:: Bluestarblog ::

:: Thursday, October 30, 2003 ::

Now that Mars is almost gone I guess it's time to blog again. Actually the distraction of other blogs has been mostly responsible. After some slow reading in August, the past couple of months has been a delightful avalanche. There has been so much good reading that I've barely had time to catch it all - let alone read and rant about it. I did find quite a few goodies, big and small, that I squirreled away.

***

In case you missed it, here's the final tally from California's recent election. Some interesting notes, other than the Arnie's near landslide victory, include porn mogul Larry Flynt edging childhood memory Gary Coleman for seventh place and porn star Mary Carey placing in the top ten. Fruit-smashing Gallagher, Native American ticket David Laughing Horse Robinson, anti-communist radio host Van Vo, and engineering dynamo and single mother of three Cheryl Bly-Chester all made the top 20.

***

Looks like my Christmas wishlist is in jeopardy - David Chang, the creator of Ghettopoly, is being sued by Hasbro, the makers of Monopoly. Chang has also come under fire because of racial (read: Black and Hispanic) sensitivities, as these types of things never fail to do.

Charles Jones has a good piece on why this doesn't offend him.

***

Though Wil Wheaton is something of a tool, it looks like the Draft Wesley Crusher for President has some merit. He may only be an ensign, but he does have interstellar combat experience.

***

Steven Den Beste sees analogies between geopolitics and baseball (but of course) in another terrific piece titled Feasibility. Included are some priceless quotes from one of my favorite baseball personalities, Yogi Berra:

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.

Congratulations. I knew the record would stand until it was broken.

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.

I never said most of the things I said.

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

The future ain't what it used to be.

How can you think and hit at the same time?

I wish I had an answer to that because I'm tired of answering that question.

If people don't want to come out to the ball park, nobody's gonna stop 'em.

If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer.

If you come to a fork in the road, take it.

In baseball, you don't know nothing.

You got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.

Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just ain't hitting.

So I'm ugly. So what? I never saw anyone hit with his face.

The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.

There are some people who, if they don't already know, you can't tell 'em.

We made too many wrong mistakes.

You can observe a lot by just watching.

You wouldn't have won if we'd beaten you.

Just the kind of pragmatic backwoods wisdom that ires the chattering classes - and the Europeans - and that ain't not a bad thing.

***

Here's a neat experiment from the newly discovered (by me anyway) BookBlog. It's the Gender Genie - a computer algorithm that determines if a writer is male or female. I've tried it with postings from male and female bloggers and have yet to stump it (the site states its success rate as only 70%). Try it with a paragraph of your own!

***

Nothing shocking about Elvis reigning as the top-earning dead celebrity. Any guess as to number two? Hint: he's not a musician.

***

Anyone who has seen only a few Star Trek episodes can identify the quandary of artificial intelligence and ethics. Whether it's the android Data, or the holographic Doctor, intelligent creations and their sentience has been a goldmine for sci-fi writers. Now it seems this is about to be a goldmine for lawmakers and activists. Glenn Reynolds has more in his piece Robot Rights.

***

Nevermind global war, famine, or pestilence. The UN has more pressing issues:

Smokers at UN Challenge U.N. Chief Annan's Ban

Don't pretend you're surprised. It was only last month the UN was bullying Canada into banning childspanking. Fools. The bullying was unnecessary - Canada would have gladly acquiesced.

***

In the dark and humorous category, from Michael Totten and Sean LaFreniere, we have a confessional site where you can air your deepest shames and regrets. Some are obviously fictional - though you might have trouble guessing which. Here are a few of my favorites:


Most of the time I would rather be hanging out in a club doing coke with hot chicks, than being home with my wife and kids.

I haven't had a conversation with my sister in months, and we live in the same house. I don't remember if I even saw her today, although I must have because I know I set a place for her at dinner time. My parents give me shit for it, and I always argue with them and say they're wrong, that I'm not really that mean to her. In reality, I'd feel terribly guilty if she died. But that's only because I would feel like a terrible person, not because she would be dead.

I dont like my friends, i dont really like my girlfriend either but it will crush her to split up and i dragged her a long way to live with me. So I just keep going along hoping they will all be in a pub one day waiting for me and a bomb will hit the pub.

My boyfriend always tells me that I'm the best lover he's ever had and I just say "Thank you" though I think he wants me to say it back. He isn't the best lover I've had - by FAR.

i pissed on my neighbors cat.... i feel realy bad about it

I started dating a guy, and when i did he wasnt completely over his exgirlfriend. we dated for a while but he still thought about her and we started fighting a lot and one night i had enough of him treating me badly and told him i didnt want to be with him anymore. less than a week later he got back together with his exgirlfriend. i really loved him despite the fact that he treated me like dirt and i even lost my virginity to him. his ex pretended to be my friend just so i wouldnt be suspicious of him while she was scheming to get in his pants. after they started dating again she found out she had a uterian tumor. now she has an eating disorder. i truly believe its karma and i look forward to the day that she dies.

Even though i know my boyfriends mother is diabetic i still take candy from emergency sugar stash.

When I was in southern california, I aquired a large quantity of m80s. I then proceeded to daisychain them together and put them in an anthill. I then lit the explosive, and then stood on the wooden pallet so the explosion would reverberate in the soul and decimate the nest. It exploded, destroying the entire thing and leaving a crater several feet wide. I still feel bad for the poor bastards.

I am a weegie and all I do is drink buckfast and smoke pot all day thanks to the generosity of the British government :) I have never worked a day in my life and probably never will!!


Heh heh. A caveat: this site, like Springer, can be addictive. Jerry's losers have nothing on some of these weirdos.

:: Scot 12:32 PM [+] :: ::
...