rustle

I'm very surprised this commercial ever got to the stage of being filmed. Why wasn't it shot down long before? Somewhere, there's an ad exec who had better be looking for a job in another industry.

Being a hermit, I don't play or watch team sports. I used to bicycle quite a bit, ride horses when I have the chance, and love paddling. I plan to buy another kayak, but I also love canoes. Always game for a hike, and wanna go backpacking again after it cools down. When I was young, I practiced mixed martial arts, and used to love heavy weapons sparring (long knives, butterfly knives, staff, nun chaku), and fencing with light and heavy blades (European broadsword). Odd thing is, I fence left-handed with a light blade, and right-handed with a broadsword. The same weirdness in shooting - left-handed with a bow, right with a gun.

Like the fall from grace of the Oxford comma, I think this stems from telegraphy, originally. On a telegraph or teletype, every character counted. The only constant is change. We can choose to flow with the current, or set anchor. I like the Oxford comma, but single space after periods. You pick your battles. Remember, the written word conventions evolved to depict the spoken word. After a point, throw out the rules and make your own.

Reagan's presidency did very little good for most of the country. It greatly influenced the direction of the republican party, however, leading to today's political style of denial. Somebody doesn't like what you did? Deny you did it, and don't stop denying it. But at least the Berlin wall fell, and the Cold War ended for a time.

Take the dogs down to the river for a swim, bring them home for a bath, and swill Jameson's and ginger ale.

Bad writing. Bad editing.

I'm hoping something good comes of this legislative fight. Something already has. A number of people have awakened to just how extreme politics have become in this state. The tactics of a few bullies have been exposed and galvanized opposition. This girl's experiences have made national headlines. We'll see what happens next election.

I-10 outside Houston. 16 lanes of concrete, straight as an arrow, boring as I am, and jam-packed at almost any hour.

I just checked to make sure I had man-parts. Yep, but I WILL ask for directions. Sometimes. If I'm alone. But I do it in a manly voice.

No conflict. The editor or beta is a reader, after all. I've "liked" pieces I edited or beta-read, and left reviews, both. At times, it's important to me to state publicly how I feel about a piece. I've also sent private reviews to an author, telling the person how I see their work progressing as a whole.

I...I don't know what to say. And I don't dare laugh.

blech

Living in Texas, Barack Obama's election and re-election galvanized racism in some. There's been a backlash, but it's mostly among people older than I am. One stripe of society still believes that the best black man is still less than the least of white men. For some time, these attitudes had lain below the surface, out of sight, or hidden behind polite smiles. It's going to take another generation for this sort of thing to go away down here. Maybe longer. Same as gay rights.

I'm sorry, Wen. They are with us for so short a time, and become such a huge part of our lives. I hope your memory of him never fades. We've lost two of ours in the last three years, after ten years of golden times and auto-pilot. It's never easy. I'll be keeping you and Lucky in my thoughts.

I got a thank you note from a teenager a few months ago, and a post card last month. When's the last time you WROTE a handwritten letter?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gaWuadgL3g

I just assume it's nobody else's business. If I were back on the prowl, though, I'd assume the same thing. Hey, gay or straight, you can still get turned down. And since attitudes have changed so much, you're less likely to get the crap kicked out of you for asking a straight guy out for a beer now. Besides, I know a lot of folks who define their sexuality by who they're in bed with right now. Today, a guy, tomorrow, two girls and a burro.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it, Joann. It's funny, but either folks don't notice tags, or they don't believe them. It really happened. Every dang bit of it. Labor Day weekend, 1999.

Umm, unless I miss my guess, this is a woman. The shape of the pelvic structure indicates it. The man in the background, though, doesn't look much better. And Zombie, don't be dissin' Bowie. He was a product of the 70's. Put him in context with Alice Cooper and Elton John, and he fit right in, defining edgy performance fashion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihaWTank4RQ

The first time I read this chapter, it wasn't much more than a sketch. You've turned it into so mcuh more. The pacing is great, and you've developed the characters well, giving us a glimpse into Michael Waters as he makes his own personal journey, discovering that love might actually trump fear, as he learns there's more to Asher than meets the eye. And Asher begins to understand the depth of a love he couldn't begin to hope for, from a very unlikely source. Something I love about this story is that it portrays same-sex love as not so different. It's full of just as much doubt, fear, and self-consciousness as any. It also illustrates a point - to truly understand someone is to learn to love that person, heart and soul. As always, , . rusty

A man sentenced to prison time goes to the mess hall for the first time for lunch. An inmate stands up and shouts out, "23!" Everyone starts laughing but the new guy. A few minutes later, somebody stands up and yells, "85!" The crowd goes wild, inmates are folling on the floor.The new guy is perplexed, but says nothing. After a couple more minutes, another inmate yells, "42!" and folks don't stop laughing for two minutes. The new guy finally turns to his neighbor and asks what's going on. His neighbor explains, "We've all been in here for so long, telling the same jokes, we just gave 'em numbers. Somebody calls out the number, we get a laugh, and it takes less time than telling a whole joke we all know." Thinking he'll try to fit in, the new waits for his chance, jumps up, and screams, "35!" at the top of his lungs. Dead silence in the cafeteria. The new guy sits down, blushing, turns to his neighbor and asks, "What'd I do wrong?" The neighbor shakes his head and mutters, "Some people just can't tell a joke." Hey, James! 19!

I prefer the sound quality of old equipment. Most lower-end systems now go for the "thump." That takes raw power, but it's usually attained through higher THD (total harmonic distortion). Mid-end standard back in the day was <.01% THD; now it's quite common to see <.1% THD, although the raw power has jumped. Something I find really funny is the power spec used in manuals. When I was a kid, it was reported in watts RMS per channel, all channels driven, but now I only see total power. A Marantz 2230 stereo receiver back then would be billed as 30 watts RMS per channel, all channels driven. Today, they'd call the same power output 120 watts total power. I guess a bigger number is more impressive. (shrug)

some additions and a harbinger of the 90s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrcTsxs-anU

Barton Springs Pool is having a full moon howl Sunday night. College boy crowd watching, topless women, and howling in the moonlight. I have a plastic flask around here somewhere. What more could you ask?