Thursday, October 30, 2003
Finding Your Muse
I just found this awesome site: WetCanvas!:Cyber Living for Artists. If you are an artist, or just aspiring to be one, this site is worth checking out. It is a great support community for the arts. There are articles, tutorials, reference photos, tips on selling work, and product reviews. There are forums of all kinds: from abstract to watercolor to landscape to glass to student work. You can post work for feedback... I posted a work in progress and got some great comments and tips. Everyone is really nice and helpful. Just a really cool site! Anyone that goes there should not be afraid that their work isn't good enough - it is a supportive (how many times can I use that word? Thesaurus anyone?) place! Check it out!
Finding Your Muse
I just discovered this awesome site: WetCanvas!: Cyber Living for Artists. For anyone that is an artist, aspiring or otherwise, this site is really cool. There are tutorials, articles, and product reviews. There are different forums for everything: from acrylics to watercolor to landscapes to abstracts to student work to glass.... Frequently there are group projects that everyone is invited to work on. The WetCanvas users are so nice! I've already posted a question as well as a painting in progress for critique and comments. All in all, a really fabulous support community for the arts!
Monday, October 27, 2003
Line Up and and Drop Your Pants
So I read this article from BabyCenter. I find it kinda irritating. I mean, sure they may find that uncircumsized men have higher rates of HIV than circ'd men... but I doubt running around circumsizing people is going to stop the spread of AIDS. I mean, I'll bet the majority of men that have died of AIDS or currently have HIV in the U.S. were circ'd. I guess they are saying that men can get the AIDS virus easier from a woman if they are uncirc'd. I'm thinking condoms are a bit cheaper than surgery on every man (esp. since for grown men, they'll probably actually use anisthesia, and maybe give them pain pills afterwards...).
I dunno, just a really annoying article. Combine this with the Catholic Church saying condoms don't stop AIDS, and everything should be just dandy.
Another link to the same study, which throws in some myths about circ'ing... "The Johns Hopkins team conducted its research on nearly 2,300 men in India. While circumcision is common in North America and elsewhere for religious and cultural reasons and to help prevent urinary tract infections and penile cancer, it is not practiced in the majority of the world.
In the United States, some two-thirds of male infants are circumcised annually, but there has been growing reluctance to the practice which some consider mutilation. The American Academy of Paediatrics has said it no longer recommends routine circumcision because, despite some medical benefit, there can be complications." (from Rainbownetwork)
However, in a letter from the American Cancer Society to the AAP, the state "Research suggesting a pattern in the circumcision status of partners of women with cervical cancer is methodologically flawed, outdated and has not been taken seriously in the medical community for decades. Likewise, research claiming a relationship between circumcision and penile cancer is inconclusive. Penile Caner is an extremely rare condition, effecting one in 200,000 men in the United States. Penile cancer rates in countries which do not practice circumcision are lower than those found in the United States. Fatalities caused by circumcision accidents may approximate the mortality rate from penile cancer." Read more at Nocirc.org.
Here is an article, titled Protect your Uncircumsized Son (many doc's don't know how to deal with an intact kid). And another, The Case Against Circumcision.
Finally, if the hard facts don't interest you, how about Howard Stern?
I dunno, just a really annoying article. Combine this with the Catholic Church saying condoms don't stop AIDS, and everything should be just dandy.
Another link to the same study, which throws in some myths about circ'ing... "The Johns Hopkins team conducted its research on nearly 2,300 men in India. While circumcision is common in North America and elsewhere for religious and cultural reasons and to help prevent urinary tract infections and penile cancer, it is not practiced in the majority of the world.
