8.06.2009

jump

I've made the switch over to word press for a more snazzy blog. Head over to http://epiploicae.wordpress.com/ for any new updates or ramblings. Ciao blogger.

8.03.2009

a change?

This just makes me laugh...all this pictures are criminal mug shots. Check out the candidate they all support.



This
also made me chuckle today.

My cynic tank is full today. I'm ready for 2012 to come quickly.

6.05.2009

extreme ice

Now, I'm not going to become a raving Global Warming advocate OR rant about the impossibility of the phenomena. I am skeptical about the "environmental crisis" and not part of the Obama-mania craze which has swept the nation. I also, love the outdoors and would like to be able to climb Kilimanjaro with ICE on the mountain and hike in Austria ON the glaciers; so, the loss of our global glaciers is something I keep track of from time to time.

Irregardless, I do think this is an interesting website and a cool project. Check it out:

5.19.2009

stockholm syndrome

There are bountiful rumblings on the net about Derek Webb's new cd entitled "Stockholm Syndrome". Go here for the latest email's which were sent out on his mailing list over the past two days.

Here is a link to Wikipedia regarding the history/meaning behind the album's title, which I found interesting.

The second e/m from Derek is a jumbled mess with underscores throughout the message which I found odd and sort of Lost-equese. It seems that there is a new website called Paradise is a Parking Lot where "artifacts" can be found and may lead to the tracks of the new album? The progress can be followed as well at a new Twitter account (Derek shut down his last one).

I must say Derek has piqued my interest regarding the controversy of his new album and all the new clues on the web (which however I don't have the patience to play with). One blog states that Derek has a new song he played at a recent show which has the word "sh_t" in the lyrics, perhaps this is the source of the corporate disgruntlement his label is expressing. Go here and here for more in depth reading.

I hope you all stay tuned for more from Derek....I know I will.

Update: good overview of the controversy here as well.

4.21.2009

clover

So this past weekend I stumbled upon the absolute best cup of coffee I've ever had in my 33 years on this planet, twice. First, a cup of 100% Kona and then a strong bitter blend of Rwandan beans via a Clover. The Clover Coffee Maker will brew an individual cup of coffee in a sort of reverse french press (with a vacuum)with any beans available, exclusively at Starbucks. See below for a detailed video:



And here for all of Starbuck's bragging rights. Clover used to be a small Seattle based company until Starbucks bought the company to offer the machine ONLY at their stores. Right now only Seattle, Boston, and San Fran have been blessed with these beauties. One more reason to move to Seattle just got added to my list!!

4.08.2009

Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade

I read an interesting position paper against abortion tonight that prompted this post. The full article is here and from the magazine, "Salvo".

The article is a compare/contrast discussion between the Dred Scott case in the 1800's and Roe v. Wade in the 1900's. Dred Scott was a slave who left the pro-slavery South and while living in the North sued for his freedom. His case went to the Supreme Court where they found that he was property and not able to sue for his freedom...chattel have no rights. From a modern standpoint we find that offensive and archaic logic, absurd to the nth degree. Especially in the Obama saviouresque culture we currently reside in.

But stand the same Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade next to it now. A fetus is just property, not a life. Sad when comparing these cases that this is THE highest court in our land. I hope you read the full article, it's worth the time.

Here is an excerpt:

Injudicious Decisions?

The parallels between Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade go much deeper than the judgments themselves. From start to finish, the decisions share a similar logic, rationale, and verbiage, perhaps best observed through direct comparison. Following are some brief selections from both rulings. Decide for yourself whether these two Supreme Court cases are a package deal.

On Personhood:

Dred Scott
"A negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves . . . were not intended to be included under the word «citizens' in the Constitution, and can, therefore, claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.”

Roe v. Wade
" The word «person,' as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn. . . .The unborn have never been recognized in the law as persons in the whole sense.”

On the Right to Privacy:

Dred Scott
A slave is the property of the master, and the Constitution has "provided for the protection of private property against the encroachments of the Government.”

Roe v. Wade
"This right or privacy . . . is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”

On Historical Precedent:

Dred Scott
" That unfortunate race . . . had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order [and] they had no right which the white man was bound to respect.”

Roe v. Wade
" Abortion was practiced in Greek times as well as in the Roman Era. . . . Greek and Roman law afforded little protection to the unborn.”

On the Benefits to the Victim:

Dred Scott
"The negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.”

Roe v. Wade
"There is also the distress for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into a family unable, psychologically, and otherwise to care for it.”

3.26.2009

vid's for the kid's pt 2

Some new ones:

Trace Bundy:


Joe Purdy:


Ray LaMontagne:


THE best cat video ever: