September 15, 2004
Birthday Girl
Harvey's not the only one celebrating a birthday.
A Lady Who Thinks She Is Thirty Unwillingly Miranda wakes,Happy birthday Jennifer!
Feels the sun with terror,
One unwilling step she takes,
Shuddering to the mirror. Miranda in Miranda's sight
Is old and gray and dirty;
Twenty-nine she was last night;
This morning she is thirty. Shining like the morning star,
Like the twilight shining,
Haunted by a calendar,
Miranda is a-pining. Silly girl, silver girl,
Draw the mirror toward you;
Time who makes the years to whirl
Adorned as he adored you. Time is timelessness for you;
Calendars for the human;
What's a year, or thirty, to
Loveliness made woman? Oh, Night will not see thirty again,
Yet soft her wing, Miranda;
Pick up your glass and tell me, then--
How old is Spring, Miranda? Ogden Nash
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:08 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Boobies for Harvey
It's Harvey's birthday (well, yesterday, but only just) and he's asked for boobies.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 08:58 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
September 14, 2004
Blub
Had a power outage here at Pixy Central this morning, and my two main computers are still sulking. Yuri, my Linux box, has at least come out of its room and is willing to talk (albeit in monosyllables); Kei, my Windows box, still refuses to open the door.
I'll be back in a bit. Honey, could you pass me that wrench? No, the big one.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:00 PM | Comments (19) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
September 11, 2004
One Day At A Time
The sky is blue, the sun is warm, the water in the harbour sparkles in the light.
I spent the day with my family. We had lunch, and talked, we saw a movie, we had dinner and watched videos. But though I go on with my life as we all must, I shall never forget what happened in New York three years ago today. Jennifer, Sarah, and Ted offer their thoughts.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:49 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Clippy Weighs In
Okay, my last post on this particular brouhaha, I promise, but this is hysterical!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:51 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Two Thoughts On Yesterday's Kerfuffle
First, CBS News says:
60 Minutes consulted a handwriting analyst and document expert who believes the material is authentic.To anyone who has the slightest idea of how documents were produced in the early 70's, the memos scream fake, and a clumsy and childish fake at that. So either CBS are lying and they did not bother do get the documents authenticated at all, or their handwriting analyst and document expert is a retarded hamster. Second, as Dean Esmay noted yesterday and others have noted since, the Democratic National Committee was busy pumping this story at the very moment it was melting down:
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 22:42:39 -0500 .... Back in February, President Bush sat down in the Oval Office for an interview with Tim Russert and spoke about his service in the National Guard. Bush told us, "I put in my time, proudly so." He said, "And I'm telling you, I did my duty." But now we know that Bush dishonored the Oval Office by lying to the American people. New investigations from multiple media sources have revealed the truth about President Bush's service. New military documents show that Bush disobeyed a direct order from his commander to take a flight physical and "failed to perform to U.S. Air Force/Texas Air National Guard standards" — and was grounded as a result. New evidence supports claims that Bush missed months of service and that he never showed up for service with the Alabama National Guard. New evidence shows that Bush received special treatment. His supervisor wrote that he felt pressured from above to "sugar coat" Bush's records.This stands in stark contrast to the Republican Party's distancing itself from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Very very stark contrast. So stark that some people are wondering:
From the Kerry perspective a scandal involving forged documents is a disaster. Kerry had yesterday to get in front of the story and he missed that boat. Instead of being able to stay on message and trying to beat down the post convention pulse which has sent Bush several points ahead in various opinion polls, Kerry is likely to face questions about who was responsible for the forgeries. While it would be astonishing if anyone inside the Kerry organization had a hand in them, it is a question that will be asked. Moreover, the spectacle of Kerry announcing that his campaign organization and the Democratic Party had nothing to do with issuing those documents will occupy several critical news cycles and focus attention on character -- exactly where Kerry does not want to be.At the bottom of the story, though, is this point: CBS have been extremely, extremely stupid in their handling of this. The Democratic Party have been nearly, if not equally, as stupid. Whether they involved themselves in this mess deliberately, or were unwitting dupes of the forgers because they wanted to believe, it is transparently clear that they are not particularly bright. Tell Me Again Why I Need You, Karl. Damned if I know.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:39 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
September 10, 2004
And The Have-Nots
Quoth Andrew Sullivan:
MEMOS, MEMOS: The Bush-wing of the blogosphere keeps asking questions, which is a good thing. But it seems to me the money graf in the latest AP report is the following:Indeed, we have already seen... We who have not turned our eyes away.CBSBut we'll see, won't we?