In the United States, some two-thirds of male infants are circumcised annually, but there has been growing reluctance to the practice which some consider mutilation. The American Academy of Paediatrics has said it no longer recommends routine circumcision because, despite some medical benefit, there can be complications." (from Rainbownetwork)
However, in a letter from the American Cancer Society to the AAP, the state "Research suggesting a pattern in the circumcision status of partners of women with cervical cancer is methodologically flawed, outdated and has not been taken seriously in the medical community for decades. Likewise, research claiming a relationship between circumcision and penile cancer is inconclusive. Penile Caner is an extremely rare condition, effecting one in 200,000 men in the United States. Penile cancer rates in countries which do not practice circumcision are lower than those found in the United States. Fatalities caused by circumcision accidents may approximate the mortality rate from penile cancer." Read more at Nocirc.org.
Here is an article, titled Protect your Uncircumsized Son (many doc's don't know how to deal with an intact kid). And another, The Case Against Circumcision.
Finally, if the hard facts don't interest you, how about Howard Stern?
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
I'd Like to Buy a Herniated Disc, Pat
Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune (and half of the couple known affectionately as "The Whirls"), is being sued for enthusiastically jumping into a winners arms in an embrace. The contestant, Will Wright, said that he has permanent back problems due to Sajak's enthusiasm. But for $2 million? Come one. Freak. Heck, I'd pay $2,000,000 to receive a hug from everybody's favorite funnyman gameshow host!
For more on Pat, go to his website.
Here is an interesting speech he gave on Hollywood and America at Hillsdale College.
Here is a link to a St. Louis Punk band.
Here is a recipe from Pat, along with other famous people, on Scrumptious.com.
For more on Pat, go to his website.
Here is an interesting speech he gave on Hollywood and America at Hillsdale College.
Here is a link to a St. Louis Punk band.
Here is a recipe from Pat, along with other famous people, on Scrumptious.com.
10/23 - Help and Be Rewarded
Jamba Juice is having an event that will benefit local hospitals and children's organizations on October 23 (Thursday).
From 3 - 6pm head to your local participating Jamba Juice, donate $1, and get a 16oz. Jamba Juice for free!
In fact, anything you donate during this time will go to these organizations, so a better idea might be to pay what you normally would for the juice and all of the money will go to these good causes.
Oh, yeah, and Jamba Juice is SO YUMMY.
From 3 - 6pm head to your local participating Jamba Juice, donate $1, and get a 16oz. Jamba Juice for free!
In fact, anything you donate during this time will go to these organizations, so a better idea might be to pay what you normally would for the juice and all of the money will go to these good causes.
Oh, yeah, and Jamba Juice is SO YUMMY.
Monday, October 20, 2003
Somebody Key This Thing
Ed and Tonie Negrin are doing their part to support the troops. They painted their giant urban assault vehicles with images of the American Flag, troops with guns, and George Bush and Donald Rumsfield. Their latest truck is the elaborate and disturbing "Iraqi Freedom Truck". Apparently with a lack of anything better to do with $65,000, they drove thier mostrosities around the country.
Fittingly, the "Iraqi Freedom Truck" is a Chevy Suburban...with a combined MPG of 15, and nearly the worst amount of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Their other two vehicles ("America's Trucks"!) are Chevy Silverado trucks - which have slightly better gas mileage and emissions than the Suburban. In a show of support for the troops, as well as America's dependence on foreign oil, the Negrin's drove to 39 states showing off their trucks. No word on how much the paint job cost, or how many children were left behind in the process.
Among the features: "The driver's side features soldiers poised with weapons, while the passenger side is lorded over by a large image of President Bush on the door, along with smaller images of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Franks, who ran the war in Afghanistan." Yikes.
Fittingly, the "Iraqi Freedom Truck" is a Chevy Suburban...with a combined MPG of 15, and nearly the worst amount of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Their other two vehicles ("America's Trucks"!) are Chevy Silverado trucks - which have slightly better gas mileage and emissions than the Suburban. In a show of support for the troops, as well as America's dependence on foreign oil, the Negrin's drove to 39 states showing off their trucks. No word on how much the paint job cost, or how many children were left behind in the process.
