Jimbo's Journal

I was watching some of the coverage of the balloon in Colorado and this struck me.  This was the statement given by Captain Michael Odgers of the Colorado National Guard, who was involved in the "search" for the boy who had been presumed to be inside the helium balloon that broke free.

I couldn't be happier that the result of this ended with the boy alive. To me this is the best situation that could have occurred – that that boy was never at risk. Now I understand that the public is going to be upset that all of these resources were spent trying to rescue that boy, but from a parents' perspective I'd rather have to live with the scorn of the public than their sympathy, and they still have that boy. And that's our job here at the National Guard; we're here to support the local authorities, and I wouldn't have wanted any other reaction. That's the way we're supposed to react – quickly respond – get out there and try to get that boy as quickly as we can. All of us here were just praying and hoping that it would turn out well. We couldn't envision how it would have turned out well with that boy hanging from that balloon, but to find out that he never got in that balloon is very, very relieving...... The Colorado National Guard is here to serve the public. The public is who we serve, and it doesn't matter what their background is. I wouldn't want that to be a factor in who we choose to rescue and not rescue.

I've actually come across these people who think that people who are rescued should be held responsible for reimbursing the government for the money spent on their rescue, that people who put themselves in these situations are being irresponsible and should be held accountable.

I can't help but expand the sentiment of this statement, this idea of community looking out for and helping each other,  to several other areas ..... including the current health care debate and the severely misguided teabag revolution.

Eastman Kodak Co. is retiring its most senior film, the iconic Kodachrome, because of declining demand in this digital age.

Kodachrome was introduced in 1935 and became the world's first commercially successful color film.

It had its heyday in the 1950s and '60s and Paul Simon immortalized it in song when he crooned "Mama don't take my Kodachrome away" in 1973.

But sales of the unique film are now just a fraction of 1 percent of Kodak's still-picture film sales, and only Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., still processes it.

Kodak says the decision to discontinue Kodachrome was difficult but necessary. The company says it plans to stay in the film business as long as it can and has introduced several new films in the last few years.


Kodachrome

Lyrics by Paul Simon

When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It’s a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of education
Hasn’t hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away

If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together for one night
I know they’d never match
my sweet imagination
Everything looks worse in black and white

 

AKA Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan
AKA The Host
AKA Lorne
(from Angel)

Andy Hallett, a singer who gained fame portraying a green-skinned demon on the dark vampire series "Angel," died Sunday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner's office said Tuesday. He was 33.

Hallett had called 911 Sunday evening complaining of shortness of breath, said Ed Winter, a coroner's spokesman. The actor was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m.

He also played a "student" in the Buffy episode HUSH, according to IMDb

Apparently he had struggled with heart disease for several years.  33 years old - how sad.

A revolutionary new laptop with no keyboard
( Embedded video that autostarts ... LOUDLY )

Chicago Tribune endorses Obama, marking the first time the paper has endorsed a Democratic candidate.
So do the L.A. Times and Washington Post.  Not exactly small readerships among those papers nor are they necessarily regarded as "liberal."

And I've now been exposed to a righty wingnut who makes Sarah Palin seem tame: Michelle Bachmann. I had the misfortune of seeing the entire segment on Hardball.

Just reported by Rachel Maddow: In the few hours since Bachman appeared on Hardball and made those statements, her opponent, Elwyn Tinklenberg, has received more than $30,000 in donations.

"[Russia's] actions have substantially damaged Russia's standing in the world." ~ George W. Bush 08/11/08

-----------------------------------------
Edit:

The WH website even left in Bush's gaffe:  

"It now appears that an effort may be underway to depose Russia's* duly elected government.*"

....

at bottom of page: *Georgia's duly elected government 

At least they didn't edit it out like (I think) they have done in the past.

Auburn Hills, MI - English Bulldogs are notoriously bad swimmers. With a giant head and chest compared to a lighter tail end, they have a tendency to go bottoms up in the water. It’s hard to keep that head up above the waves when it’s the largest part of your body!

Most owners are very aware of this problem, and will take care to see that their dogs have a good life vest on if they’re going to be boating or there’s a chance the bulldog could end up in some deep water without someone right at hand to save them if they look like they’re starting to struggle.

Because of the breeds history of poor swimming ability, this morning’s news came as a bit of a shock to me! Napoleon, an obedient and well behaved two year old white English Bulldog in Michigan abruptly left his master’s side yesterday and raced out across a road and into a nearby lake.

