Slinging Some Cyber-mud

In light of an article Boston.com ran today (titled "Online Sites are the New Line of Political Attacks") as well as the fact that today is jaz's b-day, here are 2 of my favorite politically mudslinging sites:

for the righties: STOP Hillary PAC (against Hillary Clinton)
for the lefties: Santorum Exposed (against Rick Santorum)

Happy Birthday James

Happy birthday James... Here's to not waiting till the Eleventh Hour to celebrate...

Awful Reality TV Shows?

Boston.com had a feature yesterday entitled "Awful Reality TV Shows". As I look down the list, I realize I actually LIKE more than half of these shows and watched ALL the episodes of a few of them. Does this mean the shows aren't really that awful, or does it mean I like bad TV? Regardless of the answer, it's safe to say many of these shows I would have never seen had I not gotten DVR technology...now ANYTHING that seems remotely interesting gets recorded. Might DVR be the propellant for the success of shows many people feel are totally a waste of time?

Here's the list:

The Anna Nicole Show (eh, caught a few minutes here or there)

The Simple Life (great show...I own the 1st season on DVD)

Flavor of Love (one of the BEST reality shows of the year...right up there with Survivor)

The Ashlee Simpson Show (I did see a couple episodes which confirmed she's an idiot)

The Swan (Sorry, never saw it)

The Real World (I sorta like this show. Granted, I missed maybe 10 years since the last time I watched...)

Temptation Island (I have to admit I watched the 1st season religiously)

Wife Swap (I LOVE this show...nobody brings the drama better)

Man vs. Beast (missed it....fortunately?)

The Littlest Groom (never saw an episode)

Date My Mom (I saw this a few times. It is what it is...not going ot win any awards)

Mr. Personality (I have no time and never will have time for this show or anything else with host Monica Lewiinski)

01:02:03:04:05:06

How am I not gonna point this out...

Three seconds after 1:02 this morning, the time+date read- 01:02:03, 04/05/06. Some people even will recognize this twice today, once in the AM and again in the PM.

Wow...I haven't had this much fun since about 5 years ago, say around 6:00 early in March.

G.I. Joe vs Transformers

Apparently a few years ago both Marvel and Devil's Due came out with comic series entitled "G.I. Joe and the Transformers" and "G.I. Joe vs Transformers" respectively. As much as I love both of these all-time toy lines, I have reservations about anyone trying to tie them in together, but will read the comics with an open mind (if I happen to see one and have lots of free time!). Maybe they'll come out with a movie....I know, you could have Freddy and Jason vs Cobra Commander and Megatron!

Too Young to Drive

There is much talk in the State House of how old children should be before they are allowed to get a driver's license. The popular vote there seems to be that 16 1/2 is too young, and there is a push to move the age up to 17 1/2.

Now, don't get me wrong, when I was coming up on 16, I was all about being soon able to drive. Now, years later, I most certainly have a new opinion. I agree whole-heartedly with those on Capitol Hill, and think that these days "childhood" is something that lasts a lot longer, and the responsibility one must have to drive is NOT something the majority of children is ready to take on at 16 1/2.

One of the weaker arguments presented for keeping the current driving age is that it is "a rite of passage that can usher teenagers into adulthood by teaching them responsibility and providing the freedom to get around without relying on their parents". Look, if you want to usher your kids into adulthood, make them get a job and earn their own money instead of charging them with a responsibility that puts their and other drivers' lives in danger.

Forget 17 1/2. I say push the age to 18. Furthermore, let's make it a requirement to pass a driving test EVERY time you renew your license. Oh, and for all you drunk drivers out there, how about this: one strike, you're out...no more license for life. Handing a vehicle is no joke and is something that should not be treated lightly, and we need to make and enforce legislation that emphasizes it as such.

Be a Lab Rat

See if you can get out of this:

http://www.winterrowd.com/maze.swf

Bye Bye, BroYo

A Dirt Dog Goodbye

Well, thanks for everything BroYo. You were on that team, oh that wonderful team, that won the 2004 World Series, and you'll get a few free meals around Boston for that for years, I'm sure. Does this mean M's autographed copy of "Covering the Bases" is now worth less (or was it worthless)?

St. Patrick's Day 2006

Three wishes I'll grant you, big wishes and small, but if you wish a fourth wish, you lose them all!

Happy St. Patty's Day!
 

Pi Day 2006

So yesterday (3/14) was Pi Day. Ah, pi...usually the first number people are exposed to that has no ending and no repeating pattern inside. Fun for middle schoolers everywhere...

