T17:28:00.000-07:002005-05-03T17:29:03.920-07:00

When IGN.com and the new KFC Snacker team up, weeping follows.The fan-selected IGN/Snacker 100 greatest videogames of all time, it appears, was voted on by a disproportionate number of 5 year olds and blunt-trauma victims with no long term memory.From a set consisting of all videogames ever created, John Madden Football 2005 is number 22. Meaning that, in the opinion of these mouth-breathers, an

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1115046056058602942005-05-02T08:00:00.000-07:002005-05-02T08:00:56.060-07:00

Crap, Britain, you're begining to look like America. Before you respond with, "Fuckin a, 'bout time," note that I mean in terms of the marketting of policy.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1114654520479698202005-04-27T19:14:00.000-07:002005-04-27T19:15:20.480-07:00

Always and forever catering to the least of these, my bretheren [in this case, those without CD burners], Wal-mart is now offering to burn their digital music selection to CD for you.The cost for a customized CD of three songs is $5 plus 88 cents for each additional song.A three song CD is pretty much pointless unless the selections are from The Velvet Underground and Nico, The Tain and . . . say

Lukenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1114538066576368472005-04-26T10:54:00.000-07:002005-04-26T10:54:26.576-07:00

William Saletan thinks the dust up over a pharmacist's right to deny prescriptions is being exaggerated by pro-choice groups, not pro-lifers. Scintillating.It seemed strange such a ground swell was occurring around a birth control device in a country roundly at ease with contraception.Funny how, while the deceitfulness of the judiciary recall movement reeks with demagoguery and ignorant

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1114480055700201472005-04-25T18:47:00.000-07:002005-04-25T18:54:18.923-07:00

During the height of the Terri Schiavo murder fracas, Bill Frist, a doctor, concluded, via videotape, that she was in fact responsive and was not, as a slew of neurologists had concluded, in a 'persistent vegetative state'.Now you can ask Dr. Bill to diagnose your ailments, presumably contradicting your high paid specialists.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1114460273193441762005-04-25T13:17:00.000-07:002005-04-25T13:17:53.193-07:00

David Byrne has a blog. Like his music, it's artsy and informed and critical and fluid and good without being pretentious. He critiques contemporary art without sounding haughty and offers measured socio-political analyses of current events.He's still cool.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1114457008178958652005-04-25T12:26:00.000-07:002005-04-25T12:23:28.180-07:00

It didn't seem possible that an article on force feedback cell phones would contain a candidate for best word ever.teledildonicsIt's better if you put the emphasis on the syllable with the 'O'. Creates a kind of grandiosity.Dildonics is not a new word, and this is just a spliced compound of that [the quicker we finish shuffling off the Latinate conventions that prevent us from creating words like

Lukenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1114053598861000642005-04-20T20:19:00.000-07:002005-04-20T20:19:58.863-07:00

It will soon be a bigger crime in South Carolina to abuse a male chicken than a female human:Both cockfighting and domestic violence are currently misdemeanor crimes, punishable by 30 days in jail. If the bill passes, cockfighting will become a felony, punishable by five years in jail. Domestic violence crimes will remain a misdemeanor.WIStv.com via Fark

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1114028568458712732005-04-20T13:21:00.000-07:002005-04-20T13:22:48.460-07:00

"If we can find its natural enemy, we can control the spread of HIV naturally and cost-effectively, just as we use cats to control mice."Sweet.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1113929239873377882005-04-19T09:59:00.000-07:002005-04-19T10:00:00.716-07:00

. . . and there was.Update [9:58]: "Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany Is Elected265th Pope, Taking Benedict XVI as Name"God help us all.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1113896845858005192005-04-19T00:45:00.000-07:002005-04-19T01:52:22.140-07:00

Honest to God, this is how my friends start conversations with me:"Want to hear something interesting about logarithms?"Thing is, I did.[If you want to hear something interesting too, you're going to have to leave a comment begging for it--let me tell you, it is hella interesting]

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1113412860502141432005-04-13T10:20:00.000-07:002005-04-13T10:21:00.503-07:00

Wired News has an interesting article on the dogged presence of text-based gaming in a graphic oriented world. Accolytes say text-based gaming is analogous to reading a novel:Elizabeth Price, moderator for OneRing MUSH: "The text-based format for role-playing allows the same kind of immersion in the story as a book does -- with the added ability to interact with it and shape the story as you go