Among the features: "The driver's side features soldiers poised with weapons, while the passenger side is lorded over by a large image of President Bush on the door, along with smaller images of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Franks, who ran the war in Afghanistan." Yikes.
Friday, October 17, 2003
Leisure Sports Superhero
What a life. A little golf in the afternoon. Some bowling in the morning. If I could do that, maybe I'd get a hole in one and a perfect game in a 24 hour period too! That is what 74 year oldPaul Hughes did.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Marriage Protection Week
Man, can this joker get any worse? Wait, don't answer that. So, all you perverts and wackos wake up, its Marriage Protection Week!
Resident Bush wants to make sure you remember that Marriage is a sacred institution and Marriage is a union between a man and a woman. So be a real American, and join him in expressing support for the institution of marriage with all its benefits to our people, our culture, and our society. Pah. He also says "I call upon the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies."
I think the appropriate thing to do is (1) all gay couples head to Canada this week for your nuptials (2) all single women that want children, find a suitable donor and get pregnant and (3) unmarried couples that want kids ... stay unmarried if you want to! I'm pretty sure you would all make perfectly wonderful couples, families, parents.
Resident Bush wants to make sure you remember that Marriage is a sacred institution and Marriage is a union between a man and a woman. So be a real American, and join him in expressing support for the institution of marriage with all its benefits to our people, our culture, and our society. Pah. He also says "I call upon the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies."
I think the appropriate thing to do is (1) all gay couples head to Canada this week for your nuptials (2) all single women that want children, find a suitable donor and get pregnant and (3) unmarried couples that want kids ... stay unmarried if you want to! I'm pretty sure you would all make perfectly wonderful couples, families, parents.
Friday, October 10, 2003
The War Is Not Over
As you may have noticed, I have added a new feature to the left side of this blog -- the "Killed/Wounded in Iraq" statistics. It seems like we hear a mention of soldiers dyeing in Iraq on the news everyday. It's easy to become numb to these figures. It's easy to distance yourself from the tragedy when it is a daily occurrence in a far-off land. However, these are real people -- almost everyday there are families in the United States being devastated by news that they will never see their sons, daughters, spouses, etc. Iraqi civilians are also being wounded and killed. Believe it or not, these people are just like you and me, they just happened to come into the world in a different country.
I am adding these statistics to my blog so that these people are not forgotten. The White House has concocted a lot of lies to convince the American public that this was a good idea. As these lies and cover-ups continue, so does the destruction of lives.
Presentation:
I am including the total number of Coalition members and Iraqi citizens killed and wounded, as well as the numbers within the last week. This will show that, despite what George Bush says, this war is far from over. I will try to update these statistics daily. The purpose of the arrows is make it look a little like a stock quote. There are a lot of websites, newspapers, and magazines that post stock quotes -- but not many that compile war statistics. It?s pretty sad that more people are concerned with the price of stock rather than price of war.
Methodology:
I am obtaining the number of Coalition members killed and wounded from the Iraq Coalition Casualties website. They obtain their numbers from government press releases, specifically from CENTCOM (the United States Central Command) and the U.S. Department of Defense. For more information on their methodology, go to http://lunaville.org/WC/Methodology.htm. This site is very interesting -- it posts links to the press releases and breaks down the fatality and wounded numbers in many different ways.
The numbers of Iraqi civilians killed is coming from the Iraq Body Count website. Their statement regarding the rational for their website includes, "Adversities such as wars and civil wars threaten the survival and dignity of millions of people. The victims of these conflicts are primarily, if not almost exclusively, civilians - ordinary men and women. Civilian casualties are the most unacceptable consequence of all wars. Each civilian death is a tragedy and should never be regarded as the ?cost? of achieving our countries? war aims, because it is not we who are paying this price." Their numbers are calculated from publicly available online media reports and eyewitness accounts. A detailed description of their methodology can be found here: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/background.htm. One interesting thing about their website is that they have a "Maximum" and "Minimum" number of deaths. This is based on inconsistencies in published reports. To give you an idea of how these figures differ, at the time of this post the "Minimum" number of deaths was 7377; the "Maximum" is 9180. Understanding that the figure that I am posting on my website may be low, I have only included the "Minimum" number of deaths as I want to present an un-arguable number.
