Peace

In this mad world it's stories like this that warm my heart.

"Christmas day, 1914, near Ypres, Belgium: Brutal trench warfare during the first year of WWI briefly came to a stop. German troops started singing carols at midnight; shortly afterwards British troops across no-man's land did the same. They called out for a cease fire, and slowly they emerged from their wet, cold, miserable trenches to meet in the middle and share brandy, smokes and family photographs. The dead were safely retrieved, buried, and grieved over. Some say there was even a football match until the ball deflated on some barbed wire."

And then of course the ugliness creeps back in...

"The Christmas Trust was not officially sanctioned, and military brass were frustrated by the show of civility. In subsequent years of the war, they made sure that troops were rotated to avoid friendliness, and bombings were thereafter especially harsh on the Holiday of Peace."

"Another Year" by Sven Davis from the Santa Cruz "Good Times" - a great weekly publication on happenings around town and other

But still... it is great how people are just people. And in the middle of the war they were able to sit down with each other and take a break.

"Experts Say British Ladybugs in Danger"

OMG! Anything but! Please... for the love of humanity... save those ladybugs. Up the pickets, man the posts... do not rest until those ladybugs are safe.

Does my ass look big in this?

A "scientific" study.

"Antidepressants May Spur Brain Cell Growth"

Does this mean we should all start using them?

Forty year old math problem solved

I'm not crazy about math, but I can appreciate the elated feeling at solving a problem that's been around for forty some years. Especially when you spent four years working on it non-stop. Impressive!

Swinging should be legal

"In a landmark decision on Dec, 21, the Supreme Court of Canada lifted a ban on swingers' clubs, ruling that group sex among consenting adults is neither prostitution nor a threat to society."

Go Canada! Go Montreal!!

Merkel leads Germany and Europe

It looks like Germany found a more than worty successor to Schroeder. In three weeks her approval rating went up 3% as she raised taxes (by abolishing tax exemptions) and pleased the European Union through positive Summit negotiations (including giving 100 million euros due to eastern German provinces to poorer Polish provinces as an act of good will). She also had a positive meeting with Rice and the economy is looking better due to improved exports (although this last one really should be attributed to her predecessor). Good stuff! Someone should take note and learn!! Although considering someone doesn't read the newspapers (especially not the foreign ones) he may not have heard! We have a big stick dammit so why should we walk quietly? Because that's good diplomacy.

"Colombian Paramilitaries Disarm, Disband"

FARC is not participating yet, but it is extremely impressive to see AUC disarming and NLA in negotiations. It's an impressive achievement for President Alvaro Uribe. He is just what Columbia needed after 40 years of conflict and non-solutions - a tough, hawkish, pragmatist leader!

"Survey finds optimism in new Iraq"

Speaking of good news... the majority of Iraqis tend to think that their life is good and have high hopes for the future! That's fabulous!! I also thought it was interesting that police rated as the institution the people trusted the most, with religious leaders and the new Iraqi army right behind. Considering all the reports of corruption and cronyism it is really good to see that people trust their "public safety" institutions to protect them!

Could we be doing a better job over there? Absolutely! Are we doing a terrible job? Not necessarily. The US troops (endearingly dubbed "Occupational forces" in contrast to the "Great liberators" we dubbed ourselves) are trusted the least, but we should not withdraw until there is a safe and stable democracy thriving in Iraq. And that could and will take years.

"Father cleared of murdering son"

Good for him! He suffered enough as-is and euthanasia should be legal anyways. I'll never understand that - we'll kill a dog or a horse that is suffering, but we won't give the same courtesy to a human being. Spinal injury is a great example... there is a time to just quit. I give credit to Christopher Reeve for trying to "fight it", but c'mon... let's be realistic here - you're basically an intelligent plant. What kind of a life is that? And what if you don't have the kind of money he did?! I'd like to see "the culture of life" modified to "the culture of mercy". Live and let die.

Happy News!

I am STOKED that someone finally made a news site dedicated to the good news that happens every day.

"Web site founder Byron Reese said the world needs a refuge from all the unpleasantness served up by newspapers and television news shows."

Amen! Here is a direct link: Happy News

"Wizards of Winter Christmas Lights"

Get your Christmas lights fix! This is simply amazing!!!

"This display was the work of Carson Williams of Mason, Ohio, who spent about three hours sequencing the 88 Light-O-Rama channels (www.lightorama.com) that control the 16,000 Christmas lights in his 2004 holiday lighting spectacular. The musical accompaniment is broadcast over a low-power radio station so that it is only audible to visitors tuned in to the correct frequency and doesn't disturb the neighbors."

DAMN!

Also, if you'd like to learn more about the exhibit:
http://www.wonderlandchristmas.com/wizardsofwinter.php

To download the video look for "Wizards of Winter" here:
http://www.wonderlandchristmas.com/video.php

The song in the video is "Wizards In Winter (Instrumental)" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra from their "The Lost Christmas Eve" album.

Here is an article on his 2005 display:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051205/LIFE/512050331/-1/all

Forming of a new sea/ocean

Looks like there is a new sea/ocean forming in Ethiopia. Cool stuff!

Corruption is a scourge

Corruption, favoritism, cronyism and nepotism are a scourge on any society! Like rust they corrode away the social structures and turn the rule of law onto its head. It pains me to see that it is so widespread across the world. Even the bastions of open societies are affected, but thankfully not nearly to the same extent.

I love the fact that you can't bribe police or judges in the US! Well, most of us at least which is what counts. Perfection is unattainable (humans just ain't perfect), but coming as close as the US (and other modern democracies) is a tribute to systems overcoming human deficiencies! Of course, it helps that all these modern democracies have strong economies which provide most people with their basic needs. It's easier to be moral when you (or your children) don't have an empty stomach.

