Archive Listing
September 17, 2005 - September 10, 2005
Friday, September 16, 2005
A Smarter 8-Ball
It's Friday here at the plantation and we thought we pass along a little something to do at
work -- HERE. We
learned about this AI project from a little orange ball that has a chip set and a digital
display to ask you 20-questions. Very strange. It works on the stand-alone ball and you
can do it on the internet. Give it a try.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Time is running
out...
Waiting
for our help.
PSAYINGS.5A.36.
Events are now proving out what InstaPunk has long suspected -- that
the human death toll in New Orleans will be far lower than predicted by
politicians and the mainstream media. This shouldn't be at all
surprising. Americans are exceptionally hard to kill in large numbers.
That's because we're a good deal more enterprising, resourceful,
determined, and helpful to one another than the advocates of nanny
government would have us believe. When the going gets tough, we're not
the victims we like to pretend we are when we start suing for damages
after the fact. That said, it's time for the great bout of whining,
bleating, and impossible demands for recompense to begin. Get ready.
But if you're at the point of turning away from the increasingly
womanish news coverage of "victims," don't. There ARE some victims who
really do need someone else to speak for them: the
pets
whose owers abandoned or, in many cases, were compelled to abandon them
by the heavy hand of bureaucratic regulations. Dogs, cats, birds, and
even turtles remain trapped in the flooded areas by the thousands, and
their rescuers need every bit of aid and assistance we can provide.
Time is indeed running out for animals who have been without food and
water for days. The Humane Society of the United States has an
excellent site
here. Please study it
and see what you can do to participate.
UPDATE.
One of the many InstaPunk readers who cares passionately about the
plight of the animals in New Orleans sent us this copy of an email and
the picture below. Here's the text:
He had just saved her from a fire in
her house, rescuing her by carrying her out of the house into her front
yard, while he continued to fight the fire.
She is pregnant. The firefighter was afraid of her at first,
because he had never been around a Doberman before. When he finally got
done putting the fire out, he sat down to catch his breath and rest.
A photographer from the Charlotte, North Carolina Newspaper, "The
Observer," noticed this red Doberman in the distance looking at the
fireman. He saw her walking straight toward the fireman and
wondered what she was going to do.
As he raised his camera, she came up to the tired man who had saved her
life and the lives of her babies, and kissed him, just as the
photographer snapped this photograph.
Unlike many of their human companions, the four-legged fellas are
capable of gratitude. Do all you can for them.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
UPDATE: For those who've been asking -- the song you are hearing is Ag
Criost an Siol -- a song
we've mentioned before as a tune
BalowStar wants to have sung grave side with a lone piper about 1/4 mile away from
the burial site. You know, to help people cry who might not be so disposed at his passing.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
P. J.
Our Favorite Right-Wingers
PSAYINGS.5Q.2.
We liked P. J. O'Rourke all the way back when he was an anarchic
hedonist with the National Lampoon. Then he became a hilarious
contributing editor for
Car and
Driver, serving as a willing and witty accomplice in that
magazine's conspiracy to blow the engines of every vehicle equipped
with a throttle and wheels, skis, or propellers. Driving things to the
edge and beyond is, to our extreme ways of thinking, an excellent
credential for a pundit. You can't really do it without understanding
that actions and intentions have consequences. P.J's. wild youth was an
excellent start.
At some point, he started getting serious, even journalistic, though
thankfully never solemn. He's written books about the government, about
war, and even about peace. He turns up on liberal media from time to
time, including Bill Maher's everlasting celebration of himself and
even one of NPR's sly topical game shows, where he trades mild quips
with Paula Poundstone and, well, the usual suspects.
One could be pardoned for wondering just how mainstream he might have
become by now. He's thicker of body and more gravelly of voice. Is
there a point at which gonzo subsides to wry? We hoped not. That's why
we enjoyed the refreshingly direct essay he wrote for the Weekly
Standard's tenth anniversary. It's called "Politics is Evil." We'll
give you just a taste of it here:
In the modern era politics has taken
the place of mere tyranny. The result has been more killing in one
century than in all the preceding centuries combined. Covetousness and
stealing define redistributive politics. Without redistribution
politics would have no political support. Politics' insistence upon
involvement in every human activity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
is more anti-Sabbatarian than golf. The Social Security system is no
way to honor thy father and thy mother. And as for adultery, there was,
and there may be still, Bill Clinton...
Even to be "politically informed and engaged" is probably to be of the
devil's party. Tune in to that most politically informed and engaged
network, NPR, and listen to the evident relish with which its newscasts
and current events programs recount misfortune, inequity, and suffering
worldwide. The unspoken gleeful message is, "More occasions for more
politics!"
Now go read the
whole
thing.
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