This is a (weird) vid from at least 20 years ago that I guess tries to get kids excited about pi. Really it's more trippy than educational. Who the hell are these monotoned wizard types and why are they killing the happy children? What does that have to do with pi? Who came up with this?

I swear at one point, while we are passing through a television being cradled by a masked wrestler type, we hear somebody say "Yo I know this pi shit backwards and forwards", followed by a rap which starts out "I did three chicks then I pointed at the door..." How kid-appropriate is this, anyway? Or maybe things were just a bit more lax in the 70's.

Ides of March

Ah, the Ides of March. Not a bad day for anyone not named Ceasar.

Top 10 Coolest Alarm Clocks

I'm one of those people who has an uncanny ability to develop an immunity to whatever alarm clock I have trying to get me up in the morning. I've been through all the motions: moving the alarm clock across the room so I'd have to get up to turn it off, randomly changing the time the night before to make it an unknown number of minutes fast, even putting a box around it so I can't simply hit the snooze button in the morning.

Well, there are new and creative solutions out there for people like me. Behold, the "10 Coolest Alarm Clocks", according to HiptechBlog.com.

There are some interesting ideas here. I think it a good move to get the waking mind to solve some sort of puzzle right away, just enough to get the fire going in your brain. This works based on the assumption that you won't get frustrated and break the thing, of course.

Oh, and imagine trying to find the alarm clock to hit the snooze after it has cleverly hidden itself away somewhere in the room? Aaargh...

Thanks to M for the heads up on this.

Rollie Theodore Sakers

Ok, back to less heavy topics.

I came across this site, one dedicated to Rollie Theodore Sakers, who was featured on one of my favorite albums of all time, Sublime's "Robbin the Hood". His rants are infamous.

On the site, you can hear a full half hour of his "semantic blockage" rant, recorded while he was in a halfway house somewhere in California (there's a link to download it to), along with what is supposedly the only known picture of him. He doesn't look like what I expected; I sorta thought he was more Charlie Manson-ish based on his voice. I dunno.

WARNING: This guy is ridiculously foul-mouthed, so if there are kids around, move them :)

Imette St. Guillen

I can't describe the horror and sadness I and many others who knew Imette St. Guillen and her family feel upon learning of her violent murder in NYC. Our hearts go out to you, Ale and Maureen.

We will all miss Imette very, very much. -sp-

February 28, 2006 - Boston Herald
Grisly slaying of Hub native stuns NY cops
Gifted student 'could have done anything'

March 1, 2006 - Boston Herald
'Sunshine' taken from lives of loved ones
Family pleads: Help us find her killer

Grammar Point

Ah, the things that people care to talk about...

A question arose recently concerning the rules in English grammar to show possession. I'm sure many of you discuss the English language often ( hehe ), but this question did generate some interest, apparently. So....

The question revolved around how to write the possessive of a proper name that ends in "s" or "z", like Sanchez or Miles. One thought was that if a word ended in "s" or "z", there is only an apostrophe. Another thought was that if you heard and extra "s" sound in the possessive, you added the 's, like James's.

From "A Writer's Reference" by Diana Hacker:

Possessive nouns usually indicate ownership, as in Tim's hat or the lawyer's desk. Frequently, however, ownership is only loosely implied: the tree's roots, a day's work.

When to add -'s
1. If the noun does not end in -s, add -'s. (driver's side, children's money)
2. If the noun is singular and ends in -s, add -'s. (Lois's sister)
EXCEPTION: If pronunciation would be awkward with the added -'s, some writers use only the apostrophe. Either use is acceptable. (Sophocles' plays)

When to add only an apostrophe
If the noun is plural and ends in -s, add only an apostrophe. (both diplomats' briefcases)

Joint possession
To show joint possession, use -'s (or -s') with the last noun only; to show individual possession, make all nouns possessive. (Joyce and Greg's new camper, John's and Marie's expectations)

Compound nouns
If a noun is compound, use -'s (or -s') with the last element. (father-in-law's sculpture)

I tend to agree with this general definition, with the exception for awkward sounding singular nouns. I think the right way to show possession of a proper name is to add the -'s, unless it sounds too awkward..

It does seem as though the best rule of thumb is to listen for the es sound and use a -'s if you hear it. This rule even applies to words that end in a silent-s, too, like Illinois. What about words that end in an es sound, like experience or science? Is it an -s' or an -'s?

Why do I care?