One can only hope that if we don't destroy ourselves we'll be able to construct a world of wealth for all! We may get bored at that point and destroy each other, but it'd be at least nice to get there for a little while and prove that it can be done.

Up the Irons!

OK, I don't usually do quizzes, but I was completely inspired by Sam's Intergalactic Upchuck to fill this one out. So much potential!! :-)

Describe yourself using one band and song titles from that band

Choose a band/artist and answer only in song TITLES by that band :: Iron Maiden
Are you male or female :: Moonchild
Describe yourself :: Stranger In A Strange Land
How do some people feel about you :: Invaders
How do you feel about yourself :: Running Free
Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend :: Childhood's End
Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend :: The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
Describe where you want to be :: Back In The Village
Describe what you want to be :: The Clairvoyant
Describe how you live :: I Live My Way
Describe how you love :: Run Silent Run Deep
Share a few words of wisdom :: Die With Your Boots On

Butts for Breakfast

*LOL* One for the ladies... and Mark! ;-) Definitely NOT work safe!

For the furries out there...

Fascinating!! I guess it was only a matter of time - Bunny Tail Butt Plug. They also have a Fox, Pig and Devil! ;-) Needless to say the link is not work-safe, though not tasteless.

I am vindicated!

"As much as it pains me to do it, speed and speed alone is not sufficient to establish reckless driving," the judge told Carman on Friday. "If you had had a passenger, there would be no question of conviction. If there had been other cars on the roadway, if you would've went into the wrong lane or anything, I would have convicted you."

Stupid Virginia Highway Patrol! Take that!! Going 87mph on a beautiful clear morning with no other traffic is not reckless driving!! It's been years, but it still feels great! This and the fact that I got off on a speeding ticket in California a few years back (the cop never showed up in court) almost kinda makes up for it.

Mistletoe - the semen of the gods

Ever wondered why we kiss under a mistletoe? Let some druids light your way...

"Druid Stefan Allen, from the Mistletoe Foundation, revealed just what makes mistletoe so appropriate to smooch beneath."

First of all, druids are cool! Wouldn't it be cool to have "Druid" in front of your name? I wonder if I could put that as my title when they ask for one? It sure beats Mr. and in my book also PhD, Reverend, Rabi, Leutenant, etc. Though it might not beat "Admiral" or "Field Marshal", but considering those are military terms that may not be appropriate (or legal) to use "Druid" would work wonderfully. And plus they say cool things like: "mistletoe blooms in the dark womb of wintertime." C'mon! Don't you want to be a Druid?


"The druids believe mistletoe is special because it never touches the ground, and possesses symbolic fertility qualities."

Or, to put it more overtly:

"Traditionally mistletoe was considered to be the semen of the gods and of the forest, because the berries contain a liquid that looks like and has the texture of semen."


Mmmmm... think about that the next time you kiss under a mistletoe. It's actually kinda kinky. "C'mon honey... let's kiss under the semen plant!"

***

Needless to say I got curious and did a bit of searching around. It turns out the mistletoe is a "plant parasite". Also, BBC Gardening has a wonderful list of myths and facts about mistletoe (though unfortunately they do not give us the secret decoder wheel to figure out which is which). Speaking of semen:

"A man may kiss a woman standing under a sprig of mistletoe, only if he plucks a berry from the plant and gives it to her with each kiss. When all the berries have gone the kissing has to stop."

I'd love to hear a druid's interpretation of this. I can already see an interviewer asking: "So... would you say the man is feeding semen to the girl? Or, would it be more appropriate to say they are snowballing considering they're kissing with semen. Snowballing?? Well, you see that is when..."

Unofficial US Navy Site

This is a pretty cool site. It has detailed descriptions and history on most of United States' Navy forces. It looks like the US has 12 (!) aircraft carriers currently in service with another one in production. Talk about the ability to project military power anywhere in the world!!

Hussein trial - a sad, sad state of affairs

As you have undoubtedly heard or read Saddam Hussein has told the court to go to hell and threatened not to appear in court. The latest CNN headline: "Hussein threatens to skip court".

WHAT?! Are we in fucking grade school? Why is this a news item? Why is this tolerated behavior? How can a defendant threaten a court of law?!?! Does anyone get the impression that we are just being way to nice here? A bit of a harder line would be merited. You wanna skip court - fine, we'll continue without you. You wanna be unruly - we'll gag you. You wanna stage a show - we'll shut down media access and tie you up. The man is accused of torture, murder and mayhem and we're giving him milk and cookies and saying please! It's ridiculous!

The bad sex in novels prizes are in!

"Food-critic-turned-novelist Giles Coren won one of Britain's most dreaded literary accolades..."

"Coren won it for a raunchy passage from his debut novel "Winkler" which included a description of the main character's penis "leaping around like a shower dropped in an empty bath.""

Oh yeah. The eroticism is just seeping out. Feel the passion!

Life can be so random

Talk about here now, gone tomorrow.

"One of the 33 patients in the report died -- a 31-year-old Pennsylvania woman who was 14 weeks pregnant with twins when she first went to the emergency room with symptoms. Despite treatment with antibiotics considered effective against C-diff, she lost the fetuses and then died."

That is just crazy. One minute she's an expectant mother then next minute she is no more. One minute he's a (presumably) happily married father to be (twins no less) and the next he is a widower.

And in the immortal words of Ferris Bueler: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around every once in a while you could miss it." Or you could just get randomly infected with a colon bacterium and die. Same thing really.

Dating tips anyone?

I generally find the MSN dating advice common sense at best and moronic at worst. Also, comparing love with your stock portfolio raises hairs on the back of my neck. With that said, I must admit that there are exceptions to every rule. This particular article actually offers some pretty decent suggestions.