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1113330083832104092005-04-12T11:30:00.000-07:002005-04-13T01:23:34.043-07:00

--MIA : Arular--MIA has a sultry, flirty voice and an eclectic sound that assembles and deconstructs music from the East, London, Africa, and South America. Breathless and bilingual, she grows this diversity into something that is dissonant and ruthlessly original.Caribbean beats appear here as well, giving MIA a sound Gwen Stefani might aspire too if she didn't have the burden of cross-promoting

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1113262575557054582005-04-11T16:36:00.000-07:002005-04-11T16:36:15.556-07:00

Slate has a pretty awesome pictorial history of American breast enhancement from 1858 to last Tuesday, when a Mr. Matthew Lamar Turner of Gainsville submitted a patent for an accordion-like implant that allows the woman to fill her breasts with any "suitable filling material" and can be "pumped up and deflated" depending on how much back pain she wants to experience.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1113251713711009552005-04-11T13:38:00.000-07:002005-04-11T13:38:31.326-07:00

He's in Iceland now, and various other places, including the internet. After reading his 8463 word, single paragraph, statement of facts regarding being "Kidnapped and railroaded to his imprisonment torture and death in the Jew-controlled U.S.A." [strangely written in the third person] I can conclude, irrevocably, that motherfucker is Kuh-razy.Fisher became the world's youngest grand master at

Lukenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1113173844294847392005-04-10T15:57:00.000-07:002005-04-10T15:57:24.296-07:00

Besides the movie itself, the best part of Sin City was the extended and quite funny trailer for Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which looked to be coming along nicely. The third best part was hearing the fanboys concurrently loose their bowels in excitement. A sloshing sound, momentary relief, then a kind of nervousness. Not regularly showering, though, they already smelt bad, and this new

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1112990767740065962005-04-08T13:13:00.000-07:002005-04-08T13:14:05.783-07:00

Marc Fisher says sins--deadly ones--had more to do with communism's fall in Eastern Europe than sin's arch-nemesis, Pope John Paul II, did.His personal account of how materialism and a desire to keep up with the Jonesenbachers freed East Germany is at Slate.[M]any demonstrators felt that they would be shot at that night.. . .I always asked: Why are you doing this? And the answers came in a

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1112980684478767642005-04-08T10:17:00.000-07:002005-04-08T10:18:04.480-07:00

Or at least, Jewish leadership is unconvinced that they've stopped, despite a prohibition on proxy baptisms dating to 1995 and a face-to-face last year between Utah senator Orrin Hatch [Mormon] and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton [anything you want her to be]. Quoth WiredNews: "We have proof, and we are bringing that," said Ernest Michel, chairman of the New York-based World Gathering of

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1112907174640743592005-04-07T13:52:00.000-07:002005-04-07T13:52:54.640-07:00

Buprenorphine, a drug that is as effective as methodone without the associated high, was discovered by the makers of Lysol, Woolite and French's mustard. Quoth Wired:He didn't feel high, didn't feel withdrawal symptoms, didn't even feel medicated; he just felt better. "It took away the pain," he says. "It even took away the craving. I had my strength back, and I was eating sooner than I ever had

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1112214852357307942005-03-30T12:33:00.000-08:002005-03-30T12:34:12.360-08:00

A right-wing blog sponsored by the Spokesman-Review posed the following question: "With students forced to pay exorbitant amounts of money for tuition and books to obtain a sheepskin, should [universities] basic requirements for graduation include a course in diversity?"There's a decided lack of symmetry in the responses. Make yourYou can imagine my response [a minority opinion]: "College is a

Lukenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1112119340939629752005-03-29T10:05:00.000-08:002005-03-29T10:02:20.943-08:00

UNUSED AUDIO COMMENTARY BY HOWARD ZINN AND NOAM CHOMSKY, RECORDED FOR THE RETURN OF THE KING (PLATINUM SERIES EXTENDED EDITION) DVDCHOMSKY: "Let us together rebuild this world," Aragorn says. And bury all the Orc carcasses before any tribunals can be established. Look at his outfit. It probably took 50 Haradrim orphans six months to assemble.ZINN: I bet it still couldn't repel a good Orcish

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1111611966675487212005-03-23T13:06:00.000-08:002005-03-23T13:06:06.680-08:00

