Category: Frivolity
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
In celebration of National College Colors Day, some simple Southern California wisdom:
When some loud braggart tries to put me down
And says his school is great
I tell him right away
Now whats the matter buddy
Aint you heard of my school
Its number one in the state
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly
Be true to your school
When some loud braggart tries to put me down
And says his school is great
I tell him right away
Now whats the matter buddy
Aint you heard of my school
Its number one in the state
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly
Be true to your school
28/06: Breaking News...
Category: Frivolity
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
Flash...
Francisco Franco and Immigration Reform 2007 are still dead.
Update: in re Immigration Reform 2007: the reports of its resurrection were greatly exaggerated.
Francisco Franco and Immigration Reform 2007 are still dead.
Update: in re Immigration Reform 2007: the reports of its resurrection were greatly exaggerated.
freak show n. A sideshow in popular entertainment, featuring grotesquely developed people or animals.
It is my habit to listen to NPR and watch C-SPAN during my early morning hours. However, I usually shift to one of the Network Morning Shows at 7:00 EDT and catch a few minutes before I leave the house.
Social commentators long ago designated the network news collage of "human interest" stories and sensationalistic snippets the "FREAK SHOW."
A few random thoughts on the human menagerie this morning that was the Today Show on NBC:
The Lead Story. Blake and Jordin: Congratulations to Jordin, American Idol Winner. I watched Idol for the first time this season. I enjoyed it. And I am happy to finally understand why the show is such a phenomenon. It is high human drama--although not high art.
Kudos to Blake for being gracious and gentlemanly in defeat. It is rare and always refreshing to see that brand of civility, especially so when exhibited on a TV reality show. Nicely done.
The Big Story. The Rosie and Elisabeth smack down on the View. Rosie O'Donnell characterized her debate with Elisabeth Hasselbeck as "big, fat, lesbian, loud Rosie attacking dear, sweet, innocent, pure, Christian Elisabeth." Perhaps she was being sarcastic; nevertheless, it is cogent analysis.
I do not watch the View. But I have taken a passing interest in the ongoing wrestling match between Rosie and Elisabeth, and I have caught several of their exchanges on YouTube. My heart goes out to Elisabeth for the following reasons:
1. She is out there on the limb all by herself. She faces a hostile anti-Bush, anti-war and anti-Republican studio audience everyday.
2. Not only does the crowd yell over her--but her cohosts do as well. She is ally-less.
3. Often times I feel that she is not quite up to the task of swimming up that stream. In fairness, it is a mean and nasty piece of water. Playing before that sort of unfriendly crowd day-in and day-out must be hell.
Yesterday, however, Elisabeth brought the hard stuff and hammered the home team. She stood her ground and kept asking the unanswerable question: what did you mean to say? In the end, Rosie's bluster and misdirection were not enough to distract any reasonable observer from Rosie's disingenuousness. See for yourself here.
Human Interest. Sixty-year-old mommies. Modern technology makes it possible for women past traditional child-bearing years to give birth. The list of geriatric moms is growing. Is this a good thing?
A doctor says: "who are we to judge?" Gray-haired mom says it is about "empowering women." No mention of what the kindergartner (or his friends) will think of his retirement-aged mommy on the first day of school. You have to love the "ME" Generation. What will they come up with next?
Read more here and vote as to whether you think women in their sixties having babies are irresponsible. I love democracy-TV.
More Human Interest. Whosarat.com. Some indicted person now maintains a website "that it has identified more than 4,300 informants and 400 undercover agents."
Why isn't this story on ABC?
The kicker: the entire interview was conducted with the "exposer" in shadows. Evidently, he did not think it safe to reveal his countenance to the world.
And that was just the first half hour...
Equal Time: I often watch Good Morning America. GMA is generally just as freakish...
It is my habit to listen to NPR and watch C-SPAN during my early morning hours. However, I usually shift to one of the Network Morning Shows at 7:00 EDT and catch a few minutes before I leave the house.
Social commentators long ago designated the network news collage of "human interest" stories and sensationalistic snippets the "FREAK SHOW."
A few random thoughts on the human menagerie this morning that was the Today Show on NBC:
The Lead Story. Blake and Jordin: Congratulations to Jordin, American Idol Winner. I watched Idol for the first time this season. I enjoyed it. And I am happy to finally understand why the show is such a phenomenon. It is high human drama--although not high art.
Kudos to Blake for being gracious and gentlemanly in defeat. It is rare and always refreshing to see that brand of civility, especially so when exhibited on a TV reality show. Nicely done.
The Big Story. The Rosie and Elisabeth smack down on the View. Rosie O'Donnell characterized her debate with Elisabeth Hasselbeck as "big, fat, lesbian, loud Rosie attacking dear, sweet, innocent, pure, Christian Elisabeth." Perhaps she was being sarcastic; nevertheless, it is cogent analysis.
I do not watch the View. But I have taken a passing interest in the ongoing wrestling match between Rosie and Elisabeth, and I have caught several of their exchanges on YouTube. My heart goes out to Elisabeth for the following reasons:
1. She is out there on the limb all by herself. She faces a hostile anti-Bush, anti-war and anti-Republican studio audience everyday.
