Isn’t Life Strange?

I watched the just-released pilot of “Caprica,” the prequel series to Battlestar Galactica.

Having the same dramatic intensity of the other series, Caprica sets out to tell the story of how and why the Cylons were created.

I took a screen capture of a familiar-looking mechanical character. If you’re interested in taking a peek, click here.

I’m thinking about shutting down the blog. You’ll know when it happens.

I never knew they did this, and that’s probably because I’ve never felt like hanging around the Magic Kingdom until closing time.

Disney really goes to great lengths to make every experience magical.

Do you want to know why so many of us have been so pissed off at the main stream media for so long?

Happy Easter!

A week has passed since this article was published but I just saw it today and had to pass it along.

Erin’s distractions no longer welcome

From the article:

“We thank Erin for her beautiful—uh, I mean excellent coverage of Badger games, but her presence has become far too much of a distraction,” Alvarez said. “I’ve seen several instances where players have tripped over themselves in the middle of a play when they catch a glimpse of her. We cannot allow her to continue to jeopardize their ability to perform in game situations.”

Kudos to the University of Wisconsin Madison’s student newspaper, The Daily Cardinal.

I hate political parties.

While it is true that 99.9 percent of the time I find myself siding with the candidates of one particular party, the decision to vote for that candidate is never based upon party politics. Yet I often find myself at odds with many politicians from that same party. Sometimes it’s just easier to vote against the candidate you least like.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if the Democratic and Republican parties ceased to exist?

Wouldn’t it be more helpful to all Americans if we could have a better way of evaluating the job performance of each and every one of our politicians instead of allowing them to hide behind party politics?

I’ve recently concluded that I don’t like Republicans just as much as I don’t like Democrats. This isn’t right. There are plenty of fine people who belong to both of those parties. However, we insist to know which party takes what side of an issue. Can a Democrat not be fiscally responsible simply because of his party? Can a Republican not be socially compassionate?

Why does it take a Democrat majority to make every Republican in Congress vote against runaway spending? This certainly was not the case when they had the majority during the George W. Bush presidency. During that time it seemed no spending bill was too much for them.

Is it not possible for Democrats to vehemently oppose other Democrats on the basis of judgment and values? Can a Republican not speak out against a fellow Republican he knows is wrong?

Can a Democrat not side with a Republican on common values without the threat of pressure from the party leaders?

These questions have been troubling me for quite some time. I’m convinced that this nation is handicapped by the two party system, a system that George Washington warned us not to pursue. This system takes away our responsibility to choose the very best person for our representation. The party system encourages politicians to distance themselves from those they represent and replaces that responsibility with the supreme task of doing anything to gain or maintain power at all cost.

I know I have mentioned this before. It’s been on my mind a great deal as of late.

“You and I are told increasingly that we have to choose between a left or right, but I would like to suggest that there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down — up to a man’s age-old dream; the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order — or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism, and regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.”

Ronald Reagan - “A Time For Choosing” (1964)

As I mentioned in yesterday’s podcast, I’ve been trying to write a few things but am suffering a bit of writer’s block. To be honest, I’m convinced that the long-cherished American values of freedom and liberty are nearly dead, and they are dying, as said in the movie Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, “to thunderous applause.”

It is difficult to find the right words that will properly and artfully express my fears.

For generations we’ve been warned about the dangers of tyranny, about allowing governments too much control over the lives of individuals. We’ve witnessed what happens to nations that suffer under a heavy-handed government that stifles the freedoms we have held dear since our nation’s founding. And now, due to our own greed and an out of control sense of entitlement, many of us are encouraging this government to enact the very policies that can only serve to destroy that liberty and freedom.

Those sitting in seats of power in Washington D.C. are only too happy to oblige.

If yesterday’s power grab of GM and Chrysler doesn’t convince you of the intentions of this government, nothing will.

God help us.

I have nothing to say…

I’m writing this using a free app on my iPhone. This could be a very good tool for guerrilla blogging!

*** UPDATE ***

The app, though limited works well. It’s called BlogWriter Lite and is limited in its functionality. The message posted instantly.

Can you imagine the fake outrage from the left and the media if President Bush made such an insensitive remark? They’d be demanding apologies, holding special fact-finding commissions, and doing everything possible to see that this would be on the front page of every newspaper across the country for a week. Every media outlet would take polls and the results would be broadcast at every news break on every radio station.

President Obama, in his taping with Jay Leno Thursday afternoon, attempted to yuk it up with the funnyman, and ended up insulting the disabled.

Towards the end of his approximately 40-minute appearance, the president talked about how he’s gotten better at bowling and has been practicing in the White House bowling alley.

He bowled a 129, the president said.

“That’s very good, Mr. President,” Leno said sarcastically.

It’s “like the Special Olympics or something,” the president said.

That’s Barry keeping it classy, folks.

via ABC

Take a look at some photos capturing the eruption of a volcano in the South Pacific, six miles from the archipelago of Tonga.

It’s too bad this classic Disney ride no longer exists. I was able to ride it only once during a whirlwind (and my very first) trip to Walt Disney World in 1996. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was replaced by a Winnie the Pooh-themed dark ride. I’ve not been on that one yet, but I suspect it doesn’t feature the same abstract craziness featured in the old ride.

This ride had two tracks, left and right. Someone has kindly uploaded ride-through videos of each on YouTube. Enjoy!

It’s been a long, long time. Enjoy!

New trailer!