Dept. of Education Weakens Title IX Compliance Standards for College AthleticsWith this, amateur basketball will fall to the hulking, brutish, dunk-heavy [fan-friendly, fast-paced, exciting] style of play for keeps. As with all things, it was forseen in cartoons:Kug: We no can dunk, but good fundamentals. Ornik: That more fun to watch. [Zapp, Fry and Bender laugh.]. . .Femputer: Hmm. Perhaps

Lukenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1110908145408696322005-03-15T09:34:00.000-08:002005-03-15T09:35:45.543-08:00

Watch a honkey explain Dr. Dre's success as a rapper and producer [hiphop's most reliable kingmaker] using such boring principles as quality control and supply and demand.It takes all the fun out, certainly, but it's more likely than the alternative: "ask The Game, and he'll certainly credit his own lyrical genius"That's just stupid.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1110395623037372182005-03-09T11:14:00.000-08:002005-03-09T11:13:43.043-08:00

Counter-intuitively, being a level 20 half-elf rogue won't help you get into Israel's elite military forces. Just the opposite: 18-year-olds who tell recruiters they play the [Dungeons and Dragons] are automatically given low security clearance. “They're detached from reality and suscepitble to influence,” the army says.Their loss, I have Enchanted Boots of the Rabbit, which confer a +4 to all

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1110224255510380392005-03-07T11:57:00.000-08:002005-03-07T12:01:02.313-08:00

In the coming days, every time a White House staffer uses the word multilateralism, in stark contrast to 4 years of actual administration policy, take a drink. ``The president and I have asked John to do this work because he knows how to get things done,'' Rice said at a State Department news conference. ``He is a tough-minded diplomat, he has a strong record of success, and he has a proven track

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1110149039921964412005-03-06T16:06:00.000-08:002005-03-06T16:06:50.126-08:00

Real life beats video games again. This is amazing. Apparently all it takes to turn a mild-mannered salamander into a deadly killing beast of fatal proportions is the right harmonic frequency. TIGHT! THE right vibrations transform a meek salamander larva into a killing machine. The "predator" morph, with its larger head and aggressive attitude, is better adapted to grabbing larger prey.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1110052098458253852005-03-05T11:49:00.000-08:002005-03-05T11:48:18.456-08:00

How, back from the grave, Sonny Bono is depriving America of Marcel Proust until at least 2018 [unless you like go to amazon.co.uk or something]. Less books in print means more obstacles on ski slopes

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109968460498229222005-03-04T12:34:00.000-08:002005-03-04T12:34:20.500-08:00

Rodney Anonymous, who knows more languages than I, on the topic of Ten Commandments in federal buildings, gives a breakdown of not only biblical interpretation, but the vagaries and latitude translators must take to get a readable translation. This is perfect. I mentioned the varieties of interpretation next door like ten minutes ago, and now I've found this:Jews, for example, translate the Fist

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109891636014919702005-03-03T15:11:00.000-08:002005-03-03T15:13:56.016-08:00

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia got a little silly today: "Ninety-nine percent of people believe in the Ten Commandments," Scalia said. "Eighty-five percent couldn't tell you what they are," he added to widespread laughter.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109830232935597362005-03-02T22:10:00.000-08:002005-03-02T22:16:09.630-08:00

Is America a Post-democratic Society? How to Preserve Our Republic by Paul Kurtz was emailed to me in response to Monday's blog. It's a Humanist State of the Union, and the prognosis isn't good.For democracy to function fully, not merely formally but in actuality, it is essential that at least four other basic preconditions be fulfilled: First, economic democracy: (a) a large middle-class

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109660330758231762005-03-01T23:05:00.000-08:002005-03-01T15:38:20.123-08:00

A poll out recently shows that people, when speculating with nothing on the line, theoretically like the concept of a female president. This vaguely earth-shattering assertion comes to you courtesy of Newsday, via the Feminist Majority Foundation.“Overwhelmingly, American voters think that a woman president would be better on domestic issues than a man president,” Lonnstrom said in the institute’

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109666645393853712005-03-01T00:53:00.000-08:002005-03-01T00:51:45.776-08:00

