Post Haste

I'm beginning to become very frustrated by the post office. Ever since Maryanne and I moved into this house, we have received mail for the previous residents. Some of this is to be expected, as it is marketing materials such as catalogs that is addressed to "current resident." There's really nothing I can do about that. However, something can be done about the mail that's addressed specifically to the previous residents, Ed and Jen. The mail for Ed stopped showing up a long time ago, but just today we got yet another piece of mail addressed to Jen. I have tried to stop it, even speaking with the postmaster here in Stoughton, but it just keeps coming. Part of me says to just start pitching the stuff with the rest of the recycling, but I'm unsure of the legality of this.

Short of putting a sign on the mailbox or some such thing I'm sure of how to make it perfectly clear to our postal carrier that the only surname in use at this residence is Anschutz.

Mood: Irritated
Music: Jackson Browne: "Boulevard"

Must See Before...?

Here's a list of "102 Movies You Must See Before..." Before... you die? Who knows. It may not be a list of the the best movies ever, but it's an interesting list nonetheless. Links go to Roger Ebert's reviews.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: The Outlaws: "Green Grass and High Tides"

Flat

When you read about stuff like this, is it any wonder I rail against California liberals the way I do?

Mood: Annoyed
Music: Mötley Crüe: "Enslaved"

Fugitives

You know the immigration reform that was being debated in Congress and died in the process? Yeah, if people understood what it was really about, and it had passed, we might not be reading about stuff like this:

Of the 183 arrested, 130 were fugitives who had already been ordered deported by an immigration judge [emphasis added]. The remaining 53 were also illegal immigrants...

That's right. All of them were criminals simply by being illegal immigrants, but many of them were guilty of much worse crimes, including sex offenses, child abuse, and drug trafficking.

Do people really want these elements in our society so badly that they're willing to import them illegally from other countries?

Mood: Disgusted
Music: BBM: "Can't Fool the Blues"

Green Thumb

We had a pretty decent weekend as far as the weather went, and after a stop at the hardware store on Saturday I decided to try to get some yard work done. Most of the late morning and afternoon were spent pruning trees and shrubs, digging out stumps, and raking. I paid for it Sunday, as I was quite sore and had given myself a painful blister. I still have a bit of soreness today, as a matter of fact. I wish I had been able to get more done, but am satisfied with the progress thus far.

Having the proper tools for the work was very useful. Recent acquisitions include a pole pruner, lopping shears, shrub rake, mattock, garden spade, and pitch fork. We'll also need a wheelbarrow or cart of some sort soon, though I'm not sure where we're going to store it right now.

I'd like to start a compost heap somewhere, but I'm not sure where to locate it right now. It certainly would come in handy for the garden work I hope to accomplish this spring.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Pat McCurdy: "Nude Party"

Plink

Today (much like most of the week) has been one of those days when I wish I could go home, have a nice beer, and go outside and do some plinking.

Unfortunately, we live in the city where they frown upon such things.

Mood: Disheartened
Music: Badfinger: "No Matter What"

Advice

Good advice for men approaching age 30.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Beatles: "For No One"

Scripted

Here is a list of the 101 greatest screenplays ever written, as determined by the Writers Guild of America.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: The Eagles: "James Dean"

Change of Venue

Since Sarah's soon to outgrow her bassinet, Maryanne cleared the crib last night. The crib had been used as a catch-all for stuff in the nursery that we didn't want to deal with. Now, apparently, the rocking chair has that function, at least until the weekend when we can properly organize things.

I was a little nervous about how Sarah would handle the change in venue, but she did well. She started her last feeding around eight o'clock last night, and ate a total of seven ounces. She settled down for good just before ten, and slept through the entire night. I was fairly excited about it. I hope it's a trend!

Mood: Enthused
Music: Aerosmith: "Toys In the Attic"

Profiteering

Here's a study showing that all the reasons cited by oil companies for high gas prices are a bunch of bullshit.

Mood: Irritated
Music: Jethro Tull: "Sweet Dreams"

Easter turducken

"Many children wonder around Easter how it is that bunnies lay eggs. As a side benefit, Easter turducken illustrates clearly that this 'theory' is wrong. Obviously bunnies lay chickens, which then lay the eggs. Mystery solved."

