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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
paddyball's LiveJournal:
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| Saturday, July 19th, 2008 | | 8:20 am |
Only Dopers will understand
"Friends of God Instructional Ministries, Inc. is in need of an editor."
First thought: "FoGgie has a publishing house? DEAR GOD, THE PAIN!" | | Thursday, July 17th, 2008 | | 2:37 pm |
The return of Ted
Ted informs me that he's going to have a chat with his boss today about a resurgence in Tom's less professional tendencies.
Part of him expects this to be the beginning of the end. He's noticed a few nondesign jobs popping up here and there, and he thinks this could be a good jumping-off point.
But that will only happen if he and Tanya (is that his boss' name? It's been so long that Ted just calls her T. Gets confusing.) agree that Tom basically is just disrespectful to people when he doesn't feel like being an adult. (Ted suspects Tanya knows this.) Ted thinks Tom is abusive and disrespectful, and he is not alone in this, and he suspects that behavior ended Tom's marriage and that Tom was thus scarred into behaving in this way so he could in some way end up winning. ("My marriage may have failed, but I'm the same guy I was.") | | Saturday, July 12th, 2008 | | 7:10 am |
Tony Snow has died http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=5361529Cancer (no shock to those familiar with his medical history). I'm nowhere near a fan of him personally, but cancer sucks, dying in your 50s sucks for all concerned, and his people don't deserve this pain. | | Monday, June 16th, 2008 | | 6:06 am |
Which do you like more? June 18 is the nth anniversary of the fining of Susan B. Anthony for voting. I have written two diary entries on this. The first is reasonably serious, and the second couldn't be more snark if I were writing it for April Fools' Day. ( The first )( The second is intensely offensive unless you read it as snark )Giving reasons for your preference is encouraged, though not required. I may post my preferred entry even if 15 people say they like the other one. I may not. | | Sunday, June 15th, 2008 | | 5:52 pm |
June 15, 1877: On society and service He was born a slave, and he died in anonymity. So goeth the obituary for too many millions of black Americans. But this one is different. The oldest of five children, this ex-slave was taught to read, as a child ( first by a fellow slave, when teaching a black person to read was a crime) on and got himself appointed to West Point, becoming the fifth black cadet at this country's greatest institution for graduating Army officers. He graduated as a second lieutenant, working for the Army as an engineer in the South. And then race relations came calling, and he was dishonorably discharged for dating a white girl. (Those who doubt me are invited to revisit Loving v. Virginia.) Into his 70s, he never stopped working for this country, and he never stopped working to clear his name. But first things first. On this date in 1877, Henry Ossian Flipper became the first black graduate of the USMA. Portions of this post contain offensive language. Reader discretion is advised.( Read more ) | | Saturday, June 14th, 2008 | | 4:41 am |
June 14, 1864: Alois, Alois, lama sabachthani? Ordinarily, a man whose introduction to professional scholarship dealt with earwax would not be famous in medical circles, but this man is different. This man, who started out working with mental patients in the infancy of any sense of the birth of modern psychiatry, has among the best-recognized names in all of medicine, let alone psychiatry. We should be glad he did not get the disease he was studying, as the Curies fell to the radioactive material that gave them such fame. For if he had gotten presenile dementia, his work with patients' brain cells would have been blamed, and research on the degenerative disease would almost assuredly have stopped or at least slowed down considerably. And he would have started forgetting so very, very much of what he had devoted his life to. He would have known, until his brain lost the information, that he was to end up like Auguste, like Johann, patients whose loss of mental functions made them living corpses. But however fortunately we can remember today Alois Alzheimer, born on this date in 1864, we look on his works, we mighty, and despair. ( Read more ) | | Friday, June 13th, 2008 | | 2:31 pm |
On June 13, 1966, Miranda rights were born. On June 13, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court. On June 13, 1971, The New York Times began publishing the Pentagon Papers. When I plotted out the first two weeks' worth of June's diaries, I said to my wife, "Damnit! Why couldn't [these events] have happened on different days?" Any one of these events would have invited a thorough diary examining the factors involved in the various decisions, the ramifications of those decisions and the impacts of those decisions on our society. I hope, and trust, that those who remember one or more of today's honored events happening will write something about it somewhere, because the significance of each event cannot really be overstated. And because they cannot be overemphasized, because they are such dramatic, society-changing events, there was no need for me to do my usual opening intellectual strip-tease. (Totally doing it tomorrow, though.) ( Read more ) | | Thursday, June 12th, 2008 | | 3:53 am |
June 12, 1963: They killed the man, but the movement lived on. He might have been a lawyer, but the law school he applied to rejected him because he was black. With his business administration degree, he might have ended up an executive, but he was black. And black executives are still pretty rare. So he sold insurance and became active in the civil rights movement. He served in World War II, earning the rank of sergeant upon his honorable discharge — two years before the Army was desegregated by executive order. Who knows what he might have done, what future he might have seen for himself serving our country if not for the racism he undoubtedly faced from men who were supposed to be on his side? Today, as I think about having a black man as president, and I venture into the mental territory that says this is not that big of a surprise, I must defend that within myself, must remind myself of the legacy we still live, of the legacy Americans were killed for opposing, of the legacy we are still fighting. That legacy shot a man in the back on June 12, 1963. And then that legacy bragged about it. That legacy lived free for 31 years before justice came calling for the man who had murdered Medgar Evers. ( read more )Crossposted to progressivehistorians, DK and bitsofnews. | | Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 | | 12:36 am |
June 11, 1970: Generally speaking, they were women. When I wrote my Memorial Day letter, I wrote it so I wouldn't have to bother using gendered pronouns. Women have been serving in combat roles and in support roles since we've had those roles. And before we had them, other countries had them. And before countries had them, tribes had them. So it was only a matter of time before women were officially allowed increased function in the military. A matter of time before this country realized it could get women to serve in support roles and thus put more men on the front line. Only a matter of time before the leadership exercised in those support roles, where women came under fire and had the their fellow veterans' lives in their hands, was recognized. So when I saw that June 11, 1970, was the date on which the first two American women officially became generals, that just told me I shouldn't look for any from any other day, because it wouldn't then be news. It would be "Oh, yes, she was promoted to general." Just like that. And just like that, on June 11, 1970, Col. (Anna Mae) Hays became Gen. Hays, and Col. (Elizabeth P.) Hoisington became Gen. Hoisington. ( Read more )Crossposted (eventually) all over the bloody Internet, including at bitsofnews.com, iampunha.dailykos.com and www.progressivehistorians.com. | | Monday, June 9th, 2008 | | 8:31 pm |
On C-SPAN now
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is introducing 35 articles of impeachment for President Bush.