See that big, dumb screed there, on the left? Got the idea here, after reading this blog. I've been reading Rodney Anonymous, formerly of the Dead Milkmen, for a while now. I see some deep, artesian brilliance in it, the same kind of thing I see in Ben's writing, but from different [shifting] points on the ideological spectrum. Problem was finding a post that suitably demonstrated his genius for

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109453341489311402005-02-26T13:16:00.000-08:002005-02-26T14:02:00.413-08:00

If you haven't yet signed up for M-W.com's word of the day email, your life is exactly 75% as fullfilling as it could be.Achieve your potential.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109323005906506692005-02-25T01:30:00.000-08:002005-02-25T01:30:25.946-08:00

Two creepy Italian professors explain that Michaelangelo's David's manhood and corresponding bits aren't small, given the circumstances. This contradicts the prevailing opinion that the marble man is of proportionately dinky schlongitude and shows the bizarre lengths people will go to assuage the bruised psycho-sexual self-image of once-great nations that now suck at everything."Here we have a

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109317200351720062005-02-24T23:34:00.000-08:002005-02-24T23:52:42.913-08:00

I'm reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius right now, roughly 4 years after the rest of America and her colonies. The book is hilarious and energetic and inventive, but there's this part, about half-way through, were the author, Dave Eggers, recalls an interview he had with the Real World people for the season set in San Francisco. That 40-odd page interview is boring the utter hell

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109184321185450032005-02-23T10:45:00.000-08:002005-02-25T01:34:43.333-08:00

Was Thompson's death a murder fixed up to look like a suicide? Was it a suicide planned out to look like a murder that looked like a suicide?Neither seems likely, but either might just be possible given an interview the writer granted a radio station in January. Quoth Thompson:"Bush is really the evil one here and it is more than just him. We are the Nazis in this game and I don't like it. I am

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109026948119526402005-02-21T16:29:00.000-08:002005-02-21T16:30:25.926-08:00

1up.com has its list of 50 essential video games. Smells like . . . childhood. And also . . . everything since. It's bittersweet to realize the staggering amount of time I've spent with these games over the years. More bitter than sweet are my bizarrely passionate opinions about 1up.com's choices.They're mostly on point. Most, even, are above reproach, beyond dispute etc, etc. Some, however, are

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1109012615877512782005-02-21T10:35:00.000-08:002005-02-21T11:03:35.880-08:00

This has been happening to me enough lately that it's sprung to the forefront of my brain and challenged through clenched fists and teeth for some solution, some reprieve. It seems (through extensive trial and erro) that bathrooms serve two distinct and mutually exclusive functions: Cleaning oneself and evacuating from one's innards dirty, filthy, gut-wrenching waste.Now, some might say they are

Lukenoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1108424040644258522005-02-14T15:34:00.000-08:002005-02-14T20:28:04.153-08:00

I can't say I have much in common with the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Saudis responsible for the torturous debasement of women through a perversion of Islamic law. I, for instance, like to see a little girl-forehead once in a while, something that would land my ass in some mutawwaeen gulag. However, I think they may have gotten one thing right.They're trying

Lukenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1108285501093824952005-02-13T01:02:00.000-08:002005-02-13T01:05:01.093-08:00

It's been proven, our proximate future will have more time. So go ahead, overbook.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1107805338910994722005-02-07T11:42:00.000-08:002005-02-07T12:04:36.646-08:00

Pitchfork has a funny interview with the Advantage, a Nintendo cover band. It's a trip down memory lane, featuring classic Konami games with original controllers and cameos by the Max [which I had] and the Advantage [which my uncle had and I never had the nerve to steal]. That's all fun, but the best and most interesting part are the similarities to my own life in the stories they tell; the

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1107688345582376082005-02-06T03:21:00.000-08:002005-02-06T03:21:54.603-08:00

Desist back-patting , pop those shoulders back in their sockets and prepare yourselves for the messy reality of democracy. Messy, in this case, being a short-sighted euphemism for constitutionalized inequity. Didn't see this coming? We know what faith-based politics have wrought locally, why would this be any different? Oh, right, the people who started the war said it would. Still, it'll be

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1107497396258722902005-02-03T22:12:00.000-08:002005-02-04T12:20:10.720-08:00

One of the great ironies of this image-conscious nation of ours is its startling obesity rate. McDonalds, long a primary contributor of the latter, has recently begun to cater heavily to the former, creating commercials that feature hot, fit urban kids, choosing to hide off camera any and all of the things they sell. Then, a week ago, they tried something startling, essentially saying: if you're