Mood: Amused
Music: The Yardbirds: "For Your Love"

Abuse of Language

Overheard today: "...photogenic memory..."

That's from a coworker.

It's things like this that make me feel more secure in my job.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Golden Earring: "Twilight Zone"

Fallen Apples

I'm not sure exactly what comment to make on this, other than I find it highly amusing and wish I had the nerve to talk to stupid people that way.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Beatles: "Eight Days a Week"

Why is the sky blue?

When asked "What is one science question every high school graduate should be able to answer?" several science gurus came up with this list.

I know for sure that number four is something a lot of students won't be able to answer because it's not even being taught in some schools.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Donovan: "Season of the Witch"

Crazy Like a Fox

Is a crazy conspiracy theory still crazy if it's presented by a physics professor at a well-respected American university?

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Creedence Clearwater Revival: "Hey Tonight"

Wheee!

This is pretty bizarre.

Mood: Confused
Music: The James Gang: "Walk Away"

Judas

Last night I ended up turning on the National Geographic Channel, intrigued by the title of the program they were airing, a program about The Gospel of Judas. You read that right: a gospel according to Judas Iscariot. Apparently there is such a thing, condemned as heresy by early Orthodox Christian church leaders, most notably by Irenaeus, and suppressed. A papyrus codex was discovered in Egypt in the 1970s, and after circulating the antiquities market for some time, nearly being irreparably damaged, it finally reached the appropriate experts in 2001. The restoration is now complete, and the text has been translated from its original Coptic into a gospel that has more in common with the Gnostic gospels than with the gospels of the New Testament.

Also of note was the contrast between the way Judas is portrayed in the Gospel of Judas compared to the way he is portrayed in the canonical gospels. In the New Testment Judas is increasingly villainized from one gospel to the next, from a fairly benign description in Mark to an evil and adversarial description in John. This contrasts even more greatly in the Gospel of Judas, where he is portrayed as the only one who completely understands Jesus. Indeed, even Judas' demise differs between the canonical gospels, when it is mentioned at all. In one gospel he hangs himself, and in another he falls to his death. It's a head scratcher.

As a child I recall disliking Judas, probably because in Sunday School they portrayed him as a villain and as a traitor. Now that I'm older I'm a little more sympathetic. After having read more of the gospels on my own (canonical and non-canonical), and even after listening to Jesus Christ Superstar, I've come to the conclusion that someone had to betray Jesus for things to happen as they did. There's no point to Christianity if Christ isn't crucified and resurrected. If someone has to betray Christ, why not Judas? I think the greatest item of contention that marked the Gospel of Judas as heretical is the the notion that Jesus asked Judas to betray him. It's a necessary evil, as we might call it today, but I can see how it would seem blasphemous to the early Church fathers.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Jethro Tull: "Bungle in the Jungle"

Backfire

A recent Zogby poll shows that all the protests regarding proposed immigration laws and the status of illegal aliens has, as expected, backfired.

I, for one, am not surprised.

Mood: Unsurprised
Music: Elton John: "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding"

Portable Stereotypes

This cartoon about sums up my problems with the ad campaign for the Sony PSP. Even before reading this comic strip I could tell from the commercials that the characters were based on racial stereotypes, and thinly veiled at that. I'm no longer so enthusiastic about Sony as a company as I once was, and the ads just hurt my opinion of Sony that much more.

Mood: Annoyed
Music: Deep Purple: "Freedom"

Illegal

This article was linked on Fark with the headline "Rallies across U.S. call for illegal immigrant rights. Rallies for burglar rights, tax evader rights, and drunk driver rights to follow."

That about hits the nail on the head.

Yes, in what may be an oversimplification of the issue, people are protesting because illegal aliens who are not U.S. citizens do not have the same rights of people that are U.S. citizens.

People are upset that the government would want to deny rights and priveleges to illegal aliens, people that are not in the country legally.

That kind of nerve (or maybe it's just stupidity) makes me fear for this country.