stood by its reporting. "As a standard practice at CBS, each of the
documents broadcast on "60 Minutes" was thoroughly investigated by
independent experts and we are convinced of their authenticity," CBS
News said in a statement.
The White House distributed the four memos
from 1972 and 1973 after obtaining them from CBS News. The White House
did not question their accuracy.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:35 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Set The Wayback Machine To 1972!
So, the TANG memos from '72 and '73 critical of the then Lt. Bush are forgeries. CBS got a little 'splainin to do.
As usual, Scott Ott and Jim Treacher are all over the story. For those looking for more serious stuff, Stephen Macklin has more here and here, and Powerline is covering the story in detail: here, here, here. here, and here. INDC Journal does the work CBS should have done and follows up here. Dr. Rusty notes:Forget the swiftie thing, it took us weeks to get the mainstream press in on the story. This...this took a matter of hours. We are the press now.Steve the Llamabutcher has something to offer CBS. Triticale speculates on the evil genius of Karl Rove... Though admittedly it's easy to look like an easy genius when your enemies are total morons. Nick Queen informs us that CBS is now doing what it should have done before running the story. Ace points out that even Associated Press - they of the missing "boo" - quote an expert dismissing the documents as forgeries. The quote is actually kind of funny:
Independent document examiner Sandra Ramsey Lines said the memos looked like they had been produced on a computer using Microsoft Word software, which wasn't available when the documents were supposedly written in 1972 and 1973.Yeah. It's like someone trying to peddle photographs of King Henry VIII. Ace has more here, here, here, here... Heck, just go to his blog and read from the top. Nathan of Brain Fertilizer has a question on the etymology of "CYA". And annika is angry. We still like her when she's angry, of course. Dean Esmay notes that the DNC doesn't read blogs. Ilyka needs to quit being such a pessimist. And Tim Blair notes that the documents were checked by phone. That is, the "experts" that CBS relied on never actually looked at the documents.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:39 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
September 08, 2004
It's Monkeys All The Way Down
Via the inimitable Ghost of a Flea, we bring you The Monkeysphere!
Yes, it's Frank's own personal hell. It's also insightful and funny and disses the French, all in one monkeyful bundle. Read!
Picture a monkey. A monkey dressed like a little pirate, if you wish. We'll call him Slappy. Imagine you have Slappy as a pet. Imagine a personality for him. Maybe you and he have little pirate monkey adventures and maybe even join up to fight crime. You'd be sad if Slappy died, wouldn't you? Now, imagine you get five more monkeys. Tito, Bubbles, Fluffy, Marcel and ShitTosser. Imagine personalities for each of them. Maybe one is aggressive, one is affectionate, one is distant and quiet. And so on. They're all your personal monkey friends. Now imagine a hundred monkeys. Then a thousand.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:04 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
Maybe I need to arrange a side by side taste-test, because right now I can't taste any difference between triple cream brie and double cream brie.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:00 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
September 06, 2004
You Took The Best Of Me...
The 40th Edition of the Best of Me Symphony is now up at The Owner's Manual. Your hostess: Dorothy Parker.