2. Not only does the crowd yell over her--but her cohosts do as well. She is ally-less.
3. Often times I feel that she is not quite up to the task of swimming up that stream. In fairness, it is a mean and nasty piece of water. Playing before that sort of unfriendly crowd day-in and day-out must be hell.
Yesterday, however, Elisabeth brought the hard stuff and hammered the home team. She stood her ground and kept asking the unanswerable question: what did you mean to say? In the end, Rosie's bluster and misdirection were not enough to distract any reasonable observer from Rosie's disingenuousness. See for yourself here.
Human Interest. Sixty-year-old mommies. Modern technology makes it possible for women past traditional child-bearing years to give birth. The list of geriatric moms is growing. Is this a good thing?
A doctor says: "who are we to judge?" Gray-haired mom says it is about "empowering women." No mention of what the kindergartner (or his friends) will think of his retirement-aged mommy on the first day of school. You have to love the "ME" Generation. What will they come up with next?
Read more here and vote as to whether you think women in their sixties having babies are irresponsible. I love democracy-TV.
More Human Interest. Whosarat.com. Some indicted person now maintains a website "that it has identified more than 4,300 informants and 400 undercover agents."
Why isn't this story on ABC?
The kicker: the entire interview was conducted with the "exposer" in shadows. Evidently, he did not think it safe to reveal his countenance to the world.
And that was just the first half hour...
Equal Time: I often watch Good Morning America. GMA is generally just as freakish...
03/04: A Tale of Two Houses
Category: Frivolity
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
This is making the rounds on email and the blogs. After just a touch of superficial checking, it looks like it might even be true.
House 1:
The four-bedroom home was planned so that "every room has a relationship with something in the landscape that's different from the room next door. Each of the rooms feels like a slightly different place. The resulting single-story house is a paragon of environmental planning.
The passive-solar house is built of honey-colored native limestone and positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the 4,000-square-foot residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground. These waters pass through a heat exchange system that keeps the home warm in winter and cool in summer.
A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; Wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home, (which) uses indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to complete the exterior treatment of the home. In addition to its minimal environmental impact, the look and layout of the house reflect one of the paramount priorities: relaxation.
A spacious 10-foot porch wraps completely around the residence and beckons the family outdoors. With few hallways to speak of, family and guests make their way from room to room either directly or by way of the porch. "The house doesn't hold you in. Where the porch ends there is grass. There is no step-up at all." This house consumes 25% of the energy of an average American home.
(Source: Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Oct. 2002 and Chicago Tribune April 2001. Here)
House 2:
This 20-room, 8-bathroom house consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year. The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, this house devours nearly 221,000 kWh, more than 20 times the national average. Last August alone, the house burned through 22,619 kWh, guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of this energy consumption, the average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. Also, natural gas bills for this house and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year. In total, this house had nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for 2006.
(Source: just about anywhere in the news last month online and on talk radio, but barely on TV.)
How about the Tennessee Center for Policy Research? I have never heard of them--but it is a start--here.
The PayOff? You guessed it: House 1 belongs to George and Laura Bush, and is in Crawford, Texas. House 2 belongs to Al and Tipper Gore, and is in Nashville, Tennessee.
Thanks to MB from Westlake Village, CA.
House 1:
The four-bedroom home was planned so that "every room has a relationship with something in the landscape that's different from the room next door. Each of the rooms feels like a slightly different place. The resulting single-story house is a paragon of environmental planning.
The passive-solar house is built of honey-colored native limestone and positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the 4,000-square-foot residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground. These waters pass through a heat exchange system that keeps the home warm in winter and cool in summer.
A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; Wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home, (which) uses indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to complete the exterior treatment of the home. In addition to its minimal environmental impact, the look and layout of the house reflect one of the paramount priorities: relaxation.
A spacious 10-foot porch wraps completely around the residence and beckons the family outdoors. With few hallways to speak of, family and guests make their way from room to room either directly or by way of the porch. "The house doesn't hold you in. Where the porch ends there is grass. There is no step-up at all." This house consumes 25% of the energy of an average American home.
(Source: Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Oct. 2002 and Chicago Tribune April 2001. Here)
House 2:
This 20-room, 8-bathroom house consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year. The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, this house devours nearly 221,000 kWh, more than 20 times the national average. Last August alone, the house burned through 22,619 kWh, guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of this energy consumption, the average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. Also, natural gas bills for this house and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year. In total, this house had nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for 2006.
(Source: just about anywhere in the news last month online and on talk radio, but barely on TV.)
How about the Tennessee Center for Policy Research? I have never heard of them--but it is a start--here.
The PayOff? You guessed it: House 1 belongs to George and Laura Bush, and is in Crawford, Texas. House 2 belongs to Al and Tipper Gore, and is in Nashville, Tennessee.
Thanks to MB from Westlake Village, CA.
Category: Frivolity
Posted by: an okie gardener
For the judicially inclined among us. This post from Balkanization on matching the SJs to rockers with similar aesthetics. Hat tip Instapundit.