The CDC reports that 2,726 people died in the 9/11/01 World Trade Center attacks. The country was horrified. 7,377 innocent civilians have died so far in Iraq because of the war the United States started. Think about it.
edit 12/12/03 -- I have removed the previous week's count of Iraqi civilian casualties because it wasn't very accurate; the numbers often come in well after the week following the deaths.
I am adding these statistics to my blog so that these people are not forgotten. The White House has concocted a lot of lies to convince the American public that this was a good idea. As these lies and cover-ups continue, so does the destruction of lives.
Presentation:
I am including the total number of Coalition members and Iraqi citizens killed and wounded, as well as the numbers within the last week. This will show that, despite what George Bush says, this war is far from over. I will try to update these statistics daily. The purpose of the arrows is make it look a little like a stock quote. There are a lot of websites, newspapers, and magazines that post stock quotes -- but not many that compile war statistics. It?s pretty sad that more people are concerned with the price of stock rather than price of war.
Methodology:
I am obtaining the number of Coalition members killed and wounded from the Iraq Coalition Casualties website. They obtain their numbers from government press releases, specifically from CENTCOM (the United States Central Command) and the U.S. Department of Defense. For more information on their methodology, go to http://lunaville.org/WC/Methodology.htm. This site is very interesting -- it posts links to the press releases and breaks down the fatality and wounded numbers in many different ways.
The numbers of Iraqi civilians killed is coming from the Iraq Body Count website. Their statement regarding the rational for their website includes, "Adversities such as wars and civil wars threaten the survival and dignity of millions of people. The victims of these conflicts are primarily, if not almost exclusively, civilians - ordinary men and women. Civilian casualties are the most unacceptable consequence of all wars. Each civilian death is a tragedy and should never be regarded as the ?cost? of achieving our countries? war aims, because it is not we who are paying this price." Their numbers are calculated from publicly available online media reports and eyewitness accounts. A detailed description of their methodology can be found here: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/background.htm. One interesting thing about their website is that they have a "Maximum" and "Minimum" number of deaths. This is based on inconsistencies in published reports. To give you an idea of how these figures differ, at the time of this post the "Minimum" number of deaths was 7377; the "Maximum" is 9180. Understanding that the figure that I am posting on my website may be low, I have only included the "Minimum" number of deaths as I want to present an un-arguable number.
The CDC reports that 2,726 people died in the 9/11/01 World Trade Center attacks. The country was horrified. 7,377 innocent civilians have died so far in Iraq because of the war the United States started. Think about it.
edit 12/12/03 -- I have removed the previous week's count of Iraqi civilian casualties because it wasn't very accurate; the numbers often come in well after the week following the deaths.
Thursday, October 09, 2003
DEAL: TiVo
Dell is turning into the the place to go for deals on electronics. I recently got a great deal on a Canon S400 camera (which kicks ass, by the way). My good friend Tony took advantage of this, as well. Now, get a fantastic deal on a TiVo.
If you know anyone who has a TiVo, you probably think they are freaks. But they are happy freaks. TiVo has changed my life.
Today, you can get a 40-Hour TiVo Series2 for $162 shipped.
Use coupon code AB9CB950C919 (today only!) at Dell Home to save 15% off TiVo units. Then, mail in the $50 TiVo rebate. Search for item A0133910 to find it.
If you know anyone who has a TiVo, you probably think they are freaks. But they are happy freaks. TiVo has changed my life.
Today, you can get a 40-Hour TiVo Series2 for $162 shipped.