And not as a favor, either. | | Sunday, June 8th, 2008 | | 3:22 am |
For my DK peeps, and for anyone else who wants to know more about those three words people have written about re: Jim McKay's death. (Those who did not read my DK diary will be massively confused by some of the text here. I therefore urge any interested parties to go to iampunha.dailykos.com some point later today to read about Maslow's hierarchy of needs.) ( Howdy, Kossacks! Welcome to my blog! ) | | Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | | 7:28 am |
unbreaking my html ( stuff ) | | Monday, June 2nd, 2008 | | 3:38 pm |
Proof that, above most else, I am a language dork.
Recently had one of those "What if I were, right now, somehow transported back 400 years?" inner dialogues.
First thought: "Oh, man, I could so influence the future of English!"
(True, I could also have gone to a Shakespeare play, though the after-party wouldn't have been so hot. But, um, I would have understood approximately none of same play.) | | Friday, May 30th, 2008 | | 3:28 am |
A Christmas music rant
No, the stuff isn't yet filling the airwaves down here, but I had a hankering for some Christmas music tonight (this morning), so I went to see what YouTube had to offer.
Some notes, aspiring singers and conductors:
1) Loooooooooo hooooooow a rooooo--nope! Sorry, folks. It isn't the happiest song in the world, but please do not mistake this for a fucking funeral dirge. NEXT!
2) Steel, steel, steeeeeeeeeeaugh! IT IS NOT ENGLISH! IT'S GERMAN! NEXT!
2A) Stee-ul, stee-ul, stAB ME IN THE EARS! NEXT!
3) lo how a ROSE AIR BLOOMING LIKE THE SURPRISE GODDAMN SYMPHONY! The goal of this song is not to wake the neighbors! Conductor, if this is your honest interpretation of this song, you need to spend more time sleeping and less time huffing cooking spray. Next!
4) Luh hah a rowse ayre blewmin, because your pronunciation is dying. Next.
5) schtihl, schtihl, schtihl is schtihl not right. schteel, more.
6) Sopranos, the reason this is called SATB is because there are four parts. I'd love to be reminded of what the other three sound like. So please to be stopping auditioning for the opera from a mile away with howling winds.
7) Tenors: I have sung your part. I know where you are supposed to dominate the piece. If you must belt to match the sopranos, you need a kick in the nuts or to admit to the world that you are not built for the part.
8) Basses? Did anyone hear the basses? No? They are part of this, right? SATB? Thenkew. Those vocal chords aren't just there to make your necks look spiffy.
9) Altos: ... eh, nobody really cares much about you anyway. You just stand there looking appetizing.
10) If you are going to record your beloved's performance, do a trial run during a rehearsal, figure out where the best acoustics are, and for Og's sake stand far away from any children or sick people. "Lo how a ::hack:: e'er blooming" (he already bloomed; just a few months until we're rid of him) is something, but it is not appealing. Better yet, do your recording during a rehearsal -- fewer children, fewer sick people and fewer chairs shuffling during orchestrated bursts of beauty.
love,
a music snob who knows how this stuff should sound. | | Thursday, May 29th, 2008 | | 3:13 am |
| | 2:47 am |
Presenting your 2008 DNC presidential ticket:
Obama/Powell.
Yes, Colin Powell.
I have no hard analysis for you right now on why this would work. I know there are many drawbacks to it.
But just think about it. | | Monday, May 26th, 2008 | | 8:03 am |
Your monthlyish DK reminder
If you want the Daily Kos community to be exposed to a relatively obscure happening, tell me about it and give me a significant date in it so I can run it in my Today in History series. | | Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 | | 3:39 am |
| | Monday, May 19th, 2008 | | 10:49 pm |
Help me with history I want to write my May 22 DKos diary on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Society. Since I was not around for it, and since I don't know an America without some of those projects, I'm having a hard time doing anything but hard historical analysis. So if you remember life before then, remember your parents talking about life before then, etc., please chime in. I will properly attribute anything I use. | | Sunday, May 18th, 2008 | | 9:19 pm |
dear carlos mencia:
Maybe you didn't get the memo that you get to make fun of gay people only if you are a member of the gay community.
And taking that a step further, by making fun of gay soldiers, is about as funny as someone dying in Iraq.
love,
someone who is *not* a jackass |
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