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1107378194338059442005-02-02T01:02:00.000-08:002005-02-02T13:48:28.273-08:00

To those of you who like good music I declare: I also like that. But now, since I have no real income beyond what I scrape together as down payment on debtor's prison, I can no longer afford to indulge my sensitivities with complete albums and am forced to beg for scraps at the alley-door of fan-boy websites and blogs as P2P programs generally suck and my dial-up precludes any serious torrent

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1107216296987913232005-01-31T16:04:00.000-08:002005-01-31T16:04:56.986-08:00

Speaking as a liberal, Maureen Dowd sucks. Her commentary is as saccharine as it is insipid, spawning half-assed arguments that begin with outrage and meander along, proving nothing before ending off with a parting salvo that usually resembles moral indignation. General structure: A) I can't believe the Bush administration did _____ [I usually agree with her here] B) Rather than develop an

Lukenoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1107198311698314602005-01-31T11:06:00.000-08:002005-01-31T11:05:11.700-08:00

Thanks to the eagerness of my University's student loans office, and the laxness of requirements for deferment put forth by that avaricious Pennsylvanian leviathan, I'm clear of debt for a time. Say what you must about the anachronisms of modern Catholicism--about the anti-Semitism that facilitated the Holocaust's terrible lapse of conscience and the second-class treatment of homosexuals and

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1106766763011447172005-01-26T11:13:00.000-08:002005-01-26T13:38:32.753-08:00

Worried you come across as a priss in your blogs? As a heterosexual male constantly mistaken as being a faggot or one of them homos--depending on the company--you can bet I do. Meet the Gender Genie. The tricky little app, when given a string of text, makes an educated guess about the author's possession or lack of a penis. The methodology, in my opinion, is highly suspect, but I was delighted to

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1106646761880931652005-01-25T10:09:00.000-08:002005-01-25T10:09:46.950-08:00

Drumming eases tension, cures cancer, makes you smarter, says the Percussion Marketting Council. Holy shit, there's a council dedicated to marketing percussion.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1106599134672024772005-01-24T00:36:00.000-08:002005-01-24T12:38:54.673-08:00

Conservative Opinionist William Saffire is hanging up his gilded quill and inks. Upon departure, he's left us with a guide for reading opinion pieces. It's funny.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1106209693642422182005-01-20T12:29:00.000-08:002005-01-20T00:28:13.643-08:00

Good little opinion piece about the anti-evolution push and how Scopes didn't end creationism as many thought, but fueled the fire and created divisive splintering where an uneasy peace might have taken root. I know I'm beating a dead horse because my hand's getting sore, but metaphysical speculation is not science, and refuting theory A is not sufficient proof of theory B. In case you'd

Lukenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1105811012219805202005-01-15T09:43:00.000-08:002005-01-15T09:43:32.220-08:00

Voting crisis or no, the close gubernatorial election has yielded women in Washington's three highest offices, Governor and the two senatorial positions. This, according to FMF, is the first time ever such state offices have been concurrently held by women. So that's nice as a thing for women, but I'm not a woman. What I'm more glad about is that these three women were far and away the best

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1105685432692297002005-01-13T22:50:00.000-08:002005-01-13T22:50:32.693-08:00

The Underground is going to be filled with "uncool" music to drive away punk-ass kids.Tube bosses intend to use recordings of Pavarotti recitals, Vivaldi and Mozart in a battle against anti-social behaviour at 35 stations on the District, East London, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines.In Hammersmith, Vivaldi will play up to a block away from the station, gradually giving way to The Clash,

Lukenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1105681867304147582005-01-13T21:50:00.000-08:002005-01-13T21:51:07.303-08:00

As per previous discussion, it looks like the Baptists--the most wash-inclined of all protestants--have adopted a policy of non-aggression as pertains the gay and lesbian community. The new suggestion from some kind of 'task force' read something like this: Faggerts is still gross an' dang'rous, but we won't excommyoonicat'chee if they's worked they's spells on'ee.They need all that tithe money

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1105661615296634582005-01-13T16:15:00.000-08:002005-01-13T16:13:35.296-08:00