Use coupon code AB9CB950C919 (today only!) at Dell Home to save 15% off TiVo units. Then, mail in the $50 TiVo rebate. Search for item A0133910 to find it.
"I've Been Hypmotized"
It's gotten a little heavy around here lately, so I thought I'd just post something to get your mind off of this screwed up world. Fish!
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Maybe It Is All the Sunshine
Good going, California.
But wait, a
glimmer of hope? I doubt it, but interesting nonetheless.
How did that get to be one word, anyway?
Thanks to Joyce In The Mountains for this link, as well as the previous one...
But wait, a
glimmer of hope? I doubt it, but interesting nonetheless.
How did that get to be one word, anyway?
Thanks to Joyce In The Mountains for this link, as well as the previous one...
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
This Could be Heaven or This Could Be Hell
First of all, I have to say that I have never considered myself an Oregonian... more of a Californian living in Oregon. These days, I think I might distance myself from the beautiful state I was born in...
Especially if Ah-nold wins. I mean, come on people. It shouldn't even take allegations from several women that he is a horny butthole to sway anyone from voting for him. Sheesh.
Then I read this article: Arnold Unplugged - It's hasta la vista to $9 billion if the Governator is selected. ~~sigh~~
Fingers crossed that by the end of the evening, no matter what happens, Schwarzenegger won't be governer.
At the very least, we can all be glad he can't run for president.
Here is some extra credit reading:
Fourth Reich? The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus
Especially if Ah-nold wins. I mean, come on people. It shouldn't even take allegations from several women that he is a horny butthole to sway anyone from voting for him. Sheesh.
Then I read this article: Arnold Unplugged - It's hasta la vista to $9 billion if the Governator is selected. ~~sigh~~
Fingers crossed that by the end of the evening, no matter what happens, Schwarzenegger won't be governer.
At the very least, we can all be glad he can't run for president.
Here is some extra credit reading:
Fourth Reich? The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus
Friday, October 03, 2003
That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
Thursday, October 02, 2003
Sedaris Deal
Got word of this today in the Powells Books e-newsletter (does anyone send out non e-newsletters anymore?).
""The David Sedaris Box Set" is now available on our Great Deals shelves -- in audio cassette or compact disc, have your choice -- at 75% off the list price. How cheap is that? The fourteen CD set is now only $19.98. Ten cassettes go for a mere $15.98. "
If you haven't heard of David Sedaris, it is time you crawled out from under your rock....
""The David Sedaris Box Set" is now available on our Great Deals shelves -- in audio cassette or compact disc, have your choice -- at 75% off the list price. How cheap is that? The fourteen CD set is now only $19.98. Ten cassettes go for a mere $15.98. "
If you haven't heard of David Sedaris, it is time you crawled out from under your rock....
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Non-Violence Begins at Breakfast
Happy World Vegetarian Day! I won't preach to you about the why's and wherefore's of vegetarianism. I will give you a favorite family recipe: Tofu Stroganoff! (or as Rick calls it, White Trash Stroganoff). Props to Mama Atlansky for coming up with this gem...
TOFU STROGANOFF
1 block firm tofu
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp crushed dried rosemary
1 1/3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
12 oz noodles
Saute tofu, onion and garlic in butter in a large skillet until brown and tender. Add flour, seasonings and mushrooms, cook for 5 minutes. Add soup and simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir in the sour cream, heat but do not boil.
Meanwhile, cook noodles until al dente. Toss with sauce and serve. Enjoy!
TOFU STROGANOFF
1 block firm tofu
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp crushed dried rosemary
1 1/3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
12 oz noodles
Saute tofu, onion and garlic in butter in a large skillet until brown and tender. Add flour, seasonings and mushrooms, cook for 5 minutes. Add soup and simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir in the sour cream, heat but do not boil.
Meanwhile, cook noodles until al dente. Toss with sauce and serve. Enjoy!