Say my love is easy had,
Say I'm bitten raw with pride,
Say I am too often sad --
Still behold me at your side. Say I'm neither brave nor young,
Say I woo and coddle care,
Say the devil touched my tongue --
Still you have my heart to wear. But say my verses do not scan,
And I get me another man!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:49 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Lapham & Wolcott
Lapham has now entered our language as a term for reporting an event in the past tense before it has actually occurred. We have a similar opportunity presented to us by one James Wolcott, who writes:
I root for hurricanes. When, courtesy of the Weather Channel, I see one forming in the ocean off the coast of Africa, I find myself longing for it to become big and strong--Mother Nature's fist of fury, Gaia's stern rebuke. Considering the havoc mankind has wreaked upon nature with deforesting, stripmining, and the destruction of animal habitat, it only seems fair that nature get some of its own back and teach us that there are forces greater than our own. .... Hurricane Frances also has a heraldic quality. Camille Paglia observed on Salon in February, 2003 that the explosion of the Columbia shuttle on the eve of the war on Iraq was a "stunning omen," one that would make a Roman general think twice. A catastrophe strewing death, fire, and human remains across Bush's home state of Texas was inauspicious to our undertaking; and so it has proven to be. Frances is the second hurricane to afflict Florida, home of brother Jeb, in rapid succession. The gods are not pleased.Okay, so Wolcott is clearly nuts, a good 8.5 on the SDL* scale. But we need to define this new term better than that. A verb, perhaps: wolcott v. To wish for the mass destruction of one's fellow humans, in the smug assurance that this could never happen to you. More at Tim Blair and Dave Barry. * Standardised Delusional Lefty
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:08 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
September 05, 2004
Fifteen Minutes of Winter
Right outside my front door...
And down the steps...
The neighbourhood looks... different...
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 06:26 PM | Comments (15) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Holy Fucking Crap! My Goodness!
We're being shelled! No - no, it's hail. Holy crap!
And damn! The battery in my camera is flat! Damn damn! The whole park across the road is covered with hail, the roads, everything. Never seen anything like it. Update: Good thing my camera charges fast! Photos should be along shortly. Update: And my memory card was full. Let that be a lesson to you! Well, I charged the camera, copied everything off the memory card, and ran out again to take more pictures. The streets aren't covered with white anymore, but now there are people out enjoying our fifteen minutes of winter. Pictures to follow. Update: Help! My computer's broken! Update: No, it's just the mouse. Bad mousie!Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:01 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
John Kerry's Bad Day Out
Pentagon to check Kerry war record:
In a fresh blow to John Kerry's flagging presidential campaign, the Pentagon has ordered an official investigation into the awards of the Democratic senator's five Vietnam War decorations. News of the inquiry came as President George W Bush opened an 11-point lead over his rival - the widest margin since serious campaigning began - according to the first poll released since last week's Republican convention.Can we gloat just a little bit?
A question mark has been raised over one of John Kerry's awards The highly unusual inquiry is to be carried out by the inspector-general's office of the United States navy, for which Sen Kerry served as a Swift Boat captain for four months in 1968, making two tours of duty. He was wounded in action and subsequently awarded three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. But for the past month, the exact details of Mr Kerry's military service in Vietnam have become shrouded in a controversy that the navy has now decided warrants a full-blown search for the truth.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:03 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
September 04, 2004
Bounce?
Right now, the AOL Straw Poll has John Kerry comfortably winning... DC. George Bush takes every state for 535 out of 538 in the Electoral College.
Somehow I suspect the real thing will be closer than that.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:00 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
September 03, 2004
I Know That Sound
Blibit-squeak. Blibit-squeak. Blibit-squeak.
Another one bites the dust. Disk drive, that is. But the joke's on you, forces of darkness! It's mirrored! Bwahahaha! Of course, the computer won't boot if it's got a 0GB disk drive inside it, but that was easy to fix.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:43 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Carnivalia
Carnival of the Vanities is at mu.nu again, this time at Blogo Slovo. Go check it out!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:51 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
August 31, 2004
Didn't Think So
Anyone want 786MB of spam? Free to a good home. Or a bad one.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 02:34 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
August 28, 2004
Because I Can, Part 39
I now have an automated RSS feed that replicates my blog into the mu.nu forums. Not just little excerpts, either, but complete HTML-formatted entries.
Why? Because I can. Update: Apparently I can't. All the entries went across just fine, but now it doesn't seem to want to transfer this entry. Foo. Update: Oh. The feed software works out that it's already imported an article based on the title. So I must have previously used "Because It Was There" as a post title. Now that I've renamed this, it should work fine. Let's find out, shall we?Posted by: Pixy Misa at 07:10 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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