Recently I became aware of a plateau achieved by this little blog of mine. We all know of the primacy of Google and the importance placed on that site's page rank. As a small to medium sized blog, my page rank is modest at best, but I nonetheless like to compare myself to other sites. I like it best when I can compare myself favorably to other, larger sites. For example, Correct My Spelling is

Lukenoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1105577046696606412005-01-12T16:37:00.000-08:002005-01-12T16:44:06.696-08:00

Shakespeare had syphilis, said immunologists who, for some reason, weren't working on curing HIV, Hanta, or one of the other thousands of here-to-fore incurable things that slay people daily, but rather speculating about a 500-year-old case of VD.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1104175518643898682004-12-27T11:25:00.000-08:002004-12-27T11:25:18.643-08:00

As collated by pitchforkmedia.com. If pop makes good ideas stick, then this pop will make them stick good. Nevermind the absurdity and apparent subjectivity of a list that purports to accurately rank Loretta Lynn on a continuum that includes Madvillain, Scissor Sisters and Brian Wilson, such meta questions miss the point. This is all good music, and a lot of it you've probably never heard before

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1104177387361983102004-12-27T11:10:00.000-08:002004-12-27T12:16:38.410-08:00

All that money-spending seems to have paid off for the Democrats and the horse they backed for Governor of Washington. Concluding the hand recount, Gregoire won by 8 votes initially and now leads by around 130 votes. I don't know what this means, do the Republicans have any recourse? Rossi thinks so, but the Democrats say no--obviously. In a new wrinkle, Rossi might get some help from Alaska.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1103138902950854982004-12-15T11:33:00.000-08:002004-12-15T11:33:14.673-08:00

"Dorsay had tapped into the bridge's electricity to power a television, microwave, space heater and PlayStation video game system. There he could relax and, on occasions, turn on a Chicago Bears game, invite friends over and pop open some beers." Courtesy of minusworld.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1103089694780942302004-12-14T23:26:00.000-08:002004-12-15T03:50:39.093-08:00

Says Blockbuster. Spokespeople promise selection will remain crappy until forever.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1103009523774692632004-12-13T23:22:00.000-08:002004-12-14T00:37:49.893-08:00

This site retouches pictures of your stillborn babies. The site is pretty lo-tech, so let's hope this person is not getting much business.You have a loss, a loss that no pregnant couple even wants to think about. When it happens to you, there is shock and indescribable sorrow. . . It has been my experience that often these cherished photos are all too graphic, showing a damaged baby, not the

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1102925168129596182004-12-13T01:04:00.000-08:002004-12-13T00:06:08.130-08:00

Did that myself. Are the unadorned images more evocative? Discuss please, I've done something on a lark and I don't know if I've been bad.

Lukenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1102795896293546222004-12-11T12:20:00.000-08:002004-12-11T12:19:25.860-08:00

Is the desire to look better than you actually do. 300 Swedish retailers said the biggest cell phone killer was droppage, but a close second was tight ass pants. "To put it in perspective, tight pants break more phones than dogs, children, rain, snow, acts of forgetfulness and throwing phones to the ground in a rage." Full list

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1102733061838087382004-12-10T19:53:00.000-08:002004-12-10T19:54:53.000-08:00

Cuzco, Peru -- the twelve South American nations that aren't French Guiana entered into a political and economic pact that "would give them a stronger voice in dealing with the United States, Europe and Asia." The South American Community of Nations is essentially a merger of two existing free trade entities, Murcosur and the Andean Community of Nations, along with the inclusion of Chile, Guyana

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1102728323933106292004-12-10T17:23:00.000-08:002004-12-10T18:23:02.093-08:00

Washington State's hand recount is underway. Here's a great page courtesy of the Seattle Times showing the current numbers on a county by county basis. This is getting fun. Although the more densely populated areas, Seattle's King, Tacoma's Pierce, Spokane and Yakima counties, haven't begun to count yet, so far a total of 244 newish votes have been found. Gregoire has picked up an extra 108 and

Lukenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9556402.post-1102723566391989242004-12-10T16:05:00.000-08:002004-12-10T16:06:06.390-08:00

Canadian provinces get to keep their gay marriage. Cleared in the courts, Paul Martin is expected to introduce legislation to allow same sex marriage nationwide, which would bring more parity to same-sex couples in the provinces of Alberta, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Northwest and Nunavut Territories. Prohibiting same-sex marriage has already been

Lukenoreply@blogger.com0