California Education

In a story about spending cuts in California's education budget there is a reference to a parent group raising $1.2 million to save the jobs of 60 teachers. Really, thats how little money is involved, $20K per teacher.

A Musical Rollercoaster

Ad for the Zurich Symphony Orchestra

(from adfreak)

Evolution?

Are you saying evolution is wrong? Where do you think we are 21th century America.

House, HouseS04E13

Delusions of Grandeur - Definition

Are you familiar of the term "delusions of grandeur".

Carla Espinosa

I believe I coined that term.

The Janitor

Self referential definition of
"delusions of grandeur" in Scrubs S07E09

Roundels of the World

Roundels of the World is a database of air force markings around the world. The image above is the low visibility version of Dominican Republic roundel.

Over the Top Baseball

The Dear Leader's Youtube Account

Here is what purports to be Kim Jong-Il Youtube page. This is one of 3 things either; sincere impersonation (I have met sincere admirers of Stalin), satiric impersonation, or the real Kim Jong-Il. Look around and decide.

Avoid Southern California

Ventura Boulevard is hell's waiting room.

Johnny Drama, Entourage

Orwell on Why it is Easier to Attack Wealthy Entertainers Than the Actual Ruling Class

Even if his (P G Wodehouse) income touches £350,000 a year (£11 to £40 million in today's terms) he has only the outward semblance of a millionaire. He is a lucky outsider who has fluked into a fortune -- usually a very temporary fortune -- like the winner of the Calcutta Derby Sweep. Consequently, Wodehouse's indiscretion gave a good propaganda opening. It was a chance to "expose" a wealthy parasite without drawing attention to any of the parasites who really mattered.

George Orwell in his defense of P G Wodehouse

Political Improvement

Maybe the best way to build a bright new world is to peel some spuds in this one.

Sam Vimes as John Keel in
The Night Watch to Reg the revolutionary

Nazis and the German Brand

On a thread on AH.com, This Imperial German Remembrance Day, I shall be... Foreign Shadow has this rejoiner:

THE NAZIS


Fucking up perfectly good German traditions with their stigma since 1934

Offseting the Evil

Condemned 2 a first person adventure game is a selling itself an interesting way. Normally ads for games focus on the game play and graphics. In this case instead of having the gory details front and center, which you can find with IGN review, it is promoting karmic rebalancing to deal with the horrific actions and scenes in the game. The ads are done with cute sugary animation and a song of evil. There are some brief glimpses of the actual but only enough to shock and encourage interest in a what is probably a pleasantly violent game.

No Fun in The Sun

Not liking hot weather I have never seen the attraction of visiting some hot place for "fun in the sun". In today's Globe is a story of a web site, dontvisitmexico.com, devoted to warning people away from what Krusty the Klown calls happiest place on earth, Tijauna and its country. But then Mexico has long had a well deserved reputation for lawlessness, either from peasants revolting or lords repressing as this "documentary" footage shows.

For more insight to the rigid societies of Latin America and way their cultural and legal traditions encourage banditry and corruption read some of the works of Hernando de Soto.

The Rhythm of Life

Lego Star Wars Orchestra

In the comments on youtube is this exchange on the musical training of Imperial Storm Troopers. deoxys388

how do they play violin with their helments on?... wont they break the bows with their hands or the violins with their helments 0_o

jimbobmcgee

They're Stormtroopers. They can do whatever they damn well want! Ofcourse everyone knows that Classical Music lessons are on the Stormtrooper training course.

Extreme Hiking

This is a foot path through the mountains in Spain, the Caminito del Rey. Surprisingly this path was closed after less than a half dozen people died on it, falling from it.

You Can Always use a Shirt

Hamas Gunman Hiding

(from Reuters)

Electoral Maps

Electoral Maps is a blogs that is focused fine grain analysis of election results. In the extended primary season between Obama and Clinton has given a lot of opportunity for political geeks, nerds and wonks to sift through data and or entails.

I found this blog from a link on a discussion of the sociological differences between those likely to surport Clinton or Obama, In Terms of Geography, Obama Appeals to Academics and Clinton Appeals to Jacksonians.

Take Your Stinking Paws off Me You Damn Dirty Ape.

My Favorite Charlton Heston line.

Why Sergeants Need to Shout

Harry Blount’s brain had shifted gears into sergeant mode. When one was commanding troops on a battlefield and something unexpected happened, one simply couldn’t afford to pause for a minute while one assessed just exactly what that something was, and what to do about it. It was almost always better to do something than to do nothing – at the very least, it would strengthen the morale of men made uncertain by the unpredicted event, and would mean they fought harder and stuck together even if he’d just ordered them into a carefully laid enemy trap. Conversely, hesitation and inaction could destroy a regiment before the French were even within range to fire their muskets.

From A Man Of His Time by Thande

Most Prefer Pleasant Blindness to Nasty Reality

...the great American public doesn't like being confronted with evil, or with a protracted struggle. We're not people who believe in tragedy; history been too kind to us. Evil is something we conquer in a crusade, then everybody goes home a hero.

Nate Stoddard spy master in The Stone Dogs, a Draka novel.

How To Buy Guns in Tribal Pakistan

Damning with Faint Praise

...almost as good as the Monkees.

Dewey Cox opinion of the Beatles in The Dewey Cox Story

Looking for Aliens in All the Wrong Places

On Dr Who S04E01

Suicide Note of Simpson's Fan

Suicide Letter Full Of Simpsons References

Here is an amusing story, obviously fictional, from the Onion of some chem major's suicide note only containing Simpson references. But many of us can also quote long passages from the Simpson's and we are normbal, right.

Why God Hates US Republicans

Here (pt1, pt2, pt3, pt4 and pt5) is series of blog entries built around the concept that god hates Republicans and or the people who vote for them. This showed up on a Paul Krugman blog post about this chart. The consensus was that God may or may not hate US Republicans but US Republicans hate everyone except the rich.

The Problem of the Overclass

Here is a Slate article that looks at the problem of the overclass, the wealthy sometimes criminals that are our "betters". The poor and marginalized used to derided as the "criminal classes". But more can stolen with a gang of lawyers than with a gang of gunmen. Maybe the term is better applied to hedge fund managers and gamblers and looters of "public companies. Like Lord Black of Crosshabour a member of both the overclass and the criminal class.

The Onion has also noticed this problem, seriously.

The Award for Shakespear, kinda

It is the award that they would have given to Shakespeare. If Shakespeare had worked in local news.

Stephen Colbert on the Peabody Award

Jimmy Buffet Fans

Nobody likes Jimmy Buffet except for frat boys and alcoholic chicks from the south.

Cartman in Southpark S12E01

Very Silly Questions for Librarians

Monsters Like Human Snacks

It is an odd car ad that that is aimed at our alien overlords.

(from Adfreak)

The Problem with Ninjas

Is this how Batman started?

Pat Condell's Mickey Mouse Simile

No shortage of politicians, however, lining up to accuse the film of falsely equating Islam with violence, which is a bit like falsely equating Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse.

Pat Condell in his latest Youtube monologue.