Napoleon’s owner met him in the driveway as the bulldog came back up out of the lake dragging something in his mouth. It looked like a burlap sack, and Napoleon appeared determined to drag it up from the shore and back to his master’s side.

It was then that Napoleon’s owner heard the meowing and realized that there were abandoned kittens inside the bag! Six kittens in total, although two of them didn’t survive and the remaining four were in bad shape. Napoleon’s mom cared for the survivor’s for the next two weeks until they could be taken in to the city pet adoption center and found new homes.

Napoleon got a much deserved hero’s welcome at the adoption center as crowds gathered to praise the brave bulldog and cuddle the rescued kittens.


Video interview with Napoleon's owner here





Yay Napoleon!!!

Where's our resident cryptozoologist, matthoggua , when we need him? 

The Montauk Monster is a creature with a "dinosaur beak" which allegedly washed ashore dead in Ditch Plains, near Montauk, New York in late July 2008.

 

Letter to the Editor from the Nortwest Herald the other day:

Oil needed now

To the Editor:

I have met both candidates for the 8th Congressional District; Republican Steve Greenberg and Congresswoman Melissa Bean. When asked his position on drilling, Greenberg was in complete support for drilling in ANWR and off the coasts of Florida and California. These areas are known to hold decades worth of oil and natural gas.

These reserves will give our nation the time needed to develop alternative energy resources.

Greenberg gave an answer that hit the nail on the head, drill now because that’s what is needed now for America.

I asked Congresswoman Bean her position on drilling in ANWR and off the coasts of Florida and California.

The congresswomen stated that she was not in favor of such drilling.

Bean stated that the oil companies already had 68 million acres leased form the government for exploration.

While this is true, the difference is that we already know that ANWR and the coastal areas off of Florida and California hold massive amounts of oil and natural gas that is needed now.

Bean does not understand our needs.

That is why I am supporting Greenberg for the 8th Congressional District.

John Brendel

Woodstock

This for some reason sparked a whole bunch of questions, some that I hadn't considered before but I believe are essential information.

1. Do we really know that ANWR and the coastal areas referenced have "massive amounts" of oil?
   
2. Do we know if the 68 million acres that the oil companies currently own or lease actually have any?
   
3. How do we know this?
   
4. Who did the study?
   
5. Who paid for the study?
   
6. If the government paid for the studies of the government owned lands (ANWR) shouldn't the oil companies compensate the government for ALL the expenses of those studies and the added worth of the acquired knowledge that there is oil?
   
7. If the oil companies don't know if there is oil in the land that they own/lease, then why did they purchase it?
   
8. If they don't know, then why don't they investigate to find out?
   
9. If they know there is oil, then why not drill on it?
   
10. If they know there is NOT, then why do they still own it, strictly as an investment?

I may be way off base, but I think all of these are pertinent questions. Add to these the fact that using generous estimates from the latest analysis from Bush’s own Department of Energy, allowing for unlimited drilling both offshore and in ANWR “would lower the price at the pump by less than 6 cents“ a gal. by 2025.[1]

Of course none of these can be addressed or expressed briefly and succintly in a catchy 3 second soundbite like 
"Drill in ANWR now!" 

by Kris Kristofferson

Read about the sorry way he done somebody's daughter
Chained her to a heavy thing and threw her in the water
And she sank into the darkness with their baby son inside her
A little piece of truth and beauty died

Burning up the atmosphere and cutting down the trees
The billion dollar bombing of a nation on it's knees
Anyone not marching to their tune they call it treason
Everyone says God is on his side

See the lightning, hear the cries
Of the wounded in a world in Holy war
Mortal thunder from the skies
Killing everything they say they're fighting for

Broken babies, broken homes
Broken-hearted people dying everyday
How'd this happen, what went wrong
Don't blame God, I swear to God I heard him say

Chorus
"Not in my name, not on my ground
I want nothing but the ending of the war
No more killing, or it's over
And the mystery won't matter anymore"

Broken dreamers, broken rules
Broken-hearted people just like me and you
We are children of the stars
Don't blame God, I swear to God he's crying too

Repeat Chorus

Repeat First Verse 

 
Neil Young's Living With War Today list of protest videos 

I first heard of this only a few weeks ago. It's really sad and disgusting ....... and scary.