The comments thread on Fark makes for interesting reading, as well.

Mood: Annoyed
Music: Led Zeppelin: "Black Country Woman"

"Waiting for the bus all day..."

I don't think anything like this would have happened when I was a student at Sevastopol High School.

Mood: Concerned
Music: April Wine: "Roller"

Running Gag

Maryanne and I have been fairly amused by the series of commercials for Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch cereal. The commercials started with a pretty funny gag, and it's been pretty interesting to see the series stay fresh and entertaining, even with the latest installments.

On a different note, my Blogger Word Verification string for this post is "holybjzs" which bears a striking resemblance to "Holy b'Jesus."

Mood: Amused
Music: Cream: "Crossroads"

What the Puck

Last night I was able to watch the UW Men's Hockey team win the NCAA championship for the sixth time, defeating Boston College in a closely-contested game. The game was very exciting, and Maryanne commented on how fast of a game hockey is. She also noted her surprise at my interest in the sport.

I've had a bit of an interest in hockey for a while, but beyond cable there's little opportunity to watch televised hockey in Wisconsin. There's no NHL home team, and most hockey fans in the state either come from elsewhere and already have a team they follow, or simply pick a team for one reason or another. I find the game exciting, but haven't really latched on to a pro team yet, though my parents were fans of the Chicago Blackhawks.

In any case, I was glad to see the Badger Men win, since the Badger Women's team won the NCAA championship this year as well. It's been a good year for Wisconsin hockey.

Mood: Pleased
Music: Blue Öyster Cult: "Burnin' for You"

Body of Evidence

This article from Time shows some new evidence in support of Darwinian evolution, providing yet another stumbling block for Creationism and Intelligent Design.

However, from a magazine like Time I'd expect the article would be a little more objective and avoid the weighted words at the end of the article.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Styx: "Lady"

Games

Today I was home with Sarah while Maryanne was at work. This morning I had the TV on, and was watching Game Show Network. They were showing reruns of To Tell the Truth and today's "contestants" featured a woman who worked as a body double, and had served as the body double for Julia Roberts when she did Pretty Woman. What struck me, though, was that one of the imposters looked familiar. She was a tall, slender brunette. When the imposters introduced themselves, this particular woman introduced herself as Cathy Bell, and she worked as a massage therapist. The reason she was so familiar is that it was none other than Catherine Bell, from JAG.

This wouldn't be the first time Maryanne and I have seen "future" celebrities on the Game Show Network. We once spotted Kirstie Alley as a contestant on Match Game.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Alan Parsons Project: "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You"

Rocket Science

Here's an interesting article on rocket pioneer Robert Goddard.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Steely Dan: "Dirty Work"

Brick by Brick

LEGOs are a great time waster -- I know that quite well. But I don't think I ever dedicated the amount of time it would take for this, or especially this.

Mood: Awed
Music: Deep Purple: "Smoke on the Water"

The "E" Word

This article is very interesting and thought-provoking. It raises a lot of questions about how widespread the issue of evolution vs. creationism could be. It is also saddening to see creationism (illegally) pushed and evolution (illegally) not being taught. It is no wonder we are falling behind other countries in the educational levels of our youth.

Mood: Concerned
Music: Ace: "How Long"

Run Amok

This article pretty much speaks for itself.

Mood: Annoyed
Music: Tonic: "You Wanted More"

Punishing Honesty

This morning I made the comment that (most of) Indiana was stupid for not observing daylight saving time.

Here's another example of stupidity in action in Indiana: punishing a student for being honest.

Mood: Annoyed
Music: Chicago: "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"

29

For the second time in her lifetime, this woman was dealt a perfect hand in cribbage.

And to think I've never even seen it once.

Mood: Disappointed
Music: Big Star: "Thank You Friends"

Bias

It seems I'm not the only one with a bone to pick with the main-stream media.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: U2: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

To the Lists

Here's some guy's list of the Greatest Internet Moments. It's a much different list than what you might find in a magazine or newspaper (or their websites), but just as relevant.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: The Who: "Won't Get Fooled Again"