A vast swath of the Pacific, twice the size of Texas, is full of a plastic stew that is entering the food chain. Scientists say these toxins are causing obesity, infertility...and worse.

Once upon a time, flotsam circled into the middle of the Gyre and (because up until the past century everything in the world was biodegradable) was broken down into a nutrient-rich stew perfect for fish and smaller invertebrates to chow on. Then we started making everything out of plastic and the whole place went to shit.

 This story is just disturbing on so many levels and it seems to keep getting worse.  First a female marine was reported missing by her mother.  Then it was learned that she had been scheduled to testify in court against her superior whom she accused of raping her.  Now authorities say they have found what appear to be her and her unborn child's burned remains in a firepit in the suspect's backyard.  And he is now missing/escaped.

There is just SO much wrong with this entire scenario.

Taser to sell MP3/stun gun combo device 

Umm, ... ok....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071015/ap_on_sc/giant_dinosaur

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The skeleton of what is believed to be a new dinosaur species — a 105-foot plant-eater that is among the largest dinosaurs ever found — has been uncovered in Argentina, scientists said Monday.

... and this doesn't help.

First they remake Halloween, my favorite horror movie of all time, and I didn't bother to see it since the last remake of a Carpenter classic, The Fog, was SO bad that I was laughing in the theater and asked other viewers if they thought it was as horrible as I did.

Now they are apparently set to remake Near Dark, which is probably my favorite vampire movie.  And I can't even figure out who they are referring to as possible directors - Helmer (or is this an just alternate term for director?) or Bayer - I haven't heard of either.  Bayer seems to be a music video director.  Yeah, that's promising - NOT!!!!

Some people have mentioned oddities concerning the logo for the Republican National Convention. 


Some mentioned that the elephant looked like it was "mounting," others noticed the "wide stance," I thought the stripes reminded me of a prison uniform. So someone came up with a Cthulhu-inspired logo*. It's more appropriate, but isn't it a bit insulting to HPL? [/snark] 


 

*Check out comments for links to other inspirations

I woke up at 6:03 this morning. I looked at my clock and had no idea what it meant. What day is this? 6:03, what does that mean? My alarm was going off, though, so I knew I must get up. Driving to work I had no desire …. I can feel the downward spiral descending upon me ….

A further addendum to my earlier post:



This time Ron Paul school's Hannity on the root causes of 9/11 and "blowback."  And as usual, Sean just doesn't get it and can only resort to talking points.

If primaries were today, I might just vote in the Republican primary so that I can vote for this guy.  There's probably more chance in affecting the Republican primary than the Democratic.

Ron Paul is considered one of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party, which I have problems with, but I have A LOT more respect for than the neo-con wing (or even the straight conservative wing).  This clip shows the conflict between the two.  I don't find it surprising that Paul's statements were not greeted with cheers or even boos, but I do find it disturbing that when Guliani miscategorizes Paul's statements into the "blame America first" talking point that he is cheered loudly.  I'm not surprised about it, just disturbed and angry.  In response to Guliani's statement that he hasn't ever such an "absurd explanation for Sept 11th," I think it would have been fitting and timely for Paul to ask Guliani what he thought of Falwell's* assertion that 9/11 happened because of "the gays."

Link to C&L blog with video  (Link doesn't seem to be working.  Click here and scroll down to find clip - 8:28PM 5/15) fixed


*I've rethought my stance and am rather glad that our world no longer suffers the Rev. Falwell.


Addendum:  The good news is that according to FoxNews poll, Paul came in 2nd behind Romney and AHEAD of Guliani
You Decide GOP Primary Poll Results
— 29% Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
— 25% Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas
— 19% Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
— 8% Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
— 5% Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. Hunter
— 4% Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
— 3% Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.
— 1% Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
— 0% Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore
— 0% Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson

The poll was conducted between 9 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, and 12:30 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 16, 2007. The poll reflects the opinions of those who choose to participate and may not reflect a scientific sampling of the population

This is from a high school right down the street from where I work.  I haven't really been following this story.


Student arrested for essay's imaginary violence

CARY, Illinois (AP) -- A high school senior was arrested after writing that "it would be funny" to dream about opening fire in a building and having sex with the dead victims, authorities said.

Another passage in the essay advised his teacher at Cary-Grove High School: "don't be surprised on inspiring the first CG shooting," according to a criminal complaint filed this week.